The Seat of Witness lives on a vertical “OO–AAH” line: it feels surprise—up or down—and that’s it. The Participant adds a sideways move when it clings to a pre-actual desire. Put them together and you get a clean, chalk-ready picture: surprise is vertical; suffering is horizontal.
The Stage: Two Orthogonal Axes
y-axis (vertical): Surprise → OO–AAH
x-axis (horizontal): Suffering / Clinging → off-axis pull
Up (y>0): pleasant “AAH!” | Down (y<0): unpleasant “OO…”
Left (x<0): still wishing for lower than Actual | Right (x>0): still wishing for higher than Actual
Vertical: the Witness’ OO–AAH
Reality’s felt signal at the reveal is a log-ratio. With Actual \(A>0\) and Expected \(E>0\), define
$$S \;=\; \ln\!\frac{A}{E}.$$
Because \(\ln 1 = 0\), you can think of \(S\) as oscillating around 0: \(S>0\) is pleasant surprise (“AAH!”), \(S<0\) is unpleasant surprise (“OO…”), \(S=0\) is a perfect hit. This is the Seat of Witness: it registers surprise, updates, and moves on. No suffering required.
Horizontal: the Participant’s Suffering
Suffering appears when, after the reveal, the Participant continues to consult a Desired \(D>0\) instead of \(A\). Measure that sideways refusal as
$$K \;=\; \ln\!\frac{D}{A}.$$
Interpretation: \(K=0\) means you accepted Actual; \(|K|\) is the amount of clinging. A useful nonnegative “amount of suffering” is either \( \lvert K\rvert \) (linear sting) or \( \tfrac12K^2 \) (energy-like, smooth, symmetric).
Reading a Point on the Plane
- Point on the vertical line (\(K=0\)): Witness mode. You feel the OO–AAH and update. No suffering.
- Point off the vertical (\(K\neq 0\)): Participant is clinging. Same surprise as the Witness, plus self-inflicted sideways tension.
- Sign of \(K\): Left (\(K<0\)) = still wanting “lower than \(A\)” (fairness-tilt). Right (\(K>0\)) = still wanting “higher than \(A\)” (hierarchy-tilt).
Where Desire Comes From (Pre-Actual)
Before the reveal, a motive tilts desire around what you expected. A convenient encoding is
$$D \;=\; E\,e^{s m}, \qquad s\in\{-1,0,+1\}\ \text{(direction)},\ \ m\ge 0\ \text{(strength)},$$
where \(s=-1\) “wants lower,” \(s=+1\) “wants higher,” and \(s=0\) is neutral. This pre-actual desire is not a problem— it’s just aspiration. Suffering appears only if you keep using \(D\) after Actual shows up.
Emotions on the Two Axes
Grasping (pre-actual): worry, anxiety, dread, excitement, craving, longing, impatience, FOMO, over-planning.
Resisting (post-actual): frustration, anger, resentment, guilt, shame, regret, remorse, rumination, despair.
Quick classifier: “What if…” = grasping. “If only… / Should have…” = resisting.
Two Micro-Examples
Price reveal
$$A=\$300,\quad E=\$250\ \Rightarrow\ S=\ln(300/250)=\ln(1.2)\approx 0.182\ (\text{pleasant}).$$
If you accept the reveal, \(K=0\). If you cling to a wish \(D=\$185\), then \(K=\ln(185/300)\approx -0.483\): left-leaning suffering of magnitude \(|K|\).
Navigation reveal
$$A=32\ \text{min},\quad E=24\ \text{min}\ \Rightarrow\ S=\ln(32/24)=\ln(1.333)\approx 0.287\ (\text{unpleasant}).$$
If you keep insisting “it should be 18,” \(K=\ln(18/32)\approx -0.575\): off-axis left. Drop the insistence and you snap back to the vertical.
The Three Lines You Can Say Out Loud
- Surprise is vertical: \(S=\ln(A/E)\) is the Witness’ OO–AAH around zero.
- Suffering is horizontal: \(K=\ln(D/A)\) appears only when the Participant clings after the reveal.
- Suffering is optional: return to \(K=0\) by letting Actual have the mic, then let ideas advise your next move.
How to Use This in Real Time
- Name the reveal: “What just happened?” (state \(A\) plainly)
- Feel the OO–AAH: notice up/down without commentary (that’s \(S\))
- Check the axis: “Am I off vertical?” (notice \(K\))
- Re-seat the idea: “Thanks for the preference; you don’t edit the past.”
- Act from here: plan with \(E\) updated by \(A\); let desire inform aspiration, not the record.
Why This Framing Helps
It preserves the aesthetic of experience—there really is a theatre-like OO–AAH—while cleanly separating the extra load we add when we argue with what happened. The Witness never suffers because it never leaves the vertical. The Participant need not suffer either; suffering is the price of staying off-axis, not a tax on caring.
Takeaway
Plot your moments on the two-axis map. If you’re centered ( \(K=0\) ), enjoy the OO–AAH. If you’re off-axis, you’ve found suffering’s handle: name the desire, let the fact land, and step back to vertical. The dance continues—clearly, and on time.