Jan 17, 2022 18:30
2 yrs ago
39 viewers *
English term
that
English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
workbook on meditation
Dear colleagues,
I have a doubt about the meaning of “that” in the following sentence, taken from a workbook on meditation.
Does “that” refer only to “clarity of mind” or also to “coherence in the physiological balance of the heart”? At first, I thought it may refer only to “clarity of mind” because of the presence of “the” (the clarity of mind), but maybe it can refer to “coherence” as well... What’s your opinion?
Thank you so much for your help!
**********************************
There's a certain internal coherence that breath awareness creates, which is likely due to the repeating pattern of the inhalation and the exhalation, the in-breath and the out-breath. The anticipating of something followed by its arrival that breathing encompasses is deeply satisfying and grounding. It can give life a sense of being predictable and reliable. *** For many, focusing on the breath in this way creates coherence in the physiological balance of the heart as well as the clarity of the mind that can continue long after the practice period itself. ***
I have a doubt about the meaning of “that” in the following sentence, taken from a workbook on meditation.
Does “that” refer only to “clarity of mind” or also to “coherence in the physiological balance of the heart”? At first, I thought it may refer only to “clarity of mind” because of the presence of “the” (the clarity of mind), but maybe it can refer to “coherence” as well... What’s your opinion?
Thank you so much for your help!
**********************************
There's a certain internal coherence that breath awareness creates, which is likely due to the repeating pattern of the inhalation and the exhalation, the in-breath and the out-breath. The anticipating of something followed by its arrival that breathing encompasses is deeply satisfying and grounding. It can give life a sense of being predictable and reliable. *** For many, focusing on the breath in this way creates coherence in the physiological balance of the heart as well as the clarity of the mind that can continue long after the practice period itself. ***
Responses
| 4 +5 | probably both |
philgoddard
|
| 4 | 'coherence' |
Tony M
|
Responses
+5
16 mins
philgoddard
United States
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Related KudoZ points
:
123
Selected
probably both
You can't be sure, because the sentence is ambiguous, but it seems unlikely that one continues long after the practice period and the other doesn't.
Note from asker:
| Thank you so much, Phil, for your help! I agree with you... |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Z-Translations Translator
18 mins
|
| agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: I see nohing ambiguous about it
19 hrs
|
| agree |
Lara Barnett
20 hrs
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
20 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you so much, Phil, for your help! Many thanks also to all other colleagues!"
1 hr
'coherence'
I think it's the way you are parsing it that is confusing you.
The presence of that 'the' shows that what it creates is 'coherence' in the two things, 'physiological balance of the heart' (and) 'the clarity of the mind'
So the real answer is that it is the 'coherence' (in both those things) that can continue
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Note added at 3 hrs (2022-01-17 21:51:17 GMT)
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I don't see any conlfict between 'coherence' and the prepoisiton 'in', though it is perhaps less common to use it when not comparing 2 or more things, like "coherence in the witness statements"
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Note added at 21 hrs (2022-01-18 15:55:02 GMT)
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The very fact of the presence of this 'the' that Asker has remarked upon confirms in my mind that we are dealing here with 'coherence in the... and (in) the...' — the fact that 'in' is not repeated is by no means uncommon in modern usage; in fact, doing so often tends to connote a somewhat pedantic or dated style.
The presence of that 'the' shows that what it creates is 'coherence' in the two things, 'physiological balance of the heart' (and) 'the clarity of the mind'
So the real answer is that it is the 'coherence' (in both those things) that can continue
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2022-01-17 21:51:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I don't see any conlfict between 'coherence' and the prepoisiton 'in', though it is perhaps less common to use it when not comparing 2 or more things, like "coherence in the witness statements"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2022-01-18 15:55:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The very fact of the presence of this 'the' that Asker has remarked upon confirms in my mind that we are dealing here with 'coherence in the... and (in) the...' — the fact that 'in' is not repeated is by no means uncommon in modern usage; in fact, doing so often tends to connote a somewhat pedantic or dated style.
Note from asker:
| Hi, Tony! Thank you very much for your contribution! Actually, I initially thought it was as you said, but then I changed my mind because "coherence in the clarity of mind" seemed to me a bit strange, but maybe I am mistaken? |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
philgoddard
: I see it as "coherence in the physiological balance of the heart" on the one hand, and "clarity of the mind" on the other. But this is all waffle anyway, so who knows? :-)
5 hrs
|
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But we would then have 'creates...the clarity of the mind' — as Asker highlights, that 'the' is either the key — or simply spurious!
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Discussion
In a realtive clause construction with 'that', no comma would normally be used to introduce it — unlike the case of a clause introduced by 'which'.
So the absence of an in-any-case-not-required comma really does not give us any clue to the sense here.