LastThursday

@mandyjw Nice video. Sitting by the loom of the present moment, god weaves the story of its creation. Would you say that Enlightenment is a new story, or just the shedding of old stories? Or is Enlightenment itself just a story, in hindsight?

There is an assumption that consciousness is somehow produced by the body, because normal 'baseline' consciousness seems to be dragged around by the body. No matter how we try, we just can't shake off this pesky body of ours. And even when we shed the body in night dreams, it still somehow manages to sneak back when we wake up. We are very confused. But consider: is the physical body trapped in consciousness? Or even better: is the whole universe trapped in consciousness? In this case to say that consciousness is 'produced' by anything starts to become absurd. And to speculate that there might be 'gaps' in consciousness also absurd; mostly because the gaps themselves would have to be contained 'within' consciousness (which indeed they are).

Isn't the root problem that you think you should be 'doing' something? Aren't you 'doing' plenty already? Or is the problem more about mastery? You wish to be a master at everything you 'do'? My advice is that mastery does not have a timetable and there's no end goal. You will need a lot of patience and practice on the long journey. And naturally you can master more than one thing at a time. For example I've been programming for over 35 years, have I mastered it? Yes and no, there's plenty still to go. I've also practised playing piano for a similar length of time, and I'm nowhere near mastery, but I'm good, yet plenty still to learn. Take it easy on yourself, don't make a decision now, just carry on doing what you love.

I think to know what a camera is taking pictures of, you need to understand deeply why there are cameras in the first place. The idea that springs to mind is that a camera turns impermanence into some sort of permanence. In other words it's a trick to allow us to keep re-experiencing a thing over an extended period of time. It's the embodiment of a tug of war between the ever-shapeshifting forms in the world, and the source of our completely unchanging stillness. How could the forms of the world ever create permanence? No, the permanence comes from elsewhere. So looking at a photograph is to look into the stillness of the void - not into a reality that it supposedly captured. The reality is inks on a paper or pixels on a screen.

@seeking_brilliance I like what you say, but I'm being perhaps differently radical than you. I'm saying that you have an experience of a yesterday having happened, but in fact it didn't happen at all. I'm using "yesterday" figuratively. You came into existence just now.

My personal favourite: yesterday never happened.

Notice that when you're thinking in words (subvocalising) , you have a small amount of tension in your jaw, tongue and throat. Relax the jaw, tongue and throat and it will be harder to subvocalize. When you're walking in the street, pay attention to your peripheral vision. For example, look straight ahead as you walk, but pay attention to any trees or cars or people that go by you (don't look directly at them). If you try this frequently, you'll notice that your vision expands - and it will put you into a light trance. Relax any tension in your body any time you notice it (shoulders, chest, face and so on). These techniques are designed to reduce self talk and enable you to be more mindful.

What is this "book" thing you speak of? @Schahin this is a very interesting question you raise. I think some people may think that the idea of seeing a black cat as having a particular meaning is ridiculous. You can lead life perfectly well without putting meaning into black cats. It's just a cat, and it's black. But I wouldn't dismiss it entirely. The world is awash with symbolism. From advertising to news, language, rational thought, science, mathematics and so on. Human beings are defined by the symbols they use and meanings they attach to them, they will even die for them. To recognise or be aware of anything at all in the world, it needs to be turned into a symbolic representation by you. The representation is then slotted into a web of interlinked symbols, which allows you to attach "meaning" and "context" to the symbol. A symbol is ALWAYS a simplification and generalisation of part of reality. This is why symbolic thinking (e.g. science), can never equate to reality. It is possible to experience reality in a non-symbolic way (i.e. non-duality), but realisation of that is difficult to say the least. I do think that there are subtle undertones to the way symbols pop-up in day to day life. People talk about synchronicities and Law of Attraction (forced synchronicity). After all, what exactly is generating all the symbols in the first place? The answer is: the same thing that is generating reality.

Discovery and exploration, for the sake of it, nothing else. If I become an enlightened god living in a dream in the process, then that's just a bonus.

@SerpaeTetra expand into all corners of yourself, even the dark ones, it's the only way to be light and at one with yourself. And... don't judge me.

I feel like this about 9 to 5 in the office. I know which hell I'd prefer. A giant stupid society or a giant stupid mind?

@xthebentnecklady you are quite right - you're definitely perceiving something. But perception can't be reality (see optical illusions). It's just a matter of viewpoint. Maybe light is falling onto your retinas from distant stars. Maybe you're staring into the mind of God. Maybe you're God staring at itself. The thing is, either reality is solid and unbreakable, or it's pure imagination. It's a binary choice, there's no middle ground. It can't be mostly solid, but a little bit imagination. Once you start having any doubt whatsoever, there's only one conclusion: it's all pure imagination. Next time you are away from your parents (maybe now), think about what they're doing right now. Is that really what they're doing? Or is it your imagination? Don't they just become a figment of your imagination when they're not there?

Until you've actually slapped Leo in the face, its not real. Maybe Leo's computer generated, who knows? 99% of what you call 'reality' is in your mind - it's all ideas, concepts, potentialities, inferences, what ifs, circular reasoning, rationalisation, extrapolation, guesswork, mind reading, speculation, filling the blanks and so on. Just look at some optical illusions. Change blindness is a good one. The real question is how do you know the difference between 'reality' and your 'mind'? Where does one begin and the other end?

Try not to think sequentially. If you prefer, you are living/have lived/will live all lives (and things) right now. Your death (and new lives) is just the other side of now, in no time at all it will happen.

@Eonwe5 that's sounds really stressful and unpleasant. I think awareness and time are going to help you. Notice how you only feel the stress response when you have thoughts about your ex-flatmates. Before you have the thought, there's no stress. You won't be able to stop having thoughts about your past situation, but you can consciously choose how to respond to them. Try some of the following things: Tell yourself: "It's over. This situation is no longer happening to me. It's passed. I no longer have to worry about it." Try taking some slow deep breaths, until the stress subsides a bit. Try not to think any more about it, don't ruminate. Find an activity or task that requires your full attention. Distraction is good sometimes. Do physical exercise, as when you're stressed, your body is naturally ready for fight or flight. Personally, I would advise against "introspection" and "what-ifs" and running scenarios in your mind, or "talking it through" - all this will just trigger you further and not allow you to disconnect from the stressful thoughts. In time, your mind-body will realise the threat is over and will adjust accordingly. If you can get your mail redirected so you don't have to come into contact with your ex-flatmates then do it.

What is a value? It appears to be a verby-noun describing some generalised activity which you think you cherish in some way. So for example: Love: The idea of giving love to others or receiving it. Truth: The idea of finding things which are true in the world, or always telling the truth. Courage: The idea of not showing weakness in dangerous or uncertain situations. So they are in fact very broad and devoid of content. Empty vessels if you like, that you can fill with any situation you like (where's the romance eh?). Notice that 'low integrity', 'laziness' and 'lying' are also just values - that are maybe higher in priority than you want them to be. The danger is in confusing the act with the value. Any action doesn't really have any inherent meaning in itself, instead you cast your net of 'values' over it and interpret yourself through this net. You then give yourself a pat on the back when your situation strongly aligns with a particular value (e.g. you have interpreted a situation as being Courageous). When you get the stimulus of having met one of your values, you naturally want to find yourself in more situations that trigger that in future - you seek them out or manufacture situations to suit the value. Principles are just the application of your values - casting the net. In the end it's really about building a compelling character in a story of yourself that makes you feel positive and so, motivated to act.

If you answer every question in some of the following ways, then I think you're on your way: 1. It depends... 2. Maybe yes, maybe no, because... 3. But what about this thing, and that thing, and this other thing....? 4. Yes yes, there is a God, but... 5. If you change that thing, then that will affect that thing, which affects that... 6. There's not too many people in the world: it's a question of resource management, education, raising people out of poverty, raising humanity's consciousness... 7. How could I ever be racist? I'm related to every human being on this earth. 8. The world is an intricately connected whole, like a living organism, mess around with one part and you affect everything else. 9. Maybe it is a giant living organism....? 10. It's counterintuitive, but look at it this way... 11. I think it's like this, it seems like a useful model, but I am happy to be proven wrong. 12. All my models are useful to me, but it's not reality itself. 13. What do I mean by 'reality itself'? Hmm... And on and on.

@Joseph Maynor that's right. Paradoxically being future oriented and chasing potential can also be a distraction in itself. Distraction from what? Being: savouring the perfection of the present moment.

Distraction itself serves a purpose - maybe it stops the suffering of facing reality (yourself) head on. Maybe distration is also more 'playful' and less serious than reality. And so on. It has survival value. I guess the distraction is only a problem because the clock is always ticking away the seconds towards your death. And, you could be facing reality head on instead and removing the suffering altogether.

@Surfingthewave ha! Groundhog Day for me, without the comedy or explosions. I'm praying for Inception tomorrow. Still, if you're going to start trying on a different ego every day, then that's a step in the right direction.

But that is a still a problem of mind reading and its sister ability: empathy. The failure is that in being truly honest you are not necessarily empathising with the recipient. If the honesty doesn't fit with the mindset of the recipient, then this can cause misunderstanding and friction. This is why it's so difficult to be your authentic self rather than a people pleaser. But if you really are interested in helping others, then you have to take the middle ground and put some sugar in your medicine. Even better, only give the medicine to those that want it.

Apologies if my own mind reading about you was wrong, hopefully I wasn't being insensitive. Let's say that mind reading is not a superpower, but just observation, and mental role playing. Just a useful skill you could improve over time and master? You have to admit at least that your mind reading could be wrong sometimes, and that could upset people?

Mind reading would be a superpower - which you don't have.

@Surfingthewave what's your favourite film and who's your favourite actor? You go to the cinema and eat popcorn and drink Coke and for a couple of hours let go of disbelief and immerse yourself in the experience. For those few hours, you forget who you are and become part of the action and the drama. Why do you find it so easy to do this? Why are you so flimsy? Why are you so easily fooled? Aren't you just immersed in the movie of your life, acting out your favourite part: yourself? What are you when you stop acting?

That is exactly how you should approach all belief. Every belief should be counterbalanced with disbelief. The mind should be nimble and flexible. And it isn't the unsconscious, it's God. And that is something coming from an atheist. Maybe ex-atheist. Hmmm not sure, still working it out...