LastThursday

Don't be fooled. Where is the 'line' of time? Correct. Only the marks indicate something. Reality just moves, everything is moving, it never stops.

Here's my take on it: Look at a clock on the wall and watch the second hand go round. The tip of the second hand traces a circle around the dial. That circle is time. By dividing up the circle, you can count out how much time passes. You can also record when something happens by noting down at which part of the circle the second hand is at. Or you can predict where the second hand will be in X number of seconds. Time seems to be continous and joined up, going from the past to the future, as the hand goes round and round. BUT, what does direct experience really tell you? Only two things: The second hand is only EVER in one position. The second hand ALWAYS keeps moving. (if you think about it more deeply, there's a contradiction there. How can something keep changing and yet have a definite state? Don't believe calculus. The answer is is that there is NO definite state. But how can something without a state change? The answer is, there is no change either.) So in my example, Time is a geometric (mathematical) construct. In every day thinking we use all sorts of mental constructions of time: decades years, months, weeks, seconds, last Thursday etc. They are all effectively just counting stuff. It's all virtual, inside your head. Or you might use mental imagery of someone looking younger or whatever. Most people take this as evidence of time going from the past into a future, like a straight line. But it's just a made up story. Like the characters in a novel, It doesn't exist. So the only thing left is the direct experience of time. But that can't exist either, because it's a contradiction: every time you think you've grasped the present moment it's already changed. There's absolutely nothing there. That's how you exist outside time. There is no time.

Some benefits I've noticed by staying present throughout my day: 1. Improved social interaction. 2. Better and safer driving ability. 3. Less stress and attachment to negativity 4. Greater focus on tasks 5. Better memory and recall and ability to absorb information 6. Greater enjoyment and engagement in life All pretty good in my book.

Get in a lift, go in a plane, jump up in the air - all by the power of thought. They are all amazing abilities. Do you need more? I guess we need more. Don't get me wrong, by favourite superpower would be to stop time, I think I'm nearly there...

Some of us believe there's only one frame: one image. In fact there's no reel at all.

@TheOne good work. Are you ready to live your life outside of time? Do you think you can?

@TheOne transformation happens inside time, creation from nothing is outside of time. What do you think of that?

@TheOne I see. Do you think time exists?

@TheOne sorry to be difficult. What specifically do you mean by nothing and something? I'm just trying to understand.

@TheOne but we do create. We use our hands and bodies and speech to create and heal. What sort of creation are you thinking about?

Intuition is like GPS. It's always there broadcasting its signal, but unless you have the device switched on it's not going to work. To switch on the device, you must switch off the analytical mind. That means you can't distinguish intuition from anything else, because to 'distinguish it' you must use your analytical mind. I hope you see the problem? So the answer to improving your intuition, is to learn to stop analysing, and instead trust what arises instead. This is easier said than done, but regular meditation helps. Or engage in activities that don't require too much thought. Also, like friendships, you can't 'force' intuition. It happens of it's own accord, in it's own time, in it's own way. But to be able to act on it when it happens, you must be 'tuned in'. The sensation could be something like, 'this feels like the right thing to do', or it could be a thought like 'that's ridiculous but I need to do it', or 'wow that's scary, but I'm doing it anyway'. It's often the first sensation you have when making a big decision or entering a new situation. What is intuition? IMHO it is infinite intelligence working through You. But that's a bit out there.

For the sake of two weeks you should go and find the following place: 1. Somewhere quiet. 2. Somewhere free of distractions. 3. Somewhere nobody can find you. And you should have a daily routine. Find the time of day when you're most alert and do the study/work then. Take regular short breaks during the study/work period. DON'T drink alcohol at all during the two weeks. DO get plenty of sleep. DON'T study if you feel tired, it's pointless. Party hard AFTER your finals. In a word: DISCIPLINE. Good luck!

It's an odd question. Nearly everyone at my age (46) has a partner, family etc. I don't. So it has pros and cons which I can answer in my naive way: So, being with a partner: Pros: They get financial/emotional/sexual/love support or needs met on tap Any deficiencies in one partner (say cooking) can be met by the other partner There is a pride and joy attached to having children They have bigger houses and more luxurious lives They have a closer knit community of friends and family Cons: They are constantly tired They need to work consistently and forever to support themselves, it's very hard to deviate from this No spontaneity, everything must be planned and debated and corroborated with the opposite partner They are on an endless merry-go-round of visiting family, friends, dinner parties, kids birthdays and kids activities etc. No time for introspection or inner work or growth All excitement is bound up in the future. Having a holiday once a year is seen as 'excitement'. So being without a partner: Pros: Life style minimalism - everything can be slimmed down an optimised to reduce 'clutter' and not having to be commited to 'mindless' activities Lots of time for deep introspection and inner work and growth Spontaneity - living life in the moment and going with the flow Plenty of sleep and being alert Being a more 'rounded' and self sufficient person. Everything in your life has to be done by you, with no excuses or using other people as a crutch. Easy to say 'yes' and 'no' to things that come your way. Not having to cater to someone else's deficiencies or neediness Cons: Increased financial stress - everything is out of your own pocket. Not having certain sexual or intimate needs satisfied when you need them. Greater prevalence of boredom or filling time with 'mindless' activites (yes the irony) A constant stream of friends feeling sorry for you for not having a partner and trying to set you up with one (I pity them) No one to fallback on or discuss ideas and aspirations with or chew the cud. No one to motivate you when you need a good kick up the backside PHEW! That feels better. But somehow worse...hmmm

Why?

Need... water... so.... bored... so... uninterested... please... GOD... show... me... the... oasis... in... this.... god.... forsaken.... desert. PLEASE.

Yeah. Losing interest definitely. It's an interesting phenomenon. There's an underlying urge saying that you should be interested in something and then you try and rationalise it by saying you're depressed or above it all spiritually or whatever other BS. I'd say that facing it head on and simply acknowledging the reality that everything is uninteresting is the first step. Don't dress it up. The next step is to ask yourself: does it really matter? Does it? Well does it? Really? Why does it? Could you go on the rest of your life being uninterested? If so, then stop there and move on. Otherwise, you have a problem, aka suffering. The only solution to the problem is either to learn to stop caring about it, or to actively seek new things to be interested in. Seeking is a bit hit and miss by definition and requires effort and no small amount of faith that you'll find new and interesting things to get excited about. But the world is huge, really huge, really really huge. And it's all there to be explored! Get out of your comfort zone and go find something interesting. And I'll try and take my own medicine...

@mandyjw what sort of grandmother will you like to be?

@mandyjw there's poetry and love deep in that wilderness. What is it to be found, to be ordinary, to have a home?

It's not the fapping. It's what you're fapping to. If you're going to fap, do it conciously and not out of habit or addiction or to support a low consciousness industry.

I hope you're still on the path and haven't just given up at your 'destination'? And who cares what the path is called anyway? The path you took till now no longer exists. If you had an eternity then there would be much piss and wind to waste. If your time is limited then hold your bladder and fill your life with serious things until you either expire or you can take the pressure no longer.

@Identity if you really want to grow, then you have to be a fearless explorer and you have to keep on learning and observing. Explore loneliness, explore a committed relationship, explore your urges. They are not incompatible. At 23, time is your friend. You have time to do it all. Do it with an open mind and don't get lost for too long in one thing or another.

Illuminati? Hmmm. A complex web of humans interacting mostly in their self interest? More like it.

I'll give you my simple and pragmatic view, other members may give you different views. We are all racing towards a fixed point in life: death. Once death occurs everything you did in life and how you did it becomes irrelevant. So, in a sense how you chose to live life is arbitrary and meaningless. In fact, you don't need to die for this to be true: it's not possible to dip back into the past and change things; what was done, was done. The 'old' you already died and became the 'new' you. Equally for future events and goals. They haven't happened yet, and may not even happen. So what does that leave? It just leaves you living forever in the present moment, unable to re-experience the past, unable to experience the future until it happens. So whether you choose to live A, B or C, you can't escape this fact. You are forced to live life trusting the present moment, but at least with C you are less deluded about this. C has less baggage.

@Liger we are always in a position of ignorance, however much is revealed to us. Happiness comes from realising how ignorant we are and accepting it, not from hoping to be more ignorant than others.

All your actions have direct and indirect consequences for you. They can either cause joy or suffering. As your consciousnesses rises and expands, you become more aware of those consequences. Why cause yourself and others unnecessary suffering? Even someone else's suffering, is suffering for you.