LastThursday

Like beauty, being offended is in the eye of the beholder. It also works both ways, if you want to offend others then be prepared to be offended yourself; after all maybe they're just being honest?

@flowboy you're most welcome. Thanks for the approval too! Give me more, more, more....!

@flowboy maybe a different way to look at it (yes that's my contrary nature), is not to judge your behaviours as either good or bad as such. Instead what you should aim for is to have more flexibility in how you express yourself. That means in practice having a larger range of behaviours to choose from. When you have a larger range of options, then naturally the less effective behaviours will fall away. For example: Say you've had a really good insight you want to share with others. You might perhaps go to the nearest person and do a 'brain dump' in the hope of getting approval or whatever, to validate your idea. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. But what other options do you have? Here are some ideas: Blog/podcast about your insight. Find the right people to tell your insight to - i.e. ones who will find it interesting from the outset. Let the insight stew, in the hope of further insight. Examine the insight and see whether it's worth telling - not all insights are good insights. Only give out a small part of the insight, to see how other people react. And so on... The idea here is to expand as much as possible how you react and behave in different situations. Experimentation and imagination is key. Over time, the more effective strategies will stick.

I've just read 'The Mind Is Flat'. Here's a vid for further investigation: The guy's an out and out materialist, BUT, I think he has some startling ideas that may make you think differently about mind. Anyway, tell me your thoughts. If you want the short version: you have no subconcious processing.

No. The guy is saying that the subconcious doesn't exist full stop. All you have is the concious mind, and past memories that direct the consciousness, and nothing else. All the conscious experiences you have are created on the fly.

@Aakash rambling is good

Interesting. How do I go about trusting what you say, if you yourself agree that you are deluded? How can I recognise that I'm deluded also? Where is this "past" you speak of? Does it exist? If so, what is it?

You don't have a choice. Even a hermit is part of society and so are you. You will have to expend effort just to "stay afloat" in society. Wouldn't you say it's more beneficial to use your intelligence and efforts in a direction that benefits both you and your society? Shouldn't the love you get from society also be given back to society?

I definitely follow. So my consciousness is the autopoietic structure? There are a lot of "yous" in your reply, can you help me by telling me what you mean by each different usage of the word "you" and "self" etc.?

Is being better or best one dimensional? What does being better mean to you? What does average mean anyway? Is it average height or weight or intellect or what? Or do really mean that you want to be part of the group and to feel you belong somewhere?

@Norbert Lennartz who is doing the observing? Is the light on the screen observing itself? What is the screen actually? Why is the structure preserving itself? Do we care about the structure itself or just the manifestation of the structure? Sorry, I have more questions than answers today

@now is forever if you have nothing interesting to say, then say nothing.

Some nice theories there. What about actual direct experience?

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!