r0ckyreed

Thread dedicated to doing the work. What is Insight? - Homework from video Over the next 30 days specifically, contemplate the following questions from the worksheet. Insight Worksheet: My Initial Contemplation Pre-30 days What is insight? - Insight means in-sight, which means to be in my sight or awareness. It is becoming aware of something, resulting in a greater understanding. What generates insight? - The mind/consciousness. Insight is about awareness and understanding of something. The Universe is becoming aware of itself. How did the Universe get the idea to create a human or a dog or a tree? How did the Universe come up with the laws of physics? Nothing external can generate insight without the mind able to grasp it. For instance, a donkey seeing itself in the mirror but does not have the insight that what it sees is itself. How did I get the insight that the human body I see in the mirror is me? It is not so obvious. It takes a level of consciousness to reach a certain level of insight. Why is insight different from belief or knowledge? Belief is about my personal thoughts, opinions, and convictions for how the world works. Knowledge is having facts and information about the world that are backed up by evidence and logic. Insight, however, is beyond belief and evidence. It is an implicit level of understanding. Knowledge can be viewed as an explicit form of understanding. The Earth is round is an explicit understanding. The insight that there is no wall in the universe and that space is infinite is an implicit understanding. There is no way that I can prove my insight that reality is infinite, but yet, that is how it is. Insight is a direct consciousness of something that is typically more intuitive and beyond conscious reasoning. What are the biggest insights Ive had in my life? 1. Morality does not exist 2. No-self 3. Eternity or timelessness 4. Heaven 5. Happiness - What happiness really is. 6. Why I used to stutter 7. An insight into how to improve my vision and visual acuity rating. 8. Self-deception - realizing all the tricks I use to deceive myself 9. God - Realizing that God exists, atheism is wrong, and that I am God 10. Realizing that human beings don't know anything but pretend that they know. 11. Realizing that mainstream science is a hallucination and no different from shamanism and Greek Mythology 12. Realizing that I was wrong about free will being an illusion. 13. Realizing that I was wrong about materialism/physicalism/atheism - it is important to note that the greatest insights are the ones where I realize how wrong I was. 14. Realizing early in life that arguing with others is pointless. 15. Realizing that being a music major was not what I wanted to pursue. 16. Gaining more clarity into what I wanted in my life. 17. Realizing that Solipsism is true and there is nothing but my consciousness 18. Realizing that first-person experience is all there is, and that the external world is a hallucination. The external world will never be anything but an idea, concept, and hallucination in my mind. 19. Uncovering my top 10 values. 20. Realizing the importance of reading and committing to it. 21. Realizing the importance of waking up before the sunrise. 22. Realizing that I am 100% responsible for all my happiness and suffering in my life. I create my own Heaven or Hell. 23. Realizing that alcohol/drunkenness is stupid. Why does everyone wanna get drunk if it decreases your intelligence? How have insights Ive had shaped my life? I have become so much more intelligent and wiser in my life. I have made really great life choices. I notice I am happier and in control of my life than others I encounter. I am immensely more creative and love my mind. I am better able to help others. How have insights has had shaped civilization? Insights have shaped civilization for better and for worse. The invention of social media, cars, nuclear bombs, electricity, texting, and iPhone was derived from an insight. This insight has both helped people and killed people. Insights themselves are neutral, neither good nor bad. How they are used determines the quality unless it is an existential insight. What are the greatest insights mankind has had? The greatest insights of mankind is philosophy, the creation of science, justice system, government, computers, video games, writing, reading, language, meditation, the teachings of Buddha, Christ, and many other great thinkers, art (music), movies, realizing non-duality. Can the capacity for insight be developed? If so, how? Insight can be developed through literally any environment, but it takes consciousness to penetrate to the insight. You can gain an insight into meaning in a prison environment like Viktor Frankl, you can gain an insight sitting under a Bodhi tree, and so on. For me, insights come most easily to me when I am not actively searching for them, but come out of the blue. This out of the blue insight comes after I have been engaging in a topic for a while, but then I give it a rest and put it off. Maybe I am not alone in this, but a great example is after engaging in a conversation with someone, you will go home realizing that you could have said X or Y. Insights also happen when I am relating to other people. I actually have gained many of my insights by relating and listening to other people, as well as thinking it through on my own. As an atheist, I did not know about pantheism until a friend of mine told me about it. This made me question the conception of God that I had and was arguing against. As an atheist, there is a conception of God that one has without really knowing it. Others can point things out to me that I do not always see in myself. But what is really powerful is being able to derive insights on my own. That is the real superpower. It is easy to derive insights when engaging with others. It is harder to derive them on my own, but deriving an original insight into life is so much more rewarding than gaining an insight into what the Buddha discovered, which to be honest, many of the insights I have are not original and come from other people. But just because an insight I have is not original does not make it any less insightful. It takes insight to understand the insights of another. What would happen if I seriously developed my capacity for insight? I would become limitless. I could create anything I wanted to. How much is the capacity for insight worth to me? The uninsightful life is not worth living. How is insight related to understanding? Insight is understanding. Insight is gaining a deeper understanding into life. It typically is sudden. But insights can also be gained through introspection and reflection of the past. What kinds of insights exist? Practice, spiritual, psychological, political, business, marketing. The kinds of insights I could have are infinite. Where do insights come from? The same place where thoughts come from. They come from The Field of Experience. What tools exist to help me generate insights? Contemplation, journaling, reading/research, conversing with others, solitude. Is there such a thing as a false insight? If so, how is it distinguished from a true insight? I have thought about this for a bit. My conclusion is that there cannot be a false insight. Insight is connected to truth. If your insight turns out to be false, then it wasn't really an insight to begin with. It was just self-deception. Insight by its own definition is an awareness of something that is free of self-deception. If the insight is really self-deception then it wasn't really insightful but foolish. However, I do want to acknowledge this point that I thought of. What if an insight is true at one point in time, but false at a later time? For instance, I could have an insight that daylight savings will be very useful for the world! Turns out that this was true back in Ben Franklins time, but it turns out that daylight savings is useless now. But is daylight savings not still insightful even though it may not be of use now? I think insight can also be relative and absolute. So in the relative sense, an insight can be false, but in the absolute sense, it cannot. Relative truth is always changing depending on history, culture, and many other factors. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. He had an insight into that invention, but it turned out that the cotton gin went against his intentions. Was that an insight or foolishness? See, it is harder to tell. So here is the short answer: False insight is relative insight. But there cannot be a false absolute insight. For instance, the present moment is all that exists. Anything imagined outside of the Now is an idea in the Now. This insight into the eternality of the Now cannot be false. But it is hard to tell what insights are relative or absolute. I mean how do I tell? Is the realization of Solipsism an absolute insight or relative? Well, relative to my first-person experience, I can only be sure that I exist. But can I know absolutely that my experience is all there is? I am not sure. Can I fool myself with an insight? Yes. I can misunderstand the insight I am having. I can have an insight but then misunderstand it after I trying to filter it through my ego-mind. I can have an insight that Solipsism is true, but then I can then use that to act like a Devil. What is the relationship between insight and states of consciousness? My level of insight is related to my state of consciousness. If I am struggling with basic survival, my insights will be stuck at that level. But if I get my needs met, then my consciousness can raise to things beyond basic survival. What is the relationship between insight and thinking? Can there be insight without thinking? There can be insight without thinking, but making sense of it requires thinking. Thinking and insight also originate from the same space. Thinking can produce insight but not always. An example of insight without thinking is being rude to someone and then getting slapped in the face. How is insight related to mental construction? Reality is a mental construction. I prefer to use that term than "reality is imagination." Insights are going to be relative to the mental constructions I have created. To have an insight into morality does not exist requires that I first have constructed morality. The same with the sense of self and the same with limiting beliefs. There is no insight without mental construction. Awakening is an insight into how I am mentally constructing everything. What is the relationship between insight and wisdom? The more insightful one is, the more wise they are. Wisdom and insight are both aspects of higher intelligence. Insight is holistic by its nature. What is the relationship between insight and truth? Depending on the type of insight, insight will be related to Truth. You can have an insight into how to become a con artist and scam people. That is what Andrew Tate did. Tate had an insight for how to make a lot of money. But does that insight relate to truth in anyway? No. It doesn't. Practical insights are relative insights and are half-truths at best. Existential insights are my connection with absolute truth. Awakening is an insight into Truth. So insight for the most part is related to truth but not all insights are. When do I have the most insights? Where am I and what am I doing? I am writing, reading, contemplating, or hiking out in nature. Complete Insight Worksheet Post-30 Days and then compare and contrast my understanding. Share your own results to this homework! Then, repost in the next 30 days after contemplation.

I am skeptical about the study Leo mentioned that claimed that 20% of people do not have insights. I mean that is crazy. That would mean that they do not get any new ideas into their own minds. An insight can be simple as realizing that nobody knows anything for certain or that there could be a more simpler way of doing something. If a person cannot have insights, how can they still be alive? A simple insight could be to uncover what one really wants out of life. That can be very insightful. I don't buy it.

Why copy others when you can do your homework?

But how do you know that this “objective” measure is valid? How is it any different than self-contemplation? That is the issue with these self-report measures is that it assumes you already have a high degree of self-honesty and introspection abilities.

I invented an exercise today which I call the Top 100 Self-Deceptions Exercise. I will share you my list, after I explain the exercise. The Exercise: Write down your top 100 self-deceptions from scratch. Think of all the ways in which you fool yourself. Force your brain to come up with at least 100. Here is my list: Top 100 Self-Deceptions 1. Comparison 2. thinking I know more than I actually do 3. thinking things apply to others but not to me (i.e., aging, sickness, rules, death, etc.) 4. All beliefs, assumptions, and biases 5. Selfishness 6. Closedmindedness 7. emotions – anger, depression, fear, envy, etc. 8. my own mind 9. entertainment, leisure, and fun 10. giving authority to others 11. arguing and trying to persuade, convert, and convince others 12. addictions 13. distractions 14. believing I have discovered or answered something 15. peer pressure, conformity, demonization, and groupthink 16. pleasure and pain – what typically feels good is typically unhealthy (i.e., junk food tasting good and videogames being fun). 17. Laziness, resistance, and procrastination 18. Subscribing to or defending any worldview 19. Outsourcing self-inquiry, contemplation, and critical thinking 20. Following a teacher/guru or teaching 21. Needing others, love, approval, and socialization 22. Making up excuses or justifications for anything 23. Blaming or judging others or self 24. Keeping myself busy 25. Neglecting myself and my own personal growth 26. Engaging in petty activities (i.e., gossip, critiquing, debunking, videogames, etc.) 27. Watching television or playing any kind of game 28. Reading too many books as a way to neglect and distract myself from contemplation and introspection 29. Only caring and prioritizing when it is too late (i.e., caring about health only when you get the diagnosis). 30. Pursuing pleasure, success, and comfort 31. Avoiding the emotional work 32. Believing in moderation 33. Self-doubt and imposter syndrome 34. Over-confidence & delusions of grandeur 35. Ownership 36. Expertise or credibility 37. Politics 38. Science 39. Academia and education systems 40. Media/news 41. Religion 42. Plagiarism 43. Conspiracy theories 44. Crime 45. Judicial system 46. Royalty/status 47. Social media 48. Hatred, racism, sexism, bigotry, etc. 49. Healthcare industries 50. Insurance 51. War and military 52. The belief that I am invincible in my youth 53. Internet 54. Entitlement 55. Parroting others and failing to be original 56. Spiritual bypassing 57. Spiritual superiority 58. Lying, manipulating, and controlling others 59. Thinking I have a later or tomorrow 60. Time 61. Ruminating the past 62. Getting lost in thought 63. Denial of death – not being aware of mortality 64. Denial of anything 65. Being too afraid to question something 66. Dishonesty of any kind 67. Confusing familiarity with knowledge 68. “doing it for others.” 69. Gossiping 70. Being too selfless and using that as an excuse to not be responsible 71. Preaching 72. Attachment to opinions, ideas, people, teachings, teachers, and things 73. Materialism 74. Believing in duality, separation, or ego 75. Assuming that other people are conscious 76. Family, friends, enemies, and other people 77. Using truth as a weapon to justify being selfish 78. “ignorance is bliss.” 79. Dreams 80. Backsliding 81. Overestimation and underestimation 82. Dismissing any idea 83. Being too skeptical or too logical 84. Being too gullible or too emotional 85. Thinking that something is superior or inferior 86. Thinking objectivism is true 87. Thinking 88. Taking the easy path – the path of least resistance 89. Assuming that thinking is dangerous 90. Assuming there is only one right way 91. Admiration to the extreme 92. Narcissism and mental illness 93. The idea to live off the grid 94. Hating anything 95. Not actively seeking challenges and trying new things 96. “not having enough time.” 97. Making the same mistake 98. Assuming that philosophy is a waste of time 99. Generalization 100. Caring too much about thing that aren’t real of don’t matter such as money 101. Sex/attraction 102. Loneliness 103. Being a loner 104. Sharing an awakening with others Feel free to share your own lists. There is so much more. I haven't even scratched the surface!

I am merely posting this to reach my ideas out there and to document my own thought processes and personal growth. I have been contemplating self-deception and the matrix a lot this week. I find it easier to spot self-deceptions when writing them down in my own contemplations and when sharing ideas with others. I have an exercise here, and I would like you all to do the exercise with me. I was wondering how does one fall in love with their own intelligence and mind? Intro From contemplating the matrix, I realized that all problems in life are a matter of degree of one's own awareness of their own self-deceptions. A person with more self-deceptions will have more suffering than one who is aware and faces them. To live peacefully is to live truthfully, which is another way of saying that peace of mind = becoming aware and facing one's own self-deceptions. The Devil cannot live in Heaven, and there is a great reason for that. The purpose of self-deception is to create and maintain my sense of self/ego. The whole topic of self-deception has made me wonder if it is possible to fall in love with my own mind and intelligence because typically self-deception is an ego defense mechanism from looking within the truth of how the mind operates and functions. The core topic of this post is to try to understand how to cultivate a mind in such a way where it is more interesting than a video game. Here are my top 10 ideas for how to do that. But before I share you my list, I will first share the exercise with you that I created. Exercise: Contemplate the following question(s) and come up with at least 10 items. "How do I cultivate my mind in such a way where it is more interesting than a video game?" "How can I fall in love with my own mind?" My List: "How do I fall in love with my own mind and cultivate my mind in such a way where it is more interesting than playing a video game?" 1. Develop my imagination - learn how to see things vividly and clearly in my mind. 2. Start thinking more humorously - Ex. Be able to see the absurdity and humor in being remotely interested in anything but my own mind. 3. Think more existentially. - Personal concerns will take up a lot of space in my mind. Practice thinking existentially for as long as I can. Connect the personal with the existential. 4. Think more curiously - Notice how familiarity masks the mystery 5. Meditating and being able to have a still mind at my own will 6. Noticing when I am mindlessly thinking or dissociating and bringing it back to the other steps on the list. Sometimes thinking too personally can kill all thinking or motivation to think. Sometimes I avoid thinking because of anxious, paranoid thinking. There is a reason why I dissociate and have moments where I don't think about anything. 7. Think positively - Self-encouragement and happy thoughts reinforces my ability to love my own intellect but so does the acceptance of my shadow thoughts. 8. Develop memory through the use of repetition, meaning-making, and strange associations. - Create my own mind palaces as a more entertaining way to learn and hold knowledge as opposed to just brute memorization. Silencing the mind silences developing memory associations. There is a reason why we ruminate and think constantly. Memory and ego are linked. 9. Think creatively/intuitively - Notice the creativity and lack of creativity in others. Work towards developing my own unique original ideas. No amount of listening to others will give me original ideas nor allow me to fall in love with my own mind. 10. Imaginary dialogues - Have imaginary dialogues with my role models and my shadow. Use these dialogues to substitute stinking thinking and other ways that I think negatively or anxiously about a situation. What do you all think would help you to fall in love with your own intelligence the most? Share your answers! I am curious!

I have that same problem/deception. I will add that to my list. All problems in life are problems of self-deception. The Matrix/Devil creates problems. It is so liberating to realize that reality is perfect, and there are no problems, only the Matrix. I’m gonna contemplate the Matrix more. Theres another self-deception - thinking that I am ever done or fully enlightened. As soon as I contemplate something, I think I am done. False. And another is thinking that my favorite intellectuals or gurus are enlightened. To even think that is a self-deception.

To dream and be convinced it is real is to deceive yourself. But you bring up an interesting point in that it is strange loopy and paradoxical because on the one hand, dreams put us in another state/reality/simulation that we believe is real and we are put in situations of our unconscious mind. But it is upon waking up that we realize it was a self-deception and then if we remember our dreams, we connect with our unconscious shadow mind. Dreaming is still a self-deception like TV and video games even if they are still practical and have lessons in them. Life is a gigantic self-deception.

Contemplate. Get out a journal and just sit alone in room or in nature and just think about a topic for 30 minutes straight. To produce that list took me about 30 minutes and I kind of entered an intuitive, channeling state from the question(s): “What is the matrix really? Self-deception. What is self-deception? What are 100 ways in which I deceive myself?”

@Sincerity @Lila9 Nice lists! @Sincerity I liked how specific and clear you were with your list. That is a big one. We all wanna feel like we are being altruistic, but deep down, we do it because of a gain we hope to get, so it isn't true altruism. I would say that that isn't really a self-deception generally, unless the way you are contemplating isn't actually raising your consciousness. Contemplation done right is the opposite of being lost in thought. Contemplation done correctly raises your awareness. That is what this list and exercise is - a contemplation.

That’s a good one. Language comes down to thinking to me. I wonder if raw sensory data can also be self-deceptive? The Devil is in the details.

Yup lol! That’s my main one. Making excuses and distracting myself from the work, which is what I’m doing now lol. But this is my best escape/distraction.

Yup! I’m trying to figure out what the matrix really is. I’m trying to break/escape the real matrix! Or am I? ?

Consciousness. That is what an ego and self is after all. Just a big self-deception or magic trick. Great list! Great start so far!

The Force/Truth doesn’t hate. It just is. Reality is absolutely neutral and doesn’t care. The whole human race can die and Truth won’t bat an eye. There is no such thing as God’s Judgment because to judge is to be in the illusion of ego, selfishness, and duality. The True nature of reality is completely unbiased.

Decide to become a leader and become original. God is your guru.

There is an interesting paradox around satisfaction that can be hard to unravel. On the one hand, satisfaction as in being content with the present moment as it is, is absolutely essential. But too much satisfaction can be dangerous in that you can easily become complacent with your life as it is such that there is no growth. I mean if you are completely satisfied with your life and development as it is right now, then it will be very hard for you to grow. We all type words just about everyday, but some people have hit a plateau. In the book Mastery, this stage I am referring to is called the hacker stage. The hacker stage is where you are satisfied with where you are and have no desire to improve. I have received some hacker stage vibes from mainstream Buddhist/Taoist spirituality. I don't think I am alone. The Buddha by nature tells you to not be attached and stop fearing and desiring things and you won't suffer. But what followers of this philosophy may not understand is that sukkha and dukkha go full circle. The sukkha to its extreme becomes dukkha and dukkha to its extreme can become sukkha. Sukkha = satisfaction and dukkha = dissatisfaction. Growth requires getting outside of comfort zone. Growth requires going against complacency. We have emotions for a reason. The downsides of certain happiness philosophies such as Buddhism, Jediism, Taoism, etc. is that they are filled with toxic positivity. This means that these philosophies tend to look down upon negative emotions and only strive to have peaceful emotions. As a result, emotions like fear, desire, and anger can become suppressed and bypassed. The point is to use the strengths from fear, desire, satisfaction/unsatisfaction, anger, etc. to fuel your growth. If you are satisfied with your health right now, how will you improve your health? The reason why my typing (words per minute) has been the same since high school is because I am satisfied with where you are and have no desire to improve. Many people fail to reach their fullest potentials in life because of this satisfactory complacency. However, the paradox I am presenting here is to about striking a balance between having an overall satisfaction of reality, the present moment, and consciousness (i.e., falling in love with life), and to be dissatisfied with laziness, mediocrity, complacency, etc. Now, there is nothing wrong with laziness, mediocrity, or complacency absolutely. It all depends on what you want. If you are like me, you value growth and living up to your fullest potential. We all start at level 1. What is the highest level you want to reach? My answer (because of my own true nature) is infinity. I want to continue to grow at reading, writing, contemplating, meditating, health, business, etc. until I die. I don't want to have an end point. People often complain of Jason Capital, Andrew Tate, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett and other millionaires for continuing to grow their business and making money. They are like "dude, just retire, and stop chasing money!" But what you fail to understand if you argue that point is that they are aware of the satisfaction zone and nobody with a strong life purpose will give it up so easily nor trade it for comfort. The idea of retirement is like a form of death and people like Warren Buffett and others may be exactly afraid of that and that is totally reasonable. Your life purpose is central to your life and it is something that you continue to refine and improve across your entire life. There is no finish line. Life purpose isn't just about your career, it is your lifestyle and grounding purpose. It all starts with an overall satisfaction with life, and a desire to be disciplined. The paradox can be resolved by if you love yourself completely and are completely satisfied with life as it is, then you will want nothing more than to continue to grow and improve because your infinite nature knows that you are not confined to one level in life. Confining yourself to one level in life will put you in conflict with your infinite nature. What do you think about this paradox? How do you come to terms with it? In what areas are you so satisfied that you are satisfied with plateauing? For me this is my typing speed, math skills, piano playing, walking, driving, etc. How can you improve if you are satisfied with plateauing? Of course we spend most of our lives on the plateau, so it is essential to be satisfied with where we are to a point, but it comes to be a danger when satisfaction limits your growth. Even though it is a movie, Rocky Balboa got to where he was because of his immense desire to improve and his extreme dissatisfaction with his mediocre lifestyle. It was only in Rocky III that we see the costs of being satisfied -- you can lose your edge and stunt your growth. For more on the topic, I made a post in the past called "If you are satisfied, then you are doing it wrong."

Wow! So glad that was helpful for you! Yes, we need to challenge ourselves if we are going to grow. That is one of the main reasons we get stuck in life. Our minds don’t like challenges and would rather do what is known and comfortable. This applies to anything whether it is your chess tactics, exercise, reading, or even your meditation practice. It is important to not just go through the motions. There is no mindfulness in going through the motions. Wishing no you well!

Glad that was helpful! Glad to be of service! The simplest way to say it is to love and honor your own personal growth while also loving who you are now. God didn’t have to create but God did. The same applies to us. We don’t have to create or grow, but we do because it is our nature to.

No. You just have to write one.

Consciousness is seeing through all eyes. There is no duality.

All dualities must collapse. Spirituality = Science

I want to steel man science. I feel like a lot of people take Leo's critique of science without actually thinking about it for themselves. One of the dangers of dismissing science as "a human dream" or whatever seems like a straw man and is no different logically than a religious nut dismissing science. I feel like that is a serious trap. When we critique science, we are merely explaining its limitations. But I am going to argue that there are no limitations to science. To quote Ms. Grant from Life is Strange Episode 4: "Nothing beyond science except for our lack of knowledge. We may never know why, but that doesn't change reality." Science is merely about truth and understanding. However, I do understand Leo's critiques in that mainstream science is narrow and is full of biases. But what people may not consider is that even doing psychedelics is a form of science. Why are we accepting the mainstream cultural definition of what science is? If mainstream views science in a narrow way, we should be showing them more advanced ways of doing science. The wrong approach is associate all of science with mainstream science. I truly am convinced that there is nothing beyond science but our lack of knowledge. Reality exists as it is whether or not we agree with it. I am not going to pretend like I know anything, but anything we say is "beyond or transcends" science is within science in the same way that you might argue that whatever is beyond consciousness is inside of consciousness. We may not be aware or know much about our reality. But there is even a science to voodoo, witchcraft, potion making, cooking, spirituality, psychedelics, math, meditation, religion, psychology, parapsychology, awakening, etc. Nothing is beyond science but our lack of knowledge. If you think science is a dream, then I could also say that awakening is a dream. I even question whether awakening is even possible or if it is just another dream within the dream. Reality to me is too profound to be known or understood. What even is the difference between an awakening and an insight? It seems like people who say they have had an awakening are really meaning that they have had an insight. You can have an infinite amount of insights. But I doubt that total awakening is even possible. If reality is infinite, then that means that it will always been infinitely mysterious and you can never fully awaken to it. We have so much finite time in this form. The part can never grasp the whole. Awakening is an illusion but we can do the best we can. What else is there to do?

Ever heard of chaos theory? How the hell would you know that nothing is random?

By our nature, to survive is to assume that there is a world that we are in. All beings have this fundamental assumption in an external world whether they are aware of it or not.