r0ckyreed

Could there be a reality beyond consciousness, like beyond all that you experienced? It seems to me that things happen behind the scenes whether I imagine them or not. The only thing I have ever known has been my ego. I do agree to some extent that there are many problems with materialism and quantum mechanics seems to debunk it. I have seen many rational, scientific people make epistemic errors and believe in objectivity. I guess, I am trying to understand how things seems to happen behind the scenes if the external world is imaginary. What is really the difference between an external world being independently of me, and me imagining an external world? I understand that first person experience is all that we have, but it seems like there is more to life than my own POV if that makes sense. It feels like there is more than “the dream” that I am in. From reading about substances and impacts on the brain and behavior, it is so convincing that an external world exists beyond my imagination and experience. But I do get that I am imagining “the external world.” But it just seems like there is more to this world than my perceptual bubble if that makes sense. Like for instance, right now, I believe that there are many homeless people and drug addicts, and being suffering from Covid despite me ever experiencing these things. I get that I am imagining Covid, drug addicts, and homeless people, but I still believe they exist and have their own experiences. I largely think this belief of mine comes from my culture and from the fact that I am becoming a mental health counselor. I feel like I wouldn’t be a good therapist if I did not believe that my clients are “real.”

So I have been doing the Actuality vs. Concept practice for a few days, and I realize that everything I thought was true is just imagination. There is no me. There is no you. There is no mind. There are no other minds. The external world is imagination. The internal world is imagination. All memories are imagination. The perspectives of others are imagination. The Earth, stars, moon, sun are imagination. I am imagination. You are imagination. My parents are imagination (even if they are in the room with me, they are still imagination. All that is within experience seems to be objects, colors, shapes, sensations, and space. No minds.). I came to the conclusion that Direct Experience is all that exists. The entire world is just this "perceptual bubble." Anything that "I" imagination outside of this perceptual bubble is inside of the perceptual bubble. This perceptual bubble or Direct Experience is not happening to anyone, it is what it is. Everything else is imagination. All other perceptual bubbles are imagination. All that exists is Direct Experience. When "I" realized this, "I" realize that "I" am completely alone, and right now, "I" am talking to "my" imagination. This seems like Solipsism without a self, ego, or subject. This perceptual bubble or Direct Experience (that the ego claims to own) seems to be the only thing that is Actual. Everything else is imagination. It's almost like "my" entire life, which is imaginary has been spent "talking" with its imaginary friends, within imagination. How is this any different from Solipsism? I remember reading Jed Mckenna's Spiritual Enlightenment book and he says that Solipsism "is defined as the belief that the only thing you can know for certain is that 'you' exist, and that any other true knowledge is impossible. But, like I say, it's not really a belief. It's just the way it is ... Body, planet, space, time, people, everything else is taken on faith" (Jed McKenna, p. 155-156). How is Direct Experience (DE) any different from Solipsism? DE is all that is and can be known right? There is no other way to "access" reality without DE. Everything is DE.

This is a deep topic and my intentions are not to offend, but to gain understanding about the metaphysical nature of race/gender. I have been wondering about this for a while and was wanting to know your all’s thoughts. The way I understand race/gender is that they are social constructs or imagination. When I look at my hand or at a person, that is actuality. The ideas of separateness based on race/gender are imaginary. They have the same reality as Santa clause or the buddha. Which you could also argue that Santa clause is just as real as your hand? That being said, my understanding of nonduality is that everything is one. But race/gender are based on imaginary divisions created to separate and justify dehumanization and discrimination of certain groups of people. In reality, the separation of people based on gender/race and 3/5s rule was a horrible thing we did and let to many horrible genocides and slavery. That being said, there was a video where a woman talks about color blindness vs color consciousness. I personally think that there is a 3rd stage kind of like pre-rational, rational and post-rational called color/gender transcendence where we recognize that race is a “real” thing that we invented and continue to invent, but the idea is based on an illusion of separation that we try to transcend in this stage, which in reality we are one but living as if separate. Color blindness to me is like denying that race exists or to “not see race.”? The woman in the video critiqued color blindness by saying: “you can choose to not look at the sky, but the sky still exists.” She was comparing a race to the appearance of a sky. I argue that race/gender is much more than the appearance of color and sex organs. It consists of identity, culture, norms, projections, discrimination, bias, etc. Correct me if I am wrong, but comparing race to the sky seems to treat it like it is an objective fact, whereas in reality race is a social construct of our minds? But I guess you could also argue that the sky is also a social construct and doesn’t really exist because the boundaries between the sky, outer space, and earth are all arbitrary and relative. What are your all’s thoughts about the metaphysical nature of race/gender? Please let me know what you think based on your experiences with enlightenment work, mystical/no dual experiences, etc. Please watch the video: Even though the idea of race/gender was invented, we still need to be aware of the real life threats it has on society and on marginalized groups, such as racism, discrimination, white privilege, cisgender male privilege, heterosexism, white fragility, and whiteness in general, as well as gender discrimination and binary views of gender, etc. This is an example of how reality is imaginary, yet, we need to be aware of how our imagination creates separation and division and use our minds to unify together because we all bleed red and our hearts beat as one! I think the true danger comes from when we take separations to be “real” because then it creates a “superior” and “inferior” power dynamic. In addition, by taking our imaginations of separateness to be real, it also creates division and discrimination when we see others as separate from us. This is a real danger that we are seeing with Trumpism, white supremacy, religion, politics (democrat and republic rather than unifying our nation), etc. Thanks

Everyone’s brain is different and unique. There is no female or male brain. It’s just a body and brain. How do you explain transgenderism and gender non-binary/non-conforming people? Calm down. It’s just words on a screen. This will be the last thing I write because you clearly have your mind made up and are being really defensive about what was supposed to be a friendly, open discussion about the nature of race/gender. This forum is all about openmindedness and respectfully sharing one’s questions, insights, and experiences. If you can’t handle my own questions or challenges to your worldview, then you don’t need to be here. Growth requires that you examine your own biases and challenge yourself. Life is nothing without challenge. This right here is the separation that I am talking about that contributes to all the bigotry and hate in the world. I wish you well and have a safe and relaxing 2021. Take care. ?☮️?

That’s the part I still haven’t figured out and I am still trying to figure out.

Notice that everything I am saying and everything you are saying (we are speaking English) is a social construct. Tall and short, giraffe and ant are social constructs that we use to make distinctions in reality. For instance, a ant is not just an ant, but the ground, soil, plants, trees, planets, sun, air, water, etc. you can make distinctions, but you cannot separAte life. How is race/gender not a social construct? You gave me your answer but provided no explanation. Look up Johann Blumenbach and look up Cornell West’s article on the Genealogy of Modern Racism where he explains that race, beauty, history, and science are intertwined to create modern racism and white supremacy. But the idea of realism is also a belief. How do you determine between truth and falsehood? You believe that reality exists independently of you, which makes that true for you. What if reality is completely relative? If that is true, then there is no objective standard for reality. You say that I am wrong, but what am I wrong about and what standards are you using believe that you are right and I am wrong. What is right and wrong and how do you know it exists? How can I be wrong about my own life experience/beliefs? I am only wrong in comparison to your worldview which seems to suggest that there is an objective reality in which you and I are separate and separate from where science, race, gender, etc. aren’t social constructs that we invented but that are real. Take care and have a great day!

I would be careful here because your worldview is your reality. What you think and believe deeply becomes your reality. Even if you believe reality exists outside of your own mind, thoughts, and beliefs, that is still a belief and worldview that is called realism.

I mean if you think about it, the difference between tall and short is relative to whatever your comparing it to. For instance, is an ant short or tall? Is shortness an inherent property of an ant or is it completely relative and socially constructed? Think about it, shortness and tallness are distinctions that you are projecting onto reality because you may consider Michael Jordan to be tall, but tallness is not a property of Michael Jordan, but a relative comparison you are making between him and you. If you compare Michael Jordan to the cosmos, his tallness ceases to exist. My argument is that the mechanism that invents sports like Basketball and chess is the same mechanism that invents countries, governments, politics, beauty, society, race, gender, age, etc. Our society is like a Basketball or chess game to me in that it is a made up system to allow the game of survival to be played. In this game, we invented “separate” groups of people based on gender/race/politics/age/countries/states/etc.and we project stereotypes onto people. So if you are a bishop, you are expected to move a certain way such as diagonal. If you are viewed as a pawn, you will have a certain move in society, or if you are highly valued (which value in itself is an invention and projection that is arbitrary) then you may be a king or queen. I think chess is a good example of our society in how white supremacy is still the dominate narrative and needs to be changed (hence, white moves first in chess). But of course this analogy of chess is limited. I tried to explain. I hope this makes sense.

Hello! I have currently been doing a habit of going to bed at around 10:00pm and waking up at 6:00am and it has been very productive for me. I was wondering what kinds of sleep schedules you all operate from? How many hours do you all get and what is the recommended? I tried to do the 5am club, but I think I need at least 8 hours of sleep. I notice that I am very productive in the mornings and in the evenings (I take advantage of downtime in morning and evening). My biggest issue is that I like working later till 11:00 or 12:00 (midnight) and I also like working early at 6:00am. My problem is that I am not sure if 6-7 hours of sleep is healthy for me long term? FYI, I consider myself above average health wise. I have recently been going to bed at 12:00am and waking up at 8am. I am trying to reconcile whether going to bed earlier to wake up earlier is worth it for me or if going to bed later and waking up later is better? My routine is when I wake up in the morning at 6am, I do one hour of meditation and then I do my workout. But when I wake up later in the day (8am), I often neglect my workout. It might be a dumb question, but is going to bed earlier worth it? My family stays up later and they were concerned about me going to bed earlier around 9pm to wake up at 5am. Any thoughts? Thank you! BTW, tomorrow I am going to do my first 5 hour meditation retreat! Wish me luck!

Which moral theory do you abide by in life? I know I have talked about this before, but I have to write a paper on my preferred moral theory. I am struggling with picking one because I mostly believe that morality is relative, which I think would put me under utilitarianism. Utilitarian is a relativistic theory whereas Deontology seems to be an absolutist theory. Deontology thinks that there are actions that are inherently right despite the consequences (Ex. Honesty is right, lying is wrong). But Utilitarians see morality like a game of chess in that if you want to win, you have to think ahead of all possible moves and choose the ones that will promote the most goodness for the world (Ex. Dr. Strange sacrificing Iron Man's life). Since there are no inherent right or wrong actions, it seems that morality is all about consequentialism in that the consequences of our actions matter! Not necessarily the action itself. So for instance, if I had to lie to save a life, I would do it because a life is worth more than lying. But it is hard to tell if a deontologist would lie in this case because if the Deontologist lies to save a life, then they are contradicting their maxim of "honesty." But at the same time, if the deontologist tells the truth, which could end up with a person dying, it seems like they are supporting the maxim that "honesty is more valuable than a human life." But what Deontologist would put a lie above a life? In Utilitarianism, since reality is ultimately relativistic, there are no inherent right or wrong. Right and wrong is a cultural innovation to survive. Since morality is about survival and consequences, utilitarians try to maximize the goodness and minimize the evilness. What most people get wrong about utilitarianism is that they think utilitarianism is a sociopathic philosophy where it is morally permissible to sacrifice someone's life to save more people. But if you look at utilitarianism closely, since there are no intrinsic values and since death is an inevitable part of life, a utilitarian would not want to take a life on purpose because then that would mean that everyone can do that and since we don't want to live in a world full of murderers, murdering someone would be considered not the best way to maximize goodness. Either way you slice it, goodness itself is relative so if you are a deontologist who thinks goodness is a quality of an action, then who decides what actions are good or bad? How do we define an action being good? The good action is a culturally relative concept that is agreed upon by society (contractarianism). What do you all think? Which moral theory do you all abide by in life? Source: https://home.sandiego.edu/~baber/gender/MoralTheories.html

Thank you! I mean sometimes I workout in the evenings, but what helps me out is getting all the hard work done at the start of the day that way its downhill from there. My philosophy is to get the hard stuff done at the start of the day when I am refreshed and rested. Once I get the hard work done in the morning, I have the rest of the day a lot easier. Thank you! I just did 4h 30m of meditation (7:00am - 11:30pm). I had to get up, walk around (walking meditation), and use the bathroom like 3 times, but other than that, that was the longest period of time that I meditated and I feel refreshed.

Hello! I hope you all are doing well. I have a question about self-hypnosis (I.e. visualization/imagination) and meditation. So I like to use my imagination to help me visualize my life purpose. I have used meditation to focus on my breath and bringing thoughts back to breath, but I have had more progress in just purely concentrated visualization/imagination. I think imagination is really important and it is important for us to exercise. Is it possible to reach higher consciousness states through imagination rather than meditation. To me, meditation is more about clearing thoughts by observing thoughts like clouds whereas imagination gives us direct access to our life’s vision and intuition. Basically my question is this: is there any use for imagination in spiritual work? Can imagination be a form of meditation? I really love to think and imagine and the idea of emptying my mind is something I have tried, but I don’t see the benefit of doing so. Since God is Imagination, wouldn’t it be helpful to raise consciousness through imagination? Is this even possible? This is one reason why I love chakra and meta meditations. What is your advice? Thank you!

Thanks guys! I have been meditating for one hour without moving my lower body! I have had to adjust and straighten my back a lot during my 1 hour meditations because my posture kept changing during my sit. But I managed to do it! Thanks guys!! Merry Christmas! ? ❤️

Is it possible to get a blood clot after sitting completely still for one hour? I am a little nervous about sitting completely still for an hour due to a risk of thrombosis or blood clots. Throughout my life, especially on long trips, my parents would always tell me to move my butt around to prevent blood clots. Do you think it is also wise to do this during meditation. I don’t move from discomfort, I move out of the fear of getting a blood clot. But the thing is, I am not sure if it is possible to get a blood clot after one hour of hard core still sitting. I have heard of monks sitting still for long periods, but typically sitting still for a long period of time is a recipe for blood clots? So for my example, I have sat in a car for 10+ hours while adjusting, moving, and getting out (using the bathroom on road), but I have never sat completely still for one hour. Could this cause a blood clot? What do you all know about this?

Good point. I should have mentioned my health. Health wise, I would say I am above average in physical fitness. My family is more obese now, but I am 6ft and weigh 145 and I run 3-6 miles no problem. I was highly involved in cross country, tennis and band when I was back in high school (4 years ago). No family history and I don’t take any blood thinners. My resting heart rate (this morning) is 47 bpm (resting heart rate is usually around from 45 bpm - 55 bpm) @FredFred @Rilles Thank you!

Oh wow! Thanks for your response! I just got into hypnosis this past week. It seems really amazing. I haven’t tried hypnotizing yet. I would love to hear more about your experiences with hypnosis and/or any advice/resources in becoming a hypnotist. One of my goals is to become a hypnotherapist! ?

@aurum Thank you! Thanks for your insight! Right now, I am trying to balance meditation with imagination/thinking/visioning. I think silence has wisdom in it to connect with God, but I see a huge problem if people neglect imagination. Since imagination created reality, I think it would be helpful to learn how to think and learn how to silence. I basically realized that I need to balance being a realist and being a visionary. It’s not all or nothing right? I am taking life purpose course right now, and I think it is good to be in Actuality, but it is important to develop a conscious imagination/vision. So it is a balancing act because if I imagine too much, I lose touch with present moment and if I focus too much on present moment, I am not being a creator. Would the Buddha have been considered a visionary?

So for those of you who don’t know. I am a natural contemplator. Contemplation comes naturally for me because I have a deep interest in the Mystery of Existence. I am INTP. I have been meditating for 2 years, and I am not for sure if I am doing it right. Here is what I do: 1. Breath/sound concentration meditation. (I concentrate on sounds or my breath and each time my wanders, I bring it back to breath or sound). 2. Count my breaths. (I count my breaths after every exhale all the way up to 11 or 13). 3. Mantra meditation (“Pure Awareness, I Am”) 4. Actuality Hand/Leaf Observation (I just observe a leaf or my hand and become one with it. I don’t think, I just be.) I have tried the Do Nothing technique, but I feel like I am day dreaming instead of meditating. It is hard for me to observe my thoughts without being caught up by them. Anybody else have similar problems? I am planning on doing a 5 day contemplation retreat where I will incorporate some meditation at the beginning, but I will mostly be contemplating nature, consciousness, my life purpose, and my ego. I thought about doing another 5 days of just trying to sit in silence. My biggest problem is that when I Do Nothing, my mind will always wonder about philosophical things. I found much better progress at stillness whenever I would concentrate on breath or listen to sounds or mantra meditation. But I am not sure if concentrating is meditating. According to Osho, concentration isn’t meditation because concentration can be disturbed, but meditation cannot. He says to become The Watcher or The Witness, but every time I try, I get trapped and lost in my own mind. 5 or 10 minutes later I’m like “oh shit! I am not meditating! I am daydreaming! I am lost in my mind!” Observing my hands, breath and sound have helped me out tremendously, but I cannot seem to become The Witness without eventually being absorbed into my mind. Any thoughts? Thank you for your time and help! Edit: Also I have done guided visualization (chakra meditations/self-hypnosis) on Youtube, but I am not for sure how helpful it all is in creating stillness in the mind.)

Wow! Neat! Where did you get this from!?

Leo! Please don’t let the law Devils pull you down like crabs do. Your work is awesome! I love your spirituality videos and raw footage. It shows how the work is done and it shows your authenticity that spirituality isn’t this sunshine life all the time. The Devils are trying to sabotage your work. The trap is letting them pull you down like crabs in a bucket. I hope you continue to do the badass work that you’ve always done. Please don’t let their criticism and devilry throw you off rails. The criticism, devilry, and sabotaging or what have you is something to expect. When you are kicking ass, the Devil will try to hold you back. Don’t give in to their wishes! I admire you and your content! Have a great week! ?❤️

I agree. I grew to becoming attached to her as well and her friends. it is important to notice that The theme of the first game is utilitarianism. If you listen closely, Joel explains this to Ellie in Pittsburgh and the theme is throughout the game as well. I realized that TLOU showed us utilitarianism and the problems of it. The greater good is relative thing. The surgery wasn’t guaranteed to work. But even if it did, the vaccine wouldn’t restore humanity like I said. It would only make humanity more immune I think. We would still have The Rattlers, David’s camp, and Scars, and other clans like that around. But it is hard to tell what the fireflies would have done with such a vaccine. I don’t know lol.

Deserve is relative and is creation of your mind. Nobody deserves anything really. Realize that Joel killed the scientists out of love, and realize that you would have done the same thing if you had a daughter figure. He did it out of love. The game goes full circle if you think about it. In the beginning, he lost Sarah and in the end, he was faced with this losing his “daughter” again. He did not want to lose Ellie like he did Sarah. You have to realize that those scientists weren’t all good either. I mean they were willing to sacrifice a 14 year old girl for a vaccine without her consent. She was in comma and they couldn’t wait for her to wake up? I mean they put her on all those drugs and they rushed the surgery when they could have waited for her consent. Realize that almost everyone would have done what Joel did. If Marlene could have compromised with Joel and postpone surgery till Ellie wakes up, this wouldn’t have happened. The fact that they were going on with it was troublesome. Also, Joel did not care as much about the vaccine because of how screwed up and monstrous humanity has become. It blows my mind that Ellie did not see this in part 2. She felt like she had some obligation, but even if the vaccine is produced, you will still have those cannibals, tribes l, and hunters who are still ruthless and they are immune. Society in that game likely won’t ever go back to normal. I mean Joel really didn’t have a choice. What would you expect him to do after all him and Ellie have been through? He was gonna fight for her like he did when David got her. You are right that Joel may not be “good” but he has finally come to terms with himself from before the pandemic. The 20 year period, he did crap things to survive. But now his survival and sense of purpose has been as a father figure to Ellie. The thing that pissed me off was that he saved Abby’s life and yet she still killed him. I mean she did the exact same thing Joel did really.

Reminds me of the movie Bad Santa

Well, let’s put it this way, what is going to happen if you let fear dictate your life? Look at 99% of people. Their fear controls them and this fear has led people to avoid life, start wars, etc. The 1% are more aware of fear when or if it arises. You can’t have fear if you have no ego. The bottom line is that if you aren’t able to confront and face your fears, they will continue to dominate your life. I believe this is the heart of spiritual work. You have to surrender your entire life to this work. This work isn’t for everyone. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Here’s a meditation for you. Whenever you are afraid, try to see what it is that is afraid. For instance, You say you would be traumatized if demons or insects were present. The question is who is being traumatized. You can use fear or whatever your feeling as an object of meditation. Be sure though that you aren’t being stupid about it. Start off with something small such as the fear of darkness. Go in their and really observe your fear out of curiosity and notice the fearer of the fear. Realize what fear is and what fear is for. Who or what is it that the fear is for? Another thing is that if you do feel fear, realize the positives of fear. Fear makes you more alert, more focused. Fear can lead to peak performances (not always). Laziness comes from being comfortable with comfort and avoiding discomfort. But just know that fear can be okay if used right. Just like laziness and other ego mechanisms. Contemplate them. Use fear as a contemplation. The truth is that unless you have had a paranormal experience, you don’t really know if it exists. It is just another belief. Deep down, there seems to be a belief when you are in fear. It is attached to identity. See Leo’s video on fear. Also try loving kindness meditation. I have been meditating for 2 years and it is awesome. Good luck with your adventure.