vizual

It actually does learn, compare the ethics of our current society of the society of the Middle Ages. Huge difference, and 500 years in the totality of just human history is nothing. If anything, I am amazed how quickly our society is changing. On all levels, whether it be on a technological and ethical level. And yes, the progress is not linear. Sometimes a society has to take a step backwards before making two steps forward. Maybe you have experienced this in your own consciousness as well.

Anything the ego makes you do is the ego trying to "trick" you, it doesn't matter what it is. If you force yourself to meditate that is just as much the ego trying to trick you to meditate as when it's trying to keep you from meditation. You have to come to your own conclusions what is best for you. Meditation or no meditation, do what makes the most sense to you at this time. Insight comes from experience, not just blindly treading the same water.

The more conscious you become the more you let go of the self and signs of "progress". There is no progress in consciousness, trying to control that only holds you back. If you think you are actually making progress, you are only adding another layer of delusion to let go of. Let go of comparing yourself to others how "conscious" you are, everyone is exactly just as conscious as you and me. You are just as conscious as the Buddha, only "you" stand in the way of seeing that.

Beliefs and judgments are the same thing just worded differently.

Literally anything can be a distraction, even meditation. The paradox of enlightenment is is that the "conscious" mind isn't the thing that gains the enlightenment. The conscious minds thinks it is doing activity A, B and C to climb the stairs of heaven. But it doesn't work that way. A better metaphor of the road to enlightenment would be that you climb the stairs so long and intense that you realize you have been climbing an escalator(not stairs) that is going down just as fast as you are climbing it up. You reach insight when you look around and see that you are in the same exact spot as you were before you put in all that effort. But, the even bigger mindfuck is that you must put in that effort to see it. Just like in the Hero's journey, you have to go through all the trials and tribulations to realize that your pot of gold was at home sitting there all this time.

Unfair in what way? Does Bill Gates gets to decide what I want and need in life? And then arrogantly concludes that some people have more access to what he thinks what people want and need in life. Is life unfair because I have access to a a Microsoft computer, but someone living the Australian jungle doesn't? Maybe the person living in the jungle is actually happier and more fulfilled than me sitting between brick walls behind my computer. Who knows? Certainly Bill Gates doesn't.

Why would I consume exogenous cholesterol, when my body produces it adequately. Unless I have liver disease, I will not need to eat extra cholesterol lol. That's like saying I need to inject blood everyday into my vessels to stay healthy. No, my body produces enough blood that's exactly right for my body. I only need to infuse blood if something's terribly wrong.

According to the theory of MBTI, you can't be a borderline INTP/INTJ or INFP/INFJ, that's total nonsense. As an INTP uses totally different cognitive functions than the INTJ(actually the exact opposite functions), the INFP also uses different functions than the INFJ. These types may look similar from the outside, they reach their conclusions about reality in a totally different way.

When you have an authentic desire for something, and you put concentrated effort to manifest that. Then the tools needed to get there will come at your disposal when they are needed. Even 'intelligence'. But intelligence is such a vague concept that it can be anything. You can say, well, intelligence is problem solving. But then again, isn't life itself a matter of problem solving, every single moment of the day. Whether it be algebra, quantum physics or cleaning the toilet, there really isn't much of a difference if you pin it down to problem solving. If you have an authentic desire to become a successful mathematician. The barrier of the lack of intelligence is solely a mental thing. Everyone is 'intelligent' enough, to get what they want in life. Just like the concept of intelligence, 'hard work' is also just a concept. If you have a high desire for something, and regard all the time you put in as 'hard work', you likely aren't going to fulfill your potential. If I can alter the quote of Master Yoda a bit: " Do or do not, there is no hard work".

Well, almost everyone is weighed down by ego problems. And suicidal people also don't really want to physically die, they just want an end to their suffering and they think the best way to achieve that is to end their physical existence. People have actually experienced ego deaths during intense suffering, so much suffering that the only option is to let go of ego. In that sense, suicidal people who are extremely depressed are primed to let go of the ego. Most suicidal people probably don't even know of a thing such as enlightenment and ego death though. So in a way, yes, suicidal people have a good chance of dropping the ego. On the other hand, suicidal people are usually so intensely caught up with their 'story' that a concept like 'enlightenment' probably hasn't even occurred to them.

True, and people are massively addicted to technology. Smartphones, internet, tablets, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Netflix, pornography etc.

If you have to explain a joke it isn't funny anymore

"Spirituality" is big business, always has been. Just look at how rich the Church is. And people will always be suckered in in spending lots of money on it. Spirituality is really the devils greatest trick on this earth, and lots of people take advantage of it. The funny thing about it is that the message gets repacked every time, and sold as brand new. Like selling a piece of shit, just every time with a wrapper with a different color of shine. The biggest lesson people can learn from this is to put faith in no one teaching or teacher. No matter how "profound" his words may seem. It's just a magic trick, and people want to be fooled by it. There's nothing wrong with a good magic trick, but if you believe it to be true you are a sucker. Harsh, but true.

Ask the stoic this question and he will give you an answer. Ask the epicurean and he will give you an other answer. Now who is right and who is wrong? No one is going to answer that to a satisfactory degree for you since they are both just ideologies. They are values the ego wants to grab onto. And ego will never bring you the satisfaction of life you are looking for. Neither the epicurean nor the stoic will find ultimate happiness because they are attached, and attachment is fear the fear of annihilation.

Being your full authentic self -> Increases your social status Making lists about how to boost your social status -> Lowers your social status

Nope, you are phrasing it wrong. Yes there is joy and suffering, but these things are not tied to the outer experience. Pain and pleasure are tied to the outer experience. You can experience pain and suffer, you can also experience pain and be joyful. On the flipside; you can experience pleasure and suffer, you can also experience pleasure and be joyful. Remember; Suffering = pain x resistance. Or to simplify even more; Suffering = resistance regardless of circumstance. It is possible to lead a life without suffering, it's not possible to lead a life without pain. Pain comes with the human experience, but that's not a bad thing. Without pain there is no pleasure, just like you said. But it's not true that you need to suffer to experience joy.

If your father is convinced that life sucks and it's all about suffering. Why did he put you on this world, and just end his life already? Let's put it broader, if everyone's life is all about suffering. Why haven't we come to a consensus to just blow up the world and end all the suffering? That would be the most noble and logical thing to do. Like a dog with terminal cancer that got hit by a truck while trying to pass the road. It's only compassionate to end its life, without much pain. But do you think life is really about that? Do you think we are all sick dogs that secretly want to put down to end all the misery? Maybe you do think that. But that says something about your own current state of mind. Remember when you were a kid and you had fun all the time. Just exploring, discovering and creating. And when you fell and you bruised your knee; you cried for a bit, wiped your tears and then you went right back to exploring, discovering and creating. Life can be that way as an adult too. Joyful, without worry. Like Ramana said; retrace your steps back to your source and you will find the bliss again.

Meditation isn't helpful for everyone. Some people are just wired differently, just sitting and having a clear mind is easy for me and comes naturally. So for me it's actually a waste of time. For me it's about being present in the midst of the chaos of everyday life, that's a challenge for me(less so presently). I made the most spiritual gains by doing self-inquiry, being present whilst being active and facing my fears/limiting beliefs head on. I could sit on my ass and meditate for years, and not progress a bit. It depends on your ego structure. All ego's are wired differently. You have to listen to your own intuition. Don't let other people tell you to meditate if you don't feel it's doing anything. I personally still keep an open mind that maybe one day in the future I will return to meditation when my current strategies have run dry.

I strongly dislike the title of your book. Smells like delusion, deceit and false grandeur. I principally avoid books with titles such as: "The Truth about ...". As only delusional people talk in absolutes about a relative topic.

Yeah, the universe is infinitely small and infinitely large at the same time. There isn't a bottom, nor a ceiling. You can go on and on. But to deepen that realization to actual experience. Just intellectually realizing this is not going to bring peace and satisfaction to the mind. Just saying, "Oh everything just exists, so whatever" is not the truth and certainly not enlightenment(I'm not saying you say this but just to be clear). That will end up as nihilism if taken as an intellectual paradigm. The intellectual understanding that matter is not fundamental is just a step towards total understanding.

But science is trying to figure that out, what matter is made of. Trying to dig deeper and deeper until they reach some kind of 'core' substance, at least that is what they think. Something that somehow explains and can predict the nature of reality. But what Leo is getting at is that the fixation at matter is not fruitful, and eventually we'll hit a wall. And that we need to turn the question around. In stead of focussing on what matter fundamentally is, we should focus more on the presumptions we have that there actually is such a thing as matter. I think this is very hard for the scientific community to come to terms with since the scientific method is built upon the presumption there is an 'objective' world, a world full of independent objects. But in reality, no one can prove there is an objective world outside of subject. In experience there is only subject. And thus we settle on a inter-subjective paradigm called objectivity. This paradigm is very powerful because it has a strong social element to it. And humans are social creatures. A person with strong sense of "objectivity" can become a crafty manipulator of its social environment. And the person question objectivity immediately gets shunned and cast out by society. A lot of examples in history for that.

At least be a man and make your own decisions and stand by it. No one gives a rats ass if you eat those butter cups or not. I swear, some people on this forum...

It's because whipping out your piece of meat makes you vulnerable. At least it makes you feel vulnerable. It leaves you vulnerable to things like attack, criticism and ridicule. This fear makes you tense up and unable to relax your blatter because you are paranoid of attack. This fear can be subtle, it probably doesn't induce a full on anxiety attack, but the fear is there nonetheless. You need to become more comfortable to being vulnerable around others. You are not a perfect being, you fuck up, a lot. Just like other people. You need to be able relate to others on that level. You need to be able to show your weaknesses and quirks, and be okay with it.

Just realize that you don't have infinite intelligence. But that infinite intelligence has you.