cetus

Hell no animals don't fear death. They have no concept of death. Instinct to survive, yes, but that's where it ends.

Here is one example. "Timeless Time".

@Live Life Liam This one seems like it will make you question everything.

@Leo Gura I just found a book By Matthew Bell Melancholia The western malady. Have you read that one?

-The Tree of Life -Melancholia -Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind * I haven't seen these yet but they seem to reach into the deep questions of self. Has anybody seen these yet? If so, what did you think?

Hitler came back as a cat? @David1

@Maximilian I agree with what you are saying here. But just for clarification this topic was intended as a fun little thought experiment to explore what is in your heart. No more than that. No rules and regulations to it. No right or wrong. Did you watch the video? I'm not enlightened but as for myself I could live that lifestyle in a heartbeat. I KNOW it's right for me. I live that simple life now. It feels so right without even thinking about it because it comes from the heart. But, how could I tell now what I may do after enlightenment. That could all change. Maybe I would say fuck living in harmony with nature, burn the garden, give away the Dutch ovens that I use to prepare food in an open hearth and move to the asphalt jungle so I can breath bus exhaust and order take out food. But for now I'll keep living my simple unenlightened life with the natural flow of the Earth. Or as it is referred to in the video "Timeless Time.". The only sense of time in this world is the rising and setting of the sun within the change of seasons. That reminds me, the cold crops are starting to come in now. lettuce, spinach, carrots, snow peas, just to name a few. Life unfolds in a bountiful way when there is only harmony.

Consciousness is collective. A unified field that exists everywhere. Within space time and outside of space time.

@pluto Good to know. A couple of quick questions b-c I really don't know much about the subject. Since all memory is wiped away you come back as a happy person next time living life to it's fullest? And what happens when you die a natural death at a ripe old age? Something different apparently. What would that be? Also I'm not sure what my mission is. How can I find out before it's too late? Is there an age cut point like 70 or 80? How would I know if this life is a "restart" now ? Any way to know? But what is there to know if all memory was wiped? I'm confused now. What happens to snakes that commit suicide ?

@electroBeam I am like an idiot my mind is so empty. Tao Ta Ching

Before enlightenment, mow lawn, take trash to curb. After enlightenment, mow lawn, take trash to curb.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to say here so let's see how this goes. I'm seeing enlightenment in a bit of a different light as I woke this morning. I guess the big question that's always in the back of my head is "what exactly is enlightenment?" We as humans have evolved on this planet for millions of years. Our brains have the capacity to do many wonderful things like no other species on this planet. But along with that highly developed brain we also have a strong sense of self. We than ask ourselves "who am I". Where did I come from? What is my purpose? What happens to me when I die? Once these question are asked, the search for an answer begins. Religions try to answer all these age old questions by telling us there is a supreme being that creates, destroys, sees and judges all that is happing as an attempt to satisfy a question that most everyone has. So religion "fills in the blanks" so to speak. Any answer is better than no answer at all because people can than feel secure that the question is answered and they can rest their mind in that belief. So here is the question I woke with this morning. Is enlightenment a mental tool that is used, like a religion. But not to answer the big questions, but to just silence them because there are no answers and the questions are really the only cause for the search in the first place? I'm seeing humans as just another aspect of this universe. The same as any other living organism. But one that has evolved just enough to ask the deadly questions that there are no answers too. Than there is the next part of that process when we want to believe we have the answer that satisfies the question of 'What am I". Our brains come up with answers like -Infinity, the absolute, truth, nothingness, God, bliss ect, ect. We than feel the need to experience whatever "that" is. Like we want absolute proof of it. Aren't we creating another dream within a dream within that sense of self that comes with having a higher brain function? Isn't all this just the mind doing all this within itself? Every single bit of it? Is realizing this simple fact enlightenment? Is enlightenment just fix for a glitch in the operating system? A week or so ago, somebody replied to a post saying "Now that Leo has reached Infinity"___ _ _ _ _ . Something about that innocent little statement really made me re-evaluate everything that is happing. Who reached What? What drives this search in the first place? Is it all just an anomaly of higher brain function? What is really happing? *I would greatly appreciate anyone's input on all this. What do think?

I found this and I see that Key Elements already has something similar. Sweet. This one is still worth sharing.

@step1 Yea, this is a deep one for sure. Though to really put into words. I don't think he's saying that reality itself is a dream but that all reality is happening within awareness and only within awareness. The illusion is- that there is somebody here responsible for experiencing reality. The dream of an individual self happens within awareness. There is no you experiencing reality, only awareness. If you believe there is a you that is experiencing reality, that is the dream. This is the meaning of awakening. There is no you to awaken! If you notice @ 6:00 "Harry's" mind isn't willing to except this as reality. He wants to stay in the dream of self.

@Vegeta Thanks man for changing that. The other one was cool but it mightn't fuck up somebody else's shit.

@Vegeta Me? It's not about me.

@Vegeta Your profile picture could cause seizures in people with Epilepsy. Would you be willing to remove it for another choice? Thanks!

I see what your saying. But at the same time if you have an unbounded capacity to feel the suffering of others, I don't see the need to suppress it either. On the last line of your statement, your coming from the point of a person working through their ego. I choose to love. I choose to suffer. If I don't suffer I'm a bad person, If I don't love I'm a bad person. Lets transcend that for a moment. I see it like this, what I am is infinite. Everything I experience, every emotion I feel, returns and dissolves into that infinite capacity. It absorbs it like a sponge so that it may experience itself through us. EVERYTHING!

@Bob84 I'm talking more about feeling the suffering of humanity. Maybe that is "stupid". But the phrase, "Choosing to suffer" is egotistical because that's making a conscious choice to suffer. That makes no sense at all. But don't you ever watch the news and you can really feel the suffering going on? For instance that little boy in Syria sitting in the ambulance covered with blood and so in despair. I shoudn't be one his suffering?

@Leo GuraCan suffering be just as divine as love can be? Infinite divine suffering (when all ego is removed from it)

@Prabhaker During meditation some regions of the brain become less active and others more active. Here is a snapshot of some of the research on the subject I found yesterday. What you refer to here seems to be due to a decrease in the Default Mode Network (DMN) which corresponds to a decrease in size of the Amygdala, Could it be that meditation quiets it's activity? Or that 5meO-DMT shuts it down completely? All this really does deserve more research. *Of course none of this research has anything to do with the "spiritual" side of this but more as the ability to transcend the mind. Not too long ago, most of us thought that the brain we’re born with is static—that after a certain age, the neural circuitry cards we’re dealt are the only ones we can play long-term. Fast-forward a decade or two, and we’re beginning to see the opposite: the brain is designed to adapt constantly. World-renowned neuroscientist Richie Davidson at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with this colleagues, want us to know three things: 1) you can train your brain to change, 2) that the change is measurable, and 3) new ways of thinking can change it for the better. We can intentionally shape the direction of plasticity changes in our brain. By focusing on wholesome thoughts, for example, and directing our intentions in those ways, we can potentially influence the plasticity of our brains and shape them in ways that can be beneficial. That leads us to the inevitable conclusion that qualities like warm-heartedness and well-being should best be regarded as skills. Davidson adds that research on neuroplasticity gives neuroscientists a framework for tracking meditation research. And CIHM is beginning to see that “even short amounts of practice,” like 30 minutes of meditation per day, “can induce measurable changes in the brain” that can be tracked on a brain scanner. Based on recent research, I’ve chosen to share four ways your brain may change when you practice mindfulness: Increased Grey Matter/Cortical Thickness in the following key areas: • Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Increased grey matter changes were noted in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is a structure located behind the brain’s frontal lobe. It has been associated with such functions as self-regulatory processes, including the ability to monitor attention conflicts, and allow for more cognitive flexibility. • Prefrontal Cortex: Increased grey matter density was also found in areas of the prefrontal lobe, which are primarily responsible for executive functioning such as planning, problem solving, and emotion regulation. • Hippocampus: Increased cortical thickness in the hippocampus has also been noted. The hippocampus is the part of the limbic system that governs learning and memory, and is extraordinarily susceptible to stress and stress-related disorders like depression or PTSD. Decreased Amygdala Size: Studies have shown that the amygdala, known as our brain’s “fight or flight” center and the seat of our fearful and anxious emotions, decreases in brain cell volume after mindfulness practice. Diminished or enhanced functionality in certain networks/connections: Not only does the amygdala shrink post mindfulness practice, but the functional connections between the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex are weakened. This allows for less reactivity, and also paves the way for connections between areas associated with higher order brain functions to be strengthened (i.e. attention, concentration, etc.). Reduced activity in the Brain’s “Me” Center: Mindfulness practice has been implicated in the decreased activation and the stilling of our Default Mode Network (DMN), which is also sometimes referred to as our wandering “Monkey Minds.” The DMN is active when our minds are directionless as it goes from thought to thought, a response that is sometimes likened to rumination and not always adaptive with regards to overall happiness. The impact that mindfulness exerts on our brain is borne from routine: a slow, steady, and consistent reckoning of our realities, and the ability to take a step back, become more aware, more accepting, less judgmental, and less reactive. Just as playing the piano over and over again over time strengthens and supports brain networks involved with playing music, mindfulness over time can make the brain, and thus, us, more efficient regulators, with a penchant for pausing to respond to our worlds instead of mindlessly reacting. This post was originally published on mindful.org in August 2015. TOPICS: mindfulness research | Richie Davidson

@NTOgen O.K. I can see that. I think the spiral says intelligent order.

@Frogfucius Spirals are also found throughout the universe. From tiny atoms to galaxies that are millions of light years across. It does say something to us about the hidden structure of the cosmos. like there is a code to it. Not trying to sound too woo-woo or anything but it is there telling us something. What would that be?