ArabiaNytes

@Leo Gura I am really interested in attending a retreat someday. I feel like isolated and focused meditation could really help ground my work. Do you have any tips so I may get a better idea of how it is like? ...Honestly, I may have misconceptions of such retreats being awkward. I mean that I feel very awkward in religious settings, for example, or like situations where people are openly spiritual.

His name, AngryMan, says it all....reminds me of Hulk. One is in a state of fury, hate, bitterness, frustrated by feeling, resentment for being misunderstood. One is a prisoner of the self of which they can't figure how to defeat and free oneself from....hang in there, AM.

Pink Floyd anyone?

25 Should have made it a poll option, then it would be depicted in a significant visual.

I suppose I found what I was looking for in a thread posted by Ayla... maybe this helps others like me. It's pretty amazing how I came to find her thread in a link of another thread through the randomness of happening on the initial third thread. I have been struggling with being confused of this paradox and her post addresses the issue in a reassuring and clear manner. I am thankful to have found it.... I can breathe a little easier now. ?

@Ayla it's pretty amazing how I came to find your thread in a link of another thread through the randomness of happening on the initial third thread. I have been struggling with being confused of this paradox and your post addresses the issue in a reassuring and concise manner. Thank you for having posted this. I can breathe a little easier now. ?

So before knowing that there was a thread already made for a response to that video, I had posted my thoughts as a separate post in this forum catagory. Oh the irony of what I thought was wrong in my life is actually what's right. Purging of the neediness while abstaining from the distractions it produces... I guess the attitude one has in respects to all this is what really matters in whether one can progress towards attaining a fufilled life.

I thought you were going a different way with this example. Maybe minimalizing the programs used in order to reduce the overclocked CPU and needing less to cool while allowing more efficient use of processing space....lol

"Lifestyle minimalism - renouncing your busy stupid life" on YouTube It's really interesting to see a different perspective of how vital a minimalistic lifestyle is to becoming self-actualized and then enlightened. His description of what it is and what its accomplishment entails, basically can be applied to how I've come to live. I don't know about others, but my path brought me to this minimalistic lifestyle out of disappointment and frustration. Those feelings pushed anxiety in my susceptible neurotic mind. And then, in waves of exhaustion, the purging of all the illusions of the meaning of "happiness" that the domesticated lifestyle has led most to believe brings me to feeling a sort of peace...this lasts until I relapse into the depression of unsatisfied expectations. I'm guessing this sounds like the withdrawal symptoms that he was talking about in the video, huh? All I thought I was missing in my life, and the absense of these things depresses me.... how ironic that it is exactly these things I need to cut out of my life in the first place. And that doing so successfully elevates you to a whole new level of living a fulfilled life. In a different perspective, all that I saw to be a lacking in my life has been a blessing in disguise. Slowly, I'm becoming to understand this... "Do without all that which is ails you, and you will find true happiness." Sometimes I'm cynical and sometimes I'm bittersweet... but many of the times I'm frustrated and tired....I just want to find some peace in my mind and be free its imprisonment. Letting go of the need for the wrong things is truly not easy and such a counter-intuitive move.

I suppose that is why I joined this forum--- at least it made sense that this community talks about topics that are usually too deep for most people....I am finding social interaction more and more difficult, myself. How can one even atchieve enlightenment when the world "out there" distracts and seemingly contradicts enlightenment work? It seems to make more sense in working away from society altogether, like at a monastery. I could, temporarily....but then what? Meanwhile, my agenda beckons. Tra-Ia-la-laaaaa......

37.5% of 80 people say no? LMFAO.....okay, guys, whatever you say.....??? So long as I have what I've got, enlightened or not, I can assure that I could never give it up. ???

Leo's new video, "Grasping the illusory nature of thoughts", hit home for me. Thoughts imprison the mind and conciously mastering the hold on a thought(s) that have on the self allows one to break free of the mind. Exploring the true nature of the Self, Mind and Consciousness is the realization of not knowing, thereby attainment of actualization in knowing that we don't know. The process of Enlightenment has always excited me. But the feeling of dread arises the more I think about the loss one must experience on this path. Is it enough to know that all that we are is not what it is to be? To have initially wanted to believe in a meaning to life, but then to realize that all this "meaning" is the illusion that is spun by the Thoughts of the Mind. We long for meaning to give us a sense of purpose and yet to realize this truth is to realize that the purpose is to let go of the meaning that make-up our thoughts. Meanings are an illusion. In all my experience of loneliness, I feel like I have never felt all the more as I do now.... I suppose I've always known the cost in embarking on this journey, but I was distracted by the thought that in attaining enlightenment, I could attain true content and happiness and a sound mind. Another "thought" ruling my mind. Can't actualize without letting go of one's illusory construct of reality. Our reality is how we know the Self...the self is all we know. "Ignorance is bliss" comes to mind. To stay connected to our "reality" as we know it, and this knowing allows us to feel comfortable with meanings to live by. Or, to self-actualize and grow as a Being by learning to grasp the mastery of control by severing the hold of the Self imposed by the Ego. The problem with either route is that I simply go from feeling humanly lonely to complete and utter ultimate lonliness. I feel like I cannot become an effective contributer in my future vocation if I cannot master this level of control, which is at the expense of becoming more lonely. How can I see this conclusion of mine differently? I would really love some insight to this dilemma of mine...

Don't you find it extremely humbling, and unnerving just the same, that we live in this reality that we perceive in such a rational, logical, proven as what it is to be? We have our senses, we have our science, we have our math, we have our cognitive rationalization, yet the one element that is obviously missing from our awareness is conveniently the one thing that perplexes us constantly. Because with all our knowledge and various methods of proving that knowledge, we are completely oblivious to finding the ultimate element. Convenient, isn't it? That we are in this dimension of reality that will forever spin around the unknown. Do you think that there's something more to it, this idea of "convenience" of an indetectable element of existence? I mean, what a coincidence that our sense of reality cannot touch existance for it is not any thing to be touched. Suppose this coincidence is an intent, in disguise. Could it be that the reason for that element to not exist in our awareness, is as simple as math; if the element of truth in our existance were to be seen, then life as a we know it could not exist. Thereby removing the variable, allows life as we know it, to be; adding the variable back in, destroys this life, the only realm we know. Like the concept of dark matter, we know it exists, but we can't perceive it aside from deductible mathematics. Much like this element of existence/truth; it's there...but how do we know for sure.... *************************************** When I was a child, I would ask questions like these about awareness and the mystifying questions that have no answers...Then, I come to find that all that pondering I did actually brought me down the path towards a playground for my thoughts to dance out loud with others who are puzzled in the same way. Thank you, Leo, for creating this forum for us. ♡

One of the most important approaches to understanding psychology is to be able to think outside the box on mystifying questions that may seem so obvious to our reality, but are not fully concluded upon with concrete evidence. Keeping an open-mind in embracing skepticism is how we are able to consider all the alternatives while filtering out the misleading concepts in order to seek the best possible truths that are backed by the best possible logistical reasonings. The concept of “Brain In Vat” (BIV) is one of those riddles that keep the window of skepticism propped open to exercise the mind, for “In order to seek truth, it is necessary once in the course of our life to doubt, as far as possible, of all things.” (René Descartes) Descartes concludes his theory on existence and its nature through his syllogistic inference, (although he denied it being so while conceding, still, that there needed to be an extra premise for this theory) that because “I think, therefore I am”. His idea was based on the premise that if thoughts are conceived by the mind, and the owner of those thoughts is aware and present to acknowledge those thoughts, then those thoughts existed for the moment they were thought of, therefore suggesting that the one observing those thoughts had to exist in order to observe them. The extra premise missing from his justifications is in clarifying “Whatever has the property of thinking, exists”. This calls on the question of perception. If I perceive something to exist, it is because I thought it to be true and because I think, then I exist; but what perceives my existence? The perceiver cannot perceive himself, so does this mean that if I am not perceived to exist, then I don’t exist? The senses of perception are the only true ways of knowing our existence in our reality, and thinking occurs following the perception of senses through stimulation. If we were to image that our brains were hooked up to a computer that simulated our reality through stimulation of our biological sensations, how would a tangible device detect the intangible conception of cognitive thinking that is not identified by any known sensory detector? The difference between a computer and an intellectual organism is our very ability to think, which is defined as “[having] a particular opinion, belief, or idea about someone or something”. A computer cannot have an opinion or a belief for it is unable to generate afeeling. The matrix seems to allude that the human race had advanced so far into the future that the creation of simulating artificial intelligence (AI) had been invented, so I can see the argument going down the road of posing the conspiracy that through use of such an invention, the human race is envatted in a reality where such an invention does not and could not exist. Thus, leading to assume that if AI does not exist in our reality, then we cannot “break the matrix” but exposing the truth of our artificial reality. Consider that if we are captives of such an advanced intelligence that procured the ability to create a virtual reality too real to doubt because the laws of physics stand to deflect such doubts, then the act of doubting against these laws would have to be made impossible. As human beings, we created the Scientific Method because it is of our nature to question what is unknown and then move to exposing the truths to explain what becomes known. If those who “created the matrix” wanted to hold us as prisoners, then why feed into our ability to reason and progress with knowledge by making the very option of thinking of “breaking the matrix” possible? Simply put, if they are so smart to create something so incredible as a virtual reality, why would they not make it impossible to question this virtual reality? Because, as we all know, what makes us human is the ability to conceptualize and invent and progress in uncovering the unknown in the ultimate quest in betterment of living. If they didn't want us to “break the matrix” and free ourselves from their greedy and selfish agenda, then they wouldn't allow us to invest any thought on the idea to begin with in fear of us figuring them out. Furthermore, the idea that we are living in the matrix closes the door on believing that life has no meaning, that we are simply serving as a life-force to generate a larger system. If that were the case, then what is the point of being intelligent in the first place? Animals are a life force but are not intelligent. Would this mean that having intelligence creates a stronger life force? Now we are calling to question an abstract thought of “life forces”, an unsubstantiated imaginary label on something we are nowhere near in solidifying an actual platform of understanding. As you can see, the road to believing that we are in a matrix leads down a silly and unprecedented train of thoughts going to the land of nowhere. ***************************************

@Ajax ????? Encore!

@Arik Thank you for your thoughtful response. Your directions are reinforcing to my practice. Sometimes one just needs a little support. You know somethin, I could liken this path we walk on towards enlightenment to the orbit around a black hole. I suppose the process includes this tedious spin around the parsimomy of attainment, while it's not so obvious. And that moment of enlightenment, well we can't know what's in a black hole until we've been through it.

@Truth I admire your refocus on the true purpose behind a powerful sit. @Arik I prefer the Do Nothing sit, as well, and I have a question for some insight; maybe if both of you and anyone else can chime in, of course. So I've been noticing in my recent sets that after 10 to 15 minutes, I reach the calm and peaceful state where I am almost letting go so I may fall into the nothingness and let it consume me. This is like the breaking point most of the time because I will become aware of being at that point and it will anticlimax, bringing me out of my mind, back into a regular state. Question: How do you work on reducing this awareness from awakening after you seem to have already gotten the monkey chatter under control? Is it simply trying not to try, even more so than in the method that is already prevalent to meditation? If so, then damn, I guess J wouldn't be too surprised at such a truth to be confounding. Also, does it make sense to begin with the awareness technique and then directing that awareness into the sensations of the self before letting go of awareness into the do-nothing method. I found myself to naturally fall into this routine.

Sometimes the most solid approach may sound too direct, even too simple and unreal, but I am responding to your post because I have been in your shoes myself.... It really takes time and patience with yourself in slowly letting go of the fear. Reassurance from your loved one and working on improving your confidence will help your psyche trust that things will be okay. You must realize the reality of what is happening here: unjustified fear and jealousy will ultimately push her away. Don't hurt yourself any more. You deserve her love and you deserve to be free from that which binds you. It's a simple process through a difficult journey, but it gets easier and eventually ceases. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

There is a point during my meditation that sometimes occurs, if I'm lucky and deserving, of which I cannot explain in words of how it feels, nor am I (yet) confident enough to make an inference on what it may or may not be.... It's truly amazing, though, kind of painful in a sense, and definitely frightening, but mostly in a good way. This moment of a sensation that I cannot describe, I'm wondering if anyone can relate to it and if they may share thoughts on their experiences? ?

FEB 28 Sun in:9°11' Pisces Moon in:3°01' Virgo AS in:12°04' Taurus MC in:27°15' Capricorn

This gave me chills. I very much love the detail of thought that went in to creating the piece. I noted the size of the person in comparison to the houses, the many layers that flow through the darkness, and what seems like a heartbeat in the first layer. Thank you for sharing, Leo!

I have been wondering about this issue and came to the conclusion that if I am truth, which is never changing and always it, then it cannot be accessed by rigid techniques alone. They are of our own perception of how it all works, anyways, right? They are well and good for the process but it all begins with being calm and patient in settling into the seat before embarking on the ride. What trips me up is wanting to ensure that I will remain comfortable for the session so I can be restless at first. My thoughts that I just mentioned are the same as a mantra to myself when I'm deviating from the task at hand. Haha ?

Looks good! Haha you wanted to all along, huh. Now, if you were a female, I'd contemplate on the psychology behind such a rash decision. I wonder why it doesn't apply in the same manner to guys....

I feel the fact that you are looking for an affirmation to your decision in life is a sign that you are not doing it for the right reasons. The right reason is what YOU want for whatever YOU believe it signifies to YOU. Asking for advice or perspective is one thing, but blatantly putting your will in the hands of others, (strangers, in fact), is........ But, hey, nothing wrong with being spontaneous and adventurous. ☺