UnbornTao

Exactly

No lasagna for you.

Low quality post. If you'd like, start a new thread but this time being clear on what you are trying to get across.

"What we have opened up so far in this experiment is an opportunity to get clear that most of us are not clear where our experience of the world, of others, and of ourselves in the world is actually happening. In other words, we often encounter life through some theory or belief, rather than encountering life as we actually live it. As a result, we attempt to comprehend or understand life as it is encountered through these theories or beliefs, rather than comprehending life as it is actually lived. And as a consequence, we interact with life (the world, others, and ourselves) from these theories or beliefs, rather than interacting with life as it is actually lived. A master encounters life as it is lived, and as a consequence deals with life as it is lived, rather than dealing with life through the filter of some theory or belief. It is not that a master has not theories or beliefs, rather a master holds his or her theories, beliefs, knowledge, and experience so to speak above himself or herself so that it doesn't act as a filter, but illuminates what is encountered." --Werner Erhard

A nihilistic perspective may be adopted to justify one’s own lack of action. There is a deep-seated bias in your desires and preferences motivating you to think this way. You question and doubt why to do something instead of why not to do it, hoping to find a reason, a motive, or an inherent meaning that moves you to action, as if they were hidden under rocks. This desire stems from feeling as if one's self and life are lacking. Otherwise, you remain lazy and complacent, gratifying your immediate impulses, avoiding any kind of confrontation and hard work. Nihilism keeps you comfortable in your unconsciousness, in your passivity, and in your defeatist attitude. In its nature, this disposition is more ego, more unconscious behavior. Ask yourself why you decide to adopt it, if you do. Another important factor is not realizing that you have deliberately decided to adopt such a mentality at some point. Acting nihilistically is your activity, which you can stop doing. This involves becoming experientially aware of the root of the action itself. Another option is simply to recognize that this is something you want to experience since you are doing it, and therefore you might as well enjoy it. Enjoy it, you want to experience it. What is not recognized within this disposition is that taking non-meaning as negative is still significant! You are giving that fact a negative meaning. To hear the proposition that life is devoid of meaning requires hearing it as such; if it is devoid of meaning, it cannot be negative! It could be said that reality transcends meaning. Life, your life, is a blank slate waiting for you to build the meaning you want. I recommend that this be constructive and empowering for you. It could be, as powerful examples, discovering the truth, understanding everything, transcending your self, mastering life, mastering a couple of skills. Clearly, creating something—anything—requires being responsible for realizing it; being the source of the meaning of your life, that is, nothing and no one is going to do it for you, but it entirely depends on you. For the same reason children play, the main reason behind your actions could simply be to enjoy the act and the process of playing the game itself; doing something, anything, with full attention and presence, with enjoyment, sensitivity, and excellence, until your mother calls you for dinner. Like any game, when all is said and done, it is free from a final purpose that will bring you an idealized sense of completion. Life itself is like a game, whose purpose lies in playing with all your being and mastering the game, in understanding all its components and playing to win, to finally put the game pieces back in the box. Otherwise, enjoy your non-meaning, as it is meaningful to you. -- wordy and convoluted. will edit it at some point.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Good question and a better one to ask oneself: What is greed?

Might polish this up at a later time. Effectively, in this case no. That's what is meant by direct. The realization is the beingness of it; there is no separation. Is is you now. Therein lies the mystery. Why it occurs is just that it somehow occurs. Some people might spend their lifetimes meditating without getting very far, while another might comprehend it without much prior work or intention—or with no previous training at all, like Ramana, though he is an extremely rare case. Go figure. Then again, “why” might not apply; it’s us getting ahead of ourselves. What is it? (I’m talking about the realization itself, not the thoughts about something called “awakening.”) You're still considering it as something. It is no thing, nothing, not nothing, something, everything, all and neither. It exists in the domain of paradox. One can't grasp infinity through the mind. As a game, try to think of infinity. Now, notice everything your mind comes up with is not and can't possibility be, it. The best it can do is imagine, "lots and lots going on forever." This is a notion and as such, relative. Oh, and just to be clear, that doesn’t mean you can’t say anything about it—that’s what language is for. So, if you want a definition, it’s becoming deeply conscious of the absolute nature of you and existence. And there's no substance to it so in truth nothing to be explained. You can articulate shifts within your experience and perhaps the impact it had on your mind, but these are secondary to it, and seem as varied as there are individuals in the world. There is no position to be had. Either one grasps it or does not. Where the work needs to happen is within your experience. What we think of it makes no difference and is standing right now in the way of us wondering about it. Here, we’re having fun chatting. We find ourselves unconscious of our own true nature. Why? We just do. Everything we do occurs within the "dream", so it itself can't produce an experience of waking up. Who does? You. As we exist within it, everything we have is our experience of the dream. In this state, we encounter a paradoxical fact; everywhere we look, ourself isn't to be found. And yet, it seems that having the intention to wake up opens up the possibility for it to occur. That is contemplation. Is the event of waking up caused by what preceded it within the dream? From within the dream, it might appear that way. Having awoken, though, whatever action was thought to be the catalyst, is recognized to have been part of the dream. Independent from all that, somehow "you" woke up. Have you heard of the koan Mu? That’s the ultimate “answer,” and appropriate here. Mu

@Razard86 Edited my response above a bit. All you talk about is relative.

What does it take for you to create your own feedback? One thing that comes to mind is paying closer attention to what you are aware of, thinking, and doing throughout any given process, activity, event. Increase your conscious sensitivity--openly aware to what's in front of you. And keep going in that direction of increasing awareness.

@Razard86 Too much "this and that" and asserting things. Things like "there is more than one absolute" are BS. It is clear to me that is not coming from a breakthrough. You can take it as it is.

@Razard86 That's a bunch of intellectual ideation, you are not clear on your nature.

It's a tricky situation. Essentially, talk him out of it. I don't know the person, and this isn't therapeutic advice. I could point out that this ideation might be based on a desire for acknowledgement, or on a belief that one's emotional pain is unbearable for oneself. This isn't true. Maybe bring up situations when you've felt similarly to him, and tell him they just pass and life moves on. Show him he's stronger than he thinks. Situations of that nature can be used as lessons in many ways. But suicide itself is an act of cowardice, and rather foolish. Maybe getting grounded and detaching oneself from the circumstances help him see the situation more dispassionately, impersonally, free of so much drama and turmoil. Just some thoughts.