UnbornTao

Why is 'believe in yourself' a thing in our culture? What is the source of this sentiment?

Why not? And sometimes the emotions show themselves, so to speak.

That is a good question. What is mind?

@Sincerity Go over this thread again:

Godspeed.

What fantasy of yours didn't like being challenged by what I said? Again, if one actually pays close attention, it becomes clear that the game in spirituality is pretension - social or otherwise. But I don't want to keep wasting time, so sure, it's my belief system.

Right. Or pay closer attention.

Ah, got it.

Why do you seek out distraction and entertainment?

This is going to be like reading the Tao Te Ching for people.

Claiming or thinking oneself to be awakened is different from being awakened, or having had awakenings. I suspect lots of people do the former. I'd agree with the assumption that, in this context, virtually no one knows what they're talking about, certainly not at a deep level. It's very easy to conflate some sort of experience with awakening. (Hello).

Stop it with the IQ and race argument.

Your questions were partly answered by my response above. Experience is everything you're aware of. Drugs provide you with an experience, shifting your state of mind. While high, you go through perceptual phenomena, subjective states and such, and you always inevitably come down. What remains is usually a story or memory of what you think happened while on the substance. Having to recall a past experience might already be pointing at the nature of this disparity. I don't know about you but I find that our ability to recollect is nothing short of unreliable and biased. Besides, it's a conceptual activity. If you believe that drugs increase consciousness, you're most likely referring to cognition. Notice how they're taken in the hope of getting enlightened - as a pill that will bring awakening to you - much like drinking coffee in order to experience the effects it has on you. You weren't awakened prior to taking them. This lack of prior contrast as to what is meant by "enlightened" is crucial here. Without it, the stage is set for mischief under those circumstances - which is what I did with my psychedelic experiences, and what many here seem to be up to.

@ExploringReality Kick some ass.

You can start with your name or variations of it and change it down the road whenever you feel a rebrand is fitting. The important thing is starting and setting the pieces in motion. Provide value, let others find your work, have fun and learn. You can also use Claude for brainstorming but no need to get hung up on the name part. This can be done now, with the vision created or refined along the way. Just jot some key points down about what you want to do with the project and what you hope it will help others with, and put it into action.