UnbornTao

OK, thanks for sharing.

I came across this unlisted video while doing some research. It is a sharp observation. (And notice that, at the same time, they still largely fell into the trap they were cautioning against) This can be an extremely subtle and insidious dynamic - in many different domains. Do you think this video, and the very need and impulse to believe, doesn't currently apply to you?

This way of thinking sounds right in theory, but then, what do people do? It's also precisely what is deemed a kind of adolescent and performative resistance in the name of self-reliance. Recognizing this tendency is different from reacting against this childish impulse with more of the same. Observe the real source of the conviction. I propose that there's a basic doubt behind it that is bringing such apparent certainty to the fore, not unlike religious people willing to die for their preferred dogma. Why? You likely recognize that it - idea, notion, view, perspective, mode of thinking, etc. - was adopted from the outside, and our inability to recognize the depth of belief is part of this dynamic. Forget about belief for a moment. What do you take to be true? And how much of that is founded on "personal experience"? (This would have to exclude any form of external filter or knowledge.)

The arrogance of thinking you grasp it because you understand the expression when compared to your own "framework." Contrasting philosophies isn't really the point, either.

What do you mean? It's a real dynamic that is occurring for people. The guy just happens to point to it in real terms. No need to believe in the fact that you believe. For example, if you are on this forum, you likely believe Leo, to a greater or lesser degree, despite what is said to the contrary. What is this activity? We may think that belief is merely a thought or opinion that one holds, like "I believe in Santa Claus" or "I believe this person." It's much deeper than that. Our deepest beliefs aren't seen as such, but as 'reality.'

It's the line between an opinion and a personal encounter. Completely different worlds. I believe in the moon versus I've been on the moon - something like that. And yet it is easy for us to believe that things are true which we haven't gone through, as our minds can fabricate and conceive states and experiences consistent with the way we regard X and Y. Add to this the way we interpret what 'going through something' means. But in theory they're night and day. This belief business is more generally directed at us, the listeners.

Presumably a scientific digital illustration and artistic representation by Russell Kightley.

Through discipline and will, then - for example?

Good to know. Also, it might be an artist's rendition, not a "photograph." But cool nonetheless.

Wayyy too abstract, in my opinion.

Thanks. I meant to say Buddhist, not Nuddhist. Freudian slip, I guess.

Fair enough, although it is a rather important detail to disclose, in my view. If the representation were somewhat accurate, that would be even better. Could mention that creative liberties have been taken.

What about less obvious cults? Can you find some on Christian subgroups or Zen-like sects? Or perhaps Hindu/Buddhist-based?

Ahh, fair enough.

Is it AI? Curious to know.

In a way, it would be hard not to do that, unless you traveled to several countries as a kid and stayed there for a while, I presume.

Nice, good insight. To make it a bit more concrete, what would programming oneself mean in this context?

What about cooking a chickpea stew?

@integral Either rat milk or get out of my house, hippy!

'Spiritual' mental gymnastics.

Might as well be. It's quite convenient too, as he's talking about his own model. There's no denying he was profoundly conscious, but I'm not that familiar with the model. There seems to be a ton of rhetoric and myth around his persona, which I find unnecessary and frankly annoying. This tends to cultivate a culture of followers. I would say it isn't about the content per se, or any assertion made, but whether - well, it is a belief or not. How could we tell? Of course this can be a tricky call to make sometimes. It seems to me this belief-game is what we as a whole are up to in spirituality. And disbelieving is, again, more of the same.

No, thanks. I'd rather have cranberry juice