UnbornTao

I found 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?

Memes.

Consider that you might be believing things without acknowledging that you are.

I'm liking this! 'Where' might not be the best question to ask. 'What' is better, more open. What is an emotion? What occurs in your experience? What is melancholy? What do you "do" prior to feeling that way? You might think that hearing something made you feel a certain way - as if your state were dictated by an external factor - a melancholic song, in this case. Say the song was playing, but you were deaf. Now what? What does this suggest? Obviously, you first have to perceive something. Can the emotion be produced without the external stimulus - at will? If so, what does this possibility suggest relative to the source of emotion? This half-assed line of questioning can hopefully open some doors.

OK then.

Social media bios. The concept of selling oneself - as a "marketing" strategy - to get what you want.

Agree. In the way I'm using the term, not really. A discovery is by definition an encounter with the reality of something, whereas belief is basically a thought about the reality of something. Analogously, it would be like seeing Santa Claus yourself versus merely believing in his existence (sorry, kids). Hmm... this sounds good, and it smells like a belief itself at the same time. Just my intuition, I could be wrong.

Let's see how the situation plays out from now on. Hopefully, and naively, the transition occurs and goes smoothly.

Good news, everyone!

Good. Science doesn't demand belief (as much, perhaps), so in that sense, whether an experiment or discovery is factual is more relevant than whether we believe in it or not. Belief is - or should be, in theory - less present in scientific circles and methodologies. It could go much deeper than what initially comes to mind, though. What are belief and the act of believing? If you set aside any form of conjecture, assumption, hearsay, learned notion, belief - what's left in your experience relative to the nature of things? Nothing, most likely - this is virtually a universally-shared condition.

How so? Unless it were a religion, why would it have to involve belief if so-called existence is presumably what's being sought? Belief is antithetical to discovery.

I liked this. It's tricky because, even though we might be cognizant of this trap on some level, we can still be under the spell of beliefs. To be clear, I don't want to give the impression that believing is bad. Mistaking this activity for the truth is another thing - which is what we have to increasingly become aware of, if discovery and growth are our goal. What do I think is true that I haven't personally experienced?

Doubt that's entirely accurate. In any case, you'd be making the case for corruption in the simile above

(Misleading) Marketing is conformity, too. This reminds me of the whole-grain bread I used to buy at the supermarket. Reading the food labels on the back, I found out it was actually about fifty or sixty percent whole grain.

The minimalism movement.

I thought this would be on the psychedelic subforum. What is fear, though? Something to contemplate.

Don't you dare slander Godd Howard like that.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1sj9nyr/my_manager_watching_how_i_work_after_i_hit_the/

Hmm, the Tao Te Ching would be a top contender for me. If you read it with attention, it makes your mind go "huh, what is this?" at a foundational level, creating room for it to doubt its entire conception of reality. It confronts the reader with their own momentary inability to grasp what the text is actually pointing at, which remains a mystery. Sitting with that tends to create a stark contrast to your ordinary experience that makes you realize that there's something real there that you have yet to comprehend - beyond what the mind can do with it.

I don't think this is going anywhere productive or sensible.

Wave at us when you're entering the atmosphere.

I said I would take the bait, but this is too much. Take care.

So it turns out the moon wasn't made of cheese, after all. What a bummer.

💪

Taking drugs. Superheroes.