UnbornTao

Being committed and disciplined to your vision frees you from day to day cravings, distractions, pleasures, etc. Momentary circumstances and moods stop deciding your actions.

Generating ideas and authentically expressing them is such a source of joy for me.

The way you speak reflects how you think. How you act reflects your motivations. When something is done repeatedly, it becomes a self-characteristic. Changing how you think will in turn change your actions.

Being grounded in the present gives you sustenance, so to speak. What more can you wish for?

Contemplation can happen regardless of state. However, there are states more conducive to insight than others. Practice contemplating regardless of state.

What are some mood stabilization principles?

Where implies space. When, time.

@Salvijus OK, fair enough. I can see where you're coming from. Math is a discovery created by humans. Appreciate it.

Isn't this basically falling into the trap of confusing the model for reality?

Your mood can influence how you listen to a communication. Check it out.

Where?

I don't know whether some Americans are just fishes who don't know they're in water, but over here Trump is an obvious pathological liar, ruthless manipulator, etc etc.

@Topspin715 we start from the assumption that there's an external, objective world independent of you. The corollary to that is that you are separate from that world. So we say: if humans were extinct, math would still be "out there." Would it, though? Weren't numbers themselves had to be invented at some point in human history? Isn't symbolism a kind of language? Language isn't found in nature. Rocks and trees don't care. The mere activities of perceiving and experiencing have to be present in order for math to be possible to come into existence. Where does math happen? Only through the human mind. Who chooses to put artificial boundaries on a supposed "object" and decides to add it to another object, making "two"? That in itself is an activity. Without the activity, the objects are just what they are. Reality is, math happens within it.

Do you justify what you do on the basis of habit, no matter how unnecessary, ineffective and disempowering? ... But I've always been X (shy, extroverted, funny, etc, etc). Realize that what you've come to identify with is not you. Then, freedom from it is possible.

I automatically relate to "discovery" as an invention, don't know what's up with that. Was America discovered, or was it created? Depending on viewpoint, both are the case. An explorer discovered it. On the other hand, that land was created throughout millennia by natural processes. It's fair to consider math a discovery, relatively speaking, but not as existential, I'd say. Find me some math. Where is it?

I don't think so, not absolute truth. The absolute would be the domain of "enlightenment." Facts, yes. Probably math along with physics are the most grounded domains of human scientific knowledge.

The argument is ontological. What does it mean for a thing to exist? A chair isn't a chair, it just is. Humans create chair. It's a human activity, fundamentally. Do the trees exist with no one to perceive them? I guess it'd be better to turn the thread into a contemplation of discovery and invention, what those are. It seems that, absolutely speaking, everything comes from nothing. So in that sense everything is "invented." Both, maybe? Fun topic.

With spiritual practice, sensitivity towards the present moment increases. You become more present, real and effective. This may result in a few temporary drawbacks.

I've been starting to feel contented for no reason. My presence has intensified. It has made me more effective but fear creeps in on the background of my experience. Dropping self-aspects can hurt sometimes. When something I've come to identify as "me" (a preference, like, perspective, worldview, habit, trait) is seen as adopted, it's freeing and self-expanding.

Without humans to perceive and interpret, is there math? I'd say invented is the word, instead of developed.

To make a better impression on others and not sound like a jerk, it's best to be open in your expression and not too grounded.

Better to get it yourself instead of speculating about it.

Tips for increasing creativity: Meditate Reinvent something from scratch Do nothing, especially for long periods of time; free your awareness Be mundane and boring Pursue mastery Get introduced to a wide range of subjects Pursue new experiences continuously Investigate the overlooked obvious

Where are they coming from? What set of assumptions are they holding and operating from?

What is: Insight Breakthrough Direct experience Direct consciousness Understanding Intellect Becoming aware Becoming conscious