UnbornTao

Clarify the purpose of your actions. Why am I doing this? What is its function, and is it meeting it? Not knowing what to commit your life to creates catastrophic consequences in the long-term that might not be necessarily apparent at the moment. For example, by not choosing your career deliberately, at the end of your life you'll realize that you spent it on a job you disliked. Besides, not making a decision deliberately can be a form of strategic action. You may feel forced by external factors to make a choice, yet a decision can be postponed until more information about the situation is revealed, for instance. Why do we fall into the path of least resistance? Because, among other things, we aren't clear on what to commit our lives to; we haven't generated that decision for ourselves.

OK. The Montessori method seems to be a good option for that.

@Razard86 What does that video imply? Not offering formal education? Imagine that stance being adopted on a massive scale. A few individuals are intelligent and curious enough to teach themselves. But collectively speaking, mankind probably is much less mature than we imagine. The whole world would likely get much dumber without any form of "compulsory" educational system as the one that's in place in the western world. I prefer to modify the following phrase: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others" Into this one: "The current educational system is the worst form of massive education there is, except for all the others." Or perhaps I misinterpreted you? What do you disagree with? Could you elaborate?

"How can I become more confident and relaxed?" That's a positive framing. It focuses your mind on what you want. Pursuing what you want instead of avoiding what you don't is more effective. Off the top of my head, here is a useful reading list related to your concern: Six Pillars of Self-esteem No More Mr. Nice Guy Be Here Now Thick Face, Black Heart Also, pay attention to lifestyle: Research meditation, specifically mindfulness Exercise daily, eat whole foods, sleep well Look up supplements like Magnesium, Zinc, L-Theanine, CBD oil Check your sugar and caffeine consumption Etc. Fundamentally, being unable to stay fully present is what makes you fearful and anxious.

Nice!

I think that you're right, overall. Windows became "free" years ago. Now the way you pay is with your data. Also, humanity will reach Mars before Windows gets a system-wide consistent UI. To be fair, part of W11's UI has been modernized and made more consistent, which are welcomed changes. New features are implemented extremely slowly, though. Control panel is still there, 8 years later, along with the newer Settings app that was supposed to replace it. I just hope that they keep focusing on it as it seems that Microsoft's interest for the OS got revitalized since it launched. Haha. Only on Windows.™

At that point the distinctions aren't clear then. Awareness is a function of mind, mind is a form of consciousness. My point is that, since none of us is a flower or a donkey, we can't really be sure of what their experiences are like. Your statement is an educated speculation or protection. Enlightenment and development are two different things. Enlightenment recontextualizes your life but doesn't really change it. Fair though. It can be useful in many ways. Love Hawkins. By awakening and enlightenment it is meant direct consciousness into the nature of the absolute nature of some aspect of existence, usually you. Sounds to me like you're using those terms more broadly.

Does it fit your needs? What's preventing you from upgrading to 11? The taskbar was presumably rebuilt from scratch, hence the lack of feature-parity with W10. @Gesundheit2 What about Linux? It's free and can breathe new life into old hardware. But as you say, it isn't popular. Linux gaming is decent enough through emulation layers like Wine. Privacy and security are a serious concern with Windows, plus added telemetry and bloatware. Hence the need for many people to optimize and debloat new installations with third-party apps, or simply switch to another OS. macOS is more closed and less customizable but also offers a simple and consistent UI with great hardware. Apparently, the Unix-like infrastructure (kernel) provides security and privacy that Windows by design can't. What's wrong with Linux? I wish it were widely adopted, too. Hey, advantages can be found to both Windows and macOS. The M2 Air has been decently improved from the previous one, I hear tell. The Pro seems pointless to me, though. Which $999 PC is fanless, can stay silent and cold, and offers that kind of performance + 17 hours of battery life with a Macbook's build quality? Can you find a better overall package than the Air at that price range? Dell XPS is likely one of the only contenders. However, its graphics are a downside. M1 is weak in that aspect. Of course, it ultimately depends on your needs. Mac may not be suited to you in the first place even despite its features.

A perspective on power: Capacity. The ability to make things happen. Effective manipulation (handling) on you, circumstances and others.

Maharshi died of cancer. What you are is independent of your self. Thinking that the relative can produce enlightenment is like thinking that drinking coffee within a dream can wake you up.

Beautiful ?

Power - the ability to make things happen and to manipulate people/circumstances effectively. @Ya know @Leo Gura ??

Enlightenment is about the truth. Healing is about well-being. Different paths with overlapping aspects that can complement each other. I didn't imply that they're mutually exclusive. Can you clarify what you meant by the second sentence?

Enlightenment isn't the result of a process. It happens now, suddenly. Contemplation is the most direct method. But it isn't thought of as the activity that produces it. Because there is none. Spiritual practices help us focus our attention and relax, deepening one's ability to contemplate. Such practices are useful in that regard.

Becoming aware and becoming conscious are distinct. Historically, there have been enlightened warriors who killed people. What is that model referring to? Hawkins assigns an emotion to a level of consciousness. Nice cosmology. Awakening is independent of relative things -- emotions, in this case.

You're conflating enlightenment with healing. Those are different pursuits, with different focus and results. Psychedelics can assist healing and, indirectly, enlightenment work too. But they'll never lead to nor cause it.

@Thought Art I think the argument here is that, unless your mind makes them up, degrees don't exist for themselves out there. There's only Consciousness. Without a mind to interpret and make sense, degrees don't emerge by themselves. Which isn't to say that realization is an off/on switch.

@Salvijus Those terms (consciousness and awareness) are often used interchangeably. A vague use of them can be problematic. The author makes a clear distinction between them while others don't most of the time. If you fail to differentiate between them, you may then believe that dramatically increasing awareness is the same as becoming enlightened.

You produce it. Contemplation is what happens while you're becoming conscious.

Because psychedelics don't produce it. The only way to know what enlightenment is is to become enlightened for yourself.

@Carl-Richard nice ?

Openness manifests as child-like qualities which our collective arrogance tries to shun off. Authentic curiosity and vulnerability may be considered weaknesses in social interactions. Being a grown-up is considered to involve removal of innocence. Of course, we know that it's an act. The arrogance of knowledge: humanity often thinks it has it figured out. Certainty prevents openness. In the future, we might find that what we fervently believed was wrong or inaccurate, after all. This is what science is constantly up do: like on a car trip, whatever the current landscape is seen through the window is considered true. Then, the landscape changes. Things we were certain about: The earth was flat Witches existed The earth was the center of the universe The bare truth most of the time is that we didn't know. As a collective, we're pretty averse to acknowledging that. That act of bravery, in which dear beliefs are let go of, opens up the possibilities for genuine contemplation and research. The wise confront not-knowing and are comfortable basking in it.

@DocWatts Thanks man

@Carl-Richard @DocWatts Do you guys have a list of resources to learn all of this from?

Works for me on Chrome and Brave mobile (both Chromium-based).