UnbornTao

I wasn't looking for a definition with my initial question, but rather trying to ("magically") sense the place the OP is coming from. Maybe there was never a big hairy dick to begin with - nor a self. Get enlightened and then tell us the secret. Either way, we'll have to grasp it for ourselves, so that's the rub.

@Sincerity I see, thank you.

Not sure. Are you implying that self is objective?

Since you mentioned drugs and seemed to be looking for validation, I'm inclined to say it might not be as profound or genuine as you think it is. Even if it is, clarify that for yourself: What did you go through or are conscious of now? And the hearsay isn't useful. Keep going.

What's God?

Seems quite interesting. Love the design.

™️

I thought he was being sarcastic.

- Men

What's a self?

Sounds like an experience, so keep contemplating. Good luck.

It's a genocide

I see. Bring to the fore assumptions you guys hold by asking specific and yet open questions and dialoguing about a particular subject. This helps you open up your minds.

Quick thought but it's useful not to take what you feel as the decisive factor when assessing the accuracy or veracity of something, if that's what's taking place here. Sometimes the truth is threatening to the self; it not only unsettles you but goes against you in a certain way. It's easy to assume that something or someone agreeable and validating meets the criteria of truth, so to speak. Yet, consider that some enlightened Zen masters would beat you with a stick and be strict or harsh with you - quite the opposite of the common image of the charismatic, loving, and lovable figure who tells us what we want to hear in a pleasing way.

Shame on you - I can be both philosophical and stupid.

Works for what? Seriously. (I'm not saying it doesn't work, it's a real question.) Whatever it works for isn't going to be it nor "lead" to it. It's out of the picture so to speak, as it doesn't play by the rules. I invite you to consider it isn't like that, because we don't currently know what direct consciousness is about. You still think it is an experience or perception. Actually, Ramana just went through or imagined what his death would be like. He didn't know about or was pursuing awakening, he simply grasped the truth. It's not a fucking process, hence "direct." It just looks like that for us outsiders.

They do know a thing or two about direct consciousness, and that's where they're coming from. This isn't to say psychedelics can't be beneficial, but that's the point: beneficial at what? Point to anything they do, and it's going to be relative. Nothing can produce direct consciousness because it's not a process. Changing brain activity is still just changing brain activity. There's no causal relationship between what happens in your experience and this direct business. Enlightenment isn't an event that happens or is experienced. I've had breakthrough 5‑MeO experiences that I'd categorize as "bliss." Even though they're moving - and as impossible as it is for the mind to accurately assess what may have occurred - in the end it's only a state, another experience. People can easily gum up their preconceptions with what happens in the trip, and this seems incredibly common, almost inevitable to a point. It would also be incredibly easy and tempting for me to delude myself into thinking I had an awakening or actually grasped something for real. You get swayed by the experience. I'd talk about bliss, Love Awakening, God, my spiritual journey, Oneness, freedom - this and that - and most of you guys would eat it up indiscriminately, not knowing the difference between phenomena and direct apprehension. But I don't do that, because it isn't true. I once had a "no-self" insight (I don't even like saying that) while walking the dog. Who's up for that religion? Dog-walking your way towards enlightenment. It's a bit like believing you can get dressed by using clothing design software. No matter the design or sophistication of the software, these are entirely separate domains. It's the dream‑stimulant analogy again: wherever you look and whatever you do isn't it, and there's no way to get from here to there. This impossibility has to be deeply experienced. At the same time, it is possible to grasp it now - for everyone.

@Yimpa We could say that, in that photo, the act of counting is taking place - hence it is factual, as is their act of making observations. They are perceiving something - some object - the number of which they disagree on. A "fact" can fall into the category of what is obvious and taken for granted. An opinion, on the other hand, may be regarded as their current view or judgment of the situation; in this case, that the count they are making is correct from their point of view. Or something like that, maybe.

You have an unusual notion of opinion and fact… I don't follow the inferences and assumptions you make to reach those conclusions. Now, independent of ourselves, we could ask what's actually occurring in any given situation or condition - or what's true. That would be something else, I'd say. And opinions couldn't touch that, no matter how fervently we defend our notions and desires.

Not offering free or virtually free, universal, high-quality education. Letting money get in the way of research and education, in various ways - while billions are spent on wars Failing to provide free universal healthcare, at least in the U.S. Fucking up the planet for monetary gain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ Is it a rick roll? Only one way to find out. Try this: https://youtu.be/8m7Ybp3Ehrs?si=tpseeHcZ2g6Pi7G_