UnbornTao

Absolutely, if you're honest. What you faced was an interpretation of being "near" death--the potential for it. Notice this existed as a concept, because you're still alive. Just addressing its reality in your experience is hard to do. Whatever you're identified with exists in contrast to whatever you're not.

I don't get where you're coming from on this thread. In any case... Everyone is afraid of death since it is the antithesis of yourself--no more you. You're holding an idea or notion rather than the fact.

There's nothing in existence that says Nazis or anything else for that matter, can't exist. We as selves work hard to actively avoid death (it is our whole job), yet it is part of "reality." We may identify ourselves as alive beings, so what does that say about this dilemma? Look deeper into identity.

What's reality? Why the identity requisites? What you do, which then may become a self-trait, and what is the case, don't have to be connected. In fact, you can do anything. Where is the issue with acting a certain way and identifying as X or Y? Is eating fruit less aligned with reality than eating bugs? You could identify yourself as a plethora of things: singer, writer, humanity, animal, an entity, a soul, a body, an ape, the universe, a culture. What you are is up for grabs, while identity is open-ended. What is it for real?

Wo ist hier?

You can clarify what your point is and why you're making it, to start with.

What do you mean by "this"? Perceptive organs are biological inventions for the purpose of survival. For example, hearing a threat beforehand has an evolutionary advantage, whereas an amoeba has to be poked for it to move away from the danger. Perception doesn't have to be accurate--represent reality as it is--as long as it works for our survival. What about apparent individuals? Is that somehow produced by "this" (existence) or by you? But this is just an answer. Looking into it and having insight is another thing.

Haha, gringo.

Humans can survive and thrive on a vegan diet, or that's what I've heard. Diet seems to fundamentally boil down to opinion, your own choices. A profound look into identity may be worth it.

An alien for president?

I hope you're being sarcastic!

I guess one reason might be that it is easy to believe in a cosmology (whether religious, scientific, or philosophical) in place of admitting one's own profound existential uncertainty, which is unsettling. Beliefs give us a stand or position from which to look at and make sense of, ourselves, life and the world.

From "we don't know" to "we don't know."

Ahh, sorry for your loss.

Like fish in water. People who travel a lot may notice how culture is invented and that it is something humans have come up with. Certain aspects of it may be useful and intelligent, others might not, but no culture is true. Even tacitly, we tend to generally hold our own culture as the "right" one. Both subtle and gross feelings of threat to one's identity and view of the world may be felt when encountering a group of people from a radically different culture than ours. Consider how a cannibal amazonian tribe thinks, behaves, communicates, and sees the world. This creates a contrast to our own worldview that helps reveal our taken for granted "realities."

No conspiracy theories.

Better to hold it as you instead of an ideal. So, it will be whatever's true of you. How's that?

What does spiritual gain mean? Depends on your goals, and you can live however you want. That doesn't mean there are more empowering ways to live, or that actions stop producing consequences. Going after ideals is doomed to fail from the start--thinking that getting what you want will bring you happiness. The search itself is based on the idea that something is lacking in your experience now that you think must be present, which itself is based on a painful experience. Again, depends on how it's framed. If rather than spiritual gain, we call it becoming aware, having insights, discovering dynamics, or getting free, these are powerful things to do. Whether these produce the expected results on you is secondary. Benefits are side-effects and come as a result of the intention to pursue them for themselves. If your motivation to pursue them is an ideal of completeness, then you might discover that it doesn't work that way. You can be happy while pursuing stuff. Beyond fulfilling one's needs and perhaps some wants, acquiring a possession is like getting a new toy. It can enjoyed, but don't expect it will fulfill you.

We scratch when it's itchy. An analogy for self-survival. We pursue our needs, suffer (seems pretty popular), and want to live as ourselves. There might be more, or not. Taking this as a fun game.

Nice

Made this first one:

Presumption and arrogance, mainly. It's much easier to take up the first story you're told or one you've come up with. In a sense, everyone is guilty of this to a degree. That is, until we start to seriously contemplate subjects we assumed to have known up until that point. The difference is that a minority wants to know while most people choose to remain ignorant--by taking tons of stuff completely for granted. I wonder whether the words ignore-ance and arrog-ance share etymological roots.

Buddhists and Apple fanboys not allowed on the forum.

Of course I missed it. It's only available on IOS.

Why the passive voice? Maybe it isn't gone; you may have just stopped generating interest. Rekindle your enthusiasm for things by discerning how you're using your mind. Focus on creating what you want. In any case, enjoy any state and contemplate it, which shifts your relationship towards it. Besides the advice provided by others (therapy, medication, lifestyle), a couple of episodes by Leo that might help you: The trap of the toxic life purpose Creation vs destruction Good luck.