UnbornTao

I haven't really learned how to play yet; need to practice much more.

Poor, poor robot.

This might be a naive suggestion, but what software do you use? You might find Scrivener to be an efficient way to organize the project. You can break it down into sections and smaller documents, keep all relevant files in one place, see the big picture, etc.

Exchanging beliefs can be useful but it is not the same as becoming conscious of stuff.

Depends on what you mean by spirituality and what your goals are. Essentially, I'd say that its ultimate purpose is becoming conscious of the absolute truth, aka "awakening." Another purpose could be to become increasingly honest with oneself - aligned with what's true on every level.

Iced tea.

Of course. this is a joke

Not sure I've experienced something similar, but I appreciate the sentiment. Sensitivity can be very powerful.

You MONSTER! Leave the tree alone!

It has to be authentic, though - it has to come from a personal insight instead of a theory. Important principle.

Can't prove a belief system. Go after what's true regarding what you are.

You take for granted what self, life, and you are. Why not start there?

Although his group eventually turned into a cult and he engaged in some controversial behavior, he was also profoundly "awakened" - arguably the closest thing to a modern-day Ramana. If you're not familiar with this kind of "spiritual" content, the whole thing might understandably give off some weird vibes. In any case, you can give it a listen.

What are those things before you knew them as such - beyond their relationship to you? What are they prior to logic - even prior to your perception of them? Perhaps there were no "things" there to begin with, and what you're calling this may be nothing but an activity. How could you even begin to approach that, coming from the taken-for-granted world we live in?

Did you make a breakthrough? Did you have a new experience - see something you hadn't seen before? Are you personally and undeniably conscious of the nature of experience? It might be that what you call direct is, in fact, indirect. No answer or conclusion will do it - hence the recurring mu koan joke. What do you expect an answer to give you?

Don't worry, on this thread it's about the questioning itself. Thanks for your answers!

Truth as what is. Like Archimedes and his "eureka" moment - not a conclusion but a personal consciousness of the truth. Thank you.

@Anton Rogachevski It’s been a fruitful interchange. Yes, the goal was simply to open up a bit and contemplate experience. Is there more to be found? Yes, the truth - maybe a breakthrough, or an insight into what experience is. But as we can see, that’s not readily available. It's a matter of personal effort. I skimmed your article. It looks like it took a lot of work, and it’s a smart analysis. It seems to point toward a more “bare” experience of the present moment, which is probably a move in a positive direction. But of course, reading and logical understanding are only the first step.

@theleelajoker Thanks for your input! Now, what would you say experience is? We can look into that.

Not me But it happens. I think the videos use "/articles."

https://www.actualized.org/insights/wrong-state

Of experience? It's an idea.

She created language as a context in her experience.

"Experience" is what we conventionally regard as coming after perception, though we typically make no distinction between the two - 'I perceive this pencil, therefore I’m experiencing it.' Direct experience, however, would be the apprehension of being prior to perception - getting to the being of the object, whatever that may be. The former is a process, a function of interpretation and meaning-making; the latter, a function of consciousness - an encounter with the thing-itself.

Are you a self? There you go.