UnbornTao

And even then... Human nature doesn't seem to have changed much, in the same way that our bodies haven't evolved much or at all either. What's changed has been mostly the environment we live in and the technology we use, with some learning added on top of our condition.

Cultish thinking does seem to be present in every area of culture. From an outsider's perspective, it is easy to see any sort of "spiritual" group as a cult. It is safe and warranted, there's a lot of crap that people invent. When the work is real and deep it gets weird for some people. Have to contemplate what a cult is.

Why isn't a person at a bar straight about his or her intentions? Why go through pretending to be interested in the other person when getting laid is why you're there in the first place? What if you were honest about it? "I want to get laid." We have to go through a game of pretension. Do you really care about the other person, or are you using the interaction just to have sex? I know that doesn't work, interesting to see ways in which being direct is discouraged and undermined in our culture.

Why are you posting here? What do you mean?

He even wears a robe that resembles rat's skin, so that everyone's clear his branch is Rat Buddhism. Seriously though, I'd say none. Buddha didn't invent buddhism. So, not about religion.

Sounds like some sort of emotional reaction on your part. People can be exceptionally skilful. I know it can be hard not to resent masters but once you pay attention, you realize that you can learn from them. In fact, it is likely the most effective way for you to learn. Being willing to learn from a master can make you feel like a little person, on the other hand, your ability can improve dramatically thanks to them.

Solid. If you want to improve your posts, be concise. You should use a more open or "wider" expression. No need to explain every little detail about something.

Eating habits seem to boil down to personal preference. There, strongest argument there is.

Ok.

Fair. That's an analogy, though.

Powerful quote that resonates with me: from a talk given 5/7/1989 Vernon Howard's Higher World - MP3 CD Volume 27, talk 679, track 25

I love words. If you think about it, why call it love if it's absolute? Why give it the name of a human emotion? Notice you're holding love as a relative. The word is popular, do we know what it is, though? Good advice.

You is a good one -- if coming from direct experience, as you say. If it's absolute, how come it is a facet of something else? Is love a part of god? This is for fun. Notice how fantasising may be less likely to occur with less common words such as truth, being or absolute as opposed to god and love. As a teacher, filling the student's mind with too much stuff can be detrimental to her own process.

What about Absolute or Truth? These leave the matter up for grabs, which is good. What do they try to point to unless you become conscious yourself? People hear love and will pursue their fantasies and expectations of what it means, since everyone assumes to know love. Calling it true or truth isn't fancy. A bit like the equivalent of calling stretching yoga. An open inquiry gets conditioned from the start with the result they expect to find. This is why I think it is misleading to call it love from the viewpoint of facilitation. Anyway, banana or truth, the key is personal consciousness.

You're already you. Why fear it? I keep thinking you're talking about something different -- states, maybe -- from awakening.

What is Maturity? is so good. Listening to it again. Several points hit home. The ability to compromise, refusing to engage in emotional manipulation tactics, sacrificing oneself for a greater purpose. Ironically (or not), I seem to be less mature in certain aspects now than when I was a child.

@Razard86 Good, thank you. What do you mean by communicating with the universe?

Why call it love if it's absolute?

@Razard86 Not clear to me what you said. Authenticity and integrity as principles, along with other things. This relates more to style than substance. I was pressing you to get clearer in your experience so I can better understand your posts. What do you mean by non-dual state? What are the two minds that you say the body has? It also sounds like you're turning a concept of enlightenment into a cosmology or model (karma, chakras), if that's what you're talking about.

@Razard86 I'm the one asking. What are you trying to get across?

Can you clarify what you mean?

We could say that biology constructs sex and a great deal of gender. Gender also seems to involve a lot of concept. Anyway I'm not interested in this now.

Special is far from it.

Nice, from that place you can now ask deeper questions. "Hey, how come I'm bored? What is this experience called boredom? Why is it there?", for example.

It hasn't up to this point, so it wouldn't be difficult to extrapolate.