PetarKa

I have come to a paradox of sorts. Before I explain what my main idea is, let me set the foundation. For those of you who might not be familiar with this CONCEPT, and it really is just a concept, of "The map is not the territory.", it basically means that I / we do not "know" reality. We can only make models (maps) of it. For example, all of our scientific models about reality aren't "true", they are not the real thing. They are only a model / map / lens which we use to make sense of and interract with reality (the territory). And we can never be sure whether a particular model is accurate or will be accurate in the future. If gravity has been tested over and over again, millions of times even, I still can't guarantee that my model of gravity will work in the future (upon finding a different result). So finally, I can tell you what the paradox is. Well, like I said, the map is not the territory [concept 1]. BUT the concept of "The map is not the territory." is just another concept (another map) [concept 2]. And also the concept that the concept of "The map is not the territory." is yet again ANOTHER MAP [concept 3].And the concept that the concept that the concept of "The map is not the territory." IS YET AGAIN ANOTHER CONCEPT!!!!! And like this it goes on ad infinitum (to infinity). So is it possible to escape this inifite cycle of maps / concepts? Are we doomed to realize that the map is not the territory and be stuck in this infinite regress? Or perhaps a hidden answer lies within Enlightenment... What do you think?

I have been struggling with these existential ideas for several months now. Namely, I have the following view on reality: the future or the past DO NOT EXIST. They are just thoughts. The only thing that exists is NOW. Not even the thought of NOW is real. Just NOW is the real thing. And if past and future don't exist then how could I possibly do something with a goal in mind e.g. goals for tomorrow, this month, this year, 10 years from now, etc.? I just can't bring myself to do anything because of this internal conflict. I you want me to explain a bit more, search "Stuck In Time" on the forum or just go to my posts. If anyone has any advice, please share...

Watch the whole video. Could science be making advancements towards the metaphysical?

During the last year or so I was hyper-hiding the personal development I do from people who don't do PD. I don't know why I did this. Perhaps I didn't want to be ridiculed and become a black sheep. Perhaps I was doubting myself whether I genuinely believe in what I was doing (PD). Regardless, I am curious about how you deal with this issue. Are you completely open about it? Or do you hide it and conceal it whenever the topic arises?

I agree with @Moreira . I believe the music shapes A LOT of societies values and beliefs about the world. The most prominent ones being: Romantic love and how that works Bitches and money = success Drugs are the way to go! Party every day and get hangovers! Woohoo! Some songs are depressing... The neurotic grind and work are important for their own sake. Don't get me wrong, not all songs spread debilitating ideas. But most of them do... Even the ones which spread good ideas, I find, usually spread some negative ideas as well. This is my opinion.

This ^^^! Even the "past" and the "future" don't exist. The only things that exist are memories of the past and expectations / ideas about the future. But those things are always happening IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.

Also watch this:

I don't know the situation in your country, but why don't you start looking for jobs. I mean you are 18 and eligible for work. Find a place to stay, maybe a friend's place, sleep on the floor if you have to and you should be able to buy food and water for yourself with your job. Also, could you imagine not being stressed out and still take massive action? I know it sounds cliche, but being stressed out doesn't help. Focus just on finding a solution. Stressing out is pointless and will even slow you down. Just try to change your perspective, but still strategize and make your moves -- like a game of chess. You want your freedom? Stress will not get you there... Stay strong, stay smart. Good luck!

So you may not completely resonate with the terminology that I use here but I think you will get the idea. Basically, the purpose / reason for LITERALLY ANY human action in life is: TO MAXIMIZE THE QUALITY OF ONE'S CONSCIOUSNESS. And I'm not just talking about awareness like Leo does. I mean that literally every human being on Earth has this very same purpose whether they know it or not. So what do I mean when I say TO MAXIMIZE THE QUALITY OF ONE'S CONSCIOUSNESS? Well, when you are hungry why do you go and eat? Because you want to satisfy your hunger. Simple enough. But what is hunger? It's basically a feeling. This is what I mean when I refer to the quality of your consciousness. Life is just one giant stream of momentary consciousness -- this moment is consciousness, the moment after that also, etc. etc. So when I say "the quality of your life" that's the same thing as saying "the quality of your consciousness." But the quality of your consciousness is not determined by how much money you have, or how skilled you are at something, or how famous you are. It is ONLY determined by the FEELINGS / EMOTIONS / EXPERIENCES you have e.g. your happiness, fulfillment, the passion you experience on a regular basis, the wonder, beauty, and magnificence you are able to see in the world. Even benevolence is done for the same reason -- the joy it will bring when you help the world. Even pursuers of Truth do this for the same reason. They want to KNOW, and to them, satisfying their thirst for Truth is a worthwhile way of maximizing the quality of their consciousness. Plus all of the bliss that might come from that. But this is also why people are protective or even agressive. Because they want to protect something (their body, their property, somethings that's "theirs") which in one way or another contributes to the maximizing of the quality of their consciousness. It's also why they might seek power or fame. Because power lets them manipulate reality easier and fame basically creates the illusion that their worth has increased and because they see themselves as a separate entity in the world, they think that this entity has somehow become more powerful and can therfore influence reality easier and can therefore (in one way or another) maximize the qual. of their consc. The same can be said for almost ant low-consciousness behavior. You just have to analyze it deeply. The only thing that I struggle to fit in this model is SURVIVAL and MAXIMIZING THE LENGHT OF ONE'S LIFE / CONSCIOUSNESS. I mean is that still a way of optimizing one's consciousness -- life (consciousness) is better than death (no consciousness)? This is a long post, I know. But even with a post as long as this one, I couldn't really fully explain all of this theory / model which I honestly believe explains alot! I want to write this on a 5×5 card to read every day -- like a mission statement: My purpose in life is to: MAXIMIZE THE QUALITY OF MY CONSCIOUSNESS. I think it would be a great idea. What do you think? Do you think this theory is sound?

This is something I struggled to fit into this model -- namely contribution. But when you think about it, why do we want to contribute in the first place? Because it will make us happy. So in a way, that is still maximizing our consciousness, but in a selfless sort of way. I will say it again in order to avoid confusion: I struggled to find appropriate words to describe my model. In the end I ended up using a variation of Leo's model. If anyone can think of a better sentence, please share. ?

I've heard that if you are concerned about your health that too much protein can be bad for the kidneys -- they will be overworked because they clean out the amonia (waste) which is a byproduct of protein absorption. I've heard that the recomended amount of protein is 1gram per kilogram of bodyweight (if you are 70kg get 70g of protein daily). Above this and it's not good for your kidneys. Is this true? Some people tell me this is a myth.

The question speaks for itself. What do you think?

I've been contemplating this deeply and these are my conclusions. People do selfless acts because: A) They think it will actually benefit them: That by being kind and giving, in the long run, they will be able do lead a better and more effortless life. Their relationships with people will be much smoother and enjoyable. And ultimately, people will actually give back and return the generosity and kindness. So technically, I wouldn't call this a genuine selfless act. These kinds of acts aren't morally wrong per se. B) They believe that they SHOULD / MUST be kind: Religious people are a typical example of this kind of behavior, although it isn't limited only to theists. Basically, they have a strict rule in mind: kindness is good, unkindness is bad. But I do not understand where (or why) they picked up this rule and bought into it. Any ideas? I still wouldn't call this a genuine selfless act. This is basically moralization. C) They genuinely show concern for the other individual / being: This one is the most difficult to explain. But to me it seems as though, in this case, the individual has an expanded sense of himself and it includes the person he's being kind to. It's like he identifies with the other and is now honestly concerned for his / her wellbeing. This may or may not be tightly connceted to spirituality. D) A mix of reasons A), B), and C). What do you think?

I agree, but for a student of enlightenment it certainly matters who you listen to when it comes to techniques, concepts, etc. Of course non-enlightened people can have valuable insights on the topic, but it is certainly far less likely that you will hear something valuable about enlightenment from, for example, Donald Trump than from an enlightened Zen master with 40 years of experience. Otherwise, how will you judge what is good advice and what is not?

Question: How / Why do enlightened individuals do things that are anything but Being? I mean wouldn't one just Be and sit there in the beauty of it for days on end until he just dies from starvation / dehydration / lack of sleep? That's my fear, that after enlightenment I will just "Be" myself to death... What are your thoughts on this?

What do you do besides spiritual work / matter and your life purpose i.e. Actualized.org? Are there any other goals you have / activities you engage in?

There needs to be a balnace between flexibility and rigidity / order.

@Leo Gura But why did you state in your "Low vs High Quality Consciousness" video that increasing the quality of one's consciousness is the ultimate purpose for literally every lifeform. I mean if I don't want to do that then obviously it is not my purpose. Right? A better way to put it might be: The highest and best purpose one could have is to increase the quality one's consciousness.

But whose teachings would you consider more seriously, for example, on aikido: A) A 9th dan blackbelt sensei who has been practicing aikido for 30 years; B) Me -- who has little more than 3 months of pracitce under my belt? The same goes for most areas of life, even enlightenment.

You can just say "Oh well, I've just learned to live with these crazy ideas. Silly me!" <= Credit goes to another person on this forum, can't remember the username, but he basically said to laugh and make jokes about your "silly" ideas.

Has discovering the ultimate nature of reality and that ultimately nothing matters (success, life, death, goals, etc.) completely annihilated you motivation for anything? Do you still want to deepen your understanding of reality after learning that in the end it doesn't matter? It seems like this is another paradox of reality -- nothing matters, yet you still want to discover the Truth. I ask this because I worry that, after enlightenment, I will just sit and BE forever (in reality, for a couple of weeks) until I die of starvation or dehydration. Is this expected to happen? Also, how did you realize that reality is paradoxical? What evidence do you have of this? I feel like I'm believing that reality is paradoxical on blind fate?

So I've been contemplating deeply recently and I came to the following conclusion: If all there is is existence and consciousness, and every single "moment" in time is just a particular experience / moment of consciousness, then how does it make any sense to do things in the present moment with an intention of achieving something in the future e.g. when I pick up the toothbrush to brush my teeth a couple of seconds into the future? Or even making plans and strategizing about my life? How does it make sense when the only thing "we" have is THIS PRESENT EXPERIENCE? Why would "I" want to improve the quality of my future experinece when they aren't connceted in any particular way? This goes for both short-range and long-range intentions. I hope this makes sense. Because of this logic, I cannot move myself to do any kind of action whatsoever except sitting and lying down (OK, I am exagerating a bit). I feel like I'm breaking some kind of rule when I do sth that is intentional (for the future) e.g. writing this post, walking somewhere, turning on the PC, sitting down to meditate, etc. Would love to hear your thoughts. ?

Avoid trying to convince the other person. If needed, simply hear out their own worldview (on whichever topic) and when they're done you have one bit of new information -- you know what THEY BELIVE. Nothing else. That doesn't say whether they're correct or not. Just that that's their view on the subject. Do with that information what you will.

This. I find it incredibly difficult to do literally ANYTHING because of this. I don't know why, but it bothers me A LOT. Don't know how to deal with this.

Bump. Does anyone else have any insights on this?