Joseph Maynor

Yeah. I don't like the word stories because it is too negatively connotated. Concepts are fine, they just don't capture me. That's it. And it's this inversion that I just discovered. I don't have a fear, I just have a sensation in the skandhas. See the distinction? Concept does not define reality. Reality just is independent of concept.

There is no definition needed. Science is one example of the practical use of concepts. Concepts are fine, they just aren't me. I cling to them or release them, that's my relationship to concepts. And concepts don't underlie me in any way. That's just a concept too, and I can release that.

Ordinary life is not the problem, it's our interpretations of it (concept), and then we wanna build on reality with concept, so we distort the mirror so to speak, which yields a distorted view. And then we want to cling to this distorted view, which too is concept which can be released. I'm not denying that what appears in my skandhas is real. But concepts about what's real is the problem. We can release those, or cling to them but while doing so be aware of what they are. Concepts often have practical utility. But they just can't capture me. That inverts the horse and cart. Concepts have no standing outside of my clinging to them or releasing them.

But why cling to this paradox? The paradox is concept. Couldn't you release that concept?

Words and concepts are two different things and are attached to in similar but different ways. I don't have to cling to the concept of human being. The word usage is irrelevant. I can release the notion that I am a human being. Try it yourself. This is not intellectual. It's clear to me anyway. I will not beat you over the head to get you to see this. That's not my role here. All I'm saying is I see it. I get it very profoundly. And I'm looking for some feedback over this epiphany I've had.

Yeah. When you get little tastes of enlightenment you realize that enlightenment is more like a journey than a destination. If you're working, you're always on the cusp of your next epiphany and growth point. Then it's like wham-o. Oh damn! This is the next level! I'm one notch from before now! How's the air up here? Sniff sniff. How do I adapt to this? How will my life change?

I'd hate to disappoint ya Telepresent but you're stuck with me dude! I win either way to repeat myself. I grow either way. I've been doing personal development work for 17 years. Started when I was 22. So, I grow regardless now because I'm always working at something. Filling holes. No matter what I do now I grow. Something bad happens -- growth. Something good happens -- growth. Two sides of the same coin.

@ajasatya Can I choose to do all those things and still release the notion that I am a human being? Think about it. There is no necessary nexus there. Just because I put food into my mouth doesn't mean I need to cling to the concept that I am a human being. In one case food is attached to. In the other a concept is attached to. Do you appreciate the difference?

@Telepresent Let's not argue about it. I respect his wish. Let's grow constructively. It's better for us anyway. I'll just focus on building rather than tearing-down. They're two sides of the same coin really. You'll get to the same destination on either road eventually. So it's no harm no foul. I'll just worry about my own growth primarily and stop trying to goose others out of dogmatism on here. I don't need to play that role here.

@ajasatya What if I don't cling to the concept that I am a human being? I can release that too can I not?

@Telepresent Leo doesn't want me challenging as much so I gotta cool the combative stuff around here. I'm ok with that. Either way I gain. I challenge because I'm on the path and not dogmatic. I never said I opposed enlightenment. I'm well along on that path myself. Very far along. And this forum is helping me grow.

@Telepresent It's no phish friend. Don't project onto me. You don't know me.

For me I think it's the active-release method. This is where you note and label but you release all thoughts. You label the thoughts as thoughts and then you try to just let them go. It's awesome because it combines elements of mindfulness meditation with learning how to release thoughts.

(1) For example, yes your body changes as you age, but not by much. If I cut one of your fingers off, it will stay cut-off for the rest of your life. And yes your personality changes, but not by much. And your ideas change, but many do not. And your memories, even those seem to have a certain quasi-fixed pattern to them, do they not? Doesn't there seem to be a core of you-ness there even if we get rid of the idea that you are an unchanging-thing? (2) And what about the judger? Doesn't that seem to be the same for you over time? And what assesses and determines what you are in a moment? A judger, a you. Aha! The elephant in the room. And what is considering non-duality and the reasonableness of that theory? A judger. Oops, again, a you! You can't evade the judger. It's always there, unless you are asleep or dead. Of course, you can turn the judger off in a moment, you know that, but you can't keep it turned-off forever. Eventually you have to arrive at conclusions, you have to determine the reasonableness of propositions. That's part of your life too, is it not? Just because you are not an unchanging-thing, do we need to throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater and assume there is no you-ness to you at all? And what is coming to that conclusion? You! Damn! See how I did that! You see, I'm not engaging in mere logic-chopping here. You are determining/judging that there is no you! Do you see the contradiction here? Your judgment that there is no you is not determined by empirical observation or even awareness alone. There is a judgment, a deliberative act, on a thought in a moment: the thought that you do not exist. And that implies a something that is judging, some form of you-ness. And judgment is an act in a moment. You deliberate and then determine whether a proposition is reasonable to accept or not. Am I wrong? What is doing that? Is this some kind of illusion? Ok, well, what is arriving at the conclusion that that proposition -- that the judger and/or judgment is an illusion -- is reasonable to accept? Aha! Do you see the slippery slope here? Something is arriving at that conclusion too. Judgment is taking place even there, is it not? Even when we consider the proposition that "everything is Maya", a judgment is taking place -- an act of deliberation and judgment is being arrived at by something. This goes back to Descartes. Judgment is happening in a moment, therefore something is judging in that moment. In the moment of judgment, something is judging, no? Think about it. Descartes was a wise dude. (3) Just because you are not an unchanging-thing, doesn't imply there is no you. That would commit the false-choice fallacy. You could be something other than a non-changing thing. Consider that possibility. And you would have to ultimately make a judgment upon which one of these theories you believe (or have faith in believing) you are! Something is judging, and that doesn't come in via any empirical portal. Judgment is an act. A deliberative act. If you advance a proposition, you are asking something to consider it and ultimately judge it! (4) Now, let's say you retort -- Joseph, you're stuck in the rationalist paradigm dude! Ok, so you're asking something to judge that proposition now. Let's define the proposition P = Joseph is stuck in the rationalist paradigm. So, you're asking something to deliberate on P and come to a conclusion whether or not P is reasonable to accept. See that? You're petitioning that a conclusion be drawn, a judgment be made, an action be taken. What takes that action in a moment? This is something above and beyond mere awareness (including but not limited to empirical awareness). Am I wrong? (5) Finally, what is deliberating about and judging my question here? Is such an act taking place in your awareness? An act of deliberation or judging? Is this phenomenon mere awareness of a happening, like you are merely some kind of a fly-on-the-wall merely observing judging taking place? Ok, well, what is arriving at that conclusion then? See!

@Annetta Please elaborate fully. Spill the beans for me! Then we can look and see what we got.

Here's my quick advice to you. Two easy pieces of advice: 1. Get a grip on how punctuation is used. Skim, don't read, like 5 different sources on punctuation theory. Make your own table of rules as you skim in like a Word document. Learn these rules cold, but break the rules when it looks right. You gotta develop an aesthetic judgment about how you like to use punctuation. This becomes an integral part of your writing style. But learn the rules first. And then break the rules when beauty, style, or clarity dictate. The importance of this can't be underemphasized. 2. Find a writer that you really love and resonate with and learn from them. For me that is attorney Gerry Spence. A lot of my rhetorical turns of phrase and approach comes from his style. I fell in love with it. Gerry Spence and I are brothas from another mutha when it comes to our style of thinking and writing. So I have assimilated him -- not copied him. There's a difference there I'm sure you understand. But that's how you find your voice, that's how you find your style as a writer.

@Canada1977 I've been with Leo since June 2014 and agree with you wholehardedly. Welcome to the journey.

Ah man. Aromatherapy works! Smell is one of the oldest and most profound of our senses. Things without eyes have smell, so smell is very deeply wired in us. The smell of fresh alpine air is great. The smell of rosemary. The smell of fresh linen. Takes me back to the womb of childhood. The smell of incense. The smell of Muslim scent oil. It's a religious scent you'll often smell in a Mosque. It's awesome.

What is your channel?

How would you practice like on a 1 hour daily block let's say. What would your hour entail doing? How does one improve their writing? Have you ever looked into that issue?

I think for me it would be to add in some kind of cardio practice. I walk a lot but don't get a lot of cardio at all. But I don't know how to do this without burning up a bunch of time in my day. Going to the gym burns up too much time for me. And sitting there and just riding one of those stationary machines just sucks. I hate that approach to getting cardio. It's boring as hell.

I just watched Leo's amazing new video on overcoming subtle addictions. Thanks for this video Leo, you answered by prayer with this video, and I love you more than ever before. But doesn't our addiction to awareness, mindfulness, and watching ourselves like a hawk also qualify as a subtle addiction too? Aren't we, paradoxically, manifesting neurosis by engaging in this conduct as well? We're like over-eager awareness-strivers seeking to note and label everything accept the neurosis we are creating for ourselves by engaging in this compulsive conduct. Awareness alone is curative. Ok, so that's our motto. But does this strategy of constant mindfulness leave a neurosis trail in it's wake too, like a boat moving through water creates behind itself? And if you're in the boat, you don't normally see this trail unless you turn around, so the trail is hidden from your ordinary plain sight, your normal forward-looking view on the boat. Is it not? But it exists nonetheless. So, what is the sustainable solution to overcoming this problem, if any exists. Maybe there is no problem and/or no solution, and if that's your contention, please make an appropriate argument here so we can discuss this issue. Let's get to the bottom of this. This question is for everyone.

Mine: 1. Suffering -- This goes back to my childhood, but I feel comfortable and contemplative when I'm melancholy. 2. Competition -- I get a lot of energy from competing with myself and with others. I like to fight, especially in writing. I write arguments for a living. I'm a legal writer. I do very adversarial, argumentative writing, and I get off on doing it. I love it and I'm good at it. I know how to manipulate in writing very effectively. 3. Judging people -- I find that I do tend to do this. I tend to judge bums, prostitutes, thugs, thieves, and other people whom I consider to be losers and/or morally degenerate, etc. It's subtle but I gotta kinda watch out about doing it. I've improved on this; I do it much less than I used to. Yours: I think I got over being the nice guy a couple of years ago. The way I did it was to work on assertiveness. Get "The Assertiveness Workbook" by Randy Patterson. That should cure you of nice guy syndrome. Nice guy syndrome is an unsustainable strategy.

@Fidelio Do you believe in non-dualism too?

@Visitor Wow I can't believe you haven't seen any of Leo's videos! That's amazing.