Joseph Maynor

Yeah, but you gotta cut the ESL (English as a second language) people some slack. You would suck too if you tried to write in another language. I've dabbled in Spanish, Turkish, Mandarin Chinese, and Italian, so I know what it's like to look at language with a beginner's mind. Any ESL person who can write here gets my credit.

One of things I do which is kinda weird is sometimes I meditate lying down directly on the hard floor and I kinda make up my own stretching stuff as I meditate. It's good when I do this. I find it to be very pleasurable and it releases tension. I don't always meditate like this, only every once in a great while. Most of the time I meditate my laying down in my bed. And I don't care if I fall asleep either, sleep is good. I welcome sleep.

I think my best advice for Leo is to stop making regular videos for like a year and just spend time on the Forum for that year. I've grown so much just by being on the Forum. Maybe he can post to his blog (including videos), but I would cut out all the regular videos for 1 year. There's too much of a distraction there to always be coming up with "cutting-edge" material that can easily serve as a block on the Path. There's too much Egoic pressure there. The Path requires that you be humble and do nothing and just let things be for a good long while. All those mental "have to's" really get in the way of just being. Take this in good faith, I really thought about this a couple of weeks ago, and I almost didn't post this, but I decided to anyway because I really felt like it was good advice. Don't take this the wrong way or use it as an invitation to attack me please. I'm trying to give my best here.

Is the Mind really a fiction? In what sense?

I actually like Leo's older videos about Enlightenment more than the newer ones. The older ones were much less metaphysical. But that's just me. Don't take my opinion for your truth, you figure it out for yourself. In my view, Leo's newer videos on Enlightenment are way too conceptual, way too metaphysical. But, we can disagree, right? There's room for disagreement.

Truth is a metaphysical theory that the Mind clings to. It's actually an epistemological theory but I'll gloss it as a metaphysical theory. At the end of the day it's a theory; irrespective of how you want to categorize it further as metaphysics or epistemology or what have you.

I had an insight yesterday that the most Enlightened person is the person who just lives their life and is not preoccupied with Enlightenment discussions at all. It's a liberation from the Mind. That's the highest level of Enlightenment. Just you living your life without being preoccupied with talking about Enlightenment. I am not at this point yet, and this might just be a thought. But it was an insight that I had, and I just wanted to note it.

Buddhism is a very wide tradition. I think to the extent that we're talking about Enlightenment work, Buddhism becomes relevant, as does Advaita Vedanta, and other spiritual traditions that talk about something analogous to Enlightenment work. But within Buddhism, you have a wide variety of schools and traditions. Zen Buddhism is only one tradition of Buddhism. And even under Zen Buddhism or its predecessor Chan Buddhism you have a variety of schools. The key thread that runs through all of these is Enlightenment work -- that's the least common denominator to all these traditions, whether Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist or whatever.

As a good example, I just had a real issue come up. The issue is do I say toward or towards. There's actually a split opinion regarding this usage. I picked 'toward' in the context I was in because it seemed to read better, more succinctly. https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-fact-toward-vs-towards/

When you transcend the Ego-Mind you'll naturally gravitate toward more compassionate actions, although you don't want to create a theory or thought ideal to conform to. The Mind wants a theory to cling to. You just gotta let your natural personality exist the way it always has, but with the added transcendence of the Ego-Mind, which will change you. But don't idealize this change. Don't expect change. Just let things happen on their own.

When is the other alternative?

You know what's great about this question is everything is open to view. You can see what the Mind wants by paying attention to the Mind. The more you observe your own Mind, the more you will learn about it. This is one reason why mindfulness practice is so important to get wired into your everyday habits.

I'm anal about writing in the same way someone else might be anal about cooking or drawing. I never criticize other people's writing though, only my own. I'm sympathetic to others because I was told when I was a kid that I sucked as a writer so I have that in my past. It took me a long time to find my voice as a writer. But now, if I find one little mistake in my writing it bugs me. I don't let it torment me, but it bugs me. I guess it would be like noticing an erroneous brush stroke on one of your paintings if you were a painter. Your eye goes to that one spot!

English grammar is the single subject that I allow myself to nerd-out in nowadays. I love it, and it does improve your writing bigly as the Donald would say.

Life is great when you take care of yourself mentally and physically. If you screw up one or both of these though, you will suffer unless and until you wise up.

God is a metaphysical theory that the Mind clings to.

What is it that judges? Does being judge? What it it that clings to no judgments? Is that not a judgment too?

I don't think Mooji is talking about demonizing. He's just saying you have a choice about whose company you keep.

If someone tried to cut your penis off with pruning shears then come and tell me your Ego is fully gone. Or another thing, face the death of a loved one and tell me your Ego is fully gone. You're gonna find out real fast that that's just a belief, a mere thought. You will experience the Ego-Mind, you just want to have a space there, that's what transcendence is. Transcendence is not complete annihilation of the Ego-Mind, that's a mere thought, an idea, not reality. But you can put some distance through cultivation of awareness between you and the Ego-Mind so that it doesn't totally dominate you.

The Ego is always gonna be there. Transcending the Ego doesn't mean getting rid of the Ego, it means not being a slave to the Ego, it means seeing through the Ego. When you see what the Ego is clearly it won't have the power to trap you as much. That's why Mooji is talking about avoiding Spiritual Egos because they are a bad influence in this regard.

True, until it actually happens, then it's no longer a want but actuality. It's after you transcend that you can look back and see without the presence of anticipation of transcendence. The anticipation of transcendence is not necessarily Ego-driven but it is a thought, which is a creature of the Mind.

Ah, I get it. Mooji is speaking from the perspective of someone who has transcended the Ego-Mind. This is a very advanced video.