Joseph Maynor

There is something to be said or someone coming into Enlightenment Work with a big, damaged Ego looking for relief.

Isn't believing Enlightenment theory just fear of death?

This is interesting. But be careful that the Ego is not trying to define itself as God. That's the trap with that kind of approach.

No. See you got that backwards. The seeker is you seeking. And there's nothing wrong with that, that's how it works. The Ego seeks to better it's own life and to preserve things that it cares about -- like peace of mind. Ego is not an illusion, it's the only constant fact of life. Sure, there are some things you can do about that, but most people go way off the deep-end in their Metaphysics about how this No Ego offset to Ego works in real life.

Seriously. Who is this seeker? You think being is a seeker? Is being going around trying to reduce its own suffering?

X allows me to do Y and Y allows me to do Z. Who is on this trip?

Here's a Diet I wrote for anybody who is interested: DIET => Eat foods that are high in Magnesium, Potassium, Omega 3 Fats, and Antioxidants: => Avoid red meat, excessive alcohol, added sugar, added salt, saturated fats, high-glycemic carbs, wheat, potatoes, bread (bread often has a shit-load of salt in it as well as being made from wheat): => Make sure you're getting enough Calcium and Vitamin D3: => Make sure you're getting enough soluable and insoluable Fiber: Oatmeal, beans, apples, are good for soluable fiber (soluable fiber cleans the bad cholesterol from your blood and insoluble fiber keeps your colon from being exposed to the carcinogens in your waste): => Make sure to keep your cholesterol intake down. All meat has cholesterol as well as Eggs and Dairy. I regulate cholesterol intake like I do my salt intake. I don't eat meat every day, and I don't eat eggs. The only dairy I eat is Plain Non-Fat Yogurt: => Keep alcohol intake to 2 drinks per day max if a man and 1 drink per day max if a woman per day: => Eat more Nuts and Seeds because they have chemicals in them that are good for your heart. Always go for the unsalted nuts and seeds. Supplements -- Berry supplement, Raw Cocoa Powder, Curcumin, CoQ10, Cinnamon Supplement, Garlic Supplement, Spirulina, Resveratrol, Magnesium, B-Complex, Vitamin C, Fish Oil, Pomegranate Supplement, Blueberry Supplement, Lycopene, Artichoke Supplement. Dairy -- Plain Non-fat Yogurt, Whey Protein. Meat -- Lean meats no skin. (I avoid meat to avoid adding excess cholesterol to my bloodstream.) Beans/ Legumes -- Green Peas, Red Beans, White Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Lentils, Tofu, Soy Protein, Pea Protein. Nuts/ Seeds (everything here needs to be unsalted) -- Any kinds of seeds including pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, Almonds, Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds, Quinoa, Cashews, Walnuts, Pistachios. Grains -- Oats, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Veggies -- Kale, Spinach, Beets, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Avocado, Sweet Potato, Asparagus, Artichokes, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Red Bell Pepper, Mushrooms, Green Vegetables, Celery, Jalapeno Peppers, Carrots, Lettuce, Broccoli, Dark Leafy Greens, Pea Protein. Fruits/ Berries -- Apples, Oranges, Watermelon, Coconut Water, Figs, Apricots, Peaches, Cantaloupe, Pomegranate Juice, Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries. Oils/ Vinegar -- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sesame Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar. Herbs and Spices -- Chili powder, Ancho Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika, Hungarian Hot Paprika, Turmeric, Ginger Powder, Chipotle Powder, Paprika, Basil, Curry Powder, Garam Masala, Black Pepper (Grinder), Oregano, Cayenne Pepper, Marjoram, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Rubbed Sage, Ground Coriander Seed. Alcohol -- 2 Drinks of Alcohol for a Man and 1 for a Woman Per Day is Good for You. Red Wine like Cabernet Sauvignon is best. Tea -- Green Tea, Hibiscus Tea, Valerian Root Tea.

Some if it is good, but I think there are pros and cons to having a channel like that. The pros are you get a lot of views. The cons are you're kinda stuck in that milieu of always needing to create a buzz about everything all the time. It's too neurotic. I guess it depends on what kind of a person you are. For me, I couldn't do it. I can see how it would be tough to strike the right balance between wanting to solicit views on the one hand, but not pigeon-holing yourself into a box of expectations on the other hand with your viewers by marketing yourself a certain way. If I did videos I would kinda want my videos to be like little blog pieces just like my Journal writings are. I would wanna feel free to do whatever I wanted to do. I wouldn't wanna feel forced to make a video either. But, see, the cons of that approach is you don't feed your viewers and build up your audience. I can see how there's a tension there between freedom and responsibility that has to be carefully balanced. If you're trying to make a career on YouTube, you need viewers. If you wanna go fishing, you need bait. If you wanna gamble, you need money. If you wanna become a lawyer, you have to pass the bar. If you wanna become a doctor, you have to graduate from medical school. I'm just saying this because every endeavor has requirements to it. Wealth doesn't come from nothing. To get people to open their wallets and give you money, they gotta be excited about the value that you're providing to them. And so I've always been really fascinated in what career requirements are and how to meet them without being a manipulative jerk about it.

But isn't this just another belief system? What if being has nothing to do with belief, now what?

@CreamCat It's ironic that you seem to be the one on the criticism tear here. See how this works?

I think Ego is always there. Ego can become mediated by No Ego which happens over the course of a person's life, or not. It all depends. You can look at various people's lives and see that they differ in the admixture they have between Ego and No Ego.

Everybody does this, even people who say they don't. I watch everybody on the Forum do this. This is all we do on here actually. So let's not have unrealistic standards. Every Ego wants to "know the truth" and to benefit from "knowing the truth". One of the things I'm realizing about Enlightenment Work is it encourages a certain kind of wishful thinking where you are encouraged to take seriously things that your Ego will never actually do. I can spot that stuff like a hawk now and it all runs counter to Personal Development Work.

I think a good inquiry that a lot of people half-ass is the inquiry -- "What do I need?"

Why cling to God in the first place?

I actually think this would be interesting. I never really figured out a way to use Kriya Yoga myself. To me meditation is good enough, but I'm open to trying new things.

I went through a stage where I was really keen on the religious words, and I think I've hit the exact opposite point where I don't like the religious words anymore. It's just not necessary plus the Ego clings to it. That's exactly what religion is: a spirituality that a human Ego can cling to.

I've grown so much on here. At the end of the day are you able to come into a new day and live with wisdom, compassion, and self-care that's also pushing your vision (projects) forward? That's success. If you're healthy, that's success. So, you have to have the right mindset towards your life. I think you have to come to realize what's really important for your life. And then further to realize what was important and what's now important. I can tell you this, nothing you accomplish in your life is worth sacrificing your health for. At the end of the day, if you don't have your health you're in big trouble. So, health is #1. Health is more important than success. So, first do your health. And then do more if you want to or if you need to. And what most people don't accept is: most people have very bad health and don't even realize it. Most people haven't even checked their blood pressure in months if not years. Many people get very little exercise and eat the Standard American Diet even if you live abroad -- I've been to foreign countries and the food is not healthy anywhere you go. It's full of salt which raises blood pressure. We've all gotta become vigilant about diet as well as exercise in addition to the other elements of life like work and play etc.

https://shopus.furbo.com/blogs/knowledge/why-does-dog-lick-my-face

Yes. Your Ego-Mind fears reality going against your Ego-Mind's preferences. The flip side of this is joy, which is what the Ego-Mind feels when reality is aligned with your Ego-Mind's preferences -- say you win the lottery or you beat a battle with cancer. Now, all of this stuff is just reality doing what it's doing. But your Ego-Mind has a dog in the fight of reality doing what its doing. To deny this is where people go off into la la land. And your Ego-Mind having preferences about reality is normal, this isn't something to be ashamed of. It's something that has to be mitigated though because reality is not catering to your Ego-Mind. You need to be able to see up underneath your own Ego-Mind so the suffering caused by its clinging doesn't make your life worse than it has to be for you. It's important for you to not cling to the Ego-Mind like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver. But at the same time you don't wanna reject your Ego-Mind or pretend as if it doesn't exist. If your Ego-Mind didn't exist you would be able to chop off one of your own fingers in the same kind of lackadaisical manner that you stepped on a poor snail on your way out of your house this morning.

Your Ego wants solipism because then it never has to take other Egos into consideration. Your Ego also wants to be God for obvious reasons. The problem with these is that this is just the Ego-Mind bullshitting itself.

Me me me, I I I. I am God like I always dreamed of being.

Religion is the Ego-Mind clinging to Metaphysics.

This is a really good question. Here's a good analogy: Take the DSM which is called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Psychologists. Now, any schlub off the street can buy a DSM and go around diagnosing everybody he wants to. But that's gonna be very different from how a trained Psychologist uses the manual. Spiral Dynamics is no different. There's an old saying that a little bit of knowledge is dangerous. This is true in the case of Spiral Dynamics. But someone who is really solid in Spiral Dynamics realizes that it's just a model that's more or less useful depending on the context -- and it can be abused, misinterpreted, and used to demonize just like any other categorical label or "box" can.

What is is that wants truth?

You can create any idea you fancy.