Forestluv

For the same reason your heart cells care about pumping blood to your brain cells.

This topic is outside of the forum’s discussion areas

@Aakash Love you with all my coral heart ?

@Nahm Sometimes I wish the bouncer would just kick me out ?

I scored 60% male brain on brainfall. @John Lula I’ve occasionally experienced harm anxiety. I was reluctant to tell anyone. I did some research online and the consensus in psychology is that people who experience harm anxiety are LESS likely to act on it.

I dressed in drag one halloween and looked so hot I would have shocked an old lady (not @Nahm)

@Nahm Just some imagery appearing: I like the imagery of “forgetting” and “remembering” of self. It seems the mind is conditioned to remember and maintain the self construct - as if this self construct is very important for well-being and survival. The mind “checks in” hundreds of times each day on the self. “How am I doing? Am I doing better than yesterday? Am I doing better than him? Am I improving? What if xyz happens and how would it effect me?” It seems humans have transient forgetting of self - perhaps while playing a sport or boogie boarding ocean waves. Yet then the mind remembers to “check in” again on the self “Yep, I’m still here. How is this going to affect me?”.

@mandyjw Nice imagery ? ❤️

@winterknight Nice. I like how you framed it as a "seeker's Game".

@Shaun I can relate. There is a physical issue I've been dealing with that comes and goes. My mind-body just wants it to go away, yet it keeps returning - then vanishing. . . What I've learned is two things: 1. At a physical level, the bodies "fight or flight" gets triggered. Rather than focus on the thought story that I can't make it stop and it will never end - I have been focusing on how my body responds (without the thought story). If I can release the bodies fight-or-flight response, it doesn't both me much and I can let it go and focus on something else. 2. At an existential level, I'm realizing there is a very deep level of freedom available by experiencing what is Now. Again, this then allows for a better chance to let go of the anxiety and discomfort.

This reminds me of yesterday while I was hiking through a forest. I stopped to see two butterflies dancing together in the air on on plants. It was such a beautiful dance. I suddenly felt urgency to get my camera and "capture" this beautiful moment. Then I let it go and just admired them. It seemed like I appreciated it even more, knowing it was temporary and would soon vanish.

@Truth Addict I did not send the gentle warning to you. It was sent to someone else. Please stay out of it and return to your discussion on conscious politics. This is the second time I'm communicating this to you: if you have further questions for me about my decision, please do it via PM so we do not derail this thread. This would open up a can of worms on the thread.

The thread topic is on conscious politics - not on the details of trolling via giving unsolicited and unwelcomed personal advice. I was not referring to you.

Do not derail the thread. If you would like to learn more, I would encourage you to read the forum guidelines. As well, I would be happy to discuss this with you via PM.

@Shadowraix The thread topic is on conscious politics. Please don't post unsolicited and unwelcomed personal advice.

Be aware of the mind's tendency to become attached to subtle objective notions of "what is" to get a sense of grounding. One cannot ground themself in shifting sand.

That's an interesting contextualization. To me, it has a strong component of a story within a timeline. Combining the actuality of Now with a construct of a timeline interests me. Yet I suppose any contextualization of Now is also a construct. . . Sometimes life seems to be a process of constructing and deconstructing. Perhaps that is a feature of Aliveness.

Discussions of nonduality are fine. It can be communicated kindly without personal identification, attachment and personal conflict (Tier2 yellow and turquoise). Lead by example.

Last week, I was walking along a beach with my 7 yr. old niece. We were looking at the shells and stones in the sand. I picked up a few pretty stones to bring home with me, yet then I felt something odd. The stones felt alive. It felt like I was taking the stones away from their friends and family on the beach. I felt sad and put them back on the beach. I told my niece and she said "Yea, sometimes I feel that too.". . . I thought about how I wouldn't have shared that feeling with another adult, since it would have appeared "weird". Yet a 7 yr. old child still "gets it". . . Unfortunately, that type of connection with our environment gets conditioned out of us as we "grow up".

Nondual wars are against forum guidelines. As a general statement: please drop the personal nondual wars

Please don't derail the thread into a nondual squabble about who is closer to god.

The ocean contains all fish, seaweed, water etc. If a fish thought "I am a fish within an ocean 'out there' and I am having an experience as a fish", it has created a dynamic that fragments itself (a separate fish) from not itself (the rest of the ocean). It is no longer being the totality of the ocean. . . There is nothing "wrong" or "false" with this because the fish is both a fish within the ocean and the ocean. Of course, fish don't create these thought stories. Yet humans do. In fact, they live 99.9% of their existence within a thought story in which they are fragmented from the whole. This is partially true, yet when a human is constantly within this fragmented thought story, it creates all sorts of turmoil and conflict. Notice how deep down humans desire relief from this fragmented thought story. To "lose" themself. They may become immersed in a book or a movie. They may lay out on the beach for hours to forget their self. They may use drugs and alcohol to temporarily free themself from fragmentation. Yet these seem to be fleeting glimpses. They "snap out of it" and must return to the "real life story" - their beliefs, responsibilities, identity, plans - what "he said" and "what she did". Yet without identification, such personal stories and memories are eerily similar to the stories and memories of our dreams. . .

With imagination, you betcha.

Can a grain of sand know itself as the beach?

These types of anxieties are common. You can use mini doses of psychedelics, get insights and still feel in control. Alternatively, you could try a cannabis edible. They give a quasi-psychedelic feel - more than smoking or vaping. There are also ways to explore consciousness without substances: Retreats, shamanic breathing, kriya yoga, sensory deprivation tanks etc. Get creative. Today I hiked deep into a forest and laid under trees for two hours - I went in and out of lucid states of consciousness with no substances.