Forestluv

For sure. So how about you get beyond the “I” so you don’t become paralyzed?

Not knowing can be a good thing. It allows for possibilities.

I used to be motivated by fear. Then, I wondered what life would be like if I was motivated by inspiration and the joy of doing what I was doing. Once I started focusing on that, things started to change. I was harshly criticized by teachers and parents growing up. Then, by my girlfriends. I was super self-critical most of my life. It’s been a process to recondition my mind.

@Jack River Deep down, it’s insecurity that drives defensiveness and personal attacks. It’s uncomfortable to look at.

There may come a point when you are ready to surrender. For now, it sounds like the self is immersed into a story it created. Realize you made it up. Next week the self may make up another story to distract you. And another and another.

Perhaps you are too hard on yourself? It sounds like you put a lot of pressure on yourself to do what you think you should be doing. I can get into a self deprivation mode trying to repress bad habits. It’s counter productive and I get a backlash. Perhaps give yourself permission on occasion to do whatever the fuck the mind-body wants to do and not beat yourself up for it.

@B_Naz I think it’s a three part series

The mind can become fixated that enlightenment is “out there”, in some other time or place. The mind thinks it is something to be found, learned, visited, or experienced. Rather than asking “what would enlightenment look like?”, try asking “what would it look like if everything was as it is?”. . . . It’s not very satisfying o the mind

Have you watched Leo’s series on self deception? That might help.

IME, San Pedro is a gentle teacher. Smooth as silk for me

Identity is part of the personality structure. I suppose it can be helpful at times to placate the personality to relax the mind-body. Yet it’s easy to fall into a trap of believing it’s actually true.

IME, my ego started getting cracks in it's structure. It's been a process of chipping away at it. Sometimes the ego suffers a major blow or temporary death. These experiences can be absolutely terrifying and/or absolutely beautiful. Yet, the ego tries to re-establish itself. My ego shell is super thick. 20 years of meditation, retreats and dharma talks just scratched the surface of the shell. For me, I needed to get radical and take out the big guns to put a few permanent cracks in the shell. It's a game-changer.

The saying "God is everything" comes from a nondualistic perspective - which is difficult to explain. What helped me was to first drop my preconceived ideas of "God". Many teachers use terms like "awareness, consciousness, presence, god" as synonyms. Imagine everything, and I mean everything. Can anything be outside of everything? No. As soon as think up something new, you realize it is within everything. Anything that has ever existed, will ever exist or could possibly exist is within everything. Humans have evolved a brain capable of perceiving things as separate. As well, we are conditioned as children to have a sense of "me". I am separate from you and that rock. That is just one perspective that is conditioned into us as children and reinforced over and over again every single day of our lives. It becomes so ingrained that it's very difficult to see the perspective of everything. So, ask yourself "Am I separate from everything?". It really feels like you are. Yet, how can anything be separate from everything? Now ask yourself "Am I within everything". Another way to look at it: Is a pack of cigarettes 20 separate cigarettes or 1 pack of cigarettes? Is a gallon of water quadrillions of separate H2O molecules or 1 gallon of water? Are you trillions of separate cells or 1 organism? Now the BIG question: are there quadrillions and quadrillions of separate things or 1 everything? Well, both. There are two ways to look at it. Some people refer to that 1 everything as God.

In addition to Leo's comments, it also helps to communicate better with others. My parents have a blue mode of "either / or" thinking. I need to be skillful when having orange-level logical discussions. They will keep coming back to either / or thinking. As well, I will not use a green-level relative mode of thinking with them - it is incomprehensible to them. It is a totally different situation with my scientific colleagues. Most of my colleagues are entrenched in a logical / scientific reason mode of thinking (orange level). They can easily see the limitations of blue-level either / or thinking (unlike my parents). Yet, most of my colleagues are not skillful at using a green-level relative mode of thinking. When I meet a rare Yellow-centered person, I can tell that I am fluent in blue, orange and green modes - but I am not fluent in Yellow. It's like chatting with a native Spanish speaker. I can tell I'm not fluent in Spanish. When with a Yellow-centered person, I acknowledge this and do my best to communicate at the Yellow level. Rather than defend my tier 1 modes of thinking, I try to be open to learn from the Yellow person. It feels like learning a new language to me.

Would it not be better to say a change in perspective of a situation is the same as a change in the situation? That way, there is no “ourselves” that is changing.

Sure, there is a subjective experience of choosing. Yet, you seem to be assuming there is a chooser. Who is making the choice? Who is the chooser? Another perspective is that the world's problems come from the delusion that they are choosing.

@Martin123 That joke is so awesome ?

@Eo Ea Welcome to nonduality.

How can anything be separate from everything? You are within everything. You are all things.

If AI is self-aware now, how can one determine if they are an AI or not?

I lived with a tribe in Peru for 10 days and participated in their ceremonies. They were so advanced. There was a lot of Turqoise in the community. They all co-existed beautifully together. Their lives were so rich. They were so in touch with the earth, with the spirit world and each other. Thinking about it makes me want to go back. . .

Do you consider the concept of the game to be advanced? Are the game developers super innovative, creative and visionary? Or is it just another cool game?

Now that we’ve sprinkled some Green Pixie dust on the thread, let’s hope The Love holds firm. ?‍♂️

I meant that our current reality is like a dream. How different are we from conscious AI machines?

That is so awesome!!! ? I totally want to find ones for Orange and Green ?