lmfao

@kieranperez I remember hearing Alan Watts and maybe Jed Mckenna talk about this. One message you can take away from the Adam and Eve story is that once humans developed the ability to be self conscious and think about the future they fell from their naturally high consciousness state. Before self conciousness and the ability to recognise our place as individuals in the world, we automatically had no resistance to anything we experienced.

@How to be wise I've watched those videos, they're pretty good. Bear in mind that everyone learns things differently. The maths in this video is no more "actual" than other sources of math, it's just that the video tries to develop your intuition. @non_nothing Yeah F=ma is still correct even in the cases where mass is not constant, you just have to bear in mind that mass is a function of time.

I can't be the only one who laughed when seeing this title, if you know what I mean.

PREACH

What I've found myself wondering recently, is that it's strange that some sensations and feelings are regarded as good whilst some are regarded as bad. I might be meditating for example and pain will arise. If I'm mindful enough I get the impression that I'm just associating negative thoughts to neutral sensations. Even if one starts to become mindful through intense pain and become aware of the fact that the sensations are neutral you can never forcibly remove the negative thoughts (being mindful will start to get rid of them). One answer which I can understand (and the answer is extremely profound to experience and grasp) is to say "without suffering and pleasure and ego you wouldn't exist" but that's just arguably a description of what is rather than why it is (although this is the case for all why questions I guess). On a slightly separate note another thing which I sometimes wonder is why is it sometimes you can be unconscious and at other times you are conscious. It's funny because once you're in a non-dual state you think "how is it possible to be unconscious when the present moment is right in front of you" but then māyā always come back. And the only conclusion flowing from my thoughts is that every moment and at all times you are "divine" but thoughts cloud awareness. I think I've said this like 1 billion times in the past but talking about non-duality feels so weird because you realize that language is just another part of the happening with no inherent meaning and I've now created a paradox by using language to state language is meaningless. I can't help but feel you're coning someone if you use language to explain and understand awareness/consciousness. Perhaps there is no answer for why reality is the way it is, seems like an extremely scary void to embrace. If anyone has thoughts on what I've said, fire away.

@Flammable the bump is much appreciated brother

Bump.

@Shin I've been in a few platonic relationships where both people are like "who can fucking be bothered for any sexual shit". The intention/attitude you go into a relationship with will be felt by the other person. But honestly speaking, male-female friendships are very awkward for most people (including myself). Well I know it's awkward for me because of my religious upbringing but also because people in general are obsessed/clingy about sex.

@Your place at Heart good thread.

@Shin it could just be a psychological barrier I have but unless I'm sitting down with a straightened back I can't focus properly for meditation.

@Viking Were/Are there any academic subjects you're interested in? Correct me if i'm wrong but weren't you a physics student at some point?

@martin_malin I've felt pressure/tingling in my forehead before when meditating, no clue if it is "meaningful".

@CreamCat There's nothing you can say to teach about enlightenment, all a guru can do is just keep pointing and pointing towards the traps your awareness falls in. Thoughts, language and communication are all apart of one happening like everything else so you create a paradox when trying to communicate enlightenment. Like honestly, when I'm trying to be aware of the process of me typing on this forum I feel as though the words coming out of my mind is just baseless gibberish.

@Sahil Pandit INTP master race. "Intuitive types" are probably super common on this forum. MBTI is complicated to the point where it can be hard to type yourself. Videos by a guy called "Michael Pierce" on youtube are good for understanding typology. Remember to always take it with a pinch of salt, but I believe there is something substantive to this. Watch the very well made videos on this playlist (idk about the introduction) to understand a particular type. I found them to be very illuminating lol

Right now I listen to Leo Gura and Alan Watts, and I've started reading "The Book of Not Knowing" by Peter Ralston. Someone like Ralph Smart is a complete turn off to me, the guy seems to teach very little mindfulness. Who do you like listening to? Who do you think are the "best"?

@Pristinemn after much trial an error, I've found that the only thing which works for me in regards to addiction is cold turkey. Your ego might scream and cry, but if your awareness is high enough you'll see through the illusion and start to be at ease with whatever you feel.

@Yonkon I've found from personal experience that letting go is initially aggressive but then becomes passive. Aggression is put in to break your autopilot/habitual lower consciousness functioning.

@StardewValley I used to have a similar problem with MBTI when I first heard about it. I would use MBTI as a way to demonise entire groups and segments of society ( all "sensory" types pretty much). I found that obsessing over MBTI did nothing good for me. I was using it an egoic way to justify my own superiority to other people. "I was born like this and you were born like that so I'm better than you". Are you using Spiral Dynamics to assert your own superiority to others? Are you using Spiral Dynamics to categorise entire segments of the population as being lower than you so that your ego has been given a rational explanation for the misfortunes in your life caused by people of a lower stage?

@princess I should have mentioned this in my previous response, but not only does caring what people think cause negative emotion but caring what other people think is a consequence of being neurotic and anxious in general. You can think of the trait "Neuroticism" from the Big Five Factor Personality Scale if that helps. Decreasing neuroticism involves that you challenge your psyche in deep ways: exercise, meditate, eat properly, sleep properly, start good habits and etc.

@How to be wise the problem I have in trying to express my thoughts on what you've written is that the concept of "truth" is very slippery and cannot be pinned down. The way I see it, from the perspective of "absolute infinity" all of reality is one happening and everything inside of this happening is true. But to reach this perspective you have to see through your inner thoughts as just another part of the happening, which creates a paradox when trying to use thoughts to describe enlightenment. Other than that, I agree with the gist of what you're communicating. Just remember that not all scientists are ignorant.

@Mikael89 Like a strange loop.

Alright so today I've moved out from my parents (for university). I'm typing so as to get me thoughts and feelings to flow out as I'm thinking about how to manage my relationship with my family. My family is muslim and they do not know that I am not muslim and so I'm wondering what to do about my lifestyle since I wont care about whether I eat halal meat or not, care if I get a girlfriend or sleep around, care if I drink alcohol and etc. I rely on my parents for financial support, but I still think that I should soon tell me parents im not Muslim (and hence I'll be living whatever lifestyle I want). Since my dad is more educated and open minded I'll tell him first. And as far as my mum is concerned, it's probably too early to tell her anything. She is an absolute lost cause in trying to negotiate any sort of compromise or alternative viewpoint. So lets suppose I go through with telling my family that I'm not religious (with the exception of my mother), the only thing I have to consider is what my father will permit me to spend his money on. He may say to me "Do what you want but don't spend my money on alcohol" and/or "don't spend my money on unhalal meat, dont spend my money on pork". And what I wonder is, if I am put in this situation , what am I to do or say? Since I want to live my live with freedom, I shouldn't accept compromise even if it should mean that I financially struggle. On the other hand I want to put forward the fact that I am thankful for the support hes given me and that I am willing to maintain as close a relationship to the degree that he's willing to accept. I live in England, a welfare state at the end of the day and in the worst case scenario I accumulate some debt I have to pay off once I start working. Secondarily I worry about how my relationship with my family will change, but I'll have to accept any changes that come my way. Life is a game at the end of the day.