This Is My...

[Salaam]

10 hours ago, abrakamowse said:

That's exactly what people "does" to get enlightened

lol, exactly is too strong a word in my opinion. But, that's cool if that is the case for some people. I'd love to talk with them and compare notes with some of those who have made appreciable progress with the facets of development you quoted me on.

I've looked into many of these people who claim enlightenment and have been disappointed in that respect

[Bodhi123]

On ‎4‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 0:35 PM, Salaam said:

You have to touch the world, involve yourself in it, to be a difference.

I agree. The world is full of suffering mainly due to the misconception that everyone is separate.

If you realize the interconnectedness of all beings then there is a responsibility to go into the world and help alleviate suffering.

If we are all one then helping another person is helping yourself.

 

[eskwire]

1 hour ago, Salaam said:

Do you really know that it doesn't? Where does this certainty of yours come from? Maybe you haven't uncovered enough of the world and yourself yet to see the conflict?

From my experiences of self transcendence. It doesn't take you to another dimension where you can't measure things, use any relational/relative concepts, or otherwise function as before. 

It seems like the ideas you find to be untenable are the scaffolding people use to get to enlightenment rather than the building itself, which can't be discussed. You may have been talking to people who claim enlightenment but haven't gotten there or people who are still seeking. Idk. I'll leave this topic be now. 

 

Edited April 20, 2017 by eskwire

[HelloThere]

2 hours ago, Salaam said:

We all have limitation and ignorance and then even more ignorance that we are blind to. Every person carries some degree of being blind to their own blindness and that also includes me of course. It's a reality and a responsibility I actively address and keep in consideration when making conclusions and feeling certainty about a thing.

This is a really important point. If you lose sight of this you cap out on the ability to grow in a sense I think. I don't feel I bullshit myself much but the lack of some results speak for themselves, so I must be doing it. It's a very sneaky thing so shouldn't ever be forgotten.

It feels safe and comfortable to be certain about things, all your mind wants to do is find a stable idea about the world and affirm that it is correct. I can feel this is what my mind wants too.

I wonder where the sensible limit for doubting yourself is though? If you are certain that you have found a true enough way of seeing the world then if you happen to be wrong then you won't ever look for the benefits that come from being skeptical and potentially growing further (when there is something major to grow towards that you are blind to and missing out on). Then again being uncertain all the time feels really unsafe and uncomforting, this is definitely not a very good place to be at either. Balance in life is very important too. What are the red flags for doubting yourself too much and not doubting yourself enough?

Edited April 20, 2017 by HelloThere

[Salaam]

2 hours ago, Bodhi123 said:

I agree. The world is full of suffering mainly due to the misconception that everyone is separate.

If you realize the interconnectedness of all beings then there is a responsibility to go into the world and help alleviate suffering.

If we are all one then helping another person is helping yourself.

 

Yup, I've found that the more free and capable I become, the more responsible I feel for the world around me. When you expand, your zone of responsibility also expands naturally creating a sense of generosity and care to go along with that abundance. You want everyone and everything around you to feel this health and freedom, this joy and you get this inexhaustible well of happiness that comes from sharing in the joy of others on that road to health and happiness.

In a way you naturally grow into becoming a world yourself. A world that contains everyone inside you in the same way the outer world contains you and everyone else inside it. While still having a distinct, individual core or flavored pattern.

Such a position then naturally galvanizes a person to actually go out and work to make things better. Sharing and enlarging that goldilocks zone of health, freedom, and happiness while also protecting and nurturing that zone from corruption.

You don't just sit there in a cave all isolated from people, trying to protect your bliss, while lacking the resiliency to wade in and be touched by the stress and suffering of others. Fuck... I am more sensitive to that suffering than ever before. It feels like my heart is being ripped out because the pain of others hurts so much, but I love and appreciate that pain. I gladly drink as much from that cup as I can because it softens my heart and brings me closer to both the beauty and fragility of humanity.

36 minutes ago, HelloThere said:

This is a really important point. If you lose sight of this you cap out on the ability to grow in a sense I think. I don't feel I bullshit myself much but the lack of some results speak for themselves, so I must be doing it. It's a very sneaky thing so shouldn't ever be forgotten.

It feels safe and comfortable to be certain about things, all your mind wants to do is find a stable idea about the world and affirm that it is correct. I can feel this is what my mind wants too.

I wonder where the sensible limit for doubting yourself is though? If you are certain that you have found a true enough way of seeing the world then if you happen to be wrong then you won't ever look for the benefits that come from being skeptical and potentially growing further (when there is something major to grow towards that you are blind to and missing out on). Then again being uncertain all the time feels really unsafe and uncomforting, this is definitely not a very good place to be at either. Balance in life is very important too. What are the red flags for doubting yourself too much and not doubting yourself enough?

Awesome post man and great questions!!!

For me it goes back to that nuanced goldilocks zone of balance and harmony.

You differentiate comfort so you can have comfort when you rest, but not so much comfort that you let drop things that are precious into that numbness and over certainty. You adapt with tension so what was uncomfortable becomes effortless and comfortable, but still dynamic and close to that edge of higher intensity tension that you can willfully move into when your are working and expanding rather than resting. This differentiates stability so you can choose between static atrophy and dynamic, ever expanding, but smooth stability and multi-dimensionality.

And also when you get on track and find a "truer" way of seeing the world, you don't let that perspective fall into absolutes, because you stay connected to the possibility for more additions and new information, that expands and changes your view, while still being congruent with the foundation you're building upon.

It's like a magnet with a piece of metal. When their close you can feel them tugging on each other to attach and the close they are, the more intense that pull. But, when they attach that pull, that tension expression of magnetism ceases. Growth comes from always keeping a bit of tension alive and never fully or absolutely attaching to one's current view of reality. You handle the tension and stay open to more.

The whole doubting thing is a very complex topic to be honest. It changes as we change and grow, because it's modulated by many different capabilities. I've got around 13 different dynamic elements that I use to track all that. But anyways, an example of how it's modulated is with our rapport with pride and humility. I wrote the below a year or so ago and it kind of shows an example of what I'm talking about.

What's awesome is this small shift in harmony and health between these two facets [of pride and humility] not only enhances my rapport, but also creates a cascade through my other capabilities. I can trust my own feelings more and internalize them deeper because my pride doesn't shroud them and my humility doesn't doubt them in the improper contexts. I can feel both my authentic pleasure and pain longer, because my past imbalance is no longer there to cut them off "mid-breath" with some form of invalidation. Both of these then also contribute over time to building a better me, with higher quality feelings and experiences changing my story and enhancing my potential as well as my reflections on my past and the beliefs tied to them.
 

[Salaam]

@blazed

Be careful you don't fall prey to nihilism.

Also, I wouldn't personally be so arrogant as to claim to know what the universe cares about with such certainty. I'd be careful and check to make sure you're not projecting your own sense of futility and lack of care onto the whole universe.

Personally, when I look at Earth. I see an ecosystem that has worked it's ass off to enjoy this fragile state of abundance, that many humans from their own inner imbalances are fucking up. And it matters. It matters to me at least and many other beings.

 

[Salaam]

Lol, that was aggressive... believe what you want no biggie 

And movement like the beating and breathing and activation of electrical impulses are effort. They require things to be sustained like a certain quality of environment and fuel and they enjoy their current state on the backs of previous evolutions that grew and changed from effort. Just like we all do.  

If you don't want to grow and evolve and care for things you don't have to. You can be a burden, but you'll also be treated as one. But if you do want to grow then there are things you have to do to make that happen. And I'm pretty damn capable at those things 

[abrakamowse]

@Salaam  and what is your concept or opinion of Buddha?

He's the one that taught more about impermanence and no self.

[abrakamowse]

@blazed  Thanks! I missed that part...

[abrakamowse]

29 minutes ago, My_Name_Is_Mud said:

Don't lie. Don't cheat. Don't steal. Don't manipulate or deceive. It's all simple common knowledge stuff, but fundamental to awakening. Like the fat person who wants to lose weight but is too lazy to exercise and eat better, spiritual people get lazy too and don't want to do the actual work they know needs to be done.

That's very true, and something tells me that what you are saying is nature talking to itself.

[Nahm]

On 4/18/2017 at 8:48 AM, LiakosN said:

My life, my problems, my opinions, my body, my situation... It that "my" ultimately a dellusion?

because youre having trouble with these things, i see you are referencing your past that 'keeps' you from being where you want to be with those things.  so yes, absolutely, your past is not existant. let it go and turn your focus to the liberating NOW in which you are completely free to not do the next most probable thing.