Envying Low-consciousness People

[hinawashi]

I don't know why this keeps happening but I sometimes have to deal with this unexplained envy for lesser conscious people. I think they live quite an easy life without having to deal with self-actualization ever in their lifetimes. Sometimes it gets really bad that I start regretting my whole self-actualization experience. I know it doesn't make any rational sense to me right now, but I can't really put my finger on the reason why.

My guess is that perhaps it's a lot of work? For example, mindfulness is one big area that I had to work on, and it's not like a one-time deal where I learn something and I'm good but rather it's being constantly awake and that takes immense effort.

[Leo Gura]

You have to remind yourself of your vision, and that these low consciousness people are actually deeply suffering inside. They are just so unconscious they don't know it, and they don't tell you about it. You don't see it because it's hidden beneath a thin veneer of petty materialism and success.

Whenever you see a successful person, remind yourself, they are no more evolved than a heroin addict. They just have more money, and perhaps some better technical or social skills. As they age, these fools will suffer enormously. Eventually, on their deathbed they will realize they wasted their ENTIRE life.

You, on the other hand, will die the most profound death imaginable, if you keep up with this work.

The effort is proportional to the rewards.

You have no idea yet how epic the rewards will be if you stick with this path.

[phoenix666]

I sometimes wonder whether those 'low-conscious people' really do suffer. I know that I suffered immensely before I started on this path, but are really 99% that unhappy? sometimes they seem pretty ok and satisfied with their things like going out, TV series, movies, games, fast food, drinking and stuff.. or do some of them not even know that they're suffering? (and isn't that some kind of bliss of the unknowing?)

[Leo Gura]

@phoenix666 All just smoke and mirrors. There is no happiness in materialism. It's fundamentally impossible.

There is no such thing as a happy Devil. Of course the Devil will make it appear like he's happy, but that's just more of his lies. All that "happiness" is a house of cards which will implode sooner or later.

[phoenix666]

@Leo Gura that's what I feel as well, at least that's what I've observed in myself.

but do all those people know that they're suffering? or are they immersed in denial and lies so deeply, that they don't even see or feel their pain?

[Leo Gura]

@phoenix666 It's a healthy mixture of both. They certainly know they're suffering to various degrees, which is why they engage in all that activity, to drown out the suffering temporary. It's a never-ending cycle of suffering and stimulation. But there are also deeper layers of suffering of which they are as yet unaware. They rationalize it away by saying, "But this is just how life is. You can't be happy all the time." They attribute their own self-created suffering to the cruelty and harshness of reality itself. Which isn't true, but they don't know that.

They also have no idea about the awesomeness they're missing out on. If only they knew, they'd realize just how sub-par their lives are.

If you've been homeless your whole life, you will have no idea how great it is to live in a home or what you've been missing. People generally only know what culture serves up to them on a silver platter.

[phoenix666]

@Leo Gura yeah, I know the never ending cycle of suffering and stimulation very well. and I remember justifying my suffering with 'that's how life is, it's a constant up and down' (ignoring the fact that in my case, it was way more downs than ups) and with 'we live in a world full of war, hatred, exploitation, I can't but feel horrible', exactly as you said. I can see that clearly now, looking back! I guess the first step out of hell is realizing that you're in hell. that's how deep most people are in...they don't even realize where they are. 

I wonder whether it's possible to fall back into that kind of life once you've started your journey on the spiritual path. I sometimes slipped back into old patterns, specially at the beginning, but something always seemed to pull me back up.

thanks for your answer, Leo! I'll take the opportunity to thank you for all of your wonderful work. you have no idea how much you've changed my life. you're a big inspiration for all lost seeking souls like me out there <3

[Geromekevin]

@phoenix666 Also be open minded that your thoughts also might be right and Leo (or the point of view he describes here) might be wrong.

 

It could be that material and normal success is also pretty rewarding. I can recommend you to read Siddartha by Herman Hesse It's a fast read and tackles this (from the spiritual side).

[phoenix666]

@Geromekevin thanks for this shift of perspective! very true, of course, Leo could be wrong (as he often says himself)  but in this case I really feel the truth of his words, as I've experienced it myself. but I can only talk from my experience, that's why I was wondering if it is the same for all people. I for myself have learned (the hard way), that nothing seemed to fill that hole in me. I was always looking for something, not even knowing what, until I found this path.

thanks for the suggestion, I've already read it 3 times it's actually one of my favorite books it was all a game for siddhartha, until he fell into the trap of shiny materialism. that's what I liked about him, he didn't just believe things. he had to experience them for himself, in contrast to his friend Govinda. I've always been like that as well. it can lead down some steep roads, it hurts, but it grows you the most.

[Geromekevin]

@phoenix666 Awesome to hear that you read it.

I like to take the other side of the contain a lot in this forum lately, because I'm living the "normal" side at the moment again and I'm fucking happy. I'll see where this leads me.

[phoenix666]

@Geromekevin what do you mean with 'normal'? 

do you mean you're happy living the 'materialistic' lifestyle? like no meditation, no searching for Truth? no being, just having? 

[hinawashi]

I never expected @Leo Gura to answer my question directly. Many thanks! It really answered my question that was burning inside me.

The thing is, I never looked at it from that perspective, like actually jumping out of myself and putting myself in other people's shoes. It's surprisingly true that a lot of low-consciousness people engage in this suffering-stimulation cycle, but I've never been observant enough to see that pattern.

It's so scary! I actually did feel like I woke up from hell ever since I started my self-actualization journey. I don't necessarily feel that I'm better than anyone though, but I genuinely feel sorry for those low-consciousness people deep down inside. To be in pain and being blinded by all the illusions is a horrible fate to suffer, really.

[Joseph Maynor]

Other people have nothing to do with you and you comparing yourself to other people cannot help you.  It doesn't solve anything at all for you to compare your own life with other people.  You should not be envying anybody else.  You don't know what their lives are really like.  What you're doing is projecting your life onto theirs, which is just a fantasy.  And all you're doing is causing yourself unnecessary suffering and distraction.

Watch this video:  It's a great one.  One of my favorites.

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[hinawashi]

Actually there's another great video Leo posted. It's called "How to exploit people to grow youreslf". I watched it some time ago, but now I can't seem to dig it out on his channel.

Anyways, the main problem with me was not looking under the hood. Turns out my envy was coming from inside and it's got nothing to do with other people, and the quick litmus test is basically admitting that this whole envy isn't going to make my life any better, and using Leo's resourceful mindset I can sort of look at people from a different perspective by actually using them as resource for introspection.

[Geromekevin]

@phoenix666 I meant people who are not (that much) into spirituality. People who don't care about concepts like consciousness and just do what makes them happy.

[hinawashi]

@K VIL The video on exploiting people? It's really short but the key point is when you see people in a low conscious state, observe their behavior and examine yourself to see if you're committing the same mistakes. Though it's highly unlikely for you to repeat their same exact mistakes, you can still use it to examine other areas of your life. In a nutshell, it's all about using peoples to reflect upon yourself instead of pointing fingers at them.

@Geromekevin Leo has another video about happiness as well. He compares hedonic happiness VS eudemonic happiness. Hedonic happiness is easy to get but it never fulfills you and you're basically craving for more stimulation, whereas eudemonic happiness it's a more permanent fix, though you are required to keep the habit of mindfulness. You might think eudemonic is somewhat "higher" than hedonic, but in reality it's just two ways of playing the game of life.

[Geromekevin]

@hinawashi Yup. Otherwords for that commonly used is happiness vs pleasure.

To be honest I don't think being eternally happy is something that you should strive after.
Because negative emotions can also be wonderful in a way

[Highest]

Low consciousness people don't know what they are, they follow like sheep, so in their mind they are normal, just like anyone else. All this world, all these beliefs, all these projections and wars happens because of low consciousness. But remember that everything will perish, nothing will stay. This world is a world of time, it's only waiting for it's day to perish, just like all bodies. That's really all there is to that. The most important thing is to have good deeds in this life and faith in God, that's what will count after death, all else means nothing.

[Nahm]

Where are these people who live a bissful life without spirituality? Without truth? Without the now? I have yet to see one. Seriously. Not a single one, ever.