The Infinite Why

[B_Naz]

Something I realized today. If we looked at all our "needs", such as money, sex, drugs, clothes, good-looks, healthy, self-improvement, or even basic needs like warmth and food, it all stems from... nothing?

All our needs are actually made of nothing. They were not caused or created by anything but the ego? It's like the ego demands things, but what it doesn't even know what it demands.

So the infinite why...

Whenever you come across anything that you require, like the examples above, just ask yourself "why". Why do you want this? Just keep asking and answering the question and you will just come to an end. Ending in "I don't know". It ends in nothing

Here's an example I went through...

Why do I want money -> To buy a house -> Why do I want to buy a house? -> To call somewhere home? -> Why do you want that? -> I don't know

I literally went through these whys and it just shocked me how every need I find leads to me not knowing why I want this

Sometimes, some needs just have infinite amount of whys, and that implies its actually nothing, since there is no sign of cause of it

I don't know... Just a thought...

Edited May 31, 2018 by B_Naz

[Leo Gura]

The why is, you want to feel good, feel complete.

If you felt complete right now, you would not want anything.

Notice that every day, you feel incomplete. Your entire life, you've felt incomplete. So you chase things which you think will make you feel complete.

But it never works, because completeness is an existential insight, not a material object.

This is because, you are disconnected from who/what you are existentially. Completeness can only come with existential understanding.

It's sort of like if you imagined you should have 3 arms, but you only saw you have 2. So you'd go looking to acquire a 3rd arm to feel complete. But the counter-intuitive move is not to go chop off someone's arm and stitch it to your chest, but to realize: "Oh!!!! Duh!!! I should only have 2 arms! So everything is perfect! "

Happiness is wanting exactly what you presently have.

Unhappiness is wanting something you don't presently have.

It's that simple. But not easy to really grok. The mind will not just surrender its wants. That requires enlightenment. Your very life is tied to your wants. The reason you want anything is because you want to stay alive. So the really counter-intuitive move is to say, "I want to die."

[B_Naz]

Feeling incomplete.. That's such a powerful insight

So, if I don't want anything. I am complete. That's a nice direction to strive for.

Being unhappy/happy can cause problems, "Oh I'm unhappy, let me be happy by doing...". The goal is to be neither happy or unhappy. Just neutral.

Not that you should force yourself to not be happy, I mean, the ego isn't really an evil thing. It's just something that's there. No forcing is required, it's just something to realize

Definitely not easy to do, lol  

Edited May 31, 2018 by B_Naz

[Leo Gura]

46 minutes ago, B_Naz said:

Being unhappy/happy can cause problems, "Oh I'm unhappy, let me be happy by doing...". The goal is to be neither happy or unhappy. Just neutral.

I would tweak that to say: the goal is to be joyful with whatever is.

So if you're feeling crummy, be joyful about it. It sounds paradoxical, and it is, but it's not.

[Truth]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

It's sort of like if you imagined you should have 3 arms, but you only saw you have 2. So you'd go looking to acquire a 3rd arm to feel complete. But the counter-intuitive move is not to go chop off someone's arm and stitch it to your chest, but to realize: "Oh!!!! Duh!!! I should only have 2 arms! So everything is perfect!

yep :), been there 

Edited May 31, 2018 by Truth

[B_Naz]

23 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

It sounds paradoxical, and it is, but it's not.

Ohh, I see what you mean. when you're joyful, you're just grateful for what you have. You don't need it or want it, it's just there. You didn't ask for it, it's just there...

[Dodo]

8 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

The why is, you want to feel good, feel complete.

If you felt complete right now, you would not want anything.

Notice that every day, you feel incomplete. Your entire life, you've felt incomplete. So you chase things which you think will make you feel complete.

But it never works, because completeness is an existential insight, not a material object.

This is because, you are disconnected from who/what you are existentially. Completeness can only come with existential understanding.

It's sort of like if you imagined you should have 3 arms, but you only saw you have 2. So you'd go looking to acquire a 3rd arm to feel complete. But the counter-intuitive move is not to go chop off someone's arm and stitch it to your chest, but to realize: "Oh!!!! Duh!!! I should only have 2 arms! So everything is perfect! "

Happiness is wanting exactly what you presently have.

Unhappiness is wanting something you don't presently have.

It's that simple. But not easy to really grok. The mind will not just surrender its wants. That requires enlightenment. Your very life is tied to your wants. The reason you want anything is because you want to stay alive. So the really counter-intuitive move is to say, "I want to die."

This comment is so filled with presence and wisdom, that I feel full now just from reading it!!

[LiakosN]

@Leo Gura The goal is to be alert and still. 

[Guest Quanty]

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen...  

[stevegan928]

On 5/30/2018 at 11:30 PM, Leo Gura said:

It sounds paradoxical, and it is, but it's not.

boi

[CreamCat]

From an evolutionary standpoint, your needs have evolved through an unbroken line of survivors. On average, your needs suffice to sustain your genes and your body at least until you successfully make and raise a child that would repeat the cycle again.

 

It has been tweaked for survival and reproduction although your needs often contradict with survival and reproduction through excess and unbalance.

 

https://www.sparringmind.com/supernormal-stimuli/ explains why it is difficult for our primitive minds to cope with modern society.

Edited June 3, 2018 by CreamCat