What is a Situation?

[Echoes]

A lot of Self Actualization work is about improving ones situation in life or learning to flow with situations and circumstances instead of resisting them. But what really is a situation? Where does a situation begin and where does it end? 

A situation seems to be always exactly that as what somebody defines the situation to be, because there are no clear boundaries of where and with what a situation could end.

Example of a situation: [Being a man and wanting to have a girlfriend]. In reality, the situation of course includes infinitely more than just that - Every atom, cell, star, forces of gravity, temperature, etc. is also part of the situation. So we seem to define our situations always in terms of survival and in terms of what we want and what we don't want (what we fear). We reduce infinity to our desires and call it "my life" or "my situation" - we dismiss everything that is not necessary for our survival needs (which makes sense of course, if you want to survive). 

I was asking myself this because I am currently in a position where I want to change my situation. But then I wondered, that I will just be in a next situation, and a next situation, and a next situation, and so on until death, or for eternity. 

There seems to be no escape of being in a very specific and relative situation. Does to be mean to be in a situation? 

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Echoes

[Sven]

I think Leo's video "Life Is A Maze" is a good video on this topic, actually

Also Leo pinned a comment of his stating (quote): "Important Warning: Solving the maze does not merely mean enlightenment. It means resolving your entire life situation, finding your place in life."

So do what you can with this information- maybe it helps maybe it does not I for one do not know

[YaNanNallari]

Situation is the concept you have of the moment. So they are very useful for thinking about things, and then you can balance improving your own view in your situation and improving your situation.

[dorg]

1 hour ago, Echoes said:

I was asking myself this because I am currently in a position where I want to change my situation. But then I wondered, that I will just be in a next situation, and a next situation, and a next situation, and so on until death, or for eternity. 

Any situation is in mind only. Now, the question is "which mind?" Is it in your little mind or in big mind, and is there really any difference?

[Echoes]

@Sven I'm not sure what he means with "resolving your entire life situation, finding your place in life". Is that not going from situation A (not having a place in life) to situation B (having a place in life)? Maybe he meant being in a situation that I perceive as valuable, good, true to myself. But it would still be a situation. And I will still need things to survive even if I have "found a place in life". Ultimately there is no situation A and situation B, because no  clear, sharp line of when situation B has begun and situation A has ended can really ever be drawn

 

@YaNanNallari But the mere fact that there is a thing that can have a concept of a moment is already a very specific happening that could be described as a situation

Edited October 17, 2018 by Echoes

[YaNanNallari]

@Echoes The thing that's not the situation is the now, present, thing that can't be described, stillness, consciousness that is always there. Because that is always there, you don't just go from situation to situation in life. 

[Echoes]

@YaNanNallari Yes exactly - It's one continous stream of change. So maybe there are no situations at all but just wanting different things in different apparent surroundings.

[Sven]

19 hours ago, Echoes said:

@Sven I'm not sure what he means with "resolving your entire life situation, finding your place in life". Is that not going from situation A (not having a place in life) to situation B (having a place in life)? Maybe he meant being in a situation that I perceive as valuable, good, true to myself. But it would still be a situation. And I will still need things to survive even if I have "found a place in life". Ultimately there is no situation A and situation B, because no  clear, sharp line of when situation B has begun and situation A has ended can really ever be drawn

 

@YaNanNallari But the mere fact that there is a thing that can have a concept of a moment is already a very specific happening that could be described as a situation

Youre commenting on only 1 half od the quote... the other was enlightenment. Because the relative world will never cease to exist.

What youre suggesting is that once youre enlightened, then all you'll do is sit in front of a tree. That would be stupid

[Echoes]

@Sven I was not suggesting that, but I don't think it's necessarily stupid either. I was just trying to figure out the weird puzzle of being in a specific relative situation that I did not chose to be in, yet having to act because of a primal desire that too I did not chose to have.

I think there is still a resistance in me to embrace life fully. And the resistance has taken the form of having to know everything to "be ready". The strangeness of life is paralyzing for me sometimes.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Echoes

[Sven]

2 hours ago, Echoes said:

@Sven I was not suggesting (...) for me sometimes.

Yeah. As far as I know there is relative knowledge and absolute truth.

We are looking through the lens of relative knowledge, from which the absolute truth seems just like another special branch of relative knowledge. But it is not, we have heard so many times by all the awakened teachers.

So everything will seem strange until indeed there is no resistance to it. 

But then you wonder if that's actually viable... There's this quote from I believe the Bible "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil, neither dothey spin." Meaning: Everything is provided for (thus drop your silly ego game, basically, and be free)

On the matter of you not choosing to be where you are right now. That seems to be false as well. Everything is as it has to be, there is not at all anything wrong. Not at all.

Okay then. Nothing wrong, what's next?... Nothing? What's the point of changing a situation if it's fine anyway? This is where Leo jumps in saying NO that's not true- There is more after enlightenment. You still have to go for a better relative situation.

But how can you change your relative situation when you are inside it?

Do you see where we go wrong my friend? Because not just you but me (and presumably over 90% of people on this forum) have this exact vantage point and it's not helping us. And I am confused about it all!