The Possible Trap Of Our Community

[Anton Rogachevski]

First of all let me say how much i appriciate our community 

Also I would like to raise a debate about the possible effects of belonging to such a forum as ours.

Would you say it's advantageous to have many people agree with you on your thoughts constantly?

Let's look at it like that. A student has a question of a spiritual nature, what would the master say to him?

Of course he would say something like "go wash your bowl"

He's trying to raise the student's doubt, cause that the way to break through to truth.

Should we create a place where surely everyone agree and make you sure of your believes?

[SkyPanther]

6 minutes ago, Actualizer said:

First of all let me say how much i appriciate our community 

Also I would like to raise a debate about the possible effects of belonging to such a forum as ours.

Would you say it's advantageous to have many people agree with you on your thoughts constantly?

Let's look at it like that. A student has a question of a spiritual nature, what would the master say to him?

Of course he would say something like "go wash your bowl"

He's trying to raise the student's doubt, cause that the way to break through to truth.

Should we create a place where surely everyone agree and make you sure of your believes?

You could say the same thing for your own thoughts...  is it good to reinforce your own thought without questioning them, and challenging any views you may hold? 

I use forums like these to bounce ideas off people, or help those that have just started out. 

But everyone here is at various stages, so it is interesting hearing other people's opinions, and those that challenge you are actually more interesting to talk to.

[Sleepwalker]

I wouldn't consider this forum as a place where everyone makes you sure of your opinion. Of course, people can agree with your believes, but most of them won't hesitate to doubt them and crush them as well, if they find them not to be beneficial or healthy for you.

2 hours ago, Actualizer said:

Would you say it's advantageous to have many people agree with you on your thoughts constantly?

In a sense, it is advantageous because it makes you trust yourself more, being more secure and confident. It makes you kind of fulfilled, too. I mean, everyone loves good feedback and to be agreed with. But like with everything else, I think that some disadvantages come along even with this. 

For example, all the agreements tend to feed your ego and make you too convinced of yourself. Just because people agree with your opinion, don't make yourself think that you must be right  We can't really know what something can be good for, even a "bad" or "wrong" belief. In the end, some of the worst decisions in my life have started the journey for me of wanting to self-actualize and to become my greatest version. If it weren't them, I wouldn't be writing this and I wouldn't be at the stage I am now.

Approach everything with a healthy dose of skepticism, even if it's a very popular opinion or your own. It doesn't matter how many people agree, because in the end, almost all of us are stuck in the same matrix. Therefore we really cannot know anything for sure even if something seems to be very obvious. But yeah that's just my opinion  

[Natasha]

@Actualizer I remember Leo speaking in one of his recent videos about opening the forum and he called it a 'playground'. So like any playground, this one also provides experience of learning, sharing, exploring, watching/ reading, making connections, competing.. There is a strong sense of like-minded community here and this is something you won't find in a mainstream world. 

6 hours ago, SkyPanther said:

You could say the same thing for your own thoughts...  is it good to reinforce your own thought without questioning them, and challenging any views you may hold? 

I use forums like these to bounce ideas off people, or help those that have just started out. 

But everyone here is at various stages, so it is interesting hearing other people's opinions, and those that challenge you are actually more interesting to talk to.

 Exactly how I feel too. A great tool for growth with an element of entertainment.

[Kevin Dunlop]

For me the trap might be something other than having others agree with you too often. Its spending too much time with your computer instead of in your natural world. And maybe you could be studying a higher quality of information from other sources. I have already done alot of these two things so for me this is fun and a way of seeing what people talk about, how they talk about it and respond to eachother. It is inspiring and disappointing too but I take the good that I can and enjoy the process without needing it to be too serious either way its very interesting for me, so thanks.

 

 

[Anton Rogachevski]

@SkyPanther @Sleepwalker @Natasha @Kevin Dunlop

I feel like i should raise another question.

How is id different from joining a religion?

You also have everyone agree with you. And you feel so certein, and secure surrounded by like minded people.

[Draconis Chaser]

@Actualizer

I don't know about other religions, but if you look at Christianity for example, there is more disagreeing than not. About pretty much everything.

Honestly, I think having everyone agree with you for the sake of being agreeable is a bad thing.  But if you are onto sth, in my oppinion, it is better to solidify that idea, than have it blown out by non-actualizers.

If I am terribly wrong, on the other hand, I would like to know that as well. 

 

[Anicko]

I think the big trap is taking someone else's beliefs and making them your own. Eww.  

[Anton Rogachevski]

@Draconis Chaser

I hope we are all actualizers here so you ideas are safe.

But whenever you feel too sure about an idea, it's an indication that you are starting to believe in it. Which might close your mind to further development and desolation of oldideas

[Sleepwalker]

7 hours ago, Actualizer said:

@SkyPanther @Sleepwalker @Natasha @Kevin Dunlop

I feel like i should raise another question.

How is id different from joining a religion?

You also have everyone agree with you. And you feel so certein, and secure surrounded by like minded people.

I get your point, but I don't feel about this community like I would about a religion. 

This community consists not only of like minded people, but of open minded ones. We are here to question ourselves and to grow together, not to agree with just one major opinion without even questioning it and follow the herd like sheep. Religion (most of them) asks you to believe in something, if possible, without distrust. This community doesn't ask you to believe in anything. 

Btw there's nothing wrong about feeling certain and secure because someone agrees with you, as long as you're still open to another opinion. Just be careful that you don't get caught up in your own dogmatism. There's nothing wrong about having a support network, or at least a high-quality and conscious one like this. Actually it certainly will help you to grow so much more than you would on your own. 

[Anton Rogachevski]

@Anicko

And if everyone is saying the same, you are more likely to believe in it.

[Anicko]

3 minutes ago, Actualizer said:

@Anicko

And if everyone is saying the same, you are more likely to believe in it.

Hopefully not me personally, haha! 

But truly, we all get stuck sometimes. I just hope I wake up to the lie, sooner rather than later!!   

Edited April 6, 2016 by Anicko

[Draconis Chaser]

@Actualizer

That is exactly why I think communities like this one are a goldmine. If I do end up too dogmatic and too in my own head, there is always someone here to call me up on that. And I would be that more open to trusting them because we agreed on ideas before. 

That is my take on that, at least...

[Anicko]

I read a couple incredible blogs a while back. Gateway to Gold, and No Labels No Lies. 

One of those things I stumbled upon that totally changed my life. Totally relates to this topic of beliefs. 

[charlie2dogs]

if i give an honest answer to this question of the trap, the trap i see here and everywhere is the lack of understanding as to what enlightenment or rather self realization really is, and how it experiences life.  That is the foundation of personal growth, without that where are you really going.  The things associated with that lack of understanding is programing and a false belief system, which is rarely overcome because it creates a prison that most cant escape.

[charlie2dogs]

12 hours ago, Actualizer said:

@SkyPanther @Sleepwalker @Natasha @Kevin Dunlop

I feel like i should raise another question.

How is id different from joining a religion?

You also have everyone agree with you. And you feel so certein, and secure surrounded by like minded people.

apparently you havent read the posts on this site if you think everyone agrees.

[jjer94]

5 hours ago, Draconis Chaser said:

@Actualizer

That is exactly why I think communities like this one are a goldmine. If I do end up too dogmatic and too in my own head, there is always someone here to call me up on that. And I would be that more open to trusting them because we agreed on ideas before. 

That is my take on that, at least...

You're being too dogmatic and in your own head. Stop it!

 

[Anton Rogachevski]

@charlie2dogs

Perhaps on the surface they don't, but a certain skeptical mindset is also a belief.

If you say "we don't know", you know that you don't know.

[Nic]

On 5 avril 2016 at 8:06 PM, Actualizer said:

Would you say it's advantageous to have many people agree with you on your thoughts constantly?

Let's look at it like that. A student has a question of a spiritual nature, what would the master say to him?

Of course he would say something like "go wash your bowl"

He's trying to raise the student's doubt, cause that the way to break through to truth.

Should we create a place where surely everyone agree and make you sure of your believes?

 

Hi Actualizer, the real problematic is not that people agree or disagree, this is not the real problem, the problem is that we all have ideas we want to share, questions we'd like to answer, or find answers to... and this is the basic of mind chatter, where the ego has its roots, (rational) thinking. It's what we've been trained to do since birth.

The real question is: did this community help you reduce mind chatter? If tomorrow you come without questions, then perfect!

 Is this community a good thing? If you want to chat, virtually socialize, sure mate!

But If you want peace of mind, I'm not that sure!

It all depends what you do with it! This community is a tool. Make sure not to harm yourself with it (create more mind chatter), and this is a message for me too of course.

I noticed my mind chatter increased since I'm here, exactly the contrary of what I was looking for... what about yours? 

I didn't have much social interactions before this forum besides at work. Trying to help people looking for answers to their "not valid questions" made "not valid answers" grow in my mind.  I might leave one day actually... 

Take care

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by Nic

[Extreme Z7]

@Actualizer You may have point there. I don't really post my beliefs here too much because I mainly post about my daily events in my personal journal. But sometimes I come across a thread from someone asking for advice which I feel I can help with but I usually have small doubts that the advice I might be giving may be juvenile or naive. Despite that, I almost always seem to be praised for it. I don't remember specific examples of this but it does happen.