What is your absolute highest value and why?

[Andreas]

Please post your highest value and give a short explanation of why. This can become a really useful thread. Il start: 

 

My highest value is discomfort. I value this because i found it to produce a lot of results if it's done correctly. Mental or physical discomfort should be pursued every day to maintain discipline, health and wisdom. 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Andreas

[Preetom]

@Andreas

Are you a David Goggins minion? 

Jokes aside, I was thinking about the same value this morning while I was jogging and my legs were just killing me.

It made me think how if someone could reprogram oneself as a 'masochist' who kinda gets some sort of satisfaction from pain and discomfort and suffering, how he/she could accomplish a LOT of things.. 

[Andreas]

1 hour ago, Preetom said:

@Andreas

Are you a David Goggins minion? 

Jokes aside, I was thinking about the same value this morning while I was jogging and my legs were just killing me.

It made me think how if someone could reprogram oneself as a 'masochist' who kinda gets some sort of satisfaction from pain and discomfort and suffering, how he/she could accomplish a LOT of things.. 

Haha I think it's a powerful value. I think if it's done right it can be the key to mastery. 

 

[BjarkeT]

"My highest value is discomfort" Good one!

Mine is probably being the best at something because that is where the great rewards lie 

[Preetom]

@Andreas

I really feel that this ability to withstand pain(physical and emotional) consistently day after day is like the most important key to success or skill building any department.

How much does genetics play on this? Many many people just can't have that pain tolerance. I wonder whether all this is in the head or if some people are 'really' crippled at withstanding the pain..

[Rilles]

Love/perspective/understanding

 

Not something I always live up to but I try

[Andreas]

1 hour ago, Preetom said:

@Andreas

I really feel that this ability to withstand pain(physical and emotional) consistently day after day is like the most important key to success or skill building any department.

How much does genetics play on this? Many many people just can't have that pain tolerance. I wonder whether all this is in the head or if some people are 'really' crippled at withstanding the pain..

I don't know. Some professor that's really into whistleblowing talked about the importance of genetics in that but personally I think that the environment has a really big impact. If a person is able to change their environment it could change them more permanently. It's like if a person has problems with money and relationships it would be a lot harder to sustain discipline towards mastery than if it the person had reduced their discomfort. It's like having a maximum capasity to sustain discomfort. 

 

 

[Elysian]

Unconditional love.

We wouldn't exist without it.

[kieranperez]

10 minutes ago, Preetom said:

How much does genetics play on this? Many many people just can't have that pain tolerance. I wonder whether all this is in the head or if some people are 'really' crippled at withstanding the pain..

There’s a lot of different things that go into that. First it depends on what you really mean by “pain”. If you're talking about physical pain, thats not going to be the same as answer as emotional/psychological pain. Which is not to say those are separate. For most people, unless you’re like Ralston for example who is conscious of what pain is as a thought and an activity we create, physical pain like running a race takes a psychological and emotional toll as well. However, there are a variety of things with this: genetics (at the end of the day, this is a factor, some people are born with certain predispositions to literally be able to handle a higher volume of maximum output than others), upbringing, how much trauma one has had in their life, how much one has cultivated discipline, the degree of tolerance for physical and emotional struggle in overcoming challenges, etc.

Lets even look at the example of enlightenment. How many people in the world can really tolerate and remain calm and meditate like a rock in the kinda hardcore asceticism and austerity that we see monks and yogis put themselves through. I know some “tough” people who’ve been to the meddled in the olympics from track to judo and they’d crumble in that.

Theres a lot to being able to go through discomfort so you can’t really pinpoint it. My biggest advice is to know what you want with all your heart and let that be your resolve to go through anything. 

[Helios]

Freedom

[Sahil Pandit]

47 minutes ago, Preetom said:

 

Jokes aside, I was thinking about the same value this morning while I was jogging and my legs were just killing me.

It made me think how if someone could reprogram oneself as a 'masochist' who kinda gets some sort of satisfaction from pain and discomfort and suffering, how he/she could accomplish a LOT of things.. 

@kieranperez 

@Preetom gets it 

[Preetom]

@Andreas

So basically emptying one's cup so that more pain can be welcomed huh? I like how you frame it.

@kieranperez

It's really the consistency and volume that is the issue here. Also this pain withstanding capacity is never a fixed parameter. Even in my own life, I've seen it fluctuating a great deal over the ages or ever over the course of a day.

Another thing you pointed out, pain really has many many layers and faces. I guess it's the inability to really look at them like Ralston does, makes those layer supercharge each other and hit the victim down KO

Edited January 1, 2019 by Preetom

[Preetom]

@Sahil Pandit @kieranperez

Guys fundamentally this once again brings out the predetermination vs free will dilemma. oh God...

For me personally, I've been both the champion super efficient workaholic for years and also saw everything crumble before my eyes as I bummed out for months/years. So I really know the taste of both side. 

I honestly don't know what drives us anymore or what's actually going on

 

[Andreas]

Maybe the cup expands slightly every time it’s full. 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Andreas

[universe]

Connection

To everything. To people, to animals, to nature, to space. Feeling one with everything there is.

There is nothing I value more. Its always here, I just have to be reminded constantly.

[Genghis Khan]

Honestly, I don't really know. I guess I could say that Truth is my highest value. Being able understand reality as accurately as possible. Not just Non-Duality, but many topics, such as history, science, religion, and everything else.

[kieranperez]

1 hour ago, Preetom said:

It's really the consistency and volume that is the issue here. Also this pain withstanding capacity is never a fixed parameter. Even in my own life, I've seen it fluctuating a great deal over the ages or ever over the course of a day.

Another thing you pointed out, pain really has many many layers and faces. I guess it's the inability to really look at then like Ralston does, makes those layer supercharge each other and hit the victim down KO

What Ralston is very profound. Even if you read what he’s talking about, he’s too clear. Pain only exists under the deep assumption that you are actually something harmful to you, something that’s hurting you as a self. Again, let’s go to the root canal example of Ralston without pain killers. You can literally experience a root canal without pain killers and not “be in pain”. Pain becomes a distinction that you stop creating. However, you’re probably going to need to have an enlightenment on what your nature is and have the insane concentration and mindfulness to do what he’s talking about because of all the emotional reactions that connects to you as an ego that come with “stopping pain”. 

I suggest, rather than just learning to just withstand more of the emotional beating you give yourself (because whenever you suffer, you’re still creating it and doing it to yourself regardless of whether it’s from sitting on a cushion, you exerting yourself in some way in some athletic endeavor, or suffering from the loss of a loved one or have your heart broken) and create a bigger capacity for that, wouldn’t it be better to learn what all of that is? To the degree that it becomes an experience you can stop creating entirely which will allow room to operate more effectively rather than just fight with yourself. I don’t know. A lot of people actually don’t want to choose that because they want some fictional like David vs Goliath battle with themselves that they think is better because they’ve made a whole story and narrative out of their suffering. 

[ivory]

Spiritual growth. One of the only guarantees in life is that it's going to throw you challenges. We are expected to rise up to those challenges.

[Preetom]

8 minutes ago, kieranperez said:

What Ralston is very profound. Even if you read what he’s talking about, he’s too clear. Pain only exists under the deep assumption that you are actually something harmful to you, something that’s hurting you as a self. Again, let’s go to the root canal example of Ralston without pain killers. You can literally experience a root canal without pain killers and not “be in pain”. Pain becomes a distinction that you stop creating. However, you’re probably going to need to have an enlightenment on what your nature is and have the insane concentration and mindfulness to do what he’s talking about because of all the emotional reactions that connects to you as an ego that come with “stopping pain”. 

I suggest, rather than just learning to just withstand more of the emotional beating you give yourself (because whenever you suffer, you’re still creating it and doing it to yourself regardless of whether it’s from sitting on a cushion, you exerting yourself in some way in some athletic endeavor, or suffering from the loss of a loved one or have your heart broken) and create a bigger capacity for that, wouldn’t it be better to learn what all of that is? To the degree that it becomes an experience you can stop creating entirely which will allow room to operate more effectively rather than just fight with yourself. I don’t know. A lot of people actually don’t want to choose that because they want some fictional like David vs Goliath battle with themselves that they think is better because they’ve made a whole story and narrative out of their suffering. 

This really makes sense. I've had experiences in meditations where I could seemingly penetrate through and melt 'pain' with concentration instantly. Pain would keep transforming quickly...until it became totally neutral. Almost like neutralizing acid with a buffer solution.

That sure would be a really valuable ability to look into and develop

[kieranperez]

11 minutes ago, Preetom said:

This really makes sense. I've had experiences in meditations where I could seemingly penetrate through and melt 'pain' with concentration instantly. Pain would keep transforming quickly...until it became totally neutral. Almost like neutralizing acid with a buffer solution.

That sure would be a really valuable ability to look into and develop

No! It doesn’t make sense! Don’t fall into the trap of “it makes sense”. Read Ralston’s books on this and do build your concentration and mindfulness and understand your emotions. Emotions are huge in this because notice how your emotions are defense to you surviving as a self and manipulate your entire experience to escape what’s actually occurring.