Do not follow. Carve your own path.

[ivankiss]

You wanna know the Truth? 

Live for it. 

Life has all the answers you seek. Life is your only true teacher. Everything you hear from characters that are passing by are merely pointers. And sometimes they can point you in the wrong direction. You might think there is no wrong direction... But oh yes, there is. 

Never follow in anyone's footsteps. They're carving their own path. They're teaching themselves what they desire to know. Their journey is unique to them. It has nothing to do with you. 

A true master - a genuine guide - would never deprive you of the sweetness of discovering Truth for yourself - on your own. He will never take you 'all the way'. He will only point towards The Light within you. It is up to you to find your way and trust the steps you're taking. 

Those who follow blindly and religiously only do so because they fear going their own way. Those who subscribe mindlessly to ideas and beliefs of the masses only do so because they fear walking alone. The sense of belonging they extract is false and short-lived. What they truly long for is finding the courage within to claim their own power.

I am currently at a point in my journey where I feel like 99% of the stuff I heard people preaching about is complete bullshit. And that's how I know I'm on the right track. The remaining 1% is borrowed puzzle pieces. 

Don't get me wrong. There is truth in everything that has ever been said. It's just not The Truth that I'm willing to live and die for. 

Not my path.

Edited December 25, 2020 by ivankiss

[seeking_brilliance]

[ivankiss]

@seeking_brilliance

[Megan Alecia]

Depends on one's priorities ?? 

[ShugendoRa]

I don't really understand dhwat your saying . Your saying your path is your path only and you shouldnt follow other paths? 

[seeking_brilliance]

2 minutes ago, ShugendoRa said:

I don't really understand dhwat your saying . Your saying your path is your path only and you shouldnt follow other paths? 

Train tracks often cross, or even run parallel for a while. What he's saying is to not jump tracks just for want of better scenery. Stay on course and send us all postcards from time to time. 

[ivankiss]

10 hours ago, Megan Alecia said:

Depends on one's priorities ?? 

Care to elaborate?

9 hours ago, ShugendoRa said:

I don't really understand dhwat your saying . Your saying your path is your path only and you shouldnt follow other paths? 

I'm saying your path is the only path. The true path.

The moment you start following someone else is the moment you've lost your way.

[Hello from Russia]

31 minutes ago, ivankiss said:

The moment you start following someone else is the moment you've lost your way.

Super true

[Bodhitree]

“Learn from the Buddha, but do not be a Buddhist.”

— Osho

 

It is futile to try to be like anyone, at most you will become a second grade imitation. Ultimately you can only be authentic. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn by copying, but at a certain point you have to go beyond such behaviour and drop the copying, and see what you truly have learnt, what you have made your own. 

[Nahm]

?? 

[Advocate]

Well said 

[flume]

On 25/12/2020 at 8:43 PM, ivankiss said:

A true master - a genuine guide - would never deprive you of the sweetness of discovering Truth for yourself - on your own. He will never take you 'all the way'. He will only point towards The Light within you. It is up to you to find your way and trust the steps you're taking. 

Totally beautiful!

Your post reminds me of this Quote from the teachings of Don Juan:

"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions. To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary.

This question is one that only a very old man asks. Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realises that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it."

[How to be wise]

@ivankiss I think most people (including myself) needed a teacher to get started with enlightenment. It’s pretty hard to figure out all of enlightenment yourself. Breaking off from the teacher happens later. But certainly there is value in teachers in the beginning.

[Willie]

Nice quote, @flume!

Nice thread, @ivankiss!

I can definitely see how this has been relevant in my direct experience. 

[Lyubov]

reclaiming one's own path is incredibly powerful and necessary 

when you start holding your own direct experience over the words of someone else you are headed in the right direction 

[Forestluv]

There are some things that are very hard to realize or work through solo. 

I would consider a “teacher” different than “a master”. I’ve got about 30 teachers in my life and I play both teacher and student. I learn from others everyday, yet I’m not beholden to any teacher.

A friend of mine is deeply entangled with a teacher, who us more of a master. She does anything he says and holds his words as the highest authority.  In some ways it’s good. They have a deep relationship and he can often mirror things she cannot see in herself. In other ways, it’s very limiting.