Mental masturbation

[Someone here]

What distinguishes genuine inquiry and fruitful contemplation from mental masturbation?? 

[Shin]

Mental masturbation is when you try to conceptualize, or make sense of the infinite.

Genuine inquiry is when you want to truly realize what that is without any assumption by wondering intuitively about it.

[Salvijus]

Genuine Inquiry means looking, observing, scanning into who am I. It's a process of paying attention. So it's kind of like mindfulness meditation or deep self observation meditation that gets deeper and deeper as you practice.

Mental masturbation is just intelectual gimnastics. For example, "who am I? Im the awareness that observes all phenomena". That's just mental masturbation. Genuine insight is when you observe all phenomena and you experiencially realize that nothing in the universe can touch you and you become god. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Salvijus

[Someone here]

@Shin so there is no benefit to conceptualizing? All conceptualizing is mental masturbation? 

[Rilles]

Quite hard to say, its more intuitive, you just feel when you or someone else is mentally masturbating. Its more of a distraction rather than a real curious inquiry to get to the bottom of things. Its a very needy and attached form of endless discussion about nothing that veers off into minute details about nothing. Mental masturbation often feels very hollow while true wisdom doesnt need much words but fills you up like a good meal.

Edited December 8, 2021 by Rilles

[Tim R]

Mental masturbation is what you get when you don't understand that concepts can't grasp reality but you still try to do exactly that. 

Genuine inquiry is a sparing use of concepts, knowing that they are useful only to a very, very limited extent and therefore you don't overdo it. 

[Nahm]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

What distinguishes genuine inquiry and fruitful contemplation… from mental masturbation?? 

Contemplation is communion, conscious creating, and is about your life / experience, and what’s let go & what manifests. Mental masturbation is thinking & talking about this, but only regurgitating, not actually creating anything. What’s genuine is really up to you. 

As a specific example, talking about & sharing the Kaballa, vs not talking about it, but actually employing it in your creating / life. 

[Leo Gura]

Are you genuinely inquiring into anything?

That's a serious attitude which isn't common. Most people are not seriously questioning anything, they are just juggling ideas they've heard from someone else in their head.

You can feel when you are genuinely contemplating a matter. It's exhausting work.

[UnbornTao]

Contemplation is setting out to experience whatever is true.

Mental masturbation leads you nowhere — it has no goal.

Edited December 8, 2021 by UnbornTao

[mandyjw]

I was trying to type a response, my husband came in the room without seeing the topic and randomly said "He's baiting you."

You don't have to actually form out questions that you ask, asking is more of a profound  emotional/vibrational thing than just using language to formulate a question. If you ask questions based on how you see yourself, based on how you want others to see you and not out of genuine driving curiosity or desire, that's not going to be fulfilling. I think being willing to ask stupid questions with a childlike curiosity is what leads you to some of the most satisfying unexpected answers. 

[Leo Gura]

27 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

I was trying to type a response, my husband came in the room without seeing the topic and randomly said "He's baiting you."

What a cunning linguist

[Zeroguy]

2 hours ago, Someone here said:

What distinguishes genuine inquiry and fruitful contemplation from mental masturbation?? 

We are all full of shit sometimes.Oh c'mon we all know it.

Edited December 8, 2021 by Zeroguy

[mandyjw]

1 minute ago, Zeroguy said:

We are all full of shit sometimes.Oh c'mon we all know it.

"That's how the light gets in."

 

[Shin]

3 hours ago, Someone here said:

@Shin so there is no benefit to conceptualizing? All conceptualizing is mental masturbation? 

No it can be helpful to a certain point, but the mind tends to bullshit itself to think that his conceptualization is not mental masturbation to not get past the conceptualization threshold.

[VeganAwake]

Genuine inquiry is realizing you don't know what the f*** you're talking about in any way at all or who/what is even inquiring for that matter.

Like a three-year-old again!

❤ 

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by VeganAwake

[VeganAwake]

2 hours ago, UnbornTao said:

Mental masturbation leads you nowhere — it has no goal.

If that's the case keep mental masturbating.

You may not understand what this means until later.

❤ 

[Fearless_Bum]

Who knows, maybe one day you'll come to a realization. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Fearless_Bum

[VeganAwake]

@Someone here  what's being sought isn't going to be found in a bowl of fruit.

The fruitfulness is already everything but you still believe it's within a certain piece of fruit.

❤ 

[gettoefl]

So far, you took the mind for the knower, but it is just not so. The mind clogs you up with images and ideas, which leave scars in memory. You take remembering to be knowledge. True knowledge is ever fresh, new, unexpected. It wells up from within. When you know what you are, you also are what you know. Between knowing and being there is no gap.

Nisargadatta

[Someone here]

20 hours ago, VeganAwake said:

Genuine inquiry is realizing you don't know what the f*** you're talking about in any way at all or who/what is even inquiring for that matter.

Like a three-year-old again!

❤ 

 

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