Why I'm Becoming a Monk (Sort of..)

[Consilience]

I recently made this video for my YouTube channel. I know self promotion is a tricky line here on the forum. I typically keep my content to myself and personal social media channels, but this one felt appropriate for the forum. This is a community I am apart of and I personally think there are more people here that would benefit from this message than any of my other social medias like Facebook or Instagram. I wanted to share not from a space of self-promotion, but because I genuinely believe in this message. I believe in the rippling effect that would occur if more people understand the cascading qualities of serious contemplative practice (meditation) and its place with supporting humanity. 

Overall, this video and post come from the "relative" domain; i.e. this isn't an absolute perspective. But from a relative point of view, the planet is dying and there are still countless sentient beings suffering. This video and my decision to join a monastic training environment stems from this recognition and at risk of sounding egoic, stems from a compassion that acknowledges the unity of the second noble truth - there is suffering. 

Below is what I've posted on other platforms. If you're interested in discussing anything or have questions, I'd be happy to respond. 

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I don’t typically “believe” in much. But one thing I wholeheartedly believe in is the mass adoption of meditation would serve humanity’s collective flourishing. There are a growing number of existential risks we will be facing in the 21st century - Climate change, a mass extinction event, A.I., gene editing, horrible wealth inequality, bioweapons, drone warfare technologies, etc. Though our technological development is at an unprecedented peak, our collective capacity for compassion is severely lagging behind.

Humanity doesn’t lack knowledge, technology, or intelligence for solving the many problems of our planet. We lack wisdom and compassion. Meditation, when practiced consistently and across a lifetime, facilitates these domains of human development to a radical degree.

So again, though I don’t “believe” in much, it is it is my firm and unapologetic belief that wide-scale adoption of this practice would benefit Earth and all of her inhabitants. I believe that the mass adaption of meditation practice can dramatically support our collective flourishing both personally and collectively by providing a space for the effective responding to these growing existential risks.

If you’re interested in this topic and why I’m going into monastic training environment, check out the video.

 

 

[Shambhu]

@Consilience Good luck!  Keep us updated on how your experience progresses.

[Consilience]

49 minutes ago, Shambhu said:

@Consilience Good luck!  Keep us updated on how your experience progresses.

Thank you man  

Ill keep everyone posted for sure

[Gregory1]

46 minutes ago, Consilience said:

Thank you man  

Ill keep everyone posted for sure

Yeah, updates over time would be great!

[Vincent S]

Nice work! You got one more subscriber ????

[Salvijus]

12 hours ago, Consilience said:

Climate change, a mass extinction event, A.I., gene editing, horrible wealth inequality, bioweapons, drone warfare technologies, etc.

Soil extinction, (Had to say it.)

I was looking to do something similar also, just struggle to find the place where I'd fit in better.

Kudos for doing what you're doing ?

[Consilience]

8 hours ago, Vincent S said:

Nice work! You got one more subscriber ????

Thank you man! ?

8 hours ago, Salvijus said:

Soil extinction, (Had to say it.)

I was looking to do something similar also, just struggle to find the place where I'd fit in better.

Kudos for doing what you're doing ?

Yes thank you for pointing it out. It feels like most everyone is in denial about how bad things are getting, mainly because it hasn’t stressed our societal infrastructure enough. But the effects are slowly seeping in. 
 

That’s really cool. If you have to calling Id highly recommend! Keep the forum posted if you find someplace ?

And thank you for the support ??❤️

[happyhappy]

@Consilience cheers bro! keep it up! would love to see how it goes.????

[BipolarGrowth]

Good luck man! 

[ardacigin]

Good luck Ethan and let us know your progress on the forum :))

[Consilience]

@happyhappy @BipolarGrowth @ardacigin Thank you ❤️

[kieranperez]

You're going to be working with Soryu! I wish you the best with your endeavor as this stuff isn't always exactly the easiest decision to truly make, even when we know deep down that this call is what our hearts have been shouting and starving for. So I bow to your courage. I myself have been struggling on the fence with my decision to join a more formal monastery for some time. I think it's great that you found a container where your work is compatible enough with the schedule and demands of Monastic Academy. I'm going into real estate and I think there are just some jobs you simply can't work remote from in order to maintain your income so I congratulate you in things working out. Sorry for sure seems to be the real deal and I don't have any doubt that you'll experience some great training there. Stay with it and I have no doubt you'll get far. All the best to you, friend! ??

[Space Lizard]

I never found that meditation develops compassion. If anything, I found that it develops a cold, detached, unemotional, even sociopathic state of mind. Same with psychedelic drugs. Compassion and wisdom don't come from meditating or psychedelics or otherwise retreating into your own solitary head, imo. You have to interact with people and experience suffering for that.

[Lyubov]

1 hour ago, Space Lizard said:

I never found that meditation develops compassion. If anything, I found that it develops a cold, detached, unemotional, even sociopathic state of mind. Same with psychedelic drugs. Compassion and wisdom don't come from meditating or psychedelics or otherwise retreating into your own solitary head, imo. You have to interact with people and experience suffering for that.

same, meditation is more for me kinda a good way to just be less reactive and triggered, keep the mind more focused and feel bodily sensations so I can identify emotions better. compassion has grown more for me when I'm sorta thrown into situations with people and in life, I feel them, I'm faced with the reality of change, I hear what they been through, face my problems in a compassionate way. This has grown me more than any retreat I've done. It's why I don't do retreats anymore, I don't get much more from them that regular life already gifts me. 

[RickyFitts]

11 hours ago, Space Lizard said:

I never found that meditation develops compassion. If anything, I found that it develops a cold, detached, unemotional, even sociopathic state of mind. Same with psychedelic drugs. Compassion and wisdom don't come from meditating or psychedelics or otherwise retreating into your own solitary head, imo. You have to interact with people and experience suffering for that.

That's your problem right there - that you're approaching meditation as a purely mental activity. Compassion and wisdom arise from the heart, not the head, so of course meditation isn't going to give rise to those things if you're approaching it like that.

Give more attention to what's going on below the neckline, notice where you're feeling contracted and tense and allow yourself to relax and breathe. Allow the arising of what had previously been suppressed, even if it feels uncomfortable, painful, or upsetting.

[Ry4n]

13 hours ago, Space Lizard said:

I never found that meditation develops compassion. If anything, I found that it develops a cold, detached, unemotional, even sociopathic state of mind. Same with psychedelic drugs. Compassion and wisdom don't come from meditating or psychedelics or otherwise retreating into your own solitary head, imo. You have to interact with people and experience suffering for that.

loving kindness