Playing With Perspectives

[UnbornTao]

Scene from The Last Samurai:

Quote

Throughout the film, Katsumoto, the samurai leader, is depicted searching for the perfect cherry blossom, symbolizing his quest for perfection and beauty in life. Towards the end of the film, he is mortally wounded after a fierce battle.

In his final moments, lying on the battlefield, Katsumoto looks into the distance and sees a cherry tree in bloom. As he watches the petals falling, with his last breaths, he says, "Perfect... They are all perfect."

 

Edited June 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The point of an insight isn't the expression and form it takes but rather the recognition of the reality of something. Eloquent and "profound" speech that isn't sourced by your own experiential understanding is an adopted artifice, a belief, not a communication. This adds to our sense of inauthenticity.

Edited July 19 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Beware of being intellectual and abstract in order to avoid the uncomfortable work of confronting your own experience of things. Your mind wants to keep the work in the domain of abstraction where it is safe and no real confrontation takes place.

What we think and intellectualize about might not be aligned with our actual experience of such matters.

Edited October 17 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

If you're suffering, it means there's something you are still ignorant of and is yet to be recognized.

[UnbornTao]

Brad Goodman self-help!

 

[UnbornTao]

With mastery in mind, it ultimately isn't about what you decide to pursue, but rather that the pursuit brings to the fore (draws out) your relationship with yourself and with life.

Edited July 19 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

Beware of confining yourself to a particular belief and denying all else, for much good would elude you—indeed, the knowledge of reality would elude you

— Ibn Arabi

Edited June 14 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Taking up an invention and being familiar with it is not the same as being able to reproduce it in your experience and genuinely understanding how it comes to exist and work.

Insights and discoveries are made by individuals. Ways of thinking get created based on these breakthrough experiences and then adopted by the rest of us. However, we often miss the initial creative component of such inventions. We live as if familiarity implies understanding. When we look closely, however, we realize that there are a lot of things that we fail to grasp and yet adopt as a given.

For instance, we overlook the fact that it took a genius mind like Newton's to make a breakthrough into the principle of gravity. We now say that gravity is obvious since "everyone knows that objects fall down." We're missing something fundamental here. What Newton understood was that objects don't go sideways, float or go up!

Examples:

• Confusing the form an expression takes with the insight underlying it
• Picasso's art died with him; the ability to create that art was unique to him
• As a culture, we are somewhat familiar with Ancient Skepticism, yet very few of us are able to generate that kind of rigorous, deep, intelligent and multi-faceted thinking
• We take on the invention of language and presume to know what it is since it is a prevalent construct paramount to our survival, yet we remain unaware of its real nature
• Any "ism" eventually degrades into a form of shared conjecture, while the experience that precipitated the insight or invention is missed, taken for granted, and overlooked

Edited September 11 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Two approaches to facilitating others:

1. Moving them into a new experience: This tends to be resisted, as it involves taking their current experience "away" in favor of a new one
2. Pushing them into their experience as it is: This requires guiding them through the process of personal discovery, enabling them to generate an experience that more closely aligns with the one you'd like them to have, hopefully in the direction of honesty and transformation

Edited August 28 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

What are you giving life to?

[UnbornTao]

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Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.

- Ramana Maharshi

Edited June 19 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

 

[UnbornTao]

Made the recipe on the second video:

 

 

Edited July 28 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

A look into the principle of willingness. Explanation by ChatGPT:

Me: What is willingness as a principle about?

GPT: Willingness, as a principle, refers to an individual's openness, readiness, and acceptance to engage in a particular activity, task, or change. This principle can be applied in various contexts, including personal development, psychological practices, relationships, and professional settings. Here are some key aspects of willingness as a principle:

1. Openness to Experience: Being receptive to new experiences, ideas, and perspectives without immediate judgment or resistance.
2. Readiness for Change: Showing a readiness to adapt or change behaviors, attitudes, and mindsets when necessary. This involves a proactive stance towards growth and improvement.
3. Acceptance: Accepting situations, emotions, and thoughts as they are, rather than fighting against them. This is often highlighted in mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies.
4. Commitment to Action: Demonstrating a commitment to take action towards goals or values, even when faced with challenges or discomfort. Willingness involves moving forward despite fears or uncertainties.
5. Flexibility: Being flexible in one’s approach and not rigidly clinging to preconceived notions or plans. This adaptability allows for better handling of unexpected changes and obstacles.
6. Engagement and Participation: Actively participating in life’s events and processes, rather than passively observing. This means being fully engaged in activities, relationships, and responsibilities.
7. Responsibility: Taking responsibility for one’s own actions and decisions, and understanding the impact they have on oneself and others.

In psychological contexts, particularly in therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), willingness is crucial for accepting unpleasant thoughts and feelings and committing to behavior change that aligns with one’s values.

Overall, willingness as a principle emphasizes an active, open, and accepting approach to life’s experiences, promoting personal growth, resilience, and effective action.

Edited July 21 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

Oh brother, you are nothing but your thoughts
The rest of you is merely skin and bones
If your thought is a rose, you are a rose garden
If your thought is a thorn, you are fuel for the fire

- Rumi

[UnbornTao]

 

 

[UnbornTao]

What if space isn't objective? What if what we call space is generally conflated with our experience of distance?

[UnbornTao]

Consider that everything you experience, think, feel and do might be something that you want on some level, due to the fact that you are generating them in order to serve a certain purpose.

What is this dynamic about and how does it unfold? Who else would be responsible for your experience?

This is significant and should be deeply experienced, not just believed and concluded. At this point, it remains an interesting hypothesis.

Edited September 10 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Made this first one:

 

 

 

Edited July 29 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Wo ist hier?