Mason Riggle

^more stories.. it's all an illusion designed in such an infinitely beautiful way that you've forgotten that you forgot who you really are..

Are you so sure? Wanna trade stories?? You think you're the only one who ever tripped balls into insanity?

more stories you are telling yourself now so you can remain asleep, which is fine.. it's just not Truth.

@cypres it's more like a strange loop than a circle.. the map is not the territory.. reality extends infinitely in infinite 'directions'.. outward, inward, forward, backward... everything is so intimately connected to everything else (no separation, there isn't actually an 'everything else'.. everything is already all there is) such that there is only ever 1 thing... everything.

@TompsterLobster recognize that anxiety is one end of a spectrum (depression being at the other).. anxiety can be thought of as 'the mind being attached to notions of the future' (what if, what if, what if) where as depression is the mind being attached to notions of the past (I should have... it should have been.. if only things had been..). Becoming aware of this in moments of anxiety, and redirecting focus back to the present moment will quell anxiety or depression. You can consciously practice bringing your attention to whatever is true of your present experience and literally notice the anxiety wash away (unless of course your current experience calls for you to feel anxiety, such as an immediate threat to survival, in which case increased adrenaline etc. are appropriate).

@The0Self bingo.

@cypres nothing/everything appearing as something.. It's an illusion that occurs when 'what is' imagines that it's not what it is.

@Rilles

what's next for who? Nothing to do, no one to do it.

It's because language is inherently dualistic, and you can't use dualistic language to make an accurate model of a non-dual reality. You can't logic your way into understanding an a-logical existence.

@Wilhelm44 I think that rings true.

but did you do it 'freely'? This is the sticker.. what is meant by 'free'? For anyone who presents a case for 'free will', please define 'free' for me. Free from what, exactly?

What else is there?

@Someone here not all people are so prone to deny evidence, however it seems a disproportionate amount do when it comes to free will. It seems to me that there are reasons that can be known why people are so in denial of reality in this one area.. such as fear of not being in control.

^this is correct. Drop your notions of 'first', 'manifest vs. non-manifest' and the questions resolve themselves. It's always right now... Infinity/Nothing appearing as Finity/Something

@SBB4746 maybe you're doing sober sex wrong. Don't get me wrong, sex on meth is amazing, but I'd put it more like 2x better, than 100x better (I suppose this has to do with context and experience... I'm 46, been married twice to very sexual partners.. and so the amount of mind blowing sex I've had isn't perhaps typical.. sex when you are 20 is good.. but sex when you are in love, have a partner you're comfortable with and with whom you know what feels good and what doesn't is multiple times better!), and trade offs of ingesting meth (feeling grimy and strung out during the come down) are horrible. Addiction is a complex beast, and the particular 'substance' of the addiction, whether it be meth, caffeine, fast food, porn, sex etc. has less to do with how addicted one becomes than most people realize.

@Someone here The 'No Freedom/Freedom' duality collapses. What is left is 'being', whereby the only Truth is Now. Que sera, sera.

@Someone here I think I misunderstood you. I said 'anyone presented with compelling evidence will helplessly change their beliflefs..' You replied, 'This can only be true if free will exists.'. The opposite is true. People 'helplessly' (unfreely) change their beliefs when presented with compelling evidence. If I showed you your father's head on a pike, this would convince you of his death, unless you deny the evidence. Either way, whatever you believe after I present you with evidence is not up to you.. Either you will find the evidence compelling, or you won't.. but it's not up to you which occurs. The randomness and chaotic nature of reality only strengthens the argument against free will.. I think we agree on this. I think denying the evidence of free will has more to do with how brains are programmed to evaluate evidence.

If randomness is freedom, then it's the same type of freedom as not being in control.. it's random. Where's the freedom?

@Someone here I get that, but anyone presented with compelling evidence will helplessly change their beliflefs.. what is it about the evidence that isn't compelling??

I don't quite understand why people are so immune to the idea that there is no free will. It's so elegant, simple, and perfect. So many here look for Truth and then deny it when it's staring them point blank in the face.

@SQAAD as I said, there are plenty of experiences more pleasurable than meth. Im fortunate to have experienced so many. So in comparison, meth wasn't so special. I did it in the vein of the reporter, intentionally to know for myself. It's like, if you're regularly a bull rider, the thrill of sky diving might not be as intense as it would be for a librarian.

@Wilhelm44 no problem. I should mention too, with heroin, it's doubly insidious, because the withdrawals can be excruciating, and taking more heroin stops the withdrawals.. so it's both the cause of, and the cure for the sickness. It's a catch 22 of the worst kind. A double bind.

@Wilhelm44 yes that.. and it's just a really good feeling, especially if you have chronic pain, because that goes away. Like Leo said, people who use it do so to actively avoid facing their shadows. It's excellent for that purpose.

@Wilhelm44 oh absolutely. My first kiss. Falling in love. Watching my children being born. Tantric orgasms. Rock concerts on LSD.. the list goes on and on..