Bazooka Jesus

@Breakingthewall

There is a difference between being sincere and being serious. Learn the difference, enjoy the game.

Of course you don't get rid of stories. Without stories, there would be no game to play, and therefore no experience of reality to be had. Stories are here to give the game of life rules, structure and form. Stories are wonderful, stories are beautiful, stories are what makes life engaging and exiting. They aren't just useless crap that you throw overboard as soon as you become "enlightened" - no. Becoming aware of the nature of the game of life makes you deeply appreciate the beauty of stories; it makes you realize why they are there, what their true purpose is. Does that mean that you have to be all grumpy and "serious" about the game? NO! A game is supposed to be fun, otherwise it wouldn't be a game! You don't have to take the game serious in order to play it well. As a matter of fact, you can only play the game well if you don't take it too serious; if you take it too serious, you are going to act all stiff and awkward and clumsy and make a terrible mess of things. You are going to be like the proverbial elephant in the china shop, trampling everything to bits and pieces. Only someone who doesn't take it all too serious can be fully invested in it while at the same time being playful and creative; too much seriousness destroys playfulness, creativity and beauty. Life is supposed to be art, life is supposed to be a poem, life is supposed to be a dance. It's a beautiful divine gift, so start treating it like one.

Touché, if you pardon my French. The only way to transcend the rat race is to realize that the rat race will never end, no matter what you do (or don't do). Once you truly understand and accept this, being caught up in the rat race will no longer be a problem. And then you just play the game, for the sheer heck of it. 'Cause what else is there to do?

He does have a pretty cute daughter though.

I live with loads of stories. I just don't take them (overly) serious. Let's be real, life would be boring without stories. They are like a bunch of amazing, funny, silly, colorful, sparkly toys that keep us engaged and entertained from morning 'till nighttime. But what happens when you take them too serious? You suffer. And that just ain't fun, now is it? So, there you go. There's no need to get rid of your stories, as long as you recognize and appreciate them for what they are: Beautiful playthings, given to us by the universe to enrich our experience and fill us with childlike awe and wonder. Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. - Alan Watts -

That's just another mental story. Zhuangzi's fanciful dream story is just as (in)valid as yours. I mean, at least this guy comes up with two different stories and admits that he doesn't know which of the two is the correct one. Sounds much more honest than most people, if you ask me.

Errrr... have you ever met anyone over the age of seventy? In my experience, they tend to be the most nagging, impatient and thin-skinned persons on the entire planet. - But then again, I have been living in post-WWII Germany for most of my life, so I guess I might have been exposed to a particularly skewed sample, lol.

My mother used to play the classical metal concert flute; I got that old thing lying around somewhere here in my flat, but can't play a single damn note on it. (When I look at those entwined valves, I am like "uuuuuuummmm, wut? Which way am I supposed to hold this thing again?" LOL) I play an alto recorder instead (also my mother's)... mostly for meditation purposes, or when I am sitting in the park, or when I'm chilling on the porch of a lonely hut somewhere in the Himalayas smoking hash. You know, snake charmer stoner hippie style. Holy crap, you must have some serious whistling skills. Daaaaayum!!

Mmmmm... nice move, Your Moistness. You sure are one silver tongued zen-devil, if I don't say so myself!

Nice story. Uh-oh, sounds like a certain someone got in trouble at some point while going God-mode on his gf. Lol! Hope you're still friends.

Then forget about it.

"Basic oneness" is a concept. Anything that can be put into words is a concept.

Here's a third story: You are Santa Claus, everyone else is the Easter Bunny, and you're all created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. You like this one?

And how exactly is your survival linked to the story of solipsism?