Jodistrict
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Posts posted by Jodistrict
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34 minutes ago, Nilsi said:I’ve read his Consciousness Trilogy and done all the practices.
His work is sophisticated and often very compelling, but it still begins with a specific split: the assumption that there is an unmediated ground of pure consciousness and that what obscures it is the conceptual overlay - identity, belief, interpretation, etc.
This is essentially a phenomenological move: the idea that by stripping away mental constructions, you can encounter the Real directly.
You could say that this split and its impossibility are already acknowledged in his system. That’s what makes it interesting and gives it a certain depth.
But it’s still, in the end, a particular truth practice aimed at a particular outcome. If you want to do it, you can do it, but it’s not somehow above or beyond all other possible perspectives.
He goes further than that. He emphasizes having direct experience of the truth, otherwise it is just another belief as you have stated it.
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Most people are afraid of hard work and discipline. I like the concept of “sadhana”, a disciplined practice, daily aimed at achieving a spiritual goal. In some Tibetan schools before you are even allowed to meditate, you have to do 100,000 prostrations. They say that it permanently chases out the laziness.
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I was really impressed on how Governor Newsom stood up to Trump. He really knows how to speak and looks like a president. When it comes time for democrats to pick him or Vance, it won’t be a hard decision
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I am not sure what is hard left, but I think that it is obvious that catering to special interest groups like the trans issue had an effect. On the last day of the election Republicans ran ads saying something like “we are for you, not for they”. So, that is what the Republicans believed would be effective. And the right wing has a sophisticated media that magnifies the drag queen images which to millions of conservative Christians brings up instant images of Sodom and Gomorrah (irrelevant if it is true or not).
I think Bernie Sander’s tour protesting the oligarchy was setting the right message – let’s make an economy that works for everyone. We are all one and not an assortment of special identities. I also like Governor Newsom for trying to move back to the center.
I honestly don’t see Trump’s policies over time are going to be that popular, it was that poor optics made him look like the lessor of two evils to many people.
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I think Peter Ralston’s books have a lot of valuable information. His ability to articulate self identity and the deconstruction process is amazing. I think for many it is more profitable to read his teachings than most of the snake oil salesmen non-duality teachers regurgitating dogma they have probably not experienced themselves or speaking from states of disassociation.
One thing Ralston may be missing is that he is not a psychotherapist. I think most of us really need a form of effective psychotherapy to decondition emotional damage done to us as children before we can even attempt awakening.
Here is an example of a psychotherapy approach that is spirituality informed and addresses the root problems to decondition the mind.
Unlocking the Emotional Brain
In conclusion, Ralston doesn’t have a complete path, but is useful if part of a tool kit. The other thing is you have to actually pick out some of his teachings and actively practice. Just reading a book doesn’t provide any value. Criticism based on just reading is not useful or convincing.
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I have been looking into a course called Finders by Dr. Jeffrey A Martin. He conducted a major international study on exploring “persistent non-symbolic experience” encompassing enlightenment, non duality and unitive consciousness.
Dr. Martin’s research revealed that any one technique doesn’t work for all people. He recommends trying different techniques until you find the one that works for you. Peter Ralston and Tolle may be genetic freaks, but that doesn’t mean their technique will work for you. If Ralston’s technique doesn’t work for you then don’t waste time. Find something else. Also some of us need deconditioning, like trauma therapy, because the trauma blocks you from growing spiritually – psychology and spiritual growth are connected. You can’t separate them. You can meditate all you want and it won’t help you. It is just a waste of time. I have been meditating for 20 years.
The Finders by Dr. Jeffery A Martin.
Another book I have just begun to read is “Consciousness and the Unbound Body” by Judith Blackstone. She goes into the connection between Trauma and awakening.
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Mersheimer came up with some fascinating facts. He said that the Shah of Iran was interested in developing nuclear weapons and at the time Netanyahu thought that it was a good idea. He further speculated that if the son of the Shah of Iran was reinstated, he would probably develop nuclear weapons because it makes sense strategically. It shows that the whole nuclear weapons thing is a big red herring.
Here is a summary from chatgpt:
"Yes, it's true that the Shah of Iran showed significant interest in nuclear technology during his reign in the 1970s, and it's also true that there were discussions in Israel, including from figures like Benjamin Netanyahu, that seemed to support Iran’s nuclear ambitions—at the time—when Iran and Israel were allies."
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5 hours ago, Sincerity said:It isn't impossible. Open your mind.
Iran definitely could force the US into invading it. All it takes is putting enough pressure.
Iran doesn't want war. They have been bending over backwards to avoid it.
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I stopped listening to that professor when he said that America is going to invade Iran. Click bate.
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8 hours ago, zazen said:Check out what this professor predicts in the 1st min, unreal:
At the 37min mark he explains exactly what’s occurring now and why, with regard to Iran.
The whole thing is worth a listen and very insightful. Blown away and will need to process it.
Towards the end (42.30) he says that the US will invade Iran. There is no way that’s going to happen. The US couldn’t even subdue Afghanistan after 20 years and is deeply in debt. Trump has already pulled back and says he is not seeking regime change.
He is right in the first half. Workers had a higher standard of living before the manufacturing was transferred to China making the globalists trillionaires thanks to labor arbitrage. That is the impulse behind the creation of MAGA – people started noticing that their politicians aren’t listening to anything they say anymore and people can no longer afford to have children. So who is the government serving? It’s not the people. It’s the controllers of financial capital.
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7 hours ago, Twentyfirst said:You swallowed everything the American boomers fed you like a good boy, didn't ya?
That actually came from the World War II generation. The justifications came from the Truman administration. I don't know if the boomers really bought it. Also, 70 scientists at the Manhattan Project opposed its use and signed the Szilard Petition asking Truman to consider other alternatives.
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This forum attracts people who are stuck in their heads (including me). If you are a Christian then you love and forgive. The theology is fairly useless. “Enlightenment” also turns into another concept. Blah Blah Blah.
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Kundalini after Dark, on zoom, talks alot about working with the energy. I am listening to it now.
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Professor Jeffrey Sachs speaks on the US Iran War
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2 hours ago, Breakingthewall said:A three-legged dog is not a tortured dog. Symbols arise from an energetic base. No one seems to understand this, and they think symbols and identity are something that arise from some kind of human whim, a mistake that we, the spiritually clever, can easily resolve. Just don't identify with them. This never works; it's mental castration and lobotomy. It works for Ramana Maharsi because he was born that way, not for
you.[me]That's your mental model of the world. The energy is real but there is also the interpretation of the energy that creates suffering. Also, I am not saying that it is easy as just being clever and poof the suffering goes away.
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Sex was never meant to lead to happiness. I know a neo tantra guru who is miserable. He is just entangling himself in other peoples bad karma for temporary pleasure. It doesn’t work. And you have all the legions of gurus who take advantage of their female followers, including Sadhguru. They are all fakes and will lead you astray. The Swamis of Ramakrishna mission take celibacy seriously.
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A video with some interesting points:
When asked that previously they were running against endless wars, JD Vance said that the difference is that now we have a smart president and all the other presidents were dumb.
Both Marco Rubio and JD Vance when asked directly said “no, we are not at war with Iran” after a direct attack on Iran.
The head of the US counter terrorism is a 22 years old, whose recent work experience is landscaping and a grocery clerk.
What can go wrong? We are led by geniuses! What a clown show.
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A three-legged dog is happy. It’s our symbol producing mind that traps us in thought. Developing a victim identity is absolutely deadly. It’s better to assume full responsibility for everything that happens to you, whether it is metaphysically true or not.
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Here is a view from a swami of the Ramakrishna Math.
“Much nonsense is written and spoken nowadays about love-relations between members of family being Divine. Nothing of the kind. To all intents and purposes they are all Maya, that is to say, they all bind and lead astray, and do not confer spiritual freedom. Hence it is clear that a householder’s spiritual path in not strewn with roses. He cannot easily overcome the charm of his domestic emotions. These prove a great hindrance. They make him forget God. Then there is the question of Brahmacharya (continence). It is absolutely necessary to practice continence in order to progress spiritually.”
Spiritual Practice by Swami Ashokananda
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1 minute ago, Inliytened1 said:The only nuke deal is that Iran can't have nukes. There's a trust issue here. We aren't going to burn them but they sure hold grudges on us. Equal power is a scary ordeal.
Of course the bully wants superior power. That's why he is a bully in the first place. If there was equality he would have to behave himself. That's why Bismark believed balance of power was the key to peace.
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1 minute ago, Leo Gura said:As I told the pro-Palestine anti-Biden leftists, Trump will be way worse for their cause than Biden.
And so it is.
No authoritarian is peaceful.
Iran was following the agreement they made with Obama. International agencies verified that. Trump tore up the agreement. He fooled alot of people (including me) by adopting the peace rhetoric. Obviously Iran can't trust America now. Negotiation isnt possible.
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8 minutes ago, Inliytened1 said:You really want to know? They think that the tarrifs will make the economy great in the long run and that Israel has been wronged and the US is right for defending their ally. But I think you knew their position. Their position to stand behind Trump is unwavering. Like a cult. You know this. As for Musk himself - well - once things started hitting his pocket book he didn't like Trump so much. That's kind of amusing.
Half of MAGA loves Israel. Half of MAGA hates Israel.
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Keep in mind that the same power that dropped a mega bomb on Iran has unleashed thugs wearing masks to cruely terrorize minimum wage workers all over America. Evil has a characteristic stench that cannot be contained or localized.
Ali Khamenei has also already announced his successor. He is not afraid of death. It has been reported that Trump is terrified of death. (see video below). I submit this as evidence of who is confident that they have lived a righteous life.
in Society, Politics, Government, Environment, Current Events
Posted
I believe it’s incorrect to call Trump a conservative. He is outside the conventional political system and more of a reactionary. It’s similar to Hitler, who was not a conservative. The German aristocracy were the conservatives. Hitler ran against the conservatives just like Trump did. Reagan was a conservative and stayed within the political decorum and the constitution. I agree with the video where the speaker said woke is not green. It was distorted wokism (also with authoritarian tendencies) that empowered Trump. Trump’s expansion of ICE into a federal police is setting up the infrastructure of an authoritarian state. In American politics, respect for the constitution is part of conservatism/liberalism. We are headed into new territory.