Tim R

But hoooow is this illusion?? How is this possible??? Sorry for not being constructive but this is kinda... what the heck man. Do I even want it to be real? Yes and no I guess.. Hang on, the illusion is real? but not really because it's just an illusion, right? I don't get it. Gotta meditate more, nevermind

Yeah but in both cases they are nothing, so imagining/not-imagining is a dualism which isn't actually real, yes? In other words, when I visit my father, nothing happened. And when I'm not visiting my father, nothing happened. Only me imagining that something ha Holy fuck. I get it now. Both are just stories. Holy fuck. Oh my god, nothing ever happened. It's just memory and not even that. I'm literally sitting here with my mouth open. It's both nothing. What the hell. What the hell. This whole f*cking thing is nothing. Whoaa. What a great story, whaat..Holy shit but this is liberating....

Isn't this just being/non-being dualism? Like when I ask "does my kitchen still exist when I'm in my living room?" ; this assumes that the kitchen (and living room) "are" (something) in the first place and that they are not the same thing (one is, the other isn't, depending on" where I am"). So I could very well argue that the kitchen and living room are the same. Both exist, as nothing. And so in the same way I could say that when I stop "imagining" my parents, they still exist, as nothing, just as they did when I imagined them being with me in the same room. Me sitting in my room is the same as my "not-being" kitchen, only appearing to be somehow different. Which solves the problem of Solipsism in the sense that you're bubble is all there is as "something". True, the bubble is all there is, but as nothing, just like everything else. Otherwise you'd be creating a duality where there isn't one. Or am I missing something?

Now that you're saying it, it's so obvious...lol

Wow ok that was kinda unexpected. What did he get banned for? For saying or what? Did he "spread misinformation" regularly? Did he receive warnings for doing so? Or what happened? Aren't we allowed to be deluded?

@Zion Because... it's the case?

I'm sorry but I have to do it, at this point it's almost tradition:

Bro the ego doesn't even exist?

Am I missing something? What survey? And what does this have to do with men and women?

@Someone here I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you always asking all sorts of questions on the forum Really keeps things alive and thriving in here

@Someone here Very nicely put. @Nahm So in your definition, "sanity" isn't limited to the domain of mind? Because I can have bodily ailments and am not well then. So are you leaning towards something like "harmony"? Ohhh or is more something like this: well-being aka sanity comes from / is realizing the truth/what is Because then it wouldn't really matter what is going on with body or mind, because sanity = truth, no matter what it turns out to be Something like that?

Insanity is nothing but deviation from consensus about the way "objective reality" is. If someone says "the earth is flat" he goes against that consensus. Crazy! If someone says "I can talk to dead people" he deviates from that consensus. Nuthead... If someone says "I'm God and so are you" he acts subversively towards "objective reality". Crucify him! etc... All these statements have the same overarching theme: "there is no objective reality" And this goes against absolutely everything, so society responds "well, we can't let that happen... this is threatening the survival of every idea and identity of each and everyone who plays our game. What are we to do with such people? Ostracize them! Ridicule them! Put 'em away in the booby hatch!" What was once called "heresy" is now called "irremediable schizophrenic psychosis". And of course there's another kind of "crazy".. you know... feather in your hat and a couple of tattoos, "I'm so crazy!"? because slight deviation from the majority makes you "special". But let's not become too special! We mustn't cross that fine line between "crazy but ok" and "he broke a tabu, he said he is God". It's one thing to do "crazy" sh*t on the weekend and tell your friends the next day, it's another thing to discover that your God and tell your co-workers about it the next day. So crazy is a relative term as well. And It's a spectrum. When someone on this forum exclaims that he/she found out about God, we say "hurray, welcome home, dear❤". And when Leo shares some "epistemic madness" video on his blog, it's us who say "oh good lord, these people are nuts!" So "crazy" is simply judgement, aka ego defense.

I'm sure those of you who live in the US are somewhat more familiar with this term "White Fragility". It's the title of a book written by Robin DiAngelo and it's basically about the defensive attitude of white people when they're being confronted with the issue of racism. I just watched this video and suddenly I realized: holy sh*t, she sounds exactly like a priest. She's using different words, but says the same thing. Good ol' Christian guilt trip, only applied in a different field. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. You're guilty either way. And if you admit to be wrong, you're sure to be right. What do you think about this? Is this idea of "white fragility" itself inherently racist?

@Gesundheit @NOTintoxicated https://www.actualized.org/insights/why-debates-dont-work

@Consilience Thanks mate

I think Nahm means the latter... Fast, but don't overdo it. And after fasting, don't overdo it. Backlash is the result of overdoing it, so when you overdo it with fasting, you are provoking a backlash. So actually, the backlash isn't the real problem, the real problem is the overdoing it in the first place. Since you're anticipating the backlash, you're conscious of it and it doesn't have as much might. Just take it easy.

I'd like to show you a little exercise which you can easily implement into your day to day life, it doesn't take much effort and can be a lot of fun too This exercise aims at developing gratitude, consideration and mindfulness. I've learned this from the traditions of the Zen Sangha ("Sangha" means Buddhist community of monks etc.), although I think other Buddhist schools do the same thing. Before you eat or drink, become aware of your food in the following ways: whatever you have on your plate, it gave its life for yours. It died so you may live. Whether it may be some plant or some animal, it gave its life to you. Literally. Is there any greater gift? Think of the many, many ways the universe worked out to provide for your food to be on your plate. Some fruits and vegetables? They had to grow. A plant had to grow. And where did the plant come from? Well there's the earth. And what is earth made from? Other plants of course, who died and are now soil. Then there's water. Where has the water been? it has been on the planet for billions of years, providing life to every being that has ever lived, every plant, every dinosaur, every human, everyone. Then there's the sun. Without the sun there would be no food. No plants can grow without light. No animals can live without eating plants or other animals. And there's the atmosphere of the earth, preventing deadly UV radiation to kill plants and animals. There's the farmer who had to take care of the plants. There's the people who worked together to get those fruits to the grocery store. There's society, working together in order to allow you to enjoy your food in times of peace. There's.... You can go on forever, in every direction. And suddenly you find, that the whole universe must be considered. Literally, everything that ever happened lead to you being able to eat and drink your food and water. And even if you eat only one blueberry while making Leo's blueberry smoothie or whatever, the whole universe is contained in that one blueberry. The whole universe gave itself, completely, to create this one berry. Can you even begin to fathom how unbelievably great of a gift that is? And it is a gift! for you! If that doesn't make you tear up in gratefulness for one single blueberry, you haven't understood. Or when you drink a cup of tea. "The whole universe is contained in that last drop of tea in your cup" (this is something I read in "The Book of Tea"). Are you going to waste it carelessly? Or are you going to honor it by being grateful and mindful, in consideration of every being that gave its life and everything that ever happened, all for this one last drop of tea? And don't forget, one day you are going to give yourself to every other being too. No giving without receiving. No receiving without giving. Can you also recognize that this is Love and Selflessness? It is the embodiment of "I give myself to you. I am selflessness. I am Love."

@CBDinfused That which is, is the way it is. And therefore can't be any other way. A = A ; Reality = Reality ; Being = Being ; That which is = That which is This "principle" is actually extremely simple. Which is why it is so difficult to understand it. You think that reality could be any other way than it is now. But it can't, because the moment it is something else, it is the way it is. Existence is Truth. Because it is what it is, no matter what it is. So whatever existence can become, it always is. Notice, that your question assumes that reality is some-way, i.e. some-how. It isn't. Reality is actually no-way and no-how. Because then you could pin it down. Have you noticed that you can't? Reality can't be captured in any concept, it always escapes. This is called "Shunyata" in Sanskrit. "Void". No-thing. No some-thing. No some-how. That is what Lao-Tse means by saying "the Dao (the way/the how) which can be uttered is not the eternal Dao". Basically what you have to do, is drop the desire for any explanation for why reality = reality. Because the question is actually meaningless. Which is why the answer is tautological and from a logical point of view completely meaningless too. The answer lies in the experience itself. You won't find it on this forum. I can't give it to you and neither can Leo. Nobody can. You must find out for yourself. Again, you experience what you experience because A =A. The answer to your question is not a philosophical answer, it's a no-thought answer. It's insight into the nature of being, which won't come from discursive thought. What is the answer to a meaningless question? Well that's the whole game with Zen Koans. No-answer.

@JosephKnecht Impossible

A plan for feeling good? Did somebody say @Nahm? @roopepa Sounds really good What's your current situation like? Are you feeling good now? Just asking because it's important to be realistic with expectations to prevent disappointment. Trying to have everything at once would very likely just fail and make you miserable

@CBDinfused What are you asking then?

It doesn't "need" to exist, there's nothing which could in any way "compel" it to exist. It is existence. There isn't "something rather than nothing". Something is nothing, literally. "Nothing" is the most stable state you could imagine. Which is why reality is nothing. This question still assumes that there's a past in which consciousness did exist. Which is not the case. "Infinity" doesn't mean "to go on for ever" it means "beyond time", i.e. "outside of"/"not bound by" time (and everything else). Nothing. There's no "your experience". There's no you to experience any "other", which you call "reality". There's just experiencing, which itself is nothing. Death = Birth.

I think a mystic is someone who makes it his life task to deepen the mystical state of consciousness. Deepen, not attain. Because one who hasn't yet attained the mystical experience (for example a novice monk or some other person on the path) can't be considered a mystic, for he doesn't even know what a mystical experience actually is. So a mystic is someone who embodies enlightenment. It's (relatively) easy to just have Satori, but then get back into ordinary everyday life and more or less forget about it. Such a person I wouldn't consider a mystic either, because he doesn't anymore bear any deep relation to the mystical. But say some Zen master or great Yogi who works every day to deepen and embody his Satori/Samadhi in everyday life is someone who I would call a true mystic.

Look into a specific aspect of your life where you suspect yourself to be holding limiting beliefs. Examine the situation closely, map it. Try to create a "high resolution" description of the situation and all its aspects. And then ask yourself why you think in certain ways about various aspects of the situation. By investigating your thoughts and beliefs thoroughly you will find out that in most cases they weren't grounded in anything, they were nothing but a fiction. What are the reasons for your particular thoughts about the situation? Where do they originate? Are they even your own thoughts or just something you adopted from someone else? Maybe something from the past which still influences you you? What are those thoughts creating for you? Are they serving you in any way or are they making things more difficult / fearful for you? Can you change those thoughts? In what ways? And what would happen if you'd do so?

I don't know.. And I didn't ask any question. And I feel so free, so untroubled, so "aahhhh" and hieve a sigh of relief. I don't know. This is what I was looking for. Leaning out the window, I look at the night. And I just don't know. What it is, who I am, none of it matters. The question is gone. The problem solved. And I thought there was something to find out, something to get No? it's all right here