No Self

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Everything posted by No Self

  1. I know nothing about psychedelics. But Eckhart Tolle cited a study of the most eminent mathematicians and scientists, including Einstein, which suggested that their greatest breakthroughs came at times of mental quietude. Obviously they were tapping into something. Likewise for the likes of J.S. Bach, Frederic Chopin and so many more in the musical world. In my opinion, there is no way that any human mind could come up with their accomplishments. The Beatles experimented with psychedelics in order to try and evolve their music. Not sure how successful this was. I feel that this area will have far more research in the coming decades now that it is becoming less taboo.
  2. My understanding is that the phenomenon is narcissism that evolves into a sort of ego-worshipping religion, plus opportunities to amass a proper cult following. I think about David Koresh, Jim Jones, Pol Pot, etc. (Yes, I think Wikipedia is a worthy source for research. Forgive me.) It could be said that megalomaniac is the ego taken to the absolute extreme. As such there is a teaching in it, as we are all capable of this behaviour.
  3. The philosophical skepticism of ancient Greece can provide a bridge between normal Western unconscious living and the most advanced nondual understandings. Ultimately, there comes a point where all intellectualism is a hindrance, but the likes of Pyrrho took philosophy about as far as it can be taken before it merges into spirituality. There are similarities to Buddhist scripture, but sans the claim of ego transcendence. Pyrrhonists sought through achieving ataraxia (an untroubled state of mind), which they found could be induced by producing a state of epoché (suspension of judgment) regarding non-evident matters. Epoché could be produced by pitting one dogma against another to undermine belief, and by questioning whether a belief could be justified. In support of this questioning Pyrrhonists use ten tropes demonstrating that beliefs cannot be justified:[13] Some things give animals pleasure which give other animals pain. What is useful to one animal is harmful to another. Each human has a different assortment of preferences, abilities and interests. Each sense gives a different impression of the same object. There is no reason to think one is sane while others are insane—the opposite could be true. Cultures disagree regarding beauty, truth, goodness, religion, life and justice. There is no consistency in perception. (His examples were that the color purple will show different tints depending on the lighting, a person looks different between noon and sunset, and a very heavy rock on land is lighter when in water) The senses can be shown to be deceptive. (From a distance, the square tower looks round and the sun looks small) Things that strengthen in moderation will weaken when taken in excess, like wine and food. When a thing is rare, it surprises people. When a thing is common, it does not surprise people. Inter-relations among things are of course relative, and by themselves are unknowable. (e.g. to know 'parent' you must know 'child,' and to know 'child' you must know 'parent.' Neither can be known by itself.)
  4. Perhaps they do. Some people in politics have very conscious ideas without necessarily following the 'nondual' or 'spiritual' concept. Some identify as Christian or atheist. It doesn't matter; they have intelligence, insight and no traces of narcissism. As for going backwards, keep in mind that evolution is not a straight line. Germany is an example of a nation that went backwards and then became perhaps the most conscious large nation on the planet. The US might slingshot forward in the coming months, though no promises.
  5. I feel the word God is generally unhelpful. If God is a synonym for 'everything', then why turn 'everything' into a deity? If God is synonymous with 'grandiose great entity', there's a nice duality going on that contrasts the grand and the lame. Consider that God is an idea in your head that needs to be let go of. So is the personal entity that opposes fear.
  6. Beware of limiting beliefs. Ideas like 'no real talent' or 'nowhere near good' stem from being put down or lacking support in childhood. This mindset is harmful. I have worked with children, and much of the effort - particularly with girls, I found - is in pushing children to attempt attainable goals and not be afraid, nor to give up after the first try. But it's an issue for adults as well, as I found when I was a driving instructor! Of course, it is OK to take lessons or get support in building your passion, developing your skills and finding your own niche - nobody gets all that far on their own. In end-of-life studies (deathbed interviews), people often comment that they wish they had lived their life more fearlessly.
  7. All fair points, but you may be a few centuries ahead of your time. For example, what did you think about Marianne Williamson? There's a fine line between someone radically advanced and a New Ager who isn't grounded in reality. Progress towards a humane, sustainable, responsible, transparent society should be swift, but still needs to be undertaken one step at a time. And mundanity of engaging in the nuances of issues is still going to be unavoidable. For example, a sensible debate would be whether to phase out fossil fuels by 2035 or by 2060. Not whether or not climate change is a vast UN conspiracy.
  8. On the time dimension, the 'you' of the past and the 'you' of the future exist right now. So why are you only aware of the 'you' of November, 2020? Obviously you are 'one' with your past and future selves even though you are not conscious of them. It's only a small step from this realisation to being one with everything, regardless of the apparent perspective. As for why there is the appearance of separation, this part can be left as a mystery when the much larger question of 'Who am I?' emerges as a priority.
  9. In the specific context of sincere spiritual seeking, an 'echo chamber' is exactly what is needed. That is why the tradition was to spend years with a guru hearing the same perspective over and over until liberation can (hopefully) be attained. Adding more perspectives, like asking someone from a different religion to critique the guru, would only create a mess. When it comes to polarising politics or any intellectual field, however, echo chambers bring out the worst in humanity. The past decade will hopefully be remembered as a low point in the post-internet history of humanity. I call it the trollocracy as global politics were often dominated by the most divisive and grotesque trolls who are naturally favoured by algorithms of Facebook, etc. The question at this point will be whether the masses start to evolve out of primitive tribalism, or if this will be the new normal for the coming decade as well.
  10. Some spiritual one-liners are sort of applicable as an answer to everything, but there's a big difference between a mechanical repetition and words emanating out of a state of awareness. Or, perhaps labelling a cure-all statement like 'you are not the person' as boring is an ego defense mechanism to maintain a purely superficial, intellectual level of spiritual seeking. Like talking about the swimming pool but refusing to budge from the end of the diving board. It is important to be conscious of what the mind is doing.
  11. The main controversy with Mooji is the claim of lineage to Ramana Maharshi. The only 2 beings that Ramana formally declared as awakened were his mother just prior to her death, and Lakshmi the cow (yes, really). Papaji was a wonderful student of Ramana, though he gave rise rise to his own students (Gangaji, Mooji, etc.) leading modern Satsang sessions while claiming a lineage to Ramana that was never endorsed by Ramana himself. Having said that, I don't believe that Ramana himself would be in the least bit bothered. The only issue that appeared to upset Ramana was cruelty towards the animals. Even direct defamation against him did not trouble him in the slightest, nor was he interested in questions of which other teachers are fully realised; he told his followers to mind their own business! Some Advaita teachers also had a strong opposition to receiving money for their teachings, or feel that teachers should be celibate. If we take this to the extreme, Ramana is the only teacher who is 100% clean. Keep in mind that a lot of the prostrating and veneration stuff was happening even to Ramana, and is a part of the culture that Mooji controversially 'inherited'. In the end, Mooji's teachings are very pure and bring the essence of self-inquiry to a modern audience that might otherwise miss out. The small elements of cultic tendencies within the culture are only a minimal blemish. If you are given a pot full of gold, but then find a couple of pieces of coal inside, do you discard the entire thing?
  12. Karma is often portrayed as a parent/Santa Claus/Jesus who punishes or rewards based on who has been 'good'. This assumes that there is a universal agreement on what is 'good', which there isn't. Everything just is. However, it is more accurate to say that we experience natural consequences of actions. No drama is really necessary, but when we are conditioned in childhood to act out certain patterns, it does take a lot of energy to correct them. The mind is always attracted to repeating what is familiar, even if it is hurtful to itself or others. Being conscious (aware) of this is a huge step forward. All the power is with you when it is not being give away to the mind.
  13. Genuinely appreciating the journey that another took is a helpful part of the process. The goal is to return to the state that one was in prior to having been exposed to the 'worst people'. It is a matter of discarding baggage (and taking appropriate action if possible). If we don't discard all remnants of these experiences, at some point we will catch ourselves harming others in a way that is resonant with the way we ourselves were hurt. Only then do we realise that the enemy is ultimately a sort of viral energy, not a particular physical form.
  14. How do you know? Of course the consequences won't necessarily happen within the limited time period we call a lifetime. If there were no such consequences, they would be stuck in kindergarten forever.
  15. Gracias. It happens to us all. The 'spiritual ego' initiates the process of truth-seeking, but cannot follow through because it is not itself true. The mind will start to go crazy in the throes of death. It is now a sinking ship, and your job is to hop onto the lifeboat of truth. Hint: your nature is silent, innocent, uninvolved, no past, no knowledge, like you've just been born into this moment. Hint 2: in practice, this letting go of all thoughts (including 'spiritual' ones) is being done over and over. Don't give up. There was this crazy guy, Fred Alan Wolf, from a New Age documentary who said the following: "The trick with life is not to be in the know, but be in the mystery." Ramana said the following: The mind will subside only by means of the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ The thought ‘Who am I?’, destroying all other thoughts, will itself finally be destroyed like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre. If other thoughts rise one should, without attempting to complete them, enquire ‘To whom did they rise?’ What does it matter however many thoughts rise? At the very moment that each thought rises, if one vigilantly enquires ‘To whom did this rise?’, it will be known ‘To me’. If one then enquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind will turn back to its source [the Self] and the thought which had risen will also subside. By repeatedly practising thus, the power of the mind to abide in its source increases.
  16. We forgot the biggest one of all. Bullying can lead to life-long dysfunction.
  17. That's hilarious! I was wondering about this. Thanks for following through!
  18. It's all wrong from the ground up. That's what happens when something barely evolves over hundreds of years.
  19. Natural resource extraction has been one of the biggest historical economic transformers. I don't think anyone has mentioned UAE. Where were they 40 years ago? The more recent bid to diversify into a tourism-based economy was enabled by the earlier discovery of oil and a massive population growth. DRC has massive natural resources but lacks political stability and has a tragic history. Chinese involvement in Africa may be a good thing in the long term. That said, being poor is not a problem so long as basic humanitarian needs are present, and population growth is not constantly out-stripping resources. Education is a basic humanitarian need.
  20. https://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Talks-with-Sri-Ramana-Maharshi--complete.pdf
  21. Computers process data as 0s and 1s. The human brain is just another computer. Hence it loves true/false, yes/no, good/bad, etc. You are not that. The answer to the question is to discard the question, and the questioner. The truth is as it is.
  22. True, and even if there were a 'best way', they would focus enormous energy on coming up with some verbal wizardry to circumvent it. It becomes an endless, verbal arms race. The Flat Earth Society have a history of responding to criticisms with ad hoc explanations and counterarguments. It may not form a cohesive world view, but protects their ego identities from the most obvious arguments against their position. Also, some people are primitive and love the battlefield of arguments. Yielding to another person's argument would be like death; they'll admit defeat over their dead body. Hence why it can be futile and frustrating to try and elevate their world view; indeed, what does it say about us that we might even want to?
  23. The master sees others as herself. Thus, the existence of the explorer cannot be taken seriously.