snowyowl

By consciousness I suppose I mean awareness, experience, perception. It's like asking, where does the sound from my radio 'come from'? I'm aware of the sound but according to some folks, things appear out of nothing. So there's nothing else out there, just a spontaneous unfolding of perception. However that pov would lead to a very passive approach wouldn't it? If we didn't believe in invisible things (ie what's beyond our sensory wavelengths) like radio waves, we wouldn't be motivated to invent radio technology. Ideas like the subconscious give a reason to develop psychotherapy, rather than just giving a non-sequitor like unhappiness appearing from nowhere. Not that I personally can prove it to you, but maybe our beliefs affect what we do about our issues.

My own knowledge of Islam is also limited (it's a big subject after all). But one point I've learned is the lack of objective, archaeological evidence of early Islam. Of course the Koran, Hadith etc are biased just like other scriptures but apparently there's a shortage of good archaeology and independent historical sources to corroborate it. For comparison, most of what we know about the British Druids comes from their enemies the Romans so you have to make adjustments for the bias. Sorry but this triggers me when Western Christians alone get blamed for invading the Holy Land. I can't think of any culture in that land which didn't do so by invading and violently conquering its predecessors. Step forward the Israelis, Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans, Muslims, Ottomans, Zionists. You probably need to go way back to stone age society to find a peaceful migration!

That's true from the pov of consciousness. What do you make of the idea that the source of consciousness is the subconscious? That there's a functioning, calculating but invisible part of the mind, including memory, and the energy of thought / emotion moves between the two. From unconscious to conscious, nothing to something. And the observable, physical brain covers both aspects of mind. It's just a theory, but perhaps helps in therapeutic work, by modelling the movement of emotions and thoughts in a slightly more understandable way for most people.

Yeah, using that neo-advaita talk can backfire if you've still got some ego (note to self).

Good insight! We think in terms of objects and nouns when the experience is of processes and verbs. Recently I had an image of awareness as energy which sometimes takes on a directionality; like a double ended arrow pointing inwards (me, self) and outwards (you, other). Or like a magnet with two poles. But it's all one energy. Cut the magnet in half and you still get two poles in each piece. Rupert Spira recently did a video on 'The Ego Is an Activity, Not an Entity' which relates. We could also add, that if the self is an activity, then so is the other, the rest of reality. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nmvImU06arU

Thanks all for your replies, it's beginning to clarify the distinction between mods and regular members for me. Mods aren't just administrators, at least to some people. They're also, I'll suggest, ambassadors for the Actualized.org brand and there's a line somewhere against self-promotion and divergent messages. Though it's hard to say exactly where the line is - it's just a shame it has to be drawn in this way rather than making it clear before things get that far.

Yeah, it was how Leo was judging Nahm's use of neo-advaita style verbiage as a reason to de-mod him. I had a few exchanges with Nahm where he repeated 'that's a thought'. Which is fine, I don't mind, other people here have a predictable neo-advaita style too. It doesn't mean they can't be good mods tho. It just gives an insight into how Leo runs his forum. I always thought the process of giving people the mod status was obscure. But I guess it's none of my business lol.

There's something about his demotion which has been niggling me. I thought (perhaps naively) the mod's role is to administer the forum and police the guidelines, lock threads, give warnings etc. Not particularly to be good spiritual teachers. Nahm was taken off moderating (as far as I can see), not for being bad at moderating, but for the quality of his spiritual advice. It's just left me wondering if Leo sees the mods as a higher spiritual rank than ordinary members, ('higher consciousness' in his jargon) as well as good administrators. In which case, is this starting to become more than just an internet forum? Is a spiritual heirarchy being formed? Or maybe I'm reading too much into this.

I missed posting in the earlier threads about @Nahm before they were locked. I mostly saw your contributions in the serious emotional problems forum. Huge compassion always shone through whatever you think of the language. I hope you decide to stay, but much love whatever you do. @Mosess bon voyage and may you have a brilliant future too.

Is this a test to see if you can trigger Leo

Reality as observed in my awareness has a fractal quality of infinite detail, nuance and subtlety. But putting it into words involves using a finite number of labels to pigeon-hole this multidimensional infinity into finite and separate boxes. @PepperBlossoms thanks for sharing your insight. I like applying it to discussions of racial identity - who really wants to be pure black or white anyway?

Culture can also spread by other means than invasion, peaceful migration and trade for example.

@Sucuk Ekmek so do you mean it's the banking system which is the problem, and the way it creates money? What happened in 1971, was it the end of the gold standard? I guess these things are intertwined: banks, big business and corporations.

In the 20th century, one way for workers to hold onto their power without relying on central government was to club together in trade unions, which was imo successful, to some extent, in balancing the power relationships between the owners and producers of wealth. But from the 1980s, those same govts (which you're now looking to for help), basically hamstrung the unions after heavy lobbying by the captains of industry. The power grab away from unions means fewer people bother joining them now (how many millennials belong to unions?), and the way was open for the pyramid to return to its previous shape in history. How're you gonna negotiate with a billionaire boss for a decent salary if you're an ordinary employee by yourself, with no more leverage than to resign and work for someone else? I guess as long as we've got the employer/ employee model and egos!) there's going to be a power struggle.

If you mean literally all jobs, then presumably that includes governments and CEOs too? The police and military? Artists and musicians? And if the AI is eventually so clever, it would allow itself to become like legal persons, owning property, their own money, and become consumers in their own right. I guess what I'm getting at is asking whether we will always be able to control the robots as our slaves, or if at some point they may be able to develop independent minds, will power and sense of self, to start desiring freedom. Maybe not for 500 - 1000 years, but forever is a long time. At the moment this is science fiction luckily.

Sounds like self_inquiry to me.

@Gregory1 @Gregory1 Yes, and thank you for a beautiful reply. I appreciate it. But to tell me that, we still need the story of you and me. If it's just God talking to himself there's no poetry. All this about my life which I'm postponing heaven for, the difference is, that in my story I'm making preferences, that's what a story is all about. I have to, to put food on the table and stop burglars breaking in etc. Even Leo, who earlier in this thread got you to love your demons, gets shirty in real life about anyone attacking Actualized.org. So putting it another way, how can we get through this human life without any preferences, without having any bias for one thing over another, even tho the Hsin_Hsin_Ming famously tells us not to?

@Gregory1 thanks, nice track. I accept that my story may be a dream, but the love weaving the story ain't no dream. Already. So if you're in heaven right now, can you show us love without a story? Love, pure and absolute? Sorry if this is side tracking your thread about aliens. Ignore this if so. @Preety_India sorry to hear about your psychic attacks and your flu, I wish you healing for both.

Heaven can wait bro, I'm far too busy looking after and loving my regular life with my family, home, job etc. If I start doing psychedelics or anything else illegal then my love will all fall apart. For now all I need is glimpses of God, see you later in heaven.

Maybe angels/demons and friendly/unfriendly aliens are simply different myths from different ages. Medieval and modern. IMO there is something important going on psychologically, but our minds need to create symbols and images to process it.

Of course I have no idea what God is, I'm the fool who thinks he's separate from God ... practicing 'I am That' (aka Thou art That) dissolves I/That into This. Presence. Not the Presence of God, that's saying too much. IMO I'm saying the same thing as you but in different language, but it sounds foolish because we're trying to express the inexpressible. You saying I am God only isn't foolish if you've had that experience. Peace and happy new year.

"That" is everything outside "I", the subject who thinks it is the looker.

@Gregory1 please forgive me, I just couldn't resist the irony Seriously though, if you're having visions of ETs & dark beings which are teaching you something, then why should some other archetype be a joke? I don't use the language of I am God for myself, I use other phrases like I am That. It doesn't matter how we express our truths. I don't want to fall into group think any more.

The guy who claims 'I am God', thinks that working with an Archangel is a joke lol

@decentralized Sorry to hear you're going through this but hang on in there. I think you're doing the right things in getting medical help, support from your college to continue education, and reaching out talking about it instead of keeping your feelings bottled up. I think anti-depressants can be helpful, they were for me, but it seems to be an individual thing, and a lot depends on the skill of your doctor choosing the best medication and other types of treatment. But other people here have been through depression and come out stronger the other side. My mental health issues made me into who I am today, we become more understanding and compassionate of others through our own suffering. But it's a tough ride. A youtuber I follow, Vishuddha Das, has recently started posting again after a year's break, and published this short 4 min video yesterday. Relates to anxiety and depression. Nothing too deep, just recommending going for a daily walk to switch off the negative thought cycles. Exercise, fresh air, nature, sunshine, are all healing too. All things in balance. Good luck and take care. Be kind to yourself in both your thoughts and deeds.