mandyjw

My dog does TOO have intellect and other fancy stuff, and he can make choices and he definitely acts to make the world a better place. He's even a spiritual teacher on youtube. I'd choose your life over his given the chance but still, that doesn't mean he isn't incredibly valuable. No, I'm saying it doesn't matter what you eat, or what animals you accidentally kill in the process.

@Mikael89 What if I said that I love you the same that I love my dog? I want you to live your life without a single thought of guilt.

@Mikael89 I feed my dog meat. Should I put him to sleep for being a murderer? Forgive yourself. You're already perfect. @pluto I recently discovered that too accidentally. Spiritual awakening/easiest/most difficult diet I've ever tried.

"Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him." "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.…" Matthew 5:40

Try to be aware of that 'flow" state when you're running, when you and the trail and what you're observing are all one. Try to appreciate the times when you are present, when you do see the beauty when you do feel connected. Then just work for more of that. It's tough when we recognize the ego for what it is and realize how much suffering it causes. But try not to focus on the ego and the suffering because that's the part that we want to get rid of. Focus on the love, connection and beauty in between.

@lmfao Always try to judge the experience as a whole. No one says that Harry Potter is a terrible series or not worth reading because Voldemort is in it. No Voldemort, no book.

@lmfao How did you feel about the trip, the travel experience as a whole? Would you go back and do it again?

@Leo Gura Bhagavad Gita "There is nothing lost or wasted in life."

The most important thing is how you feel. if you feel guilty every time you eat meat or something "off limits" don't eat it. If you feel repressed by a restrictive diet and it's making you unhappy, relax a bit. Design your life so that you don't overthink. It's really easy to overthink food.

Love this.

Aww, I thought you enjoyed our reconciliation with Melania? I enjoyed it. Tremendously. With nonduality you win bigly.

It gets much worse or it dissolves, I've seen it nearly or completely dissolve in people without any spiritual work or effort on their part. It sometimes happens in people who are naturally loving, ok with just sitting and being still and in people who don't care about power or material things. The other scenario is the "get off my lawn" miserable old guy, which is the role Trump plays for sure. Except his lawn is the entire United States of America. It's a beautiful illustration of ego. He's a caricature of ego. He's enlightening the world.

@Leo Gura Again, you are right and I'll vote accordingly, but I believe that something bigger is going on here. Trump is another Stefan Molyneux. His story doesn't make much sense. He used to be young, handsome and soft spoken. He hired a woman architect for a large project and treated her with respect. He expressed a lot of liberal views in the past. During the primary election he was one of the least terrifying candidates that the Republicans had to choose from. But there is a lot of horrific stuff that he says and does. There are a lot of facts about Trump that just can't be reconciled. Because he isn't real. He's a reflection of ourselves. I remember when he was elected, I was furious, stunned, I couldn't sleep. I went in the next day and got passport applications and seriously thought about moving over the border and transitioning to become Canadian. Then a couple days later I was filled with a sense of peace. This man is going to fuck things up, he's fucked up the political system badly enough that he's going to awaken the fucking world. He's really just a beautiful, beautiful man. Perfection. Everything America needs right now in a President. Next year I'm guessing that we will probably need something else.

@Leo Gura I agree, but I think that the reason this system works in Denmark is because the people are really happy with it, they want it, they are happy to pay the taxes to have amazing schools and libraries and social safety nets. The US however, elected Donald Trump. There is a huge part of America, especially rural America that works their asses off for little money and they look down the road and see someone on welfare and the person on welfare is doing quite comparably well as they are. This causes intense hate for welfare and taxes. These people will cause riots before they submit to a socialist system, not understanding that it would benefit them more than just about anyone else. They look at the rich with worship, they dream to be that someday. They buy lottery tickets to entertain the fantasy. The work that you teach, the work that we are doing is the only solution to this problem. Obama caused a lot of ego backlash. Obama caused Trump. Politics and tax reform needs to come after the hearts of the people have been changed. Giving much attention to politics is putting the cart before the horse right now. @Serotoninluv I know what you're saying and feeling, it's a really tricky situation. I know that they key is to meet the people with love and become like them and take the time to see who they really are beyond the poverty and perceived limitations. If we egoically assume that our wealth can solve their problems and go in with money without understand the problems and the beauty of the culture and the people themselves we will just exacerbate the problems. It's really, really difficult not to do that.

@Serotoninluv Poverty is a state of mind. Poverty brings many blessings. Some of the most loving well connected families you'll ever meet are dirt poor. Not having any Jones to keep up with cuts through a lot of bullshit and wasted energy chasing after paper bills. My poor community is wealthy beyond measure.

@Serotoninluv In the case of a tiny sovereign Native American tribe that is completely self governing. How would you go about that? You would have to bring someone in from outside and it would be so much money that it would change the community and landscape forever. Can you see what an imposition that would be? Money is the way white men like to show their love. Or power. I think we get confused sometimes.

I've been racist before, I was raised to be that way. I knew better than to say anything racist but when it occasionally came out anyway, but there was no amount of shame that changed my feelings, it strengthened them if anything. What did change them was experiencing the world and meeting people from different places and seeing how wonderful they were. Love conquers all. There's no place for shame.

@Serotoninluv I live in a very similar community and my opinion is that if we were given that kind of money that there would not be a single person wise enough to decide how to use it, nor a community wise enough to select and entrust anyone with that responsibility and it would tear the community apart. We don't have a lot in the way of resources but we do have a close community. There's a grant out right now to build a vocational school but no one can agree on the location and no one is willing to give in so the grant may be lost. There's a good reason why most lottery winners are completely miserable and friendless within a year.

@now is forever Don't teach what in school? My friend has the Stefan Molyneux part down pat. Now she just needs to learn what Leo teaches and she'll be whole. She's well on her way. Money given out of any motivation other than love is a curse. Guilt is not love. That's the problem. That's the cycle we keep perpetuating, paying money as a sort of penance for our guilt.

How much would it take to repay the Native Americans for their land that will never again be the same? For the buffalo, the caribou? The sacred spots that were mined away by white men? For imposing upon them the idea that land could be "owned" and wasn't everyone's to share? It takes a lot of intelligence to be a real estate mogul like Donald Trump. It takes a lot of love and spiritual connection to be one with your tribe, your land, your ancestors. Money is not the answer to this problem. Love is.

No WAY!!!

@now is forever I'm not sure, but I think you're saying that you think I'm a racist? Racism exists because people are so terrified that when they open their mouth in a discussion like that that something racist will come out. They are so afraid of being shamed that racism isn't even discussed. Not really. It's like expecting teenagers who have never been given any information about sex whatsoever not to have sex. This is why we have so much racism. Any topic that can't be discussed freely turns into a massive societal problem. Repression. Shame. Ego. This is one of the few places that we should be evolved enough to be able to discuss stuff like this.

Nature/manmade technology is also another duality. That one was/is particularly stomach turning to dissolve.

@Leo Gura I love you both. I don't trust either one of you though.