mandyjw

I think that presenting a teaching as being channeled avoids some of the projections that people make on teachers. Sometimes it's necessary to make a separation between the wisdom and how it resonates for you and your perception of the character and whether you trust them or not. Channeling is not a big deal, you channel all the time, it's just that you're not always conscious of it or clear and intentional about where it's coming from. In my opinion the whole channeling an alien thing isn't any different from Buddhists shaving their heads and wearing robes.

It might help to understand why it happened, even if you don't go back to taking psychedelics. The mind separates things. It's sort of like Edward Scissorhands, it's an awkwardly designed sort of thing that separates things. When it begins to wake up to its own power, potential and realizes that it has been misusing it all this time, the first solution that comes up to it (of course!) is to separate itself off from life. Its real power and potential is to create. Any moment you stand staring in horror at your scissor hands (mind) is a moment you're not realizing its power as a tool to create with. You are, (like Edward Scissorhands), completely innocent, you are a creation, here to create. You realize your creative power and realize that you are not a separate part of it, but you're part of an already brilliant piece of artwork, and you're here just for the joy of creating with it, in it and improving upon what does not require improvement.

I'd explore the topic of self esteem (identify and drop thoughts and feelings of insecurity) and creativity. Are there creative pursuits and projects you want to do but aren't making time for or are doubting yourself too much to pursue? Creativity and sexuality are very related energies. Monogamous relationships can be wonderful foundations for creative people, but if you don't acknowledge, romance and make love to your creative muse, you'll might want to go looking for her, thinking you'll find her in the flesh.

Obsessive thinking will obsess about that mole it thinks might be not quite right, or it will obsess about its not quite right trajectory towards enlightenment. The subject doesn't matter, except this one aims to question and point back to the thoughts themselves. But misdirected thinking can co-opt it. It's when we really "forget it" that we actually blame our very commitment to it. If we were committed in the first place, we wouldn't be able to forget it. Less hate or worship for the process and more aiming to feel better by actually feeling better is goal and process wrapped into one. Normal life is not at odds with anything here.

Having freedom to do what you want with your day seems like a blessing a curse. I have lots of freedom to do only what I'm inspired to do, and yet I also have the freedom to waiver back and forth in indecision and no motivation. I'm focusing on having no focus. What do I want to focus on? Daffodils? Will that work again? Probably not. When I was doing drawings and paintings, I used to enjoy the part toward the end the most. Because you were just adding to what was already wonderful on its own, making it even more wonderful. That's the "right" use of the mind, isn't it? If you parent a child with the attitude that they are horrible and you must reform them, it will be awful for them and you. But if you parent them with the understanding that they are wonderful, but that there are some refinements that could be made and would be fun and good to make, it's a much different experience.

I'm frustrated with the back and forth. Feeling the excitement of life, realizing I've lapsed into thought structures (was not feeling excitement), sobering up. Sobering up is not waking up. Waking up feels like appreciation and transcendence and letting go. Sobering up feels like self-judgement, regret, and thoughts of walking off the face of the earth, not creating anymore. Seeking, denying, seeking, denying. Loop dee loop de loop. Gas, brakes, gas, brakes. Feels miserable, feels like I'm completely paralyzed, I don't know what choice to make, I don't know what my intuition is telling me, it's sayin' nothin. I don't have a perspective, I've got no focus, nothing. I am focusing on not having a focus. Humm... Seriously? Why would I do that? Habit of thought to claim a trajectory and itself as the continuum. It was never the focus, but an object focused on, and it does not have the power to hold focus. For whatever reason this year the daffodils are spectacular. I never planted any of them, the lady who lived in this house before did. And they only get better and better and better. And I don't even do anything to them. This year I did cut back some bushes around them, but I only did this because they looked so beautiful, I thought maybe my action could enhance what already was going well. Holy old fuck. The magic of journaling never ceases to amaze me. That's the magic of focus.

@BipolarGrowth ?

Here is an idea.

"Turn the other cheek" means that when you focus on something else, and drop the thoughts a lot of conflicts are resolved. We often create conflicts out of nothing when we practice reaction rather than focusing on what we do want. However, like in the example of the OP gave, some people and some situations are going to continue unless you do what's appropriate. Non-reaction doesn't work out so well as an ideology or a rule to follow. Outwardly you may react but inwardly you're at peace and aligned with it. Don't take on inner conflicts within yourself just to prevent outward ones, it doesn't work.

Yet another vote for The Power of Now.

Also if you believe the second approach is more evolved, you're actually still believing the first approach anyway, see how impossible this all is to work out?

There's no conflict between the two unless you believe one or the other. Teachings don't tell you how to do it or how to get there, but illuminate what you take to be the truth but is not actual.

Tim Ferriss has a podcast and is a big advocate for psychedelics. Would love to see Rupert Spira, Jim Newman and especially @Nahm (Phil from Actuality of Being)

Physical reality already melts in deep sleep. So do you. Try showing someone how you do it though. I think people really think there's a difference between the mundane and spectacular. Then they disbelieve the spectacular and overlook the mundane, all because they believe in the existence of both. So strange.

Once you start to dig into your psychology and patterns and tendencies, you observe that there are patterns that run in your family, tendencies towards anger, depression, anxiety, certain diseases. This is "known" and accepted by society and psychologists. However these issues are neither with ONLY body (genes, structure, hormones) or only mind (thoughts, conditioning), but if you take yourself to BE a body-mind you believe yourself to be susceptible and at the mercy of to your genes and much, much more. You are not a body mind.

Seeing the humor in stuff. Effortless. Also helps to have one or two asshole friends to laugh with who won't let you get away with your own bullshit.

Wonder and awe are only ever now. Would you still "hear" the sound of the forgotten bells (feel the resonance) if they were really forgotten? Nope. You is wonder-full

Easiest thing is to appreciate people, and look for things to appreciate. If you're annoyed with people at the moment and not engaged in conversation look for something in your surroundings to appreciate. This is hard to explain, but notice when you look at something, that you have no idea what it actually is. It's a complete surprise. Don't think about this, it happens on it's own when you really, really look at something. It's sort of like when you listen to hear something really closely, as if you were listening for an animal in the woods, you become completely quiet and open. Only you do with seeing. Or what the heck, do it with hearing if you want, focus on one sense is just a gateway anyway. There are more gates than just the breath, but that one feels amazing too.

?

Life, in general is no different from spirituality, it's just that on internet forms where you have groups of people who seem to value the same thing in the same category that you have these sort of discussions. It's like asking who was the best Kobe Bryant, Freddie Mercury, Mother Theresa or Steven Hawking? It's a stupid question. It depends on what you value, what you love. So just go direct to the love.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2021/4/woman-with-worlds-longest-nails-has-them-cut-after-almost-30-years-654013 "With or without my nails, I will still be the queen. My nails don’t make me, I make my nails!" Aww... there's wisdom literally everywhere.

If your object is to be the best at something you could flip through the Guinness book of world records for some ideas. But you have to pick a SOME THING or category in order to the best at it, in order to measure progression and have others recognize you as the best. Example, "Most clothes pegs clipped to the face in one minute." I'm sure that guy is just an underachiever and anyone can take that title. Or maybe you don't care about being the best, you just care about what you care about. Spirituality is the dissolution of categories and things. You just "do it" cause you love it and all other reasoning dissolves. In fact it's not even a choice, it's like... there's just no other option, but not because you're devoid of options but because this one just shines so f-ing bright that counting clothes pegs stuck to your face just doesn't even appeal you anymore.

There's nothing pure about it but it is also child-like in-no-sense.

trajectory (n.) https://www.etymonline.com/word/trajectory "path described by a body moving under the influence of given forces," 1690s, from Modern Latin trajectorium, from trajectorius "of or pertaining to throwing across," from Latin traiectus "thrown over or across," past participle of traicere "throw across, shoot across," from Latin trans "across, beyond" (see trans-) + icere, combining form of iacere "to throw" (from PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel"). Middle French and Middle English had trajectorie as "end of a funnel," from Latin traiectorium. problem (n.) https://www.etymonline.com/word/problem late 14c., probleme, "a difficult question proposed for discussion or solution; a riddle; a scientific topic for investigation," from Old French problème (14c.) and directly from Latin problema, from Greek problēma "a task, that which is proposed, a question;" also "anything projecting, headland, promontory; fence, barrier;" also "a problem in geometry," literally "thing put forward," from proballein "propose," from pro "forward" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + ballein "to throw" (from PIE root *gwele- "to throw, reach"). Ok, who wants to play a game of catch with me? I don't have a ball for some reason, all I have is this boomerang. Whatever, I'm sure it will work just fine.