Natasha Tori Maru

Have you considered this trigger may be within the body? Say, the intellectual capacity to grasp the fear and rationalize it is well understood. However, it remains in a strange way to be triggered in a seemingly unknown fashion. The brain is connected to the entire body through the nervous system. There could be the possibility this connection has stored some primal fear in the body? I used to suffer from bouts of crying with no cause. Nothing linked to my cycle. No thoughts appeared to trigger the emotion. I do a lot of yoga practices. Whenever I do a hip opener I end up crying in pure despair and grief. Uncontrollable. The same feeling as above! Nothing will stop instant tears and the feeling in these poses! Consistently - memories of how my grandfather passed arise when I bring awareness to thought. I have grieved the loss of him (14 years ago), yet, without fail, the hip opener will trigger the emotion. This happened to me to the extent I stopped performing any sort of hip opener. Later I really decided to challenge myself to face it. Hip opener after hip opener. Self calming techniques. The weird crying and emotion bouts stopped. And although I cannot say there is direct evidence of a connection, it remains a phenomenon I experienced.

You just said it was an illusion above - you used the words 'image' 'projections'. Your words. Read the question again - this isn't an answer. Additionally - this is a question. Answer with a statement. What is awareness without self? You are a smart cookie - you understand these questions. And if you don't, don't rush to answer. Have a think on it.

One thing I have not done - and am VERY interested in. My colleague has attended a few and highly recommended them also. General meditation practice (2/3 hours on the weekends) had a noticeable effect. I would assume the above would be even more-so! My little side project with this work is dream exploration and OBE stuff. Thank you for your advice 🙏

This is no-self. You still have awareness

Red = the illusion Blue = have you considered this is NOT useful? Contemplated what life would be, as a human, without it? What do you think that might be?

@Breakingthewall Impulses may arise in the moment to be followed. Then there is a movement, a change in vision. Tactile sensation of the doorknob. The feeling of legs moving, feet meeting the pavement. Various lifeforms can do this without self awareness.

@Breakingthewall So you think it is a permanent part of being a human?

@Joshe It was a really weird ego moment bloody hell... on the one hand I was chuffed he was able to have a great experience, and on the other I felt like maybe he was using the understanding of women I gave him against them! But it wasn't the case at all - I ran into these girls next morning in the kitchen and usually had breakfast with them. They just genuinely loved him because he was able to engage his own emotions authentically and expressively without putting the weight of them on the women. Which ties back in nicely to your topic the 'Job of the man is to be the rock'. For him it isn't about repressing or hiding emotions, its about expressing. Being comfortable doing so. Holding space for his OWN emotions as well as the women he was with. Helps he is always fucken laughing! And he just takes them on fun experiences. That's all - and they land all over his dick lol He did tell me he has some tricks - like doing LOTS of things together in one night or day so it feels like there is more experience and bonding (generating trust faster). Also never pressuring the girls. If they don't want to go back to his, he doesn't care. He still treats them exactly the same. Later down the track they end up in his bed. LOL I work with him in construction so you can imagine how much of the inner carnivore of men I see (with my own eyes, and through him). The tradies sometimes ask me for tips. It feels like handing them weapons. I think it just comes down to emotional engagement and generating fun and laughter. Boom, done. I get treated like a dude on the jobsite, so I see a lot of this. But this is purely because I know how to navigate and work with men to make them feel comfortable. Lots of marriage counselling talk etc Gotta admit though, hearing my brother speak was enlightening - him talking about running through women, 'yeah bit of a phase, having fun, relationships are great but always like to explore'. He has always had a good balance of stable long term relationships with occasional periods of, in his words 'I need to slay slay slay for a bit'

@Joshe I'll echo this despite being a woman! Some unfortunate circumstances meant I had the greatest hand raising my younger brother (I was there for his birth also). He went out into the world having a strong secure relationship with me, and all the women of my family. It was a shock when he started to dip his whistle, seeing him return from nights out with 2, sometimes 3 women.... He is now in a committed healthy relationship with a woman who has a child to a previous marriage. But that phase where he went crazy sleeping with women was INSANE !

@Vali2003 Appreciate your very personal anecdote. Some deep work involved there

Maybe like stepping stones? Hit no self - then you take another step and BOOM - realization you are truth, pure consciousness, God, infinity - all that is inside you is actually outside... The two realizations are holding each others hands It points to God realization - but there is still work to do between the 'self illusion' step and 'God realization' to get there.

This would be a balanced, accurate generalisation imo Difficult to actually address the topic. I feel a 'general truth' is a way to assert a fixed essence or pattern to something inherently varied - almost an oxymoron: we are trying to squeeze infinite diversity into a tidy box and slap truth on it. So I think this balanced generalisation hits harder.

@theleelajoker yes I think you are a prime example of a masculine male who has good, healthy connection to women in their life that isn't a sexual based relationship! From what you have described I think the cock getting in the way is similar to emotions getting in the way for women.

Adding to the below that I think a blend of both genders perspectives on the other would be more accurate. We are often blind to our own behaviour - so mens perspective on women is an asset. But both need to be considered if you really want to dig at the truth of it. To clarify I was adding in that women's perspective on women cannot be discarded.

Woah this is very odd - do you think humans are just their emotions and thoughts? Is this a core defining feature to you?

An example with editing to create a spin - we cannot know the truth from this. It is another example of hearsay / bias with no direct experience. And yes totally I think the penis is 100% linked to desire for survival - it's main job is to ensure the perpetuation of genetics into the next generation. Powerful force of creation and drive. My overall point was as @Xonas Pitfall raised - mens carnivorous sex drive acts to obscure understanding of women in some ways. Much like when you have a bunch of women on the forums completely unable to understand the issues of men being unable to access sex, and the preoccupation with the endeavour. Very hard to understand the opposite sex through the lens of the other. Which is why I think generalisation about gender tend to be more accurate when it is a man generalising men, a women generalising women.

What is this 'artificial' environment? Is this something only men experience? This artificial thing?

@Breakingthewall Because you won't contemplate 'what are you, what is the 'complex'? if there us no survival. I don't think you know what condescending is either.. I digress

If you won't contemplate how will you get any breakthroughs of understanding? This is the opposite of the openness you speak about... cognitive dissonance exemplified

@Breakingthewall I'm saying - pretend it is removed. A thought experiment. This is very closed off thinking 'it can never be removed' It is a theoratical thought experiment - what is left?

I am not being arrogant or condescending here - you still have not addressed the question. Are you saying that if survival is removed - the energy system is still there? How can the energy system be there if there is nothing to create it? In this thought experiment - recall there is no survival to worry about.

@Breakingthewall This is an example of survival - what is left when you don't have to worry about survival?

Can you explain how your 'structure' of self isn't a belief? You need to consider you might be having the belief, since you accuse everyone ELSE of having beliefs. YOU are the commonality.

If that is true then what is the below? You presented this example when I said 'pretend you don't have to worry about survival for you or loved ones' Marked up in red above is all survival. Take that away. Now what is left?

@Breakingthewall Missed directly answering so I will rephrase - what is survival? Define it