Sugarcoat

There seems to be two kinds of fears of death. One is fear of ego dissolution and another is fear of physical death. The fear of ego dissolution is more so common in every day life and it’s when we have attachments to self images so we are (maybe subconsciously) afraid to lose that self image, and we engage in activity to try to maintain that self image (which has a certain neurotic fearful quality to it for many). The other, fear of physical death, is more so fear of your idea of death, and the unknown, also fear of pain of old age and disease. Both fears have commonalities but are not identical. I think both dissolve in true awakening

I find overcoming shyness once and for all requires dissolution of that aspect of your identity that is the shy/awkward self image.

If you happen to be in a lifetime devoid of torture. I think it’s wise to try to prolong this life by being healthy, both in mind and body (also helps in not developing torturous diseases), so that you stay in a decent reincarnation for as long as you can. Also taking necessary precautions in how you deal with people so you don’t end up with a serial killer or something, and choosing to live somewhere safe etc. But not in neurotic way, that’s just unnecessary suffering. You don’t have to accept torture to find peace. You don’t have to do anything about it actually. You just have to stop thinking about it. Or if you happen to think about it: delete the negative charge of your mind. Why would you be scared of a mental image? It’s just an image, you could never actually imagine torture, so the imagination is cut off from the real thing.

I think running long distances is a kind of sport that has a lot to do with pure hard work. More so than genetics. If you were chased by something dangerous, you could run wayyy longer than you run on your work outs. What separates the pros of long distance running from the average is that the pro simply works harder, gives up way later than the average does. It’s a mental sport primarily. How much you can push the body consciously before you give up. Theres some exceptions to this, like for example Dean Karnazes who has something genetic where his body clears lactic acid much faster or something, giving him a significant advantage. Short distance running on the other hand is more so genetics though.

Your experience is limited, it’s particular appearances/forms appearing for you. For something to be limited means that it is something: and thus it ISNT something else, it excludes everything else that it isn’t, because otherwise it wouldn’t be limited

I mean it was to do with this forum so I get your concern…..🤫

Ok 👍🏻😎

Yes I know for a fact it’s possible because I’ve experienced it. It happened spontaneously. I have a special mind that’s why in my case

I know I am extra obsessed hehe I’d say in this current state I’m in I can’t know if I’m truly grasping/experiencing something exactly how it is

I think you’d need to be devoid of self to know how torture is in its pure form….

There could be ego boosting pleasures that directly highlights the self, so what u said doesn’t apply in all situations

We could almost say nothing exists without a self, because the self is that sense of existence and reality I think self solidifies and stays like that for the rest of life with a little bit of breakdown slowly like how a mountain is getting broken down over millions of years

What do you mean

You made a point I haven’t thought about before

I don’t know how someone devoid of a self experiences physical torture. If it’s suffering or not But it seems the appearance of torture only becomes a problem when there’s a conscious experiencer of it So if infinity gives rise to all appearance, it could potentially do so without there being a conscious experiencer experiencing every single appearance Or does infinity also include all possible illusions (the self) from all possible POVs? Meaning for every appearance there is: there is a version of it with a conscious experiencer (illusion) that experiences it? Hmmm. Who knows

I’m with you except I’ll just ask about that first sentence. Do you mean that we (the self) is like a veil on pure perception or that perception itself is a filter for reality? So from human pov we can’t access pure reality? If you don’t mind

🩶

I would just call that avoidance of pain I see avoidance of pain and seeking of happiness as two distinct forces.

Ok we have some common ground ”it just means you’re taking that stance toward life”. Yea that was what I was thinking, that you favor that mindset partly because it feels empowering, and you don’t wanna feel like a victim What would you say the principle of openness demands? I think part of it is purifying your psyche of identifying with ideas, like how someone could be locked into a paradigm because it favors their identity

Ok teacher …. 😂 You meant the part where you wrote about imagining being a helpless victim? When I read it I imagined it, but I see it as my position taken to an extreme- so it’s not the same as what I’m saying I think it’s smart to try to become responsible for your experience to the extent you find you can, because it puts you in a better position to be able to change your experience into a better one How do you differentiate being and self? Isn’t the self a being (me), even if it maybe doesn’t actually exist? I think I got the openness part down…(I’ll allow you to roll your eyes or whatever if you want)

I removed my original comment but there i said “have you ever been curious about how torture feels”, and no I wouldn’t wanna experience torture, the vast majority of humans wouldn’t want that. Why ? Because it’s unimaginable suffering , who wants that? It’s not about loving the self it’s about pain being painful

Hugs

I can’t deny the “being aware of myself” vs “being myself”. It seems both co exist. I don’t really know what the self is…just that it seems to not only be a thought (like some say)

We have just came to different conclusions from our observations. My position doesn’t imply helplessness. We can use willpower, change our brain/mind etc In my life when I have overcome things it hasn’t been “just stop generating that activity” it has been a more complex process. But nevertheless it has been successful (not saying it’s impossible to “just stop generating the activity, for example some advice about binge eating says : “just stop” and it works for some) Im not super firm in what I say too so I could change my mind. I don’t deny the role of the self completely I just see it intertwined with other factors beyond it But I can def see how your mindset can feel empowering

Ofc I wouldn’t wanna experience it