Sincerity

It’s def a minority. Most here are decent and thus „invisible”.

Engagement would definitely be easier if you replied to my arguments instead of linking me someone else’s response. But maybe you don’t care enough as well. That’s fine.

Yes And so are you.

I think it’s a turnoff when you share emotions from a position of weakness - that is, while still being under the influence of these emotions and needing to share them or get support. Compare that to sharing them after the fact while having distance to them. Speaking about them as something that took place, but you overcame it. Or, you can share current emotions from a position of masculine strength like „yes, it’s a bit difficult for me right now, but I’ll get through it. I know I’m strong, I’ll handle it, I believe in myself.” I did the last two with my ex and she was satisfied with it.

@UnbornTao Well, okay, I think I understand your position better now. And I don’t agree with it. But I don’t care to go over it anymore. Would be easier to discuss in person. It’s good that we have diversity of perspective here though. Contrast is appreciated.

I think there can definitely be overlap between insight and belief. Having what felt like a „profound insight” which later turned out to be false and based on fake foundations. I’ve had that in life. Being wrong is a bitch. 😆 But I wouldn’t draw insight as just a subset of belief. I think it can depend on 1) whether you’re approaching contemplation (especially on the fundamental) from genuine beginner’s mind and interest in truth and 2) whether your insights from this beginner’s mind repeat across time. I think genuine interest in truth for the sake of it is a mechanism that cleanses you of the corruption of invalid beliefs. Across a long span of time, that is. Doing the work to see truthfully and to throw all that isn’t true out, if you care about that. Having done that, I think the possibilities of true insight are real. And you’re obviously always still fallible, even if you care about truth.

God/Now is always elusive and non-solid. That’s true. But still, you can train yourself to know what to contemplate on and how to raise state to such a level that you have a profound awareness of God. I’m speaking from experience. You could do it too.

The goat is back 🔥

The same can be said for meditation. I don’t hope to awaken. I just do. Also, the same can be said for meditation and anything one does, basically. Yes, you can do things to experience effects from doing that thing. Memory is something deeper than „just conceptual”. It’s a profound thing. Yes, memory can be faulty. But you can also have clear memory and remember some things well. It depends on you. * * * * * I don’t feel you answered my questions regarding 1) there being different states and 2) state being an „attribute” of what. I feel like you avoid the simple truth that you are always in some state. State is inescapable. And dismissal of „experiences”, while it has a grain of truth to it, is also a bias and blindness of sort. All „experiences” affect you permanently, at least to a degree. And it’s also a bias to seek something permanent. Personally, I don’t seek „enlightenment”, I don’t hope to be done one day - I just love taking one step at a time. It’s a fascinating journey and I’ve had great success on it. I experience its fruits every day. At least that’s my impression. But honestly, I can’t help but feel like you’re deliberately covering your eyes from seeing some things. Well, maybe it’s just me.

Thanks for your perspective. What practices expand awareness, according to you? Does self-inquiry channel or expand awareness? Where did you get the distinction from? Have you validated it in experience? In my experience, focused contemplation on eg. „what am I?” leads to expanded awareness. After I shift in state (having focused for some time), I can let loose and bask in the glory of self-recognition (expanded awareness). Or go deeper.

What was the most difficult decision that you had to make in life? How do you feel about it now? Let's bring some more genuineness to the forum with this thread. I'd love to hear your serious answers. For me, it's breaking up with my first girlfriend after 2 years. We've lived together for 1,5 years and both grew a ton through the relationship. We love each other and had a good time together, but there have also been frustrations and arguments, often about the same things. I realized we're fundamentally unaligned in some important ways and it's time to let go and try something different. It's been very emotionally difficult, but I have faith in the decision. What about you?

My best friend (whom I met through this forum), my sister, maybe my ex-gf.

Well, I think you obviously can have genuine insights about eg. morality. If I contemplated morality, I would primarily focus on my behaviours and think whether they were right, good, loving. What made them loving or unloving? Are these assessment objective in any way? Does that matter? Why do I even care about morality? Etc. So yes, I think you can go deep into concepts once you bring them back into „reality” during contemplation. And if that’s done, you can have some great insights. Not absolute per se, but still true/wise. Simply don’t contemplate concepts „in a vacuum”. Think over specific examples.

I'd suggest you make sure to balance your insights out with no-self awakenings. There is nothing special about you in this way. You're not "better". This is the danger of ego hijacking realizations of solipsism. That's why I suggest the above. Friendly advice: you should ground yourself and go broader/deeper. Right now you feel unbalanced to me, reading what you're saying.

@UnbornTao 1. Do you agree that there are different states? That awareness of what is can be more expanded, more contracted, etc.? 2. If there are different states, then what is state referencing? State of what? 3. And then, can it be that some states "put" you in better seeing of what is? And in some your seeing is more limited? So then why deny what you understood from a higher state, especially when you can accurately recall how & what it was? I'm really trying to understand what the fundamental difference in your worldview is. And what it's based on.

To properly contemplate on "what am I?", you need to get a reference point for "I" in your consciousness. And then simply focus on it through the question. It's like you have to find the g-spot in your consciousness. And then hammer it into orgasm (state shift). A porn-related example just for you, lol. I switch between two questions: "what am I?" and "who is seeing this thought?". Both are meant to turn awareness on itself. But again: these questions gain depth only after you know what to focus on. This isn't a philosophical exercise. This is about observing the fundamental ??? that you are - having a sort of reference point for it and going deep into it. At least that's how it works for me. It's a bit hard to describe because I just do it instinctively. Another good question I used recently: "What is now?". Just focus on being "in the now" as much as possible and understanding what it is fundamentally. To sum up, here's my best advice: for good contemplation on the fundamental, you need to have a solid grasp on some reference point (like "I", "now", "reality"). You need to know clearly what you're contemplating on, even if you don't see it's nature yet. Have it on your radar. And then laser focus on it. This is pretty logical: when you're contemplating on "what is now?", you need to understand what "now" is referring to. The contemplation is on that which the word "now" is referring to. That is a reference point.

Wanting to be more like God and act in a ever-more loving way is not an ability per se. It's more like a shift in your being. You assume "god-like abilities" like "powers to heal" or "bending reality". These aren't God's "abilities". As you yourself said, God doesn't need any "behind the scenes", and abilities would be processes which would be these "behind the scenes". You should question the validity of concepts like "powers to heal" or "bending reality". You don't really know whether there's any truth to them. Might be, might not be. Don't assume, this isn't obvious. Rising in consciousness doesn't necessarily grant any "powers". You just expand your awareness of what already is.

Yes, and awakening to the nature of this experience. Realizing that everything you see is God, for example. When you genuinely awaken to it (eg. on a psychedelic), it’s first order knowledge. ”Experience is God” is not necessarily an interpretation. You can know it. But until you don’t, it’s indeed a concept/belief. Contemplate from scratch. For example, „What am I?”. Don’t settle for anything but deep shift in consciousness - ideas are not it. Psychedelics make the shift easier.

It can be. If we’re talking about the most fundamental knowledge, which is regarding Consciousness/God/etc.. In fact, TRUE knowledge MUST be recognized through consciousness on your own. That is its attribute. This knowledge is what you see, what you know, what you are. If you „know” it from hearsay, you don’t really know it. It’s just belief. You cannot know God through belief. It’s impossible.

No. It absolutely does matter. True knowledge is derived through walking the journey. It will never be the same as just hearing something. Of course you can. When you observe attention itself, for example, you don’t need no language. The greatest contemplation is simply observation. That plus wanting to understand - but not through language. Language is second-order, used for explaining what you understood on the first-order.

What was the point of posting this?

You should just want to see what’s true. Don’t be attached. Always be ready to throw everything into the trashcan and start from scratch. Truth is (usually) seen from beginner’s mind. Not-know over, and over, and over.

Feel free to start the discussion with your input. You explain it to us!

I'll think it through 1K times then 😆 I never did proper research on dogs because it's much too far-fetched for me now. I'd definitely do a ton of research before I got one though. I just like border collies from what I've currently seen and heard of them. Very possible that I like the idea of a border collie more than the actual reality of having it. Cute doggo btw! * * * * * * * * * * * I always laugh when I see greyhounds on the street. Not to be rude - I just find their physique really funny. They're beautiful. One of those small things in the world that make me chuckle. Other being eg. birds.

Yeah that's true. I'll see where I am in life in 10-20 years. It's a long-term vision.