poimandres

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Posts posted by poimandres

  1. Posted · Edited by poimandres

    To my knowledge, Buddhism doesn't mention much of a Yin/Yang principle. It's heavy non-dual philosophy, focus inward, the "now", etc. End suffering.

    Taoism (it seems) seems dualism philosophy approach that seeks the unity of the poles. I haven't reach much other than the Tao Te Ching and the Dhammapada.

    A subtle difference, I would think, that Taoism would attempt to define a "God" if you will, while Buddhism (specifically Zen) could care less. Of course the religion's approaches to other doctrines is probably going to be different and have their own framework. 

    I'd be willing to bet if you asked a Zen master about defining God, he'd probably respond with a Koan.

  4. Posted

    On 6/4/2017 at 11:00 AM, Alex K said:

    I suspect there is no such thing as infinity. What enlightened people perceive as infinity is an unusual categoriсal/ontological vastness that feels right to call infinite.

    I don't see how space is not infinite. How could space not be infinite? If it's a gigantic box (or has some type of shape/boundaries), then what is outside of that box? There must still be space there, even if it's void of matter.. Even if my brain has no way to conceive it.

    That being said, nice paradox of a question of awareness/infinity!

  7. Posted · Edited by poimandres

    I look at it from a perspective of recognizing. You decorate the temple with the appropriate icons, etc. Sure, from a non-dual point of view, why worship? From a dualistic perspective makes perfect sense to recognize that which cannot be expressed into words. Kind of like paying respect.

    Not to mention those images and words play huge role in effecting consciousness during ceremonies and meditations.

  8. Posted

    13 hours ago, onacloudynight said:

    The only thing I care about is how far I can raise my consciousness/awareness. The problem is I don't have enough money to spend on going to retreats and other stuff. I wanted to find my life purpose because not only would it be something meaningful for me to do, but also would be a good source of income, so that I could do better consciousness work. The only thing I seem to be missing is a genuine desire to help the world.

    Take care of yourself first. I guarantee, once you get along the path long enough, you will want to bring some type of creativity into the world. It could be art, business, music, or offspring. Of course these aren't the only options.

  9. Posted

    I'd probably first start at what is stressful for you or why do you feel like you are taking it too seriously?

    I'd say I take it seriously quite a bit, especially if I'm working towards a goal. I kind of have "pit stops" where I let myself completely go (drink alcohol, laugh, video games, etc), then it's back to hard ass work for weeks. 

    Got to learn to laugh. I've had to learn to control what I can and not worry about what I cannot.

     

  11. Posted

    I'm sure this goes without saying: If you are reading a physics textbook, then yea, you will become sharper in physics. But reading a fantasy novel will not improve your lack of understanding of physics for example.

    I have noticed that when I read, my vocabulary will start to take on the languages used in the books. Most of the books I've read are old as dirt, so my language can come across as archaic. I'd also say books flex your imagination muscles and you can get lost in there and go as deeply as you want (subconscious penetration) regardless of fiction/non-fiction.

    Beyond the book, I'm not sure if physical changes happen in the brain regardless.

  12. Posted

    Any Jungian psychology based book will be dealing with Shadow self. Don't read Carl Jung's work directly, it won't make sense.  Find something on Amazon that is a self-help book based on Jungian archetypes.

    NLP is a way to change you behavior through hypnosis. I haven't read any books yet, but I'm eyeing The Structure of Magic.  2 books.  If I'm right, I think these are the foundations of NLP.

  14. Posted

    On 4/12/2017 at 4:04 PM, Lai said:

    @poimandres it is happening now, I see much automation progress in my job (dentistry).  Every year more and more jobs are automated.  Politics will have little to say about this, money and economics are king.

    Yes, some automation and jobs will become obsolete. Trucking industry is about to change with driverless semi's. But I was just getting at that there won't be droids walking around or we will never have an AI government (robots run our government). We won't ever get to the point where a majority doesn't work, lives off UBI, etc.. at least not in our lifetimes.

  15. Posted · Edited by poimandres

    4 hours ago, Dodoster said:

    When AI takes over most human activities, we are going to live without the need to work anymore, so there won't be any need for business too :D We will be provided for by the machines.

    I don't think this will realistically happen within our life times, unfortunately.  And I don't believe we will ever get to the point of something like iRobot -- too much politics in the way, etc..

    I believe we can and do have the tools necessary to make it happen, but actually materializing -- politics :\

  17. Posted · Edited by poimandres

    On 4/1/2017 at 10:27 AM, LRyan said:

    I do see the value in therapy, I just have a conflict with the therapist because he acts lt of ego all the time.  Every session I have with him, he goes into a story from one of his other patients and tells me how HE noticed this or that in them which led the patient to a huge AH HA moment or that he "knows" what already happened to a person by them just telling him a bit of the story....example...he had a new female patient go to him, she relayed her traumatic childhood. As she was getting to the part where she was in college, he said he guessed that she was raped.  He went on to tell me that can tell by a person's history what is very likely to happen to them.  He constantly tells me things like this so as to prove how good he is?  It's like the saying: He is always ringing his own bell.  This is not productive to me personally so I don't know why he feels like he has to keep doing this?

    He's probably also telling you these stories to show you how their brains sabotaged them.  Again, the pleasure principle from Freud, or the tricks our brains play on us as Leo describes. Their "ah ha" moment was when they actually saw it as well (and probably after hearing a million other stories like yourself).

  18. Posted

    On 4/1/2017 at 10:27 AM, LRyan said:

    Thanks so much for your input!  I'm glad you saw a real value in your therapy and that you had a wise Psychologist.  There is good understanding of the brain to be had, I believe that.  The trick is in getting the right person I think.

    It sounds like you had someone who recognized what your experience of your thoughts were doing to your body and in noticing that you made the connection..

    I definitely notice my body when I am re-visiting a trauma memory, I can feel my heart pounding, dry throat.  My Psychologist has noticed my face go red and my body language.  He says it is the sympathetic nervous system kicking in.

    I do see the value in therapy, I just have a conflict with the therapist because he acts lt of ego all the time.  Every session I have with him, he goes into a story from one of his other patients and tells me how HE noticed this or that in them which led the patient to a huge AH HA moment or that he "knows" what already happened to a person by them just telling him a bit of the story....example...he had a new female patient go to him, she relayed her traumatic childhood. As she was getting to the part where she was in college, he said he guessed that she was raped.  He went on to tell me that can tell by a person's history what is very likely to happen to them.  He constantly tells me things like this so as to prove how good he is?  It's like the saying: He is always ringing his own bell.  This is not productive to me personally so I don't know why he feels like he has to keep doing this?

    I don't know the guy, but I would bet he's not telling you these stories to show how good he is. Just like sacred texts, the messages are portrayed using metaphor and stories. My psychologist did the same thing. "I had a patient did XYZ." But it wasn't to boost his own ego. He would tell me examples that actually related to my situation. Try to look at it from his perspective, he's seen dozens of cases and behaviour is predictive, so of course he can see how the end result is going to be (that's how psychology works). It sounds like Freudian if you guys are discussing childhood experiences. If he's asked about your relationship with your mother and father, in Freudian therapy, that tells how a person will seek out a partner etc.. So that's why he can predict how situations will end.  Do you know what his background is in? Freudian, Jungian, Reichian, Solution focused, etc? Might not hurt to ask.

    If anything, perhaps find a new therapist?  Keep in mind the type of therapist (Freudian,etc) and that will be the system they will be using. Trust is a huge portion of therapy and if you feel like you cannot open up with him, that's going to only hurt you in the end (and your wallet). You won't get very far in therapy no matter how many sessions you have with him because you won't want to talk about the stuff that's deep down inside that you want to hide.. The best therapy sessions I found were ones that I would sit in a just talk the entire time.  Say literally everything I was thinking without analyzing or asking myself "How can I divert this conversation" or something similar. I would talk for like 40 mins, he would eventually stop me and give me an analysis.

    What if you forget about the new age stuff for a minute and accepted his system as truth temporarily?  What if you silenced your ego for a moment instead of trying to silence his? It's ok to talk about the books that you read, but keep in mind, psychology is basically a slimmed down version of all this new agey stuff. Don't discuss Eckhart Tolle or anyone in there because the field of psychology has taken that message and condensed it even further.

    Let him keep telling you stories, it does effect you over time.. I have first hand experience of it. I guarantee, if you find another psychologist, he/she will tell you stories as well about their other patients.  That's a part of therapy, it helps you build a relationship with them knowing you aren't the only one going through some situation or dealing with a problem. In a way, it works unconsciously, and they know this.. Everything is about the unconscious in therapy.

    I agree about the pills though. Generally, Psychologist do not recommend (or have the power to prescribe) medications. They know it's a mask to the root of the problem. Psychiatrists actually prescribe medications.

  19. Posted · Edited by poimandres

    22 hours ago, Kimasxi said:

    I want to do Teal Swan's process of changing a belief. Could you help me go through this process?

    What is my emotional pay-off for the belief "I am not worthy of people's acceptance" (I am a loser = worse than the others = I am not worthy of people's acceptance) ?

    I feel shame, pathetic, sorry for myself. I don't have a clue what's the reward behind these feelings.

    What I should have said was that you are already seeing the reward of the belief "I am not worthy of people's acceptance." Feelings of guilt, shame, unworthiness, etc..

    If you start believing that you do not care about if you get approval from others (assuming you aren't hurting yourself or others), what do you think the payoff will be?  What do you think the payoff would be if you said to yourself out loud "I don't care what others think, because I'm good enough for my own self. I live up to my own standards."? And then you started to believe and live those words?

    As some others have said before about avoiding situations where you might be "rejected", I'm not sure if that's going to be a good way of dealing with the inner root of the problem. By constantly avoiding the problem (fear of rejection) you won't overcome it and that's an indirect way of dealing with the problem, but the problem will still persist..

  20. Posted · Edited by poimandres

    On 3/21/2017 at 4:14 PM, LRyan said:

    I am in the midst of "therapy" which does nothing but continue to bring up the past and re hash things and make you re live any horror that you went through as a way of exposing you to it over and over so that you become immune or no longer fear what happened?  Their line of thinking is the same as curing any fear such as that of a fear of spiders...continuous and repeated exposure will cause you to no longer fear it?  

    How can anyone who is trying to work on themselves and gain enlightenment and awareness participate in traditional Psychology?  This feels like a method of torture to me and has caused a definite back sliding of all of the hard work I have put into myself.  

    What are your thoughts on the clash of these meeting head to head. Pardon the pun! 

    I believe psychotherapy is parallel to self-actualization.  You have to examine your past behaviors and triggers to understand why you react to situations the way that you do.  Psychotherapy helps you to see how your brain sabotages you and puts you in stressful situations.  I believe @Leo Gura says multiple times in many of his videos that you don't even know the tricks it plays on you, that's how sneaky it is.. Psychotherapy helps you to see how this happens.  It also helps understand and better equip yourself with dealing with people and have power over your situations (before your brain sabotages you). I believe this is Freud's pleasure principle..  In Freudian therapy, I believe the objective is for the "child" to meet the "adult".  

    The other schools are basically going to teach the same thing, just with different terminology.  Jungian is more metaphysical, but it's goals are the same.  Any new agey therapy place you go to will be similar.

    Therapy isn't there to answer questions like "Why does life exist? What is the point in life? What/is there God?" etc.. Psychology is a framework of how to examine yourself through dream analysis, your feelings, your past experiences, etc.. It is introspection. It's not fun, it's work.. It can be scary, etc.. But the more you talk it out in therapy (if you have a good psychologist), and the more honest you are with yourself (and the therapist) the more you will understand yourself and faster.. 

    I was in therapy for 3+ years. We would talk about a situation that brought up anxiety in my life. He would analyze my body and my words. He said, "tell me every detail about how you feel right now".  I never realized while I was telling him my stories, my heart would race, my mind would start to escalate panic, my face would itch, my throat would be scratchy, I would start coughing, my palms were sweaty.. Knowing this (psychosomatic symptoms), I hope you can start to see the value of psychotherapy.

    In one of my first sessions, I told my therapist about one of my OOBE's (about how I saw God, which was really me) and said I wanted to become my "higher self".  He understood exactly what I was talking about, but he put it in terms of Freudian psychotherapy.  The path of therapy is slightly different than spirituality, but I believe it's congruent and it's aims are for you to become your best self.

    That being said, psychotherapy stole a bunch of ideas from religions, like meeting your higher self.  Psychology took out all the zodiac/planetary/horoscope/rituals/prayers/meditation stuff and gave you the core of the framework.  Kind of like Buddhism did to Hinduism.  Screw all those Gods, God(s) do not matter, here's what matters. The goal is the exact same, said in a different way.

    I keep amending this, so I hope you get the full post.. You might want to check out Alan Watts' book Psychotherapy East and West.

     

  21. Posted

    You quit trying to fit a mold that other people have made for you.  You live life from the inside out.  

    You become the "Fuck yes or no" way of living. If you don't feel a "Fuck yea, let's do that" then you don't. You become unapologetically you.  Your real self.