UnbornTao

Appreciate it, I share that sentiment.

What do you mean more specifically? Are you talking about making decisions? If so, you can actually make a decision right now, and it would be a done deal. You've made the decision.

I'm not really interested, but it looks cool.

Is openness its own goal? What purpose does it serve? How do we balance that principle with groundedness? Together, they form a dynamic essential for discovery. Generally speaking, openness seems directed toward learning, effectiveness, or becoming conscious - in one form or another - which suggests there is something to be grasped. It is not simply "anything goes," nor is it merely about being overly abstract or philosophically entertained - unless that is your goal. When we recognize that we don't know something, or that we lack skill in a given activity, we can open ourselves to possibilities beyond our usual patterns, knowledge, and viewpoint - even mind and perception. There is also the trap of adopting openness only as a character trait - as a social manipulation and aspect of one's self-image. In this way, we may pretend to be open while failing to follow the principle in practice. And again, remaining rooted is key, in a way that acknowledges real possibilities.

@TheSomeBody Okay, thanks for the contribution.

What did you experience? What is it that you hope to accomplish by engaging in this pursuit? Thinking sloppily doesn't help. Setting aside stories, preferences, and overly extraneous concepts, look into your experience as-is. For example: In what ways is what you said real? You yourself admitted in your first post that this belongs to the realm of belief - and that's accurate. It's only "real" insofar as it is imagined to be. It's a subjective state. It may seem real as a result of how your mind interprets and makes sense of circumstances. The sensory input gets filtered through all kinds of thought-forms, like preference and presumption. This same principle may apply to many areas of life, but it stands out especially with consciously adopted beliefs. What happens after death is unknown to everyone alive. And notice: being alive, we also don't truly know what life is - nor the self, the mind, or experience, for that matter. Your stance is founded on a set of unconscious assumptions. If it's the afterlife, then that's still more "life." Obviously you haven't died, since you're writing here. Without taking that for granted - what is life? Maybe you were never alive in the first place. There's a lot to uncover there. Can you see how the mind can fabricate entire worlds that aren't objectively occurring? With some effort, I could make myself believe almost anything I wanted, but that would essentially be lying to myself.

That's fair, but I don't see where I insulted him or was offensive. My post might have come off as blunt or rude, though. It's true that I wanted to destroy his commitment to fantastical thinking, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

What are you up to? Promoting dogma isn't aligned with the spirit of the work we do here. Also, that BS (the video) looks AI-generated. A completely different approach is to destroy every fantasy and belief you hold - rather than piling up more. This greatly increases your openness and your ability to examine matters in a more grounded and powerful way. Why not give it a serious try? It is more difficult but also more real, after all.

If my data isn't stolen, count me out.

Love it. Is that a yogurt factory?

I'm leaving it up for grabs. Did you read Ramana's story on the other thread? Insects bit at his legs, he lived in a cave, and all he did was sit. On what condition did his alleged happiness depend? The main disconnect here is that what you're calling happiness is simply getting what you want. When you don't get what you want, or fail to avoid something unwanted, you call that unhappiness - and this whole dynamic boils down to survival. Cnsider this: why aren't you happy all the time? By fantasy, I was referring to mahasamadhi. It's entirely hearsay. And yes, there are such things as wishful-thinking, beliefs and wholly biased, subjective fabrications.

Gorgeous landscape.

It may well already be the case - happiness being independent of all that. We simply tend to attribute our happiness to the circumstances that seem to elicit it. But again: are agreeable feelings that arise the same as happiness? And if not, what exactly are we talking about? Most likely anything consistent with one's self-agenda. Perhaps happiness is even independent of the self, in a strange way. Fantasy is overrated; changing one's mindset and disposition is underrated.

Where did that come from?

Isn't that the whole point - that happiness is independent of circumstances?

I know, I just made a distinction. Improving the way one breathes can be done regardless of diet. I simply suggested focusing on the former in this context, since breath plays a central role in breath-arianism. But isn't eating the antithesis of the practice? What do you mean by being more spiritual? Anyhow, I find the feasibility of such a lifestyle highly dubious. To me, it is nonsensical and fantasy-based. Occasional and controlled water fasting seems like a better option, in my view. Still, thanks for sharing it.

She totally went Ramana on you! --- Sorry, lame joke. Is that even how the expression is used?

You are, so attempt to apprehend the very one that you are now. This is, fundamentally, the only instruction - in this context. Other than that, we really don't know - and can't know - as any attempt by the mind to comprehend this matter will inevitably lead to misunderstanding. But, perhaps paradoxically, we can grasp the truth. In your example, it would be an encounter with what is there for itself that's being perceived or distinguished as the distinction of wall. Perhaps there is no wall at all… We say that something is there, though - or so it seems. At this point, you'd begin dwelling on what an object is. We like to "wait around," thinking it requires a long time but it doesn't have to. Being open and genuinely wanting to know are the main ingredients. Intend to get it now, and intend again, until you do. In any case, being happy is accesible now, even if our true nature is unknown.

Shave your head? I don't know. Ohh that's awesome. That's more than a little change, though

Happy with our work, not if we work. It wasn't a conditional statement. As for making a dent in happiness, we'd really have to understand what it is. It might not be what we think. It seems that when you stop doing dysfunctional things with your mind, happiness comes more easily as a natural result or condition. I think that's the point being made in the video. Then again, happiness isn't our goal and never was; the promotion and survival of our selves is. We often unconsciously resist certain aspects of our experience. Embracing one's current experience, whatever it is, goes a long way toward being happy in life. It changes our relationship to it. Even when it is painful and unwanted, it is allowed to be what it is, which facilitates understanding. This can dissipate much of our resistance and suffering.

Love it.

Fasting is a good one, as is breaking an addiction - even if only for a short time. Use your phone less. Cut down on sugar. Meditate longer than you'd like or are used to. Cook a dish you've never tried. Any small step we take to stop running from pain or fear can serve as good practice.

@MellowEd When you get rigorous with yourself, what exactly did you go through? It sounds to me like you're more confused than usual. Did you take any substances? The mind has a powerful ability to interpret events and circumstances in ways that generate entirely fabricated worlds, that we then proceed to live in. You need to be a bit more grounded and less airy-fairy. Make a clear distinction between a fabricated, subjective state and what we might call a factual or objective experience - an actual sensory encounter, like seeing an apple, not an "encounter" with extraterrestrial beings or the like. If you don't mind answering, what are you actually up to? What do you hope to gain or accomplish with these practices? And what do they have to do with what's true? You might want to start by dissecting what it is you mean by you and yourself - what is that experience about? Who are you for real, not according to hearsay, preference, belief, or BS?

Sounds like wishful thinking and fantasy-based. What's its purpose? And why do the followers take it up? Learning to breathe properly is invigorating, and it doesn't require any extreme lifestyle changes. I bet all of us can improve the way we breathe. Usually, we resist it, even if only subtly, or we do it too quickly and superficially. It would be better to contemplate, maintain a healthy diet, and drink plenty of water. So, I'm making a distinction between lifestyle and the truth.