UnbornTao

Really? Can you provide a source? Why is salt added to coffee?

What you describe is an assertion and not a source, however. What is the nature of that "I" you're speaking about? Dwell on that.

Who's the one experiencing the emotion? Why do two individuals react differently to the same circumstance? Can't you not get angry at someone stepping on your toe? How come? What is the emotion for? Who are you doing it for? It might seem like one is the victim of external factors when it comes to emotions even though that's a paradigm or worldview, and a false one. You can create emotions when conscious of what they are. Being at the source of them, you are empowered to be responsible for your experience rather than blaming circumstances. What you're describing is a reactive emotion which is more difficult to tackle since they're instinctive, appearing as "automatic". Don't confuse the fact that emotions happen at light speed with being at the effect of them. Consider actors creating their emotions at will to suit their role and given situation. Another example: we generally wait for the "right" circumstances before we feel justified in generating enthusiasm. Can you create enthusiasm at will? Do "enthusiasm" right now. Intellectually, this is cute and simple but the reality of it is harder to grasp. Haven't done that yet. P.S. I didn't communicate clearly at all in my previous post. What I said was that, as a culture, we assume emotions are caused by external factors, when in fact they might not be.

@Leo Gura Plato would be proud lol

Apart from scientific evidence and nutritional value, what you eat is ultimately a matter of opinion (preference). There's no ideal diet and consciousness is a different matter. You might be conflating enlightenment with a fantasy; enlightened or not, you can eat animals. Whether or not to eat animal products is a matter of personal choice, regardless of the purported benefits -- and likely a few drawbacks -- it has on your physiology, the ecology, etc.

Not sure what you're talking about but it isn't a perspective. Sounds like a radically different and healing state.

Authenticity, being natural

Emotion is implied to be caused by external circumstances, therefore we can only be at their effect. Emotions are activities done by us. If we assume that, then a logical conclusion could be then that the only solution is to manipulate the emotions' influence. Question them as they arise. In your experience, observe as you engage in the process of creating emotion. I wanted to put out the possibility of a more direct approach: "What is this experience?" "What is this emotion doing"? "What are its components"? What you have sounds like it works for you so that's good.

Belief is a thought you have about what's true. Tons of beliefs can be dropped. When it comes to living, it's not so much about discarding beliefs altogether but about establishing a different relationship towards them. Useful beliefs can be kept as long as they're recognized as beliefs, and as long as we don't confuse them with an experience of what's true. You'd need to learn to tolerate the space or uncertainty that that would have on your experience.

Everybody has a body and is the vehicle through which you experience life. There's a lot of intelligence involved in mastering sports and and the body in general.

Frame the inquiry openly. What is anger? What is its purpose? What is it made out of? Anger is based on a sense of hurt. When angry, what a person is saying is "I feel hurt." Anger is a manipulation on your part to manage that hurt by covering it up. A more honest approach would be allowing yourself to feel the hurt without eliciting anger for the pain to be ignored. Enlightenment doesn't change your experience. Emotions are still what they are after it.

First we should look into how to live properly (consciously). A deep and authentic individual I like and recommend is Ramana Maharshi. First becoming deeply conscious of his nature, and then at the end of his life dying gracefully.

Nice, thanks for the value, guys.

Suffering is pervasive and common, it doesn't necessarily have to take the form of an excruciating event. It's subtle and deep. Do nothing for one hour. You'll see how quickly boredom, hence loneliness, might come up. Another example is not getting what you want. This domain is huge. Not having ice cream when you want it can be a form of suffering. What do you mean?

Have you been taking drugs?

Work on creating a purpose for some activity - not just intellectually, but experientially. Now, make up an empowering purpose for your life, one that is truly worthwhile to you. This purpose will encompass a sizable portion of your life’s activities and provide you with a sense of direction, among other benefits. Ask yourself questions such as: What do I want to commit myself to? What is the purpose behind this activity? Why am I doing it in the first place?

A student posed a problem to Kant which he couldn't solve so he decided to isolate himself for eleven years in order to solve it. If anything, he was a committed guy! Besides, apparently his IQ was very high. Who has grasped what he was intending to get across in Critique of Pure Reason? Probably a couple of people.

It might or not be the case, you have to personally become conscious of whatever's true even if it contradicts your assumptions. Otherwise you're left with hearsay and what might be second-hand knowledge from authentic teachers. Hey, maybe it turns out that nothing is your imagination. Work on having several enlightenments.

I prefer to remain grounded. My stance is that they can be beneficial for relative stuff -- having insights, opening up one's mind, getting at the core of an emotional disposition, transcending patterns of behavior, etc. -- but can't and won't ever produce enlightenment for you, because only you can. Many "spiritual" people who take them are likely fooling themselves about what they experience while on them, confusing changes in their perceptive-field with "enlightenment." What they probably mean by those types of descriptions is a change in state. The gist of the matter is that, no matter how beneficial, dramatic, fascinating, unusual or grandiose an experience is, it can't ever be awakening. Awakening isn't relative.

An invention doesn't have to be "true" to work. As a matter of fact, an invention is inherently not true; it has to be constructed for a particular purpose! It doesn't exist in and of itself.

Motivation isn't needed. Work on changing your relationship towards it so that rather than hating it you embrace it and take it on as a fun adventure with its corresponding challenges. It's an opportunity for learning not only about the course but about yourself, starting with this resistance that you're generating. Basically, change your relationship towards it by dropping your ineffective disposition and commit to it, or keep struggling doing something that has to be done. Establishing a negative relationship towards something you want and have to do is idiotic. So yeah, basically: learn to enjoy it. Rather than resisting it, embrace your experience.

what do you mean?

He revolutionized philosophical thought at the time. I think he may even have had enlightenment experiences that allowed him to make those breakthroughs.

Do you want to stop winning, or are you rather asking about how to learn to recognize and enjoy any given process and its result/effect? First recognize there's a process preceding any accomplishment, be it a long or instant one.

Yes, wanting to know.