UnbornTao

A high-quality variety like extra virgin olive oil, not refined oil made with sunflower and similar crap.

Can't read screenshot. Maybe try a different way, like saving or exporting the page as PDF. Perhaps there's another command to take one-page screenshots and not just the entire website. Regarding your anxiety, you need to become conscious of the "place" in which you're generating it and see it as ineffective. Become aware of how you're doing it in your experience. Anxiety is a form of fear, hence related to an image of the future that you're unwilling to confront. Look in that direction, it may help. Remove a component of fear and it can't arise. Some mindfulness would be useful. Focus on your breathing, relax and contemplate.

An activity (which lives in the domain of 'invention') is not existential in and of itself - it is not an object and doesn't exist independently. Communication, success, mastery, shame, boredom, sports, worth, language, money, effectiveness, and society - are created by us humans and are a function of relationship. What exists independently of activity?

@AndylizedAAY It was an offensive image so I hid it. Insults and inflammatory language are not allowed.

You're making up excuses for why one should lie and get away from imagined unwanted consequences. This is disempowering. We don't tell the truth because we want to get a lollipop (some form of self-interest, like wanting to be liked, being perceived a certain way, etc). Some caution and discretion are called for in certain social interactions. Depending on whether a relationship allows for brutal levels of honesty, those levels needn't be reached. Just become aware of this disposition. Lying makes you a liar! Take a look at the consequences in your experience. I suspect you're not being honest enough. There might also be some confusion as to what "telling the truth" means. It's more nuanced than telling everything you can to everyone, or sharing whatever comes up to your mind at any moment. It's a good book.

Read the book.

Interesting

@AndylizedAAY Avoid insulting

imo that is the sensible and powerful thing to do. Or just avoid the question in the first place.

You'd first have to become conscious of what another is, which I haven't done yet. "Other" may as well be a belief but since in my experience others seem to exist, I won't say that it's a belief. This domain is of deeply-held assumptions, not merely of superficial ones.

Doesn't that also produce harmful compounds in food?

Seems like we're bringing up and confusing a bunch of stuff. I'm gonna throw some crap around and see if it helps in some way. It's possible to do away with many of one's beliefs, perhaps even all of them. Most of what we assume isn't cognized. You've got beliefs that you know are superficial or not really true. Go for the most obvious ones. Many are disempowering and not needed. Some are useful, none is true (the truth itself). With beliefs out the way, openness and in turn effectiveness will likely increase in one's life since your perception won't be clouded with so many conceptual add-ons. This practice isn't about leading an empirical life per se, but about becoming free of beliefs, which includes recognizing them as such. Don't know about the connection between gut feel and belief. Don't know about that. Belief isn't the appropriate word there. Hypothesis, perhaps. I'd say that's good as long as you don't confuse it for a direct experience of the truth, which many people end up doing. Beliefs are used to cover up one's ignorance and lack of direct experience. Even when a direct experience is achieved, that doesn't guarantee your mind won't make up ideas about it. What needs to be done is changing one's relationships towards beliefs. Notice they can be useful tools but are never true. A belief is about what's true. I'd focus on contemplation instead of looking to adopt more beliefs.

I'm fine with the current structure

@Someone here It's not about value. About, is not it. A belief is like a photo of an apple. Experience is like perceiving an apple. By its nature, belief isn't the truth and can't ever be.

You don't need a belief for becoming conscious of whatever's true. And they always get in the way. That's the gist of it.

Check out Ryan Holiday, that might help.

I'd say better grasp your nature and then probably that question won't arise. If it does, then ask yourself.

Ha. Don't be too quick to assume understanding. If you hold it as merely understanding their words, OK then. Still, it sounds like your cup is full.

Check out something that is real, like Krishnamurti.

What? Like a zen koan.

how so?

That sounds more like pain to me. Suffering seems to be an added conceptual activity that, if grasped, can be mostly done away with. Probably not so much when it comes to extreme physical harm. Personally haven't done it, I just hear tell that it's a possibility.

Mostly on books. Supermind, evil, cosmic power, cosmic knowledge. Haha, when he uses qualifiers like marvelous, cosmic, powerful, things like that. I imagine this communication style is done partly for marketing purposes. Not saying it's bad, the substance of his communications and their delivery are great.

A lot of rhetoric and drama. No wonder that individuals who do that get a lot of attention. Feels like very popular individuals are mostly fake and pretending to know. Why do they sometimes look like actors in a TV show? Vernon Howard is recommended, also used hyperbole occasionally but overall he was straightforward and authentic.