rachMiel

What would I have left to strive for? Seekers gotta seek. (Until they don't?)

Self also brings pleasure, joy, happiness, and all the rest of the colors on the 'default' human palette, no? These positive feelings might be fickle and fleeting and pale in comparison with transcendent bliss, but for those who dwell in consensus reality, they're as good as it gets.

@CARDOZZO Eliminating our beloved mobile screens, that might be a fool's errand? We're addicted to the visual. And sometimes we just plain need it.

I'm always happy to see human creativity and innovation in action. That said, I don't think Apple has anything to worry about.

For those Spiritual Questers whose main source of passion is "the thrill of the hunt," anything that threatens to end that hunt, the arising of spiritual clarity for example, is to be avoided at all cost! The Quest can only continue to deliver its joie de la chasse as long as that which is being hunted for remains unfound. Should the Quester happen to find their spiritual prey, they will need to un-find it, so the hunt can continue. They need to be able to un-see the rope and believe (make believe) that it is a snake again.

I think it's kind of refreshing to see an Intellectual Superhero let his idiot flag fly.

Things are not what they seem, nor are they otherwise.

Makes me think of this from Advaita: You cannot experience brahman, but everything you experience is brahman.

And that is true for me, too. Way back when I turned to Eastern wisdom (of various ilk) to help me understand and cope with suffering. But at some point the impetus seemed to change, I felt a "call from the Universe" to "come home." Sure it might be fantasy, a fairy tale to keep me warm on a cold winter's night. But it might also be 'real' in whatever way things are real in this arena.

Love it! :-)

Please explain? Thanks!

Thanks. How long does the murder mystery typically take to solve?

Thus far I have not been able to find a way for Professor Haber to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that George is or is not dreaming. The end of the (great) movie Inception comes to mind, can we ever really *know*?

You're saying the ego is the Quester? Is it possible that the Quest is driven by the Truth (ground, universe, God, whatever word works) itself?

The dream, like the ego Osho spoke about, can be subtle and beautiful. It's understandable that Cypher wanted to stay in the Matrix, I get it.

But that's the thing, to me (most of us, I'd guess) working on solving the murder mystery is a huge thrill. (Note that I said 'working on solving,' not 'solving'!) The equal and infinite mystery of 'real life' resonates theoretically, but doesn't necessarily feel real. The murder mystery seems funner.

I really like that he says beautiful and subtle games, because they are both! (Or at least can be.)

But what about if you slap your face and enjoy it? You know, the sheer experience of it, the SLAP-ness?

I think the path of nihilism is not for the faint of heart! With sensitivity and intelligence, it can be almost ecstatically freeing. But wobble a bit and you might find yourself in the abyss of despair. Buddhist emptiness (sunyata) is said to be a good antidote to nihilism gone bad, they're similar in key ways, but emptiness avoids the potential abyss-attractor of meaning.

I thought you did a good job, were simpatico, clear, and engaging. The only thing I'd suggest that might improve your public speaking is to do some training with good vocal teacher to strengthen your voice, volume and tone, it was a bit challenging at times to hear you and it sounds like you may have been straining your voice to be audible?

Visual information tends to play a dominant role in our sense of self-identity. It's in the homo sapiens cards. Close your eyes, where are *you* now?

It's probably safe provided the actor can get "unpossessed" when they're no longer acting. And I'd imagine that's a skill most actors learn early on, the ability for them to enter and exit a role fluently. But there are plenty of stories of actors whose real lives and movie/tv roles melted into each other.

Are there any tulpamancers among us? I'd love to get an insider's view of working with tulpas.

From what I've read, tulpas can develop "on their own" independently from their creator. (Hey, sounds like hoomans!) My concern is creating a tulpa that metamorphosed into a negative presence for me and others. You want your imaginary friends to be friendly, right?