faith

I dont think you can, my friend. I have changed many times throughout my life, mostly for the better. For example, I have somewhat conquered my anxiety, my self-consciouness, my shyness............only, and here is where it gets a bit tricky, by the time I noticed the change, it didn't feel like change, all I felt was that I am more who I was all along. So I don't think you change, you just dig up who you already were. I hope that makes sense

Good answer Annetta, I do hope it's not just one scientist but a collaboration of people who are visionaries, and who look at long-term, but who knows The 20th century has beed dubbed the Century of the Self, which is kind of a generalized description, but nevertheless, an interesting insight. They call it that way because mainly for the focus on satisfying desires through consumption. Smoking cigarettes and wearing fashionable accessories gave women a sense of freedom and independence. Cars gave men sexual expression of masculinity. Of course, none of these products relate on any level to these ideas of freedom and sexual dominance. It's just a propaganda put forth by advertisement to correlate these things together, a brilliant psychological experiment that has created what today we call consumerism. Of course, the 60s brought a rebellion against consumerism and materialism, but still very much so focusing on the self. Creating communes for the sake of rejecting mainstream, and discovering the self in a more "spiritual" fashion. However, many call that spiritual materialism. The hippies only stirred the pot in the opposite direction. I wonder what they will dub our century, the 21st century? It's still relatively early. Last century around this time (1917), they were only beginning consumerist culture, so a lot of things can still happen for us before something concrete comes into picture that we can point to and say "Yes, this is what 21st century is mostly known for." Fun to think about, imo.

Lol Brilliant!

Why do you feel so strongly about pursuing it?

Thanks for your input Tommy, I don't know, man. It's tricky like UFOs and God. The thing is our brain (the one responsible for mythical satisfaction) thirsts for this kind of stimulation. I love thinking about ghosts, and even demons. I get scared sometimes. Just the other day, I felt a presence, and saw glowing eyes at about 3:30 am. It could have been just my brain playing tricks, but the fear was real. It's easy to be arrogant, and say our universe is mechanical, and when you die, you just cease to exist. But because we don't know, I think that's why we should be open-minded.

Hi Loud, I am sorry to hear you're going through this trouble, Happened to me too. Was always worried about what I should say next, and was scared what people would think of me. You grow out of it, it's not forever. I don't think anything you can do. Just keep trying to interact when you can. There is no magic pill.

@egoeimai @Annetta @Prabhaker I don't think you guys are really spiritually mature, or for that matter physically mature. This is because you don't really know how to talk to someone who is seeking help. Your narcissism and superiority separates you from people, not makes you one with people, which is what this forum, and for that matter thousands of years of spiritual practice is all about. It's about recognizing the humanness in each one, no matter what they have said or done. You have all these answers on how to behave, yet you don't recognize this person as someone part of your world, your community, and your life. You're behaving just like the mainstream that you try to avoid, and that is a cold, harsh "I don't care" attitude, which blinds you from the true pursuit of a good life - a deep connection to the world.

I am not too familiar with those videos, but from what I can gather, I guess Leo is saying that everyone has a subjective experience that is just as real as yours, mine, his, her's, etc.... Which is interesting because to be really self-aware, you will have to recognize that reality exists even for schizophrenics and lunatics, and it may not be my reality, but it is just as authentic as my reality. This is more of the domain of psychology, and I am talking about electrons which are more of the domain of physics. However, it's not impossible to imagine that the two are somehow linked. I think, if we will discover more and more stuff, someday we may discover the nature of consciousness, and I bet it will have, at least, something to do with quantum physics. Did you know that there is a number that if you write it out, you will have to use up the whole observable universe, and it still won't be enough. This means that if you start writing 1, 00000000000000000000....etc.......you will use up all of the space of the WHOLE universe, and you will still have more zeroes to add. It's called a googolplex. A really interesting number

I am glad you enjoy this kind of thing, and here is something that might be of interest to you as well. When we are not looking at things, the world doesn't exist in the same way. This is because when we look at things, the particles become particles! When we are not looking at them, they act as waves. This means that if you are in your room right now and are looking around, you are making your room into particles, and as soon as you step outside, it doesn't exist anymore as you know it. It is now completely composed of waves. The act of looking at things, or in other words, the act of being conscious, makes the reality that you know. Without our consciousness, reality exists in a different state. I think it's really trippy

Enjoy being depressed. If you ask me, the best times of my life is when I feel extremely low, because only then I can appreciate things when I climb back up.

I am kind of angry that Canada (where I live) supports this decision. I am so fed up with everyone having America's back all the time. They're just scared to be neutral, but that's silly. It's like a playground, and the big fat kid is pushing everyone around, and no one has the balls to say anything. Arghhhh, the world is a mess.

Hi friends! Was wondering if anybody tried meditation with weed? Would you recommend it? Thank you for your input

Yes, I would recommend to think this way. I have also struggled a lot with thinking that people don't achieve their potential, that the mainstream society is awful and needs a lot of improvement, that we could do so much better if only we applied ourselves. This may be true in reality, but if you think that way, you are not actually bitter about society, you are bitter about yourself, and the number one lesson in true happiness is to love yourself. Once you love and accept yourself, you will sink into a quiet and modest grace that realizes things are the way things are, and that, in fact, there are many great things out there, but the bitter mind was too blind to see it. And you will also see that you can't help people, they have to find their own way. I know what you mean, just the other day, a co-worker of mine showed me an ultrasound of conjoined twins, who were attached via thorax. He said that the lady who was fertilized was about 10 weeks pregnant, and upon learning that it would be conjoined twins, decided to have an abortion. I thought, personally, she should have kept the baby because abortion, to me, sounds wrong. But I am not in her shoes, I don't know the kind of life it would be for her and her baby. So my point is, even though I feel this great injustice was done to this life, and that I somehow feel uncomfortable about it, I also see that the lady has her reasons, and that life is a complicated platform, and saying "this is wrong" only hinders my growth. Again, this is all-or-nothing thinking. If nothing truly matters, it doesn't mean that you are going to kill your parents and say "well, nothing really matters, and I don't really care what happens to me and to them". If you accept all of life as it is, something interesting will happen, you will start appreciating it more, rather than giving it the cold shoulder. A person who is happy with themselves and accepts all of life has gratitude. A person who is not happy with themselves will struggle with accepting all of life, and fight with bitter attitude to strengthen their beliefs. Which one of these do you aspire to be?

I don't think there are any de-actualizers. In fact, the whole actualizing process and thinking that you are actualizing is bullshit. All you develop is a bigger ego that thinks you are somehow superior to other people, or a neurotic way to keep improving yourself, and then you are stuck in self-absorption and perfectionism, and that's not so different than those "celebrity"-centred people. If you really want to actualize, beyond this word, you will just have to go into the world and find goodness in everyone, especially those people you labelled as "de-actualizers". I am not trying to insult you or be mean, and if I come off that way, I apologize, but I just want to let you know that acceptance is key. I know you want to do something about the educational system, and I know it's personal to you, but what good will it be when you are clearly looking at things "black vs white", "right vs wrong", "actualizers vs de-actualizers". It's all the same.

I, too, have had similar experiences. I have been doing very good with my meditation, and have felt a lot of emotional pain. Recently, an old urge to play Counter Strike came back to me. I have been addicted to this game since high school, and so I have started to binge play again. In addition, I also watched Naruto, finally finished it after postponing to finish it all these years. I, also, ate so bad for a whole month. I just kept stuffing myself, even when I was full, I stuffed myself more and more, and gained a little. And don't get me started on the sexual urges I get. Basically, everything that I suppressed by following meditation has now come back, but with much more intensity. I don't even meditate everyday anymore. However, I don't feel bad about indulging in it. There is a certain level of forgiveness and acceptance I developed. I have a good trust in the universe and how it works, and I am just going to follow my gut. So when I am reaching for that chocolate, I am going to devour that thing, and not give a care in the world. I think it's just something I have to do right now. I have a good intuitive feeling that maybe this is the right path for now. So don't worry too much my friend!! In my view, you seem to be doing great.

Sounds like a buddy of mine who has had issues with weed addiction. He had some real problems, too, like leaving school because of his dependence. Luckily, I never smoked enough to get addicted, and once or twice I had a really bad experience because I was young and I drank my ass off plus a joint, and had a horrible day to say the least.... But now that I am in a different place in my life, I would like to revisit weed, only this time I have spirituality as my motivator, so I feel like if I do it once or twice, I'll have a good experience. The reason I am considering it is because I hit something like a "writer's block" in my meditation, and I may need inspiration.

Could you please elaborate. For example, what do you mean by "psychological crutch"? Thank you

I don't actually smoke weed or take any other drugs, but I remember how weed is from college days, and I think that if I were to apply it to meditation, I could get some nice consciousness state, or I may start having a bad trip, which is still good because you confront your demons. In any case, I would want to do it because I think it would give me a higher understanding, but I could be wrong.

Hi Magic, I am glad you allow it, Because yes, crying is the ultimate way to crack open those wounds and bring light into them, and personally, before I cried during meditation and after I started to cry during meditation, I have seen a huge transition in my consciousness. It's a very important experience. And I think it unties the knots you have created through your beliefs and values. For example, I have had a belief that I am unworthy and need acceptance from others to feel important. A belief I have had for all my life, and only recently, now that I welcome crying and allow it to seep through me, I have noticed that I am my own person, meaning that I do not worry about what others think anymore, and at the same time, I know that without others life cannot be joyous and grateful. These kinds of dichotomies or dualities become not a conflict of the mind but become acceptance and forgiveness. And I have always been a whiny baby, so it seems to me without the essential awareness of meditative experience, crying on its own does not untie those knots.

Hi friends I would like your advice on how to deal with rejection. The reason I didn't put this in the dating category is because it is not just that type of rejection but all kinds. Sometimes I think people are rejecting me even though it's just all in my head, because they give off that vibe, and it can be something small like a cold look, or someone is being intense. Please help! Thank you

Hi Magic, Thank you for your reply on my topic! Do you cry during meditation?

Thank you everyone, Your responses have given me something to munch on!! I would also like to know from Magic if I shouldn't use my inner self for guidance, where should I look for guidance when I am feeling that pain of the world? Please clarify, Thank you very much

Hello friends! I found a fantastic scenario from a person on another forum. I hope RevolutionaryThink does not mind me using his reference. But the original discussion can be found here: http://www.sciencechatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=32399 And so the scenario goes (by mitchellmckain): Imagine the following science fiction scenario: We find two habitable planets out there and to one of these we send embryos together with the means to ensure they mature into adults, but they get no more than that -- not even language. To other we send none of our biological inheritance but artificially intelligent androids (which learn like children do rather than simply being programmed) along with all our knowledge and culture. Which of these planets are human? I see more humanity in the second of these rather than the first because I do not equate our humanity with biology. It seems to me, the first planet, for the most part, has nothing more than human shaped animals. Some would like to fantasize that this first planet would eventually evolve its own civilization in a few million years imagining some mythological law of advancement, but the truth is they may evolve into worms, being the most efficient lifeforms to survive in that particular environment. So the original poster, Mr. Mitchel L. McKain, believes a human is not the biological component but the culture and knowledge, hence he does not equate his choice to the first planet. This is a really interesting scenario because there seems to be no real answer. The first planet, has these wild humans that were left there, and so without reference such as culture and societal upbringing, these humans grow up without language, without structure, and for the most part, could be seen as animalistic. But aren't they still human because of the flesh and bone? The second planet has androids programmed with all of humanities data so to speak, all of its knowledge base. They seem very human, BUT they are missing the biology. They're silicone. Which one is more human to you? Explain your position! Thank you very much! God bless you all!

And the real winner is Forrest Gump there on the left!!! Haha Great picture by the way, I love it

Hello friends! I love thinking about the future. I am betting the future will be like nothing we can imagine, but also, I am betting the future will be like the ideals we picture when we look at our society. At the moment, our society is lacking a radical sort of way of looking at the world, a radical open-mindedness. In fact, open-mindedness right now is not practical. If you are open-minded about murder, you will be condemned for all eternity, but in the future people will see it in a tremendously different way. Slowly, but surely, we are moving to a higher consciousness. Just think about all the changes occurred in the last 200 years thanks to the Industrial Revolution. We have nicer dwellings, longer lives, and through some courage, there has been better human rights. Unfortunately, we are born in this time where things are still in this slow process of moving up, so we just have to accept our lives, and be aware that, at least, the future of humanity looks promising. A future society will encompass individuality. Right now, many of us are individual thinkers who see flaws in society, but the future society will have more of these individual thinkers coming together to form that society. It will consist of compassion, non-judgment, gratitude, creativity, etc... and a million other things that we embrace but see lacking in our own societies. And of course open-mindedness. When we see people in our society, even though they may seem like they're righteous and good willed (and they are), there is this lack of embracing ALL of life. And all the things that life brings. We can say that murder is wrong. But in the future society where people are raised in good homes, and technologies are available to enhance the human brain to be freed of the emotional stress many of us have to deal with, no one will murder anyone, and yet, people will have a good enough open mind to even embrace concepts of murder and rape and war, but they will never need to initiate it because there is no reptilian brain, or fear, to entice them into it, you see! Ahhh, the future will be so awesome. I am hoping this change will occur in the next 400 years, and I hope to see some of it in my lifetime. Things will only get better, you'll see!!!!