SOUL

Capture.... interesting word choice... subliminal message in it? Heh

Reality is all of it, positive, negative, neutral and none of those.

It's the best dogma! Everybody gotta get them some of that.... no..... they need that dogma!....lol

@Joseph Maynor As we become less attached to our self the things of that identity become less a part of our present being. They may not become "trash" to us but are just a memory of our path to the present moment, nature doesn't trash things, nature recycles them, what dies and falls away feeds another so in that way our old self dies and falls away but it feeds the new being we are in awareness. Just don't allow ourselves to become attached to the memory of our journey and worship it as "truth" or it becomes a church of dead ideas....lol.

@Joseph Maynor Yup, although it seems some people think their scaffolding is the "true" framing and the concepts that make up their scaffolding are the "truth" for everyone.

More dogma.

Being at peace with what may be swirling around us whether it be chaos or order and is probably both is not an abstinence from any turmoil or an immersion in tranquility.

Why do you believe I listened to Leo in the first place, or at all.... ever... or that anyone has? Hm? Although, from your own post I can clearly see you are critical of people who don't do as you do, this self righteous judgment has positioned your own preferences not just as superior method but a moral superiority because your ways, you ironically justify in your mind as concept, are truth and others are false. You even are projecting judgment onto something that is naturally without a moral judgment, emotions and thoughts, again lifting your own preference up as better than other's preferences. Contrary to the lololols you use as a shield to protect your own ego it's you who take your preferred way very seriously, otherwise you wouldn't have lashed out in such a chastising and condemning manner at others who may not share it, as far as you can perceive it to be. But hey....what do I know? I'm just jerkin around the circle...right?

Something being an illusion and something not existing are not the same thing but are confused as the same thing by many spiritualists. Attempting to understand is one of the most significant stumbling blocks to enlightenment, just accepting what is as it is is a cornerstone to exercising our awareness of being present in the moment.

Aho

It helps me exercise my patience with people stuck in repetitive monkey mind nonsense.

Well, seeking "mastery" of any sort with regard to inner work is a trap, although exercising awareness in the present moment can influence emotional response in a healthy way. Becoming aware of emotional triggers and associations is the initial step and then creating new patterns in place of the old ones will be an effective way in transforming your emotional landscape.

@Nahm It could even be said that "no self" is a misnomer too because the qualifier of "not existing" is placed on the self by saying no self to explain the transcending of self which could be better characterized as being aware unconditionally.... as in without the conditions of self to limit our awareness or our being. The qualifier of unconditional isn't on the self, it's on awareness and describing what we perceive in transcending self.

@Dodo All too often calling something a paradox is the spiritual bypass response that is abused by people who they themselves haven't experienced the state of wholeness that is perceived in transcending the self so employ it in avoiding actual contradictions. Once someone experiences that transcending of self this becomes clear, there is no unconditional qualifier on love to describe it, there is just love and people who embrace love unconditionally. The qualifier is expressed through us, not on love, so there's no paradox or contradiction.

@Mondsee There is no such thing as unconditional love because unconditional is a condition....

What if the self does exist...........................and is an illusion.

If one seeks to do both, develop the ego and transcend it, it isn't as contradictory as it would seem, what it entails is to develop the ego in such a way that it is conducive to transcending it.

The alpha of an a-type doesn't stand for asshole or angry, in fact it's someone trying to be something they aren't that makes them angry or an asshole when it doesn't work out for them. An alpha is strong and a leader, not a domineering hostile screamer, and a beta doesn't mean someone is a pussy or weak, but they are comfortable being who they are so not have to pretend to be something they aren't.

There is a difference between accepting thoughts and believing thoughts. The mind thinks, it's what it does naturally and by accepting that the mind thinks doesn't mean we have to believe the thoughts that come to mind.

What's that saying? Before enlightenment chop wood carry water, after enlightenment chop wood carry water. The 'egoic' or egocentric aspect is an unseen pattern, it's an inner entanglement in the mind that is most revealed to us through being aware of it and it's effects in our consciousness. Although, it may be apparent to others when someone is behaving out of an egoic pattern and laden with it;s entanglements, especially if the others are being aware so have a measure of clarity in perception.

I could read it a million times and it doesn't change that it's being manipulative, I guess you may be unaware of how much so it is.

@Joseph Maynor Yes, in a certain way the clinginess of the ego becomes less clingy, the craves become less cravey and the vice of identifying is less potent. Another facet of this is in how everything gets filtered through the lens of the ego is how we view our circumstances but as we choose not to accept the ego version of the situation the veil of it becomes less opaque and more transparent.

@Joseph Maynor I really appreciate a couple of your observations about ego in relation to happiness you expressed elsewhere and now with a similar idea here although allow me offer another way to view it. Ego may not grow or shrink in size or relative strength in that way but as we habituate ourselves to less egocentric patterns the ego eventually becomes less egotistical about it's own existence because it uses our experience to form it's identity. It just adheres to what we give it and if we give it less ego centered experience, it becomes less egocentric with it's manifestations in our mind. Does that make any sense to you?

@Prabhaker I apologize for my harsh tones towards you earlier, I am not sorry about the message, that remains the same, I think it's manipulating to tell someone they are born "diseased" and to then suggest the only way to be saved or heal from it is to believe the dogmatic beliefs of a religion or specific form of spirituality. So, I really do apologize about my accusatory tone, I wasn't really meaning to accuse you per se and I don't think you actually do it to justify your ego beliefs but to present my view I chose to use it with you and I should not have. I hope my words didn't hurt or harm you in any way... of course if you are egoless no selfing then it shouldn't have but I apologize anyway. Peace to you.