SOUL

I didn't want to make a snap judgement so I went and looked at some previous videos going years back to get an idea of their evolution as a person. It seems like he got swept up in the animosity and angst of the past year that is so prevalent in society as well as him taking on a Molyneux styled world view. His rational reductionist position coupled with the intolerance of views that don't reflect his own appears to have bred a certain amount of emotional and intellectual hatred. His issues with the philosophical and spiritual differences between his ideas and Leo's are ones not uncommonly expressed by the scientific minded towards them. I also don't agree with some of Leo's ideas and even share some of the same concerns about the assertions of "truth" about some but I recognize that with regard to consciousness there is so much subjective understanding we get from our experience there isn't a reason for me to let it bother me. What's interesting about looking at that guy.....who I suspect is the one who started this thread, is that he had some really interesting videos and looked liked he was working towards well being but at some point it completely changed. He got caught up in Molyneux's self righteous crusade mentality, adopted all that rhetoric and any of the healthy progress he had made up to that point was wiped away by it. One of his videos called "who deserves compassion?" kind of signaled his growing intolerance for anyone who isn't on board with his ideology or what he thinks people should be doing. In that video he may have accurately assessed that not allowing others to be abusive towards us is a healthy way to be though he also asserted that those people don't deserve our compassion which mirrors the us vs them war that is taking place in society. We can actually not allow others to be abusive towards us while we still maintain a compassionate disposition towards them, these aren't mutually exclusive. By harboring that animosity towards the ideologically different you can see how it's manifested in a malevolent attitude towards someone who has nothing more than a differing opinion. Being so consumed with his opinions and them being "right" that it's not just an attack on his identity, he unconsciously sees it as an attack on his very being so hence the lashing out. I actually have compassion for the guy, his earlier videos have some great ideas and undoubtedly provided some value for the few who viewed them but he took a turn about a year or so ago. @rakuul , I have shared some of my thoughts, if you would like to discuss it we can do it here or in private messages.

Expectations lead to disappointment. It may be that it became a bit too complicated and that was a distraction so simplify it again. Even if you want to try a different focus or method of it still stay simple with it. Although, expectations often are a stumbling block in our progress. Approach mindfulness in neutral, open or "empty" disposition. Another way to describe it would be an undetermined mindset. Let the experience be what it will be.

I know it may be easier to say than to do but don't beat yourself up over it. It was just a moment in passing and now that moment has passed so just let it stay passed, focus instead on the present moment.. It doesn't help in creating more suffering for something that happened in the past whether the event is 3 days past or 3 years or 3 decades. We all do things that we may not intend to do but it happens anyway. Forgive yourself, clear it from your mind and move on.

So my scale is lying to me! Gah!

@Shin If the popular theory right now says "all ideas, concepts and beliefs are mind construct so are an illusion" then everything humans have ever said about it are an illusion. No matter how perfectly it may seem to explain.......it. is. all. just. bull.. . . .... . .... .. ... .... .... . . ... .. . . .. . . If you believe that theory this would be the actuality of it, not just in theory.. We cannot even be able to form ideas that reflect the infinite let alone describe it in language for someone else we would hope could understand. So all of this discussion about the stuff we think we can "know" is just from our mind even if we tell ourselves that isn't what we are looking for or offering. Maybe you just made the ultimate detachment to mind, the "it all" one.

Oh, it is just bullshit. Although, bullshit enriches the soil and makes it more fertile for growth. Heh

@LifeandDeath Yes, the use of labels in duality creates identity in the mind and with morality there's a sense judgement in it, the good and evil paradigm is especially self glorifying and demonizing those that disagree. It's not just the difference between a right and wrong idea, it's divine blasphemy to be in err while anointing themselves arbiter. of it. Once we transcend labeling do we need to call compassion something other than what it is to know what it is? Is abusive behavior any less what it is because there's no overarching moral decree? It's the ultimate comparative duality that the ego uses to anoint itself in justification while simultaneously discredits any that differ. Duality can be problematic hindrance to the individual in the more tempered contrasts but morality takes it to another level in emotional response baggage altogether. That how some will wind up being abusive to others thinking they are themselves delivering justice in doing so while on the other hand their own abusive behavior justifies themselves under some moral authority.

"This study suggests that college-age men and women may have divergent responses to meditation training. Specifically, women benefit more by demonstrating decreased negative affect and improved mindfulness and self-compassion skills. Conversely, men did not show improvements in negative affect, nor did improvements in mindfulness and self-compassion translate to improved affect as it did in women." An interesting read if you have the patience to read this long report from a self professed first ever study in this manner.

It very well can be if someone has that concept as a belief which they identify with. Which is why I don't identify as such, it isn't a belief in something, it's the absence of a belief in something.

@zazed I don't identify as "non-dual". In the manifest reality there are lots and lots of patterns, some of duality, some of trinity, some of singularity, some of infinity, some in variety. In the manifest reality there is many different patterns but consciousness transcends the manifest and unmanifest reality. Some might leap up and say, but SOUL, isn't that a duality with the manifest and unmanifest? Hehe... Duality is a concept of two parts often in opposition and the separate mindset will believe it as divided into two different parts. Except the manifest is a part of the unmanifest, not apart from the unmanifest, it's a whole. It would be like our head thinking it's exists apart from the whole body it is a part of, without the rest of the body the head isn't thinking it's anything. Another way to illustrate it is the yin yang symbol, everyone usually focuses on the two different halves but few recognize it's a whole unto itself that neither of the parts are by themselves. That's what the one who sees beyond the parts does to recognize the whole, it's dissolves being apart in mind to instead perceive the whole. Which is why we do consciousness work to perceive through any dividing lines in our minds, our consciousness is both, it's whole not just in parts. I'm not an advisor on how to live, I don't claim any authority or expertise in anything. I simply am being as consciously as I can.

There is no duality in the manifest existence, that concept is just a mistaken perception in the mind.

@Barna Another illustration i can use is comparing meditation to learning to play an instrument. When we are learning to play an instrument at first it's a struggle since our fingers and hands don't know where to go also the passion is absent. Then as we learn we become more able to form musical arrangements not just exercises for learning. Though at that point our playing may have less passion in the playing and still is mechanical, we hear the song but we don't feel it. Eventually we play the song with passion and this radiates out from us to others who experience it feel that, too. Even further would be to grow to being able to spontaneously improvise within the song all the while keeping the passion. I wouldn't venture to guess where your mediation is in that illustration but eventually you will be able to turn up the volume and improvise! Keep practicing!

These are just ideas and concepts of the mind that people believe in. By saying that one "knows" it and not believes it does not change what it is, something in the mind that one trusts as being valid. "be·lieve/bəˈlēv/ verb 1 accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of. 2 hold (something) as an opinion; think or suppose." Why do so many cling to it as having value to free the mind from beliefs while it is belief itself? It may be reasoned that on the way to freeing the mind of all beliefs this is the last one before it's released in enlightenment. With the vast number of sincere seekers and yet so few who attain what they seek maybe it is a stumbling block more than it is a stepping stone to them. My intent is not to be critical of others at all, in fact I am genuinely hoping that everyone finds what they seek. I am being without ever believing that life is maya, without believing the mind is illusion and without believing I know the Absolute Truth. In your seeking it is something to consider... but don't think too long on it, just let it go already. I am being here now without ever using these beliefs.

Love is love, hate is hate, compassion is what it is and abuse is as well. We can live loving and compassionate lives and we can eliminate hate and abuse in us without ever seeing it as moral. Dividing everything into two piles and labeling one "good" and the other "evil" is endorsing the separated mindset. As someone grows in recognition of us being as part of a whole being the natural expression of that is to not harm a part of ourselves. If someone needs a code or rules to tell them to not do harm, have they awakened at all?

Enlightenment is simple but a challenge to attain, it's nothing more than being present to the moment in being aware of one's own aware being. Many of the ideas and concepts surrounding that pursuit can become complicated and often quite extravagant with it's claims of universal "truth". If you are genuinely seeking to transform you inner life start with the simple things and invest your time and energy in what works effectively for you. Spend less time dissecting exotic concepts that often serve to distract from the already difficult but simple task of staying attentive to the moment. When one has manifested being present in the moment as a typical way of being those other deeper concepts will reveal themselves as needed. Attempting to understand the deeper concepts as a way to attain being present can be more of a distraction than a guide.

@Barna I guess that illustrates the "mastery" of being what people call a "master". Initially we can barely stay aware of being aware for a minute or few without getting distracted by our theater of mind. Growing to a point where we are not just quieting the mind so we can focus but we can focus even with the mind offering distractions. Then on to being able to be aware with distractions in the mind and also around us, like with a radio going or typical life noise from the world like barking dogs or playing kids off in the distance. Another step is to get moving and doing simple tasks while being present or maybe having a cup of coffee/tea with a friend staying attentive to being. It's something that can be developed even if it's not easy to do it. Being in groups of people or an especially active and boisterous environment while staying in the moment would be worthy goals to seek. Obviously some of the most difficult scenarios would be to staying aware of our awareness during intense mental tasks or under duress and times like that. I found that being vigilant when those moments that the mind would wander to instead bring the focus back so eventually it becomes unconsciously habitual to gravitate back to conscious of being on it's own. Essentially a master is a multi-tasker who can be both in the illuminated mind and able to live life typically. Sure, many "master" types live simpler lives as opposed to complicated and demanding ones but if it's what you genuinely seek to accomplish you can find a way to learn to be more present more often. Very few can achieve being present all of the time in all circumstances and I myself hasn't fulfilled that either although I'm still working towards that goal.

It's simple but people tend to complicate it and even seasoned seekers may not really understand the simplicity of it. If we are mindful of the moment we can be fulfilled in being yet if we are distracted by the theater of the mind there can no real satisfaction. Most people would be enriched by that lucid approach but most people wind up an addicted soul chasing a sugar high ego buzz of attention. Very few will choose to work with their consciousness to the degree and intensity that the more dedicated seekers do. People's imagination can be intricate and complicated so the ideas and concepts ornate but also convoluted and sabotaging by overthinking it, too.

@Revolutionary Think I didn't see your reply to me and the question, my apologies. I experienced significant abuse as a child and became abusive youth myself as a result. To heal and change I've put in a considerable amount of work on myself and then continued on in more deeper enlightenment seeking.

@Wyatt Being virtuous could be a stumbling block, too. Just seek to discover the motivations behind the revelations and find out if they are helpful to your goals or will distract from them.

It's not age that is the main contributor to this, it's how most people are regardless of age. Go to a 10, 20 or 30 year HS reunion and people are still stuck in a "stuff"measuring contest. Use it as an opportunity to transcend your own stuff, especially the stuff that comes up in you because of the people you have to deal with. In the long run it will prove to be a vital skill that will never lack a reason to exercise it.

Examine the motivation behind the idea by what it's ultimately leading to. Is it to justify identity? Or construct a belief system? Is it creating separation in perception of the now or away from being aware? Is it leading to liberation from mental constructs or limiting beliefs systems? It's it calling attention to being aware? These are just examples of the many ways but essentially it's about discerning if the revelation has value for your seeking enlightenment, not just a clever idea that is a badge of identity.

@Barna Be interested in the experience of being aware

@Shin Something did happen in my body.... but I let it out..... and blamed the dog.

It seems you prefer to be distracted from being, enjoy it.

I listening doing something? I guess it is as much as observing is doing.