lmfao

For people who say "you are not God", I think a problem only arises when the person saying this creates a very toxic discussion, especially if the person uses many fallacies and emotional nonsense.

@Leo Gura can banned people read the messages you send them? I sent a message to source mystic but it seems pointless now cuz he's banned lol.

@Source_Mystic am I correct in thinking that the main reason you don't like Leo is that you think he's too much of an intellectual for Enlightenment? In what ways do you think Leo has conceptualised Enlightenment too much (you don't have to type a massive essay in response). You can respond to me in PM's if you want.

@Charlotte Enlightenment does not neccisitate that you care about the suffering of others. The degree to which you care about other people and the degree to which you are enlightened can be very different from each other although I speculate that they are often similar to each other. Imagine spiral dynamics stage red/orange on conciousness work, for example.

@Charlotte Yes the suffering of others would still continue.

@Jaddo This is the problem everyone has. I'm not saying it's "easy" at all, but if you can see your thoughts as just another part of the the one happening that is reality then the problems associated with thought should start to leave. What I mean by this is that you enter a state where you feel your thoughts are as much as you as every other part of reality (the sights and sounds in the external world, actions of other people). What I've noticed for myself is that if im trying to deeply meditate the ego will scream and yell in discomfort, and "you" have to stop acting upon the explosive thoughts and impulses. To stop getting absorbed in your thoughts, awareness alone is curative. In an ideal world this process of overcoming your negative thoughts is 100% passive and unforceful, but I feel that in practice you have to antagonize the "bad" sides of you to a degree because letting go of your ego in one shot often doesn't work.

@Charlotte If we say that to be awakened is to realize how life is game, you can still take part in the game whilst being detached from the consequences. activism is just another part of the game, right?

@kieranperez I remember hearing Alan Watts and maybe Jed Mckenna talk about this. One message you can take away from the Adam and Eve story is that once humans developed the ability to be self conscious and think about the future they fell from their naturally high consciousness state. Before self conciousness and the ability to recognise our place as individuals in the world, we automatically had no resistance to anything we experienced.

@How to be wise I've watched those videos, they're pretty good. Bear in mind that everyone learns things differently. The maths in this video is no more "actual" than other sources of math, it's just that the video tries to develop your intuition. @non_nothing Yeah F=ma is still correct even in the cases where mass is not constant, you just have to bear in mind that mass is a function of time.

I can't be the only one who laughed when seeing this title, if you know what I mean.

PREACH

What I've found myself wondering recently, is that it's strange that some sensations and feelings are regarded as good whilst some are regarded as bad. I might be meditating for example and pain will arise. If I'm mindful enough I get the impression that I'm just associating negative thoughts to neutral sensations. Even if one starts to become mindful through intense pain and become aware of the fact that the sensations are neutral you can never forcibly remove the negative thoughts (being mindful will start to get rid of them). One answer which I can understand (and the answer is extremely profound to experience and grasp) is to say "without suffering and pleasure and ego you wouldn't exist" but that's just arguably a description of what is rather than why it is (although this is the case for all why questions I guess). On a slightly separate note another thing which I sometimes wonder is why is it sometimes you can be unconscious and at other times you are conscious. It's funny because once you're in a non-dual state you think "how is it possible to be unconscious when the present moment is right in front of you" but then māyā always come back. And the only conclusion flowing from my thoughts is that every moment and at all times you are "divine" but thoughts cloud awareness. I think I've said this like 1 billion times in the past but talking about non-duality feels so weird because you realize that language is just another part of the happening with no inherent meaning and I've now created a paradox by using language to state language is meaningless. I can't help but feel you're coning someone if you use language to explain and understand awareness/consciousness. Perhaps there is no answer for why reality is the way it is, seems like an extremely scary void to embrace. If anyone has thoughts on what I've said, fire away.

@Flammable the bump is much appreciated brother

Bump.

@Shin I've been in a few platonic relationships where both people are like "who can fucking be bothered for any sexual shit". The intention/attitude you go into a relationship with will be felt by the other person. But honestly speaking, male-female friendships are very awkward for most people (including myself). Well I know it's awkward for me because of my religious upbringing but also because people in general are obsessed/clingy about sex.

@Your place at Heart good thread.

@Shin it could just be a psychological barrier I have but unless I'm sitting down with a straightened back I can't focus properly for meditation.

@Viking Were/Are there any academic subjects you're interested in? Correct me if i'm wrong but weren't you a physics student at some point?

@martin_malin I've felt pressure/tingling in my forehead before when meditating, no clue if it is "meaningful".

@CreamCat There's nothing you can say to teach about enlightenment, all a guru can do is just keep pointing and pointing towards the traps your awareness falls in. Thoughts, language and communication are all apart of one happening like everything else so you create a paradox when trying to communicate enlightenment. Like honestly, when I'm trying to be aware of the process of me typing on this forum I feel as though the words coming out of my mind is just baseless gibberish.

@Sahil Pandit INTP master race. "Intuitive types" are probably super common on this forum. MBTI is complicated to the point where it can be hard to type yourself. Videos by a guy called "Michael Pierce" on youtube are good for understanding typology. Remember to always take it with a pinch of salt, but I believe there is something substantive to this. Watch the very well made videos on this playlist (idk about the introduction) to understand a particular type. I found them to be very illuminating lol

Right now I listen to Leo Gura and Alan Watts, and I've started reading "The Book of Not Knowing" by Peter Ralston. Someone like Ralph Smart is a complete turn off to me, the guy seems to teach very little mindfulness. Who do you like listening to? Who do you think are the "best"?

@Pristinemn after much trial an error, I've found that the only thing which works for me in regards to addiction is cold turkey. Your ego might scream and cry, but if your awareness is high enough you'll see through the illusion and start to be at ease with whatever you feel.