being present is shit

[Dodo]

2 minutes ago, Viking said:

@BuddhaTree then how do i become present? if being aware of my breath doesnt do it?

By being here now ! 

Being aware of the breath doesn't do it, because it is already happening LOL

Edited July 12, 2018 by Dodo

[Viking]

10 hours ago, Dodo said:

By being here now ! 

Being aware of the breath doesn't do it, because it is already happening LOL

how do i be here now? he said that im not doing it correctly

[Dodo]

11 minutes ago, Viking said:

how do i be here now? he said that im not doing it correctly

U dont need to do it. You are it.

[Blissout]

You all are so funny.

 

You need some effort to be present it doesn't happen automatically.

Go read some Michael Langford descriptions.

[Viking]

1 hour ago, Dodo said:

U dont need to do it. You are it.

so i dont need to make any effort to be mindful! im already it!

[AmarSG1]

Sounds like you're trying to be 'present' with your mind. This is a trap I fell into. Trust me when you find the sweet spot of the present moment everything is better, whether you're listening to an audiobook or doing whatever.

[Viking]

3 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

The biggest miracle of the "game" is that such a miraculous "game" can suck so hard.

The only explanation is that the "creator" is a sadist.

how does it connect to the topic?

also lol it's your interpretation, meaning, which is illusory. if you get that its a game, why dont you get the meaning you put on it is also illusory?

[Viking]

5 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

Yes it's illusory.

Since Truth is a miracle, perfect and all that, suffering shouldn't exist. There's no accidents. So the "creator" must be a sadist.

And we egos have no free will to change anything. So we are puppets danced by the sadistic creator. Or if the creator wants to be nice to certain puppets/egos it will be nice to them and make them happy. And the puppets/egos can't change that either.

suffering has to exist and theres no problem with that.

[Viking]

4 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

Exactly.

So the conclusion: the creator is a sadist, but it can also be kind etc.

So if it decided to be a sadist against someone he/she is fucked. 

the creator is not separate from the egos

[Preetom]

@Viking

If you think you'll be truly fulfilled by believing the story of a thought or by conjuring some sort of meaning through thinking, then good luck with that. Yeah of course you can have various thrills through living your life how your thoughts and impulses tell you. But don't confuse that with unconditional fulfillment.

There is a possibility of unconditional, absolute fulfillment. Our very experience confirms this. Every desire we have, every impulse is a desperate attempt to extinguish this fire of craving within us. And we do get fooled by thinking that we'll forever rest in peace only after having this or that. But I wonder why it never works....hmm

We're 'programmed' to search for true fulfillment but we've really made a huge mess of ourselves trying to look for it in wrong places, haven't we?

Edited July 13, 2018 by Preetom

[Durka_Durka]

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 4:03 AM, Quanty said:

If you are bored with being full present you haven't experienced it yet  

I was just about to say something along these lines. 

I doubt you've reached high levels of awareness if you find it boring. I have only reached pretty nooby levels of awareness and I love it

[egoeimai]

1 hour ago, Etagnwo said:

Suffering doesn't exist. It only exists in your imagination. When someone attacks you and you suffer did you notice any cuts and bruises on you? Suffering only apparently exists, you can watch it dissolve in a second when you stop creating it. Only then will you see what you're doing to yourself.  

Woooow nice! 

[Charlotte]

@Etagnwo I find observing how the suffering comes about to begin with extremely beneficial, watching how it blossoms from a simple thought and then soon to be a massive problem we create. 

[Zweistein]

6 hours ago, Charlotte said:

@Etagnwo I find observing how the suffering comes about to begin with extremely beneficial, watching how it blossoms from a simple thought and then soon to be a massive problem we create. 

Yeah, those simple thoughts - are we able "to catch them" when they arise? 

[Erlend K]

Kudos to you, @Viking, for staying true to your own experience, instead of reflexively clinging to the new-age edifice of the thaumaturgical wonders of the Now. I only partly skimmed through this thread, but didn't see a lot of insightful responses. Mostly mindless platitudes about how you must have missed the true essense or greatness of the present moment. I suspect this is mostly a way of signaling spiritual capital/ status.

Comming form a Buddhist perspective, the experience you describe is precisely the purpose of present moment awareness. That is, recognition of the first noble truth: Life in samsara is a continous string of near-infitesimal, unsatisfactory 'present moments of time'. Complete, vivid attention to experience, reveals the degree of unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) contained in every single one of these moments. In our everyday life we don't always notice this quality of experience. Our minds instinctively seeks distractions from the dukkha of the now. The more mindfulness one is, the clearer the everpresent dukkha becomes.

Despite new-age hearsay, the present moment dosn't hold any deep, sublime, secrets.

So, why stay in the present moment at all? Becourse only full integration of the insight of dukkha can free us from the distress stemming from clinging/attachment to fleeting sensations.

Ideology (including religion) can have powerful placibo effects: If your ideology deeply convince that a mental illness is caused by demons, an exorcism might heal you; If your ideology (f.i. some new-age schlock) deeply convince you that "the precent moment is wonderful" it can create an illution of this being true. If you sit with the present moment just like it is, not projecting illutions of trancendance and wonder upon it, you will notice the everpresent unsatisfactoriness characterising every moment of samsara.

Edited July 14, 2018 by Erlend K

[Viking]

@Erlend K haha and i wondered why when i came back to meditate i started feeling more empty and frustrated.

how do i go deeper? by just observing?

i also understand in some sense where that "present moment is good" comes from, i experienced calm during and after meditaition. i dont agree however that its more enjoyable to be aware of the breath instead of to listen to an audiobook when walking for example.

Edited July 14, 2018 by Viking

[Charlotte]

@Zweistein  Definitely ?❤️ 

[Erlend K]

10 hours ago, Viking said:

@Erlend K haha and i wondered why when i came back to meditate i started feeling more empty and frustrated.

how do i go deeper? by just observing?

That's a tough question. There is a multitude of options for piercing deeper and transmuting consiousness.

The optimal permutation of the contemplative path depends on your individual dispensations and willingness to gamble with your mental health in order to speed up the process. One respectable answer is that the best practice is the one you will actually be able to stick to in the long turn.

"Dry" Vipassana, whether of the Mahasi or Goenka variety, is the touchstone for the expedient, but slightly perilous paths. Particularly in lenghty retreats "Dry" Vipassana reliably invoke transformative insights, but includes some risk of mental issues and notoriously appalling "Dark Nights Of The Soul".

Psychadelics reliably invoke mystical experiences that may or may not be transformative. My contention is that tho psychadelics may incite some initial progress, they are ultimately a puerile dead end on the contemplative path, if alowed to substitute for dilligent practice.

Proselytization of Maharshi-inspired Self-Inquiry is endemic on this forum, but I consider myself unqualified to make and insightful comment on this approach.

My own practice is a more balanced approach. My preference is working on the introspective, bodily, moral and intelectual planes simultaniously.

My practices are: Introspective  ("wet" samatha-vipassana combined with psychodynamic therapy); Bodily (weightlifting and yin yoga); Moral (Perform a chosen number of random acts of kindness per week); Intellectual (reading and discursive contemplation). This is not the most efficacious path, but in all likelihood a salubrious one, and a good fit for my dispensations.

[Torkys]

Do whatever allows you to unconditionally flow with life. You may change your strategy but for now, what's the point? 

On the deepest level however, basing one's psychology on the Unshakable is the wisest thing to do. Presence = Truth = Joy

[Erlend K]

9 hours ago, Torkys said:

Do whatever allows you to unconditionally flow with life. You may change your strategy but for now, what's the point? 

On the deepest level however, basing one's psychology on the Unshakable is the wisest thing to do. Presence = Truth = Joy

Hi @Torkys

I have a few questions relating to your post.

1. How do you conceptualize "the Unshakable"? When I google this term I'm led to the christian apologetic book "The Unshakable Truth". Are you refering to the concept it outlines?

2. Could you offer a few concrete tips on how one would go about "basing one's psychology on the Unshakable"?

3. What would it mean for Truth and Joy to be equivalent? This equalization seems unpalapaple to me, but I'm open minded about learning why it seems true for you.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Erlend K