Playing with Perspectives

[UnbornTao]

Some spiritual teachers come across as narcissistic. Except when that's actually the case, this is a misunderstanding stemming from the social domain.

It isn't seen appropriate for an individual to be actually authentic, not a pose that's good for marketing.

Enlightenment is never insanity.

Edited July 26, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Pursue more than enlightenment.

That pursuit can be complemented with cognitive development.

Edited July 26, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Holy shit this work is practical.

Consider meditation: it kicks ass when it comes to being present.

Being present increases clarity and effectiveness.

Thinking about the work vs experiencing the work.

Edited July 26, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Fasting + running. Wild combination.

I went walking with my dog and we ran a bit out in the sun, not very wise since it was 30°C or so. At least I should have brought water.

[UnbornTao]

Your mind resists the work. It wants it to remain abstract, where it is safe.

Experience, on the other hand, isn't necessarily safe. Practice keeps you grounded and real.

Analogously, being hungry and thinking that a concept of a sandwich will satisfy you.

That thought gets superimposed on your condition. You then might think yourself smart while ignoring the actual condition -- you don't know (you're still hungry).

How sophisticated, nuanced, and complex the sandwich image is doesn't make a difference in your condition.

You think that's intelligent but it is lying.

Edited July 27, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

A presence so intense and brutal, I'm surprised as to how ruthless and loving it is. Been experiencing that lately.

Ruthless as in brutal, effective, raw -- you're wholly there, focused, centered, calm.

Loving as in including everything, awareness being wide open.

Edited July 27, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Most people readily opine on everything while knowing very little about any particular subject matter. 

Edited July 26, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The person and the teacher are different. Make that distinction.

If you hold teachers as an ideal, you overlook they're just humans. When the love guru gets angry, etc., that event clashes with your preconceptions.

Buddha shat and begged, Jesus had an anger problem, your favorite guru does normal things, etc. They can also fuck up and do stupid things.

Edited July 27, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

A communication that comes from experience uses simple language. It is present, straightforward, vivid and vulnerable. And over all, honest.

Real understanding comes from this practice.

That's real communication -- handing over to another your experience as it is so that he can grasp it.

But if it comes from intellect, it's mostly beliefs and opinions, and uses abstract, vague and complex language. It isn't real communication, but manipulation, an attempt to create an effect on another.

In the context of practice, the latter is inappropriate. It may at times be useful, but it is hardly needed.

When you have a genuine insight, it's more like "Eureka!" or laughing, not a model or faith-based system. You describe it as it is instead of trying to convince others about your opinions and beliefs.

Edited July 28, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

How real is this work for you?

[UnbornTao]

No matter how hard you try to fool yourself, you still don't know who you are.

Make your knowledge mountain bigger. When it comes to enlightenment, that's irrelevant and even becomes an obstacle.

In your experience, no matter how much you think you know, are you conscious of your nature?

Be honest.

Edited July 28, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Always assume you're fooling yourself. Ask: How am I deceiving myself?

It can be subtle and gross. The key is to become aware of how your mind easily fools you.

This will help you mature.

[UnbornTao]

Communicating demands accurate language and expression.

Listening demands presence, and the intent to grasp another's experience as it is, that is, without any distortion on your part.

[UnbornTao]

What is vitality?

Yesterday morning I woke up unusually early. Walking with the dog, there was an experience/emergence of joy, presence, vulnerability, deep happiness.

Out of that, I wondered: What is aliveness? What occurs in your experience so that you feel alive, as opposed to struggling to survive?

Vitality seems to involve your whole presence, openness, and vulnerability to the point where it might become deeply unsettling and uncomfortable when around others. You've got to allow yourself to be completely in the moment, without pretension or acting.

Being vulnerable exhibits courage and is required in order to be present.

It also seems to cause or involve the principle of self-expansion.

Edited November 10, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The Trap of Pretending

Say you learn a new model on human growth, and you take it up as an operative conceptual framework. You adopt the model superficially, as a system of belief. Said model stipulates that being non-judgmental is a highly evolved characteristic.

What happens in your experience? You may suppress certain emotions such as anger, adopt particular roles that fit your self-image, etc. By pretending to be X, you believe you've somehow made progress and changed in a significant way. I disagree.

Consider the Buddha: he didn't repress his impulses. We can imagine that how he behaved wasn't enforced as a discipline but rather arose naturally out of profound understanding and awakenings.

Yet, we try to manufacture growth by faking traits that don't arise authentically in us as a result of personal understanding. Remember that pretension is antithetical to this work, and it doesn't help.

Watch out for this dynamic. We can fool ourselves in similar ways.

Ask yourself: Does this behavior arise naturally for me, or am I manipulating myself?

To summarize, be increasingly authentic and continuously move towards that direction.

Edited May 14, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The search for truth and the search for comfort aren't compatible. 

It is inappropriate to base your search for truth on the search for comfort and pleasure.

[UnbornTao]

Contemplation and existential thinking demand always starting from scratch, that is, without assuming anything about the object of inquiry. It has to be independent from your study and so-called knowledge. In order to do that, your relationship towards beliefs needs to be changed.

Concurrent with that, identifying assumptions is essential. It's a key aspect of contemplation.

Genuine investigation starts with not-knowing, otherwise it becomes an attempt to validate preconceptions.

[UnbornTao]

What is implied by the nature of something doesn't need to be reassessed in expression by complements or qualifiers. It's redundant:

• Biased judging
• Wise discernment
• Aware intelligence
• Mindful presence
• Additional complement
• Different distinction
• Fear about the future
• Honest communication

Think of your own examples.

Edited November 10, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Trying (and failing) to locate pain. What is it? Where is it? How does it arise?

First, bodily sensations. When pain takes the form of stress, there might be constricted and shallow breathing, tight muscles and tense body overall. But pain doesn't seem to reside within these sensations themselves.

Where is it? What is it doing? Why does it exist?

I'm starting to suspect that pain is heavily influenced by me. It may even be of my own making! However, that is extrapolation. As such, it should be dropped. To be sincere, I don't know yet.

Then, look into thoughts.

"Negative" thoughts of various kinds -- fearful, angry, anxious, envious, depressed -- may be held while experiencing pain.

Pleasure may also paradoxically be involved, both forming a dynamic.

Do thoughts cause pain? Dig it.

Edited August 24, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Social and culture are held as real.

You assume they're "out there," somehow existing as a fact or a reality. They're not!

They're held by minds. In other words, the social world and culture are being imagined by individuals. Stop imagining them and they disappear, so to speak.

Take a look take a look take a look

Consider the shift in perspective that grasping this experientially would have on you.

Edited August 23, 2022 by UnbornTao