Playing with Perspectives

[UnbornTao]

In what way am I being such that:

1. I seem to be stuck?
2. I’m approaching this (experience, event, person, object, whatever) the way I am — whether powerful, weak, afraid, brave, reserved, curious, confrontational, etc.?

On another note, the following dynamic may be self-validating:

I assume X about myself, then act like X, and am therefore perceived by others as X, which gives me feedback that validates my initially adopted self-image: “I am indeed X. See? This [response, effect, circumstance, character trait] is the proof.”

Edited Wednesday at 11:23 PM by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Try to shift into the place where you are the source of - and the cause in the matter of - your experience. For example, deliberately create a joyful state now as a real experience. It is always the case that you generate it, but now you're invited to do it consciously.

Edited June 2 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Various inaccurate analogies for "enlightenment" - illustrating how no method is direct.

Direct consciousness is like:

• catching your own shadow
• taking steps to arrive where you already are
• building a bridge to reach the place you’re standing
• an eye trying to see itself
• biting your own teeth

You can’t find yourself within experience, which is the only place you can look, and yet, perhaps paradoxically, you can become conscious of your nature.

Edited June 2 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Why do things always seem to or appear as? Is there something beyond our impression of things? Why is it that, when examined closely, things are far less certain and fixed than they first appear?

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Effectiveness tends to increase in proportion to how much you get yourself out of the way.

Recognizing when your actions veer off-purpose, and immediately correcting course, requires careful attention to every step of the process.

Edited May 30 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Is love a function of accepting what is? When it comes to others, is it about accepting what they are wholesale?

Edited May 28 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Social constructs.

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Being alone, without any distractions, tends to provoke strong emotional reactions, as you're confronted with your bare, mundane experience. As a culture, we focus on acquiring things - whether possessions, entertainment, relationships, and so on - hoping to find something external that will enhance our experience or finally make us whole. In doing so, we completely overlook our own personal experience.

Why is there such a strong urge to avoid confronting one’s experience, stripped of artifice? Why, for example, is meditation difficult to practice, or even actively resisted? Could it come down to disliking one’s life and self as they are?

You might feel existentially lonely or uncover long-ignored pain, among other things. Have a look.

Edited June 2 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

Etymology of Cruel, from Latin crudelis, from crudus:

1. marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity
2. existing in a natural state and unaltered by cooking or processing
3. rough or inexpert in plan or execution
4. lacking a covering, glossing, or concealing element : OBVIOUS
5. tabulated without being broken down into classes
6. archaic : UNRIPE, IMMATURE

crude, noun:

• a substance in its natural unprocessed state

Quite revealing.

Edited May 30 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Presuming that listening has occurred when it hasn't is a trap.

Edited May 30 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Your actions aren't caused by your way of being. Your way of being and your actions arise together. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

The masses have never thirsted after the truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.

— Gustave Le Bon

 

Quote

It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living.

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions

 

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

What is shame?

[UnbornTao]

 

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Answers are irrelevant when it comes to contemplation; insight is the goal. People often confuse two similar expressions as if they arose from the same understanding.

Are you conveying an authentic experience, or passing down hearsay in the hope of convincing yourself and others of its validity? Parroting is much easier, so it is the most common approach. It is a subtle form of self-deception.

For example, we might hear claims such as “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.” Yet without the direct consciousness that gave rise to such a statement, can we truly say we grasp what it's pointing to? Do we have insight into the matter?

Make the work yours.

Edited June 1 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Integrity is a function of keeping your word.

Whenever you give your word - even casually - keep it. Otherwise, don’t give it in the first place. You don’t need to commit to anything; you can stay bound to your impulses, chasing gratification and avoiding discomfort. But that leads to a disempowering experience.

Each time you fail to honor a promise - even one made only to yourself - you sense it. Being out of integrity becomes “evidence” that you’re someone who can’t be trusted.

You can build your sense of personal integrity by making relatively simple commitments you’d feel ashamed not to fulfill. For example, tell yourself you’re going to do something - like meditating daily for five minutes, or even just ten seconds - and follow through. Doing this will deepen your presence and increase your self-esteem over time; your word will begin to carry power. As someone who operates from this principle, you’ll need to be mindful of the commitments you make - because you’ll know you’ll follow through.

Edited 12 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

When you start to set aside everything that isn’t a direct apprehension of the nature of something, what do you know for real? What is it that you have relative to most things? 

Edited May 28 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Shit, this was heartbreaking. Watch the whole episode.

 

Edited May 28 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Learn to handle problematic situations and outcomes before they arise. What results are your actions creating? Where are they leading you? What long-term outcomes do you expect from your current behavior patterns? Pay close attention to their trajectory, and adjust course immediately if needed. Don’t wait for potential issues to gain momentum--the stronger the inertia, the more discipline it will take to change direction.

Edited Thursday at 10:01 PM by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Is happiness circumstantially-derived?

Edited March 25, 2024 by UnbornTao