Playing With Perspectives

[UnbornTao]

Pay attention to the "social bubbles" you're entrapped to.

How people around you perceive reality influences your worldview, at times those perspectives being downright adopted by you without further thought.

[UnbornTao]

Relationship is essential in the relative domain.

What something is is determined by what it is not. X isn't Y. Y helps shape what X is.

A difference (distinction) is established when two or more things come to exist. One thing isn't another. They are interlinked nonetheless.

Oneness can't be divided and so no difference is to be found there, since there's nothing to compare it to.

Nothing is known to be by comparing it with something. An apple is recognized as such because it isn't a banana. Form is inherently limited and only exists because of context. What is formlessness?

"It is the emptiness within the cup that makes it useful."

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What am I attempting to communicate with this post? Some clarity and elaboration are required.

Edited November 4, 2023 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Being deliberately vague and abstract in order to fool others (and yourself, specially) into thinking you actually know what you're talking about.

Edited July 20, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

What it means to you obscures the possibility of knowing what it really is as itself.

Edited November 4, 2023 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

It is not the truth that hurts you but your relationship towards it -- your inability and unwillingness to acknowledge it.

[UnbornTao]

Have you ever seen how a cornered rat behaves?

People don't like their fantasies being destroyed; they want them to be approved of, shared and widely-adopted. Some take it personally when their worldviews are questioned.

Edited November 4, 2023 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The more my passion for the truth grows, the more I realize that this pursuit has to be done alone, fundamentally. Pursuing truth demands complete independence.

Most people won't support you in that. In fact, they will try to distract you with their petty concerns. Truth is irrelevant to society at large.

Seeking truth not as a fantasy but as a genuine interest for what is.

[UnbornTao]

What happens after death?

The simple truth is that nobody knows.

We can speculate, though.

Death is not-self. It is the end of self.

[UnbornTao]

Effectiveness: aligning yourself with what's actually happening.

[UnbornTao]

Do you need validation before taking action?

Which actions, if any, do you put off until being externally validated?

Shift to intrinsic motivation.

Your motivation for doing something should come from within you.

Edited July 20, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Ultimately, what's true isn't confined to any domain of human knowledge.

Truth transcends categories, models, labels, and even language (symbolism).

Putting labels onto experience and things decreases their realness.

As J. Krishnamurti once said:

"Truth is a pathless land."

Edited July 20, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

2 hours ago, UnbornTao said:

 

Delving into one's own experience is essential in this work.

How much do you actually do it?

[UnbornTao]

Making fine new distinctions within your experience is part of learning.

Ask yourself: What distinctions can I create that are empowering, effective and healthy? 

How can I approach situations and life in general in such a way as to improve my life in some aspect? How can I perceive reality in a more accurate way? How does the way I perceive and hold reality creates -- or not -- growth and possibilities for myself?

Edited July 20, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The domain of skill involves your body-mind, and it is grounded on experience, not intellect.

When learning to play soccer, explanations and instruction given by the coach make little difference in your ability. You're only able to understand them intellectually.

In your experience, however, it isn't necessarily easy to translate that intellectual understanding into actual skill -- into something you can perform well on the pitch.

Skill obviously takes practice, which proves this point. No matter how much you think you understand in this domain: if you can't do it, you don't get it.

Practice like crazy then, until mastery is achieved.

When it comes to enlightenment, intellect and skill are irrelevant.

Edited July 21, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The way you hold reality is a primary cause of your suffering.

What worldviews, cosmologies, paradigms, and belief systems are you attached to?

It's key to realize that none of those are true.

Stop holding the worldview you have in order to drastically reduce your suffering.

Furthermore, you can either adopt a positive cosmology or better yet, relate to reality as an open question.

Even with belief systems, it is recommended that your relationship towards them change by recognizing that they're just that: thoughts you hold about how the world works and what reality is.

They are not what's true no matter their content; rather, they're about something, not the something that's been referred to.

Models aren't true.

Thought can be seen as a model.

Edited July 20, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Emotionally-charged content is more effective in affecting others. It is thus more easily noticed. Its probabilities of being shared widely are higher compared to plain, honest communication.

Entertainment is what most of us are looking for, especially on the internet. Hence, the most viral content is often the most entertaining, too.

Generally, the more popular, the less conscious. For sure, massively popular content and authors should be treated with caution -- plenty of fantasy and deception may be involved there.

Hype, superficiality, and emotionality are cornerstones of viral content.

What people want to hear is rarely the truth.

Edited July 21, 2022 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

What is manipulation?

It is producing an effect on a particular condition.

Anything that is done for one's self-agenda is of course manipulation, too.

Stay with the question.

Edited November 3, 2023 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Communication helps your contemplation practice because it clarifies your thoughts and improves you ability to express yourself.

Reading text on paper or onscreen makes you see it differently. It helps you remain grounded and honest, notice pitfalls in your logic, and forces you to be succinct.

[UnbornTao]

Concentration is awareness' ability to move and place its focus on a particular thing.

[UnbornTao]

A few signs of intelligence:

• Being unassuming, detached, free from distinctions and assumptions, being able to generate and destroy both of them on the go according to the demands of a given context and environment.
• The ability to consider and incorporate an ever increasing number of perspectives.
• Humor! Of course.

Basically, this explanation boils down to the principle of openness (except perhaps humor).

Edited July 21, 2022 by UnbornTao