I am living absolute irrefutable proof that life is NOT "what you make of it" by Vulptex in whatever

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You are conflating your perspective on Life with Life itself. These two things are not the same.

There are three things:

  1. Life
  2. What we think Life is
  3. What we think Life should be

We only ever have access to 2 and 3.

I am genuinely saddened for your suffering. I do not suggest the pain is not real. You feel it; it is. But to confuse your pain with Life itself is narcissism.

Last bit, we are ALL narcissists. I've never met anyone who isn't. We all think that our perspective either IS or SHOULD BE Life itself. I'm not immune. But I do know that that part of me continually telling me this is false, no matter how many times a day (minute, hour) it tells me so. At least that's something.

Why should we be afraid of death? by [deleted] in whatever

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Short answer: we shouldn't

My favorite comment on life and death by a zen master some time ago (can't find the quote, but this is close):

Empty-handed I entered this world
Barefoot I leave it
My birth
My death
Two simple happenings
Entwined by fate

"The concept of a "self" is bs." (Neurologists and Eastern philosophists) by [deleted] in quotes

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Another approach to this realization is to think about "my life" vs. "life".

None of us "has" a life. Full stop. Nobody possesses anything that can be called "a life". Instead, we spend some period of time in touch with this same stuff that all of our neighbors plus we comprise. We are witnesses and contributors to Life itself, and none of us exists except as a portion of that whole. We all nudge it this way and that, but while we come and go, the process continues. The process is the cool part.

We are energy beings of light, electric, and magnetic energy. And we live inside of a bubble of pure potential that we don't even know is there. (proven by science links) by yellowsnow2 in conspiracy

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What very few people indeed understand is that reality is entirely separate from our infinite conceptions of reality. We possess and have described countless ideas about what reality is, but all that is mind activity, nothing more and nothing less. Reality is what is in front of us in this instant. As such, it is constantly changing and impossible to define, yet far simpler than the many constructs our mind is designed to create - and obsessed with creating. We do not understand reality, because in order to understand something, one needs to be outside the system so as to define that system and recognize its limits and description. Life instead for each individual is a lifelong Schrodinger's Cat experiment, flavored with Schrodinger's paradox.

When we flow with this fascinating process we call life and cease to expect to understand it, only then can we catch glimpses of the incredible beauty of this show we are all co-experiencing while also co-creating. Existence is the miracle. Learning to appreciate that changes a life forever.

Some thoughts about the origin of humanity, music and the universe as psychic energy. by HibikiBlack in C_S_T

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Yes. Regarding more interesting, you and I are simply using mirror images; the mirror is the basic realization. Either construct can lead to a satisfying understanding.

Some thoughts about the origin of humanity, music and the universe as psychic energy. by HibikiBlack in C_S_T

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Assuming we are created and that there is a unique singular source to which the universe traces its roots (such as "In the Beginning, There Was God"), then the only possible material for us to be made from is that singular source itself. In other words, we are part of that source. We each would represent an aspect of it. This also would speak to the sensation you are talking about with regards to music or other environments where there is a sense of being absorbed by the medium. These are pathways through which we sense the common material from which we all derive.

We are indeed energy. Physics confirms this, but spiritual traditions have come to the same conclusion countless times throughout history.

Like NYC's 9/11 - tall Chinese Telecom building burned by fire... but has not yet collapsed... by In-the-clouds in videos

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Political leaders of all nations (and the majority of religious, artistic, educational, and scientific leaders) seek temporal power. Temporal power loathes admitting that it is a mirage, that death overtakes us all, no matter the context surrounding us, and that upon death, all we sought returns to the absolute zero meaning it always had.

Regardless of whether one believes in the Christian faith, the recognition that the quest for temporal power is inherently a combination of lies, ignorance, and delusion underlies the reality that many spiritual leaders have identified throughout history. Seeing the world in the absence of this overlay of "what we think it should be" is a blessing. I only wish more were open to it, but even that wish is more "what we think it should be."

I have been doing some reading on Jesus by [deleted] in whatever

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The human mind has a foundational pattern of existence: it fills in the gaps. Our minds are designed to work by patterns. If there is not a pattern there for our mind to work by, we fill in the material necessary to make a pattern out of whatever few scraps of information we have. What we don't have, we make up.

This is the basis of religions. We start with an event or a set of events - which, in the nature of all events - are confusing, with threads leading in several different (often contradictory) directions. But the mind cannot hold on to this "chaos". The mind hates to be confused, so we immediately fill out "the pattern". It's an unconscious process; it can be witnessed, but it cannot be stopped.

So what exactly happened that created the "Jesus" stories? Nobody will ever know. That's not an exaggeration; it's the nature of how events are passed along through the stream of communication. Everyone who tells the story modifies it just a bit - either unintentionally or with an explicit agenda - to the point that we receive it and do the same. This process never ends. For the most visible current example, look at the split that is developing among churches arguing about whether trans ideology fits within the philosophy of Christianity.

This thread is yet more continuation of this process, at our own level.

There is no such thing as a "static" religion, any more than there is a static state to any other philosophy.

Each of us - to settle into a fully-formed human - must find our own individual relationship with this existence that surrounds us and comprises us. Even to "accept" some structure such as Christianity requires this process. One person's "faith" will be unique even relative to others who claim to share the same.

Who was Jesus? We will each find a figure in the recorded quotes that corresponds to some internal prompting within ourselves. Each of these images of him will be as unique as we ourselves are.

What is this? Who am I? Answering these questions is a permanently incomplete process. Until we address them directly, however, the reality we are surrounded by seems chaotic and hostile. The only way to peaceful existence within this reality we share is to face the confusion and realize just that: it's designed to be just as confusing as it ends up being. The confusion itself is hardwired in; as such being confused is just as perfect - and more accurate, though no "better" - as thinking to have "the answer" to a "question" which inherently exists beyond the limitation that any answer must necessarily place upon it.

It's a Joke by Views in whatever

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You and I represent two sides of a coin. We keep going back and forth, and that too is part of the game.

You are determined to divide, and to find your suffering at the hands of "them". But the "archons" as you call them are here and gone as well. Even gods go away. Are Zeus or Jove still around?

In this instant, we have a choice. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, not 10 seconds from now, not 10 seconds ago. NOW. How are we going to approach what's in front of us (absolutely whatever that be)? If we choose to fight, then "it" will fight back (Newton's Third Law applied more broadly). What instead will life look like, however, if we choose to welcome "it" and dance?

general thoughts on philosophy? by yelgy in AskSaidIt

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A philosopher once said to a fish "The purpose of life is To reason and become wise."

The fish answered "The purpose of life is To swim and catch flies."

The philosopher muttered "Poor fish."

Back came a whisper "Poor philosopher."

--Max Black January 3, 1953

If God wanted to zap away the people causing our collapse into utopia, he could by [deleted] in whatever

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Good loses all meaning if its opposite - Evil - does not exist.

GOD is the sum of all this. For God to choose "good" over "evil" would be for God to negate that God is All - a definitional contradiction.

Acknowledge that all the states of existence - what we consider "good" "evil" and "neutral" and all the shades therein - have their proper place within this creation and that if any of them is removed this creation as we know it ceases to exist...

Do this and you begin to witness God.

To understand (comprehend) God and God's will? We do not have that capacity. This is by design.

Satanic forces have taken over the world to destroy your faith in God by [deleted] in conspiracy

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God is not a belief. God is not a choice. God is a fact of human existence.

This is absolutely critical to understand. Thank you so much for stating it in such a concise fashion.

I would take it even a step further:

God is a fact of existence

or:

God is existence

This is where people get so confused. It's not about belief; it's about experience. We all know without a doubt there is "more going on than we can understand." This IS the very nature of reality. Each of us is a part of - and possesses only a partial view of - the universe we share. God IS this universe. As such, God is the whole that we can never comprehend, but that cannot be denied. Belief has nothing to do with it.

As to the denial of this simple truth - which you here term Satanism - the dominant result of this denial is emptiness. I feel sad for people who work so hard in their effort to hide from the truth. They make themselves miserable, their misery spreads around them, and the pattern of pain we are all familiar with is established. This pattern is difficult to escape because most are lost in it, and a big dollop of [luck, fate, blessing, fortune... pick your word here] is required for people who finally wake up to the simple truth that surrounds us in each and every instant of this existence we all share.

God is THIS. Once seen, it is never again unseen. I wish this vision for all, not because it is "better" than any other perspective, but because in its simplicity, all doubt (absolutely ALL doubt) is swept away, never to return. May all beings discover this freedom.

"Zazen means taking leave of group stupidity" Kodo Sawaki by EndlessSunflowers in quotes

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For those who haven't heard the term, zazen is the Japanese word for seated, silent meditation, as Sawaki is pictured doing here. (At least I presume it's Sawaki; I've never heard of him before).

What's the point of living if you have no chance of a happy life? by Vulptex in whatever

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What's the point of living if you have no chance of a happy life? by Vulptex in whatever

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Very few people engage in a genuine meditation practice because done right, meditation leads directly into the pain that we all naturally try to avoid. Being open to absolutely whatever presents itself to our mind through whatever pathway (physical senses or generated by the mind itself) is a lifetime practice and is never easy. "Most people" who begin to sense the pain that must be moved through at that point drop their practice. "This isn't helping! It's making things worse!" is the common reaction. For those lucky few who persevere, however, the realization awaits that "worse" and "better" don't in reality exist and never did.

Re: ecstasy. Ecstasy is a temporary phenomenon like all are in the universe. It's wonderful when present and there's no reason to avoid it, but that said, be careful not to be surprised by the comedown from that state. While the more famous line of thought from Siddhartha, as said here, is "Suffering is universal", I find more power in another of his ideas: All is impermanent. Absolutely everything.

What's the point of living if you have no chance of a happy life? by Vulptex in whatever

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This was posted on saidit a while back. It seems appropriate to your suffering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBBhxrJYsU4

I know can never ever heal...

From personal experience, I promise you that you don't actually know that. The reason I say that is because in my past the same thought was firmly implanted in my ideography for years. I also was borderline suicidal for a very long time. Having passed through it to the point where I am now, I can tell you that I have no idea how it happened, but that to a large extent it's out of our control. I came to a relatively happier place - though I'm still somewhat of an "internal Eeyore" - with a combination of two inputs: first, I recognized that there is nothing inherently wrong with being at the bottom of the "happiness pyramid". In other words, from a universal perspective, those suffering the most are absolutely equally necessary to the equation of life as are those who are the happiest. Without the sufferers like you, there is no balance. You are equally important to the universe no matter where on the scale you lie simply because you exist, just as everyone and everything else on the scale exists. That is in truth all that matters. Second, interactions in my social life started happening that I still don't understand. I would find myself doing things that weren't "me". I don't know why I did them, and I haven't done them since. But for reasons that are mysterious to me to this day, I found interactions that began to "move me up the ladder". I didn't consciously "choose" to behave differently; it's almost as though it happened to me. For these experiences among others, I am open at a profound level - though I won't say I know it to be true - but I am open to the idea of predestination. Sometimes mysterious patterns emerge inexplicable even to the author of those patterns.

I wish you the best. It's a rough road, but if you are lucky enough to find your way to a more open perspective, you'll find a beauty that I believe to be unavailable to those who have never suffered as you have. The suffering makes the beauty found through it significantly more powerful and meaningful.

I bow to you.

"Saint Basil explains that anyone who says he knows God is perverted. Not merely wrongheaded, perverted. Dangerous. A danger to himself and to those he teaches." So remember that. by Views in whatever

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Thanks to those who responded to this post. We can learn so much from seeing how each of us reacts differently to the same message. All of our responses come together in this amazing maelstrom we all share. Be good to one another. Be good with one another.

"Saint Basil explains that anyone who says he knows God is perverted. Not merely wrongheaded, perverted. Dangerous. A danger to himself and to those he teaches." So remember that. by Views in whatever

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From a talk by Michael Holleran:

https://home.theopenvista.net/perspectives/Holleran.html

The quotes are from Robert Kennedy (not the politician, a priest in New Jersey).

How the fuck do i stop being like this? These past few days i've done nothing but scroll and watch youtube videos. I cant be alone with my thoughts anymore. by johnnybravo in AskSaidIt

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This is what meditation is.

Meditation is not about some religious experience. At its heart, effective meditation is simply a technique. It is training. Meditation is the practice of doing precisely what you are hoping to learn to do.

You know that what you are currently doing hurts. You don't want to be like this anymore, which means you don't want to do this anymore. The only way to learn to do differently is to start new actions, to take the time to learn new skills. It requires effort; it requires time; there is no shortcut.

Meditation is the art of sitting still and quiet, and witnessing the chaos that is always present in our mind, without rejecting it or obsessing over it, but also without following it as our guide. This is very difficult to do, because our mind doesn't want to be told that it's not in control. When a thought occurs in our mind, the mind immediately wants to do that thing. Teaching your mind that it can no longer get away with this creates intense frustration initially. It does get better and easier after a time (months, years - not days, weeks).

Don't expect this to be easy. Sticking with a meditation regime for more than a few weeks requires extraordinary discipline, as it goes against so many of our natural instincts.

Good luck. We all need it.

https://home.theopenvista.net/perspectives/Anshin2.html