Thanks for sharing Dark... My beliefs are as hybrid as yours. I have described myself as Taoist/Buddhist/Christian. They are my beliefs and not a set bunch of dogma. That is what I like about Taoism...there isn't dogma attached to it and you can meld it to what you feel is right. But not to hijack this thread...JT has sparked my interest in QM and may cruise to the library or B&N to see what's out there.
I did send you a PM dark.
An Observation About Life
by JamesThomas 86 Replies latest jw friends
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EvilForce
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bikerchic
Oh good grief you guys think too much!
Life is just one day at a time live it as best as you can in the moment. K.I.S.S. Okay the stupid is for me I'm just a simpleton but at least for me I've got it figured out, it's breathe, breathe, breathe all the in between stuff is just life, deal.
Oh I enjoyed reading these deeper thoughts just for fun.
You know sometimes I wish I was mentally challenged just so I wouldn't think so much, do any of you ever wish that?
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Markfromcali
You know sometimes I wish I was mentally challenged just so I wouldn't think so much, do any of you ever wish that?
Wasn't there a thread on this recently?
Over thinking could be considered another way of being mentally challenged, so I wouldn't say it's a matter of having better or worse thinking ability. If you have thoughts limiting your experience of life, though, then frankly that just kind of sucks. Of course while caught in that one wouldn't think it is actually limiting, but that wouldn't change the fact that you got these filters on. People spend enough time talking about and arguing over views, which one is better and makes more sense, but it seems it seldom occurs to anyone that these are still just views. Nothing wrong with them, you can even be very present here while talking about all of that, but that tends to happen after getting the above. You don't free yourself from thinking by thinking, and it's not a matter of how much you think - it's just whether you are free in your relationship to it or not.
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JamesThomas
Could one say that identity is being aware of the differing tendencies and potentials within consciousness?
Everything ever experienced exists within consciousness; and it seems that an identity is often created around some of it, around memories, emotions, physical senses, beliefs and other gathered information. All these are witnessed by consciousness, all these are objects, and when an identity is weaved out of objects, self, becomes an object, and individual "me" separate from all else. Around this is created a grand story, which is owned and cherished as my personal life story. Generally this tiny package goes unquestioned as the beginning and end of our authentic and true identity.
This tiny package becomes the center of the universe as consciousness narrowly focuses only on it. All information is screened and filtered through the finely woven mental fabric of personal identity. What reinforces and supports the identity is allowed through, what does not, is filtered out, unacknowledged.
However, the consciousness which reads this now, is actually boundless. The boarders, fortifications and walls which seem to encase it within it's tiny tattered package, unreal. Upon inner investigation, this can be realized. Our real and true nature revealed.
Wondrously, since boundless, It, is Freedom Itself, It is infinite. It is One. It is recognized as the very same Consciousness sparkling from every eye, and felt within every living and inanimate thing. It, is the vast Openness and pristine Purity which allows all phenomena to be; and, it is what we all truly are. The Alfa and Omega. Nothing, no one, is excluded.
It has been said by the wise, that the only book we need read, is ourselves; and the most important question: Who am I, really?
j
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donkey
James,
Thanks for a great topic. If anyone would like to read a book that describes in a story how to get to base consciousness I recommend "The Rich Man's Secret" by Ken Roberts (please note I do not endorse any of Ken Roberts financial books - even though I have read them).
At any rate James what you describe as "being" vs "identity" is very core to how I try to exist in my own life. It is home base. It is always the beginning to every journey in my life. It is a place I know I can come back to no matter what happens or where any particular journey may take me. While I am highly critical of belief systems the wholeness of being and existing at consciosness is what we could all agree on as spiritual and it is unquestionable for each of us even though some might try to abstract beyond and question "how do I know I am alive"?
I discovered "being" before I quit believing. At the time I was commuting large distances to consult to companies and I would find myself drifting off into dreams and fantasies and I started pretending that my consciousness was outside of myself sitting on my right shoulder and that my consciousness was observing myself in total. My consciousness would note every thought, every tense muscle, every reaction and I would neutralize every thought, tension, and reaction....and with that I discovered true peace existed within myself no matter where I was or what circumstance I found myself. It was at this point I read Robert's book and in it he advocated the exact same discovery process as I was following. Belief systems are flawed fatally because they leave room for betrayal of the believer, base consciousness has no such weakness because it offers no promises...it just offers a launching point for anything I want to do and it is non critical of either success or of failure no matter how extreme either outcome is for any journey I make. Knowing I have peace at base conciousness and that I can come back there instantly has given me an extreme amount of self confidence because at the end of the day no other person (no matter how much I love them or no matter how much they love me and no matter how much they might hate me) can affect base consciousness.
The beauty is that everyone has their own base consciousness and each of our base consciousness points is identical. There is no discrimination across the spectrum of consciousness and it is total equalization. While every step from there depends on our own talents and our own desires, determination, own circumstances we all share the same "ground zero". We just have to know that it exists, that it is peaceful and that it is always a point of return and the opportunity from there becomes limitless.
James thanks for your eloquence and expressions I am always enlightened by them.
Donkey
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trevor
Once in while, amongst the debris and confusion of
opinion and argument a ray of hope appears.
From the noise and confusion of debate and clashing
egos a calm and inspiring voice can be faintly heard.
Truth is there beneath the seaweed and the sand.
Beyond the reach of lengthy books and rhetoric it waits.
It does not shout or seek attention. Rare and precious it can
be recognized by its kindly manner and the peace it brings.
It waits to be sought it will not pursue you.
It is here in this thread - pure gold
Thank you James
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tetrapod.sapien
i was thinking about this thread on friday before i went camping. i usually pack a book when i go camping, but this weekend instead i decided to just pack "me".
as i was driving out to the mountains, i caught myself thinking: "oh boy, i can't wait to get out to the lake, and try out some of these suggestions from this thread." and then i realized: it's not about future-think. it's about now. i turned off the music, rolled down the window, pulled into the slow lane, and just started enjoying the very moment of my existence. every time i caught myself intellectualizing the moment, i said "no", and just concentrated on my breathing. looking about. smelling. hearing. feeling. and after a while, a peace kind of washed over me.
when i got out to the camp, and set up, i went down to the shore to just sit, and stare at the water and just "be". after a while, i just felt "high". it's one of the only ways i can explain it. like i was just floating along, enraptured by all the life around me. no mind altering substances involved (not that i have anything against them). but i was just "me". "me" was my body and mind, but also the nature around me, my environment. it felt so great.
i practiced this all weekend. time seemed to only slip by very slowly, and all tasks, even mundane (cleaning dishes etc), were enjoyable. it was only two days of nature, but i felt like i had been gone for two weeks. my wife and i got along really well.
it's been a long time since i could see a beauty in everything. i think that becoming a human, and losing my cognitive dissonance as a JW, really makes this possible.
i have read every post in this thread. thanks everyone for your awesome thoughts.
TS
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frankiespeakin
I have read this thread sinces its early beginings, and would like to say it is enjoyable. Even though words fail to give an accurate picture of life because of thier narrow but still vague meaning,, it is good to think ouside the cultural and religious box, and explore the indiscribeable. Breaking the ingrained worry about the future from memories of the past.
While our preoccupation with the past has produced many inventions, and this is no doubt a partially positive part of it (with some repercussions), it has also produced a neurosis in our species which is to "worry about the future" this coupled with our evolveing survival skills has lead to what we today call greed(all worry about the future related IMO). This is why we are destructive to many other species that inhabit our earth as well as other alien life forms what ever they may be. If it don't look like us or act like us it is to be used and abused. Even our own kind we kill if they are not of the same religion, polictical, racial, or tribal origens.
So it seems to me that if the Human speicies is to survive a few more thousand or millions of years there would have to be a major change in how we use our intellectual powers or we will become extinct. I do really think that some major evolutionary change is already in process to make us pain free and more enviromentally freindly. That is as life continues to unfold itself in our space time dimensions.
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donkey
Supposing you had the ability to watch the inner core (thoughts, muscle tension, breathing patterns, internal sounds) of another person what do you think you would see? Well, the bad news is we can't see the inner core of others...but the good news is that just like we would watch the inner core of another person we can watch ourselves (some literature calls it "witnessing" - bad term for xJW's huh?) as an obeserver.As described it is the most natural high we can have...go ahead...get high on yourself!!!
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JamesThomas
Tried several times to comment on the thoughts, poetry and experiences which have been shared here, but they stand so beautifully on their own that anything I say will only muck it up.
Today there were thoughts about a friend, and it was clear these thoughts were not her. Likewise, thoughts and beliefs about "me" are not what I am. Which comes down to: if you can think it, believe it, or speak it, it is not Real. So, what is?
What IS, can't be said, but IT certainly stands beautifully on It's own, whole, complete, pure and unbound when there is a move to silent and un-thought presence; right here, right now.
j