Sunmaster

So doctor, give it to me straight. How much time do I have left??

No specific reason. I don't have to list all world religions to make the point. As for the Burmese monks, it comes down to what I said about the level of knowledge and wisdom of the individuals joining monkhood. Take Thailand for example. Before coming here, I had the romantic idea that Buddhist monks all meditate and are serious in their practice. In reality though, those that practice regularly and follow Buddha's teachings to achieve freedom are very few. Few, just like there are few of those people in any other religion. Religions, in their most ideal form, offer maps to navigate the inner world of (your) consciousness. Now, there are maps that I think are clearer than others, but ultimately that is their goal. If you follow a certain map but still feel it necessary to kill people who think differently, then that's on you, not the map. If one of the maps says you must kill heretics, apostates, infidels, then that's clearly a <deleted> map. But who's to blame for choosing that <deleted> map? You and your level of understanding, of course. Atheists look at the maps very superficially, see all the bad things that people do in the name of those maps and blame the maps instead of the people. They reject the maps a priory without further investigation. If you (in general) don't feel the need to visit your inner world because all you know to be real is what you can see and touch, fine. You won't need any of those maps. However, once that need arises, where do you go? To science? Science will only tell you that your inner world is a product of neurons and electric sparks. You won't go very far with that map, you can be sure about that. So, whether atheist, religious or spiritual....choose your map wisely and with discernment. Or don't.

Yes, I'm not trying to bring about world peace.

I'm not sure what your issue is, but it's not with me. I think I explained it quite clearly.

Try reading up on the Christian Mystics or the Islamic Sufism and you'll see what I'm talking about. The negative things you mentioned and despise are the result of very basic and limited understanding. But whose fault is that really? The teachings or the ones who interpret the teachings?

Not a fan of dogmatic religions myself, but we need to be fair.... Buddhism and Hinduism (and others) can coexist with other religions/philosophies without problems, because they recognize the unity of them all. Christianity and Islam are more problematic because they focus on the dualistic aspect of the One, so it's easier to get into the mindset of "my God is the only true God". But then it always depends on the maturity of the person following a particular religion. There are sects, both in Christianity and Islam, that see this truth as well and have no problems acknowledging the validity of other faiths.

You can speak for yourself and that's fine. If you are happy to live this way, who am I to judge. But can you speak for 1.2 billion Hindus? I think not. Maybe have a look at Advaita Vedanta and you will see that it's like I said.

I just listened to the video to and at the end Huberman is saying almost the exact same words. 555 Funny

The "God" aspects are personifications of the One. "I am here, God is there somewhere." (=Duality) Buddhism focuses on the One that has not split into 2. So there is no "I" and "God", but only the Self as the undifferentiated Ground of All Being. (Non-Duality). Both are correct in their own ways. Hinduism, as I understand it, incorporates both aspects. They have thousands of Gods, but ultimately know that they are all manifestations of the One (Brahman). Whether you worship the One in its dualistic manifestations (praying to the Christian God, the Jewish God or the Hindu Shiva) or prefer the non-dualistic interpretation is a matter of personal preference and inclination. Whatever works for you and brings you closer to the Source is good for you.

Fingers....Hand.

Another good question. You're on fire today. :-) Sunmaster the ego likes to think he can make a difference in the world, that he can bring glimmers of goodness, truth and beauty from the Source to illuminate the dark corners of the world. Nowadays I'm not so sure it makes a difference to be honest, but not out of cynicism. I still do my best though, because I enjoy creating, thinking, exploring, being of help. They seem like worthwhile endeavors while here. I'll mull it over some more and get back to you. Maybe I can come up with a better answer.

A good question.... Not sure if there is a point to it. I see it more as an evolutionary inevitability. A bit like a grain of iron being attracted to a giant magnet, or a drop of water on its way to the ocean. What's the point of that? It just is what it is.

The Gods, as portrayed in the various religions, are just different interpretations of the One. Just like fingers of the same hand. Don't focus on the fingers, but trace them back to the hand and you'll find your answers.

I don't. Most people in the west see free will as another inalienable birthright of every man, just like the right to life and liberty. Materialists attribute the belief in predestination to the gullible religious zealots. Well, turns out both are right. Free will only works on the level of the ego. It needs an observer, an action (the decision making) and a result (the outcome of said decision)...all neatly ordered on a timeline and observable. For example, I'm about to go out. The sun is shining so I decide not to take my umbrella. Later that day however, there's a big storm and I get soaked. Free will at work. But what is the ego identification if not an illusion? Where is the ego when you're asleep? You still exist even though there is no ego at that moment. What remains once you transcend the ego? The Self. Your true identity, which is the same for all of us. The Self exists always, it is untouched by space or time, it is eternal. How then, could a time and ego dependent free will work for the Self. It doesn't. The Self is just another word for God or Cosmic Consciousness. Ascribing free will to God would mean to diminish his power and he would therefore cease to be God. For the Self there is only the present. The past and the future all happen at the same time. Everything that has happened and will happen is happening right now in accordance with the perfect divine will. This means that free will only exists as long as we falsely identify with the ego. Once we shed the layers of ignorance that keep us from knowing our true identity, free will will dissipate along with all other illusions. You will still perform actions, but they won't be guided by the ego's will. They will be flawless actions guided by pure intent.

Now let's find out what exactly you consider hate speech.

First amendment is for US citizens only. What has that got to do with us here in Thailand? Who defines what hate speak is? You? Wokes? If I say that Zionism is the cause of much suffering, is that hate speech? Am I an antisemite? Should I be silenced for the greater good of your personal feelings?

10 more years!?!? Good Lord....

Yes...sooo inclusive....

Ok, read it and found it so-so. For one, it bothers me that whenever Americans try to demonize something, they lable it "communist". But whatever. Edit: It bothers me, yet it doesn't offend me. See, how easy it is?

This doesn't make any sense. One tells a joke. Person A hears the joke and laughs. Person B hears the joke and is offended (for whatever reason). The joke was not intrinsically offensive, or both would have been offended. The only other variable is the sensitivity of person B. This is where wokeness (and you it seems) gets it all wrong. It assumes that because one person (or a small group) is offended, the source MUST be the culprit and MUST be eliminated at all costs, in order to eliminate the hurt of the offended person and "save" society from more hurt feelings. But by doing so it deprives all others from making the choice for themselves. How about person B has a good look at himself and tries to solve his own issues instead of controlling what others say or think or believe?

Haven't read the article. I despise wokeness, at least what it has become in recent years, which is nothing but another, more subtle form of fascism. In Spiral Dynamics terms, the woke "culture" is a unhealthy, distorted form of the Green meme. The Green meme is a developmental stage in humans and societies that has a specific set of values: community, equality, idealism, & empathy, femininity and sensitivity. Nothing wrong with them in principle. The problem is that these values are used by the wokies like weapons on all others who have different values, or even slightly different. That's when people get fired from their jobs for thinking differently, get cancelled for harmless jokes, get harassed for refusing to submit to the pronoun BS and so on. Another issue is that very few have the insight, awareness and courage to respond to the woke assaults. After all, they are fighting for equality, right? If you are against that, you must be a racist, a misogynist, a toxic white supremacist, a nazi, just a horrible, horrible human being. Right? Most prefer not to stand out as the anti-woke for fear of retaliation. They prefer to sit quiet or even support the cause, without even understanding the dynamics. And so the BS propagates even more, as it has been spreading in the past few years. I, for one, can't wait for this nonsense to stop. Hopefully, the wokies will mature enough to see the error of their ways and grow up to become stable and truly INCLUSIVE human beings, because as it is now, there is nothing inclusive in their approach.

Confused. I didn't use any foreign words, did I? Eastern teachings go back thousands of years. They explored and categorized the inner world in great detail to draw a very precise map of consciousness. Of course, there are lots of technical and highly specific terms, just like there are many specific terms in medicine. It's up to the student if he wants to learn the language or not. Personally, I only know a few myself (Brahman (=ultimate unchanging reality), Maya (=illusion), Purnam (=wholeness) and Sat Chit Ananda (=existence, consciousness, bliss)...), but rarely use them here. I stopped pasting excerpts from books or websites because I feel it disrupts the natural flow of the conversation and I prefer focusing on the subjective, personal experience we have of our existence. That's the main topic after all.

Sure. This is what happens when you dis-identify with the wave-form (body-mind) and identify as the ocean (=become one with it=you are the ocean). As the ocean, you feel one with all it contains...with all of creation, including Joe, Jane, Jim and Bob. Yes, I had lucid dreams before. I also experienced awakening from this dream and being aware of the body at the same time. But being aware of a portion of your self (the Self being aware of the body/mind) is not the same as being identified with it. Just a different way to say the same thing. Identifying with the body/mind (ego) is the very thing that prevents you from identifying as something larger. It's the famous analogy of the monkey grabbing some nuts in a jar. As long as he holds on to the nuts, his hand is trapped. Only by letting go of the nuts he regains his freedom. Whether they are nuts, smelly goat droppings or shiny pearls, the problem of being trapped remains. No offense, but I'd rather hear your own opinions than Seth's. I've read and I'm still reading his material, but frankly I don't see the point in pasting entire chapters of material, when I have you who can summarize it and add your own ideas and experiences. Much more interesting. Are you referring to bliss? No, I'm not after that. Bliss is just a byproduct of that state. If that were my goal, it would just be another desire. And who is the one who experiences this desire? Our old friend the ego. There is nothing to be gained, but everything to surrender. The monkey has to let go of the nuts.

If you lead a certain type of life, developing patience, kindness etc, it will certainly benefit you and those around you. If you get attacked by a lion, will you blame yourself for not being kind enough? What has one got to do with the other? How does the lion attack diminish your efforts in any way?

Although I wouldn't use the same language (defining God as some separate entity), I understand and agree with the reasoning behind it. Still working on the drunkenness though... 555