Sunmaster

I will start with Red (haven't finished Purple yet). A quick recap of the previous stages. Beige was all about survival, the most basic instincts. Think babies or early humans. Purple - Through time they understood that they would be stronger and more successful by forming groups. Rituals emerged, a strong sense of group thinking, but only for their own group. Other groups were seen as enemies and fought. We can see Purple today in Amazonian tribes for example, and on an individual level in early childhood (for the child, the family is the whole world). RED then emerged from Purple and represents an expansion. The emergence of great leaders and conquerors such as Genghis Khan, Julius Ceasar, Attila the Hun, Ashoka the Great. - Red societies today: war lords in Africa, street gangs, prison environment... - Children start to develop the ego, start to experiment and explore. For more info, please visit: https://spiraldynamicsintegral.nl/en/red/ Core Values: Egocentric, exploitative, impulsive.Paradigm: Power: “I determine”Worldview: The world is a jungle. Survival of the fittest.Life Motto: “I am taking charge without taking others into account.”Life Theme: Immediate gratification of impulses and senses and fight for my own interest.Life Philosophy: I only trust myself and what I want, I want now.

I will present the rest of my drawings here step by step. They try to illustrate the different stages of evolution, both on a macro (society) and micro (individual) level, as categorized by Ken Wilber and Don Becks' "Spiral Dynamics" system. Spiral Dynamics (SD) is a model of the evolutionary development of individuals, organizations, and societies. source The model proposes a color system to categorize the different stages, as they emerge from simple existence (surviving mode) to more and more complex stages. Stages are not good or bad and one stage is not better or worse than another. They are simply responses to life conditions. However, each stage can have healthy and unhealthy manifestations. There is a lot more to say about SD of course. For now, let's just say that we, as individuals, tend to gravitate around one color, but can also take other colors for specific topics in our lives. For example: a man is very religious and law-abiding, but is also a businessman. In SD terms, he would be centered at Blue and operate in Orange in regards to his business. The bible thumpers we had here in the thread are Blue. Materialists are usually Orange. Environmentalists are generally Green. Each stage develops out of the previous one, once the life conditions permit it. For example, Orange is a response to Blue and its rigid dogma. Green is a response to Orange and its exploitation of nature for personal gain. The stages alternate between group/community strength and individual power. Purple: tribe Red: the conqueror Blue: religious community Orange: the businessman/entrepreneur Green: social movements It's also important to understand that when life conditions change, then we will likely change with them. For example, if you are at Orange or Green and war breaks out, you will pretty quickly regress to Blue (safety of the community, longing for clear rules), or if the situation is more critical, back to Red (survival of the fittest) or even Beige (fighting for mere survival). I'm sure each one of us can find the stage that most resonates with us.

Thank you. I drew this after about 2 years I had started meditating again. It basically shows the progression from the top to bottom, or from the outside to the inside if you will. Top is the beginning, when thoughts run amok in your mind (monkeys) and keep your attention away from pure awareness (octopus), making you run in endless, chaotic circles. Middle part is the intermediate part, where you are starting to gain some focus and realize that there is a lot more potential in the process. Guided by intuition (eye), you start to spread your wings, although they are not yet fully formed and free. The text is an old alchemical saying (VITRIOL) "Visita interiora terrae, rectificando invenies occultum lapidem", which means "Visit the inner landscape, purify it and thus find the hidden stone (philosopher's stone". The bottom section, the largest one, is the culmination of the process. Nothing has been "attained", but the realization that it has always been like this. Only our ignorance covered it and made us forget our true Self. The Caduceus (winged staff with snakes) has many layers of meaning, but I use it in what I think is the original one: the energy that is within us, that rises as the kundalini, shooting up the spine and unfolds in the crown chakra. In a nutshell. ????

Hey guys, it's been a long time and a lot has happened in the meantime. One of them was resurrecting an old past time of mine...drawing. Here is the first one of a series I made. It's called "Mind Clearing" and illustrates the effects of a spiritual practice (meditation) on the mind. Have a nice weekend

The capitalist nations on the other hand are so full of morality and ethics.... ????????

I started my business 10 years ago, with basically zero investment. I was lucky to find a good niche, doing something I am passionate about and was able to quit my day job after 3 years. For company registration and book keeping I use an agency (recommend DLW accounting). You will hear a lot of naysayers telling you it's impossible to do and that you will lose all your money. It could happen of course, but don't let that stop you from trying. Good luck

You wish

I have 2 accounts, one linked to an ATM card and used for all online purchases (PC and phone app) and one without ATM. The one without ATM is my main account, which fills up the ATM account as needed, with amounts of 10-20k. If anything happens, they can only access the ATM account and potential losses are contained.

Dear friends (atheists, believers and everything in between) I know there's no need to announce it and it is really a bit cringeworthy tbh, but this will be my last post on this thread. Leaving without a goodbye would not be right either, especially after 2+ years contributing to this thread. It was a fun rollercoaster. ???? I always tried to reply politely to posters who gave me the same level of respect. Those who were out seeking only confrontation I usually ignored, but at times couldn't help myself dishing out in equal manner. lol I'm especially glad that I could eventually find an amicable level of conversation with my nemesis. 55 (you know who you are) This thread was a great way of sharpening my intellectual tools and more importantly, steered me back to the regular practice of meditation. Now, more then ever, I'm convinced that no amount of intellectual debating can equal direct experience. Now it's time to focus on other things in life. That being said, I hope you all find what you are seeking and that it will make you more complete. It doesn't matter whether you believe or not, one day we will all face our last breath and what will matter at that point is only how much we were able to love and be loved. So long, and thanks for all the fish. ???? Live long and prosper. ????

Your logic is truly impressive.

@mikebikeAre you gathering your research papers? I don't have the whole day...

So, no explanation then? Not surprised...

Yes, but I don't discuss religion, apart from a historical or sociological point of view. Did you not notice that?

Oh, by the way, I'm still waiting for you to correct me on what I wrote about consciousness research, since you pointed out that I had no clue. Please be precise in your explanation. Thank you

If you feel like discussing religion, I don't think you'll find many here to engage with. But good luck.

We're all the sons of God, whether you believe it or not.

How would you know what he was or wasn't?

There is no difference between "one with everything inside" and "one with everything outside". That's a logical fallacy. If you are one with everything, then that's EVERYTHING, inside and outside. The speed of light which depends on mass and energy, only works in relation to the material plane. These parameters don't apply to the cosmic consciousness. "Spirituality" is a broad concept and doesn't "travel" at all. Perhaps you mean consciousness. If your consciousness melts with the cosmic consciousness, effectively becoming one with it, then space and time cease to exist. It's like asking if the thought of a black hole is further away from you than the thought of your finger. What's the distance between the 2? Can it be quantified? Of course not. The problem is that you're trying to apply 3D concepts to something that is way beyond 3D. It simply won't work. Science won't help you to overcome your 3D-ness, meditation will. Science won't help you to understand your true identity, meditation will. Science, as a 3D tool, won't help you make sense of the absolute reality, meditation will.

Warning: This is an analogy and not to be taken literally. ???? You know the story of the monkey who tries to get nuts out of a jar? He reaches inside the bottle and grabs a handful of nuts and then tries to get the hand out, but the fist gets stuck. As much as he tries he can not get the hand out holding the nuts. Only when he releases the nuts he can take it out. In the same way we have to let go of what we think we know in order to open ourselves to new possibilities. "I already have an explanation of what reality is" is being stuck with the hand inside a bottle. I too have an idea of what reality is, but it's a work in progress. It takes into account the new scientific discoveries as well as my own personal discoveries, and I know that in both fields there is so much more to discover. "Oneness with everything there is" is not just an empty, airy concept. Unlike the analogy above, this can be taken literally. You might find it speculation and I understand that from the outside it is difficult to grasp, but it's exactly like that: being one with black holes and microbes and everything in between. You can believe it or not, it doesn't matter, and it doesn't change the fact that great men and women have experienced this state throughout history in all parts of the world. But that's where Buddha's quote comes so perfectly into play. You accept what only one side tells you reality is, the materialistic view, and think that's all there is. The mystical parts seem suspect and ridiculous to you because you've never experienced something that would indicate the truthfulness in those teachings. When Buddha says "Find out by yourself", he doesn't mean to read a couple of scientific research papers on consciousness on the internet and be done with it. He means that in order to understand the outside, you must first understand the inside. This takes practice. If you doubt that it is possible to be one with everything, sit down, look inside and find out by yourself if it's true or not. Saying it's not possible without even trying, is completely worthless.

So do I as a non-atheist or non-skeptic, and I think I made that abundantly clear in this thread. The question is, how far will you go questioning the explanation of what reality is? Will you still accept that consciousness is a byproduct of the physical brain because someone told you, or will you try to find out by yourself? It's all good and well to like this sutta, but it should be backed up by actions. That's the whole point.

You guys have become so polite, it's almost disgusting. ????????

Yes. Sometimes I get a bit creative. Thanks.

Finally finished. I'm posting it here because it was inspired by the conversation about yoga, meditation and "mind clearing", which is the title of the drawing.

Like him or not, what he says makes a LOT of sense.

While I don't agree with their view that consciousness is "epiphenomenal: secondary phenomena based on the machinations of the physical brain itself.", I of course agree that we should explore this side of the problem as well...in conjunction to the research done on states of consciousness I posted earlier. Ultimately, it doesn't matter who's right. All that matters is the truth itself.