Do you believe in God and why

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

To be honest, i found that a significant part of my own suffering comes from seeing the suffering of others.

A significant part of my suffering is caused by other people.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, Tagged said:

What is the greatest evil on the planet? Quite a challenging question in fact. 

IMO it's greed. Greed encompasses the worship of money, gluttony, pride, selfishness, hatred of others, envy of those with more, cruelty and believing one is better than others.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Sunmaster said:

Ramana Maharshi also made a good point...

 

Q: What about the seething humanity, sweating and suffering? What is the solution for so much suffering in the world?

R.M.: Have you found out about your own suffering that you are keen to solve the world’s?

The seething humanity, sweating and suffering is quite easily solved if only people would stop making more children than they and the economy can sustain.

[mauGR1]

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

A significant part of my suffering is caused by other people.

The main problem with being good, is that you have to endure a lot of bad people.

Just ask Jesus Christ ????

[Tagged]

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Who says Nordic countries are happiest? I knew a Swede that hated Sweden. A small sample for sure, but not expected in the happiest country.

 

Well sweeden is sweeden????

 

Denmark, Iceland, Suomi and Norway the happiest people on earth. sweeden is 7. Well you will find some everywhere who hate their country no matter what possibillities they have been given, and not used very well. 

 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report

Edited October 15, 2020 by Tagged

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Well sweeden is sweeden????

 

Denmark, Iceland, Suomi and Norway the happiest people on earth

Who says?

[Tagged]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Who says?

Edited because of missing link

[thaibeachlovers]

13 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Denmark, Iceland, Suomi and Norway the happiest people on earth. sweeden is 7. Well you will find some everywhere who hate their country no matter what possibillities they have been given, and not used very well. 

All I can say is that a list that says NZ is the 8th happiest in world is, IMO, BS. Or, if it is 8th, no country is very happy at all. NZ is, IMO, very definitely NOT a happy country for reasons I'm not going to put on here.

[thaibeachlovers]

I have recently given much thought to "happiness". IMO happiness is the absence of unhappiness, and everyone is unhappy to some extent.

Sure, we can be happy for a while if everything is perfect, and we all probably have the odd perfect moment ( mine would be waking up to a perfect day and the sound of the gentle waves lapping on the shore of a favorite Thai beach, while a lovely lady sleeps next to me ), but they don't last. Even a perfect moment has the seeds of unhappiness because we know it's not going to last.

Soooo, while I think everyone can have moments of perfect happiness, they are never long lasting, and IMO the normal human condition is not happiness ( I'm not saying that the normal condition is unhappiness, though it may be so ).

IMO impossible to say a country is happy or otherwise. Some of the people will be happy and others unhappy at the same time.

IMO all that can be said is that the people of a particular country might have more reason to be happy than others, but it doesn't mean that the people will, in fact, be happy.

This is something I have learned recently, and whenever a moment of happiness or contentment occurs I try to treasure it because I know that sooner or later some <deleted> is going to come along and stuff it up.

[Tagged]

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

All I can say is that a list that says NZ is the 8th happiest in world is, IMO, BS. Or, if it is 8th, no country is very happy at all. NZ is, IMO, very definitely NOT a happy country for reasons I'm not going to put on here.

Obvious you have personal reasons to believe so, and I or we have to respect that. But, blaiming everyone else for your happiness, is not going to solve your problems or make you happy. Only you can tak grip of your life, learn from earlier mistakes, the kind of people you are surrounded with and take any possible positive adventage you have, and from what you have learned to improve your life. Everyone or most people meat challenges, every people meet bad people on their journey in life, and all of us have at least one economic chrises to look back on to. I had 3 solid once pushing me back, and including one right now forcing me to make new plans for future. I guess we all can easily blaim someone who made our life harder than necessery, but it will not help us much. 

[Tagged]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

IMO all that can be said is that the people of a particular country might have more reason to be happy than others, but it doesn't mean that the people will, in fact, be happy.

This is something I have learned recently, and whenever a moment of happiness or contentment occurs I try to treasure it because I know that sooner or later some <deleted> is going to come along and stuff it up.

People often find out what happiness is, when the base for their life dissapears and they have to restart everything. Then you will know what happiness is. And all above mentioned countries have that solid base so everyone is equal and have the same rights as possibilities. It comes with free elections, free speach, and a quite homogeneous population Not necessery in colour, religion but in education and equal possibilities and common goels for the future. That means a healthy stable goverment, healthcare which includes willing to pay taxes and so on. 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Tagged said:

Obvious you have personal reasons to believe so, and I or we have to respect that. But, blaiming everyone else for your happiness, is not going to solve your problems or make you happy. Only you can tak grip of your life, learn from earlier mistakes, the kind of people you are surrounded with and take any possible positive adventage you have, and from what you have learned to improve your life. Everyone or most people meat challenges, every people meet bad people on their journey in life, and all of us have at least one economic chrises to look back on to. I had 3 solid once pushing me back, and including one right now forcing me to make new plans for future. I guess we all can easily blaim someone who made our life harder than necessery, but it will not help us much. 

I am quite aware that I'm responsible for my own happiness, but other people make me unhappy ie when I  fear for my life on the road because of bad drivers or I have some horrid customs officer spending four hours searching my bag at the airport.

To use the beach analogy, I could be perfectly happy but a dog might bite me and I would be unhappy because I might get rabies.

As for NZ one only has to listen to radio talkback to know that people are not happy.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Tagged said:

People often find out what happiness is, when the base for their life dissapears and they have to restart everything. Then you will know what happiness is. And all above mentioned countries have that solid base so everyone is equal and have the same rights as possibilities. It comes with free elections, free speach, and a quite homogeneous population Not necessery in colour, religion but in education and equal possibilities and common goels for the future. That means a healthy stable goverment, healthcare which includes willing to pay taxes and so on. 

No amount of equality can make someone happy when they lose a loved family member. Thousands of people die every day- they all had many significant others that will be unhappy and sad. Even a child losing a loved pet animal will be distraught.

The tables of happiness are about things, but my happiness index is about emotions.

Ask a mother living a perfect life that lost a child if she is happy.

[Tagged]

38 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No amount of equality can make someone happy when they lose a loved family member. Thousands of people die every day- they all had many significant others that will be unhappy and sad. Even a child losing a loved pet animal will be distraught.

The tables of happiness are about things, but my happiness index is about emotions.

Ask a mother living a perfect life that lost a child if she is happy.

You talking about life and death, and there is nothing more natural than we all going to die, but it doesnt give us any comfort knowing so, when it happens. 

 

Can I ask you a question? Doesnt a mother who lost a child deserve a happy life? I know mothers who have lost their son, their daughter, and even two of their babies at the same time. They live perfectly healthy lives, carried on, but yes, they have a wound, they still missing, but they keep on fighting for their happiness because they deserve it. Of course moments that is harder than others when it comes to surten days, but still, they carry on. 

 

I also know people and I think we all know those who struggle a daily fight for life and death, cultivating the same black thoughts over and over, again and again, and never manage to see the light. Tried everything in their capacity to solve it, and be it medication and proffesionals to help them out. But nothing works for them. All I can say who have been in the dark, rapid thoughts, blaiming others, and finely find someone who took me serious, gave me some key tools, and I managed to find a way back to normal life. Did not come without changes in how I was thinking, eating, moving, sleeping, drinking, and time. Patience and dedications and less expectations than ever before helped me on my way. I was at the dead end. But I actually found light, and it is quite normal for many people and I found out I was not alone with these struggles I had. 

 

I would like to think im cured, but Im not, I need to fight these demons with the same tools that got me out of it, and the truth is, Im willing to do so, because there is nothing back there I was that is worth going back to. 

 

And actually it really hurts me you explaining your struggles, but I truly hope you manage to overcome your demons one day, and see the same as I have. 

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Can I ask you a question? Doesnt a mother who lost a child deserve a happy life? I know mothers who have lost their son, their daughter, and even two of their babies at the same time. They live perfectly healthy lives, carried on, but yes, they have a wound, they still missing, but they keep on fighting for their happiness because they deserve it. Of course moments that is harder than others when it comes to surten days, but still, they carry on. 

My own mother lost a child at 2 years old. She never got over it. I know as much as any about loss and pain.

[mauGR1]

16 hours ago, Tagged said:

would like to think im cured, but Im not, I need to fight these demons with the same tools that got me out of it, and the truth is, Im willing to do so, because there is nothing back there I was that is worth going back to. 

 

And actually it really hurts me you explaining your struggles, but I truly hope you manage to overcome your demons one day, and see the same as I have. 

The ultimate battle is the one which is fought within ourselves. There are obviously different forces fighting each other, and the outcome can be devastating.

I think that a mild, occasional depression is "normal", even the most ancient writers mentioned it, but various factors can make it unbearable.

As you say, the major, indispensable tool is WILL, and although the demons are powerful, once you get in charge of your will, the demons will disappear.

If there is something really useless in the life, is being miserable, and we have plenty of tools to overcome the sadness, if we have the will.

[VincentRJ]

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The Buddha might disagree.

It would be helpful if you could provide some reference to any Buddhist scriptures which imply that the Buddha might disagree with my view that worshipping statues of himself was not recommended by him after his enlightenment.

 

"A very significant gap of several centuries exists between the lifetime of the historical Buddha, and the creation of the first surviving images of the Buddha in stone or any other medium. 
Many scholars have speculated that an aniconic (without idols) period existed in Buddhist art, where there was a prohibition against depicting the actual Buddha."

 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/beginners-guide-asian-culture/buddhist-art-culture/a/development-of-the-buddha-image

 

"When Buddha was still alive he never asked his followers to make statues or worship him in images. Instead he taught us to not have any attachment to anything - not even himself.
Buddha said that the best way to worship him was to follow his teachings, and that after he passed away, after his "Nirvana", his teachings would take his place."

[Tagged]

41 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

The ultimate battle is the one which is fought within ourselves. There are obviously different forces fighting each other, and the outcome can be devastating.

I think that a mild, occasional depression is "normal", even the most ancient writers mentioned it, but various factors can make it unbearable.

As you say, the major, indispensable tool is WILL, and although the demons are powerful, once you get in charge of your will, the demons will disappear.

If there is something really useless in the life, is being miserable, and we have plenty of tools to overcome the sadness, if we have the will.

It is a tough topic. Everyone is different and everyone have difference backgrounds, different childhood, parents with struggles as well, and Given tools to master life if that can be said so. Be it from family, school, teachers, friends, or genetic. The generation curse is so real for all of us, and it will hount us for generations even we are innocent. The only thing we can do and pray for, that we do not continue to bring this generation curse on to the next generations or any other close to us, be it family, collegs or friends. 

 

Understanding what we struggle with is a good start, not putting blame on others, forgive, then understand how our brain works, and start with studying tools available. So many selfhelp tools that works well, and our brain plasticity is part of how to start thinking different, or better said force your brain to react and think different. I simply call it self brainwashing. At once you detect a crisis or a negative thought, you have a Script like a check list you start going trough, and make it to something positiv. Of course sounds very simple, but in fact it is simple at once you understand how your brain connect to different situations, news, words, situations and so on. 

 

As you say, the will to change is the essential part here. Some are just stuck cultivating the negativity and mistrust to everyone and the whole world, and when you understand where they come from, it is easy to understand why. Also easy to understand why people give up, when everything they try fail at some point, but still there is hope, and it can change, but identifying the real problems is nr 1. First then you can solve it, and do something about it. Sometimes we do need help to get going, and it is maybe not much, just some listening to you, and while you talking, you just figure out yourself, or you need someone making a 12 step plan for you and follow you up and make sure you commit to do it. I believe it comes from you, inside of you, that you really want it, and really want to change because there is not other way out of it. 

 

 

Some links And there is quite a few to find from more simple explained to more clinical researches.

 

"

'The Brain That Changes Itself' by Norman Doidge, M.D.

About the Book…  (with acknowledgements to: http://www.normandoidge.com/ ) "THE BRAIN CAN CHANGE ITSELF. It is a plastic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age. Arguably the most important breakthrough in neuroscience since scientists first sketched out the brain’s basic anatomy, this revolutionary discovery, called neuroplasticity, promises to overthrow the centuries-old notion that the brain is fixed and unchanging.

 

 The brain is not, as was thought, like a machine, or “hardwired” like a computer. Neuroplasticity not only gives hope to those with mental limitations, or what was thought to be incurable brain damage, but expands our understanding of the healthy brain and the resilience of human nature. Norman Doidge, MD, a psychiatrist and researcher, set out to investigate neuroplasticity and met both the brilliant scientists championing it and the people whose lives they’ve transformed. The result is this book, a riveting collection of case histories detailing the astonishing progress of people whose conditions had long been dismissed as hopeless. "

https://thinktherapycenter.com/brain-plasticity

 

 

Neuroplasticity in mood disorders

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181795/

[mauGR1]

32 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

It would be helpful if you could provide some reference to any Buddhist scriptures which imply that the Buddha might disagree with my view that worshipping statues of himself was not recommended by him after his enlightenment.

 

"A very significant gap of several centuries exists between the lifetime of the historical Buddha, and the creation of the first surviving images of the Buddha in stone or any other medium. 
Many scholars have speculated that an aniconic (without idols) period existed in Buddhist art, where there was a prohibition against depicting the actual Buddha."

 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/beginners-guide-asian-culture/buddhist-art-culture/a/development-of-the-buddha-image

 

"When Buddha was still alive he never asked his followers to make statues or worship him in images. Instead he taught us to not have any attachment to anything - not even himself.
Buddha said that the best way to worship him was to follow his teachings, and that after he passed away, after his "Nirvana", his teachings would take his place."

The teachings of the Buddha are indeed a milestone in the spiritual evolution of mankind.

He literally destroyed the rusty chains of organized religion, with all its useless rituals.

In my opinion, Jesus Christ was doing the same.

No surprise though, that the teachings of those great masters have been distorted and used once again to subjugate the people on and on.

Nowadays we see exactly the same pattern, and "science" has become the new religion.

Be aware of the priests !

[mauGR1]

@tagged, not willing to quote your long post, but of course I could fully agree with your insights on this issue.

I believe in the concept that "simple is beautiful and true" so I will say once again that meditation is my favourite tool.

And it's free !

As for spiritual science, that's our individual choice, and whatever resonates well with you, there you go.

Anthroposophy resonates well with me, and after a few years of some dedication, I can see some fruitful trees growing from its seeds.

I like Voltaire when he said something like :" the world may be in a mess, but let's tend our garden".

[Sunmaster]

11 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

[...]

I like Voltaire when he said something like :" the world may be in a mess, but let's tend our garden".

Which is in perfect alignment with Ramana Maharshi's quote I posted earlier...

 

Q: What is the solution for so much suffering in the world?

R.M.: Have you found out about your own suffering that you are keen to solve the world’s?

I'm now trying to practice an 'ecology of the mind', where I keep a close eye on what reaches my awareness. I started getting rid of all those Facebook news outlets and people that spread nothing but negativity. It's a never ending source of events that will make you feel indignant, despair at the blatant injustices around the world, powerless for not being able to change them and leave you with a feeling of negativity that will cloud your judgement and your perception of the world. Ultimately, the negativity will find a way out of you and usually those who suffer are the ones closest to you and those who least deserve it. And all that for what? 

I told my friends, but they see it as an escape from reality. In their eyes I should at least fight for one or the other issue (depending on what is important to them at that time) that is crippling the world right now. Democracy...environment...conspiracies...big pharma...deep government...poverty...and so on and so forth. It's a never ending circle of wars you're supposed to fight.
But how can you fight such a war, when you haven't won the most important fight with your ego first? How can you spread love, when you haven't learned how to love yourself first?

 

So, that's what I'm doing now. I replaced all those negative influences with inspiring and uplifting messages...and I feel a lot better for it. It might not be the right way for everyone, but it works for me.

[Tagged]

45 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

@tagged, not willing to quote your long post, but of course I could fully agree with your insights on this issue.

I believe in the concept that "simple is beautiful and true" so I will say once again that meditation is my favourite tool.

And it's free !

As for spiritual science, that's our individual choice, and whatever resonates well with you, there you go.

Anthroposophy resonates well with me, and after a few years of some dedication, I can see some fruitful trees growing from its seeds.

I like Voltaire when he said something like :" the world may be in a mess, but let's tend our garden".

I can only speak for myself, but essential for me, was to understand how my brain works, and especially the plasticity capacity and of course how you can controll your chemicals by thoughts. Maybe be same as meditation, but for me meditation is to static, I need to move, and I need to focus on something while Im moving. The same for me when it comes to yoga, Im to restless to do those kind of movements or have the patience to such a path. 

 

Some manage to pull themselves together to find inner peace by sitting still, I find inner peace moving, and yoga do not fit my mechanics if thats possible to say or state. 

[mauGR1]

25 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

Which is in perfect alignment with Ramana Maharshi's quote I posted earlier...

 

Q: What is the solution for so much suffering in the world?

R.M.: Have you found out about your own suffering that you are keen to solve the world’s?

I'm now trying to practice an 'ecology of the mind', where I keep a close eye on what reaches my awareness. I started getting rid of all those Facebook news outlets and people that spread nothing but negativity. It's a never ending source of events that will make you feel indignant, despair at the blatant injustices around the world, powerless for not being able to change them and leave you with a feeling of negativity that will cloud your judgement and your perception of the world. Ultimately, the negativity will find a way out of you and usually those who suffer are the ones closest to you and those who least deserve it. And all that for what? 

I told my friends, but they see it as an escape from reality. In their eyes I should at least fight for one or the other issue (depending on what is important to them at that time) that is crippling the world right now. Democracy...environment...conspiracies...big pharma...deep government...poverty...and so on and so forth. It's a never ending circle of wars you're supposed to fight.
But how can you fight such a war, when you haven't won the most important fight with your ego first? How can you spread love, when you haven't learned how to love yourself first?

 

So, that's what I'm doing now. I replaced all those negative influences with inspiring and uplifting messages...and I feel a lot better for it. It might not be the right way for everyone, but it works for me.

I find your way really inspiring, everyone has a priority to look into himself before criticising the outside world. 

That reminds me of the powerful parable of the beam in the eye.

Keep on the good work ????

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, VincentRJ said:

It would be helpful if you could provide some reference to any Buddhist scriptures which imply that the Buddha might disagree with my view that worshipping statues of himself was not recommended by him after his enlightenment.

 

"A very significant gap of several centuries exists between the lifetime of the historical Buddha, and the creation of the first surviving images of the Buddha in stone or any other medium. 
Many scholars have speculated that an aniconic (without idols) period existed in Buddhist art, where there was a prohibition against depicting the actual Buddha."

 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/beginners-guide-asian-culture/buddhist-art-culture/a/development-of-the-buddha-image

 

"When Buddha was still alive he never asked his followers to make statues or worship him in images. Instead he taught us to not have any attachment to anything - not even himself.
Buddha said that the best way to worship him was to follow his teachings, and that after he passed away, after his "Nirvana", his teachings would take his place."

I wasn't referring to statues.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Tagged said:

It is a tough topic. Everyone is different and everyone have difference backgrounds, different childhood, parents with struggles as well, and Given tools to master life if that can be said so. Be it from family, school, teachers, friends, or genetic. The generation curse is so real for all of us, and it will hount us for generations even we are innocent. The only thing we can do and pray for, that we do not continue to bring this generation curse on to the next generations or any other close to us, be it family, collegs or friends. 

Given tools to master life if that can be said so. Be it from family, school, teachers, friends.

 

No one gave me anything except negativity, but anyone can make something of themselves if they don't expect help to come from others.

 

I spent much of my life worrying about what other people might think of me- that brought me nothing but self loathing as I could never have made them "love" me as a person and being denied "love" I thought the fault was within myself.

The secret to being happy IMO is to love oneself and ignore what others think of one. The path is difficult though, as I was brainwashed all my life into thinking other's opinion of myself mattered. I have to unlearn a lifetime's wrong learning.

 

We see such atrocities when young people kill themselves because horrid people bully them on that worst of all platforms- social media.

 

The most popular people I have known are those that care nothing about other people.

Edited October 16, 2020 by thaibeachlovers

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Tagged said:

Some manage to pull themselves together to find inner peace by sitting still, I find inner peace moving, and yoga do not fit my mechanics if thats possible to say or state. 

I only found some peace when I stopped rushing about. On the road I used to go fast as possible and never stopped to enjoy what I was passing. Now I have no reason to rush I enjoy journeys far more.

As for things like yoga, whatever works for the individual is what works. My mother always tried to make me do things her way, which never worked for me. I'm now trying to discover what works for me, but the search may last longer than my remaining life on earth.

[mauGR1]

1 hour ago, Tagged said:

Some manage to pull themselves together to find inner peace by sitting still, I find inner peace moving, and yoga do not fit my mechanics if thats possible to say or state. 

Actually, it's exactly the same for me, although I did some yoga practice, and learned some breathing techniques at a younger age.

Recently I found out, and I guess it depends on the practice, that I can be in a state of unperturbed meditation while doing jobs, and even while talking to somebody, although I normally prefer focusing on the job when I'm whizzing around with my motorbike ????

[mauGR1]

7 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm now trying to discover what works for me, but the search may last longer than my remaining life on earth.

I am quite sure that you have what you need already inside yourself, at least as much as anyone else.

If you can accept that it's just about will, you don't have to look too far at all, contemplating the nature around you, while relaxing your breathing, can project your soul into a instant nirvana ????

[Tagged]

1 hour ago, mauGR1 said:

Actually, it's exactly the same for me, although I did some yoga practice, and learned some breathing techniques at a younger age.

Recently I found out, and I guess it depends on the practice, that I can be in a state of unperturbed meditation while doing jobs, and even while talking to somebody, although I normally prefer focusing on the job when I'm whizzing around with my motorbike ????

Walking give me most peace and creative thoughts, as freediving and weight training give me my breathing exercises as where I also learned breathing techniques thats helps me In my daily life, and also made me aware of my tense breathing from time to time. Also made me aware of how I stopped breathing for moments when I was working, reading, watching movies or almost everything I did, I had a tendence to stop breathing doing something, or doing nothing. After I became aware of my breathing habbits, I also loosened up, less tense body, and my back became better, my joints became better, but of course it was not only the breathing, but the whole package. Less social stress, less headeache, less struggle, slept better +++++, so it is not necessery to do yoga or meditate in the state of what you think, but find solutions that works for you. Same same but different. 

 

 

[mauGR1]

16 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Walking give me most peace and creative thoughts, as freediving and weight training give me my breathing exercises as where I also learned breathing techniques thats helps me In my daily life, and also made me aware of my tense breathing from time to time. Also made me aware of how I stopped breathing for moments when I was working, reading, watching movies or almost everything I did, I had a tendence to stop breathing doing something, or doing nothing. After I became aware of my breathing habbits, I also loosened up, less tense body, and my back became better, my joints became better, but of course it was not only the breathing, but the whole package. Less social stress, less headeache, less struggle, slept better +++++, so it is not necessery to do yoga or meditate in the state of what you think, but find solutions that works for you. Same same but different. 

 

 

I find many things in common with your experience, and this gives me a little hope for the future of humankind.

If it's true that there s a lot of evil on this planet, it's also true that more and more people are waking up.

Keep up the good work !