For those of you who have lived here for years?

[susanlea]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

It is first of all knownledge, and being able to do changes. Robin Williams was also an addict of stimulants, and probaly used medication to, so, 

 

 

Compare yourself to a homeless person. That's the best way to lift your mood imo.

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, susanlea said:

Compare yourself to a homeless person. That's the best way to lift your mood imo.

If thats your solution, and work for you, good 😄

[susanlea]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

If thats your solution, and work for you, good 😄

Or go places people like Bob don't go.

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, susanlea said:

Or go places people like Bob don't go.

I cant stay around negative people, or loud people, or noise at all. For me it is freedom to live a bit outside the norm, and control the inviroment, rather the enviroment controlling me.

 

I wish there where no boats around when fishing, but it is holiday season, so just have to accept it. You know what Im meaning? 

[susanlea]

Just now, Hummin said:

I cant stay around negative people, or loud people, or noise at all. For me it is freedom to live a bit outside the norm, and control the inviroment, rather the enviroment controlling me.

 

I wish there where no boats around when fishing, but it is holiday season, so just have to accept it. You know what Im meaning? 

I'm the same.

[StevieAus]

On 7/13/2024 at 3:04 PM, scubascuba3 said:

That would give me little confidence they would pay out when needed, and even more likely premiums become unaffordable when in 70s

Never had a problem with the company I quoted paid out for seven operations without question and also for my daughter on several occasions.

Obviously you have to be able to pay the premiums.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/16/2024 at 2:03 PM, susanlea said:

Go live in Thailand.

I've never considered you to be an idiot previously, but responses like that may cause me to change my mind.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/16/2024 at 3:01 PM, soalbundy said:

everything is made up of agents of consciousness and the reality that we perceive is only 'eye candy'.

The question for that is where does consciousness originate? Nothing comes from nothing, so consciousness can not come from nothing.

 

It's simple for those that believe in a higher power, whatever one's name for that higher power.

How do those that don't believe in consciousness outside this existence explain it? Where does it come from?

[susanlea]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I've never considered you to be an idiot previously, but responses like that may cause me to change my mind.

I like stirring you.

[soalbundy]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The question for that is where does consciousness originate? Nothing comes from nothing, so consciousness can not come from nothing.

 

It's simple for those that believe in a higher power, whatever one's name for that higher power.

How do those that don't believe in consciousness outside this existence explain it? Where does it come from?

Not everything can be known. The mind is material orientated and basically consists of thought, to search with it for answers outside of its realm of experience is therefore pointless.

 

Conscious awareness just is, as human beings we are accustomed to beginnings and ends. There is a perceiver and the object perceived, the perceiver cannot be the object perceived, hence you are not the body which you can perceive, nor can you be the mind whose thoughts you can perceive, what is this 'I' that can observe your thoughts? what is the 'I am' awareness that never ages? It is the same at 5 years old or 80, attitudes and concepts change but 'I am' remains the same. 'I am' is consciousness, it is the space between two thoughts, the emptiness with the potential for everything that is experienced in deep meditation where there is no thought, it is undifferentiated existence without concepts. 'I am' was there at the birth of your avatar and will witness its death which is of no concern to 'I am'.

 

Some people can have a deep spontaneous awakening, be it a farmer, a drunkard or a monk, while some monks can meditate for 40 years and never (like myself) have this experience, it is a matter of grace. Here an excerpt from 'The open Secret' written by a man who had such an awakening while walking through a park in Balham, London, it caused him to sit down in shock and changed his whole life.

 

There is no me or you, no seeker, no enlightenment, no disciple and no guru. There is no better or worse, no path or purpose, and nothing that has to be achieved.

All appearance is source. All that apparently manifests in the hypnotic dream of separation – the world, the life story, the search for home, is one appearing as two, the nothing appearing as everything, the absolute appearing as the particular.

There is no separate intelligence weaving a destiny and no choice functioning at any level. Nothing is happening but this, as it is, invites the apparent seeker to rediscover that which is . . . the abiding, uncaused, unchanging, impersonal silence from which unconditional love overflows and celebrates. It is the wonderful mystery.
 

[thaibeachlovers]

57 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Not everything can be known. The mind is material orientated and basically consists of thought, to search with it for answers outside of its realm of experience is therefore pointless.

 

Conscious awareness just is, as human beings we are accustomed to beginnings and ends. There is a perceiver and the object perceived, the perceiver cannot be the object perceived, hence you are not the body which you can perceive, nor can you be the mind whose thoughts you can perceive, what is this 'I' that can observe your thoughts? what is the 'I am' awareness that never ages? It is the same at 5 years old or 80, attitudes and concepts change but 'I am' remains the same. 'I am' is consciousness, it is the space between two thoughts, the emptiness with the potential for everything that is experienced in deep meditation where there is no thought, it is undifferentiated existence without concepts. 'I am' was there at the birth of your avatar and will witness its death which is of no concern to 'I am'.

 

Some people can have a deep spontaneous awakening, be it a farmer, a drunkard or a monk, while some monks can meditate for 40 years and never (like myself) have this experience, it is a matter of grace. Here an excerpt from 'The open Secret' written by a man who had such an awakening while walking through a park in Balham, London, it caused him to sit down in shock and changed his whole life.

 

There is no me or you, no seeker, no enlightenment, no disciple and no guru. There is no better or worse, no path or purpose, and nothing that has to be achieved.

All appearance is source. All that apparently manifests in the hypnotic dream of separation – the world, the life story, the search for home, is one appearing as two, the nothing appearing as everything, the absolute appearing as the particular.

There is no separate intelligence weaving a destiny and no choice functioning at any level. Nothing is happening but this, as it is, invites the apparent seeker to rediscover that which is . . . the abiding, uncaused, unchanging, impersonal silence from which unconditional love overflows and celebrates. It is the wonderful mystery.
 

It's a shame that the God thread has ended. Many discussions along those lines took place, but everything ends and it had a good run.

 

Your views would have been welcomed by the few of us that took it seriously. Of those I think I'm the only one still posting on AN.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, soalbundy said:

Some people can have a deep spontaneous awakening,

I had one of those, when I realised that our world, the world of humans, is based almost entirely on BS. Not exactly oneness with the creator, but enlightening to myself.

Didn't change my life, just let me look at things from a different perspective. I was already deeply cynical about humanity, and there's not much lower to go from that.

[soalbundy]

Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

I had one of those, when I realised that our world, the world of humans, is based almost entirely on BS. Not exactly oneness with the creator, but enlightening to myself.

Didn't change my life, just let me look at things from a different perspective. I was already deeply cynical about humanity, and there's not much lower to go from that.

Look at it from the point of view that nothing is good or bad.....it just is. It is not for the elf to question the player, the lump of clay can't dictate its final shape to the potter. I am reminded of the young European on the hippy trail to Tibet, he spoke to a revered holy man in a Buddhist temple about the terrible things happening in the world, the monk replied, 'that is good so', the young man was horrified,'but I am fighting against such things, the monk smiled and replied, 'that is also good'.

[soalbundy]

35 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It's a shame that the God thread has ended. Many discussions along those lines took place, but everything ends and it had a good run.

 

Your views would have been welcomed by the few of us that took it seriously. Of those I think I'm the only one still posting on AN.

I don't know of this god thread. While discussions on this subject can sometimes be interesting they lead to nothing, they are merely concepts and opinions. Even the teachings of such great sages as Nisargadatta, Ramana Maharshi, Buddha, and Jesus are just their truths, their experiences, profound though they may be. Your truth, your baptism of conscious awareness must come through personal experience, those of us bereft of such awakenings can only hope they happen on our deathbed if not before. Is it important? Except for the freedom it gives one during life's journey no, what is just is. My two dogs are are conscious sentient beings and hence part of the eternal 'I am' and yet such things don't concern them, they aren't equipped with introspection they are blessed with the ease of being, with 'it is as it is' which is as good a motto to live by as any other, acceptance of what is brings peace. 

[transam]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It's a shame that the God thread has ended. Many discussions along those lines took place, but everything ends and it had a good run.

 

Your views would have been welcomed by the few of us that took it seriously. Of those I think I'm the only one still posting on AN.

Sadly..............

[thaibeachlovers]

28 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I don't know of this god thread.

Ran for about 3 years and has to be the longest thread of all time on AN. Proper title is Do you believe in God and why? or something like that. Haven't seen the OP for years. The thread died quite a long time ago, so it's a ways back on the Pub subforum. Most of the serious contributors are no longer on the forum.

[Yellowtail]

On 7/12/2024 at 1:31 PM, Hummin said:

For those of you who have lived here for years, and above 75 years old. What would you have done differently? 

 

What advice would you give a new expat who arrives here? I'm not just thinking of girls, the P4P scene that is obvious,  most choose to either stay away from, or make their own experiences, I'm thinking of more practical things. 

 

Did you sell everything and leave for good, or was it a process? 

 

Anyone lived here for a while and moved back, and why did you make the decision to move back. Some maybe relocated to another Asian country? Or outside Asia? 

What is your situation? 

[Hummin]

14 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

What is your situation? 

Settled here with a small sustainable farm, and left after this spring because of the heat and smoke. I had enough finely. Another reason is  my wife can gain dual citizenship and pension rights in my home country, as well continue working after I have been semi retired for 8 years to save up for future security and easier to make a choice where I want to end my final days. 

 

 

[LosLobo]

40 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Ran for about 3 years and has to be the longest thread of all time on AN. Proper title is Do you believe in God and why? or something like that. Haven't seen the OP for years. The thread died quite a long time ago, so it's a ways back on the Pub subforum. Most of the serious contributors are no longer on the forum.

That topic has not ended, is more than 5 years old, it's not the longest of all time, there is a least one that is more that 10 years older and it's not way back on the Pub subforum, its currently one below this topic.

 

[saintdomingo]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Ran for about 3 years and has to be the longest thread of all time on AN. Proper title is Do you believe in God and why? or something like that. Haven't seen the OP for years. The thread died quite a long time ago, so it's a ways back on the Pub subforum. Most of the serious contributors are no longer on the forum.

It's still going.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, saintdomingo said:

It's still going.

Just. It used to be awesome, but that was a while back. The main sensible contributors haven't been on it for ages. I think I'm the last of the regulars from the start to still be on the forum ( but not on that thread ), though some on my ignore list may be posting elsewhere.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 hours ago, Hummin said:

Settled here with a small sustainable farm, and left after this spring because of the heat and smoke. I had enough finely. Another reason is  my wife can gain dual citizenship and pension rights in my home country, as well continue working after I have been semi retired for 8 years to save up for future security and easier to make a choice where I want to end my final days. 

 

 

Sounds like you threw the baby out with the bathwater. You could have moved to one of the islands or the Gulf coast.

Had I been able to, I'd never have left Thailand, no matter what. Not being able to get the pension there killed that dream.

[mstevens]

On 7/13/2024 at 10:25 PM, Jingthing said:

I want to amplify on a point I made before.

 

The problem of Thailand having no path to permanent residence for expats on retirement status.

 

In my opinion, this is a super big deal.

 

If you're moving here with the plan of having some fun for a few years before moving on to somewhere else or back home, not a problem.

 

But if you're looking for a new home, a place to live in for the rest of your life -- BIG PROBLEM.

 

There's something called time and the human condition.

 

People get older and older and inevitably there are health issues.

 

If you've lived in a place for decades as an older person moving country becomes more momentous.

 

So you're settled. You don't want to move at all. 

 

Yet as you get older and older in Thailand, fully settled with no desire to ever leave, you STILL must always be on top of both real and potential visa changes that could potentially uproot with devastating effect.

 

For the rest of your life.

 

If you had chosen a country offering permanent residence or citizenship in the first place, you wouldn't have that burden.

 

People in earlier stages of retirement probably can't imagine the significance of this.

 

But it's very real. 

 

This is why I don't recommend retiring in Thailand or to any other country where you can't get permanent residence.

 

Of course there are strong pros and cons to retiring to any country.

 

But I'm suggesting the lack of a path to residence security SHOULD be a deal killer for many more people than it is (because they lack the imagination of what that really means over time). 

 

 

For me, this is one of the best posts I have ever read on this forum. And it's the primary reason why I left Thailand after 20 years.

[FruitPudding]

On 7/12/2024 at 2:32 PM, JeffersLos said:

 

Used a condom with Bua from Patpong. 

 

Why? What did you get?

[Hummin]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sounds like you threw the baby out with the bathwater. You could have moved to one of the islands or the Gulf coast.

Had I been able to, I'd never have left Thailand, no matter what. Not being able to get the pension there killed that dream.

 

I was tired of beaches, I was tired of doing nothing meaningsful, and wanted to try something new, which in combination with covid gave us an opening to settle and build. No regrets, and still an investment for my wife, her parents, and me if we still together in future. It will be there with all its resources and value when we get older, and a second home for us. 

 

Now we secure our future investing in her dual citizenship and pension which also mean she will make money working and contribute to both of us. 

 

a good experience now move on

[BigStar]

6 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I was tired of doing nothing meaningsful

 

I found I never got tired of doing nothing meaningful. It's all I'd hoped it'd be. 🙂 

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

I found I never got tired of doing nothing meaningful. It's all I'd hoped it'd be. 🙂 

Im still able to work and want to work, so not reached that age yet, even I know that is not age related 😄

 

I think I never will stop doing something, if I just can get up in the morning, I hope I will die with my boots on

[BigStar]

2 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I think I never will stop doing something

 

But you've shifted the goalpost, as is common around here. Meaningful is the qualifier. Quite subjective.

[Hummin]

7 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

But you've shifted the goalpost, as is common around here. Meaningful is the qualifier. Quite subjective.

then what is meaningsful for you? 

 

For me, to do something that brings the food on table, even I can buy everything I need in the shop, or rent services to do things for me, I prefer to do what I can do myself. Thats meaningsful to me. As well have food security and also a large enough buffer. 

[BigStar]

15 minutes ago, Hummin said:

then what is meaningsful for you? 

 

For me, to do something that brings the food on table, even I can buy everything I need in the shop, or rent services to do things for me, I prefer to do what I can do myself. Thats meaningsful to me. As well have food security and also a large enough buffer. 

 

Ah. It happens I don't need to do anything for those purposes, but if you do, then more power to you. 🙂 

 

I have quite a few things I merely enjoy doing, none of which are relevant or meaningful to you, except that you might find doing your own retirement extension meaningful. I don't call it meaningful, just a preference. Perhaps going to the gym is meaningful, in that it may mean the likelihood is decreased of seeing docs and taking meds as often in the future. Good 'nuff?

Edited July 22 by BigStar