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Karl, Some of the points you're making are not logically sound imo. "We cannot ask questions beyond these primaries." Why can't we? It's an assumption that we can only know what our senses reveal, or that that which cannot be PROVEN, cannot be KNOWN. My sister has said, "Well, there's so many religions and different beliefs, how do we know who's right? We can't know for sure. No one knows." She's assuming that truth can't be known based on insufficient data. That truth cannot be known DOES NOT logically follow from the fact that people believe different things. You see, it SEEMS logical, reasonable, rational, to her, that we can't know, but it IS an assumption. Again, the popular philisophical idea that we "can't know" if God exists is also an assumption. YOU might not know, Bertrand Russell might not know, but it doesn't follow that it's impossible to know. Consider the idea that it MIGHT be possible to know, but that you DON'T KNOW whether it is or not. Consider that you don't know whether or not it's possible to know.

sexually attractive: authenticity or pretending sexually unattractive: pretending to be authentic or pretending to pretend very sexually attractive: extreme authenticity or pretending not to pretend

I discovered this when I was doing non-meditation (no effort, no technique), and I feel that, for me at least, it's a very important insight about a very effective and powerful approach to meditating. Even though I've practiced non-meditation for years, I realized that I still hadn't fully grasped the idea of "no effort". There was always some effort to be at peace and quiet my mind. Try meditating like this: Just sit there. Don't use ANY effort at all. Sit there like a dog or cat, or like when you're driving your car. I've found this way of meditating to be very effective, and I feel that it captures the true spirit and meaning of meditation.

Silent thunder, Your words are very inspiring, thanks for sharing them. You seem like you've really learned some very valuable lessons. Of course, pain is a great teacher, and it's through experience that we grow and acquire wisdom. It's like you've seen the light, found the answer, through much experience and suffering. You've really got a beautiful story.

Thanks for sharing this, ST. I feel like you've expressed the essence of Buddhism, the gist of the teaching. Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield sums up the Buddhist teaching as letting go. You've masterfully articulated that imo. It's also probably what I needed to hear, as I tend to cling and seem to avoid letting go. You know, it really does take serious guts to do what you're saying.

You're making a very good point imo, and one about which there's a lot of disagreement. Krishnamurti would probably agree with you. He says that the very search for emptiness (what you're calling no-mind) is a denial of it. Other teachers have encouraged an active and passionate search for enlightenment, and have their particular methods and approaches to achieve it. The thing is that the "extra mind" that you're talking about (which you're saying is an impediment and a negative thing) can be thought of simply as the TRUE Mind, the Christ Mind, the Buddha Consciousness. I've always felt that my desire for and search for enlightenment arose out of my divine nature. But it gets very difficult because the seeker can get caught up in "agendas", which are an avoidance of and a distraction from one's truly loving, divine purpose. (I use the word "agenda" to express an unloving purpose which arises out of fear, and "purpose" to express a path that comes from love) It may indeed be that for YOU, not seeking or wanting is the truly loving approach. I just feel that for some, having a well-defined goal of finding enlightenment, and even following the method that suits them, is right for THEM. This is just my opinion but I could be mistaken. My main concern for myself and other seekers is whether one is seeking honestly, and is sincerely fulfilling their purpose, or do they have agendas and are not truly walking the path with genuine integrity.

I didn't mean that we shouldn't take productive or wise, loving action. It's a meditation technique that clears the mind of illusion, creates peace in life, and empowers one to do good and to take more effective action. A quiet mind can immensely help a person to live more productively. "Pseudo-emptiness" comes from the suppression of the contents of consciousness, not the release and transcendence of it.

Two quotes by Krishnamurti are: "Time cannot bring about mutation." "Can you put your whole being into finding out what love is?" He taught, as probably most of you know, that through observation- the choiceless awareness of the contents of one's consciousness, we can find freedom from thought in which love has its being. I haven't really practiced that teaching, but the two quotes above apply to me. There came a time when I had a virtually fanatical desire to "know what love is". I tried so hard to express love to people, I wanted to be "good"- loving, and I had this deep-seated sense that there was a love that I needed to find. I searched for it passionately for about three years, and on a spiritual retreat, I finally found what I was looking for. I didn't find enlightenment, but I'm sure that I had what Krishnamurti calls "mutation". "Time cannot bring about mutation." For me, time brought about the readiness for mutation. On the retreat, I opened my heart wide, I mean WIDE, it was like all the love of my divine nature came pouring out of me. It wasn't a choice, it happened spontaneously. A light went on in my head, what Krishnamurti calls a "destructive flash"- I found love. I was a completely different person afterwards, it was truly a "mutation". A female friend of mine told my ex-girlfriend, "He's so different!" Imagine if a person you know well took on the personality of someone else you know well. That would be like mutation. It's like you're a different person.

cool: equality dorky: specialness false cool: false superiority that pretends not to want to be special

Spiritual maturity and divine sanity are most frequently demonstrated in this world as a deep concern and carefulness with others' feelings. Love your neighbor please. It matters.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Karl. You may be right.

I tend to lean towards socialism, as I feel that capitalism is a very unfair, dog-eat-dog world. I just feel that the people, and government, have a responsibility to the individual, and should attempt to make life on earth as fair (just) and safe as possible for everyone. I was happy to read recently that both Jean Paul Sartre and Helen Keller, two people whom I admire greatly, were socialistic in their economic pov. I also believe in a one-world government, or at least that there should be a union among governments with the best interests of all people as its objective. I don't believe that the USA should attempt to become socialistic- that would be virtually impossible given the current situation. But I do feel that it's a far more loving economic system than dog-eat-dog, competitive capitalism. I'm also adamantly pro-choice and strongly against the death penalty.

My inspiration for making this post is noonespecial's quote, "do not mistake seriousness for sincerity, complexity for truth, variety for freedom." I found those words very wise and inspiring. Thanks noonespecial! There's a teaching in Buddhism (as I read in one of Jack Kornfield's books) about the "near-enemies." It's when something can seem like a thing, and perhaps pass as it in people's minds, but it's really a counterfeit version of that which it poses as. Examples are: The three examples in the quote above. Attachment passing as love. "Power over" passing as actual power. Egocentricity passing as self-love. Daring passing as true courage. I feel that this idea of the "near-enemies" can really help to see things more clearly, because most people are fooled by them - in other words, they take the "near-enemy" to be the thing it poses as. I think it particularly, in the world today, applies to self-love. Egocentricity and defensiveness are often one's idea of self-love.

D.A.D., I will certainly pray wholeheartedly that your wish come true.

DifferentlyAbledDaoist, You can always just say (pray) to God, the Universe, the Self, your Higher Power, or whatever you think of as a supreme being or power, something like, "Please send me the right woman for me at the right time, and help me to have a wonderful relationship with her." God answers ALL prayers, either with a yes or no.

Opening your heart to love, your mind to truth, your eyes to beauty. I love your quote, "do not mistake seriousness for sincerity, complexity for truth, variety for freedom." That's awesome. Is that an actual quote? Who said it? I feel that my reading it was a message to me, something I needed to hear.

Profounded, Forget about letting go. Just do what makes you happy. Do what gives you peace. Everything is okay. If you want to create a healthy sense of self, an attractive and strong personality, repeat the affirmation, "I am beautiful and worthy," for a minute or even thirty seconds every day. It works. It will also make you more sexually attractive. I hope this helps.

Einstein said, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." Consider three ideas: Live for others. Live for you. Live for love. I prefer, of these three, live for love. Billy Graham has frequently preached, "Live for Christ." My point is that there can be some kind of higher purpose or dedication. Know that your life DOES indeed have meaning. You don't necessarily have to intellectually understand it to have a deep sense of purpose. Check out Viktor Frankl's books, "Man's Search for Meaning," and, "Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning." He survived a Nazi concentration camp, and developed his Existential philosophy largely from the wisdom gained from his experience. One more thing. The driving ambition of my life has been to find enlightenment, and this goal has provided me with a profound sense of purpose and meaning. You can have a long-term goal or dream that will endow your life with meaning. Oh btw, both Eckhart Tolle and Paramhansa Yogananda teach that the ultimate purpose of our lives is to awaken spiritually. I'm editing this now to add two things. Einstein also said, "Try not to become a man of success, rather, try to become a man of value." And Emerson said, "To live so as to have made one life easier is to have succeeded." Try to be a blessing to others.

Very good point imo. What the listener to music is actually appreciating is the divine truth, love, innocence, and ultimate reality that the music represents for them. The reason FORM appeals to people is because it can be a manifestation of CONTENT, which is God, love, reality.

Shad282, The way I see it is that All That Is (or God if you prefer) wants to fully experience love, joy, peace, success, happiness, forgiveness.....all good things. It wants total spiritual experience. Without sickness, there couldn't be any such thing as healing; without anger, there'd be no such thing as forgiveness; without ignorance, there wouldn't be learning. Without ALL possible experiences, All That Is couldn't fully experience all good things. Therefore all possibilities exist, so the Self can have total experience of love, truth, and all good things. I feel pretty strongly about this.

Open your heart. If you make doing this your main priority, you'll succeed. It requires courage, but it can be done. You have to want it.

Be a good person. That's far more important than formal practices.

Mud Dragon, Follow your heart. Or to put it better, follow your bliss. Do what gives you peace and joy. Don't worry about what you "should" do - do what you WANT to do. I'm not suggesting that you do anything morally wrong, but that you do as you please when it comes to what path you take and your spiritual practices. A few things that have helped me are: Excercise. There's no need to be extreme about it, just five or ten minutes a day can help. Jumping jacks, push ups, body squats and calf raises are great exercises. You don't need a gym or anything other than your body to do those exercises. Get a lot of protein. It's not only good for you physically, but psychologically and emotionally. Experiment with meditation techniques until you find one you feel great about, then stick with it. Be as regular as possible with your meditation regimen. One final thing is (and the reason I'm sharing this with you is because you mentioned wanting to grow wiser as you get older), I recommend the book, "The Art of Living," by Epictetus. It's possibly the greatest work ever written about wisdom imo. I hope this helps.

Lack of love is an illusion. Everyone is wholly good. This doesn't seem to be the case, but things aren't what they seem; they are what they are.

Thanks for sharing this, 9th. The subject of life on other planets is fascinating.