Aetherous

What we call magic is, in fact, risky stuff. But so is life itself.

I don't recall it being in Wang Mu's book. The four stages are a different thing from 72.

_/\_ I hope that things can change!

I don't recall Wang Mu's book talking about 72 stages...I think that's a different school of thought, from Mo Pai, which is an offshoot of Daoist neidan.

Totally with you on that. So far I've only read 1/4 of the first chapter, so haven't really gotten into the Christianity part. Best thing I've heard this entire month.

What is your suffering like? If we look at the suffering objectively, is it really as bad as it's sounding here? Would any other person be saying the same thing?

Isn't meditation upon a mantra just a form of samatha meditation? I guess if the attention wanders away from the mantra, then the mind goes into the hypnotic state...but the point of doing it is to train the mind onto the object of meditation.

There seems to be a brick wall where the rational mind used to be, prior to indoctrination. Altruism is literally defined as being an unselfish act...of course it exists, and is useful. People need help in the world at times...it's a great thing there are those who act to help them, sometimes for selfish reasons such as feeling good about themselves, or sometimes just to do what makes sense. This discussion has nothing to do with trees.

You don't seem to understand how these words function in English... unselfish and selfless don't mean there is no self to make a decision. They are also different in meaning. Here are the two definitions, and I'll clarify how they differ: Unselfish - having or showing more concern for other people than for yourself; not selfish (selfish is defined as having or showing concern only for yourself and not for the needs or feelings of other people); generous Selfless - having or showing great concern for other people and little to no concern for yourself; having no concern for self; unselfish You're unselfish if you put the oxygen mask on the person sitting next to you first. You're realistically able to do that without passing out. You still consider yourself. You might even have your mask on and then be looking around for someone else to help...you then see a child who is missing their mask, so you take a deep breath of air and then go put theirs on quick and come back. You'd be selfish if you just put your own on and close your eyes hoping you'll survive, or if you refused to take a deep breath and go help someone else, despite seeing them, because you'd be afraid you wouldn't get back to your own mask. You're selfless if you go put the masks on many people before yourself...although selfless doesn't usually have the negative connotation that you would pass out in the process. It just implies that you were functioning in such a way that you weren't thinking of your own safety but primarily of others in the moment. This doesn't mean you have no self, and can't make decisions or do anything. As we saw, altruism is the "unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others"...so altruism doesn't even really approach selflessness, if we're differentiating the term clearly from "unselfish". It's more about generosity than self sacrifice. There is still a sense of self preservation, it's just that you're placing others needs above your own, to a reasonable extent, so that they can be helped. Such as putting on a kid's mask before your own...there is no harm done to you in doing such a thing.

Lets make up definitions for words instead of using them as everyone else in the English language does! I already gave a link to Merriam Webster and gave its definition.

Ah, so you made this scenario to prove your point...one plane is forced self interest and the other is forced death. LOL No, it's not. Please see a good dictionary for the correct use of the word!

Here's the dictionary definition of altruism: "unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others". The word has nothing to do with sacrificing oneself while helping others so as to be unable to actually help others. But if you're defining it that way, then it does make sense that you'd misunderstand my posts. On the first aircraft, there are multiple children who can't reach their oxygen masks. There is a senile elderly person who just isn't getting it. The stewardess is forced to shoot all of those people of lesser value. On the second aircraft, each person looks around their immediate area to place any others' masks on...no one puts their own on. Everyone lives.

Then you didn't grasp it. It's not a sacrifice to help the child get his oxygen mask on, once yours is on.

I'd say the same thing here...not sure you actually read my post...

So true. It seems that you think altruism serves rational self interest. In other words, you do a good deed only because it makes you feel better or maybe causes people to not hate you. One problem with that is that good deeds are often the last thing we want to do, they're unrewarded, sometimes we're even punished for doing them...so it's very unlikely with a hedonist philosophy to ever really do much good...and yet, if no good is done by anyone in society, it invariably comes back to bite us in the ass. When we need help, which happens sometimes in life, it ends up being nowhere. I'm saying it's better if rational self interest serves altruism...like self interest being the base of the pyramid and altruism being the capstone. You first of all get the ability to help yourself and others, lets say you become wealthy...then you're in a better position to be of service. Can't help others in the same way if you're broke and ineffective. Being of service is not sacrifice...I would say it's also part of rational self interest. Sometimes we're punished for being greedy...maybe family grows away from us because we're too selfish and unmerciful to them. Maybe we even get fired from our position of employment for it. Such a thing doesn't serve us, of course. Sometimes good deeds serve us, sometimes self interest serves us. Spiritually speaking, since we're on a forum kind of dedicated to that, it's a degrading way to live to put oneself before others. The heart becomes stunted and darkens. There's no chance of development with such a philosophy. A purely altruistic philosophy without the base of rational self interest would be only slightly better, yet it's an impotent form of altruism and really doesn't solve anything. To put it very simply: it's best in life if we benefit ourselves as well as others. Or as the US military drilled into my head: TEAMWORK IS THE KEY.

So what would a child sitting next to you trade that's of value, once you have your own oxygen mask on?

Rational self interest for the purpose of effective altruism would be a great thing.

Yes.

It seems to me like moving to a better city is what you want, perhaps living in a small town in a natural setting that's a short drive to this better city. There are many places that are 10-20 minutes out from a large city. Perhaps the stuck feeling, of being in a place you can't stand to be, was one cause of those health issues you've experienced recently. So, if it were me, I'd place a high priority on finding the best place to live. Maybe everything will work more smoothly after that. I had an idea...go to a place where you can see the stars clearly, look up there and feel how relaxing it is to be under them, and ask for guidance and help. That can make the path you're supposed to be on much more apparent. Then it's simply a matter of deciding and doing. And I think...if you have a strong desire, it's good to live in alignment with it, with your self and heart, rather than to live unable to fulfill it. It's probably good to either live out the desire, or else cultivate other desires more strongly than that one. It is possible to change what we desire. Anyway...I have a feeling you'll soon turn this around. Even in your first post it sounds to me like you've already decided. There's a sense of relief I felt when reading "radical reinvention is necessary". And in your last post where you shared the specifics, it sounds like you already know the problem and thus, the solution.

That sounds so good.

I'm really glad to have myelin sheaths.

I'd say for someone who is generally internal and a cultivator (which I'd definitely say you are), they're already doing that constantly and will tend to be hard on themselves...a balanced approach for that person is to make the external change. Sometimes it becomes imbalanced to cultivate at the expense of oneself. Take care of yourself, too, and know that you aren't the impetuous/flighty type who abandons everything the moment it becomes challenging...that it was simply time to take the reigns of your life. Sometimes cultivation requires us to take charge of external situations, too. Something else to think about... If you've aimed for a goal in your life, or have a vision for what you want your life to be, and are working toward that, keep going toward it. That's when cultivating and internal change is better. Lets say if you decided to start an entrepreneurial endeavor in a certain city for a good reason...just because some things are off, like you've made some bad friends, doesn't mean it's a good idea to abandon the city. Make the internal change, and look for the positive aspects of being there, etc. But if these situations have nothing to do with how you envision your life to be, and you're still working toward your goals, or would perhaps even be closer to your goals if you made an external change, then make the external change. Lets say you wanted a good relationship, but the person you're dating is overbearing, abusive, and high maintenance...they're also impacting your ability to accomplish your goals in your business endeavor...so, cut the cord of that relationship and find one that more suits your vision. I hope these ideas make sense in relation to what you're experiencing. The examples I gave are just because I have no idea about the details of your issue.

I agree.