Am I being selfish asking the universe for what I want?

[idiot_stimpy]

Just a nice little thought to ponder over lately.

 

Is it selfish to ask the Universe or God or whatever you see as all that is, for something?

 

 

I think it could be a dangerous game as what you might get is not really what you wanted in the long run.

 

All of my research points to being happy with what you have now, to be contented and at ease in the moment. Desiring for things seems a little off balance, but then without desire there may be limited change.

 

 

What do you think?

[Spotless]

There are many ways to ask.

 

One might say:

 

"May it be with the blessing of the Supreme Being that what ever happens today will benefit me in my spiritual growth, awareness, neutrality and understanding"

 

I have recently taken to saying:

 

"Thank you"

 

In both of these examples one has nothing to worry about.

 

In the first example it is a postulate request - this is in many ways a high form of creating and asking because it does not really leave out any specific while not being specific.

 

Example:

One might think:

I would like a car - a newish Porsche with a p1290 custom stereo, Italian leather seats, high speed radials, and on and on about all the specific elements that you want.

 

Or

 

One might think:

I would like a great car that makes me feel like I I'm driving in a real preform racer that I can afford, that has no major problems and throughout my ownership of it, I enjoy it as much on the last day as I did on the first day.

 

When you are talking to the Gods you can also give them a bit of your angst like:

 

"Supreme being - I could use a massive chunk of help - I am clueless and a bit exhausted from this never ending ball of shit that I keep pushing up this fucking hill and I cannot see around it - I would really like some help from you sorting this out"

 

(Gods do not take offense - though I am not a god and do not wish to be sounding like a preacher that speaks for god - but I am somehow certain that Gods do not take offense - at least not from this sort of angst)

Edited August 15, 2014 by Spotless

[Tibetan_Ice]

From the Vajra sutra:

 

Sūtra: After the Buddha spoke this sūtra the Elder Subhūti, all the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsīkās, and the world with its gods, men, and asuras, heard what the Buddha had said, rejoiced, believed, received, revered, and practiced.

 

End of the Vajra Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra.

 

Commentary: After the Buddha had finished speaking the prajñā of true emptiness, the Vajra Sūtra, the Elder Subhūti, who had ten kinds of virtuous conducts; the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, the laymen, laywomen, the gods, people, as well as the asuras, who had the blessings of the heavens but not the status; upon hearing the prajñā of wonderful existence and true emptiness, gave rise to great joy, believed, accepted, and respectfully practiced the sūtra. All were as happy as if they had obtained a precious gem, and they had: the jewel of wisdom, the dharma jewel of prajñā. They believed. They lost all their desires, casting them aside. I hope that when we finish studying the Vajra Sūtra you can cast all your upside-down thoughts far away. Rid yourself of enjoyment of food. Rid yourself of desire for sleep. Banish your striving for fame. Abolish your urge to become rich. Cast all the aspects of your hearts desires to some far-away place. If you can rid yourself of the desires for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, you can cut off the roots of the hells, and advance to the fruit position of Buddhahood the Eternally Bright Pure Land.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Tibetan_Ice

[Spotless]

It is helpful to "go for it" and there are many ways to ask for help.

This playgroungpd we have is meant for us to create and destroy and take detours and collapse and re-emerge - and everywhere at any time everything is there for us as ultimately we are for it.

 

The gods are always eager to hear from you and you need not look up - they are in you and next to you.

 

Their is in many ways no difference between asking and creating - so it is in the relative sense experimenting in a sort of clueless way. The intent is helpful but if you are really specific you may get specific results hence the saying be careful what you wish for - you may just get it.

 

Nothing to actually be fearful about -gods understand all the implications of your request and you will never receive more than you are capable of handling (how well you handle it is up to you).

If you order up a plate that you find overwhelming their is no shame in asking for help - the odd thing is how often help arrives and the help is rejected often like its a tic about to bit into you - the rejection of help and the tenacity of bad habits are epoxied into most of our "nature" - humans are like little bricks for the most part - very tight, scared, inhibited, timid, robotic and identified.

 

Speaking to spirit is not frowned upon.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Spotless

[idiot_stimpy]

Oh man such excellent advice and posts. Haven't really researched this side of things so it is interesting.

Edited August 15, 2014 by idiot_stimpy

[idiot_stimpy]

...the odd thing is how often help arrives and the help is rejected often like its a tic about to bit into you...

 

 

This statement is quite wondrous. From my self observation, I am picking up on more subtle crossroads. A while ago I had a stray desire of seeing/learning about something, then a few days later as if by chance it appeared with no effort on my part.

 

This brings me to another question, are there actually any coincidences in life, or is everything a product of cause and effect...

[Nungali]

That depends what you ask for and how you ask, of course.

 

Just for a totally different slant on it, I will offer the answers from a similar conversation with my shamanic teacher:

 

Just a nice little thought to ponder over lately.

 

Is it selfish to ask the Universe or God or whatever you see as all that is, for something?

 

[ Universe : God : Whatever : Nature : " Mother " ]

 

" Everything I need is supplied by "Mother" , I just have to ask her and she gives it to me."

 

 

I think it could be a dangerous game as what you might get is not really what you wanted in the long run.

 

 

"All of that is regulated by Law ... keep the Law." (ie. tribal law - the who, how, what, when and why of your 'entitlement')

 

All of my research points to being happy with what you have now, to be contented and at ease in the moment. Desiring for things seems a little off balance, but then without desire there may be limited change.

 

You need to be happy with what you have now, but if you need something else, just ask Mum ... and always say 'thankyou' for what you have now, anything you experience and what you need when you get it.

 

When you get it right ... and understand the Law , the big picture ... why change it? If your environment changes - then you need to change ... or adapt ... or when a new influence comes. We did that over 40,000 years. Now, people take - they dont ask, and they dont share, they take what they want for greed and they dont ask for it to be given to them.

 

And now ... its really messed up , they have hurt their mother that could have given them what they needed ...they have broken the Law really bad .... now they will be punished because they have wrecked their own environment that they want to live in.

 

 

What do you think?

 

I think he is right.

 

I have also noticed some people have an issue with 'magic' in that they dont like people 'manipulating things' to get what they want.

 

Hmmmm .... what about wearing makeup .... driving a car or even putting up an umbrella when it's raining ?

 

In all these ... 'Law' needs to be followed.

[idiot_stimpy]

Are you able to point me in the right direction to research tribal law you speak of?

 

I am intrigued by your post and thank you for helping me.

 

 

One desire I have held pretty constantly so far along the way is to find the truth at any cost. So far it has really helped me find contentment within myself, being content being me.

[idiot_stimpy]

They lost all their desires, casting them aside. I hope that when we finish studying the Vajra Sūtra you can cast all your upside-down thoughts far away. Rid yourself of enjoyment of food. Rid yourself of desire for sleep. Banish your striving for fame. Abolish your urge to become rich. Cast all the aspects of your hearts desires to some far-away place. If you can rid yourself of the desires for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, you can cut off the roots of the hells, and advance to the fruit position of Buddhahood the Eternally Bright Pure Land.

 

I can see from this perspective.

 

It seems to me, desire leads to entanglement. One who is not entangled is supremely free. Although I could be wrong.

[Michael Sternbach]

From the Vajra sutra:

 

Sūtra: After the Buddha spoke this sūtra the Elder Subhūti, all the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsīkās, and the world with its gods, men, and asuras, heard what the Buddha had said, rejoiced, believed, received, revered, and practiced.

 

End of the Vajra Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra.

 

Commentary: After the Buddha had finished speaking the prajñā of true emptiness, the Vajra Sūtra, the Elder Subhūti, who had ten kinds of virtuous conducts; the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, the laymen, laywomen, the gods, people, as well as the asuras, who had the blessings of the heavens but not the status; upon hearing the prajñā of wonderful existence and true emptiness, gave rise to great joy, believed, accepted, and respectfully practiced the sūtra. All were as happy as if they had obtained a precious gem, and they had: the jewel of wisdom, the dharma jewel of prajñā. They believed. They lost all their desires, casting them aside. I hope that when we finish studying the Vajra Sūtra you can cast all your upside-down thoughts far away. Rid yourself of enjoyment of food. Rid yourself of desire for sleep. Banish your striving for fame. Abolish your urge to become rich. Cast all the aspects of your hearts desires to some far-away place. If you can rid yourself of the desires for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, you can cut off the roots of the hells, and advance to the fruit position of Buddhahood the Eternally Bright Pure Land.

You might as well be dead.

[Jetsun]

Just a nice little thought to ponder over lately.

 

Is it selfish to ask the Universe or God or whatever you see as all that is, for something?

 

 

I think it could be a dangerous game as what you might get is not really what you wanted in the long run.

 

All of my research points to being happy with what you have now, to be contented and at ease in the moment. Desiring for things seems a little off balance, but then without desire there may be limited change.

 

 

What do you think?

 

If you ask for what your heart really desires it cant go very wrong in the long run, even though it may cause suffering to obtain that.

[Stosh]

Ask for anything you'd like , the Tao will be unmoved,

while you maintain a false hope that it will assist you.

Never begging again , relying on what you can make manifest ,

and accepting what comes with it ,is working within the Tao.

Would that be selfish?

Edited August 15, 2014 by Stosh

[BaguaKicksAss]

There are many ways to ask.

 

One might say:

 

"May it be with the blessing of the Supreme Being that what ever happens today will benefit me in my spiritual growth, awareness, neutrality and understanding"

 

I have recently taken to saying:

 

"Thank you"

 

In both of these examples one has nothing to worry about.

 

In the first example it is a postulate request - this is in many ways a high form of creating and asking because it does not really leave out any specific while not being specific.

 

Example:

One might think:

I would like a car - a newish Porsche with a p1290 custom stereo, Italian leather seats, high speed radials, and on and on about all the specific elements that you want.

 

Or

 

One might think:

I would like a great car that makes me feel like I I'm driving in a real preform racer that I can afford, that has no major problems and throughout my ownership of it, I enjoy it as much on the last day as I did on the first day.

 

When you are talking to the Gods you can also give them a bit of your angst like:

 

"Supreme being - I could use a massive chunk of help - I am clueless and a bit exhausted from this never ending ball of shit that I keep pushing up this fucking hill and I cannot see around it - I would really like some help from you sorting this out"

 

(Gods do not take offense - though I am not a god and do not wish to be sounding like a preacher that speaks for god - but I am somehow certain that Gods do not take offense - at least not from this sort of angst)

 

Reading some of those old Greek spells, it's rather obvious that they don't/didn't at the very least .

[BaguaKicksAss]

I find that you always get what you ask for; sometimes it just takes quite some time. Generally by the time what we wanted manifests we find we don't want it anymore. The trouble is, in general we don't know what we really want. Lots of introspection, getting past yourself and meditating on what you truly want and need is a good first step.

 

If you are busy wanting 100 different things and always asking for them, that can be distracting and taking away from better thought out things though. Sort of like if we spend our money on expensive coffees everyday, which can add up to $2500 per year (inc tip), well we could have bought a new stereo or used car with that. It doesn't work out exactly this way obviously, but you get the idea. It is where you put your focus...

 

The fancy car idea mentioned above by Spotless... sometimes people will get all specific like that as a test, of their skill, and just of magic in general. Sometimes it works out to the amazement of the person, and othertimes being to specific kills it. I have personally found that being less specific "A really reliable car that I actually like" tends to make it easier for you and the universe to manifest it.

[GrandmasterP]

Just a nice little thought to ponder over lately.

 

Is it selfish to ask the Universe or God or whatever you see as all that is, for something?

 

 

I think it could be a dangerous game as what you might get is not really what you wanted in the long run.

 

All of my research points to being happy with what you have now, to be contented and at ease in the moment. Desiring for things seems a little off balance, but then without desire there may be limited change.

 

 

What do you think?

 

I reckon there are three possible 'answers' you'll get from asking...

1: Yes.

2: No

3: Wait

 

That said, ' If you don't ask, you don't get.'

So, ask in good health.

[gatito]

Everyone (who is seeking) seeks only happiness.

 

Problems arise out of the delusion that happiness can be found by aquiring or rejecting objects/situations.

 

Sometimes this can be a more complicated desire or rejection as seen when that second sentence is turned into a belief system and seekers latch onto the idea that they can escape their suffering through a rejection of desiring or rejecting objects/situations as some sort of a practice.

 

This only creates a further layer of false belief and desire/aversion - you can probably see this behaviour illustrated most clearly in neoadvaita and religious Buddhism.

[Songtsan]

Yes.

 

No.

 

Is it selfish for a baby to cry because its hungry and wants milk?

 

Yes, because it is desire, not need based...it doesn't need to live after all.

 

Maybe you were born here because of desires. Maybe if you had no desire you wouldn't need to materialize on this plane. If that is the case, then I say you should have your desires met, so that you can learn to transcend them and not want them anymore.

 

One who has had all desires met and subsequently freed themselves of said desires is usually considered a realized being.

 

One can take a short cut and sublimate desires, or the scenic route and experience the desires directly. Either way, the end result is transcendence.

 

If you consider it your duty to transcend your lower nature, then by meeting desires, you are acting in accord with this wish.

 

Gluttony however, being stuck in circular desire seeking and consumption, can be seen as an illness, if it is stagnant and involves no evolving.

 

I don't see this happening in you, but who am I to say.

 

At the end of the day, 'selfishness' is a label, a mind fabricated concept. It doesn't exist absolutely, only relatively. It is true, yet not true.

 

There is only suchness, and no 'person' exists.

 

So who is there to be selfish?

[idiot_stimpy]

Wow Songstan that was very deep.

[Songtsan]

Wow Songstan that was very deep.

 

so deep that it put you to sleep?

[Silent Answers]

Yes.

 

No.

 

Is it selfish for a baby to cry because its hungry and wants milk?

 

Yes, because it is desire, not need based...it doesn't need to live after all.

 

Maybe you were born here because of desires. Maybe if you had no desire you wouldn't need to materialize on this plane. If that is the case, then I say you should have your desires met, so that you can learn to transcend them and not want them anymore.

 

One who has had all desires met and subsequently freed themselves of said desires is usually considered a realized being.

 

One can take a short cut and sublimate desires, or the scenic route and experience the desires directly. Either way, the end result is transcendence.

 

If you consider it your duty to transcend your lower nature, then by meeting desires, you are acting in accord with this wish.

 

Gluttony however, being stuck in circular desire seeking and consumption, can be seen as an illness, if it is stagnant and involves no evolving.

 

I don't see this happening in you, but who am I to say.

 

At the end of the day, 'selfishness' is a label, a mind fabricated concept. It doesn't exist absolutely, only relatively. It is true, yet not true.

 

There is only suchness, and no 'person' exists.

 

So who is there to be selfish?

Pretty much a sum up of Siddhartha ... Which is a good thing.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Silent Answers

[bax44]

Lol I think I saw an ice cube reference on this thread.

[Songtsan]

Lol I think I saw an ice cube reference on this thread.

 

troof! I had it in my head...I couldn't help it either..hehe

[4bsolute]

Just a nice little thought to ponder over lately.

 

Is it selfish to ask the Universe or God or whatever you see as all that is, for something?

 

 

I think it could be a dangerous game as what you might get is not really what you wanted in the long run.

 

All of my research points to being happy with what you have now, to be contented and at ease in the moment. Desiring for things seems a little off balance, but then without desire there may be limited change.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Hello,

 

you are God, you can have anything. Keep in mind that "you" are your

1. lower mind, ego and therefor ego-based bodily desires, very limited
2. soul, still personal, but more overview & desire of a greater expansive nature
3. higher mind, higher self, universal self
4. god consciousness - creator, created and creation (etc)

so from which point do you want what?

 

God, will give you anything. For it wants to experience itself. You want to be a warlord, God makes you a warlord. But that is not the point here, since the dominant direction in the Universe is happiness and a deep sense of love and shining God's / Tao's light (through you and me) in all directions of the Cosmos. God also can direct you, if you have no desire at all and are completely pure and self-realized in whatever form he wants. That is truly the absolute state of a being.

 

Your Ego has next to no meaning, other than a test run of your soul experiencing "Sense of Self" in such a limited way. So it can be that your Ego wants to live 200 years here in this body, while your Soul (you) wants to go somewhere different already with you at the age of 30. And will then pull the plug, for you to step out again into the vast ocean of your immortality as energetic being.

 

Yes, thats the funny thing about Taoism - we are already immortal. We just have to realize it. But that in itself is what Taoism teaches, everyone will find out on it's own path

 

Your soul has a personality through the experience it has gathered over different lifetimes in different incarnations as different forms of life. Being human is just one of many. It can have / mostly has desire. But since this desire is of a spiritual nature, it is different to egoic desire that 'scatters' spiritual desire.

 

Your Universal Self is a state of Highest Form of Intelligence. From my understanding it can be seen as the Pure Ones taught in Taoist Astrology. But it has a total overview of all outcome and you, in this present lifetime, can tap into it! and live from that perspective of Highest Realization to be one with all Creation. And still be in your personality.

 

And the Ego, you know your Ego. It has started this thread

 

Our Higher Self/Universal Self is you perhaps and most likely aswell me. Since we are both in human consciousness. It is connected to us all the time, even if we are not aware of it. And like mentioned we can connect to it, through our desire and with the willingness to drop our limited personal Self, the ego and take on this higher intelligence.

 

So the question remains: Which perspective wants what? Ego wants it. Does Soul need it for it's expansion? Same goes for the Higher Self. In essence, you can have everything. Even just to realize it was "bad" for you.

 

In the end, everything is perfect.

 

Edit: Oh and forget the term selfish. Everything is interconnected. You are connected to everything in Existance. So being selfish is purely you being with your Self and wanting the best for your Self. That automatically means you want the best for everyone around you. Individuals who generally want "the best for everyone else" and who are not fully self-realized and can share an endless flow of God's Power (unconditional love) are the ones who create chaos. Because they focus outwardly on the wellbeing of others, while they mostly forget themselves. And how good are you to your interconnectedness all around you, when you forget yourself and start to rot, like many individuals with social work that puts themselves into misery? Start with your Self, perfect your Self and through that your reality changes into a blissful state for everyone else. And that happens passively. The outside world is a product of the inner nature.

 

All the Best.

Edited August 15, 2014 by 4bsolute

[joeblast]

What do you think?

the universe is quantum mechanical in nature,

all you can do is subtly influence the probability equations

aka "arranging conditions"

but that only gives field for the flower to grow

[Nungali]

Are you able to point me in the right direction to research tribal law you speak of?

 

I am intrigued by your post and thank you for helping me.

 

 

One desire I have held pretty constantly so far along the way is to find the truth at any cost. So far it has really helped me find contentment within myself, being content being me.

 

Hmmm ... researching ....... If you were here, I could point. It is an ancient, oral, environment and culture based tradition centred on one's origin in and connection to country - which is the way to best explore it - it is partially documented in text ... very partially.

 

Tribal Law is significant to tribe and 'country'. If you are somewhere else (anywhere else perhaps ?) , the basics behind the Law can be applicable ... on this level;

 

 

On a general level :