Best Of
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
A change to my morning routine. On Friday my The Complete Calvin and Hobbes collectors edition was delivered, three huge hardcover volumes of cartoons on high-quality art paper. So now with my coffee at 5.30 in the morning I am chortling away over hours of cartoons! It’s made for a very cheerful start to the day.
Jeroen
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
First skinny dip of the season. 
Walking down the track I must have spooked a large heron, it gracefully took to the air as I approached.
The water was refreshing. I miscalculated how high the high tide was going to come in, just managed to lift my beach tent up before all the things got wet.
Shoshin1
Re: Dukkha and the Tightrope
@person :
What is true is that you were born, you live, you question, you seek.
That is the start.
Every day is a fresh start
Congratulations!
Lionduck
Re: Community
The community groups I’m currently a part of (about 3 or 4) ….were started and have been held up by the favor economy concept…. Or some say the Benjamin Franklin theory/effect.
https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2024/08/31/opinion-choose-community-not-capitalism/
I’ll give specific examples later… I’m at work… gotta go
Vastmind
Dukkha and the Tightrope
I was reflecting on the tension between many ideas and ways of living. The specific example I had in mind was the way our lives are directed by circumstance and luck on the one hand and our ability to have agency and direct the course of events on the other. It seems to me the best way to chart a course through life is to walk a balance between acknowledging the way events outside of our control shape us while at the same time putting effort into our own personal agency.
Many things operate in this manner, individual expression in tension with group solidarity, exercise and movement in tension with rest and relax, etc. Yin and yang.
In trying to live a worldly life managing this tension I think is a function of wisdom as in the serenity prayer's "knowing the difference". But in the spirit of a Buddhist view of Dukkha things never quite fit, its always a struggle to maintain a good place. It seems possible to do a decent job of it for the span of a human life, but I want to stay open to the possibility of rebirth and there it seems in that context, a fall is inevitable, so I feel I should make efforts at liberation. But I also don't have any real proof that rebirth is real, so I have a hard time committing to a path of renunciation.
So I'm attempting to live a worldly life in balance, while simultaneously acknowledging that its ultimately a losing proposition and putting some effort into a longer term plan.
person
Re: Connection
@marcitko said:
I found this MR article clear and to the point. Maybe there is more in his book 'Altruism'.
https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/empathy-and-the-cultivation-of-compassion/
Could you say a little more about how you see your empathy being a negative or problem in your life in practical terms? To my mind, we've gone straight from the issue to seeking a solution, however, possibly, there is nothing to fix, just to accept, and can even be seen as a virtue and strenght of yours?
It is very much a double edged sword. I do think if the option were to keep as is or get rid of entirely I'd keep it as is. Ideally what I'd want is an on/off switch or some way to mitigate the negative while preserving the positive.
Edit: Its mostly about my mind doesn't feel like my own much of the time. I want to do spiritual work, develop and let go. But a lot of the time its more about clearing out the accumulation of the day/week, I can't keep ahead of it in a normal work week.
But this sort of thing leads to an openness of perspective and insight that I'm not sure would otherwise be available.
person
Re: I'm Thankful For...
Grateful 4
- My tea is still warm (normally I drink it cold - getting distracted...)
- Another hard task to complete today (will be making or taking it easy)
- Seated meditation again without cushion
- Being Christian for Christmas is one of my early resolutions
lobster
Community
I've been thinking about community lately. What is it exactly, what are the pros and cons, who's included, who says, etc.?
For now I just want to share a good article and open it up for others to share what it means to them.
https://medium.com/centre-for-public-impact/what-is-community-2e895219a205
person
Re: Connection
I first picked up the difference between empathy and compassion from Matthieu Ricard (MR). Both involve a positive attitude to the other, but empathy takes on the feeling(s) of the other, while compassion does not. As MR claims, compassion only has positive effects for both self and other, while empathy, as you note, can have negative effects for self. MR talks at length about "empathetic distress", especially in the helping professions. He went so far as to participate in scientific studies on the difference between the two as a guinea pig. You might enjoy and benefit from reading up on the difference a bit, if you have not already. It's possible that with a bit of refraiming and practice you can lessen the negative aspects of empathy, while retaining the positive aspects of good will and compassion and, thus, have better relationships, without feeling overwhelmed.
marcitko
Re: Connection
That seems very familiar to me, I have had similar experiences of being an empath early in my life. But as I have gotten older I have become more robust, with better boundaries and a more ordinary way of relating.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Jeroen