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Re: The limits of the mind’s understanding
Hmm consciousness is not the mind, neither is memory the mind, although they interact with it. Nor are the senses the mind.
The mind is just this black box where thought happens, with a two-way connection to consciousness and a two-way connection to memory. I spend most of my time focussed on consciousness, ignoring the mind, which is mostly quiet, and also ignoring memory.
Jeroen
Re: The limits of the mind’s understanding
The limits of the mind’s understanding
From what "I" gather....the mind has no limits...other than what the psychophysical phenomenon we call the conditioned self puts on it....
And thus have I heard, it as limitless potential, and expansive nature.
One of the main teachings in Mahayana Buddhism is the concept of "emptiness" (Śūnyatā).
Which is not the same as nothingness but rather the absence of inherent, independent existence.
The mind's nature is also described as empty, which suggests that it is not confined by fixed characteristics or boundaries....
Meditation practice leads to realisation, where one can come to recognise and actualise this inherent potential. AKA an unfettered mind ...
In boundless space, where thoughts unwind,
Lies the realm of the unfettered mind.
No limits bind, no fears confined,
Just clarity, open, and undefined
Well that's the plan.....
Shoshin1
Re: Losing or Lost Hope can be Freedom
Hope would seem to represent a spectrum of related mental activities. It could be argued, I think, that belief is the extreme upper end of that spectrum, but even belief can have its uses. Can you find the middle way without first knowing the extremes? How can hope be used skillfully? Mindfully? Do hope and fear go hand in hand?
At 80 years of age, the hopes - and yes, beliefs - that long dominated much of my own thinking have faded away, along with most of the questions that once seemed so urgent.
I find it quite liberating - even illuminating. Hopes remain, but seem unimportant. Everything will proceed as it will - enjoy the ride.
Fosdick
Re: Losing or Lost Hope can be Freedom
I stay informed….and bec of the reasons you mentioned, am very picky about my news sources. Im just not the type that ignorance is bliss, hahaha…I want to know….its just taken me most of my life to learn NOT to digest it or wear the burden of the tragedy . I stay active in the causes I’m passionate about, and let go of the hope and expectations of the entire human race.
I try my best within my community, and leave the rest up to happenstance ,frankly.
This world was fucked up before me and will be after me. I can play my small, but effective part on the world stage.
The other arena is my kids. I ‘hoped’ and expected a lot/different things than how THAT turned out, hahaha. 🫨😅
Disappointment is when your mind made an appointment and reality dissed it.
Vastmind
Re: Losing or Lost Hope can be Freedom
Hope is very much related to outcome. All you can really do is control what you do, some actions will lead you closer to a desired outcome than others, but ultimately the outcome is beyond your control.
person
Re: The Other Elephant In The Room
Any hope I have for the world is being extinguished by the daily horrors much of our society turns a blind eye towards. Countless people suffering from poverty, homelessness, starvation, violence... and most of it for power and greed, whether capitals trying to extract as much profit from the blood of poor and working people to colonial, imperialist states like Russia and Israel are trying to conquer and cleanse sovereign lands for themselves. In Gaza alone, more than 19,400 Palestinians have been killed in the last 2 months, 70% of them women and children. To put this one single horror in context, "More children have been killed in just over three weeks in Gaza than in all of the world's conflicts combined in each of the past three years." And while the state of Israel is engaged in this ethnic cleansing, we're just sitting back and watching it happen while our government funds the genocide. What's even more discouraging is the fact that the Jewish people themselves have suffered this same kind of violence for generations; and to see Israel turn around and subject the inhabitants of the land they wish to make a part of their own Jewish state to the same violence that displaced them from much of Europe is absolutely demoralizing. How can we ever break the cycles of violence and heal these wounds when it seems like no one is willing to stop when they are in the position of power and dominance and seeking to expand their own territory and markets and spheres of influence through subjugation and oppression? How can we expect Russia to stop when we ourselves or our allies won't? And how will we ever get our nation to care about the plight of Palestinian children when we can't even get it to care about the children starving and dying unnoticed our own streets?
Jason
Re: Arriving at clarity
@pegembara said:
In stillness, the muddied water returns to clarity
This is true. Spiritual literature is all very well, but there are many pitfalls in trying to learn from it, and often just being still, remaining quiet is the best response.
Jeroen
The limits of the mind’s understanding
It seems to me, from reading many spiritual books, that they all add to a certain ripeness, but that they don’t need to be remembered, that in a certain way the content is of limited importance. It is the flavour, the imbibing of the words of the master, the connection with the inner guru that ultimately matters. Or perhaps the inner Buddha, if you prefer that formulation.
I spent some weeks reading Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s book ‘I Am That’, and in the end though I enjoyed it, the words lead me into my own mind, and not into a connection with bliss. Having finished the book and tried a few other readings for several days, none of which satisfied, this morning I tried listening to an Osho discourse. The response was immediate, there was a homecoming and a bliss.
One bit I recall from the lecture was where Osho talked about “writing love letters to existence”, which caused an immediate sense of recognition to arise. It was like I was released from several other influences in my energy, and I felt that I somewhat recovered, that I was freed a bit more from the mind. For me these things often come from sleep, that in the morning I am cleansed and fresh, energetically cleansed and that my mind is clear of restlessness and other negative influences.
The things that happen beyond the mind are mysterious, and often the best you can do is remain quiet and observe. The minds responses do not serve you well in spiritual spaces, and meditating over books is a technique that has limits. Energies that bring a cool bliss often come with blessings and aid, and should be aided in their tasks.
Jeroen
Re: This Time of Year Is Not So Merry For Some
Tough situation to be in… but getting drunk and stealing is not the way to get yourself out of it, it just leads to more trouble. Still if you’re so desperate that you have to steal shoes then things must be pretty bad.
Jeroen
This Time of Year Is Not So Merry For Some
On my jolk this morning, I saw an intoxicated young Maori woman approach two young couples who were setting up a sun shade tent on the beach , at first I thought the couples were also Maori, but when I got closer I saw that one of the women was wearing a Hijab and they looked Middle Eastern...
I couldn't quite hear the conversation the Maori woman was having with them, I just heard her greet them in a somewhat drunken friendly manner, then all of a sudden things turned nasty, the young woman started to angrily abuse them and took a swipe at one of the woman...
The two women in the group had to hold one of the guys back, as he stepped in to defend the women who was being attacked...
As I was approaching the group, the Maori woman left...I asked if the couples were okay, they seemed quite shaken up by the incident... They said they were okay and thanked me for asking...
And as I made my way up the same stairs to the road which the young Maori woman had walked up, I was hoping to have a friendly chat with her to calm her down, when a police car turned up, a young police officer got out of the car and approached the young woman and started to question her...
At first I though another person at the beach had seen the incident and called the police, but it turned out, someone had called the police because the intoxicated young woman had also stolen a pair of shoes from one of the houses on the beachfront...
She ended up taking the shoes off and giving them to the officer who gave them back to the person from the house where she had stolen them ...The owner of the shoes had been following the young woman...
It was such a sad thing to witness, a troubled and hurt young Maori woman lashing out at the world, the young Muslim couples who became the targets of her hurt and frustration and the Pakeha woman who had her shoes stolen now feeling a sense of guilty that the police had arrested the young Maori woman...
Sadly I think this may have been the same young Maori woman who came to our office last week, (I wasn't on duty at the time) because she had been sleeping rough on one of the beaches and a local good Samaritan who felt sorry for her told her to come to our office, we provide clients with the contact details of organisations who can help them...
She had just spent a year in rehab getting herself clean, hoping to reunite with her partner and children who live on the island, however her partner had not told her that during her time in rehab he had found a new partner and she had moved in with him and the children...and he no longer wanted anything to do with her....
Shoshin1