Living an extraordinary Life
Jeroen
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlands Veteran
I came across this blog post the other day, and it’s been on my mind...
https://tinybuddha.com/blog/6-powerful-questions-that-will-change-your-life-forever/
Basically, the author heard this statement in his head, and has been following it ever since: “Discover who you truly are and fully give every aspect of your uniqueness to the world. This is your path to an extraordinary life.” His six questions are a starting point for an exploration of this theme.
I thought it was interesting because it is true. Expressing and showing your essence, your essential being, is something we should all strive to do. Personally I’ve always made an effort to give back to those parts of life that I’ve enjoyed, and I’ve tried to follow my passion, but it strikes me that in doing this I’ve avoided showing my essential self.
Comments
my animal spirit totem to be made,jack rabbit,dog,ox,donkey.
essence dog empath
rabbit essence want to be safe homey
essence ox honest labor plow foward
essenc donkey carrying baggages and jack ass in the summer heat labor.
what's your animal spirit essence qualities about you?
ps,karome didn't read the article but hope its not offtopic
Moderator note:
It actually is, @paulyso ... it would be best for members to refer to the article in the OP, and focus on that, rather than take matters off at a tangent....
sorry federica.my bad
it is a good start.
To live an extraordinary life is from what I gather, to live a spontaneous life........
However, having second thoughts seems to be a stumbling block when it comes to expressing one's essential self...
Being one's essential self could just be a matter of doing things before one becomes bogged down with conflicting thoughts & emotions AKA having second thoughts... To just do it before the mind becoming charmed by its own thoughts so to speak...
One has only to look around at people who for the most part struggle when it comes to making decisions..they habitually talk themselves out of doing what their heart desires...
All the above in relations to one's experiential understanding of the Eight Fold Path...
All hell could break lose if one's mind is not familiar with the Path... (Gom is one of the Tibetan words for meditation which means familiarisation)
To me this link reads as being very "New Agey" ... i.e., increasing ones attachments (and conversely, one's aversions). Still trapped on the merry-go-round of trying to be happy by what you do and how you see yourself.
Rather the opposite direction of Buddha's teachings.
I find it interesting @FoibleFull that you think it’s about increasing attachments. The things it advises you to do, ie giving of yourself to the world, exploring yourself through different lenses... don’t seem to have to do with attachments as such. The only thing a little in that direction is the exercise “what would you do if you had a billion dollars” which might trigger existing attachment issues.
But I think the New Age is often underestimated in what it brings. It is a movement with its own unique focus on happiness and self-expression. In the end what we do on this earth does matter, it is an expression of who we are and what we stand for. We can’t just spend all our time on the meditation cushion. And I’d argue the Buddha had some understanding of this, talking as he did of Right Action and Right Livelihood.
Indeed @FoibleFull
It is quite extraordinary to be empty rather than full of new age inflation. Egoic me-me memes are not the same as the Dharma essence of awareness on the nature of the empty 'self'.
I have to admit, I found it a bit of a dose of 'typically Americanised Treacle'.... I do agree that a lot New Age stuff has garnered a bad name, but that's because it's rare to find something genuine and workable within the scope of what Buddhism teaches.
Religion is putting it 'out there'.
Buddhism proposes - and indeed, confirms - it's all 'in here'.
New Age is - it's all sitting 'out there' in wonderful undiscovered Glory waiting for you to bring it all 'in here'...
We all live extraordinary lives. It is just that most don't realize it.