Re: Dissolution of Character
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DerFürst
The person I've always wanted to be, funny enough, is only something I can be when the concepts of "I" and "becoming" are dropped.
Yeah, it's like that, isn't it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kittahkatt
How does one going about living life refrain from being the person experiencing it? In the absence of "me," what's left behind treats people with far more compassion and love than the self-destructive striver and doer "me" ever does. There is an idea floating around my head that says "mindfulness is cultivated through mindfulness meditation, and so the sense of awareness will be more prevalent in all aspects of life as the practice unfolds."
You know, I don't know how to answer this, because I haven't gotten to the place of balance yet. I'm there sometimes, but a lot of the time, the distraction of the I-me-mine and the material goings-on pull me right back into the character of "me". Well, it is possible to get into a sort of blissed out, non-present state, which is very nice, but then nothing gets done because I can see all too well that nothing NEEDS to be done, because it's all perfect the way it is. And it is, but... yes. It's a dilemma. How do you stay present enough to play the dream-life-game, yet detached enough to not be dragged back into it all the time? To be, as St Paul wrote, in the world, but not of the world?
I don't know. For the moment, I have to say I think it's just something that evolves, something that is acquired. I can't even say it's learned, because that implies something that I don't think is probably possible. Maybe bits are learned, but for the most part, I suspect it's a maturing process where you eventually find the middlle path (thank you, Buddha) and, by whatever means, stay there most of the time, and eventually, all of the time.
Note: This view is subject to change, as are all of my views. This is just my current observation. :)
Re: Dissolution of Character
I actually DO feel like Paul, "in but not of" the world. Yet, I can't say I feel or am enlightened in any way.
Re: Dissolution of Character
Re: Dissolution of Character
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sinera
Yet, I can't say I feel or am enlightened in any way.
So what does that feel like, exactly? I've been waiting for some great feeling of enlightenment for a long time now, but all I really experience is a big shift in perspective. Is that it? How would I know if it was or it wasn't? *shrug* Such is the problem of the word and even the concept of "enlightenment". Whatever it is.
Re: Dissolution of Character
I guess I'm enlightened on how I really know I don't know anything......
Re: Dissolution of Character
The disappointment you all seem to feel :). I don't know about anyone else, but I've been so disappointed with life that living in non-appointment seems a better option, if better were ever a thing.
I cannot say that I was ever looking, striving, or hoping to go down this road. Rather, it seems like it's a process that intention aligns with to avoid extra hassle, and not something acted upon by volition. Waking up to realizing nothing... that seems like a great deal. You get to keep learning nothing forever, as you have been, but without the extra hassle of feeling like you need to.
But belief systems are temporary. Once they're used up, they seem to drop away like they were never there. I guess the only thing left for "me" to do is keep at it and not worry about all the details so much.
Re: Dissolution of Character
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DerFürst
The disappointment you all seem to feel
Kind of. But it's a shallow kind of disappointment. Meaning, it's petty and silly. The satisfaction and depth of perception far outweighs it. But, yeah, I did want choirs of singing angels to command or... I dunno. Something. Maybe making it rain chocolate. It's like, "I experienced spiritual awakening and all I got was this t-shirt, which I know is an illusion". :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DerFürst
I don't know about anyone else, but I've been so disappointed with life that living in non-appointment seems a better option, if better were ever a thing.
Agreed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DerFürst
I cannot say that I was ever looking, striving, or hoping to go down this road. Rather, it seems like it's a process that intention aligns with to avoid extra hassle, and not something acted upon by volition. Waking up to realizing nothing... that seems like a great deal. You get to keep learning nothing forever, as you have been, but without the extra hassle of feeling like you need to.
Yes. Exactly. And I didn't choose this road, either. I don't think anyone really does. It chooses you. Or you're chosen for it. Or made for it. Or something along those lines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DerFürst
But belief systems are temporary. Once they're used up, they seem to drop away like they were never there. I guess the only thing left for "me" to do is keep at it and not worry about all the details so much.
You've got it. :)
Re: Dissolution of Character
So.... hmmm. Confusion. Is this thread about non-attainment/non-attachment, and being fully and peacefully present as a non-reactive Observer?
Re: Dissolution of Character
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dreamweaver
So.... hmmm. Confusion. Is this thread about non-attainment/non-attachment, and being fully and peacefully present as a non-reactive Observer?
I thought it was about finding the middle path, the balance.