Mighty Intellect
Posts: 1,702 
Location: china
Location: china
April 12th, 2008, 06:44 AM
When we are aware of ourselves, is not the whole movement of living a way of uncovering the ‘me’, the ego, the self? The self is a very complex process which can be uncovered only in relationship, in our daily activities, in the way we talk, the way we judge, calculate, the way we condemn others and ourselves. All that reveals the conditioned state of our own thinking; and is it not important to be aware of this whole process? It is only through awareness of what is true from moment to moment that there is discovery of the timeless, the eternal. Without self-knowledge, the eternal cannot be. When we do not know ourselves, the eternal becomes a mere word, a symbol, a speculation, a dogma, a belief, an illusion to which the mind can escape. But, if one begins to understand the ‘me’ in all its various activities from day to day, then in that very understanding, without any effort, the nameless, the timeless, comes into being. But the timeless is not a reward for self-knowledge. That which is eternal cannot be sought after; the mind cannot acquire it. It comes into being when the mind is quiet, and the mind can be quiet only when it is simple, when it is no longer storing up, condemning, judging, weighing. It is only the simple mind that can understand the real, not the mind that is full of words, knowledge, information.
The mind that analyses, calculates, is not a simple mind…
When we are aware of ourselves, is not the whole movement of living a way of uncovering the ‘me’, the ego, the self? The self is a very complex process which can be uncovered only in relationship, in our daily activities, in the way we talk, the way we judge, calculate, the way we condemn others and ourselves. All that reveals the conditioned state of our own thinking; and is it not important to be aware of this whole process? It is only through awareness of what is true from moment to moment that there is discovery of the timeless, the eternal. Without self-knowledge, the eternal cannot be. When we do not know ourselves, the eternal becomes a mere word, a symbol, a speculation, a dogma, a belief, an illusion to which the mind can escape. But, if one begins to understand the ‘me’ in all its various activities from day to day, then in that very understanding, without any effort, the nameless, the timeless, comes into being. But the timeless is not a reward for self-knowledge. That which is eternal cannot be sought after; the mind cannot acquire it. It comes into being when the mind is quiet, and the mind can be quiet only when it is simple, when it is no longer storing up, condemning, judging, weighing. It is only the simple mind that can understand the real, not the mind that is full of words, knowledge, information.The mind that analyses, calculates, is not a simple mind…
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,612 
April 12th, 2008, 09:14 AM
China
Am I confused here or something...?
(Situation normal..)
Didn't you suggest that everything is and can only be perceived through a mirror focused on the objects and dynamics that reflect the human spirit and psychology back to him? That relationship with everything else is the metric that provides the greatest clarity of the "self"?
China
Am I confused here or something...?
(Situation normal..)
Didn't you suggest that everything is and can only be perceived through a mirror focused on the objects and dynamics that reflect the human spirit and psychology back to him? That relationship with everything else is the metric that provides the greatest clarity of the "self"?
Mighty Intellect
Posts: 1,702
Location: china
Location: china
April 12th, 2008, 09:32 AM
Quote:
Wrong MikeyDB, What I always suggest (I mean to you) is that you should always acquaint yourself not with what I suggest but with the metric clarity of what you perceive I might be suggesting .
Didn't you suggest that everything is and can only be perceived through a mirror focused on the objects and dynamics that reflect the human spirit and psychology back to him? That relationship with everything else is the metric that provides the greatest clarity of the "self"?
Knows No Bounds
Posts: 3,428
Videos: 2
Location: 50° 30' N, 104° 38' W
Videos: 2
Location: 50° 30' N, 104° 38' W
April 13th, 2008, 01:10 AM
I know of no reason to think that anything is timeless or eternal. The single most obvious feature of reality is that everything changes. The time scales vary significantly for different things--compare insects that are born, mate once, and die, all within a day, with stars that endure for billions of years, for example--but nothing I know of is permanent, except perhaps the existence of the cosmos itself, though the jury's still out on that one. But it too changes visibly, it's very different now from what it was 13 billion years ago. The laws of thermodynamics guarantee change as the only constant, and they can be expressed this way: you can't win, you can't break even, and you can't get out of the game. In another few billion years, or maybe much sooner than that if we don't stop poisoning it, the earth will not be inhabitable, any planets we might eventually colonize will eventually suffer the same fate as their suns burn out, the whole galaxy will eventually be a collection of such cinders, as will every other galaxy... Make the best of this life that you can, because it's all you can really be sure you're going to get.
I know of no reason to think that anything is timeless or eternal. The single most obvious feature of reality is that everything changes. The time scales vary significantly for different things--compare insects that are born, mate once, and die, all within a day, with stars that endure for billions of years, for example--but nothing I know of is permanent, except perhaps the existence of the cosmos itself, though the jury's still out on that one. But it too changes visibly, it's very different now from what it was 13 billion years ago. The laws of thermodynamics guarantee change as the only constant, and they can be expressed this way: you can't win, you can't break even, and you can't get out of the game. In another few billion years, or maybe much sooner than that if we don't stop poisoning it, the earth will not be inhabitable, any planets we might eventually colonize will eventually suffer the same fate as their suns burn out, the whole galaxy will eventually be a collection of such cinders, as will every other galaxy... Make the best of this life that you can, because it's all you can really be sure you're going to get.
Mighty Intellect
Posts: 1,905
Location: Northern California
Location: Northern California
April 14th, 2008, 04:09 PM
"Self" of course it is all about self!
Even the animals practice self preservation.
But the intelligent kind, the human kind of animal, knows what self means.
It is like being god!
To choose this or that, good or bad, rule or not to rule, give or take.
Ego?
Yes! "I am" denotes rebellion, better not mess with me.
So, the battle is against self. A war between the spiritual and the physical.
The message? Identify self in relation to God.
Peace>>>AJ
"Self" of course it is all about self!
Even the animals practice self preservation.
But the intelligent kind, the human kind of animal, knows what self means.
It is like being god!
To choose this or that, good or bad, rule or not to rule, give or take.
Ego?
Yes! "I am" denotes rebellion, better not mess with me.
So, the battle is against self. A war between the spiritual and the physical.
The message? Identify self in relation to God.
Peace>>>AJ
