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we're_all_children_of_the_universe
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daf
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Hi and welcome. Did you know that we already have all of the information that we need to bring mankind together? How that will happen and what form society will take is hard to say.
We might just keep the same basic systems and simply start treating each other more like family and friends and less like strangers.
We might slowly turn away from the way things are now and fall into a kinder and fairer way of living.
We might simply flip the current system upside down. But this group isn't about discussing or arguing methods of changing the world. Its about the first step: figuring out who we really are in the grand scheme of things and what that says about how we should live, in order to truly be ourselves..not just the person we think we are, living a life we think is meant for us. Who knows? It may be. We won't know for sure until we know what we are.
The realisation that we are not what we appear to be is simple to understand..but very hard to believe. That's because we've spent so many generations passing on how we think of ourselves to our kids. That's why we've got a hard image issue to fix.
A very simple first step to realising the truth about what you are comes to us from science:
Everything that makes up you..has always been here. That's right, you were here before, you are here now, and you'll be here again. You might look differently, act differently and even think differently, but you'll be back in one form or another.
That's because the First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed..only change forms. Whatever amount of energy the universe contains today, it contained at the start. That included YOU.
What that means is that we are ALL the universe itself. And the imaginary friend we call "me" or "I"..is simply an invention of our brains. Its an invention..or child..of the universe.
Is anyone really white? Is anyone really black? Is anyone really gay or straight? Is anyone really disabled? Or are these things seen only by our imaginary selves? Does the universe see a distinction?
Every indication is that our self image is an invention of the universe's brain which resides in the universe's skull attached to the universe's body. We just think they're our brain, body and skull. But nope, we are its inventions..little characters it plays. We're all just children of the universe.
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200114
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Twitch
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So then what happens after "I" die? Is there no more awareness? Is this all just some lucid dream?
Or will it be similar to the sleep state I enter (Most people, myself too at times, tend to think that this is the case.)
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200115
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daf
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It's very much like a lucid dream state, with refined senses and senses we're normally unaware of..like being able to sense life force, even through walls.
Much like a dream, the mind is not in control of the decision making anymore, just the physical perceptions. You just go where you go, do what you do and say what you say.
In fact, it seems almost as if our dream state is a reminder of our natural way of being..a post it note left to the ego by the spirit.
Some of the things that disappeared along with "I" and its thought processes: pain, fear, worry, distrust. Hunger and thirst were almost optional; happening only occasionally, enough I suppose, to keep the body going. The food or water always just appeared through some strange turn of events and never cost anything.
Even more incredible was how much synchronicity occurred. I walked for miles in San Diego and never hit a DO NOT WALK signal. This was just BEFORE the disillusion of ego. I brought witnesses to see for themselves. They never doubted it again. Buses would show up as soon as I reached a bus stop and someone would hand me their transfer, or a driver would recognize me from the time spent working that job, and give me a ride and a transfer.
The disillusion itself only lasted 6 hours before I learned what happens if you don't prepare properly for the experience. The ego began to fight back. It thought it had been tricked and that it had narrowly avoided assassination by a trusted advisor. That's when a battle royale ensued that has lasted almost 2 decades. That's optimism..hopefully this truce will last. This is why established paths are important: many more years to learn the pitfalls and solutions to them.
Anyhow, hope this helped answer the question. Everyone's experience is a little different up until the ego vanishes. Then pure awareness.
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200115
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Daf
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Hello again. This morning's words are meant to help us understand why religions exist at all.
The explanation comes in the form of a story:
Once there was a village whose people did not want to hear. They were afraid of what they might be told, and so their ears were constantly plugged with cotton balls. As a result, they could only communicate by writing.
In this village lived a man named Egan. He considered himself a poor man with no relatives and would go door to door, pleading for his supper, his lodging and companionship.
One day, he knocked on the door of a man named Abe. When Abe saw the beggar's sign, he quickly invited him in, offering both food, lodging..and of course, company.
As the night progressed, after Egan had eaten his fill and gotten comfortable in Abe's company, Abe picked up a small sign which said: "If you unplug your ears, I'll tell you a secret."
Egan became angry at this. Everyone in the village knew you didn't unplug your ears! Who was this Abe guy trying to fool? What twisted game was he playing; offering food and shelter just to trick people into listening?
But the night was cold and he was sleepy, so Egan wrote in large CAPITAL letters: "WHY?" Abe smiled and quickly wrote: "Why not?"
Egan thought this was a silly question. So he wrote: "Ears are to stay plugged." This time Abe picked up Egan's "WHY?" note and showed it to him.
Egan knew why, and so did everyone else. There were terrible things which might be heard, frightening sounds which would snatch his mind, and carry away his soul. That's what he'd been taught, anyway. "The world of sound is dangerous."
"When were your ears ever unplugged that you should know this?", responded Abe, and this made Egan take pause. "Never", he thought, "what a foolish thing that would be to do." And so he wrote "Never."
"Then you are missing out on something wonderful and important which you should know."
"What is it?"
"It cannot be written because words can't describe it."
This piqued Egan's curiosity, and so, in spite of his fear..he reached up and pulled the cotton from his ears.
That's when he heard clearly for the first time. And the first sound he heard was the sound of music playing, far off in the distance. The sound was so beautiful, that it brought tears to his eyes, and laughter to his lips. Without a word to Abe, he set off to find the source.
He walked a long way in the hot sun; over rocks and past wild animals..until finally he came to the source of the music: an old woman playing a reed flute. She looked vaguely familiar.
The woman looked up from her playing as Egan approached and a huge smile broke out on her face. "Egan!!", she cried, and went to hug him. And at that moment, he remembered.
"Mom?!", he gasped, then fell into her embrace. Egan had found his home.
As they reconnected, Egan's mother informed him that he had a huge family who missed him dearly..and that he would want for nothing anymore, for they had plenty.
And so it was that Eagan learned he was neither poor, nor alone, all because of Abe's strange, but kind advice.
And Abe? He had no idea that Egan was rich or familied. Abe only knew that he had once unplugged his own ears and heard a beautiful sound that led him to his home.
The End
And so Egan is our intellectual mind..the ego. And Abe is religion. And home is a place we don't even know exists..until we unplug the ears of our hearts.
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200115
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daf
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If you ever find the hand of God, press it tight to your heart, before it is lost in the endless dark of the mind. Our thoughts, our primitive fears..these tie our hands as we attempt to reach out for God's embrace. First, still your thoughts and then, here is how you may find it:
In your heart somewhere is a feeling of true love. Only you know where that place is. Could be mother, brother, father, lover, spouse, child, friend, hero, pet. Find that feeling and hold it in your heart. And then it's time for the harder part.
It's time for the part that seemed so superstitious: faith. For you have to convince the mind to reattach that same feeling of love to everything. You have to believe that this Tao, this God, a sentient Universe is REAL, and that the love you feel belongs to it, and it alone.
You must be devoted to this new love with all of your heart and all of your days. The longer you abide in that feeling, the closer you will come to holding God's hand, and experiencing the truth of what you are. When you are in love with the Universe around you, your love for others will also grow. Your love for your life will grow as well.
When bad times come along, and you are tempted to turn away from this feeling, it is to test your devotion, to prick the ego into revealing itself to you so that you may know the strength of its hold on you at any time.
Be patient, never give up, for the opportunity to hold God's hand is always there; it always has been.
And if it should take many months or years, its simply because God has waited for you and, having finally turned in the right direction, you must now wait for God.
May your wait be short and your heart be full until then.
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200116
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daf
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"Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion" - Rumi
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200118
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daf
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You know, for such a small word, we sure put a lot of stock in "I" on this planet. The Earth seems small on billboards, our faces seem huge.
But let's stop for a moment and consider how it got this way:
Once upon a time, a brain woke up in the womb. When it did, it was barraged by sensory input. Nerves from all over its body sending their data..but how to process it?
A simple, primitive, strategy..built into its DNA..began to perform the work of sorting out signals and determining how to begin utilizing the rest of the body.
The strategy? A four step recipe:
1. Discover - The brain becomes aware of something new.
2. Explore - The limits of the new connection are found out.
3. Control - with careful focus, the information is used to intentionally get what the brain wants.
4. Dominate - Finally, when possible, control is established so completely that it is expected.
First the brain dominates itself. From small and underdeveloped to fully developed, it first dominates itself with the "I" thought. This comes from a deep rooted survival instinct leftover from primitive ancestors who struggled with food scarcity and mating competition to continue the evolutionary process along its way.
For the universe to compete against itself..to punch itself in the face, it had to create a sense of separation. Competition was necessary for evolutionary progress..to arrive here, where we are. And so, the "I" thought serves a useful purpose..but that purpose is fading..well it would..if we could all escape the "I" thought. Catch 22.
But back to the brain and its "conquest of the body", (which is what makes exploration of the world a whole lot easier.)
After dominating itself, the brain finds the rest of the body and dominates it. We get to watch this as babies get control of their eyes, arms, legs and hands. Then its on to their surroundings..(sound like toddlers anyone?)
It's on to mastering the various objects around it. This is important too, since technology, environment and customs can be different over time.
A generic explore-the-way-things-are strategy can be useful.
Unfortunately, we've also seen what happens when this same brain learns that it can control PEOPLE.
Deceit, manipulation, exploitation..and more. A real buffet of bad side effects once the "4 step recipe" outlives its usefulness.
We could go on..but you're all insightful enough to see how this process, which started in a fetus' brain, could lead to kings dominating large groups of citizens. Or countries dominating other countries. Or powerful elites trying to dominate the world.
( Not that any of that's happening.. :/ )
The process should end after we learn how to navigate the world. But the "I" thought is still with us from those caveman days, and it doesn't want to let go of the body..or the awesome power (and pleasure) that comes with being able to control the world around it.
This is why it's so important for the human race to at least TRY to move past our perception that we are not part of the same living universe. We all want to be seen as individuals, but individuality is already built into us. Do we really need to be separate beings from each other to be individuals?
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200131
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Photophobe
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So some religious overtones, but mostly hard-line existentialism. Ok, some questions then.
Why is separateness an undesirable trait?
Why is and ego - and the domination of the brain by itself, as you put it, a bad thing?
And then isnt this you just talking to yourself? Why explain this on blather? If we're all one togetherness then why try to interrelate about anything? If the goal is just "being" then what motivation is there for "doing".
Isn't a sense of separateness important to motivate you to act at all? If theres no "I" then what meaning can be ascribed to any action? Is it suddenly "the universe raises one of its hands", "the universe speaks to another bit of the universe", "the universe bothers to get out of bed to go into itself, for some reason"?
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200219
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daf
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Separation is a natural and necessary part of the process. But then again, so is reintroduction to the self.
And the answer to all of these questions is to see what will happen, to engage the universal self, to leave behind bits for it to do with what it will, providing even more feedback about the self.
Bad is when a process goes from being useful to destructive. Taking the basic neural habits of a fetus brain and amplifying them to the domination of the entire species..may qualify depending upon who you ask.
As for separateness as a motivator. Absolutely. But here's where miscommunication might be occurring:
As characters..say the human lives we are living..it's important not to forget our roles. Shit, the play must go on. There's a lot to see..everything in fact, right? "Enjoy the show."
But then there's this story which illustrates why it's also important to recognize our universal self.
I'm gonna tell it off the cuff and say it's about this troupe of actors that did traditional Indian theater. They were doing a play that involved a God called Hanuman. Hanuman is a monkey.
Well, the actor who was supposed to play Hanuman was sick the day of a festival performance one year. Not able to get a substitute quickly, they recruited one of the stage hands..a man whose appearance was more like monkey than anyone else's.
In this particular play, all he had to do was go on stage and dance around like a silly, neurotic monkey. THere were no speaking lines. And so when the time came to go out on stage..he did.
Well, he had a mask on, so no one could see his face. They just saw a comical looking monkey god character. But he danced around so hilariously, that pretty soon, the crowd started laughing and pointing and saying "Look at the monkey! Isn't he funny looking?"
Well this hurt the man who looked a bit like a monkey..even though no one could see him behind the mask..he was just an entertaining part of the show. And so he lashed out at the crowd: "I'm not a monkey! Stop laughing! Can't you see I'm not a monkey?! I'm a man!"
But seeing an actor, obviously dressed as and acting like a monkey, the crowd thought it was part of the comedy and only laughed harder.
And if hurtful rage was able to have its way at that moment, the man would've burned the entire crowd to cinders with his thoughts.
But all he could do, was act more a fool than ever. He wasn't used to being an actor..and so he had forgotten that this crowd was only enjoying his performance..not taunting his person.
It was the best and/or worst performance of Hanuman ever, depending upon your perspective.
Why is it important to recognize what we are beyond this perception of separation?
Why is it so important to tell our kids "its just a video game?" Or to tell ourselves its just a scary movie when the little screen frightens or disturbs us?
Why is it so important to assure the uninitiated that they are a not a Hanuman, but a valuable and essential member of the troupe before each goes off to play their roles?
Now that's a question. The answer's hilarious and/or scary.
Depending on your perspective..
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200301
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Photophobe
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Thats an interesting answer. Thankyou
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210223
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210223
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