Hi Captain Of The Lost Waves. Yes, indeed, it "only intensifies". JIC, if you look under "Show More" above on in any youTube vid, you'll see links to all of my work, all free in some format. stillness
Hi Penny. Great that you are finding the videos useful. we try to make one every week or so and post one at least every two weeks. It depends on everything, but we really enjoy making them as we discover things that we didn't even know we knew and the synergy of the process often results in new understandings for us. Besides, it is all spontaneous and unrehearsed, which makes it a lot of fun. stillness
Hi PhiloXXI. Most of the world's great artists incl. painters, sculptors, musicians, etc. first developed basic skills to a high degree, like Picasso who was a fantastic drawer. After learning painting, they discovered how to transcend their "ego/I" and "self-referential narrative", to go into "flow" where they functioned w/o their ego, and miraculous creations emerged. Cezanne called this "something akin to prayer". Elite athletes, scientists, chess masters also learn how to get into "flow".
Thanks for the video, y'all! Watching it with my mom just now led us to the following question: How can making art assist with the "not that-ing" of ego death? Thanks!
Hi Quantum Atom Theory. Yes, that metaphor of consciousness being aware of itself within its own reframe, electrical or ortherwise, may be the reality. The blogposts "Do your mystical experiences fit w/quantum mechanics? Neuroscience?" and "How 'consciousness' creates matter...the God particle" may be useful in seeing how some contemporary quantum physicists and neuroscientists look at this. URL is in "About" under video. stillness.
Yes I feel this in many ways maybe if we dumb down our understanding of consciousness to the level of electrical activity in the brain that is aware of its own electrical potential within its own ref-frame. Then we can think of consciousness as the most advanced part of a universal process. Also I used the same painting in one of my videos that you have in the background of your videos. Seeing this painting in the background is what brought me to your videos in the first place, very odd!
I was once trying to paint in the sky on an oil painting and I could not get it right. I was not upset but I walked to the window and looked up and to my surprise the actual sky looked the same as my painting! Can this be explained by your ideas or can it be just put down as chance?
Hi Quantum Atom Theory. IME, there is nothing such as "chance". The "world" is NOT a haphazard, random, bunch of occurrences w/o any interconnected relationships. It is all a massively-interconnected, interrelated "Oneness" moving together. The sky in your painting was the sky outside, whether you were aware of it or not. your going to the window, was also "predetermined", perhaps so you could wonder at, and get a glimpse at the great Mystery of it all. stillness
hi guys,have you heard of people getting lost in stillness,i go so deep in my silent soft blissfull meditation that i have to stop and come out and try fight it as it feels im loosing my mind,is this normal
Hi Paul. Yes, folk have been getting deeply absorbed in stillness for millenia. When you come to that fear that you feel "...i have to stop and come out and try to fight it as it feels i'm losing my mind", just feel your way into the fear. Don't push it away, but welcome it in. Ask "Where is this one who is feeling this fear?", "What is it that is afraid of the stillness?". Don't try to analyze it, just inquiry into the subject. See if you could let go of this fear. Look @ the blogpost "Surrendering the "I", letting go of suffering" for the simple letting go approaches you can use. (blog url under "about" under vid). stillness
thanks for reply guys,i am going to be brave and let it go,i am listening alot to jiddu krishnamurti and his message is silent meditation and then the mind will find its own what is sacred,no chanting no mantras no concentration he believes this makes the mind dull,no system just complete silence and no wanting to seek because once you seek something you have already brought taught into it,,what do you think
paul muldoon i know JK's work very well, and saw him in person many times as well. i don't believe that his "choiceless awareness" will work here for you, as you have these strong fears about the stillness. i love much about JK's philosophy and still quote it, and i agree about mantras and concentration dulling the mind, but his passive choiceless awareness did not go deep enough for me, and did not really get at the root of the selfing problem. Self-inquiry does not dull the mind; on the contrary it makes it very aware and sensitive. That's my experience, perhaps you will be different. stillness
paul muldoon Self-inquiry is the "Direct Path", which Ramana Maharshi clearly delineated and taught. If you download (free) a copy of my book, Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening, you can read all about it. The link is shown under "About" under the vid. There are also several blogposts and interviews on self-inquiry, links also under "About". Trust this is useful. stillness
Hi stoned ape. i was a vegetarian for philosophical reasons for years, long before "vegetarian/vegan" was "the thing". There was no great Thai food, and i traveled a lot internationally, so "vegetarian" was not "balanced" nor "tasty". As i was working a lot of hours and lived in cold places, i became really run down and was a physical wreck. That was not a good program. Living a sedentary life in a warm climate, it would be different. my diet now is what the body wants for where i live and what i do. i just feel into what the body "needs". This isn't the same as "wants" so you need to be watchful. we were evolved to love complex sugars and fats for their concentrated energy, but today's refined sugar and salty, fat foods "hijack" that system to our great disadvantage. It is much wiser to trust the body than trusting the ego/I with its "what's the latest diet craze" approach. The current diet is gluten-free (yeah, it's a fad and i'm not celiac, but it feels much better) and low glycemic index (very important as i am hypoglycemic). For protein, depending on the day, it's fish, poultry (preferably turkey), or tofu or some soy product. Trust this useful. stillness gary
Hi stoned ape. As this discussion is better done 1/1, let's move it to email so it can be more useful. If you look under "About" on my website, happiness-beyond-thought.com, you'll see my email. stillness
The joy and novelty of life only intensifies...... beautiful x
Hi Captain Of The Lost Waves. Yes, indeed, it "only intensifies". JIC, if you look under "Show More" above on in any youTube vid, you'll see links to all of my work, all free in some format. stillness
Thanks, Gary!! So, "flowing" exercises both situational awareness and egoic letting-go. Dig it!
Thank you. I make it a habit to watch one of your videos before I start my day. I hope you will upload more in the future.
Hi Penny. Great that you are finding the videos useful. we try to make one every week or so and post one at least every two weeks. It depends on everything, but we really enjoy making them as we discover things that we didn't even know we knew and the synergy of the process often results in new understandings for us. Besides, it is all spontaneous and unrehearsed, which makes it a lot of fun. stillness
Excellent video, thanks for posting, much appreciated : )
Hi PhiloXXI. Most of the world's great artists incl. painters, sculptors, musicians, etc. first developed basic skills to a high degree, like Picasso who was a fantastic drawer. After learning painting, they discovered how to transcend their "ego/I" and "self-referential narrative", to go into "flow" where they functioned w/o their ego, and miraculous creations emerged. Cezanne called this "something akin to prayer". Elite athletes, scientists, chess masters also learn how to get into "flow".
Thanks for the video, y'all! Watching it with my mom just now led us to the following question: How can making art assist with the "not that-ing" of ego death? Thanks!
Hi Quantum Atom Theory. Yes, that metaphor of consciousness being aware of itself within its own reframe, electrical or ortherwise, may be the reality. The blogposts "Do your mystical experiences fit w/quantum mechanics? Neuroscience?" and "How 'consciousness' creates matter...the God particle" may be useful in seeing how some contemporary quantum physicists and neuroscientists look at this. URL is in "About" under video. stillness.
Yes I feel this in many ways maybe if we dumb down our understanding of consciousness to the level of electrical activity in the brain that is aware of its own electrical potential within its own ref-frame. Then we can think of consciousness as the most advanced part of a universal process. Also I used the same painting in one of my videos that you have in the background of your videos. Seeing this painting in the background is what brought me to your videos in the first place, very odd!
I was once trying to paint in the sky on an oil painting and I could not get it right. I was not upset but I walked to the window and looked up and to my surprise the actual sky looked the same as my painting! Can this be explained by your ideas or can it be just put down as chance?
Hi Quantum Atom Theory. IME, there is nothing such as "chance". The "world" is NOT a haphazard, random, bunch of occurrences w/o any interconnected relationships. It is all a massively-interconnected, interrelated "Oneness" moving together. The sky in your painting was the sky outside, whether you were aware of it or not. your going to the window, was also "predetermined", perhaps so you could wonder at, and get a glimpse at the great Mystery of it all. stillness
hi guys,have you heard of people getting lost in stillness,i go so deep in my silent soft blissfull meditation that i have to stop and come out and try fight it as it feels im loosing my mind,is this normal
Hi Paul. Yes, folk have been getting deeply absorbed in stillness for millenia. When you come to that fear that you feel "...i have to stop and come out and try to fight it as it feels i'm losing my mind", just feel your way into the fear. Don't push it away, but welcome it in. Ask "Where is this one who is feeling this fear?", "What is it that is afraid of the stillness?". Don't try to analyze it, just inquiry into the subject. See if you could let go of this fear. Look @ the blogpost "Surrendering the "I", letting go of suffering" for the simple letting go approaches you can use. (blog url under "about" under vid). stillness
thanks for reply guys,i am going to be brave and let it go,i am listening alot to jiddu krishnamurti and his message is silent meditation and then the mind will find its own what is sacred,no chanting no mantras no concentration he believes this makes the mind dull,no system just complete silence and no wanting to seek because once you seek something you have already brought taught into it,,what do you think
paul muldoon i know JK's work very well, and saw him in person many times as well. i don't believe that his "choiceless awareness" will work here for you, as you have these strong fears about the stillness. i love much about JK's philosophy and still quote it, and i agree about mantras and concentration dulling the mind, but his passive choiceless awareness did not go deep enough for me, and did not really get at the root of the selfing problem. Self-inquiry does not dull the mind; on the contrary it makes it very aware and sensitive. That's my experience, perhaps you will be different. stillness
what is self inquiry?
paul muldoon Self-inquiry is the "Direct Path", which Ramana Maharshi clearly delineated and taught. If you download (free) a copy of my book, Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening, you can read all about it. The link is shown under "About" under the vid. There are also several blogposts and interviews on self-inquiry, links also under "About". Trust this is useful. stillness
Hey Gary what is your diet like? And what are your thoughts on it? I.e. vegetarian/vegan etc?
stillness
Hi stoned ape. i was a vegetarian for philosophical reasons for years, long before "vegetarian/vegan" was "the thing". There was no great Thai food, and i traveled a lot internationally, so "vegetarian" was not "balanced" nor "tasty". As i was working a lot of hours and lived in cold places, i became really run down and was a physical wreck. That was not a good program. Living a sedentary life in a warm climate, it would be different.
my diet now is what the body wants for where i live and what i do. i just feel into what the body "needs". This isn't the same as "wants" so you need to be watchful. we were evolved to love complex sugars and fats for their concentrated energy, but today's refined sugar and salty, fat foods "hijack" that system to our great disadvantage.
It is much wiser to trust the body than trusting the ego/I with its "what's the latest diet craze" approach. The current diet is gluten-free (yeah, it's a fad and i'm not celiac, but it feels much better) and low glycemic index (very important as i am hypoglycemic). For protein, depending on the day, it's fish, poultry (preferably turkey), or tofu or some soy product.
Trust this useful.
stillness
gary
Hi stoned ape. As this discussion is better done 1/1, let's move it to email so it can be more useful. If you look under "About" on my website, happiness-beyond-thought.com, you'll see my email. stillness