Posts by electricdriver33

Daniel Moore3 said:Thank God for common sense!

So what, you think we shouldn't reward or encourage kids who actually grind and finish high school with a perfect 4.0?
I guess we should hand out trophies to the kids pulling a 2.0 too!🙄

The whole point of grades is just to light a fire under people so they actually study... it's not some freaking academic Olympics. 🤣
I know plenty of kids who were straight-A students in elementary school only to end up working as flight attendants, or guys who barely scraped by with Cs but went into mechanical engineering and are pulling in huge salaries now.
Then you see all those honor roll types from college who wind up as high school teachers or secretaries—honestly, why even bother with the degree?—while the ones who just did "okay" go on to get their PhDs and become professors... 😍

coastalhound58 said:Personally, I don't judge, nor do I ever place myself in a subordinate position!
Don't generalize like that! Your two little anecdotes aren't exactly a sufficient sample size to draw such a broad conclusion.
For instance, I don't treat someone any differently just because they have a degree from an Ivy League school versus someone who doesn't.
One really needs to actually get to know a person before forming a judgment, and what you're describing here is, at the very least...😂
...neither a choice of high school nor a college degree tells you absolutely anything about a person's actual intellect.

This topic seems more suited for teenagers! I suspect it doesn't really belong here.

I'm signing onto that bolded part. 👍
People graduate from trade schools and then go on to finish college; others stop after trade school and you can clearly see they're sharp, based on how they think and what they care about.
Usually, whether a kid goes to a prep school or a major university isn't even their call, it's their parents'... and honestly, there are plenty of mediocre people in prep schools and universities alike; statistically maybe fewer than in trade schools, but that really depends on which school we're talking about (an auto tech school isn't the same as a liberal arts college, and an economics program isn't the same as a philosophy department, obviously)... once you look past the cold statistics, it just comes down to your own personal vibe when you're talking face-to-face. 😉

briskbison62 said:I had this buddy back in the day named Zane, and man, he absolutely loathed his name—he thought it sounded way too pretentious and, honestly, just not masculine at all. I actually lost touch with him after high school, so I have no clue if he ever went by something else... On the flip side, my own name is pretty rare, and I’ve always been kind of proud of it. Back in elementary school, kids used to give me a hard time with those silly little rhymes, but you know me—I just took it as a compliment and figured they were just giving me some extra attention... 😬

The name says it all. 😉 Your name is your destiny.

That's actually a beautiful American name, though it's rare, and it's shared by a famous American Franciscan monk: 😉

Benjamin Taylor6 said:That’s basically Buddhist wisdom right there. If you strip away all desire—if you stop asking for things—then whatever life throws at you will be inherently good.
Unless, of course, a semi-truck runs over your leg.😢😲 In that case, you didn't ask for anything, you didn't seek any favors, but you're still going to be screaming in agony. And in the end, you'll be dealing with a prosthetic limb and walking with a cane.🙂

That's what we call Murfiyev's Law.

I'd probably just call it the Kennedy Law. . 😂.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Look, if you actually believe in that stuff, then it isn’t a stupid question. But for anyone who doesn't? Then yeah, it's pretty mindless.
The reality—the cold, hard facts—tell us that nobody is just receiving special gifts dropped down from some transcendent celestial heights. Yet, the Church claims the exact opposite: http://www.katolici.org/nauk.php?action=c_vidi&id=14804


All I know is that I've seen plenty of people praying themselves hoarse, day in and day out, and still coming up completely empty when it comes to any kind of divine wisdom.

That's why John of the Cross said, "There are those who think they know how to pray, but don't; and there are those who think they don't know how to pray, but they actually do quite well."
And also: "I asked for nothing, and yet I received everything."

http://alfaiomegaduhovniforum.forums...avi-t3083.html 😉

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Look, I’d much rather live next to a guy stuck in the past than a rock star. Or a junkie.🙂 It’s just not ideal having one of those "enlightened" types in the family. That’s where things get messy. I actually have a distant cousin like that—really thinks he’s seen the light. He rolls out of bed at 10 AM, sure, but then he spends the rest of his life babbling. He found this group of retired intellectuals, and they sit around debating philosophy until 3 in the morning. 😍
His father is 74 years old and still pulling shifts at the plant just to feed this 42-year-old son who does nothing but philosophize all day.
The old man doesn't have issues in the bedroom, but he certainly has them dealing with his "enlightened" offspring!

http://www.otok-ist.comxa.com/razno221.html

I wrote a bit about this whole "enlightenment" issue over here:

So I guess WatchBreaker isn't exactly a loser since he actually practices self-control... how long he works or what he does when he's off the clock is his business and nobody else's. That's just called freedom, I guess... 😍

Sandra Morgan2 said:So where do the Jeffs fit into your little categories? The ones making a living off of

- seminars
- enlightenment intensives
- retreats
- podcasts and iPhone apps
- selling selfies
- peddling books about their "insights"
- posting those beaming, "enlightened" smiles on their websites

Where are the people actually earning money because they finally figured out who they are? To me, what these guys say often feels like just a remix of someone else's New Age mental gymnastics—pseudo-enlightened rambling that just leaves seekers more confused. They think they can stop searching because these Jeffs will use their texts, lectures, essays, and aphorisms to explain how "searching" isn't even necessary. Charging money to tell you how things work (or don't) is called one thing: business. Even if Jeff probably prefers to call it his "mission" or his "calling."

👍
On the flip side, Jeff, Steve, or whoever he's going by today, is still a lot more honest than these types:
http://www.nytimes.com/news/scandal-article-link ☕

Anthony Perez9 said:If that's how you want to take it, fine, but that wasn't my point. 😉

People have turned "reaching realization" into this sacred little fetish.

It’s like someone obsessing over being "cured" when they're actually just a hypochondriac. In that case, the "desire to be cured" is the actual sickness.

The only thing that makes sense is realizing you've been acting like an idiot the whole time.
Asking "How do I get there? What are the steps? How can I speed this up?" is just another hypochondriac trick to drag out the "treatment period" until death—which means never.

Convincing a hypochondriac that running from doctor to doctor (guru, books, saints, altars) is somehow "deeply meaningful" just lines the pockets of spiritual scammers who peddle their holy guidance at the local spirituality/faith/religion market for cash and ego.

***

Then there’s Krein’s "Watch Destroyer." He probably just gave in to total laziness.
That guy is even worse than the hypochondriacs. 😁

Summary: we've got spiritual

1. active hypochondriacs.
2. gullible believers who blindly follow authority figures.
3. lazy slackers.

The third group is the absolute worst. 😂

________________________________________
* slacker/lazy state.

Just a common way to describe that low-energy, lethargic vibe...

I don't get why you're coming for the slackers like they're the bottom of the barrel. If they were shaved bald and wearing orange, would they suddenly be more valuable to you? 🤷
Besides, isn't it better to have a slacker as a neighbor than some loudmouth who spends every weekend blasting country music or whatever other way they find to annoy everyone nearby... 😕 😍

Is it just me, or is everyone else missing how much The Unknown is totally trolling enlightened Jeff and the whole idea of enlightenment itself... 😕
If nothing else, that opening post he made to start this thread was actually being pretty mild. 😍 😂

How did this thread even end up in the Spirituality subforum anyway? 🤔
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