Posts by Ryan Wilson2

Anthony Cook8 said:Collective beliefs... social contracts...
What you perceive around you isn't reality itself, but just a tiny fragment of it.

The news media is flooded with stories that are just drops in the ocean compared to everything else happening, yet they brainwash you with negativity as if nothing else exists.

You tend to seek out information that fits your worldview while ignoring the rest, and honestly, circling back to the same ideas is fine—after all, we all learn what we learn in this life.😛😁

You're really talking nonsense here.😁

I fail to see any logical connection whatsoever between my previous statements and what you've just proposed.😁

Daniel Castillo11 said:In my view, the true illusion lies in our tendency to project meaning and intention onto natural processes—what many label as "spirit"—where none truly exists. It’s much like how we understand at a subatomic level that matter is essentially a constant, seamless interaction with its surroundings. To me, "spirit" functions more as a metaphor for the profound interconnectedness of all things at a foundational level.

The concept of the soul serves as a religious metaphor for the idea that a person possesses individuality—that distinct sense of "I" or "mine," which encompasses our emotions, desires, motivations, and personal struggles.

Throughout history, humans have always felt there was something more to them than just their biological base, leading them to speculate that this "other" layer of reality was somehow detached from the physical world. This gave rise to all sorts of theories regarding different dimensions, gods, souls, or energies. But if we look at it through a modern lens, we can see that what people called the soul is, in fact, just the psyche. We don't need to lean on superstitions to acknowledge the existence of the human psyche.

As I mentioned to Steven Cruz3 🙂, perhaps that is the truth and perhaps it isn't; I am still not entirely convinced myself.

That is precisely why I am conducting certain experiments that might just debunk it all. However, proving anything is an uphill battle given the sheer capacity of the human brain to manufacture its own reality.

Steven Cruz3 said:The soul is the Psyche.

To me, the best way to wrap your head around how these things interact is through the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche. Psyche (the soul) was innocent and clueless—she entered this relationship with Eros, which represents some kind of vital life force or spirit, but she didn't grasp his true nature. And because of that? She lost him.

Then Aphrodite / Nature—acting as Eros's mother—throws a series of impossible tasks at Psyche to prove herself worthy of reuniting with him. First, she needs the ability to discern—to separate individual seeds from a massive pile—and ants end up helping her out with that. Then she needs a broader perspective to grab water from a wild river in a narrow canyon; an eagle steps in to help there. Finally, she had to snatch wool from Golden Rams that were incredibly aggressive—those represent raw instincts that she had to learn to harness. But she had to do it carefully, under the cover of darkness, just to avoid being attacked. You can't face the forces of the unconscious with pure, cold logic alone—you need a much more subtle intuition and gut feeling.

Psyche's final task was to descend into Persephone's underworld to retrieve a sacred object. The catch? She wasn't allowed to look back on her way out, or she'd hear the cries of the dead left behind. She failed that one—she looked back, got trapped in Hades, and that was that. But then Eros came for her and pulled her out. It’s all just a metaphor for psychic regeneration.

So, essentially, the Psyche/soul had to acknowledge its own nature—its instincts and its limits. It had to develop the power of analysis and synthesis (the ants and the eagle), confront its own mortality, and overcome it with the will to live. All of that leads to integration—this "mystical marriage"—and finally reaching a state of full self-awareness.

Fine, if we follow that logic, then we're strictly talking about psychology. Personally, I remain highly skeptical that there's anything more profound at play here than mere mental processes.🙂

Anthony Cook8 said:It really can be an illusion... think about a serial killer who manages to be a wonderful father and husband at the same time.
Or someone who is a complete nightmare to their coworkers but is absolutely lovely when they get home.

A wife living with a killer might never even realize what he’s doing, 😁 so for her, that truth isn't her reality.

I'm exaggerating, sure, but for all of us, "reality" is just what we perceive. Since everyone perceives things differently, it's inherently an illusion.

If you and a stranger are standing together on a street corner in Chicago, you'll both notice different people and different things happening around you. Even if you happen to see the exact same thing, you'll interpret it through different lenses, even though it happened at the exact same moment.

So much is happening simultaneously that our brains simply can't process it all. We catch a tiny fragment, assume that's the whole picture, and call it reality—but it's not. It's just the small slice of life that happens to be right in front of us while everything else continues to unfold out of our sight.

A person's character has absolutely nothing to do with the point I am making.

Someone can embody both sides of that coin at once; being ignorant of a fact does not somehow negate the existence of that fact.

Ignorance of the theory of gravity won't stop me from falling out of a tree if I climb one.

Physical reality cannot be an illusion.

An illusion can only exist if one mistakes their own identity—the soul or the spirit—for physical reality. Of course, that assumes you even believe in the existence of a soul or spirit to begin with. 😁

It is fundamentally impossible to purge yourself of one emotion, such as fear, while simultaneously holding onto another, like love... You either find yourself overanalyzing both until you effectively destroy them, or you choose to prioritize one and force the other deep into your subconscious.

mistygull16 said:Spot on. Reincarnation is the ultimate catch-all explanation. Without it—or some version of karma—this whole world just feels like one giant cosmic accident, and spirituality loses its punch entirely.

I don't even bother with elections. It’s hard to feel like your vote matters when you're sharing the ballot box with idiots, opportunists, hypocrites, and thieves... not to mention the constant media spin. Democracy only really works in an organized society filled with smart people who vote for the greater good instead of just looking out for their own skin. There aren't many of those left in America.

True, but it makes you wonder how we ended up in such a clueless society 🤷 (karma strikes again, I guess) maybe we just got lucky in this life. Maybe being born into a decent environment actually made us smarter than we would've been otherwise, or else we'd probably be stuck somewhere below average ourselves. 🤷

Precisely. It feels as though there is no inherent justice, nor does good ever seem to be repaid with good.

Quincy:

Right, but the real question is: how did we end up in such a society of fools? 🤷 (referring again to karma) Perhaps our current standing is simply more intelligent than others, or perhaps being born into an intellectual environment would have been more significant, whereas we might actually fall below average if that were the case. 🤷

It is easy for you to resonate with that sentiment when you already subscribe to the idea of karma.😁

That said, even if karma does exist, I find no cause to complain about my current circumstances. I don't have to hunt for food, scavenge for water, or freeze out in the elements.

Nicholas Gonzalez8 said:Look, life is what it is. It's full of massive highs and devastating lows. But honestly, no matter how much you struggle, complain, worry, or point fingers at the same old problems, it doesn't change a damn thing. In fact, it makes things worse—it just drags in more baggage like negative emotions, mental clutter, ruined health, and getting so bogged down in nonsense that you miss actual opportunities.

Step one is just accepting the situation for what it is. It’s happening right now, whether you like it or not. By refusing to accept it—by hunting for a scapegoat or wallowing in regret—you’re just distancing yourself from who you are and from any actual solution. Most people think stress is just a normal reaction to hard times, but let's be real: it's just a bad habit that's become baked into our society.

Step two is to pause, take a cold, hard look at the reality of the situation and what tools you have, make a call, and then do the absolute best you can with what you know.

Step three is letting go of the result. Seriously. You did what you could, and you couldn't have done more than that. And then the whole cycle starts over—acceptance, assessment, decision-making.

Honestly, if more people actually worked on building better perspectives—if they stopped fighting reality and dropped the illusions—they'd move faster, act smarter, and actually succeed. They'd be happier simply because they know who they are and are okay with whatever happens next.

I am honestly not sure how this concept of pouring something from an empty vessel into a void relates to the specific instances I previously mentioned.

mistygull16 said:It’s easy enough to blame karma for it all.

Like, say you have a shot to change things through elections or some national referendum... but we just sit there and do nothing. According to the laws of karma, that's on us.

If you subscribe to the idea of reincarnation, then you suddenly have a convenient answer for every single question life throws at you. But looking at it from the other side, if reincarnation is a myth, then those in power have essentially handed themselves the perfect "religion" to manipulate and control discontented masses.

The reality is, I don't feel like I have a real shot through the electoral process. Why? Because it isn't just me voting; I’m competing against fools, opportunists, hypocrites, and thieves... and that’s not even touching upon the relentless media manipulation we deal with. Democracy can only truly function in an organized society composed of intelligent individuals—people who vote for the collective good rather than just their own selfish interests. In America, such people are incredibly rare.

Anthony Cook8 said:Everything really is perfect. Once we finally accept ourselves and stop fighting, all that internal junk we've collected starts to fall away... the illusions dissolve and we find our way back to who we truly are. We aren't actually learning anything new; we're just stripping away the lies.

Oh, sure. That sounds absolutely "perfect" right up until the moment you're facing an eviction notice or a massive utility bill while trying to feed a hungry child.

And I'm sure it feels just wonderful for the retirees forced to scavenge through trash cans just to make ends meet.

I won't even get started on how many times I have to dig through the news only to see how the people in power exploit, maim, and kill people in countless ways. To them, everything is just as "perfect."

The ascetic imperative... yeah, right... anyone can claim they want that. But just imagine if that imperative were brutally material—if you actually needed a million dollars just to begin your journey toward spiritual enlightenment.

Well, that wouldn't work, would it? Such a religion wouldn't be accessible to everyone.

There’s no safety net there. What's going to keep you warm during a blizzard? Are you allowed to kill to eat? Can you gut a deer to prep the meat, or cold-bloodedly slaughter a rabbit that wandered into your trap? And so on, and so forth.

It’s all very easy to type away from the comfort of a heated room. It's easy when, instead of trekking through the wilderness while starving, you just walk over to a 7-Eleven. When you're thirsty, you turn on a faucet instead of hiking to a spring in the middle of the night. And when nature calls, you have a bathroom rather than a hole in the dirt.

I am genuinely fascinated by these "spiritualists" who preach about returning to nature, yet seem to have absolutely no grasp of everything modern civilization has provided for us.

Anthony Cook8 said:Exactly. Besides, who gets to decide what counts as a punishment versus a reward? What defines "good" or "bad" when everyone experiences their life circumstances so differently?
And how can we even call something a mistake when everything is working out perfectly, and we're receiving exactly what we need at every single moment?

That is fundamentally incorrect; it is nothing more than an ego trap. If everything weren't unfolding exactly as it is, our current ego wouldn't even exist.

That is precisely why everything seems perfect to him. Every single event in his past has served only to reinforce his own existence.

bluemason3 said:It feels like the wealthy are more likely to crack under the weight of ascetic practices than those living a Hedonistic lifestyle. They don't have the same complexes, frustrations, or unfulfilled desires, so they might actually end up becoming saints or something along those lines. 😳

Are there even more than those two?

bluemason3 said:Aside from Bud and Sadh Maharaja 😬 😁

There is a parasite in every field of grain😁

Quincy:

bluemason3 As stated by: Have you truly abandoned the pursuit of philosophy?$67 Is it truly possible to argue that "ascetics are simply incapable of achieving anything meaningful in this life"? Is that the fundamental truth we're meant to accept? 😁 Where do you think these extreme, boundary-pushing tantric practitioners actually come from? It’s highly improbable they are being recruited from the masses of wealthy families or those elite social circles. 😳 Drogerasi ☕

Drogerasi nikad 🙂I am still standing by that position, and I have no intention of wavering.

That is precisely my point. Those who actually possess significant wealth certainly aren't losing sleep over how to "transcend" their material circumstances; they have already mastered that realm. Isn't it always the case that those preoccupied with spiritualizing away their possessions are simply those who lack the means to acquire them in the first place? 😁

It’s easy for them to preach when they have such effortless access to drugs.

bluemason3 said:Slackers, freeloaders, and junkies.🧐

It isn't exactly an undesirable way to live... unless, of course, you much prefer the standard 9-to-5 grind, bowing down to bosses and clients, eating pizza without a beer, and being suffocated by social norms. 😁

To provide a trivial example: someone like Aghora could walk around wearing mismatched socks. Would anyone in this thread actually dare show up to their job wearing different socks, or is the fear of being judged simply too overwhelming? 😁

I won't bother responding to every single individual comment here, but I will state my position clearly: I do not believe the results of spiritual work are dictated by the specific temperament of the seeker. Nor do I subscribe to the notion that an individual possesses greater value simply because they choose to abstain from material pleasures.

Until we effectively confront and dismantle our fears, we remain incapable of discovering our true essence. We are all living in a profound illusion if we genuinely believe we have mastered our physical impulses, or that social norms exert any meaningful control over them.

It is a self-perpetuating cycle; our inherent conditioning makes it nearly impossible to break free from this fear without a radical shift.

So, get on with it. 😁

Nicholas Gonzalez8 said:Personal growth—it’s about actually getting to know yourself, God, the world, the people around you... figuring out who you want to be and then actually living that way.

Shifting your mindset and building awareness is exactly what gives me the leverage to actually control my impulses and those old habits I picked up along the way. It means I'm not just some slave to instinct acting on autopilot; I actually get to make a choice.

And honestly, there are plenty of things much more potent than just brute force. 😉

Not necessarily—someone might try out different techniques just to see what they're like, or out of pure curiosity to see what kind of shifts they trigger. That doesn't have to involve expecting any specific result.

Yeah, sure, self-interest can be disguised. Feeling happy after doing something good might be the main driver, or it might just be a nice side effect. Look at it this way: if something can make us happy faster and easier, why would anyone bother taking the hard road by giving their time, effort, or money to others? I've got nothing against looking out for yourself in the process, but I just want to point out that it isn't always the primary motivation.

Why shouldn't "progress" be defined by chasing sex, alcohol, or drugs?

You are boxed in by the law, by morality, and by the society you inhabit; you simply aren't given a real choice. Fear is what governs people. The fear of breaking the law, the fear of starvation, the fear of death.
One can overcome that fear either by hitting a massive Powerball jackpot or by perfecting a sense of total detachment to rise above material concerns. Both are extremes, yet both work.

Sure, two beatings might do the trick.

Scott Miller4 said:Yeah, honestly, aiming for the stars while your fridge is empty and your stomach is growling... that’s a quick path to neurosis.

Sure.
But even the fact that you reached out for a spiritual technique suggests there are expectations and desires lurking under the surface.

Self-interest can be pretty well disguised. It doesn't have to mean you're doing good specifically to grab a prize; it could just be the drive to feel good about yourself because you did something good. Which, if we're being honest, is still a form of looking out for yourself. 🙂

Something I can't quite put into words (I'm not really sure 😁), happened to me once while I was translating a sacred text. It hasn't happened since, and it never happened before.
When my translation was approved, they told me I could expect "spiritual blessings." When it actually happened, I was thrilled at first, but then I seriously considered getting a brain scan. Since it never happened again, I'm pretty sure it was just a projection caused by the excitement and the whole buildup about those "blessings."

Give us a little more detail about that other world. 🙂

If I actually possessed a deeper understanding of it, I would be writing a book; for the time being, these are merely vague intuitions. 🙂

Lawrence Torres56 said:Is this whole thing just depressing us a little too much😁 so we can find some comfort in it?😉
We don't need a biological overhaul; what we actually need is a mental shift to break free from this obsession with accumulating stuff and mindless indulgence... Don't you think the reason the "law of the jungle" holds such power is because we've been totally numbed by the values forced upon us? We reduce our entire lives to checking off "must-have" lists and competing with neighbors, without ever stopping to ask ourselves what any of it is actually for. So, really, which one of us is doing the fooling themselves: us, or the people claiming they've moved past it all?🤷

This isn't about depression. Let’s be clear: this is simply an objective assessment of the facts on the ground, and it has absolutely nothing to do with my mood. 🧐

Can we honestly believe that mental shifts can occur in a vacuum, completely detached from physical reality? It is a fundamental fallacy to suggest otherwise. The law of the fittest is woven into the very fabric of our nature; you cannot simply override a hundred thousand years of biological evolution through sheer willpower or abstract thought alone. Physical change must precede the psychological.

One day, when the rational portion of the human brain finally manages to assert dominance over the rest of our cognitive faculties, perhaps then we will see some actual progress. The problem is that the human mind is riddled with gaps—structural flaws that allow all sorts of irrationality to seep in, firmly rooted in those primal, subconscious impulses we can never quite seem to outrun.

These aren't some set of values being forced upon us from the outside; they are inherent, deeply ingrained principles that have always been part of our DNA. 😉