I’ve been thinking lately that maybe heaven and hell aren't some distant places we go to, but rather states of mind we carry right here on earth... and once the body finally gives out, you just end up experiencing whatever reality you've spent your life building inside your own head, which means to me, paradise isn't some far-off thing waiting on the other side... 😍
Petting a cat is one of those rare joys that can brighten even the gloomiest days of our human existence. 😢
On topic:
Emotions are physical experiences. We might only truly be free of them once we pass away. Extreme emotions are exhausting and inevitably lead to their own opposites. It is better to maintain a steady vibration around the center. 🙂
So if that's the case, why on earth does everyone insist that emotions are the language of the soul? 🤔
Science can't possibly be the sole gateway to truth, if nothing else because its supposed objectivity is a total myth when you consider that every single researcher is inevitably operating from a subjective standpoint... Certain scientific breakthroughs would almost certainly look completely different if they had been achieved by people with entirely different perspectives or worldviews. And honestly, the constant bickering and bitter infighting we see within academic circles just proves my point... I’m not exactly a man of science myself, but these shifts hit home for me when I think about things like medical breakthroughs or the pharmaceutical industry. It seems like massive changes are brewing in those fields, where the standard American medical model—the kind we've all grown up with—is slowly being pushed aside in favor of something new, like personalized medicine... because people are finally realizing the human body isn't some universal machine, and that every individual is a unique psycho-physical entity, meaning a drug might work for one person but be totally ineffective, or even lethal, for another. If scientists had actually embraced that kind of holistic approach much earlier, maybe half these illnesses wouldn't even exist, and we wouldn't be living in a world where medicine has "advanced" so much that they can find a specific pill for every single ailment imaginable.
neonmarlin39 said:Philosophy goes way deeper than Isaac Newton ever did...
So, are you saying reality is created by your mind, or someone else's, or a whole group of people? Man, that's just pure dogma. It's got zero connection to anything, no basis in science, logic, or actual rationality. Think about it—before any living thing with a brain even existed, there was non-living matter. That matter couldn't have been a product of some individual mind, right? It's actually the opposite: minds evolved from non-living matter (basically, life came from elements and raw material). Plus, "reality" and our *perception* of reality aren't the same thing. What you're talking about sounds more like someone's subjective take on things. Whether something is material or not doesn't change whether it's real (I mean, modern physics mostly deals with fields and stuff anyway). Reality doesn't care what anyone believes, does, or says. Reality stays reality regardless of someone's thoughts or actions—even if their *idea* of reality changes because of them.
Yeah, I get that, but the whole thing changes based on how a person actually experiences that reality and how they react to it... because let's be honest, we aren't all walking around experiencing the exact same thing in the exact same way, right?
Maria Parker77 said:There is no such thing as human desire being outside of the divine plan. Period. Nothing exists outside of it. The whole point is that all conscious beings possess the power to create. And they do! The only real difference is how aware they are of that power and the massive Consequences of Creation. Nowadays, most people are just creating a day dictated by their own karma and their past baggage. But it doesn't have to be that way. 🙂
Exactly. But that carries this massive weight of responsibility to actually shape your own existence, and honestly, most people just aren't ready to face that kind of reality. It’s much easier to just drift along and let someone else take the wheel, because then when things fall apart, you can just blame them instead of looking in the mirror... It's a kind of spiritual laziness that lets people play the victim role forever without ever having to grow. And when you deny that creative force within yourself—when you hand over your agency to other people who claim to hold that same spiritual authority—well, unfortunately, that’s exactly what drives this world toward deeper division and inequality. It’s completely futile to sit around waiting for some higher power to swoop in and save us, because that power is already baked into all of us; it’s just a matter of when we finally wake up and decide how to wield it... The planned game keeps rolling on, stretching out into eternity. 😍
David Vaughn75 said:My take? I believe that in the end, when you crunch all the numbers, everyone gets exactly what they truly wanted. You have total freedom to choose your path. Anything you desire right now, Bog can fulfill in the future—and He does. The real headache is that people live in this massive illusion; they think they want one thing, but then they actually get it and realize they're totally disappointed.
Going back to my point about control... a guy spends all his time cooking up plans, mapping out exactly what he's going to do, starts grinding away at it, and then—boom—something totally unexpected happens and his whole scheme goes down the drain. That's just how it works with material plans. When it comes to the physical stuff, the ultimate controller is Bog, and things happen exactly how He intends them to.
But when you're talking about spiritual planning, the rules are completely different. 😉
And what, you think Bog is some kind of jukebox? Like, you just drop a coin in and eventually it plays whatever tune you wanted... unless the power goes out, I guess? 🤣
David Vaughn75 said:My take? I believe that in the end, when you crunch all the numbers, everyone gets exactly what they truly wanted. You have total freedom to choose your path. Anything you desire right now, Bog can fulfill in the future—and He does. The real headache is that people live in this massive illusion; they think they want one thing, but then they actually get it and realize they're totally disappointed.
Going back to my point about control... a guy spends all his time cooking up plans, mapping out exactly what he's going to do, starts grinding away at it, and then—boom—something totally unexpected happens and his whole scheme goes down the drain. That's just how it works with material plans. When it comes to the physical stuff, the ultimate controller is Bog, and things happen exactly how He intends them to.
But when you're talking about spiritual planning, the rules are completely different. 😉
So what exactly is "spiritual planning" and what kind of rules are we even talking about here?
bluemason3 said:What’s that supposed to mean? Energy is inherently material—it's a property of matter itself.
But is it really just a property of matter? I mean, what if matter is actually being forged by pure energy instead? Take the energy behind a thought, for instance... because honestly, nothing physical can ever truly come into existence unless there was first a spark of thought behind it...
Maria Parker77 said:But what if we’re already one? Like, what if we should take that literally? Because that’s actually what science is starting to back up these days. People don't quite know how to wrap their heads around it yet, but the fact that we are unified—that we are one single entity—is no longer up for debate.
It’s all about finding that emotional balance. You have to clear out all that negative perception by actually understanding things and just... letting go.
Just be present right now. Be happy. Be satisfied. Because, honestly? You can do whatever the hell you want. Even with all those supposed "limitations" hanging over us, if things aren't working out, just try being more loving and more forgiving.
Exactly! 👍
I was watching this documentary the other day about astronauts who spent some time up there on NASA stations. Those people have seen things most of us will never experience, and they all seemed to agree that humanity’s entire perspective would shift completely if everyone could have an experience like that. Because they saw the USA and our whole world in a totally different light than how we usually see it, which helped them realize that our planet is basically one living organism where everything is tied to everything else. Unity, oneness... it's all right there, yet for some reason, people just stubbornly refuse to see it...😁
neonmarlin39 said:The way they put it sounds pretty dualistic, like they're splitting things into two worlds—the spiritual side and the material side. It makes me wonder though... where do thoughts fit into that split? They aren't purely spiritual, but they definitely aren't just physical matter either. 😁
Energy-wise, they are definitely non-material, but since they mostly build upon our empirical perceptions within the physical world, it seems most logical to me that they are—as a product of the mind, which is that third aspect of being—sort of a tool provided to us so that we, as spiritual beings, can actually navigate this material reality at all...
David Vaughn75 said:Look, man, if you really think that’s the whole story, then fine—believe whatever helps you sleep at night. 🤷 Just don't come crying to me when reality hits, because honestly? Your take is like 1% of what people actually think. If anything, I should be the one looking at you like you've lost your mind. 😁
I don't know, I just believe it because it actually makes sense to me. If life in this world just happens regardless of what we want, then it feels fundamentally unfair. Why does one guy end up with all the cash while another is broke? Why is one person loved by everyone and another totally isolated? Why is one person healthy while another is struggling with illness?
Karma is the only thing that adds up, but let's face it—we can't control the laws of karma even if we tried our hardest. Only God can mess with the laws of nature.
It's that classic moment where some guy is mocking you, but he's talking such absolute nonsense that you can't help but laugh in his face. 🙏 🙏
To me, it’s perfectly logical that the first is tied to the second—meaning karma, or more accurately, the natural law of action and reaction, of cause and effect. Everything strives toward equilibrium, including the Universe itself, and to a person caught up in the concept of linear time, it looks like some kind of karma, a consequence or punishment (whether immediate or carried over from previous lives) finally catching up to them. But in reality, everything is happening simultaneously, right here in the present moment, and a person has the ability at any given instant to shift their mental framework, to change their reactions to material experiences, and thereby find freedom. It's just like a radio where various stations exist at different frequencies all at once, and it's up to the person to choose which one to tune into. It would be pretty foolish to suggest you're forced to listen only to whatever happens to be broadcasting right now; you can always just change the channel, can't you? 😉
David Vaughn75 said:Food is basically the prerequisite that lets you actually *do* anything else in life. The material world exists to serve the spiritual one.
Nobody is telling you that you can't enjoy material things; I don't see the issue there. 🤷 It's just that if you take a real good look around, the world is absolutely crawling with suffering, violence, despair, wars, hunger, and tragedy. Does that sound like a "good" state of affairs to you, or does it feel like something needs to change? If you think this current mess is fine, then hey, no problem.
All this suffering stems from the illusion that matter is going to bring you happiness. Spoiler alert: it won't. You've got billionaires, actors, pop stars—people who have everything the world has to offer—and they’re still miserable. A person gets exactly what they always wanted, and as soon as they grab it, they start eyeing something new. That's just how the material world works; it's a bottomless pit that can never be filled. Wealthy nations have access to every resource on the planet, yet they still go to war and snatch resources from other countries. People were born into this material existence because they wanted to rule, they wanted control, but it's all an illusion. True, absolute control belongs only to God, and once you finally realize that, that's when you actually experience freedom.
But how can you possibly claim that this urge to manage things and grab control is the sole reason we even exist in this physical realm? 🤔 What if that’s just one facet of how God exists? I mean, if God is truly absolute—existing within everything and containing everything—then man’s individual desires would have to hang on nothing at all unless they were fundamentally part of God's plan. Unless, of course, you're operating under the assumption that humans are somehow separate or detached from God...?😲
David Vaughn75 said:Look, once you finally leave this body behind, you basically get a choice: you can reincarnate back into the physical world where you still have to deal with hunger, or you can head off into the spiritual realm where eating isn't even a thing anymore.
When you're staring down the barrel of infinity, these 80 or 90 years we spend on Earth are basically a rounding error—straight up zero.
Sure, the spiritual realm might be free from material cravings, but while we’re stuck here in physical reality, those desires are just part of being human... and honestly, it makes me wonder how you'd even swap out a basic hunger for food for some spiritual substitute without starving to death during our brief eighty years on this planet... unless, obviously, you've already left the body. Or take any other physical drive—you know, sex, socializing, the urge to work, traveling... all that stuff.
By the way, that first sentence of yours reminded me of something a woman who had a near-death experience once said: laugh, enjoy yourself, eat as much chocolate as you want, and for heaven's sake, don't take this life too seriously!
I mean, since we've been dropped into this world, gifted with the capacity to feel and to want things, why on earth would we try to suppress or deny that? Finding a balance—yeah, sure, don't be greedy for material things at the expense of the soul, and don't get too attached to specific outcomes because life is unpredictable—but trying to kill off our physical side just to feed a spiritual side that we aren't even consciously aware of most of the time... that just seems like a fast track to misery and total frustration to me...🤷
David Vaughn75 said:Let's get one thing straight: stripping away every single desire? That's a pipe dream. The real grind—the actual spiritual heavy lifting—is about swapping out those shallow, material cravings for something deeper, more spiritual. That’s the whole game.
Thanks for the kind words, I guess. 🕺
But how on earth are you supposed to take something like the urge to eat and somehow trade it for a spiritual longing? 🤔 Or what about the endless mountain of other desires that just tie us down to our physical existence?
I’d argue that the goal should be to let go of the attachment to what we want, rather than trying to delete the desires themselves...
It’s pretty interesting how it seems like more and more people are actually killing their own sense of purpose by drowning themselves in this endless mountain of self-help books and spiritual guides... you know, searching for a "path" through all that paper clutter until the whole concept just loses its soul. I can't help but wonder why that happens... Maybe it's because they're hunting for the wrong things entirely because, look, no matter how massive the selection of literature gets, there aren't any concrete answers tucked away in some chapter, there are no definitive instruction manuals, no guarantees of success, no shortcuts, and certainly nothing "quick-fix" style that most people seem to crave... plus, they're looking for these answers in other people instead of digging deep within themselves. I mean, sure, reading about someone else's philosophy or life lessons is fine—it helps us piece together our own little life puzzles—but at the end of the day, we have to be the ones to put those pieces together ourselves. Because nobody else can live your life for you, and we have to design and build our own existence without waiting for a savior to do it for us. We all have the same agency here—we all have our own thoughts and we all decide how we're going to react to whatever situation life throws our way... so, I think it's better to just gracefully accept that we're solely responsible for our own lives and then just give it everything we've got to live as best we can, without getting too bogged down in the heavy labels of "spirituality" or "finding a path," since that's really just another way of describing how a human being lives as a spiritual, mental, and physical entity...
The guy being discussed here loves music, so honestly, let him lose himself in it! Let him find whatever else makes him feel fulfilled and happy, because that's the only way he'll truly heal himself and eventually start putting out those positive vibes toward everyone else. Think locally, act globally! 😉
That’s how you actually make your mark on this world—by living as the person you truly believe yourself to be, carving out your own unique path, and honestly... there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I’m someone who genuinely loves being around people, but when I’m not, I love being by myself just as much. At the end of the day, you’re always stuck with yourself—there’s no other way to exist—so if that isn't enough for you, if you can't find fulfillment within your own skin, then you're in trouble... because then you start chasing after other people to fill a void that actually lives inside you, which, let’s face it, is a total Sisyphus task. I don't know if that has anything to do with how old your soul feels, or how deep into the subconscious it goes, but I do know that even when I’m alone, I don't feel lonely—it’s more like I feel full, like life is complete and nothing vital is missing... though, if some great company happens to show up, I am absolutely down for that too! 😍
For instance, a little while back, circumstances landed me at a quiet beach house for two months, just me and my dog, with zero internet, no TV, just the occasional chat with a neighbor here and there, and honestly, it was incredible (normally I wouldn't have lasted that long)... usually, I’m online every single day, scrolling through this forum or watching something on TV, so you might think I couldn't survive without all that noise, but clearly, that's not the case. So, do I have the tendencies of an unknown? Maybe... it looks like I'm the type who is perfectly fine on my own, but I’m also the type who will happily join the pack whenever I run into one and enjoy the company for as long as it suits me. 😁
Justin Garcia7 said:So, would that imply that if someone reached the peak of spiritual enlightenment and lost their own child, they wouldn't feel any pain at all? If they actually suffer, then by that logic, they can't be a perfect soul or truly grasp the Truth. Clearly, something isn't adding up if "suffering" is still part of the equation... just a somewhat simplistic way of looking at it, I guess. ☕
Of course it’s hard when you lose someone you love, especially when it's a child, but the real question is whether that person understands what is actually causing their grief and potential suffering. The sadness that hits us isn't actually tied to the person who passed away—they’ve simply returned to their original home, so we shouldn't be grieving them per se—rather, the sorrow is centered on us because we are left behind to deal with the reality that we'll never see them again, which is really just a form of selfishness born from our attachment to the physical world or this flawed idea that life ends when the body dies. A spiritually awakened person understands that while the body is mortal, the soul is eternal, so they can certainly mourn a momentary loss—which is a perfectly natural human reaction—but there is no need to fall into true suffering.
The reality of it all is that everything in our physical world is constantly shifting and slipping through our fingers, which means if you find yourself clinging to anything material, you’re basically signing up for a lifetime of suffering... unless you can somehow manage to step back and become a detached observer, someone who just watches how things unfold without letting the outcomes weigh them down. I don't think it even matters whether we get attached because we have this deep-seated urge to micromanage every little detail or if we're just obsessed with hitting specific goals; either way, we end up disappointed because life refuses to follow the scripts we write for ourselves... there's always that gap between what we planned and what actually happens. But the person who can look at the world and their own existence from a place of true neutrality—someone who doesn't care one way or the other about the final result—that’s the person who breaks free from those mental cages, escapes the cycle of pain, and finally becomes truly free.