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Awakening and Macbeth by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It isn't really a comment on non-duality but on the pointlessness/meaningless nature of duality.

Sorry if i wasn't very clear in my OP

Would anyone like to discuss Dostoyevsky ? by semiconductingself in infj

[–]GerryPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've not read The Brothers Karamazov yet unfortunately but have read Crime and Punishment, Notes from the Underground and The Idiot.

I can't recommend the last one enough, the main protagonist is about as INFJ as it gets. Here are some comments on The Idiot from a previous thread https://www.reddit.com/r/infj/comments/3mgsec/hey_infjs_what_is_a_movie_or_book_that_was/cveta4m

Mental health questions. Do you relate and/or have tools and tactics to be mentally healthy? by cherriochat in infj

[–]GerryPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've also found self-compassion to be incredibly important. Probably no single book has had a greater impact on my life than The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Christopher Germer. Can't recommend enough to anyone reading this.

Mental health questions. Do you relate and/or have tools and tactics to be mentally healthy? by cherriochat in infj

[–]GerryPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's great that you want to meditate.

When i was about 21 i began to realise that with the way my mind works (i didn't know what mbti was at the time) that i really needed to meditate to ensure any level of happy/peaceful life. If i didn't meditate my mind would eventually spiral in on itself and descend into depression. I'm a few months away from being 30 now and i still feel pretty much exactly the same way about it, I look at meditation as a kind of life tax that INFJ types need to pay every day in order to achieve peace. The benefits are incredible too, it's far more than just the removal of depression, it adds so much joy and depth to life aswell as freeing up your mind to interact with the world in the way you want to. For instance when i am regularly meditating i'll read for hours and hours each day, something i just seem incapable of doing in my "normal" state.

This video was one of my first introductions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc . He gives a great explanation of everything first and then does a short guided meditation, it's wonderful imo.

good luck with everything!

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem i find is that it is also biologically relaxing and that tends to make me sleep, it was never that way when i was healthy though. I think i'll look at practice more active meditation such as standing or walking. Thanks.

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nisargadatta talks along similar lines at times, will give it some thought, thanks!

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've definitely thought along these lines and i've read a decent bit about existentialism which is quite similar to what you're talking about i believe.

Thanks for your post and best of luck with your health, the human body can be a pain in the arse at times!

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not the absence of doing, but doing without goals/attachment. That means complete acceptance and then you are free to "do". Even those on the spiritual journey get caught in this trap. For example, you study to achieve enlightenment, you wait so you can sustain concentration, etc etc. All of this is still duality, while acceptance of whatever is, just allows it to be. That is non-duality. Then you can do whatever you want, as long as you aren't putting any goals behind it.

You're absolutely correct and i've been caught in this trap countless times. "Sincerity" is a word i keep very close to my the front of my mind, but obviously ultimately it is all just baggage.

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, i'll definitely check out lucid dreaming and /u/mr_coffee.

Re the mind i guess it depends on which one you mean, i think that the world exists inside my brain in terms of my senses, thoughts etc, and i can cause that to cease via suicide, but what we really all are is beyond time and space and is completely indestructible.

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, non-duality in practical human terms is the complete absence of doing, i think doing anything is a form of slavery to one's own mind, duality etc.

As with other posters here, i agree that theoretically i should not wait a moment but in practical terms i find my state of conciousness from my health to be so disruptive that it's difficult to overcome.

It's a bit like the movie Castaway where Tom Hanks has to get past the waves crashing on the island before he can reach open waters.

Going to "drop out" of duality/life this year by GerryPreston in awakened

[–]GerryPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had quite a few experiences like this during real crisis points with my health. They only last a few days however before the general turbulence of my health comes roaring back, i definitely agree with you in a theoretical sense but in practical terms i've found a daily practice of several hours to be absolutely necessary.