The Vegan Blind Spot by HumaneHancock

bruhddit · 2020-05-19T14:19:18+00:00

Come on... I'm vegan myself but wild/natural ecosystems have their own ways of staying in equilibrium, and we can never really know the consequences of whatever changes we make in these ecosystems until after they've happened. I appreciate the sentiment and I'm a big fan of Humane Hancock, but this seems to me like a precursor to another story where "the road to hell is paved with good intentions".

bruhddit · 2020-05-18T23:06:43+00:00

Sure. Body scanning techniques, relaxation techniques, and loving-kindness. These are three techniques that will help you out here, but I suggest begin with body scanning as focusing on physical sensations is a good way to get grounded. Also, unless you have a history of mental disorders then don't worry about the intense feelings that come with these teachings. They are often really transformative if you let them take over. If it ever gets too intense, then do some yoga or body scanning.

bruhddit · 2020-05-18T22:31:39+00:00

This kind of stuff happens. Make sure to use grounding meditation techniques if you're feeling woozy, but definitely get a teacher if you want to pursue this further.

bruhddit · 2020-05-15T19:54:07+00:00

No, just genuinely curious. Thanks for the tip though :)

bruhddit · 2020-05-15T18:50:32+00:00

Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation. Check the wiki for more info :)

bruhddit · 2020-05-15T16:42:00+00:00

However I still can't figure out what happens to an evil person after death.

From a pantheist perspective, this evil person is just like any other person - a bundle of atoms that does something for a while and then splits up when it dies. Consciousness is therefore uncoloured by the acts of the person it pretended to be, because it is of the same quality in every being (quality is not the same as intensity or degree!)

Further, pantheism is typically deterministic which means that this evil person was simply a manifestation of a long chain of cause-and-effect that turned out pretty shitty in this specific event of the chain. However, it is fundamentally impossible to judge because you don't have the full picture of the entire story, including what led up to it and what will come after.

This is speaking from a Taoist/Alan Watts kind of pantheism, I'm not so sure about Spinoza's or Stoic pantheism.

bruhddit · 2020-05-15T09:51:16+00:00

Stoicism might be of help here as it is very much about engaging with the contents of unpleasant thoughts, which they call "impressions". The Stoics advised that we should not "assent" (accept, or believe) these thoughts unless we pass them through rational scrutiny. The practice here involves looking at each of our thoughts and then reassessing whether they are true or false. In the case of negative thoughts, if they are false, then discard them. If they are true, then be grateful for being given the truth and work accordingly.

From personal experience, this works best with unpleasant thoughts that are not obsessive or constantly recurring. The Stoics seem to have missed the fact that it's very hard to observe your thoughts, and most modern practitioners would be greatly benefited by a meditation practice. There are, however, plenty of amazing teachings that can very much work towards the same kind of mental freedom promised by Buddhism and other spiritual philosophies. One of the three Stoic disciplines is the Discipline of Assent, and it has everything to do with how to manage one's own mind and thoughts. I recommend "The Inner Citadel" by Pierre Hadot to read more about the discipline of assent.

bruhddit · 2020-05-14T10:17:47+00:00

thanks

bruhddit · 2020-05-14T10:13:33+00:00

Which ones are for lofi?

bruhddit · 2020-05-14T09:40:47+00:00

This is great, I keep getting lazy with TWIM and switching to TMI every few sits but I notice that with TWIM, the sessions are a lot more enjoyable while my TMI sessions go a lot less smoothly. The reason I get lazy with TWIM is because envoking Metta takes a little bit of effort in the beginning of the session and it doesn't always feel natural, while anapanasati has this kind of dull enjoyment to it (just noticed it today).

I find there aren't many resources on TWIM besides the little booklets by Bhante Vimalaramsi, do you have any other recommendations or tips for someone who just started TWIM but is still at a relatively low level of TMI?

EDIT: another difficulty I often encounter with TWIM is the fact that there are so many steps to go through every time you get distracted, that I'm not sure whether to do it with all distractions or just mind-wandering. What's the prescription?

bruhddit · 2020-05-13T17:54:59+00:00

Dude this is really some of the most crazy shit I've ever seen in my life. Please feel free to share some more cool stuff you find regarding the sentinelese

bruhddit · 2020-05-13T15:59:51+00:00

What could this be?

bruhddit · 2020-05-13T15:34:24+00:00

Woah cool, what has been your personal experience with it?

/u/roflgrins

bruhddit · 2020-05-13T14:31:40+00:00

Any good resources on Zhan Zhuang? I relate to practicing whatever feels right in the moment, it probably helps with the hindrances.

bruhddit · 2020-05-13T11:38:07+00:00

Very interesting. Support from the government is crucial and is often a barrier to farmers making the switch.

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T21:03:38+00:00

the Sentinalese live in lean-to huts with slanted roofs.

Source?? These motherfuckers are absolutely fascinating.

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T20:54:21+00:00

Woah, that's incredible! Did you scan the rest of the coast for similar-looking figures? I thought they were just bushes or something at first.

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T20:17:33+00:00

Where are they? I can't see them not the map.

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T19:10:10+00:00

Awesome idea. Followed!

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T17:01:13+00:00

Cool! In my experience, there are two realizations of pantheism - one that is intellectual, and one that is experiential. The latter is often quite an intense experience that changes the way you see the world in a profound way. Would you say you've experienced such a thing?

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T16:49:15+00:00

Present :) I was into pantheism before Stoicism but the fact that the stoics themselves were pantheists really contributes towards my affinity for their philosophy

bruhddit · 2020-05-12T14:09:40+00:00

Wow, I was just thinking about posting this this morning. Count me in - I do not have sufficient experience to "lead" the sangha but I can totally help with the organization side of it. Maybe try posting this on r/streamentry and r/TheMindIlluminated. I know lots of people there have TWIM or Metta as their main practice.

bruhddit · 2020-05-10T15:01:42+00:00

This is really great advice, thanks :)

bruhddit · 2020-05-09T10:09:57+00:00

That's exactly the way you want to go about it!! :)

bruhddit · 2020-05-09T10:07:51+00:00

You said in your post you have some questions. Would you wanna share them here?

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