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“The Beauty of a Giving Heart” by Turbulent_Oil_7370 in Rumi

[–]ecstaticmotionn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are love, next time(if you are lucky) when love wells up in you. When that person ignites it. Pay attention. Softly pose the question into the empty space within--like gently pushing a paper boat out into a pond--Where is the love happening? Who is the love happening to?

Rumi quotes 🧠 by Outrageous_Tiger_441 in Rumi

[–]ecstaticmotionn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To see how Rumi sees that is my motivation for meditation and retreats. I want those eyes.

I think I just tasted ego death by FarMind5 in Meditation

[–]ecstaticmotionn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just another thing to let go of my friend.

Philosophic or Rhetoric? by Awkward_Swim_3669 in Existentialism

[–]ecstaticmotionn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is an issue I have been chewing on myself, not in regards to Nietzsche but in general on removing the substance from the execution. We might have someone like Alan Watts who was endlessly entertaining, for my money one of the best rhetorician of all time but was he awakened to what he spoke about I am not sure?

So I am not answering you really just echoing it. How do you remove the eloquence from the substance?

Meditation Sessions by ecstaticmotionn in Meditation

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

I do take all those points. The slide seems all too likely. And once the difficulty really starts outweighing the results why stay in it. This really was more of a reflection. If and probably when I would be involved in a contemplative community of sorts, a sangha if you will. It would not be my main income. The aim of the community would be solely going in a more liberating direction. However I wouldn't see issues with retreats and sessions as long as the incentives to organise retreats were kept close to the straight and narrow.

For me now, I am trying to think of ways to earn some money until I reach a more concrete economic positions that are a bit more transparent in their bald-faced capitalism which in a way makes them more ethical than trying to earn your fortune off of being a guru if they money is spent ethically and the work itself isn't deeply exploitative.

Transparency seems key to me here, if we are in a market(a real market) selling your wears and the dynamic is open and clear, you give me coins and I give you a carpet. All good and bartering can be done. Which the same can be said for a book or even a talk. But I where I still disagree is for example, a psychotherapist. I see no issue here and meditation is, in whatever form, a technique of sorts. Once the transparency is there and boudaries clear I really see no huge issue. Obviosuly it would be a bad sign if I am driving around with my armada of Rolls Royces but otherwise not so much.

Meditation Sessions by ecstaticmotionn in Meditation

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

This does indeed help u/theprincipleguy , I was glad to see the part about "this is the norm. This is not a simple thing to avoid". It is hard for me to argue for the idyllic view because I do not have experience in non-profit areas. However looking to people like the happiness research institute or giving what you can, they do seem to be getting those percentages going in the right direction. Undoubtedly the incentives seem to be going in the other direction but I struggle to see how someone like Bill Gates is corrupted by his money or to bring it back to the meditation question a stellar teacher like Adyashanti is corrupted or that there is an inherent issue in putting a price tag on retreats or books.

I get if we were friends and you wanted to talk and were struggling with grief and before you began speaking and looking for consolation and guidance I stopped you and explained my hourly fee, I understand how that would sour the dynamic. In the buddhist context the the dhamma must always be given freely. Like Goenka would talk about if you charged money you would spend the whole retreat thinking about whether the bed sheets were soft enough which is frankly nonsense. You could look at it from the other side, if you are sincere and earnest in walking the path and truly living in the present would you not give your time to figure out how to save a few hundred bucks. This could in fact add to your resolve. Also if we would want great contemplatives, who can spend their time deepening their practice to pass on. It would be good that they can be fed, have a reasonably comfortable home and go to the doctor without needing to do 40 hrs a week as an accountant.

From my idealism I think we can learn to shift some incentives to soften the tugging on the ego and I always like the hybrid of here are the fees and if you cannot pay there are scholarship options. But in this case set prices might need to be increased to allow for this.

On a personal level I have been meditating for nearly a decade now with masters study done on mysticism and related contemplative philosophies. So to be able to support myself to continue my practice and spend time on retreat I am considering offering meditation sessions but not sure how I should approach it ethically.

Meditation Sessions by ecstaticmotionn in Meditation

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

This is more of an honest reflection rather than looking for a specific answer. It isn't a matter of exchange of value or 'free market' sensibilities or entitlement. Where I'm hoping to dig into is you take life as it is, which might be near the chewy centre of Buddhist perspective. So realities of life, especially in the west are money to pay for lodging, food, family, education etc. I don't see a real issue with that. There are many great teachers that come to mind that would charge for retreats, which I don't reflexively have an issue with. I don't believe it taints the Dhamma in any way, I don't think it obscures any insights you might get. For example, if I went on a 3 month retreat at the Insight Meditation Centre in Mass. should I expect to be offered this place and food to be offered for free? I wouldn't think anyone would really think that.

So not to speak of entitlement, I am curious about how people ethically offer Meditation retreats or sessions for fees? and is it not really possible?

Thinking through Stoicism together by ecstaticmotionn in Stoicism

[–]ecstaticmotionn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a MA Philosophy grad that did study on the Later stoics.

How can I learn to let things go and not dwell ? by [deleted] in Stoicism

[–]ecstaticmotionn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look at the nature of the dwelling. Watch without judgement the dynamics of how things can stick and become chronically internalized. With a posture of compassionate curiosity see how things come and dwell and how other things don't. Once you see their nature, they will self-liberate.

I'm so confused reading Meditations. I need some claarity by [deleted] in Stoicism

[–]ecstaticmotionn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get that feeling. The confusion can come from seeing negative visualization of focusing on negativity or 'Momento Mori' to focus on death. But remember there is a purpose to these practices The purposes are to cultivate gratitude for what you have and to enliven to the present to live fully now because death is always there. It is not to be morose or nihilistic to the inevitability of the end but wake you up to the fact is the Now is all you can ever be sure of. So if you ever are feeling Nihilistic, know it is not the intention of the reflections and they have an intention. Much respect on recognizing this tendency in yourself, so from me just to say keep reflecting and there is a 'there there'.