Do you consider enlightenment a spiritual pursuit? Is it all just wishy-washy woo woo, or have you found any "self-improvement" concepts that have proven beneficial and stand aside from spiritual belief/ideology.
I kinda stumbled into the whole idea of spiritual enlightenment by accident-during a manic state. I became kinda obsessed (some of you may know :axe: :rotflmao: ). But when that died down, I was still intrigued. I've continued to do my own personal investigations into philosophy, the nature of reality, the meaning of life. It's made me more at peace, more joyful. For the most part, anyway. It's good food for the mind, in my opinion--so long as you sift carefully through whatever is being fed to you. A poor example can be just as beneficial as a worthy example.
If you have found something beneficial, what is it? I've been trying to stop caring what people think of me, and I stumbled upon a video by some dude by that very title-and he was flipping me off happily as the video's still image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZm4B4foybM He runs a website and offers extremely pricey life coaching, but he also offers a lot of free content. Anyway, I don't think these ideas should be dismissed out of hand as spiritual woo woo because that's to miss out on a lot of intellectual and emotional development.
We are animals, a bit more developed than squirrels, but animals non-the-less. Can you grant "spiritual enlightenment" to squirrels, armadillos, bass and hippo pot…hippopotami…..hipa……er………...bears?
Enlightenment. What a broad concept that includes so many paths to obtain it no matter what you think it consists of. College, counseling, reading, meditation, socializing, logic, emotions are just a few paths. Knowledge, self understanding, peace of mind, love are just a few of the things it consists of. Did you have something in mind that is more specific?
Quote from: SGOS on May 26, 2015, 09:55:59 PM
Enlightenment. What a broad concept that includes so many paths to obtain it no matter what you think it consists of. College, counseling, reading, meditation, socializing, logic, emotions are just a few paths. Knowledge, self understanding, peace of mind, love are just a few of the things it consists of. Did you have something in mind that is more specific?
It was purposefully vague enough for you to approach it however you see it. For me, enlightenment evokes all those things you mentioned and more. My personal definition is knowing what I am here for and doing it. I think there are many pieces to this: I think we're here to give love freely-and also accept it freely. I'm suspicious of love, and so I struggle to accept it. Also I tend to take the blame for all sorts of ridiculous things: It rained, and you got wet. I'll probably tell you I'm sorry. I had little control over anything growing up, and so I think I emotionally contributed control to myself--so, I'm sorry is something that people complain about me saying too much. Which, I'm sorry about. :-D
This inner work of changing my responses to life is not easy, and so I draw inspiration, courage, love, strength wherever I can find it--which, if you're looking, it's everywhere. I love my life--I love being a mother, I love community gardening, volunteering, wandering around in the woods. But it's also easy to lose sight of that and just want to stay in bed, stay inside, hide from the world. Yet now that I have a taste for the rich life, the good life--not the *things* but the people, the experiences, the beauty--it's easier and easier to remember that I have options--that my emotional and mental landscape is ever changing. For me, there is some spiritual practice to it as well--spirituality adds a richness and meaning to my life, a rhythm that helps me to be kinder, gentler, more at peace.
I am a product of my environment, yes, but then I can remember that my environment is also the product of me. These enlightenment ideas, these philosophical pursuits empower me to remember that and embrace life more fully.
Quote from: aitm on May 26, 2015, 09:09:57 PM
We are animals, a bit more developed than squirrels, but animals non-the-less. Can you grant "spiritual enlightenment" to squirrels, armadillos, bass and hippo pot…hippopotami…..hipa……er………...bears?
hippopotamususes. I heard it in a song once, so I know that's the plural.
I suppose you are dismissing the Dalai Llama ?
Quote from: Dreamer on May 27, 2015, 12:07:16 PM
hippopotamususes. I heard it in a song once, so I know that's the plural.
I suppose you are dismissing the Dalai Llama ?
well if squirrels can have enlightenment than by god so can LLamas!
Quote from: aitm on May 27, 2015, 12:23:07 PM
well if squirrels can have enlightenment than by god so can LLamas!
Sometimes, you crack me good. Lol'ed.
Here's how it works..Skip all the crap with nature, prayers, meditation, reading and all the things people THINK is spiritual and enlightening.
Buy one of these and install it with electricity..
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125848.jpg)
Got it? So far you're half way to enlightenment..
Then get one of these..
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125634.jpg)
Turn on this..
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125848.jpg)
to make this
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125634.jpg)
make noise and thus reach enlightenment because these fucking windchimes is speerichull ..
You can thank me in your afterlife.
hehe That's the general experience, yes, APA.
I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease hyperthyroidism after I had my son. I thought I was crazy, and my body pretty much didn't want to function. At first I fought through, as my usual approach to things: *everyone* says you will be soo tired when you become a mother of an infant! Finally I showed up in a walk-in clinic where my insurance had mistakenly assigned me to one of the doctors. I had no idea what was wrong with me-and the tests that doctor gave me were rather beyond the scope of what that place was intended for: all the labs showed some serious problems, and I was referred to a specialist when my thyroid showed I was hyperthyroid. I credit this doctor with saving my life, as I likely would have just shrugged off symptoms if he would have turned me away--and I was at high risk of thyroid storm (which can be deadly) when it was caught.
My endocrinologist is great. She really delved into my history and asked good questions: and she appreciated the research that I had done on my own end. When I found out I was hyperthyroid, I figured I should see what could cause this. There's actually a study that was done in Athens, Greece (where I was born, though my family lived on a military base in Germany) on the prevalence of thyroid cancers attributable to Chernobyl. There was a "prevailing wind", and so contamination was spread much further than it would have been in calmer conditions. So, the thyroid is obviously affected. There's other studies that show that those who were impacted the highest were the youngest: the unborn, particularly in the first trimester, were at highest risk (which is exactly what I was when Chernobyl happened).
I shared this with her, and she did her own research. She told me that I should have yearly ultrasounds and routine checks to monitor for cancer of my thyroid. She told me that there's no cure for Graves Disease--that there's some drugs for treatment that work for some people, but a lot of people need surgery to remove the thyroid or they destroy it with radioactive iodine treatment (which she didn't recommend for me because I should just try to avoid radiation as much as possible because my development was impacted by Chernobyl).
There is remission for Graves Disease, but it's achieved after longterm use of medications. I smiled and told her I wanted to try the lowest dose of medication, and that I wasn't going to wait for years to be rid of it--it would be sooner than that. She expressed her doubt and advised it would be more like two years or more, but I think she didn't really care since I was going to treat it properly with medication.
So, I looked into the throat area of the body: natural remedies and ideas, emotional problems associated with that area of the body. The throat chakra relates to communication: listening and speaking. So, I became more attentive of how I communicated: I became more thoughtful with my words, spoke up when I needed to, listened better. I also did this sort of meditation where I tried to get my body to accept my thyroid as my own. Graves Disease is autoimmune--it goes like this... My body doesn't think my thyroid does anything important, so my body beats it up--and my thyroid freaks out and says, "No, no, guys! You have me all wrong! I make really important stuff--here, I'll make a bunch for you now." But my body still attacks the thyroid, so it keeps producing more and more... To me, it seemed like a big disconnect that spoke of themes throughout my life: keeping my silence, saying the wrong thing. So I worked on these issues.
About three months after starting medication, we were able to lower the dose even more. And seven months after starting medicine, she told me I didn't need to take the medication anymore altogether. I've not had hyperthyroid for close to two years now.
I think this stuff really has practical application. Mind over matter kinda stuff. But then I also think good science is just as and often more important for practical applications, which is why I took medication :)
Enlightenment, I see as just another word for self improvement, or a life-changing (for the better) realization.
Nothing spiritual about it, IMO.
Stuff like the things said in this link has made me a much more happy and confident person.
http://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck#.n7vjpp:KBi4
It's not to say I don't give a fuck about anything, but I do prioritize the things that I give a fuck towards things that matter.
When I'm unmotivated, I'll promise myself a TEDTalk. :D
Practices that improve the world excite me. So, when people are able to improve their lives, become happier or more involved in life (with the caveat that whatever they're doing doesn't harm anyone), that is an important thing. It's important to make life worth living
6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person. (http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person/)
Quote from: the_antithesis on May 30, 2015, 10:44:33 AM
6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person. (http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person/)
According to that link, I am awesome! :lol: And I can add more harsh truths that could cause you a depression. :razz:
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on May 27, 2015, 01:13:00 PM
Here's how it works..Skip all the crap with nature, prayers, meditation, reading and all the things people THINK is spiritual and enlightening.
Buy one of these and install it with electricity..
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125848.jpg)
Got it? So far you're half way to enlightenment..
Then get one of these..
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125634.jpg)
Turn on this..
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125848.jpg)
to make this
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/IMG_20150527_125634.jpg)
make noise and thus reach enlightenment because these fucking windchimes is speerichull ..
You can thank me in your afterlife.
:rotflmao: This is so good APA.
I have hypothyroid.. I get to take synthroid, but I almost always forget to take it because I don't feel one iota different if I do or don't take it. .it's been over ten years and I might have finished two or three bottles of it..
I can hear it already. .TAKE YOUR MEDICINE DUMBASS!
Quote from: PickelledEggs on May 29, 2015, 09:12:51 PM
Enlightenment, I see as just another word for self improvement, or a life-changing (for the better) realization.
Nothing spiritual about it, IMO.
Stuff like the things said in this link has made me a much more happy and confident person.
http://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck#.n7vjpp:KBi4
It's not to say I don't give a fuck about anything, but I do prioritize the things that I give a fuck towards things that matter.
Cheers for that link Pickelled, an excellent read. :kidra: