I can't see humanity reaching an utopian world

Originally Posted by JosephineBloggs

I thought the silence and stillness and being at one is the point of the meditation.

Sitting in meditation is just a technique to cultivate that state of bliss. The goal is to practice enough so it's a 24x7 reality. At its core meditation isn't the practice but the resulting state of being one carries with them as they journey through subjective reality.

Originally Posted by JosephineBloggs

No sense of time so no boredom. Why would that be horrible and unbearable.

From a practical perspective would you rather sit in meditation 24x7 your entire life or cultivate and then carry that state of being with you throughout your waking non-practicing life?

Originally Posted by JosephineBloggs

Or going back to my original point about It needing to do something or else it ceases.

I get the sense it can't cease being, but that's just my intuition.

Originally Posted by Starman

In my out-of-physical body experiences I have witnessed that there are many realms in the afterlife; in some realms entities exist in unanimated silence while in other realms there is much animation. We go to the realm that we are capable of rising to depending on what we have nurtured. We reincarnate because we have unfinished business here.

That sounds like one of the Indian tradition interpretations. In the Vedantic interpretation, or at least my understanding thereof, they are simply additional dualistic expressions of the underlying non-dualistic reality.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

That sounds like one of the Indian tradition interpretations. In the Vedantic interpretation, or at least my understanding thereof, they are simply additional dualistic expressions of the underlying non-dualistic reality.

Correct. There are lots of traditions, interpretations, religious theology, theosophy, philosophy, etc. In my opinion they all may have a modicum of accuracy, or divine truth. I follow no particular religion but do draw conclusions from many different religions and traditions, philosophies, etc., coupled with my own experiences. This is what works for me at this time, but it is not my intention to impose my point of view on others. I am only here on this forum to humbly share.

Originally Posted by Starman

Correct. There are lots of traditions, interpretations, religious theology, theosophy, philosophy, etc. In my opinion they all may have a modicum of accuracy, or divine truth. I follow no particular religion but do draw conclusions from many different religions and traditions, philosophies, etc., coupled with my own experiences. This is what works for me at this time, but it is not my intention to impose my point of view on others. I am only here on this forum to humbly share.

Same here. I stated that in my Welcome post and I hope I don't offend anyone. Opinions are like the portal located in the lower posterior end of the torso. Everyone has one.

"Research your own experience; absorb what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is essentially your own." ~ Bruce Lee

I recently delved into the precepts of Advaita Vedanta and I find them amazingly close to what I intuitively feel. Still, I feel more comfortable following my own heart as expressed in the above quote from Mr. Lee.

[shivatar]

Theres no need for a utopian world, there is just the desire for one.

Suffering. you think "it sucks, why does this exist at all"

but if suffering didn't exist, wouldn't you just keep doing the ****ed up things that are holding you back?

If the bad things didn't suck, you'd be stuck in an endless cycle of them.

but thank god, they actually do suck. So suffering provides a useful thing, it shows us that something is wrong. its a red flag. and that is a good thing, even if it is unpleasant.

so yeah, nobody likes suffering, just like nobody likes the gym. but yeah, you feel great after you get out of the gym right? you feel good when you deal with the things that make you suffer, right?

Ok then.

Suffering and painful parts of existence, as ****ty as they are, are as important to life as the fun and blissful parts. After all, if you couldn't tell the difference between bliss and suffering, wouldn't you just do a mix of them all the time? That would lead you into a life of confusion and endlessly chasing your tail. And that is not what you want, you want just bliss, huh?

but how would you know bliss from suffering unless you had felt both? you wouldn't!

so if you like bliss (utopia), then you also like suffering (dystopia). you just don't recognize it for what it is. Just like many people dont like the gym, because they just look at the act of lifting heavy things and pushing your limits. it sucks when you are doing it, but the true benefit is the overall effect it has on your life, not what you experience it as in the moment.

[JosephineB]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Sitting in meditation is just a technique to cultivate that state of bliss. The goal is to practice enough so it's a 24x7 reality. At its core meditation isn't the practice but the resulting state of being one carries with them as they journey through subjective reality.



From a practical perspective would you rather sit in meditation 24x7 your entire life or cultivate and then carry that state of being with you throughout your waking non-practicing life?



I get the sense it can't cease being, but that's just my intuition.

Sounds great. A bonus if there's an outward positive action.

Originally Posted by JosephineBloggs

Sounds great. A bonus if there's an outward positive action.

Seems to be working for me, at least the past four weeks. Time will tell but it doesn't feel like it's possible to revert back to the Old Me.

[lemex]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Maybe Utopia isn't all it's made out to be? Plus we're a young species in evolutionary terms and 'blessed' with an extraordinary brain and without the user's manual.

Absolutely and something I remind people about often. It's almost as though humans didn't exist before, it's as though humans have no (remembered) history. It's seems brand new (the change). We will not see it (another now) and this is the now. We do not know that now we are not in, I guess I should say we feel we won't. There can be no utopia now because we do not want it collectively. That is consciousness. Consciousness will determine that. Humans tend to live an entire life in the same way not changing in a lifetime and this is all that can be seen. Also the theory consciousness within humans physically evolved and evolves and some say modern consciousness came into being by adaptation, the frontal lobe developed and grew physically in size becoming larger and more complex where consciousness differs for us and that occurred only 50,000-100,000 years ago. Even before hearing this I thought consciousness evolves futurewise and will develop, if the brain continue to physically evolve. But in respect to the above all this will be documented and that history will not be lost but exist and those in the future will know. They will have the knowledge and the experience and be able to observe and measure it and that will be amazing as well as informative.

[lemex]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

From a practical perspective would you rather sit in meditation 24x7 your entire life or cultivate and then carry that state of being with you throughout your waking non-practicing life?

Not many realize this as said, a person carries that state and can call upon it at will. One of the practical benefits. It is then a choice.

Originally Posted by lemex

Even before hearing this I thought consciousness evolves futurewise and will develop, if the brain continue to physically evolve.

My impression or intuition on consciousness. There's consciousness with a 'c' and Consciousness with a 'C'.

The prior is the aspect of consciousness that is overlaid on mind and where subjective experience manifests. That will certainly evolve, at least I think it will for the reason you stated.

The latter is something fundamental, much more fundamental. It's awareness and to be precise it's the basement level of reality. All reality across all galaxies, universes and dimensions. It's the Unified Field, God, Brahman, etc...

My first and most vivid memory is from 4 or 5 months old and I guess it was an OBE. I was dispassionately witnessing mom and dad sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen table from slightly above and behind mom, mom cradling me in her arms trying to sooth me because I was wailing up a storm and dad softly chuckling. Some time in my 20s I related this to mom and she was shocked, saying I couldn't possibly remember that because I was only 4 or 5 months old.

The cells in my body have been replaced many times. Memories have come and gone. Patterns of thought and emotion have changed. Beliefs have come and gone, including major belief systems like Catholicism.

The one thing that's never changed, even one iota, is awareness of it all.