Posts by JamesThomas

34

Spiritual Self-Assessment

by purplesofa in

worth taking a look at:.

http://www.martycrouch.com/spiritualassessment.html.

spiritual self-assessment.

JamesThomas

Gentlemen? Poppers, maybe.

Here's a flower for you, dear nvr:

34

Spiritual Self-Assessment

by purplesofa in

worth taking a look at:.

http://www.martycrouch.com/spiritualassessment.html.

spiritual self-assessment.

Spiritual Self-Assessment

by purplesofa in

worth taking a look at:.

http://www.martycrouch.com/spiritualassessment.html.

spiritual self-assessment.

JamesThomas

Purps.

Mmmmm, love your picture

I didn't know you were so young.

j

34

Spiritual Self-Assessment

by purplesofa in

worth taking a look at:.

http://www.martycrouch.com/spiritualassessment.html.

spiritual self-assessment.

First, I have never asserted that we are a "spirit". The questions you quoted me as asking are not attempts at selling anyone on being a "spirit", or presented to help people determine they are a "spirit". I'm not sure what the hell a "spirit" is, and I don't much care. So, we may be talking apples and oranges here, and this probably can't help but confuse further comment, but I'll go ahead anyway. Fool that I am.

My experience with my own existence has consisted of:
1.Awareness without lexicon or context; a swarm of sensations followed by...
2.Analysis of perceptions focused onto causes and effects
3.Contact with others guiding a language into channels of speech/response
4.Development of identity, personality and history
5.Ego and determinism

Notice that all that followed that which I highlighted in yellow, is contingent upon it (Awareness). All these things are mental constructs happening where? Within awareness. Awareness gives them existence. Awareness gives dreams existence to.

In other words, if I was ever a spirit (without a meat body) there is no awareness, no consciousness and no history of being.
So, how can we simply assert into being that which is not a part of our awareness?
How/why assert into being a SPIRIT?

As an individual we can only assume: if there is no body, there is no awareness. Like we can not know what's in the next county until we go there, we can not be certain until the body is gone or until Conscious-awareness itself somehow informs us before then, whether or not conscious-awareness is totally dependant upon the body.

As far as "assert into being", it seems it is possible for many to assert into being that existence extends only as far and as long as the body exists, how can we do this and why? Personally, I don't want to assert anything here, but rather desire to see first hand what is or is not true.

We can be TOLD and persuaded we existed, etc. But, that coaxing and cajoling isn't really our own identification of self.

I agree completely.

To be totally honest all we know with absolute certainty about our existence, is what you stated first, there is "awareness". Everything after that, everything that awareness is aware of, may be a dream or thoughts and circumstance mistakenly incorporated into a "me".

So the point is to not be cajoled into any "identification of self". Lets work with what we genuinely have. Lets investigate sincerely, thoroughly and severely into the one and only reality we have: conscious-awareness. How deep does it go? What am "I" at the core? Does consciousness exist only as far as the body?

I can't say, because that would only be cajoling, and that don't work. Nothing said, thought or believed, works. The only way is via radical and open, nakedly honest, first-hand observation into conscious-awareness. That's why I ask the questions I did. They are not something the mind can authentically answer. We need to go deeper than the mind. Deeper into what sees the mind.

Understandably, this may seem strange or even crazy to question what we have for so long accepted as the beginnings and ends of self and reality. But it may require a radical stepping outside past bounds in order to discover further. Are we right now experiencing the totality of our present being? As far as I can see, there is only one way to find out for certain.

j

5

ok, your youtube moment is in...

by stevenyc in

jw
friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu8ddyz68km.

spellbounding !.

enjoy!.

JamesThomas

Gives one a new respect for our hoofed friends.

Buffalo. King of the jungle.

Thanks for posting that.

j

I see a new Disney movie coming.

27

The Eden Story

by choosing life in

in the garden of eden, god supposedly didn't want adam and eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.

he preferred they remain innocent and incapable of deciding for themselves what is right or wrong.. along comes satan who wants them to eat of this tree and says they will become like god, knowing good and bad for themselves.

he says they will be like god.. as we all know, they chose to eat and find out what they were missing.

JamesThomas

Choosing life, you pretty much recapped what I was saying.

Interesting how many of the sacred scriptures of different religions have kernals of truth to be extracted.

Yes, perhaps at the core of all religious writings is hidden the same truth. However, I am no fan of the Bible as it seems 99.9% of the time it is a divisive trap which reinforces a sense of separate broken self, and so then prolongs the suffering of mankind. Yet, once you have seen the fallacy of the isolated-self, there can be seen glues within the Bible. In other words too often the Bible is a map whose roads are only visible once you have arrived at your destination. Such a map, if dry, is good for starting a fire.

Eckhart's book on the other hand, explains the goal, twist and turns of the journey as clear and precise as probably has ever been drawn out. I hope you enjoy it and come to see the treasures within yourself to which the book can only point the way.

j

37

Evolution of Richie: Post JW

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

i have many hopes for this post.

ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.

also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.

JamesThomas

Richie:

What happens when I want out? I'm bound in the walls that I myself built.
I'm honestly not saying that what I do is entirely bad or wrong- but I try to understand why.

Richie, what you are experiencing is very profound. You are becoming aware of the walls that you built yourself. However, it wasn't really you that built them, so much as the mind's construction of "self", a false self, that is the ego.

The ego is nothing but a box full of beliefs, memories and pictures that the mind weaves into a "self", a "me". In support of the belief that our beloved box-hood is legitimate, the mind places everything and everyone else in a box: "See. my box called "me" is real, because you're a box too". Of course this is absurd. The existence of one lie does not prove another lie to be true.

Perhaps asking "why"? will only give the mind further opportunity to create a box-story to support the box-world. I have found that the house of cards collapses merely by nonjudgmentally (there are no enemies here) watching the dynamics of the mind and so seeing clearly the illusory aspects which we before thought were significant and real. Does this make sense? it's about being acutely aware of the mental commentaries and structuring that is going on; and it is in this sincere and open observing and witnessing that the answer is revealed by simply seeing there is no real problem other than we were ignorantly living a charade. It's that simple. Your awareness will reveal all.

Calmly watch the mind as it weaves the story of "me" and "other". Is that which is closest, the actual awareness of the story, in anyway truly part of the story? Do you see where we're going with this? We are using clear observation to uncover what you really are. Once this first and most important piece is in place, then the rest of the universe is seen through clear and true eyes. As long as we are behind the prison walls, in the box, looking through box-eyes, only a false box-world is seen. See true and clear and your prison walls evaporate, for both you and the universe around you......others may still see walls, but you unequivocally know they are unreal.

Continue to question and quietly observe.

j

34

Spiritual Self-Assessment

by purplesofa in

worth taking a look at:.

http://www.martycrouch.com/spiritualassessment.html.

spiritual self-assessment.

JamesThomas

Terry:

Before I was born: WHERE WAS I? Who was I?

Now we're getting somewhere.

What is this "I" that does or does not do "spiritual" things? Right here, right now, who/what am I?

Is there to be found an "I", beyond the mind's definitions? Is what is aware of the mind's imagery and characterizations really and truly any of these things?

What the hell am I, really?

j

37

Evolution of Richie: Post JW

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

i have many hopes for this post.

ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.

also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.

JamesThomas

Purps:

I am always amazed that you are 19.

Purps, I used to feel this way to.

No matter what temporality may say, I stopped labeling our dear Richie to an age. He exudes an ageless quality of intelligence and charm.

j

37

Evolution of Richie: Post JW

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

i have many hopes for this post.

ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.

also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.

JamesThomas

You already knew it.