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All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

theguardian.com

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Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#451

Post by ronyfadel »

majewsky wrote: post #398
guytv wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a lot of merit on dwelling on death. Death can put your current life in laser like focus and perspective. Is what you're doing now really important? Is that what you want to do if you only had 1 year to live? Are you spending enough time on the things that are really important to you? All of these questions became clearer to me once I started realising and contemplating death regularly.

I appreciate what you're saying, but on the other hand, I wouldn't want to live in a world where everyone lived as if they had only one year to live. Most institutions are already waaaay too focused on short term profits.

To me, guytv’s perspectice is eye opening: live “as if” you only have one more year to live, with a hint that there’s probably more years to come.

It makes me feel like I need to be kind no matter what, not waste time (or at least, not tell myself that I’m wasting my time too many days in a row).

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#452

Post by byeokim »

SyzygistSix wrote: post #359
samstave wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow a 10 hour version... Thanks for the recommendation - Ill check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYnA9wWFHLI Downloading it with Youtube-DL - Sadly, I forgot my headphones at home and am about to board a plane...

Only 10 hours? Bull of Heaven laughs.

You got me searching and I have found their 5.7 years long song: Like a Wall in Which an Insect Lives and Gnaws. Years! I am not sure it’s real but it was entertaining to think about long songs.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#453

Post by IndySun »

frongpik wrote: post #427
IndySun wrote: post #349

Hate this tiresome retreading like some literary diarrhoea. Some late middled aged white man quoting some dead white men back when white men held all the aces through physical means. The future is women, if we are to exist beyond 2100. At least, after referencing a load of men, the living middle aged man suggests a woman at the end. Tiresomely ignorant.

Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.

Learn about the thoughts and ideas of men through the ages, yes, essential. Put their concepts in context, to do so is now very easy. We have history on our side, but not endless time. We are stagnating. We need to consider why historically there is obscene inequality and it cannot be clearer than the disparity between sexes.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#454

Post by rramadass »

nprateem wrote: post #446
rramadass wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Old fashioned and archaic? You realize this subject is centuries old and there is nothing new? It is important to study the original texts to get the real "kernel" of the subject before practice (lacking an accomplished Guru). It is the "modern" authors who are responsible for muddying the waters of this subject since most of them have half-baked knowledge and then market their "experience" (a lot of which is frankly…

Yes I realise that. But modern English is easier to read. And of course, how could an American have anything valuable to say on the subject of yoga? /s Ok champ you obviously know best. Good luck. Jeez...

???

My post was intended to point people to the authentic sources of Tantra/Hatha/Laya Yoga. If you have a different opinion, that is fine.

Leaving aside the fact that the language of The Serpent power is NOT difficult, two of the three people i have mentioned are Britishers while one is an American. Thus all of their writings are comprehensible to a westerner though the subject matter is complex and takes some time to comprehend.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#455

Post by wcoenen »

scns wrote: post #197
wcoenen wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then, you see the truth, of life, existence and the universe. Pretty words, but do they mean anything? For example, if I reach this state, will it be revealed to me why there is something rather than nothing? I think not, otherwise someone would have reported back with the answer already. I'm interested in meditation to learn more about my own body and mind, maybe improve my life somehow. But IMHO the discussions a…

Get Mind Illuminated by John Yates Phd. He breaks down the process into ten steps, woo free.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've read the the free kindle sample now, which is already a couple hours of reading. I found the introduction and and overview very difficult to get through, even to the point of falling asleep. But the "first interlude" and "stage one" captured my attention better.

Although a bit verbose and repetitive at times, I liked the exploration of the concepts of attention and peripheral awareness. I may give the "stage one" instructions a try, and buy the rest of the book if it goes well.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#456

Post by TriNetra »

wcoenen wrote: post #455
scns wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get Mind Illuminated by John Yates Phd. He breaks down the process into ten steps, woo free.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've read the the free kindle sample now, which is already a couple hours of reading. I found the introduction and and overview very difficult to get through, even to the point of falling asleep. But the "first interlude" and "stage one" captured my attention better. Although a bit verbose and repetitive at times, I liked the exploration of the concepts of attention and peripheral aware…

Try A million thoughts https://www.amazon.com/Million-Thoughts-Meditation-Himalayan...

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#459

Post by frongpik »

IndySun wrote: post #453
frongpik wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.

Learn about the thoughts and ideas of men through the ages, yes, essential. Put their concepts in context, to do so is now very easy. We have history on our side, but not endless time. We are stagnating. We need to consider why historically there is obscene inequality and it cannot be clearer than the disparity between sexes.

We aren't stagnating. We're moving dangerously fast: in the past century we've made more technical progress than in the past 10 thousand years. If anything, I'm worried that we'll make more progress in the next 50 years than we can handle. Where we're lacking is the moral side of things.

However I don't buy into your inequality talk. It seems a regressive ideology that replaces merit with physical attributes of human body. This is literally one step away from dark cults that worship human body.

If anything, the today's environment is the most favourable to women. The only reason why this safe playground exists is the shell that protects it. That shell is the army & navy made of very aggressive men who keep countries like China, Russia and Iran away. If you figure how to break this shell, you'll get to meet the rough reality.

The constructive way to promote equality would be to highlight capable women that write books, make music and so on.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#460

Post by gbh444g »

carapace wrote: post #443
gbh444g wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Em... 12,000 years old? Where does this number come from?

IANAArcheologist-nor-Anthropologist... The first city is generally considered to be Ur, which "dates from the Ubaid period circa 3800 BC" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur However, there's the Potbelly Hill "dating back to the 10th–8th millennium BCE" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe I've heard of stone cities in Southern Africa that are believed to be older than 100K years, but that's not part of the k…

The 100K years timeframe is more believable than a random cutoff 12K years B.C. Humans are way too advanced species to progress from monkeys to what we are now in just a few thousand years. I'd say it's taken close to 18 millions years since humans were advanced monkeys, but even then the difference between a "regular monkey" and an "advanced monkey that can make tools for hunting" is massive and needs an extended period of prehistory.
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