I've learned something today...

[Unconditioned]

So I was watching southpark last night (I'll never grow up ) and had an idea for a thread. Maybe we could all post a brief personal insight to share with the rest of the bums... it can be about anything but generally it should be one of those "ah ha!" moments you've had.

 

I'll start...

 

Empathy is not putting yourself in someone else's shoes, by doing that you're only looking at your self.

[CarsonZi]

I had a moment in my life that was a "turning point".

 

I realized one day after some particularly troubling events, that I COULD be happy. Up to that point I had held my happiness as contigent on something external. I couldn't be happy unless the conditions were "perfect". At this moment I realized that happiness was possible in any situation based on how I "perceive" it. It took me several years from then to actually get to where this perspective was instinctual, but I can truly say I am happy now in almost every situation I come across. I wasn't before this revelation.

 

Love,

Carson

[freeform]

every single sensation and experience - whether seemingly good or bad or ordinary or special is an opportunity for growth.

 

every relationship - whether catching the eye of a stranger or being with your loved one or being shouted at by your boss is an opportunity for growth.

 

EVERY stimulus whatever it's nature is the perfect stimulus for awakening for getting to know myself at a deeper level.

 

Everything is perfect as it is.

 

[seadog]

Every moment of every day we make choices.

What we think,what we say,what we do,what we put in our mouth,or posture,what we choose to believe or disbelieve---etc.

These everyday choices determine how we utilize or finite resources.

Some actions perpetuate life others hasten death.

[Wayfarer64]

It wasn't today, but I need to refresh the idea, every so often... so it may yet be tomorrow...When I realize(d)... I am once again a spirit having a human experience. This is a great chance to experience life on a multitude of interesting levels. I have a choice where-in I may devote real effort into strengthening my spirit through this lifes' activities... Not just be an intellect enjoying a body, but a conscious being that is, what? Perhaps an entity of pure potential... as we all are...in spirit... always open and learning about existance...

[steve]

I once had a very sudden insight that I, as a person, am nothing more (or less) than an aperture through which the universe becomes aware of itself. It was an extremely intense experience. Although the intensity of the experience faded, my perspective was permanently altered.

[freeform]

I once had a very sudden insight that I, as a person, am nothing more (or less) than an aperture through which the universe becomes aware of itself. It was an extremely intense experience. Although the intensity of the experience faded, my perspective was permanently altered.

 

 

I had something very very similar - but rather than the Universe becoming aware of itself - it was DNA becoming aware of itself.... but this is just semantics - for me also this was an intense experience Thanks for reminding me!

[hagar]

That the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is felt, touched, smelled, watched right now.

 

And that finally, after only wanting to be elswhere for the last couple of decades, I live in such a wonderful place:

 

h

[Ian]

That everyone, not just me, is making it up as they go along, hiding the doubts, papering over the cracks, trying to act functional.

 

That what I really am has nothing at all to do with words.

 

That I'm much more in the way than I think, and that all I really have to do is notice and stop doing stuff.

[Unconditioned]

That everyone, not just me, is making it up as they go along, hiding the doubts, papering over the cracks, trying to act functional.

 

That what I really am has nothing at all to do with words.

 

That I'm much more in the way than I think, and that all I really have to do is notice and stop doing stuff.

 

That was a huge one for me as well. I had some romantic idea about how other people were so great and they had it all figured out, they could handle anything and do anything, etc. Then one day I realized they're just human too... and I have more respect than I did before knowing that they don't have some magic ability... they just work hard at what they do.

 

Sort of like when you find out your parents don't have all the answers but on a much larger scale.

 

...

 

This one hit me today:

Feeling significant discomfort, like when someone/something makes you really upset, is a huge sign that there is an... incorrect(?) assumption or view that needs a good looking at. It's really a huge gift when something riles us up in a good or bad way.

 

It's like if our bodies didn't have pain we wouldn't know that we were injured... same for our spirit... gives us good a wake up call!

[Birch]

I like this one but it's possible I picked it off somewhere.

 

"All these people are looking for 'the One' when they're 'the One' themselves and don't even know it. Stop pretending 'the One' is someone else you need."

[seadog]

That the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is felt, touched, smelled, watched right now.

 

And that finally, after only wanting to be elswhere for the last couple of decades, I live in such a wonderful place:

 

h

Hey Hagar it is saying the video is unavailable.I was looking forward to seeing where you live.

[goldisheavy]

I realized that the safest way to live life is to live in the hospital. That way, if you ever get sick, the doctor is right there and you can save on the ambulance cost.

[NeutralWire]

I don't know if I can express what I mean. I learned this one yesterday and I wrote this then, I hope it makes sense:

 

Everybody has something deep inside which matters to them so much, and everybody is trying to live from that place within, the place of truth.

 

So you have the truth itself, and you have the living-from.

 

And all those truths deep within are perfectly co-ordinate and do not fight one another, but on earth, owing to the primitiveness of our ways of being, the living-from can seem to butt heads with other living-froms.

 

That is why it is so important that one realize, a way of life is something that a person fashions to reflect a truth deep inside, and that truth is as important as can be imagined, even if the living-from that truth is not manifesting it well.

 

unconditioned --

 

Feeling significant discomfort, like when someone/something makes you really upset, is a huge sign that there is an... incorrect(?) assumption or view that needs a good looking at.

 

That is so great!

 

I love especially the fact that I was just reading through some old Stoic philosophers who said just the same thing. We're all in this big chain.

 

All best wishes,

 

~NeutralWire~

Edited March 14, 2009 by NeutralWire

[mat black]

from ignorance come thoughts, deeds and actions which shape our present experience,

individual karma has varied manifestations from person to person.

 

on the level of manifestion each is unique.

how can anyone judge another?

 

with honest introspection we seek genuine wisdom,

that which is unmoved by changing phenomena might just be real understanding.

 

when kindnesss and compassion arise within,

may we wish for peace for all beings.

Edited March 14, 2009 by mat black

[Fire Dragon]

Hey Hagar it is saying the video is unavailable.I was looking forward to seeing where you live.

 

 

Hello it worked for me. Hagar lives in a comersial video for choklate!!!

[forestofsouls]

I wonder if the person living in a ramshackle slum in India or the child permanently scarred from being tossed in hot bathwater would agree with that assessment.

 

Everything is perfect as it is.

[innerspace_cadet]

I once came to the strange realization that time is an illusion.

 

Another "a ha" moment was when I realized that I can't always change the situation, but I always have a choice in how I perceive the situation.

[Detour]

For every piece of bad news I get in life, there's never a reason to panic or worry, or react to with anger or sadness; there's always a solution, waiting for me to arrive to. All I need to do is keep my head cool and look for it.

[the buddha & the beast]

that i can have an ah ha! moment any time i choose to...i don't have to wait for something to happen. if i ever really stop my head and acknowledge that i am one with everything, then the one thing my head is trying to agonize over at the moment suddenly looks so small.

Edited March 15, 2009 by the buddha & the beast

[goldisheavy]

There is a high security door that I have to pass often. It has a card access. It's always locked and it won't open without the card swipe. According to appearances and according to everything I know and even according to all my previous evidence, it seems the only way to open the door is to swipe the card.

 

I say, "What if I assume it's open?" So, from then on, before I swiped my card, I would simply try to open the door on the assumption it's open. I had no reason to assume that at all. There was nothing in my experience or understanding that suggested it might be fruitful to try to open the door without a key card. But I kept attempting to open it. And LO, what did I find out? It turns out the door does open sometimes, just like that, without any key card swipe!

 

I love to pull on closed doors. They look closed, but many doors open. For a while I was surprised by how many closed and locked doors opened just by pulling them.

[Unconditioned]

For every piece of bad news I get in life, there's never a reason to panic or worry, or react to with anger or sadness; there's always a solution, waiting for me to arrive to. All I need to do is keep my head cool and look for it.

 

So true!

 

Today I realized that, I help people even my own family for some form of acceptance, a way to feel good about 'me'. That has driven the majority of my actions, people pleasing and the like but...

 

In acknowledging the truth about desire/motivation without judging it, you can see it for what it is... otherwise it's all just a hoax, for 'self' preservation, like being in an open cage insisting there's no way out because we have our hands over our eyes. something like that...

 

There is a high security door that I have to pass often. It has a card access. It's always locked and it won't open without the card swipe. According to appearances and according to everything I know and even according to all my previous evidence, it seems the only way to open the door is to swipe the card.

 

I say, "What if I assume it's open?" So, from then on, before I swiped my card, I would simply try to open the door on the assumption it's open. I had no reason to assume that at all. There was nothing in my experience or understanding that suggested it might be fruitful to try to open the door without a key card. But I kept attempting to open it. And LO, what did I find out? It turns out the door does open sometimes, just like that, without any key card swipe!

 

I love to pull on closed doors. They look closed, but many doors open. For a while I was surprised by how many closed and locked doors opened just by pulling them.

 

Nice Sometimes just switching things up a bit can shake up our routine in all the right ways