Faith

@almond 😆

The tough part is when you become an empty nester after putting your child first for so long. It's an adjust period for sure. My only child also moved out of state, so I barely see him. You have to remind yourself your children are in your care, but are not your possession. They will spread their wings at the right time and leave the nest, like the rest of nature's creatures do.

From learning or not understanding, to understanding, is a connecting of one concept or experience after another, to get to the ah-ha moments. Where the light bulb goes on 💡

Thoughts can be value neutral, they come and go all day long. They don't have to be a problem, but what makes those same thoughts problematic, what makes them catch to where you focus on them is the feeling that they are "MY" thoughts, then they create a "sense of self". This sense of self is what makes awareness/consciousness identify with the body/mind. Add to the mix the use of psychological time that the thought system uses to project the image of the body into the future by imagination or through memory to focus on the past and it keeps that sense of self very much alive. Most ppl I think would say that thought, specifically "MY" thoughts over-ride the normal human senses. If one can calm and quiet the mind by practices, then it's easier to feel our way through life. Relaxing that sense of self "feeling", allows expansion, instead of contraction, in our awareness of life. Just some Sunday morning musings 😊 Comments welcome! 💙

Happy to be here and I'm glad you are too! 💙

Hehe 🤣

A Zen master visiting New York City goes up to a hot dog vendor and says, "Make me one with everything." The hot dog vendor fixes a hot dog and hands it to the Zen master, who pays with a $20 bill. The vendor puts the bill in the cash box and closes it. "Excuse me, but where’s my change?" asks the Zen master. The vendor responds, "Change must come from within."

@Nowt 😂🤣😂 well, of course!!! 🍪

Howdy! 👋 Very interesting, thanks for sharing.

@almond Interesting, speaking of clearing cobwebs, my sister will pretend she wipes away stressful thoughts with imaginary windshield wipers in her mind. Lol. I've never tried it.

"If you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life! " I'm hoping I love the new job I just started this week. 🤣

Hello, hello! 👋

Yep, just the mind working over-time for no good reason just to re-inforce a "thinker" of the thoughts, but there isn't one. Thoughts "appear" to awareness/consciousness, they come and they go. If we let them go that is... if worry/stress happens, then they gotcha and you'll be just stuck in a thought loop about it until either the situation actually happens and resolves itself or you snap out of the thought loop by resolving the negativity. I posted this already on another post, but applies here too-

@Nadosa Yes, truly there is just awareness/consciousness with a mind/body superimposed on it. There's thinking, seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, feeling, etc just happening, but no one it's happening to essentially. No thinker, smeller, hearer, feeler.... Thought keeps referring to this body/mind as "me", it says all this "verbing" is happening to "me" and projects this "me" into the future, which further can create worry if not stopped in its tracks and there's a seeing through the facade, but this movie is so tantalizing.

Ha, I have a mountain of books on the subject. Haven't read them in years now. I mostly read stuff online now, but I never read the books you listed! My first ever book on the subject was "A New Earth: Awaking to your life's purpose", Eckhart Tolle. The first chapter is sorta odd and boring but it gains speed and the book was mind blowing back in 2009 when this all began for "me". Another I liked a lot was "I am that", Nisargadatta Maharaj Also, "The End of Your World", Adyashanti. If you're into Advaita Vedanta or curious then, "How to attain Enlightment", James Swartz is a book for westerners.

I can't change. I'm not good enough. I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. No one believes in me. What's the point. I'm lazy. I'm worthless. I'm too stressed out. * Then, take each one listed and do a turn around.

I love this! 💙 I have an opinion (another word for judgement😊) for just about everthing, lol. But, most of the time I don't need to act on it. I can let it come and go.... but, watch out when I do. Hehe😂

Nice, yes, it seems (even if ultimately not 100%) that we have some choice how we judge what is presented to us by the field of existence, through our likes and dislikes. If we like something, then we are happy and if we don't like something we aren't. Ultimately, life is a zero sum game. We win some and we lose some. Might as well be happy, as much as possible. Good vibes seem to attract good vibes and good feelings. 😊

Hi, yes, it is untrue. But I think there are some tricks/solutions, like being mindful, focusing on breathing, reminding yourself that presence, awareness, consciousness is what we are and is here and now, not in some future moment. Sometimes un-believing is peskier then we would like. Thanks, yeah! Woohoo🥳

What has probably caused the most suffering in many lives would be psychological time. With psychological time one is either living in memory (the past) or (imagination) the future, but how often does the average person live for right this moment? In the flow of life and not trying to get to the next moment or the next? We all use clock time. This civilization couldn't survive without it. We have to plan, plan, plan, but how does this differ from psychological time? I believe it's because the little "me" is created and stays very much alive if the mind is perpetually dealing with psychological time. It's true suffering. Even if you've had awakenings and no your true nature. I've found this issue is still a problem for many. What is your opinion and advice for others, to stay in the NOW, so to speak?