Always love what you write, Robert, and particularly love "Lola in the Laurels". Wish I lived closer (I'm in Vancouver) so I could visit you and the donkeys. I'm getting up the nerve to share your stuff with my 53 year old philosophy professor son who thinks anything that smacks of 'est' or meditation - or almost anything I've ever been into (haha) is bullshit. I absolutely know he'd like to read this piece if he 'got off it' as they used to say, in est.
Most of us will speculate, tell ourselves stories...and when we attach to our stories we seek affirmation from those around us about them. If we are skilful, we recognise that this is what we are doing...and our stories lose their hold. Thank you bro.
Dear Robert, you have given me a fine opportunity to air my two Spanish phrases, I ¡quién sabe! and no comprendo. :) I enjoyed reading your er ... piece, so thank you for it and for the donkey pic.
Great piece Robert. I see aliveness as the dance, energy, the flow of life, which can only be found in the moment-to-moment experience. In my perspective, the 'absolute' is a metaphysical concept which individuals seek to find refuge to escape or by-pass the seeming adverse realities of life such as loss, sorrow, death. Without thought, concepts, or definitions the absolute is dead and meaningless.
Thanks Robert, this helped me to see that I still enjoy my magical thinking about some underlying "thing" and call it life, absolute, this, or whatever my mind concocts. But, I no longer believe it, nor do I disbelieve it. I just don't know.
Very interesting. From my point of view neither science nor metaphysics could possibly have the answer. Science is very important but the discoveries and theories are never static but often change over time because of new information. The so-called life force is a mystery. Nisargadatta was my first introduction to these questions many years ago. I think he’s often misunderstood. One thing he said that has always stayed with me. I may be paraphrasing “ what are you? What were you a hundred years before you were born”. Implying that is what you are. It’s the best pointer I have ever heard. Personally that answer satisfies me.
Is this your view? ---- It would seem that this body evolved, was created, or came about, simply as an expression or issue of some biological event..... The physical being that came out of that, or appeared, and continues now to grow (and decay), is itself Life. And we only know that as physical animals we will eventually die. We have no reason to believe that any aspect of our 'selves' or 'being', is immortal. Also, as far as we can see, the physical cannot be separated from the vital, but is one with it? (and not even 'one with it' because the physical and its life cannot even be thought of as 'two'?) At least, this is all that we can really say is our experience... and the rest is mere conjecture... Am I expressing what you have said in an accurate way?
We don't know how any of this got here, Dyanne. Saying that God made it explains nothing. We observe a difference between living things and non-living things, but that difference can be hard to define. Inventing a so-called "life force," for which there is no evidence, explains nothing.
One way to distinguish between living entities and non-living entities is that living things require nutrition, and non-living things do not, but that does not explain how life began in the first place, nor even define what life is. As I said, we know there was an Earth before there were living entities on it, but we do not understand how those entities came to be here. So, our situation here as apparently living entities with the intelligence to be self-aware is entirely mysterious--entirely without explanation.
Faced with that mystery, some people--and I am one of them--accept that there are questions to which we have no factual answers and may never have any. Others just make shit up or glom onto shit that other people have made up. I mean shit like the absolute, God, the life force, etc.
To me, "awake" is when you don't need explanations.
Thank you Robert. Yep, again, it all comes back to my not knowing anything about such "spiritual" matters, and the fact that no one else does either...
I always love the moments in the suttas when the Buddha remains silent in response to demands to answer metaphysical questions.
"This aliveness is all I know. Beyond that is pure speculation, in which I do not indulge."
Now that, is freedom.
Thanks Robert.
Always love what you write, Robert, and particularly love "Lola in the Laurels". Wish I lived closer (I'm in Vancouver) so I could visit you and the donkeys. I'm getting up the nerve to share your stuff with my 53 year old philosophy professor son who thinks anything that smacks of 'est' or meditation - or almost anything I've ever been into (haha) is bullshit. I absolutely know he'd like to read this piece if he 'got off it' as they used to say, in est.
Thanks, Sharon. Yeah, show him some stuff that isn't bullshit. LOL
Most of us will speculate, tell ourselves stories...and when we attach to our stories we seek affirmation from those around us about them. If we are skilful, we recognise that this is what we are doing...and our stories lose their hold. Thank you bro.
Dear Robert, you have given me a fine opportunity to air my two Spanish phrases, I ¡quién sabe! and no comprendo. :) I enjoyed reading your er ... piece, so thank you for it and for the donkey pic.
Lots of love to you and household.
How lovely to hear from you, dear Catherine.
Great piece Robert. I see aliveness as the dance, energy, the flow of life, which can only be found in the moment-to-moment experience. In my perspective, the 'absolute' is a metaphysical concept which individuals seek to find refuge to escape or by-pass the seeming adverse realities of life such as loss, sorrow, death. Without thought, concepts, or definitions the absolute is dead and meaningless.
Thanks Robert, this helped me to see that I still enjoy my magical thinking about some underlying "thing" and call it life, absolute, this, or whatever my mind concocts. But, I no longer believe it, nor do I disbelieve it. I just don't know.
Very interesting. From my point of view neither science nor metaphysics could possibly have the answer. Science is very important but the discoveries and theories are never static but often change over time because of new information. The so-called life force is a mystery. Nisargadatta was my first introduction to these questions many years ago. I think he’s often misunderstood. One thing he said that has always stayed with me. I may be paraphrasing “ what are you? What were you a hundred years before you were born”. Implying that is what you are. It’s the best pointer I have ever heard. Personally that answer satisfies me.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for your reply.
I think I understand what you are saying.
Is this your view? ---- It would seem that this body evolved, was created, or came about, simply as an expression or issue of some biological event..... The physical being that came out of that, or appeared, and continues now to grow (and decay), is itself Life. And we only know that as physical animals we will eventually die. We have no reason to believe that any aspect of our 'selves' or 'being', is immortal. Also, as far as we can see, the physical cannot be separated from the vital, but is one with it? (and not even 'one with it' because the physical and its life cannot even be thought of as 'two'?) At least, this is all that we can really say is our experience... and the rest is mere conjecture... Am I expressing what you have said in an accurate way?
We don't know how any of this got here, Dyanne. Saying that God made it explains nothing. We observe a difference between living things and non-living things, but that difference can be hard to define. Inventing a so-called "life force," for which there is no evidence, explains nothing.
One way to distinguish between living entities and non-living entities is that living things require nutrition, and non-living things do not, but that does not explain how life began in the first place, nor even define what life is. As I said, we know there was an Earth before there were living entities on it, but we do not understand how those entities came to be here. So, our situation here as apparently living entities with the intelligence to be self-aware is entirely mysterious--entirely without explanation.
Faced with that mystery, some people--and I am one of them--accept that there are questions to which we have no factual answers and may never have any. Others just make shit up or glom onto shit that other people have made up. I mean shit like the absolute, God, the life force, etc.
To me, "awake" is when you don't need explanations.
It would take me a billion years to explain that. 😂
Thank you Robert. Yep, again, it all comes back to my not knowing anything about such "spiritual" matters, and the fact that no one else does either...