Oddbean

it's often a concept that people aspire to that gets in the way of who they really are. this word is a red flag and reminds me of people who think "Zen" means you are always serene somehow or happy. this is not possible. most of the time we are neutral. we can't be happy or serene if we don't experience the whole range of our feelings, our relative minds work by contrast. practice is the deletion of concepts such as this and then the deletion of the deletion to the point that one forgets the self. (as dogen says "to forget the self is to study the self". serenity can arrive naturally but forcing it (like "those" Zen students on retreat who put on a Serenity mask while at the same time visibly look like they are jabbing a fork in their hand under the table. i wrote this piece about emotions a while ago and touched on what i am referring to above in it. sacredpeak.ink/2023/10/19/the-strength-of-strings/ in terms of a definition, real serenity is a natural result of dropping our baggage. the half smile of a person steeped in practice is this smile but that person has feelings and displays those as well exactly in accord with themself in each moment. if you want to see a true half smile, DaVinci painted a very famous painting with one that people misread IMO. @SGT.FISH thank you for asking this question.

I read your text on your website. it's amazing. so beautiful image of the sitar. that's exactly what I've experienced with my emotions and that's where authenticity starts - feeling whatever you're feeling each moment. ❤️ yesterday my ego was hurt cause I thought someone was angry at me and was avoiding me. I told this to a friend and she reminded me that it was someone's feelings (if it's not my projection, cause it can be) and I should accept them as they are, but, of course, feeling sad about that is also ok. so I could let go the resistance to feel what I was feeling and was more open to embrace what the other supposedly feels. observing my resistance to feel is mostly what I do daily. thank you so much for sharing this ❤️

I'm glad it helped. It's important to feel what we feel so we can know, truly and to see the beginnings of the self destructive stories we tell ourselves at times. These stories are part of the human condition, paying attention to them but not holding on to them, we can see the bigger picture including ourselves. Practicing this way, it becomes easier to know when we are lying to ourselves and when we see clearly. 💘

For me, and i think for most people. Life will always be difficult in some manner or another. Serenity will come and go on the daily or hourly. Serenity can be very fleeting. Calmness precedes serenity. The more of your time you own. The easier you can find the time to chill and calm yourself. Therefore an abundance of free time = more chance to do what you enjoy; leading to potentially finding reoccurring serenity on the daily. I don’t think serenity should be the goal. Owning your time should be the end game. Serenity isn’t some sort of milestones that you achieve and have forever. It’s a mindset and lifestyle to aspire towards.

Maybe mix in being content. But that can lead to complacency which may lead to laziness. Which can spiral quickly to an anxious moment. So maybe a temporary or momentary feeling of complete calm or peace. (And that moment can last for varying times). Because nothing can be sustained forever.

Yes this too. But how will you achieve any of those moments if you do not have the time to ponder and observe. Unfortunately life is more than just taking in things. Unless of coarse you’re born into riches. Then thats a whole other onset of potential problems.

who says using Mind isn't active? our true Mind is totally engaged. it's the same Mind that children have when they are absorbed in something they are discovering. it never leaves us. we leave it. the intellect is like a pocket knife. pull it out when needed, then put it away. would you carry around a pocket knife with all the tools and blades open all the time?

Megathread shall use the hashtag #Yourviews Going forward. nostr:nevent1qqsxg67lyumc22zx8dxnem64s8d3hl2lww6uxv4jw4e7tlnrt2nrc6cpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzpm4dafktk5qc5xg0qytc2l09z0xzw8fye9ra2mxc9322ddj2u3ayqvzqqqqqqysuyns8 nostr:nevent1qqs2lup2fqyjyj2fftnxnyunlvszp7awcgn767u5hptw687e85vnqhcheszyx nostr:nevent1qqspktxtt7kv7xegs7pc3tksxzfrs9qwcl8j92ekyzu9vq7tpjwu0dghnjutp nostr:nevent1qqs88kmz8pxkpex5c2sf6jxeevpfn6aug9h8sv337mnse3ww9efszvgtuevrx nostr:nevent1qqswsddhm7dgv2yn9dqzn7s655fgpf3a7zvd3rcnd93m390ahd2ga9qpzemhxue69uhkzarvv9ejumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgq3qa6k75m9m2qv2ry8sz9u90hj38np8r5jvj374dnvzc49xke9wg7jqxpqqqqqqzjg06et nostr:nevent1qqs0x6zgyjl49v4kx97ahxuh7tmzw4pjg5k5yps6h9kdfhee4aduymgrxkgns