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Lion
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Freedom
#9105518 - 10/20/08 06:10 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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We know about two kinds of freedom: freedom to and freedom from. Both kinds of freedom must be limited for a society to function, because freedom from implies limits to others' freedoms to.
Spiritual traditions teach of freedom from desire, freedom from death, freedom from life, freedom from ignorance.
What is freedom, really? Are you free?
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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Echo7
Glad to be here.
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9105530 - 10/20/08 06:12 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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No. Not in America (fuck no), and certainly not trapped in this abomination we call the human body.
-------------------- One step at a time.
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Sleepwalker
Overshoes
Registered: 05/07/08
Posts: 5,503
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Re: Freedom [Re: Echo7]
#9105656 - 10/20/08 06:37 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
EchoEclipse71 said: No. Not in America (fuck no), and certainly not trapped in this abomination we call the human body.
In having a body, do we have more or less freedom than being pure nothingness? I'd say we certainly have more freedom being alive in a body in the physical world than we would being nonexistent.
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Lion
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That's an interesting point!
Being embodied, we have the freedom to...To be! To live, to explore, to share, to listen to music, to have sex, to take psychedelic voyages, to meditate, to play football, to knit, to cook, dance, sleep, fart.
Being nonexistent, there would be freedom from pain, suffering, loss, and so forth, but would it be freedom? There would not be anything there to be free.
Freedom must be a conscious experience, in my opinion.
Can freedom be attained through creating specific causes and conditions? Is freedom the ability to accept all that arises in one's experience? Is death freedom?
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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deranger
Registered: 01/21/08
Posts: 6,840
Loc: off the wall
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9105837 - 10/20/08 07:09 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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working for myself has given me an overall greater sense of freedom.
there are less pressures and stresses and this is what really does it for me.
still there is always more freedom to experience.
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JacquesCousteau
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9106264 - 10/20/08 08:22 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Lion said: We know about two kinds of freedom: freedom to and freedom from. Both kinds of freedom must be limited for a society to function, because freedom from implies limits to others' freedoms to.
Spiritual traditions teach of freedom from desire, freedom from death, freedom from life, freedom from ignorance.
What is freedom, really? Are you free?
Well, freedom from desire and attachment are not freedoms that imply any kind of limitations upon others' freedoms to do anything, as far as I can tell.
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Lion
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That's true. Didn't mean to imply that all freedoms from impinge on others' freedoms to...just some.
The spiritual traditions line was to stimulate thought about freedom in general, not meant to be connected with the first paragraph.
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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manyc
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫
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I believe true freedom is being able to just say that you've given into the reality of impermanence... that everything you know will someday just be a memory, or perhaps nothing at all. Really, there's a multitude of types of freedom... physical and mental kinds. But giving in to impermanence, I think, is true freedom.
-------------------- Hemp could Save the World. "There is no flag that is large enough, to hide the shame of a man in cuffs." -Serj Tankian Know Thyself. "If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on." -Terence Mckenna
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JacquesCousteau
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9106308 - 10/20/08 08:28 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Indeed.
Well, freedom is a lack of bondage. And I'd have to say that when "I" am free, "I" am not ME, so I am not free... but that is not to say that freedom cannot exist... for when freedom exists, I do not... and when I exist, freedom does not... it is a sticky pickle, this freedom nonsense...
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manyc
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫
Registered: 01/03/04
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Yep. People have been struggling to attain freedom since the dawn of civilization.. and we're still struggling, heh.
-------------------- Hemp could Save the World. "There is no flag that is large enough, to hide the shame of a man in cuffs." -Serj Tankian Know Thyself. "If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on." -Terence Mckenna
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JacquesCousteau
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Re: Freedom [Re: manyc]
#9106356 - 10/20/08 08:33 PM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Perhaps the secret is... people have also been attaining freedom all along... it just can't be known by living beings, because the ultimate freedom is death...
...perhaps.
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Chronic7
Registered: 05/08/04
Posts: 13,679
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9108490 - 10/21/08 04:51 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Lion said: We know about two kinds of freedom: freedom to and freedom from. Both kinds of freedom must be limited for a society to function, because freedom from implies limits to others' freedoms to.
Spiritual traditions teach of freedom from desire, freedom from death, freedom from life, freedom from ignorance.
What is freedom, really? Are you free?
True freedom is freedom from ignorance, imo ignorance is believing you somehow exist separate from the rest of life as an individual entity, over coming this ignorance is realizing the Self in all beings as no different from yourself & realzing that the Self is infinite in nature
I dont think theres any arguement against realzing your nature as infinite as not being the ultimate freedom
I am free!!!
Quote:
Oweyervishice said:
In having a body, do we have more or less freedom than being pure nothingness? I'd say we certainly have more freedom being alive in a body in the physical world than we would being nonexistent.
There is no difference between your body & nothingness, they are inseparable, the very recognition of nothingness being all encompassing denotes the real actual material existence of the body, mind creates matter, when mind has become one with nothingness, the body is not felt as material existence, it is seen as illusory, everything becomes lighter...
Quote:
JacquesCousteau said: Perhaps the secret is... people have also been attaining freedom all along... it just can't be known by living beings, because the ultimate freedom is death...
...perhaps.
“You will come in due course to realise that your true glory lies where you cease to exist.” Ramana Maharshi
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Edited by Chronic7 (10/21/08 05:03 AM)
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Icelander
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9108831 - 10/21/08 09:09 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Lion said: We know about two kinds of freedom: freedom to and freedom from. Both kinds of freedom must be limited for a society to function, because freedom from implies limits to others' freedoms to.
Spiritual traditions teach of freedom from desire, freedom from death, freedom from life, freedom from ignorance.
What is freedom, really? Are you free?
Most of our freedom is illusion IMO. From thinking to doing we are programmed by our nature and culture. However there is some wiggle room to not be exactly like everyone else.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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Lion
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Funny enough, this post was inspired by a post of yours saying we have a lot of freedom, we just don't recognize it.
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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Icelander
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Posts: 95,368
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9109103 - 10/21/08 10:48 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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That's the "wiggle room"
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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deCypher
Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 56,232
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9109134 - 10/21/08 10:55 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Lion said: We know about two kinds of freedom: freedom to and freedom from. Both kinds of freedom must be limited for a society to function, because freedom from implies limits to others' freedoms to.
Spiritual traditions teach of freedom from desire, freedom from death, freedom from life, freedom from ignorance.
What is freedom, really? Are you free?
I'm free to do anything I want. It's just that the government is likewise free to pursue any consequences it wishes.
-------------------- We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
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numonkei
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9109138 - 10/21/08 10:55 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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What was the quote from the second or third matrix movie that the french man says.
"Freedom is an illusion to choice, thus an illusion those with power use to control those who don't"
Or something like that.
Freedom is certaily not a tangible or definitive, or even logical, device. You are free to own that firearm, but not to discharge it in the city limits, nor to smoke marijuana, but you are free to vote, unless you have previously lost your freedom and gone to prison...
...Yeah, freedom seems to be a pile of BS. Or maybe a percieved state spawned by complacency or overcoming adversity.
~Monk
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Lion
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Re: Freedom [Re: deCypher]
#9109163 - 10/21/08 11:02 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
I'm free to do anything I want. It's just that the government is likewise free to pursue any consequences it wishes.
You're actually not free to do anything you want, unless you have no desire to do anything whose cost exceeds your financial means, or anything that defies the laws of nature. If you're anything like the majority of people, you're also bound by pre-existing belief systems not to pursue many of the things you want.
Is the freedom you're talking about - freedom to act - the ultimate kind of freedom?
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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deCypher
Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 56,232
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Re: Freedom [Re: Lion]
#9109277 - 10/21/08 11:34 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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If something's too expensive, I'm perfectly free to steal it.
I try not to tie myself into a belief system.
-------------------- We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
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Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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Re: Freedom [Re: deCypher]
#9109299 - 10/21/08 11:38 AM (15 years, 4 months ago) |
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You're not free to do anything you want, you are free to do anything you can. Our maximized abilities are the ultimate limit of our freedom, and not the social rules & punishments we generally accept as limits. Without fear of consequences, one could take any actions within their capabilities.
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