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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance



Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
Loc: Time and Space
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Being Content
#19048725 - 10/28/13 08:44 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Here's a tricky question:
Would you rather be content with a shitty body, shitty spirit, shitty soul,
Or be determined to improve yourself in many different ways?
In what situations should we be content, and in what situations should we strive to better the situation?
Is contendesness the highest spiritual state? Do the people who are okay being homeless have it all right?
Basically, what situations or states of being call for contednesness and what calls for change?
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deff
just love everyone



Registered: 05/01/04
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i think being content while continuing to improve and move into deeper contentment / well-being is possible 
sticking to just contentment could be disguised laziness and not offer as deep of a contentment as is possible with some effort applied. but being too fixated on improving could actually be a case of you imagining and strengthening illusions of shortcomings onto yourself.
while some might say everything is perfect right now, there can be hindrances to realizing and actualizing this perfection i think - and so long as they remain then it's fruitless to speak of inherent perfection. an analogy could be having a priceless jewel covered in mud - you already have the perfect result, but it takes work to remove the mud, shine it up, and make use of it. likewise, our base condition might be perfect when seen with wisdom, but there can still be veils to seeing and making use of this innate perfection that certain methods are capable of removing.
while it might sound paradoxical to be perfectly content with what is while simultaneously seeking to improve and deepen one's condition - i think this actually works. it's the same idea i take with meditation - meditation is not striving to create some perfect state really, instead like the jewel that already exists in the mud, it's more about acknowledging the perfection that is in every moment and purifying the mind of distractions and ignorance / dirt over time. resting in perfection while over time deepening your perfection.
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance



Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
Loc: Time and Space
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Re: Being Content [Re: deff]
#19048955 - 10/28/13 09:20 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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nicechrisman
Interdimensional space wizard



Registered: 11/07/03
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The middle way
-------------------- "Cosmic Love is absolutelely ruthless and highly indifferent: it teaches its lessons whether you like/dislike them or not." John C. Lily
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Yogi1
Squatchin
Registered: 04/01/13
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Quote:
nicechrisman said: The middle way
No compulsive drive for more money, just staying on your top game and staying conscious.
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eve69
--=..Did Adam and ...?=--



Registered: 04/30/03
Posts: 3,910
Loc: isle de la muerte
Last seen: 24 days, 18 hours
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Re: Being Content [Re: Yogi1]
#19050465 - 10/29/13 05:23 AM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Yogi1 said:
Quote:
nicechrisman said: The middle way
No compulsive drive for more money, just staying on your top game and staying conscious.
The Middle Way between austerity and luxury. Some austerity, and some luxury. One must pick and choose. This is how we become different.
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PocketLady



Registered: 01/18/10
Posts: 1,773
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Re: Being Content [Re: eve69]
#19052065 - 10/29/13 01:50 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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I think as others have said, that both is possible. The trick is to ensure your striving does not interfere with your contentedness. You have to make sure that whatever the situation is that you completely accept it. That means striving without judging, without thinking "this is not happening fast enough", and without wishing that you are something other than what you are right now.
-------------------- Love is from the infinite, and will remain until eternity. The seeker of love escapes the chains of birth and death. Tomorrow, when resurrection comes, The heart that is not in love will fail the test. ~ Rumi The day we start giving Love instead of seeking Love, we will have re-written our whole destiny. ~ Swami Chinmayanada Saraswatir
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volcomstoner
I'll have just one more xanax



Registered: 07/20/09
Posts: 11,231
Loc: Minnesnowta
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Yeah the time I was most content in my life was when I was constantly improving myself. Now I'm stuck in a rut where I have no interest in improvement and I really struggle finding content
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HAIL SATAN Vas donc jouer dans le traffic
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eve69
--=..Did Adam and ...?=--



Registered: 04/30/03
Posts: 3,910
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As a chef I learned one doesn't cut things out of a diet in general. One adjusts quantities and qualities. I think life should be considered more like that - less extreme philosophies, more about chemistry. If your life is dull, the answer is in the question, add some life.
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all this beauty
Stranger
Registered: 02/13/13
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Re: Being Content [Re: deff]
#19057254 - 10/30/13 12:02 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
deff said: i think being content while continuing to improve and move into deeper contentment / well-being is possible 
sticking to just contentment could be disguised laziness and not offer as deep of a contentment as is possible with some effort applied. but being too fixated on improving could actually be a case of you imagining and strengthening illusions of shortcomings onto yourself.
while some might say everything is perfect right now, there can be hindrances to realizing and actualizing this perfection i think - and so long as they remain then it's fruitless to speak of inherent perfection. an analogy could be having a priceless jewel covered in mud - you already have the perfect result, but it takes work to remove the mud, shine it up, and make use of it. likewise, our base condition might be perfect when seen with wisdom, but there can still be veils to seeing and making use of this innate perfection that certain methods are capable of removing.
while it might sound paradoxical to be perfectly content with what is while simultaneously seeking to improve and deepen one's condition - i think this actually works. it's the same idea i take with meditation - meditation is not striving to create some perfect state really, instead like the jewel that already exists in the mud, it's more about acknowledging the perfection that is in every moment and purifying the mind of distractions and ignorance / dirt over time. resting in perfection while over time deepening your perfection. 
That's a spectacularly wonderful post. Kudos and blessings to you, deff.
"Resting in perfection" while in the same moment deepening one's experience of the perfection is the highest human goal attainable, in my opinion.
In this way, we reconcile with the horrors of the world while, in the same moment, we do what we can to rectify them.
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drkkenny
Explorer

Registered: 10/13/11
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It all depends on if that person wishes to improve themselves, if they have a desire to do that then they most likely will. If they don't really care how others see them, how their actions entail future consequences throughout not only their own lives, but the people they also interact with, and, seeing that how they act may effect people perhaps may wish to improve themselves. For myself I've always been extremely considerate about how I navigate throughout the world and how what I do and act will effect others. I am constantly thinking of how others may perceive how I come off to them, I cannot be something that I don't find true to my roots, I cannot accept the way certain people act and thus, find myself following my inner circle always over others less superior than myself. For I usually exclude majority of the population from ever daring to even venture to ask someone outside of my circle for an invitation to be admitted into my "little group". I cannot just allow just anyone to be invited into a group so much better than what most people are used to, if I let just anyone in it would make the group far less greater than I originally supposed it to be.
Sometimes other people will try to pursue an invite to this group but will realize after they have been given the invite that they were sent an invite to a different group than the one than originally supposed they were being sent to.
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No More Stories Are Told Today, I'm Sorry They Washed Away // No More Stories, The World Is Grey, I'm Tired, Let's Wash Away. God 2 read 10932148 Unread messages
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance



Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
Loc: Time and Space
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Re: Being Content [Re: drkkenny] 1
#19060466 - 10/30/13 09:34 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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I definitely care about how I impact others, in my words and actions and what not.
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Chronic7
Registered: 05/08/04
Posts: 13,679
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I feel like whatever will happen will happen, everyone will at times feel content and at other times feel to act & change out of a natural response to whatever it is they become aware of in their life through what their attention is drawn to, to impose personal control on it is somewhat jumping the gun in my opinion
With true peace you can be 'content' understanding that nothing you ever do will ever bring you peace, nothing in the universe can ever make you truly fully happy, as you are infinity itself already, but it doesn't mean you stop enjoying life, on the contrary you start really enjoying it because your not chasing anything, then the joy is found everywhere not just here or there It's as simple as the fact that if you look at one thing or think of one thing you neglect or remain ignorant to the presence of another thing, so if you totally let go of everything then you pay respect to everything, you embrace/encompass everything so you can neglect nothing, and if its true then it shows in your actions
To find true peace or contentment isn't to bury your head in the sand out of escapism, it is to be happy with 'what is', but 'what is' is not the state of worldly affairs, 'what is' is the eternal reality of your own existence, so peace is to be happy with your actual universal true state of being, not to blindly accept the state of the world as it is & ignore it, you can display outrage at the state of affairs and still be totally at peace because you are at peace with yourself, you can fight against human oppression yet deep down feel universally expressed
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Edited by Chronic7 (10/31/13 08:08 AM)
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all this beauty
Stranger
Registered: 02/13/13
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Re: Being Content [Re: Chronic7]
#19063576 - 10/31/13 01:47 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
The Chronic said: I feel like whatever will happen will happen, everyone will at times feel content and at other times feel to act & change out of a natural response to whatever it is they become aware of in their life through what their attention is drawn to, to impose personal control on it is somewhat jumping the gun in my opinion
With true peace you can be 'content' understanding that nothing you ever do will ever bring you peace, nothing in the universe can ever make you truly fully happy, as you are infinity itself already, but it doesn't mean you stop enjoying life, on the contrary you start really enjoying it because your not chasing anything, then the joy is found everywhere not just here or there It's as simple as the fact that if you look at one thing or think of one thing you neglect or remain ignorant to the presence of another thing, so if you totally let go of everything then you pay respect to everything, you embrace/encompass everything so you can neglect nothing, and if its true then it shows in your actions
To find true peace or contentment isn't to bury your head in the sand out of escapism, it is to be happy with 'what is', but 'what is' is not the state of worldly affairs, 'what is' is the eternal reality of your own existence, so peace is to be happy with your actual universal true state of being, not to blindly accept the state of the world as it is & ignore it, you can display outrage at the state of affairs and still be totally at peace because you are at peace with yourself, you can fight against human oppression yet deep down feel universally expressed
That's a really, really nice post, Chronic.
I like this:
"...so if you totally let go of everything then you pay respect to everything, you embrace/encompass everything so you can neglect nothing, and if it's true then it shows in your actions."
That there is some very ancient wisdom, my friend. "Let go of everything; pay respect to everything."
And this:
"...you can display outrage at the state of affairs and still be totally at peace because you are at peace with yourself...."
This points to the "still point of the turning world" that great poets have alluded to.
Once you find that still point within you, all things become possible.
Even your rage can be beneficial -- originating, as it can, in the still point.
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