Or the river with the sunlight on it…you understand how the description can never be the described. True?
I think you’re right here Dan. Both knowledge and money are things that are generally felt to be good to accumulate as they supposedly provide us with security, help us to gain respect, status etc. Emptiness, in the way K refers to it, is a thing that tends not to be valued as far as I see.
Yes interesting to hear that when the brain is constantly occupied, it can’t only not rest, it also can’t have an “original” perception which is the ‘just looking’ without thought. And the two other points that when the brain is empty, not occupied with anything, it becomes“pliable” seeing more detail and the ‘empty’ state is itself filled with energy.
We need knowledge and money, but we’re worse off with inaccurate knowledge and more money than we know what to do with, so it’s a matter of knowing what we need to know, and having enough money to pay for basic necessities.
Yes, I found the points you mentioned fascinating - K seemed on top form in this video.
I got that the brain should be free of occupation except when necessary. Free from the chatter, the talking, the daydreaming, etc in order that it can rest and not be constantly wearing itself with unnecessary thought/noise. That means an awareness of what’s going on, doesn’t it? If it is afraid to be quiet , as he suggests, then experimenting with trying for it to be quiet (‘ just looking ‘), then that fear should arise in some form of resistance perhaps and then that can be ‘faced’. Interesting stuff.
I suppose our relationship with money and knowledge can be like any other relationship - healthy or unhealthy. Money and knowledge have their place but endless accumulation of these would seem to have negative effects.
Silence reveals my reality to be nothing more than compulsive repetition of familiar words, images, fears, desires, hopes and dread. I am practicing self-hypnosis to maintain a sense of security I can’t see the falseness of for the persistence of my practice.
I know this to be true, but am I facing it or just acknowledging it? To face something is to be quiet and behold it without distortion, having put oneself aside to see clearly. Can I do this? I want to find out, so I resolve to experiment with it.
But why resolve to do what must be done? Isn’t that just putting off what can only be done now or never? Am I ready to lose my self-induced sense of security, or do I just need to feel better about myself?
“Just because I ain’t got as much money as you got is a pretty good sign that you’re crookeder than me. And it ain’t to laugh about. It makes me do some pretty tall thinking how to get that money off of you and give it back to the folks that’s broke.” - Woody Guthrie
Certain issues are priceless, refrain from them!
Wise words from you Wim.
Why are, “Certain issues are priceless, refrain from them!”, wise words?
How can an issue be priceless? Give and example.
By “refrain from an issue”, does he mean to ignore it, or to never speak of it for fear of the consequences?
Is it wise to use a comma between "priceless and “refrain” when it is correct (and more effective) to use a dash?
I said the words were wise, not the punctuation.
The punctuation is the least of it. What about the questions you ignored:
Why are, “Certain issues are priceless, refrain from them!”, wise words?
How can an issue be priceless? Give and example.
By “refrain from an issue”, does he mean to ignore it, or to never speak of it for fear of the consequences?
I think words can be wise even if the meaning isn’t clear. What did Bob Dylan mean by, “take what you have gathered from coincidence”, for example? What did you think of the Woody Guthrie quote, by the way? I liked the word “crookeder”.
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It was a spontaneous response where the deeper meaning only dawned on me afterwards.
Is there anything in the world where we as humanity have nullified its value by interfering with it?
Assuming the true meaning is not in the words but behind them, it doesn’t matter whether a comma or a dash is used.
Wise people need neither explanations nor words of confirmation they understand the true meaning.
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I don’t see how you can call “wise” what you can’t comprehend. Maybe you can explain.
Quoting a Bob Dylan lyric doesn’t make your point because most of his lyrics make sense, and within that context, puzzling lyrics are allowed.
Care to share “the deeper meaning” with us?
Is there anything in the world where we as humanity have nullified its value by interfering with it?
Is there anything more ludicrous than defending a nonsense statement?
Assuming the true meaning is not in the words but behind them, it doesn’t matter whether a comma or a dash is used.
What matters is that what’s allegedly “behind” the words is intelligible.
Wise people need neither explanations nor words of confirmation they understand the true meaning.
This is true of idiots, too.
I never said I couldn’t comprehend. The meaning may not be clear to everyone though. You didn’t answer my question about the Woody Guthrie quote, by the way.