4 ms·

Effortlessly being able to act out of love, kindness, and compassion regardless of the external environment is going to be my goto definition of explaining enli

Effortlessly being able to act out of love, kindness, and compassion regardless of the external environment is going to be my goto definition of explaining enlightenment in the future.

andrei_says_ 4y ago
Funny thing, one of the pointers in advaita is that sure, you can act in any way you choose, but how the world will respond is completely out of your hands. Being able to drop the involvement at the end of your action is a superpower.
- FlyingSnake 4y ago
  Isn’t this the chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita (Karma Yoga)?
- Kalium 4y ago
  That's also completely in line with Stoicism.
  - isthisthingon99 4y ago
    Many religions have similar ideas. It's almost as if many religious texts are systems for life.
  - andrei_says_ 4y ago
    Another Advaita pointer I love is to observe the source of your own choices. To inquire into the nature of free will. Once observing all I’m finding is different forces at play and nothing I can call “free”. Some examples - preference is at the center of choices. Do I choose my preferences - for pleasure over pain and foods I like over ones I dislike? Not really I just execute the programming of preference. Overlaid by history, beliefs, attachment style, trauma patterns, current levels of stress, blood sugar, rest thirst etc. In my experience unpacking free will is incredibly liberating. Is there an equivalent in stoicism? Also, I believe, like Stoicism, Advaita is not a religion at its core. More like a collection of inquiries and the unspeakable silent understanding that arises from the inquiry.
    - zuzuleinen 4y ago
      Hi Andrei, I was wondering if you have some good resources/books on Advaita. Thanks!
mikrl 4y ago
There are definitely companies out there that ruthlessly exploit such enlightenment.
- Drakim 4y ago
  That is indeed a concern, but I've found that if you act in good faith and kindness most of the time, but just throw in a tiny bit of skepticism, you can filter out such abuse most of the time. It's not a good idea to go though life bitter, angry, suspicious and angry at the world and everybody around you because you fear that someday down the line in many years somebody might exploit your kindness.
- plaguepilled 4y ago
  Definitely true. However, I think in such an instance you would need to consider yourself as a truly valid recipient of grace and care, and quit the moment you detect exploitation like that.
- Gene_Parmesan 4y ago
  I see an unfortunate number of people who seem to think that the only way to not get taken advantage of in life is to be cynical, and that living with empathy and joy is equivalent to allowing yourself to get walked over. In my worldview/self-understanding, having solid boundaries is a core requirement of living joyfully. You have to love yourself in order to live joyfully, and having & enforcing clear boundaries is a requirement of loving yourself (where love is used as an active verb). Allowing someone else -- a company or a person -- to violate your boundaries is not compatible with actualized self love. The main goal is peaceful contentment regardless of what the world does. Pursuing happiness as in euphoria is a fool's errand. Euphoric feelings are not something we can ever generate on demand. Instead, the goal is to control what you can, which is only ever your response to the world. There's a sense in which this feels selfish -- which it is, but that's okay. I would say one thing companies certainly do is try to make people feel guilty for prioritizing their own mental health and wellness. Don't let them do that. Having boundaries at work is not something to be guilty about. For instance, I do not work more than 40 hours in a week without abnormal extenuating circumstances. I've made that extremely clear to management. I've certainly had a supervisor or two try to push the envelope, but I just make sure to not let the envelope get pushed. That doesn't mean I'm not living joyfully or with empathy. I can enforce my boundary without getting defensive, guilty, angry, or any other negative feeling. In fact, I've found that me pushing back goes much more smoothly when I do so calmly and without anger or defensiveness. By the way, no one's saying this is easy. What happens when a family member dies suddenly? No one in existence can prevent themselves from having an uncontrolled negative emotional reaction to tragedy. That's okay. Perfection is not the goal, just continual improvement.
focus-pocus 4y ago
I would rather say these might be results of enlightenment, not enlightenment per se.
- Matticus_Rex 4y ago
  It's the KR to the Enlightenment O.
tonguetrainer 4y ago
Otherwise known as charity (as described in 1 Corinthians 13). Because "charity never faileth".

Effortlessly being able to act out of love, kindness, and compassion regardless of the external environment is going to be my goto definition of explaining enlightenment in the future.

andrei_says_ 4y ago

Funny thing, one of the pointers in advaita is that sure, you can act in any way you choose, but how the world will respond is completely out of your hands. Being able to drop the involvement at the end of your action is a superpower.

FlyingSnake 4y ago
Isn’t this the chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita (Karma Yoga)?
Kalium 4y ago
That's also completely in line with Stoicism.
- isthisthingon99 4y ago
  Many religions have similar ideas. It's almost as if many religious texts are systems for life.
- andrei_says_ 4y ago
  Another Advaita pointer I love is to observe the source of your own choices. To inquire into the nature of free will. Once observing all I’m finding is different forces at play and nothing I can call “free”. Some examples - preference is at the center of choices. Do I choose my preferences - for pleasure over pain and foods I like over ones I dislike? Not really I just execute the programming of preference. Overlaid by history, beliefs, attachment style, trauma patterns, current levels of stress, blood sugar, rest thirst etc. In my experience unpacking free will is incredibly liberating. Is there an equivalent in stoicism? Also, I believe, like Stoicism, Advaita is not a religion at its core. More like a collection of inquiries and the unspeakable silent understanding that arises from the inquiry.
  - zuzuleinen 4y ago
    Hi Andrei, I was wondering if you have some good resources/books on Advaita. Thanks!

mikrl 4y ago

There are definitely companies out there that ruthlessly exploit such enlightenment.

Drakim 4y ago
That is indeed a concern, but I've found that if you act in good faith and kindness most of the time, but just throw in a tiny bit of skepticism, you can filter out such abuse most of the time. It's not a good idea to go though life bitter, angry, suspicious and angry at the world and everybody around you because you fear that someday down the line in many years somebody might exploit your kindness.
plaguepilled 4y ago
Definitely true. However, I think in such an instance you would need to consider yourself as a truly valid recipient of grace and care, and quit the moment you detect exploitation like that.
Gene_Parmesan 4y ago
I see an unfortunate number of people who seem to think that the only way to not get taken advantage of in life is to be cynical, and that living with empathy and joy is equivalent to allowing yourself to get walked over. In my worldview/self-understanding, having solid boundaries is a core requirement of living joyfully. You have to love yourself in order to live joyfully, and having & enforcing clear boundaries is a requirement of loving yourself (where love is used as an active verb). Allowing someone else -- a company or a person -- to violate your boundaries is not compatible with actualized self love. The main goal is peaceful contentment regardless of what the world does. Pursuing happiness as in euphoria is a fool's errand. Euphoric feelings are not something we can ever generate on demand. Instead, the goal is to control what you can, which is only ever your response to the world. There's a sense in which this feels selfish -- which it is, but that's okay. I would say one thing companies certainly do is try to make people feel guilty for prioritizing their own mental health and wellness. Don't let them do that. Having boundaries at work is not something to be guilty about. For instance, I do not work more than 40 hours in a week without abnormal extenuating circumstances. I've made that extremely clear to management. I've certainly had a supervisor or two try to push the envelope, but I just make sure to not let the envelope get pushed. That doesn't mean I'm not living joyfully or with empathy. I can enforce my boundary without getting defensive, guilty, angry, or any other negative feeling. In fact, I've found that me pushing back goes much more smoothly when I do so calmly and without anger or defensiveness. By the way, no one's saying this is easy. What happens when a family member dies suddenly? No one in existence can prevent themselves from having an uncontrolled negative emotional reaction to tragedy. That's okay. Perfection is not the goal, just continual improvement.

focus-pocus 4y ago

I would rather say these might be results of enlightenment, not enlightenment per se.

Matticus_Rex 4y ago
It's the KR to the Enlightenment O.

tonguetrainer 4y ago

Otherwise known as charity (as described in 1 Corinthians 13). Because "charity never faileth".