CarrieMpls said:

Self-discipline.

...Well, that and the realization that nothing is worth having.

Ace said:

ah, yeah, I have none of that.

And it's not worth having anyway.

CarrieMpls said:

Different things work for different people. For me, trying to discipline myself into having no desires would simply not work. I'm a fiery, desirous person. So I do what I wrote above: try to just be okay with wanting. Being a "rock in a river" is a visualization that works really really well for me: a rock doesn't try to pull the water to it or push it away, doesn't fall apart if the water is too hot or too cold. It just stays the same rock, no matter what the water is doing as it rushes past.

By the by: littlemissG's threads are always great. I would ask for more and save them to my hard drive, but that is strictly forbidden here at the Zen monastery. In fact, I am typing this on a contraband laptop.

Ace said:

Total lack of discipline.

Ace said:

Me too. Just clean out your closet see how much unimportant stuff you have that you sweated over getting. I've learned that I'll never miss what I never had, because I don't even miss stuff I got.

littlemissG said:

oh, I don't want 'things'. I have very little in terms of material posessions, really. And not having 'things' has never been an issue or bother of mine.

FunkMistress said:

So am I (my friend who believes in astrology says it's because I'm an Aries). I've just channeled those things into passion and desire for self-discipline.

littlemissG said:

Marry me?

Ace said:

You flatter me you wise and noble person.

Ace said:

Big ol' Aries here.

Good luck with that!

FunkMistress said:

I can easily observe my life objectively in terms of what my plans for the coming years are and what I have achieved in the past for example, but to be objective about my emotions and desires? I don't think I could disconnect myself from them enough to be able to see them objectively, nor would I want to. I sometimes get engulfed by my negative feelings, which sucks of course, but I need to go through that in order to get engulfed by positive feelings later on (which is a big part of what makes life worth living). I truly think that you can't shrug off one without simultaneoulsy shrugging off the other too.

That said, if you offer to teach me the buddhist method on one of my bad days I'd probably accept it gladly.

FunkMistress said:

Well, I'm not sure if I believe in your nature being ruled by the stars, but I'm already over the rise.

retina said:

Not true. Once you learn that this is a myth, you'll really be engulfed by positive feelings.

retina said:

Well, that's one of the scariest things about practicing non-attachment: you give up, in part, your attachment to pleasure. It doesn't mean you don't experience pleasure, though. In fact, it makes pleasures even more enjoyable because you're not trying to hold on to them or keep them from ending. You learn to simply be present for each moment, which allows you to experience things more purely.

I'm not claiming to have mastered anything here, just things I try to practice, which have helped me tremendously in terms of learning to be happy most of the time.

Ace said:

Again, I strongly disagree with you. Neither of us is into Angelina Jolie but I guess our similarities end there.

Most people believe that once that have this, that or the other, they'll be happy (and usually one of those things is a "significant" other).

You don't need anybody to "complete" you (Cameron Crowe ); everything you need is within yourself. Looking towards others for validation can only lead to disappointment and unhappiness.


She said "Ain't nobody gonna give nobody
What they really need anyway" - Springsteen ("Dry Lightning")

FunkMistress said:

I think I will start feeling less attached to the things in life as I get older, but as it is now I'm right in the middle of it, firmly strapped into the rollercoaster and along for the ride no matter what my opinion about it might be. I do feel more comfortable with it these days than I did when I was younger though, and more importantly I feel that it's okay to be me. I don't have to try to be anyone else or act like anyone else, and that feels great.

retina said:

That's awesome.

retina said:

Fuck you both.

retina said:

Well, this is why you are "engulfed by negative feelings".

littlemissG said:

I am relatively always happy. You have to understand that our simple existence sustains itself on "Polar Opposites". Meaning if you never endured sadness you would never know what happiness was and vise versa. When either occurs I accept them as it is something that simply must occur to remind me that I am part of a beautiful life full of all these natural metaphysical attributes!

Whap!

retina said:

Not true.

FunkMistress said:

Ace said:

No it's not. It's not some kind of attitude that I have chosen, it is a fact that positive and negative go hand in hand and balance each other in this universe. If you haven't experienced the negative as strongly as I have, then I'm sorry, but then you have not had a chance to experience the positive as strongly as I have either. I hope you will one day though.

littlemissG said:

i'm happy. wouldn't trade lives with anyone else

One of the main obstacles standing between us and happiness is the bullshit messages we're bombarded with on a daily basis from music, books, magazines, TV, movies, etc. Once you learn to tune out most of that nonsense, you'll find that your happiness will increase tenfold.

Happy but a little stressed at the moment.

I am in existance. In existance I am happy with my existance. Happyness is an illusion of the mind.

JustErin said:

Congratulations to your 5000th post. I bet you didn't even notice when it happened. You have now become completely assimilated by the org.