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Who you are cannot be put into words. When the concept-ridden mind subsides, the Light of the Infinite begins to shine through. Once this Light or Awareness is sufficiently aligned to, words are no longer for you; they are merely tools to assist others in awakening to the Infinite within. ~ Bentinho Massaro
In my experience, even self-proclaimed “healthy skeptics” carry with them a vibration of non-wellbeing, mistrust and non-freedom. It feels more fixed and limiting than the skeptics themselves are generally able to see and admit.
The psychological root of skepticism tends to be a fear of being vulnerable, wrong or deluded, with an additional fear of being ridiculed by others, or by society at large, for being vulnerable, wrong or deluded.
Since most people already have deep doubts about themselves, their dreams, and what is possible in life, the attitude of skepticism is one that tends to easily spread and rub off on others. This is especially true for those who are less intellectually adept than the skeptics they are around. A smart skeptic’s influence on those with lesser intellectual confidence can often slow down their vibration, self-confidence and self-belief, as well as their general energy level and vitality.
Almost all of those I am aware of who left a deeply positive, ground-breaking mark on this Earth, benefitting millions of lives in inspiring ways, were generally imaginative, intuitive dreamers at heart, who believed that virtually anything is possible or accomplishable. This does not mean they were not also “realistic” from time to time, but skepticism and realism were definitely not their primary foundations. I think the only type of truly healthy skepticism is curiosity. Curiosity in its purest form is that which we see in a young child: an empty, truly open-minded attitude in which the only intention is to get to the bottom of what’s going on; to experientially understand, or grok, how something operates—without bias or a predetermined mindset.
Since skepticism, by its very definition, is never unbiased, it can also never lead to truly objective results or conclusions. A skeptic may be able to arrive at a conclusion that makes sense within certain agreed upon parameters, but to believe that this means a particular mystery, phenomenon, experience or paradox has actually been fully understood is folly.
Bentinho: Uhmm… not really. I have experienced it, so it was confirmed to me, and it’s locked-in at a really deep level. But I don’t have a memory of it based on images or anything, at least not in the conventional sense of memory, because memory was not there. It’s a different state of awareness, you could say. It’s a state of awareness or being with no contents. What if this substratum of being is always here, but is so subtle and formless that we have not trained ourselves to be able to recognize it consciously?
There are many ways to say all this, but we could say that there is consciousness and then there is awareness, which is beyond consciousness. Awareness would be the container or essence of mind; consciousness would be the personal mind that experiences itself as the subject relating to the objects of its dynamic focus. But consciousness is not always aware of the pure existence, or awareness, “underneath” itself. If you learn to become aware of that awareness, that deeper, formless I am or beingness, then you can stay with it and more or less become absorbed in it by keeping your attention on that subtle, formless realization. You can lock your attention onto it, and then, no matter what happens inside of consciousness, no matter what happens experientially, your sense of existence can stay intact.
Bentinho: Yes. But what I’m saying is that awareness is always here, whether you are aware of it or not. That’s the only distinction I would make.
Russell D.: But also, if I was drunk right now, my awareness would be decreased. I would be less aware of my sensory data and my thoughts. I would be less aware of my awareness. My awareness and my self awareness would be decreased. Bentinho: I would say your sense of awareness and your sense of self awareness would be decreased, but that which knows that your sense of awareness is decreased is aware no matter what. It’s formless and indestructible. It’s immaterial yet real.
AI Summary
Spiritual Conversations With a Skeptic by Bentinho Massaro presents key insights from the Taoism tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.