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ted Riley

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I'm most anxious to shed my duality ridden consciousness. Does any one have any suggestions about the best way(s) to start?

i'm sick of myself. i crave a larger picture of things. i would appreciate any suggestions as to how an ego-cenric person, me, can get started on freeing myself. that sounds stupid. i can imagine myself telling someone to just do it. i need some distance from my own picture of reality.

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  • daniel hehir 20+

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    Dec 21 2012: Gave you a thumbs up .... Did that help ...?

  • greg dahlen 30+

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    Dec 21 2012: Well, one way might be to somehow improve your community. For example, I walk a lot. When I see a really big piece of trash on the sidewalk or in the street, I'll usually pick it up and find a trashcan or dumpster to put it in, perhaps by walking up the nearest alley.
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    natasha nikulina 50+

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    TED Translator
    Dec 21 2012: Habit is stronger than reason, think of yourself less, don't confuse it with thinking less of yourself :)
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    Robert Winner 50+

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    Dec 21 2012: How does a ego-centric person have a problem with duality.
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    Ken brown 30+

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    Dec 20 2012: Go hitch hiking, retouch the different faces of man.

  • daniel hehir 20+

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    Dec 20 2012: Trust your duality with this thought Ted, ... It's a quote by a man named Rudolf Steiner


    ...thinking must never be regarded as merely a subjective activity. Thinking lies beyond subject and object. It produces these two concepts just as it produces all others. When, therefore, I, as thinking subject, refer a concept to an object, we must not regard this reference as something purely subjective. It is not the subject that makes the reference, but thinking. The subject does not think because it is a subject; rather it appears to itself as a subject because it can think. The activity exercised by man as a thinking being is thus not merely subjective. Rather is it something neither subjective nor objective, that transcends both these concepts. I ought never to say that my individual subject thinks, but much more that my individual subject lives by the grace of thinking.

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        natasha nikulina 50+

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        TED Translator
        Dec 21 2012: It's just a sophisticated deception :) Ego tries to convince itself that it is real.

        • daniel hehir 20+

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          Dec 21 2012: Not at all Natasha,

          Read it again. Slowly. It's really a revolutionary statement!

      • daniel hehir 20+

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        Dec 21 2012: Hi Mike,

        Sorry, .....Could be I misunderstood your question. I do think I know the feeling though...

        Life's a bitch ... and then you die ....
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      natasha nikulina 50+

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      TED Translator
      Dec 21 2012: Daniel,
      we find what we seek. Tell me what you seek and I'll tell you what you've found :)

      It's revolutionary in terms that ' thinking ' is viewed as a phenomenon which is prior to to individual subject. It's not you that think , it's ' thinking' that makes you you.
      The question arises : what is ' thinking ' ? It can't jump to the category of God or spirit, or consciousness .
      In this category nothing is defined or known but what is more or less clear is that neither of those think.
      I may be totally wrong , but i see ' thinking' here as a system as ' collective ' neither subjective nor objective but both.And i agree with that. But individual being and thinking is a substructure , a collective ego, if you will; it is not all inclusive.It makes you what you think you are, but it is not who you are.
      If it is what i think it is, what is revolutionary here ? Maybe you see it differently and maybe you are right, so.... what did i miss ?

  • ted Riley

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    Dec 20 2012: Thanks Shannon, being left handed, i may process like you. :)
    Thanks for the message. Nice to be in knowledgable company.

    To put a finer point on where I am in this....process, I can see the goal but don't know how to break the stubborn desire to hang on to "myself". It's very frustrating. But, I feel that I'm going to be able to do it.

    Hope to talk to you again, Ted
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      Shannon Sennefelder

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      Dec 21 2012: Hi Ted,
      Change is often met with hesitation, frustration and even stubbornness (as you mentioned). To make an educated guess at what may be underneath your choice of words to hang on to "myself," ma have something to do with this world view: You KNOW you. You are USED to you. Albeit, you currently and maybe historically frustrated with your actions/choices or dare I say, way of being; at least you know what to expect.

      I also know from my own experience that the first step of change is often the scariest/most challening and most rewarding. I'm about to embark on something pretty darn cool and scary and exciting and, and and....
      in 2013.

      I'm unsettled enough and frustrated enough and eager enough to take this leap~

      So, I'll pose a pondering question to you: How uncomfortable are you, really? Is your frustration occasional or fleeting? Or is it a new permanent/consistent state of being? Or, somewhere in between?

      Keep grappling. You're on to something here and its self discovery.
      Stay the course. You're worth it~

      In solidarity,
      Shannon
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    Feyisayo Anjorin 50+

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    Dec 20 2012: Read the Bible and dare God to reveal Himself to you.
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    Shannon Sennefelder

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    Dec 20 2012: Ted,
    As cliche as it may sound, you've already begun. (yes, you can sigh, now). You took action and I'll assert pretty massive action by putting it "out in the world."
    Here's what I know: You're using very specific words that lead me to assert the potential intensity of how unsettled you are with your current self. Ie. Sick of, crave larger, get started, freeing, stupid, just do it.

    What I also know is that we are all wired differently. Ie., I lead with my right brain: creativity, passion, energy. I follow with my Left: Logic, details, plans/steps. Therefore, when I'm searching for answers on any subject, I gravitate first towards high energy, big picture, global, colorful etc. Once I'm satisfied, I then look into details, processes, plans etc.

    Not knowing you, I took a risk with offering an example to support you. Please let me know if this works/doesn't.
    Stay the course my new friend. You're in a great place for exploration, options, ideas and possibilities.
    In solidarity,
    Shannon
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    Linda Taylor 50+

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    Dec 20 2012: I will tell you exactly what I told my kids. To help yourself, you must help others. That's the only thing that works. It is the only way you will resolve your duality. It shows you the unity of human kind.

    • ted Riley

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      Dec 20 2012: Thanks Linda

      That's advice that is repeated in all I read. Will follow it, with gratitude. Ted
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        Linda Taylor 50+

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        Dec 20 2012: Good to know it is written somewhere. I had to learn it the hard way.
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    Ken brown 30+

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    Dec 20 2012: Could you explain a little further about "Duality" Ted? just for dummies like me who can't see what you mean or anyone for that matter?

    • ted Riley

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      Dec 20 2012: The sense that the "me" I've always believed in is a mistake. In other words, a false self that seperates me from a true reality in which there is no Me or You.
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