And yet you make not even the smallest attempt to answer 99 percent of questions people ask you in your threads.
See, you misunderstand when people tell you to get help, or see a therapist. Their job is not to help you find the right thing, or sort this out for you. It’s to help you deal with your obsessions, and get them to stop bothering you so much. They’re not there to confirm your beliefs.
You might not find a therapist who works for you the first time, but it would truely benefit you to try.
Until then, Machinaforce, have you ever heard the phrase, “can’t see the forest for the trees”? You’re so caught up in trying to examine each little detail, you miss what’s going on in front of you. In your quest to find the right thing, it could pass you by.
HOWEVER, it’s very unlikely it exists. There are no guarantees in life. There is no one answer. You need to stop and accept that perhaps the “right thing” is that there IS no “right thing”.
I looked it up, and it fits him to a tee – especially the part about “analysis paralysis”
He says that, yes. If they really do, then he ought to seek professional help, but he need not be diagnosed by any arm chair psychiatrists.
Yep. I engaged sincerely for several days on one of his earlier threads. I saw him come surprisingly close to a break through many times, just enough to keep my hopes up that there was a point in staying with the discussion, but… yeah. I am only commenting here now because I have concerns about some of the people who might read what is being said to and about him.
It does sound like me but I think the wording could be tweaked around a bit, though overall it pretty much fits me.
Thing is I want to let this all go and just move on with my life already. I want to know how other people do it. How people can just look a things on a facebook page like this: Ndileka Khumalo | Facebook
Or read things like: “Real peace is happiness. Pleasures do not form happiness.” or “If the mind is distracted, ask the question prompty, “do whom do these thoughts arise?”. That takes you back to the “I” point promptly.” and “Avidya is ignorance. It implies subject and object. Become the subject and there will be no object.” (these are all examples in case people don’t have a facebook account, it’s from some guy called Sri Ramana Maharshi)
And then just move on with their lives. I want that. I used to be able to do that in fact, just let it go. But years ago when I wanted to learn about world religions and starts with Buddhism (because why not it was one I had no exposure to unlike others that I somewhat knew of) I found that these things stuck, and hard. When I shared my concerns with my therapist and told him all the lines and sayings that bothered me he was just “so what?” and I was shocked (well surprised really) that other people don’t react to any of this stuff the way that I do. I wanted their secret, why was I getting hung up and tying a noose around my neck while the rest of the world seems to just let this stuff go.
Which is why people are suggesting you might want to talk to a therapist, who can help you learn to let this stuff go, and stop obsessing over it.
Something’s not adding up. The OP claims he’s so obsessed with religion that a vague Facebook post about religion paralyzes him into inaction…
…but not the religion he was raised in, and for that matter what religion he was raised in. He doesn’t get triggered by Christian, Jewish, or Islamic beliefs, only Buddhist thoughts. And he doesn’t realize “Catholic” and “Christian” aren’t different things. It’s a very weird look at things.
Then why not try starting here:
“The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time, there ain’t nothin’ to it! Any fool can do it!’
On this, I’m pretty sure the Buddha and James are in agreement!
Once you’ve mastered that, consider only then diving deeply into philosophy!
Good Luck!
Because it’s easier to reject god for which there isn’t evidence for rather than the claims of buddhists.
Do you have a more specific example? You’ve asked about a number of philosophical questions in the past, are these the kind of things you feel are unresolved? Could you point to one of your threads that provides an example of an unresolved issue for you?
A lot of people can understand wanting the ‘win’, and wanting to prove people wrong. And plenty of people also are frustrated with the concept of “Let’s agree to disagree”. What stands out here is that you sound like someone who believes there is one true answer but you don’t know what that answer is. Did you feel like that as a child being raised as a Christian, or did that come about later in life?
What do you think is the evidence for, as you put it, “the claims of buddhists”? Spell this out: if you think they claim doing X and Y and Z will keep you from being fearful or troubled or disappointed, then — what? Have you tried it? Did it work?
If you tried it and it worked, then (a) that’s evidence, and (b) mazel tov. And if you tried it and it didn’t work, then that’s your cue to loftily say something dismissive about evidence while rejecting those proclamations. But if you haven’t yet tried it, well, then — why not go get yourself some evidence?
Would you say this about any other field of medicine? I know my leg’s not working right, and “they” want to stop the bleeding and put the broken bones in a cast… but they’re just human, right?
Many of your obsessions can be made less painful with counseling and medication. But every time anyone tries to help, you say “Nope, not going to do that.” How many times are people on this board going to offer you bandages and a cast only to have you hobble by saying “I’ve been trying to walk lots of different ways. And nothing’s working, it’s really painful… So I’m not going to get my broken leg fixed.”
What evidence do the Buddhists–or whoever you’re obsessing about this week–have? Be specific. Be very specific.