Why can we be repulsed to the point of vomiting by the smell of someone else's fæces, while we can do the dirtiest fart and enjoy it? Have you ever heard of anyone enjoying someone else's fart? Neither have I.

It seems we all understand that one person's fæces smells just as bad - in general - as anothers, and yet for some reason this mechanism kicks in - this non-aversion - when we know the smell originates from our own bodies. I have heard the reason for this is so that we can monitor our internal chemical system adequately - it seems we are genetically predisposed to not be aversed to the smell of our own internal chemistry. That would make a lot of sense.

There appears to be a profundity hidden in all this - that we have a capacity to inhale the fumes of our toxin-ridden stools and not be perturbed by them - nay, we apparently even enjoy it to an extent. Does this mean that suffering is all in the mind? That we have the capacity to bypass any kind of negative experience - whether i...

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"I wandered lonely as a cloud, That floats on high o'er vales and hills" - William Wordsworth

"The Master's name, Xu Yun, is translated into English as "Empty Cloud", a translation which often confuses people. We all know what a cloud is, but what, we wonder, is meant by "empty"? [...]
A person can reach out and try to grab the mist, but no matter how hard he tries to snatch it, his hand always remains empty. Yet, no matter how desiccated his spirit is, the Empty Cloud will envelop it with life-giving moisture; or no matter how his spirit burns with anger or disappointment, a soothing coolness will settle over him, like gentle dew." Empty Cloud: The Teachings of Xu Yun - A Remembrance of the Great Chinese Zen Master

These kinds of descriptions of a human's existence are often...

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It seems our thoughts and the physical universe can be seamlessly linked by the following 'building blocks':

Energy>Elementary Particles>Atoms>Organic Molecules>Amino Acids>Neurotrasnmitters>Thoughts

Energy - The most fundamental 'substance' constituting all physical things. It flows and is present in the space all around us.

Elementary Particles - A position in space where energy has 'condensed' to such a degree that it is considered a discrete entity from any surrounding energy.

Atom - A nucleus containing composite particles consisting of elementary particles, which is surrounded by electrically charged elementary particles.

Organic Molecule - A combination of different compounded atoms which incorporates carbon-hydrogen bonds.

Amino Acid...

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It seems we can point-blank ignore logical reality at times; most often when we are attached to some source of happiness out of fear of possibly having to lead a life of emptiness and depression.

For example, a nicotine addict will ignore the fact there is not one healthy or positive argument to be had for smoking cigarettes. The attachment to the nicotine consumption process just over-rides the logic faculties and false arguments are generated from the subconscious. The cravings for more nicotine are very strong when one has been consuming it.

In the West, a woman can often brag about the number of sexual encounters she has had - the more encounters, the more of an ego she can have. If one was to suggest that she is making prostitution sound fashionable, and that she is possibly aspiring to be a prostitute, then she could very well begin to get upset. It is apparently more difficult for a woman to feel feminine and empowered by appealing to the sides of men which are honourable and upstanding,...

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Recently I saw a documentary about natural water births, which emphasised over and over again the birthing mother's need to withdraw in to a trance where her intellectual and anxiety-related faculties are not triggered. In order to encourage the mother to let go of her body, and let it react instinctively, they practiced floating her in a pool of water - something most people have experienced I am sure.

This sensation of letting go in order to remain afloat; knowing that any movement, forced effort, or struggle will cause one to 'go under', is the most valuable reference to relaxing completely I have come across yet. Further, I am sure the simultaneous sensation of having contact with water brings about feelings of being safe and conected to something larger while in the womb.