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ORIGINAL: porcelaine

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ORIGINAL: NorthernGent

Mind and person - are they two distinct entities, or one and the same, porcelaine?

Greetings NorthernGent,

In my opinion they exist in the same body but aren't always on one accord. And to truly examine that comment requires consideration of other elements including ones emotions and outside influences. Our beliefs aren't always put into play and in many instances people profess things that they rarely adhere to with any continuity. So no, i don't agree that 'the way' an individual espouses is necessarily how the party lives. Observation and time usually afford one an ability to see the disconnection between the two. i consider the 'way' many discuss as the 'ideal' they aspire to uphold or readily embrace. It is a work in progress from my perspective. 

Namaste,

~porcelaine

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ORIGINAL: NorthernGent

I feel there's something in the Buddhist philosophy here in that there is no enduring self, rather a bundle of ideas and perceptions that are in a constant state of flux; rather different to the Christian philosophy of the soul.

I would lean towards the Buddhist view, and this has ramifications for whether or not there can possibly be 'one true way'.

And, yes, there is talking and then there's doing.

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There is one way: My way. Then there are all the many ways other people get it wrong trying to do it their way, which they can't help because they are not me. This is how I think of it and how you would, too, if you weren't you. If you disagree you prove me right! It's an unavoidable conclusion, to be accepted as fact without question. Few things are as satisfying as a wholly self-serving ideology nestled snugly in the unshakable certainty of egocentric delusion.

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ORIGINAL: porcelaine

quote:

ORIGINAL: NorthernGent

I feel there's something in the Buddhist philosophy here in that there is no enduring self, rather a bundle of ideas and perceptions that are in a constant state of flux; rather different to the Christian philosophy of the soul.

I would lean towards the Buddhist view, and this has ramifications for whether or not there can possibly be 'one true way'.

And, yes, there is talking and then there's doing.

Greetings NorthernGent,

Getting to the state of No-Thing is an intentional undertaking. One doesn't wake up in that place without a decided effort to unite the divergent parts to behold the mirage called Self. The idea isn't merely found in Eastern teachings, but Esoteric Christian paths echo the same. In the latter is it commonly found in the ideologies behind Will and the determination one must make along the journey concerning which one we'll adhere to - self, society, or the Higher Self. This is the real meaning behind "as above so below" though the missing portion that's rarely uttered reverses that concept. As below (self) so above (Self).

Namaste,

~porcelaine