Weekly Webinar #50: “An Introduction to Epicureanism”

This could be one of the best webinars you have ever produced, thank you. Lots of people whingeing that this was boring... fuck them.

After drinking Ayahuasca few times it was clear to me that death is not the end. The problem is how we face the moment of death and we prepare while still alive.

I like to explain death like the interval between dreaming and consciousness. You don't remember when the dream began you know that you were dreaming because you woke up. Consciousness likes to repeat patterns. Nothing happens 1 time

Well said brother. I enjoyed reading this perspective

I don't think that death is eternal nothingness. I think that that our physical bodies and physical minds die off and certainly do not recall anything prior to our lives and may not experience anything afterwards. Our material "Newtonian" bodies die off and whither and may experience nothing, but mass-energy cannot be created nor destroyed without a nuclear explosion, and that doesn't happen when you die. The energy that is your "mind" which is separate from your physical body and ego thereof, is not destroyed by death. In fact, I can chop you a little piece at a time, finger by finger, organ by organ, and if still sufficiently alive enough, you can still answer the question "who am I?" Even if I lobotomize the language center in your brain and all of your motor skills, language skills, and just about anything short of vital functions, you will still be able to answer, at least to yourself "Who Am I?" (Johhny's Got His Gun style). Your body and brain are machines. "You" are not your body/brain, "you" (the mind) "have" a body/brain. "you" (the mind) is quantum, and you are not a separate entity from this universe. Some very basic concepts in quantum mechanics, such as superposition, open the radical possibility to the existence of other dimensions. Goedel's Incompleteness theorem (PROVEN in the early 20th century) points to the notion that any system capable of self reference, such as math, language, or LOGIC (for rationalists out there) CANNOT prove itself. Anyone who insists that logic and reason and evidence points to truth behind objective reality is merely making a circular argument at best. You cannot deny that the only way you experience this objective reality is through a subjective apparatus that is only designed to make your animal body survive here on Earth. In reality, the universe is full of paradoxes that defy logic (Reimann's paradox, Goedel, paradoxes within quantum physics) and logic is not infallible. The idea that there is an objective reality is quite frankly naive. You are merely a lens for which the greater mind of the universe ("God" = the greater pool of consciousness which encompasses our own) can observe itself. You are simply an offshoot of the universe, just like a mushroom. At some point, your body will return to the universe that bore it, however, the mind is eternal, interconnected and interwoven with the quantum "god" aspect universe, it is a part of the conscious intelligent energy which compelled evolution. This energy does not simply dissipate or get destroyed, it re-enters the circle of life, and the cycle of evolution, and recreates itself in the form of another ego or entity that is entirely separate from the body which you occupy now. Life, creation, intelligence, and the way through which it is being expressed are all evolving (we are giving rise to machine intelligence, imagine what things will look like in 200 years? Life as we know it might be long gone). There is enough intelligence in a DNA molecule for it to know how to replicate and proof-read itself. There is enough intelligence in a tree to grow towards sunlight. This is not coincidence, its part of a grand design. We merely occupy a flash of a millisecond within the Universe's infinite grand design, and we spend it working in cubicle farms and staring at phone screens, "hustling" and "making money". It really is futile. But we're also very fascinated by the unknowable and we try to bargain our way into a little sense of what's happening, and we call that philosophy and spirituality. However it is akin to understanding the plot to "The Godfather" by only watching one second of the entire 4 hour movie only once. I don't know why were here, all I know is that it is FUBAR, and that the more answers I find out, the more depressed I become.

OJ

I agree with the blank nothingness experience of death; almost drowned more than once and experienced a black emptiness that had no time/existence etc etc and I had not a care after the struggle of trying not to drown. Then all of a sudden getting revived and snapping back to consciousness. Truly a strange experience. Whether it was blacking out or not existing for moments, got the same conclusion that the actual death doesn't worry me, but the method of death definitely is the only concern. Very cool webinar, I'll have to check into Epicureanism👍

That observation is a little cruel. It was hard to follow. I am more interested in the meaning, outcome and application. How does this benefit or impaire you life.

Truly dull and boring webinar.

'... I fear not the death but the mismanagement of my life.' Absolutely agree here.

Very boring.

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If you haven’t already seen it, watch his webinar on Zen in the Art of Archery. The book talks about equanimity. While it’s not exactly the same as patience, patience should come as second nature to those who live equanimous.

Thank you for posting the replay since I was unable to show up. This is unrelated but would it be possible to make a video talking about patience? I see how it is important to have but am struggling to develop it. Just don't want to let my emotions control me and believe this to be key, and there may be others who also would like to know.