The Good Life Revisited — On Selfless Integration (I005)

Words: 4164 ⁘ Length: 45:39 min
⁘ Created: 2024-09-17 ⁘ Updated: 2026-10-01
The Good Life Revisited — On Selfless Integration (I005)Play

When we seek a life of purity and integration, of internal and external reconciliation and harmonization, the road is long and the map of considerations is dense from edge to edge. Recognizing the problem of our self-centered orientation. Seeking our common and universal concerns as the basis of equal vision. Understanding the nature of action and reaction in the types of feedback loops that sculpt the unfolding of our reality.

Then the spectrum of pollutions that distort our engagement — some evident and others subtle. Resigning from selfishness without deprecating ourselves. Integrating our capacities into the collective. Recognizing the actual underlying needs of others with empathic reflection. Fanning the good spark in each being. In kindness, compassion and equanimity. The world as our training ground, learning from the book of life.

#InsightSeries #Selfless #Integration #Ethics #Purification #Commonality

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Greetings from underneath the good banana tree. We are following up on the topic of self-purification in interaction, touched on in earlier discussions. Specifically on the topic of living the good life of selfless integration. Okay? In here, there are a couple of premises to cover before we enter into the more hands-on orientation. All right?

First of all, the self as the subject in its finite state. We are a fractured creature driven by self-centered agendas. And this is fundamentally problematic. At times, we reap transitory gains, and again, we encounter misery. Our happiness solely depends on the contents of our little box, and as such, it's not very much to go by, is it? Okay?

So, we'd like to get beyond the little box you've created for yourself, and enter into the realm of an integrated sense of self. A reality where the self, the consciousness embodied in a particular vessel, is no longer fractured and fragmented from the collective, from the totality of the conscious system of existence, of which you, me, and the other fellow, the countless sentient beings are each examples. We'd like to enter there, for it is a source of collective benefit, and also significant peace and significant potential and benefit. Okay?

Our Common Concerns as Threads of Integration

In there, toward integration, we have to have something to integrate by, with, via the means of, right? We have to find points of connection, points of reflection, through which such an integration may happen. And in there, we have both general and universal, or plural and non-dual, points of reference. In here, the more tangible one is the field of abstract, general connections that form the basis of our vision of equality and integration between ourselves and different sentient beings. Like strings between equivalent or equal principles within me and within the other person.

Here we have the physical body. Bones, flesh, blood, etc. In a coating of skin with some hair for decoration in places of choice. An obvious general commonality with all the burdens that come with having a physical body subject to disease and decay. There we have a shared concern.

Again, emotions. Happiness, sadness, love, hate, fear, safety, and so on, in the different flavors, born of different conditions. These are all concerns and commonalities that we share, based on which we can relate. Again, with varying capacities of intellect, there are regardless certain patterns of reason, of analytical cognition, through which we human beings solve the problems, or at least attempt to, in our lives. These are all points of commonality to seek for.

Even, we have attachments to particular identities, egos that are at times threatened, need to be defended, etc., etc. Doesn't have to be, but typically is. And so there are commonalities of concern that we can tap into and engage with other beings over something actually substantial. Something shared in a more universal context.

Now beyond all of these specific vectors, elements, dynamics, etc., what have you, there is also an underlying field of consciousness, a collective super-consciousness if you will, a rather non-dual reality. Like pure light reflecting through a prism. It exists as pure light prior to the refraction through the countless facets of a diamond. That's also there. And for one reaching for the root of consciousness, there is an exactly identical ancient companion in the core, underlying the cognitive process of all living beings. So there we have a certain point of very significant affinity with other beings as well. Okay?

So seek the threads of connection, seek the reflectors in you, in all the beings you encounter, in order to prepare yourself for integrated encounters. Okay?

Direct and Indirect Action Feedback Loops

In there, as we reflect, as we engage, there are certain feedback loops. Chains, trees, matrices, of causes and effects. The karma that really just simply means action. Action and reaction. There's more to it. There is a reaction, there is a consequence from each action.

With simple examples. I do a good thing to a particular person, addressing an actual, authentic need that in some manner improves their lives. Okay? An impression is made, a memory is formed. And suppose at some future point, I encounter this friend again. The unknown person, or even the whosoever it may be. This impression that has landed is there, and often produces a response that resonates with the impression that you made. Direct feedback loop. Be kind, receive kindness. Speak truth, hear the truth, etc.

And now suppose the person in question is not in a position to return the favor, or we may even never meet them again. The impression regardless continues on its journey. And they remember, once a nice thing was done to me, doing unto others as they would have done unto themselves, as was done. They pass it forward, and again, branching on, branching on, the loop, the branching, ever-branching fractal of the good impression that was planted, generates more good responsivity in the world around you, and in time encircles you, and the context in which you exist.

Feedback Projected with Your Impressions

And again, on a moral subtle level, impressions inside of you yourself, in your internal book of records, also is projected into the world before you, and to an extent is shaping your reality and the field of your experiences.

In here, suppose I told a lie, to gain advantage in a particular situation. Right? Maybe I got away with it, no one caught me lying. But I caught me lying, and I enter the next situation where I have something to gain from, and I'm looking suspiciously at the other person. Is he going to lie and take advantage of me, like I once did. Is he actually as I am — or as I was, but as I still carry. And with this, we are bleeding our falsehood into the environment.

If these burdens linger for long enough without being cleansed and reconciled, they even begin to transform our body language, and our physical appearance, our facial features, and so on. They all transform. Generated from the impressions that you have implanted through your actions in your mind.

And likewise, with good things. Here I always tell the truth, and in here, people can feel it. He is not a liar. He is a straightforward speaker of truth. They will also open up and disclose the hidden. Tell you their truth.

There is a certain creative power that is projected. Not from your mind as a matter of crafting, but as the cumulated totality of the impressions that you have planted in there. That is what projects, not a casting trick or a spell of conjuration that you pull off. That is simply hypnotism, manipulation, and so on. Not going to last over time, and significantly stressful. Do not play games. Be an authentic being. Okay?

So, these feedback loops all exist, and this understanding is there as a motivator for us to actually sincerely do good and not do evil, and let our thoughts, our words and actions generate a better reality for ourselves and for the collective of sentient beings in their countless states of being. Alright? So, these are some premises. And with this understanding, we look at engagement, interaction in integration. Okay?

Upgrading the Assets of the Little Self

In here, in the past, we were the lonely rider. We were an agent unto our finite selves. We had an agency set up in our box, jealously guarded, and other beings were potential foes. If their actions infringed on our field of cravings and our private agenda, even the friends became enemies, and so on. Right?

And in here, we had desires of many forms. We'd like to get out from the box and integrate into a broader perspective. From the little cardboard box into a cosmic, hypercube sort of upgrade of our plane of existence. Becoming integrated agents of the collective, of the unity of being.

And in there, we do not start with a blank slate. We already have a particular temperament, we already have particular capacities, and we already have particular desires and inclinations that in the past arose from these premises. Now, they do not need to be destroyed, eliminated or evaporated. When these desires, that we pursued for our own sake, are actually born of a more universal need of human beings, of sentient life.

Then there is potential there for the desire to be transmuted, to be transformed into a broader agenda. An agenda decoupled from the finite self. An agenda that can serve the multitudes, that can be of benefit to the many. And through all of these vectors that we carry with us, we become integrated agents of the agency in shared nature. Okay?

Selflessness as Universal Agency and Responsibility

In there, when we cut off the shackles of the little self and enter into a broader frame of reference, selflessness is not the same as self-deprecation. Self-sacrifice is not the destruction and the demise of yourself at the cost of others. In here, we are talking about vision of equality and an integrated system of components, each serving their functions in various capacities. And in there I have a certain capacity and I have a certain role, and I engage in it without an ulterior private motivation.

But it is not that I will let all of this be demolished in the interest of others. Just because they might like to have it so. In here, what I have is an integrated vessel with its capacities. It is no longer my private little ride. It is a vehicle, property of integrated universe incorporated.

I am holding the keys and I have been given the responsibility to drive it in a manner that serves the company purpose. And whatever contents that are in the back, to be distributed in a manner that results in the authentic good of the multitudes. I cannot simply squander it any which way. There is a responsibility and the responsibility is greater than the burden you had from the little joyride you were wrecking in your leisurely travels, okay? So there is a certain self-respect that is maintained. And there is certainly no connotation of being liberally exploited under the label of being selfless.

Here comes the other person. My new friend, the junkie off the street corner. Hey you spiritual beard person, give me a thousand dollars. And for what? I'm gonna buy food. Like, lots of food. Yeah right. Probably not going to happen, right? For them, I have something else in the back of the vehicle. And if possible, where possible, I will, since they've crossed my path, I will see if there is something I can do for their actual well-being.

But I am not here simply in order to eliminate everything. I am not a nihilist seeking to demolish everything and be done with it and get rid of it. No, I actually carry the good stuff, property of the universe. And I will allocate all of it appropriately, okay? In here, as in, we are now an agent of the universe, no longer the little me with a private eye looking for things we can put into a box.

The Gross Motivations Tainting Our Engagement

We have to be vigilant with the motivations underlying our engagement. Now, selfless action is action without expectation of any particular reward or outcome. And now these trappings, taints, pollutions in our motivation and intention. They come across a wide spectrum.

First on a more gross concrete level. Here I do a thing, a good thing. Suppose in here I give a teaching of wisdom and whatever, and perhaps a rich person will hear it and decide to become the patron of the holy man, and I will keep on posturing here as someone that they might like to sponsor. Gain material wealth, assets. This is entirely compromised and you have sold your soul for trivial gains. Okay?

Beyond that, we are looking at the pollution of enjoyment, senses. Here's a person, suppose he's got a restaurant. Whatever three-star Michelin restaurant or whatever. And his car broke on the road, so I'm a handy fellow, I fixed it up, but I saw the label at the back of the car and I know he's he's got the good stuff in his restaurant, so I'll help him fix his car in the middle of nowhere and anticipate an invitation for a fantastic dinner, right? There again, I was an entirely compromised, right?

Onward into when I do the good thing for the person in need, and I make sure that it is seen and witnessed by another that will take note and proclaim, "Here is the doer of good things, he is a good person, he is a helping person", and through that perhaps I have fame, reputation, prestige, positions even, in the world. My action has been conditional to social recognition.

The Subtler Pollutions in Our Engagement

Then internally, not in how others regard me, but how I regard myself. Here I do the good thing and here I am the good person, I'm the doer of good. Right? And I pamper my ego, construct my identity around the good things that I do. I mean, that may not be the worst possible ego, but it is regardless ego, and an ego is always problematic because it generates conditions. Suppose in here there is a person in need, but it doesn't quite sync with my usual line of do-gooding, and wouldn't significantly contribute to how I feel about myself as a good person, so I will ignore it. Now that is significantly compromised. Okay?

Again, a more subtle trapping. A problematic situation exists, requiring my abilities to resolve. And so I enter there with the orientation that through this I will gain new experience, new exposure, new insight, and from here, I come back bringing knowledge that I've extracted from my encounter. Okay? Again, that's also not fundamentally evil, but what is evil is when you do not do that because you do not have the prospect of gaining knowledge from it. So we'd rather get over that particular conditioning as well.

Again, also with emotions, right? Does it make me feel good and happy and peaceful if I do this, help a person, or if not, then never mind. I mean that's pretty based right. Your emotions cannot be the condition for helping others. Okay? Yeah. Brightness has come.

So, from there we are looking at good deeds and good thoughts as a meaning unto themselves, as a reward in their own right, without expectation of any-thing-ever at all in return. And through that, we exist in purity. We purify ourselves and we also bring purity to others. Again, these turn into feedback loops, impressions, latent, that will be emerging in their time. We are helping others by keeping ourselves straight on the clear and pure path. Okay?

So these are internal, primarily, considerations on our stance, attitude, orientation, into a life of selfless integration. Interaction for the benefit of the many.

Mirror Bridges of Empathic Insight

And we turn our lens to the others. You, you, and ye, and the everyone. Relating to them. Grasping their realms. Understanding their life at more depth. We do need that understanding, otherwise how do we relate and take appropriate measures. We cannot simply, based on our finite idea and assumptions, move forward. I mean we can, but the results may be entirely unpredictable, right? So we'd rather hone our orientation via empathic reflection.

Mirrors of all these beings. Stepping into their shoes, becoming them. Experiencing not only, not in terms of simply "well if I were in their shoes". No, but you actually are them in their shoes, including all of their mental composition, and from there, you can actually relate. Okay?

In here, we gain a bridge of insight. Initially, the connections are made by the commonalities between us and them. In time, there need not be a commonality present. Especially with the accumulation of encounters, you will have the reflections of the souls, of the many and the many, integrated and cross-referenced into your mirror hall of beings, somewhere back there in the spheres of your consciousness. You will have the innate ability to enter into and relate with a spectrum of diverse living entities. Okay?

Equal Stance — Friends Enemies or Nobodies

In here, just as we were watching our intention and motivation in terms of rewards, we also need to be watching our preferentiality or discrimination. In here, we have people we class as friends, family, loved ones. We have people who are neutral to us, to whom we are neutral, an indifferent relation. Again, we have people that we dislike, that may even be inimical, seek to harm us.

And in all of that, a baseline, equal vision that needs to exist, be cultivated. It is not that I only help my friend, and I may or may not help the unknown or the nevermind person. And I certainly will not help the foe. That does not cut the measure of integrated agency. Certainly, there has to be adaptation to the exchange, interface, receptivity, etc., of the different classes of relations, but regardless, the bottom line is we do not refrain from interacting with them in a manner that would lead to their authentic benefit. Okay?

Eye for Potentials — Fan the Good Spark

In here, we also need to have an eye for the potentials. If we simply look at the surface level, the clutter that people carry, and based on that, we assume that it's going nowhere, not worth the effort, or there's 20% of okay and 80% of a crap. So nevermind, moving on.

You have to fan the spark to bring out the flames. You have to give the benefit of doubt for each being that they may overcome their constraints, and the little bit of good underneath piles and piles of rubbish, will, given the opportunity, shine. In here we are giving them the gift of a context in which the better parts of their being can emerge to the surface. And that is one of the greatest gifts that we can give anyone, regardless of where it may lead. We are acknowledging a potential and hinting at a possibility of something better.

Attitude: Look for the good. Do not fixate on that which is compromised. Okay? Look for the good. It's not very complicated. Do good, look for the good. Try to bring out the good in others. Leads to more good, right? In here... Brightness has increased.

Of Kindness, Compassion and Equanimity

We are looking at kindness and compassion. Kindness is a more general thing, and compassion is a more specific thing. Kindness, we do good things for others, we address their needs, fulfill them in a way. In compassion, however, we specifically respond to a problem, the misery, and we seek to alleviate the misery in a sustainable way.

Not providing symptomatic fixes, but actually looking at the greater picture in which, through our contribution, this individual can continue with whatever that we have contributed towards a more wholesome, more well-rounded, more balanced life, With a greater freedom from the suffering that used to exist with the conditioning of their past, Proper compassion. Okay?

However, often happens, receptivity, a context is there, a situation is there, but receptivity does not exist, or things simply do not synchronize, in a manner where our agency, our contribution would be befitting. And in there, we have to temper our approach with detachment and equanimity. It is not that all things in the world are for us to fix, for us to help in.

If we feel driven in this manner, that's flag indicating we have been conditioned by a particular mental state.

We, beyond the call of duty, beyond the limit of reason, doggedly, are pushing our help unto others, whether they want it or not, whether it actually functions or not, and in here, the layers of conditioning and the seeking of rewards, the ego, the emotion, etc., etc., are significant.

So try to not go there. Retain a tranquil base. Equanimity, detachment. These living beings bear the results of their actions, they are the heirs to their journeys in life, and in time they will find their resolutions, and I may or may not play a role in it. This is a healthy orientation. Do not push the god-man gig. Be a detached agent, willing to pour yourself out when it's called for, and when not, then just don't. Okay?

How We Perceive Authentic Essential Needs

In here, how do we identify the authentic underlying needs of all these beings? We briefly touched on it earlier. Through introspection and through self-examination. First of all, by finding the generalities, by finding the universals in our beings.

The more crystallized they are for us, unto ourselves, the greater our perception into the essentials of other beings, and also the greater our perception of the overlays, the conditioning, and the distortions that have coated and contained the pure elements, the pure natural dynamics, that would not be problematic if left without the pollution of that individual's particular cravings.

So with this, through our own self-purification, we perceive a separation between essentiality and contamination, and we have means through which we can help refine and purify the actual essence in others, which leads to an authentic beneficial outcome, which leads them closer to actuality, self-awareness, self-realization even, and toward integration into the totality of existence. All right?

Trained and Cleansed by the Book of Life

So in here, we've glossed the dynamics of interaction and reflection, and it is certainly a mouthful, it's certainly a significant buffet. However, don't shy away from it. The buffet is there for you. It's there for all of us. It is there for the extraction, culmination, consummation, and absolution of all the potentials, all the capacities in all of human existence. All right?

So we have a fantastic playground here. The world is our bootcamp, the world is our training ground. Enter the field, engage with it. Make the most of it for yourself, as for every other being. Through this process, we have purification. We are challenged, our limitations are being rattled.

We shed more and more of our layers, progressively, until there are the essential elements and dynamics of reality, as the shape of our consciousness. And underlying or overarching, there is the pure undivided field of super-consciousness, the universality of sentience, prior to its coloration and pollution, as the unifying factor. It will be excavated through our actions in this world.

It doesn't matter if it is meditation that you do, if it is books of wisdom that you study, or if it is simply encounters with random people on the streets. Hearing their insights, sharing your reflections, and extracting through the process of life, the wisdom of the multitudes. Reading the book of life, all around you. Life as a whole is our training, not any particular practice.

Yes, we do certain things to prepare certain capabilities, to hone certain abilities, etc, to get us in the general right zones, but ultimately, every all things ever are there for us as our means of cultivation, of the absolution of existence, the complete union of the finite self with the collective system of existence, with the over-consciousness, and with whatever that may be beyond. That is beyond the concerns of today's topic.

All of these are there, and may be encountered, and will be established through engagement with the multiplicity of life. With all of its gritty conflicts with all of their beautiful resolutions. All right. With that, we'll conclude for the day. Keep up the good life. You will land on a field of peace, and happiness, and harmony. All right?