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> How can one do the same? Would you like to have an experience evaluating your self-worth? I'm making decent money (enough to survive to western world standards, which is the golden standard when you look at it)
and I still remember fondly helping an injured person survive, as part of my job as a rescue worker. It was a team effort, I got to meet them 6 months afterwards, they were kind enough to bring their x-ray to the station, prompted by the doctors that said our team effort prevented them from being permanently paralyzed. I remember my childhood friend, who is a trauma surgeon, smiling at me knowingly: yeah, it's the ultimate high. You don't beat death or the devil, you get to tip the scale a bit, but it is the ultimate high. Do you want to experience a moment of true self evaluation? That is cheap, but not easy. Meditate on the moment of you own death. One suggested practice is breathing exercises. No one path is better than the other, but this may be one of the paths: - Count your exhalations, backwards, from 10, on a loop. Sit or walk during. - Try to locate where your mind is in your body. Is it in your head? Where? Keep asking: "Where is my mind?". It is not the words that matter, direct your attention to finding the source of your attention. - Listen to silence around you, no matter the noise. Noise can be words in your head, loud movement external to you, whatever, listen to the silence around it.
If you combine these three activities, breath count, mind location, silence focus, the "daily" mind becomes overwhelmed. Don't do this when driving or any other activity that requires 100% attention. As far as self-evaluation, wherever you go, there you are. Whether people remember you or not, is besides the point. What do you really remember about yourself? |
This was probably the most terrifying thing I have experienced in my life. I haven't been brave enough to do it twice, though I understand the potential benefits.