Have you guys ever had an epiphany?

[Castout]

I'm not chasing anything or trying to be anything than myself but that's some wisdom Skybird Now that is worth an applaud!

[Chad]

I'm pleased you were able to achieve this. I myself recently had one, and since then have had a different view on the world. The trip to Europe for the SubSim Meet 2009 was a real eye opener, there is more to this world than what it seems at first.

Around last year this time, I was contemplating joining the Navy, and in fact posted on here asking for peoples advice on the subject. Through counseling (more like group counseling, but not leaving out UndrSeaLcpl) I decided against it and continue with college, and am within several credits short of my bacheallors degree with a whole future infront of me.

As you mentioned, I was able to think of how it was when I was younger, thinking about how things are to be when you're older. I began to appreciate things, such as my parents and home life more, and am the happiest I've been in years!

As Sledgehammer mentioned too, I had a girlfriend, fiance, leave me, and it crushed my world. That was the original intent to join the navy, to get away. But through help from friends (online and not) and my family, I got through it though not completely happy till I moved to my current university, met some new people and girls and know there's definately more out there than I could ever imagine.

Best of luck in the future, and God bless Castout

[Jimbuna]

As we say in the UK Chad...."there are always plenty more fish in the sea"

[Platapus]

Can't say I have ever had an epiphany, but I have had a Satori.

Congratulations. The next question you need to answer for yourself is: what are you going to do about it?

How will you make your sphere of influence better?

[Castout]

Satori? Umm what's the difference of that to epiphany?

It's not about losing a girl for me. It never was at least in the long term. IT'S MORE ABOUT A BATTLE OF IDEOLOGY FOR ME. Besides it' better to not marry than marrying the wrong person imo and haven't seen a worthy girl in a very long time. It's just that people with beautiful heart are usually ugly on the outside while beautiful people are ugly in the inside. The most beautiful heart that ever felt was that of a Catholic nun while she was praying..but on the outside well she was not much on the outside. Her shell really protected her. I would not have guessed such a beautiful heart could exist inside her shell. Like I said better to stay single than marrying an ugly(in the inside) woman. And most people that I encounter if not all, are ugly and to certain extend stupid(without wisdom) and it doesn't take a spiritual contact to notice that, the bests are still untried too, pretty much untested. It takes a flood to test the foundation of a house until then you can't really tell.

I know now money is not my main goal in life. I've realized money is just not my cheese. I've accepted all that I've gone through. As for what I'm going to do next I'm going to LIVE eager to experience the next big thing to await what life has in store for me. To not be afraid of life. To see more possibilities in impossibilities. 2009 has been a barren year for me but then again it's not about the experience but the journey itself. I hope when my time is due I would die with the same feeling I felt three days ago when I had that epiphany. But I'm struggling whether to tell what came to me or to keep them myself, the ethics and consequences are not to be taken lightly though they are far in between. I've been pretty much silent in the past and afraid somebody would take advantage of my silence or even take credits for them(these people are low). I'm not crazy over recognition but I feel a little humiliation to those that put me down and persecute me would be somewhat an eye opener. Right now they are playing a broken song of victory over me. A fake smugness sort to say, ignorance and insult are their main weapons. To break free is my goal I guess.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Castout

Satori? Umm what's the difference of that to epiphany?

Satori (big time enlightenment of top grade in gold with oak leaves, plus fanfares and fireworks in the background ), Kensho (a brief moment of insight and understanding into one's own nature) or just Makyo (hallucination and fantasizing during meditation) - don't let yourself be concerned by these, its just technical terms and labels, and if you pay attention to it, it leads you back to where you were before the "event".

It's all too much thinking, that flatters the ego and keeps the intellect humming around in circles - and that makes focussing on such things and even craving for them a problem in itself, and it makes you running around and telling everybody what a clever Dick you are. I do not judge the specific claims in this thread (how could I, and why should I?), but by experience with dealing with a lot of people investing time and energy into what they considered to be a gaining of spiritual fitness I say that many people claim to have had this or that experience, and they followed specific practices and thought that to raise them any spiritual merits, and the more such merits, the closer to Nirvana they thought to be - and in reality they just had fallen for their own ego's mental creations. Don't step into that trap.

You can gain nothing that is not already inside you, and always has been, there is nothing additional from the outside that you must search for or can find and add to "yourself". So if you find out - why the fuss you make about it? Whether you call it Kensho or epiphany, means nothing, and only distracts you from the things you are actually doing. Meditation and having spiritual experiences, is no martial arts. There are no coloured belts to be gained, nor any badges you can wear on your jacket. Be focussed on what you do, don't rush ahead or lag behind with your mind, be aware of how your thoughts are working and form the image of your world. That is better than having a thousand clever thoughts about Satori. Instead of asking questions about Nirvana or Satori or epiphanies of feelings of God filling yourself, you should ask yourself just one question: "Who am I?".

I wasn't making it up it suddenly came to me clearly that chasing after money or financial success is not my life calling.

So you have accepted that you will be a financial failure. Congratulations! You will be living with your parents until they die, no interweb @ $8.25/ hr. No new clothes, Rhaman noodles three times a day...etc...etc...

Let me guess, European, or Obama Democrat. Kudos for your experience.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Chad

I'm pleased you were able to achieve this. I myself recently had one, and since then have had a different view on the world. The trip to Europe for the SubSim Meet 2009 was a real eye opener, there is more to this world than what it seems at first.

Around last year this time, I was contemplating joining the Navy, and in fact posted on here asking for peoples advice on the subject. Through counseling (more like group counseling, but not leaving out UndrSeaLcpl) I decided against it and continue with college, and am within several credits short of my bacheallors degree with a whole future infront of me.

As you mentioned, I was able to think of how it was when I was younger, thinking about how things are to be when you're older. I began to appreciate things, such as my parents and home life more, and am the happiest I've been in years!

As Sledgehammer mentioned too, I had a girlfriend, fiance, leave me, and it crushed my world. That was the original intent to join the navy, to get away. But through help from friends (online and not) and my family, I got through it though not completely happy till I moved to my current university, met some new people and girls and know there's definately more out there than I could ever imagine.

Best of luck in the future, and God bless Castout

@chad: Stick with school and you can't go wrong! Even though I'm not even remotley doing what my degree is in, it still totally opened up the door for me. find something (usefull) that you like to do learn it in and out and become really good at it, then make a career out of it..

[Castout]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

@chad: Stick with school and you can't go wrong! Even though I'm not even remotley doing what my degree is in, it still totally opened up the door for me. find something (usefull) that you like to do learn it in and out and become really good at it, then make a career out of it..

Of course school is number 1 whether you knw your calling by the time you enter tertiary education or not yet

Originally Posted by Skybird

Well, if you read me correctly you'll see that I defended you from a suspected accusation and did not say you were boasting, but I said that I assumed you to be exactly not on what i called a self-glorifying parade.

Ooops . I read you wrong?? So ashamed. Sorry about my babbling

Originally Posted by CastleBravo

I will vouch for Skybird, if that is necessary, and appologize for any insult you may feel. I don't think either of us accused you of being vain glorious. And even if we had done so niether of us are in a position to claim it about you.

GD
CM

Hmm no worry I didn't feel insulted in fact I feel surprised you guys don't try to contradict me . It's all cool. If there were people who insulted me it wasn't you guys on subsim. This post is for the world to see

Just that for the people around me their weapon of choice are ignorance and denial. Would love to discuss and ask say theology of death with people who really know it for example but I just never got the chance. My friends largely ignored me on my testimony(knowledge) on death because it doesn't fit the Roman catholic version. My mother is even worse wouldn't even want to listen. I put the facts from the bible too and get plainly ignored or worse refused to be listened to. Ignorance is really an effective weapon of choice! Sometimes they use denial too. Plainly denying things which is true. That's one of the reason I keep silent when I feel other people heart especially my own family, the other reason is ethics wouldn't want to embarrass them. I just needed to take a peek at their faces or I used facial expression once to convey to a priest which wasn't saying a thing entirely true and it worked since after staring at him in the eyes he revoked his speech, other than that I slipped my tongue once because I didn't agree to the person who was feeling it. Ignorance and denial often got to me. I know I'm considered enemy of a state which explains the discrimination(generous discount to my grades) and society pressure and the way my family treat me. Shame on them.

[Sailor Steve]

I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that much of that last statement of Castout's should be taken in the context of what he wrote in his signature.

I've never had an epiphany, and have slowly come to conclude that most of what I've ever believed is wrong. But that includes both the times I was a devout Christian and the brief period I tried being a devout atheist. My calling? I may have been denying it all my life, and it may have snuck back up on me recently. We'll see.

As for you, Castout, I'm behind you 100%. Some people will say that the internet is not a place to discuss personal issues too deeply, but that is one of the things I like about Subsim - for the most part I feel free to talk about almost anything.

I hope your newfound faith and orientation work out for the best.

[Shearwater]

A really interesting thread, mates If it's here to stay, maybe I'll post something about a very curious and pleasant experience myself. Just now, I'm not sure whether it's too personal, and I'd be too tired to phrase it anyway. In any case, there are some things in here that have really kept my mind busy for quite a long time.
Keep it up!

[Skybird]

I must admit to me this thread makes less and lesser sense. I must conclude that I allowed to get misled by flawed impressions in the beginning. My wrong. I'm out here.

[Castout]

Originally Posted by Shearwater

A really interesting thread, mates If it's here to stay, maybe I'll post something about a very curious and pleasant experience myself. Just now, I'm not sure whether it's too personal, and I'd be too tired to phrase it anyway. In any case, there are some things in here that have really kept my mind busy for quite a long time.
Keep it up!

I already said too much didn't I ?!