Of course fasting would be necessary, but that doesn't mean you should stop eating all together. You should just eat very little, don't eat for weeks and then eat little... Don't engage in sexual acts, don't drink alcohol or any do anything of excite.
I'm an atheist just to clarify, but that doesn't mean I'm dismissive of everything incorporated by religion.
Ascetics: Asceticism (/əˈsɛtɪsɪz(ə)m/; from the Greek: ἄσκησις áskēsis, "exercise" or "training") describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Many religious traditions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism advocate restraint with respect to actions of body, speech, and mind. These religions teach that a deeper level of satisfaction and fulfillment is to be found than that offered by sensual pleasures and therefore promote the value of abstaining from these common, ordinary pleasures in the pursuit of acquiring deep inner peace. The founders and earliest practitioners of these religions eschewed worldly pleasures and led an abstemious lifestyle, not as a rejection of the enjoyment of life or because the practices themselves are virtuous, but as an aid in the pursuit of such inner peace.
- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism
Can the abnegation of all hedonistic pursuits induce a somewhat "higher consciousness" in the materialistic sense?
What we see is heavily dominated by capitalisation and commodification, nothing is owned by you... Not even that which you derive sensual pleasure from.
Everything is controlled on some level or other, what you smell- Chances are, whatever it is you enjoy the smell of costs money. Everything is binding you into this restrictive social order, the food you smell, the advertisements for wants-not needs.. Are all regulated on some administrative state functioning level. You very means to life is regulated by things like the FDA, a very corrupt institution.
Everything is artificial, everything is made for us. People begin to get brainwashed into this social order, they begin to forget what they truly are... They forget that nature is a real thing, that not everything is made directly for their advantage.
This is undoubtedly unhealthy for the human mind as many psychologists have already pointed out.
So can asceticism genuinely reveal to somebody a reality that is in someway spiritual, by this I mean offering insight into the inner functions of nature, understanding the artificiality of the world around us? Can a person genuinely reach some 'Higher consciousness' by not giving in to their mundane desires, to pursue something far more deeper and insightful, a method of truly changing yourself for the remainder of your life, not just an infatuation or a persona but a genuine change that allows you to no longer consider yourself as a cog in a machine.
Many people who have pursued a life of achronism have clearly gained some type of insight and wisdom from it and even complex philosophy.
Thoughts on asceticism?
by JackC 4Of course fasting would be necessary, but that doesn't mean you should stop eating all together. You should just eat very little, don't eat for weeks and then eat little... Don't engage in sexual acts, don't drink alcohol or any do anything of excite.
Yeah, well there is one quote I am fond of. At a community kitchen out in the woods, the organizer went around, almost chanting, "take only what you need, leave no trace". So yeah, considering that period in my life was incredibly healthy and full of healing both physical, mental/emotional, I believe that stuff.
I am no ancient japanese monk though, with any sort of sustained consistency.
Um, I saw this video a few days ago about epilepsy, "the scared disease", and in about 50 minutes the guy goes through the basics of everything they know upto this point.
Well, back pre-industrial revolution, they believed that masturbation caused epilepsy. The number 2 reason identified. Now I'm not saying that it's religious thinking, but, maybe they weren't as prudish and closed off to the idea as religion having tainted analytical thinking among scientists through the ages. Clearly Hippocrates is an excellent example of how sound logic has dominated or at the very least existed throughout time.
So... where might an epileptic end up back then? Probably a psycho ward. Maybe Sir Kelloggs really did have a master plan to end masturbation and perhaps it had to do with keeping testosterone reserves in place for healing purposes?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg
Kellogg worked on the rehabilitation of masturbators, often employing extreme measures, even mutilation, on both sexes. He was an advocate of circumcising young boys to curb masturbation and applying phenol to a young woman's clitoris. In his Plain Facts for Old and Young,[7] he wrote:
“ A remedy which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision, especially when there is any degree of phimosis. The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with the idea of punishment, as it may well be in some cases. The soreness which continues for several weeks interrupts the practice, and if it had not previously become too firmly fixed, it may be forgotten and not resumed.
The again, specifically with Kelloggs, who is not the person who listed masterbation as a cause for epilepsy, had more of a religious prudish agenda? Unsure...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12659241
The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men. The serum testosterone concentrations of 28 volunteers were investigated daily during abstinence periods after ejaculation for two phases. The authors found that the fluctuations of testosterone levels from the 2nd to 5th day of abstinence were minimal. On the 7th day of abstinence, however, a clear peak of serum testosterone appeared, reaching 145.7% of the baseline ( P < 0.01). No regular fluctuation was observed following continuous abstinence after the peak. Ejaculation is the precondition and beginning of the special periodic serum testosterone level variations, which would not occur without ejaculation. The results showed that ejaculation-caused variations were characterized by a peak on the 7th day of abstinence; and that the effective time of an ejaculation is 7 days minimum. These data are the first to document the phenomenon of the periodic change in serum testosterone level; the correlation between ejaculation and periodic change in the serum testosterone level, and the pattern and characteristics of the periodic change.
http://www.efepa.org/living-with-epilepsy/men-with-epilepsy/
Yes, epilepsy is associated with hormonal changes. For instance, experts estimate that approximately 40 percent of men with epilepsy (MWE) have low levels of testosterone, the hormone that stimulates the development of male sex organs, sexual traits and sperm. Both epilepsy itself and the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used to control seizures may be responsible for these hormonal changes.
JackC4 Said.
Everything is artificial, everything is made for us. People begin to get brainwashed into this social order, they begin to forget what they truly are... They forget that nature is a real thing, that not everything is made directly for their advantage.
Yes, we've gone from being domesticated, to being pounded out till we are empty souls, for lacks of better terms.
I highly recommend agnosticism, but if you get carried away and have a weak grounding with reality, well, yeah, you don't want to go too far.
For example, this is clearly abstinence from worldly pleasures to achieve a type of higher spirituality through purposeful self deterioration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
Sokushinbutsu (å³èº«ä»?) refers to a practice of Buddhist monks observing austerity to the point of death and mummification. This process of self-mummification was mainly practiced in Yamagata in Northern Japan between the 11th and 19th century, by members of the Japanese Vajrayana school of Buddhism called Shingon ("True Word"). The practitioners of sokushinbutsu did not view this practice as an act of suicide, but rather as a form of further enlightenment.[1] Those who succeeded were revered, while those who failed were nevertheless respected for the effort.
I don't know, maybe if you decide to commit suicide, you could always hold off for a few days or weeks and eat sunshine.
Woman starves to death in spiritual quest to live on sunlight alone
A woman starved to death after embarking on a spiritual journey which involved giving up food and water and attempting to exist on nothing but sunlight.
The Swiss woman, who was in her fifties, apparently got the idea after watching the documentary film 'In the Beginning, There Was Light' which features an Indian guru who claims to not have eaten anything in 70 years.
The Zurich newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported Wednesday that the unnamed woman decided to follow the radical fast in 2010
Maybe it is the ultimate spiritual journey. Right? People always go off about DMT, but that is probably something entirely different.
Sorry, I have this crazy habit to save my work every few seconds in case of a crash or something.
I added stuff. My point loosely weaves around your abstinence, temperance, asceticism principal. With atheism in there as well.
The guy doing the lecture, sort of did one of those, "well, I think it's safe to say masterbation does not cause epilepsy", and did one those, "You know rocko, because that's the way it is" sort of things. Right, all modern scientists, if there is something that is sound, with a few exceptions, they guess that whatever idiotic brain was evolved back then, was inferior to our modern brains which are pure and fully in tune with everything human.
Hmmnnn... might as well pop one of these Tribulus pills. They been sitting on my shelf for probably 3 or 4 years now. I swear though, the first time I took one, I pissed blood. So... what can you say about that, right? Can't wait for the summer so I can track me down some beef balls from a butcher somewhere.
Asceticism can be a fine tool to chisel the will into a desired form. However, it is also possible that repressed desires may channel themselves into self-destructive sentiments.
Have you ever heard of Ram Bahadur Bomjon? I would not enjoy to live as he does, but I do have great admiration for his power of will.
by Turncoat"Thoughts on asceticism?"
It's one of many distractions from the struggles of life, an opiate of pride practiced through unnecessary self control. I guess they figure if the struggles are somewhat self inflicted that they're somehow better.
Are pride and self-control usually poor characteristics, in your opinion? Do you believe asceticism is more about trying to be above others than it is about transcending oneself?
"I'm an atheist just to clarify, but that doesn't mean I'm dismissive of everything incorporated by religion."
Good on you. Nothing makes me more irritated than some new-found atheist who feels the need to open everyone's eyes once any religious topic comes up. I'm agnostic myself.
"People begin to get brainwashed into this social order, they begin to forget what they truly are... They forget that nature is a real thing,"
I agree. While I don't think it's for everyone, I believe more people should be introduced to self sustaining activities such as camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, etc. It pains me to see how soft our society has grown and yet everyday I'm seeing the same people advocate even weaker ideologies, as if their ideas were harsh to begin with.
"that not everything is made directly for their advantage."
Yeah, it's the single biggest problem with my generation. The belief of entitlement, to any and everything they want without any plans on working to get there. Going through high school and watching people adopt this mindset I knew it was going to be quite the show once they actually had to work. It's the only reason I keep a social media account now, just to see my piers advocating narcotics and a raise to the minimum wage while complaining about raising a child. Really, it's like Jerry Springer but with people you know.
"So can asceticism genuinely reveal to somebody a reality that is in someway spiritual, by this I mean offering insight into the inner functions of nature, understanding the artificiality of the world around us?"
It opens your eyes to a new perspective which rearranges what you prioritize in life. Materialistic people never make it outside of their own social achievements, such as having children or getting married.
"Can a person genuinely reach some 'Higher consciousness' by not giving in to their mundane desires, to pursue something far more deeper and insightful, a method of truly changing yourself for the remainder of your life, not just an infatuation or a persona but a genuine change that allows you to no longer consider yourself as a cog in a machine."
While I'm humble enough to say I haven't got it packed down yet but yes. Giving away temporary pleasures and desires gives you the perspective I spoke about. I may be young, but to a majority others I don't seem that way in thought.
"Thoughts on asceticism?"
I've been devoting these past couple years to the ideology without knowing it. Thanks for the information.