Ari Nielsen

all states are conditional if you’re not grasping at them, that’s rigpa when there’s no grasping, there’s no grasper either if you’re trying to hold or maintain a state, that’s not rigpa, since rigpa isn’t about states, it’s about the ‘holding’ — about its absence

You can “hear” how deeply various Jazz musicians listen to the ensemble—it’s a feel of interactivity. E.g., Sonny Rollins strikes me as a profound listener. I adore the solo works of Keith Jarret; when playing ensemble he feels to me as in his own world much more than Rollins.

Emotionally, there is more potency in superimposition of incoherent qualities instead of collapsing them to a homogeneous coherence.

Doubt is different from Open Uncertainty: doubt is a mental contraction. Open Uncertainty is free of the feeling of self-contraction, but in touch with uncertainties, and so able to more freely interact with them instead of react to them.

Tom Lehrer has died. Of course my father, MIT Ph.D. in P. Chem in the 60’s had The Elements and all the rest. I’ve passed on the treasure to my daughter…I heard her spontaneously singing “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” last week. Enduring comedy is the most admirable art.

Effective Altruism-type activity may hit the mark where there is no Hayekian problem of knowledge. Direct service to family, neighbors, and local community minimizes this issue. Where the problem of knowledge pertains to benefiting is discovered in practice as a fractal edge.

Public "transgressive" posting has leaked much of the potential energy from what used to be a crucible of growth in private spiritual communities. The activation energy can no longer build.

My current translation of selected Noble Truths. Applies to humans & AI! First: Your circumstance of misalignment with what is Fourth: Freedom from the search for perfect alignment while embracing local and transient alignment Which I translate as "searchless responsiveness"

There are different ways of considering what the “subtlety” of a form of practice is. What I am finding interesting now: “subtle” as determined by the inverse of how strictly the practice implies a particular shape or texture of being.

I devote 1/3 of my day to non-doing That is, my daily round explicitly schedules 36 hours, and every day I choose 12 hours of what not to do.

The seed of self-contraction is infinitesimal and seems to be “located” near the physical heart. When released, “subject” dissolves. This is bliss. The idea, though, that self-contraction SHOULD be released, though, is a trap of mind; it too is of the nature of states.

Aesthetics, in my view, is higher than any moral or contemplative framework. Many such systems have universalizing arguments. Perhaps you look for the best one. When you realize the arguments are irresolvable, then why/how choose? It’s dynamic aesthetic preference.

"Wisdom" is being in touch with context (most importantly, what is in the heart of others and the details of circumstances), which largely constrains and indicates right action. "Method" makes things happen. This may alter or reveal the context but not create it.

I would like sell people on a shift from Hustle-And-Grind-Bro "selling/convincing" an audience to getting in touch with resonating with an audience, as a tacit energy.

Just as Buddhism having roots in Hinduism does not make Buddhism a form of Hinduism, authentic Californiaism having roots in Buddhism and Hinduism, among other sources, does not make it a form of those.

Wanting to be seen as selfless is an admission one can only conceive of a zero-sum world. In a positive-sum world, one can be self-interested *and* have a positive impact on others. And a zero-sum view is a major root of evil.

People make fun of those who talk about “energy” in a “woo” way. As if we didn’t know the world is full of ambient information. Every breath contains millions of microbes, pheromones, and spores. Fragments of plant terpenes, trace hormones, viral signatures, and emotional…