For those seeking active discussion about Actualism... - Discussion
From https://www.integrateddaniel.info/my-experiments-in-actualism
Yeah, no one before Richard on this Earth figured out that you can experience jhana all day long and with it experience greatly reduced affect.
And people fall for this...
Imho Actualism is trivial and there isn't even anything to "practice"* here other than figure out what consciousness configuration they point to. Which isn't even any new invention or Richard but instead it is very closely related to Sukhāvatī from Mahayana.
This happens because jhana can at most reduce affect but never eliminate it completely. There is a reason emotions arise forcefully but them themselves don't only arise for that reason but also because they are representing range of experiences we experience when being alive - which isn't anything bad. Mind can be programmed in such a way to prevent further affect by blocking itself until something akin to "attention wave" passes and it can be unconscious. The whole thing can be passed as transmission too. This wave here is realization mind is doing something it is not supposed to do - here experiencing emotions. In this case mind is not allowed to be experiencing any emotions because of belief it cannot because of attaining AF thus 'freezes'.
Those are very old tricks.
There is literally nothing new here.
And total elimination of affect makes the whole thing obviously scream not only nonsense but ill will - even if subtle.
I would respect Richard and other AF guys if they just said there is state of bliss that one experiences when practicing being appreciative of each moment of being alive and being harmless and said this is already the goal. Nothing else.
Now spinning it about some human condition and total elimination of affect with actual freedom being freedom from any or all emotions altogether is pushing the buttons that don't at all fit the vibe of what their method should be about.
To me it looks like the only invention Richard made here is take someone else dharma and make business out of it by desecrating its meaning. Maybe not but then again we have proof his books aren't very original. Ockham's razor in this case doesn't leave any place for doubt.
*) For Anagami and Arhats at least.
No ill will doesn't mean person is ignorant to ill will - more like there is extremely strong pull on experiences, to vipassanize them to pure forms and isolate out anything unpure. The perception of 'hooks' as I call them and being bothered by them is however already present in Stream Enterer. I mean, obviously person does not 'attain' Stream Entry and obviously it isn't any blip or other nonsense. When consciousness has matured enough to be conscious of itself in such a way to see consciousness as greatest source of knowledge and the way only to really surpass our own limitations then Stream Entry can be claimed.
I do get a feeling not that many people get that...
p.s. If its worth anything I for one writing this post enjoyed being alive
Harmless - only to views. But not even that because as much as Anagami has pull toward purifying experiences heedless unconscious of itself minds have even stronger pull toward any ideas of relief. I am in fact completely powerless to change anyone attitude toward what meditation is or can be. Therefore I can actually say whatever I feel is pure and not consider it as having any chance to rob people of their precious relief. At least not right away.
Also - I could easily claim AF - I got something better though: not only I am Stream Enterer but also Anagami. I can distill snake oil sold at convenience store and make lemonade out of it
...or buy lemonade at convenience store. So many options!
Then there was everything related to things back in Australia and that old guy called Richard, the Genitor of Actualism, Discoverer of The HAIETMOBA (How Am I Experiencing This Method of Being Alive) Method, something he claimed was unique on this Earth, never before known or experienced before he experienced it.
Yeah, no one before Richard on this Earth figured out that you can experience jhana all day long and with it experience greatly reduced affect.
And people fall for this...
Imho Actualism is trivial and there isn't even anything to "practice"* here other than figure out what consciousness configuration they point to. Which isn't even any new invention or Richard but instead it is very closely related to Sukhāvatī from Mahayana.
I felt very lucky, in that I had plenty of up-close-and-personal exposure to people who claimed to have eliminated all affect. That said, there were some creepy aspects to all of this. Tarin, Trent and Jill had all gotten into a mode of being that was probably best described by the word "zombie", like you could just set them down on the floor and they would just sit there unmoving and undisturbed for some long period of time. It was definitely odd. Stef, on the other hand, seemed not affected in this way at all.
This happens because jhana can at most reduce affect but never eliminate it completely. There is a reason emotions arise forcefully but them themselves don't only arise for that reason but also because they are representing range of experiences we experience when being alive - which isn't anything bad. Mind can be programmed in such a way to prevent further affect by blocking itself until something akin to "attention wave" passes and it can be unconscious. The whole thing can be passed as transmission too. This wave here is realization mind is doing something it is not supposed to do - here experiencing emotions. In this case mind is not allowed to be experiencing any emotions because of belief it cannot because of attaining AF thus 'freezes'.
Those are very old tricks.
There is literally nothing new here.
And total elimination of affect makes the whole thing obviously scream not only nonsense but ill will - even if subtle.
I would respect Richard and other AF guys if they just said there is state of bliss that one experiences when practicing being appreciative of each moment of being alive and being harmless and said this is already the goal. Nothing else.
Now spinning it about some human condition and total elimination of affect with actual freedom being freedom from any or all emotions altogether is pushing the buttons that don't at all fit the vibe of what their method should be about.
To me it looks like the only invention Richard made here is take someone else dharma and make business out of it by desecrating its meaning. Maybe not but then again we have proof his books aren't very original. Ockham's razor in this case doesn't leave any place for doubt.
*) For Anagami and Arhats at least.
No ill will doesn't mean person is ignorant to ill will - more like there is extremely strong pull on experiences, to vipassanize them to pure forms and isolate out anything unpure. The perception of 'hooks' as I call them and being bothered by them is however already present in Stream Enterer. I mean, obviously person does not 'attain' Stream Entry and obviously it isn't any blip or other nonsense. When consciousness has matured enough to be conscious of itself in such a way to see consciousness as greatest source of knowledge and the way only to really surpass our own limitations then Stream Entry can be claimed.
I do get a feeling not that many people get that...
p.s. If its worth anything I for one writing this post enjoyed being alive
Harmless - only to views. But not even that because as much as Anagami has pull toward purifying experiences heedless unconscious of itself minds have even stronger pull toward any ideas of relief. I am in fact completely powerless to change anyone attitude toward what meditation is or can be. Therefore I can actually say whatever I feel is pure and not consider it as having any chance to rob people of their precious relief. At least not right away.
Also - I could easily claim AF - I got something better though: not only I am Stream Enterer but also Anagami. I can distill snake oil sold at convenience store and make lemonade out of it
...or buy lemonade at convenience store. So many options!
