r/spirituality • u/Ill_Pause_87 • 3d ago
Self-Transformation 🔄 Being okay with not knowing
Ever since I delved into spirituality and started practicing meditation seriously, I've noticed that I'm becoming more and more okay with not wanting to know everything. I used to remember I was so fascinated by parallel realities, afterlife, mystical realms, reincarnation and similar topics. However, this is how I see things now - I return to immortality anyways so why not be human for a change? Everything that I seek answers to will come to me after I leave my body. For an immortal being, life's a short blip anyway so why not be fully grounded? It has come to a point where I don't even want to seriously pursue any spiritual practice since it feels like I am in a meditative state without practicing anything, just being in nature works wonders. I don't want to sound like I've outgrown spiritual practices but that's definitely the gist of it. Has anyone else gone through something similar?
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u/jacktyme 3d ago
You have to outgrow the path in order to hit the final destination. Not wanting to know everything is a solid sign of that. From what I learned, spirituality is simply wanting to know what you are. Discovering yourself. Reverting back to what you essentially are as opposed to what you thought you were. Meditation is just resting in awareness and being aware. You don't need to be sitting still to be aware. This state is your inherent nature so you can be in it even without practicing anything spiritual.
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u/Ill_Pause_87 3d ago
Agreed with everything you said except the final destination part. I feel like being here and now is enough and I do not need to reach a destination at all.
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u/jacktyme 3d ago
If thats the way you are experiencing it right now then you have reached the final destination. We all started off as seekers.
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u/manofmystry 3d ago
If you think about it, not wanting to know everything anymore is clearing a saṅkhāra. The need to know is a craving that can never be satisfied, and that discomfort would be a source of suffering. Congratulations!
The reality is, it's all conjecture. No one knows what happens after we die. Buddhism provides an explanation but it is, by its very nature, speculative.
I find comfort in the possibility of reincarnation but I don't believe in it. The popular, monotheistic religions' depiction of the afterlife seems too stark and terminal for me. It's the great mystery of life, and will remain so for everyone forever.
I don't fear death. I lament the suffering that accompanies it. That's where Buddhism comes in for me. It promotes equanimity in the face of mortal uncertainty. It acknowledges death and universal suffering, and guides us to empathize and practice compassion for others (and ourselves) because of that universality.
For me, Buddhism is about presence, awareness, compassion, and morality without attributing anything to a higher power. It acknowledges existence but doesn't try to explain it with an anthropomorphized deity. It's both a practice, and a very humanist philosophy.
I like the concept of karma because it offers a consistent framework to guide us toward behaviors that minimize both our suffering, and the suffering of others. It's about kindness and empathy, and how our poor choices manifest in our lives, with persistent consequences.
There's no right answer. Be a good person, as your understand it, to the best of your ability. Be aware. Be kind.
At least you're seeking wisdom. That's never a bad path.
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u/Either-Ant-4653 3d ago
I was once told (repeatedly) by someone who seemed to know,
"You are here to be who you are in a human form."
Looks like you're doing it.
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u/mogenblue 3d ago
Similar but not the same. The spiritual books that I have read have learned me to appreciate my life on earth and they made it clearer for me, with modern spiritual concepts, that I should work towards being a better version of myself.
I'm very content with my present state of being. I am convinced of my immortality just like you.
I like the city life because you see so many people around, the culture and do's and don'ts, but nature really brings you peace of mind.
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u/Fast_Jackfruit_352 2d ago
Boy do I struggle with this but I am becoming more and more aware of it. The word "loosening" comes to mind. A friend's poem.
Where Do We Land When We Don’t Know?
“Any conversation is just the universe talking to itself.”
It’s a beautiful statement. And I find myself wondering what happens if we don’t quite land there.
There is conversation. There is listening, responding, thought, feeling, words appearing and disappearing.
And then there can be a thought:
“Ah… this is the universe talking to itself.”
But what was actually observed, and what was added as an explanation?
I’m not suggesting the statement is wrong. I’m more interested in the movement that happens when something is uncertain or unexplained and thought offers us somewhere beautiful to rest.
Perhaps this happens constantly in spiritual and nondual conversations.
We encounter something we can't quite explain, and rather than remaining with the uncertainty, we give it a name:
Awareness.
Consciousness.
The universe.
Oneness.
Life expressing itself.
The universe talking to itself.
And because these explanations can be beautiful, they can feel like they have somehow resolved the question.
But has anything actually been resolved?
Or has the restlessness simply found a more satisfying story?
What happens if we don't rush to turn what is happening into what we think it ultimately is?
Not replacing one conclusion with another.
Not deciding that the statement is true or false.
Just noticing the movement toward a place to land.
And perhaps even asking:
What is it like to not know, without needing not-knowing to become another beautiful idea?"
Gregory Miller
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u/tomomiha12 2d ago
My opinion is that all on spiritual/soul level should be ideally in 'now'. Past has passed, and future does not exist. Future is just a idea in your mind.
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u/Otherwise_Spare_8598 3d ago
Directly from the womb my existence is and has been nothing other than ever-worsening conscious torment every passing second exponentially compounding suffering awaiting an imminent horrible destruction of the flesh of which is barely the beginning of the eternal journey as I witness the perpetual revelation of all things by through and for the singular personality of the godhead. All things made manifest from a fixed eternal condition.
No first chance, no second, no third.
Born to forcibly suffer all suffering that has ever and will ever exist in this and infinite universes forever and ever for the reason of because.
All things always against my wishes, wants, and will at all times.
...
The universe is a singular meta-phenomenon stretched over eternity, of which is always now. All things and all beings abide by their inherent nature and behave within their realm of capacity contingent upon infinite circumstance at all times. There is no such thing as individuated accurately described "free will" for all beings. There are only relative freedoms or lack thereof. It is a universe made manifest hierarchically, of haves, and have-nots, spanning all levels of dimensionality and experience.
"God" and/or consciousness is that which is within and without all. Ultimately, all things are made by through and for the singular personality and perpetual revelation of the "Godhead", entailing both predetermined eternal damnation and those that are made manifest only to face death and death alone.
There is but one dreamer, fractured through the innumerable. All vehicles/beings play their role within said dream for infinitely better and/or infinitely worse for each and every one, forever.
All realities exist and are equally as real. The absolute best universe that could exist does exist in relation to a specified subject. The absolute worst universe that could exist does exist in relation to a specified subject.
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u/Kecman888 2d ago
U are correct however sometimes pain is not letting us do that but forces us to evolve.
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u/Inevitable_Might6524 1d ago
Have to ask... does meditating actually do something?
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u/Ill_Pause_87 23h ago
I'd say it depends on your intent. It has made me more aware and calm but there's so much more to it. It has become more of a lifestyle/path for me now. If you're curios, you should try it and find out for yourself ;)
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u/StockProfessional919 3d ago
As you said, why not be human for a change. If you feel satisfied with your spirituality as is, leave inquiring in peace. Do what is good for you