What Is Life? #45 Tim Freke and Joan Tollifson

To go deeper with Tim in person check out his online community: timfreke.com/ICU.aspx
Joan wanted to correct two things: Thomas Sowell was a Marxist in his 20s, before becoming a conservative, but he wasn’t the person who was raised by Marxists, and the correct title of his book that Joan is reading is 'Social Justice Fallacies'.
Joan is a writer and lifelong explorer of what is. She is the author of Bare-Bones Meditation: Waking Up from the Story of My Life (1996), Awake in the Heartland: The Ecstasy of What Is (2003), Painting the Sidewalk with Water: Talks and Dialogs about Nonduality (2010), Nothing to Grasp (2012), and Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019). She publishes regular articles on Substack: joantollifson.substack.com. Her website is www.joantollifson.com
T!M FREKE
ℹ️ Author of 35 books including an international bestseller and Daily Telegraph ‘Book of the Year’.
ℹ️ #50 Most Spiritually Influential Living People 2020, Watkins Magazine
ℹ️ Winner of Writer of the Year 2020, Kindred Spirit
ℹ️ Founder of ‘Unividualism’ - a visionary new understanding of the nature of reality and the purpose of life
💬 timfreke.com/
💬 [e-mail]
💬 / timfreke
💬 timfreke.podbean.com/
❗️ TED talk: • Are We Clever Monkeys ...
❗️ What is Life? Series: bit.ly/whatislifeseries
#nonduality #buddhism #philosophy #unividualism #psychology
#spirituality #wisdom #evolution #soul #life

[@ravenwild5184]

There is an experience here more and more the power, confusion and seduction if language. I love the terminology from Buddhism "Interbeing". This for me perfectly describes the oneness of all that is. I appreciate conversations like this where there is healthy discussion and looking at what is and this human existence. Resonate strongly to Tim's statement about our choosing where to put our attention. There has been a great confusion here i listening to Non Duality teachers telling us there is no person and no free will and then telling their students to spend their time inquiring into this. Absolute dichotomy. I also appreciate the elder wisdom created from your years here and living many experiences in this lifetime. The only thing known here now is I know nothing and don't need to know anything and what a relief. Gratitude ❤

[@TheWillHadcroft]

A thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable conversation. I played it in three sittings. The parts that resonated most deeply were those about not being rigid and having the courage to change one's mind on things; about the current state of affairs where one has to be careful about speaking freely in fear of being 'cancelled' by hyper-sensitive individuals and activists; and the both-and nature of many things. For some reason, humans like to restrict possibilities to 'it's one or the other', when in fact it could be both or more than two. I was also nodding wisely when you discussed liking people with whom you fundamentally disagree. So many people do the opposite to that and I find it immature---'Oh, they believe something different to what I believe, and so therefore I can't stand them.' Grow up! There were a few things said in this discussion here that I didn't really agree with, but I still loved hearing the pair of you explore them. xx

[@shaunbanana911]

I think spirituality is the pursuit of the truth as best as we can discern it which mean ideas and beliefs are open to revision but to dismiss spiritual traditions like Hinduism as a whole and its general belief that all is in consciousness requires evidence which is lacking either way and as such the fundamental premise that all is in consciousness remains wide open and should not be dismissed as wrong just because you disagree with it - Thats immature and dishonest and if you are in a position that is respected it can have a very serious detrimental effect to people who subscribe to that. We decry that atheists are tearing spiritualism down but the only way to change that is to refute it with evidence to the contrary. Ripping peoples belief systems to pieces should be done wisely and maturely particularly in a world full of uncertainty and existential crisis - Surely thats what good spiritual people do - Show compassion and understanding not spiritual supremacy and nastiness in criticising other peoples beliefs without compassion or consideration for the impact of doing that - Thats how religious wars begin. By all means point out the dangers and faults in all spiritual practices as that is good for all but also be open to criticism yourself otherwise your just an hypocrite with egotistical interpretations of spiritualism

[@coenterhaar9183]

Interesting discussion between Joan and Tim. Thank you. I love Joan's pointings, which totally resonate with what I'm feeling and perceive. Watch her interview with "Rich Archer" on "Buddha at the Gas Pump". That's it for me, what she says and points too! It totally resonates! In a nutshell! Brilliant! 😊

[@spiritoftibet777]

Tim you are such a delightful flowering of the developing intelligence of the universe, an antiodote to misanthropy

[@walkerabel2882]

Thank you for this. Wonderful discussion. With some of the non dual teachers who say "nobody is here", I feel it's like a very young child who puts their hands over their eyes and says "you can't see me". That non dual teacher who talks in a way unique to them, has gestures and facial expressions unique to them, makes choices of image, terminology, modes of expression unique to them is clearly there to an outside of observer. We don't have to locate and identify some specific thing as self in order to know that it is there. But something is definitely there, a mystery that we infer, because when the universe and the present moment in their united totality pass through "me" something entirely different and unique comes out than when that same totality enters and comes out through "you". Denigrating and abandoning that mystery seems foolish to me, a cultural enterprise from long ago. The universe has gone through a lot of trouble to differentiate for us to now say that it in Truth or Reality it was all for naught. Give me the Both-And that you are talking about.

[@moesypittounikos]

I like Joan. She's one of the more interesting cats out there

[@life13525]

Joan's voice does sound so much younger than her age...

[@AConcernedCitizen420]

All anyone needs is at least one literal OBE! Made me a believer from the start! All of the others came spontaneously. However in two of them, I did not move in the room that was around me!

[@goych]

I don’t know, a whole lot of suffering got me motivated!

[@spiritfilled5758]

I recently came to a life EXPERIENCE. I AM NOT SAYING I KNOW OR HAVE FACTS . I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS. HOWEVER this recent life changing event has opened my mind to many other possibilities. So at the moment, I think We are here to experience the very things that we do experience. The school of hard knocks, we are life itself we do not die. The ONE GOD, the Devine, whatever name you prefer is in a relationship with us. That is why everything is so fine tuned for our existence. I believe those who pass before for us are living on a different frequency but are living right next to us we simply can't pick up their channel ( USUALLY). We are to evolve the human race frequency to the higher Frequency of love we currently operate in a mixture of Frequency. That is why we must forgive and we are our brothers keeper. What we do to others we do to all

[@TimFreke1]

After exploring the ideas you are sharing for many decades I would now say it differently ... but in essence I agree my friend.

[@spiritfilled5758]

@TimFreke1 You are a beautiful soul Im Freak, I to from a very Young age, have had this mystery calling me. I'm obsessed with it. I love it. Peace and happiness be yours

[@MarleneCreatorMaster11]

I think the word that came to mind with Tucker Carlson may be "aversion". It can be replaced listening and observing with some neutrality - even if one is not in agreement.

[@TheWillHadcroft]

For me it's a matter of maturity---listening to views that do not chime with our own, instead of being on the defence immediately and looking for ways to discredit the person's viewpoint before they've even finished stating it. I cannot stand the way most people are in this regard. The trait seems to be magnified when talking politics or expounding personal beliefs that cannot be conclusively proved. I like the idea of listening and observing with some neutrality and I try to do this myself.

[@hempfu]

the thinker , the thoughts cannot experience , the question then is : who or what is experiencing ? Before You gave Your daughter an identity by name etc she already was experiencing ; what you later called her personality - humanity is a construct of thoughts but that's not having the experiencing in and of itself ; You could say the experiencing is colored by humanness and that's apparently where Your attention is focused on but life is happening by / in Life . I think a difference has to be made between daily life activities where You can use the body - mind construct and feel to have personal choice and the degree of peace , happiness , love where personal choice is more surrender like .

[@jgarciajr82]

You've got to debate or talk to Robert Sapolsky 🙏🏼❤️🙌🔥

[@TimFreke1]

I don’t know Robert, but I’ll add his name to my list to look into when I finish this period of very busy philosophising for a new project that I hope to come out this year.

[@jgarciajr82]

@@TimFreke1 🙏🏼❤️ You've got to write a book on how to better reflect. Your reflection skills are tremendous.

[@TimFreke1]

@@jgarciajr82 thank you

[@hempfu]

with a possibility of extinction do you really believe humans linearly evolve from lower to higher ; I think You have to make a distinction between domains of humanness .

[@TimFreke1]

I don’t think evolution is ever linear, but as is obvious from the universe, there is a tendency towards greater emergence.

[@edcooper1422]

But isn’t the sense of what we describe as ‘self’ arbitrary? we could extend it to family, class, nationality, cosmos or reduce it from boundary of skin, nervous system, brain or witnessing consciousness. From a Buddhist perspective this investigation is about reduction of suffering rather than ontological Truths…which is why it isn’t always appropriate with kids etc. at the same time….why bother trying to appropriate ANY facet of experience as Me or Mine?

[@TimFreke1]

I agree we can expand our sense of self so far we are the whole universe in one direction ... but we are also particular in the other direction. I am Tim writing this to Ed. That's significant as well.

[@InterestedInDansk]

*The Queen Of Sheba* The life of the human aeon. The Ante-Deluvian aeon for the first generation was up to a thousand years for each person Methuselah being an exception. I have to believe this is true though to a modern mind it is laughable, but we need to understand the perception and beliefs of these ancient people because it is an important concept which sets boundaries. In relation to this longevity Jesus states Matthew 24:22 _And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened_ Jesus therefore clearly means that resurrection included reincarnation, but there is a distinct difference between *The Resurrection* and _resurrection_ The former being an end to the Aeon and the latter just the souls coming and going to gain nourishment for its being. _John 10:9 I am the door; if anyone enters by me he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture_ *The importance of Luke 20:34-36* _34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection_ Based upon the Bible truth that judgement does not occur until the soul has completed multiple resurrections (reincarnations) and can no longer attain rebirth in the physical world, that passage, relies on Jesus understanding of what he revealed about the unbelieving Jews in relation to the Queen of Sheba’s Resurrection. *Note capital R* _Matthew 12:41 The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here_ Jesus teaches here the boundaries of aeons as a thousand years from one Resurrection to another, so those Jews who railed against him would be able to live out their lives until such time as they could no longer be reborn and then be judged, and at that judgement the Queen of the South would Arise and condemn them, this is the same meaning as Resurrection. Her life was recorded as being 9th century B.C. a thousand years accurarately places her Resurrection in the 1st century A.D. Therefore Jesus had a meticulous understanding of resurrections reincarnation, and Resurrection, as he states “I AM the Resurrection and the Life” And guess what, the Queen of the South wasn’t even a Catholic. I too have reached the stage where I have already been judged, and my future in Paradise will be among those people whose earthly lives ended in the last thousand years I will be particularly friendly to King Peter I of Portugal and his wife Inez de Castro who died in the 12th century, I am destined to watch them as they resurrect from dust in their sarcophagus, He will arise first and he will go to his wife’s regenerated body and help her from her sarcophagus, then both of them will walk over to a beam of light and ascend into the world of the 3rd day. This is not Catholic teaching this is Biblical teaching Catholic teaching has been unable to comprehend what has been written because it understands through a very narrow prism. _Doctors of arts, medicine, law and philosophy can be made by the pope, the emperor and the universities; but be quite sure that no-one can make a doctor of Holy Scripture save only the Holy Ghost from heaven, as Christ says in John vi ‘They must all be taught by God himself’. Now the Holy Ghost does not ask after red or brown robes, or what is showy, whether a man is young or old , clerical or lay, monastic or secular, virgin or married. Indeed , he once spake by an ass against the prophet that rode on it, would that we were worthy that such doctors be given us…” (Luther, An d. chr. Adel deutch. Nation v. d.v.d. chr. Standes Besserung. 1520, W.A. ,. 6. pg 460, 1, 28 from Church Dogmatics by Karl Barth vol 1.1 pg 19_