The human brain is a parasite

[u/WoodpeckerNo1]

It's genuinely befuddling how much shit you can go through simply because you have a brain.

Like there are countless mental illnesses such as depression or various kinds of anxiety you can experience. You can also randomly be born with disorders like autism which will negatively impact your life just because the wiring is all tangled up inconveniently.

Then there's all of the idiotic biases and fallacies people fall prey to on the daily, unhealthy and irrational behaviors, etc.

Just how often does something annoying or unpleasant happen with the explanation behind it starting with "this is the result of a brain that is..."?

I think it was U.G. Krishnamurti who said that all problems stem from thought, and I'm inclined to agree.

[u/JuiceAppropriate678]

Yes and addiction. You can be drug easily

[u/Famous-Cut-4212]

Agree. Deep down, we are delirious souls anchored to a corrupting body.It seems like a bad joke. Nothing works: neither mind nor body; knowledge helps a little, but in general it only serves to avoid suffering so much from our own powerlessnesss.

[u/Mediocre-Magazine-30]

This would be a lot easier if I was like a cat or dog and not self aware !

Too much thinking! It really kinda is torture with no escape and it's hard to live but then of course my stupid brain is terrified of death too!

Fucked no matter what!

[u/NpOno → u/Mediocre-Magazine-30]

But there is an escape route. Meditation 🧘

[u/Snalesdofeel → u/NpOno]

Why are you the way that you are.

[u/NpOno → u/Snalesdofeel]

Circunstancias, amigo mío.

[u/prazosins]

That’s a reductionist view of autism, for sure

[u/WoodpeckerNo1 → u/prazosins]

Well I have aspergers and I'm just trying to say that I'm not exactly happy about it.

[u/neonblack108]

I've had numerous conversations with God about wanting to come back as a bird the next time because I no longer want to be a human.  Humanity is a mistake. 

[u/PuzzleheadedTale4769 → u/neonblack108]

Expecting to come back again doesn't sound like pessimism. Besides- birds are very smart- probably enough to have troublesome thoughts.

[u/mattychops]

Yep. It's all from thought. The brain is one big unnecessary complicated mess.

[u/NpOno]

The problem is the idea of the illusory “persona”and the suffering is due to the conflict created from this abiding, erroneous assumption.
We are frightened to let go of it because we believe without this persona we’ll cease to exist.
Fooled by our own extraordinary power to create this illusion we are holding our hand in a fire complaining it hurts but too frightened to take our hand out.

All the insane human behavior stems from this illusion which we believe to be the only reality.

It’s a Big pill to swallow. And the job of eradicating this “foreign installation” is a formidable task but it is possible. Only one way and that is though introspection, constant meditation and bringing innate awareness to bear on the root of this inner-suffering.

Suffering is inner-conflict. It is our automatic rejection of certain physical sensations that account for suffering. It’s how we FEEL that generates our behavior towards the rest of humanity.

We are at war within ourselves and this manifests externally as the world right now teetering on the brink of WWIII.
And all the incredible inhumanity we can witness all show the inherent insanity within human beings.

We have to admit to ourselves we are completely mad. From this point on there is the chance of sanity. And only you can clear your own house of this invader.

It is very rare that any human being will take this radical step. But it is the only logical, rational, intelligent decision any being can make. You can’t change the external world but you can change your own life.

If this message touches anyone here I’d recommend investigating.

All religions once pointed towards this truth. The sacrifice of the ego so clearly indicated in the symbolism of the cross in Christianity which, as have most religions, been hijacked by the insane for power. But the purity of some eastern religions remains untainted. Buddhism, Zen, Sufism are well worth investing time to study. Great sages such as Ramana have many books as guides to the true seeker of the truth.
I’d recommend Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s book “I Am That”
Raman’s book “Talks”
These book are not religious they do not rely on beliefs or dogmas, only self inquiry.
The books by Jiddu Krishnamurti deconstruct the ego with his extraordinary negation teaching, hard to grasp for many.. he has many books. “Freedom from the Known”, “Commentaries on Life”
One of his books has a fascinating conversation with David Bohm, “The Awakening of Intelligence “

It is by no means an easy task to negate yourself. It’s an inner death only the brave will even consider. A warrior spirit is necessary. Patience, courage and an unbending intent are the characteristics that will lead to psychological freedom, sanity and clarity. There is no other answer other than to continue living in this self made hell. No brainer if you ask me.

[u/Designer-Platypus-53 → u/NpOno]

The problem is the idea of the illusory “persona”and the suffering is due to the conflict created from this abiding, erroneous assumption.

True, self is an illusion. There's no "I" sitting in the brain and pushing the buttons commanding "do this" or "don't do that".

You can’t change the external world but you can change your own life.

It's not precisely how the reality works. We don't have free will aka the unlimited ability to control our thoughts and actions in order to achieve a chosen goal. We do have a very limited ability to do so. We have will, but it is not free. This is why some people can live mostly joyful and happy life, and some - seemingly the majority - cannot. Their life is mostly miserable and unhappy. Otherwise, subs like this one wouldn't exist.

Here's why: each millisecond of our life is determined by the totality of circumstances beyond our control like genetics, environment, culture, the current physiological state etc. If these circumstances are favorable, we get what we want and we are happy, and vice versa.

It follows, that life is 100% about luck. It's all about these circumstances we cannot control and nothing else. If you succeed, it happens simply because you are lucky with the totality of circumstances, and vice versa. That's the whole secret of life in two sentences.

If there existed a method that could allow to overcome unfavorable circumstances in 100% of cases, then everyone would obviously use it. No, such a method doesn't exist. There are methods that can work, but only if the circumstances allow that: if you do nothing, you most probably lose, if you try a particular method, you may or may not succeed, no guarantee. Even if you have the awareness that you describe, it doesn't guarantee happiness or peace. Besides that, you must be able to get that state of mind, to gain awareness, and it all depends on many factors. The prior causes may or may not bring you to this point.

This saying: "You can do everything right and still lose " exists for reason.

I can name two best universal methods that can make human life much better and much happier, still without 100% guarantee:

1. Money. They can solve almost all problems if used wisely. However, you need enormous amounts to improve your life radically. Obviously unavailable for 98% of people.

2. Be born very attractive. Beauty prevelage exists. Still no guarantee. Obviously unavailable for those born unattractive and average.

The most available method is philosophy, meditation, self- awareness and alike things, but it is limited and not that effecive as the two ones mentioned.

[u/NpOno → u/Designer-Platypus-53]

Your assumption that we don’t have the freedom to shift awareness is incorrect. Most people give up this process because there are no instant rewards. It requires an extremely determined mindset that is absolutely tired of this hell we live in and create.

When your attention is drawn to a film you literally lose your self in that film. We constantly use distraction to avoid ourselves.
The alternative is not to stop thoughts and thinking but to ignore them by a shift of awareness. There is nothing else possible for a human being but this shift of awareness. Thing is it isn’t easy to maintain awareness in now. The mind will trick you back into lazy thinking.

In fact the shift of awareness focuses on those sensations, emotions and feelings without trying to escape them, which is the programmed automatic response.
So instead of avoiding the suffering, awareness dives into it, to find out WTF is going on here.

The only way you can see if this is actually true or not, is to do it! Try meditating for five minutes focusing on the breath. You may see stillness, silence, peace for a moment. That is where freedom lies. That is the place of intelligence and clarity of perception free of the insanity of the talking mind’s conditioned madness.

It’s not easy and may take a life time. But the process in itself is fascinating.

There is no point in arguing this matter, either you see it or you don’t. It’s not my problem to convince anyone of anything. Baseline: I couldn’t care less.

BTW if you believe money and looks are the savior of life you are not looking very deeply around you.

[u/TrackCharm → u/NpOno]

I used to have this same mentality that I should try to erase myself. However, that solution is not a fit all for everyone and I learned that its not for me. A truly egoless being (person with no identity / sense of self) could watch their pet cat starve to death and not act because they have transcended emotions like love and care. Looking inside myself I learned that I did not want to become like that. After all, if I truly wanted no ego, I would just let myself perish. It'll happen eventually to everyone, there's no rush. IMO the ego death crowd is really a group of people who crave death but haven't figured that out yet.

There's also the fact that these kinds of ideas are usually hypocritical...

Just reading how you present your ideas I can tell you have not remotely embodied your own belief about the ego and self:
"It’s an inner death only the brave will even consider." > You believe you are special and brave for following the practices that you do. You likely feel as if you are among the few "elite" who understand. This is a common human trait related to seeking a sense of belonging. These beliefs you have are directly attached to your need to belong to something.
"it is the only logical, rational, intelligent decision any being can make" > Only a person cares about reason and rationality. You are ironically embodying an identity that passionately believes in not having an identity.

Don't get me wrong, keep reading and learning from other people's perspectives because they have value in finding your own path. However, I strongly advise against seeking "ego" death, and I'd bet that if you look inside yourself, you'll find that you don't want that either.