There’s no such thing as problems, Mr. Green. Only situations. – Avi
You only get smarter by playing a smarter opponent. – Mr. Green
The art is for me to feed pieces to you and make you believe you took those pieces…because you’re smarter and I’m dumber.
The more sophisticated the game, the more sophisticated the opponent.
Place your opponent in an arena you can control. The bigger the space, the easier the control. The more that can be controlled.
They either think the game can’t be that old, or it can’t be that big.
The opponent distracts the victim by getting him consumed with his own consumption.
You will always find a good opponent in the very last place you will ever look.
Use any means possible to induce head pain and engage the enemy.
Imagine that you are using a computer. You input commands in order to make the computer do what you want. You create words, play games and even watch movies. You use it as a tool to accomplish everyday tasks. It is just a means to an end.
Our brain is like this computer. We use it to perform tasks. We remember things and our memory serves to help us navigate this world. Whether the task is easy or difficult, we still use our brain to figure out things. It experiences things that we experience. It calculates the changes that we must make in order not to be hurt. The pleasure we feel is recorded. It rides with us. Like our best friend, it is always there with us.
But the brain is not us. The mind is not us. It can never be. It is just a tool, like the computer. It must be used for certain things, and then put away when it is not needed.
For instance, if you become angry at something, it is usually a reaction that has an origin in fear. You become angry because you think someone either meant to offend you or the action bothered you enough to cause you physical distress. Your mind puts up a defense to protect you. It wants to answer in anger, and often does. It wants to react. But if you ask the question, “Why am I angry?” the reaction then becomes a choice. You are then choosing to react to this issue: choosing to become angry or not. In the interest of personal peace, it is probably best to choose peace than anger.
Did you know you had a choice? Would you choose peace over anger? Your mind would have you think that you need to retaliate to hurt those that hurt you. Any perceived offense is a means for the mind to lash out and defend or protect, solidifying our dependence upon it. But the mind is not protecting you. It is protecting itself to keep itself in use. To feed the façade that it actually exists.
What I am trying to tell you is that YOUR MIND IS YOUR ENEMY because ALL YOUR LIFE YOU HAVE ALLOWED IT TO EXIST WITHIN THE FANTASY THAT IT IS YOU. You feed it each day. And each day it becomes stronger.
Learning to see what’s real and what is false is the next step. It is what some people would call enlightenment and the path to God. The knowing that those negative reactions are not truly you, will give you the power to part the veil and see the shame of the world.
Jake Green: "There is something about yourself that you don't know. Something that you will deny even exists, until it's too late to do anything about it. It's the only reason you get up in the morning. The only reason you suffer the shitty puss, the blood, the sweat and the tears. This is because you want people to know how good, attractive, generous, funny, wild and clever you really are. Fear or revere me, but please, think I'm special. We share an addiction. We're approval junkies. We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The hip-hip-hoo-fuckin' rah. Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on you crazy diamond, because we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others."
You only get smarter by playing a smarter opponent. – Mr. Green
The art is for me to feed pieces to you and make you believe you took those pieces…because you’re smarter and I’m dumber.
The more sophisticated the game, the more sophisticated the opponent.
Place your opponent in an arena you can control. The bigger the space, the easier the control. The more that can be controlled.
They either think the game can’t be that old, or it can’t be that big.
The opponent distracts the victim by getting him consumed with his own consumption.
You will always find a good opponent in the very last place you will ever look.
Use any means possible to induce head pain and engage the enemy.
Imagine that you are using a computer. You input commands in order to make the computer do what you want. You create words, play games and even watch movies. You use it as a tool to accomplish everyday tasks. It is just a means to an end.
Our brain is like this computer. We use it to perform tasks. We remember things and our memory serves to help us navigate this world. Whether the task is easy or difficult, we still use our brain to figure out things. It experiences things that we experience. It calculates the changes that we must make in order not to be hurt. The pleasure we feel is recorded. It rides with us. Like our best friend, it is always there with us.
But the brain is not us. The mind is not us. It can never be. It is just a tool, like the computer. It must be used for certain things, and then put away when it is not needed.
For instance, if you become angry at something, it is usually a reaction that has an origin in fear. You become angry because you think someone either meant to offend you or the action bothered you enough to cause you physical distress. Your mind puts up a defense to protect you. It wants to answer in anger, and often does. It wants to react. But if you ask the question, “Why am I angry?” the reaction then becomes a choice. You are then choosing to react to this issue: choosing to become angry or not. In the interest of personal peace, it is probably best to choose peace than anger.
Did you know you had a choice? Would you choose peace over anger? Your mind would have you think that you need to retaliate to hurt those that hurt you. Any perceived offense is a means for the mind to lash out and defend or protect, solidifying our dependence upon it. But the mind is not protecting you. It is protecting itself to keep itself in use. To feed the façade that it actually exists.
What I am trying to tell you is that YOUR MIND IS YOUR ENEMY because ALL YOUR LIFE YOU HAVE ALLOWED IT TO EXIST WITHIN THE FANTASY THAT IT IS YOU. You feed it each day. And each day it becomes stronger.
Learning to see what’s real and what is false is the next step. It is what some people would call enlightenment and the path to God. The knowing that those negative reactions are not truly you, will give you the power to part the veil and see the shame of the world.
Jake Green: "There is something about yourself that you don't know. Something that you will deny even exists, until it's too late to do anything about it. It's the only reason you get up in the morning. The only reason you suffer the shitty puss, the blood, the sweat and the tears. This is because you want people to know how good, attractive, generous, funny, wild and clever you really are. Fear or revere me, but please, think I'm special. We share an addiction. We're approval junkies. We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The hip-hip-hoo-fuckin' rah. Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on you crazy diamond, because we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others."