nistake

If I can't be fulfilled and satisfied in the now, I can never be.

I read this paragraph a while ago and this kinda applies to your situation: So spiritual awakening is no joke and hopefully you're in it for the long run. After all, we're talking about changing your whole life and wordview. You have the necessary sources for the techniques so do some experimentation, find what works for you and in time you'll see results if you're patient and persistent enough. Besides, a period of 6 months is really not so much. The thing is, you can't expect serious results in half a year.

@Javfly33 Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of it either, but it's true

From the absolute perspective, you're always present. You can't escape it. Even if you're distracted, blissful, suffering, relaxed. However, I guess this is not really helpful in your case, so I'd say start working on your mindfulness skills. It's critical for this work. You can find countless resources on how to improve it, but great starting points are the breath, body awareness or just listen to the underlying silence at certain intervals.

Feelings, by themselves, do not create problems. It is rather the tendency to interpret and analyze them. When out of habit you believe those interpretations, it is there that the suffering begins.

This short video describes this pretty neatly:

"Plain" self-inquiry never seemed appealing to me. I always found it was easy to fall into the trap of unnecessary emotional labor. It's as if you keep asking the usual self-inquiry questions and then you wait for logical/rational answers. And as you probably know, this is not how it works. That's why I comined it with meditation. I basically meditated on the 'I am' or the sense of self in other words. As soon as a thought/emotion/answer/question/etc came up, I acknowledged it and returned to the sense of self.

I’ve been operating according to the idea that it is almost impossible to let go of mental patterns that operate unconsciously and that I have to know such a pattern of thinking first in order to let go of it and abide in my true nature. Leave all those mental habits and patterns alone. The self that is apparently operating, that seems to know these patterns and that would ‘let go of them’ is itself simply one such pattern. These patterns of thinking and feeling have taken their shape, over the years, from the belief that we are a separate self, without our making any particular effort. In just the same way, as our experiential conviction that we are not a limited, located self deepens, so our thoughts, feelings and subsequent behaviour will slowly, effortlessly and naturally realign themselves with this new understanding.

Damn, what an awesome description of this miracle we call 'Life'.

Well, I'd be a bit cautious about this 'eliminate the ego' business. As Eckhart Tolle would say: If you consider the ego to be your personal problem, that's just more ego. I'd go with observing it closely and trying to understand it fully. Maybe even befriend it or (dare I say it?) love it.

@Javfly33 That's when stable mindfulness skills come handy. I find it quite strange that mindfulness tends to be really underemphasized. Let's say you sit down to meditate and after a while you recognize of this 'space behind your thoughts and feelings'. You mind instantly jumps in and says: "Oh, is that it? Is this the present moment? Is this consciousness?". Then, if mindfulness kicks in, you recognize that you are actually in a narrative about the present moment. Therefore, you have the chance 'to go back to that space' without the unnecessary commentary. If you keep at it, you're bound to intuitively recognize what that 'space' really is.

Stay with this for a while. You're on good track.

Fact: You can't overpromote Adyashanti

Just recently I read this in a book: At first I didn't like this and it brought up some negative emotions, mainly disappointment (oh, the irony). I couldn't let this go and started contemplating it. Then, after a while, bamm, I realized what this really means.

@Preety_India Oh, the typical Indian accent. Don't take this the wrong way, it's cute Starting a youtube channel does take courage, but it's an awesome thing to do. You go girl!

Now that's a highly effective 'practise' ?

And yet, "you" seem to have the need to correct everyone posting in this thread :~)

@Bazooka Jesus *drops mic*

Now this is some proper masculinity. Great post.

The brain does not create consciousness, but conciousness created the brain, the most complex physical form on earth, for its expression.