Ayla

http://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/story/20150130-how-your-eyes-trick-your-mind/ Such powerful implications of "seeing through illusions"...

Enlightenment reveals that NOTHING is a problem, but all is play of consciousness. Also, it makes one realize that there is no answer to be had as there are no questions. Most questions arise from different levels of desire - (roughly) either for things to be different (problems), or for things to move forward (projections). I'd compare this a bit with an alcoholic. When they go to meetings, they never say, "hello, my name is John and I was an alcoholic", but "...I AM...". So using that analogy, one could say that the first few days and weeks and months, it is complicated, as all the old triggers have to be worked through. In time, with years and awareness and compassion, they lose all power. STILL, as long as in human form, a continuous vigilance is needed, as deeper buried triggers may get in at any time.

@Mal @Heart of Space This has taken a turn that has nothing to do with initial topic. I'd like to ask to take your private affairs in a ..humm... private message. When I have time, I will be deleting unrelated posts from here. Thank you

@kibrekidusan Breathe in = allow Breathe out = let go This is the first understanding a child is given upon birth. Breath. Naturally allowing what comes, letting go after... allow, let go. It's like a dance really. Some people put a name on it: meditation. THAT is the trap

Ayla's enjoying the sweet taste of bliss. Noticing the sensations in body and the thoughts passing by like clouds. Not attaching has become natural, cause there's nothing to attach to or from or with. Ayla's noticing how bliss isn't being pushed against. Even though it comes and goes, exactly like the hell... there's no desire to push it back! Also, exactly how it does for the hell, body reacts heavily to it...mostly tingling ripples! **************************************************************************** NOTHING to wish. NOTHING to solve. NOTHING to do. NOTHING to understand. NOTHING to fear. NOTHING to push against. NOTHING at all!

@abrakamowse , yes. Let them be. Don't need to interfere there, just to recognize them as such, and look for the thinker of thoughts. Keep Looking until you can identify something that ISN't a thought

@abrakamowse , please consider this carefully: In what you currently perceive as YOUR experience, is there ANYTHING that is not a THOUGHT attaching the YOU to the EXPERIENCE? "I" + "thought" + "experience" Which one is real? Is thought real? Is experience real? Is I real? Don't go to quotes or knowledge or maybees... just see for yourself. All that is needed is integrity and honesty of the observing.

ohhhhhhh you haven't seen THIS getting mad - cause it does. Life likes to play mad at times, and you know what? there's nothing wrong with any of it...

@DizIzMikey The only reason you see me on a "high chair", is because YOU refuse to look at "your own chair" I promise it is not difficult. The moment you've had enough of all the drama around, the moment there's no more appetite to engage with any of it, you'll find the highness of your own chair It seems difficult, I know, until it doesn't anymore.

Fear is still there. EVERYTHING is still there. But there's NOBODY there, no central unit that gets affected by any of it. The focus needs to turn from the object to the SUBJECT. When it is SEEN that there's no experiencer, no separate entity that has to deal with any of it... everything drops. Ayla has a lot of fears, but I don't, as I know they're all imaginary, part of the play here. Also, we NEVER have fears about others. So in your context, you only fear the way YOU would feel if your daughter... I know FOR SURE death doesn't exist, but can you believe me? You need to search for yourself. It's not difficult.

This!

Grace

Having been here from day one of launching this forum, I can say that despite the "low level" of content, I've laughed my guts out, cried, questioned, cared, loved, contemplated, reviewed, shifted, seen through blind spots, came to terms with a lot of stuff that took place here during these months. There is enough content here to wake up the entire planet. Search for it carefully. I think we should all be a little bit grateful for "being manipulated" by THIS and not by THAT...or not!

When you "look" at a tree, what is that you are seeing? A bunch of colors and some ideas and concepts you have about the tree, as it is impossible for the tree to come in through your eyes and into your brain so that you experience it. Isn't it? In the same way, when you "look" at an "I", everything there is to "see" are mind concepts... NOTHING more ! You could say that it is all a dream, or a mental copy of what IS, and that none of it is REAL. Now mixing up different perspectives and concepts when the truth hasn't been SEEN THROUGH, would lead to endless confusion. Yes, ultimately there's no tree, no self and no seeing. There's only THIS, and even that's saying too much! It's terribly confusing when trying to mix levels or perspectives. It just doesn't work. There's nothing wrong with an everyday view of ordinary objects and situations or with using words to express some ideas in the context of sharing. Denying it leads to absurdities like this cartoon: What I keep seeing is a sort of a chasing tails (own or other's) when within a particular topic, there is a search for understanding that gets somehow contaminated by swirls on semantics and questioning terms.. Both perspectives are true, two different levels of speaking. Neither one contradicts the other. Almost every topic I've seen looks like this: How to get to "no-self" but "no-self" is just a term. PERFECT recipe for never getting anywhere at all. Looks a bit like this:

@Key Elements Thank you

If there is no self, how is it still that there is something YOU (have to/can/are supposed to) do next? How is it that you perceive yourself with no self? Is there any decision there to be made by a central unit (you)? If you go open a drawer to chose a pair of socks, who chooses? YOU? No-you?

@DizIzMikey - go to the doctor Now after he tells you what is wrong with that body, use this experience to see if that had anything to do with YOU. Were you the one puking? Were you the one putting all these labels and images? Even if maybe it's a little gross, I'll make the list of labels mind has come up within such a short text: (bear in mind that this is just the top layer of the labels, in reality, all are labels ) -weird shit, nasty shit - horrible - second stomach - belly of the beast **************************************************************** Have you ever cut a finger and directly look at the flesh coming back up to close itself? Blood coming out to wash the wound from outer impurities? Can you see the magnificence, the intelligence of the body? In the same way, think about something purging from body. Be glad about it. Body knows exactly what to do to heal itself.

@isabel , read about "the golden child" and "the scapegoat" in the context of NPD (Narcissistic personality disorder) ...

It is indeed part of human nature to judge. Ultimately, to judge is to think. To label. To attach. Now once you have found out who you really are, there's nobody to be the judge or the judged... so judging simply stops. You will also notice that bodily senses alone know what and when to do by themselves (judging for example when to get hand out of fire or eyes out of too much light, etc)

@jes , even a butterfly can teach you something... for example, that you are at least as free as it is?! Everything and everyone is a teacher. The important question is "for whom?"

I was being a lot more literal in my initial post. I was trying to get you to recognize the "switch" that is taking place so that you can see from the same picture into a different perspective. Usually, you can see one perspective: let's say the 2 faces (the duality). Something has to happen in your perspective so that you can see the chalice (non-duality). The more you "exercise that shifting", the more it will become obvious which "muscle" you need to use so that you can observe no-self. Because, exactly like the two perspectives on this picture, self and no-self are both there, "right in front of your eyes", but if you don't actually "switch", no amount of information will get you to see it. So from that perspective, maybe more pictures like this, would be helpful... or not

@Ike Carter There is a big difference between enlightenment and self actualization. What you seem to describe, is a state of peace and contentment with your advancement in your journey, and to answer your question yes, everyone can "lose" that peace. In my opinion actually, peace is never lost, it is only that things come on top of it and blur it. There is not need to despair or to panic. Just go back to the practices that have helped you in the past. Nothing wrong has happened. You just chose a lesson over another. Remember, once we've stopped learning, we're "dead"

What I mean is, answers are everywhere.... but they aren't of any value. Only your own answer will be useful. Turn the question back to you.

@Andre , I don't have any answers for you. What do YOU think ?

Little rant: "We are all recovering addicts" We are all recovering from different types of addiction. Addiction to food, addiction to cigarettes, addiction to searching, addiction to information, addiction to drama.... We've all been doped with it from birth, and we are drugging our kids with it too. A point comes (or not) when you decide that there's more to life than this addiction to different things. This is where the quest begins. Old paradigm of getting rid of addiction was to stuff it someplace. Kill it. Block it. (only to have it surfacing into something else) Could it be possible for you to consider embracing it fully? Here's a process I propose to you: Let's say that you're called Mary and you're addicted to sugar. The only reason Mary goes to the sugar cabinet is because this is the way she always dealt with a certain type of a feeling in her body. It's a neuronal path that is so walked on, that it feels natural for body to reach for the sugar when the feeling comes. Instead of going to the sugar, immediately sit down and see what it is that your body feels. Write it down. Write down what is happening if you chose not to go there. Let's say that what comes up is: "if I don't go for the sugar (alcohol, smokes, drama, lying, drugs etc), I feel alone and misunderstood." Can you see little Mary as a child being alone and misunderstood? Can you give her your adult hand and comfort her? Can you tell her it is OK to go for the sugar as a self-love act towards herself? It is, ultimately an act of love to soothe any pain that comes. Here comes the interesting part Do you, adult Mary feel too weak to help little Mary? Shift your focus! Look at adult Mary from a few feet up. See her body. See her struggling. See her drama. Soothe adult Mary from a "vibrational" standpoint. In the end, it should look like this: Adult Mary's left hand is keeping little Mary's hand tight, soothing her. Adult Mary's right hand is in BIG Mary's hand soothing her. A chain is created. A chain of love. Look for something smaller than little Mary and for something bigger than big Mary. Link everything. If worked properly, this is a VERY powerful tool. Any time a frustration comes, reach out for both little and big YOU. Soothe and let yourself be soothed. Mentally understanding what is going on never solved anything. Those instances are only there to teach you absolute love. It is not a logic exercise. Will probably write more on this someday