VeganAwake

@Matt8800 I definitely felt a strong connection to Zen Buddhism and Taoism myself, although I have not studied very deeply into either one. I felt a big connection with the yin yang. for example: I started feeling that everything and nothing mattered simultaneously. A few things I wrote in my journal: Between nothing and everything is. We are all seeing the same thing, we just think we describe it differently. I messed around with acid and mushrooms a few dozen times when I was younger. But one time in particular I took some liquid acid and it completely wiped away my monkey chattering mind and I was in complete awake consciousness for several hours. Now that I'm thinking of it it might not have been LSD LOL. Everything is connected... I have been going through Awakening for about 2 and 1/2 years, but maybe I've been Awakening my whole life and I just didn't know it.

@Matt8800 wow.. Thanks for sharing that's incredible and almost identical to mine just a few minor differences but essentially all the meat and potatoes are there as some would say haha. I agree Enlightenment is not a big deal. I've always liked: " The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences" I was always a middle path not heavily opinionated person that really just like taking it easy... path of least resistance. That may have assisted me dropping everything as we were discussing. I think what helped me most of all was having faith that I would be taken care of.

@Matt8800 okay gotcha yes that's great. I apologize for making that sound personal I was just talking about people in general. That's good I have recently also reached a point where I'm focusing more on my family life and enjoying just being. Was there something that triggered your Awakening? I often refer to it as jailbreaking our minds haha.

@Matt8800 it is the path that ends suffering. When you realize it your old patterns will continue to play out for a little while, but the enlightenment itself shines bright. Eventually you see it was your own mind keeping you in a prison of Illusion.

@Matt8800 I understand.. The pursuing is not the problem, it is the attachment and identification that one creates as they pursue. Or thinking they have found the answer and some external form. Being able to take something or drop it without it affecting your emotions is taking the middle path and staying neutral non-attachment. Essentially having it or not having does not affect a person emotionally that has no attachments or desires. A person can take it or leave it either way. I am currently reading a book that Osho wrote about Tantra it's very good so far. In my experience it appears that everyone thinks they're talking about a different path but when you really zoom out it is the same thing just in different order. Basically everyone thinks they're describing a different path but it ends up back at the same ocean where it started. It's just that some paths take longer to get to the same destination. But that's not necessarily a problem. As for as one practice being faster or taking longer than the other ....I believe that just depends on each individual.

This is the pathless path the wayless way and the nothing that is something. You can absolutely disagree and call it my ego but you will only be limiting your experience.

This can sometimes be a tough or confusing area to navigate through. On the biggest picture possible nothing really matters. That being said if you are trying to awaken you have to be aware of how sneaky, cunning and clever the ego is. It will absolutely slide in the back door, and yes this is commonly referred to as the spiritual ego. Remember the ego construct wants more... more more more...more power more money more knowledge more Love, more of everything there is no end. In my experience the complete dropping of the ego constructs self agenda, and becoming nobody with no preferences, no it has to be this way or that way. Just simply staying neutral in all walks of life. And accepting not resisting the isness of each and every moment. Remember nobody can enter the gateless gate. So be nobody!!

@MAYA EL that's interesting...are you saying that every outwardly action is the ego fulfilling its self agenda in disguise? In my experience it feels like as long as I stay conscious I can avoid my ego coming in the back door and sabotaging a situation. And the longer I stay conscious the more it deflates. I really feel like I just bounce back and forth from Consciousness to Maya. I definitely do not identify with my masks for long I catch on to it and drop them as soon as possible. How do you handle this kind of situation?

@Aakash you're very welcome..Remember the falling away is not an action or something you practice doing. It's a realization that can happen immediately. For example if your name is John and you're an Orthodox Christian Living in Miami Beach Florida who thinks he is angry and jealous at times, and also believes himself to be a lazy and often shy individual that lacks social skills. He also thinks he is one-sided, jealous and self-absorbed, And has a horrible work ethic None of this is true & None of this is who you really are... it is an illusion created by yourself and culture. We buy into these labels and false beliefs about ourselves. We create and identity out of these illusions. It's really the silliest thing ever when you realize it. Shed these layers of the false self. Peel the onion and toss the layers of Illusion to the side( completely drop them and disattach) Then you will find your true self...

the great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences

.@Aakash Yes when we try to conceptualize with the egoic mind we get off track. But when we quiet the mind It can be of great service to us. Yes Samadhi is to die before you die. I had to completely trust and let go of everything while simultaneously staying grounded. It basically felt like diving into the murky Waters of the Abyss.

@SoonHei sorry I don't even know what to ask you but you used one of my favorite lines it is as it is. I'm trying to meet more enlightened people or people experiencing Awakening.

We are all dancing around in absolute Infinity. There are no problems unless you allow yourself to believe there is a problem. The only roadblock is the one you place for yourself. From A Course in Miracles "nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists herein lies the peace of God." There are no right or wrong answers because everything and nothing goes in the absolute Infinity game. You can go find a cave and meditate for the rest of your life or become the president of the United States it doesn't matter either way. It all truly does equal 0. Between nothing and everything is... Everything cancels itself out and ends right back where it started.( it perfectly contradicts itself).. That's what going full circle is. The only limits are that there are no limits. See how this cancels itself out and you end up back at the beginning. I agree with everyone's comments here because you simply can't go wrong or right haha just kidding but seriously.

@DoTheWork after reading your information I looked up at my calendar on the wall and saw: Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go- T.S. Elliot Thank you for taking the time to explain your experiences to us in such depth.

@archi thank you and I appreciate the encouragement. Are you going through an Awakening process yourself?

Here is one of my favorite quotes I will leave you all with. "God dwells in you, as you, and you don't have to 'do' anything to be God-realized or Self-realized, it is already your true and natural state. Just drop all seeking, turn your attention inward, and sacrifice your ego mind to the One Self radiating in the Heart of your very being." - Ramana Maharshi

@archi when you make something into a future goal you're putting a little mini roadblock in front of what can be realized now.

@zeroISinfinity I would recommend watching the samadhi part 2 video it's not what you think from 23 minutes on and it will describe the pregnant nothingness I am describing. The reason being is I stumbled on to these two videos about 3 weeks after one of my last big Awakenings in April and it was almost identical to my own experience I was utterly shocked.

@Aakash let me clarify a little bit. No I don't think we are an illusion, I think we are real living human beings on a planet. The ego construct within the human being is what creates the illusion, commonly referred to as the masks we wear or Maya the illusion of the self. The pregnant nothingness within the human body that I was describing would be equivalent to the soul or the spirit. Only this spirit or soul is not an individual soul like the ego tries to make you believe. No this nothingness is literally the essence of all existence, it is the absolute in its self... The article is just fine a good read! Thanks...

@Aakash you are very welcome!! I enjoy talking with people even when the topic is challenging to put into words. Regarding your earlier mention about my direct experience, here is what happend to me. I realized all the things that I believed myself to be, was simply just an idea, a concept, an opinion, or a perception. It was not the truth of who I really was. After that I had an almost complete quieting of the mind for about a day and a half. During that time I ask myself... what am I then? The answer was nothing I am absolutely nothing. It's not the same nothing as most people think of... Peter Ralston talks a little bit about this in some of the interviews with Leo. It's also on that samadhi video! Good luck on your journey my friend...

@Aakash I found this online and it might be of service to you. Like I said before, in my meditation practice I did not focus or avoid any thoughts. I just simply noticed them and let them pass along. Think of yourself in a tall tower watching the clouds( your thoughts) blow by, simply notice them and let them Blow by. THINKING cannot be stopped. Not that it does not stop, but it cannot be stopped. It stops of its own accord. This distinction has to be understood, otherwise you can go mad chasing your mind. No-mind does not arise by stopping thinking. When the thinking is no more, no-mind is. The very effort to stop will create more anxiety, it will create conflict, it will make you split. You will be in a constant turmoil within. This is not going to help.” However, Osho admits that if you forcibly try to stop thinking, you may succeed. However, he warns that you won’t experience true stillness: “And even if you succeed in stopping it forcibly for a few moments, it is not an achievement at all — because those few moments will be almost dead, they will not be alive. You may feel a sort of stillness, but not silence, because a forced stillness is not silence. Underneath it, deep in the unconscious, the repressed mind goes on working. So, there is no way to stop the mind. But the mind stops — that is certain. It stops of its own accord

@Aakash don't make roadblocks where there are no roadblocks, for example there is no problem with Consciousness or absolute Infinity. The only outside of Consciousness that I'm aware of is called Maya the illusion of the self... which that samadhi movie explains very well... please check it out if you haven't already. Awareness Consciousness God absolute Infinity truth are all words describing the same thing. But remember words are not the thing itself...the map is not the territory. I really need to put a strong emphasis on there is "Nothing To Attain." Here is a definition to assist: The verb attain means to achieve, accomplish, or succeed in reaching a goal (usually through some effort). The verb obtain means to acquire or get possession of something. Your false self or your ego is the thing seeking and trying to attain something. Your true self is the nothingness underneath all the layers of your false self.. it has been there all along underneath your nose and you just need to see it. That's what is meant by you are already enlightened. This true self is the essence of existence itself. It is the unchangeable truth of what you are. Shed the layers of your false self, realize the unchanging infinite self that was always there, the veil of Illusion or Maya was just stopping you from seeing it clearly. Hope this helps. Remember the biggest obstacle to Discovery is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. In this work you have to empty your glass. If you think you already have the answers you will not go through the difficult work of dropping your false self and realizing your true nature.

This was something I wrote a while back I thought I would share with you guys ,it has a lot of Leo influence obviously: Words like God confuse people because everyone has a different understanding/belief of what God is. Forget everything you ever thought you knew about who or what God is. Don't label it, don't name it, don't attempt to understand it. Treat it as if you were experiencing it for the very first time like a young child. Now imagine an absolutely infinite, all encompassing and ever-expanding field of Consciousness that expands outward from earth, in all directions with no ending, no boundaries, it literally includes every possibility that ever could be thought, and excludes nothing although paradoxically it includes nothing because it's absolute Infinity and it includes nothing also hehe, its absolutely completely Total. Welcome to Absolute Infinity or GOD. SURPRISE!!! hope you packed your bags because this ride appears to have no ending. There are no right or wrong religions/belief systems or false gods because everything is actually God including us. You simply cannot go wrong in this game.

@MuddyBoots I completely understand, this kind of inquiry can be very frustrating..you're doing just fine and right where you need to be... just accept it for what it is. Remember "it is what it is." Your statement reminded me of a wonderful quote that helped me along my journey from A Course in Miracles- " Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists, herein lies the peace of God". One way to look at it is "there are no enlightened people, just enlightened actions". We are not divided just because of the thought that we are divided. In other words the thoughts or feelings of separation that an ego portrays does not make it true. We are waves in the same ocean just as my individual cells are still a part of my whole body. From the time we are born we are born into a culture that starts telling us who and what we are and we buy into that belief. Whatever cultural norms and religions are pushed on us we usually adopt them just assuming they are the truth. During Awakening you simply realize everything you thought you believed you were, was just somebody else's idea's and your own conditioned belief's about yourself. Once this fall self is realized you are left asking the question, if I wasn't who I thought I was, then who am I?

@Aakash you're very welcome. I did not meditate or focus on anything in particular just allow your thought process to be. During meditation if something arises just notice it and let it fall away naturally. Remember this process is a falling away not an attaining. Once you let all the layers of your false self drop away, you will realize your true self was there all along and you just couldn't see it clearly through the veil of Illusion.