PopoyeSailor

Sudden realisation even before completing the paragraph: https://www.quora.com/How-would-you-describe-your-first-real-spiritual-awakening-experience/answer/Dan-Kaplan-23

https://www.quora.com/How-did-you-become-enlightened/answer/Sharan-Gala

The mainstream movie matrix is a good one. The third installment of the movie has a sung version of these verses from the Hindu Scripture Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in its End Credits: asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya From ignorance lead me to truth From darkness lead me to light From death lead me to immortality --Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, I.iii.28

As for godness being both brutal and loving. Yes, it is called Leela(Play / Pastime) in Vedic terminology.

You can experience a past life of your own as well as somebody else's or a future life for that matter, as it happened to somebody during the time of Ramana Maharishi. But, also you can live the entire life of a imaginary character in a novel or a video game or any other type as well, as if it was real. You won't be able to tell the difference between that and this when you experience it. Infact you do experience this regularly during sleep, in the form of a dream. didn't that Robot you saw in that movie chase you in your dream? Didn't it scare the shit out of you when you experienced it in your dream? Do you think that fear and emotion you experienced is not real? All of this is possible, for consciousness is not limited by anything. Read the story of king Lavana in Yoga Vasishta to understand this: https://estudantedavedanta.net/The-Supreme-Yoga-Swami-Venkatesananda.pdf

As for change in brain changing consciousness: When something is connected with something else in a tight knit manner. It is natural that any change you do to it will affect the behavior of the connected thing to a certain degree. In this case, it is not only a connection, but a direct projection. That too for a direct and rapid expression.

If brain creates consciousness, then the senses of the body must also be limited by the brain itself. Then, why is it that People who have a NDE(Near Death Experience) sometimes accurately describe events that had happened far away from their body when they flatlined on the hospital table. How come Yogis able to to Parakaya Pravesha(Entering into another body through Pranic airs). How come people read other's minds that are far away? During a kundalini awakening, a youtuber described seeing through walls. How do you explain various reincarnation stories of children, being born with wound marks on their body, with the memory of dying because of traumatic injury at the wound mark area in their previous life? Which when verified, turns out to be true. Also CIA has released documents of experiments that they conducted which clearly talks about these phenomena. In those reports it was observed and concluded to be real by scientists as well.

Any kind of exploration into the unknown always brings some new results with new benefits. For that reason, even scientifically laced spirituality is also appreciated and welcomed. May be in the future, such research will enable enlightenment en masse. But, the important thing to remember is that No scientist, or Yogi or spiritualist will ever know the entirely of all the different configurations consciousness can take. It will always be exponentially infinite. It is precisely why even the enlightened do not always experience the same kind of experience. Its a good thing at least now the scientific community is openly willing to explore consciousness. That's exactly what we need from scientific community. Progress always happens little by little. But, it is appreciated none the less.

Too much knowledge gleaned from too many a people with short short sentences is not the way to learn anything. Forum is not helpful for learning the whole thing. Please start by first reading Yoga Vasishta: https://estudantedavedanta.net/The-Supreme-Yoga-Swami-Venkatesananda.pdf then it will be helpful for you to discuss it in this forum afterwards. For a quick Self enquiry read, try this: https://realization.org/p/sadhu-om/how-to-do-self-enquiry.html

There are even people who have had sudden realisation just by even overhearing a conversation related to self realisation.

If you want to think of it as a simulation, there is nothing wrong about it. In a way it is. But, not in the form of machines simulating this with algorithms. Even if it were to be simulated through machines. Those entities who are simulating it should still be conscious cognizant creatures, right? So, since cognizant consciousness still being the primal reality which even gives existence to those alien overlords who are simulating us, would still have to be explained right? Not only some simulating aliens. Even if the reality is thought to be created by some GOD. Still that GOD has to be conscious & cognizant first,before he/she/it can create anything. In all cases, which ever way you think about it, consciousness is the thread that runs through all of these various scenarios. That's why Without Consciousness Nothing Is. With Consciousness, Everything Is.

It is the nature of reality at-least in this reality we live in, that every creature's life depends on other creature's death to become food of the former creature. The food you are complaining that those children are not getting. That food is actually some form of a living entity either in an animal form or a plant form. So, even if you do solve the food crisis of humans, you are still committing crime against other living entities by consuming them as food for yourself. I heard that there is a passage in the 5000 year old Epic Mahabharatha, where some Rishi says to somebody in an argument which goes somewhat like this: "Those who do not even know that just by simply breathing, they are killing so many living entities(Microbes, bacteria, etc..in air probably) they shouldn't talk about violence". Duality means contrast. Contrast of something against something else. Love cannot exist without its opposite hate. Compassion cannot exist without its opposite cruelty & suffering. If every one lived like a king or queen and there was no suffering in existence, then who will be compassionate for whom and what for? The very word compassion and along with its actual reality of feeling it in the form of bodily & mental sensation also will cease to be. Same goes for love as well. Either Love/Compassion or Anger/Hate, if one can attain an ultimate intensity in either of these feelings, one will attain liberation then & there right away. Because, in its ultimate core, they are one and the same thing. But, the problem is that we humans are not good at either of them. Which is the cause for great anxiety.

Karma is not about sin or good works. The concept simply is about the Cause & Effect interactions of an individual with his/her environment and further causes & effects, as well as continuation of such interactions within the whole. The core thing about karma which everyone really wants to know is this: Karma means Cause & Effect. It is the RESULTANT CONDITIONING that an individual has attained through his previous(lives as well) interactions with the world and the future actions which are influenced by that conditioning and the TENDENCIES and BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS that are deeply ingrained in his psyche. Karma is just as much as of the Environment/World/Universe as it is of the Individual. Does karma determine whether you'll go to hell or heaven after death? State of mind at the time of death determines what one will experience after death. Just as state of mind before sleep determines what type of dreams one will have. Hell / Heaven are simply imaginary creations which are experienced after death based on the resultant karmic tendencies one has acquired during his/her living state, just like dreams are experienced at night which are based on the memories & behavioral patterns of the waking state. Constant thinking, remembering & meditation on God & Heaven while alive will ensure that similar state of mind is maintained during the time of death, so that, the mind upon leaving the body will automatically create pleasant realities which are experienced as heaven. Meeting of deceased relatives and deities happen because of strong yearning or attachment towards such entities subconsciously(A Kind of conditioning), which makes you share the afterlife reality with them. Since Karma( Conditioning / Tendencies / Behavioral Patterns / Environment ) determines how we experience both of our living and afterlife experiences; More pleasant ways of living creates pleasant kinds of conditioning and violent ways of living creates violent ways of conditioning which further breeds more of what one already has.

Dear Cosmin, Please watch it till the end. PS: Don't miss the funny reactions of the woman in the back. TED Talk: Became a Math genius by getting mugged. It is called Acquired Savant Syndrome. There are others similar to him who acquired similar abilities through physical injuries to brain. He's drawing mathematical structures similar to what Dodo has drawn above, but much more complex. Just like how people on psychedelics describe seeing fractals, he also describes universe as having fractal structure. May be perfect control during Psychedelics is hard. There is a practice called SAMYAMA in YOGA, where a deep simultaneous practice of Dhāraṇā (concentration), Dhyāna (meditation) and Samādhi (union) done on an object or a concept, to completely understand it, in a sense by directly becoming one with that concept or object.

My Opinion: Any Experience or Consciousness you are talking about is nothing but YOU, YOURSELF. Or you can say Consciousness is made up of YOU, YOURSELF. Without a YOU, can you debate or analyse anything? The only difference is that: That 'YOU' can be a reference from a Limited-Personal-Individual-Dual-Level, or it can be from a ReferenceLess-Unlimited-NonIndividual-Infinite-NonDual-level. Only a Formed mind asks such questions. A Formless Non-Mind does not do such things. The reality, illusion, existence, non-existence, thinking, intellectualizing, debating, questioning, answering, logic & philosophy, all these are just mirages of hypnosis that appear after the mind has been formed. Just like a person can be hypnotized to make him think that he is a dog or a cat; Similarly, an individuated mind remains in hypnosis, thinking that questions like: "What is consciousness made up of?" or "Why does Existence exist?" are valid meaningful questions. Which in truth are just as meaningless as asking a question: What is that barren woman's son doing? There is no such "THING" called Consciousness or Existence out there. It is that which is itself, reflects within itself, for itself, by itself, to itself as Everything & Nothing. But, that reflection is just a Non-Existent appearance like that of a water in the mirage. Consciousness and Existence are just words. They are useful only as labels or pointers. The word Colour and the actual feeling of seeing and experiencing Colour are two different things. No amount of explanation of the concept of colour is going to make the blind man understand the reality of colour. Having theoretical knowledge is a good thing. But, be aware that usefulness of such knowledge lies only in its ability to motivate you to follow the Spiritual practices to directly experience the truth for yourself. Otherwise, such knowledge is of little use. FOLLOW THE PRACTICES & GROW YOUR SPIRITUAL EYES. Start with a few minutes of Daily Meditation. I'm on the same path, yet to have a breakthrough.

The words Nothingness and Consciousness can be quite confusing because of their different meaning in dual reality. BRAHMAN is the word you are looking for. BRAHMAN = Absolute ultimate of anything & everything that: | can exist | cannot exist | Existence | Non-Existence | can be thought of | cannot be thought of | Infinite | Infinitesimal | There is BRAHMAN and BRAHMAN alone. There is nothing else except BRAHMAN. YOU ARE ONE WITH BRAHMAN, YOU ARE BRAHMAN. BRAHMAN = Non-Dual + Dual => therefore Non-Duality = Duality Non-Dual = Nothingness = Void = NIRGUNA-BRAHMAN = Formless Infinite Ocean of BRAHMAN Duality = Something-ness = Diversity = SAGUNA-BRAHMAN = Forms of Finite Waves of BRAHMAN NIRGUNA-BRAHMAN = Non-Duality = BRAHMAN without attributes & qualities (Experienced as Deep Sleep, Non-Dual Void or Non-Dual Fullness or Oneness) SAGUNA BRAHMAN = Duality = BRAHMAN with qualities & attributes (our waking consciousness + Dreams + Psychedelic Worlds + Imagination + Hallucination + Realities after death etc.. all of these can either be heavenly or hellish or in-between) APPEARANCES IN BRAHMAN: Neither do they exist, nor does they don't exist. Neither are they real, nor are they unreal. Their nature is like that of a mirage in the desert. Watery mirage in & of itself does appear and is real. But, upon closer inspection, there is no water and thus unreal. BRAHMAN is beyond both Reality/Unreality, Existence/Non-Existence. Yet, it is everything including Existence & Non-Existence, Reality & Unreality. Consciousness & awareness are primary attributes of BRAHMAN. It expresses itself through Conscious Awareness. It is not that Nothingness becomes something and loses its nothingness or that something becomes nothing and loses its something-ness. Both something and nothing are just different configurations of BRAHMAN. BRAHMAN simultaneously displays its Nothingness and Something-ness at all times. It is just that: Those who are in Non-Dual state experience NIRGUNA(Nothingness) aspect of BRAHMAN(Loss of Individuality) and those who are in Dual state experience SAGUNA(Something-ness) aspect of BRAHMAN(Individualized Experience). There is also experience of Mixed states as well passing In-and-Out of these two states temporarily through meditation or otherwise. Just like it is the nature of the Fire to cause Heat and Water to put out Fire. It is the nature of the BRAHMAN to cause Nature & World, Nothingness & Something-ness, etc.. So is, its nature also to cause/create us and make us ask the question: why does BRAHMAN does all this. Disclaimer: My knowledge is only theoretical from studying Vedantic literature and watching + reading many awakening/Enlightenment stories.

Death; An Inside Story A Book for All Those who Shall Die https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Death_An_Inside_Story/ydzQDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

My Opinion: That Non-Duality when everything perceivable is removed, the state that remains after that, which is called as nothingness/emptiness which also acts as an absolute potential for manifesting anything and everything is what is called as enlightenment. May be this realization itself is attained like a dual switch of ON/OFF. The reason this could be true is because, everyone who attains it says that once you attain it, that reality is never lost or forgotten like other spiritual experiences. The moment it is attained, it becomes permanent and always remains in the background even during intense frustrations in life. It seems, once the projection is directly seen to be just a projection, it always remains as the projection.(May be psychedelics are not showing this truth deeply enough for it to become permanent?) Now, the expansion of consciousness and the various infinite different intense states that it can configure itself into must definitely be limitless and infinite. I don't think Frank Yang or any other enlightened person denies it. May be this is the area where psychedelics are helpful in exploring through the infinite states that consciousness can take shape as. Other Possibility: May be the psychedelics are actually showing the same enlightened states as meditation, but the permanentness of those states are dependent on structure of the individual body-mind, requiring longer time for adjustment which cannot happen in a small time duration during psychedelic experiences. May be Leo is insisting that the nature of some of the states are so radical that even the initial enlightenment/knowing itself just feels trivial and fades in comparison to those unbelievable states. If this is the case, then all that he needs to say is that "Enlightenment/self-realisation itself feels trivial in comparison to these states". Maybe that's what he's trying to say.

Please don't do it during driving in the dense traffic. If the perception shifts suddenly, it might cause disorientation for some people, which might cause an accident. Otherwise, its a good contemplative technique..

The most important thing Frank Yang mentions in the interview video is that Enlightenment alone does not make you compassionate and moral. Sure it will act as a catalyst and a booster for morality. But, as he mentions, the previous conditioning plays a crucial role in determining the enhanced effect the moral or immoral behavior will have after enlightenment. This is something I understood by observing different gurus and their behaviors over the years. Ken Wilber has confirmed it for me. Frank yang seem to have knowledge of Ken Wilber's Cleaning Up, Waking Up, Growing Up model for Consciousness work.

This seems to confirm Frank Yang's Realisation.

@Moksha I'm not referring to some religious sources claiming about reincarnation. I have referred to the research papers from Virginia university as well as documentary videos of scientists who are researching it. On the other link: I have posted some links of the CIA's research into paranormal activity like Remote viewing, ESP and other such phenomena. Who in their reports have concluded that such research is valid and yielding some positive results. Not all phenomena can be easily replicated. You cannot replicate reincarnation. You can only study it. But, studying many iterations of the same phenomena, you can atleast deduce something about it. In my own case, I used to think that kundalini awakening is fake and people who exhibit it are faking it. But, one day, I have directly experienced the awakening of kundalini within myself and started to have intense kriyas that follow it. Although the energy didn't enter into the central channel, nevertheless the experience itself was like a nuclear explosion within the system with way too much heat all over the body. Also, during that time for a few moments, any person that came to my mind during those few moments I was only having love for them. I could not hate them even if I wanted to. Anyway. I guess, as they say: You can only peel the skin of the fruit and give it to somebody or may even put it in their mouth. But, it is they themselves who has to chew and swallow it. I hope you get to have some experience where it will become quite obvious to you what the true nature of reality is. Good luck for your journey on this path. May the force be with you...

Dear @Moksha , Isn't it a biased thinking too to think that "any evidence that anybody provides is a biased evidence". I know you don't think that way. But, that is exactly what you are doing even without knowing you are doing it. Instead of researching through the sources provided, if you keep on arguing about it, how are you going to get a new understanding? Take one topic, say Reincarnation, keep watching every documentary video you can find on youtube about it. Also go through the research papers and sources I have referred to. Don't skip or rush it. Research on it properly without any preconceived notions on it. Come back after you have done this rigorously for a week atleast and we can see whether you can confidently tell me that you still believe there is no phenomenon that happens after death.

Thats ok, right now your mindset is resisting it because you haven't found the proper evidences. For the time being gain as much knowledge as possible. Along with the knowledge, your opinion will also evolve. In terms of extraordinary evidence you are seeking, try watching the reincarnation research video and research papers that I posted above. May be this will also help: