Seraphim

In my opinion there are: Sentient beings who also have the capacity to feel emotions, like humans and animals. Sentient beings without the capacity to feel emotions, like ensouled robots like the gray ET's, or higher dimensional beings like some dragons, etc. Semi-sentient beings with spirituality like trees, rocks, insects, etc. They are part of a collective and are sentient and spiritual in their higher dimensional existence. Non-sentient, dead objects without spirituality like computers, processed materials and robots. They may be part of God's creation/extension, but they are not like God, they can't feel love.

A quote from a good non-duality teacher (Artem Boytsov) on enlightenment and psychology:

Yes, I only listen to recorded transmissions and the energy can be stronger than, for example, live RASA transmissions. However, some people do not feel anything, even after having meditated with the transmissions more than 1000 hours. The practices for developing one's intuition/psychic abilities should also make the transmissions stronger. Doing shadow work to get more inner purity should also work. As for making the effects of the transmissions better, contemplation on spiritual/non-duality truths is a great method. Or visualizing/imagining the result you want while meditating with the transmission, I know someone who achieved incredible things with this method. Yes, presence and surrender works for me. It makes sense that sitting cross-legged works, then the energy does not move down into the earth so easily, it stays in your body. For the types of transmissions I listen to, it is better to have the feet firmly on the ground because with that strong energy, some people sometimes get headaches, dizziness or negative emotions if too much energy builds up.

Okay then I will check out his teachings. Maybe he is what one may define as a saint, I love people like that. However, Avatars are on a different level, they are born that way and their purpose is to bring great blessings to humanity. Nirmala Devi (1923 - 2011) did a global initiation 1995 that activated the kundalini of all humans, making it much easier for people to raise their kundalini to the crown chakra, and since then a lot more people have started awakening. I think she was an avatar. Her Sahaja Yoga still lives on, she never charged money for her satsangs or services, and she awakened many atheists because during Sahaja Yoga one feels the presence of Divine Mother physically. She is one example, there are others. Spirituality is my passion and I have done a lot of research into teachers, teachings, spiritual traditions etc. There are living saints and avatars for sure because there is a global awakening happening right now and we need their assistance.

No, it is unlikely that a non-duality teacher would be an avatar. Non-duality teachers are like normal people, they do not have any spiritual powers or strong auras. You probably do not believe in the existence of Avatars, which is fine, but then you should not have commented. The most evolved spiritual teachers I have seen have never been non-duality teachers, because when you evolve further you begin to get information and teachings from within, and the non-duality awakening is just the beginning, so the highly evolved teachers will have more unique teachings. @Arthogaan No, he seems like the complete opposite of a saint. Saints are pure and benevolent.

Like believing that there is no duality, or that there is an I-thought, or that dropping one's concepts will lead to liberation? Are those the types of beliefs you have in mind? Those "beliefs" come from my direct experience and investigations of reality, they are not causing me any psychological suffering and are similar to believing that there are trees and cars and houses. It is very different from believing in things that are not really there, like the false Self or the Mind.

I guess a selling point for non-duality teachings is that since it is all about dropping the concepts and beliefs you won't commit to any beliefs that could later turn out to be false. So it is the safest path for people who are skeptical and rational. To intend to believe for the rest of your life that you are a Mind in a human body or whatever it is that you believe you are, is a big commitment, it would be unfortunate if you spent your whole life believing in a lie, right?

The non-duality teachings are all about going beyond the mind, dropping the concepts and seeing what is real. To look within at the false ideas and concepts we have built up which affects how we perceive reality, and letting go of those so that we can see clearly and be free and happier.

Your body and soul are real, however if you (the human) tries to find a real, objective Self or Mind within you, all you will find are thoughts, and in the center of those thoughts is the I-thought, the Self and the Mind are distortions created by the I-thought, they are not real. So you are not who you think you are, you are reality itself, you are beyond the mind.

Yes, there is not a separate self: the self is one with everything, it is not separate. The "no-self"-teaching does not say that you are not a human, but that seems to be how you and some other misguided neo-advaita-people interpret it. In Buddhism, it is a teaching of oneness or sometimes about non-doership. In non-duality, it is a teaching to help us see the ego/I-thought clearly and get rid of it through self-inquiry. Once the I-thought is gone, the teaching is no longer relevant or true, because then you are just a simple human again who has let go of all concepts because the truth is beyond the mind.

Yes, I think the most common is to merge with our sun, historically at least. However, I am not sure if they lost their individuality and became the sun or as a way to empower themselves and "ascend". According to an alternative historical theory, some of the ancient Egyptian mystery schools would have their students awaken their kundalini, cultivating bliss and then lucid dream together as a group and enter the sun. An awakened kundalini, bliss and a harmonious lifestyle will reverse the body's entropy and give it energy (cold plasma). @GreenWoods I have studied Dan Winter's teachings and they align with the information you shared here, he adds the scientific explanations for all this, he also invented an equation for how gravity works which I think will get accepted by the scientific world soon and create a bridge between science and spirituality.

Does it feel like you exist in the head, behind the eyes, looking out at the world through the eyes? If you have dissolved that, then the next step is to dissolve the mind, not the thoughts but the "frame" that surrounds the thoughts, the subtle feeling of having a mind. When the mind is gone things will be very clear, simple and perfect, the seeking will end and the spiritual concepts will not matter anymore because you see that the truth is beyond the mind.

Everything feels perfect. There is no resistance, however things can feel annoying, boring, etc, but there is no resistance to it and it doesn't feel like a problem so it still feels perfect. A very stable happiness, and lots of joy and bliss. Less fear. My relationships are good, no problems. I have more interest in living, being a human, I am life, I am light, I want to live and follow my true purpose which comes from the soul, sometimes it feels blissful to say something, to touch things, to walk or sit down, normal everyday things like that are amazing. Following my intuition is the most important thing.

How long have you had those beliefs? Where did you get them? A spiritual teacher? Those neo-advaita beliefs only work for a short while, eventually people realize that they do not want to think that they are enlightened, they want to experience true happiness, peacefulness and freedom, so they keep searching until they find that.

Good, you seem to enjoy your life and be on the right path. In my opinion, the "no-self"-teaching is for the mind and the I-thought. When the I-thought disappear, the "no-self"-idea becomes a nonsensical concept, you see that the truth is beyond the mind and its concepts. It is the same with ideas like "other people are not real" and "I am God".

The existence of many beings with their own experience doesn't contradict non-duality because their experience and existence are made of consciousness and exists within a larger universal consciousness, nothing is separate from the larger consciousness so there is no duality.

No I haven't. But if it doesn't cause you any problems then it is not a disorder, it's just a feeling/sensation, so don't worry about it If I understand it correctly, this is the difference between the two: Depersonalization: Feeling that you're observing yourself from outside your body. Non-doership: The sense of self that used to be located in the head behind the eyes is gone.

Yes either that or depersonalization: "Depersonalization-derealization disorder occurs when you persistently or repeatedly have the feeling that you're observing yourself from outside your body or you have a sense that things around you aren't real, or both."

Yea that seems similar to what I see/feel. Everything I see is glowing or radiating a oneness-feeling, it makes everything seem good, kind, benevolent, like it is saying "I love you, we are one". This sight appeared when I looked out the window and contemplated on the idea that everything is the Self, suddenly I could see it, and it felt quite overwhelming at first, it can feel trippy sometimes but in a good way. I have never taken psychedelics so I'm sure this can happen to anyone if they are interested in these things and contemplate on it, I did receive a spiritual transmission the day before it happened though so maybe that contributed.

Yea I had some of those types of thoughts before, and before starting the spiritual path I had a lot of that. There was an immediate change when the I-thought disappeared, because when it is gone, reality feels perfect, and it feels like there are no problems. The mind puts labels on things and we believe in them, so when the I-thought is gone, in some ways it becomes impossible to trick us, we see that the truth is beyond the mind.

Here is a great article about thinking: https://medium.com/@jayseb11/3-types-of-thinking-one-of-which-the-monkey-mind-is-the-root-of-all-suffering-2f0138ffe99a I don't have the "incessant thinking" type (mindless chatter) that the article brings up. I also don't have narrative thoughts or an inner monologue, like "I'm gonna do this. He said that." etc. But more importantly, I don't have the feeling of having a mind, with mind I mean the sense of a frame in which the thoughts arise, and in which I exist and make choices, instead of the mind I guess you could say that there is just consciousness/awareness. No-mind leads to some great changes in my psyche and how I feel in my daily life, the best thing is an unconditional-acceptance-energy/feeling (love) that I can sense in my physical body and in my emotions/psyche. Spiritual transmissions and contemplation are great tools to get rid of the I-thought for good.

@CaptainBobbyOlsen That's a good question to ask. There is some truth to those neo-advaita teachings, but I think they too can be traps, are you willing to consider that? The I-thought is a part of our psyche, it adds a layer of resistance to our experience, sometimes it is subtle but the resistance is there and that is why people seek enlightenment, believing that "nothing is missing right now" is not necessarily going to get rid of the I-thought, and until it is truly gone, it is an incorrect statement. I am 100% sure of that, because I remember clearly how it felt to live with the I-thought, and nowadays every moment of my life is proof of how much better it feels to be free from the I-thought.

I don't know, that's why I asked if he or she still has a sense of being in the mind, or having a mind, and if reality feels perfect. Because in my opinion, the feeling of "no-mind" and "everything is perfect exactly as it is", are two sure signs that the seeking has ended, some teachers both in Buddhism and non-duality support this idea. But it doesn't matter what I think, it will become very clear if the seeking has ended eventually, the honeymoon period of an awakening does not last long.

A psychedelics trip is a subjective experience, I'm sure it can show you truths but I don't think you should create a belief system based on what you see in your trips. Use psychedelics if you want to, but do it to evolve, not to gain knowledge or truths, I'm sure Leo agrees with this. Source does not contain thought-forms and does not create anything. Manifestation happens through sound, which then creates light, but Source does not contain sound nor light, it is the space in between. When people have visions or take psychedelics, the creator-God that they see is not Source itself, it is one degree from that, it is the part of it that creates things. If you want to get to know Source, go beyond the mind and see the still, space-like perfect I am.

That's really good! I'm glad you understand that you have a soul. You had your awakening after watching Leo's solipsism video? Then I'm impressed by Leo. Since you feel that level of happiness now, I think you had a real and permanent awakening. Does it feel like everything is perfect? Even the things that aren't perfect? Does it feel like you are no longer in the mind? Does it feel like everything is the absolute/God? If so then I think your happiness will be very stable and your seeking really has come to an end.