Moksha

Hey don't dis the Nahm. He is sincere, as I'm sure @Jo-Niet is as well. Sincerity is the path of the absolute to itself, however unique it may be.

@Carl-Richard @BlueOak You are both pointing to a realization which seems to be endemic to the awakening process. The absolute realizes some distance from the mind, and the mind responds with a thought, "I am awake!". Deeper still, and the mind responds with a thought, "I am more awake!". Deeper still, and the mind responds with a thought, "OMG even this is still a thought!". Deeper still, and the mind responds with a thought, "HAHAHAHAHA!". Literally every thought is egoic. It is the most hilarious journey into the absolute.

See what you did there? Words can only point to absolute truth, and most of the time they misdirect. I can say the absolute that is the essence of this form is shining toward the absolute that is within your form, highlighting the misidentification and soothing you to let it go, but these are only words. You have to see beyond them, within yourself, to the barricade which is keeping the light from consistently flowing through. Suffering is a double-edged sword. Either it strengthens the attachment to the mind by increasing the desperation for external relief, or it deepens the willingness to let the mind fly free, with only the thinnest strand connecting its kite to you. The door demands absolute surrender to the absolute, and when it happens you will be flooded with light.

Is it possible you are judging Leo just as you are accusing him of judging others? For all you know, 5-Me0 has helped him realize the absolute within. Just because it was ineffective for you doesn’t mean it must be so for him. The absolute finds its own path to itself in each of us. Maybe both of you are imposing your path on others instead of encouraging them to discover what works for their unique inward journey.

All words are thoughts, concepts, and ideas. Look beyond the words to the direct meaning. You’re right that this is only possible when the mind is silent. Now practice it. The mind is incapable of comprehending or describing the absolute. Direct knowledge comes through the deepest surrender of identification with the mind. It demands humility. Until you let the mind go, the door to the absolute will remain closed, no matter how fiercely you try to break it down. It is you that must break before it opens within and the light of your true nature floods through.

It's why you can't judge the journey of others based on your own experience. For Leo, maybe getting to this level of awakening requires 5-Me0, while for others it is a different path. There's nothing wrong with sharing what has helped you realize the absolute, but if you have truly realized the absolute, you know that the inward journey is always unique.

Before asking directions, decide where you want to go. If by "Conscious direction" you're referring to realizing the absolute within, there are many here with maps, but ultimately it's your journey. Each step is your own, and none of us can take it for you. My advice is to enjoy each step, instead of hanging your happiness on reaching the destination. You may just discover yourself in the process, before you get to where you thought you wanted to go.

Everything that happens must happen. Absolutely, there is no judgment. Relatively, there are consequences.

The absolute infinitely imagines and dissolves points of view within itself. All of them are the absolute but none of them is all of the absolute.

Are you sure?

"Am" is truer than "I Am".

Socrates was correct that the human mind knows nothing. Through it the absolute can realize what it is not, but it only realizes itself directly. You are conflating direct knowledge with the false idea that direct knowledge is only possible within one form. Awakening is seeing the sameness of the absolute not only in this form, but in and beyond every form. I see the sameness of my essence in you, and beyond you. I see it in the tree outside my door, and beyond the tree. If you don't, eventually your essence will. It is all absolutely the same.

The noggin is a supercomputer for scanning, processing, interpreting, predicting, and manipulating phenomena. It just needs to stay in its lane. Solipsism is the myopic belief that you are the sole avatar of the absolute. It is partially right, but fails to see the absolute within and beyond every form.

Exactly I don't get into epistemology much because it so easily tumbles minds down the rabbit hole, but if you're going to think about anything beyond survival, it might as well be epistemology. Well, except for quantum and astrophysics... I reject nothing, except the futile attempt to understand the absolute, beyond direct knowledge. I don't care how advanced your brainform is, it will never grok the silent mystery of the absolute like direct knowledge does. Even the word knowledge is misleading, it is more like light resonating with light.

Despite the epistemological solipsism than runs rampant here, the relevance of other dreams is that the boundaries between "yours" and "theirs" begin to dissolve. It is all the same absolute realizing itself within apparently different forms, and each realization is a ripple in the cosmos of itself. The absolute transfigures a form, and shines through it to help itself transfigure other forms. Enlightenment is a strange loop cause-and-effect intersection of the absolute with the relative.

Does any form really matter? Apparently, the more evolved the form, the deeper capacity for the absolute to realize itself within it.

@Enlightement The absolute is the essence of every form. The more evolved the form, the greater its capacity for transmitting the light of the absolute, but also the higher the threshold. If evolution got the human form this far, imagine what is possible in the future (if we don't destroy ourselves first), or in forms on other planets? It would be the height of anthropomorphic arrogance to claim that humans are the most evolved forms in the cosmos.

Animal minds are subject to conditioning just like humans (which are another animal). The difference is that being more advanced, humans have deeper capacity for self-deception (e.g., ego) and for self-awareness (e.g., enlightenment).

Crucifixion wasn't their first attempt: ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. - John 8:56–59

There's a reason this has traditionally been the case. People need to be taught according to what they are ready to realize, nothing more or less. * I have fed you with milk and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. * Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. * All that I or any teacher can do is reflect back to you who or what you are. An apple falls when the moment is right. * Do not share this wisdom with anyone who lacks in devotion or self-control, lacks the desire to learn, or scoffs at me.

Enjoy the show ?

Trust your instinct to realize direct experience. It is supreme. If you are early in the spiritual path, there are many insights along the inward journey to the absolute. The next best thing to direct experience is pondering the direct realizations of others. You will find this most clearly through mystics across every major religion (Christianity, Hindu, Buddhism, Muslim, Kabbalah). You have to look deeper to see the absolute in mass writings like those collected into the bible. It is there also, but these writings can become a belief trap if you aren't careful. Eventually though, you must let go of the teachings of others and directly realize the absolute within.

At least he knows that nobody knows anything.

But then you miss the phenomenal parade of misled creatures, trying to remember where they left themselves.

Yes, the absolute is maya but it is also beyond maya. It is the essence of every qualia, and is beyond every qualia. It is the kaleidoscope, and is looking through the kaleidoscope, and is beyond the looker and the kaleidoscope. You understand this, but only intermittently, then the door closes. Learn to keep the door open, even the slightest crack, as you move through life. The light that you let through will set you free. It is about relaxing, not forcing. Distancing, not attaching. Letting go, not grabbing. Like a finger trap, the secret is to release pressure rather than falling into the instinctive trap of fighting your way out. Feel the energy within, and instead of pushing it away let it flow through and beyond you. The absolute already understands the solution to whatever needs to be solved, just let it happen already.