Moksha

One of the most honest answers I've seen to this perpetual question: The essence of who you are is beyond death. That comes out of inner realization. I don’t know much beyond that. You’ll have to wait and see when you actually die. - Eckhart Tolle

Good insights, you might find this interesting: The Universe is engaged in the process of awakening, or becoming more conscious, and every life form is gradually becoming more conscious…After mass extinctions, new life forms even more complex developed…What we see is only the surface reality. There is a vast intelligence operating underneath the world of phenomena. This vast intelligence is consciousness, the universal consciousness, and that is the ultimate reality…It’s not finished. God is still creating this world and you are an essential part of this creative process. You are not separate from the awakening; you are an expression of the awakening…Now there is not only the evolution of consciousness. There is also conscious evolution of consciousness…That happens when you face an external situation and bring conscious presence to it, rather than reactivity…The next thing that is going to happen, to a large extent depends on your state of consciousness at this moment…Reality changes as a reflection of collective consciousness. - Eckhart Tolle

NDEs are still bound to the dream. There is the appearance of an individual, which has been conditioned over many lifetimes, and which carries its karma from one apparent life to the next. People see whatever supernatural being they believe in, because that entity is a product of their unique conditioning. It doesn't mean the entity is any more real than they are, only that it is a natural effect of their conditioned beliefs. Eventually, the apparent individual wakes up and realizes its true nature as Consciousness within the dream. That is the beginning of the spiritual journey, which is the gradual dissolving of the self, until that individual ceases to exist within the dream, and all apparent boundaries dissolve.

How do you differentiate serious vs. fun? Love, happiness, serenity, and creativity are...(fill in the blank).

The irony of spirituality is that the more enlightened you become, the less of the apparent you there is. Awakening is the realization that your apparent identity is not who you actually are. It is the first step on the path of enlightenment, which gradually dissolves the bonds of your conditioning, until only a translucent apparent self remains. Consciousness, which is who you actually are, shines more brightly through the apparent self the less bound it is to identity within the dream.

The more of you there is, the dumber you are.

If someone has directly realized their true nature, they are in a better position to help others than someone who has not. It's true that language is self-limiting, and at best teachings can only point to the truth. As long as the teachings are not mistaken for the truth, but seen for the map that they are, they can help others navigate toward the truth within themselves. Once that truth is directly realized, the teachings can be dropped entirely.

Enlightenment means to be filled with light. There is still a translucent shell of the apparent self, but it is filled and overflowing with the Consciousness that is our true nature. I differentiate the term from awakening, which is the seeing of your true self. It is a critical first step, but not yet the purification of the conditioned mind. As the Buddha put it: Few are those who reach the other shore; most people keep running up and down this shore. But those who follow the dharma, when it has been well taught, will reach the other shore, hard to reach, beyond the power of death. They leave darkness behind and follow the light. They give up home and leave pleasure behind. Calling nothing their own, they purify their hearts and rejoice. Well trained in the seven fields of enlightenment, their senses disciplined and free from attachments, they live in freedom, full of light.

There are credible accounts of people who have had a near death experience, where they were separated from their physical body but still had a form identity, and were able to perceive events around them. For example, one woman heard and reported on a conversation between her husband and the doctor down the hallway, which she wouldn't have been able to hear in her normal state. I don't believe anything about what happens after death of the apparent form, just presenting it as a possibility.

Near death and other paranormal experiences suggest the possibility that the apparent form of you perpetuates in some way after death, as a continuation of the dream. Ultimately, whether Consciousness imagines the same or a new form doesn't really matter, does it? Your true identity is always Consciousness, whether or not it appears to be other than it is.

I agree with you. Not only is it impossible for concepts to capture reality, but they can become a barrier to realizing who you are. Awakening is direct realization, and it is entirely non-conceptual. When we identify with concepts, even spiritual concepts, we hinder the awakening process. It is a form of slavery, as you describe. Ideas about spirituality are not spirituality. At best, teachings can only point toward and prepare you for awakening. The awakening itself happens when Consciousness is ready for it to happen. Teachings like those in the Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada can point toward truth, but only when they are seen as the scrawlings of fellow mystics on the map, and are not mistaken for the territory itself.

Leo has said in the past that he is not enlightened. What is enlightenment, other than the direct realization and actualization of your true identity, within the dream?

Every concept, including the concept of letting go, is bound to the dream. I'm not suggesting that the finger is the moon, only that it points toward it. We don't understand how Consciousness dreams, only that it appears to do so, including appearing to awaken to itself within the dream. Spirituality is the game of Self-discovery that it plays. Once the appearance of you has awakened to its ultimate nature, there is no need for spiritual teachings. However, these can help you cross the river to the true shore of yourself.

The letting go is of the appearance that you are something other than your ultimate nature. It is seeing truly, within the dream. Spirituality is Self-realization. It is the reason the dream exists in the first place As Aldous Huxley put it: The Perennial Philosophy appears in every age and civilization: There is an infinite, changeless reality beneath the world of change This same reality lies at the core of every personality The purpose of life is to discover this reality experientially, that is, to realize God while here on earth

Spirituality is the letting go of concepts, attachments, and aversions, or awakening to your ultimate nature within the dream.

What is the difference between losing your mind, and losing identification with your mind? You can still be enlightened, and enjoy the apparent human form, without ultimately identifying with it.

The Buddha compared the mind to an elephant: Long ago my mind used to wander as it liked and do what it wanted. Now I can rule my mind as the mahout controls the elephant with his hooked staff. Meditation is the exercise of learning to ride and guide the elephant, rather than being trampled by it. It can be a beautiful, powerful beast when it is properly trained.

God, as a pointer, is a blessing and a curse. It resonates with the mysterious truth of ultimate reality, but it can be heavily laden with conditioned beliefs. I'm all about God, absence the concepts. Let go of the idea of God and be it.

Awakening puts the ego on high alert. Enlightenment unravels it entirely. The closer you get to enlightenment, the less of you there is to be enlightened, until there is only light, which is who you actually are.

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@Endangered-EGO I see prayer as an appeal of the human form, which is Consciousness appearing as other than itself, to its ultimate nature. The ego has no power over whether the prayer is answered, and the greater the ego, the less likely the prayer will be heard. Exactly ? Ultimately, there is no you to be making a choice in the first place, and everything within the dream is determined by Consciousness. Within the pinball machine of the cosmos, there are apparent causes and effects, but it is all determined by the player that sets the ball in motion.

When you realize that regret, guilt, and anxiety not only accomplish nothing, but actively sabotage your presence, it is easier to let them go. A conceptual realization isn't enough though. The suffering has to go bone-deep for most of us to be willing to release it.

Consciousness can dream anything it desires to dream, into existence. Does that mean you can LOA yourself into being a billionaire? Since ultimately, there is no you, it is a silly question. Within the dream, if Consciousness desires for you to be a billionaire, it will happen. Just realize that Consciousness is calling the shots, not you. The less of you there is, and the more your ultimate nature as Consciousness is present, the easier it will be to manifest within the dream. If you find yourself attached to the outcome of being a billionaire, it's a sure sign that there is too much of you trying to make it happen. Wake up, within the dream, and enjoy it for what it is. There's nothing wrong with intent, but realize that it is about the journey, not about the destination. The moment you place the LOA prize above presence, you have fallen back asleep.

Absolute truth cannot be known, only directly realized.

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