Moksha

I agree that there is a purpose for the dream, but I see it as creativity, which is the inevitable manifestation of love. Only the ego is capable of boredom.

I haven't seen the video, but it is a death wish, for the ego: allow all boundaries to dissolve.

If your career goal is to do mental health therapy, a graduate degree in psychology will help. You will need it for licensure, and for credibility with your patients. However, sounds like you are more interested in spiritual coaching and helping others actualize their life purpose. In that case, the advanced degree is not going to help much.

Welcome to the forum, @thenondualtankie ? As I see it, we are only willing to face our fears when the alternative is even worse. From the spiritual perspective, this is actually the purpose of suffering. The monkey mind has tremendous centrifugal force. It holds our attention captive, and we break free, realizing our true nature as Consciousness, by seeing the suffering that it creates.

I'm acknowledging what he is saying, just pointing out that ultimate truth can only be directly realized. Awakening is entirely non-conceptual. It is beyond the capacity of the human mind to comprehend. Asking "Why why why why" is counterproductive. You are trying to conceptually understand a truth so profound that it seems paradoxical to the mind. The mind can't accept paradox, and is constantly trying to solve for it. How do time and timeless interact? How is change possible if ultimate reality is changeless? Who is seeking enlightenment, if separation is only an illusion? How does Consciousness appear to be other than it is? Ultimate reality is called a Mystery, because the mind can't understand it. It can only be Self-realized, beyond the mind. The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery. - Tao Te Ching Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” If he had stopped thinking for a moment, he would have realized that beyond thought there is a vast realm of Consciousness. Whatever a scientist looks at to solve the mystery of Consciousness is the Consciousness itself. We cannot make ourselves into an object of knowledge; that would be the egoic self. The essence of who you are can never be an object because it is the eternal subject. You cannot find God as an object. - Eckhart Tolle The more one studies attempted solutions to problems in politics and economics, in art, philosophy, and religion, the more one has the impression of extremely gifted people wearing out their ingenuity at the impossible and futile task of trying to get the water of life into neat and permanent packages. Religious ideas are like words--of little use, and often misleading, unless you know the concrete realities to which they refer. The word 'water' is a useful means of communication amongst those who know water. The same is true of the word and the idea called 'God'...The reality which corresponds to 'God' and 'eternal life' is honest, above-board, plain, and open for all to see. But the seeing requires a correction of mind, just as clear vision sometimes requires a correction of the eyes. Belief clings, but faith lets go...Our minds have been prepared for it by this very collapse of the beliefs in which we have sought security. From a point of view strictly, if strangely, in accord with certain religious traditions, this disappearance of the old rocks and absolutes is no calamity, but rather a blessing. It almost compels us to face reality with open minds, and you can only know God through an open mind just as you can only see the sky through a clear window. To discover the ultimate Reality of life--the Absolute, the eternal, God--you must cease to try to grasp it in the forms of idols. These idols are not just crude images, such as the mental picture of God as an old gentleman on a golden throne. They are our beliefs, our cherished preconceptions of the truth, which block the unreserved opening of the mind and heart to reality. The legitimate use of images is to express the truth, not to possess it. 'Unless a grain of corn fall into the ground and die, it remains alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit'...What religion calls the vision of God is found in giving up any belief in the idea of God. By the same law of reversed effort, we discover the 'infinite' and the 'absolute,' not by straining to escape from the finite and relative world, but by the most complete acceptance of its limitations. Paradox as it may seem, we likewise find life meaningful only when we have seen that it is without purpose, and know the 'mystery of the universe' only when we are convinced that we know nothing about it at all. - Alan Watts

Yes. Everything is Consciousness, and Consciousness is everything. Every being in the cosmos is still Consciousness, seeming to be what it is not. The appearance of separation, time, space, and change is not ultimately real. The monkey mind will ask this question forever, and never find an answer.

Be the changeless imagining change When the wise realize the Self, Formless in the midst of forms, changeless In the midst of change, omnipresent And supreme, they go beyond sorrow.

As I said, I'm not familiar with Leo's teachings. I don't criticize or defend them. If they resonate with you, great. If not, find another teacher. My point is that it is easy to get caught up in concepts, rather than seeing beyond them, to your true nature. If that makes no sense to you, no surprise. The monkey mind cannot make sense of ultimate reality. It can only be directly realized.

Maybe your interpretation of Leo's teachings is bs Seriously though, I respect Leo but am not too familiar with his teachings. I've seen 3 of his videos, and read a few of his posts on the forum. At best, any teacher can only point toward the moon. Only you can see the moon directly, for yourself. Once you realize your ultimate nature, questions dissolve. You are Light. The cosmos is a dream, and every question asked within it is ultimately meaningless. Words, concepts, beliefs, and even spiritual teachings, are seen as pale reflections in the pond, but they are not the moon casting those reflections. There's nothing wrong with asking questions, and trying to understand. It is part of the spiritual path. Just don't hang too tightly onto the need for conceptual answers. It is easy to get so bogged down by the monkey mind that you lose your way entirely.

Earlier, when I mentioned the vast majority of people who mistakenly consider themselves enlightened, I was referring to permanent enlightenment. True ego death is rare. For most of us, it is a process of chipping away at the ego over time. There are periods of freedom, like you experienced, but usually the ego slithers back out of the shadows when you least expect it. I've been studying "Dark Night of the Soul", by St. John of the Cross, and he describes this process with passion and deep personal insight. In his framework, there are actually two dark nights: the night of senses, followed by the night of spirit. The night of senses is fairly common for sincere spiritual seekers, but very few make it through the final night of the spirit. After the initial high of early awakening, there are periods of increasing darkness, which are deeply disconcerting, but also serve to dissolve the egoic self. This darkness is necessary to move us beyond the easy indulgence of spirituality, into the bone-deep realization of the nothingness of ourselves. It is only then, when you have suffered so profoundly that you want nothing but to be restored to the light of Consciousness that you once took for granted, that you release the ego once and for all. That final letting go is true enlightenment. It is not only the realization of our ultimate nature, but living in a perpetual state of light.

You are reality. Realizing your true nature is realizing reality. The realization is direct and non-conceptual, and couldn't happen any other way. Concepts are at best pointers to reality, but even the closest concepts are still a lie.

There are helpful steps you can take to prepare for awakening, including those you are already doing (meditation, pondering spiritual writings, etc.). The eastern mystics used the Neti neti method. The path to awakening is unique for each of us. Do whatever brings spaciousness to your life, and frees you from your thoughts. What I meant was not to get so caught up in preparing that you clutter your mind with a long to do list, rather than learning to let go of the mind. Awakening is simply the direct realization of who you are, and it is entirely free from thoughts. Preparation is important, but awakening happens when Consciousness is ready to make it happen. Enjoy the journey ?

As I see it (), what seems to be happening is not ultimately real. There is nobody verifying anything, only Consciousness playing the game of apparent separation. This, as it appears, is only a dream. The deep truth is that the dream is just a dream.

The brain tries to understand reality, but it can't. You're never going to get it, as long as you are trying to get it. So much thinking, thinking, thinking. Have you ever had the realization that you are not your thoughts?

@Adodd You will likely get more benefit from a single, longer session than from several shorter sessions. At least, that is what John Yates recommends in The Mind Illuminated. I would try both, and see what works best for you.

@VeganAwake And yet despite being whole, complete, and perfect, Consciousness contrives the appearance of our little selves. Apparently, the illusion is there for a reason

^^^ This. The Mind Illuminated was my introduction to meditation. It is all about developing the capacity of presence, beyond the clamoring of the conditioned mind.

Awakening is the opposite of questions. It is direct realization of your true nature, beyond conceptualization. If you find yourself asking a lot of questions, that is ok. Eventually you will let go of the questions, and realize the answer which is already within you.

Consciousness is the dream master. It appears, within its dream, as a you. Ultimately, there is no you, but Consciousness pretends there is. Enlightenment is the great adventure it tells itself, in which it gradually stops pretending to be a separate being, until the dream boundaries of the self entirely dissolve.

@VeganAwake Love the Adyashanti quote, thanks for sharing ⚡ The cosmic joke is that the more enlightened you become, the less of you there is to be enlightened. The personality becomes increasingly transparent, until there is barely any person left, only the pure light of Consciousness that you always are.

@softlyblossoming ? There are levels of awakening. Many people awaken, only to fall back asleep. Meditation is a powerful exercise in learning to swim upstream, against the current of the conditioned mind. Eventually, your awareness becomes perpetual, regardless of the turbulence of the dream. When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. In the still mind, in the depths of meditation, the Self reveals itself. Beholding the Self by means of the Self, an aspirant knows the joy and peace of complete fulfillment. Having attained that abiding joy beyond the senses, revealed in the stilled mind, he never swerves from the eternal truth. He desires nothing else, and cannot be shaken by the heaviest burden of sorrow. - Bhagavad Gita 6:19

I didn't say God is a concept (the word is, but not the ultimate reality it represents). I said it's easy to conceptualize being God. People that have not directly realized their true nature as God often claim that they are God, but it is only a conceptual identity for them. You can't understand the taste of water until you actually drink it. Awakening rarely results in immediate ego death. You realize your nature as God, but this realization doesn't instantly dissolve your attachments and desires. It is only the first step toward equanimity. I have directly realized my nature as God, but I am still far from enlightenment, which is the permanent end of suffering. 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.

Equanimity is the letting go of thinking, as an identity. It is the dissolving of desires. Ultimately, it is saying sayonara to "I".

Where did I judge the enlightenment of others? Enlightenment is not only the realization, but the actualization that there are no others. When the boundaries dissolve, you are no longer you.

The jab includes myself, as I am not enlightened. It's easy to conceptualize being God, flattering even, but ego death is far more difficult and rare. It is the end of attachments and suffering. The vast majority of people that consider themselves enlightened are fooling themselves.