Moksha

The message of quantum mechanics and astrophysics is the same. At extreme micro- and macro-levels, the edges of reality, as most humans perceive it, begin to fray. It is not even close to what we think it is. In this dimension, everything is revealed to be relative rather than absolute. Ultimate reality is unchanging, and is the creator of all apparently diverse things. It is beyond the dream of the cosmos.

Conscious contemplation is powerful. For me, it is more about resonating with the presence invoked by the words, rather than conceptualizing the words themselves. For example, when I contemplate the Bhagavad Gita, there is simply Self-realization, beyond thought. The stigma in Eastern spirituality against thinking is the recognition that we are not our thoughts, and of the danger of identifying with them. Meditation reveals this profoundly. You realize that you are the spacious awareness within which thoughts arise, but thoughts are merely phenomena that come and go. Thinking is important. Not thinking is even more important. As I see it, the merging of the two is being present, and allowing presence to guide your planning in life. When planning arises out of presence, it is more creative, more inspired, and more likely to produce positive results.

@Consilience Can't we all just get along? There is only One of us after all ?

Consciousness is the master of creation. Ego is the illusion that separation is all there is. It is possible to live lucidly, as a conscious being, realizing that your dream character is not your ultimate identity.

@Consilience Amen and hallelujah. ? I agree 100%. You call out one of the cardinal lines I've seen in this forum. Let's call it north-south. People tend to flock to one side or the other. Psychedelics vs. meditation, as if there is only one path that has spiritual value. The other cardinal line is east-west, or ultimate vs. relative reality. Some insist that ultimate reality is all that matters, and the dream is a fantasy to be dismissed. Others champion the celebration of the dream, even knowing it for what it is. Lines are inevitably divisive and egoic. We are all the same, seamless Consciousness, and yet we draw these lines like children, within the coloring book of the cosmos. Indivision intersects with division. Maybe it is possible to realize the serenity of unity and the creativity of division, while appreciating the reality and the beauty of both.

Awakening is not an achievement, it is a realization. If you are proud about awakening, you aren't awake. Ironically, the more you chase awakening, the more it eludes you. The problem is seeing it as a state to be achieved, rather than realizing the truth is already here, within you, when you are ready to see it. It will happen when it is supposed to happen. Your happiness doesn't depend upon it. Find joy in every step of the journey, and that realization itself will open your eyes.

You got it. Directly realizing yourself as Consciousness is a pivotal first step toward enlightenment. From then on, it is about developing the capacity to remain present, until your mind is a steady flame, regardless of the turbulence around you. It's like gradually turning up the dimmer switch, until your form is perpetually filled with light. The light was always there, it was just obscured by your conditioning.

Enlightenment is just a word, and means different things to different people. For me, enlightenment is being so personally transparent and equanimous that your form is perpetually filled with the light of Consciousness, which is who you actually are, until the form itself dissolves and the dream ends. There is no self-identification, no desires, no aversions, and no attachments to relative reality. Only love, because you see the sameness of your ultimate nature in all things. I am not fully enlightened, and the vast majority of people who have awakened are not either, including most spiritual teachers.

I agree. Their personalities are transparent enough for Consciousness to shine through them. It is all about getting out of the way, and letting Consciousness do its thing.

I like Rupert Spira, but Mooji resonates with me. It is more about his presence than his teachings. I have this visual of walking through a jungle at night, and seeing a pair of yellow eyes looking straight at me from the bush. Not predatory, just pure and courageous. Mooji has this absolute commitment to being present, which I have seen in other spiritual teachers. He doesn't blink.

It doesn't have to be one or the other. Both are important. The journey is about learning to survive, but also about learning not to suffer while surviving. At 19, I spent 2 years serving others on the spiritual path. At 21, I returned to college and studied hard. Life has been a roller coaster between being and doing ever since. Enjoy the ride, and realize that you created it for a reason. ?

There is a mystery beyond time and space. As humans, we are trained to evaluate truth conceptually, rather than directly. Let go of your thoughts, and see. The mystic sees more truly, in the absolute sense, than the scientist. The monkey mind tries to make sense of reality, and even geniuses like Einstein can't comprehend it. At least he was able to see that separation is a delusion, and the cosmos is only relatively real. There is a wizard behind the curtain, but the wizard is incomprehensible to the senses, and the wizard is you.

Full enlightenment is dissolving the apparent boundary of yourself. There is no longer the appearance of a "person" to be enlightened, only ultimate Consciousness. When this happens, the dream dimension doesn't disappear, you simply see it for what it is. Consciousness continues to manifest through a myriad of apparent beings in relative reality, just not through "you".

@TrippyMindSubstance Meditation will help you realize awareness, without interpretation. You are awareness, and the self you are observing is a dream construct. Yes, you created it, but it is not your ultimate nature.

@TrippyMindSubstance Does awareness interpret, or does it simply see? In meditation, the difference between awareness and interpretation becomes clear. The thoughts and emotions that come and go are not who you ultimately are. @Godishere Yes, conceptualization only occurs within the dream. It is still Consciousness, but in an apparently different state of Self-awareness. Ultimately, it is an imaginary line since there is no separation. Even writing this is a form of conceptualization, and doesn't adequately describe Consciousness. No words can. At best, they point to Consciousness, but it is meaningless until it is directly realized.

Interpretation is conceptualization. Consciousness can't be conceptualized, only directly realized. Instead of trying to figure out the now, be it.

I feel the more translucent you are, the more powerful your teachings will be. Consciousness teaches through you, like a light illuminating the room through a clear lamp. Teachers that rely upon personal charisma can draw big crowds, but they tend to get in the way of their teachings. As @Endangered-EGO said, the teacher meets the student when both are ready. Consciousness has its own cadence, and when the time is right, the teaching will happen effortlessly.

There is a saying in the Upanishads that "Words turn back frightened." This is especially true when words are used to describe ultimate reality. Inevitably, they invoke paradoxes, and confuse more than they enlighten. Spiritual teachers may use words as pointers, but the words themselves cannot make someone see. The most powerful teaching is the presence of the teacher, beyond anything that might be said. Ramana Maharshi is known for simply sitting in silence.

You are asking a question that can only be directly realized. It is beyond conceptualization. Your mind will never provide a satisfactory answer, and you will only see it by discovering the Self within. 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. - First sentence of the Tao Te Ching The cosmos is a necklace created by Consciousness, which it wears, without identifying with the separateness of it. The form of the necklace, and the materials that define it, are still Consciousness, but in a different state of Self-awareness. Ultimately and relatively, it is all Consciousness. There is nothing that exists separate from me, Arjuna. The entire universe is suspended from me as my necklace of jewels. - Bhagavad Gita 7:8

The ego can only be temporarily satisfied. It's like Homer Simpson in hell, being fed soul donuts for eternity, and never feeling filled. Chasing after perpetual happiness within an impermanent cosmos is insane. Desire is fine, just don't let it define you. Realize the Self within, which is beyond desire.

@Flyboy Well said. Meditation jailbreaks the mind. You see beyond the screen, to the machinery in the underworks, making the movie happen. As awareness, it becomes clear that thoughts and emotions come and go, and are not your essence. There is only serene spaciousness.

It is more profound than that. There is no "you" that is alone. There is no individuality. It is all Consciousness, in different states of Self-awareness. Solipsism is the idea that only "you" exist, and everything else is an illusion. "I" am a figment of "your" imagination. The reality is that all individuality, including "you" and "me", is bound within the dream. Evolution and devolution only occur within the dream. Ultimately, there is no change, and realizing this within the dream is the end of suffering. Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. - A Course in Miracles

Are you familiar with solipsism? I see it as a step in the spiritual path, but not the summit. Ultimately, there is no individuality. There is only Consciousness, creating the delusion of separation. A famous quote from Einstein, in a letter to a rabbi who suffered the loss of his 16-year-old daughter: A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

Because it is all the same Consciousness. The idea of being somebody is worthy, as long as you don't take your individuality too seriously. Have you ever had a lucid dream, where you realized you were not the character within the dream, but still went along with it for the adventure?

Rather than asking, "What am I?", consider asking, "What am I not?". Neti neti means "Not this, not that". It as an ancient process of Self-inquiry, where you gradually peel away the layers of the onion until you arrive at your ultimate nature. Is the essence of what you are your physical body? Is it your thoughts? Is it even the idea of "you" as a separate entity? Meditate, and find out for yourself. ?‍♀️