Moksha

Direct realization, and developing the spiritual discipline to remain present, regardless of what happens in the external world. You don't become a world class bodybuilder through drugs and self-affirmations. You hit the gym and work hard, over and over and over again. Gradually, you develop the muscle to lift heavier weights. Meditation is not as much about awakening as it is about increasing your capacity to stay awake. The Buddha compared it to swimming upstream, against the current of the conditioned mind. Unless you are freakishly spiritually gifted (~ the top .00001% of humans), enlightenment will be a lifetime journey. Good news is that the destination is less important than the journey, and you can learn to enjoy every step.

This is the same question that the Buddha asked nearly 3 millenia ago. He noticed the inevitable transience of things. Everything that is born must also die. You have a choice. Either resent the transience of your existence, or celebrate the preciousness of it. Would it be special, if it lasted forever? Realizing your mortality is the insight that will make every moment precious. Celebrate every step of the journey. So much better than doom-spiraling into inevitable oblivion. Spoiler: Your ultimate nature is beyond time

Anxiety, depression, OCD, and other mental disorders are products of our biology and our conditioning. Most humans suffer from these plagues in some form or another. The beauty of meditation is the diligent practice of deconditioning, and the deepening realization of our ultimate nature. We become less triggered by what happens outside of us, and more connected to the infinite wellspring of Consciousness, which is who we actually are.

Perhaps there is a pointer here, and an opportunity for self-reflection?

If you believe you are Leo's mod, you aren't self-actualized. When you realize you are Leo, and Leo is Trump, and Trump is Gandhi, you have taken a step toward self-actualization Welcome to all the new mods! ?

There is no "more" or "less" from the ultimate perspective. It is all Consciousness. Love is simply the realization that everything is made out of the same raw material, which is Consciousness itself. You and I look different, live in different places, and love different people. But ultimately, we are the same Consciousness, expressing itself in infinite ways.

Welcome to the forum, @blueplasma How do you define love? Love is infinitely more profound than the human emotion. Love is the seeing the sameness of yourself in everything else, and the sameness of all others in you. It is the ultimate reality that all of us are fundamentally the same Consciousness.

Any pain associated with the spiritual journey is inherently egoic. Since most of us still have egos, it is normally a dark night of the soul. The ego doesn't die easily. Once you see the ego for what it is, you will laugh at the joke you played on yourself. Ultimately, there never was a "you", and the pain was just a dream.

Amen. Emptiness is incomprehensible to the ego, as is infinite abundance. It dissolves the illusion of specialness, which is the one thing the ego cannot let go of. Blowing out the candle of the mind is opening yourself to the solar flare of Consciousness, which is a hint of who You always are.

Interchange internet with life. Everything you have said is equally true of both. Nothing, on the internet, or in life, should be taken too seriously. Honored, loved, respected, sometimes yes. But spiritual seekers tend toward being too serious, rather than being too dismissive. Love it, but beyond loving it, realize you are the love that is all of it.

From the ultimate perspective, there is no "highest" and no "lowest". There only "is".

Take what has meaning for you, at this moment in your life. Disregard everything else. What you disregard now may have profound meaning in the future. This has proven true for me. The insane suddenly makes sense. Go figure

From my interactions with @SoonHei, I feel he would read this thread, share some insights, and maybe crack a joke, to remind all of us that the spiritual journey is not about debating concepts, and is all about love. Here's to honoring your memory, and applying your wisdom, Champ. ?

One of the first things I read as a kid, that resonated with me then and still does: Believe me, every man has his secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and oftimes we call a man cold when he is only sad. - Longfellow I don't know what drove @SoonHei's decision, but will miss his insights, and am sorry for his wife, his children, and his other loved ones. On this forum, sometimes we get so caught up in philosophy and spirituality, and forget to honor the reason we are here in the first place. It is a soul journey, and ultimately it is nothing about concepts, and all about Love.

@Corpus Yes, all definitions are self-limiting. I am using the term as Tolle and others have defined it. I'm not a medical doctor as you are, but from the spiritual perspective, the rarity is not of Hawkings' particular condition, but of his capacity for choosing not to be defined by it.

You can't force someone not to suffer, any more than you can force them to wake up. Hell, you can't even force yourself to wake up. It happens when it happens.

With the exception of the above, I agree with what you have said, which I would call pain rather than suffering. Suffering is not about speaking, and is all about resisting. Tolle describes meeting Stephen Hawking, and the profound sense of self-acceptance that he felt, when Hawking looked into his eyes. Despite his severe disability, Hawking had accepted his condition, and moved beyond suffering.

Amen!

@Etherial Cat I agree. Nobody's teachings should be taken as gospel. At best, they only point to the truth that is already within you. Once the truth is realized, the teachings can be set aside as a raft that helped you across the river, and is no longer needed.

@Zeroguy Definitions are self-limiting. Choose whatever makes sense to you. Ultimately, there is no enlightenment, beyond relative reality. It is a word, used to describe an "individual's" realization and expression of their ultimate nature. It is not just seeing the fire, it is also living by it. If you are still bound by attachments, you are not fully enlightened. One who has merely heard of fire has ajnana, ignorance. One who has seen fire has jnana. But one who has actually built a fire and cooked on it has vijnana. - Ramakrishna The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results; all his selfish desires have been consumed in the fire of knowledge…Their security is unaffected by the results of their action; even while acting, they really do nothing at all. - Bhagavad Gita 4:19-20

My criticism is of the limited perspective of solipsism, which Leo's teachings are well beyond. If people only see nothingness, and are blind to infinite Love, it is a reflection of their current journey, and not of anything Leo has taught.

People can have multiple awakenings before enlightenment. Very few are fully enlightened, which is beyond Self-realization, and is the dissolving of all attachments. If someone tells you they are enlightened, they probably also have a bridge to sell.

Suffering is resistance to the reality of the present moment. It is only necessary until you wake up, and realize that resistance accomplishes nothing. Of course, if something averse can be changed, we should try to change it. But if we cannot change it, why complain about it, and create unnecessary suffering? Patients may experience tremendous pain from motor neuron disease, which is unavoidable. Given that it is unavoidable, how is it sane to resist it? The resistance only adds unnecessary suffering to the pain. Never end your life due to suffering. Pain is different, and I have said nothing about life decisions based on pain.

Viktor Frankl is a good example of this. Even in a concentration camp, where pain and death were rampant, he learned not to suffer.

@Megan Alecia To be fair, nothing I saw from @SoonHei suggests he was a solipsist or a nihilist. I believe his spirituality was deeper than that. But yes, people need to keep it real. Relative reality is still reality. Don't get lost in the mouse maze of the mind. Celebrate the beauty of this one life that you have. It will never be repeated. If ultimate reality is all that, we never would have created relative reality in the "first" place.