Moksha

@Codrina Right back at ya ?

I've only been under anesthesia once, but believe me, when it hits, you have no choice but to go under. The cord is severed. Meditate all you want, it's still 3...2...1...lights OUT. Human consciousness is precarious. You can be conscious one moment, and then go deeply, cleanly out, the next. When I woke up, it was the most rested I had felt in years. Don't confuse human consciousness with ultimate Consciousness. We, as Consciousness, never go out. We only change states of Self-awareness.

Why does it have to be a radical experience to be meaningful, or even life-changing? What if the realization was boringly simple? So simple that your mind refused to accept it? Radical experiences don't end suffering. They are usually only temporary. The end of suffering is deeply realizing that your conditioned mind will never bring you happiness, and You are already infinitely abundant. Are you willing to let go of your thoughts, and simply be? That internal alignment is the end of chasing enlightenment, and the realization that nothing ever needed to be chased in the first place, which is inherently liberating and beautiful.

@The Buddha Ultimately, I suppose it is

In the relative realm, there can be no objective standard for claiming one truth is "deeper" or "more radical" than any other truth. It is just different perspectives. In the ultimate realm, there is objective, changeless, timeless truth. It is entirely unified, and therefore, there are no separate truths to compare with one another. It is all simply truth.

I understand, and have felt the living, spiritual energy emanating from some gurus. You don't even have to be physically in their presence. I have had experiences listening to Eckhart Tolle, or Mooji, and feeling the Consciousness of their presence, resonating with the same Consciousness within myself. Sometimes it is a teaching, but often it is pure silence, and feeling the energy within that space. For some reason, I keep referring to Ramana Maharshi recently, but his primary teaching was silence. Different gurus are best suited to different aspirants. We have different levels of awareness, and learn in different ways. Ultimately, it is all Consciousness, but there are many paths to the same Self-realization.

? It is beautiful. Letting go of the false promises of the conditioned mind, and directly realizing Yourself as unconditional Love, is the ultimate liberation. Curiosity isn't inherently imprisoning, as long as you don't cling to it for Self-discovery and validation. The cosmos is fascinating, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying its wonders, but true Self-knowledge is entirely non-conceptual, and can only be directly realized. All the best in your beautiful journey!

@allislove Your avatar name says it all ?

Nice catch! And perfectly apt. Consciousness "traps" itself, in order to experience phenomena. If there was no trap, there would only be changeless, ultimate reality, devoid of sensory experience. It is all Consciousness, in different states of awareness, intentionally.

True, but only from the Ultimate perspective. Just because a soul is on a journey of Self-discovery doesn't make it less real. It is only relatively real, but it is still real. It is an expression of, and therefore still a part of, God.

Realizing the addiction is the first step toward dissolving it. You're right about forcing yourself to change. It doesn't work, because it doesn't address the core issue. You are looking for happiness through experiences that can never provide what you seek. How many millions of lives have been wasted, desperately diving into one experience after another, only to realize that it never provides the fulfillment that it promised? As your intuition is telling you, the answer is to be aware. But aware of what? Most of us require a lot of hell before we finally realize that the chasing itself is the source of our suffering. This whole time, the answer is within. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to dive so deeply into yourself that you directly realize the infinite abundance that You already are. Everything with a beginning must also end. So let go of the transient. Discover the infinite, changeless, timeless Love that is your essence. Abide in You.

It might be different in Sweden, but here in the U.S., a B.S. degree in psychology is useless. If you want to make a career out of psychology, it is pretty much mandatory to get an advanced degree. Personally, if you are looking to help people with spiritual growth, I would avoid psychology entirely. Focus on the direct path of your own spiritual growth, followed by helping others with theirs. If you have a strong research focus, you could take the transpersonal psychology route, but that would likely mean getting a Ph.D. and working in an academic setting.

By my definition of enlightenment, it is a tiny proportion of people, and even they don't fully meet the standard, because they are still human. Enlightenment means "to be filled with light", which is the dissolving of every attachment, and perpetually being unconditional love. If what you are asking is why awakened people meditate, it is primarily because the practice strengthens their spiritual discipline, and makes it easier to swim upstream, against the current of their conditioned mind. Waking up is only the first step in the soul journey back to our unconditioned Self.

Some of the comments here are verging away from honest criticism to borderline personal attacks. Nothing wrong with providing feedback, but please ensure it is constructive.

The Little Prince is good. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is even better.

Most human beings are already insane. The whole point of Self-realization is to escape the asylum of the conditioned mind, and simply be.

More recent discussion on this topic here:

Maybe there's a negative correlation with loquacity and wisdom Ramana Maharshi: Ramana Maharshi's main means of instruction to his devotees in order to remove ignorance and abide in Self-awareness was through silently sitting together with his visitors, using words only sparingly. His method of instruction has been compared to Dakshinamurti – Shiva in the ascetic appearance of the Guru, who teaches through silence: One evening, devotees asked Sri Ramana Maharshi to explain the meaning of Shankara's hymn in praise of Dakshinamurti. They waited for his answer, but in vain. The Maharishi sat motionless on his seat, in total silence. Commenting upon this silence Ramana Maharshi said: Silence is the true upadesa. It is the perfect upadesa. It is suited only for the most advanced seeker. The others are unable to draw full inspiration from it. Therefore, they require words to explain the truth. But truth is beyond words; it does not warrant explanation. All that is possible is to indicate It. How is that to be done?

Fixed that for you ?

I appreciate what I've learned about conditioning and the human brain. When I read spiritual texts warning about behavioral patterns and attachments, I understand, as a scientist, what they are talking about. Even karma, from a behavioral and sociological perspective, makes perfect sense. Still, it is only psychology. Unfortunately, transpersonal/spiritual psychology doesn't get as much cred as some of the other specialties, but it actually comes closer to what I find interesting, and to what attracted me to psychology in the first place. Understanding human conditioning is helpful, but it won't get you any closer to awakening, until you are ready. The blindspot in psychology is that it is incapable of conceptualizing, analyzing, or measuring the essence of who you really are. It is the same limitation as any other science. Ultimate truth is beyond conceptualization, and can only be realized directly.

Yes, in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In retrospect, wish I had studied Transpersonal Psychology/Spiritual Psychology. People like Steve Taylor have done some cool work, including objectively researching and documenting awakening experiences.

If someone had argued nonduality with you before you realized nonduality, what would your response have been? People only learn when they are ready to learn, and the motivation has to arise from within themselves. The best teaching you can offer is to simply be present. Do not share this wisdom with anyone who lacks in devotion or self-control, lacks the desire to learn, or scoffs at me. Those who teach this supreme mystery of the Gita to all who love me perform the greatest act of love; they will come to me without doubt. No one can render me more devoted service; no one on earth can be more dear to me. - Bhagavad Gita 18:67-69

Consciousness is funny that way. It has its own cadence, in the stories it creates. Tolle spent 3 years simply being, and then he felt a compelling desire, which he describes as arising from Consciousness, to get back into the world of doing, specifically to write a book. The same happened to me, except it was 7 months in my case. Most likely you are in the being phase, enjoy it while it lasts

More names

Teachers can, and often should, try to explain. Some of the wisest though, like Ramana Maharshi, use silent presence as the highest form of teaching. The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. - Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1 Every name, even "infinite love", "Consciousness", "cosmic joke" and "Open Secret", will always fall short of direct realization.