Moksha

This is true, but to clarify, it doesn't imply complacency with the status quo. Always accept what is, but also take action when change is required.

The purpose of suffering is to teach you how not to suffer.

@Dodo @Hotaka I have read the bible many times, and my view of Jesus has evolved. I tend to prefer the direct quotes of Jesus to the writings of his disciples, and when I read what Jesus actually said, the meaning is more profound than I used to realize. For example, I used to think "heaven" is some physical plane of perpetual bliss, where I would live with Jesus, both of us as separate entities, forever. I now read Jesus saying the Kingdom of Heaven is within, and the realization of what he meant by that has made all the difference.

Every form, even Jesus and the Buddha, is a transient expression of Consciousness. Some forms are more lucid of this than others, but ultimately there is only God, and the infinite expressions of God. It is all the same transcendent reality.

Jesus self-identified as the light of God. He also recognized others as the light of God. He knew that we are all the same in the transcendent sense, and that the kingdom of God is the essence of who we are. He was God expressed through a form, like the rest of us, he just happened to be a more awakened form than most.

Sorry to hear about your loss, bro. Even our "dream" selves, and those we care about, are worthy of being honored. On reincarnation, nobody knows for sure. I find it plausible, but don't know, and don't trust anyone that claims to know. The closest thing I've seen to evidence are the near-death experiences of people that seem credible. If you haven't seen this, I highly encourage watching it, especially given your question:

Wishing you ever-increasing consciousness in your journey, bro. At best, people can only point, and even then, there is no guarantee that where they are pointing is where you are ready to be. Maybe they are pointing too high, or too low, or at another aspect, entirely. Your instinct is right: true insights are always directly realized. Happy holidays! ?

The sixth sense is only awareness of the Consciousness in all things. Of course the awareness is not Consciousness itself

If you like the taste of suffering, you are certainly entitled to it I find the feast more delectable without it, and my fellow guests at the table seem to appreciate it as well. Knowing who you are, directly and vigilantly, makes all the difference in how this dream is realized.

Awesome. The more you be, the easier it will become, until your eyes are always open. Practice makes presence

@Red-White-Light It's true that we construct our own reality. Withdrawing the physical senses, including vision, makes it easier to realize ourselves as Consciousness. My point was that there is a sixth sense, beyond the physical senses, which is directly realized. I call it spiritual sight. The third eye is a metaphor, but the underlying reality that it points to is the direct realization of Consciousness, in this form and in all forms.

Realizing what you have about the illusory solidity of this reality, and the ultimate nature of Consciousness, still you are bound to this form, until you no longer are. Given that, would you rather suffer through existence, or not? The Buddha recognized what you have recognized, and he chose to teach others not to suffer, even knowing the transient nature of this experience. Lucid nightmare or lucid pleasant dream? It's your choice.

@Eren Eeager, what you need is not for your mind to be on fire, but for your mind to be quenched. If psychedelics enflames your thoughts, perhaps you will benefit more from staying away from them for a while, and learning to observe your thoughts, in the safe space of Conscious awareness.

When you realize yourself as Consciousness, it is more than blackness. The boundaries between you and everything else dissolve, your third eye opens, and you realize the infinite abundance and light that is your ultimate nature.

Maybe instead of seeking for permanent awakening, you can let yourself be, for just this moment? Are you able to realize yourself as the observer of your thoughts, and allow more space around them? In this moment, there needn't be any suffering.

Maybe there's a definition problem here. I use Tolle's definition, which is that ego is simply the state of identifying with the conditioned mind. The moment you realize that you are not your mind, the ego disappears. Of course, when you fall back into misidentification, the ego is back. You can still have a conditioned mind, without ego, if you don't identify with it. All of us have been conditioned by life, and learning unconditional love is usually a lifelong process. Conditioning always exists, unless we die. The same is not true for ego, at least not as I define it.

Yep.

The ego is not the self. It is false identification with the self. You can be awake, navigating the self, free from ego. Enlightenment and the ego cannot coexist.

The meditation object is intended, not to be concentrated upon, but to be concentrated through. It is a lens, protecting your focus from distractions, and allowing insights to arise.

Exactly. I've been pondering this a lot recently. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, either unmanifested or only manifested as we experience it in this density level. It seems likely, if not inevitable, that there are other, finer (and perhaps other, denser) levels of manifestation.

Thanks for sharing, @cetus. One critical concept that Watts doesn't recognize in this speech is the idea of continued karmic identity, in the samsara cycle, and of ultimate redemption from this cycle.

INFJ, with a trend to INFP. Less T, more F. Better, more Sp.

My sense is that there are many levels of manifestation, not just unmanifested vs. manifested. When we die, there seems to be a continued packet of personality, which you can call a ghost, a karmic imprint, or whatever name you choose, which still exists, within its own level of manifestation. Ancient Indian spirituality recognizes this, through the concepts of samsara and reincarnation. Ultimate reabsorption into the unmanifested doesn't happen until paranirvana. But these are only concepts, so I take them with a grain of salt. Donald Hoffman has some interesting ideas on this. Also, there are many instances of near death experiences and supernatural occurrences, some of which seem credible. I have glimpsed some of this, but can't say that I completely understand it. I saw it as a child, denied it as a scientist, and now readmit its possibility.

As I see it, the Atman is always infinitely bright, as an expression of the eternal Brahman. It only appears to be less bright, when attention is misdirected. It is more about single-pointedly Self-focusing, rather than allowing the gravitational pull of attachments to distract our attention.

@Hotaka The Atman needs no help, it needs only to unconditionally be ?