Moksha

Your dream is the answer to your question. The wise baby in the light, with the pure, ethereal nature of chalk and ash, is your Atman. It is the divine within each of us, as infinite expressions of the Brahman.

Monkey mind is mistaken identification with your thoughts. Aware mind is spacious observation of your thoughts. Still mind is resting in yourself, free from thoughts. Active mind is Conscious creativity through thoughts.

Maybe the lucky bloke was the one that went from riches to rags. It's an opening to the wisdom of your insight. ⚡

Happy holidays to you too, lucky bloke

I resonate with some of this. The proverbial bone I must pick is this: Just because someone is happy in this moment, doesn't mean they have 0 attachments. It only means their attachments have temporarily landed them, in the constantly moving spotlight, which they mistake for happiness. In the next moment, when the spotlight shifts, they will be unhappy again, because they still have attachments that they hang their happiness on. Dissolving all attachments is the ultimate realization, not conceptually, but beyond all of the senses, that there are no divisions, and it is already infinitely abundant. It is more than mere happiness, love, or any other emotion. It is Consciousness itself, fully resolving into itself. It is indescribably divine.

Good point. Even reality, as a concept, can be confusing to people. Any name, system, or analogy bears that risk, because it falls short of the ultimate, nameless Tat. I'm ok with reality as a pointer though, since Tat includes all that exists, and all that does not exist. Tat is all.

I feel that Consciousness goes beyond the thinking mind. It expresses itself in everything, even the trees and rocks. As human beings, we are more evolved transmitters, which allows Consciousness to become directly aware of itself. But it doesn't require a human brain in order to manifest. What I'm asking though, is what you sense about this little bundle of data called "you", and the possibility of it retaining definition, beyond the threshold of the human form. In NDEs, where people are clinically dead, they describe continuing to exist as an independent entity, in a more refined form, before remerging with their human form. The gurus taught samsara. Just curious to hear what others have intuited about this.

Great topic, thank you for starting the discussion, @andyjohnsonman. This is synchronous with an overall direction I've been sensing with our community here. I'm deciding to stop using terms like "illusion", "dream world", and "imaginary" to refer to this relative dimension. It is too easy for people to fall into solipsism with these pointers. They confuse, more than they enlight. There is still value, meaning, love, and divinity, even in this dimension. I prefer to talk about reality in terms of depth. This is still a reality, it just more shallow than the ultimate reality, which dissolves all distinctions. The waves of the ocean are real, they are just thinner, and only temporarily separated from, the depthless ocean that creates and reabsorbs them. Even in this reality, when we dream, we create an even more shallow reality within. I once dreamed, that I dreamed, that I was dreaming. That goes pretty shallow Moving the other direction, there might be other depths of reality, underlying this reality, before separation entirely dissolves into the infinite ocean of Consciousness. I was pondering this the other day, when I watched a video about near death experiences. Our forms may continue to exist, still within time and space, but less bound, and finer in substance. Whether it is a system of samsara like the ancient Indians saw, I can't say for sure. But I sense it is possible that other, finer forms, continue in their own realm of existence, still separate from ultimate reality, until eventually they are entirely reabsorbed into the source that created them. I would appreciate any thoughts/insights you all have on this.

Instead of thinking in terms of reality vs. imaginary, maybe think in terms of different states of reality. This state, in which you and I are talking as separate individuals, is still reality. It is just a thinner state. It deserves to be honored, and enjoyed. Don't take it superseriously, but you can still love it. The thicker state of reality is the reality where there is no separation between you and me. We are the same ultimate reality in this thicker state. Whether you directly realize this or not doesn't matter so much. Focus on learning to suffer less, and love more, in the thinner state.

Mormon missionary, in Sydney, Australia. Loved it, left it, and learned from it. ?

I did that

@Jay Ray In a perfect world, one would love, solely for the sake of love, with no attachment to the outcome. In a nearly perfect world, one would love, even if for the reason to be loved in return. The good karma will still be returned to you. At least you are choosing love.

We are here the whole time, we just don't always realize it ?

@4201 Notice a common thread in your insights? Maximum productivity is only reached when I feel at best I am nothing The life problem I have been struggling with is I assumed I had a reason to be ashamed What I thought I was ashamed of was my body Your insights are trying to teach you a life-changing lesson. Do you see it? Your suffering is being caused by identifying with your thoughts and feelings. Feeling not at your best Thinking you are something Feeling ashamed of undercooking your burgers Thinking and feeling ashamed of identifying with your dead body The point of meditation is not to immediately invoke insights, although this can happen. The intent is to practice centering your attention on your true nature, which is Consciousness itself. You learn to observe any thoughts and feelings that may arise, without identifying with them. Our thoughts and feelings have a strong gravitational pull, and the moment they suck you in, you are back in the grasp of egoic suffering. Don't fall for it. When you realize your true nature as Consciousness, and no longer identify with your thoughts and feelings, they lose their power over you. It is not an easy practice. The Buddha compared it to swimming upstream, against the current of your mind. The more you do it, the stronger your spiritual muscles will become, until it becomes a (mostly) perpetual state of being. Keep swimming, brother. ?‍♀️

Not all. I knew God as a child, then I grew out of God, then I rediscovered God. The reunion with myself is more than surprising. It is infinitely more beautiful and unconditional than I could have guessed.

The thing about creation is that it's all or nothing, baby. Once you start spinning the pottery wheel, it goes on spinning out infinite forms, and every vessel becomes inevitable. If it makes you dizzy, pull back and realize that you are the potter, and the wheel is just your tool.

Consciousness has no beginning, and it has no end. Time, space, causality, creation, death, and the infinite diversity of forms are all part of Consciousness dreaming. Consciousness is the abode of the dream universe, but it is more than just the dream.

It cracks me up, too. The entanglement of different states of Consciousness is literally mind-blowing, which is why the Tao Te Ching calls it "Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery." It's like the Chinese finger trap. The more you struggle to understand God with the mind, the more entrapped you become. The only way to understand is by releasing your mind, and directly realizing the Consciousness that you are.

Damn rockhuggers, they see the Consciousness in everything. Free admission, today only

It is possible to swim upstream, against the current of the mind. The more you do, the stronger your muscles become, and the less pull the current has on you. It takes absolute discipline, and for most it is a lifelong journey, but there is joy in the swimming. I wrote a poem about this, that I will maybe share some time. Quantum mechanics and astrophysics fascinate me, because they illustrate the limits of conventional reality. We live within this narrow band of perception, but when we go deeply to the micro- or macro-levels, reality begins to fray at the edges. It is obvious that spacetime is not absolute, but malleable, and relative, to the perceiver. It is no longer this or that, but from which perspective? This is where I see science starting to merge with spirituality.

@kbone Back at ya ?

Burn on, brother ? Here's something I wrote a few weeks back: The Bonfire Consciousness strikes the spark of my undoing, Catching in the kindling of thought, Consuming it to soot, intensifying, Crumbling the timbers that it wrought, Purifying fire ever rising, Burning through the ropes of my desire, Devouring the karma of my making, Soul wind stirring these flames higher, Scattering the ashes of my suffering, No illusion left, only the fire.

True. Whether what I have shared from the Buddha, Jesus, Vyasa, and the other masters is deluded or enlightened, only you can answer for yourself. I'm not asking you to trust any teaching, because the finger is never the moon. It can only help guide you toward God, and after you realize God, the teaching is no longer needed.

You won't see this, but there is no need to change what you have shared here. I respect what you have already realized. I am encouraging you to continue along the path, rather than mistaking it for the destination. I share this, not only for you, but for any other person that is reading this. I stayed silent for a long time, but recently realized that people are being misled, and even leaving the forum, because these partial realizations are paraded as enlightenment. It has to be recognized and challenged, and I am only doing it because I care.

I sense that he has realized that he is in the dark cave, and the shadows dancing on the walls are not real. He is feeling his way toward the opening. He has not yet emerged, and when he does, it will take time for his eyes to adjust to the light. But he will see. Slowly, his eyes adjust to the light of the sun. First he can see only shadows. Gradually he can see the reflections of people and things in water and then later see the people and things themselves. Eventually, he is able to look at the stars and moon at night until finally he can look upon the sun itself. Only after he can look straight at the sun "is he able to reason about it" and what it is. - Socrates