snowyowl

Biden will have the chance to put his words into action, we will wait and see. As for Trump, he did play hardball over the trade talks, risking a trade war over his efforts to create a level playing field with the Chinese. He stopped them getting into the 5G network too.

You see it's hard to talk about this without those sneaky pronouns, "I", "we" popping up as if they are the knower, experiencer or observer of pure being. But if being includes everything, then you can't get outside it to "know" it. You have to see it from within, be part of it. Be the being as you say. Actually that's what we always have been, but for the illusion we are separate. This says it well:

Speaking from direct experience, I know what consciousness is like in the form of a self-identified separate human body (ie dual). I have brief glimpses of what human consciousness is like as non-identified, non-separate human form (ie nondual). Outside that, it gets into the realm of guesswork. When this body, with it's superpower to conceive of itself as a separate self dies, it merges back into the general non-human form of existence. I don't see why the other forms of reality (worms, soil, gas, whatever else I will turn into), can't have forms of consciousness too.

@Willie @Anderz yeah unity is totally unrealistic, and in any case the whole point of democracy is to have different parties which disagree with each other. But I'll be charitable for now and assume Joe Biden just likes the idea of unity and wants to de-escalate the anger and high emotions going round at the moment. I don't expect a particularly radical term of office, but maybe he'll get the US back to somewhere like where Obama left off. BTW I was checking the figures and have got that Biden currently has 279 electoral college points (56.6% of current total of 493 against 50.6% of total votes counted). Trump has 214 (43.4% vs 47.7% of votes counted). It means the US system (just like ours in the UK) isn't proportional and gives more to the winners than the also-rans, so the actual feeling of the country is closer than the result suggests. I don't see Republicans wanting to compromise on such a close result, it's about as close as our Brexit referendum was and look how that turned out, years of wrangling followed. Speaking of also-rans, I can't find how many votes went to the other candidates - there's 1.7% balancing figure up to 100% total votes - presumably they got zero electoral college points. The media makes them almost invisible.

@Danioover9000 thanks for the support (both of you) I don't think I have the type of problem to get professional help, I'm not afraid of death for my own sake, but anxious for the people I'll leave behind (which probably every unenlightened person with loved ones has). I was wondering if Crysty is aware of other spirits around trying to contact physically living people and could give some tips. But if not, that's ok too. The answer is to keep on with the spiritual work and become an embodiment of what @Moksha says 'love is all there is'.

How about if (and this is a question too) the feeling of the separate "I" which lives and dies, isn't untrue, but is just a limited perspective which is a limited truth? Rather like when you only look at one piece of the jigsaw. The untruth comes in if you extrapolate from the small piece and assume you know what the fill picture is like, instead of actually looking at the whole jigsaw. Edit -- or if we are the jigsaw, which can choose to identity as a single whole, or as separate pieces. Except that the 'pieces' are impermanent, virtual pieces, the borders being redrawn over and over.

@Moksha thanks, yeah you're right of course, I suppose I'm just clinging onto an impermanent state of physical living here. I should know better, I've lost both my parents, they haven't contacted me. Maybe there's another answer too around the fact that love is way bigger than our individual physical life & death.

I had a major anxiety today. I thought, what if I die before the rest of my family (I'm married with children), and they are missing me and struggling with grief, financial worries etc. Does Crysty know if there's any way for deceased people in spirit to contact their families and somehow reassure them that death isn't the end, give them practical advice etc? Or am I just clutching at straws here? I'm doing my best to be a good husband and dad, but really we need each other and would be devastated if we lost any one of us.

'In his first speech as US president-elect, Biden vowed "not to divide but unify" the country' (BBC news website today). Is this just rhetoric or if not, how's he planning to unify his progressive supporters with Trump's side? If he is serious about unity, that implies some major compromises and policy changes. Will he stick with some liberal policy (I don't call him left wing) or look for a middle ground at the right hand side of the democrats?

What God given rights? As far as I can see, the only rights we have are what we've (and our ancestors mainly) have struggled and fought for. China hasn't had a democracy yet, so their people are in for an uphill struggle if they want it. The CCP also appears scared about the prospect of 'splittists', and their country fragmenting (not yet acknowledging that they are occupying Tibet, or have lost Taiwan). In general through, can a one party state run a capitalist economy sustainably in the long term? I think they gave up on communism in the 1980s and have had economic growth since then. If they have a serious recession with unemployment etc then maybe the cracks will show. But then again, they managed to enforce the one child policy on a huge population, so they must have a very tight grip.

Young Jedis will try, try and try again until the Wu Wei, they find

Nice realisation, thanks for sharing I wonder what's the difference with Shunyamurti speaking to you rather than anyone else? We're all consciousness after all. Perhaps it's because some people have pure consciousness without self-consciousness.

@allislove +1 . 10 days is a nice time for a holiday but I'll bet it feels like a long time for your first 10 day solo. I've only tried it on a group retreat which was quite enough first time. But next spring gives time to work up to it. @Rigel Best wishes, you seem well organised, please tell us how it goes. Will you do it at home, or are you going away somewhere?

How solid is your regular everyday practice? Maybe focus on that, intensify first, then try a solo day retreat, then next time a weekend etc. If we're not quite ready, the ego throws up a lot of resistance like this. Good luck anyways

I remember from maths that 0^0 = 1. Nothing, with zero dimensions, equals unity. Unity is made up of an infinity of fractions, which is what we are!

We live in a modern society full of possibilities and expectations for the future, we have dreams unheard of for our ancestors. So when the reality doesn't match the desire, we judge ourselves and feel unsatisfied with the reality of the now, and reject ourselves. The answer, imo, is to fully accept, embrace and love ourselves how we are now and that love generates some positive energy and space to move forward and make plans for our personal development - eg Nahm's dreamboard, Leo's life purpose videos. Imagine if you became a dad right now (if you aren't already) - well, you know you've got your own issues, don't we all, do you think you would do a perfect job? We all make mistakes, can you forgive them, accept them as products of their own history, and create some space for a fresh start? Accept your emotions, don't resist them, they are showing you your pain. Have compassion on yourself, yes there is a problem but it is in the past. Try to reframe this as there was a problem which has created this pattern of anxiety feelings. If you fully accept and give space to the anxiety, is it such a big problem? Keep accepting it and I predict that over time, it will reduce. Accept it anyway, it's all there is. Accept also your judgement of wrongness (that's part of reality too!). Accept yourself in the here and now. Practice unconditional acceptance (ok this may take a while to perfect). Treat it like a meditation practice, when you notice you are criticising or rejecting yourself, move over to acceptance, like some people focus on the breath. Over and over and over again. Accept, accept, accept.

Is this like inducing a sensory deprivation state without any content to experience? I haven't got there by trying to imagine my way into it, that creates waves of effort in my mind, which are stirring up experiences of blackness etc - if you see what I mean. I usually do my evening meditation in a dark room, when the house is quiet etc so perhaps I get a bit closer to this. Then it's more like letting go of phenomena which I experience, and if I'm lucky, it turns into no-one experiencing them, the phenomena just happen by themselves, merge into one with the awareness. But I'm not sure if it's the same state you are describing.

@lewis-j this sounds awesome but a bit scary when you're driving! Perhaps that's why your ego kicked back in, as a survival instinct. I get this sometimes when I'm in a relaxed mood (not just meditating) , although I don't have a name for it yet so thanks @Osaid for the name. I wasn't sure if it's samadhi, do you know what's the difference? I could do with a good glossary for these terms to be honest. Welcome to the forum btw, this is a great entrance Is this experience the result of a regular practice of some sort, or just purely out of the blue, like a grace?

@RoerAmit Some great advice so far Do you have anxiety with particular situations, or in general? For specific issues, have you tried a gradual desensitisation in combination with the other techniques? Eg I have anxiety with job interviews and public speaking, but it has improved with gentle practice, gradually increasing the exposure as I rewire my system.

Hi, thanks for this,it looks really interesting! I have heard of the oil that was used to anoint the Israeli Kings (Messiahs/Christs) - including myrrh as an ingredient which is presumably why it was one gift of the 3 Wise Men. In fact, anointing with holy oil including myrrh is still used in the UK coronation ceremony, the last time in 1953 it was the only part hidden from the TV cameras because it is so sacred. Therefore, in theory at least the UK Queen is a Christ because she is an anointed person. There's a lot here which is new to me, about chrism within the human body that I'll need to think about but nice share anyway

Meditation sitting practice: concentration (mindfulness of breathing) + resting in being (natural awareness) following Diana Winston. I plan to read The Mind Illuminated soon and maybe adjust my practice from there. I got it from archive.org on recommendation from folks in the forum here. Plan: 30 mins per day incr to 60. Current actual: 20-30 mins but not every day. I must get more disciplined! Start reading TMI in November. Timescale 2 months to end December. Weight loss: BMI to come down to 20 and waist/height to 48%. Timescale 2 months to end December. This is a big challenge and tight timescale, as I've lost a lot of fitness due to the coronavirus lockdowns and working from home. My diet needs an urgent cleanup and Xmas is coming soon! Learn some breathing exercises eg from Yoga to energise, cleanse etc. In fact I want to reboot a yoga practice but not setting any specific targets until January (got enough to deal with in the other 2 plans).

Hi thanks for this info. I suppose if it costs money (electricity) and time to mine your new Bitcoins, then there needs to be a reward to make a profit so that people do it. Perhaps I should invest in a super quantum computer to get them more efficiently Also if it is faster & easier than using national currencies then there's a "cost leadership" business model to undercut the traditional banks (like discount supermarkets) - all we need next is a lending industry too so you could take out a mortgage (for example) in cryptocurrency, if you dare! Perhaps the big banks will copycat and get on the bandwagon if this starts to disrupt the system too much.

I have a memory of Christopher Titmuss saying (on the subject of life after death) "who lives, who dies?" meaning that the best way to find out what's going to happen to us in the future, is to find out who we are now. Until I fully bottom that out, I'm just speculating and theorising. Maybe we only find out the truth about reincarnation when we're fully enlightened and (if you believe the Eastern religions) don't need to do it any more, ha ha!

@Beeflamb by 'rabbit hole' do you mean doing your spiritual practice etc? Externally it can appear we are going on a different tangent from our family & friends when we start doing new practices like meditation, yoga, breathwork, reading different books etc. How long have you been on the path? I have found that over time, it has helped me get closer to other people as I become a better listener, understand human psychology better, have more compassion, become more accepting of the wide diversity of life. For example, I used to have many intellectual barriers to relating with Christians, but since I have tasted the deeper truth connecting us all, those barriers have become very thin and transparent. Love wells up within us and the other people around us respond to that, unless they have their own issues to overcome.

I can see how Bitcoin and other blockchain technology has potential, it may provide some added value compared with regular currencies. But I think there's some risks (at the moment): - Who provides the guarantees and governance if anything goes wrong? Regular banks & currencies are as good as the governments which regulate them (eg they bailed them out in the credit crunch) but who can you turn to if Bitcoin crashes or gets hacked? - Bitcoin may be useful to some people, but they are trading at about £10,500 ($13,750) each today. They don't give that much extra value vs traditional money surely? This looks like bubble territory to me, if it's based on people buying them speculatively just hoping for rising prices, rather than actually using them for their own unique functionality. How many places accept payment in Bitcoin or other cryptos? Maybe I'm being too cautious and can't see the value long-term. Dotcom shares went through a huge boom, bust, then boom again 20 years ago so I'm not writing Bitcoin off altogether.