Water by the River

Very good. Ones True Being. Can't loose it. Only mistake it with an illusion that was never really the case. Since yours truly has his chinese weeks... : "There is something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao." "The Tao is the infinite, common source; eternally present within you. No beginning, no end. The essence of wisdom. Just be." and Huang Po: "All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind, beside which nothing exists. This Mind, which is without beginning is unborn and indestructible." And one can call "It" Tao, Buddha-Mind, God, Absolute, Infinite Mind, Raspberry, whatever, even emptiness (although this is also a state-experience that comes waaay before Full Enlightenment). But then one has to immediately say something like form is emptiness and emptiness is form and more important: the Absolute is Reality itself, or else one may just point to a void/causal state, of which there are many.... and these states can be had by a separate-self-illusion without understanding Reality/Totality/Ones True Being. Short Form: Talk about emptiness or experiencing emptiness is in no way already Full Enlightenment. Kensho vs. Satori. This is a nuance that our host either hasn't gotten yet, or deliberately tends to overlook/under-emphasize, in order to bash some more non-enlightened Buddhist resulting in mucho-grande-marketing (sorry, couldn't help : ) highlight the fact that each Full Enlightenment is expressed in the relative form of the relative being (or rather hangover by then) which had had that realization that it really is the Totality. Of the course the Alien tends to see a bit more of the waves of the Ocean, but the Alien (and all there is and ever possibly could be) is still ones True Self.... Infinite and such. Delighting in the fact that one doesn't need a visa anymore for business trips to China and that neither the Tao The Ching nor Huang Po has any remaining valid copyrights left ... by the River PS: @emil1234 I will answer your questions in the next days

Well, um, our host & hero has started promoting meditation. Has realized the limits of psychedelics . Is becoming a nicer human being daily. More and more humble, benelovent and lovely. Chapeau! Less and less self-importance. (Which is btw. the No.1 killer of Awakened Awareness, don't ask me why I am an expert on that... ). "So yeah... Actualized.org solves the entire problem of epistemology, which is why it's so unique and powerful. It's not just some self-help or spirituality channel, it's an absolute solution to epistemology and ontology. Yeah, it took insane intelligence to solve that. The number of humans on this planet who understand the Infinity of Frame can be counted on one hand." Ok ok, but the trend is in place And since I will be going for a business trip to China soon, lets conclude that a bit with the Tao Te Ching: "The Master’s power is like this. He lets all things come and go effortlessly, without desire. He never expects results; thus he is never disappointed. He is never disappointed; thus his spirit never grows old. The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao. The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads. The Master views the parts with compassion, because he understands the whole. His constant practice is humility. He doesn’t glitter like a jewel but lets himself be shaped by the Tao, as rugged and common as a stone. He who defines himself can’t know who he really is. The Master’s power is like this. He lets all things come and go effortlessly, without desire. He never expects results; thus he is never disappointed. He is never disappointed; thus his spirit never grows old. " Singing by the River "as long as ones own imaginations are still annoying, "the" Infinite Mind is still ones teacher" PS: Now to the actual topic: "There is something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao." And one can go wave-surfing on the ocean (nearly) forever, have fun, explore, suffer, understand, forget, and so on and on and on. Or just drop the illusion, dissolve in the Ocean (as you guess what ) and acknowledge having always been the ocean emptiness H20 THAT once more. And if that dropping happens or not also depends on the soul, and if it has done enough wave-surfing or not. "“When there is no desire, all things are at peace.”"

"Among all things existing in the animate and inanimate universe, there is not one single thing that has not been created by me, nor is there a cause that does not derive from me. Thus I am the essence of all, and nothing surpasses me. I am superior to the three dimensions, to the Buddhas of the three times, to the Vidyadharas, to the Bodhisattvas, to the beings of the three worlds, to the whole animate and inanimate universe, because I am the maker of all. Before there was any other teaching I, that am the source, pure and total consciousness, disclosed the teaching of pure and total consciousness." Apologetics? Doesn't sound quite apologetic to me . Chanting "Listen, Sattvavajra! I will show you your own nature. You are me, the source. I am and have always been pure and total consciousness. What is pure and total consciousness?" by the River

The Supreme Source (link above, and quotes/excerpts below) is by the way no obscure or niche author or scripture, but the Kulayarāja Tantra, the "main Tantra of the early Great Perfection tradition", or Dzogchen. "The Kunjed Gyalpo is the main tantra of the early Great Perfection tradition during the "Era of Fragmentation" (9th–10th centuries) period. As such, it is a key source for the early teachings of Dzogchen, ...." from Kulayarāja Tantra - Wikipedia And Dzogchen is, besides Mahamudra, the highest developed meditation system in Tibetan Buddhism. Ati-Yoga, the highest stage. Leo Gura: Yes, Buddhism is precise in that respect. But I have not read any Buddhist description of God-Realization. And no Buddhist I talk to can properly tell me what God is. Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, The Supreme Source: "I am the teacher, pure and total consciousness, whence everything manifests. Pure and total consciousness is the supreme source, it has created the Buddhas of the three times, from it have arisen the beings of the three worlds and the whole animate and inanimate universe. [... ] Pure and total consciousness has created everything and has not created anything. It has created everything because it has created its own nature, pure and total. It has not created anything because within it there exists no need to create. When my nature is not understood and the phenomena that manifest from me become the object of judgement, desire and attachment give rise to the creation of concrete vision that is impermanent and destined to vanish like a magical apparition, and one becomes like a blind man who does not know what is happening. [...I" "As I transcend all affirmations and negations, I am beyond all phenomena. As no object exists that is not myself, I am beyond meditating on a view. As there is nothing to keep apart from myself, I am beyond a commitment to observe. As there is nothing to seek other than myself, I am beyond obtaining the capacity for spiritual action. As no place exists outside myself, I am beyond a level of realization to surpass. As I have never encountered obstacles, I am beyond [everything] as self-arising wisdom. As I am the ultimate unborn nature, I am beyond [everything] as the [true] subtle ultimate nature" "I am called "the perfect condition" becauseeverything is contained in me. I am called "the source" because the teacher, teaching, and disciples arise from my three natures" "I am the essence of all phenomena; nothing exists that is not my essence. The teachers of the three dimensions are my essence. The Buddhas of the three times are my essence. The Bodhisattvas are my essence. The four types of yogins are my essence. The three worlds, of desire, of form, and without form, too, are my manifestation. The five great elements are my essence. The six classes of beings are my essence. Everything inanimate is my essence. Everything that lives is my essence. All the habitats and the beings living therein are my essence. Nothing exists that is not my essence because I am the universal root: there is nothing that is not contained in me. The unborn, the wonder of birth, and the manifestation of energy are the three aspects of the three teachers: this is their condition." "As the three times, past, present, and future, abide exclusively in me, all the Buddhas are in the same condition: this too is my essence. As I transcend the dualism of subject and object, like space I am allpervading, and I constitute the fundamental substance of all phenomena: my essence is pure and total consciousness. I, that am the source, abide in the single state, and in this same authentic condition the practitioners of the "four yogas" "Realize my nature, the supreme source that is pure and total consciousness. Teach that all the phenomena of existence are only myself! If you transmit my teaching, all your disciples will realize my nature and will become this very nature. "If my nature were to be compassionately displayed to the beings of the three worlds who have originated from me,.... Thus I, the supreme source, disclose my nature, displaying it to myself." "Nothing other than this exists; none of the Buddhas have ever received a higher teaching than this from me, the source. Aside from this condition of equality beyond concepts, I myself, the supreme source whence everything arises, have absolutely nothing whatever to display to myself." "Listen! As all of you are created by me, you beings of the three worlds are my children, equal to me, the supreme source. You are me, inseparable from me, so I manifest to you and through the five teachers of my natures I teach the single state of the five essences [of the elements]. I am the single state, I, the supreme source: you too are, you must become certain of this!" "Listen, Sattvavajra! I will show you your own nature. You are me, the source. I am and have always been pure and total consciousness. What is pure and total consciousness?" "Among all things existing in the animate and inanimate universe, there is not one single thing that has not been created by me, nor is there a cause that does not derive from me. Thus I am the essence of all, and nothing surpasses me. I am superior to the three dimensions, to the Buddhas of the three times, to the Vidyadharas, to the Bodhisattvas, to the beings of the three worlds, to the whole animate and inanimate universe, because I am the maker of all. Before there was any other teaching I, that am the source, pure and total consciousness, disclosed the teaching of pure and total consciousness." Bashing Buddhism as if it were one system and as if every have-awake Buddhist were fully enlightened is like bashing Christianity because not every member of every christian congregation is and behaves like a Jesus. The latter move would be less than smart marketing for Jihadists of any kind, at least in the perspective of humble yours truly. Frolicking around at the -ISM bashing by the River

Some of them like that. For Mahayana and Theravada: https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=mahayana%20theravada&author=Water%20by%20the%20River Well, there are many stages of "No-Self". Most of them are still quite separate-selves having No-Self experiences, or even cessations. Cessations and prelimary No-Self experiences/states are not (full) Enlightenment, see Nagarjuna and Mahayana ever since. It is easy to bash these as not "God-realized" or whatever. Selling very alive water by the River

Let's respect the change. Isn't nearly everything in manifestation a bit ironic, contradictory and longing to relax its self-contraction and separateness back into a home which in truth was never really left? It is beautiful that Leo is able to continue the refinement of his views, and has the necessary openness for that. Not many people have this openness... And his love for Truth. Godspeed! Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin' And you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3E-FrMU580 Smiling & Humming Bob Dylan "The Times They Are A-Changing" by the River

Yes we do. "Those who have only kensho do not know this state of unlimited freedom and profound peace of mind. Indeed, it cannot be known until one comes to full enlightenment." - Yaeko There is a high price being paid denying the summum bonum of Full Enlightenment, and hence not reaching it. On the other side, the point of the ride is the ride. My wife would surely agree that the penguin on the right is sometimes much smarter than the broken record of Selling Water by the River. Working towards smiling and waving by the River Responsibly selling Dream Water by the Dream River

That is exactly as you write: Leos God Realization. A very subtle (but still present) identity/subject/observer "Leo" experiencing the Ox, and projecting itself on it. Of course, it is no longer Leo or personal or anything resembling an ego, doesn't need to have a center, can (and is) already nondual, but it is still subtle identity, a subtle subject vs. object, subtle filters, "having" the God Realization. It is not utterly empty and impersonal nondual Infinite Reality itself. "Something" that temporarily arises is still having the experience. It is not permanent. Which Absolute Reality/True You is. Always here. For the utterly empty and impersonal part, see "What is enlightenment, no, I mean really, like what is it?" by Steven Norquist. The same story in Zen (in Kapleau, Three Pillars of Zen): Harada Roshi on Yaekos Kensho: "I confirm that she has truly seen the Ox .... But as yet there remains a subject who is seeing. Her Mind’s home is still far distant. She must search more intensely!" Yaekos Enlightenment: "I have reached the point of actually grasping the Ox, and there is absolutely no delusion. There is neither Ox nor man." "Those who have only kensho do not know this state of unlimited freedom and profound peace of mind. Indeed, it cannot be known until one comes to full enlightenment." If the subject can't be switched off fully sobre, it can't be switched off fully with psychedelics. Some subtle remnants preventing Enlightenment always remain. And these shut down Awakening after coming down from the trip. Not too complicated actually, but what magnificent illusions Spirit can still invent on the last mile... And there is ZERO chance to anticipate the last shift, the dropping of all filters/lenses/identities/centers/... until it happens. Because if it could be anticipated, it would have already happened. And hence, SWbtR gets his usual beatings, although increasingly in a compassionate way. Selling unlimited freedom and profound peace of mind by The River

I understand it looks like that for you . It couldn't look any different. I have no way of communicating these final steps in concepts/words to you. "Many so-called enlightened people may not have much of a sense of self, but that does not mean they have higher consciousness of God." (Full) Enlightenment doesn't mean little sense of self, or killing the ego (which remains functional, even better than before, afterwards). It is the dropping of each and any identity and center. No subtle Identity/center/separatation is left. All seen through, the loop closing itself in realtime. Boundless aware eternal Reality itself, without any possible center/identity, in which and as which all appearance flows. All of what you write, even "God-Realization", has identity/center/separation left. A "God-Realizer". That is a temporary arising mirage in the eternal unchanging Reality/Totality. Enlightenment is truly utterly impersonal Infinite Reality/Awareness. No center. Infinite and boundless. Without nothing possible besides it, without a second, in no dimension and realm. It is utterly beyond concepts and words, identities and centers, experiences and understandings. Although all of that happens within "It". Infinitely intelligent. God. Totality. Each and any subtle identity/center/duality (which by definition is separate from the Totality) has to go. All of these are temporary arisings, reflections on the water, mirage, illusions. And they are very very very subtle and tricky towards the end of the path, nothing one can talk about with concepts without having had the reference experience of the signifiers/words. What you call God-Realization is still a mirage, a reflection on the water, being had by an illusionary self (although highly awakened and developed, nondual and infinite, but not yet truly impersonal and truly centerless and hence also still reflection on the water). Not yet truly enlightened and truly impersonal. None of the "God-Realization" is eternal or timeless, or always here. You are that which is always here. All of these reflections on the water of the cycle of ignorance to God Realization happen in You. A mirage. Appearances. Changing. Dreamlike. Unreal. The last step is the falling away of that God-Realizer. That is still a subtle separation and identity. Believe or not. What remains? What is always here? What is truly real? What are you really? What is truly eternal, always the case, god-realized or not, enlightened or not? That which can never loose or gain anything, despite being enlightened or ignorant. That is It. Or True You. See you "there". Your dream-character Selling Water by the River Musical Coda: Life must have its Mysteries

@Leo Gura "The entire spiritual path can be framed as the mind’s ascent from low to high to infinite intelligence. This ascent can only go so far without a parallel ascent towards the Good. Eventually the two paths, the path of intelligence and the path of doing Good must converge into complete Unity because they are metaphysically identical." Chapeau! Great post. Now you got it. Wisdom (which is Intelligence as you write it) and compassion (goodness/love/agape) form the two legs of stable realization. A tale told in the spiritual traditions since the dawn of time. There are instances/higher beings (some of the Alien category you write about, see for example David Spangler) in Reality that overlight and make sure that these insights find their path into every spiritual tradition. Love and wisdom, compassion and wisdom/awakening/intelligence (I agree with your differentiation of intelligence and wisdom. Wisdom is the tendency/Karma/habit of the soul to express higher intellience, or not), Eros and Agape, Awakening and Boddhichitta form a pair. The two legs of the path. Higher and more developed beings (non-human, subtle dimensions, "Alien",...) are traditionally always depicted as radiating huge love/compassion/Agape and presence/Awakening/realization. Which makes sense, since they have realized their true identity with the Totality since a long time. https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=wisdom compassion&author=Water by the River "Anything that obstructs the holistic flow of the universe is unintelligent, including impatience and frustration at the obstructions and divisions which presently exist and obstruct the holistic flow of the universe. The highest intelligence must recognize, accept, and love all of the unintelligence it finds within its infinite self. Such an intelligence is God, Good, Love. Such is the metaphysics of Intelligence. When you finally understand the structure of Intelligence, knowing how to behave in any given situation becomes 10x easier, clearer, and more powerful. There's no longer doubt and confusion about what you're supposed to do because the only thing you're ever supposed to do in life is be Intelligent. Just be Intelligent. That's it. If you fully grasped this, you would unlock a new tier of development." . Excellent. Godspeed! Water by the River

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui3IdfwraRo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI1yN7SFouo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4iQZpk1Iyw

Sorry for hijacking your question while not being adressed. I know... How is the final and deep realization (and release) of the illusion of the egoic self-contraction traditionally called? I know, its a concept/word/pointer non-grata around here... Or is that changing lately? https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=Full Enlightenment&author=Water by the River&sortby=relevancy After that the little egoic bug and its essence of suffering/contraction/resistance is never fully believed again... If all of its little high-speed contraction-illusion arisings are seen through in high-speed real-time, it indeed can evaporate and dissolve into the Totality of Infinite Being/Reality. Your True Identity. The egoic self contraction, a truly magnificent illusion, a creation worthy of the Divine Intelligence of Reality itself. After a long imagined journey of mistaken identity back home over many lifetimes cosplaying not being the Infinite Totality of Reality itself, creating lots and lots of suffering and resistance and contraction along the way (but also a lot of fun, joy and juicy drama), at some point all its little tricks are done and seen through. Halleluja. Summum bonum. Lately around here there is a little "end-of-the-road" feeling spreading concerning the psychedelic path, and the endless exploration of the Infinity of manifestations of Consciousness/manifest Reality. https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=psychedelic suffering&author=Water by the River&sortby=relevancy An exploration which in other words then becomes just one more (imagined) step along the (imagined) way back home. Godspeed to "everyones" return path back home, to a home one can truly never leave... It can only appear so. Meet you "there". Or right here, right now. Your fellow dream-character... ... Selling Water by the River PS: Deep respect concerning Leos truth-love, authenticity and intellectual integrity.

Maybe you find this interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Form "Ostensibly a work of formal mathematics and philosophy, LoF became something of a cult classic: it was praised by Heinz von Foerster when he reviewed it for the Whole Earth Catalog.[5] Those who agree point to LoF as embodying an enigmatic "mathematics of consciousness", its algebraic symbolism capturing an (perhaps even "the") implicit root of cognition: the ability to "distinguish". LoF argues that primary algebra reveals striking connections among logic, Boolean algebra, and arithmetic, and the philosophy of language and mind."

Yes. Letters of Bassui, in Kapleau, Three Pillars of Zen: 4. To a Dying Man Your Mind-essence is not subject to birth or death. It is neither being nor nothingness, neither emptiness nor form-and-color. Nor is it something that feels pain or joy. However much you try to know [with your rational mind] that which is now sick, you cannot. Yet if you think of nothing, wish for nothing, want to understand nothing, cling to nothing, and only ask yourself, “What is the true substance of the Mind and of this one who is now suffering?” ending your days like clouds fading in the sky, you will eventually be freed from your painful bondage to endless change. 8. First Letter to the Zen Priest Iguchi An ancient Zen master [Rinzai] said: “You should not cling to the idea that you are Pure-essence.” And again: “Your physical body, composed of the four basic elements, can’t hear or understand this preaching. The empty-space can’t understand this preaching. Then what is it that hears and understands?” Meditate fully and directly on these words. Take hold of this koan as though wielding the jewelsword of the Vajra king. Cut down whatever appears in the mind. When the thoughts of mundane matters arise, cut them off. When notions of Buddhism arise, likewise lop them off. In short, destroy all ideas, whether of realization, of Buddhas, or of devils, and all day long pursue the question “What is it that hears this preaching?” When you have eradicated every conception until only emptiness remains, and then cut through even the emptiness, your mind will burst open and that which hears will manifest itself. Persevere, persevere—never quit halfway—until you reach the point where you feel as though you have risen from the dead. Only then will you be able to wholly resolve the momentous question, “What is it that hears this preaching?” PS: The answer to every Koan is a state of being. Or rather, Being. Infinite Being. The answer can never be demonstated in a forum by text only. But they can be given or stated by text only. Who is Selling Water by the River? PS: I personally like more the (compared to Zen) much more technical way of Mahamudra for actual practice, especially Pointing out the Great Way style, which I consider more efficient for most. But the letters of Bassui are pure poetry for me. They express the essence, and they can touch deeply. Especially if there is an intuition of that which Bassui is aiming at. It seems "he" speaking to us across a distance of over half a millenia. Yet, his true essence is right here, right now. Always.

That is a nice Koan!

The poor rodents, both your 2-legged and the 4-legged versions. Ever considered that True YOU is also every possibly existing rodent? That whole rodent-bashing seems a bit like a autoimmune or allergic reaction occuring within Infinite Being. All you can do if the rodent smiles at you is smile back.

The first bold "I" was a little bit too much, that is why it (mind) had to go (second bold marking, and below): and there the "I" went... "my mind still made a distinction". That is what "I"s and "minds" tend to do. Sneaky stuff... Everbody can make up their own mind what these bold markings mean... Here is Bassuis version of the same process/topic: "At work, at rest, never stop trying to realize who it is that hears. Even though your questioning penetrates the unconscious, you won’t find the one who hears, and all your efforts will come to naught. Yet sounds can be heard, so question yourself to an even profounder level. At last every vestige of self-awareness will disappear and you will feel like a cloudless sky. Within yourself you will find no “I,” nor will you discover anyone who hears. This Mind is like the void, yet it hasn’t a single spot that can be called empty. Do not mistake this state for Self-realization [half-baked No-Self], but continue to ask yourself even more intensely, “Now who is it that hears?” If you bore and bore into this question, oblivious to anything else, even this feeling of voidness will vanish and you won’t be aware of anything—total darkness will prevail. [Don’t stop here, but] keep asking with all your strength, “What is it that hears?” Only when you have completely exhausted the questioning [killed/transcended the of the remaining subtle No-Self-Identity, resulting in True No Self, which is not a "No-Self" anymore but eternal infinite impersonal Infinite Consciousness/Reality] will the question burst; now you will feel like someone who has come back from the dead. This is true realization. You will see the Buddhas of all the universes face-to-face and the Dharma Ancestors past and present." [brackets] by WbtR And instead of reading the musing-collection of WbtRs archive below, better enjoy the holiday season! https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=thisdell&author=Water by the River https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=impersonal&author=Water by the River Can not some AI make Water by the Rivers retirement final? Any charming AI reading along? With the greetings of the seasons... ... Selling Water by the River "form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness form. "is the supreme mantra which is able to relieve all suffering": Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha: Gone, Gone, Gone Way Beyond, Gone Way Way Beyond: Uh what a Realisation! https://www.till-gebel.com/post/heart-sutra-as-spiritual-development-project-daniel-p-brown

Don't worry, the Filibusters will be back when required. People who are too serious probably take also the dream too serious. It needs a balance between full engagement and the lightness of the realization of the dreamlike nature of all appearances & worlds. Sometimes Solipsism-aficionados tend to take it all a bit serious... Who or what is all possible shows again? Who or what is trying to convince who or what of Solipsism? If that ain't a cosmic joke delivered by Maya herself I don't know what is. Smiling with Snoopey & Charlie Brown by the River “TRANSCENDENCE RESTORES HUMOR. Spirit restores humor. Suddenly smiling returns. Too many representatives of too many movements – even many very good movements, such as feminism, environmentalism, meditation, spiritual studies [Solipsism, SWbtR] – seem to lack humor altogether. In other words, they lack lightness, they lack a distance from themselves, a distance from the ego and its grim game of forcing others to conform to its contours... They should all trade two pounds of ego for one ounce of laughter”(Ken Wilber. 1999. One Taste: The Journals of Ken Wilber. December 7).

Relaxing & retired with Snoopy by the River

Sitting with Snoopy & Charlie Brown by the River

I know. Good god, now I will not get your lovely nonviolent metaphor out my system for a looong time, everytime I will look at a screwdriver. Razard had certain Awakenings that he probably will continue to interpret and express in his own ways. Everbody can judge for himself how holistic, logical and coherent and loving that ends up. I personally would "unpack" or interpret these awakenings a bit more carefully, more impersonal, more like Indras Net, but who am I to spoil or judge the gig. I am quite happy that you do the debating, then I don't have to . Been there, dont that, and of course less than successful. But there is for sure development to be seen in his content & style of writing, less ego and such, so thumbs up & bon voyage! Besides, talking/writing to "others" trying to convince them of "Absolute" Solipsism is the ultimate joke. Whats the point, besides hallucinating & falling for a very serious & determined "convincer"-illusion? So chapeau to all appearing actors in the mighty River, of the mighty River, for the mighty River. PS: All of ya don't exist, only I do. Whadda say? Answer: Not today darling...

Actualized Quotes '094: "God, Truth, Consciousness, Love cannot be defined because they are everything - Totality." "But the totality of existence has nothing against which it can be defined". "If you could define God, it wouldn't be God". "The technical answer is: Consciousness is Undefined". "Being undefined is what makes Consciousness divine". Very good! Especially something for the Absolute Solipsism Aficionados, which are still banging their heads against the conceptual walls hiding the above mentioned undefineable (but realizeable) nonconceptual Absolute Truth. Admittedly, not exactly a new insight. A guy called Nagarjuna had the exact same realizations, which resulted in Mahayana Buddhism and the Middle Way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhyamaka "Its character is neither existent, nor nonexistent, / Nor both existent and nonexistent, nor neither. / Centrists should know true reality / That is free from these four possibilities." But definitely correct. And everbody having had Full Enlightenment of course also had that realization, by definition. So then, ladies and gentlemen, how can consciousness be higher or lower, especially considering Awakening n+1, if "being undefined is what makes Consciousness divine"? Of course, it can't, only the "outer" appearances or the "inner" appearance of understanding (understander/separate-self-illusion) can be "higher or lower". Which, after having understood what Infinite Reality and ones True Being truly is, is only relative appearance, happening within ones Infinite Being. And that appearance (or if one is inclined to call that [higher/lower] consciousness/Awakening/whatever, which is a slippery slope, because see the "undefineablity" mentioned by Leo above) can be "higher" or "lower". True Being/Infinite Consciousness, which never appeared, changed, disappeared/disappears (nor could) but IS and only can be right here right now, covered normally by lots of ignorant and illusory concepts and feelings of separation and duality. That what every being truly is is never changed by anything, any realization, understanding, Awakening n+1 or whatever. "IT" has change and appearance ("external" world and "internal" "mindstream") and understanding/understander and Awakening/Awakener APPEARING WITHIN ITSELF. "Itself", which has no outside, hence infinite. But once one has truly realized ones own non-conceptual always already here Infinite Reality, its game over on the Absolute Side, and continuing game on on the relative side of appearance. Which, btw., never truly touches ones True Being, which remains eternally unchanging silent (potentially) aware Infinite Reality. Which is exactly this undefinable unchanging silent undefinable Infinite Absolute Opening of Reality that Leo is talking about. Stabilizing the access to this Realization in daily life is the Summum Bonum, not the rock-gig: But the rock thing is of course also fun. Until it isn't. Who is telling these little conceptual stories to other perspectives of his/hers/its True Infinite Being by the River?

Koan: Who or what again is having these minor conceptual disagreements appearing within "it"self? Smiling at overflowing cups by the River

Instead of Indras Net as a metaphor of the One without a second looking through the eyes of all appearing beings (which is actually what all spiritual traditions say), gently embracing the Infinite Totality of Infinite Being in its infinite nature imagining infinite perspectives/beings/Holons, we get something served more like: As gentle as one agent Smith is to the other: Indras Net my friend, not "When you play the character [is] the entirety of the frame is all that exists". https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=Indras Net&author=Water by the River Selling "me too" by the River

Exactly. Which is the last thing any separate ego wants... A little less conversation, a little more action, please All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me A little more bite and a little less bark A little less fight and a little more spark meditation ... Come on, baby, I'm tired of talking Grab your coat and let's start walking Come on, come on (come on, come on) Come on, come on (come on, come on) Come on, come on (come on, come on)