WelcometoReality

If you can see that it is an illusion all it takes is the willingness to let go of it. You don't need to be fully awake to do that just decide between truth and illusion.

That and the enlightened ego.

@mindcentral You might be limited in certain ways but so is everyone else, beliefs are in themselves limiting you from awakening. So it's not the çhronical illness that is limiting (ofc it is in a physical sense). It is the belief that the chronical illness is limiting that is limiting (more limiting than the illness itself).

@Dino D Jesus story just like the story of the buddha can be seen as a map of awakening. So yes it can be used as a tool to awaken if it is grounded within your own experience. Just believing the Jesus story as facts of history is a shallow way of seeing it and won't help in your awakening process. Non duality is a different tool and can be used in the same way. Whichever resonates with you. The guy in the video is off the mark regarding ascetism, humbleness and uncomfortability and I would advice not to follow those advices.

Storms

@astrokeen Some awaken through a mystical experience for others this realization come slowly. The separate self falls away so slow that there seem to be no point in time where this realization has happened. If you genuinely looking for truth and it is your highest priority the realization will happen, it might not be realized the way you expect however.

@Dragonfly210 The way I would define ego is the false or illusiory sense of self. The identification with certain thoughts and feelings within the body. When we awaken the identification to those thoughts and feelings start to dissolve. Some times completely all at the point of realization, sometimes gradually over time. The practice then is to see through the illusion of the "sticky" thoughts and feelings until the ego is completely dissolved.

You might experience being something that is within the body looking out of it. As we awaken this changes the heart of experience. No longer being an entity looking out but the experience experiencing itself. There is no longer any entity experiencing and in that sense you are nothing. No inside or outside so in that sense you are everything. Experience revolves around the human body and in that sense you are something.

What did this merging with the whole look like for you?

No easy way. You need to deal with that which is causing your depression. A solid daily routine is a good start.

Engage in the world. Physical exercise, converse with others, engage in the family and Mindfulness techniques might help bringing your attention back to the sensations of the body.

It's not possible to implement because it naturally arises once ego has dissolved completely or almost completely. Whether you believe Jesus existed or not the story of when Jesus had his vision on the mountain is trying to point to that, from that point and forward he knew god's or the universe's will was.

Yeah, he was certain that he was going to die when he was 25 and that is when he had his first awakening. He had his ego death experience when he was in his 30's though. @Cineva

@Ingit You might want to inquire into the sadness and guilt. You might see that the thoughts and feelings are based on an illusionary character that SHOULD be able to control thought.

@RevoCulture That's a very good point. Ultimately there is no positive or negative, it's all an interpretation of the mind. In reality no such thing exists. We, as individuals, might have certain predispositions of what we like and dislike but that is relative. What someone enjoy others might not enjoy. Even things that brings happiness can be based in illusion, based in thought, but why take the time to see through that when we can take that time to see through that which brings us suffering?

@Matteo I did one practice for several years. My whole life became the practice. That might be another possible approach.

@Dylan Page Motivation is a movement based on the separate self. As we become more grounded in reality (here and now) this motivation starts to dissolve. It will try to do anything to reinvigorate itself as in new motivations and finding some fault in the current experience of now. So the question is what you want. If you want truth then seeing through that movement is key.

@ShugendoRa It might help going to therapy to deal with the feelings of shame and guilt. Or you could write about them in a journal to become more conscious of them.

@Dylan Page Has there been an awakening realisation?

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@m0hsen The mind likes to make conclusions, no need to believe them. All you need to do is observe them.

@Raptorsin7 The thought of death comes up everyday for me. The thought is a wanting to die and letting go completely, to finally have eternal peace. It's not believed in in anyway so no fear or resistance to it arises. Perhaps going into that dream and experience it fully is the way to go?

Without will one cannot pursue in enlightenment true but when awakening has happened will is part of the illusion. Will starts to dissolve as this movement is what's awakened from.

I would say that the stories of jesus point to the journey into awakening and enlightenment. He met with people from all ranks of society, healed the sick and helped people let go of sin. This points to the nature of an enlightened being. They have no judgments toward anyone no matter what life they're living and what acts they do.

Consciousness is prior to anything and everything arises within it. That might seem abstract but what does that point to within your own experience. It might be another avenue to explore. Observing without the willingness to observe that's nicely put.