WelcometoReality

@Viking Isn't that the same thing? You are using the senses to move focus from the mind.

@Viking you can still be present and listen to music and audiobooks etc. Being present means you actively listen to it. Have you ever listened to an audiobook and suddenly come to realize you have no idea what they are talking about because you've been caught up in your thoughts? A whole chapter gone because you been thinking what to do next saturday. Just notice that and put back attention to the audiobook. You can use that practice to whatever you do. Notice you've been lost in thought and put your attention back to the present.

@KenDo What is a memory?

@Light Lover This is a hard question to answer even if you are enlightened because one can only guess what qualities in that person made one awaken. Unless you are a teacher that helped hundreds of people awaken you can't really say what qualities help or doesn't help. That said I believe what helped me awaken was an openmindedness toward the topic of enlightenment and at the same time was sceptical toward it, meaning I had to really look for myself and didn't really buy what the teachers taught. That combined with a desire for truth. I was on the search for truth long before I had learned about spirituality.

@Cudin I know that feeling. It's a sense of not belonging and feeling awkward. It's a phase when one breaks free from the social norms and culture but haven't completely broken free yet. It will pass eventually.

Yes it does feel like that.

Maybe it's possible. Surrendering to the present moment is key to awakening to your true being and maybe someone has aquired such a power to see into the future.

You can use the thoughts and sensations instead. Let them come and pass without clinging to them let them guide you to what you are.

A beautiful description of how one sees the world pre and post Enlightenment by Shinzen Young.

@Viking Then I say start finding out what love is, because how can you love people more if you don't know what love is? And is there a difference between love and unconditional love?

@Viking That word is used alot. What is love to you?

I can't really tell you how :), but I would advice you to set up some good habits such as exercising reguarly, eating healthy and doing gratitude affirmations. It will help you once you do awaken.

@lmfao Are you ready to awaken? Think of that very seriously because once you go over a certain line you won't be able to go back.

@Telepresent As any tool spiral dynamics can be misused and overemphasized. Compare it to the bible. It can be used as a way to awaken but also as a way to control people and misguide them. The problem is not the tool though. It's always the user.

@DocHoliday Enlightenment is an experiential truth. Those words you speak come from people trying to explain how an enlightened person perceive reality. They perceive without boundries, no inside and no outside, which make it feel like infinity. Is that really the case? Can we really know for sure? Probably not.

@Buddha Jackson Yes there are people here that are awake. Can you share your awakening exoerience with us?

@Betterself These questions will start to fade away the deeper it goes. They are the distortion not that the state of enlightenment changes. Surrender to whatever state you are in and then the state will become permanent.

@Leo Gura thank you for sharing that beautiful moment Leo and welcome!

@doucey24 If you get enlightened then yes you probably won't lift weights 6 hours per day to become mr universe. Life will take another direction without a you in the middle of it. This drive you talk about will disappear and in its place another kind of drive will emerge. It's not a drive, more an aligning to what is true.

@h inandout I guess we have to agree to disagree on the topic of cholesterol. I myself are addicted to coffee. It's probably my biggest crutch right now. 1-2 cups are probably ok but I'm gulping down 4-6 cups every day. Do you have any addictions yourself?

I haven't read the books but will check them out but I agree with your arguments on water consumption. Yes most of us don't drink enough water. Myself included. And yes I agree with cholesterol being essential for us but what levels are essential to us? The science tells us that the number one reason for artherosclerosis is high levels of cholesterol and that the typical western diet gives the double (130-150mg/dl)of what an essential level would be (50-70mg/dl). The easiest way to lower cholesterol for most of us is to lower the intake of fatty foods like meat, eggs and dairy.

@Phill With that serious side effects I recommend to stop meditation altogether. There are other ways of finding truth, no need to torture yourself like that. Enjoy life!

@Joseph Maynor Duality is the form and non duality is the formless. Duality is: there is a me over here and a you over there. But infact there is no me and no you AND there is no here and no there. It all is the formless in the form of form. Without the formless there is no form. Everywhere and everything is within the formless which is nowhere.

@iTommy

@Brandon Nankivell Chakras are legit however there is alot of bullshit information out there. It's the big cash cow of the new age (and other) movements and with that comes alot of people trying to make money of it without having any clue about what it really is. Take everything you read about it with a grain of salt. Especially from random homepages on the internet. Best to read about it from a trustful source.