cetus

@Brody You are allowed to do anything once you see there is no you to do anything.

As far as mental masturbation goes, it could be a form of resistance to truth. Other times I think it's done to keep the ego stroked. And as for others, it may be a form of escapism. Ego substituting one habitual obsession for another.

All joking aside though, it's not only the forum by any means. I see myself working within this conceptual framework along with society at large. It's like a well oiled machine than seems_ _ _ scheduled? or something? Maybe that's it? Conceptual schedules within conceptual borders. Whatever it is, it's a real framework for sure. When your in it you don't realize it's even happening, unless the perspective is changed by some means.

@Shrek_Of_Justice Now that your LSD trip is over, welcome back to the forum for some serious hallucination.

A pig and chicken head to a restaurant for a bite to eat. The sign outside reads 'Todays Special Ham and Eggs'. The pig says to the chicken, Oh no, I'm not going in there! The chicken says to the pig, 'Don't be afraid, I'm not'. The pig says, 'That's easy for you to say. From you they only want a donation. From me they want total surrender.

Could you use a good laugh along the spiritual Path? If so this would certainly do it.

@Visionary Try this. Open both B-beats above at the same time. It takes on more of a surround sound with both playing simultaneously.

@The White BeltBefore the waterfall there is turbulence. After the waterfall there is calm.

I like what the questioner said- "everything felt very unreal and outputting, I was glad to be back'. It is like that for the ego. I said to someone on the forum just last week "when the ego sees true reality as it is, it usually turns away from the raw-stark truth. Only in the absence of ego do we truly realize how much the ego colors reality. As Rupert put it so well "the solidity of it is gone'.

@John Iverson *I tried Binaural Beats for a while but stopped because they were too programed or something. I prefer just sitting in nature and dissolve into what it offers. Here is an experience @All_Around_Me had with B-beats. I was meditating using binaural beats and at one point, when I felt `emptiness` in my head and lost the sense of my body and my eyelids began to twitch very fast, I became really scared. I noticed (if I can say so) my own horror, though it felt quite distant. Also I felt an intense pressure in a forehead zone. I stopped to meditate, however the feeling of floating didn`t disappear at once. Also when I came up to a mirror I had a strange feeling that I am looking at myself not from my own eyes. I had a feeling that I expanded. All that scared me a lot and I had a panic. However the next day I felt quite okay. I didn`t meditate for two days (because of fear), but at the same time I wanted to, so I meditated yesterday. Even though I did it without any music I felt that floating sensation and `empty head` once more. After that I panicked as well. That night I woke up after 90 minutes of sleep and couldn`t fall asleep again. I have a high pulse rate and high blood pressure right now. Can anybody explain me what actually is going on with me and what should I do? Or can you tell me about techniques that can stabilize my condition? I would be very thankfull.

One of the hardest things when your trying to effect change is that_ _ people like this gentleman_ _ are right- In some cases. Steve Jobs

@Prabhaker I read that. Interesting. This is a bit off the subject, but what is the spiritual significance of 108? *2)Chanting Gayatri Mantra 108 times during the Sunset will keep you away of Black Magic Always.

@Amit @Prabhaker Could the hair be valuable to someone? Maybe for high priced wigs sold on the black market or something? Just a thought.

@Dodo You gotta love Adyashanti. What I said about whether nothingness is conscious awareness or not has a lot to do with how I feel theses days and I'm questioning what is true reality. I could throw out knowing all together. It's ran it's silly course.

Watch what happens @10:15

@Shanmugam @Anna1 Non-duality wars will not be tolerated on this forum.

I don't know. Does nothingness have consciousness? What would nothingness be conscious of? Maybe consciousness is a aspect of existence only. Could it be that the absolute has no awareness of existence or of itself? If existence is Maya. And all existence is created by consciousness, Wouldn't that mean that consciousness is also an illusion? I know that's thinking outside the box here.

Doesn't everything you've said here prove the use of a conscious brain ?

'Consciousness is a biological process'. Great point he makes there too. The organism (through conscious awareness) is a biological process specifically tuned to it's environment. The octopus navigating it's watery environment made a great comparison vs. consciousness as the human organism navigating it's land based biological environment. So I've been contemplating what is the self and I'm seeing sort of a two prong process to what is 'me'. First and formost there is the natural biological process of body and brain. In that respect I am really no different than a rat or an octopus. Each organism being fine tuned to it's specific environment through conscious awareness and a brain that makes continuous choices to better it's chances for survival. But what makes me as a human different from the rat or octopus is the addition of a stronger sense of self or ego. So the point being, even when the ego is reduced, there still remains the conscious awareness of the biological process that exists as body and brain. It seems that some part of that sense of self will always remain as long as that process continues to function as consciousness. So when it's said the 'I" doesn't exist, that is true on the absolute level. But it is also true, while I'm alive, there will be the sense of self that does exist as part of a natural biological process. For instance, I wouldn't say that my dog has a strong sense of self or ego, but she does have some sense of self. She has her likes and dislikes. She may prefer one toy over another one day to the next. Is it possible to completely eradicate the sense of self? This stems from the question I keep asking. I know I don't exist in the absolute and everything that is 'me' is just a dream. But something of 'me' persistently remains. Could that something' be consciousness as this biological process and as long as this biological process is alive (conscious) some sense of self will always remain? Because that's how I'm viewing myself from the point of the absolute. Everything that is 'me' is just a conscious biological process navigating it's enviroment What do you guys think?

@123456789 The Sacrifice For Tantra: Non-ejaculation In a first stage, the fundamental problem a man engaged on the Tantric spiritual path has to face is summarized to “ejaculating” versus “not ejaculating”, and for many practitioners this is a perpetual source of confusions. The main purpose of Tantra has always been finding a direct path towards the spiritual freedom, using all the resources with which God endowed us, and not the secure, but very long road that requires the pilgrimage through a great number of reincarnations. Basing its teachings and concepts on the observation of the facts that the Eros is at the basis of the human existence and that it represents the motive force of all human achievements, the authentic Tantric tradition sustains the idea that the human being needs to confront with this primordial force and to finally be able to master it, using it in a creative manner. The Tantric masters teach us that one must not deny the inner urge to make love, but it must be used in order to get spiritual blessings through it. There have always been various people who interpreted the sexual Tantric writings differently, often one interpretation contradicting completely some others. For instance, on one hand there are those who prefer to interpret these texts on a purely allegorical level, as a reflection of some inner processes, of some communions that do not necessarily involve a physical intimacy. Still, Tantra is a spiritual path based on lovemaking, which sustains the practice of the sexual continence. The sexual continence implies that both man and woman should avoid the loss of their sexual energy during lovemaking, loss materialized in the case of man through ejaculation, and in the case of woman through having explosive orgasm with the discharge of sexual energy. The regular, common lovemaking (involving the ejaculation) is suitable for people who do not have enough spiritual faith and for whom it is truly difficult to see lovemaking as a truly spiritual act. Before beginning to practice the spiritual love and lovemaking, these people should first of all change their views of the Eros, adding to it a spiritual dimension as well. They have to purify their bodies and their minds and to bring more spirituality into their lives. They can do this by changing their ways, by spending more time in the company of spiritual people, adopting a vegetarian diet, reading sacred books, practice yoga, yogic breath and meditation, as well as the cultivation of a new positive attitude regarding the eros and spirituality. During this preparation, it is best if one avoids for a while the sexual activity – it is indicated that the sacred Tantric writings are regarded as purely allegorical. Only thus one can obtain maximum spiritual results. The sexual continence implies the retention of the sperm and of the analogue sexual secretions (in the case of women the menstruating blood and the liquids secreted during lovemaking) inside their bodies and then their transmutation. Through the transmutation process results a refined energy (ojas) that can be easily sublimated into more refined energies. Sexual continence represents an important aspect in order for the Tantric rituals to be truthfully fruitful. The Tantrics recommend that the man preserve his sperm, as this leads to an increase in his spiritual and physical power. Through the sexual techniques characteristic to the authentic Tantra, men learn to consciously refrain from ejaculation, to channel their erotic energy inwards, and to fully satisfy their lover. Only after they have achieved this they will be able to obtain indeed authentic spiritual leaps.

The seeker awakens to the truth that there is no seeker. The moth before the flame.

@beaucoup I see similarities in the people who are advancing in their spiritual journey. 1) The willingness to accept a radically different perspective of what they are. The ability to let go of old concepts that may have kept them stuck in the illusory 'fabricated' self that goes in the same old circles. 2) Surrender, surrender, surrender. I see this as the biggest factor for spiritual growth and the search for truth. Whether the surrender happens in meditation or through the use of psychedelics, it all comes down to surrender. It is not so much the vehicle that really matters as the true willingness to totally let go of everything that is 'you', without holding on to illusion or personal concepts that keeps one stuck. The old has got to go before there is room for the new. They accept this as truth. The people that advance more quickly seem to have that ability to dump the old in massive quantities. The ones who advance more slowly do so because they let go (surrender) in little tiny pieces. So new growth happens more slowly. And there is nothing wrong at all with accepting change more slowly. Everybody is different. When they are ready to hear, they will hear. The truth is, what is truth could be said in just one sentence. Someone submitted this video a week or so ago (sorry I forgot who that was but kudos to them) and it points to truth. These words say all there is needed to be said.

The primary objective of a Zen Buddhist is to be made holistically aware. Knowing that pure consciousness does not awaken through intellectual pursuits, a Zen Buddhist waits patiently for none conceptual insights into the true nature of reality to arise from within. A frog sits on a rock with no awareness of self and no objective of obtaining anything. As a bug happens to fly by- Zap! the bug gets swallowed without a thought. That's one enlightened Frog! This is a persistent little paradox for sure. I witness 'I' happening, but what is witnessing this 'I' happening is not 'I'. This is the question that I replied to the post 'Questions to ask Mooji'. = 'Why am 'I' here? In other words 'What is it that remains when nothing should remain?

@Max_V Time? The ego creates the passing of time as an illusory foundation for itself. Ego is just as unreal as the time that ego 'seemingly' passes through. Welcome to the path of enlightenment. That "Flick of a finger" that you speak of is not just a blink as it may seem. That is where infinity starts. If you let go of the ego existing in time for one moment and trust in something greater, you will see it for yourself. What is infinite is outside of time. What is finite can only exist within the confines of time. Expand your view of what true reality has always been. It is far more than just "you". And 'you' are far more than just a body kicking around within time.

@Dizzy The most amazing part of this is that there is absolutely nothing stopping any one of us from having this experience at any time. It is a most natural state and any other is corrupt with illusion. Raw- pure- crystalline consciousness.