cetus

Don't try to "explore" that state. Instead fall into it by letting go. Leave the mind completely behind. Than let the experience vanish as if it never ever happened. If you hold on to it and try to recreate it, nothing will happen and you will get stuck. The important thing here is to let it go!

I ask myself the same questions. I wonder also, what puts on this "show" that self awareness and universal awareness do seem to share and experience? If this is a dream, why do we all share the same scenery? Nobody has these answers. It's beyond us all, no matter what we think we see from this vantage point. That being said, humans do have emotion. We care, we love, we feel. And love is such a powerful energy. I can't help but to think that there is some divine essence to all of us. Even if that divine self does only plays a part of this manifest existence and it's vicinity. Something has the need to experience and explore and feel itself through all of us within existence. What puts on the show and why? I just got an insight. Me thinking all this now with my mind and mind exploring and questioning this existence is stimulating existence to become only more aware of itself. So it's the mind that perpetuates the existence that awareness experiences. Could that be right? @Jay S

@Falk Become infinite emptiness and you will no longer need a time piece.

@The_spanish_guy Have you ever experienced pure being? That which lies beyond what you think of as "you" as mind. It will change you forever.

@David1 Just more phenomena happening within awareness!

http://www.natgeotv.com.au/videos/the-story-of-god/the-story-of-god-with-morgan-freeman-3845.aspx This looks interesting!

@Ludwig Yea, I totally agree about enlightenment work for anxiety or phobias. That would be perfect to defeat that type of "suffering, I'll call that. I'm referring to for example people that use enlightenment as a means of escape or excuse for deep seated issues. Like resentment, anger, denial or a completely distorted view of the world. Of course all that would be smashed to pieces when they attained enlightenment, but not facing and resolving those deep seated issues first would make for a very long path. Even if they did hear the truth from a teacher, they would probably interpret every word in their own way and adapt it to fit their world.

@Ludwig Sometimes people do seem to be attracted to the idea of enlightenment because of wanting to escape personal issues that can't be dealt with straight on. And I can see how enlightenment work could be used by some to just to bury the true issues. I think some hear the statement " you don't really exist" and it's like "O.K., that could work for me!". I can't stand my life now, so maybe this will make all my problems go away. Of course all "problems" do arise out of the sense of self in the first place. But somehow that seems to get hidden only in the awakening path. It never really vanishes because it was never solved in the correct manner in the first place. I guess what I'm trying to say is, enlightenment is not true for someone that is only looking for an escape to what they can't face.

@David1 I have wondered what a salvia experience is like. I get a good idea now from your description. But that is how it is with killing the ego. One second it is everything, the next it is meaningless. Imagine a mental cliff of ego-self that reaches almost to the clouds. You start climbing that cliff from the very bottom. That being when you were young and the sense of ego self all started. Than slowly climbing your way up the cliff, through all your life events. Seeing everything that is you, until you reach the very top. You at this very moment. Than ask yourself "Where do I stand?" Than jump! Jump with nothing left to weigh you down. And you my friend will learn to fly!

Hi David. I'm no expert on this by any means but reading that you have the tendency to panic at sudden ego loss, be careful. From what I've read this stuff is some strong medicine. Be ready to let everything go. And I mean EVERYTHING! Any resistance will only bring torment as you know. My advice is get yourself prepared. Lots of mental preparation of that all important, letting go. Practice ego death now on your own terms. Over and over until nothing remains.

@David1

@David1 Are you familiar with Carlos Castaneda?

@David1 Why must one travel to arrive?

"it is time to remember who we are, it is time to be awake.. we are all made of light” We really don't understand exactly what light is. Light could be a universal property that makes up everything. "Let there be light" . Maybe that is the absolute truth of the beginning of existance. Could everything be a form of light energy? Not that it really matters but I do like to wonder though. That's just my nature. Yes, a lot of these experiances are very similar. I'm sure we all interpret our experiance in our own way to some extent. But the message is always the same. There is much more to all of us than "meets the eye". Could that be just coincidence? I think not. I can definitely relate to you saying " Awareness was transported to another place". You got that right! It was like discovering another room in your house that you never knew was there.

@Arik @werlight @Nic @Emerald Wilkins My experienced happened when I dropped all sense of self. I could feel that consciousness was no longer localized at my body location but surrounding me and extending outward. I remember a distinct shift in awareness as if awareness had come to a point of perfect focus. I never experienced that happening before. It was scary to let go like that for the first time, but still something about it felt right. So I let totally go and instantly I became pure being. It was as if my soul or pure being was floating in a ocean of pure bliss and silence. It felt like "home". I don't remember closing my eyes, but I was no longer seeing my physical surroundings. That happened twice. The first time was in Sept. and again in January. The first time my eyes were wide open. The 2nd time I was meditating. I felt that sudden shift in awareness that I never knew existed before. I don't know what happened. It felt like I went into another dimension it was so distinct. Very different! After it happened I thought "What the heck was that?" I never expected that to happen at all. I still don't really know how to explain it. Maybe that's just the way it is. I remember that all questions ceased to exist and everything was well taken care of. So no need to even ask. It was beyond everything within existence, but yet it was the source of all existence. It truly felt like home. Just to add a note: After the first experience happened, I sat here and knew "That infinite stillness and silence surrounds us at all times". Where we come from and where we return to is always present. We never left it " Everything that happens within existence is happening within that source of infinite silence at all times.

@ZenDog Meditation can become like the polishing of a mirror. Dust constantly collects. The true nature is to throw away the mirror (mind). Than there is no place for dust to collect.

Sweet!

Now this is "FUCKING WITH YOUR EGO" as Leo says!

@Lorcan Whatever gets you to the deepest stillness.

I always meditate with prayer beads hanging over my hands that are in the Om position on my lap. All my meditations are now instilled into the beads. One glance at them and I'm in that place of silence.

@ZenDog You could wear a bracelet of beads. Like mala beads, I think they are called. Worn on the left wrist. Just a suggestion.

@growthaboveall My interpretation of mindfulness is exactly as it is. Be mindful. That is what an individual person experiences and interprets through mind. Awareness and consciousness have about the same meaning but are separate from the individual's mind as in mindful. Awareness happens of itself. Being mindful of that difference between mind and awareness is a beautiful thing. Good question!

@Arik Just came back from sitting in the woods for about an hour. Just silent observing. The word "trees" lost all association. Trees basically became expressions of energy emanating from the Earth. Than a bird started a very high pitch song. It sounded a lot like Morris code. Not sure what kind of bird that was? But the high pitch sound was right in my ears. Than from hearing the bird song in my ears, it went to experiencing the sound in my head. The sound was no longer in my ears or outside. Than Everything was happening on a screen in the back of my head.

@Arik Here is something I did a couple of weeks ago (talking about cooking). I had to peal about 8 pounds of potatoes. A boring task that I wasn't looking forward to doing. After I pealed the first 2 potatoes, I thought this would be a great time to incorporate a meditative state. The next thing I knew, I went from "I am pealing these potatoes" to "potatoes are being pealed". I became a silent observer witnessing the pealing of potatoes. Very cool!

Finding a "void" in meditation is a nice experience too! Complete emptiness. A totally silent mind. Meditation in nature is very cool! I have woods behind my house and I'll sometimes go out there and meditate. After meditation with eyes open, I just sit with a still mind and awareness becomes the surroundings. When you totally let go and allow that to just happen, It's like your perception shifts. It's hard to explain. You have to experience it first hand. The best way to explain it is that it feels like the universe is seeing through your eyes. Conscionsceness and the field of view become one thing happening. Try doing that with no sense of self, just be pure awareness.