Toby

You could get familiar with the concepts of "waking up" and "growing up":

You could try Byron Katie's "The Work".

Sounds like everything is really fine but you're dramatizing a bit. But I guess you will find your way. No need to fight with yourself or buy into every concept your super-ego has.

Neither good or bad. Slightly good but overall not that interesting.

Why would you do this even in the first place? The setting as such is supposed to be relaxing with little distractions.

@Ascend Yes, Mooji and Gangaji and many others too.

@Ascend from the ones alive and "international" I like Adyashanti and Isaac Shapiro. Other than that more local ones that I won't mention here by name. But of course Isaac is a disciple of Papaji and Papaji is only at 520 or something at Hawkins scale. Basically this should be proof enough that he is no good...

@Ascend Well, I had the sense you were referring to it when you were talking about Osho. Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. What's wrong is what people make out of it.

@Ascend could it be that you read David Hawkins and now compare everything according to his scale?

@Ascend well, we can assume that I don't know anyone on the level of them today either (might be a projection of course). Doesn't mean that there aren't some valuable teachers out there.

@Ascend ok then give historical figures of the last two centuries.

@Ascend well, there is no perfect human being and no perfect enlightened being. That is just the mind. Of course you could compare two teachers regarding depth or your own personal opinion but if you cannot name any teacher or any example it's pretty clear that you compare teachers with you own idealized version of what a teacher should be. No one can match this of course.

@Ascend lol, if you don't know anyone that by your definition is enlightened, why are you comparing teachers and gurus?

@Ascend well, if you cannot see that byron katie is enlightened - even if her teaching method is not that direct - then I guess there is nothing to talk about "enlightenment" or "not enlightenment" imo.

@Ascend totally mistaken. People have different personalities. Eckhart Tolle wouldn't write in an online forum because he knows nothing about computers. If I remember correctly he even said he doesn't know how to write an E-Mail. The one, who was running a forum (and was working as a programmer before) is an austrian guy named OWK Edgar Hofer. Besides that there are many many people - actors, musicians... - that are interested deeply in spirituality. And my guess is that at least some of them are very conscious. I mean, Jim Carrey had his glimpses. Also there are a lot of people that appreciate Tolle's work: Susan Sarandon, Meg Ryan, Russel Simmons. Other musicians: Leonard Cohen, John Frusciante, Brandon Boyd. There are also musicians that are very close to Ken WIlber's work like Billy Corgan, Serj Tankian or the producer Rick Rubin. Another very famous producer (Ross Robinson) is even the son of Byron Katie. There are so so many that it is only logical that at least someone would be enlightened without "us" knowing anything about "their" enlightenment.

That is not true. I know one enlightened guy who runs / did run a big internet forum on the subject. Also there are a lot in the show business that are enlightened or close to it.

Maybe he has siddhis, maybe not. Maybe he is enlightened, maybe not. Question is: how many are really waking up with him?

It depends on the retreat and teacher.

He almost allowed everyone to see him any time other than maybe short bathroom breaks or something. If that is not "returning to the world" then I don't know what is. But hey, I'm not interested in arguing.

I have no solution here but all I can say is I love the Enneagram to show the potential but also egoic strategies. Overly simplified, one egoic strategy to deal with sadness and neediness is "melancholy" (type 4), another is being driven towards success (type 3), another is becoming "the helper" (type 2). All as a way for getting love as a substitute as living as love. But all types have a deeper, more real potential of course. Even though everyone has a main-type, everyone can find every type and strategy and also the essential qualities in them. A good book that explores that: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1893840263/

because they are dealing with what is left as "vasanas". was the same with Jesus. ultimately they all return.

Ramana wasn't answering anything most of the time even if he was asked. He was silent most of the time. That was his main answer.

@username Karl Renz

Being aware and doing nothing is the same. So you really can't "do" one without "doing" the other.

No, they don't have dating easier.