WeCome1

Ok, I see what you mean. Thank you for the clarification!

@OldManCorcoran , I find your way of explaining the no-self/non-duality paradigm very refreshing, precise and uncompromising. But I've wanted to specify one thing about it for a while, if you don't mind. You often say things like "if I hear a piece of music, see the color red, feel the feeling of Christmas, behold the sight of a Grand Canyon etc. today - and you hear/see/feel/experience those same phenomena tomorrow - then, on both occasions, it will be the exact same phenomena arising and being self-apparent, without the need for a "somebody" to "experience" them. I'm totally with you on the "self-apparent/no need for a subject" part, no questions there. However, the "exact same phenomena" part seems a bit imprecise - in the sense that it contradicts the ol' "impermanence" thing that appears to be the case here. Music can hardly be heard the same exact way twice due to different atmospheric conditions and constructions of the bodies hearing it, much the same with the color red; the Grand Canyon sight changes all the time due to erosion and weather; the Eiffel tower gets rustier by the day and then gets repainted; and the feeling of Christmas isn't what it used to be... It's difficult to imagine that "the exact same phenomenon or the exact same collection of phenomena" could be experienced twice. So, my question is: do you use this as a purely hypothetical rhetorical device to illustrate the point that there is no need for a perceiver/subject - or do you mean it more or less literally? In case if it's the latter - could you maybe elaborate?

EXACTLY. @Holykael, listen to my man here ^^^ All your "awakening to no free will" is conceptual BS for one simple reason - you don't even feel this way right now! You feel some sense of agency that you, as Holykael, have over this body and its surroundings. And, to the extent that you still do, you must act as if you have this agency, and not bullshit yourself. You must do the spiritual practice, you must go through the motions. Until one day, who knows, the sense of agency will perhaps turn into something else - but then it certainly will no longer be your problem. Use Bushido - instead of Bullshido!

And the other problem (which is disturbingly common 'round these parts) is calling "having a really strong feeling about some combination of concepts, reinforced by psychedelics more often than not" - an "awakening" to the absolute nature of things. I have a really strong opinion that if your "awakening" allows you to make positive statements about reality (i.e. "things are this or that particular way") - then you are being fucked in the ass with an extremely high probability. But what do I know, right? I don't even have a mind.

It isn't productive when I do the work for you. But you were lucky to catch me in a bad mood, so I'll unpack it. But only this once. You claim that YOU have "awakened" (man, this word really should be banned or reserved for Leo exclusively) to the fact that all apparent characters are mere automatons with no free will and a "Chinese Room" inside their skulls - including your own character, the human who goes by Holykael. From this, I conclude that YOU (whatever/whoever you think of when I address you) do not identify with the human character Holykael. How could you? He is a mindless robot - he cannot possibly "awaken" because he isn't the subject of perception, he is an object. But YOU, on the other hand, DID "awaken" - so you must identify as the subject, right? So, WHO is that entity that "awakened" to the fact that "everybody is a mindless drone"? I will have to guess here, because you didn't say it explicitly - but I'm assuming that GOD did? If so, then you must identify as God. And, in your own words, God (which is you) actively imagined and handcrafted everything, including the life of Holykael. So, you are God, God has free will, which means you do; and Holykael's automaticity is not your problem, since he has nothing to do with you. Problem solved. Alternatively, you might have constructed something like this in your mind: you have "awakened" to the fact that "Holykael and the rest of us are robots" - however, that "you" who "awakened" is not the God himself, but some other "in-between" entity - who has the power to awaken, but still no free will, since it is reserved only for God, which isn't you. But, man, this is schizo, and I really hope you see it and didn't go this far. But lemme know if you did; I mean, I don't judge, and I'm sure we can unpack this as well. There is, of course, the third option: that YOU "awakened" to the fact that you are GOD - but also realized that even God himself is so total that it's invariant. In which case, no free will for us robots - but also no free will for God as well, whoopsie. Wouldn't that be a bummer?.. But, since you used phrases like "my life was handcrafted", I'll assume that you didn't go this way. Anywhoo, as Moksha so precisely pointed out, your main problem seems to be that of self-misidentification.

You and Holykael should start a club.

Well, Holykael isn't transcending anything until he is able to write one coherent paragraph where he doesn't contradict himself: With a mind like this, drugs will eat you alive, my friend.

ad fucking nauseam

MOST?.. Care to explain, if absolutely nothing has changed (there was nobody home before it was recognized - and there is still nobody home now that it's recognized) - how is it that it didn't seem like a waste of time before - but it suddenly is a waste of time now?

If I had to describe a breakthrough experience with a song, this would be it: Diana is special: she was gifted with unique genetics and lucky enough to have had a teacher who helped her to unlock her potential. She will be huge one day. By the way, she is 18 in the video above; but she was also not so bad at 15.

@Holykael 1) Would you like some cheese with that whine? 2) Consider watching this video as many times as it takes for some things to "click": Everyone Acts From Good Intentions. The "BUT LEO?!.." moment you are looking for is at this timestamp onwards, but I strongly suggest the whole video for context, since it's exactly what you're lacking. 3) Do you honestly believe that it did not occur to all those people who make statements like "God = All = Love" to consider that "wait a second, if God is Love, what about all that violence and rape and genocide, how does that compute?.." 4) If you agree that maybe they have found satisfactory answers - what stops you from doing that as well? This is not a rhetorical question, by the way. 5) If you believe they are all deluded, and you are the first one in the history of ever to call the bullshit - then, well... might I suggest another sub-forum where you can at least try to ask for some productive coping strategies?

Seems to be exaggerated a bit. Well, this week, at least...

A rap song done right: perfect flow, testosterone, zero pretense, socially relevant message. The guy used to be a marine, he speaks from experience; his disability is unrelated to war in any way - he just fell off a balcony. The song is about the Donbass war of 2014; little did he know how relevant it will remain today. You don't need to understand the lyrics to feel the message; but if you want to see the face of a man who does, help yourself to this video; there are tons more of reactions like this. The song nicely explains the mindset of a man who will die for his values.

The textbook definition of an absolute hit of the 2000-s in the former USSR, nothing else even remotely compares. Also, yay! - they've remastered the music video, apparently.

@r0ckyreed, thank you for your answer.

Would you mind elaborating a bit on your definition of a "Sage" - and how you plan getting there with 10-20 min of daily meditation?

a.k.a. The REAL Engine.

This forum, I swear to god!.. https://imgur.com/1tH8MOs

The empty paragraphs between the quotes.

I am now at the point where I'm beginning to doubt that all of the interaction above has NOT been ironic. It scares me. We need more sincerity here. @Sincerity, any thoughts?..

Well, apparently, he didn't, since "the components" exist?

That reminds me: God: *creates men* Men: *make memes about God* God:

Well, since I'm God - it is only fitting that the chair I sit on while I have my meals is made of pure god-tech, don't you think? It's just that, with all the god's work I'm constantly busy doing, it's sometimes easy to forget to enjoy and appreciate all this luxury.

I suppose, as with all good things, it once started as a joke and just went too far. What can I say, we enjoy absurd stuff.