Kevin Dunlop

People defend their identity as truth, without knowing it. They believe it is them so Its like a life or death fight for them. Its like the identity is clothing that your parents gave you when you were a kid, to keep you warm. You needed it then but now the clothes dont fit, the identity is the same you grow up and its not working for you. Some realize what is going on and get better clothes that fit. Some learn to edit the identity - make their own awsome new clothes. But you dont see many people going naked in society with no identity at all. To practice changing beliefs is uncommon in people. It takes alot of skill to be able to let go of the old survival kit.

I dont know much about enlightenment, but I really benefit from taking time to believe some peoples advice and try it out. If its not true for me, fine I dont need to believe it any more. Belief is not perminant its a way of trying on a point of view for me. It doesnt hurt to open up the mind to new perspectives. I really enjoy learning and experiencing from others advice, then there is a point where you go beyond it all too.

Deep reality, I like the term. I am following some advice from people in these comments and am able to experience what they are taliking about after going through a period of wrestling with my ego´s objections there is a deep reality when we arent trying to label it any more and become aware of it. A question I had is what is Actualized.org for if advice from non-enlightened people doesnt help people with enlightenment?

I am starting to get this too now. I was able to see the identity for what it was a long time ago when I began edititng it with new beliefs to make my life easier with other people. I realized that my identity was just a poorly made dictionary of learned ways to interpret the world and how to respond to those interpretations. It was made by adults teaching me when I was younger and I excepted their teachings as truth. This identity was useful for a while but the problem with it is that it filters out true reality, your authentic life gets replaced with a lie, and it feels all wrong. Most people defend their identity fiercely out of fear because it does allow them to live and is part of their society. But the identity is not you, its just a book of ideas you use to live. The next level of this is if the identity is not you what is you? I am beginning to think that the ¨you¨ is also created by the identity. The identity creates this manager to keep it going, to keep experiencing it. When authentic experience without the identity happen there is no you either. The identity is not real truth neither is being the ¨you¨manager of the identities made up reality. So its really hard to be in that next level of ¨no you¨ because to the identity´s world view has been organizing this for itself a long time.

These two Phrases caught my interest. So when I was walking outside tonight I was thinking about the ¨ having no control over what you do¨ thing and I remember also people here discussing freewill. So this objection came to mind first, ¨If I decide to stay in the house all day tomorrow, and actually do it, I would have controlled what I did, right? Then I just began to allow the phrase to sink in with no objections. If I cant control what I do, then I dont need to try to control what I do. So I went into this intuitive mode of not controling where I was going, I was just seeing the stones in the sidewalk as I passed over them, this beautiful tree silhouetted infront of the dark blue sky, than all these motorbikes went by and I felt like I did when I was a kid and went to the county fair, everything was new and interesting and energizing. Then I realized that I didnt know where I was so I looked around and noticed I was on a street I normally dont use. I had the urge to go into a store there I normally dont go into because I thought it was expensive. Turns out it wasnt so I bought some stuff I needed that I wasnt getting before because of these limitations. Things were going really well not controlling what I did. I realized it was alot better living in this mode. Then I thought ¨this works because I am just telling my ego it cannot control my experience and it doesnt need to try. Things go alot better without the egos limitations. Thanks Ill do more of this experiencing no control.

I was fortunate enough to learn first hand how filtering reality, using my identity, is really harmful to people and me. Heres the story. I got a job doing child care. No one else wanted to look after these two kids, their mom apologized in advance for how difficult it was going to be. But I took the job and started passing every day with them. Their Mom was right they were really hard to deal with. Fortunately my girlfriend was a teacher and was taking a course called Restitution for the classroom. She gave me the 12 pages of worksheets to look over. I decided to be openminded and try some of it out on these two kids. So I taped the printouts with phrases they suggested using up on the wall in the kids house. Every time something bad happened I wouldnt say anything to them from my own learned identity, I just read a phrase from one of the restitution photocopies on the wall. I instantly realized that EVERYTHING changed between me and these kids when I did this. They started listening to me, co-operating, cleaning up, being nice. All because my identity was not created by experts and it was causing all the problems without me knowing it. That little experiment in identity editing showed me how much of a disaster unconsciously using our postmodern identities to filter everything is. Their Mom came up to me 3 weeks later and said ¨What did you do to my kids, they are completely different its really nice¨ I just showed her the photocopies again and explained how we were making the situation bad without knowing it. She was expecting them to be bad, calling them bad and being a bad ass example what can you expect. So naturally I was impressed and started reading more and experimenting more and editing more of my identity out, but always replacing it with other better identity tools. That was good enough for me. Arming my identity with updated functional tools all the time has been great, I dont get into trouble with other people anymore. But now I see this identity work can go further by not having the identity at all. Even a really good identity is still not true reality.

Thanks for explaining, I was wondering about how people are thinking of enlightenment. I am sure there are many definitions and its good to have one so clear. I must admit that I wasnt expecting the forum to be about enlightenment, I saw the name actualized so thought it was about self-actualization which, for me, consisted of bettering the original learned identity; that produce my life conditions, objectives and responses to what I interpret as going on. Consciously replacing old unconscious communication tools with better ones, for example, so that I dont get myself into uneeded trouble with people. So I was doing conscious mind editing and getting good results but I didnt research enlightenment before getting into these conversations. It is easy for me though to understand the nature of the identity and realize its disfunctions. But having more respect for spiritual concepts takes this self-awareness project to another level. Thanks I do have more questions though. What does enlightenment change in the daily life of a person? What are the characteristics a person exihibits living an enlightened life. I have read about bodhisattva. An enlightened prince who wanted to leave society but was convinced to teach people. He made some lists of rules for them to follow ect. Do enlightened people have certian characteristics that enlightenment brings? How does one know if they are enlightened, what does it feel like? Many talk about enlightenment experiences but is there a perminant state too that one lives in?

I really am glad you shared, a comment like that makes this forum so much more indepth. I am on the same level with so many points you made about your experience and that does help. Ill let you know what I can confirm, Intuition is always right even if you dont see how right away it changes your path for the better. When one sees reality for what it is everything is beautiful. Letting it be filtered away by identity labels does it no justice. Equally letting your experience be reduced away to be just the conditioned identity does it no justice. The fight is a fight for experiencing egos objectives against experiencing true reality. True reality comes effortlessly ego creates a fight. So for sure just let go and let intuition be the guide not ego. If you give up you can leave the war. You realize it doesnt matter its not your fight. Shit takes care of itself the ego wants you to fear that if you dont XYZ everything will go wrong. Really you( the identity you were given) are not needed you can go on holidays reality isnt a weight on your shoulders any more. The presence you spoke of I do know. It is a force of reassurance when you get really scared. It helps you come back from an overly intense situation, quite amazing. Great post thanks so much!! Ohmmmm

Its never boring. It makes everything exciting, as exciting as you want it to be. Waste of time, yes, but in a good way, the best thing to do with time is waste it. No obligations, full trust in whatever is, free to waste all the time you want. Persuing nothing, I dont know? Its good to see the identity as offering nothing important, all of its plans mean nothing. Everything you imagime youll get by following your identity is nothing, not real, not true ,not the only way. You are a speck of dust in the scale of time and the universe, like a speck of sand at the beach, millions of planets of sand so thats pretty colse to nothing already. Not important. So free to go do nothing and enjoy it. Everything is still there it just doesnt have a specific purpose or name draging it down. This identity, naming game takes the truth out of reality, makes it unenjoyable.

I like your snappy comment it made me laugh too. Authenticity is new in every moment. We each have an infinite nature others cannot understand. I remember reading a book about Bodhisattva. After being enlightened he didnt want to go back to the people at all but finally he was convinced to share. It turned out to be very dangerous for him, ( they wanted to crush him with an elephant and some rocks!) Good read. I wouldnt call it ¨hiding¨ though fur sure you dont want people to see you, or be bothered or tell anyone about it. I call it camping out. And the freak thing is just a label, it doesnt matter. I agree with Leos advice ¨living a simple natural life is my way¨. My only advice to Leo is ¨follow your own advice¨ . Live a simple natural life. Dont worry about the buisness, follow your authentic desire and become a Yogi who lives in nature, forget the complications they are not simple enough for your path to enlightenment. If I went to your house and looked around would I say ¨Wow!Leo lives a really simple natural life?¨ Owning is an ego objective very foundational to the Postmodern identity, but every owned object is like an aspect of the ego in physical form, they weigh you down in life in a cupple of ways. Physically if you have alot of stuff you need a house to put it in, you need a job to pay for the house, you need a car to get to the job. All so your big TV doesnt get wet in the rain. Thats alot of work just so one can complete the list of postmodern ego objectives. Then there is this psycological weight that you only feel lifted when you get rid of all that stuff. Fewwww that feels good just thinking about it.

In your opinion how has capitalism, industrialism, hegenomy and other ruling class stuff effected our perspectives, goals, interpretations, resopnses to reality?

Is this part of what needs to happen to achieve enlightenment?

I had thought of this, he is making videos as a way of documenting, the journey to enlightenment for humanity. As a way of recording it in history. The enlightenment is put off because he would regret not doing what he is doing now first, because he sees it as significant and good. OK. I would have to really dig deep to see if I had or didnt have the same thing in some way. The good and bad thing I do have and thats what attracts me to these videos I want to condemn ¨bad¨stuff because I am bitter about injustices I have experienced. I like to hear Leo rip into bad stuff because it makes me feel right about doing it too. But my question is does an enlightened person have to not judge anything as good or bad?

If a person wants to be enlightened for selfish reasons, like the benefits they will have can this stop them from becoming enlightened. Are enlightened people in service of others and not themselves?

Does an enlightened person have unconditional love? I dont know. If someone doesnt love everything can this stop them from being enlightened? Maybe he is still pissed off, can en enlightened person be pissed off?

How does one know if they are enlightened? Can someone be enlightened and not know it? Maybe he is.

Thats awsome. Thinking that we know is the problem. Autheniceness happens when we dont need to know, we just be. Maybe people want him to know a bunch of stuff and he just wants to help them by doing it. But I need to ask does an enlightened person give people advice about stuff they know/ think, I think they have but am not sure .

If he just let you do your thing because you know yourself best would that be the best he could do for you?

I dont think Leo got anywhere by not asking questions, or not seeking input from others. He is the most vocal guy I know of, not at all quiet. Do you think he wants us to be like him or quiet? Does he help us by being quiet about his ideas, no he has the courage to share as deeply as possible. I also think he can ignore advice that doesnt serve him, he can analyse information and sift out the gems.

Wow thats intense, very true. Its important to see that the outside world does program us but on the inside we also accepted some of this and made it into an identity that created our personal version of human reality for many years. I had trouble in life because my identity is so poorly put together and made up of dysfunctional ideas. It is good to realize this I only see it as a mess really, not something to follow or try to manifest. Secondly the identity is made up of words and language which I see as having a dual nature. This duality cannot express truth so the result of living the identy´s world is always living a lie. This is never satisfying and leads to ignoring truth, running after more tricks that the identity needs in order to keep you creating it. The escape hatch is truth and you are right it has always been there. Recently I have been discovering another level of my programming that manifests in the body as muscle tensions and postures that have a sympolic nature. Discovering this and relaxing it out is also part of my daily life now. I also realized that I started watching Leo´s videos because Iam seeing a part of my identity that I want to change in him and I see that reflected in these videos so I am attracted to them because they are a learning tool. The thing I want to change is that I am still pissed off about how society treated me, just like Leo, I am realizing what happened to me on a deeper level and am going through these stages I see happening. I want to forgive society and everyone, they are innocent and just made some mistakes, just like me. I needed an identity to get me from being a baby to here now, working on it consciously. Luckily I got one that at least kept me alive until now. So instead of disrespecting the identity for its faults I want to appreciate it and feel love for it and everyone else. This love once I learn and incorporate it will then be applied back to myself and help free me from the trouble I cause by not accepting and loving the innocent reality. Judging really is what this is. Condemning part of reality and thus part of myself. I can easily see where I learned this from. I really do love reality, I am going to practice feeling love for things around me to make this more automatic. Whats the point of being enlightened if you dont love anything? How can you become enlightened if you dont love yourself? The authentic self is not really any concept or thing it is unpredictable and comes out in the moment. Its not about trying its just being . So when I am not being authentic Ill be trying to be loving. Maybe loving reality is being authentic. Well I have got to go hahahah

Thanks Mal, you are able to see into my request on a deeper level. I also like your writing style, where you do not push your opinion as facts. This form of communication and writing is what interests me, as well as expanding my vocabulary when explaining these topics, to myself and others. Much appreciated, your study and practice.

I dont remember hearing the intuition as a voice as a kid, but I do remember being very different, uninhibited about logic, and rules enforced by others. Trusting in my own ideas and able to ride along on the wave of my creative energy where ever it wanted to flow. A kind of trust in unconscious improvising with a hyperawareness . The ego slowly builds up though and it doesnt imporvise, it oversimplifies things and cements what it calls ¨normal or right¨ interpretations and reactions into this rediculous dictionary of responses. I get the feeling that society pound so hard on us with its dictionary of rules that we allow the ego to takeover trusting it is going to help. We dont have the ability to analyze it for a long time so it slowly becomes our autopilot. Expectations on us wear us down until we give in. Thats what they call growing up I guess. Not many of these adults like adults who are like kids. They interpret this as being naive or stupid or their favorite, irresponsable! They dont let you do even basic nonego things let alone have a magical power that always tells you to tell them to fuck off! Hahahah. Well, kids for me now a big inspiration, the best thing to do is trust them. Ouch, soo illogical are my views, but I have really tried living alot of illogical beliefs and its much better.

Get used to seeing the egos dualistic false reality as uneeded. Here I disable my ego not my brain