Will Bigger

My "pet theory" is that, when we see how absurd materialism is, then we explain ansthesia as being an experience of literal nothingness, where it's subjectively identical to the "obliteration" of consciousness materialism proposes (so therefore it has equal explanatory value), but I'd like to hear other opinions.

also, given that we now know, for a fact, that space is material- it displays physical properties -i.e. general relativity-.... well then where the fuck is space itself???

yes. Of course. I've had spontaneous out of body experiences before I even began to meditate whatsoever. However, as @Extreme Z7 said, it's only a distraction. "Astral projection is of no spiritual significance."- Sadhguru. Paranormal phenomena ultimately serve as empirical, scientifically falsifiable, and legitimately testable messengers which get this shit called enlightenment through to your silly dualistic, materialistic mind. But, that doesn't mean it has real spiritual significance; it ain't gonna get you enlightened.

@Joseph Maynor @Shin @Nahm Wicked cool theories, guys. As you can all see, I dualistically point to Truth by writing poetry. "The hardest thing is to explain the glaringly evident, which everyone has decided not to see." -Ayn Rand

Consciousness = Nothing= Absolute Infinity*. it is aware of existence, which is hallucinated into being. *only Nothing can be truly infinite; all forms are limited.

Teal is far out. She's like... what I imagine prehistoric shamans to've been like. Not enlightened, but spiritual. What Sadhguru calls occultism. Not that Teal definitely isn't enlightened, of course.

No. That is not only physically but also logically impossible. Consciousness has nothing to do with anything which "exists." so don't worry ab it.

Being a sage is a prerequisite to getting enlightened.

"To construct a metaphysics about the fundamental nature of reality- demands... a kind of disciplined introspection that critically assesses... the elements observed, the observer, the process of observation, and the interplay between the three in a holistic manner." - Bernardo Kastrup I hope all here are well and having a good day :). The following is a contemplation I wrote out in my journal, based on the above quote. I consider it quite good, and worthy of sharing (my life purpose entails being like Leo and sharing these ideas, I am now understanding ;). *Keep in mind, all the following insights were provoked by a single sentence in a book of over 200 pages! That, my friends, is a testament to how incredibly dense- singularity like- this "thing" called reality is!! What does it mean that reality must be understood through "disciplined introspection"? the cultural beliefs which are pervading are not going to cut it, reality is too weird to not map out very carefully How can I understand "the elements observed"? Mindfulness, first and foremost. study, study, study: human behavior, social psychology, masculine/feminine dynamics, brain science, physics, emotions, psychedelics, the astral world, paranormal phenomena and psychic abilities, all traditions of nonduality you come across, weird animals and plants, indigenous cultures, astronomy and cosmology, quantum stuff... do, do, do: immerse yourself in other cultures through genuine (non-touristy) travel; "when in Rome" fucking immerse yourself in the culture, without getting deluded. cut through the socially accepted bullshit and start asking other people what they want from life, what their mission is. Learn how to astral project and lucid dream. Take psychedelics in a shamanic sense; entertain the possibility that there are literal spiritual entities out there which interact with human beings (without getting deluded, of course;). Go to parties and nightclubs and stay sober, and take mental notes which you then write down, on human behavior when the higher brain is disabled by alcohol. Have a sampling of different friends with different preferences, and develop a genuine interest in them, seeking understanding of their perspective. Take a course in software engineering (you'll be dumbfucked at the insane complexity of the most taken-for-granted thing ever-modern microchip technology).... How can I understand the "interplay between the three" in a holistic manner? study,study,study: SYSTEMS THINKING (this will give you, not necessarily the facts, but the skills to understand the mind-body in a tangible way.) materialism, naive realism, and the alternatives to such ("open up the gates" so as to be open to a greater understanding). Also, study everything which you "do," in the next section. do,do,do: YOGA (literally "union"). Law of attraction and manisfestsion. Take those astral projection experiences you know how to induce and fucking confirm them through empirical science and corroboration, and while you're at it, learn to do telekinesis and move shit with your mind. WORK OUT AND HAVE SEX!!! The more gnarly (yet tender, in the case of sex☺️), the better. Art, poetry, dance, music, theatre. Life purpose! Eat healthy! And most important of all, deserving its own paragraph... Emotional Mastery. Emotional stability and mastery is literally the bedrock, the cornerstone, of EVERYTHING: self-actualization, self-realization. I want to direct you to a quote by Sadhguru. Too many people have been deluded by neo-advaita "already enlightened" talk into believing they can just abandon their humanity, even if it's in super lame conditon, and go directly to the Absolute. This quote is the antidote. On his Enlightenment, he has said, "What was happening was indescribable; I was fully conscious and aware, but what I had considered myself to be until that moment had disappeared. I had always been peaceful and happy; that had never been an issue. But here I was, drenched with a completely new kind of blissfulness. I was overflowing with an exuberance I had never known or imagined possible.” did you catch the critical piece of that quote?? "...I had always been peaceful and happy; that had never been an issue..." Ahem... EMOTIONAL MASTERY. (coming from one of the most enlightened beings on this planet;). Well, there it is. As you can see, I only addressed half of Kastrup's insights, and I didn't go into the ramifications of his insights, but this post is already veeery long so. Simply, this is what I consider a good contemplation, and I don't particularly know what value you will glean out of it; perhaps if you don't know how to contemplate this will help. Truly, it's just something I felt compelled to share. Love& Peace, William

My orientation for enlightenment is compassion- alleviating the suffering of all beings. It's been quite effective.

Just how important is diet for this work? I eat a pretty poor diet, but I'm also young.

Yes!! That's a very common experience. Alan Watts even talked about it once.

Sometimes, when I sit to do self-inquiry, I'll question my existential nature, who I think I am, and what reality is for about 5 minutes, but then I won't feel any more need to continue with that and I'll just sit in a pretty deep, meditative silence. Should I be forcing the questioning to continue or just sit in the silence whenever it arises?

Ahhhha. Thanks.

Quit confusing mysticism for occultism, ya doink!

Not to be disrespectful, but do you have direct experience to back that up? I don't distrust you; I actually just want to pick your brain.

So, you wanna get self-actualized? Here's a model for you to look at: Only of real use to those who are fine with being labeled as: "loons," "extremists," "nutjobs," etc, and are full-time actualization junkies.

A bold claim, I know. The truly important information is contained in the first hour; watch at least that much all at once.

I think it would be reasonable to believe that many of us are in stage green, moving into stage yellow. So, can we clarify: 1. how to move into stage yellow effectively? 2. the differences between stage yellow and stage turquoise? 3. how growing psychologically is relevant to enlightenment? 4. how growing psychologically is relevant to life purpose? 5. which systems we should be studying, based on what it is we want from life? 6. how to strike a balance between using systems thinking in self-serving vs world-serving ends?

The theory I have which I got from the nonduality community is that "everything is consciousness," and I find myself getting defensive when I, for example, read articles which argue against this theory. And, I find myself wasting meditation time trying to rationalize how everything could be consciousness. The theory has become like a security blanket, how can I take it off?

There's a whole other class of hallucinogens, separate from psychedelics, called "deliriants." On deliriants, hallucinations are often completely mundane, absolutely realistic, suggesting that the mundane world is also hallucinations. Wouldn't reccomend taking them, tho. Unpleasant

Call me crazy, but I think that if we as a species simply haunted in our scientific progress today, we would be just fine. This is not to say that science hasn't served a very good purpose, but it's done enough in the way of agriculture, medicince, and technology to make life great for the whole world. What we really need now is better values, we need to stop suppressing our emotions, we need to love ourselves, and we need spirituality. With the resources science has produced, poverty and other woes could be ended tomorrow. But, for all the progress we've made rationally, we've made very little morally and spiritually, and so people still die of starvation and there is still suicical depression and elephabts are killed for ivory every single day.

Can individual souls and nondual consciousness be reconciled?

Yes. Enlightenment is a word. Words are paradigm. What matters is where your paradigm takes you, and what actions you take because of it. There are a million and one plausible rational explanations for existence, coming from every religion and philosophy; but there is only one actual explanation of reality. Since there is only one truth, and there are a million and one plausible paradigms, the chance of figuring it out with your mind is so very slim. That said, you should still have a solid rational foundation, because without you'll be dragged every which way and never really discover anything except that which is spoon fed to you. And, even if you do figure it out with your mind, it will not help you, because your subconscious will remain entirely the same; only direct experience can hope to penetrate that guy, and only that guy can make your life better.

There are other reasons to meditate. Along with a balanced diet meditation is one of the healthiest things you can do. The desire for enlightenment won't really bite you in the ass until you have your first awakening experience, either from meditation or psychedelics.