student

Karma if you do, karma if you don't.

I don't know what's that, but I know that to be finite means to be a human.

I think I can see the face of Jesus on it.

How much have you paid for it?

Every day, man. You can't really escape it. In fact, you can't really get to decide anything. It just happens.

@Heaven Check out Mircea Eliade's book "Yoga: Immortality and Freedom". It's a comprehensive book about Yoga. You don't need to read it all, just the first two chapters (even though all of it is valuable). I'm talking mainly from what I've personally experienced throughout the years and my afterward analysis. Many things read in that book confirmed my analyses. It has also organized the clutter in my mind about what yoga is, what's it's goal (= liberation, it also explains what is that) and why one practices it.

@Javfly33 No. This greatly depends on your physical, emotional and mental well-being and overall maturity. It greatly depends on your maturity, how reactive you are, how able are you to concentrate. Concentration meaning how likely are you to be distracted. React spontaneously to external factors. Let's say you are "blissful", then in front of you appears a person at the polar opposite. Can that influence you? Will you become nasty in response to that? Will you get back to your old habits, whatever that is? Get back gradually at your "normal" default? Being blissful has requirements. Maturity. Which can only be achieved through time doing practices that improve your physical health, mental capacity to concentrate, and purify your emotions (no "negative" emotions like: shame, guilt, embarrassment etc. [all of these are directly connected with the mind] [when you react, you react at all 3 "levels", because they are interconnected]) Blissfulness, clarity is gained when all of these are absent (less and less blockages). It just "appears". It is not a state. It is just being. Just like your present moment, but with an expanded consciousness. It becomes the new default. It is an expanded consciousness due to your practices that only served to purifying your entireness (body, mind, emotion). The way you will keep it is through maturity. Not being able ever again to react like you reacted in the past. You actually become a different person. I personally have back problems. Which I assume has to do with my capability to pierce all the way into Reality. Feel it at its fullest. Because when you are in the process of experiencing it fully, you can feel in your body energy flowing, it feels feels like "electric power". If you have some blockages, emotional, physical, you won't be able to experience it fully. There'll be a "ceiling". You know that you can go further but can't because of physical stiffness, mental blabbering about "yourself" and what is happening etc., emotional blockages (can't or don't want to feel whatever is happening fully, because it is too "big" etc.). To know what is possible, aka to know what you don't know, you need to step out from your bubble. We all are in a certain bubble. Subjective bubble (based on our history of life). If that bubble is pierced you will find yourself in "neither this or that". You will see with clarity that everything is spontaneous and everything is possible and can be created right this moment. But yeah, enough words, you need to experience this for yourself. There are a million ways to experience this, but meditation, yoga helps DIRECTLY with this. The moment you are putting yourself to do it you are trying to get out of the "normal" perception.

I don't have that proof (interviews, books etc). I personally only watch videos or read books by already accomplished individuals (yogis etc.) People that attained liberation. My only proof is 1. My actual experience. I've had my first mystical experience by accidentally meditating [relaxing completely and trying to think of nothing]. I have a neurotic environment, family, so it was pretty easy for me to just wanna "throw" it all out naturally (my thoughts, sensations etc.) 2. Conversations I've had with non-spiritual seeking folks. I don't hold myself back in talking about my mystical experiences. I must mention that these people although not "spiritual" they are educated, wise, intelligent people, can be found in a scholastic environment. Not intelligent at all in the spiritual sense (they may have no interest in religion, god, spirituality etc.), but very receptive of life. The more receptive, aka not close minded, the more your consciousness expands. The more open, the more freer. Less boundaries. By being receptive you judge less, you are more humble, less knowing (although they have plenty of knowledge). By just being receptive, welcoming life with hands wide open, you are able to experience all sorts of "unusual" things, for example, tears of joy flowing by just "existing"/"be"-ing, being suddenly one with your cat, the wind that you hear outside (in that moment "outside" doesn't exist, also "hearing" ---> it is all One). Love being literally the air, and at the same time not feeling yourself anymore in your body, aka being everything. These things can be experienced, even if only for a few seconds. Some of these people also have an intense life of their own. They have a LP (using the terminology Leo uses), or at least some kind of activity they put their mental, body and emotional efforts in. This can lead to experiences of non duality. This is achieved through concentration. Deep concentration. You need to understand that concentration means, in other words, being distraction-less. Meditation is that, Yoga is that. But you don't need to meditate or know what that is. You can paint something, write intensely, compose music. Maybe you can find proof in these areas rather than searching on the internet for "spiritual" folks. What is rare is not non-dual experiences but liberation which is a totally different thing. That's... a life purpose itself. Knowledge expands your consciousness. But your first mystical experience doesn't depend on that. It only depends on your open-mindedness. Nasty people won't experience this. They are too distracted, preoccupied with other things. You don't need to believe in god to be open minded. Read spiritual books. This does nothing. Just have respect for life, people, feel free inside. It is all experiential as you can see. After you read a book what you are trying to do afterwards is to actualize it, isn't it?

Who cares about Eckhart Tolle? Bliss is when you give your full attention to yourself. Is when you reach contentment. Don't need anything or anyone anymore. The external was a "hoax", only the internal mattered. All your desires were wrongly directed towards the exterior (people, places, objects, body, food etc.) to get those little satisfactions/highs which could have been experienced in its full intensity if you would've just sat down with yourself in silence. What is out of your experience shouldn't matter. It is useless and a waste of time. Eckhart Tolle is an external object which you have 0 knowledge of.

The experience of "non duality" is not dependent on knowledge. We are all made in a way to be able to penetrate into reality (non duality). Even if one hates the word "spiritual", "mystical", be a "scientific/logical" person etc. it doesn't matter, because the reality of who you are doesn't change based on what beliefs you hold. Still, the beliefs can hold you back from experiencing non duality, because that first experience is greatly based on open mindedness. The more freer you feel, the better. You cannot feel free when your mind is always talking, knowing. The only problem that could possibly exist if you don't have the esoteric knowledge on what you just had experienced, is that there will be low chances of furthering that experience. Of re-experiencing it and deepening it. You need to actively WANT it. If you want it, knowledge about it will be immediately seeked, and when you have it it only acts as a guidance to the experience. The experience is devoid of "knowledge". summary 1. You can have a mystical experience without any knowledge. 2. After you have it you will either seek knowledge about it or not. (if not you will either start blabbering non sense about it or not talk about it at all and forget it eventually) 3. You will get the knowledge and seek the experience ACTIVELY. 4. When you will be experiencing it the knowledge becomes obsolete.

Suicide is at the polar opposite of "enlightenment". You need to be very deep into the dream/maya to commit it.

Yeah, they provide value. Personal-development level value. Nothing special. Just money to make, marketing, and ego. Just your average Joe in front of you, its desires and undertakings. Everything is on repeat. Do you see this? It is either getting lost in maya or liberation (turning to oneself).

Yes. It is good whatever makes you pursue awakening in a SERIOUS manner. Meditating for long periods of hours, for example, etc. You will only reach it if you are this hardcore. It is okay. It only matters to do the work. The meditation. After you do it the motivations will vanish just like anything else. You can use whatever illusion you want to help you in the pursuit for liberation.

Manage to stay still for an entire day. You will get plenty of knowledge. You will truly become a sage.

@WHO IS yes, there is someone, but it has no substance. Your trip told you the truth. You stand on quicksand.