UnbornTao

@AtmanIsBrahman Definitely be skeptical and question stuff. It is possible to "awaken to absolute infinity" but leave that as an open thing to discover rather than an ideal. The potential for deception is huge, though. This is because enlightenment is rare to come by and people easily confuse experiences or states with the real thing. When it is genuine, it is clearly you, your nature beyond a doubt. It is true but paradoxically not complete, which is to say there's more to become conscious of as you are still likely ignorant of other stuff such as the nature of life, another, or objective reality. Even though a direct consciousness is absolute and there are no levels, the case for "deepening" enlightenment can be made. Go figure.

I AM the wall. Or paradoxically, there might not be any wall.

Let me try. update: still can't do it, but close enough. Going through a door is key but I guess this would be cheating. Seriously though, I've heard direct consciousness is true and self-validating. It isn't a conventional knowing but direct, prior to perception and mind. Look up Satori and Kensho. It is a rare occurrence, and not to be confused with becoming convinced of some piece of knowledge that you hold, or with an experience/state that you go through. In short, it is your nature.

When you take away the presumed or imagined "demon", what's left in your experience? Sensation? Thought? Delve into the experience to discover that you may, in fact, be adding a bunch of stuff to the event that may not be actually occurring. I once perceived a curtain as a kind of monster when on sleep paralysis. Nothing agains curtains, or monsters. You may notice that, in the end, these are subjective, and usually self-imposed, states. Given that you're going to make it up, why not imagine angels or spirit animals? Sounds more fun.

Is there a question in there somewhere?

@Sincerity You can always set new goals and focus your attention into achieving them while being happy. Try looking at your situation from a different perspective; this can help in not taking oneself too seriously. Also, let go of unhelpful patterns. Enjoy! Maybe read some Rumi.

A look into the principle of willingness, by ChatGPT:

Made this chocolate cake recipe!

@A Fellow Lighter Contemplate it and have insight into it, if you want.

It might be. But notice this assessment doesn’t specify what it is, other than making a generic claim that might not reflect actual experience. Our current experience of sentience doesn’t seem illusory, except perhaps as a conceptual overlay that hinders investigation. I'm inviting contemplation without presuming to know what it is. It's a complex, advanced topic. How does sentience arise, and what is it composed of?

Good speaker.

Hey, no need for an answer, just contemplate it.

Good and tricky subject to contemplate for oneself. What's sentience?

Are you asking something?

Listen, guys. Wisdom. Another thing: people will eat up anything that sounds good and validates their preconceptions.

I'd say this is a function of mind and relates to mind control, which might be facilitated after enlightenment. Don't forget Jesus:

Nice, thank you.

There is a fair share of fantasy in the way he's speaking about it. To start with, he may be referring to a state of some sort. Enlightenment isn't about achieving something like a different experience, no matter how unusual or powerful. If this business is not about the relative domain and is already inherently true, would it affect the brain? What would be measured, and how would we go about measuring it? A causal relationship would have to be established between what we call "enlightenment" and its effects on the body, which may be non-existent in the first place. Then again, the brain might be rewired as a byproduct of the increased consciousness, even though this would still be a secondary process and may not be guaranteed. It might also be the case that such realization empowers you in ways that facilitate health, learning, and other things, but this has to be accomplished by you. Besides, different results occur for different people. For example, after a direct consciousness, certain characteristic behaviors and attachments might not come up for you anymore which would yield positive results, yet this would be a function of freedom and of what your self "does" with the realization, so to speak. In any case, we'd be talking about side-effects. Regarding happiness, wanting it precludes yourself from being happy, since this search produces a split between happiness and you. Pursuing it implicitly concedes that you're unhappy now and need to achieve things and manage specific circumstances in order to get "it". However: Is the "it" in this case happiness or something else entirely? There, something.

@Ramu I'd be careful not to presume that one is "awake" so readily.

What way is that?

I’m not sure whether it is possible to stop it altogether. It can likely be reduced a great deal, such as when you’re relaxed and highly focused, but this is always temporary. This seems to be a non-random dynamic. Try to stop thinking for a minute. Then again, thinking mostly shows up for us as the internal dialogue. Meditation would yield positive results, depending on how often and intensely it is done.

Sounds good. I'd do it and see what happens. If you'd like, set a clear intent to experience who you are. Perhaps start with 3 days to get a sense of what the practice is like. Maybe add some variety like stretching exercises and walking and cooking meditation in order to break the long periods of stillness with some movement. Good luck.

In any case, learning a new language helps you create a contrast to help you see that how your culture thinks isn't set in stone. It can bring new ways of thinking and provide new words that describe experiences that may be inaccessible on your native language. So learning a new one is generally positive.