Deep

Yes, I agree the experience is different because of our body/mind. By enlightenment I mean a state of being after having a transcendental experience. I know everything is one but it hasn't helped me, I still feel separation. lol

I think enlightenment is a state of being after having a transcendental experience like Jesus and Buddha did. It's when we feel a sense of oneness with everything. Many spiritual teachers refer to everything as being one, and I agree, but actually experiencing that is a different ballpark. I think it's important to play the game of duality until one has a transcendental experience.

@Dodoster Why don't you consider yourself to be enlightened if you know these things?

@100rockets There is research by Dr. Ian Stevenson from the University of Virginia on reincarnation. He interviewed a few thousand children who remembered their past lives. It doesn't prove reincarnation but it's interesting nonetheless. I think it's possible that we exist as separate souls.

Consciousness has made an identity called "Deep". This identity is imaginary so there is no such thing as a separate "Deep" from Consciousness. It's all created within my mind. That's how it is with all the other humans. The illusion is so powerful they believe they are that identity and they are experiencing life as that. Reincarnation is just a concept to explain Consciousness taking on many identities. Consciousness is continuous but there are individual egos within it. Why does it do this? We don't know.

Life is really funny. Everything seems like it's serious but it's not. Society is indoctrinated beyond imagination and they'll go to their grave never knowing what God is. I feel compassionate towards them. They will never know God is within them and not just outside. If they believe in God they will remain stuck in their mind, but their mind has to be destroyed before they can embrace God. The only solution for me is to play the game. It's fun to pretend to believe in the same things everyone does, without believing. The idea is to incorporate the qualities of God within ourselves, such as all knowing, compassionate, and loving. All knowing can mean being at the highest level of awareness. Do you enjoy the game?

@Samuel Garcia Some of these enlightened people are deluded and they delude others. Telling people there is no hunger is complete bullshit. You can experience everything as one consciousness only when you experience Absolute Infinity. Your ego dies during that time but it comes back during everyday life.

Not necessarily, you have to do what you naturally feel like. Don't be attached to the thought of it being a low-energy comfort hole otherwise you will feel guilty. Enlightenment is realizing there is no separate self so you're always doing what you're supposed to.

@Gabriel Antonio That's true, no reason to feel guilty.

We have to pretend to believe in the same things other people do. Their sense of reality is limited so they believe they have to do all that stuff to survive. A good political outlook would have less competition.

I agree with this. Although I would use the word confidence instead of ego. It's easier for people who have strong sense of self and know who they are.

For regular experience, only a couple minutes. It might be longer or shorter at times.

@Acharya One time I was meditating at night. I was focusing on my breath going in and out for 30 minutes. After that my thoughts stopped for the whole night. I went to bed and woke up 1 minute later or so it felt like that. The monkey mind came back in the morning though. I don't think it's possible to permanently destroy the mind, only during meditation it can be stopped.

This is a really good question. I had my wisdom teeth removed 2 years ago and my friend took me to the surgeon. On our way back he was feeling insecure about holding my arm because he thought people would assume he was gay. I said, "No one is going to think anything, dude." Is it possible for you to hug your female friends or do you need males? I think hugging is very healthy and normal.

Yes emotions would still exist. The ego is the "separate self" that we think we are. The separate self is made of concepts we have about reality and how we relate to it. Once the "separate self" dies enlightenment happens. When people describe "joy" or "awe" they're talking about higher levels of consciousness. Without the ego, we can express whatever emotions we want.

@Esoteric Yes some other yogis such as Ramakrishna have said that you can die during nirvikalpa samadhi if you stay in it longer than 21 days. Someone has to shake you out of the meditation so you can eat and drink. LOL I haven't read all of Osho's book so I'm not sure what he's talking about. We don't know if Osho has experienced samadhi or not. I think he is implying that you have to be disciplined to attain enlightenment, which is true. Spirituality is very brutal. Some people say samadhi and enlightenment are not the same thing. They say enlightenment is just a shift in awareness. Although the problem with that is it can become a belief. For example, a person can believe that they are God but never experience any higher consciousness to validate that. If we think about, experience is the only thing we have. Even our thoughts are a part of experience. Those are just my 2 cents.

@Aware It's counter-intuitive that our ego has to be strong before it can be dissolved.

Yes, the process seems scary in the beginning but eventually you will adjust to it. You can't force yourself to become enlightened it's just something that happens to you or it doesn't. Let your family and friends believe in whatever they want. Don't be scared just go along with what you're feeling. You can talk to us about anything you want.

Hi, I have heard a few teachers say the ego is an illusion. I have an idea of what that might mean but I want to hear your perspectives. What does it mean when someone says the ego is an illusion? Thanks, Deep

@abrakamowse I think the ego is necessary for survival. Without it, we can't know what we want. I don't advocate removing the ego like some teachers say. That is my opinion.

@kurt @WaveInTheOcean @Aware Thanks, appreciate it!

@WaveInTheOcean Yeah that's true. My goal is to just have fun in life. I don't differentiate between low and high consciousness. I enjoy alcohol, sex, and other shit. (not all the time)

Hey, I was thinking about my past and I realized that I had no control over my consciousness. Before 2014, my consciousness was "low" but somehow it increased a lot just in a couple of years. It feels like I have transformed into a different person. I think people with lower consciousness can't control that either. It's because the self doesn't exist. Even people who become sages are just naturally inclined to it. Yes, they have to work hard as fuck but their chances of becoming a sage weren't higher than anything else. Do you think you've been able to control your consciousness? Merry Christmas!

I would verify if reality is an illusion for myself. At this point I don't believe reality is an illusion just because someone says that. I'm someone that values practical experience. I think thoughts shape our actions and actions effect reality. If I think, 'I want to eat a banana now', I can go and do that. Thoughts can go all over the place but they don't always effect our actions. We may think someone is attractive but we don't always act on it. I do think thoughts affect our feelings. If we think negative thoughts, our body feels negative. Even more important than thoughts is awareness. Awareness is hard to describe in words, either one has it or not. I think awareness is metaphysical and it's responsible for attracting situations and people into our life. In my younger days, I had low awareness and so I attracted bad situations into my life (got into a fight with my roommate). Now my awareness is much higher and life is peaceful.

I was wrong to say that only a few people can be enlightened. It's possible for everyone because there are infinite ways to reaching the infinite. Here is a video by Paul Chek on emptiness.