Acharya

As the title, from where should I start? Recommend books or other stuff that according to you is worth reading. Thanks!

What is the span of time in which you can be UNINTERRUPTEDLY aware. I am not talking about how much time you recall your attention on being aware during your meditation habit. For example i may do 1 hr of SDS, and focus on being steady, observant; and eventually when I'm not doing this to make a refocus on this process. But for how long you can be aware without falling off-track? Personally I would say that my uniterrupted stream of awareness doesn't lasts even a full minute.

I've been meditating for almost a year, I handle external situations way better than before. For example I am very calm during serious discussions and verbal fights, I hadn't that capacity before. But as far the uninterrupted awareness is concerned I have not seen much improvement. But I have to say that the recall process has became much efficient through the practice, also outside the meditative session.

Yes, I was talking about this kind of stuff. So this happened you one time, but how about the regular experience?

Ego is also the irrational part of you, that one functioning through the reptilian brain. For it nothing logical can help.

@Dodoster Notice that I have never said that you were not speaking from experice. What I was saying is that sometimes people tend to confuse and think that they have attained by reading books, by becoming more acknowleged. And the tricky thing is that you can deduce answers when someone talks about the nature of reality, without yourself knowing it. Anyhow, my question was very simple and direct, and the topic wasn't about discussing the nature of ego

You give too much importance to the words I am using. However, yes, it needs to relax, but it doesn't wants to. This is the phase where experience through practice becomes important. Although they are mere experiences some understanding comes through them. And you can try to integrate them when you are back in the senses, then maybe the ego would have an "AHA" moment and surrender. But just by knowing intellectually how the things function, is nothing but more ego. And not even at the subtle level. Ego doesn't care about logical understanding, it goes on working as it always did.

I know how it is "bad" to seek experiences, I have studied in depth about the hurdles in the way to dropping the ego. Ego cannot attain enlightenment, in fact enlighenment starts where the ego drops. Good stuff, but when the rubber hits the ground the ego strives for experience, and it cannot comprehend directly what you are intellectualising. That's a fact.

What's the need of 5-MeO then? And all the other techniques of meditation? They may all be an illusion, but still a stepping stone as far as realization is concerned.

@Dodoster Man, don't get me wrong. In the things you wrote you presuppose that I don't know about them, as if i have asked lacking the necessary awareness on the topic. Well, it is not the case. As I said these are things that are obvious to me and should be to everyone that visits this forum. What I wanna say is that most people completely UNDERSTIMATE the shift from logical knowing to real existential knowing. And this derives from practice, as far my experience is concerned. Don't be too attached to the words that I use, rather see what I am referring to.

I already understand these things intellectually. Here we are talking about the existential experience and practice. Do you have a meditation habit?

@Dodoster I'll put it into other words, the substance doesn't change: how much time you can be open to awareness without the ego trying to interfere. That may be true for someone already enlightened. Sounds like the newagers telling "we are all one, there is only love, vibrations" kinda stuff without the actual realization. And if you are enlightened, come down from the mountain sometimes

I don't mean concentration, but being clearly observant of whatever you are experiencing. Simple observation so to speak in an uninterrupted span of time.

@Hunter Arrington I don't mean the "dull" person, but one with genetical issues and/or with physically menomated brain. The one that might not even imagine what "to concentrate the effort single-mindedly" is.

Can a mentally handicapped person reach enlightenment? Would you please explain me this "idea" thing? @Leo Gura

People, if your search is based on the idea that enlightenment is cool stuff to purchase and carry around you'd better drop the entire effort. Enlightenment work is not something that you can say "Now I want to start it", "now I don't want to do it". It is concerned with the loosing of THIS "doership". Unless this feeling of doing something doesn't go there are ZERO chances of "becoming" enlightened. However, those who have attained and survived, say that the death of the body is nothing compared to the ego death. I am surprised how a lot of people are lacking awareness on this topic.

I'm quite skeptical on this kind of things but I think I should give a try If it is possible I would ask you to focus it on rising my awareness, so I can meditate more consistently than I already do! Maybe it is irrational and difficult to put in words, but can you try to explain me how does it work?

It is advised to do it with the guidance of a master, it can become a huge barrier on the path from an egoic standpoint.

You can have a thousand rolls royces or you can be a bum on the street, it has nothing to do with consciousness. There have been enlightened kings in the past alongside the bhikkus (beggars). And please do not compare, it's just an ego game. Try to see where all sages are pointing.

IMO, one shoud watch if by debating is protecting some of his beliefs or is genuinely (aka unconditionally) giving his point of view. Of course awareness demarcates the line in between.

Who said it?

Maybe it will just affect the body and not consciousness. Enlighetened sages often said that every samadhi experience that is brought through chemical change of the body is not to be considered as enlightenment. I am riminded of an episode in Maharshi's life: someone brought him marijuana, he took it into his system and people around witnessed that it had no effect on him. A lot of episodes are known about other yogis doing such things.

This was the reason why yoga and especially hatha yoga became so important. Yogis used to train their bodies to survive enlightenment but it wasn't because they were afraid to die, it was for their compassion for humanity. If such people lived more, they could initiate more and more people into the path. Another reason that is quite popular is that when a person reaches permanent enlighenment he becomes established in the self but his body has to fullfill the karmas that otherwise were to be fullfilled in future lifes, so it doesn't bear all of them at once and eventually dies (or it has to suffer very serious ailments, like cancers). In my opinion a serious seeker of truth should not be bothered about these things anyway.

In India it is a well known fact that enlightenment might bring you instantaneous death (bodily speaking), maybe in the west they know only a few enlightened sages and think that they are inventing fairy tails but hunderds of fully enlightened sages in the east always said it. Nothing new under the sun.

So a moment should arrive in which 5-meo will have no effect on your status of consciousness, right?