Echoes

Is space=consciousness? Are we the empty space?

Maybe this is why hell is described as a bottomless pit

Hey! I was wondering. There are these more grounded guys like Rupert Spira, Francis Lucille, Peter Ralston, Paul Hedderman etc. who basically point to realizations that one can awaken to on his own. And then there are people like Abraham Hicks, Bashar, Teal Swan who claim to have metaphysical knowledge (like Law of Attraction, Reincarnation mechanisms, Aliens, Densities of reality, etc.) My question: Is it possible to also awaken to and realize for oneself those metaphysical mechanisms or laws? Or will it forever be something that we either belief or disbelief in? One possibility might be to try things like Law of Attraction and see if it works. But that wouldn't prove the Law itself would it? It could also be coincedence etc.

If this void is always there, what is strong enough to supress it most of the time? Just the power of belief?

I am confused with this topic. There seem to be the more "feel good" concepts about death and reincarnation like we can choose our next Incarnation and basically can do what we want after death. And that this life is a school that our soul has chosen to grow and experience even "higher" realms/experiences. That life is a eternal journey because the potential for growth is infinte. But then there are the tibetan buddhists for example who are well respected for their research and knowledge about death. In their understanding, we die as we have lived. And our whole life is basically a preparation for death. In the process of dying and death we pass through different Bardo states, and it is said that it's very difficult to maintain consciousness in these Bardos. That's why they prepare in this life (the natural bardo) for those so it's possible to escape Samsara. "If we cannot carry our practice into sleep," Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche writes. "If we lose ourselves every night, what chance do we have to be aware when death comes? Look to your experience in dreams to know how you will fare in death. Look to your experience of sleep to discover whether or not you are truly awake." What do you say? Is it possible to reconcile these concepts somehow?

@Dodoster So true. Reality IS!! how sacred is this fact alone?! Remembered me on this video

Hey, So in the last weeks I'm really trying to grasp what beyond "my" experience lies. The thing is, every concept is only relative truth; it is a assumption about reality. The only thing I can be sure of is that awareness exists. The only real thing is HERE and NOW. Every other thing is an assumption. But it almost seems to me that people in this spirituality/non-duality area are like "Whoa dude, yea we are talking about absolute truth, but not THAT absolute. Here, take some concepts about other minds and experiences, are you crazy bro?!" So of course there is no ME as some solipsistic people assume. But there is HERE and NOW, and it's the ONLY thing I can be sure of. Doesn't that mean that Solipsism is absolut truth?

In my opinion: Don't guilt yourself for this losing in interest and enthusuiasm. It's probably better than the neurotic motivation of most humans. I think the desire to do something and the interest in things will come back naturally at some point. If you are happy not doing something why change it? We have to get rid of this mindset that we always have to do something imo.

@Arkandeus I am. I mentioned Eckhart Tolle as example. But the "you are already enlightened" neo-advaita fraction who ridicules the more "traditional" path seems not so open minded to me personally sometimes. But this should not become a "non-duality war", I agree that for everybody there is a unique way.

@Gopackgo Yes, but then why even bother about any non-duality content? Imagine a person that views Leo's video for example and then just waits for a realization without any further investigation into the topic. Not knowing anything about the mechanisms of thought, emotion, the trickiness and capability of ones own self-deception. "Ordinary" Humans are seeking happiness in the future; The seeker is seeking enlightenment in the future. But the seeker of enlightenment comes across many teachers who point to the traps and illusory attempt of the persons desire. Without an interest in the topic or without a longing for truth, one would maybe never come to this guidance and realizations. If I tell a friend who never heard about spirituality "Hey, there is only the eternal presence and you don't exist. So to stop suffering just stop pretending to be a human and just BE" I don't think it had any impact at all. Some guidance and pointers are required for most IMO.

@Martin123 It was just a general statement to this topic. @Gopackgo Yes, I agree. But once you hear of this topic "Enlightenment" and know that there is something like absolute truth, you can't help but try to "seek" it, to find out what it is. Ultimately it is a pull from no-thing, no active pursuit from the Ego. But every form of activity in this regard can be viewed as seeking: Reading this forum, watching videos of Leo, self-inquiry. Ultimately there is no need for self-inquiry, because you are already it, but all this stuff has it's place at some stage of the path. In the end all has to be dropped, and in some cases like Eckhart Tolle it's just happening without all the seeking stuff. But who are we to say that it hasn't it's place and is not essential for many people? Personally, I found it to be very useful to have a conceptual and psychological understanding of non-duality and the ego's mechanisms, and to inquire and meditate. But some people may not need it. In the end it either happens or not.

Of course we can run around telling people "you are enlightened, don't worry. There is nothing to do, there is no ego!" But that is of no use for anyone. What people forget is that even Paul hedderman was on a spiritual journey with all the typical traps and delusions. Would he get to the point of liberation without all this, just because someone told him "The ego is not real! It's done, don't worry"? I doubt it. All the people telling you that meditation is useless and there is nothing to do, mostly did the same thing for YEARS. So you can never say if all this didn't play a role in their awakening.

I liked his perspective on the topic. Q: What could be a valid reason to be in a romantic relationship?

Hey! First I want to say that I wasn't sure if this would be better in the career area or in this one. So please feel free to change if you think it doesn't belong here. I really need a different perspective on the situation I currently find myself in. I never spoke with anybody about this, and it leads to me being alone with a never ending cycle of the same thoughts/feelings of desperation and hopelessness, without any new input and ideas. The situation: I am 25 years old and in university. The thing and part of the problem is: it's not your regular university, but an online university - only 2 days per semester I have to actually drive to a nearby university and write the exams there. The degree I would get there is exaxtly the same as I would get from a "regular" university, so that's not the problem. The reason I chose this university is because of the subject I decided to study: Psychology. In my country (Germany) you need very good grades to study this major because it's so popular that the universities haven't enough room for all the applicants. So you can either wait about 6 years, go to a private university where you spend a ton of money, or choose this one (because as an online university, they don't have the room problem). You would guess that with 25 I should me long finished or at least nearing the end. But the opposite is true; Im at the beginning and didn't accomplish very much so far. I only begun to study with 23, had a difficult past where I dropped out of school, worked at a few jobs and then returned to get my university entrance certificate. I still live at home with my mom, and never really worked for real besides a few small jobs. I also never had a girlfriend. I live in total isolation with a fucked up sleep schedule and no routine in my day whatsoever. I see all my friends and normal people in my age and younger than me who have a normal, regular life with daily duties and a flurent social life. The only thing I am doing all day is reading books and watching videos about non-duality/spirituality; meditating and taking psychedelic drugs once in a while. (maybe 1-2times per month). I am broke as shit and living in a small city where absolutely nothing is going on. I thought about switching my major and moving to a bigger town. But the problem is that I can't imagine anything more interesting for me than psychology. I considered studying philosophy but keeping my psychology major to study both. I am not sure though if this is a smart decision: Philosophy is not known for it's good career outlook and I'm not even sure if the highly analytical aspects would suit me. I think I'm just using this fantasy as an easy cop-out of this stuckness to reach a "normal" life finally. Maybe the best option is to just quit university entirely and search for work? But no qualification is existent. Also, im already 25 years old and have not much more time to waste with wrong decisions. Since I learned of spirituality and personal development, I definetely changed to the better at many aspects like self esteem/acceptance/happiness etc. Before that I was very depressed, social anxious and caught up even more in victim thinking. But altough I have learned to accept my past and even this situation to some extent, I still can't bear it any longer to live at home. I want a normal life. My life just feels WRONG, and every cell in me screams to change it. While I am meditating and doing spiritual stuff I feel good; but it's very obvious at this point for me that Im also doing it as an escape from reality. I'm grateful that this situation brought me to personal developement and spirituality, but now it's time to break out of here. The problem is that I'm completely frozen and stuck. I am trapped in a repetitive cycle where everyday is exactly the same. I don't see any good possibilities to make a rational change. I definitely can't stay in this situation any longer and wait till I graduate. I need to move out from home, but I don't know how to do it sensible. Has any of you an idea what I could do? Am I overlooking something? I feel so behind in life. Every person in my age has more experienced and accomplished. I feel that im too old and that there is no way I can ever catch up and live normally. On the one hand I know that all thoughts and personal drama is illusion, and that I should accept the moment. But then I'm so behind in everything and the guilt and fear feels so real that I'm not yet able transcend it completely. The urge to change is too strong, and i'm motivated to take action if only knew what my next best step is. So, what do you guys think? how would you evaluate this circumstances? I don't know what to do anymore and if anybody can help me with this, but I am grateful for every new perspective/insight/idea you can give.

I think good old reading books is also a nice method to increase concentration. A nice "side effect" is the valuable information or entertainment. Also, but this is maybe controversial, I like playing competitive online games like Starcraft 2 or Heroes of the Storm. Usually it requires a great deal of concentration and focus to play against people who are not braindead.

@Salaam Let me ask you this first: do you belief that there exists a material outside world, and you are a human inside this world? It is in fact impossible to prove an external world. Any "prove" you might take would be inside your direct consciousness and would then require a causal interpretation between an event outside of you and the "prove". What you describe with the screen is not the visual screen itself, but interpretations of other sensual sources like hearing or feeling that there is this screen even if you don't watch it. That is a belief. In actual experience, the (visual) screen dissolves into nothingness. Yes, every belief is an attachment, because it is the assumption of a concept being true or very probable, or having some judgement over a concept. But I don't agree that every concept is in itself an attachment. Concepts can arise and dissolve in the field of awareness without being attached to them. Just like a tree can arise and dissolve in your field of awareness when you drive through a forest.

@LetTheNewDayBegin Why should attachment be required for interaction? This is a thread about nothingness where we have a discussion about something we disagree with. What do you expect me to say? To agree with something I don't agree with to prove that I am not attached? Possible it is. Care to show me these examples of the fallacies that describe my mind in perfect detail? If you can I would be grateful.

Say you start your computer and open the website actualized.org. The screen appears literally out of nothing in your field of awareness. When you turn your head away from the screen, the screen literally dissolves into nothing. The supermarket of your town is now literally nothing, only a thought. When you go to the supermarket, the supermarket appears literally out of nothing in your field of awareness. Everything you theorize other than that is theoretical speculation that can never be proven. Things like chemistry or even a brain are ideas in your field of awareness. In "pure" reality there is no such things, just the thoughts of it. There is indeed no start, neither is there an end. there is just ISness, just the timeless now and it's ever changing appearances I can come to the conclusion "It is possible to drink tea out of a cup" without attaching to the idea. It is just a practical cognition. Of course if you are judging reality in good or bad you create certain attachments. If you are in perfect presence, there is no attachment to anything; just the ever changing arising and dissolving of pictures on the movie screen. An attachment implies a energetic bond between emotions/thoughts and a transient object, even if that object is not in your awareness. @Salaam

@Salaam Well if you are stating that what another is saying is ignorant, below your level, is twisting things to make them feel better, thats per definition a degradation of the things being said. Not necesserily of the human being. So where exactly are we disagreeing? When you know that there is this nothingness, you should also know that it is the ground in which everything is arising and dissolving. Why would you attach to something if you are at peace and happy if you are non-attached? That doesn't make sense to me. Thats like saying "What's better not needing an orange, needing an orange, or having the ability to choose when and where you need an orange" You can enjoy the same things non-attached, and an attachement is always a illusory mental fabrication that is only real when you think it is. Why would one attach to transient things? I'm not saying that your 13 different compound patterns or whatever isn't true, but I am saying that they are existing and arising in empty awareness. Yes, there are many modulations and things one can do with consciousness, but that doesn't change the background in which all this takes place.