LifeandDeath

@Dingus i like your quote, thanks. @Prabhaker very clear message and word of caution there, thanks.

The idea of non-duality is that the 'self' is an illusion, and we are all eddy's from the same stream of water, all joined by consciousness and awareness as the single interconnected ingredient. There are accounts that guru's from some Eastern practices have been able to read minds, tell the future given that everything is predetermined, etc? The reasoning behind this as because we are all one of the same mind, if someone can fully realise this, then they can access other peoples mind and memories as if they can read their own mind, because they can truely see no barrier between themselves and others. Is this true? And if it's true, what are some of the most recent famous, or researched gurus or sages that have done this?

wow, what an interesting debate when I was reading the posts between @Dingus and @Bodhi123 I realised that you are both have valid points. In a way they can be complimentary if you take into consideration conventional world and the unworldly dimension, which is stated by the Buddhists. Conventional reality consists of ration mind, work, duality, hunger, sex, dying, suffering, and of course morality, ethics and striving to act with a conscious. the unworldly dimension, which is the existential deeper reality behind the conventional world, which would be amoral. This reality doesn't have a right and wrong. Now I agree with @Dingus in that we shouldn't strive for things to be different, judge, and try to 'fix' things, thinking that we know best, and sometimes we trust our 'being' to act accordingly which we trust to make the appropriate move, but for this to happen we need to have no ego, complete integration with reality (enlightenment) and then we are not concerned with 'right' or 'wrong' . Even still, I've read that the most enlightened beings need to make conscious intentionality in keeping their right view, to avoid temptation (impulse) and to act courageous to follow their calling. If anything, I think it would be harder for the enlightened being as they are walking a finer line of balance and the higher they are the further to fall and the stronger temptations would be. Imagine having strong empowerment that you knew if you directed it towards immediate gratification towards the senses you could achieve higher levels of self-gratification than you ever have achieved... just imagine the temptation. Now this doesn't have to be a choice of morality, but it brings in the notion that 'selfish impulse' will always remain within human experience, and this 'selfishness/ego' is the main root to suffering, and hurting of others, and delusion from reality/non-duality. But I also agree with @Bodhi123 in that most of us are not enlightened, or even close, and we are drones to our lower conscious desires and fears, and we don't even know it (that wasn't directed at you @Bodhi123 )!! So, for some who are on the path, at a certain stage they can drop morality, but others will need some prescriptive guidance until they reach a point where they can drop it. it's pretty clear that traditional practices instruct the combination of Compassion with Mindfulness, to bring out increased moralistic actions to reduce suffering and increase inner peace which then naturally translates to social peace, but there's suggestion that increased understanding of non-duality can spontaneously increase compassion, ethics and morality. It really even makes sense, because the more inline you are with reality, the less selfish you are because you realise that you don't have a self, so you extend the fear and survival mechanisms and desire & avoid less, and care for others as much as you do for yourself. @Bodhi123 I respect your intention for being more kind, compassionate, moral and living through virtue. On a pragmatic level I don't think intentionality to be a better citizen and less selfish is directly correlated to social unrest and war. I think the more probable reasons for war are the main enemies of humanity: resentment for holding on to past, seeing other humans as "other" and not one and the same, racism and naivety, NOT striving to be more understanding, empathetic, compassionate, ethical, kind and loving. Although, it is true that "loving" and the other concepts have broadly definitions associated with them, so we do have to be careful when we use them when justifying them as constructive foundations to world peace. i.e. "love" is a double edged sword, and cuts both ways. The main example of this, is that it can produce life but also love is blind. @Dingus If what you are saying is the solution, and you are confident that having amoral, neutral perspective of our actions, intentions, and what happens in the world, then I have a question for you: If you say that dropping Morality all together can align you to reality (and Leo has a vid on Morality) then how would one know that they are completely in line with reality to trust that they are acting in according with the infinite reality? How do we know we haven't falsely identified with our 'evil' ego, which can be very subtle and in a way at times completely deceiving us into thinking we have integrated with pure consciousness non-duality? What are the clear methods and signs that one knows they are ready to discard morality and replace it for letting go and surrendering to act in accordance to simply their 'being'?

Do you know what's interesting - is I don't fear death anymore. But now I'm asking the question, how will I know when I 'really' don't fear death. I mean at the moment I feel like I could die at any time, but deep down inside I think I have another 1/2 of my life to live if I was to live out my whole biological life... so I'm not sure I'm really convinced. Then I ask myself the question, "if I had only 1 hour to live, would I be different, and what would I be like after the 56th minute..." and I think there would be some difference in me. So when the reality of death hits, I think it will transform me in some way. So then I return to where I started and I think how can I not fear something I haven't actually experienced yet, and I do not know how I will truely respond until the time comes (that's if I have a conscious death)... Anyway, overall I'm comfortable with the fact that I'm not scared of the idea of death and my own mortality. Thanks everyone for your contributions!

I am not dying in any medical sense. However, the reality is I could die at any moment. So, I want to be prepared in the event that I may die earlier than expected. I'm conscious that there are people out there that are on their death bed, or currently dying, so I also want to respect I do feel there is an additional reason to remind myself of my death because I feel, that if I get into the right perspective now, then I feel I will live a more grateful life and it will be reminder to prioritise what's important, rather than getting caught up in superficialities. But, this is a lot easier said than done - and it's a very serious and sensitive topic. I have done a lot of work in this area, and accepting more and more my own mortality. I am aware that when I die, I will die in the present. Without being morbid, I feel like I'm able to conceptually let go of everything in my mind that my ego has touched and that identify with if I imagine myself dying. So, I feel as ready for death as I have ever been, but I'm unsure about how I will react when the time comes to die. I'm not sure how I truely will react, and perhaps I'll freak out. I'm really wanting to reassure myself that when the reality comes, I'm ready. Has anyone done this same thing - and feel ready to die without fear? Is there a way to get myself closer to the reality of death and what impact this will have on my ability to truely let go of everything and be prepared, without putting myself in a life threatening situation? Any feedback on what I'm saying?

I find Daniel Ingram's book a great read, covering the Buddhist approach to concentration vs insight meditation. It's available free to download from his website: http://static.squarespace.com/static/5037f52d84ae1e87f694cfda/t/5055915f84aedaeee9181119/1347785055665/ Joseph Goldstien has some good guided meditation on youtube too, again from Buddhist practice

I have found this to be a really good meditation... for those that are interested in exploring this further. Let me know your thoughts!

I have had a couple of enlightenment experiences. Once at a deep meditation retreat in meditation and once in the morning at home, and the glow of it lasted a day or so. I was doing a contemplation workshop at the time.

awareness is the timeless, spaceless, emptiness, dimensionless place that we project the consciousness forms that come and go. Being mindful is being aware of both of those aspects of our being

I've just been heavily involved in the last year or two on the studies, meditation and practices of attaining the perspective of "not-self" and more recently "non-duality", which seem to be highly inter-linked from my understanding. I have learnt to apply a more sharper and heightened definition of the word "integrity" which seems to be a kind of glue to the concepts that can be directly applied to the practice to make the direct experience of 'not-self' and in particular 'non-duality' all the more real. So firstly, given the breadth of each of these subjects, let me outline what I mean to be clear by giving a short definition of what I'm specifically referring to, then it would be interested to hearing your thoughts: 1. not-self: the very fact that our awareness and perceptions within our awareness is an also all that makes us up human experience. Perceptions come and go and are continuously changing. Also, that we are neither an independent object of our awareness and perceptions. So, we are a bundle of experience that is not us but that we can't seperate from. 2. non-duality: our individual subjective experience is everything, yet nothing at the same time. Awareness is all encompassing for the 'self' but for awareness to exist, then outside awareness needs to exist, which is 'nothing'. This oneness with our perceptions, and the duality between a unified subjective experience and the 'nothingness' behind the scene, is the connection point that we all seem to share. It's impossible for unity or duality to explain the whole picture but taken in balance of egoic self referential agenda and the all pervasive nothingness that all of our awarenesses are embedded in, then we arrive at a complete picture. 3. Integrity: is an alignment between our "internal" and "external" world. If the divide between our internal and external world doesn't really exist given the existential framework of nothingness that it resides within and the fact that not-self asserts that there is really no external 'self' viewing the external world in the first place. So the one single reality exists for all of us must be aligned to satisfy both not-self and non-duality, given that there is a hard assertion that there isn't a divide in the first place! As a clearer example, this is clearly experienced when one practices 'mindfulness' or 'presence', when they concentrate on an object and then their inner world drops and they are just there with the object as one, but neither seperate or believing they are the object they are considering. So the reason as to why I see integrity as an important playing card in applying this approach, is because if you don't consider a private world to exist and there is complete harmony between one's perceived internal and external world, then one is more honest and at no disharmony with themselves and their environment, including others.

@Prabhaker wow, very powerful indeed. as I become more and more conscious, your passage has provided me with more reassurance that I'm following the right path, an eternal one, and that death is just a stage of conscious evolution, that now I'm starting to even look forward to. this is very different to the fear perspective I had when starting this thread. thanks everyone for working with me on this... I'm feeling a lot stronger than I ever have before

@Bodhi123 you know what's funny, although I have this as my direct experience, I am unsure about what to do next. I've heard that enlightenment is emptiness, so it really can't give you anything... I am enjoying being in this frame of mind and returning to it when I phase out of it, but I'm really unsure about what to do next. I'm convincing myself to say what I've experienced is only a hair of the ox tail, as Leo said in one of his clips. This grounds me, and keeps my mind open to new possibilities. I'm very confident there are a whole lot more levels to reach, and I'm thinking a first enlightening experience is really just the beginning of the journey. Thanks, you have raised a good question: "How am I going to let my knowledge and insights shape my life?" This is something I'm working on, which is why I'm on the forum as I'm completing Leo's Life Purpose course along with a whole lot of other personal development stuff, so that I can face my fears, restructure my beliefs, and take this to a whole new level. I'm thinking of doing one-on-one Coaching perhaps, or get into a modality of personal development whether it's traditional or modern and practising that, so that way I can elevate others who are looking to have an enlightenment experience or two, or who are looking for more peace of mind. Thanks again @Bodhi123 for your responses, it means a lot. I find it difficult to talk to people in my direct network as I've done so much reading and practice on this topic I feel a little isolated - but I know there are like minded people who share the same experiences that I'm already attracting into my life.

I'm not trying to enter into right or wrong debate here, or enter into any religious dogmatic talk whatsoever, but I wanted to take a spirituality dimension to connecting my Christian upbringing to the new Buddhist principles I'm reading. Could the two teachings be mapped like this? Nonduality = spirit Consciousness = mind Emptiness/Awareness = body Absolute Truth = God Attachment to ego = sin I know they are different religions, but I'm trying to see the overlapping similarities between the two so I can integrate what I'm learning together. Let me know what you think Please be mindful and respect Leo's guidelines in this is not a forum to assert religious dogma

@Vanish thanks, I like it and will also share it

I do too. I'm trying. I think it's one of those things where the reality of it when it happens, if we have the luxury of being conscious throughout the process, will be completely different to what we are expecting. I imagine pain, discomfort, disorientation and the like. So, I'm also practising turning too, accepting and growing through embracing pain and fear on a day-to-day level, in hope that this will help me to prepare for the experience.

@Vanish Does that mean you haven't totally overcome the fear of death? I feel after starting this thread it, this is giving me more confidence to face my fear of death. I do like what Teal said in the clip above posted by @Bodhi123 , when she says that the underlying fears are about annihilation, losing loved ones, fearing the unknown... very powerful as overcoming these fears would also liberate me more than just fearing death, it would help me make more stronger actions in this life time.

@Bodhi123 thanks for sharing the youtube of Teal. Some fine words of wisdom. She lost me at 'out-of-body-experience' though... not sure if I've had one of those, can't conceptualising it happening, don't know of anyone that has, but keen to have an open mind to do it. I think it could possibly mean something different to what I imagine. Have you, or anyone out there, every had an out-of-body experience? ... this is probably a new thread, ha ha

@Progress Thanks for sharing. I read it. I really like the point you make when we find out we are 'nothing' and that is ego death. I hadn't heard ego death described like that. I always thought it was void of all attachments, and thus thought it was impossible state, but now I can see how it fits in to the process. I like the all encompassing spiritual picture you have made that all the religions fit nicely into. very good work.

@Bodhi123 thanks for the feedback. I was waiting for someone to clarify this. The thing is, that I have directly experienced this. This is why I am spending time describing my experience...

@Nahm Thanks. I'll watch. Same question, do you feel ready for death if it was to arrive now? I feel the deep lesson in asking these questions for myself is that I understand more clearly what it is that I'm clinging too, or what latent 'expectations' I have for myself, or what I'm avoiding.

@poimandres thanks looks like an interesting book - i'll certainly add this to my list of books to read

thanks, I'll order and read, it looks interesting!

@Guivs thanks, i'll look into this - looks very insightful Have you practised all this and feel ready for death if it was to arrive now?

@Bodhi123 thanks! I too wish you and everyone happiness and a higher ability to transform pain & suffering into happiness.

I agree but also like to add more definition. I think the 'timeframe' is something we can not demand or is something that is not set, so someone can achieve high results in only moments, where others could take decades to gain limited progress. In saying that I think there are meditation practices that have general "outcomes" that people intend to achieve, which have mapped progress and repeatable outcomes found throughout variety of mediation teachings. Although, every individual will have a different path, there are still 'levels' and 'experiences' that people generally go through meditation. It's not a guarantee but it's a general rule like a lot of things in life - and naturally has exceptions. I think it's very different for different people. But if you want 'peace of mind' then you meditate, read up on the concepts, do guided meditations, do self-inquiry, follow instructions, and commit to the practice and one will generally achieve peace of mind. Or concentration states if that's what someone wants to develop. Or raised consciousness on nature of reality, etc.