eputkonen

There is no doubt, no uneasiness, nor fear of being wrong that the "me" is an illusion and there is no other/separation. Tat tvam asi...aham brahmasmi. Only if the illusion of a "me" is truly seen through is there no doubt, uneasiness, or fear.

Oneness. (Sufi dervishes know of this.)

Not so. For the truth is fundamentally something that is. A lie is fundamentally something that is not. Something that is can be an absolute or be objective, but what is not...only imagined...can only be subjective.

I started my spiritual journey at the age of 17...and I still graduated high school, went to college, got a degree, got a job, started a career, dating, marriage, etc. If you have an interest in spirituality, there is no reason that spirituality can not be pursued, studied, practiced, etc. while living in the world. There is no reason you can't do both. It is a mistake to think the two are separate and should be compartmentalized in the first place. Even eating supper can be done in a spiritual way. Everyday actions can be done in a spiritual way. "Spiritual" perhaps is not the right word. But think of Zen. Zen has a way of walking, eating, doing chores, etc. It is integrated with daily life...not separate and compartmentalized. Just remember to regularly have periods of just being still and silent. Don't get overly distracted by doing while perusing enlightenment and spirituality.

I like chanting mantras and doing kirtan (singing of mantras in a group). Kirtan is really the only music I listen to anymore. Very uplifting. It is not empty repetition nor a mental exercise.

Awakenings that come and go are not really an awakening.

Nonduality is neither form nor formless...but transcending both. Nonduality is already the case...whether there is form or formlessness. Form and formlessness are not separate or other.

@StephenK - "suffering as merely the desire to move away from something" That is a good way of putting it. I have said suffering is that additional hurt or imagined hurt we create in the mind. Kind of like when someone says, "don't look or it will hurt more." The hurting before you look arises via the nerves of the body, but the hurting more after you look is totally created in the mind and imagined. Of course, the hurting more is because they want to escape or desire to move away from the physical pain and injury they see. All suffering is self-created and self-inflicted...often unconsciously. We suffering due to ignorance and resisting/denying what is.

LOL.

@Serotoninluv ...and that is why you do not understand nonduality.

@Serotoninluv , you are probably familiar with the snake and rope analogy. Either the rope is clearly seen to be a rope (and so no fear, confusion, and suffering)...or the illusion of there being a snake is still believed and there is fear, confusion, and suffering. Either enlightenment has happened or enlightenment has not happened yet. You do realize that enlightenment refers to a happening to a specific body/mind. It is like being in an orchard and saying an apple fell from a tree, but other apples have not fallen yet. However, this does not mean there is true "otherness" or separation...it is all still Nonduality or One. It is possible to describe characteristics of variation within a whole. You could be in the ocean and feel warm spots and cold spots...but it is all still ocean.

@Inliytened1 , I disagree again. Enlightenment is one and done. There are no facets or stages...those all involve a "me". Either the illusion of duality and "me" has been completely seen through and can no longer be believed...or duality and "me" is still believed, in which case enlightenment has not happened yet. As long as there is a "me" that can get somewhere or gain something (i.e. another facet...or make progress)...enlightenment hasn't happened yet.

So you identify with that concept. The Self is not personal or an identification...that is just sliding a "me" back in there. That which "refers to itself as Self" is not the Self, but a "me" trying to fake it. The Self never says or needs to say "I am Self". The true Self does not need to refer to itself...there is nothing else.

@Matt8800 , that's just it...duality does not exist. Duality is a figment of imagination. I talk about this in another video - https://youtu.be/e0op1RsrveQ A keyboard is a temporary form...death however is totally an imagined concept to indicate the "end" of a specific form. "Birth" is also a totally imagined concept to indicate the "beginning" of a specific form. However, everything that makes up that form existed prior its "birth" and continues to exist after its "death". Nothing is gained or lost...only transforms. It is like the conservation of energy.

"How Do You Feel About Death" @Raptorsin7 , there is no such thing as death. To believe in death is to be fixated on, identified with, and attached to form. I created a short video a while ago about "Nonduality and death. What is death for a jnani?" - https://youtu.be/MNb4qijqHJE

It is far simpler really...whether it is a higher self or lower self...it is a believed "me". As long as the "me" is believed...awakening hasn't happened yet. There is no "me"...nothing to identify with.

Based on that logic, you never have gone to movies or theater or watch TV...because they are not real (they too are an illusions - made up stories expertly portrayed to fool us into thinking it is happening...crying, laughing, etc.). However, if you enjoy watching TV, movies, and/or plays...why? Then you will have your answer.

@Nirvanalight - are you afraid you could have bad consequences regarding your soul/consciousness when you need to discard old shirts and pants? It really does not matter what happens to the body when it ceases to function. There is no point in using up a bunch of space in a graveyard, so I told my family cremation and poured in a nearby river. The death of the body really does not matter to that which I really am. So it does not matter where the body dies (on Earth, space, Mars, etc.)...nor what happens to the body after it ceases to function. All is within Consciousness...ever here.

@Javfly33 , no. If the illusion ever causes confusion or fools again, then the illusion was not really completely seen through. Ignorance would still be present if there is confusion or being fooled by the illusion. Enlightenment is dispelling ignorance and a complete seeing through the illusion of duality and "me". So if the "me" or "duality" is later believed...then enlightenment never happened. A "me" and "duality" are needed for suffering to arise...so if suffering later arises (i.e. falling back into delusion), then enlightenment never happened in the first place. There are many passing spiritual experiences and glimpses of the truth that are often mistaken to be enlightenment...and then people wonder why it goes away (i.e. falling back into delusion).

You are not that which is born or dies. Obviously a body was born, but you are not just that body. You do not have a beginning or end.

They may be more loving...they may have little to no fear...they may have less thought...they may have little to no egos...but that alone is not enlightenment. No, we are not born enlightened because there is missing understanding. Enlightenment involves a direct, intuitive understanding. Children do not have this...this is why they fall for the illusions of the mind and suffer more as they grow up. After enlightenment, suffering ceases to arise...and the illusion never causes confusion again.

Self-deception is a larger factor.

Probably not a very good one, but I wrote this several years ago... The balloon of consciousness can not ever reach great heights nor be considered "free" while the strings of attachment tie the balloon to the ground.

It really doesn't matter...both are illusory. Furthermore, the current "me" and "my life" is just an imagination and illusory too.

@Raptorsin7 Relief is always temporary when the "me" is still believed. It is only the "me" that suffers. It is only the "me" that has a problem with what is. If you are looking for something incredible, this will be an obstacle and resistance to enlightenment...which is not incredible.