Forestluv

@alankrillin Rupert Spira uses screen analogies a lot, so I am influenced by that. The idea is that the pixels and screen are one. The pixels modulate and create images that misinterpreted as real. Awakening is the realization of the screen.

I’d bring a benzo or etizolam. I’ve never actually taken it during a trip- just knowing I have it can settle things down and increase confidence

@winterknight Have psychedelics been part of your spiritual path?

@Solace I think one of the challenges at higher levels is being able to hold multiple views simultaneously. Multiple perspectives that may seem paradoxically, yet eventually collapse. You are perfect in every moment and there is a spiritual process. We are zero steps from Enlightenment in each moment and Enlightenment is a process. Grounded groundlessness, meaningful meaningless. It's post-rational stuff that is unpalatable to a rational mind.

OK, let's go into the silence. . . everything is within emptiness. Everything is nothing. None and All of these ideas are "IT". It can't be figured out. Once you venture to the null void and return you come to know distinctions. High level spiritual concepts are great. So are high level quantum mechanics concepts. The contraction occurs when someone believes it and it hinders expansion. I'm completely comfortable acknowledging that everything I have ever written on this forum is wrong and lies. Or, that it all is partially true or absolutely true. It takes an understanding of relativity, multiple perspectives, direct experience with multiple facets of awakening and complete surrender.

All of these ideas are within absolute infinity. Within enlightenment. None of it is "IT" and all of it is "IT". We can't pull out anything from everything. One trap I see at intermediate / advanced stages is believing the spiritual concepts are true. Buddhism, nonduality, advaita, Ramana Maharshi, Shamanism - all of it. People can get so immersed and deep into one area and not recognize that they have not transcended higher. They are unaware that there is a higher level. It happens at all stages of development. I see it with myself, buddhist, advaita masters, in this thread etc. . . The higher you go, the more subtle it gets. That's why psychedelics are so powerful at the higher consciousness stages.

It is a question of distinctions. There is no problem when one ventures to the null void and back.

This is an area I've been contemplating a lot. It's easy for me to think / feel enlightenment manifests a certain way. For example, the loss of self, sincerity, connecting heart-to-heart etc. Yet, it seems all of this can be transcended such that it's ALL of it. Whatever is happening, there is an expansive consciousness present. A singularity. There is no difference between faking one's way through an enlightenment test or sincerely connecting with someone's heart. It's all part of the One Everything. It's about being awake - not how consciousness is expressed, because it's all consciousness. Everything in this thread seems to be *within* enlightenment. When someone says "this is it. . . " it's easy to hold the idea separate from everything. Just some stuff passing through my head. Like logs floating down a river. . .

Be careful, believing ideas as true is a nasty trap common during intermediate stages of awakening.

@kieranperez I saw a video of Adyashanti saying that he continued to train as a competitive cyclist even after he awoken that it was just an identity - that it wasn't real or the true him. He said something to the effect that his mind-body still had to go through a process before it was ready to give up cycling.

The traditional use of "why" doesn't really work here, because the self doesn't make a choice to prioritize truth. The self is transcended. Imagine a character in one of your dreams. Within your dream, does this character chose to pursue truth? Do the dream character chose to wake up? Not in the traditional sense. A higher consciousness wakes up, realizes he was sleeping and that the dream character wasn't real. Asking why some dream characters wake up is an odd question to me. Asking why a higher consciousness wakes up is an odd question. . . Why does someone awake from sleeping? There isn't a reason why. I think the better question is "How?" Similarly, the personality doesn't chose - the higher consciousness becomes aware of itself. IMO, the idea that an illusory self can awaken itself is a major trap and just keeps the self relevant - it keeps the game going.

IME, trying to avoid or repress fear just strengthens it. The self loves to create push-pull dynamics. What if you surrendered to the fear? What would happen if you let go of all control and became willing to experience whatever arose from moment to moment? For me, complete surrender was the key to transcend fear. I had to completely let go of all control and be willing to experience fear nonstop for eternity. At the moment of surrender breakthrough - fear just was. It was no longer good or bad. It was no longer something to hold to or to avoid. Then there is true liberation. Facing it head on is much, much more difficult than conceptualizing about it. The first time my self truly faced terror - and was powerless to stop it - was hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life - by far. Yet, each time my self faces it, surrenders and dies it gets a bit easier. I see so many people seek refuge in spiritual areas that are safe and secure to the self. Yet the deepest transcendence is ALL of it. Absolutely everything. (A major source of the fear is the self's resistance to dying).

For sure. I grew up in a serious Blue environment. I had tons of judgments about people having the wrong kind of fun. I think a lot of it was rooted in the hyper critical environment I grew up in.

Transcendence is a different perspective - it doesn't necessarily mean loss of interest. It means loss of attachment, identification and contraction. I've transcended science, yet still have interest in science. It's amazing how science integrates with art, music, poetry, nature etc. . . It's all great to amuse the personality, yet at the end of the day it's all inherently meaningless.

@Be Yourself That is so beautiful. I love your form of nonverbal expression.

I've done this type of mediation during silent Buddhist retreats. I think it's great in some environments and not practical in some environments.

@Annoynymous It's easy-peasy. . . While you are meditating, observe when you entertain a thought. One of my teachers called it "having tea with your thoughts". Sometimes you can let a thought go, other times you will have tea with your thoughts. Pay close attention. What does that look like for you? A thought arises and the next thing you know. . . you've been thinking for five minutes. What is it about the thought that "catches" you? What is the energy that likes to hold on? Can you just let go of it? Why not? Label it as "thought" over and over and over again. Keep returning to your breath. Observe how the attachment gets weaker. How the thoughts seem further away. . . almost like background chatter in a restaurant. btw, you have been asking questions typical of an actualizer and doing great work

Yes, he was a talented rock climber and semi-professional cyclist. He is brilliant at poking fun at the self. This can relax the personality and allow insights to appear.

@Outer I've listened to them as well. I think they are wonderful for early awakenings.

Doesn't Pantheism still maintain a degree of separation? I.e. there is "me" here and everything "out there" is God. And you have a cool nickname

Very well said. For me, the early stages involved putting cracks into the shell surrounding my personality. For example, I found myself defending my beliefs a lot and getting into debates with people. People would get exhausted and ask "Can we just agree to disagree?". That got me even more energized to get my point across. After a while, it just didn't feel good. Then I started asking myself "Would I rather be 'right' or happy?". This put the first cracks into my personal beliefs. Quite often, my self would answer "I'd rather be happy" and was willing to let go of a belief for the moment. Then, I started looking for where these beliefs came from and if I even believe my own beliefs

Locked by request of OP

I’m trying my best to meet you in Tier1 ? It sounds like you got a glimpse, but it was insifficient. Perhaps an upgrade is needed. I needed to sacrifice my privilege and live within foreign villages for a breakthrough. I think the key question is whether one wants to attach to a contracted personal belief or wants to expand their consciousness.

It’s not “people” it’s oppressive behavior of white people against people of color. It’s all around us. The inability to see it is generally reflective of a privileged bubble. I’ve found that the obvious can be difficult to see and privilege is strongly defended due to identity and desire for security. For me, deeper knowing arose after I lived within poor families in Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Colombia. I lived with people in the Caravan. As well, I was in two relationships with women of color and received direct experience if oppressive behavior. My defense mechanisms were so strong, I could have debated anyone on the issue. I needed the direct experience to penetrate my peiveledge. So, if you want to truley know what this oppressive behavior is, I would recommend getting direct experience. Part of privilege is that one doesn’t have to experience it - they do ‘t have to deal with it. They can debate online from a distance.