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@SoothedByRain Yeah he is right, already started doing the work. Why not it is all One Infinite Love after all. No need to stay in stoic monk mode and to bliss myself out. Yes your work is blissfull too like everything else.

Total hours of spiritual practice: 54 It feels as though the appropriate place to start is with a break down of the map I will be following for said consciousness work. As I mentioned in the previous post, I am focused purely on concentration meditation at this stage. My aim is generalized consciousness work, which will entail flirting with many practices from different beliefs, religions, and cultures. However, to get the ball rolling I’ve decided to nest the foundation of my practice in Theravada Buddhism. To my understanding, there are roughly 3 approaches you can take with Theravada. As there are 3 practices ( Morality, Concentration, and Insight ), and morality is non-negotiable ( From my subjective position ), the 3 choices are as follows. Build a foundation in concentration ( Accessing the jhanas ) as a sort of lubricant for the roller coaster of suffering that comes from insight practice ( Wet insight ). Go straight into insight practice without first cultivating a concentration practice ( Dry insight ). Or, for the talented practitioner, the cultivation of both practices simultaneously ( Damp Insight ??? ). As I am on no particular time restraint, nor do I have any urge or desire to reach any specific goals pertaining to enlightenment. I have decided that the development of a concrete concentration practice would be a beneficial and satisfying place to start. Mainly due to the enticing promises of bliss, rapture, formless states and dare I say it… Siddhis. Of course, taking into consideration the benefits it will bring to my insight practice in the future. It’s worth mentioning that I am being driven strongly by curiosity, which it seems to me is not always the common motive for someone pursuing enlightenment. From my encounters, there seems to be a common theme of suffering that propels many practitioners. While it would be downright dishonest for me to claim I do not suffer. My curiosity has been the driving force in my life ever since I decided to see what would happen If I stuck my head In an egg as a little sperm. Only in my childhood, did adverse experiences begin to impress themselves upon my psyche. Leading to annoying complexes that I watch “myself” act out on a daily basis, followed by the suffering they present. While both are constituents of my drive, curiosity is primary and suffering is secondary. I believe this is important because everything I’ve ever approached from a place of fear ( suffering ) has reflected that as it played out. You may get to the same destination, but the journey is a hell of a lot bumpier. As a very broad overview of my map, which as all wise men will point out, is not the territory. This is what I plan to do… I will maintain my concentration practice for roughly 250 hours at 6 hours a day. Although near the end of this period I will be doing a retreat or two in an attempt to escape the distractions that I can already feel damping the intensity of practice (social interactions and the maintenance of my conventional reality). I hope to have at least reached access concentration by this point ( My definition: Sustained, prolonged attention to the object of concentration ). These first 250 hours will also be accompanied by deep research ( down the rabbit hole type ) on the domains of practice that will follow, providing a conceptual framework of the work ahead. Somewhere during this first 250 hours I will integrate a Kriya yoga practice. I have explored Kriya in the past and experienced interesting results. I have already integrated stretching and Pranayama as a precursor to my concentration sittings. But proper Kriya seems an appropriate addition to add the dimension of energy work. At 250 hours I will transition to insight practice with sprinklings of self-enquiry and contemplative exercises. During this period I plan to play around with tools like fasting, breath work, deprivation tanks, isolation, silence, etc. to amplify the foundational practices. Once I feel as though I have established a very strong basis in insight and self-enquiry, I will begin tinkering with psychedelics ( If I still have the desire to ). While they present miraculous opportunities for deep insights, I am hesitant of their use. I am extremely sensitive to them and often find myself verging more on the side of psychological instability when I push my consciousness expansion too far, too fast. As Carl Jung once wrote… “Is the LSD drug you’re referring to mescaline? It has indeed very curious effects, of which I know far too little. I don’t know either what it’s psychotherapeutic value with neurotic or psychotic patients is. I only know there is no point in wishing to know more of the collective unconscious than one gets through dreams and intuition. The more you know of it, the greater and heavier becomes your moral burden, because the unconscious contents transform themselves into your individual tasks and duties as soon as they become conscious. Do you want to increase loneliness and misunderstanding? Do you want to find more and more complications and increasing responsibilities? You get enough of it. If I once could say that I had done everything I know I had to do, then perhaps I should realise a legitimate need to take mescaline. If I should take it now I would not be at all sure that I had not taken it out of idle curiosity. I should hate the thought that I had touched on the sphere where the paint is made that colours the world, where the light is created that makes shine the splendour of the dawn, the lines and shapes of all form, the sound that fills the orbit, the thought that illuminates the darkness of the void. There are some impoverished creatures perhaps, for whom mescaline would be a heaven sent gift without a counter poison, but I am profoundly mistrustful of the pure “gifts of the gods”, you pay very dearly for them. This is not the point at all, to know of or about the unconscious, nor does the story end here. On the contrary, it is how and where you begin the real quest. If you are too unconscious, it is a great relief to know a bit of the collective unconscious. But it soon becomes dangerous to know more, because one does not learn at the same time how to balance it through a conscious equivalent. That is the mistake Aldous Huxley makes, he does not know that he is in the role of Zauberlehrling, sorcerer’s apprentice, who learned from his master how to call the ghosts, but did not know how to get rid of them again.’e the splendour of the dawn, the lines and shapes of all form, the sound that fills the orbit, the thought that illuminates the darkness of the void. There are some impoverished creatures perhaps, for whom mescaline would be a heaven sent gift without a counter poison, but I am profoundly mistrustful of the pure “gifts of the gods”, you pay very dearly for them.This is not the point at all, to know of or about the unconscious, nor does the story end here. On the contrary, it is how and where you begin the real quest. If you are too unconscious, it is a great relief to know a bit of the collective unconscious. But it soon becomes dangerous to know more, because one does not learn at the same time how to balance it through a conscious equivalent. That is the mistake Aldous Huxley makes, he does not know that he is in the role of Zauberlehrling, sorcerer’s apprentice, who learned from his master how to call the ghosts, but did not know how to get rid of them again.” The above will makes up the bulk of what I have planned so far. However, I’m deeply interested in all the forms of mysticism around the globe. As my research progresses I hope to be able to diversify my practices from both a utilitarian and exploratory standpoint. I am also currently having one reiki session per week with a talented practitioner ( according to my estimation ). Although I’m still uncertain on how energy work functions, and frequently get bogged down by an aspect of my psyche that clings to rationality, using cognitive bias as an explanation for many subjective phenomena. I find these types of consciousness work very difficult to dissect, given their metaphysical nature. However, I will make more of an effort to explore and document these domains in the near future. It is hard for me to leave it out entirely, given the experiences I have had with this avenue. I’m sure the unconditional compassion radiated by the practitioner has a large part to play. I will continue doing this for as long as it is readily accessible. As a final note, this is a very rough and vague draft. Therefore I am almost certain it will change in accordance with the territory that presents itself in coming times and my ever-developing understanding of this work.

That's exactly right, you do need it. God cannot know itself unless it knows suffering. Bliss cannot be known or apprecaited without first suffering. Life would be incomplete without suffering.

@Truth Addict there are truly no words. The feeling of bliss and love cannot be described. And that is how it must be.

@Aakash its normal but remember the fear of death is an illusion and move on. If you are able to Awaken you will experience your own death..and it will be the most beautiful thing you have ever experienced. Unimaginable bliss. After that the deeper your enlightenment gets you will embrace death not fear it.

Don't dwelve into chakras unless you want to awaken. Or follow Leo to awaken yellow and the perspective of the mind. Is something insane to go through the process, remember neo from the matrix? After falling in the suers he rested about a year, because of atrophy. Same is when we awaken, a time of heavy pain will rewind all your live and existance if you let it. That pain is bliss after letting go of the cancer\blockages\personallity one creates in the right side of the skull. The trick is planting the seed into earth, not in the sky, in the literal sense one has to ground sexual energy, not let that energy go dirrectly into the min. It has to open the rabbit hole first.

I'll do that @Anna1 @Preetom The first time I saw the "void" I was so scared that the word fear doesn't describe well what I felt. I was not prepared at all... Now I want to experience that again, and be calm and quiet... I know there's bliss after that.

@Shin ok...actually i can't say that. The first one i had may have been a glimpse then one i had today can be considered that. But i have been experiencing on/off bliss all day..was lingering between states and a little out of it but no backlash or anything. Guess it could be plausible

@Ponder Ponder what have you become conscious of during your mystical experiences? Did you experience bliss? For me Absolute Love = God so when I've had my experiences i felt how powerful Absolute Love is.

I don't know but i wish there were more. I had a mystical experience today and im still feeling the bliss sensation. I see everything as One so crystal clear its heart wrenching. And i can make the shift in consciousness between the finite and the infinite.

@Mikael89 like i said there are no words really to describe the feeling but its Bliss.

@Inliytened1 and the melting dissolving feeling is there in both experiences. Its bliss. Its still in me now. I refer to that feeling as Being.

"Fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge" Actually this is a very important instruction for any serious spiritual journey to begin. Its a religious/devotional way of saying the same thing Advaita considers as a very important first step as well which is having a strong doubt and distaste towards the mundane/conventional reality which one believes in for granted. There is no further inquiry without this vairagya or dispassion. This same message is instructed in the devotional teachings as renounce your busy, stupid, anxious life to God. Stop being an atheist/materialist and start trusting the all powerful force which is God. The fear of God is the fear that consumes all other fears and thus liberates a soul from all fears and anxieties. Similarly, the utter distaste and diapassion towards the transitory sense objects is the distaste that consumes all other distastes and thus fulfills one with infinite bliss of the Self. Basically the same thing told in a slightly different twist. Hope this makes sense

@Jed Vassallo ive talked talked about my awakening many times here..i figured people were sick of hearing about it...right now I'm mobile but when i have more time i will tell you my entire experience. In a nutshell i was meditating doing self inquiry and something happened. A mystical experience. I was immediately thrown into a non-dual state. I became Being. That's not something that can be explained in words. But Being is conscious and aware - as universal consciousness i became conscious instantly of how reality worked in its entirety. I became conscious of Absolute Love and Infinite Intelligence. I was on my knees weeping because i had just become directly conscious of Absolute Infinity as i discussed in this post. Its everything you thought God could be and infinitely more to the point where you are saying Oh my god oh my god. Its infinite over and over and over. I hit about 4 more non-dual states over the next week each more powerful than the last. It was the most amazing thing you could ever, ever "experience". Complete and utter bliss. It is not really an experience it is being God itself. Everything you believed is real becomes recontextualized before your eyes...it literally melts away..a feeling i cant describe. After the experiences which lasted about a week i lingered between states still experiencing unimaginable bliss...which slowly transitioned into suffering ego backlash. I had no sex drive..i was having trouble thinking..depression..etc. This is because i had become God and returned to the Ego. It was a transition and i remember being in between being and myself and not being able to focus. It took work to get my ego back to normal. I know David is going to say...why the hell would you wanna go and do something like that for?

I did recovered from overeating after discovering how to properly give nutrition to the body. Staring with raw animal byproducts like cheese, milk, eggs, honey bee My health, energy and binge eating skyrocket into bliss ane fluidity. Drinking 6 raw eggs at a meal, with some cheese and som milk, any rust feelings in the body Simply dissapeared.

@Preetom it will fall on your lap. And the day it does you will be on your knees saying "oh my god" over and over and over and over while in total and complete divine bliss.

The middle path is as the name suggests. It is living between the two extremes of the world of duality. In duality the two extremes only appear different,but in actuality one carries the other in it,and are dependent on one another for their existence. Also the world of duality is transitory. Nothing is permanent. Take for example pleasure and pain.The very act of seeking pleasure means you're in pain. In the absence of pain there would be no seeking of pleasure. Pleasure itself carries with it the inevitable pain of losing it,due to the transitory,impermanent nature of the world. So pleasure inevitably contains pain.Due to desire and attachment to pleasure, one will seek to experience it for a longer and longer period of time. Thus, one will also be in pain longer and longer when it is lost. This is why the Buddha stated "the world is only suffering." In pain there is suffering,and even in pleasure there is suffering. Nirvana is cessation of suffering. Cessation is inner equanimity,peace,joy. It is (sat-chit-ananda) existence-consciousness-bliss. There is no seeking of pleasure or avoidance of pain and no attachment to whatever comes and go's. To fully see and realize the impermanent and transitory nature of this world will naturally lead one to see the ignorance of attachment to anything. It is also due to seeing this impermanence that one will seek and abide in that which is permanent,unchanging and can never be lost.

@Buba Enlightenment will liberate you from the obsessions but it will only be during the mystical experience. Mystical experience isn't even the right word. The right words are direct consciousnes of God. Being God. Apon return to duality you will linger between states for some time and still enjoy the bliss and the lack of obsessions. But ultimately as you return to the Ego the obsessive thoughts will return..but they will be lessened. You have tapped into Infinite Intelligence. Your consciousness will be raised a thousand fold. But you must continue the work. Make it your life's work and become more and more in tune with Being. The more aligned with God the less the obsessions and the happier you are. Additonal mystical states may be required to completely remove them but it is possible. Afterall, we are talking about Absolute Infinity.

Completely. But traveling on the spiritual path is the way to get back to the wonder, freedom and bliss you experienced in childhood!

Misinterpretation of reality having identified with a body & thinking. Emotions ‘tell’ the Truth, 24/7. That’s their thing. That’s what they do. It’s what they are. Feel them without avoidance, and this is easy & clear, and there is no overthinking, no doubt. Get sucked into a thought story...a cognitive narrative...and the trouble begins. Doubt is weaved. Identification is strengthened. Protection is increased. Vulnerability is further suppressed. Thinking protects you. That’s it’s thing. That’s what it does. Not knowing you were misinterpreting reality, and protecting yourself in the most subtle & clever ways....you then misinterpret the emotional response as well. When done repeatedly / chronically....thinking protectively weaves a narrative which makes it make sense (in the short term). But this “short term” itself then must be repeated to maintain the protection. This is a very taxing, energy draining, creativity zapping lifestyle. Typically the narrative thinking employs is one of two patterns: Life sucks.......then thought content is identified with / believed, emotions (truth) is repressed & avoided. or I suck....then thought content is identified with / believed, emotions (truth) is repressed & avoided. Bottom line is, you can not know about yourself at the level of cognition. So if you doubt yourself (cognitive level), then you are wrong (because you are infinite potentiality, not a describable finite ‘thing’) You then choose to continue being “right”, or, to be vulnerable & relearn the miracle that is your emotional guidance system (God). The first part of “relearning” is purification. Love flushes all your BULLSHIT out. This is triggered by willingness. The second part is contextualization of reality with the emotions involved, respected, and trusted. This is triggered simply by living life. The third part is bliss.

"On Spiral Dynamics Stage Teal" (written by me) (1) 100% Transcendence of the Mind -- including but not limited to transcendence of white-knuckle clinging to metaphysics and white-knuckle clinging to Truth Teal, unlike Turquoise and Coral, has completely (100%) transcended the Mind. Teal has reached Satori (or the Zen Mind). Teal is not white-knuckle clinging to metaphysics or to Truth. This means that Teal is not not clinging to metaphysics or to Truth either. Teal realizes that it's the Mind that clings to metaphysics and to Truth, and Teal has seen through the Mind completely. Teal allows the Mind but is no longer ignorant of the Mind making itself seem more important that it really is -- this includes but is not limited to the Mind making thought seem more important than it really is. Teal is able to live their life without being trapped inside the Mind-Matrix while also picking up the Mind when it's useful to do so and putting down the Mind when it's no longer useful. Teal knows how to do thought without thought doing them. (2) Focus on real relationships rather than abstract metaphysical love Because Teal has transcended the Mind, Teal is not clinging to any concept of metaphysical love. Teal values real relationships however and places their focus on nurturing real relationships that they care about. This doesn't mean that Teal is selfish though. Teal continues to express interpersonal compassion and contribution, but Teal is not clinging to any metaphysical love or abstraction about love being part of Truth or anything like that. That's all white-knuckle clinging by the Mind which Teal is well aware of. Teal is ok with not liking everybody. Teal is also ok with being interpersonally reactive when it's authentic and doesn't try to repress, suppress, or demonize Ego or Ego flare-ups. (See No. 6 below) Teal is very relationship-focused and uses relationships to do personal development work. (3) Authentic expression and authentic being -- full integration of the masculine and the feminine Teal realizes that both masculinity and femininity express itself in all persons. Teal watches their personas change and is mindful of their personas changing throughout the day. Teal can identify when they're in their masculine and when they're in their feminine. Teal is all about authentic expression, healing traumas, reducing shadow, recognizing personas, and following your goose-bumps (or following your bliss) whatever that might be because that's what your Ego-Mind needs to do to grow and to become more authentic (even if your Ego-Mind needs to go in a negative or destructive direction). Teal has integrated both the masculine and the feminine completely (100%). (4) Drops down from the Mind Space into the Heart-Mind Space -- this doesn't mean you lose intellect, you just don't have any ignorance regarding the Mind anymore — this is another masculine feminine integration -- full integration of the Heart-Mind Because Teal has fully transcended the Mind, they no longer have ignorance regarding the Mind. This allows Teal to descend from the heights of the Mind down into the Heart and to integrate both into the Heart-Mind. Teal has integrated the Mind and the Heart completely (100%). (5) Drops down from the Mind Space into the Body-Mind Space — this is another masculine feminine integration -- full integration of the Body-Mind Because Teal has fully transcended the Mind, they no longer have ignorance regarding the Mind. This allows Teal to descend from the heights of the Mind down into the Body and to integrate both into the Body-Mind. Teal has integrated the Mind and the Body completely (100%). (6) Realizes the Ego-Mind has pros and cons -- and doesn't demonize, repress, suppress or deny the Ego-Mind in a black-and-white kind of way Teal doesn't white-knuckle cling to the idea that the Ego is bad or an illusion. Teal doesn't white-knuckle cling to the idea that the Ego is not bad or an illusion. Teal doesn't try to repress, suppress, demonize, or dissociate from the Ego or the Mind. Teal realizes that the Ego-Mind has pros and cons, and Teal wants to maximize the pros of the Ego-Mind while minimizing the cons of the Ego-Mind. Because Teal is relationship and connection driven (real relationships and connections), they are not likely to be as selfish and solitary as Coral. Teal doesn't think they're God because they've transcended this kind of white-knuckle clinging to metaphysics and to Truth. Teal allows both the light side and the dark side of the personality.

@Ponder I used to be the same, i used to embody a similar frequency as well at one point. I still have some aspects that pop up every now but the generalized state of awareness has been significantly influenced but the absolute truth/love in which humbles and allows you to step back in awareness and observe clearly. It has little to do with being in bliss 24/7, its about being in tune with infinite intelligence and being the master observer so you do not fall into unnecessary, unconscious loops that do not allow full potential of the energy matrix within to shine its highest light. In this case you cannot "see" what the master "sees" because you are downloading far too much concepts that are really not necessary and only set you further from the truth of who you are which is simple and divine in nature. The more ideologies and concepts we imbue the more challenging it becomes to see as clearly and to have understanding rather than knowledge which are completely different in themselves when seen with the perspective i am expressing. The Tao Te Ching explains this very well. Nevertheless, its not necessarily a bad thing because we are who we are for a reason and have our unique plays in life but coming from someone who understands the matrix very well, has experienced and come to realize and mastered most of the things talked about on the forums almost a long time ago, the best advice which helps both self and other is = Less is more. The more you fill your subconscious with excess, unnecessary junk, the further from "understanding" you reside. Its easy to know things, the key is to Understand. Knowing and buying into too much ends up deluding Understanding. The most highest and most imaginable concept you can think you are yourself is really nothing compared to who you truly are. In which are still limits of your highest truth. It can only be lived, understood, felt but it cannot be expressed or claimed because soon as you fall into the vibration of "i am this" you have added a filter from your highest truth. The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.

@pluto What you have to realize is that people are unique with unique personalities. I’m the same personality type as Leo (INTP), and we can’t help but conceptualise almost on a moment by moment basis, so it would be inauthentic to not spread our theories or “truths” to others. You may be content to just bliss out on love 24/7 (and more power to ya), but I’m certainly not. You also have to understand that there’s a difference between enlightenment and self-actualisation, and in my (not so) humble opinion, they are equally important. Just some food for thought (but I guess you don’t like thinking, right )

You do realize, right, that life gets infinitely better and better after enlightenment, although every day is the best day simultaneously (the whole mind-matrix consists of dualities ) But once you are in heaven (enlightened), in a relative sense, every day is better than the last. Pleasure on pleasure on pleasure on pleasure for eternity. ETERNITY!!! An enlightened being, at least in my case as my primal sign (look into it), is Taurus, just wants pleasure. Taureans aside, who doesn’t fucking love pleasure. If you could have a never-ending stream of pleasure, would you turn it down? Fuck no. It’s actual BLISS. Like you actually don’t understand. IT’S INFINITELY BLISSFUL. The mind can’t comprehend such states because the mind operates in concepts and not direct experience, but I prophesy that we will all be living the dream (so to speak ), soon enough. The apocalypse is coming, if you can’t see the signs, delusion is clouding your judgment I’m sorry. Not trying to talk down to anyone, just speaking what I know. So buckle up, the apocalypse is gonna be hella fun

Its a trap! Thats how they hunt the poor little deer in the name of freedom, love, peace, bliss and all that good crap