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@Cuzzo I come from a Pakistani family and was raised Muslim, but I'm not a Muslim myself. My post might go off at a tangent at times but I'm just trying to paint a picture for what the religion is as best I can in a short-is time. My knowledge of Islamic history isn't superb but I've been exposed to a lot of it as a child in religious school. Islam as it is practiced today by the majority of followers is based upon a fundamentalist interpretation of the quran. The Quran is believed by the vast majority of Muslims to be the uncorrupted words of God. And it is because of that belief that Muslims will be fundamentalist in how they interpret the Quran. To disagree with the Quran is therefore to disagree with God. That is the view many Muslims hold. After the Quran, the second most important source for Islamic teachings are "Hadiths". Hadiths consist of traditions and sayings of the prophet Mohammad which have been recorded by his followers. Hadiths are very important, as they can shape to a significant degree the Interpratation you take of the Quran. It is from hadith that some nasty things can come into play. For example: Muslim (1:30) - "The Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah." Bukhari (8:387) - Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'. And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally." Different schools of Islam follow different hadiths. Hadiths are not the words of God in Islamic theology. Muslims recognise they have no guarantee that they haven't been corrupted. It is because of this that Hadiths are often rated and reviewed on how reliable they are by looking at the source of the hadith. I think that there is a realitively consistent strict vetting process for which hadith are considered "authentic" and which ones are not. On top the sayings of Mohammad, Islamic figures who lived around and shortly after the time of Mohammad have their sayings recorded. Sunni Muslims will follow the sayings of whom they deem worthy and Shia Muslims follow the sayings of whom they deem worthy. I can't be bothered to go into it now, but Islam split into being Sunni and Shia after Mohammad's death and there was an internal dispute among Mohammad's followers. I've went on off on a massive tangent. Now time to focus on the main questions you were asking. Why is Islam associated with violence, and why is there such a clash in social values between East and West. Even if all Muslims agree to take interpret the Quran literally, there will still be room for disagreement amongst Muslims for how to interpret the Quran. There will be verses in the Quran which talk about violence against disbelievers. However, most Muslims believe that these verses are not what they seem on face value because of context. For example: Surah 9 Verse 5: "And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful" Now, most Muslims will say that this verse is only applicable as instructions to the followers of Mohammad in the situation they were in however many hundred years ago. The verses are instructions to Mohammad and his followers when they were in war with a particular tribe they lived around, and you might then go on to talk about why such actions might be justified as you analyse the exact historical situation. But on the other hand, terrorist groups and extremists will interpret/use this verse as an instruction from God for Muslims in all eras to apply in all situations they find themselves in life. Now even if we are put the murder of disbelievers aside to one moment, you still get Sharia Law from Quran and Hadiths which a very significant portion of Muslims in the world support ( but they will not use violence to impose these laws). Shariah Law isn't this monolithic set of rules, there are many variations to it. However, the set of "nasty" laws you get in the set of different versions Shariah Law are believed by most Shariah Law advocates with little variation. Muslims on the more fundamentalist end of the spectrum have a huge obsession with gurading their religion from heresy and moral corruption. They see their religion as the only true path, and have an extremely low tolerance for changes to the religion. These very fundamentalist Muslims are on guard from Bid'ah, which is Arabic for "innovation" in religious matters. They don't want "innovation" for their religious laws. It is important to note that the essence of the word "innovation" will differ from that of "Bid 'ah". Each of the two words will different connotations in the two languages. If you ever read the Quran from a literal point of view, there are a few messages which are repeated over and over again. The Quran emphasis that the believers will go to heaven, and more importantly, the disbelievers will go to hell. I've read 80% of the Quran, and it gets very boring to read. It's just God saying in 101 different ways that disbelievers are vermin. The overall tone of the book is one of intolerance in my opinion. I believe that from a fundamentalist lens of the Quran, the argument that extremists make for their interpretation is very strong unfortunately. Now, as for a non dual take on the Quran I'll copy and paste what I wrote on a previous topic I made The Quran likes to talk about how those who commit themselves to God are ultimately on the right path and will be rewarded, and those who reject God will only find misery in hellfire. If we take "God" to be the "absolute" (or whatever word you want to insert here) , the nothingness from which everything comes from in your perception, then a take away from reading the Quran might be the idea that those who make a commitment to connect to the absolute (whether it be through yoga, meditation, devotion and etc) will reach heaven, a peaceful state of mind. However, those who are not mindful of and are ignorant of God will ultimately end up going through unbearable suffering (hellfire) as a result of them not connecting to the absolute. People will be trapped in suffering as a result of them not connecting to the absolute. I don't have many thoughts as to what the morality preached could mean. Perhaps the Quran is also trying to say that being charitable and doing other "good deeds" is a way to connect to the absolute, whilst doing "bad deeds" like adultery distances you from the absolute. However, the worst sin you can do in Islam (from a non-dual intepratation) is to not acknowledge that the absolute is there, and to not try to connect to it. A fundamentalist would call this sin "shirk". Shirk is the rejection of the fact that God exists, and that there is only one God. You could interpret this as meaning that the chief sin you can commit is to not recognize that all is one and that there are no boundaries between things, an ultimately non-dual teaching. Provided we are going with a "non-dual" intepration of the Quran, then we ultimately find the Quran is just repeating the same message, over and over again, since it keeps on talking about heaven and hellfire.The Quran likes to emphasise heaven and hellfire to tremendous degrees, more so than the Bible on a whole in my opinion (depends on which part of the Bible as well as though). Whether or not my intepration is separate from the authors' intent or not is unknown to me. Whatever the case, it was entertaining to read. My take away from the Quran is this: those who make the effort to connect to the absolute will find peace, and those who don't try to connect to the absolute will find misery. This is why it's important to set practices in place to connect to the absolute (Muslims like to pray for instance). So what do you make of religious scriptures? I feel as though that the Bible and Quran can only be seen in this light if you already have non-dual ideas about reality. The word "God" has different meanings to people, and it's ultimately a verbal semantic game when it comes to what you make of it. Given the fact that from a non-dual intepratation the Quran repeats the same message over and over game, it perhaps stands to reason that the Quran was written to be interpreted in the way that fundamentalists do so. But an argument about that would ultimately require an examination of history

The issue I have with "No brain " and pure self is if I drink a beer it should have no effect on anything. But it does. And so do drugs. Therefore the nothingness would appear to be a state of mind. That ultimately there is no control over

But they will invariably read and contemplate what you write, as you have come really far compared to many others on this forum. With power comes responsibility. The more you embody nothingness - no-seeking - the more people will seek you out, and look towards you for words of wisdom. You cannot avoid people looking for answers, so why not provide the answers that are questions?

Thoughts and desires are tools, and as with any tool its goal is to become obsolete. If the I is a collection of thoughts and desires, it has to create a self-perpetuating loop to stay alive. I require thoughts and desires to exist. If I did not constantly create problems and goals, I would quickly perish into nothingness. But as my true self is nothingness, by perishing I flourish.

still chewing on this video.. I've had a couple of existential crises since watching it for the first time, also after some trips. and I feel like it was not my last one yet.. I gotta bite the bullet, again and again, deeper and deeper. will it ever end? I love it, bringing Nihilism full circle. nothingness becoming everything <3 me too, I'm so thankful, every day

PRACTICE 2: 10 MINUTES Asking myself what is Knowledge: -Curiosity, ability to change quickly, seeing gaps in one's thoughts. Using the past appropriately and correctly. Listening to cues without superstition. Listening without coming to conclusions. Being patient. Missing out. Who cares. Not ambivalence, but seeing clearly. Not having or needing a choice. Not being distracted. Focusing. Listening. Challenging, when needed. Allowing for Knowledge or itself to arise. Not saying anything. Complete silence and stillness. Brightness openness clarity fearlessness. Love. Discovery. Revealing. Dancing. Pattern. Time. Space. Synchronicity. Luck. Coordination. Management. Savings. Library. Something else. Not repetition. Change. Stillness in change. Unity. Unitariness. Infinity. Zero. Nothingness. Selflessness. Elseness. Something else. How to See. How to Know. How to Hear. How to Listen. How to Learn. How to Know. How to go. Activation. Power. Amazement. Lack of stimulation. Honesty. Compassion. Ability. Adaptiveness. Intelligence.

To me, dreams do not depend on thoughts. It is even a bit too arrogant to suggest so, since the origin of dreams is the same as the origin of the Big dream we are currently experiencing and also the origin of thoughts themselves. It's God, that which cannot be seen, the subconscious that projects to the Atman, the consciousness that you are. And ultimately it's the same thing, because the subconscious is 1 and the Conscious is 0. And the Conscious goes around the subconscious and makes it shine. Maybe due to this belief the subconscious has blocked your consciousness the projection of your dreams, which I can only describe as Gifts. Free lessons if you like. Free experiences, from the Self, messages everywhere to be decoded. It's nice to not have dreams too, means you're dreaming nothingness

Monday, June 25, 2018 Woke up from a dream that involved being abandoned. It brought to my experience an immense amount of pain, I spent a good half hour letting it all out. (relaxing my body as best as I can and sobbing my eyes out) It made me realize that my fear of abandonment is driving a lot of my ego. It likely has for years and years. While non-duality and getting past the ego and a recognition of nothingness are appealing ideas, I haven’t let go of enough yet. I’m still hanging on and I sense that the only way through is to keep letting go. I’ve searched all my life for God, for the Holy Spirit, for a Higher Power. People from various walks of life have commended their own paths. I want this for me. I need to discover for myself. Even if this runs somewhat counter to the ideas presented here, I want to tell myself that I will never leave myself, nor forsake myself. I feel like that is God’s voice. Not God as in a separate entity, but the divinity inside me all along, inside everything.

Leo shares some really amazing practical tips! Been applying them for a while and the results are obvious. My perspective on life and the way I see everything (including the illusion of self) changed big time. Thanks, Leo! I usually combine these guidelines with "The Present", a text that expands a bit more on the nature of self (nothingness), the mental distractions, etc. Very powerful combination; I'd definitely suggest it to everyone.

Everytime I meditate, I can get to a state where thoughts are almost gone very quickly. Then I feel a slight bliss inside, I think I feel the taste of the essence of being, my body starts to feel lighter. I start to slowly let bit by bit of myself go to be consumed by nothingness. Then fear arises, the heart starts to go faster, anxiety crawls up, i need to breath, I cant let go any further. Am I really on the edge of ego death? Is this really the reason why fear comes up? It sure feels like just fear of losing myself.

Bufo revealed my voice "aha, Aha, AHA! Of course. Of course. Yes..." These are the words that appeared in my consciousness as I was slipping into Nothingness. It was the last thing I experienced. I said them in my own voice! A deep deep voice that I don't use usually, but which was so much me. Today as I was stretching I let out a sigh which came in this voice again. My true voice. And I remembered Bufo again.

indeed, I have been depressed in the past, this is different, its not a sad or depressed kind of tired, its just a tired end of the road thing, time to rest , it feels like ill finally be able to rest, to die while I live, an inner death as my family and friends died as they dissolved into life it only makes sense my turn would come as well? I hope so dearly I deeply crave this inner death, this gentle falling into nothingness, im really sick of the games, the infernal wheel of seeking , the endless fears and conflicts it feels like im the only one left and I stand in my own way I seriously welcome my own death

@Ether when you stumble upon that realisation it's not just a concept you are telling yourself, is it? You're not asking what am I and then answering "I'm nothingness" are you?

I think I might be nothingness. Im not sure but I had some experiences. Our true nature exists when we are not thinking. Its a real thing, its apart of the 5 senses. So, it cant be a thought\mind made thing. We cant rely in our mind to tell us what we are, it must be experienced without it. Words dont exist in a certain sense. Words were created. Created by men and created where? In the mind! Its not like nature already birthed those words. No, cavemen couldnt talk and if you go to an online dictionary you will see the origin and date of the word, so, it was created. We cant be words then. The only thing that stays without thought is our body. We dont have an identity.

@How to be wise ??? why? That's a bold judgement. There comes a point, when have been reading, watching and participating in so much 'self help' stuff, that you realise there is only life, only now, only nothingness or everthingness. This is it. (<~ read; hours and hours of daily of meditation to realise this) That doesn't mean there's no room for inspiration or life purpose, quite the contrary (it's a strange loop ???), I experience lots of room for creativity, work and inspiration from 'self help' stuff like Byron Katie ?, Leo's videos or any other courses. But another book or course doesn't make a differents in my life anymore. It's like a patch of the elephant and not the whole animal. But I am still curious what's your opinion on which part of the elephant Sadhguru vs Leo's booklist is more valueble and why? I hope you find your life purpose soon, best of luck! ?

i think about the neverending story again how nothingness eats up the ivory tower. it's sad but there will be a new story. and a symbole like the statue of liberty. it has always been there waiting for us to see it. if we manage to understand the ivory tower as something we have built in our phantasy. with our phantasy.

If by god head you mean beyond the mind and all thinking, like a samahdi state, yeah you can't stay there forever whilst you have a human form, in fact it's recommeneded not to cling onto that state either. But you can be constantly present, like most gurus, Echhart Tolle, Sadhguru, etc. You can be grounded in the nothingness/emptiness/stillness as the foundation of all things, before you see maya playing very consistently, At that point you're both the emptiness that never changes, and all the activity present that is always changing.

if we manage to connect both and think in collage we are able to cope with almost any situation we are confronted with. self actualization is a basic and very important foundation for it. life purpose, too. but we are living in society it's almost impossible to step out of it while being part of it. we can only take part by taking part in it. learning from each other, learning from our own faults. constantly adapting adapting, growing growing into what we want to be, achieving what we want the world to manifest into. like davinci's vitruvian man, like the body models of the ancient cultures. like they wanted to build healthy homes, making the world into a healthy home. maybe we all have to face nothingness for that. if it eats us up internally and externally, we all have the choice to organize ourself. finding the best way possible to coap with it. being selfresponsible. like children learning to walk, falling down, standing up again. learning to walk by starting to walk. some still need a helping hand, others are grown up enough to walk on their own. as i myself always try to stay a child in my heart, i'll always try to find help in the encouraging eyes of someone around me. i now just don't need to trust in all their words anymore. and i try to laugh about it when they look mischievous uppon me. the moment i know i can hold the world up - and i'll trust in myself, i can walk without looking for others. because then i will have stopped walking and start standing and holding. on my shoulders the generations that come after me. individually that means if the burden gets to high, we have to let go sometimes and look for what we are holding up. if we are holding up nothingness we might have to start walking again. or we look where there is something worth holding up, someone standing alone and start helping. we can hold up a shield, too. we can hold up knowledge and truth, and whole systems and business. but our legs and arms have to be strong enough, usually we need others to hold with us. and sometimes we are the only ones standing left who know the path, looking around seeing everyone just holding nothing. then we have to start doing something. there is no one there to tell us what to do, only our hearts and our heads and our body in the reflection of life. when we start doing though, we have to connect the dots, building new streams in our head. interact communicate with the world finding out what's worth living for. until we act uppon our thoughts and consciousness and hearts with the whole body, it's all just beautiful phantasy.

@Highest Don't do it! In your case I have the feeling it could be toxic. Solitude is not healing in and of itself. It can be a preferred environment for contemplation but only for someone who has a variety of experiences to choose from. When you watch Leo's videos be aware that he is someone who does "self-improvememt" for many years! The techniques he uses require a lot of experience. Dedication doesn't make up of training, you see? You can't lift 500 pounds with will power! If you want to change your life, that's great!! Be honest with yourself: what do you want? Because it sounds to me that you are suffering inside and hope that the solitude will cure that suffering - it won't. Solitude for the rest of your life (Dude!) would be for someone who wants to be alone to sit in the infinite bliss of being. Rather than extracting yourself from the world, be in it! Realize, that it is NOT the cause of your pain and there is no need for seperation. Masturbation, internet whatever is NOT the problem! The problem is that you use these things to distract yourself from your suffering. So my advice: be brutally honest with what you want! Sure, in forums like this people talk a lot about nothingness and Samadhi and what have you. And though it is interesting to know about these things it is important to act according to YOUR OWN level of consciousness. So ask yourself what you want: Girls? Money? Travelling? Reading? Making New friends? Then go after that! It will eventually lead you back to where you think you are now, but now in sync with your level of consciousness. The work that is discussed in this forum is not an escape, it's a confrontation. All best, take care of yourself!

Raw reality is that, Nothingness, Consciousness, Absolute Truth, and Unchanging Awareness ( as @Joseph Maynor says). Beliefs are only applicable in the dream world but enlightenment means getting out of it and realising that life is like a dream. So yh, if u want to realise truth, No belief is true, and you should question your beliefs. For functioning in the world you do need beliefs. The only difference would be you wont believe your belief if your enlightened. I dont if that makes sense. Self is a funny thing. It is like: (Believing in your life story which consists of attachements + memories etc) + (knowledge) = self

It was posted this morning. It's about nothingness.

It has been 2 years since I was "done" as Jed Mckenna would call it. I would like to share some observations I have noticed. I know it is hard to believe someone is really done and you are at a leisure to believe whatever you want. This post would be worth it if it could help anyone. So here are the observations: These effects have remained permanent 1)The mind mostly stays generally empty or a distance is established between awareness and mind. There is no more identification with the mind. 2)The Body feels very light 3)The memories feels like only a heap of perceptions belonging to no one as there is no self left 4)The sense of self has expanded from being in the body to being everywhere 5)There is a natural flow to life. No more obstruction. 6) Continuously have to consciously pretend when I am talking to people. Consciously pretending generally goes on autopilot 7)The feeling of no self is like completely nothing being everything 8)Everything feels very ordinary and magical at the same time 9)Permanent death awarness 10)As the ego is not the self anymore, it is more adaptable and changeable 11)The questions have completely disappeared. There is no more seeking 12)Nothing is taken seriously. Life becomes a play 13)The only think I Know is I AM. Nothing is known other than this. Every other question can be negated as they are just based on assumptions 14)Total acceptance of the present moment. No more resistance 15) Free will seems to exist but belongs to nobody 16) Feels like Infinite Nothingness is all there is 17) Every moment feels fresh and new 18) SENSE of space and time are gone

For the i to seek truth is self deception. If the i seeks ultimate reality that is itself an illusion. The i Seeking an ultimate awakening/enlightenment is an illusion/delusion. Experience implies thought/things. Nothingness implies a cessation of experience.

1)The mind mostly stays generally empty or a distance is established between awareness and mind. There is no more identification with the mind. 2)The Body feels very light 3)The memories feels like only a heap of perceptions belonging to no one as there is no self left 4)The sense of self has expanded from being in the body to being everywhere 5)There is a natural flow to life. No more obstruction. 6) Continuously have to consciously pretend when I am talking to people. Consciously pretending generally goes on autopilot 7)The feeling of no self is like completely nothing being everything 8)Everything feels very ordinary and magical at the same time 9)Permanent death awarness 10)As the ego is not the self anymore, it is more adaptable and changeable 11)The questions have completely disappeared. There is no more seeking 12)Nothing is taken seriously. Life becomes a play 13)The only think I Know is I AM. Nothing is known other than this. Every other question can be negated as they are just based on assumptions 14)Total acceptance of the present moment. No more resistance 15) Free will seems to exist but belongs to nobody 16) Feels like Infinite Nothingness is all there is 17) Every moment feels fresh and new 18) SENSE of space and time are gone 19)There is no more existential suffering 20)Emotions come and go, you witness them without identification 21)An easiness or simplicity to life 22)Feeling like whole word is your home 23) No more psychological fear 24)A feeling of constant state of Samadhi without any high 25)Psyche is completely destroyed and then rebuild, it is like learning everything from scratch 26) Cannot confuse any belief for Absolute Truth 27)A feeling as if you were never born 28) A constant state of Happiness without being condition dependent 29)Always in a constant meditative state 30)Neurosis is not an issue anymore 31)The body still has needs but you don't identify them as your needs 32)A quality of grace and stillness has entered life 33)There is no need to make things right. Life is perfect as it is. Even if you do something to change something, life still stays perfect just like before 34)Nothing can effect you at your core. It is like a flame burning that cannot be extinguished 35)There is no ups and downs, life is like a gentle stream flowing 36)Everything unfolds seamlessly. There is no purpose to life but it is more like your purpose is revealed to you slowly 37)Beliefs are transcended. Truth is realised at a level beyond belief. A maya free state is established permanently 38) Unable to hate or dislike someone. It is not possible because the illusion of separateness has been vanquished completely

It’s nothingness. Not the nothingness of an empty black box. Not the nothingness of deep space. Not the nothingness of being devoid of motivation or emotions. Just nothingness. I seem to get the insights more of how I’m not my personality and history, but the insight of how I’m not even my body somehow takes some time for me. Without this, I can’t seem to get the idea of how I’m one with other people. I’ve gotten instances of it before, but to maintain it is something else. To the others, hmm. . . I’m familiar with much of what you’re saying, but this particular insight I have trouble with.