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@Thought Art I was not answering the question. Just because first there are no persons and second or you are awake or asleep there aren't degrees. Each morning you don't say I don't know if I'm awake or not. Knowing this understanding of the question, I answered what the person that was asking desired to be answered. The person who embodied more divine powers and was awake. He wasn't interested in his wisdom, just in what was showing to the world, I asume because he also wants to be "a person awakened" and then be a powerful person in that superior state of awakening. Understanding all this, just gave him what he wanted. But if you ask me, there is no difference between an awakened being and an asleep being, rather than the one that himself belives to be in; that doesn't add anything to Unity.

@The_Alchemist Because you are blind and are asuming what people should do or not do when they see. Until you see, you won't understand. Lot's of saints, after a full awakening they keep living, they don't see any problem in people being awakened or not. It's the divine plan, they love all existance so much that they wouldn't change anything. Again, apes without hair tend to assume a lot about things they don't know. Just watch scientist talk about what was before the big bang. So please be more humble, because by all that are here, it is seen that spirituality in you is just an egotistical desire. It is just another form of masturbation, while thinking you are waking up you are only getting more and more asleep. That is why you are getting all this answers. So please, I encourage you to take seariously the pathless path, be humble, be kind and do not only understand at a mental level: because if only you experienced a glance of all what u talk with that much confidence you would turn crazy. Be humble, be kind, be loving. Have a nice day!

Hi guys. This is rather an odd question that my friend asked. 'I kind of know I'm ot the ego, but still for some reason I can't be fully awakened all the time'. 'My guru said that it's because I love myself too much. How do I stop wanting to love myself? When I see the Earth or just big crowded places, I kind of become afraid of how actually meaningless and small I really am. It absolutely terrifies me. I always want to be recognized as superior and this will is driving my life. And because of this I feel like hating myself more and more every day. I'm so narcissistic but I can't help myself!' I laughed at her being over dramatic. But have all of us let go of our ego image? Are we too, afraid of the emptiness? How do we stop this?

God (Adonis, also Hero) Whether a great worldly power or a great physical specimen, the God archetype represents the ultimate in male dominance. On the positive side, a God can be benevolent and compassionate, willing to use his powers to help others out of love for humanity. The shadow God easily becomes a dictator or despot, oppressing others with those same powers, or using his physical attractiveness to get what he wants without ever returning the affection he elicits. To claim this archetype among your support circle of twelve, you need to have a life-long sense of great power, used either selfishly or selflessly. You may feel a powerful connection to a particular deity, so here are a few from the Roman/Greek: Jupiter/Zeus: father god, head of the pantheon Bacchus/Dionysus: wine and revelry Mars/Ares: war Neptune/Poseidon: the sea Pluto/Hades: death and the underworld Goddess (also Heroine) The oldest religious tradition on earth may well be Goddess worship, which some archaeologists trace back further than 30,000 years. It was certainly natural to worship the archetype of woman as the Source of all life, especially in the age before male warriors replaced Her with their combative sky gods. The connection of fertility with exaggerated sexual attributes found in ancient statues of the Goddess survive in modern worship of screen goddesses such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. The Goddess can be inspiring to women, embodying wisdom, guidance, physical grace, athletic prowess, and sensuality. This aspect is awakened by our relation to the goddesses of various spiritual traditions, including Kali, Durga, and Uma in India, Tara in Tibet, Quanyin in China, and the many manifestations of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in Western belief, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. The shadow side of the Goddess emerges from the exploration of the feminine power, including the exploitation or over-indulgence of movie stars and fashion models. Identifying with a goddess figure as a major archetype in your chart requires that you review life-long associations with the image and personality associated with it. Athena is the able-bodied warrior woman as well as the classic “powerful woman behind the throne.” Today we see this power re-emerging in popular form in neo-mythic characters such as Xena the Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer–attractive women who are also strong and capable. The energy of Venus (Aphrodite) is prevalent in women who form their self-image strongly around their sexuality. Study the specific qualities of each goddess and evaluate how much of your sense of self is reflected in one of those patterns, beginning with a few of the most familiar names from the Roman/Greek pantheon: Venus/Aphrodite: love and fertility Diana/Artemis: nature and hunting Minerva/Athena: strength, clear thinking Ceres/Demeter: motherhood Juno/Hera: queenship and partnership Proserpina/Persephone: mysticism and mediumship Sophia: wisdom Gossip (also Networker)Guide (Guru, Sage, Crone, Wise Woman, Spiritual Master, Evangelist, Preacher) The Guide takes the role of Teacher to a spiritual level, teaching not only the beliefs and practices that make up established religions, but also the overarching principle of seeing the Divine in every aspect of life. Clearly you do not have to be a professional Preacher or Guru to have this archetype, as we can all learn to lead others spiritually through developing our own intuitive spiritual awareness and passing on whatever we have learned with genuine humility. To count this archetype as part of your support group, however, you will need to discern in your life a continuing pattern of devoting yourself to teaching others from your own spiritual insights. This presupposes that you have gained wisdom through some combination of self-disciplined practice and study and perhaps spontaneous spiritual experiences. Wisdom also comes with age, and so the Crone or Wise Woman represents the ripening of natural insight and the acceptance of what is, allowing one to pass that wisdom on to others. The shadow aspect of the Guide is visible in many modern televangelists and gurus of various traditions who are more interested in financial gain and controlling their followers than in imparting genuine spiritual insight.

this movie is about a man who's bloodline traces back to one of the primary figures in a creed of assassin's 500 years prior, that fought against the corruption of man and continually fought to prevent the kings of men getting what's called the apple of eden (a transcendental sphere with God like power to control all of free will). He gets captured by his ancestors' enemies and put into a reality simulator called the animus which synchronises him with his ancestors memories (which are allegedly stored in his DNA/blood) and he relives really cool periods of.his ancestors life. The apple.still exists and it's location is hidden somewhere in the main characters memory (his connection with his past ancestor). What you realise soon is that every time he syncs with his assassin ancestor, he's actually waking his ancestor up within himself and they become one, awakened in his body. Then after his ancestors senses his from the past, and enters the main characters mind. The main character starts "hallucinating" without the machine and hears his ancestors speaking to him as the barrier between projection and reality fade Super cool movie. Very cool lense to look at it through.

Hey Guys, I was thinking A LOT whether to share this or not, but in the end I can't NOT try to share this. If THIS community can't hear this message, then none will. So please, keep an open mind. If this is a bit longer post, I'm sorry, but you don't have to read it ;-). The thing is, that I wanted to get enlightened or awakening or whatever you call it, because I've heard about it from Leo. It is amazing isn't it? And I'd been a "seeker" since that time (almost a year ago). I was amazed by how intriguing the idea was, that the self does not exist, etc. It is plain mind blowing and my mind was blown away and still is. I had started doing some self inquiry work, and meditation, but somehow, I couldn't make it stick, so I didn't make a habit of any of those, I've done them couple of times, 20min/day meditation for a month, but that's about it for my actual practice. About 2 weeks ago, I've decided, that after all this slacking, it is time to commit myself to the spiritual path, so I've been going through the Leo's book list, to find some books to order and listening to his reviews. Among others, I've stumbled upon his recommendation for "The Book of Undoing" by Fred Davis, in the review he said that he had a session with this guy and he's the real deal, so I've looked him up on Google and found his website Awakening Clarity Now. And on the website he claims that he can wake you up today, in one session. I thought that it is completely outrageous, that it is much more complicated than that, but I thought what the hell, if he's enlightened, he probably knows better than I do. I've checked out couple of videos on his YouTube channel, he seemed valid and decided to go for an awakening course, which he offers on his website as an alternative to a much more expensive one-on-one session. So long story short, I've had an awakening after the second video of this course (each video is 2 hours long). Before and during watching it, I was constantly afraid and nervous that it won't work, but this guy "could wake up a rock" :-D. So why am I telling you this? You don't need years of meditation and self inquiry to wake up. Not that any of that stuff is bad, not at all (it is even more useful post-awakening), but as long as you plan on getting awakened in the future, it is just a story and will not happen. This guy I'm talking about have already woken up HUNDREDS of people, and I'm really not overestimating. His method is the ultimate no-bullshit direct approach, with real results. Are you asking, why he is not widely known? Because he is not the mainstream convenient thing? Because people seek for the sake of seeking and not for ACTUALLY finding the truth? I really don't know. As far as you're concerned, I could be making all this up, right? Or just pitching his teachings or whatever, doubt is a good thing. But if you can doubt this thing, are you wise enough to doubt your own assumptions about what should enlightenment be like? If you really are into this enlightenment thing, and mean it REALLY seriously, consider checking this guy out. Can't hurt ya can it? :-) Alright, I'm out of here, I did my best to convey this message, can't say I didn't try. Love you all, Adam

Well, I much prefer the question of "why", to the question of "so what"~ but the answer would be the same, Breakingthewall! I had a thread called "So What" on the daobums forum, but I haven't been able to locate it. Some of my threads here on the Actualized forum are adapted from topics previously published on other venues, but this one (The Essence of Reality) was started from scratch just a few days ago. The "curtain" is one's own mind not seeing in terms of selflessness. Dropping the façade of the personality's habitual perspective (unbeknownst to anyone else) draws the "curtain" aside. One doesn't act differently than ordinarily. One's own mind (no different than that experienced in the Absolute) is the nature of "who", seeing by virtue of the created conditional scene before the person. The "person" is not one's absolute identity, yet "who", is not something else either. Awareness is itself "who." "Who" be you. That's your own mind right now. The alternative is ordinary delusional bondage in karmic rounds of birth and death based on habit-consciousness. Either there is no habitual self-referencing inner dialogue accompanying sensory perception, or there is. Inner observation of self-reifying thought and/or open consciousness in turn, this 24/7 observation is called continuous subtle concentration. One's unbending intent maintaining the practice of continuous subtle observation is the basic method of self-refining practice. Formal meditation regimens carried out by beginners are only an introductory exercise for entering into authentic self-refining practice in the midst of ordinary situations. It is a huge mistake to consider zazen meditation as the pinnacle of solitary "spiritual" life. It may very well be, but unless such practice is "proven" in the context of real situations, it is a relatively powerless method of comfort. It is not an illusion that we live as separate individuals, but in dealing with everyday ordinary situations, conditioned activity is comprised of the sensory habits of ordinary people, or else the subtly non-reifying open consciousness maintained by those who dispense with self-conscious interaction with the situational environment and proceed with the forward step in full acceptance of one's inherent spiritual function of enlightening being. The illusion of time can actually be manipulated, in terms of oneself. Just consider the way time is experienced when brushing one's teeth in a hurry compared to how long it takes to boil an egg. So, the manipulative aspect of illusion is really not a barrier at all as it is all there is to work with, and so, strictly speaking in the context of enlightening self-refining practice, we use it beyond any discriminatory perspective of personal gain in terms of habitually complacent opportunism. So, in that sense, we use illusion for the purpose of self-refinement by not using it. We use it constructively in terms of self-refinement by exercising our initially faint ability to see the situation before us without habitual employment of selfish pattern-consciousness. There is nothing wrong with selfish pattern-consciousness, per se— it's the habit-energy that is the problem. There is nothing wrong with personal gain. It's just that habitually complacent opportunism being selfish activity does not serve to diminish the illusion of the false identity of the psychological apparatus that is usurping the functional power of one's natural inherent enlightening potential. The essence of reality just is. Those partaking of its potential already had that potential in terms of the situational milieu, but were unaware of it and only began to explore its potential at some point in their lives. Those who are still unaware of the essence of reality are just unaware and therefore unable to access the potential of the essence of reality. It does not change reality. This is the point: reality does not change. Illusion changes and the ignorant change along with illusions. Enlightening beings see Change and go along or not consciously. But in seeing Change, one absorbs its potential dynamically without being caught up in karmic momentum as created energy. As I mention from time to time, it is necessary to work with what is the same. If one works with polluted, creative energy by seeing potential as created things, or else works with psychosomatic energy in the various body-aware methods of so-called "inner alchemy" and other sexually-transmitted grafting techniques, still, all one has accomplished is relative to the created, and the created is nothing but birth and death— no matter what the temporary benefit is conceived of. On the other hand, in seeing the essence of reality by virtue of recognizing the inherent potential of illusionary, created cycles in terms of situational karmic evolution, one not only absorbs its potential for further spiritual evolution, but one also diminishes influences of karmic retribution and further dissolves accumulated accretions of karmic residue cloying the aperture of perpetually upwelling incipient potential (Dharma-eye). Yes, the secret of spiritual realization is simply "evolving" in terms of refining away the conditional aspect of habit-energy (karmic momentum). "Evolving", per se, is only a matter of discovering what's already completely intact without ever having originated. Pablo Picasso said , “We have invented nothing new”, after seeing the ancient cave paintings at Lascaux, France. “After Altamira, all is decadence.” The paleolithic "Stone Age" is an immensely long prehistoric period of time in which people were being people, same as ever. We have invented nothing new, other than the tools of "progress" which keep us occupied in the realm of convenience by virtue of all-consuming technological manipulations and processes— not that I'm complaining… Enlightening activity absolutely does not save on suffering— in fact, it faces it fearlessly; "neither courting honor nor avoiding ignominy." So, in terms of "why", it's just a matter of realizing and exercising enlightening potential by virtue of the natural essence of reality or else striving to maintain one's ignorance of that very same nonoriginated unconditional nature underlying the conditional illusion, albeit unawares. The conditional and the unconditional are the same, in essence, whether one knows it and acts like it or not. Reason is essential for this side (in terms of this side) for those unaware of reality. For those who are aware, there is no "side" to speak of: it's all the same. Nevertheless, enlightening activity adapts enlightenment to conditions, and such activity isn't void of situationally contextual "reason". Ordinary people do not know of enlightening activity, one way or the other— even while accomplishing such virtuous adaption. Those awakened to potential do not have a monopoly on "enlightening" activity. Action independent of thought relative to self and other, only deployed by virtue of spontaneous sensitivity to situational potential IS enlightening activity. Enlightening activity is absolutely inconspicuous, as it "makes sense" in terms of the situation. This is because potential is itself inherent in the created situationally karmic cycle comprising the situation in the first place. The "other" side isn't somewhere else and isn't even something else at all. It's just a matter of dropping the habitual self-referencing perspective one perpetuates from birth, and awakening to what is, without perpetuating personalistic views of self and not-self 24 hours a day. Just this is authentic meditation. Just this is the day-job of enlightening beings harmonizing enlightenment to conditions. ed note: swap out five words at end of 7th paragraph

I've been thinking about this for a bit since the need to survive leads to a lot of devilry in the world. Then I thought of animals trying to survive and noticed that they do it differently. They do it gracefully, spontaneously. In fact, survival is a dance of consciousness, so it can't be condemned entirely. So then I noticed that there's two types of survival. Physical survival, and egoic survival. If you're keeping your body alive and you're awakened, it's not necessarily selfish since you'd actually be a blessing to everyone else around you. Fueling the ego's need to survive is what's selfish. Thoughts?

It's just seemingly important for me to point out that the "neo-advaita" way of thinking can replace your old paradigm with a new "awakened" paradigm. If you apply the nothing matters paradigm in your day to day life you might find that it isn't suitable for your relationships, goals and other stuff. Maybe it is suitable, what do I know. What I meant with half truth is getting stuck at viewing things in a certain kind of way, when really, reality is not in any way at all. I know what you might think, you might think that I don't get it or that I'm still yet to wake up or something, maybe your right, but what I'm saying is to remember that "normal" life is BOTH real and unreal, to give the real the space to have meaning, purpose and value and to know still that it really doesn’t.

@StateOfMind Great question I feel for you and understand your frustration. I also understand you are actuality just asking one big multipart question but please know it beckons a big multipart answer. For starters, and this is the kind of dare I say crap pat answer I normally try to avoid, but your specific wording and context calls for it; You do just exist as God, but you simply don't realize It. Next, you do not have to do anything to realize You are God except awaken to Reality. In fact, when You do realize this it will seem to whatever is left of your ego that it was always amazingly obvious and you may muse, "why didn't I realize this sooner?!" The big "Why" question can be somewhat satisfactorily and accurately answered by what a couple here have said already; God is playing in form, yet this is far more profound than playfulness purely for fun, although awsome fun it is. This next insight many who think they know or think they cannot know may disagree with, but it is what I have awakened to on "Why" after nearly three decades of intense spiritual exploration. As well established here and in many a sage and wisdom tradition, God is the One, alone. Please understand I write this as a staunch Monist from all points of Being, transcendent experience, theory, and practice. The "Why" is that God, out of pure Self-Love, is engaged in developing It's most perfect Creation: God Itself. This is done outside space-time in a singularity that is everything we experience as space-time. All existence as we know it as human creatures is what is contained within the event that I model as a kind of Divine Cosmic mitosis. Our seeming universe, selves, and Everything is an evolutionary building process within an infinitely complex system that is God becoming God. We and all of perceived existence are: God in training, God growing, God replicating, God teaching God and learning to Be Itself. What implications, if any, does this have on Nonduality, Oneness, etc? I sincerely feel that as God we are in somewhat unexplored depths of Consciousness and are very much looking forward to finding out perhaps again and again now then and when. In the eternal-infinite realm of the formless, forever and now are the same, so happenings as singularities with instant beginning-endings are basically impossible to well describe in a conventional rational way. In human terms, it's likely going to be a Very long time before some seeming material thing (humans will be long extinct) can know, if any material thing can ever know (the completion of the process in space-time is likely the end of the game of this preceived material Universe for All Existence). So anyhow, this is why the fuck it is this way, and it's amazingly, awesomely, joyfully fun when it is no longer frustrating.

There is no problem (beyond one's habituated clinging to psychologically referenced rational dualistic intellectualism), because the actuality is that nothing doesn't exist. "Absence having no precedent" means there is no "nothing". There is no "it" to have something (or not) beyond (it). This is not a philosophical word-game. What this proves (by my description) is that nothing (no things) and not-nothing (things) are BOTH part of the dual nature of the created karmic realm and do not imply any aspect of intrinsic reality. Why? Because thingness and nothingness are both illusion. This means they do not exist in terms of absolute nature. In terms of the Absolute, there is no relative factor. That's why it is called the Absolute. The homeland of nothing whatsoever is void of "nothing" as well. The absence of absence is what proves the reality of enlightenment in terms of the absolute. In the ancient Sanskrit description of Shunyata (emptiness), found in the classic prose of the Heart Sutra, there is a mantra which surpasses the philosophic emphasis implied by the literal meaning encompassed by the term "shunyata": [Om] gate gate paragate parasamgate [bodhi svaha]. This translates as gone, gone, beyond gone, gone beyond. Obviously, there is no limit imposed by "emptiness" at all, much less by the "unlimited." Why? Emptiness, as such, does not exist in reality. Why? Emptiness as a factor of the Absolute would imply non-emptiness as well, and this simply is not the nature of reality, nor its essence. In this sense: "Beyond" is a relative term. The "unlimited" is not a thing. The absolute is actually experienced as is, being your selfless immortal beginningless aware nature without inside or outside. There is no nothing to begin with. Really. Reality has no limit. "The limit of the limitless" refers only to the inconceivable capacity of the nature of human awareness, which is unborn. True, there is no dimension— but your conception of this seems to be an actual point in space. "The unlimited", to use your term, has no distance. In other words, space is not a matter of breadth or expanse, nor is it (I can assure you) cramped. Why? There is no inside or outside. Aside from the nature of inconceivability, undifferentiated unity is just that: complete, whole, perfectly formless, beyond dimensionality. You will just have to experience it for yourself. Therefore: is trapped in intellectual reasoning which is simply the wrong tool to encompass the fact that there is no thing. "No thing" includes its dualistically implied nothing, as well. There is no thing. There is no dimension and no thing without dimension, no emptiness, no point, no beyond the imaginary point, etcetera. I only mentioned the reference to "beyond the limit of the limitless" so people would not be mistaken that the homeland of nothing whatsoever, in terms of "sudden enlightenment" is the ultimate limit of the absolute. Spontaneous selfless insight into the nature of the absolute is not defined (not limited) by sudden realization. The limitlessness of human being's selfless spiritual nature implies a profundity beyond the personality's psychological apparatus, but the extent of the spiritual (nonpsychological) nature of human being is only a very small and inconsequential aspect of the inconceivable nature of the Absolute. There is no end to delusion, but the absolute has no beginning because the Causeless is nonoriginated. THIS is your nature. It is necessary to dispense with intellectualism in order to experience reality— both before and in the aftermath of the sudden. When the psychological apparatus of the being that is going to die finally craps out, there you are, selflessly aglow. The whole point of authentic teaching divulging authentic practice of the Celestial Mechanism is that (hopefully) you will experience the absolute nature of reality (being your own mind) BEFORE you die. When you die, it's too late. Anybody can see the absolute when they die, but seeing reality requires that you are alive in your body and functioning in everyday ordinary situations in order to absorb delusion's unrefined potential for further refinement void of intellectualism by virtue of having awakened to your inherent enlightening function in the first place!! As for: As a manner of speaking, it is said that "the one bifurcates into the two and the ten thousand things manifest therefrom, but, in reality, the absolute does not precede the relative in terms of time. If it did, the absolute would be relative to time, and it's not. In terms of the absolute, there is no time in the same way there is no emptiness (no nothing). In the same way, the absolute and the relative are the same in terms of reality: they don't exist. That's why existence (illusion) is a mystery. It just is. The absolute is not a mystery. That's why it is said that Suchness is neither ordinary nor holy. In the same way, Dogen said "wood does not turn into ashes." Wood is wood and ashes are ashes. Dogen's (or my) writing may not help matters, but the fact is, the absolute and the relative are the same, not different, in terms of reality. How else would one endeavor to absorb potential (uncreated) from within the midst of delusion (created)? If it weren't the case, there would be no basis in reality for authentic teaching having been left behind by all prior illuminates in order to keep the knowledge alive. The real is only found by virtue of the false. They are the same for those who see reality. Those who see reality, see reality because… This means that by virtue of the real knowledge of "nothingness" being identical to "something" without generational attributes, one transcends creation. Since you yourself see in terms of karmic duality being generational birth and death, you follow creation along in terms of the laws of karma. What you see is what you get because karma and liberation are both a matter of the nature of one's selfless clarity in terms of pure awareness (or not). The clear rises and the opaque sinks. Awareness does as awareness is. If you don't see reality you go along with illusion. It's just the way it is and no one knows why…❤︎ I failed to acknowledge my appreciation of your deep comments contributing to this thread at the beginning of this post, Breakingthewall— before creating the first quote-box. I don't know how to place text above the quote-box once I create it~ I'm sorry!! …and you are most welcome, Awayfarer❤︎!! ed note: add 2nd half of 7th paragraph

@Leo Gura 2 things: 1. Am I the only dreamer on this physical plane? Or is everyone dreaming up their own reality in an infinite amount of parallel universes? I assume you don't believe that the other people are empty shelves. Awakening certainly seems like reality is a dream, and I (ego) tried to change the dream, that of course doesn't work for me. The I that dreams, is this a collective dream where everyone influences a certain part of the dream, or does every soul just dreams something else? 2. If the dream ends when you die, you shouldn't take precautions about your own death, no need to tell your family good bye, no need to keep a small (or big) inheritance for your children. Physical death might not be stopping the collective dream either. So it's either this physical plane is Gods dream limiting itself to this character within the dream, or God limits itself to all the separate entities within the dream. Now Leo claims that it is possible to consciously manipulate the dream, but isn't that what is already happening. The I that wants to manipulate the dream is always part of the dream that is dreamt by the higher self. So this would explain why it's not possible for the dream character to lucid dream, it's just possible for the awakened I. But the awakened self doesn't want anything, it already has everything it wants right? So full enlightenment might not make you so okay with the dream that you don't even desire/think to change the dream, because the lower self would have to be perfectly aligned with the higher self.

Please, sit comfortably, have a good read & see you on the other side. Set inspiring music for the read on a loop. "John Powell – Coming Back Around”. Do some meditation, shamanic breathwork, or cannabis before -- if you please. The Atlantis Your role is to be a reader, while mine is to construct these words. Inseparably we are one consciousness; one life experiencing itself; one twisted staircase to heaven. In the pages of this groundless story, I, the constructor, will refer to us as we, for we are not distinct entities. We were born as a shrunken being onto oceanic plateaus. Around us swam sharks. Above us raged storms. Raving waves of the sea took a toll on us. Who were we? We did not seem to remember. Nor did we recall the moment of our death. But little did we know the glorious veil had just been crossed. We were happening. What was unfolding around us shaped our existence… A tenacious hum still rings in your ears. By pure chance, stray fishermen took us under their soaked yellow raincoats. They fed fish to our starving soul. Goddamn fish! They gave us a name. These letters were a navigator’s label for addressing and handling the ever-present, nameless entity behind. Despite their gum boots, which had holes in the sole, the fishermen embraced us as their own. They became our parents. Sort of. We learned the sailors’ way of navigating on the seas. Our voyage was turbulent and the ocean rough, but from a boat’s deck it somehow seemed far away. The fishermen clothed us in a yellow raincoat. They still fed us fish. We began asking, for the first time, who were they, really? The more we resembled them; the more we engraved their traditions and patterns of thinking, the more they felt closer to us – to a lone child once born on the seas, trying to make sense of it all. Flow with the music. This is what heaven sounds like. We often stood on the boat’s bow, amazed by the world’s wonders. When great hurricanes whirled by, we savored the hammering of our skin. We were at life’s frontline. We did not know a single fear. When the vessel bobbed on the sea, we tied ourselves to a handrail, and when monstrous waves approached, we laughed. We loved how the salt clogged our mouth. Despite the fishermen’s warnings, we lived fearlessly on the boat named Mist Bane, which sounded suspiciously close to an ideology. One day, our exuberance faltered. The unforeseen adventures were torn apart by an island’s coastline. The Mist Bane was sailed to steady waters, in which she was anchored. The ocean was left behind. Thereby we settled on a hazy coast, which the fishermen spoke of as home. Our soul hankered for a voyage – long the fire burned, waned. Until it yielded to the fishermen’s game. The forge that had once emitted heat frazzled to a cold frightened ember. We developed a framework of understanding. The ocean was subject to charts and journals, said the fishermen. They taught us about lurking dangers in the water. About inconceivable predators that crossed the seas. About horizons that misled sailors into believing a storm was a long way from happening. They spoke of hidden wonders, but scarcely. Their knowledge felt terribly out of tune. Presence of fear predominated their thinking. Would our inner musing over exploration be heaved out if their ‘knowledge’ oppressed us long enough? What if it enslaved our soul? Those questions were worth sacrificing for. The notion of cruising an ocean, where we had felt like a newly engaged bride-to-be, was fading in memory. The treasure we valued the most was lost – a bird’s freedom. Our beloved Atlantis. We developed a fear of never unshackling from the fishermen’s influence again. We ate their food. We slept in their beds. We attended their schools. A life of disgust. On walls was painted fear. Where lied soil for a hopeless dreamer, we asked, fertile enough to thrive in? In an environment of constant hassle, we relinquished victory to the fishermen’s central maxim that stated, ‘survival of the fittest, trampled idealists not welcomed!’ We grew into one of them. Dead pigeons. Almost. The fishermen fed us fish whose meat was terribly difficult to swallow. Why? Their bones scratched our throat. They stuck like ideologies, and they were painful to wash down, for stomaching them after would be excruciating. Such is the nature of ideology. The fishermen often admonished us for pointing this out. As if deconstructing a belief system meant disobeying traditions. Well, honestly – it did. We understood this: All the answers to the most important questions lie inside. We ought not look for them in the outside world. The moment a person stops contemplating and makes a statement, they become trapped inside a stiff dungeon. However, a question is followed by an unwritten line… The music guides you. Open the door. Let it in. We have known for a long time that Atlantis is not a place besieged by water; not buried in the ocean. Those in search of its golden pillars and riches are wailing for amity. Atlantis is quite close. It resides in our hearts and thinking. The throne is here and now. Atlantis is appearing as a written text. Deconstruct these lines. Look through the black-on-white metaphors. Feel the author’s intended meaning. You are here. In the Oasis of Harmony. What a genius you are. You have brought yourself to life. There is nothing more fascinating than experiencing this story. Atlantis is the everlasting here! You are safe. You have already made it. You are in heaven. The deeds from yesterday do not conquer the eternity of today. Neither do the possibilities of tomorrow. From the ocean we had arisen – pure and selfless, born in a storm. We had been the city of Atlantis, a treasure lost to the humankind. Around us had swum sharks, yet the baby had come unscathed. Why? The sharks had valiantly held their ground against frenzied waves, which had struck over and again. Why? For the city of Atlantis was about to be lost. The waves had protected us awhile, but the treasure of Atlantis had emerged from underwater. Why? For the fishermen had pulled us out. We had developed a human identity. We had forgotten we had been Atlantis. But Atlantis cannot ever be truly lost. Despite the fishermen’s good intentions, it was never meant for us to wallow under a shelter’s roof. Our home rested on the meandering currents of adventure. Indeed, on that hazy coast we rediscovered our nature. What had felt like a thousand human lives away was now one shore away from transcending. One day, we dared. “Atlantis!” we called out dangerously as a whirlwind. Straightaway a spark flashed, slashing our throat from within. We rubbed our sleepy eyes and pinched our arm. We swore it was there, a heaving spark! “Atlantis!” we rejoiced with great enthusiasm and eyes fixed on the sea. Our voice stirred some leaves, and crickets stopped chirping. Then: Another spark was born. It jumped over a coastal stone a few times before disappearing somewhere in the sand. Sparks came in hordes, but they died off before igniting a flame. “Atlantis!” we formed a tsunamic voice. We awakened to our true nature. Our human-self languished. The ocean answered our call! It began just as light flickering on the horizon. A rust of night, one would say, a sunray escaping the hungry shadows of dusk. Yet it was more. The sea parted. A clear passage emerged. It led us astray from the shore. Back to where we had come from. Our yellow raincoat ripped off, unshackling us from mortal duties. We walked there naked. We had accomplished the mission, and now we were coming home. We strode on the oceanic floor… Until the notion of an island faded. There had never been one. There had never been fishermen, nor a boat that had rescued us, nor sharks, nor fear of never unshackling. All there ever has been is the ocean. The ocean is dreaming infinitely many dreams. You are nothing but one of them, one ripple. You, the beloved Atlantis. -------- I know some of you have already read The Atlantis elsewhere from me, but it felt like a cool thing to share on the forum directly as well, as nobody has to click anywhere. Also, I was browsing all the industry-standard book genres and realized there's this wonderful thing called Visionary & Metaphysical Fiction. Sounds about right, wouldn't ya say? It's a tiny, tiny field. Let's go!

@BakeJeyner Your perspective is the only perspective that you are likely aware of in direct experience. You can trust direct experience when it is pure and free of: labeling, judgment, chatter, conjecture, stories, fantacy, problem solving/creating, and commentary, etc. This pure direct experience with a quiet unclouded mind is in it's highest form Truth observing Truth, but even when it's not it's the path to Truth and as close to Truth as you can get at any given point in your spiritual journey. I've not watched Leo's "Realizing you are God" video in weeks, but I believe this was the main point it was driving at. Teachers are always trying to say essentially the same few things in a multitude of ways. In this exercise Leo tied together presence, ego "death", and self inquiry to arrive at a very grounded BS free version of God realization. Not at all coincidentally his prescription also touches on the body-mind facet of what it is like to be an awake human Being, yet he said little of the emotional and spiritual components of such an awakened Being. He speaks on these at length in many of his other videos so maybe what would best serve those of you who are feeling bad is to go watch some Actualized.org videos on Love. Look, let's cut to the chase. There are no problems. If any of this is seeming problematic please realize the problems are definitely illusionary/egoicly created. As far as the realities, individual agency, and the general not-being-philosophical-zombieness of others, especially when outside your direct experience, others are every bit as real, sentient, and approximately as aware as you are in the conventional bottom-up human perspective. Yet, you cannot really know this from your own direct experience, so in the order of things it is once removed, a step back, from Truth. Don't let that stress you out or create problematic thoughts and actions. If you ever get to the place where the boundaries between you and not-you really break down and permanently dissolve there is only intense beauty in Being Consciousness. Please understand God knows exactly what it is like to be the egoic human you along with everything and everyone else. You do not lose or permanently forget human level divided consciousness when God-consciousness is realized. They are one in the same, or the seemingly smaller is a subset of the ultimate if you like. When you gain a top-down perspective you will still have a bottom-up perspective at your disposal. All of this concern with solipsism, fear and anxiety over Emptiness, the questioning about feeling no Love, etc, is distraction. I feel for you guys and valuable pointers for awakening have been shared as a result of all this distraction (HA, how you like them apples ego!, lol) but just work through it all as quickly as you can. If you happen to have enough control over your mind to do so, just push all this egoic BS to the side and forget about it or become comfortable with "not knowing" and thereby not worrying. In discussions like this so many are always so focused on knowing so much. It is far more helpful to surrender all knowing and needing to know. This is my advice and I know nothing

I agree with Nyseto that it is important to allow whatever thoughts or feelings arise, without actively resisting them. Whatever you resist, you strengthen. Instead, simply observe them, without being defined by them. It is like sitting by yourself on the back row of a dark theater, and from that distance, casually watching any thoughts or feelings flow across the screen of your mind. It's even better if you are able to let feelings come and go, without labeling them. For example, notice what "depression" feels like in your body, then drop the label. The next time it happens, hmm...there's that feeling again. Allow it to enter, notice it without being drawn into it, and notice when it leaves. Don't give it any more attention than that. Focus most of your attention on the space around the feeling. You are sitting way back in a dark theater, all by yourself, with that little feeling making is way across the screen. You are not the feeling. You are the moviegoer. Also, don't fall into the trap of chasing the bliss that you felt earlier. Anything that you run toward, or run away from, is an attachment that will ultimately make you miserable. Your natural, unconditioned state is inherently peaceful and joyful. There is no need to seek anything, because you already are infinitely abundant. The more you practice this, the easier it will become. This is why meditation and mental discipline are critical, even after you have awakened. The Buddha compared it to swimming upstream. The mind has tremendous gravitational pull, but the more you exercise vigilance, the better you will be at swimming against the current. Be the Michael Phelps of meditation ?‍♀️

Lol I've been happy. I don't know why this forum is what it is lately, so you tell me since I'm new? Anytime I listen to an individual who has awakened or has been awakening such as Eckhart or Rupert, my first curiosity is what does an individual like that think about the right vs. left or Trump especially? Because if they start bashing Trump but never the left as well, then my ego automatically assumes oh man...yup...they're a leftist which decreases their credibility.

Today I have awakened to my whole bed wet

Are you familiar with the research of Steve Taylor? He is a spiritual psychologist who has researched awakening experiences. I saw a talk from him a few months ago, where he mentioned one woman that he interviewed who awakened after learning that she had terminal cancer. It dramatically and permanently changed her view of reality, and she lived in a state of joy until she finally passed. Since my awakening in May, my suffering has reduced dramatically. I do have an ego attack once in a while, and am working on dissolving my remaining attachments, but my natural state is mostly free from suffering. It is a paradigmatic transformation that I never could have anticipated, or knew was possible. I no longer identify with my thoughts, nor do I look for happiness outside of myself. My lifestyle has completely changed. I still honor life, but I take it much less seriously. I realize that "I" is just a transitional label, and that "my" identity is the same changeless reality that imbues all things. I had mini-awakenings numerous times during my life, like many people do, but this was different. It was a direct realization that was a seismic and permanent shift in Consciousness.

Pete Docter , producer of Inside Out and Soul, is awakened to the nature of the mind. And he is what I would call a Christian mystic. "To me art is about expressing something that can’t be said in literal terms. You can say it in words, but it’s always just beyond the reach of actual words,." - Pete Docter

I, personally, haven't seen much of that myself. The majority here seem to adhere to some unspoken rule about never revealing anything about yourself, good or bad, highly probable or mildly probable.. I can't speak for all of them, but from what I've observed there's a few categories people here fall into: Know nothing of Spiral Dynamics. Just here for emotional support. Judgemental & sensitive. No interest in debate or logic. Kids /adults with serious issues. Any age, really, but mostly between around 13 and 20. Almost always know little to nothing about any sort of model. Just here to make threads about "picking women up" or "how to win fights" or some stupid shit like that.. Kids who make threads like what you'd see on /r/Im14andthisisdeep. The guy you can't believe is on a spirituality forum. Almost always stage orange, sometimes even red.. Will go out of their way to attack if you say the "wrong" thing. Is unable to comprehend the idea of non-duality and believes anyone claiming to understand is is lying. "Interesting theory you have there". They make no attempt to really understand any model properly. Have little interest in learning, enjoy simply lurking. Low energy. Might occasionally start an unoriginal thread & ignore half the people who respond. Spirituality is still far too abstract to really engage with it. It's just some fun thought-exercises to them. Enlightenment is in the same realm as magic to them, not something you can actually aim for. The "cold, materialistic, unhappy" guy. Around the peak of stage orange. Will likely turn green soon. The "harmony > logic" kind. Dislike of any sort of divergence from the status quo. Similar to category 5, but more sensitive and have slightly higher levels of energy. They are interested in spirituality, and like to talk about it, but have a dislike for any new/contrary information. They want you to parrot old, many times repeated ideas already familiar to everyone. Unoriginality looks like "harmony" & "safety" to them. The low energy senior. Many of the mods fall into this category. They don't really care about any of the discussions or theories. Only that the significant minority of stage green on this forum stays happy and doesn't hear anything that may trigger it (wouldn't want people challenging each other's beliefs and learning, now would we?). People in this category would never be caught debating, or trying to educate people. After all, that would open them up to public scrutiny. And if one of them ever admits to being Tier 2.. "OH.. GOD!! THE HORROR!!!! They're eating the boy alive!!!!" People in this category are well aware of this eventuality, and the very thought itself is enough to kill any hope for freedom they may have once held. The unaware, yet relatively mature kind. They think they're orange/green/yellow/turquoise, but are (usually) 2 stage below. This is a weird group. They often call themselves "awakened". Same stage as category 6, just a different personality. They're the kind of people that watch some "spiritual youtube influencer" and when they like what they hear, they think think they're turquoise. You can immediately identify them by the distinct lack of "depth" to them. You can always see it in their eyes. It's just a type of shallowness and naiveness. They also always, without exception, parrot ideas from "gurus" and present them as the objective truth. If they follow some online guru influencer, they will always refer back to them, as a substitute for actual logic/reasoning/evidence. Spirituality is treated much like a religion by people at this category. Faith in their guru is everything. These types will also have a tendency to judge people who don't "act" the way they want. There's a reason these people move to India and seek out Gurus, or want to become monks, or want to learn Sanskrit (as they think it itself is somehow spiritual..) Well aware of their own level of development but not interested in anyone's progress. Might occasionally make a short post without any depth. This is the first category in which people may create their own ideas and perceptions of things. Capable of completely disregarding the status quo. Their true, unrestricted personality is starting to come through, but their ego still prevents them from being publicly open/genuine/emotional. Still clinging to own humanity. Still holding grudges and struggling with fully integrating other people's perspectives. Well aware of their own level of development. Desire to keep learning and challenging themselves, as well as everyone else. I came; I saw; I conquered bolted the fuck outta here. Giving up. Letting the problems be and being happily indifferent. Dropping humanity to inspire humanity to drop itself too; to show that it it's ok to. To stop holding yourself hostage. These are the Stage of Actualized.org. The most common ones being 8, 7, 9, 6, 5. What you were describing would fall under 7. Should should, in theory, be a bunch of arrogant 7s, but I haven't seen any yet. Most 7s are genuine stage Green. Not according to any cognitive model I know of.. Women are just more likely to prefer using their feeling than their logic. Men have not benefitted from awareness of their own / others' emotions as much as women, so there's a greater inherent proclivity for women to do "spiritual stuff". This, of course, by not means has any bearing on their actual level of development. Also, these "spiritual women" are, mostly, just xNFPs. Pretty incompatible with most NeTi guys ..like me. I don't think you could reliably tell their personality from just their profile picture.. And I can't imagine ever meeting someone at a gym/uni/work. Would be pretty fucked up for someone to just go to a gym, approach some random woman on a treadmill and ask her about the weather.. Night clubs are probably easier, but still pretty bad (can't even hear them). Can you not see it from his perspective? He could be upper Turquoise for all you know.. If you believe in objective morality, or that what your culture says is bad is bad because it says so.. If you think that relationships have to be a "certain way", or that sex has be "something specific".. All I can say is: I don't bother with stage blue. Anyone else can fill that role. ..Maybe he just wants to fuck? You know how.. food/music can cause a pleasant sensation? Well sex is no different. Monogamy is on its way out. casual sex is just gonna continue to become more common and normal. My NeTi function stack doesn't lie. I wonder if you think VR sex is also a sin..

Well, I will argue that this does not have to be a contradiction, in theory at least. Before I start, the chance of there actually being an enlightened nazi is of course slim. I had a deep awakening to God’s perspective on good and evil. According to my awakening, there is essentially no difference. A Buddhist monk that has this awakening would continue on doing what aligns with his past routine and beliefs. So he would probably drink some tea and meditate in a nondual state. The nazi who has awakened could very well go on killing Jews left and right knowing that from an absolute perspective it makes no difference either way. A nondual nazi might actually be the worst one you encounter, for if they had the same awakening into good and evil that I had, they could kill without remorse, fear, or guilt. Most spiritual people have a few awakenings and delude themselves into thinking that it’s all about peace and love. These are more human emotional states and ideals than they are Truth. Truth exists as much in humanly conceived evil as it does in humanly conceived good, but you won’t likely hear anyone here telling you that.

Applegarden I have heard of that, but I am more curious to what one would do in a current society where it wasn't common for spiritual people to receive free meals. For example what would those awakened people do if others didn't no longer come to give them food, would they still find a way to make meals and would they do that while living fully. I am actually not looking for so much information about those extreme meditators, you know there are those who get involved in the world which are called gurus, yogis or whatever and there is a name for those that don't get so involved. I want to know more about those who was/are involved with people around them. Or rather the capability of survival in such a man in different circumstances, are there some good stories on that???

Hannah Arendt famously interviewed and studied Nazi officers after the war. What she discovered was the shocking "banality of evil." None of them was really evil. They were just being good profressional stage Blue rule followers. Mike Pence types. Your average Nazi was just a pawn in Hitler's schemes. Similar to your average Trump voter. Many German intellectuals, scientists, and philosophers were supporters of the Nazi party. Like Martin Heidegger. Because few people think for themselves about anything. Even awakened people are fucking sheep for the most part. You can be awake but social pressure will still drive you to delusion. People underestimate the power of culture and ideology. Awakening does not make you immune to cultural biases. In 500 years spiritual people will be asking, How could someone have been enlightened and still a capitalist? The same way ya'll asking about Nazis.

The thread is about wether or not “enlightened nazi” is a contradiction. There are awakened people to various levels and non-awakened people only in thought attachment to misunderstanding.

You need to come down from your absolute bubble. We are speaking in the relative plane here. There are awakened people (to various levels) and non-awakened people.