Search the Community

@Striving for more If you remove attachment and just begin acting, then there you go. Just follow your bliss

Follow your bliss.

Holism & Holistic thinking part 1 The two formulas: holism = wholeness = health = healing = unity = oneness = the infinite = harmony and balance = goodness = love = God = selflessness = wisdom = beauty = holy = heaven = bliss a lack of holism = division = fragmentation = partiality = brokenness = a lack of harmony and balance = limitation = the finite = selfishness = the ugly = evil = hell = suffering

Ignorance is bliss -- in the short term. But also, don't underestimate how bad your friends' lives are. Your friends are miserable deep down and their lives are a house of cards which can easily get knocked over. They have been practicing mindlessness. That's why. When you don't contemplate life, life is easier. You just live like animal. Takes years and decades to develop that. It is a mistake to compare yourself to others, compare yourself to your old self. No! They are morons. Which, oddly, makes them happier. Living a contemplative life is hard. Which is why your friends aren't doing it. The reality is that you have hardly even begun to do consciousness work. You think you're doing it, but you've only dipped your toe in the water, hence you don't have much results. If you are going to pursue a conscious life, you have to hold yourself to very different standards than average people. You take on WAY more responsibility. But also: Don't forget to have fun too! Don't be too serious about life.

Thanks veganawake. I know i'm this, but i want to know when this is going to start being felt as bliss and peace. @allislove Yeah makes sense. I have had many sessions recently where I feel myself on the verge of a deep surrender to the now but then i just get up and pat myself on the back haha. I'm trying to be more diligent and get myself on the cushion more i think it's only a matter of time now.

It's about how deep you can accept the present moment. The acceptance should be so deep, even the "my" label should drop from "my experience". Then, there is only experience, that is bliss.

@allislove This doesn't feel like bliss and peace though. I am aware, or awareness is aware, but it doesn't lead to any meaningful change in my experience. If this is it, and it's always just this, what does it take for the bliss to come from that pointer? @The Buddha Rupert calls the nature of the self peace/happiness. I think if a person were in pure bliss they would count themselves as pretty happy and satisfied.

The Self Isn't Happiness, that is true. Because happines is refined pleasure. The Self is pure Bliss. So u will not find happiness in The Self, u will find no pleasure at all. Because those concepts do not exist in a full completition state of being. When u are full, complete and perfect: u don't feel just pleasure or mere happines: u feel fucking ecstatic and if u fully let go u are pure bliss.

Y’all! I’ve been down in a rut for weeks and I just started coming out of it Monday. This evening while in the shower I was soaping up and scrubbing this and that and for no reason I started laughing hysterically out loud. Like a lightning bolt insight hit me out of nowhere that life was simply hilarious! My body was a joke! My thoughts we laughable! I couldn’t control the gigantic smile on my face. If my gf were to walk in on me I bet she would have thought I was insane, tripping or high on something, lol. Only lasted 2 minutes or so but wow! It was in pure bliss. Anyway, wanted to share. Love y’all bye bye ❤️

I guess twenty years of training in the Burmese Theravada Buddhist tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw, including three years of intensive silent retreat in monasteries in Asia and the U.S is a serious meditator "I had been led to believe that stream entry and certainly second and third path were so lofty and quasi-holy that by the time you had them, you’d basically be on easy street; if your life wasn’t yet a cosmic bliss out, it was certainly on the way. If anyone had said I would still be depressed after the second path of enlightenment I wouldn’t have believed it. But as it happened, by the standard diagnostic criteria I learned from the Mahasi system, by 1994 I did have second path and I was still depressed. By 2003, I believed I had attained third path too, but my life was still in shambles. There was a rift between what was happening and what I thought ought to be happening. On the one hand, I was a meditation expert; I had a high level of facility with altered states, knew a great deal of Buddhist theory, and had had myriad fascinating and profound experiences. I could easily access jhanas, and use them to temporarily remedy my problematic mind states, but it wasn’t enough. Depression and anxiety continued. It seemed to me that my brain chemistry was seriously fouled up, and this movement via my meditation practice through what I thought of as an organic, somehow biological spectrum of development was not addressing my mental health issues. I was becoming resigned to the conclusion that meditation would help me accept my depression but would not help me overcome it. I bitterly came to terms with my depression as a long-term, chronic problem that might be with me for the rest of my life; in 1999, I begged a friend to take me by the hand to the county mental health clinic and help me ask the doctor for antidepressant medication." "Now, we go back to, I’m claiming that I had attained Third Path. So, now, we’re talking about the mid-90’s through the early 2000’s, and I was really depressed during this time. So I had access to all kinds of remarkable mind states, all these jhanas, and yet, my life was in a shambles, my brain chemistry was scrambled. I was taking Prozac and whatever antidepressants seemed to work best. I tried several. I was taking an anti-anxiety drug at night, in a very low dose, but I couldn’t sleep at night. So, here I am, you’d think that, according to all of the legends about what an Anagami is, a Third Path practitioner, I should have been really together, and I wasn’t." 700 to 900 hours if I had to estimate. Yes Occasionally, except for a period where I wasn't meditating almost at all at the peak of my depression Usually 45minutes 2x a day No retreats If you're familiar with The Mind Illuminated stages - I can make fast progress and get to stage 8-9 and then a stressful event can easily drop me back to 5/6 again. So it's very unstable for me 4 books Haven't studied with any masters in real life but I watched a ton of videos. In the last 4 years, I was basically obsessed with this topic. It can but the question is to what degree and how long it takes. And BTW I'm not claiming that once you get depressed, you will be forever. Even in hospitalized patients depression fixes itself within about 5 years, it's an episodic illness even tho episode may last quite long. I agree that Leo should have more intense practice if he wants to make progress. It took me a while to even learn how to properly meditate and apply proper intentions with proper effort. If anything I have exceptionally good genetics for spirituality as I lost the sense of agency and the sense of self in the first two weeks of meditating which is very rare. For concentration meditation and getting into Jhanas, I'm probably average You can disagree all you want but taking 3 hours each night to fall asleep because you have anxiety speaks for itself. The only thing that really significantly helps for falling asleep with such severe illness are dangerous and addicting drugs like Xanax. It is a body problem. Depression is actually very closely related to arthritis. There are 'objective' measures like significantly higher inflammation levels in the body and brain. Heightened startle response and constant anxiety that makes your cortisol higher and heart beat faster making it very hard to fall asleep. I disagree that it's all just thoughts but even if it would be, you can't control or know what your next thought is gonna be, neither live without thinking at all

?. if you feel angry at this try watching some slaughterhouse videos. most of the people working in those places are miserable and have mental health issues dealing with killing and seeing dead bodies and the overall death vibe inside of them. It’s not good for human nature. Less and less people are willing to do societies dirty work for them. It’s either gonna become a super high paying job to get people to do it, or there will be robots. personally I don’t see a place for it in a conscious society. I don’t see how the more conscious a person becomes they can be ok with it. The only way people can do it now is by not thinking about it. Ignorance is bliss

Yes, exactly the same thing happens to me too. For example, sometimes when I smoke cannabis at the peak of an LSD trip and I go back inside to sit down, I've already forgotten that I smoked cannabis and sometimes I also forget that I took LSD. This is when it gets really weird but I've learned to give up at this point because otherwise the trip is not enjoyable anymore. So in a way the weed forces me to let go and once I accumulated to this new state it's pure bliss. I don't understand what you mean with that. Which judgement?

Just follow your personal bliss and you'll figure out everything rather quickly After all, you came to this life to be uniquely you, so own your uniqueness and don't let other people gaslight you/Bailey you

@Forestluv Yeah i get that feeling too. I've had a few experiences on lsd where I felt like a psychiatric patient in a hospital haha. On the otherside of the nausea/sickness etc is bliss and a total change in identity though which is awesome, i don't think I would have known about this if not for psychedelic's

@RedLine does he talk about Bliss?

@WaveInTheOcean amazing that is fucking OUT OF THIS WORLD PURE fucking LOVE bro!!!! Awesome! Now just baith in the bliss of Consciousness!!

@Epikur Let me give you a few ideas of what is going on in my life currently, my history you will see in the future on my YT channel, if you want ? Most people would freak out I am in debt and all the friends I thought would help me turned thair backs on me becaouse they think Im crazy My mother is on a thin line beetween life and death My father is building a house knowing that hes son is "surviving" My GF perents have no water in their house and no one to help them Not to mantion all the snaller things... like projections on me of all the stage blue people in my town (7k population) And many many more... and do you know how I feel about it? Well, I feel sad for them, and Im doing everything that I can to lift myself up and help them, and do you know what I feel even more? Bliss and Love! I am able to balance everyting, share love, selfactulize, dance, accept the ignorant etc. Today, I went home and loved my mother, gave her a massage, Im teaching her breath work etc. and afterwards I went and played with kids in a send for 4 hours. I am a careless free kid my friend. It would be way easier for me to go homeless and not care about things, and I really do mean that. But I am here for something more, I don't want to waste that gift for nothing. I am not scared for myself my frined. I am aware of the illusion of death. But my loved ones are not, and 95% of population. Just wanted to get it out there, some of the spiritual egos can get humbled a bit

There are moments of oneness with the Beloved, absolutely ecstasy and bliss. That is nothingness. And this nothingness loves you, responds to you, fulfills you utterly and yet there is nothing there. You flow out like a river without diminishing. Irina Tweedie (Sufi Master)

What I'm about to write will be straightforward yet designed to help you in a most loving way, so keep your heart bright. This isn't your life purpose. Not even close. It's a derivation of it, i.e. there's something about it that feels true, a kernel, which, if observed deeply, will eventually lead you to your origins and your life purpose. Right now, you are so preoccupied with chasing enlightenment that it appears as if you have forgotten the one and true thing you are, i.e. being enlightened. Your desire to awaken others is actually a thought in disguise whispering, "I definitely want myself to get enlightened." Here's the irony, though, for realizing your nature isn't about 'ripping something new' for yourself, it's about striping yourself of the preexisting blankets that are beclouding your mind. When you realize this, you'll simultaneously realize there was nobody that needed saving; no one to bestow enlightenment upon; nobody who isn't enlightened by the time you yourself become. Also, altered consciousness isn't always rainbows and butterflies. Are you willing to live through eternal hell if it comes? One quote by Leo goes as, "The lies of bliss and heaven get you hooked, and like a fish you get reeled in..." May your journey lead you to the truth. Welcome.

@CBDinfused I do not claim to speak for the philosophy of any group, but I can tell you of this from being a human Being. For starters, there are no "levels" and while various models of various things have their place, you would do well to transcend them. Next, very simply, hatred is divisive and love is unifying. True Love of course contains and loves all hatred which in this context then ceases to be. Ultimate Love is like that with all else, it surrounds and swallows up everything in Creation to the point of collapsing all in destruction by revealing unification. Powerful hatred is also a great, but far lesser, destroyer and is a dark unifier but through division and to the deluded extreme of only hatered of hatred remaining of an egoic identity. Because of this hatered can be used as an effective, although conventionally very dangerous and profoundly unhealthy, tool by the spiritual seeker. Ultimately though, hatred cannot overcome itself or Love, while Love can overcome hatred and all else by integration, unification, and beautiful creative destruction to the point of being an absolute unity of infinite Nothingness. A bit more practically speaking, a major defining aspect of being awake to/as Love is to be in love with Creation, to be selflessly in love with YourSelf. Have you ever loved a work of art? Has a work of art of any sort ever brought you tears of joy? Have you ever loved a human being as a work of art and more? Has the shape, the intricacies, the totality, the body-mind and spirit of another ever made you forget yourself and your world? Have you ever felt orgasmic-like bliss unrelated to sexual stimulation, but instead from deep bodily embraced love of any person, place, or thing? Has your sense of self ever dissolved in your love of another like a partner, a friend, your offspring, your sibling, or maybe even a pet? To be awake as/in/to Love is like these things. You are the Everything that is Nothing that is Love itself. In being a human being Love, all you encounter is like a beautiful living loving work of divine art. From flowers and sunsets to death and dung, all can bring tears of joy, ecstatic orgasmic transcendence, and self-dissolution to Nothing, to no personal subjects or objects, to only Self being Love. This is Your stateless state, as in not an altered state of seemingly human consciousness, but the Actual base state of formless Consciousness itself that plays at being your humanity and all else. It is the Meta-Subject that is You and there are no objects, only Everything that is Nothing that is Love as Absolute Unity. And all of this can seemingly take place in Being a human, but when aware of it One will know better, lol I hope this makes at least some sense?

A being can be Enlightened and his body be in a normal state. Enlightment is a recognition awareness has, not the body or the mind. For example in a non dual state I can be totally normal and talking to you yet in the insides being in bliss. But is not the body mind that is in bliss. Is just that awareness is woke up. Is not even bliss. Call it bliss is to make it conditional. It's nothing.

Realizing bliss and joy during hard times of suffering of whatever kind is the key I would say.

@MokshaEven if I detach myself from thinking I still don't feel any sense of joy. All this spiritual work seems to be something to be just realized individually. I can understand what you are saying, yet I havent realized it. I have gotten temporary states of bliss, but they never last that long. I'm getting really tired of this mindfuck of a game I play with myself.

Remember, the only one actually experiencing the suffering is God Itself (Oneness). Now, why would God willingly imagine experiences/lives where He/She/It goes through a lot of suffering? The answer is probably the same as to why you would go watch a sad/violent/horror movie. Excitement. Contrast. How can I know Goodness, Love, Happiness, Joy, Bliss if those 'goodies' were all I was experiencing 24/7 ?? I wouldn't appreciate the Good, just as a fish doesn't appreciate/knows the water, since water is all it knows. Listen to Alan Watts in this marvelous song

Yes. I understand your point, I mostly agree with everything I bacame blissful becouse life hit me hard, but I was able to find bliss within it. Most of people here are too soft, especially if they grew up in first world countrys. (stage green) For the spiritual "enlightened" egos on the forum, if you want to test your enlightened, come and live in Serbia hahahaha