How is life just a dream?

[Joseph Maynor]

Folks I just watched the video again, and I think the biggest thing is that Leo seems to be too much in love with Metaphysics.  He loves Metaphysics a little too much.  That’s the issue.  There are some good stuff in the video, but his Metaphysics makes it hard to digest.  Metaphysics is and always has been highly problematic.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[Joseph Maynor]

21 minutes ago, SOUL said:

It's almost insidious the way the mind will continue to frame everything as a duality. It is a misperception of the mind but one that served it well so doesn't relinquish the habit easily.

Which is evident in the way even non-duality is unconsciously framed as an opposite of duality. This is why I place considerable attention in brining to awareness the hallmarks of how it is expressed.

Although, I don't put too much importance on a concept to replace it otherwise the mind may try to contrast that in dualism as well with a right and wrong or good and bad dochotomy.

Yeah.  The Mind is sneaky in its conceptualizations.  That’s why we wanna be skeptics.  Wise skeptics though, not stupid skeptics.  Wise skeptics are ok with suspending belief because they understand the limits of the mind.  But that doesn’t mean they don’t use thought when it’s useful.  If they held back in that manner, it would only be because they are clinging to some theory that corrupts natural wisdom.  No wise skeptic does that.  They just aren’t sloppy, that’s all.  And it’s knowledge that makes them not sloppy.  Moksha is achieved through knowledge.  Avidya, or error concerning belief, is the sole block to Enlightenment.

Video on point to watch:

 

Edited February 14, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[SOUL]

@Joseph Maynor

II personally don't create a belief  that belief prevents awakening or peace. Since our perception is a subjective experience the question of it being 'truth' is not something that is in the context most skeptics view it.

We are being 'true' to our subjective experience of it not to an objective standard so completely contrasting beliefs can be called 'truth' with spirituality. The issue arises when people make universal or objective claims on their personal subjective experience.

Skepticism is a quirky thing, even suspending belief is founded on a belief that there is value, a benefit, is better or is preferable to it. Also, it's the belief  that we can even withhold it to some effect or can even assess if something is worthy to extend it to.

It takes belief to be a skeptic. Haha

 

 

Edited February 14, 2018 by SOUL

[Nahm]

@SOUL sorry if i misunderstood ya.  sounded like you were saying that the illusion is a belief, as in, in actuality it is ‘real’.

[Joseph Maynor]

8 minutes ago, SOUL said:

@Joseph Maynor

II personally don't create a belief  that belief prevents awakening or peace. Since our perception is a subjective experience the question of it being 'truth' is not something that is in the context most skeptics view it.

We are being 'true' to our subjective experience of it not to an objective standard so completely contrasting beliefs can be called 'truth' with spirituality. The issue arises when people make universal or objective claims on their personal subjective experience.

Skepticism is a quirky thing, even suspending belief is founded on a belief that there is value, a benefit, is better or is preferable to it. Also, it's the belief  that we can even withhold it to some effect or can even assess if something is worthy to extend it to.

It takes belief to be a skeptic. Haha

 

 

Skepticism is a word not a belief.  It's what you make of it.  It's a caution regarding belief, not a belief per se.  It's a willingness to assume you could be wrong at all times.  And this is a rare practice.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[SOUL]

2 minutes ago, Nahm said:

@SOUL sorry if i misunderstood ya.  sounded like you were saying that the illusion is a belief, as in, in actuality it is ‘real’.

An illusion is real.... it's really an illusion.

[SOUL]

2 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Skepticism is a word not a belief.  It is what you make of it.  It's a caution regarding belief, not a belief per se.

Um... well, I didn't say skepticism is a belief but that it takes belief to be a skeptic. Besides, "skepticism is a word not a belief" is a belief.....baha

[Timotheus]

 

[Nahm]

@SOUL ❤️

[Nahm]

@Timotheus ? Interesting that he uses the word “mind”, not the word I’d use, and not tryin to say it’s right or wrong, just interesting. Thanks for posting that. I enjoyed it. Or the mind enjoyed it. We liked it. Lol 

[Sahil Pandit]

It was all a dream, I used to read Word UP Magazine 

[Timotheus]

@Nahm ?

[Pallero]

I have an additional question about the video. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around what Leo said about waking up being the same as literal death. Can anyone please explain this to me?

To me, literal death is the death of my physical body. But physical bodies of enlightened people are clearly still functioning. I understand that their self is gone, but how is that literal death? I previously assumed that enlightenment was more like, well, waking up from a dream! But not death!

What am I missing? What have I misunderstood?

[Timotheus]

On 15.2.2018 at 3:01 AM, Nahm said:

Interesting that he uses the word “mind”, not the word I’d use, and not tryin to say it’s right or wrong, just interesting.

To me this definiteley put a different flavour into it, which makes stuff more clear for me on an intuitive level, allowing me to sense more peace and presence.

I think he's quite an intelligent guy - shocking to see what drug addiction can do to some people's lifes or to better put it, what lack of love and connection can do.

I can highly recommend his Youtube channel Zen Bitchslap.

[Nahm]

@Timotheus It’s a great channel.  And, OMFG, yes. ❤️?

[Soulbass]

 

[Saumaya]

@Rilles Life is not a dream but life is like a dream. Think about it...when you sleep you fool yourself that you're the dream character but in actuality you aren't...which is the same as in your life. You think and feel like you're the actor or some role you play, but you aren't any of those two. If you're "enlightened" then you would be sort of lucid dreaming..

[Saumaya]

@Pallero When the self dies, there is nothing left...it is like dead body. What happens after enlightenment is your awareness leaves your body and spreads everywhere, so it is like leaving the body or death.

15 hours ago, Pallero said:

I have an additional question about the video. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around what Leo said about waking up being the same as literal death. Can anyone please explain this to me?

To me, literal death is the death of my physical body. But physical bodies of enlightened people are clearly still functioning. I understand that their self is gone, but how is that literal death? I previously assumed that enlightenment was more like, well, waking up from a dream! But not death!

What am I missing? What have I misunderstood?

[Nahm]

4 hours ago, Saumaya said:

@Rilles Life is not a dream but life is like a dream. Think about it...when you sleep you fool yourself that you're the dream character but in actuality you aren't...which is the same as in your life. You think and feel like you're the actor or some role you play, but you aren't any of those two. If you're "enlightened" then you would be sort of lucid dreaming..

It’s the same as a dream; you’re everyone & everything in your dream, and the dream is not reality, what you are is. 

[Leo Gura]

It wasn't a metaphore and it wasn't a belief.

I've had the experience of awaking from life to see that it was just a dream. You can too. At this level of realization, ordinary life as you knew it is over. You are literally physically dead.

Don't assume you've got enlightenment figured out. There are many depths to it. Realizing no-self is one thing, and realizing that all of reality is unreal is yet another. It is possible to be so conscous that you look around the room and the very physical objects you see around are realized to be non-existent. Someone could point a loaded gun to your head and you would not care if they pulled the trigger because you absolutely know it is unreal and makes no difference. Your true nature is infinite and unkillable. Because you already are death itself.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that the universe is the merest illusion."

-- Ramana Maharshi

At this point I sometimes forget that 99.9999% of people -- even those who pursue enlightenment -- have no direct experience of what I am saying, and so to them it sounds like nonsense or exaggeration or cute metaphores or philosophical theories or some word game or me misinterpreting the scriptures. It is not that. It is precisely as I said. The only problem is, it's too damn radical and requires years of hardcore consciousness work to glimpse without 5-MeO-DMT.

Many of you guys are still underestimating the full ramifications of nonduality. It's far more radical that you presently realize. That is okay. It's impossible to understand it so long as you are yourself. All I would suggest is, don't get cocky. Don't think you got this thing figured out just because you watched some Rupert Spira videos or did a few hits of LSD.

There's more to the rabbit hole than meets the eye, and lots of people I notice are starting to get too cocky here -- starting to dismiss all reading and all theory as mental masturbation -- just because they've dipped their toe into it or watched a bunch of over-simplified neo-advaita videos.

The scriptures are voluminous for good reason. This stuff ain't so simple as people first expect. Show respect to the wide range of subtle literature on this topic. Read all the books on my book list in the Consciousness category. Only then will you will start to apprecitate the depth, complexity, and subtlty here.