I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything

[Emanyalpsid]

I would say I feel enlightened, with which I mean; my feeling, or state of consciousness, is not disturbed by egocentric emotions, doubtful thoughts about the essence of reality or myself, fears, frustrations due to a worldview that does not match reality, and the desire for meaning. Although someone can not live without desires or thoughts, so of course I have those but my awareness of them and how I react to them is different now. By being aware of the dependent origin of reality, or it, and therefor the emptiness of essence, one knows that his or her desires and thoughts come from the desire for meaning or substance in life. By knowing this, one can switch between being in the thought or desire itself to being the consciousness of these. One is in control of his mind and able to cancel these thoughts or desires at will as he knows that they stem from his own interpretations.

Maybe I will open a thread again, as I do not want to hijack this one. But I have to think about how to deal with, or prevent, irrelevant questions taking it over. 

I already tried it before in this https://www.actualized.org/forum/topic/25468-the-definite-guide-to-non-duality-enlightenment-and-the-nature-of-reality/#comment-285890 thread. But it triggered too many people with their own convictions of what they believed enlightenment is and I had to explain themselves. I don't want to repeat that. I will think about it though..

Edited November 10, 2018 by Emanyalpsid

[Aquarius]

Now that you're enlightened, do you ever crack a cold one with the bois? 

[Dodo]

16 hours ago, NoSelfSelf said:

How do i get million dollars by not doing anything?

Invest in xrp. (not financial advice ?)

[Hsinav]

.

Edited November 10, 2018 by Hsinav
Missunderstanding

[wavydude]

7 hours ago, winterknight said:

But also: this is a great jumping off point for the spiritual. You're in pain. Who is experiencing that pain? Learn about Ramana's self-inquiry method deeply and practice it. Every moment you're frustrated, use that to investigate who is it that is frustrated.

I am, my body is frustrated and my thoughts are too, especially when some memory or future posibility comes up. One could say that I'm not my body or thoughts but thats not really my experience.

 

I feel like I care more about going back to calmness and clear perspective than enlightement. But when presented with posibility of enlightement can't really settle for something that is not the truth thus more unease is created. 

[Dodo]

So enlightenment is thrown around a lot by many people. My question is: How do you know you are Enlightened, are there some sort of credits that roll which notify you when you reach Enlightenment? How is anyone sure they are Enlightened? 

Another question is, isn't everyone Enlightened? (Negating the idea that someone has more answers to give than anyone else)

Edited November 10, 2018 by Dodo

[Hellspeed]

Oh, you humble minds. That's why you can only conceptualize enlightenment. 

 

[Jordan94]

@winterknight

I am at a point right now where i'm really interested in the "Meditation" (in a large sens) Path, but not from a desire to seek the truth but rather mainly for a improving/optimising hapiness perspective, for example being more in a equanimous state, care-free state, present state, just 'being' more, I guess

I had glimses of that after some of my vipassana retreats and I really like it basically

 

What would you advice in order to progress on that path ?

[Emanyalpsid]

Besides, people dont like to doubt their path. So, if they read something which points to a failure in their own believe, or thinking, they will perceive this as uncomfortable. So they then tend to stop reading, or try to look for possibilities to counterfeit this with their own believes, through arguments or reasoning. However, Nirvana is letting go of all believes. The self, the convinction of oneself, is standing in the way of reaching this, because the self consists out of its believe in itself. 

So if you read this website http://www.foundationsofhumanlife.com and you read something that does not stroke with your conviction, that does not mean it isnt right. It means it triggers something in yourself and that is where you should look.

But I understand that people are tired of reading because of all the bullshit that so many so called teachers throw at them. Also, many peoples ability to concentrate has declined rapidly in this age of internet and smartphones where it looks like one can have every information with one click on google. Of course this is a generalization, there are a lot of people who want to read a book or a long text. But which to choose.... The text or book which is praised by many and which confirms your believes, or the text which lets you feel doubt, uncertainty, rejection, agitation...?

Edited November 10, 2018 by Emanyalpsid

[winterknight]

7 hours ago, youngshinzen said:

@winterknight

A few years ago I had an experience where I realized that there is a “reason for everything“. This was the first thought that expressed the clarity I had at that moment. It was life changing and helped me to sense that I cannot be something I perceive, because there‘s a reason for everything I perceive and by definition I didn‘t choose it freely. So I‘m not connected to something and thought: “I must be in another dimension“. I didn‘t have any knowledge of enlightenment back then.

Now I feel rather stuck and more advanced than others, so the seperation is still intact even though I try to think my way out of it. Also the solipsistic thought is persistent. How can I continue from here?

It's not about thinking your way out of it. Follow the path. 

6 hours ago, Preetom said:

Thank god I made it before the thread is closed!!

@winterknight I have few questions. I'm not questioning your Enlightenment. Please just honestly answer these questions as you feel right now.

1) Are you 'aware' of deep sleep? 

2) Do you really 'see' any actual, experiential difference between deep sleep and waking state? Or do your 'deep sleep' continues for 24/7?

3) Do you see any 'objects'? How would you define any objective experience from your current understanding?

4) Where are 'you' located in your direct experience now?

5) What is your experience of 'Time'? How do you see Time now?

6) Do you find any 'distance' between any'thing' and 'yourself'?

7) Can you stop thinking right now? Upon doing that, what's your actual experience about this event of stopping thought? Who stopped thinking? Who is in control?

8) What was the defining moment when you realized ''this is it! I'm done". Was it any particular insight? Any emotional charge or mystical highs involved?

9) Do you find yourself parroting non dual truths like ''there is no doer, there is no suffering, there is no me'' when shit hits the fan or is your mind silent because you're actually grounded in these non dual truths experientially?

10) Do you find yourself becoming MORE and MORE 'Enlightened' by the passing days, weeks, months?

PS: I didn't either ask about your verification for Enlightenment or about your path. I hope you answer these questions. I want you to just look at yourself right now and answer from there. Thank you!  

1. No

2. Yes and no. If one accepts maya, yes. Technically maya does not exist, or rather can neither be said to exist or not exist. It's a language puzzle how to put it. Enlightenment is "jagrat sushupti" -- waking sleep. But to understand exactly what that means, you have to experience it for yourself.

3. It's the same question about the status of maya. Objects are maya. If one the mind does not categorize, no objects are seen. If you want to say maya exists, then yes, I see objects.

4. <silence>

5. Time is maya. so same deal as with objects.

6. Distance is in maya. Same deal.

7. Thoughts and stopping thought are in maya. The person who stops thoughts or cannot do so is in maya. Actually, thoughts simply fall apart against the heat of the Background.

8. This too is in maya. But I felt it happened last year. It was the culmination of a period of long self-inquiry. I had had the Insight many times, but this time it just clicked into place.

9. Mind is silent.

10. I don't like to think of it as more and more enlightened. The mind gets quieter (though the mind is maya; there really is no mind) but enlightenment is singular and perfect. It doesn't change.

6 hours ago, Annoynymous said:

@winterknight what is paranormal phenomena? What is lucid dreaming? Is it possible?

Paranormal phenomena is what's beyond our current scientific framework. Lucid dreaming is when you are dreaming & know it. I think both are possible, but I don't know much about either.

6 hours ago, Dinesh Karki said:

What is your approach to get Enlightenment fast? 

Follow the path. The speed depends on the desire you have and the intensity with which you work.

5 hours ago, Sev said:

Hi!

I highly appreciate you making this kind of thread,

How enlightenment work has helped you at working your psychology and vice versa? How you see these things linked each other? Do you see clearly that every emotion is you "doing it"? Is there any unconsciousness left in your psyche what you feel you need to work on? Is there any existential things where you want to delve deeper yet or is any seeking and will to personal development gone?

The mind is technically maya, meaning that it doesn’t' really exist. That said, enlightenment work helps psychology a lot, and vice-versa. The link is a quiet mind. A quiet mind is needed to recognize one's true nature. To get that quiet mind, one has to align themselves with their desire, and that is psychological. As far as emotions, no, emotions are not "me" doing it. There is no me. Or if there is, for discussion's sake, it is merely an appearance. 

If we accept the existence of mind for discussion's sake, then yes, there is still unconsciousness, and I am still working on it. But the truth is that there is no mind and no one to work on anything.

 

[winterknight]

2 hours ago, Outer said:

That said thanks for the thread, you seem to be awakened. Since awakened people tend  to have a bad memory, can you figure out a way in which you get back to the forum so you can answer BETTER questions, especially those relating to people's practice. Other people in the Advaita tradition keep away from answering philosophical questions and instead focusing on practice and progress. As evident by the neuroscience of Awakening, no one will be by listening to a Guru speak, only by practice. If that is what they want right now, you bring a good case about figuring out one's desires, with psychotherapy and expressive, creative things, which are good insights.

Well, I'm definitely available for questions about practice. I was actually disappointed there were so few of those in this discussion.

 

 

 

[winterknight]

1 hour ago, John Lula said:

@winterknight Congrats! How and when did it happen? Like, how was the process? And, fear of death?

20 years of seeking... learning about advaita vedanta (partly through an informal guru; partly through many readings; partly through practice, discussion, etc.). Troubleshooting my own psychological obstacles. Trying, trying, trying. If it "happened," which I don't really accept, it happened last year. For me, there was no fear of death. Just a small, simple, "oh." A clicking into place... the lights had been flickering for a long time before that.

1 hour ago, moon777light said:

@winterknight i'm sorry for automatically thinking your a fraud

is this method also good for anxiety? general/social?

No worries. And yes, self-inquiry is helpful for that. But for anxiety, I would mainly recommend a) psychodynamic or psychoanalytic therapy and b) expressing your anxiety and emotions in writing/art/music... the more precise you can be with that expression, the better. But therapy is mainly what I'd recommend.

1 hour ago, Aquarius said:

Now that you're enlightened, do you ever crack a cold one with the bois? 

Yup!

37 minutes ago, wavydude said:

I am, my body is frustrated and my thoughts are too, especially when some memory or future posibility comes up. One could say that I'm not my body or thoughts but thats not really my experience.

 

I feel like I care more about going back to calmness and clear perspective than enlightement. But when presented with posibility of enlightement can't really settle for something that is not the truth thus more unease is created. 

Yes, I know that's not really your experience. That's why self-inquiry is useful -- to get you to that experience . As I said, it sounds to me as if therapy would be most helpful to you at this point. PM me if you want help finding a good one.

[winterknight]

33 minutes ago, Dodo said:

So enlightenment is thrown around a lot by many people. My question is: How do you know you are Enlightened, are there some sort of credits that roll which notify you when you reach Enlightenment? How is anyone sure they are Enlightened? 

Another question is, isn't everyone Enlightened? (Negating the idea that someone has more answers to give than anyone else)

No, it becomes quite clear in an inexpressible way that the individual mind is non-existent and what you really are is recognized. And yes, everyone is enlightened. Or rather, there are no people, only enlightenment. If you accept that, then there is no one around to be asking questions or answering them. If you don't, then there seem to be questions, and if there are questions, then some people are more qualified to answer than others.

27 minutes ago, Jordan94 said:

@winterknight

I am at a point right now where i'm really interested in the "Meditation" (in a large sens) Path, but not from a desire to seek the truth but rather mainly for a improving/optimising hapiness perspective, for example being more in a equanimous state, care-free state, present state, just 'being' more, I guess

I had glimses of that after some of my vipassana retreats and I really like it basically

What would you advice in order to progress on that path ?

If you liked vipassana for that then I'd recommend going deeper into it. Though actually Truth is the best way to obtain happiness and the care-free state. And finding that is a matter of self-inquiry and following the path.

 

 

[Outer]

I have a couple questions about self-inquiry. It seems appropriate to me that I'll practice in a similar location, specifically intended for self-inquiry and Awakening, as it seems to me the brain likes that. For instance I just have a chair with a towel under the hips. Then I intend to do my inquiry practice here for some time everyday, maybe two or more times a day. Then during the day every now and then I intend to do an inquiry. Is that about how you go about doing  self-inquiry?

Edited November 10, 2018 by Outer

[bejapuskas]

@winterknight You were recommending some books, which included Zen teachings of Bodhidharma and Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi - we have both of these in our local library actually, I will go read them asap! 

What is your recommended technique of meditation/yoga/contemplation?

You were also talking about talking with a psychoanalytic if possible - I have friends who are really good psychologists and brain scientist, what should I ask them? How to get the most juice out of the conversation with them? (we are talking on today's evening)

[Jordan94]

2 minutes ago, winterknight said:

If you liked vipassana for that then I'd recommend going deeper into it. Though actually Truth is the best way to obtain happiness and the care-free state. And finding that is a matter of self-inquiry and following the path.

 

 

Alright, I was already feeling that I will probably at some point naturally be drawn into the seeking truth path

I'll stick to my desire for that moment being and maybe/probably let go of it later i guess

 

Would you say that self-inquiry will already be a good practice for my optimising hapiness interests already ? I mean in short/mid-term results point of view (6month ish)
I will probably try it anyways I never tried it yet

I've been trying different practices so far, mostly vipassana, Kriya, and mindfull presence, trying to figure out which one is best suited for me now

[winterknight]

11 minutes ago, Outer said:

I have a couple questions about self-inquiry. It seems appropriate to me that I'll practice in a similar location, specifically intended for self-inquiry and Awakening, as it seems to me the brain likes that. For instance I just have a chair with a towel under the hips. Then I intend to do my inquiry practice here for some time everyday, maybe two or more times a day. Then during the day every now and then I intend to do an inquiry. Is that about how you go about doing  self-inquiry?

That's a good way to start, but self-inquiry has to be taken out of the sitting position and has to be a constant inquiry that you intensely involve yourself in every waking moment. But what do you take self-inquiry to be? How would you describe what you're doing?

[Outer]

20 minutes ago, winterknight said:

No, it becomes quite clear in an inexpressible way that the individual mind is non-existent and what you really are is recognized. And yes, everyone is enlightened. Or rather, there are no people, only enlightenment. If you accept that, then there is no one around to be asking questions or answering them. If you don't, then there seem to be questions, and if there are questions, then some people are more qualified to answer than others.

But how are you answering if there is no people, only enlightenment? How are you reading this if it doesn't exist, only enlightenment does?

4 minutes ago, winterknight said:

That's a good way to start, but self-inquiry has to be taken out of the sitting position and has to be a constant inquiry that you intensely involve yourself in every waking moment. But what do you take self-inquiry to be? How would you describe what you're doing?

Well I just sit and try to be without thought and whenever I have thought I just inquire into who hears, for instance, to try and be without thought again. I haven't been practicing any lately though. It feels like a habit to  be cultivated.

Edited November 10, 2018 by Outer

[Emanyalpsid]

Lol, it is like sheeps following a shepherd. Someone claims they are enlightened and *pop any rational thought is left behind, cause here is someone to answer your questions...

No real enlightened teacher will ever answer your questions, because this means you stop thinking for yourself... And this is the opposite of what you should do if you want to reach this state.

I keep being astounded by the nature of it all. Although I can see how this came to be. The desire for enlightenment is so big that one will sacrifice his own thought, as one cant seem to achieve it, by just listening to someone else.

Edited November 10, 2018 by Emanyalpsid

[winterknight]

8 minutes ago, bejapuskas said:

@winterknight You were recommending some books, which included Zen teachings of Bodhidharma and Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi - we have both of these in our local library actually, I will go read them asap! 

What is your recommended technique of meditation/yoga/contemplation?

You were also talking about talking with a psychoanalytic if possible - I have friends who are really good psychologists and brain scientist, what should I ask them? How to get the most juice out of the conversation with them? (we are talking on today's evening)

The recommended technique is Ramana Maharshi's self-inquiry. It's very simple. You know that "I am" right now, right? It's obvious. Well, how do you know it? Where is that feeling coming from? Try to find out where in your experience it is coming from, that certainty that you are. Start in your body. Just like if someone asked you where you were feeling cold, and you searched your experience and said "Oh, my feet are feeling cold." In the same way, ask about the feeling of the "I" that you somehow know with certainty.

And every time you think you know where it's coming from, the rule is that you must ask yourself if you are aware of that thing which you think is the source of the I. If you are, you haven't found the real source yet. So you keep going

If, for example, you say "It's coming from my head" -- well, ask yourself "Well, I am aware of the feeling and sight of my head, right?" Notice that. So where is the "I" that is aware of the head? It's not coming from the head -- it is aware of it. So where is the I feeling? It's just like you notice that there is light in a room, and you're looking for the source of the light. Is it coming from this chair? No. The chair is lit up by something else. Is it coming from that table? Same deal. So keep searching until you find the light bulb. You'll know it when you find it.

As far as psychologists, it's wonderful that you have them as friends, but I'm talking about going into psychoanalytic therapy. It's quite different from normal conversation. Google "psychoanalytic institute" "<your city>" and call them and see if they can give you a referral. PM me if you have questions.

14 minutes ago, Jordan94 said:

Alright, I was already feeling that I will probably at some point naturally be drawn into the seeking truth path

I'll stick to my desire for that moment being and maybe/probably let go of it later i guess

 

Would you say that self-inquiry will already be a good practice for my optimising hapiness interests already ? I mean in short/mid-term results point of view (6month ish)
I will probably try it anyways I never tried it yet

I've been trying different practices so far, mostly vipassana, Kriya, and mindfull presence, trying to figure out which one is best suited for me now

Unfortunately I can't speak with authority about what will optimize happiness in the short-term. Probably close, empathetic relationships with other people, eating the right food, sleeping right, taking care of your health, getting therapy, participating in art, and so on.