I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything

[tsuki]

11 minutes ago, winterknight said:

Hrm, not when I'm describing the path. If someone asks me about my experience, yes.

Does it feel like an empty/cloudy/nebulous mind that knows that it knows, but just can't put it to words? It does to me.
It's like - certain paths resonate with me and I like the way they put it, but it just doesn't do justice to this feeling so I try and try and try...

It sometimes seems like an endless source of creativity. Can you relate?

19 minutes ago, winterknight said:

What do you mean by "fluidity of meaning"?

Your question is a perfect answer to what I was asking about. The fact that what I say is not what you read (and vice versa).
How do you reconcile with it in your answers? 

I was also asking about 'who are you talking to?' and you pointed towards Maya. What is the relationship between meaning, understanding and Maya?

24 minutes ago, winterknight said:

Some of both. I'm not really thinking when I respond -- the mind is calm, and the answer is coming from some deep inner place automatically.

It may seem like I'm picking your answers apart, but I bear no malicious intent.
Given your previous neo-advaita-ish answers, do you mean that thoughts arise by themselves, or do you not experience the inner voice at all?
Is the calmness simply the lack of the mental 'hiccup' when we are presented with something unexpected, or is the mind completely dead?

In a sense, I can relate to having no thoughts, but only because of not taking the seriously (learning their nature by observation).
I am not identified with thoughts that arise. They are not 'me' and 'me' can never be found.

[winterknight]

8 minutes ago, tsuki said:

Does it feel like an empty/cloudy/nebulous mind that knows that it knows, but just can't put it to words? It does to me.
It's like - certain paths resonate with me and I like the way they put it, but it just doesn't do justice to this feeling so I try and try and try...

It sometimes seems like an endless source of creativity. Can you relate?

Well, to some extent, yes.
 

Quote

Your question is a perfect answer to what I was asking about. The fact that what I say is not what you read (and vice versa).
How do you reconcile with it in your answers? 

It's the nature of language. If the other person doesn't seem to get it and asks for clarification, I try to clarify, and hopefully we move slightly closer to understanding. It's an iterative process.

Quote

I was also asking about 'who are you talking to?' and you pointed towards Maya. What is the relationship between meaning, understanding and Maya?

That's a very general, abstract question. There's no answer to it outside a particular context and situation.

Quote

Given your previous neo-advaita-ish answers, do you mean that thoughts arise by themselves, or do you not experience the inner voice at all?

Well, as with all questions about my experience, it is technically unanswerable. At the truest level, there is no experience.

But if we admit my experience, then I will say that there can be thoughts, but that here, the writing seems to occur without much if any prior thinking. I am only talking about my answers in this thread, not my life generally.

Edited November 14, 2018 by winterknight

[winterknight]

4 minutes ago, Ero said:

@winterknight Is it a problem that nothing has changed in the seeker?Like personal development always affects him when there's a breakthrough. Yet with that experience, nothing has changed. It's like the I never experienced it. It didn't exist. I can't remember it. Only the feeling of being, which is present eternally. The shenanigans continue, as of nothing happened. Is that normal? 

Yup. Just keep up the inquiry and don't have any expectations about how it should or shouldn't affect the seeker.

[tsuki]

3 minutes ago, winterknight said:

At the truest level, there is no experience.

Can you elaborate on that?
Can you establish what do you mean by experience (and perhaps say why is it said that enlightenment is not an experience)?

[winterknight]

6 minutes ago, tsuki said:

Can you elaborate on that?
Can you establish what do you mean by experience (and perhaps say why is it said that enlightenment is not an experience)?

Yes, "experience" is a mental category, and recognition of the Self entails seeing that all mental categories are false.

[Annoynymous]

1 hour ago, winterknight said:

It's a process of discovery. It starts with paying attention to your feelings -- those are always rooted in your body. If you think you want something, and then you imagine doing it, how do you feel? Do you feel tense or open? Happy or sad? If, for example, you say "I really want to be a rocket scientist," but then when you think about what it involves, you feel exhausted at the very idea. So try to pay attention to exactly how you feel and also what other thoughts to come mind. If you feel exhausted at the idea of all the math a rocket scientist would have to do, that may be telling you something about what you want in a career: a career that doesn't involve that much math.

Now that's just imagining options. Even more important to feel your emotions when you are actually doing stuff. You think you like tennis, but when you play -- how do you feel? Open and at peace? Then maybe you do like it. But if not... try different things.

Notice how your narrative can cover up your true emotions. For example, a friend succeeds at something you wanted to succeed at. You might feel jealousy, but then tell yourself "I'm happy for him." That's because you're not supposed to feel jealous of a friend. But if you are paying careful attention to your feelings, you can notice that jealousy and admit it to yourself. Don't judge your feelings. That doesn't mean you have to act on that jealousy, but there's nothing wrong with feeling it.

Also, I recommend to all seekers that they strongly consider psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy. This definitely helps with centering on your desire.

 

@winterknight thank you for your answer. I would like to ask you another question. You talked about jealousy. It is usually labelled as negative emotion. Whenever i feel these sort of emotion like anger greed jealousy anxiety, i usually find myself in a difficult position to act according to it. For example, whenever i tend to be depressed, i smoke a lot. So how can i experience such negative emotions without acting on it impulsively? And why it is important to experience negative emotions at the very first place?

[tsuki]

18 minutes ago, winterknight said:

Yes, "experience" is a mental category, and recognition of the Self entails seeing that all mental categories are false.

All mental categories are false in the absolute sense?
For example: If I say that this particular car is a Mercedes, then this is ultimately false because as I look closely and examine into what a car is, it turns to something intangible, without clearly definable boundaries. A 'car' is just an appearance because I am not looking closely enough?

The above paragraph relates to my question about Maya, meaning and understanding.

Would you agree with the following sentence: "Everything is relative and that in itself is absolute"?

Edited November 14, 2018 by tsuki

[WindInTheLeaf]

12 hours ago, winterknight said:

Any question about the spiritual path to which you actually want to know. If your motivation in asking is to further your own quest for the truth. Look into your feelings and decide for yourself.

My biggest hindrance, it seems, has been that I have sought answers to questions I believed to be on the spiritual path, while the questions I needed to ask were the once that asked themselves when I let go of a wish to find truth. How can I, in my confusion, be a better guide at self-inquiry than the winds and waves of is. By self-inquiry I can come to understand and untie the knot of duality, but if I realize, at least intellectually, that the very act of self-inquiry, when done from a point of separation from is, is that very problem i tempt to solve. Self-inquiry should take the backseat as a passive observer and problem-solver, let it be what it is. When it becomes the guiding force of action, I have become removed from the truth that was trying to catch my attention, as I believed I knew what to look for. Instead of deciding, why not let your feelings decide? Shouldn't letting go of control come before inquiring into what arises, as it then allows whatever you have been actively avoiding to come to light. It's like I have been a ship sailing around in my own waters and created waves that keep echoing in eternity. As long as I keep moving, searching for solutions to problems I myself have created, I create more waves. When I become still and let the waves carry out themselves by listening to each one of them, allowing them to pass, I will soon come to rest in still waters. How do I know what is the right question to ask, when the right question asks itself when I am silent?

[winterknight]

12 minutes ago, tsuki said:

All mental categories are false in the absolute sense?
For example: If I say that this particular car is a Mercedes, then this is ultimately false because as I look closely and examine into what a car is, it turns to something intangible, without clearly definable boundaries. A 'car' is just an appearance because I am not looking closely enough?

The above paragraph relates to my question about Maya, meaning and understanding.

Not quite. The car is cognized by the mind, i.e. the "false I." Indeed, all experiences are.

When one recognizes the Self, it is clear that the mind and all its cognitions, all its perceptions, are in a kind of self-referential bubble. Only the mind takes itself to be real, and, taking itself to be real, takes the world to be real in relation to its own realness.

But the mind itself is not real, since it is an element of the mind's realness that it knows the boundaries of reality (that's what identification with the I means). When it is clear that there something beyond the mind, the mind's take on things is clearly wrong -- or really, not even that. Even "wrong" is a concept within the mind.

Quote

Would you agree with the following sentence: "Everything is relative and that in itself is absolute"?

Not really. If you're looking for absolute truth, the only thing that can be said about it is -- ...

Edited November 14, 2018 by winterknight

[who chit]

Quote

Would you agree with the following sentence: "Everything is relative and that in itself is absolute"?

I would call that an assumption.

[winterknight]

1 minute ago, WindInTheLeaf said:

My biggest hindrance, it seems, has been that I have sought answers to questions I believed to be on the spiritual path, while the questions I needed to ask were the once that asked themselves when I let go of a wish to find truth. How can I, in my confusion, be a better guide at self-inquiry than the winds and waves of is. By self-inquiry I can come to understand and untie the knot of duality, but if I realize, at least intellectually, that the very act of self-inquiry, when done from a point of separation from is, is that very problem i tempt to solve. Self-inquiry should take the backseat as a passive observer and problem-solver, let it be what it is. When it becomes the guiding force of action, I have become removed from the truth that was trying to catch my attention, as I believed I knew what to look for. Instead of deciding, why not let your feelings decide? Shouldn't letting go of control come before inquiring into what arises, as it then allows whatever you have been actively avoiding to come to light. It's like I have been a ship sailing around in my own waters and created waves that keep echoing in eternity. As long as I keep moving, searching for solutions to problems I myself have created, I create more waves. When I become still and let the waves carry out themselves by listening to each one of them, allowing them to pass, I will soon come to rest in still waters. How do I know what is the right question to ask, when the right question asks itself when I am silent?

Great, if you can simply allow yourself to remain in silence calmly no matter what happens, that's perfect.

[Pilgrim]

What's the connection between aligning your life in maya with your true desires and - enlightenment? Why is it important for me if I want to reach enlightenment to align my life here in this (illusory) reality with my true desires? 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Pilgrim

[tsuki]

25 minutes ago, winterknight said:

But the mind itself is not real, since it is an element of the mind's realness that it knows the boundaries of reality (that's what identification with the I means).

@winterknight Can you re-phrase this sentence and elaborate on what do you mean by realness?

Is seeing through the falsity of the mind related to polar thinking?

Edited November 14, 2018 by tsuki

[Jack River]

1 hour ago, winterknight said:

Yes, "experience" is a mental category, and recognition of the Self entails seeing that all mental categories are false.

This has to do with what we were saying before about recognition. I have noticed that in seeing this as FASLE recognizing, as in “mental categories”, does not respond or even take place. I mean it’s not that there is recognition but I’m aware of its falsness, but no mental categorical impressions appear at all.

Do you known what Im getting at? 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Jack River

[Jack River]

@winterknight and this seems to directly relate to the psychological “me” and it’s resistance/attachment to what is in this moment. What would you say to that dude?

If the “me” “movement” is in motion that seems to imply that is resistance/attachment in which pulls up,   sees through, “the me” knows(identification). 

When there is no resistance actually, that recognition too doesn’t seem to take place at all. 

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Jack River

[Forestluv]

11 hours ago, winterknight said:

Very true... surrender is scary. And liberating. But that's just why self-inquiry is suggested as the best way towards full surrender... you keep doing your thing until self-inquiry simply painlessly dissolves that "you."

It seems meditative self inquiry space has a distinct essence from conceptualizing. I often see people go into sophisticated concepts around enlightenment - many of which are quite alluring.

At times, I sense what could be called an advanced "observer + object" stage. "Objects" would include physical objects, thoughts, concepts, memories, feelings, physical body etc. There is an underlying awareness that is still and ever present. Spiritual conceptualizing seemed to be helpful for a while. There would be a glimpse of the Truth and upon "returning" to the self, the self did not dismiss it as "woo woo" because of the conceptual framework present. Yet now this deep state of pure presence is more common and stable. This pure presence doesn't need any concepts for validation. 

Digging into spiritual concepts seemed to serve me for so long, yet now there is a sense that they are a distraction and are actually pulling me away  from deeper awakening. Sometimes all the concepts seem like fun and games *within* that ISness. That they are all inherently meaningless and have no more relevance than any other input or impulse. Even the spiritual traditions, statues, bowing etc. lack relevance. In the place of emptiness, none of that stuff matters, it is only when the self returns that it seems to matter. In that stillness, ALL of the ideas, concepts, deities, enlightened masters, principles etc are within the illusion. All of it

For a being at this stage, would you recommend more sitting with nonverbal inquiry such as "what is perception?", "who am I?" as a bridge to the stillness of everything/nothing? Is part of deeper surrender letting go of spiritual concepts?

[WindInTheLeaf]

2 hours ago, winterknight said:

Great, if you can simply allow yourself to remain in silence calmly no matter what happens, that's perfect.

My point is rather, that whatever keeps me from stillness can be processed much faster if I just allow it to unfold. Truth is here now, so when I stop looking for it in time, and just inquire upon what arises post-experience as part of the process of self-discovery that is I, truth is what is.

When 'I' take the wheel I am driving while looking out the back window. I react to certain impressions and attempt to figure out how to drive. But I am always a step behind and try to react to the road behind me. This is actively trying to solve the maze of the mind. When 'I' take the back seat and stop wasting energy trying to drive, I can better sense and deal with, actually better self-inquire upon, whatever causes unrest beneath my surface. 

When anything is let go, it will come back to its resting position. So when I let go, will I not be carried back through my maze and into the light of being? Is any movement of mind what brings me into the spiral of ego? If I am already enlightened, I need not find answers, and if I am not, will any question asked not be done from a place of confusion bringing about more confusion? Truth is like a child playing hide and seek. As long as I am seeking, it is hiding, but if I stop seeking it will come to me.

Edit: Perhaps rather, I will come to truth.

Edited November 14, 2018 by WindInTheLeaf
.

[seeking_brilliance]

@winterknight What does "previous life" mean, and does this imply a soul (or memory bank)? 

[graded24]

@winterknight 
1- Sometimes when I am looking for the "I", and can clearly see that I am not the body, thought etc.. i arrive at a weird situation because THEN it feels like the only "I" that is here is the one looking for the "I", aka the meditator. So there is an "I" as long as I am looking for it, because I, the looker, is it. So if I stop looking then there is no "I".  I dont know where to go next? 

2- In my daily life, as i continue the self-inquiry, how can i think the thoughts i need for my work and still inquire into 'who am i'? I can do one or the other

3- You say that self-inquiry leads to a I-free state and then we are to just abide there, right? But how do I know when to stop? Because even after the I-free state arrives, I can ask, 'who is experiencing this' ? Or is it that such a question wont arise naturally in an I-free state? 

Edited November 14, 2018 by graded24

[SoonHei]

@winterknight

please advise about the eternal NOW

 

it is said that past, present, future do not exist. I understand that. they all appeared/will appear in the ever present and ONLY NOW

 

it is also said, that past, present and future all EXIST already IN THE NOW

 

could you clarify how that is so?

i presume that's being said from the point of view of the SELF

but aren't I the self right NOW? and upon awakening... I will only still be here in 2018... not in 1955 or year 2344.. i will be here NOW

 

is that then just referring to the fact that since there is only the SELF . whatever happened or will happen or is happneing is all witnessed/known by the self

 

so though, the future, which is yet to appear in the NOW... is not yet here... but when it does, it will be known by the self... so in a way, it already exists?