I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything

[Preetom]

@SoonHei

''There is no free will'' or any non dual truths translated by the mind never works as a mantra.

It only enables the ego to come in through the back door and co-opt the nondual teaching.

Unfortunately this is the case I'm waking up to every single day  

The better and legit strategy is to dump all this business and fix everything you have on that I AM, until it's truth gets revealed to you once and for all

Also another important thing I'm realizing is, never..I mean NEVER refer to a thought about the state of your Consciousness or who you really are; no matter how clever and sweet that sounds. The sooner you realize the folly of thoughts, the better. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Preetom

[winterknight]

43 minutes ago, SoonHei said:

@winterknight

I feel like the ego maybe playing a trick?

I recently stumbled upon the no free will concept and my ego seems to have taken a liking to it , to use in tough moments and also then it seems sneakily to be using it to allow egoic.desires or cravings.

Like wanting to drink pepsi when i have made an effort to quit my craving for it and eat and be healthy

So when I somehow end up drinking it again (lol), it's due to my ego's answer when i have a moment of thought prior to drinking it. About reminding myself i would not drink it   and then next thought about free will.comes and says relax, you are not in control, let whatever happens happen, it is ultimately all just appearing to you.

At this point the ego jumps in and says, see no worries, relax, lets drink that Pepsi, you know you are just aware of it. It's the body mind thats drinking etc...

So how do.i. overcome this impass of the no free will which seems to be stepping in for me for the wrong egoic needs and justifications.

This is a confusion about the meaning of free will. If you don't have free will, it's also the case that choosing not to drink the pepsi is also not-your-free-will.

Anyhow, though, the deeper issue is that this is a war between different desires within you. You cannot win battles against yourself, and it is not your job to try.

The battle is between the desire you think you have for Pepsi and the desire to do what you "should" do -- the "healthy" thing.

Your job is not to pick between these impulses. Your job is not to take sides and talk about what is "wrong" or "right" in egoic impulse.

Your job is to listen to them, and see what they are really saying -- especially the "Pepsi" desire. What does Pepsi really mean to you? What is it giving you? What are the emotional needs it is if fulfilling, and might there be other ways to get it?

Your job is to be honest about and align yourself with what you want, even if you are "not supposed to" want it because it's "wrong." 

But maybe it isn't Pepsi you really want, but something deeper... look into that. Do not condemn it, judge it, tell it is bad, negative, to be gotten rid of. Feel your feelings, listen to them, and try to understand. It is a process.

All this seems trivial (it's "just" about a Pepsi) but it is not -- these kinds of desires often have deep roots in our childhoods, psyches, and emotional patterns. That's why I always recommend psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy.

Edited November 26, 2018 by winterknight

[seeking_brilliance]

@winterknight

25 minutes ago, winterknight said:

This is a confusion about the meaning of free will. If you don't have free will, it's also the case that choosing not to drink the pepsi is also not-your-free-will.

well I wish we could go more into this free will topic, Because like @SoonHei , I have recently come upon this insight, seeing that there is no me, no thinker, no one choosing the thoughts. They just seem to appear, and things happen. And it seems that I'm wrestling with myself over whether I should do this or that, when it's actually just thoughts that arise about wrestling with myself. I loved his example about drinking the pepsi, because I feel a similar way. It seems that the whole 'no free will' thing is easy fodder for justifying when you do something wrong, or are lazy, or anything the thoughts appear as negative. 

But when you see there's no chooser of actions, it seems like these things just happen, including the thoughts of wrestling with oneself over to do a certain thing or not. It would seem that in the end, if I were to drink a pepsi, it was always going to happen that way, and there was never a question of if I wasnt going to drink the pepsi. And vice versa, with no way to tell beforehand what the outcome will be until the action is already underway. 

But all that being said, I need to contemplate more on the answer you gave. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by seeking_brilliance

[purerogue]

Probably because your body acts on its own memory most of the time, then there is your ego and then there is consciousness. and then there is higher consciousness that likes to play its game too . 

[winterknight]

6 minutes ago, seeking_brilliance said:

@winterknight

well I wish we could go more into this free will topic, Because like @SoonHei , I have recently come upon this insight, seeing that there is no me, no thinker, no one choosing the thoughts. They just seem to appear, and things happen. And it seems that I'm wrestling with myself over whether I should do this or that, when it's actually just thoughts that arise about wrestling with myself. I loved his example about drinking the pepsi, because I feel a similar way. It seems that the whole 'no free will' thing is easy fodder for justifying when you do something wrong, or are lazy, or anything the thoughts appear as negative. 

But when you see there's no chooser of actions, it seems like these things just happen, including the thoughts of wrestling with oneself over to do a certain thing or not. It would seem that in the end, if I were to drink a pepsi, it was always going to happen that way, and there was never a question of if I wasnt going to drink the pepsi. And vice versa, with no way to tell beforehand what the outcome will be until the action is already underway. 

But all that being said, I need to contemplate more on the answer you gave. 

Well look, as long as you're distressed about these different thoughts about whether to drink it or not, etc. -- self-inquiry has to continue. When self-inquiry is finished, it will no longer be a question that bothers you, because, as you said, you will not identify with the one who is choosing... but that can't be simply an intellectual understanding. It has to penetrate into your perspective deeply.

Edited November 26, 2018 by winterknight

[seeking_brilliance]

3 minutes ago, winterknight said:

Well look, as long as you're distressed about these different thoughts about whether to drink it or not, etc. -- self-inquiry has to continue. When self-inquiry is finished, it will no longer be a question that bothers you, because, as you said, you will not identify with the one who is choosing... but that can't be simply an intellectual understanding. It has to penetrate into your perspective deeply.

Gotcha. Absolutely.  

[SoonHei]

@Preetom @winterknight

 

Thank you.

Once again it seems the focus is upon brining the attention to the I AM and detach and not get caught in the choices..thank you

 

 

Also, another thing which i have noticed that even thoughts can be / are " trained " to respond and act a certain way

 

For example, someone with low consiousness might not think twice before identifying heavily with the unfavorable situation and becoming angry as a result

 

Someone who has done practice of being mindful might take a step back, become aware and then allow the anger to pass much easily.

 

Its like the thought which comes to the aid of the one with the training/conditioning is out of anyone's control but if observed, its being there is subject to having contemplated about the nature of thoughts.

 

So the path unravels and evolves on its own.

Or rather, path is seen to evolve

Ans then again, what is a path?

 

 

[Hellspeed]

@winterknight Put a photo of yours, or you are just a copy from a copy regurgitating copies. I don't see uniqueness and originality. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Hellspeed

[graded24]

@winterknight  Remember my 'wtf is all this?' moments?
Why do those occur ? Is it that in that moment i am dis-identified with my ego a little, and hence am close to the true Self, and that Self doesnt really know "objects".. and thats why suddenly the existence itself looks bizarre and unfamiliar ?  

[winterknight]

42 minutes ago, graded24 said:

@winterknight  Remember my 'wtf is all this?' moments?
Why do those occur ? Is it that in that moment i am dis-identified with my ego a little, and hence am close to the true Self, and that Self doesnt really know "objects".. and thats why suddenly the existence itself looks bizarre and unfamiliar ?  

You could interpret it that way if you wanted, though really you're always close to the true Self, of course -- or rather, you always are that Self.

There's actually no getting closer to or farther from it. 

All that happened is that your mental perspective got shaken a little. It can happen for all kinds of reasons... it's a matter of interpretation. Best to view it generally as a call to the spirit, and not to place too much significance on it or try to understand it with too much precision (unless you have a really strong desire to do so).

Edited November 27, 2018 by winterknight

[Pat Pagano]

@winterknight Have you had any experiences that would lead you to think that reincarnation is a true phenomena? Like maybe an experience(memory) of a past life or perhaps an insight into the way life brings forth "seemly" sentient beings and then also takes them back into itself(even tho they were always inside of God I guess ahahha) 

So yeah just curious about another persons perspective on reincarnation I guess?

[winterknight]

8 hours ago, Pat Pagano said:

@winterknight Have you had any experiences that would lead you to think that reincarnation is a true phenomena? Like maybe an experience(memory) of a past life or perhaps an insight into the way life brings forth "seemly" sentient beings and then also takes them back into itself(even tho they were always inside of God I guess ahahha) 

So yeah just curious about another persons perspective on reincarnation I guess?

From the enlightened perspective, the issue is that nothing is really born, let alone reborn...

[Ecocotton]

@Winterknight  How can enlightened teachers know what they know? As in things about how free will works, what happens when the body/mind dies, reincarnation etc.

How important is IQ when it comes to how easy or hard it is to become enlightened. Are your chances of becoming enlightened small if you don't have above average IQ?

Also I am constantly going around being afraid of different hell realities that god could create, like a reality were all you are conscious of is extreme pain for eternity. I am constantly living in fear thinking about it so I'm wondering how do you think I should relate to this?

Thanks!

[winterknight]

51 minutes ago, Ecocotton said:

@Winterknight  How can enlightened teachers know what they know? As in things about how free will works, what happens when the body/mind dies, reincarnation etc.

It's not intellectual knowledge. The words they speak merely come out of the extremely simple recognition that they have made of the Self -- which is simply what you are, constantly, every second. It's hidden in plain sight. Everything else flows from that recognition.

Quote

How important is IQ when it comes to how easy or hard it is to become enlightened. Are your chances of becoming enlightened small if you don't have above average IQ?

No, it's not necessary to have an above-average IQ. What you mainly need is a strong desire for liberation and an open mind. 

Quote

Also I am constantly going around being afraid of different hell realities that god could create, like a reality were all you are conscious of is extreme pain for eternity. I am constantly living in fear thinking about it so I'm wondering how do you think I should relate to this?

Three or four possible approaches. I suspect these fears are telling you something that you need to listen to. I recommend you consider getting psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy. Also, write or create art about these fears in great detail till you feel you have captured "what it is like to have them."

Or you can ask yourself "Who is feeling these fears?" and work your way into the feeling of the "I" that way. But if that doesn't stick, try the above methods.

Edited November 27, 2018 by winterknight

[Ecocotton]

@winterknight Thank you! If the fear of hell realities stems mainly from a trauma of psychosis where it made me feel like god hated me and I was hearing voices that hated me and wanting me to kill my self, but I wouldn't even die I would just end up in some sort off hell. How can the knowledge of the fear coming from that trauma help me in therapy? What type of answer should I be looking for?

[winterknight]

15 minutes ago, Ecocotton said:

@winterknight Thank you! If the fear of hell realities stems mainly from a trauma of psychosis where it made me feel like god hated me and I was hearing voices that hated me and wanting me to kill my self, but I wouldn't even die I would just end up in some sort off hell. How can the knowledge of the fear coming from that trauma help me in therapy? What type of answer should I be looking for?

Therapy is not just about abstract "knowledge of the fear." It can get deeply into your emotions and help you feel things that you cannot normally allow yourself to feel, because you are in a safe, expert relationship.

I recommend therapy to all serious seekers, and if you have suffered traumatic psychoses in the past, then therapy will be of great help to you. These things may be essential to your spiritual search. Do you still hear the voices?

Use this link to find a good therapist -- and if you have any trouble, feel free to PM me.

Edited November 27, 2018 by winterknight

[Outer]

Damn you talk fast in your videos! I knew you were a smart guy!

 

[Ecocotton]

14 minutes ago, winterknight said:

Do you still hear the voices?

No I don't hear voices still. I had tree psychotic episodes in a years time that lasted for 1-2 weeks each. I was hearing voices, had tactile hallucinations and it felt like I was sharing mind and body with everyone around me and I felt like I could read everyones thoughts and emotions and they could read mine. It was terrifying and horrific. I know this thread is not about psychosis but thanks for your clear answers they helped a lot.

[Annoynymous]

@winterknight what are the benefits of meditation?

 

[winterknight]

3 hours ago, Outer said:

Damn you talk fast in your videos! I knew you were a smart guy!

Sorry about that... been a lifelong flaw 

36 minutes ago, Annoynymous said:

@winterknight what are the benefits of meditation?

It quiets the mind. But the best meditation is self-inquiry, which both quiets the mind and leads to the destruction of ignorance.