I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything

[purerogue]

If time does not exist  and everything is present, then I can not see how it can be until everyone realizes and there is none to realize to begin with.

[Angelite]

So there is only "peace-being-consciousness beyond time and space" . We are that but couldn't realize it at the moment?.......

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Angelite

[purerogue]

2 minutes ago, Angelite said:

So there is only "peace-being-consciousness beyond time and space" . We are that but couldn't realize it at the moment?.......

 

Time and space is illusion, everything happens at the same time , or rather there is no time at all , it is just one moment, but from your viewpoint it does look like there is time indeed. 

[winterknight]

29 minutes ago, zambize said:

I'm about to do my morning meditation, this morning I have two hours.  Are there any specific meditation techniques that you developed yourself or endorse strongly that not many people know about?  How would you recommend I best spend these two hours meditating? 

Ramana Maharshi's self-inquiry. That's all you have to do... intensely and intently attempt to locate the "I" that you know you are...

[Angelite]

@purerogue I meant to say in the present moment. the now. 

[winterknight]

9 minutes ago, Angelite said:

So there is only "peace-being-consciousness beyond time and space" . We are that but couldn't realize it at the moment?.......

Actually we all realize it right now. The idea that you don't realize is itself part of the illusion. But follow the path and inquire and you'll see it for yourself.

[Angelite]

Haha okay i had understand it now.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Angelite

[zambize]

So I did my two hour meditation, in the way you recommended, and yeah it was great, insightful and I felt like I was separating myself from my perceptions well, I just wanted to ask some questions so I can continue to improve on my use of this technique.  I intend on doing it this weekend for a day with a big ol bag of mushrooms and would like to get a handle on it.  

1. I found myself a few times asking whether I should continue to build the intent of figuring out where the "I am"ness and trying to separate myself from the perceptions that enter my awareness vs. going out and searching every corner of my awareness for things that I can separate myself from.  Should I be actively looking for this sense of "I am", or just building the intent for that "I am" feeling to come so that once it's at the front door of my awareness I can simple observe it with the knowledge that because I am perceiving it, it's a perception and not me

2.  On a fairly similar note, could you give me the name of the game, or tell me if I have the right impression.  I feel like there are two options,  I can intently focus on one aspect of my perceptions such as my visual perceptions and separate myself from those to a high degree if I only focus on that perception.  Or I can do a mediocre job trying to separate myself from my visual, inner/outer audio, outer touch, and emotional body all at once.  Am I going for depth or breadth?  

3.  Also quick, I did eyes closed and that seemed fine, is there any reason that one is better than the other (I know there are people who do eyes half open as well)?  Otherwise I'll just get a feel for what seems to work for me

[winterknight]

11 minutes ago, zambize said:

So I did my two hour meditation, in the way you recommended, and yeah it was great, insightful and I felt like I was separating myself from my perceptions well, I just wanted to ask some questions so I can continue to improve on my use of this technique.  I intend on doing it this weekend for a day with a big ol bag of mushrooms and would like to get a handle on it.  

1. I found myself a few times asking whether I should continue to build the intent of figuring out where the "I am"ness and trying to separate myself from the perceptions that enter my awareness vs. going out and searching every corner of my awareness for things that I can separate myself from.  Should I be actively looking for this sense of "I am", or just building the intent for that "I am" feeling to come so that once it's at the front door of my awareness I can simple observe it with the knowledge that because I am perceiving it, it's a perception and not me

2.  On a fairly similar note, could you give me the name of the game, or tell me if I have the right impression.  I feel like there are two options,  I can intently focus on one aspect of my perceptions such as my visual perceptions and separate myself from those to a high degree if I only focus on that perception.  Or I can do a mediocre job trying to separate myself from my visual, inner/outer audio, outer touch, and emotional body all at once.  Am I going for depth or breadth?  

3.  Also quick, I did eyes closed and that seemed fine, is there any reason that one is better than the other (I know there are people who do eyes half open as well)?  Otherwise I'll just get a feel for what seems to work for me

1. No, the point is not to go and find things to separate yourself from. You HAVE the sense “I am” at all times. What is that sense? That’s all you’re trying to figure out. That’s it. If you think it’s something, THEN you can notice you’re separate from it. But that is not the point. Imagine if you were hunting for treasure. Is the point to figure out all the places it’s not? No. 

2. Again, figure out how it is that you know that you are. You do know that you are. Where is that knowledge coming from?

3. Doesn’t matter initially. Later you will need to do it with eyes open, indeed as you are living your life and doing other stuff.

[zambize]

13 minutes ago, winterknight said:

1. No, the point is not to go and find things to separate yourself from. You HAVE the sense “I am” at all times. What is that sense? That’s all you’re trying to figure out. That’s it. If you think it’s something, THEN you can notice you’re separate from it. But that is not the point. Imagine if you were hunting for treasure. Is the point to figure out all the places it’s not? No. 

2. Again, figure out how it is that you know that you are. You do know that you are. Where is that knowledge coming from?

3. Doesn’t matter initially. Later you will need to do it with eyes open, indeed as you are living your life and doing other stuff.

Ahhhhh okay okay, I guess when I kept thinking "I am" and I didn't notice too much pop up in my awareness, I tried to hunt and hunt for it.  When I couldn't find it, and I felt like I was being redundant, I tried to figure out everything that I for sure was not to separate that out in hopes that what I am could sneak through.  What I am not is my perceptions and senses, at least that's what I believe right now, so I hoped that scooting all that to the side would allow me to put the pieces together as to what in my awareness I was aware of that wasn't a perception.  That being said, I will spend the whole two hours next time solely looking for my treasure, and not where the treasure is not.  

[winterknight]

6 minutes ago, zambize said:

Ahhhhh okay okay, I guess when I kept thinking "I am" and I didn't notice too much pop up in my awareness, I tried to hunt and hunt for it.  When I couldn't find it, and I felt like I was being redundant, I tried to figure out everything that I for sure was not to separate that out in hopes that what I am could sneak through.  What I am not is my perceptions and senses, at least that's what I believe right now, so I hoped that scooting all that to the side would allow me to put the pieces together as to what in my awareness I was aware of that wasn't a perception.  That being said, I will spend the whole two hours next time solely looking for my treasure, and not where the treasure is not.  

Good idea. When you “feel like you’re being redundant,” ask yourself — who is it that is aware of feeling that way? “I am,” right? How do you know? Who or where is that “I”? And then if you focus on that for a while, maybe you grow frustrated... who or what is aware of that frustration? “I am,” again, right? Where is THAT knowledge/feeling coming from? And repeat... hold to that “I” with a dogged persistence and trace it. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by winterknight

[zambize]

1 minute ago, winterknight said:

Good idea. When you “feel like you’re being redundant,” ask yourself — who is it that is aware of feeling that way? “I am,” right? How do you know? Who or where is that “I”? And then if you focus on that for a while, maybe you grow frustrated... who or what is aware of that frustration? “I am,” again, right? Where is THAT knowledge/feeling coming from? And repeat...

Awesome, I'll be following that tomorrow for 2-3 hours and see where we can get, much appreciated, your time spent answering my questions will be well worth it

[EvilAngel]

@winterknight what is loneliness?

and also, can there be suffering in the present moment?

[winterknight]

11 minutes ago, EvilAngel said:

@winterknight what is loneliness?

and also, can there be suffering in the present moment?

Loneliness is the feeling of pain you get when you feel your needs for intimacy and connection are not being met (whether or not that is true).

Yes, there can be suffering as long as there is identification with the body and mind — or, if you prefer, we could say that as long as such identification continues, there’s no way to access the “true” present moment.

[EvilAngel]

Thankyou,

Is it possible to be completely isolated from other human beings for a long time and still be content?

[seeking_brilliance]

@winterknight I loved your website's post on self-inquiry. I finally put two and two together that self inquiry is to go from an intellectual knowing of no-self, straight to the direct experience. No need to sit around waiting for the experience, there's actually an interesting and fun way to draw it to you. 

You don't even need to encourage concentration practices, because it is of itself a concentration practice, and any attention given to another concentration practice takes away from time to do self inquiry. 

Also, no need to meditate. Stop focusing on those chakras unless you just really enjoy doing it! Self inquiry is a great meditation! 

All of this has been said before in this thread, I know, but it's funny how the mind doesn't want to accept things unless it thinks its it's own idea.  

I've found myself doing self inquiry randomly throughout the day, except for when I am really busy or irritated.  I hope for more "check-ins" (we'll call them) through these more difficult times. 

Your help (and shout out to @Preetom@Preetom) on understanding self inquiry has been the biggest blessing, because I couldn't wrap my head around it and so chose to ignore it. (by the way, that's a huge bad tendency that I'd love to work on with therapist.)

Much thanks and love ( if you can find a you to accept it)! 

[seeking_brilliance]

@winterknight I have been toying with an anology of oneness, or no separation. (and yes, let's add all those "within the illusion of Maya disclaimers") ---

It is like a large jello mold (and then imagine that the jello mold is all there is). In a jello mold, you can find many cubes of different colored objects(fruit, candies, etc) , but once the mold is made, it's all jello. The bits of fruits can't move around inside the jello mold, not because they are stuck, but because they literally ARE the mold. In a similar sense, we think we move around in empty space called air, but the air itself is also part of the mold. There is no room to move around. We are in fact still, while thoughts say that there is movement.

 

[winterknight]

2 hours ago, seeking_brilliance said:

@winterknight I loved your website's post on self-inquiry. I finally put two and two together that self inquiry is to go from an intellectual knowing of no-self, straight to the direct experience. No need to sit around waiting for the experience, there's actually an interesting and fun way to draw it to you. 

You don't even need to encourage concentration practices, because it is of itself a concentration practice, and any attention given to another concentration practice takes away from time to do self inquiry. 

Also, no need to meditate. Stop focusing on those chakras unless you just really enjoy doing it! Self inquiry is a great meditation! 

All of this has been said before in this thread, I know, but it's funny how the mind doesn't want to accept things unless it thinks its it's own idea.  

I've found myself doing self inquiry randomly throughout the day, except for when I am really busy or irritated.  I hope for more "check-ins" (we'll call them) through these more difficult times. 

Your help (and shout out to @Preetom@Preetom) on understanding self inquiry has been the biggest blessing, because I couldn't wrap my head around it and so chose to ignore it. (by the way, that's a huge bad tendency that I'd love to work on with therapist.)

Much thanks and love ( if you can find a you to accept it)! 

 So glad to hear all this. And you're very welcome!

2 hours ago, seeking_brilliance said:

@winterknight I have been toying with an anology of oneness, or no separation. (and yes, let's add all those "within the illusion of Maya disclaimers") ---

It is like a large jello mold (and then imagine that the jello mold is all there is). In a jello mold, you can find many cubes of different colored objects(fruit, candies, etc) , but once the mold is made, it's all jello. The bits of fruits can't move around inside the jello mold, not because they are stuck, but because they literally ARE the mold. In a similar sense, we think we move around in empty space called air, but the air itself is also part of the mold. There is no room to move around. We are in fact still, while thoughts say that there is movement.

What you're talking about is the ego's idea of no-movement. There are still bits and movement in the air, even if that movement is not "real." Actually there are no bits or mold or air -- that's the real no-movement.

[Preetom]

4 hours ago, seeking_brilliance said:

@winterknight I loved your website's post on self-inquiry. I finally put two and two together that self inquiry is to go from an intellectual knowing of no-self, straight to the direct experience. No need to sit around waiting for the experience, there's actually an interesting and fun way to draw it to you. 

You don't even need to encourage concentration practices, because it is of itself a concentration practice, and any attention given to another concentration practice takes away from time to do self inquiry. 

Also, no need to meditate. Stop focusing on those chakras unless you just really enjoy doing it! Self inquiry is a great meditation! 

All of this has been said before in this thread, I know, but it's funny how the mind doesn't want to accept things unless it thinks its it's own idea.  

I've found myself doing self inquiry randomly throughout the day, except for when I am really busy or irritated.  I hope for more "check-ins" (we'll call them) through these more difficult times. 

Your help (and shout out to @Preetom@Preetom) on understanding self inquiry has been the biggest blessing, because I couldn't wrap my head around it and so chose to ignore it. (by the way, that's a huge bad tendency that I'd love to work on with therapist.)

Much thanks and love ( if you can find a you to accept it)! 

Your post reminded me something from the forward of Talks with Ramana Maharshi  

''Sri Ramana’s central teaching is: Self-inquiry. Instead of wanting to
know this and that, seek to know the Self. Ask ‘Who am I?’ instead
of asking about a hundred other things. Self-inquiry ought to be the
easiest of all tasks. But it seems to be the most difficult because we
have become strangers to our Self. What one has to do is simple to

abide as the Self. This is the ultimate Truth. This is one’s eternal,
natural, inherent state. On account of ignorance we identify ourselves
with the not-I.''

[Sashaj]

10 hours ago, winterknight said:

Good idea. When you “feel like you’re being redundant,” ask yourself — who is it that is aware of feeling that way? “I am,” right? How do you know? Who or where is that “I”? And then if you focus on that for a while, maybe you grow frustrated... who or what is aware of that frustration? “I am,” again, right? Where is THAT knowledge/feeling coming from? And repeat... hold to that “I” with a dogged persistence and trace it. 

I love the simplicity of the process but I feel like I’d be bored in 5 minutes with such a futile search for something that doesn’t exist!