I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything

[Outer]

How do you feel now that you are enlightened?

[Preetom]

@winterknight

1) What's the most conducive view on free will vs predetermination for a seeker?

2) What's your personal standing on this topic before and after self-realization?  

[Stules]

Akilesh-san

Just finished  "How to find what isn't lost"

Wonderful book. Very clear direction for me. A lot of what I read, although interesting and stimulating, lacks practical direction.

The intellectulal side of me also wants to know the "why" of what to do as well. You explain the reasons very well.

Thank you

Stu

[winterknight]

6 hours ago, Outer said:

How do you feel now that you are enlightened?

I could say peaceful, but really no answer is accurate as to what enlightenment "feels like."

4 hours ago, Preetom said:

@winterknight

1) What's the most conducive view on free will vs predetermination for a seeker?

2) What's your personal standing on this topic before and after self-realization?  

1. I prefer "god's will" to predetermination. For the seeker, the productive view is that in truth it's all god's will but that so long as one views oneself as a seeker, one must act as if one has free will anyway -- or else the question should be written off as unanswerable from the perspective of the mind

2. before: I took the view above. after: both free will and god's will are technically incorrect, though the latter is very close to correct.

2 hours ago, Stules said:

Akilesh-san

Just finished  "How to find what isn't lost"

Wonderful book. Very clear direction for me. A lot of what I read, although interesting and stimulating, lacks practical direction.

The intellectulal side of me also wants to know the "why" of what to do as well. You explain the reasons very well.

Thank you

Stu

Glad you enjoyed it.

[Stules]

I enjoyed it. 

It is the clear guidance that I am greateful for

Stu

[Preetom]

22 minutes ago, winterknight said:

1. I prefer "god's will" to predetermination. For the seeker, the productive view is that in truth it's all god's will but that so long as one views oneself as a seeker, one must act as if one has free will anyway -- or else the question should be written off as unanswerable from the perspective of the mind

2. before: I took the view above. after: both free will and god's will are technically incorrect, though the latter is very close to correct.

 

Why ''god's will''?

Is it because it sounds creative, magical? like god has intelligence that can intervene anywhere anytime and perform miracles?

While 'predetermination' sounds like a dead, dumb program made from the beginning of time with no actual consequence? I mean like a video game/movie that is already programmed and no matter how many times one runs it, it's always gonna yield the same thing with no actual consequence in real life.

[Outer]

What do you think of a saying that "In Zazen, I become nothing, and nothing becomes everything." or " ... and everything becomes nothing". Does that seem familiar to you?

I haven't seen anyone else ask you what unity or oneness is to you. I'm wondering this. Sometimes I can feel like everything is very intimate. It coincides with the no-thoughts state. I suspect this is because the default mode network is shutting down in the brain. Also there are thoughts like everything is determined in this state.

Edited January 4, 2019 by Outer

[winterknight]

10 hours ago, Preetom said:

Why ''god's will''?

Is it because it sounds creative, magical? like god has intelligence that can intervene anywhere anytime and perform miracles?

While 'predetermination' sounds like a dead, dumb program made from the beginning of time with no actual consequence? I mean like a video game/movie that is already programmed and no matter how many times one runs it, it's always gonna yield the same thing with no actual consequence in real life.

Yes, something like that. The thing is, laws in real life have to be interpreted by an intelligent person. They don't execute themselves. And in every interpretation there is creativity that is itself not spelled out in the laws.

That is infinitely more so for "laws" of karma, which would presumably operate in a predetermined world.

So that creativity is what's actually running the show... that infinite intelligence, if we're going to use words, can best be termed God's will if we must have a term. 

9 hours ago, Outer said:

What do you think of a saying that "In Zazen, I become nothing, and nothing becomes everything." or " ... and everything becomes nothing". Does that seem familiar to you?

I haven't seen anyone else ask you what unity or oneness is to you. I'm wondering this. Sometimes I can feel like everything is very intimate. It coincides with the no-thoughts state. I suspect this is because the default mode network is shutting down in the brain. Also there are thoughts like everything is determined in this state.

Yes, one could say they feel familiar, but these discussions of "what it's like" are counterproductive... they can never get at the Truth. The truth is not an object to be described like that. All the Zen sayings are merely pointers, trying to help seekers recognize That themselves, not an actual description of That.

5 hours ago, Etherial Cat said:

@winterknight

It is powerful. The structure is awesome, and so is the content and the explanations. I second that post.

I can not explain how grateful I am for the existence of this book. I was planning to read a couple pages before bed, and ended up devouring it until early in the morning.  I am not done yet, but I'll keep binge reading it later for sure,

So pleased. No pressure, but if you have any inclination to leave an Amazon review, it might be helpful for other readers, and I would appreciate it

[Preetom]

@winterknight

If you remember the word 'I', what significance it has right now or where does it point towards naturally and honestly?

[Vitamine Water]

@winterknightI haven't read every post in this thread, but I deeply respect the time and effort you put in answering everyone here.

 

Edited January 4, 2019 by Vitamine Water

[winterknight]

1 hour ago, Preetom said:

@winterknight

If you remember the word 'I', what significance it has right now or where does it point towards naturally and honestly?

To that which cannot be spoken or thought.

2 hours ago, Etherial Cat said:

Will do. I also plan to give it away to friends.  I always had an harder time talking spirituality with my philosophy leaning friends, but your approach will get them to see deeper. Many will speak about the Matrix, per example, but can't break through the issues of that paradigm. I'm confident this book is well built enough to pick their interest in re-assessing the different options.

I haven't been this excited about a book since the blessed days I got my long awaited new Harry potter, or found the Power of Now. 

Wonderful 

2 hours ago, Vitamine Water said:

@winterknightI haven't read every post in this thread, but I deeply respect the time and effort you put in answering everyone here.

Thank you.

[cetus]

@winterknight God wants to experience himself as every infinite possability. Enlightenment is foolproof. There is no going wrong! 

So glade to be sharing this experience with all of you "infinite possibilities" of God

[zambize]

I'm back with a few questions, will also be getting your book after vacation which I'm really excited about, Etherial Cat kind of has me sold with her review, no pressure if I think it sucks though!

1.   I hear some enlightened people claim they have no ego, others claim they have an enlightened ego, others a spiritual ego, for me I kind of feel like me and my ego are a team of sorts, my ego looks out for a lot of my survival needs but often needs to be redirected.  It's like it needs to be taught by awareness so to say.  Anyways, what is a healthy view of one's own ego in terms of seeking Truth?  

2.  What does it mean to be authentic to you?  On one hand, I still find myself frustrated of course and wanting to tell people to eat my ass, but I also want to be a more loving person and don't want to be rude to other people, your advice on it being okay to fulfill your desires has really added so much to my life, but I find that these desires often clash with each other, how should someone seeking truth go about settling conflicting desires?

[winterknight]

53 minutes ago, zambize said:

I'm back with a few questions, will also be getting your book after vacation which I'm really excited about, Etherial Cat kind of has me sold with her review, no pressure if I think it sucks though!

1.   I hear some enlightened people claim they have no ego, others claim they have an enlightened ego, others a spiritual ego, for me I kind of feel like me and my ego are a team of sorts, my ego looks out for a lot of my survival needs but often needs to be redirected.  It's like it needs to be taught by awareness so to say.  Anyways, what is a healthy view of one's own ego in terms of seeking Truth?  

2.  What does it mean to be authentic to you?  On one hand, I still find myself frustrated of course and wanting to tell people to eat my ass, but I also want to be a more loving person and don't want to be rude to other people, your advice on it being okay to fulfill your desires has really added so much to my life, but I find that these desires often clash with each other, how should someone seeking truth go about settling conflicting desires?

1. As a seeker, the ego is just the sense of "I am" that needs to be investigated. What is it and where does it come from? That's the view a seeker needs to have of it.

2. You either settle conflicting desires by listening to all the conflicts very carefully, metaphorizing them, imagining new situations & trying new actions that attempt to synthesize all these different voices, seeing how you feel about these new actions, revising your sense of what you want, and continuing to go in this cycle... 

or: self-inquire into who has this desire to be authentic. 

[zambize]

Are there any other teacher/books/videos or any other materials that you particularly recommend other than Ramana Maharshi and your own material?  (only cause I know of him already and feel like you might have said him)

[Aakash]

@winterknight is the total silence the all and all of enlightenment, by this i mean the discovery that the mind itself is not real and that by default leaves a peace to settle with in itself the stillness and silence of being. I would put it in terms of a void in its essence

[winterknight]

29 minutes ago, zambize said:

Are there any other teacher/books/videos or any other materials that you particularly recommend other than Ramana Maharshi and your own material?  (only cause I know of him already and feel like you might have said him)

Yes. The Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Vasistha, Ribhu Gita, and Ashtavakra Gita are excellent books. Any other ancient scriptures from any non dual tradition are worth reading - the Zhuangzi and Tao te Ching, the work of Bodhidharma, etc.

24 minutes ago, Aakash said:

@winterknight is the total silence the all and all of enlightenment, by this i mean the discovery that the mind itself is not real and that by default leaves a peace to settle with in itself the stillness and silence of being. I would put it in terms of a void in its essence

Sure, if you want to put it that way. But the Truth is really beyond words. 

[zambize]

One last question before I work on integrating, are there any "traps"/limiting beliefs/behaviors that someone seeking enlightenment should avoid that you commonly see among seekers?

[Aakash]

@winterknight i have no doubt that it is , thank you for answering my question. 

[winterknight]

2 hours ago, zambize said:

One last question before I work on integrating, are there any "traps"/limiting beliefs/behaviors that someone seeking enlightenment should avoid that you commonly see among seekers?

There are many. Off the top of my head, one of the biggest is simply being caught up in images and expectations of "what it is like." All that must be dropped. Another is that the process is going to take X number of years or whatever and getting attached to various practices as a path to that faraway goal. The desire of the ardent seeker should be to know the Self now. The stronger that desire, the better.