Is Enlightenment the end of all Anxiety/Depression?

[Tony 845]

i battle with an extreme case of OCD or pure O they call it. will enlightenment truly end this suffering for me?

since awakening my kundalini it hasn't been nearly as intense, I do self inquiry basically all day long & mediate everyday.

but I still have spats of anxiety & some pretty fucked up thoughts sometimes that I can still identify with, but not nearly as much as I once did. 

Self inquiry, sds sits & mediation have really helped me eliminate much of theses neurosis but they are still there on some level..

it would be cool to see a graph on the different depths or levels of enlightenment, maybe the 1st stages still remain some suffering, but at the deepest levels it gets eliminated?‍♂️ I'll tell ya what, something has defiantly changed in me for the better, I was all fucked up for a while..

Edited December 19, 2018 by Tony 845

[Akuma]

Sorry to hear you are suffering like that Tony. I've had and still have OCD and depression to an extent. However, It's not nearly as bad as before. From what you've described yours is much more pernicious.

From my limited direct experience, It seems that what you ask can be done. You just need to keep practising.

To attain that state which the Japanese call Munen Muso, or no thoughts/no mind (From the book of five rings).

Not that you have absolutely 0 thoughts, but you are unaffected by them. Absolutely unaffected. 

Keep on that journey to the place where you already are. 

Just like you, I will keep practising.

Bless up Tony!

 

[ground]

The methods discussed on this forum cannot replace medical treatment where medical treatment is necessary.

[Tony 845]

@Akuma im pretty sure it will end all my anxieties, but only time will tell, I can't even drive on highways anymore, I mean I could, but many stars would need to align, sucks...??‍♂️

[Tony 845]

@ground enlightenment from what I've read & studied over the past year & a 1/2 is deeper then any thearpy or pill I could pop. Tried them both, didn't work.

meditation/ heavy self inquiry & Waking up my Kundalini & " I" feel 90% better..

Thank god for Leo or id be fucked! 

Also the Buddha & yogis that live in the Himalayas don't need therapy & they have become enlightened?‍♂️ So why do we? cause we live in the west? 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Tony 845

[Akuma]

@Tony 845 Yes, my friend. I'm really sorry to hear you cannot drive on highways. I can only imagine how it would feel ?

But, you will find yourself.

A formula which I learned from Leo, 2 years ago from one of his videos might help you. It is:

Suffering = Pain × Resistance

What happens when you multiply by 0? No matter how great the pain is (give it a number 1,000,000 or more) if your resistance is 0, you are multiplying by 0. Meaning, your suffering will be 0.

Stay strong, my friend. 

[Leo Gura]

Yes, enlightenment should put an end to that.

But practically speaking you probably won't attain enlightenment without first conquering your OCD. It's a two-way street.

You must become conscious of what your fear and sadness is, along with what you are. It's all interconnected at rock bottom. Fear and depression and ego is all one thing. One giant self-sustaining illusion.

Psychedelics are great for this.

[Inliytened1]

@Tony 845 

Ha..i have pure O too bro and awakened about a month ago.  A full awakening.  When you become pure being it is cured.  It is completely gone because you have pure consciousness.  How ironic right? The name pure OCD and pure consciousness and how they cancel eachother out.

Its gone because you have complete certainty and you are everything.  

Even a deeply enlightened person doesn't walk around forever in this state because in truth thats death.  So as your small self after being enlightened (because you do come back changed) your OCD will be drastically better..why?  Because your consciousness has increased even as your small self.  And you are more self aware.  Your OCD gets weaker and less pure.  You can identify it immediately and shoot it down and with mediation it really gets weak.

Initially when i returned to my ego my OCD tried to make me doubt that what i experienced was real even though i had mystical experience and non duality experience after non duality experience one after another after another for a week straight..waking up in the middle of the night etc.  

I mean i was fucking still trying to tell myself that spirituality wasn't real after all that so i needed to ground myself in meditation immediately following...because someone with OCD can be prone to really bad ego backlash especially since no one around you would really believe or understand which only feeds the OCD

 (Everyone i know is a materialist and either blue or orange) as was i before i stumbled onto spirituality and only gave it an open mind after seeing Leos addiction videos and intuitively sensing this was right after spending decades trying to find peace looking outwards and running from the sense of emptiness and uncertainty that OCD feeds you....but oh how things come full circle don't they?

Message me if you want to discuss further

Edited December 19, 2018 by Inliytened1

[Space]

@Tony 845 No, enlightenment does not necessarily mean an end to depression. I would imagine it greatly depends on the depth of the awakening, but I know Jan Essman suffered from quite severe depression for many years even though he was deeply enlightened. 

[Space]

1 minute ago, Mikael89 said:

Nonsense. The very definition of enlightenment is end of suffering. Moksha/Liberation, free from Samsara.

If he was depressed he wasn't really enlightened, period.

Maybe you need to reconsider your beliefs about enlightenment.

[Arhattobe]

Adyashanti, Ken Wilbur, ah almaas, jan esmann, Craig Holliday just to name a few all talk about how they suffer in non dual states, although some contradict themselves and claim otherwise. That it is the mind that suffers and it’s easily dropped.

thats still suffering, and can be very intense. 

Ive suffered a lot myself in non duality. 

Liberation what non dualists refer to as enlightenment are not at all the same. 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Arhattobe

[pluto]

It all comes down to awareness.

[non_nothing]

 

[Leo Gura]

17 minutes ago, DrMobius said:

@Leo Gura Depression is often linked with brain chemistry. Some people have low levels of serotonin and are chemically forced to not feel good.

With a deep enough enlightenment there should be no depression.

Depression is mostly the result of improper psychology, not some permanently bad brain chemistry. The bad brain chemistry is mostly caused by improper psychology, diet, and lifestyle.

A practice like Kriya yoga will also rewire your brain and can create ecstatic bliss.

[Leo Gura]

8 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

Yes. Everyone listen to Leo and shut up.

For you: it's possible to be enlightened and also still suffer and be depressed, since enlightenment neither guarantees nor precludes a state of any kind.

Enlightenment is none other than Truth. And Truth includes all states, all feelings, all emotions.

Even enlightened masters can get triggered! They are not superhuman robots.

[Arhattobe]

@Mikael89 I’ve been in non duality for almost 4 years. Sentences like the apparent self suffers , and other non dual lingo are nonesense. 

There is suffering. It is felt. It is uncomfortable. 

2 non dual teachers have even committed suicide.

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Arhattobe

[Leo Gura]

7 minutes ago, Arhattobe said:

@Mikael89 I’ve been in non duality for almost 4 years. Sentences like the apparent self suffers , and other non dual lingo are nonesense. 

There is suffering. It is felt. It is uncomfortable. 

2 non dual teachers have even committed suicide.

That's because there is more to mastery than merely the realization of no-self or nonduality.

You'd have to go deeper with your consciousness work and become conscious of what suffering and pain are. Which is NOT the same thing as enlightenment.

You can be enlightened, but you do not have total mastery and you are not conscious of everything your body/mind is doing. You are not yet conscious of how you create suffering.

Initial stages of enlightenment are very far from mastery of the mind/body. There's still tons of stuff you ain't conscious of. Hence in practice an awoke newbie will still suffer.

[Arhattobe]

@Leo Gura This is true. Reaching non duality is nowhere near the end of one’s journey or growth.

Although I will add it isn’t only newbies. I’ve had teachers who have been in non duality for decades and still suffer.

Depends on level of advancement for lack of a better term.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Arhattobe

[GabeN]

@Leo Gura makes sense

Edited December 19, 2018 by GabeN

[GabeN]

14 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

For you: it's possible to be enlightened and also still suffer and be depressed, since enlightenment neither guarantees nor precludes a state of any kind.

Enlightenment is none other than Truth. And Truth includes all states, all feelings, all emotions.

Even enlightened masters can get triggered! They are not superhuman robots.

@Leo Gura I was about to ask you that question, pretty paradoxal if you think about it haha.