My vid on Nondualism

[Angelo John Gage]

Just short video summarizing to the normies on my Twitter what nondualism is. I also discuss the people who influenced me the most, one of which was no other than @Leo Gura . I also guided my audience to visit actualized.org, the youtube, and forum. I have about 28K followers on twitter so that should help drive some visitors here and hopefully evolve them from their current paradigm. 

I think I did pretty well getting to the basics. Let me know what you guys think.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Angelo John Gage

[Aakash]

@Angelo John Gage I think you explained it very well, its said in a way that won't give too much ego backlash in your audience from my point of view. aswell as its clear. 

tell them to come join the community ahaha

[Paul92]

Interesting video. What I always get confused about though is the illusion of free will. We have a choice to believe in nonduality etc. We have a choice to identify with our mind etc. There's good evidence to suggest that we simply do not have free will. Which also makes sense with what you're saying. Everything just happens. So how much influence do we actually have?

Think of any thing. Anything at all. An object anything. Where did that thought come from? You can't think a thought before you have thought it...

[nistake]

Pretty good video

[Highest]

Not bad ?

One can only experience God indeed. Everything else is just beliefs about God, a concept, an image, an idea. It's silly and not actuality.

[Angelo John Gage]

@Paul92  Part of me is starting to feel that we have only the ability to interpret something with our 'directing mind' as Marcus would say, but we have no control of our bodies really. We also ALWAYS make the 'right' choices with the information we have at the time; no one purposely makes a 'mistake'..our 'right choice only seems bad when the opposite effect happens.

An analogy to this concept would be this: imagine being strapped in a roller coaster. You have the 'freedom' to look around and see the park as you ascend. But you have no control of the feelings which occur soon after the drop begins; nor do you have any control of the ride itself.

I still tend to be a compatibilist, but understanding nondualism, there is no separated "will", that everything is "gods will" per se, which we have agency over as mini gods, but it limted to, our human form, our bodies instincts, and environment.

[Highest]

On free will: There is only God's will. You can therefore say that you have free will because you are God. But there is no seperate "I" which have free will of his own. No such thing.

[Angelo John Gage]

@Highest Right. Our will in finite, limited to what I mentioned above, as a limited mini-god

[Highest]

1 minute ago, Angelo John Gage said:

@Highest Right. Our will in finite, limited to what I mentioned above, as a limited mini-god

Yeah.

[Paul92]

@Angelo John Gage  Just on your rollercoaster thing... so you say we have freedom to look around. So you sit there and you will think "I will look around". Where did that thought come from? You could not think that thought before you thought it!

[Angelo John Gage]

@Paul92  But you are not really thinking to look around if you are just absorbing the experience and just looking around. But I get your point.

[Forestluv]

@Angelo John Gage

I think this is an awesome video. I think you can resonate with a specific audience better than any nonduality teacher I've seen. I grew up in N.J. and I now live in the Midwest. There is a big population of guys I think you could connect with really well. I'm not making any value judgement here, yet this is the general description: guys that have strong masculine traits and intellect. . .  guys that tend to enjoy stuff like trucks, beer, barbques, fishing, hunting, camping, grew up Christian, home-improvement, football, shooting pool etc. It's hard to describe, yet you have the "IT" factor in this "genre". I cannot connect with guys in this genre. I come across as too emotional, yoga-loving, academically arrogant, soft, woo woo etc. I can connect with people in other areas, yet not here. It's like seeing one of the guys I went to high school with in N.J. awaken and come back to help the other guys awaken. I think it is totally awesome.

A few comments on the content:

-- I love how you framed it as "the real red pill". That is totally what it is. I have tried to use this frame and guys dismiss me because I have zero cred. in this area. But I think you totally pull it off because you've got that cred. with this group.

-- I like how you discussed opposites of good and evil as being two sides of the same coin. Going from nonduality back to duality is very difficult to transmit. I particularly like your analogy that life is one giant movie and everyone is playing their role - yet since One Everything is Everything, both good and evil is within Everything.

--I think the part about how "you can experience God" could be a bit confusing because it includes both the little dualistic "you" and the One nondual "You". I would have stressed this a bit by saying something like "you can experience God, which is the Ulitmate You - the ultimate You is within Everything.

-- I think a lot of terms used to help people learn nonduality can be used essentially as synonyms. Words like Everything, Nothing, Reality, ISness, Oneness, God etc. I would have grouped them all together and maybe say that they are essentially the same. When I was learning nonduality I didn't know that the words are essentially the same and got confused. I noticed at times you would say something like "The One Everything is God". I would have added a bit more to highlight all the words that collapse into one when we enter nonduality.

-- I like how you spoke that Christianity teaches the God within. Again, you have the "IT" cred. with guys in this genre. There is no way I could pull that off. I went through a long hardcore atheist scientist stretch and guys in this genre smell it out - they just know that I was not a real Christian that awakened.

-- I didn't sense any intellectual arrogance in you. Yet you were confident and intellectual. Again, I think that is hard to do for a lot of intellectuals - I have this academic intellectualism vibe that masculine guys interpret as being arrogant. They can sense I was never part of their group. As hard as I try not to do it, I often come across as talking down to them.

-- I like how you used a lot of masculine traits at the end when describing the biggest Red Pill - stoic, leadership, confidence, power - Marcus Aurelius and how he could have had all the power and sex he wanted, but he went for the biggest red pill. The underlying sense for me was "this is a man". I would have lost this audience as I talked about "surrender", getting in touch with one's emotions, like their inner vulnerability etc. Yet you described it as "gaining control of your emotions" - strength. 

I think there are a lot of people that can benefit from your style and vibe. In particular, I think you can reach a large segment of guys like few other nonduality teachers can. It is awesome to see and I totally wish you the best. 

 

 

[Angelo John Gage]

@Serotoninluv  I very much appreciate your kind feedback and advice. I will say, it took a lot of ego-backlash and suffering throughout the years to be able to deliver a message like this to people. I also got mixed up in very bad crowds, bad friends, and even bad politics. All of the teachings here by Leo and the people I mentioned, have all influenced me and helped me become better at this.

But yes, in regards to different crowds, this would suit more 'normies' like I said. I  don't say that in a arrogant way, but most people here the tristate area of NJ/NY are very unhappy, materialistic, alcoholics and drug addicts. My experience WITH those vices and all the other things I've endured; including the war in Iraq, has built me up to give off this vibe you see which is from genuine expression. But this wasn't always the case, when my ego ran the show, it was insecurity, validation, etc that drove me...but that is all gone now. Now my ego "suffers" because it wants to do good in the world, stop the wars, expose the liars...all desires which I know that I could never fully accomplish nor do alone.

I would love nothing more than to find a way to help people like Leo has done or many other of these folks. I do love to talk and have these conservations, but i'm can also become very lazy (unless its the gym lol); my PTSD keeps my mind going 1000 miles an hour so I lose focus...not to mention the bipolar and depression aspects of it.

My motivation to do things MUST be in the moment. Notice how this video I just decided to do outside, not editing, no notes, no script. That's how I work. Sadly, this kind of energy only comes once in a while. It's not consistent enough, perhaps because I don't think I could achieve the heights I wish due to my issues?

But I will continue to do what I can and see what happens.

Again, thank you for your feedback friend.

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Angelo John Gage

[Inliytened1]

@Angelo John Gage nice.  Have you had a mystical experience yet and or an awakening experience yet?

 

[Forestluv]

@Angelo John Gage You’ve got a sincerity I appreciate. Awakened beings often have a similar feel to me. It can feel polished, shiny and spiritually. There’s a genuine rawness I like about your video. Perhaps due to your life history. Plus I’ve never seen a guy that feels like NJ to me awakening and speak like you. I sensed it immediately. I think it’s really cool and that you can connect within certain crowds that many nonduality teachers can’t. And not just the nonduality, also personal growth and living a good life. 

[SoonHei]

@Angelo John Gage great video

[Angelo John Gage]

Thanks guys, very inspirational to get good feedback by some deeply spiritual people.