Every path is the same path.

[karkaore]

So I am in the military for a month now. What is more and more clear for me as time goes on, is that no matter where you are, what you are doing and how you feel about it is perfect and exactly how it has to be from your perspective. Enlightenment isn't something that happens, it's not an event. It's more like a continuous process towards perfection that never ends. Towards greater, deeper love, peace and goodness. There is no end to this. All you do is move towards it. Every path is the true path.

[Truth Addict]

@karkaore Profound share. Thank you!

Military service, I think, can be a great path for humbling the ego. It's an opportunity that you don't stumble upon everyday, my advice would be to make the most out of it.

Edited September 22, 2019 by Truth Addict

[Aaron p]

I perceive deep truths in what you've said

[karkaore]

@Truth Addict You are right on point. Thank you for the reply. ?

@Aaron p enjoy! 

[VeganAwake]

@karkaore  in my experience it's more like the realization that you were already Perfect all along and your conditioned thought patterns we're creating an illusion that you were not perfect and needed to do something. There are not certain behaviors that qualify someone to be enlightened. It's not a future destination... it's a realizing what you aren't to realize what you are process.

I hope this helps good luck I am in the military as well thank you for your service!!

Edited September 22, 2019 by VeganAwake

[Forestluv]

There is the absolute perfection of what is and the relative perfection we strive for. A bit of a paradox. I’m Perfect, yet also a work in progress. If I say “I’m Perfect as is, there is nothing to do”’ I miss out on purifying my imperfections and becoming more clear. If I say “I am imperfect and need to work toward perfection”, I miss out on the Perfection of Now. 

[VeganAwake]

Just the thought that there is behavior that would be considered perfect or imperfect is a conditioned thought pattern in itself.

For example one might believe that their grouchy behavior in the morning is imperfect and they need to work on it, but the truth is, that is just a conditioned thought pattern...they can be grouchy all they want. Yeah they might not have very many friends but that doesn't mean they're imperfect.

[VeganAwake]

There literally is nothing to do... if someone tells you otherwise it is a conditioned thought pattern. Just their perspective an idea a belief.

A flower or a tree doesn't strive to be perfect it just is.

 

 

[Matt8800]

8 hours ago, karkaore said:

So I am in the military for a month now. What is more and more clear for me as time goes on, is that no matter where you are, what you are doing and how you feel about it is perfect and exactly how it has to be from your perspective. Enlightenment isn't something that happens, it's not an event. It's more like a continuous process towards perfection that never ends. Towards greater, deeper love, peace and goodness. There is no end to this. All you do is move towards it. Every path is the true path.

@karkaore As a child, I was indoctrinated into Christianity. A few years ago, I got heavily into Buddhism, then yoga and finally the occult.

I can say that the path of Christianity does not resemble the path I ended up taking in the least. I definitely dont share the opinion that I would have ended up in the same place had I continued with Christianity. They are radically different paths that can take one to different heights within a similar time frame.

Ive seen people claim that different paths are the same path. When looking at an evangelical Christian, a Buddhist monk, a witch and a wandering yogi, I dont understand why people think they are the same thing when their experience of life and spirituality is so different. It seems like a form of political correctness that is used in spirituality. People believe it because it feels good to them to believe it imo.

Edited September 22, 2019 by Matt8800

[VeganAwake]

There is an interesting phenomenon that occurs when one takes the stress off of themselves that they need to be a certain way. 

It's like when the stress of perfection is off your shoulders you naturally gravitate towards unconditional love understanding and compassion.

 

[How to be wise]

@karkaore it’s true that every path is equal, but that doesn’t mean you should choose any. Choose the best path for you. The path that will make you the happiest. What else is there to do in life?

[Forestluv]

40 minutes ago, VeganAwake said:

There literally is nothing to do... if someone tells you otherwise it is a conditioned thought pattern. Just their perspective an idea a belief.

A flower or a tree doesn't strive to be perfect it just is.

There is absolute Perfection of what is Now. Yet does this extinguish relative perfection? If an alcoholic beats his wife and kids, would his excuse “Your trauma and suffering is Perfection” suffice? In an absolute sense, it is Perfection, in a relative sense it is not. 

In the vertical axis of Now, all is Perfect and there is nothing to do. In the horizontal axis of time, there is forward motion toward development, evolution and maturation - and lots of stuff to do. Both are the same coin. 

A flower or tree is Perfect Now and need not strive toward Perfection. Yet that flower and tree also strives toward perfection through time. It is continuously Perfect through the process of perfection. 

I’m Perfect Now, yet I also work to purify myself toward perfect clarity. My imperfections are Perfect. 

[VeganAwake]

The perception that an alcoholic beating his wife and kids and causing trauma and suffering is bad is again in itself the conditioned thought pattern.

I think the problem is you are getting your personal self-help agenda mixed up with the enlightenment process.

[VeganAwake]

This is a little about what I was saying.

In our culture, however, the pursuit of ‘enlightenment’ (which really means abiding in direct awareness of reality) has become confused and mixed up with the self-help / self-improvement project. People talk about wanting to grow and become a better person, and often imagine that the terminal point of this growth process is something like enlightenment. This demonstrates a real lack of understanding of the nature of the spiritual path (as conceived in the Asian traditions, anyway). Not only is abiding-awakeness not the endpoint of the growth process, it doesn’t even lie in that direction.

What??! Look, if you stop and think this through, you’ll see it’s obvious: according to all the Yoga traditions, your true nature is always already perfect, the core of your being is pure radiant divinity, and you are always already one with the infinite divine Consciousness which gives rise to and supports the entire universe. TAT-TVAM-ASI: you are That; here and now.

Therefore, realization of this truth does not depend on any degree of personal growth. Rather, it is a paradigm shift in which you stop identifying with the phenomena within Awareness (e.g., thoughts, emotions, body-image, etc.) and wake up to the fact that you are Awareness itself—the only constant in the ever-changing world of your experience.

And yes, it is possible to become so awake that you never fall back asleep again. You don’t become a categorically different kind of person, you just finally see the truth so clearly and completely that you can’t unsee it, and thus you dwell in a different paradigm from before.

[Forestluv]

@VeganAwake Yes, I agree with you regarding awakening and absolute. I am pointing toward the unification of duality and nonduality. Yet 99.9999% of people are immersed in duality - so what you are pointing to would have greater relevance the vast majority of times. One must first see the distinction between dual and nondual, before they can drop the distinction between dual and nondual.

[VeganAwake]

@Serotoninluv  I completely understand what you are saying... I am just the sign pointing to the truth.

What we are discussing was one of the many big hurdles of my understanding. No one wants to hear nothing really matters but it's simply the truth...

[Forestluv]

11 minutes ago, VeganAwake said:

What we are discussing was one of the many big hurdles of my understanding. No one wants to hear nothing really matters but it's simply the truth...

Indeed. Not many seekers will attend a retreat with the theme “Nothing Matters”.

It is a deep realization that few realize.

For me, the awareness it has no meaning makes it so meaningful. A great paradox ♥️ 

[VeganAwake]

@Serotoninluv  haha yes that's funny about the retreat.

Divine Liberation describes it well I think...

I honestly really can't say if it's absolute truth but my heart tells me it is.

[karkaore]

@Matt8800

On 22/09/2019 at 9:33 PM, Matt8800 said:

@karkaore As a child, I was indoctrinated into Christianity. A few years ago, I got heavily into Buddhism, then yoga and finally the occult.

I can say that the path of Christianity does not resemble the path I ended up taking in the least. I definitely dont share the opinion that I would have ended up in the same place had I continued with Christianity. They are radically different paths that can take one to different heights within a similar time frame.

Ive seen people claim that different paths are the same path. When looking at an evangelical Christian, a Buddhist monk, a witch and a wandering yogi, I dont understand why people think they are the same thing when their experience of life and spirituality is so different. It seems like a form of political correctness that is used in spirituality. People believe it because it feels good to them to believe it imo.

You are missing a huge bit there. Yes, there is Christianity, Buddhism, yogic paths, occults and what not. They are all different, but you wouldn't know that if you didn't go through them. I was not talking about what you pick and choose, I was talking about the fact that you do. Without Christianity you wouldn't have known Buddhism, without Buddhism you wouldn't have known yoga and so forth. The same goes for literally everything. This is what your path consist of and this evolution is pulling you towards greater and greater good.

[karkaore]

@VeganAwake "Nothing matters" comes back a full circle to "everything matters". Then the absolute bliss and love comes in.

Do you really feel like your life doesn't matter? I doubt it.