Forgetting Enlightenment?

[Mitch]

I have a strong urge to forget about enlightenment and live my life without dying ahead of physical death. I’m worried that I’ll end up losing all that’s dear to me prematurely if I pursue this. What I wanted and still want is absolute happiness, love, and peace. I thought I wanted absolute truth but it’s clear that I’m resistant to this.

The problem comes now if I’m pursuing absolute happiness, love, and peace, I’ll be disturbed because I feel that there is something else out there that I’m actively ignoring. To get rid of this disruption would mean to seek truth for the sake of truth, though there is this feeling that this path will be in opposition to seeking absolute happiness, love, and peace.

Is it feasible to ignore something like enlightenment and go back to living solely out of ego? Everything I perceive right now seems both real in one sense and unreal in another. I feel empty, at a loss for purpose and meaning, and that I know nothing real. Push comes to shove, I have found out that I don’t want to accept that I never existed.

Any advice or firsthand experience with this is appreciated.

Thanks,

Mitch

[Neo]

I'm with you on this. I keep bouncing back and forth. There seems there's a gap between Leo who says he doesn't know anyone whose ever regretted it, and it's beyond your wildest dreams, to those others with a more serious tone, who state you will loose your life in no uncertain terms and the guy who runs haunted earth scaring the shite out of you. Deep down, something is telling me everything is ok with it, and then some random thought creeps in...

[key]

 

9 hours ago, Mitch said:

Any advice or firsthand experience with this is appreciated.

Thanks,

Mitch

It's not meant to be pleasent for you, to think otherwise is a delusion, but neither is it meant to be terffifying, again more delusions, to exist as you until the physical passes, another delusion, is it bad to want to forget? Absolutely not, in fact the very act of you wanting to forget it perfect and enlightenment within itself, for what is enlightenment but a concept to see our other concepts for what they are, then you could say even the idea of concepts is a delusion, then we ask what do we mean by delusional? But you ask these things and end up making no more sense than a monkey taking a shit,

My advice? Do whatever you find is right, for the very act of anything is perfect, and if you end up unhappy with your choices and search for happiness elsewhere, you may just end up right where you began. 

 

Edited December 10, 2016 by key

[Neo]

But you ask these things and end up making no more sense than a monkey taking a shit,

No I think I understand. The idea of enlightenment is itself a concept. It's just something the ego can hold onto, cling to which is

another paradox.

[Shin]

You don't really want to ignore about enlightenment, you just know unconsciously that the only way to realized your enligthement is to stop the search, because there is nothing to search.

Almost every story about people getting enlightened was to stop the search and live through life as a sage. That or a life and death of the ego situation (like Eckhart Tolle).

You're all good, as long as you continue to better yourself spiritually, mentally and physically.

[Deep]

13 hours ago, Mitch said:

The problem comes now if I’m pursuing absolute happiness, love, and peace, I’ll be disturbed because I feel that there is something else out there that I’m actively ignoring.

Is it feasible to ignore something like enlightenment and go back to living solely out of ego? Everything I perceive right now seems both real in one sense and unreal in another. I feel empty, at a loss for purpose and meaning, and that I know nothing real. Push comes to shove, I have found out that I don’t want to accept that I never existed.

Any advice or firsthand experience with this is appreciated.

Thanks,

Mitch

Enlightenment is just another word for happiness. When Leo says, "You don't exist," it means God is appearing as you. You do exist but you're also God. It doesn't matter if you live with ego or not. 

[Neo]

Quote

Enlightenment is just another word for happiness. When Leo says, "You don't exist," it means God is appearing as you. You do exist but you're also God. It doesn't matter if you live with ego or not. 

The trouble is with trying to use a forum to research and learn about this, is that so many people use a different viewpoint, perspective or different language to describe it.

On the point you make above, I have been following the train of thought that every thing you've added to your belief system through life is a restriction, or set of restrictions on what you can see, your awareness. At the root of all these beliefs is one big one, which is belief in yourself, your self image. I don't really like to speculate what I can see behind this self image, because rather than help, it's adding one more belief onto the massive pile of beliefs on top of, the self image.

 

[kurt]

18 hours ago, Mitch said:

I’m worried that I’ll end up losing all that’s dear to me prematurely if I pursue this. What I wanted and still want is absolute happiness, love, and peace. I thought I wanted absolute truth but it’s clear that I’m resistant to this.

It's ok, you are not going to lose anything of value.  In fact, there is everything to be gained from understanding who you really are. Trust me, if happiness, love and peace is what you want, then understanding that you are just a notion, a thought appearing in you is going to reveal that life is already full of happiness, love and peace because you already are those things.  All you need to do is understand that the clinging onto this identity you think must be you is what is stopping you seeing what already is 

18 hours ago, Mitch said:

The problem comes now if I’m pursuing absolute happiness, love, and peace, I’ll be disturbed because I feel that there is something else out there that I’m actively ignoring. To get rid of this disruption would mean to seek truth for the sake of truth, though there is this feeling that this path will be in opposition to seeking absolute happiness, love, and peace.

Yes.  The fact that you think there is something else 'out there' that is going to finally complete you or make any difference to your life, is an illusion.  This is the trap you are trying to free yourself from by bringing yourself to a place like this, becoming interested in things like enlightenment, truth, happiness.  It's a conflict inside, because you know what is right - that you are already full, but there is a nagging thought based on your conditioning and the erroneous belief that you have unwittingly bought into all your life:

that you need to do xy or z in order to find that completeness.  

Just the fact that you are aware of this inner conflict is great!  Accept it as it is and let it dissolve in the light of seeing the futility of your pursuits - logically you should know by now that worldly pursuit is not a permanent solution to the problem.  See if you can let it go naturally.  It will dissolve when you understand the futility of the chase.  It may return, keep inquiring into it and eventually it will pass. 

18 hours ago, Mitch said:

Is it feasible to ignore something like enlightenment and go back to living solely out of ego? Everything I perceive right now seems both real in one sense and unreal in another. I feel empty, at a loss for purpose and meaning, and that I know nothing real. Push comes to shove, I have found out that I don’t want to accept that I never existed.

No, there is no going back because you know too much already.  Again, you are trying to liberate yourself, you have always been trying to liberate yourself, but this time you know you have the right means.  It's the ego that feels empty and at a loss for purpose and meaning, not you.  There is no purpose and meaning in life except what the ego makes of life.  If you can see the value in letting go of all value and see what is left behind, I assure you that you will see your egos search for "meaning and purpose" quite shallow and irrelevant compared to being who you truly are.

[Shin]

All the non-duality experience comes from you doing nothing else than just being.

Like this afternoon after a long walk, at the end of it I had no thoughts at all, and for a second I could feel that I was nothing, and everything at the same time (yes it is very weird ^^).

It is that simple, there is nothing to do, and the more you can create these moments, the more you will learn to live without the ego and follow your intuitions.

This video of Leo is very important to assimilate in order to create these kinds of moments, that and trying to be mindfull all the time (feel your body, it will force you to be present):

 

 

 

 

[Leo Gura]

20 hours ago, Mitch said:

I have a strong urge to forget about enlightenment and live my life without dying ahead of physical death. I’m worried that I’ll end up losing all that’s dear to me prematurely if I pursue this. What I wanted and still want is absolute happiness, love, and peace. I thought I wanted absolute truth but it’s clear that I’m resistant to this.

A couple of important points are warranted here to clear up this confusion.

1) TRUTH = HAPPINESS = LOVE = PEACE. There is no possibility for happiness without TRUTH!! None! You cannot be happy living in an illusion. You're not grasping the magnitude of enlightenment yet. YOUR ENTIRE LIFE and ALL YOUR SUFFERING is an manipulation against TRUTH. When you realize this, you will start to laugh and cry at the same time, because it's so silly and sad.

You have no option of finding happiness, love, and peace but ignoring truth. If you attempt that, all you'll find is what you have right now, which is a continuous cycle of suffering, punctuated by short bursts of highly conditional happiness.

You haven't even experienced REAL happiness yet! Not even once in your entire life! REAL happiness will amaze you.

2) OF COURSE you're resistant to it! OF COURSE!!! How could it be otherwise? Your entire current identity's existence is contingent upon resisting TRUTH. You gotta be wise enough to see this ahead of time.

3) A leap of faith is required. Many religious traditions speak of making a blind leap of faith. Now you can appreciate the necessity of this teaching. You can also appreciate why truth must be pursued for truth's sake, and no other reason. Because all other motives have been corrupted and co-opted by ego.

4) Your heart will break open in tears of joy when you finally awaken from life, and realize that all these concerns were utter nonsense. For having the courage to annihilate yourself, you will be rewarded with INFINITY! INFINITE LOVE! More than you could have ever wished for, more than if you had a magic genie that gave you million wishes. You will have absolutely everything... except yourself

Now the question is, are you wise enough to make that trade-off?

You'd really have to be a fool not to do it. Unfortunately, most people these days are fools.

I wish I could show you what INFINITE LOVE feels like. You would melt in ecstasy.