I Experienced A Taste Of 'nothingness' Through The Neti Neti Method , What Next ?

[Earnothing]

Yesterday , from my second inquiry ( first serious investigation ) through the Neti Neti meditation I just got that intense frustration of running out of resources about who I am , and along with leo's affirmation that i am " this " came to me the HOLY SHIT sensation followed by the aware nothingness for around 30 secondes to 1 minute , followed by a sense of peace and calmness . That flow was too powerful and intense that after the realization I felt my eyelashes unceasingly blinking fast , it's just like my eyes wanted to open and yet I was resisting . After that i sticked with Leo's post visualisation explanation with honesty . 

I am planning on doing the work and inquiry tonight again even more seriously .. but looking for recommandations and guidance .

Thank you Leo , Thank you ' community '

[cetus]

22 minutes ago, Earnothing said:

I am planning on doing the work and inquiry tonight again even more seriously .. but looking for recommandations and guidance .

@Earnothing It sounds like your on the right track! The only advise I can give you is don't put too much emphasis on trying to repeat the experience. It could keep you from it. If it happens, it happens is the best attitude to take.

[Earnothing]

Just now, cetus56 said:

@Earnothing It sounds like your on the right track! The only advise I can give you is don't put too much emphasis on trying to repeat the experience. It could keep you from it. If it happens, it happens is the best attitude to take.

Thank you , yes I do get what you say . I'm not looking to " repeat " rather than to be more conscious in time of the inquiry and seek even more profoundly . I still follow the guided meditation not to get lost in thoughts or wrong paths , maybe my next step after the next ' awakening ' would be doing self-inquiry on my own . would it be more effective ? Thanks again .

[cetus]

32 minutes ago, Earnothing said:

Thank you , yes I do get what you say . I'm not looking to " repeat " rather than to be more conscious in time of the inquiry and seek even more profoundly . I still follow the guided meditation not to get lost in thoughts or wrong paths , maybe my next step after the next ' awakening ' would be doing self-inquiry on my own . would it be more effective ? Thanks again .

@Earnothing There is no "one size fits all" in this work so experiment a little and see what works for you. When you hit on something, because it is a hit or miss thing, stick with it. Leo put together a nice list of self -inquiry questions somewhere here on the forum too. If I find it I'll send it your way.

[cetus]

@Earnothing You may have seen this already but here it is in case you haven't. You could spend a day or better inquiring just one question.

Best Self-Observation Questions:

What am I?

No, seriously now... WHAT THE FUCK AM I?????

No, cut the shit! What am I -- RIGHT NOW -- in my direct experience????

Who is aware of reality?

Who is aware of me?

Who is perceiving?

Who is the owner of the body?

Who is the owner of the mind?

Who is feeling pain?

Who is asking all these questions?

What was I before I was born?

What am I when I'm in deep sleep?

What could I be if I'm not the human body/mind?

What connects and unifies all of my different senses?

What is true independent of ever-changing sense experience?

Why do I believe I'm the body?

Why do I believe I'm the mind?

Where to do thoughts arise from?

If I'm the body, what is everything else that I'm seeing?

Why do I trust my feeling that I'm the body? Is a feeling really evidence of TRUTH?

Why must I be an object?

What if the "perciever" has no attributes or properties?

When I close my eyes, where did the world disappear to?

Where is sound occurring?

Where are thoughts occurring?

Where are body sensations occurring?

What is the relationship between physical body sensations and my visual field?

What if I don't exist?

What if I can't locate myself because I am "empty" or without form or attribute?

What if I'm addicted to looking only for objects or perceptions, but my true nature is neither of those?

What if I'm just an idea?

What if my entire paradigm of physical reality is just an idea?

Could my body and brain just be ideas?

Is any physical object actually permanent according to direct experience?

What distinguishes one object from another?

Do boundaries between things really exist, or are they ideas?

What would happen if I stopped distinguishing existence from non-existence?

 

[abrakamowse]

That's really good @cetus56 !

And @Earnothing  I feel that the neti neti method is really powerful. I had a no-self experience too with it and at some point I even noticed the blood flowing through my veins, I felt like if I was inside of my body, I was aware of the air entering on my lungs, it was crazy... 

We just have to continue working without wanting to repeat, as you said. I think cetus advice is awesome, I will do that too.

[Earnothing]

4 hours ago, cetus56 said:

@Earnothing There is no "one size fits all" in this work so experiment a little and see what works for you. When you hit on something, because it is a hit or miss thing, stick with it. Leo put together a nice list of self -inquiry questions somewhere here on the forum too. If I find it I'll send it your way.

Yes exactly what I saw and i was planning , we are on the same page ^ ^ , Thank you so much for your sharings it was really helpful !

[Earnothing]

1 minute ago, abrakamowse said:

That's really good @cetus56 !

And @Earnothing  I feel that the neti neti method is really powerful. I had a no-self experience too with it and at some point I even noticed the blood flowing through my veins, I felt like if I was inside of my body, I was aware of the air entering on my lungs, it was crazy... 

We just have to continue working without wanting to repeat, as you said. I think cetus advice is awesome, I will do that too.

Yes it seems like it has the basis of breakthrough to enlightenement in a nutshell , analysing the " who am i " subjectively and consciously from different aspects , feeling out of resources , surrender and at the same time the breakthrough happens ! 

Cetis hint is great it's kinda tracing the path . Also as you mentioned , we need to " explore " it more ourselves .. 

Thanks for participation

[cetus]

5 minutes ago, abrakamowse said:

I had a no-self experience too with it and at some point I even noticed the blood flowing through my veins, I felt like if I was inside of my body, I was aware of the air entering on my lungs, it was crazy... 

@abrakamowse My first no-self experience was that awareness had no location. The ego self "me" felt like a friggin ghost floating in reality. That was crazy for sure. There is nothing like your first experience. Call me Casper.

[abrakamowse]

8 minutes ago, cetus56 said:

@abrakamowse My first no-self experience was that awareness had no location. The ego self "me" felt like a friggin ghost floating in reality. That was crazy for sure. There is nothing like your first experience. Call me Casper.

Lol... I will try tonight with meditation your inquiry method. I just did it at work, I began to ask myself as if I were demanding "who am I" and I felt its really powerful. I will do it at home in a better environment. 

hehehe...

 

[Earnothing]

9 minutes ago, cetus56 said:

@abrakamowse My first no-self experience was that awareness had no location. The ego self "me" felt like a friggin ghost floating in reality. That was crazy for sure. There is nothing like your first experience. Call me Casper.

Same for me I was just like  there was no ego at all that moment . The taste of that feeling is still fresh  Even though I felt today that my ego is trying to overreact as a defense mechanism 

[abrakamowse]

12 minutes ago, Earnothing said:

Yes it seems like it has the basis of breakthrough to enlightenement in a nutshell , analysing the " who am i " subjectively and consciously from different aspects , feeling out of resources , surrender and at the same time the breakthrough happens ! 

Cetis hint is great it's kinda tracing the path . Also as you mentioned , we need to " explore " it more ourselves .. 

Thanks for participation

Thank you for posting, very interesting to share our experiences.

[cetus]

14 minutes ago, abrakamowse said:

Lol... I will try tonight with meditation your inquiry method. I just did it at work, I began to ask myself as if I were demanding "who am I" and I felt its really powerful. I will do it at home in a better environment. 

hehehe...

 

@abrakamowse I did a total surrender when it happened. I let it all go and just put total faith behind it. Scary shit man! I never experienced ANYTHING like that before. Everybody is different but I don't know if I could have gone to work the next day. Good thing I didn't have to. *I wasn't feeling quite myself. haha

BTW-that list is Leo's I think your referring to. From his steps to enlightenment discussion at the top of the forum. All good stuff there. If I could suggest, try his 60 minute exercise on being empty awareness. If that don't get it going, nothing will.

Edited December 29, 2016 by cetus56

[abrakamowse]

3 hours ago, cetus56 said:

@abrakamowse I did a total surrender when it happened. I let it all go and just put total faith behind it. Scary shit man! I never experienced ANYTHING like that before. Everybody is different but I don't know if I could have gone to work the next day. Good thing I didn't have to. *I wasn't feeling quite myself. haha

BTW-that list is Leo's I think your referring to. From his steps to enlightenment discussion at the top of the forum. All good stuff there. If I could suggest, try his 60 minute exercise on being empty awareness. If that don't get it going, nothing will.

Lol... Omg... I'll do it. I let you know what happens. Or better said, if nothing happens.

:-P

Before enlightenment

Chop wood and carry water.

After enlightenment

Chop wood and carry water

[Egoisego]

seems about right. 

 

i approve

[Leo Gura]

Don't forget that the Truth is ALWAYS the Truth. It's ALWAYS present! It has nowhere to hide.

It's there right now, as you brush your teeth, eat your breakfast, sit on the toilet, look at your smart phone, or browse this forum.

Quote

"All is the ox. If you are looking but cannot see the ox, that means your mind is full of unnecessary thinking, prejudice, false knowledge, and mistaken opinion."                                                                                                         -- Yamada Mumon

 

[Bebop]

@Earnothing Awesome man, I made my first breakthrough with that method as well. I've found that strong determination sittings with do nothing have worked much better for me lately though, it seems to be able to reproduce it pretty often. Experiment with a few different methods until you can find one that feels right for you  

[Earnothing]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Don't forget that the Truth is ALWAYS the Truth. It's ALWAYS present! It has nowhere to hide.

It's there right now, as you brush your teeth, eat your breakfast, sit on the toilet, look at your smart phone, or browse this forum.

 

That moved it in me when I read the quote . Thank you for All

[Earnothing]

3 minutes ago, Bebop said:

@Earnothing Awesome man, I made my first breakthrough with that method as well. I've found that strong determination sittings with do nothing have worked much better for me lately though, it seems to be able to reproduce it pretty often. Experiment with a few different methods until you can find one that feels right for you  

Exactly what i was thinking to do , strong determination sitting .. thank you I'll do it . What are other methods you know please before grasping the principles not to get lost while doing self-inquiry ? Thanks again !

[Bebop]

@Earnothing I actually just finished my strong determination sitting and I just experienced myself in an empty state of awareness again... haha! To be honest I've found that just doing a lot of mindfulness helps a lot, I actually don't do a lot of self-inquiry during my meditations anymore unless I reach a state where nothing is happening