What Affect Will Spiritual Enlightenment Have On Your Happiness Level?

[heisenburger]

Curious if the average persons happiness was say 5/10 on a scale with 0/10 beig absolute pain and 10/10 being pure ecstasy How will enlightenment affect your happiness levels?

[Leo Gura]

Watch the video I recently posted in this forum about Psychedelics vs Meditation Research. The guy literally posts a graph comparing happiness levels of people having sex vs experiencing nonduality states.

Hint: nonduality is far better than any sex you've ever had.

If it wasn't, why would we even be talking about it? This would be a forum about porn instead.

[Prabhaker]

20 hours ago, heisenburger said:

How will enlightenment affect your happiness levels?

Bliss is not happiness. Happiness is worthless; it depends on unhappiness. Bliss is transcendence: one moves beyond the duality of being happy and unhappy. One watches both; happiness comes, one watches and does not become identified with it. One does not say, ‘I am happy. Peace, it is wonderful.’ One simply watches, one says, ‘Yes, a white cloud passing.

And then comes unhappiness, and one does not become unhappy either. One says, ‘A black cloud passing. I am the witness, the watcher.

And that third dimension brings bliss. Bliss is without any opposite to it. It is serene, tranquil, cool. It is ecstasy without any excitement.

[Guest Annetta]

@heisenburger

Hard to explain, but really really good. :3

[Bob84]

@heisenburger  Enlightenment (not spiritual enlightenment as those words do not mix) will show the illusory nature of happiness.
Happiness is nothing more then a construct of the ego. Or one might say a bunch of things you makeup and based on those things you chose to feel a certain way.

[AlwaysBeNice]

Interview with a really good Harvard dude on exactly this

 

[heisenburger]

@AlwaysBeNice this is great! Thank you.

[FindingPeace]

On 22/01/2017 at 9:03 AM, heisenburger said:

Curious if the average persons happiness was say 5/10 on a scale with 0/10 beig absolute pain and 10/10 being pure ecstasy How will enlightenment affect your happiness levels?

I think we need to define what 'happiness' even is as I feel that these is a misconception amongst people in relation to the way Leo (and others) use the term and what we are all working towards.

We tend to think of 'happiness' as some form of elevated mood. But that would describe things such as pleasure, excitement, stimulation, bliss or euphoria etc. In fact I think the more appropriate definition of 'happiness' is peace of mind. A stillness of the mind, a neutrality of mood and emotion. That is what we are all ultimately seeking.

Enlightenment will probably not bring you eternal bliss, but it will almost certainly bring you peace of mind.

I feel this subject of 'happiness' needs better defining as it makes a huge difference to people's expectations and concepts of what we are all trying to achieve through personal development and spirituality.

Happiness is the absence of pain, not the presence of joy.