tsuki

Conceptually speaking, mystical experiences are the contact with the divine mind. It is a contact with brilliance so astonishing that you cannot attribute this magnificent clarity to yourself. Some reserve this term to the domain of existential or metaphysical insights (what am I, what is reality, etc), but I argue that any moment of increased clarity does not come from the ego. When you try to learn something difficult that is way beyond your league and still get it in a moment of eureka! that is a mystical experience. I described my first three mystical experiences of existential nature in this thread.

The come together by the fact that the chains of causation that manifest as the present moment (being) are infinitely long, chaotic and nonlinear. They happen in the infinite divine mind. The finite mind (individual or collective) may only approximate it and create models.

The belief in external reality is a byproduct of your undisciplined mind. You cannot know the truth, you may only embody, realize it. The way of doing that is by using the mind to explore itself, find its limits and going beyond them. The mind creates images that can correspond with actuality and potentially be useful. The images are not the truth. Usefulness, the extent of applicability, is not the criterion here. Seek peace, bliss and happiness. When it comes to validation of the applicability of models, the scientific method is the way. In self-discovery, sincere phenomenology is useful. I think that it's important to mention that all models must be necessarily incomplete, and that incompleteness can be incorporated within them.

@remember you remind me of @now is forever. Welcome back!

Funny how things go full circle with self-discovery. I wonder if these conscious-subconscious gateways can be leveraged ay yellow. That would require building a personal system of magic.

@tsuki @remember your description is in accordance with my experience. No wonder the Catholic Church is so afraid of it. The Bible can be used the same way.

@Bill W I was coming from a similar place, only having prior experience with tobacco, alcohol and weed. I tried LSD twice and I must say that this substance is unlike any other, and I know that I sound like a total addict. My spiritual journey has led me to understand that my human intelligence is mostly constrained by my own choice, by thoughts, possibilities, that I'm afraid of exploring. With LSD, that barrier is gone and for 12 hours, you are forced into a more open (intelligent) perspective. That gives you a unique place to reflect on yourself and look past your habitual ways of intellectual self-deceit. Not only that, but your consciousness also expands, you are able to 'gather' more perceptions simultaneously. You have direct, unfiltered, access to how you perceive your surroundings through your body. If you are mistreating it (and most of us actually do), then you will learn that very, very painfully. So, why am I convinced that LSD is not addictive? This shit is painful and terrifying. You are literally going through your own bullshit for the first half of the trip, simply because you can't stand the sight of it. When I'm sober, I really, really, respect the substance. It is definitely not a recreational toy. To contrast this with alcohol - it enhances your perception, not dulls it. It cannot be used as an escape from facing your problems. That causes "bad trips". Not convincing you of anything though, simply sharing my experience wor what it's worth.

I haven't done any Tarot yet, but I used I-Ching for that purpose before. From one point of view, divination can be viewed as a mirror for the mind like @Leo Gura says. However, the symbolic nature of the oracle has another use. If meditated upon, it will establish a language between the conscious and the subconscious and is a gateway to altered states of consciousness. I believe that is how it was originally used for the divinatory purposes. Looks very dangerous when viewed this way.

@tedens No thought is unthinkable. Everything can be understood and makes perfect sense. If it cannot be understood, then it is your own resistance and it must be broken. Every paradigm can be inhabited personally and is strictly speaking, right. Unconditional curiosity. Mystical experiences were a consequence of breaking the ego down through curiosity. While awakenings were extremely beneficial, they took intent to integrate. They did not purify anything by themselves. They are more of a natural consequence, unfolding.

That part is answered here: ____________________________________ If you ever get bored defending your misery - I'll be waiting.

They do, but they are not aware of this just yet . It takes skill to interest people instead of triggering them.

This relative place, meaning forum? I do. What's the point otherwise? This place is a playground, training wheels. I'm being sincere though. Nothing deeper when it comes to reality, just more skill in reading people. I'm also interested in the occult stuff, but I'm not practicing that (deliberately) for the time being. Other than being my drug of choice? No. I have none. Care to share some?

Practically speaking, once your mind is infinitely malleable, the only guidance you're left with is your heart. Practices that purify it deal with emotional healing (shadow work for example). So: the heart says what, the mind says how, the body does.

Paradox is how the mind conceives of being. This paradox can be unwrapped into many paradigms, each of them being a strange loop. That is the nature of your soul: unconstrained, irreducible freedom. Exercise this freedom wisely.

@Aeris reading people deeply. It's a form of bonding.

Honestly, that is why I prefer answering other people's questions. Getting to the underlying contraction is very satisfying.

From within absolute relativity where meaning is a byproduct of paradigm, the reason to detach is arbitrary. Why would you want to detach and how is that not within a paradigm?

@Truth Addict Isn't that attachment to non-attachment? The absolutely relative world has no ground and no meaning. START CARING. And got where?

I KNOW SHE IS THERE F O R ME. I DESIRE TO BE A SPIRITUAL TEACHER.

@AlphaAbundance Please rate the advice I'm giving from 1 to 10.

@mandyjw I AM SO PROUD OF HER RIGHT NOW. SHE'S ALL RESPONSIBLE AND CARES ABOUT FINANCES AND CALORIE INTAKE. SHE'S EVEN MADE STEPS IN CREATING HER OWN BUSINESS. SHE WAS DREAMING OF IT FOR YEARS. YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE HOW MUCH IT WORK TOOK TO GET HER TO THIS POINT. THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IN THE WORLD IS TO PUSH YOUR LOVED ONE TO PURSUE HER DREAMS DESPITE HER PROTESTS.

Yes, that is correct. To love, it does matter whether you follow it, or not. The thing that cares is Ego, the individual, separated human soul. The ego can decide (WILLINGLY) to become wise. To follow the truth. That starts the path of removing delusions and expands the ego (makes it more inclusive). Ultimately, that leads to non-dual realization, a.k.a. enlightenment, where ego becomes so expansive that 'I' makes no sense. That does not imply passivity. The ego cares and it acts, but it acts out of place of purity and genuine concern. There is no selfishness, there is only lack of skill in self-mastery a.k.a. delusion. Retaliation and violence are reactions to self-created emotions and resonances of suffering. Love cannot be manipulated, it is how the world truly is underneath all delusions. An ego that runs off with self-constructed ideology that exploits others does so to its own demise. Love cannot be taught, it is self-evident when obstacles are removed.

THAT SURE BRINGS BACK SOME MEMORIES... OF MY WIFE BEING PISSED. I DO READ THIS JOURNAL EVEN IF I DON'T POST.

Of course you did experience the brain. The first person experience of your brain is called mind. The brain is how the mind looks like.

I'M HERE AND I'M GONNA WRITE IN ALL CAPS.