winterknight

Don't worry about the mind tricking you like that. If you are honest about it -- if you admit "I want to leave the path" -- you cannot be tricked, and in fact this admission is in fact part of the path. This is why honesty is such a highly prized virtue in all the traditional mystical paths. Honesty starts with yourself.

Thanks!

Only already extremely disciplined minds can do that just by hearing it. All the rest need instruction and practice.

No one here is going to be able to give you an answer. Dreams' meanings are deep in the psyche. If you really want to know, go see a good psychoanalyst and prepare to spend time & effort. It's very worth it. I see you're in Athens -- go to the Hellenic psychoanalytic society and contact them for a referral.

The "BG as it is" comes from a very dualistic translator & commentator... would not recommend BG as it is. Read this translation.

It's ok as far as "pointers" go. But short on the psychology that most people need to make progress. Also short on the intellectual framework and rigor.

Thanks guys! So pleased you’re finding it useful.

Well, it's impossible for me to diagnose that without knowing a whole lot more about you and about what you're going through. It's exactly why I recommend all seekers engage in psychoanalytic therapy (that's a specific kind of therapy, not just any therapy). Go here and under "Search for IPA Training Institutes," put your country in, and then pick an institute (if there are multiple, pick one in or near your city) and call and ask for a referral.

Sadly I am not very familiar. I think it depends on which school of Buddhism you're interested in. Maybe Google that and look up its canonical texts? I can certainly recommend the works of Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen. Very short and very beautiful. But you could also consider asking on Dharmawheel, a Buddhist discussion forum.

I'd start with the Bhagavad Gita. This is a nice translation, and if you like it, you can find and read other translations & also commentary.

You're very welcome

Well, the Gita is a complicated text because it is a series of layers -- meant to speak to seekers of many different mental temperaments and levels of maturity. It is very much a non-dual text, but is also brings people not ready for that direct teaching up to that level through the other yogas recommended (karma, bhakti, etc.). It is also an interesting text because it takes place in the world, and deals with the seeker in the midst of life's struggles. Ramana Maharshi used to say that Chapter 2 summarized the most essential -- and non-dual -- teaching of the Gita, and that it was only when Arjuna couldn't grasp this that Krishna diluted it in various ways in the following chapters. Yes, the Gita is less direct than the Ashtavakra Gita, etc., but it is also more user-friendly, at least initially, and presents a broad perspective... As far as whether Arjuna got enlightened or not, I'm sure it depends on which further text or commentary you read. In the end of course there is no such thing as enlightenment that happens to a person, so the question is ultimately beside the point.

You might be surprised if you read the Mahabharata in the unabridged versions. Plenty of very sex-positive stuff, actually... you would never get this from the sterilized versions that parents teach their children. How do you figure? Of all the scriptures the Gita is the one you could least say this about. Arjuna is literally on a battlefield, with a wife and children and wealth and all kinds of worldly commitments -- and it is in this arena precisely that Krishna enlightens him. Arjuna in fact contemplates running away to the forest, and Krishna tells him not to do that, that that is not going to be helpful, and that renunciation of the forest monks is simply not necessary.

Yes, usually true, though as you might know in the Hindu myths there are stories of various enlightened sages having children. Interesting question. The 'schooling' would have little to do with school, per se, I suspect. You need the basics of good parenting: empathy, attention, and a good combination of affection, structure, and attention to the unique needs and capacities of the child, and a willingness as a parent to reflect on your own traumas and pain and try to process them. And then you need to teach good values (by example more than words): moderation, not excessive attachment, compassion for others and themselves, patience, etc. And then, as the child's cognitive capacities grow, add in the more explicitly spiritual ideas and meditation/self-inquiry, as and when the child is ready and interested.

To feel that "this hell" is real, though, and can really hurt anyone, is ignorance, so that can't really be the reason . Indeed, to feel that new generations are "really" coming into the world, or that you are exercising the choice whether to do so or not, is also ignorance. So this cannot explain these actions in the end. But it might be that typically (but not always) that the drive to have children comes from certain psychological desires that enlightenment tends to weaken, or which have already been weakened on the path to self-realization.

It's a tricky question. In general, I advise everyone to get in touch with their real feelings and desires and follow them. If that involves having children, then have them -- there certainly have been enlightened people who have had children. It didn't stop their search. On the other hand, children and family do take a lot of time, effort, and attention. If you're on the fence about it, it can be useful to consider whether you want to spend that effort there or rather on the Search. But the reality is that it is generally dictated by desire. Those enlightened ones who do not have children usually don't have them because that's just their temperament. In the end, attachments to children will in have to be somewhat weakened for self-realization, so many serious seekers just tend, because of their own background karma, not to have them in the first place.

It's not going to be helpful to simply give generic answers to hundreds of questions like this. They won't mean anything to you. Please read and follow the instructions in my general guides carefully and then come back and ask me if you have specific questions -- give me the details of your situation -- and we can troubleshoot that way.

You suffer because there is a wrong identification with body and mind. You can't get rid of it because it doesn't exist. Look into it and find that out. There isn't really an ego; it's an illusion. I help you because I have the urge to do so. Because we are both nothing other than the Self.

No, I just liked the metaphor.

Why what?

Love this metaphor

Unfortunately, that is not psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a type of therapy conducted by trained psychoanalysts -- not all psychological therapy is "psychoanalysis." It is actually relatively rare. But I'm glad you felt whatever you did do was helpful. Doesn't do much for me, but some of the stuff (well, chakras) might have some validity in some contexts. And the third eye could be considered metaphorically -- it is simply awakening to our true nature.

Haven't come across twin flames. My philosophy is that things that are very enticing and distracting might have a message for you... maybe it's part of your Search

Not helpful really to answer more questions about "my" experience. Any answer is misleading... better to just get there and find out for yourself rather than setting up false expectations.

There is no difference between these two.