winterknight

Heh, you have to post on my thread or PM me if you want me to see it... I don't get notifications of mentions on random threads. But I saw this by chance... Anyway, I don't know much about ACIM, but have heard good things.

Well, I mean quantum stuff can be suggestive for some people who are highly science oriented and perhaps need an excuse to go the spiritual route in the first place... it helps some people justify that to themselves... Probably the most important turning point was me realizing that life was not about me figuring out what I "should" do (even in terms of getting enlightened, which was already a goal) and then forcing myself to do it, but listening to what I emotionally wanted (no easy task!) -- whether or not it was what I "should" want -- and aligning myself with that... being honest about what I wanted, in other words. Honest desire is the central pivot around which it all turned.

I don't know. But I think there is a clue here, when you write: "That i accepted what happened to me" Studying quantum effects is great for understanding physics, but that is not absolute Truth, and never will be. Though absolute Truth is not good for understanding physics.

Not quite. It's more like being "zoned out" -- like when you are absorbed in an activity and 2 hours go by without your even noticing. Where were the body and mind then? You were so intensely involved that they disappeared. It's kind of like that. Even what you think of as the "real character" who is watching is also a fake character. Yeah, good question

Just how long are you sleeping and how long as it been going on? Spirituality shouldn't normally cause insomnia. It's more likely to be a matter of psychology or physiology. You are going in circles. That is because you need to deal with psychological issues. I gave you tips via PM on how to find a good therapist. Did you follow them? And did you see my previous suggestions about chanting Om and doing breathing exercises? Did you read them, think about them, try them? Yes, this is all true, but it is best to focus on your own spiritual search and ignore the ones you disagree with. Just don't get involved.

This could happen for many reasons. Read this page, try the tips, and if they don't work, go see a doctor who specializes in sleep issues. Oh, and my standard recommendation: get psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy.

I advocate that people spend time in self-inquiry and find the happiness within. That is real success.

One could view it as scripted, or one could view it as being constantly created according to God's will, which operates spontaneously and unscriptedly at every moment. It could well be that our understanding of the laws and structure of the universe are merely an approximate glimpse at God's will, which may not be pre-determined. This is already suggested by the probabilistic nature of quantum effects. The people we "think" we are of course have roles in our own growth and development. Developmental tasks must be processed consciously, and choices must be made -- and those choices themselves are parts of the script, but necessary parts of the script, in the same way that, for example, if you rolled a rock down a hill, it would touch various parts of the hill all the way down, and each of those parts of the hill would contribute its own little bit to the rock's speed and direction and angle. Though of course in reality free will is neither scripted nor created, being unreal -- not just free will but all phenomena are illusion.

When you look at something beautiful -- say, a gorgeous view from a mountain, or you hear a haunting melody, or you're incredibly thirsty and drink that first sip of cold, clean, clear water... for a second you're at peace, right? The mind is still. There's no disconnection or depersonalization there. Those are little glimpses of the Self.

No, that would require a sense of separation... which is precisely what isn't the case... "I" don't view day-to-day life. There's just peace.

It's a complicated topic. For some people, staying away from sex and relationships can significantly quiet the mind and enhance energy for the spiritual quest. There is a long tradition of this in all mystical traditions. In Hinduism it is called "brahmachari." The idea is that sexual relationships create all kinds of complicated and painful attachments that are hindrances to the spiritual search. They drain energy that can go into spiritual inquiry. But it doesn’t work for some people. In the Bible, Christ says "there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." But not everyone can accept it. For some people it causes increased mental noise and instability. Still, since you are only 17, and you feel this question, it might not be a bad thing to try to put your desire aside -- for a while, say six months or a year -- and pursue the spiritual with all your heart and mind. And you can see how you react.

Because the noisy mind is what prevents you from recognizing your true Self. It's like the reflection of the moon in a lake. If the lake is disturbed, the moon's reflection is also disturbed. If you want to see the moon clearly, the lake needs to be still.

Sorry about that... been a lifelong flaw It quiets the mind. But the best meditation is self-inquiry, which both quiets the mind and leads to the destruction of ignorance.

Therapy is not just about abstract "knowledge of the fear." It can get deeply into your emotions and help you feel things that you cannot normally allow yourself to feel, because you are in a safe, expert relationship. I recommend therapy to all serious seekers, and if you have suffered traumatic psychoses in the past, then therapy will be of great help to you. These things may be essential to your spiritual search. Do you still hear the voices? Use this link to find a good therapist -- and if you have any trouble, feel free to PM me.

It's not intellectual knowledge. The words they speak merely come out of the extremely simple recognition that they have made of the Self -- which is simply what you are, constantly, every second. It's hidden in plain sight. Everything else flows from that recognition. No, it's not necessary to have an above-average IQ. What you mainly need is a strong desire for liberation and an open mind. Three or four possible approaches. I suspect these fears are telling you something that you need to listen to. I recommend you consider getting psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy. Also, write or create art about these fears in great detail till you feel you have captured "what it is like to have them." Or you can ask yourself "Who is feeling these fears?" and work your way into the feeling of the "I" that way. But if that doesn't stick, try the above methods.

From the enlightened perspective, the issue is that nothing is really born, let alone reborn...

You could interpret it that way if you wanted, though really you're always close to the true Self, of course -- or rather, you always are that Self. There's actually no getting closer to or farther from it. All that happened is that your mental perspective got shaken a little. It can happen for all kinds of reasons... it's a matter of interpretation. Best to view it generally as a call to the spirit, and not to place too much significance on it or try to understand it with too much precision (unless you have a really strong desire to do so).

Well look, as long as you're distressed about these different thoughts about whether to drink it or not, etc. -- self-inquiry has to continue. When self-inquiry is finished, it will no longer be a question that bothers you, because, as you said, you will not identify with the one who is choosing... but that can't be simply an intellectual understanding. It has to penetrate into your perspective deeply.

This is a confusion about the meaning of free will. If you don't have free will, it's also the case that choosing not to drink the pepsi is also not-your-free-will. Anyhow, though, the deeper issue is that this is a war between different desires within you. You cannot win battles against yourself, and it is not your job to try. The battle is between the desire you think you have for Pepsi and the desire to do what you "should" do -- the "healthy" thing. Your job is not to pick between these impulses. Your job is not to take sides and talk about what is "wrong" or "right" in egoic impulse. Your job is to listen to them, and see what they are really saying -- especially the "Pepsi" desire. What does Pepsi really mean to you? What is it giving you? What are the emotional needs it is if fulfilling, and might there be other ways to get it? Your job is to be honest about and align yourself with what you want, even if you are "not supposed to" want it because it's "wrong." But maybe it isn't Pepsi you really want, but something deeper... look into that. Do not condemn it, judge it, tell it is bad, negative, to be gotten rid of. Feel your feelings, listen to them, and try to understand. It is a process. All this seems trivial (it's "just" about a Pepsi) but it is not -- these kinds of desires often have deep roots in our childhoods, psyches, and emotional patterns. That's why I always recommend psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy.

Nice!

Go get a psychoanalytic consultation at the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis and see if psychoanalysis is right for you. It's the best possible thing you could do for yourself as a young person and as a spiritual seeker -- it will help you think through these questions and understand your emotional patterns and barriers.

Sort of. It's not quite right to say the self is the "only true subject in all body-minds" when you've said that "from the vantage point of the Self, there is no body-mind"! You cannot understand this intellectually. It is only comprehensible through direct experience. You can talk this way but it is only an approximate truth.

No. Enlightenment is the realization that there is no body-mind, no ignorance, and no realization. Because it appears there is to you, I speak to you in that language, but in fact there is no such thing.

I know of them. That's from Zen. I don't really think in those terms. There's either self-realization or not, and that's it (and actually there's only self-realization!).

Well my motto is that resistance always has a message and should never be steamrolled. So perhaps your resistance has reasons behind it, and it is crucial to listen to that resistance carefully and find out what they are. Using art or words to try to capture, as carefully and accurately as possible, what it's like to feel that way, can be a wonderful way of discovering and honoring this message. Usually the message is about something you feel or want but are not admitting to yourself. Now as far as Jesus goes -- it's unpleasant from the seeker's perspective, but the enlightened mind does not see it that way. It does not process suffering in the same way. It does not identify with its pain, so that pain cannot wound it except extremely superficially. Even if Jesus wept and screamed on the outside, his deep inner calm was untouched. And even his pain could have been experienced as a beautiful color in the experiential painting. All experience must necessarily appear to be suffering, basically, even pleasure -- it's all a departure from the state of unmarked, untouched, perfect peace which is non-experience. But while it appears to be that, it cannot actually depart that state. Suffering simply isn't real. That doesn't mean even the enlightened won't continue to avoid it -- that goes with their human programming. But it means that at some level they retain their happiness, no matter the circumstance.