winterknight

Self-inquiry is about putting forth sustained attentional effort. The mind doesn't have to be absolutely silent, but without the ability and desire to focus intensely -- which requires a relatively quiet mind -- the distractions will keep interfering with that effort. Well, psychoanalysis like I already said. Pretty much any kind of meditative practice faithfully followed (self-inquiry/surrender, breathing-oriented, mantra-oriented, mindfulness, etc.). Watching your other patterns (what you eat, how you sleep, etc.) to see if there are things you could improve in those areas. Those are off the top of my head.

If you look deeply into enough into the I, it will become clear that ignorance is not the case and has never been the case.

Really, fewer, see 1:06-1:10

you're very welcome

why, does it bother you bro? good detective work

That entirely depends on for whom it is occurring and in what context. Any time anyone asks "where is this thought or feeling coming from," the answers can vary from "what you ate two hours ago" to "everything in the universe since the beginning of time brought you to this moment" to "it's god's will." What you really might be asking is: what's the significance of this feeling for me? If you want to know that, you'll have to become curious about it, and perhaps write or draw or otherwise record your experience of it in great detail... trying to capture what it's like to undergo that experience. And maybe you'll find a message within about the way you view the world...

The reason is that what you are, once the false ideas are removed, is perfect peace, truth, and freedom. Isn't that the case when you're reading a novel? Do the characters in the book actually exist, or are they really just words? If you really want to understand, you might consider putting some serious time into studying the schools of eastern mysticism. Read my book or other recommended books on nonduality and get back to me. "Nonduality" -- which is what this forum is all about, what the schools of mysticism all around the world are about, certainly what I'm teaching -- holds that the very idea of humans, animals, thinking, the world -- all of this is a kind of illusion. It's an illusion that causes pain and suffering and uncertainty. This illusion can be penetrated if you look very carefully into the mind. If you really want, you can learn about the philosophical arguments for why this might be so, or you can simply take the world of the many people over thousands of years who have experienced this and then talked about it. As far as why thoughts are our "default action" -- it turns out, after you look very closely, that that is in fact not the case. Basically, you're living in a giant misunderstanding.

You can do both at the same time; you can walk and chew gum. I literally constantly recommend psychoanalysis (not just any therapy) because some 99% of spiritual seekers have psychological issues that need addressing. Go get those addressed, start reading scriptures, and practicing self-inquiry. It's not that we were not meant to have a thinking mind, but that we are identified with it, and can't see through the identification unless the mind significantly quiets for a while. It's not that we're possessed but that the idea of "we" in the first place is wrong. Follow the advice I gave just above... all the same links apply to you.

I don't know what this is

Well, if you feel that way, then investigate those feelings and pursue that meaning. What country are you in? Wim hof and breathwork are not really a substitute. Metaphorization & the science of desire might be helpful (covered more extensively in my book).

Right, what I'm saying is that any answer I give you in words is not going to be satisfying. I can say "Evil is just an illusion." Are you going to be satisfied with that? If you want answers, pursue the path. Yes -- enter psychoanalysis. That's a specific type of therapy -- not just any therapy. I recommend it to practically every seeker. Here's how to find an institute near you; contact them for a referral.

Yup. That's the right path if you can pursue it. Go completely silent. Give up everything.

Yes, it's basically a description of attempted surrender. Give up all desire to change anything, give up all mental effort, give up all thought. (or try!) If there is "insight occurring" and things deepening, and looking going on, and things sucking in other things, etc. -- these are all names and forms. These are all thoughts. What if you gave up all of that?

Here's another way of putting it: can you simply drop all thought? What if you simply refused to pay attention to any thought? Every time a thought comes up, just let it go. Might be a worthwhile experiment in surrender. What if you tried it for 30 days?

I'm saying that your attempts at trying to understand "it" seem to be attempts to keep the mind/ego alive... you have to examine who is asking those questions.

The absolute is not capable of being expressed in language. Everything that can be said about it is wrong, including that it is outside of consciousness, in consciousness, part of consciousness, etc. Self-inquiry leads to the silence beyond thoughts, ideas, concepts, and 'understanding.'

Sure, that's one way of looking at it. And it may be the most helpful way for most. Another way of looking at it is that for the jnani there is no body or mind (for anyone), because these are mental categories... all the categories are false. This is the most mysterious doctrine... there is no experience and no experiencer. But this can only be understood when the veil of ignorance isn't there.

Pain is different than suffering. One can have a painful sensation, but then telling ourselves a story of how it's so horrible for us and needs to go away -- that is what causes suffering. There is a big difference between an unpleasant sensation and the emotional agony of desperately wanting to change that sensation and make it disappear -- only the second thing is suffering. Though the truth is even pain doesn't exist. Pain is a mental concept; enlightenment is seeing that all mental concepts are false. This cannot really be understood intellectually, though. You have to pursue the spiritual path and then you will understand.

I gave you a whole bunch of reasons. And of course none of them satisfied you. That's because you can't be satisfied with just ideas. The truth is that suffering doesn't even exist -- not even as an illusion. If you want to understand, pursue the spiritual path with the links I gave above. You'll never find true answers just by speculating.

Of course. The Self is the negation of suffering and the destruction of the pain of existential questions. It is the annihilation of a lack of peace, of ignorance, of fear, of constriction, of a sense of being incomplete and empty, of the pain of effort. That good enough?

There are many, many answers to that question depending on the perspective that you come from. Suffering comes from karma. God's will. Humanity's hate, delusion, greed. In a nutshell the real truth is that none of it can be said to exist. It's all illusion. It's as illusory as a movie, or even more so. And as such its meaning is just the beauty of the cosmic drama. When one sees that these ills are illusory, because you are not who you think you are, then even the darkness will be filled with everlasting light. Even it seems you are afraid you will not be, and when it seems you are in pain you will not be. And in fact that is already the case. But if you want to see what this all means, it's time to follow the path of self-inquiry.

Haven’t read it, can’t say, unfortunately... but generally the ancient and influential scriptures of the past are worth reading.

Well you should know I don't generally answer questions about my own experience, because the answers are misleading. For example, the very idea of "a state of absolute non-existence" is itself a misunderstanding. All of these intellectual misunderstandings result from the fact that you have not actually studied any system of thought seriously. If you want answers to these kinds of philosophical questions, you should carefully study what has been written by the ancients.

If the mind is actually silent, peaceful, and clear in a state which can persist with eyes open and while you are doing other tasks, there is no reason to interrupt that. Yes, that is the point. Only keep in mind that, as I said above, that the state should persist, and if you exit the state, you should return. As long as there is a going and coming from peace, the truth of the matter has not been seen clearly. For who is going and coming?