Galyna

Oh, I would love this, I need to order from Amazon ?. Have never heard about Victor. why Psychology is not my major? Lol

Guys, I really need some help here. If you can answer my question I would appreciate it a lot. So, I am reading this book by Michael A. Singer "Untethered Soul." (Thank you, @cetus I fell in love with the book from the first page. That was a very good advice. Absolutely love it, love it, love it! ) In this book the author states that all of us have this constant annoying voice that takes multiple sides during the day and never shuts up. Nothing new, we all know it, right?. However, I wanted to ask people here who is "on topic". Do you guys have the gaps between the voice talking? I was surprised when reading the book that my voice is not acting the way he describes, please read below how the author gives an example of the "voice": "What am I doing? I cant go to sleep yet. I forgot to call Fred. I remembered in the car but did not call. If I do not call now…oh waits, it is too late. I shouldn’t call him now. I don’t even know why I thought about it. I need to fall asleep. Oh shoot, now I cant fall asleep. I am not tired anymore. But I have a big day tomorrow, and I have to get up early.” (Singer, 2007) Wait what? If my voice talks to me like this I would go insane. Glad I do not have this "verbal diarrhea" all the time in my head. I really want to know since people are doing some progress here with meditations, etc. How do your "voices" talk? Do you guys see more images or a movie like visions in your head? Do you use the "voice" when really need to remember something, for a technical reason? I am aware of this "voice" pretty much all the time. I know I am the one who observes it, however it does not make it any easier to get what I'm chasing for.... How to understand the level of my awareness if I can not compare it with others? Does it mean that I am more aware and do not notice it since I am in this mode for a long time. I do not understand then how to "catch" this special state you all talking about...How to be even more aware. Thank you very much, Hugs.

Oh dear... I read most of them including: Ramesh S. Balsekar, Chopra, Watts, McKena, Tolle, you name it, lol.... That is what fascinates me the most, I wish I could have this experience to jump into someone head to compare. Have you come across Irvin D. Yalom?

Thanks for the feedback ? I feel amazing, this is not an issue. I am pretty calm inside. I want to be more centered in “my” being. I am working on letting go whether a thought or a pleasant experience. The more you let go the more selfless you become. I was just wondering how my inner mind differs from other people. Here is what I wanted to know, for instance are you aware of your body, body movements, bodily sensations throughout the day or you fall asleep when you forget about it because you are busy thinking about something else. Are you present all the time or you allow your thoughts to carry you away. When it happens are you aware of being aware or only “wake up” when the experience is over and you realize that you were asleep and remember about your center later on during the day.

@Jacobsrw hey, thanks for the answer. ? The book has finished. I would say that it became bestseller because he went only that far to explain enlightenment. He still operates within the frame of time and space. I would say for the mediocre it is a cool guide to start with. I read far advanced books than this one. However, what I love about Singer is that he is very simple in putting you back in the present moment. The whole experience was a meditation for me. now... about the thoughts. All I want to know how my inner dialogue differs from others and have I advanced just a little bit on my path. I have this inner space call it “awareness “ if you like for a long time. I acknowledge my thoughts and when I am conscious I never identify with my thoughts. The thought arises, I laugh at it and let it go. To be honest it is super hard to stay “awake” when involved in conversation where I need to tell my opinion. I fall asleep when need to use my brain for the technical tasks. I am still learning how to let go. My challenge is to let go of what I really love: people and experiences. I am clinging to experience. If I like it, I want to repeat it again. I still have desires. I am working on dropping my dearest dreams and wishes. It is way harder than to drop or let go of negative experiences. When you have a wonderful experience it is hard to let it go and not cling to it. However, you should train your psyche like a dog, willpower needed.

I don’t narrate mine, only if I am about to talk to someone I will rehearse it in my mind, otherwise no. I try to stay as conscious as possible to keep that inner peace. I love to observe: a tree, a person, nature. So when I am observing someone my awareness drowns in that person, but thank God my mind doesn’t talk, I just try to be as attentive to that person as possible, without judging them with my inner voice. ?

No thoughts , no images, nothing at all when looking at the object? asking because I am hyper focused myself, to that point that I don’t see and hear others talking to me, but my mind is still not blank.

It is not what I think at all.

@Someone here how many cigarettes in the last 24 hours?

Ignorance, okay...whatever... what can be further from the Truth? If it would be the case nobody ever talked about it, we would not even have this in our knowledge frame. I agree that probably there is no one to get enlightened, but there are states of Consciousness, for sure.

@Beginner Mind Good luck!

@Beginner Mind I wish that would be that simple. You are aware of being aware and boom....you got enlightened. I am aware of being aware for a long time, not constantly 24/7, but very often, probably 70% of my day. Does it make me enlightened person? Of course not. To be truly enlightened you need to learn how to let go. You basically have to let go your whole personality.This is a must! By simply of being aware will not get you that far if you still buying into drama that ego feeds you.

@Seraphim Agree, but this is rather exception, then the rule itself. For ordinary person to completely turn off the monkey mind is next to impossible.

@assx95 it is the most natural thing, you don’t have to force it, just put the awareness inward and observe. Treat the voice inside you as a roommate, don’t associate with it. You are not the voice, you are the one who is aware of it. ? That “space” is you. So tomorrow when driving a car/ or in a subway, put the awareness on that space. It is not going to lead you into Samadhi , but hey.... at least something. The more you do it, the easier it will become.

@An young being You might not be fully aware of the activities within your mind. When I ask my friend "what are you thinking about now?" she always replies "my mind is blank, not thinking about anything. " I always joke that it is impossible without a proper practice, she always denies. You know how many years yogis meditate to come to this blissful state? Regular person can not seat without thoughts even for one minute. Unless you are a hardcore practitioner, then all the above will never be applied to your situation.

It is when you focus your consciousness (call it inner attention if you like) not completely on the object (any external object: tree, book, candle, person,window), but rather make awareness itself as an object. In this particular state the focus of consciousness is turned back to the Self. (where Self=Consciousness) When you become aware you are no longer become immersed in the events around you. They can not suck you in because you are centered, you rest in your consciousness. Does it make any sense?

@cetus Thanks, the guy in the video is so funny I would say that Singer is a very extraordinary person according to his bio. I wish his meditation center would be in my city.

The simplest thing you can start with is awareness. Just try to focus consciousness on Itself. When this happens, instead of being aware of your thoughts, you're aware that you're aware of your thoughts. This is a big deal for me. Notice this silent witness all the time, or at least try to remember as much as you can. As for me, I forget and remember hundreds of times during the day. This is the simplest meditation ever, it does not require any prep, special seating, posture, atmosphere. Talking to another person, become aware, writing something....become aware...taking shower..., doing the dishes....observe, observe, observe your thoughts, feelings, reactions, motives, sensations, everything.

@cetus Hey there! Quick question...I am almost done with Singer's book, could not stop reading last night, very easy for comprehension. So researched about the author and it seems like he has another best seller "The Surrender Experiment" (2015) have you read that one by any chance? if yes, would you recommend buying it? The reason why I am asking because I do not want to order another book and re-read everything that was written in the previous one ("Untethered Soul") Thank you

"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho absolutely recommend, love Coelho, read a lot of his book, but "The Alchemist" is very easy to read with lots of meaning. Full of nice quotes: “When I had nothing to lose, I had everything. When I stopped being who I am, I found myself.” ― Paulo Coelho “This is what we call love. When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist Also Carlos Castaneda, ofc he is the best!!!!! imo who can explain various concept of non-duality. I believe that "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as well ( a fairy tale made for kids about friendships and unconditional love, one of the best-selling and most translated books ever published. )

In my point of view, true friendship equals love, just without sex. I take friendship very seriously. If you are my friend, you are almost my family member. If you in need I will drop everything in a heart beat to help you. I have 3 BFFs that I am really close with, other people are just a part of my social circle. I can not imagine my life without friends. One of my highest values in life is to form deep (a very important word here) meaningful connections with other people. Of course due to the nature of it, you can not form deep connections with everyone, but possible with some people. Then you develop this depth and nothing can be more pretty than this love between you and your friend. relationship's love is great, but a bit dramatic, love between friends can be very fulfilling, peaceful, without jealousy and pretensions, almost unconditional.

@Someone here just hang in there because today I will be reading this book, but I will try not to forget.

or when you want to understand why people act the way it they are, right?. But other than that it is crazy. Maybe because we are into self-development. I can not believe normal people think the way author describes it.

Yesterday you told me to not derail your threads, remember? in fact what are you doing now with mine? JK. I will get back into your thread and leave you a comment there.

You know what I was thinking, maybe then we have different ways of "hearing" it? Because I do observe it all the time, but it is not always a verbal rant. It can it be images, sounds, sensations? I do not get this, am I really special here? Meditation is different, because you try to force yourself. Making sense, yes, but not repeating what you see, come on!