Consilience

This. Ego, no ego. Can we be directly conscious in the moment of total self fixation? Don’t really resonate with Sadguru’s description of Enlightenment. Sounds way too conditional, specific, exclusive. Really happy to hear the energy work and other modalities worked out and that you’re in a healthier state! Seriously huge ?

That’s really funny because the exact thing the teaching is refuting is the exact thing that facilitated my Awakening/Enlightenment… ? Here I am still meditating like a mofo totally aware of it’s ultimate uselessness, a poster child for Neo Advaitans on what not to do, yet having seen beyond the need to let go or not let go. Reality still holds impersonal curiosity, so away it goes ?

The seeking energy cannot hear or not hear, it is merely an empty appearance. Nor can if end or not end by any recognition, it is a spontaneous emergence of reality, completely irrelevant to Truth. What is true is already true before, during, and after seeking. Even while seeking persists, there can be recognition of actuality of what is ultimately true. This, however, is totally off the radar in the Neo Advaita community. And ultimately that’s fine.

It’s basically when you become conscious of what seeking is, who is (or isn’t) seeking, what is (or isn’t) seeking as not me, not mine, just more phenomena. Wholeness, boundless freedom, unconditional love, God, emptiness can be recognized all the while the seeking energy remains. What is true is already true regardless of whether seeking is present, so whether seeking ends or doesn't is irrelevant for what is absolutely true. In my own case, it's been recognized no one at all is seeking, yet reality is still practicing intense meditation, going evermore deeply within the source of actuality, or Being. Yet the practicing is non-personal, un-fixated, spontaneous. I also notice the more this personal body-mind practices, the healthier (in relative terms) all of life becomes. Perhaps no, but most people who think they're just “being” are not, but are unaware of this because their minds are so subtle, so unconscious, they’re unaware. This is why formal practice is useful. It is a litmus test for where you’re actually at. Why is “just being” so difficult after a measly 2 hours of sitting still? Because the sentient being is not actually conscious of what Being, existential Being, really is. Of course this is a double edged sword because it can reinforce a sense of agency and seeking. But on the other hand, hardcore meditation is radically less risky than prematurely giving it all up.

Got it. Yeah I feel you on this. From my own perspective, this doesn’t sound crazy at all, matches my own experience. Yes even with the screaming and crying, just automatic responses of the body-mind.

Early on in the path, yes. Now? No, not at all. Whether seeking energy is or isnt present is irrelevant. The capacity to seek without seeking is a cornerstone for true meditative progress. Im glad they’re useful. If they resonate, don’t let my shit posting stop you from getting value. That’s not true meditation. True meditation is not about reaching some kind of state. The first part of this quote is more akin to true meditation. Definitely ?

The intent isn't to sit down and talk about the suffering of the world for the sake of talking about the suffering of the world. I'm bringing it up in the context of the discussion about this teaching style, Neo Advaita. Talking about the suffering of the world is not a waste of energy if we are interested in discovering what is true. If we agree that suffering is ultimately illusory, which based on prior interactions I assume you understand this, then the discussion of The First Noble Truth is not a waste of time. When we can admit "Ok... Suffering is present" this immediately tells us there is ignorance, unconsciousness. When we are honest about where we are, rather than falling back into beliefs about "this is it!" rather than a genuine consciousness, such an honesty allows us the possibility of directly experiencing what is actually true. The key is to realize suffering without suffering, but watching Anna Brown videos isn't going to get someone there. To be honest, I don't know what you are trying to point towards in this discussion. Any clarity is welcome.

Bingo Reminds me of a meme I saw recently:

Because out of all the indicators for how conscious one is, it's one of the best. By suffering I mean pain * resistance, essentially. That's a super simplified model but it's pretty clear, I believe. Edit: And as one actually works towards raising their level of consciousness (notice how this contradicts the idea that "This is it!" but in actuality, there is no contradiction. Primordial Paradox is not something the ego mind can do), suffering goes down because resistance goes down. The nature of resistance and pain is seen. All phenomena start to be experienced as their actuality rather than ego-mind projections. Going full circle is experience these ego-mind projections in the same consciousness as when they're absent. It's not personal though so the question "why is suffering so important to you?" doesn't really mean much. It's simply what I see when I look out at the world. I see countless sentient beings unconsciously suffering and I see that suffering manifest itself in utterly dysfunctional, incongruent ways. Again though, it's not personal. It's just apart of the whole.

Neo Advaita is such a privileged form of spirituality. The potential for self-deception is massive and the teachings only work for those living relatively comfortable lives. Yet the spiritual bypassing and possibility for enormous amounts of suffering are there, all unconsciously present, all hiding in the background of the unconscious mind. It's like fast food for the spiritual community, no wonder it's so popular. Watched one of her videos and a quote stuck out : "How can any practice bring you closer to what already is?" - Nargis No thing How? Paradox. Neo Advaita is unconscious of this deep paradox. That no matter what we do, we can not get any closer to what is ultimately true, yet to deny our level of consciousness is to still play right into the dream's hand. If you aren't enlightened, you aren't enlightened. No amount of pretending "this is it!" will make it so. This is indeed it, but until the consciousness of what this is, is, Samsara. Embracing this paradox is salvation, denying it is just another game of the ego. Shinzen Young said something during the last online retreat I attended, "The Monastery will find you." What does that mean? Suffering, immense suffering, will find you. Aging, illness, death, pain, loss - Until you can embrace hell with a smile on your face, your spiritual games mean shit. All vapid games of the ego. On the other hand, we can rest easy and practice playfully, knowing it is already complete, whole, free. Those who balance this paradox know true liberation. Those that pretend, well... I feel sorry for them.

Sounds very Dzogchen. Nice

Perhaps so, but I also went into it thinking it was probably bogus, and then was sort of shocked. I think it's important to also remember with most any drug or supplements, there are going to be hyper and hypo responders. For example, if you look at the research on creatine monohydrate, it's shocking how varied some of the data is. Some individuals respond amazingly, growing muscle well beyond statistical significance, while others don't get any results at all. Seems like brain chemistry could be the same. I can say for myself, yes the possibility of placebo is there, but I just don't see it. It would be like drinking a 12 oz starbucks and someone telling me the caffeine effects I feel are placebo because it's not enough coffee for me to feel anything. I can say with certainty I respond well to Lion's Mane. How much is placebo is impossible to know, but my gut tells me it's not much. There have been times where I intentionally didn't take any because I didn't want the stimulated feeling that comes with taking them.

Basically the more I meditated, the less effective cannabis became. I get maybe an hour of heightened creativity followed by a lower vibrational state of mind fog/dullness and a couple of days of recovery for meditation to get back to where it was prior to smoking. Essentially, life's natural high eventually became higher than cannabis's and I can reach profoundly more altered, rewarding states with meditation than weed. This, however, took a massive amount of meditation and abstinence.

0-10 mins >> Focus on breath or mantra 11-20 mins >> Open Awareness 21-30 mins >> Focus on Emotions, how are you feeling now, how can you feel better, can you open up to loving kindness, gratitude, sympathetic joy, tranquil contentment? Do this cycle 1 more time in the same sit. This is what I did for almost 1.5 years to build the capacity to do 1 hour sits. Why does this work so well? 1) You’re training multiple skills by cycling through techniques which helps make sure you’re not over/under developing as a newbie. 2) The novelty introduced by cycling through techniques removes a large part of the boredom and has a positively stimulating quality on the mind. 3) There’s less emotional distress about how much time is left when there are bells going off every 10 minutes. It’ll take around 6 months of consistency to really know whether 1 hour a day is worth it or not.

@Yarco By the time the technology is that advanced, there very well may be A.I. that can make these designs exponentially more efficiently and at an exponentially higher volume than humans. Not to dismiss your goals! Just maybe a consideration.

This is where the mind can't conceptualize about the true nature of this Awareness/Consciousness. In a sense, yes the touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste are constructed out of awareness... Phenomena and the awareness of the phenomena are inextricably interlinked, completely nondual. But Awareness can also manifest as formlessness, utter and complete emptiness/infinity. Until this is directly experienced, the mind can't conceptualize it's way to such a direct encounter. This formless quality is always present even within the waking, mundane state, however. Practice, meditation, and reliably resting within one's true nature can start to allow this Awareness to penetrate into all moments. More specifically, meditation allows one to recognize how this Awareness was always penetrating into all moments, at all times, completely un-phased, unaffected, by whatever form is taking place. As one goes deeper down this rabbit hole though, the awareness of Emptiness starts to develop, to the point where it's seen that there is nothing going on at all, nor was there ever. Self, world, other, space, time, nothing but a dream. We become so lucid to this dream that it all basically implodes, going full circle until we see that there was never anything needed. Right where we are was always enough. Now this entire process can be cyclical, take on different forms, different speeds... We think we 'got it' and then we REALLY GET IT, only to realize we know nothing at all and are still a child, as well as recognizing the infinite equilibrium that is the entire journey, that there are no steps, or phases, or progressions.

I've had the opposite results. Lion's Mane gives me an extremely noticeable improvement throughout the day. I believe it's due to my meditation practice that I'm able to notice subtle differences in the mind. If you get a bad brand, sure, but from a reputable company Lion's Mane will show good improvements in focus and even is mildly stimulating.

I'm not going to bother to read through the thread to see if it's been answered. If the rules don't apply until after the cup is turned upside down (rule #7) then I would wait for the Earth to rotate after 12 hours and the cup would be facing "upside down" relative to its starting position. And then the rules would apply, but the objective would be complete in that same moment...

The book The Mind Illuminated. Everything you need to develop an incredibly robust practice. From there, you can begin exploring, but foundation is key.

It makes no sense that Absolute Truth would be conditional. If what is true is ABSOLUTELY true, it must always be true regardless of circumstance. If what’s absolutely true is that reality is perfect, then that’s what’s true always.

Technically no. The kicker is that it was always perfect. Yet, it can still be hellish for those who think they’re awake if life decides to give them a strong dose of reality! Still perfect… as heart wrenching as that may be.

Not many. And even those who are have an infinity of eons left, yet, it’s all ready, already complete, whole and this. Pure, primordial paradox, patiently playing. Pure perfection, already there.

@4201 Just now seeing this post, thank you so much for the shoutout Really interesting ideas proposed here! Of course this all would need to be tested in a lab setting to verify but it seems like extremely sound logic. More generally, this idea that psychedelics create the new pathways but those pathways need reinforcement seems to match my experience as well. Thank you so much for the write up, high quality post

There's nothing to apologize for. This is actually not something someone else has said, my own analysis after reading/listening to hours upon hours of various spiritual masters both dead and live ones, as well as hours upon hours of my own meditation practice, psychedelic trips, contemplations, and observations of other sentient beings. Funny enough, your rhetoric sounds like some kind of classic Neo Advaita bs. Just a hunch as well though. Again, if the conditions of your life radically shifted you would be eating these words. If you think you've seen through the illusion of suffering, I would challenge you. I hope life never puts this claim of yours to the test in your own experience, or if it does, I pray you have the inner resources to meet it with the consciousness you claim. Ultimately, only you can face life's pain and the ultimate teacher, death. I wish you luck as well.

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