isabel

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  1. IS HE LEGIT
    IS HE LEGIT
    Technically mindfulness and self-inquiry are different.
    Mindfulness is depended on the assumption that there is an 'I' who trying to be in the present moment and noticing/being aware of objects present in the current experience without as much mental labels as possible. So it's a 1st person knowing 2nd and 3rd person objects. It never becomes deeply introspective on that 1st person 'I' itself.
    Self-inquiry is totally opposite of that. Self-inquiry as Ramana Maharshi taught is relaxing attention from everything and every object and trying to lock attention on that 1st person 'I' itself.

  2. Right way to do Self inquiry ?
    Right way to do Self inquiry ?
    The recommended technique is Ramana Maharshi's self-inquiry. It's very simple. You know that "I am" right now, right? It's obvious. Well, how do you know it? Where is that feeling coming from? Try to find out where in your experience it is coming from, that certainty that you are. Start in your body. Just like if someone asked you where you were feeling cold, and you searched your experience and said "Oh, my feet are feeling cold." In the same way, ask about the feeling of the "I" that you somehow know with certainty.
    And every time you think you know where it's coming from, the rule is that you must ask yourself if you are aware of that thing which you think is the source of the I. If you are, you haven't found the real source yet. So you keep going
    If, for example, you say "It's coming from my head" -- well, ask yourself "Well, I am aware of the feeling and sight of my head, right?" Notice that. So where is the "I" that is aware of the head? It's not coming from the head -- it is aware of it. So where is the I feeling? It's just like you notice that there is light in a room, and you're looking for the source of the light. Is it coming from this chair? No. The chair is lit up by something else. Is it coming from that table? Same deal. So keep searching until you find the light bulb. You'll know it when you find it.

  3. Songs Written About Enlightenment
    Songs Written About Enlightenment
    Here's some I've found. I love when I realize a song was about enlightenment the whole time. Love the mind blow. I would be most appreciative for any contributions to this. Thank you in advance! Love you all!
    Doesn't remind me  - Chris Cornell (Audio slave)
    Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
    Superstition - Stevie Wonder
    Everlong - Foo Fighters
    Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (possibly the most powerful example of articulation of enlightenment)
     

  4. Emotional Healing/shadow Work - The How To Guide
    Emotional Healing/shadow Work - The How To Guide
    Shadow work
     
    First, let me start with a little motivation.
    Why should I care about emotional healing? What is there for me to get?
    Well, how about unconditional happiness, and wellbeing, much clearer communication, emotional awareness in social situations, and many more things you can't even fathom?
    Just to compare it with a self-liberated state - it is different from detachment in my understanding. Liberation will detach you from the duality of life. Through emotional healing, you can move from the bottom of the emotional spectrum, all the way from depression to bliss.

    So yeah, buckle up, and enjoy.

    The emotional spectrum
    In essence, there is only one emotional scale, in the lower part there are emotions such as sadness, anxiety, pain, loneliness,... and on the upper half you get the "good shit" - joy, love, glowing, warmth...
    So there is not really a need to identify every emotion such as "depression, sorrow, anxiety...". You can! but It is not a requirement. 
    All you need to do, every time you are feeling an emotion, is to ask yourself: Is this emotion moving me in the direction of bliss, or depression?
    That is all the "EQ" you need.
                                                                                                       
    Claims I am making in this guide that need to be understood.
    1. Majority of your subconscious mind = Your body and your nervous system, including cellular memory.
    2. Every emotion that is released in one moment, can never come back to haunt your life again. At least in the same limiting and painful fashion.
    Thoughts
    How do thoughts fit into the shadow-work/healing paradigm? Well you can imagine thoughts being this endless stream of water in your head. RIVER, that's the word! =D.
    And your emotions are either a factory that is pouring in toxic waste and polluting the beautiful crystal clear water, OR a light, that is giving the water healing powers. 
    Now I don't know how about you, but I will always pick Light over Toxic waste. Of course if you don't then this topic might not be for you :-p.

    Beliefs (especially negative/limiting/lack beliefs).
    Belief = a repetitive thought that is a manifestation of an underlying emotional/energetical cause. 
    Later on I will try to guide you how to take on, and release negative core beliefs.
    Essential requirement for emotional healing
    FBO!! - Full Body Awareness

    Now what da heell u talkin about?????
    Full body awareness is simply your attention  no longer residing only in your head on your thoughts, and outside of you, but also in your body. It is the essential mindfulness skill. You can develop this quite easily through meditation, doing body-scans whenever you remember (A great tip is to set a reminder on your phone for every hour of your day, and every time it rings, you just run a quick awareness scan of your body and your feelings).

    NUMBER ONE PRIOTIY.
    For healing to be effective IT HAS TO BECOME your number one priority in life. This allows you utilize every time you get triggered, and get the most out of ordinary every-day situations. And if it isn't clear already, THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT YOU COULD EVER DO IN TERMS OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND FROM A CERTAIN ANGLE ON YOUR PATH TO LIBERATION. 

    How do I get to feel good all the time?
    So you wanna feel good? Well you are not the only one, and YES YOU CAN! Don't listen to the people who say "ooh well life isn't all rainbow and unicorns." You can literally choose that reality for yourself. You can feel great, ALL THE TIME.
     
    Total and absolute self-love. 
    This should be done on two levels.
    1. You create something I like to call Meta acceptance. That means total and absolute acceptance of yourself in all situations. Practically this means, that whenever you are feeling down, you can accept yourself without judgement, whenever you screw up, you choose to accept yourself, but that doesn't end there. If you screw up, and beat yourself up, you choose to accept your beating yourself up! See why "meta"? <3.
    The self-acceptance chain runs a little like this:
    You find yourself in a emotionally disturbed state. Your thoughts are among the lines of "I am not good enough". >> "Oh stop, don't think of yourself like that!".
    The way you apply meta acceptance is - First accept the thought of "Oh stop, don't think of yourself like that". (If you want something a little tangible for acceptance you can mentally hug the thought.), and once that thought is dealt with, you move onto the other thought of I am not good enough. And you accept that.
    2. Acceptance of your body and feelings.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcNGtZPPSS8 - Leo's visualisation works perfectly for this stage of self-love.
    Basically what needs to happen is the activation of your heart-center and then spreading the "love feeling" to the rest of your body. 

    Why should one love himself? Because he is already perfect. He is always the most exact expression of god that he chose to express in the moment. The most perfect and beautiful creation, that has never ever existed before, and never will after. A complete, blissful perfection in the eyes of The one. Side note - self-love is a skill, that will grow and fluctuate throughout your journey. That is natural and nothing to be alarmed of.
    Hammer it down with a visualization!
    Healing is in essence an inaccurate concept. There is nothing wrong with the "unhealed" one. When you decide to take up on healing, you are choosing a different perception, different quality and embodiment of life, and different energetical configuration of your being. It is not better, nor worse, that is why we choose our suffering, as well as we choose our bliss. We choose healing because DAMN IT FELS GOOD! (And from that standpoint only can you make an argument that the "healed" state is a better one, because it is in the direction of your intuition, which is nothing else but following what feels good).

    So every day, you choose to step more into the reality of a better feeling energetical state. Into the blissfulness of being.
    How?
    VISUALIIIIIZE! <3
    Let's assume that there is such you that is fully healed, fully recovered, fully on the bliss side of the emotional spectrum. The you that is passionate, alive, joyful, fearless.
    How exactly does the embodiment of these qualities (or any other of your choice) feel?
    How does it feel in your body? What kinds of thoughts are you having? What kinds of people do you hang out with? What is your financial situation? What is your family and relationship situation? What does it look like when you communicate with others? What kind of job, or what kind of person are you in a job? How assertive are you? How responsible and sensitive are you? And so on...

    Use the miracle that is your imagination, visualize that you are already embodying every single quality you desire to embody. Imagine that you are blissful, joyful and peaceful. 
    Every single day, whenever you remember, just imagine this YOU! This YOU that you know you came here to be, and imagine that you are ALREADY living that paradigm.
    This allows you to stay motivated, make it number one priority, and will have a healing effect within of itself. 
    And through the visualization - Allow yourself to raise your standards. Give yourself permission, that you truly deserve to feel amazing. You truly deserve to have an amazing life, you truly deserve to be the one you know you came here to be. Through visualization, you create an end-version of yourself. This will allow you to use all the necessary means to get you there. It is the end-result that inspires means.


    Breath-work

    Breath-work is an essential part of the healing process. It allows integration and gets the suppressed emotional energy in your body moving.
    Pranic breathing/visualization - An exercise to be used whenever you feel an emotional trigger in your body. This usually happens in the stomach and abdomen area, but not exclusively.
    1. Close your eyes, and make yourself aware of all the feelings in your body. Identify everything you choose to work on in the moment, anything unpleasant or limiting.
    2. On a count of 6, take a deep breath INTO YOUR TUMMY!!!!!! while visualizing All the emotions rising up!
    3. On a count of 6, hold onto everything you have been meaning to rise up while holding your breath.
    4. On a count of 6, breathe out, while letting go of everything you have been holding onto. Then hold your breath for 3 seconds, and breathe normally for a little while (doesn't need to be more than 2-3 breaths).
    5. Repeat the whole process until it feels redundant. I highly recommend doing this practice daily.
    Sidenote: It helps if you calm your mind before the exercise through any means you find fit. 
      The Wim-Hof Breathing technique
    This is for an advanced stage of already initiated healing. I do not recommend this exercise for the initiation of the healing process. If you feel that it resonates with you and fits your needs, then by all means use it any time you deem appropriate.
    1. Breathe in the full capacity of your lungs, and breathe out instantly. Repeat the whole process 25-30 times, until your head feels a little dizzy.
    2. Breathe out your last breath from the previous step and hold your breath for as long as it feels comfortable.
    3. Go back to n.1 and do the whole cycle again. Repeat for at least 3-5 times.   
    LEARN TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
    This is a very simple but crucial part. Get yourself into a habit of making choices based on what feels good in your body, and you can turn your whole life into healing, making the process much quicker, and more intuitive.
    IN ex. you wake up, you do your morning routine, and you don't know what to do next. Move your awareness into your body, and ask yourself "what would feel the best to do next?". There might be answers such as drink a glass of water, have sex, go for a walk, masturbate, go socialize, etc.
    This can at times get tricky, and that is when we are presented between a dilemma of Egoic vs. Authentic choice. Imagine that you are in a restaurant, and you can either choose to eat a cake or a salad. Now there are instances, where eating the cake would actually be an authentic choice. It is completely fine. But let's say you are trying to shed some weight, and naturally eating a cake would feel good! Right?! Well Then follow this principle. Will it also feel good 5-30 minutes after I made the choice? (eaten the cake..),
     
    And heureca. A simple guidance system to navigate your whole fucking life, to get yourself asap to your highest alignment.

    How to deal with negative/lack beliefs

    First a quick guide to make yourself aware of your limiting beliefs - Let's say there is something that disturbes you. Maybe your spouse doesn't text back and you feel bad about it. So you calm your body and mind, and start enquiring within. 
    Why am I feeling bad about this?
    >> It feels like they don't love me.
    If that is true, why is that so bad?
    >> Because with no love my life is meaningless.
    If that is true why is that so bad?
    >> Because that would mean I am not good enough.
    If that is true why is it so bad?
    >> I am not good enough
    This was just an illustration, your enquiring process will probably be much longer and have perhaps several dozens of questions, you might check out Katie Byron's process that she calls The Work.
    So you've got this belief that you perceive as limiting, and decided to do something about it. Great!!! ADMIT DEFEAT.
    You cannot win over a belief in your subconscious from the stand-point of This is not true! I will fight this! Because in essence, your subconscious has so much more power than your conscious mind. You can't override it with brute force. So admit defeat. The belief is there. You do not believe you are good enough.
    After admitting the defeat there should be (there may be exceptions so don't take this as a rule or confirmation of "I am doing it right") a sense of relief. Because you have been running from this belief your entire life, trying to prove it wrong. But now, when you admit defeat, there is no longer the need to accomplish anything in order to escape from the belief. There is acceptance. There is a little more peace.

    Now when you are aware of your thought of "I am not good enough", trace the thought back into your body. Close your eyes, and follow the trail of your emotions. How does that thought make you feel? What are the underlying emotions behind this belief? This might take a while to take an effect, but sooner or later, you should arrive at an emotion that can be worked with.
    AND THAT is when your breathing exercises kick in.

    What should follow is a lot of release of unconscious emotions. Your most cathartic moments are the ones when you are overwhelmed with emotions. 
     
     
    List of cathartic actions/events/situations
    Journaling and writing down thoughts in free association Tingeling or weird sensations in the body Speaking in tongues CRYING shouting outbursts of anger panic attacks unexplainable fear obsessive thinking unvolutary body movements strong urges (such as you have a strong urge to do something, or bark, or run,...) puking diarhea hyper horniness hyper sensitivity feelings of love feelings of resentment feeligns of disgust feelings of victimhood halucinations feeling sick feelings of stiffness and many many more :o) Desire
    Desire. Ooh Isn't this one the favourite for the "spiritual folks" to pick on! =D.
    I MUST BECOME DESIRELESS
    DESIRE IS THE SOURCE OF ALL SUFFERING
    DESIRE IS BLUEBLAHBLOHBLA EWW
    SUPPRESSION
    SUPPERSSION
    EGO SUPPRESSED
    AAH  #NOMIIIND #BUDDHA #SoEnlightenedRnLikeOmg


    The belief in lack is the source of all suffering.
    - Bentinho Massaro

    What do you make of this one?
    The belief in lack is the cause of all suffering.
    Is that clear? Like... do you understand how deep this goes?
    When you are born, you don't really believe in that much of lack do you?
    You prolly don't believe that you lack money as a kiddo. You probably don't believe that you lack sex, or that you lack comfort (ok debatable). But surely not as many things as you seem to be lacking now.
    Desire is the driving force behind all action. Without desire the universe would literally could not exist. What's the problem then?
    Lack based desire vs. Inspiration based desire.
    All of suffering is an illusion, because it is based on lack. Which IS an illusion. You can never truly lack anything.
    If lack were real, happiness would not be a possible state of mind. I can prove this to you! Lack is truly an extremely illusory state of consciousness.
     
    Right now, 
    as you are sitting behind your computer screen!
    Are you lacking a big shiny red apple in your hand?!
    No?
    But it is not there? (unless this is a fucking huge coincidence in which case Im highfiving you)
    So how can you not lack it? If it is NOT THERE!
    Well you don't... probably. You are not in a "state of lack of the big red shiny apple" that would be driving you crazy.

    So how come you can lack anything else? Like money? Or love? Or anything what so ever?
    Can you see the illusory state of mind?
    Lack cannot possibly rationally ultimately exist. 
    Conclusion?
    Desire is OK!
    There is nothing bad/wrong/untrue about desire. The trick comes in distinguishing lack based desires and inspiration desires. 
    To be fair, as of now, most of your desires are probably going to be lack-based. And that is fine. It is a great tool for growth and healing.

    How to exploit desires for growth

    1. Every time you feel bad about a situation, ask yourself "What must I believe that I lack right now?"
    And realize that it is a one big lie. You cannot lack anything. And even if you did lack something, wouldn't the most logical thing to do be just straight up getting the thing you think you lack? Instead of reminiscing and feeling bad about it?
    Find out what you perceive you lack (let's use the example of companionship) "I believe I lack companionship." If it were true, that I truly lack companionship, what would be the most logical course of action? >> Go out and talk to people Ok great why don't you do it? Looads of self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviours probably will kick in. >> I don't wanna go out, people don't like me, I am shy, I am introverted, I can't make friends, I don't know anyone, I am a loser etc. See how the perceived lack was what created the suffering? It wasn't the desire itself. It was the belief that you lack companionship. 2. Every time you desire something, even when it is based on lack, follow it. Do NOT SUPPRESS YOUR DESIRES. That will truly result only in self-sabotaging and self destructive behaviours that will lead to more emotional issues down the road.
    Every time we desire, we don't in actuality desire the object of our desire. We desire the feeling of having the object.
    If I want a car, I don't actually want that car. What I truly on a deeper level want, is a state of freedom, or worthiness, or security,...
    Can you activate that feeling of already having that car within your being, WITHOUT actually having the car?
    Yes you can!
    Visualize, breath-work, mindfulness, breath-work. 
    What does it feel like to have that car? What are the sensations in my body?
    What kinds of thoughts are coming up now when I have it?
    What is between me, and the feeling of having the car?
    Is it the feeling of "I am not good enough"? Or the thought of "I am not worthy"?
     
    Once you arrive at a conclusion, healing can start, lack can be purified, and desire will be used to it's maximum to grow you, and to teach you your lesson.
     
    side note: You can motivate yourself through realizing that once you get yourself into a state of mind where you "already have that thing you desire" without lacking it, it will be SO MUCH MORE EASIER EFFORTLESS AND FLOWING to get that thing in the external reality, that it really doesn't make any sense at all to keep believing in lack.

     

  5. A "who am i" question
    A "who am i" question
    Well, nothingness is not something. And also it is (sorry for the Zen-speak)
    Nothingness is existence itself. If you just sit with a quiet mind in silence you can sort of "feel" existence. Although feeling is not quite the right word. You can be conscious of existence.
    Try this: just sit and focus your attention on the raw fact of existence itself. I don't mean on the existence of any particular object, but existence itself. Try to "lock on" to existence itself. Notice it has no shape. It has no form. It is not an object. Yet here it is! But WHAT IS IT? What is existence? Try to just sit and be "locked on" to that for 15 minutes with a very open mind. Don't theorize or speculate. Just observed what existence is. Have a very open mind free of any ideas, models, images, or theories about what existence is. Whatever existence is, it's right there in your direct experience. if you can't realize what it is using your direct experience, you will never realize it (not through books, videos, or teaching).
    Can you sort of "feel" that existence is nothing? It is empty. Good. Now just sit with that. Focus on that emptiness. That is enlightenment, that is the True Self, that is the I AM, that is the Godhead.
    Also notice that anything you say about pure existence itself is not accurate. Any description or qualification of it is not true because it is empty. It is so empty that even calling it "empty" is untrue! So what do you do? You just sit and observe it silently without too much thinking. Let it captivate you. Rather than being human, become it!

  6. law of attraction questions
    law of attraction questions
    @isabel
    It's easier said than done, but you need to learn how to become detached. Actually, suffering is a great opportunity for you to learn that.

  7. The secret hidden zen teaching for instant realization
    The secret hidden zen teaching for instant realization
    "The only thing I know is that I don't know." Socrates
    Thank you for your support.
    "I don't get it" is a good sensation which will lead to truth if you go full on with it. Raise your doubt by inquiry to the point you are so doubtful of everything it will all pop. (That's the zen method of koan)
    Godspeed.

  8. I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything
    I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything
    If you call it an "observation," there is immediately a self (well, technically a self-concept: that's not the true self, that's a false self) invoked. Any time there is a concept there is a self. In truth there cannot be said to be an observation. Even "thoughts of an observation" is a concept, and therefore that also involves a self.
    Giving up observation simply means relaxing the mind. Surrender.
    Self-inquiry is difficult to grasp... until it isn't. It's difficult because it's pointing to the blindingly obvious. You can't recognize it because it's so damn obvious.
    That feeling of "behind the eyes"... who is aware of it? "I am," right? The rule is: I cannot be that which I am aware of. So when you notice that feeling behind the eyes... that feeling that "I am aware of that feeling behind the eyes" -- where or what is that I?
    That's how you question. And whatever answer you come up with... go through the same sequence.
    When do you stop? When you have a little lightbulb turn on and the mind suddenly finds itself at peace. You'll know it when you find it.
    Yes, of course you cannot pinpoint me. That is the whole problem. And yet you have this feeling that "I am." So what is it? Yes, it is exactly that -- obvious and you cannot pinpoint it.
    And yet you must try very constantly to try to pinpoint it -- and if you do, suddenly it will open up and you will have a whole new perspective.
     
    Correct.
     

  9. I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything
    I am enlightened. Sincere seekers: ask me anything
    Affirmations or negations don't  work because self inquiry is not an intellectual process, but a tracing of present moment feeling.
    Through thoughts, you can reach an intellectual understanding but never the 'felt' realization.
    Let's say you feel that 'i' is in the head. Then ask yourself 'who is the perceiver'?' or 'what is it, that knows this experience in the head?'... and gently notice what happens to that sensation and your attention.
    The logic is 'I' can't be the sensation because I am aware of it. The moment you realize this, your attention starts to loosen from that sensation and relaxes more and more...attention starts to revert back to wherever the hell it came from. This is what is called attention turned on itself or being aware of being aware or sinking the mind into the Heart
    One of 2 thing can happen
    1) the grip on that sensation in head will either dissolve or loosen and you'll 'experience' pure I AM without any particular identification. Then just stay there.
    2) or that sensation will loose it's grip BUT another subtler sensation will feel like 'I'. Then you dis-identify from that as well...until you reach I AM. Stay there...until a thought/sensation takes you away again.
    So the questions are not the purpose of self inquiry. They are just tools in order to relax the obsessive focus from objects to the Subject. You won't locate the subject but you'll know when a shift happens. That's why it is said mind can never go there.
    Even if you're 'stuck' in that head sensation, keep watching that I feeling. That's concentration practice happening right there. Eventually, that identification must dissolve and attention will fall back on its source.
    Note: this is the spiritual effort one must exert. Self inquiry is not an idle formula. It needs tremendous focus and perseverance. It is such a complete technique that it builds your concentration and detachment simultaneously along the way. At final stages, the 'I' will never identify with anything ever again.
    That's why it is known as the direct path, meaning that you don't need any pre-requisites. Only requirement is 100% willingness and desire to walk through the path all the way...until the nut cracks...no matter how stupid or boring it feels along the way.
    These boring moods and labels are usually associated with thoughts. It doesn't mean that the process is a hoax, it means that mind is trying to trick you to stop.
    Final note: this technique can't be mentally discussed. One has to spend hours after hours with this until one gets a 'feel' of it. It's exactly like an adventure in the jungle I mentioned. You must take that adventure yourself, whatever you need to know or fine-tune, you'll learn them on your own along the way. 
    Just remember this mantra,
    "Nothing perceivable or conceivable can be I"
     

  10. if everything is in the mind how do you go beyond your mind?
    if everything is in the mind how do you go beyond your mind?
    @isabel "if everything is in the mind how do you go beyond your mind?"
    Right...you need to be really clever when your looking into questions about enlightenment and such. For example you cannot believe that everything is a belief, because that itself is a belief. Be careful to make sure you don't believe anything anyone here says (that will be the biggest rut you'll get stuck in.) 
    You are not meant to try to "go beyond your mind." It took me ages to get this down, super confusing at first. But just trust it. The ONLY kind of questions that will be beneficial for you (the real you) to ask are self enquiry questions in the present moment each time.
    The whole idea is that you are that which does not change. Which is logical. If your shirt is removed, is your existence also removed? No. You are still there, even though your shirt is not there...therefore your shirt is not "You." It's that simple. And that's it! Anything more and your going off track. It's very tempting to *try* to attain the results of meditation because of how expansive and effective the results are. But DO NOT seek the results of enlightenment or meditation. ONLY enquire into *who* it is that desires the results. 
     
    "There is no teaching, no teacher, no pupil. You are only here to find out who you are." 
    - Papaji 
     
    If you do anything more than this, you will find yourself moving off track. The kinds of questions your asking can be insighful but theyre not to do with enlightenment.

  11. how do you know if acceptance is just in your mind?
    how do you know if acceptance is just in your mind?
    Acceptance is not something that you "do". Acceptance is a fact of reality. 
    Look around. Everything that you see, hear, feel is already accepted by consciousness, otherwise you wouldn't experience it. 
    Space already accepts every object in it. Silence already accepts every sound in it. 
    Acceptance means to realize that you are one with the accepting field of existence.

  12. how do you know if acceptance is just in your mind?
    how do you know if acceptance is just in your mind?
    Good question. Here are a few things I’ve found helpful from teachers:
    Adyashanti: Contemplate: “What would happen if I allow everything in this moment to be just as it is?”
    Lisa Cairns: When resistance and indecision arises, ask yourself “Which direction will lead to more contraction? Which will lead to more expansion?” Then follow your higher intuition toward greater expansion - even if it feels uncomfortable.

  13. help with negative thinking
    help with negative thinking
    earlier this year I was completely caught up in negative thinking
    I've made a lot of progress by just refusing to get caught up (I still get caught up a lot but I see what I'm doing now and eventually I can get back out of it)
    what I do is just switch to another thought like baking pies or something
    my negative thoughts are almost always around my abusive childhood
    I want to let that go now
    I want to stop those types of thoughts from arising altogether
    is it possible?
    thank you!
     
     

  14. How to deal with the suffering of others? Do i need to be enlightened?
    How to deal with the suffering of others? Do i need to be enlightened?
    suffering is real
    do not hold a belief that suffering will lead to bliss
    if you believe you need to travel a hundred miles to get to heaven, you will be travelling a hundred miles to heaven, every moment again and again, for infinity, your beliefs form the present moment
    believe in bliss, absolute bliss with no requisites, no bridge, no way, no journey, just being here where you want to be
     
    when faced with the suffering of others it is important to know that suffering has no cause in reality
    it is an expression of energy which expresses itself through the canvas of physical reality
    there is no reason tor suffering
    there is no reason for happiness, happiness is our true nature
     
    when you someone suffering, believe in their happiness, believe in the reality where they are happy
    your imagination, your belief, your intent for happiness for this person is true universal energy which help that person structure their reality on an atomic level, to create that reality which matches our true happy nature
    you needn't even to speak to someone,you don't even have to comfort them, you don't have to give platitudes, you can if you want to, but it is not required, there is not a single physical action that will adress the true cause
    it is all about belief, your belief in the happiness of your loved ones is what truly shapes reality, from its very origine, from outside and inside, what you believe and intent, look at that reality where your loved ones are happy
    look with your belief and intention

  15. Question about the proper use of "staying in the NOW"
    Question about the proper use of "staying in the NOW"
    @SoonHei The simplicity is elusive, because even as I say to only breathe from your stomach, you are already thinking.    
    Just.    Breathe.     From your stomach.     Period.    
    Notice thoughts arise, and notice your attention went to the thought, and return your attention to breathing from your stomach. Let. Thought. Go.
    Stay with it all day, and you might get a glimpse of the power of your attention. 

  16. Did I Choose My Life Before I Was Born
    Did I Choose My Life Before I Was Born
    You deserved it, you can't choose more than what you deserve. If you don't accept it , you will create more miseries. If you accept everything good or bad that comes in your way , your life will transform. So, don't complain, don't resist, thanks for everything which you have but you take it for granted. 

  17. a Question about "End of all Questions"
    a Question about "End of all Questions"
    @SoonHei There is a level of conscious awareness where all questions cease because the questioner ceases to exist.
    Only the identity of a separate self has questions.

  18. a Question about "End of all Questions"
    a Question about "End of all Questions"
    Yes. It is supposed to be the destruction of Mind (mananasha) according to Ramana Maharshi.
    The entity that seems to separate itself from reality and question it, that's the thing that dies or is discovered as non existent.
    EDIT: About past, present, future all these as seen as construction of mind. There is only this eternal now and nothing else. Time is happening in this eternal now

  19. Did I have an actual INSIGHT?
    Did I have an actual INSIGHT?
    @MrDmitriiV Good Job! c:
    Next get to the point where you're pinching your ego hard to escape the GREAT VOID and running around the house terrified, crying with all the yous staring back at you, while you're thoroughly mindblown by the nature of a waterbottle.

  20. Did I have an actual INSIGHT?
    Did I have an actual INSIGHT?
    It's a nice start, but not nearly deep enough. It's still mostly intellectual understanding and the ego is still in near total control of your consciousness.
    Keep questioning deeper until you stop feeling like you're inside the body or the head. Until your heart starts to pound in terror at the prospect of death. And then keep questioning even deeper until you actually die.
    In self-inquiry your job is nothing short of collapsing all of physical reality. Keep questioning until the floor beneath your feet disappears.
    This is a level of questioning most people do not think is possible. It should get very intense. It requires enormous presence and focus. Focus like you intend to burn a hole through a steel plate with your mind.
    But at the same time also be gentle. Don't strain yourself.

  21. Observer is the observed
    Observer is the observed
    This is great stuff. 
     

  22. Did the past ever happen?
    Did the past ever happen?
    wow. thank you for that. thank you for this friday-morning anticipation booster of this bliss <3
     
    wow... #Shivers

  23. Why be vegetarian?
    Why be vegetarian?
    @isabel Yes. You know the teachings and your job is to 'look through your own eyes' and see how they are true.
    Assume that the teachings are 100% true and try to 'squeeze' your understanding of your perception so that it fits into the theory.
    Suffering is resistance to what is (isness/suchness/self-apparence/obviousness).
    You avoid acknowledging what is happening and try to change it.
    It is not that suffering is unpleasantness of something. Suffering can be very much co-existant within pleasure.
    For example, you can suffer when you are having a pleasant evening.
    Suffering is the context in which you anticipate the ending of this evening and thinking about your tomorrow's work.
    You can also not suffer when you argue with your partner.
    That happens when you actually focus on the negative emotions you experience and are honest to what you are doing.
    Suffering is resistance to what is. Suffering is dishonesty towards your experience.
    Suffering is an action, or an attitude towards whatever is happening.
    There are answers on many levels to this question.
    At the basic level - you can cause suffering to others if you assume that they do not see the difference between suffering and pain.
    At this level, you can cause pain to others and that makes them suffer.
    At the higher level - you cannot cause suffering to others. If you know that experiencing and embracing pain makes the suffering go away, then your doings are not related to other people's suffering. For example, you can actually cause others to suffer by being nice to them if they start to worry about being rejected by you. That suffering is then related to their ignorance towards the nature of suffering. If they were present with your niceness, then they would not suffer and you cannot be held accountable for their response (neither to pain, nor to pleasure).
    At yet higher level - you recognize that whatever you assume about other people will influence your perception of their suffering.
    Not only that you have an intention of inflicting pain or pleasure to others, but you also are the one that reads their response to it.
    Your understanding of their response is dependent on your assumptions about how advanced they are, so by influencing your own perception you can swap between the two levels I mentioned earlier. From this point of view you can neither cause, nor not cause suffering of others.
    From this point of view, suffering is an incidental idea that you use to orient yourself in maya.
    Empathy towards animals is what causes your suffering. You assume that they feel whatever you feel when you cut your finger with a kitchen knife.
    You extrapolate that experience and imagine that dying is that experience multiplied by 1000 times.
    That of course is an assumption, as it may very well be that an organism releases painkilling chemicals upon near death, so that it is anesthetized to pain. Nobody knows that though.
    You empathize with animals out of your ignorance to what I already said.
    These answers are my personal answers, so they may not be applicable to you.

  24. Why would anyone want enlightenment?
    Why would anyone want enlightenment?
    @11modal11 @Mikael89 There are people that need to feel like the life is a struggle in order to feel accomplished.
    To them, happiness has to be deserved and earned the hard way. By practicing, discipline and hard work.
    The fact is that you can be happy regardless of your circumstances, and it is a valuable skill that outshines any practice in existence.
    It is the greatest practice and the hardest work. To dedicate your life to be happy, no matter what. That is the path of totality.
    In a sense - hard work that betters your circumstances is the easy option to those people. They simply cannot fathom the idea that they can do nothing and still be content. They call it laziness, half-assing life and other names. Don't let those names stick with you. Or do let them, but understand that unless you do the hard work, your circumstances will not improve and may even deteriorate.
    That is the opportunity to practice your happiness on a new level, or grind yourself to improve.
    @MarkusSweden can you relate to @11modal11's story?
    @Mikael89 If love Kahn talks about is truly infinite, then it is nothing other than nothingness.
    Everything speaks enlightenment if you know how to listen.

  25. Hey, Ego. Why do you Worry?
    Hey, Ego. Why do you Worry?
    Ego needs acceptance and unconditional love. This in turn becomes its discipline as it surrenders and reconnects to the higher-self and becomes a whole as one. This gives Ego assurance of its infinite nature and fear dissolves into love.