LfcCharlie4

@Visionary Awesome reply. I also got into this very young and know exactly what you mean, your motivations in terms of school work may change, instead of doing it because you HAVE to, see it as an opportunity to expand your knowledge in certain areas of life. I get what you mean by not deep enough, but at the end of the day Non Duality = Duality. Awareness is literally EVERYTHING, and other domains of life apart from awakening still have their relative importance, for example if society suddenly collapsed we’d be in turmoil. So, it’s not about stopping life but evolving with your new understandings to embody your awakenings into your life.

@Gneh Onebar @Haumea2018 can fill you in, I’m a newbie so can’t comment on things I hardly know about / experienced

I’m also not trying to belittle you or adjust awakening to my own experience. As I’ve said I’ve been where you are, I’ve had the No Self awakening and seeing the world as an illusion, but 1 awakening often isn’t the final truth, while any sort of Non Dual awakening is incredible of course, it does go deeper than No Self. It gets to the point where THIS is literally it, and guess what? THIS includes dirty old duality, meaning this very world is also it, as is literally EVERYTHING, THIS has to include everything as The Self is everything.

@VeganAwake Read 1000 and Anandas Intimacy with the Infinite, these will both show you what they’re truly saying. As I keep saying it goes beyond seeing maya as the illusion, and their content has nothing to do with looking outside yourself to feel complete. Like I keep saying full circle means Non Duality = Duality. This very world is the self, is heaven, is the Buddha Planet. Therefore, there is no need to subtly reject it, it is a play. We can agree to disagree on this, as we just go round in circles, but I feel reading both their books will truly tell you more about them. Considering Anandas comes from a Multi-Millionaire Conservative Jewish background (she literally doesn’t speak to most her family because of how they treated her) that she gave up to truly be herself and allow her awakening to flower, I do think you’re being very unfair. As I said, read both their books and then judge, or it’s like watching 5 minutes of a film and rating it on IMDB.

@VeganAwake you do know they reject working with quite a lot of people who aren’t at the end of seeking, hence the need for an introductory session. However, as the saying goes when the student is ready the teacher will appear. @Display_Name yep @AwakenedSoul444 as I’ve said it’s not a magic pill, I’ve been working with Ananda for 8-9 months now, 1-2 RASAs a month. But beyond the RASA there is work clearing out blockages, whatever is holding you back, questions you have etc, as well as in Anandas case Enneagram work. From your post it seems your chasing experiences and spiritual “highs” you won’t get that from RASA and that’s not what awakening is, a true awakening is not merely about highs and experiences, while these are great, if you just chase these youll forever be on the hamster wheel. This is why seeming is often compared to an addiction, you use the teachings or whatever to get a “spiritual high”

@Gneh Onebar as an Enneagram 7 I still meditate to help ground myself in the mornings, usually only 15 minutes these days, but it’s not a strict practice like before, it’s merely to experience the joy of meditating before I start my day @Haumea2018 also recommended some Mantras to help stabilise which I’ll be trying

I love a good old controversial post, and talking to @VeganAwake earlier inspired me to go rewatch a Satsang titled 'Is There an Ego After Enlightenment' and make some notes to make a post here along with my own post-awakening experience, as I am genuinely quite terrible when it comes to putting my experience into words, although of course NOTHING that is ever said can be completely accurate about the absolute, although words can be great helpers and pointers In summary, Yes, but not in the same way as pre-awakening, therefore, Ego may not be the best term, Ramana Maharshi called it a 'pure Ego', but even that can get confusing. Let's just say there is a Human who responds when their name is called, has likes and dislikes a personality, and acts as a Unique individual but KNOWS they are Pure Awareness/ The Self/ The Absolute, as I said it's near impossible to put into words, so you could say the identification has dropped and the 'Ego' is no longer a problem as the resistance has also been dropped. I AM NOT SAYING THERE IS AN EGO IN TERMS OF THE EGO 'UNAWAKENED' PEOPLE HAVE So, to start with as many of us know, when you investigate yourself, your thoughts, emotions, sensations etc you realise there is NOBODY and NOTHING at the centre, just Pure Awareness, Spaciousness, whatever you want to call it, and post awakening the Knowing shifts to knowing yourself to be The Self/Absolute, however as we function in this world it can often SEEM like and FEEL like there's a Little me, a Charlie this is happening to, but when you investigate, nobody is there. As the Buddha said when asked how someone knows they get this, 'Whatever arising is Not me, Not Mine' (from a Small Self perspective) However, again it can FEEL like it is, and in terms of functioning often does, and of course we live in 'the world' so likely have relationships, a family, career etc, therefore, typical detachment and indifference to everything as many non dual circles teach isn't always ideal, of course you're going to love your Family and be sad when they pass away, and this is NORMAL, feelings make us Human, without them we would be Robots. However, the feelings are now felt without resistance. As I said, true Self-Realization is about becoming more human, not becoming an Avatar, the time will come when we simply rest as pure awareness when we drop our bodies, and as always remember THIS IS IT, whatever is happening now IS IT. Instead, welcoming feelings and thoughts like we are a guest house is hugely beneficial, and post awakening ALL resistance is completely dropped, and what is left? This, as it is. Enlightenment is forever right here, right now in this very moment, as that is all there ever is. But of course post-awakening something changes, the resistance to the now is completely dropped as I said and the 'Fault Finder' (Mind) comes to a halt, so the now is completely embraced in all of it's beauty. As, I said you know there is no self there, but the Ego merely helps us function and live as a human however you choose to, and enlightenment doesn't mean you become passive, instead it frees you to do whatever you wish to do in life. The Ego is not felt in the same way and is no longer a problem as I said as the resistance to now has dropped. The problem was always the resistance to life, and to exist as a unique being is actually a beautiful gift, you could call this a unique essence that is awareness playing and having fun. Zen proverb- 'To Know and not to do, is not to do.' You always no longer think about this all day long, and simply embrace life as it is now, whatever that entails without any resistance. Often old thought habits still need to be challenged, for example if you have certain ingrained beliefs about Money, Health, Yourself, they may still need to be addressed or have mental momentum that needs to be addressed basically. An easy indicator for Typical Ego is seeing yourself as Superior/ Inferior to anything/ anyone else, as all is YOU, nobody is superior/inferior, making awakening incredibly humbling! What dissolves is what Ramana called the 'I-Thought' and as that dissolves you are free to embrace life as it is in the now. Basically your ability to receive and enjoy life is embraced hugely and as a result you are able to embrace life fully as it is, moment by moment. Life becomes a spontaneous joyous experience, moment by moment. Whereas, often the Ego-Self would avoid and restrict life, especially anything 'Negative' and has many mechanisms to do so. Also, awakening allows us to open our hearts completely and love is an ever deepening exapansion and from this we live a life of compassion, kindness and empathy. This does not necessarily mean we have to become a teacher, but means whatever we do it is always coming from love and in order to help people 'improve' their lives. And, awakening of course makes you realize EVERYTHING/EVERYONE is The Self, everyone is you, which will forever change your life. In terms of awakening making us passive: Total acceptance does not make us passive, say there is an acceptance we are overweight, does this mean we accept it and do nothing? No, true acceptance means we fully accept we are overweight and THEN take action and do what is needed, in this example clean up your diet and exercise, so you research what you need to do and go do it basically. Same for any situation in life You don't simply stop doing, you see how doing arises spontaneously within you and from this take action/ 'do' whatever you want to, if anything awakening frees you up to do whatever you truly want to in life, that may involve going to join a monastery or doing very little and that is also fine, whatever YOU want is fine, everyone will be different, believe it or not (9 Enneagram Types help show this a LOT, as always Enneagram work is hugely recommended) In fact you can actually become more productive as YOU no longer get in your own way, and whatever is needed/ you want to do, you simply do it. Remember, we are still human, will have a personality/ Enneagram type, this is okay, it is just like Awareness is driving a certain type of car, to exist as unique beings means there will be some definition, what fun would it be if everyone was exactly the same and we were all robots? So, yes it can be said you will become MORE human and MORE You post awakening, yet if you investigate there is no self at the centre of it all, what an incredible paradox just like a lot of this stuff is! It is impossible to put into words but I tried my best, most importantly, Awaken and Live in the now without resistance, no matter what arises.

been contemplating this as I’ve been unwell recently, and as post awakening the fear of death doesn’t plague me anymore. I guess it’s more the fear of being un well, feeling like crap all the time, as well all know how that feels. Then on a more positive note it’s the want to feel amazing, feel healthy, energetic l, vibrant and full of life to go and live the best life possible Being Ill/ un well sucks, so I can’t imagine what it’s like living with a permanent illness or more serious illness

From the absolute perspective: It is the mind that is not present during sleep, Consciousness is ever present and is all, therefore simply cannot disappear. Why do you think many love sleep so much? It is one of the only times they get to experience their true nature. I know when I felt depressed in the past, sleep was my favourite activity as it gave me a rest from the mind. https://non-duality.rupertspira.com/read/deep_sleep_anaesthesia_and_death_202

@Inliytened1 Yeah, I basically agree it goes deeper than No Self, but don’t mean that in a belittling way at all. All I mean is duality, ego, non duality, spirituality all don’t matter, all concepts, it literally is just THIS as it is, now. Therefore, the Ego is seen through and is no longer a problem as you said, yet you can still live as a unique human being. Non Duality= Duality. Non duality is like a medicine for duality, once you’re no longer sick do you keep taking the medicine? Nope, you drop it all and get on with life. THIS is it, right now.

@Nahm @VeganAwake yeah, as I said investigate and you will find NOTHING there, no self, no ego, just thoughts, feelings, sensations and experiences as they are. Howver, I’m just trying to illustrate it’s okay to have hobbies, interests, a career etc, basically it’s okay to still live as a unique human, even though you know yourself to literally be The Self, and know The Self to be all there is, therefore nothing else can exist. In terms of a “non dual” explanation you could say it is awareness merely experiencing itself through the unique essence of each human. Lila in play, Shakti in motion etc, god playing with himself, many ways of phrasing it for basically saying- You still have a human experience post awakening, still have a personality, an enneagram type, a career, a family, a body, relationships but KNOW yourself to be The Self alone.

@Consilience This is essentially what I mean, survival of the human goes on post awakening, and there is still a unique human essence, personality that if anything flourishes more post awakening. You become more YOU on a human level. the knowing has of course shifted and you live as the big self, or whatever you want to call it, but to say you aren’t a Living a human experience just isn’t true. You will continue to have a personality, likes/dislikes, preferences on a range of things, Movies you like etc etc you get my point. you know yourself as the big self, and live as this through a unique human vessel, yet everyone is You simultaneously. So you are literally one with all, yet a unique being at the same time, that’s the point I’m trying to illustrate, ego is the wrong word. Individuality on a human level continues is what I’m trying to say. Otherwise, everyone would literally be avatars with no diffeeences whatsoever.

If you wanna go vegan and build muscle more than possible. 2 guys on YouTube to check out Jon Venus and Brian Turner, both began “bodybuilders” but not competitive.

@28 cm unbuffed I currently eat 2 as I'm 'cutting' but when I'm trying to build muscle and put on weight again I'll go up to 3, but without any snacks, or snacks with the meals, and will stick to 16:8 probably. I think as we get older 30-40+ 2 meals a day is sufficient, of course make sure the meals contain everything you need nutritionally, but this way you aren't constantly stressing your digestive system, so effectively the body can regenerate. And, yeah I have, I've heard it can be awesome, just isn't for me right now, have you tried it?

@Flowerfaeiry I definitely see your point. But, I also think it’s more the fear of being dead while being alive. Many even Middle Aged people today have such an unhealthy lifestyle and look/ feel crap, personally I don’t want that. When you’re young you’re lucky, but for me, optimising health makes me feel 100x better in my body, and even mentally it has been shown, so I think as society evolves health and wellness will become much more central to our society. Health, Fitness and Wellness is certainly essential to living the best life possible, like the foundation everything else is built on.

@Average Investor Intermittent Fasting is fucking awesome, especially if you want to lose weight, not sure why the norm is to eat 3-6 meals a day (bodybuilders) but IF just simplifies eating so much.

@cetus56 key point, talk a “normal” person about Meditation they will talk about reduced anxiety and stress, whereas here the direction is very different. @modmyth wdym by 3 phases of Enlightenment?

@Raptorsin7 Investigate who is the “I” you’re trying to improve, investigate where the thoughts come from and where they go to, as well as the emotions Also, Every moment is merely a chance to be here and now, you don’t have to meditate to be here and now because every moment is a meditation, but of course formal meditation can help. I would also say don’t resist your thoughts and emotions, instead embrace them and welcome them, love them as you would your child and investigate them to find out their source.

@Unjigorjigor yeah as I said Ego = wrong word really. And, plus it’s always The Absolute/ Awareness that takes care of everything anyways, yet we do still exist as a unique human being, maybe Transcendental Individuality is a better term.

@VeganAwake Yeah as we mentioned Ego is never the right word, it’s better to say you continue to exist as a unique human being until you die, BUT know yourself to NOT actually be that and be The Self.

@SoonHei Ramana always says it best?

@modmyth hmmm maybe not controversial but I thought many would have let's say objections, I often think it's more of a language thing and how certain terms are used and people use them differently. I guess it's because when Non-Dual teachers say 'There is nobody there' (which is true) people then start to deny their humanity, and ignore the human side of awakening. The scariest story I heard was a teacher saying the 'highest spiritual state' is having no thoughts or feelings and basically being numbed out, aka becoming a narcissist. So, I thought I'd make a post that it's okay to have feelings, thoughts, be a human and have a personality and be a unique being, while also KNOWING you aren't The Ego and when you investigate you will never find anyone there. It's so delicate and hard to explain, but in essence, it means you get to be a human and know you are The Self. @Consilience Thank you mate

The Best way I have heard to phrase some of these issues- 'It has the form and function of ego but not the substance and reality.' That basically summarises what I said, maybe I should've just wrote that lol. Also in terms of what changes, everything is seen to have 'Infinite precious value' no matter what arises, the 'ordinary' becomes the extraordinary so to speak, and every moment is a spontaneous joy, it is like duality and awareness merge in one fantastic blow and they are seen to be exactly the same thing, again hard to put into words. I've also seen the term 'Transcendental Individuality' which kind of helps explain how having a unique human personality and being a human, yet KNOWING you are Natural Pure Awareness/ The Absolute. You get to have your cake and eat it Yes, you can know yourself and BE natural pure awareness, yet retain your sense of being a person and having a unique human identity and a full personality, meaning you can do whatever you wish and enjoy life like never before. There is nobody like you in this world, Yet you are all that exists, do you see why it's near impossible to write about this?# You become more human than before, not less and it is more than beautiful, in fact the beauty is indescribable.

@VeganAwake Well it’s like a challenge so most of the major restaurants and pubs are jumping in on its fun! haha If you, your wife and 3 kids can fit in my room then why not ??? also, I’ve always wondered, what’s awakening like in terms of having a family? I have a girlfriend but kids and a family is a whole different ballgame, like how do you approach parenting knowing your Kids are you, yet when they’re causing havoc, definitely something I want in the future also!

“Rupert: Awakening is the realisation that what we are, that is, the Awareness that is seeing these words and experiencing whatever else is being experienced at this and every moment, is neither limited nor located. This realisation does not happen to a body or a mind. It happens to itself, Awareness. Yes, until this realisation, we believe that what we are is a limited and separate entity located in and as a body. With this belief and subsequent feeling, our true nature seems to be veiled, just as a screen seems to be veiled by the appearance of an image on it. With this apparent veiling of our true nature, the peace, happiness and love that are inherent in it seemed to be lost. From that moment on the apparent entity is condemned to search in the apparent separate world for peace, happiness and love. The recognition of our true nature brings this search to an end and reveals itself as the peace, happiness and love that seemed to have been lost. The feeling ‘at that moment’ has no objective qualities. It is more like a falling away. Have you ever felt love for someone? Of course, yes. What does that feel like? I do not mean to ask about the effect it has on the mind or the body, but the love itself. Are we not lost for words if we try to find it as an object, let alone describe it? But we know beyond all doubt that it is present and real. Do not look for awakening in any kind of objective experience of the mind or the body. If you want to look for any signs, look in the direction of peace, happiness and love. Yes, my view of the world changed completely. First of all it became clear that the world appears in me. Later it became clear that the world is made of me, that is, made of Awareness. And then it became clear that experience and Awareness are simply ‘not two.’ The realignment of the mind and the body with this clear seeing takes time and varies from case to case. “