r0ckyreed

What happens to consciousness when we go to sleep? It goes back to natural state? I guess there is no such thing as no-consciousness when we sleep. If there is no-consciousness when we "lose" consciousness, then how can we wake up? If there is no-consciousness then how can consciousness come to be? So consciousness in its natural state is like that state which was before we were born, when we are in deep-sleep and when we die? Thanks for your reply! I am new to this work, and I am willing to take any advice you have or any book recommendations! Thank you!

Thanks everybody for all of your replies! I sincerely appreciate all of your help! How can I have a firsthand experience of Nothingness or God. I can kinda understand it, but I would much rather experience it for myself than to take on as a belief like you all stated. I have been contemplating a lot, but I am not sure how thinking about life will get me to the nature of life itself, God, Infinity, Non-dual Consciousness, etc. In addition, how can we know that consciousness or nothingness exists? Isn’t it circular to say that we know consciousness exists because it is the space of that which all knowledge and experience is possible? If this is the case, can consciousness know itself to exist? If everything known to exist can only take place in consciousness, then what does it mean for something to exist, let only for consciousness to exist? How can I have an experience or know the nature of this Void, Consciousness or Nothingness? Can this Void be known through contemplation? Meditation? How? How can I contemplate that which I have never experienced? I assume that I have not experienced nothingness or I am experiencing it right now? If so, how can I get this epiphany of my true nature? Thanks. Thank you!

How can we know that consciousness or nothingness exists? Isn’t it circular to say that we know consciousness exists because it is the space of that which all knowledge and experience is possible? If this is the case, can consciousness know itself to exist? If everything known to exist can only take place in consciousness, then what does it mean for something to exist, let only for consciousness to exist? How can I have an experience or know the nature of this Void, Consciousness or Nothingness? Can this Void be known through contemplation? Meditation? How? How can I contemplate that which I have never experienced? I assume that I have not experienced nothingness. If so, how can I get this epiphany of my true nature? Thanks.

This question basically states it. Is death something that we know to be true or is it a belief that we imagine? Notice that you have never experienced death as a reality for yourself, so how can we know that death is a reality if we have never experienced it first hand? If we have not experienced something in our direct experience, then it is a belief. Knowledge can only be derived through experience, and yet death is not an experience. In my contemplation, I went so far as to question why I assume that I will die. I find my assumption based off of the experience I’ve had with others dying and through a collection of beliefs. But how do I know that I will die based off of the experiences in my environment? Why make such a generalization? The “fact” that “everyone dies” seems to me like a belief because do we really have an experience of everyone dying? Is it possible that there may be some humans who have never died (like the immortal Jellyfish)?? Please let your thoughts. I know it sounds stupid, but can we know death to be a reality without a firsthand experience of it? I read The Book of Not Knowing and still struggle with the idea that death is a reality through the method of knowledge displaced by Peter Ralston. Thank you!

Hello guys. I am a university student and I have come across Hare Krishna's on my campus who hand out books on spirituality (Self-realization, Bhagavad Gita, etc.). I watched Cult Psychology, and Leo mentions them as a cult and I see them as a cult. But the main reason why I wrote this discussion is because I want to learn more about this group from you guys and the best way to interact/avoid this group. I hope this discussion will help others from falling into the same trap I almost fell into. Thanks! Rocky