Demeter

It is on the Indian prime minister, Modi. (Ha, I misspelt the word 'minister' and it turned it into 'Monster'). I shudder at how fascist leaders all over the world undermine democracy while claiming to be its keepers. www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/opinion/modi-india.html

@The Mystical Man Shouldn't this life count for something too? I hoped that if loads of people who've experienced God/non-duality thru psychedelics said what they thought worked for them, we might actually be able to make some sense out of it.

Why is it that many people don't experience enlightenment (in which ever shade it may present itself) even when they feel prepared and are yearning for it. Some people, I gather, take psychedelics for years without the great experience while for others it happens the first time. I am speaking of the great experience of being one with all, universal love etc. Of course people will say that you have to be ready for it, and maybe deserve it through preparation, i.e., many years of spiritual practice. That is an easily said and doesn't explain why some will get it if they are not looking for it. Could you say why you think it happened for you? Was there any particular trigger in your lives, such as years of meditation?

@Hojo , it sounds as if you had a psychotic break induced by a mix of alcohol and drugs. What an awful experience to go through! Taking the mushroom years later was like a reset. Good that you came out the other end in such a positive way.

@Hojo , I am a bit confused, could you please clarify. Why did the depression begin with the experience of nde in college which was accompanied by ecstatic states? If you also experienced these ecstatic states then why become depressed? Perhaps it was a Kundalini activation which usually brings a downside. Did you practise any kind of meditation which triggered these experiences?

@Hojo , oh dear! A depression for 8 years! Did you experience the void through meditation alone? Have you tried psychedelics?

@G_A_L_E_X_Y . amazing story! This is a really interesting thread. Would love to hear of other experiences. When I was very young, say six or seven years old, I would imagine that we were being observed by very tall people. The impression I got was that we were some sort of curiosity or an experiment for another race of people. This was well before the Internet, and I had never heard of aliens or Star Wars.

@Eternal Unity , isn't it odd that one's experiences of enlightenment should partly depend on one's ability to navigate the dark web!

@BlessedLion , yes, that too once you overcome the shock of encountering it.

@Breakingthewall , thank you.

I experienced the void and the great nothingness it represented. It was an annihilating experience. There was a feeling of loneliness which was unimaginable. That is what it is like if there is no creation - the most utterly dismal sense of being alone. Also stillness. Life however, is not still and, therefore, there is life. That is why there is creation for there to be more than nothingness. Ii also dawned on me that we too create life for ourselves. It is not the material things but the love and relationships we create that give our life meaning. That is all there is and that is our way to create a life of joy.. While these relationships exist, we can escape the void and being alone. So, there are individual souls each creating life in myriad forms. Through creation, God fills the void.

@ItsNick I think Max Richter and Greg Haines are more inspirational and beautiful. Try this, for example: Also this:

@Vladimir , does your awakened state also lend you clairvoyance or esp? Can you sense the energy of the person asking questions here, for example? If so, what can you say about me?

@Danioover9000 Could you please ask a question for me? I am conducting a research project in a developing country to investigate how to empower women farmers. The data and investigations are vast - they touch on many aspects of their lives in addition to farming methods. Could you please ask if I am on the right track and are there any insights that I should be paying more attention to?

@Jed Haldir , it is remarkable that you feel guilty about not having a spiritual practice. I think you are being too hard on yourself. I had aspired for enlightenment till a few years ago. I was absolutely certain that I would achieve it in this lifetime. Anything else was unthinkable. And here I am now content with the notion that it is not going to be my lot. I might in fact have to be born again to renew my efforts. And that is okay. I think what brought about that change were experiences with psychedelics in which I gained 'enlightenment' of one kind. I realised that my aspirations for enlightenment and all the pain, distress and effort that went into it was pretty much pointless. I matter nought, and where I go spiritually is equally inconsequential. I remain a part of the great consciousness but my journeys of evolvement or the lack thereof are of no consequence. I wonder if anybody else feels this way.