Seraphim

When Ramana Maharshi said that others do not exist, he probably did not mean that they do not have their own experience, he just meant that there is only the Self (no duality). Leo is the only teacher who says that others do not have their own experience and that God only experiences 1 person at a time, as far as I know. A theologian would probably not classify Leo's philosophy as non-duality, or am I wrong about that? Maybe a new, different version of non-duality.

I'm sure the oceans hold many secrets, but archaeological research needs a lot of money and time. It was not long ago that we discovered that the Romans had visited America way before Columbus and the Vikings. Simply by quickly investigating an island in the Atlantic ocean and the waters nearby led to such a huge discovery, but how many people know about it? Humanity don't have the time for these things, there are more important things to focus on, but a real historian would never say that those spirit-science historical theories are complete nonsense.

Most of it comes from channelings, all of them tell a similar story. I think they are correct about many things. Human history is fascinating, and I love the way historians work, if we had an AI that could read all historical research papers, connect them in its mind and write a book with the result, I think the result would be mind-blowing. Because one of the problems for historians is that no one has enough time to connect enough sources of information and create a bigger picture understanding, or to educate the people on all the new, important discoveries. If you do some research and only look at trusted and generally accepted mainstream sources, you will still find a lot of information that supports the channeler's theories.

1. Yes, because when you really know who you are, and who you are not, then the mind will be silent most of the time. Like Ramana Maharshi taught us, the I-thought goes back into the heart, then the brain/mind is free. You had a short moment like that, but if you do self-inquiry you will get more of those and eventually get permanent liberation. 2. Not sure. 3. Yes we can't force the mind to be quiet, that's something all spiritual teachers agree on, but we can get there without force by doing self-inquiry or other practises.

If you can afford it, maybe it would be worth visiting someone who can see these things and knows how to deal with them, like a shaman, psychic, healer, etc. I have never had any experiences like that, but I don't have any psychic abilities to be able to sense it, maybe normal people like me have been attacked like that without knowing it, I do believe things like that can happen which is why I recommend visiting an expert.

The false self is the thought in one's mind that thinks that it is the body. The real self, depending on how one defines it is either the body and the soul that inhabits it, and the higher self from where the soul comes from, or simply reality itself, the oneness that exists everywhere.

@Space Lizard Well written and a good point! I have read about this tantric black magic thing but would like to learn more, do you know any good books or texts? I'm assuming you don't consider all spiritual transmissions to be malevolent? So it's still a matter of discerning the teacher's character. I know some yogis warn against these tantric gurus, but also work with transmissions themselves and say that the source of the energy and intention determines the outcome. Also, some teachers have energy naturally radiating from their being, so just being near them is like receiving a spiritual transmission, if I understood it correctly this type of teacher is considered enlightened.

Yes, spiritual experiences can be deceiving, but they can also be valuable and show us truths. And it would feel boring and restrictive to ignore all intuition, divine signs and guidance, dreams, etc. We are not robots. I know that my intuition is telling me that I should stay away from Nithyananda, he is not supposed to be my teacher and I feel something is off about him. But maybe it's a bit similar to the John of God situation, some people really did get miraculous healings from him, which is why he became so famous and rich, but he was also a bad person who used his position to rape women and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Many of the people who became his followers had mystical experiences in his presence or dreams about him, and glimpses of enlightenment after attending his programs at the ashram, and other signs that guided them to join. And some still believe in him, despite all the controversies. I don't think they are stupid, it's more complicated than you think. There really has been a lot of psychics, mediums and channelers without any affiliation to his ashram who have said that he is an incarnation of Shiva, I do believe this is true, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he is a good person.

Hasn't he lost all credibility already? Remember when he started recruiting westerners who were staying in the ashram to do online marketing on youtube? At first they were excited and happy but eventually we started seeing that there was a great darkness there. The sleep deprivation and hard work they all had to endure while staying there, legal troubles, videos of Nithyananda getting angry and yelling at people and then when Sarah Landry discovered that the children were beaten and forced to perform fake akashic readings, their online presence turned against them and most followers realized that Nithyananda can't be trusted.

How can you be certain that it is unnecessary to reach the thoughtless state? Maybe it would benefit you a lot. Are you afraid that it would be too difficult and uncomfortable to succeed? When spiritual teachers say that it is impossible to stop the thoughts, they mean that you can't force the mind to be quiet, but you can get to the inner silence in other ways, Ramana said that self-inquiry will get you there eventually. Of course it's possible to have inner silence, there are even some unenlightened people who never have thoughts, it is a problem for them because they are dead inside and have no creativity, I don't want anyone to become like that, I want people to be the masters of their own minds, to not be addicted to it, and to understand the value of being able to turn off their thoughts while meditating to reach the deep state of absorption/samadhi that some yogis go into every day and which gives them amazing blessings.

If a person is addicted to thinking, they have not reached the highest state There are more than one definition of Samadhi but the essence of the yogic teachings is the same, refinement and inner purity. Only a neo-advaita-person would be silly enough to think that they are enlightened when they still have addictions and other problems.

@Consilience But the addiction to thinking comes from the ego/I-thought. So even though that state you describe seems great, why not go further and get rid of the addiction and the source of it? Of all the non-duality teachings, Ramana Maharshi's are still one of the best, I like that he understood our psychology well and the value of being able to be without thoughts. Many yogis and buddhists understand this too, the Samadhi-states are all free from thoughts, there is great power in it.

Yes love is an energy that can enter your body, it feels great when that happens, one has to allow this energy, it is done by having an unconditional acceptance for what is and a feeling of delight in it and its right to exist. That's why parents are able to genuinely feel love for their children, they are not able to allow this love for others because they feel separate from them and are afraid that they could hurt them, but they feel safe enough with their children, and they think their children is an extension of themselves, so they allow themselves to feel love for their children As humanity evolves, they will be able to love others unconditionally, and not just their family.

Here in the lower planes of existence, many beings co-create this reality, including us humans. God allows it though, but the weird thing about the nature of love, is that it is an allowing, acceptance and a delight in all things that exists. And at least God is always with us, I can see God everywhere in the oneness, like a presence of love that supports and accepts us completely always. And we can get real support and protection from God, miraculous healing and protection from bad people, many have experienced this.

No, their unique soul and higher self will not get bored again and again. You can end your cycle of rebirth, but you can't end God's. Also, it wasn't boredom for God, it was an innocent desire to experience something more than itself, to forget itself. But our unique higher selves may feel bored, like the new-agers say, we are bored light-beings who decided to reincarnate again because we have already lived in a perfect paradise for millions of years and after that the idea of incarnating into a limited human body became interesting again, also it could help the higher self to evolve, and then eventually you won't reincarnate as a human again.

Great! I wonder what your intuition is telling you now, about what to do next and how to live your life. The intuition must be stronger now. Try to connect with it and listen patiently. Btw how did you awake? Is there something we can learn from your experience?

@TruthSoldier There are many scientists and historians who have studied these things and discovered amazing things that bridge science and spirituality. But they don't get any attention in the media and end up being forgotten in the huge piles of scientific reports, books and academic papers that no one looks at anymore. The scientific world is like a popularity contest where only the big names get attention and many scientists won't even consider something that contradicts their world view. Check out Dan Winter's lectures on youtube, he talks about the pyramids sometimes, I think it may be of interest to you or anyone who is interested in science and spirituality and history: https://www.youtube.com/c/DanWinterFractalField/videos

It's funny you mentioned entropy. Check out Dan Winter's lectures and free e-book for the science of negentropy, reversing entropy to become young forever. Humans have known about this science throughout history, that's why there are stories of immortals, yogis who lived for hundreds of years, etc. But why do you think it all ends when you die? We have many reasons to believe there is an afterlife. Even scientific evidence.

Yea lucid dreaming or "reality shifting" which is basically like lucid dreaming except you decide what you want to experience in the dream before you go to sleep and then you can be in that reality for a long time, sometimes months, but only a few hours pass by in real life, and all sensations feel real, etc. But I have a feeling some interesting things, inventions and real reality shifting things are coming soon. It's being held back by the old system but some things are already slipping through the cracks, but that deserves a thread on its own, there is a lot to say and discuss about it.

Like Ramana Maharshi said: First do self-inquiry to quiet the mind, then the I-thought will go back into the heart, all the other thoughts disappear with it and then you will have your self-realization.

I don't think it is unaligned with the understanding of non-duality. Sometimes we ask other humans for help. Asking a divine being for help by praying is the same thing. There are people and divine beings with the ability to assist us, to never ask for help just because there is no duality doesn't make any sense to me. Many people pray, to God, deities, angels etc. Many have witnessed miraculous outcomes after praying.

But the question of what happens after death is on the relative/human/concrete level, like asking for directions or a math problem. You have decided that it's okay to have knowledge and theories about math for example, but not the afterlife, it doesn't make sense. @Salvijus Exactly.

@Nahm Yes I agree about the non-duality, it means that you as a human is not separated from everything else that exists, but it doesn't say that you aren't a human, you are, and humans can know things. What happens after death is a puzzle, and we have some pieces to it, as humans we are allowed to theorize about it, I'm sure some humans are correct about what happens after death.

@Nahm Is that your way of saying "I don't know"? Your answer would be great if the question was more philosophical or a spiritual inquiry. I don't think non-duality philosophy is appropriate as an answer to all questions. If someone asks for directions to a store you wouldn't tell them that their sense of self is delusional and that there is no store unless it is in their direct experience.