An young being

It's true that most don't care about things like how the universe works, why do I exist etc. It might be because people are afraid to know certain truths. For example, if I am doing lots of selfish things because of my ego,( which most people do), I wouldn't want to know if God really exists and he would punish us for them. But what many people would like to know is a way to end the suffering they are undergoing. That's why they are getting attracted to spiritual leaders in large numbers, to find a source for happiness. That's what most people seem to care about, a way to be happier or to be in heaven.

It maybe because you haven't provided enough bread crumbles for them to reach that place called awakening. You can't say heaven exists ( not saying awakening is heaven though), and expect people to believe in heaven. You will be regarded as another guy who is a religious fanatic. Instead, you should build steps for them to help them see it for themselves. For that, you should break your own beliefs and become more open minded. You can't regard awakening as something achievable through only specific means, and not reachable by a rational mind. For example, if you wish to explain awakening to a scientific person, you should point them towards researches that deals with awakening, such as researches on long term meditators, psychedelics etc. and point to the fact that no conclusive evidence exists which suggests that it's simply a mental phenomenon. In that way, you'll be able to establish such spiritual experiences rationally to a scientific minded person.

Lol, you forgot their tails though. They are the brush with which they draw beautiful art!

There are many who hate meditation, there are many who hate psychedelics, but there are a few who hate nothing, many call them the enlightened ones.

Maybe you're right. This world is limiting in nature, because it may be better to have experiences that way. While directing a movie, you can't deviate too much from the plot or it will spoil the fun. Also, while watching the movie, you have to follow certain rules, such as not making too much noise, or else it will spoil the fun.

Those who wish to think from a higher perspective shouldn't classify any person as good or evil, since everything has its foundation in nature and it's evolution, like you've said. Can an animal get enlightened? Sure, it can live without thinking much about the past and the future, which itself is a great achievement and reduces suffering to a considerable extent, but it can't completely be free of its ego. Similarly, some humans are still similar to animals with pure survival instincts and hence difficult to be transformed. But it's still possible to transform and enlighten such people or even animals with love and compassion. Just like survival instincts are in the nature, the pleasures of selfishness and egoism leading to immense suffering is also in nature, in a more fundamental form. It's not the question of being born good or evil, it's the question of which direction the life journey can be pushed towards from the starting point to make it more fulfilling.

To be frank, synchronicities such as the one he mentioned, where the phone doesn't work exactly at the time he wanted to, is perfectly possible. But an object magically manifesting is not a frequent occurrence, and also very close to impossible in my opinion. It's also important to take such incidents lightly, as they mostly serve no purpose other than increase your curiosity. Why do I say that the synchronicity is not a delusion? Because such instances are very common in spiritual circles, including in my life. The line that differentiates synchronicities and delusions are the physical laws, in my belief. Free will is the place where you want to search if you wish to know the difference, and why synchronicities can exist within the laws.

Maybe you are playing with yourself?

Truth is always combined with mystical stories, and the intention maybe to draw interest towards it, or maybe something else. But, there's no single clear evidence which actually proves that any kind of supernatural powers exist.in this world, which has the power to change the laws of physical reality. There can be some exceptions, but they are related to their own human mind and body, not something outside of it in the physical reality. Even most of those could be explained with the help of modern science.

I can't give an example that is of pure pleasure, but let me try to give something closer. When you act like a psychopath and intend to murder someone cruelly and derive happiness from seeing them suffer, I would say it's an extreme form of pleasure. A less extreme form of pleasure will be masturbation, where you don't put much effort like in sex such as finding a partner, making them fall in love with your etc. whereas in the first case, you get immediate and intense gratification with less effort. It also depends on your intention of doing it, is it just for pure intense gratification or to relax after a period of stressful effort. Such forms of pleasures will make you dull and devoid of liveliness, and keeps you from exerting effort and even make you more selfish.

Agree!

I am not so sure about it, but I do agree that it can be one of the reasons. Sex with an intention to make your partner happy leads to immense happiness, and not pure pleasure. I would define pleasure as something that gives happiness due to selfishness or even less effort.

Maybe you're right. As I told earlier, I'm not an expert in being present, but Atleast you had a laugh due to the bug Mindfulness requires effort and constant practice from our end, ideally all the time in the day. it doesn't mean simply being present, it means concentrating on what's happening in the present. I agree that those who have traumas, fears etc. will have difficulty in fully concentrating on the present. I don't ask you to see mindfulness as a solution to all our problems, what I suggest you to see is that it's a tool more powerful than most of us imagine it to be. I can also counter your argument of introspection being a superior tool. Many aren't intelligent enough to introspect.

Why do we have questions?

If you are fully present, I believe it happens automatically, through intuition , although I should admit I am not an expert in this domain. Even if you aren't, you will start noticing anger arise for trivial reasons related to ego, and such egoistic reactions will disappear. What about the anger when you see somebody unrelated to you suffering injustice? You can either choose to react or not in that way, but anger always has repercussions, no matter if it's selfish or selfless. It switches off your rational mind. When you immerse all your senses in the present, in other words what is happening around you, especially with a sense of awe, there is no space left in your mind to have selfish reactions. You realise everything is so perfect, the beautiful mouth of your spouse uttering the ugly words, the sound touching your ears and vibrating, so many colours and shapes with the face, light falling on them and making it even more beautiful, when you have so much life to marvel at, where would your ego find space to react? Mindfulness becomes a powerful version of meditation, with so much beauty instead of just the breathe to concentrate upon.

No, mindfulness will make you non reactive, which means anger, fear etc. which are purely reactive emotions, will automatically disappear.

Reality can indeed be a dream of advanced levels, but it's never proven to be so. That leaves us with a curious question or maybe a belief, but not an answer or a fact. Here's something to ponder about. In a dream during sleep, the rules of the physical reality we are in can be broken. In the same way, if you believe that you are dreaming right now, you shouldn't also deny that the higher Reality can be limiting in nature. Still, we consider dreams to be inferior to sleep, for a reason. I love dreams though.

Do you believe identity and seeking pleasures such as alcohol, masturbation etc. are linked together? If so, how?

It could very well be a part of Maya. Do you think your life till now is an absolute shit?

Realistically speaking, the reason is, effort. You have to put a lot of effort to keep sitting blissed out in nature or in your bed for prolonged durations. Our mind gets programmed to chase pleasure, in which karma also can play a role, and we have to put a lot of effort in the form of enquiry, discipline, meditation etc. to overcome the programming or bondage.

I believe identification is also erased when our mind is free of thoughts and we are observing only the sensory inputs without judgement or reaction.

There's a subtle difference between passivity and being, like you have said. While letting it be, you let experiences happen on their own, whatever comes to your mind through intuition. Desire being your driving force for experiences is completely eradicated, and experiences come from an unknown or predetermined place. You give up free will to be completely observed in the experience.

Your'e right, being altruistic comes from the ego's opinion that suffering is bad, and less suffering is good. That's why you wish to help others. But movement can exist even if you're not altruistic. You don't resist anything, and perform the action that comes to your intuition. But, is intuition free from ego? Where does it come from?

I see that the universe is perfectly balanced. You can stay in the lower levels of consciousness models ( atleast most of them ) and enjoy the excitement and pleasure you derive out of it. But you have to suffer a great deal if you wish to stay there till the end. Or, you can get tired of the sufferings and seek a spiritual path, trying to reduce suffering as much as possible. You can stay in the middle, which is perfectly fine if you are okay with the suffering life provides you at the stage, in which case you don't need awakening at all. Who knows, you might already be enlightened at that stage.

You're right, but what happens when you are 100% altruistic? Do you become inactive? Is action dependent or independent of ego? Don't forget, when somebody wake you up and tell you to do something, and if you resist, that's also a form of ego.