The0Self

The real answer is merely the question: Why not? Truth is all there is, so to experience something else, the infinite hides itself as being 1. everything and 2. unknowable -- the fear of non-being or the unknown (which is actually not death, as there is no death, but is rather everything and nothing) is vital to the experience of being a person.

It doesn't feel like I'm talking with myself. It just seems like this character is talking to that character, but in actuality no one is speaking or being spoken to. There's no alternative though because no one is separate from everything. That's it.

True. But the character speaking is never the enlightened one. The enlightened one is the underlying truth that there is no character. However, in a sense, prayer can certainly still happen, but it won't be to anything -- it'll just be an integrated appearance; a manifestation of authentic desire and an alignment with truth devoid of self-interest. Kind of.

Exactly. Which is why from here is it obvious that there is no reality, since reality changes, and Truth (guess you could call it God) doesn't. Just terminology. You're not wrong. Actually, it's impossible to be wrong, since reality is exactly as real as it seems, and everything that is real is equally unreal.

@BipolarGrowth @Zeroguy For sure! Or Appearance = Changing = Reality = Untruth Consciousness = Unchanging = No-Other-ness = Truth Those who say consciousness is not the absolute are not wrong, as they refer to consciousness as that which one can have more or less of. That's not the consciousness referred to above. It doesn't change or move, ever.

In that case: My meditation practice wouldn't have gotten off the ground without faith in the process. Years ago, I read Culadasa's TMI. Since I already had two experiences of cosmic oneness (on LSD), I knew that my imagination of the impossibility of higher states was just that. The faith was quite labored until first jhana -- then faith was no longer required, it was simply my reality that profound states of consciousness could be reached with meditation. None of that really has anything to do with God or enlightenment though. You never reach "God" or enlightenment by perfecting your dream state (i.e. meditation) -- you do so by stripping it away and breaking free (i.e. self inquiry, desire for truth, fearlessness, and utterly radical skepticism [everything you see might as well be a total lie])... Takes quite a bit of desire and passion, and (imo) solitude, and is certainly not achieved through aversion to suffering or fear of death.

Absolutely. Some can guide quite well... But in the end, the teacher must be destroyed by seeing them as merely an inner aspect of self, and not really a teacher who is "out there" and other than you.

Happy New Year!!! @Someone here Lookin' good brother!

What does God -- the only God; not merely an offshoot of God -- experience right now? If you're honest, it's clearly unimaginable -- and that's true. But... It's certainly not exactly what seems to be happening here and now, and not something other than that... duh... Right? Wrong. This is the absolute. There is no other.

The one who interacts with others is not the enlightened one -- that one is simply an after image of energy patterns. The enlightened see the unenlightened as all appearance and no substance. However, the enlightened do not see their own character as enlightened -- the one speaking to someone else now is not the enlightened one. The enlightened one is the speaking, and without other.

It's about the one thing that would be unthinkable to do after enlightenment. However, prayer still happens, but it's not to anything -- it's the absolute appearing as prayer, integrated with the whole, falling in place with the apparent order of things.

Nothing does not become something; it never, ever becomes something. There’s no it; it’s not a thing. Nothing ever becomes anything, because what is true, does not change. Anything and everything are the same thing. Reality is real but not true. Everything is nothing. The universe is not the universe, but it is what it is (which is not the universe). i.e. and not even that

The universe is not the universe. However, the universe is what it is.

The only thing ever known in the dream is I AM, and yet there is no dream. So solipsism is only a pointer. So the question who am I holds onto the one experiential absolute that destroys everything else, which are just beLIEfs. The key to answers is perfecting the question and examining what you’re assuming in each question, such that the answer is found (and never was lost) in the dissolving of the question.

But believing them isn't. At least if you're concerned about truth. Either way though, trust can help. Not trusting in people to not betray you. Not trusting that it'll all work out. Rather... Trusting that people will be exactly who they are. Trusting that it'll go exactly the way it goes, and that you were born to do exactly what you were born to do.

But then that would also have to manifest since there’s nothing other than consciousness.

It doesn’t even do it instantly. It does it timelessly. It’s just already everything. And there’s nothing other than it, so it has no limitations that aren’t entirely self-imposed.

The impetus to leave a relatively comfortable, and more importantly, known, dream is generally going to be unpleasant. Just comes with the territory. Surrendering the belief in control can seem to help. Delusion is prior to perception, so two-ness fills the entire field of view. What you’re not aware of controls you. Lack of context is only terrifying for the sense of self, which is illusory. Perhaps see that the past-context is demonstrably projected in the now, and therefore is other than it seems. The safety nets to keep you from awakening are very crafty. It takes a great, prolonged, and very focused effort to break free. Happiness has very little to do with truth-seeking, but the more you trust the process the smoother things get. And even though meditation has almost nothing to do with enlightenment, at least it can be like oil in the machine. You’re controlling what you’re aware of, but not really, since what you aren’t aware of is controlling you. If what you’re not aware of is controlling you, then simply due to that, you’re not really in control. The biggest “happiness-booster” is giving-over or dedication of self, in any way. Whether it’s to beauty, truth, higher power, or anything really.

? @Someone here For example: destroying the teacher is really destroying an inner aspect of your self that you’re seeing as other (or outer). It’s all you. All you ever see is self. If you see an other — anywhere — you’re still seeing two... i.e. untruth. Ask yourself if you really want to go where this truth-seeking leads, or whether you want to stop short once you’ve reached “good/far enough” — not even necessarily on purpose; you’ll just think you’re done. Because you’ll likely want to stop short if you’re not absolutely focused on the truth alone. And there is no self, so the truth is your own death — you will have gained absolutely nothing. You just won’t be a lie. If that even slightly deters you, good — at least you know. If it doesn’t deter you in the least, good. It’s all Good.

? I really appreciate you letting me know. (edited) Checked gender, didn’t find anything, and there’s a lot of men here. My bad.

@Loba ? Right on sister! And about the fear of non-being... I wasn’t describing it to exclaim that it’s far worse than anyone thinks. It’s infinitely less bad than anyone thinks. I was merely reporting how dualistic experience operates. It operates simply via the fear of non-being. It’s the root of all drama. So it’s a very, very good thing, in a sense... In fact, unimaginably so.?

@Loba As far as paths... I particularly enjoyed Buddhism and Law of One and Rob Burbea’s book, and TMI by culadasa. I didn’t enter the enlightenment point of no return until after stopping all practices — stopped out of equanimity... the paths I listed above definitely seemed to make me really, really happy I will say that.

It’s the end of all significance. Non-relative awareness. Seeing through everything forever in every way. No reality. That will almost certainly be misleading. It can’t be described in the least but suffice to say it’s the very last thing anyone is looking for, literally. And yet, nothing compares.