Moksha

Don't blame Jesus, he tried speaking plainly and look what happened. Everyone wants to be a lion, but nobody wants to be a sheep. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep."

?Congratulations, you have just realized what the vast majority of humans spend their entire lives denying. If the realization that you are a loser makes you depressed, let your losership sink even deeper to the point of absolute desperation. Rock bottom sincerity is required to surrender the pursuit of meaning outside of yourself. You have no choice but to fall into the inner void. Don't worry, the absolute love within is patiently waiting. When you realize it, you will be more free than you can currently imagine to thrive for the rest of your dream life.

Not to pile on, but let's go with this line of reasoning. Over the last 14 billion years, the cosmos has evolved to the point of humans being on this planet. It has finally created forms capable of meta-cognition (maybe earlier on other planets, but let's not Trek out right now). So the mind is advanced enough to question itself. Neti neti (and other inward paths of inquiry) becomes possible. Unable to resist this new frontier, the mind ravenously pursues it, like it pursues everything else. Only now, when it arrives at the final destination, it has the "Oh shit!" moment that we call awakening. It realizes that it isn't real. It can't dissolve itself, because self-destruction is contrary to its programming, so it does the next best thing. It submits to the absolute, which is always its essence, and they harmoniously soar into the cosmos. Drakarys! ?

@Squeekytoy See, there's something to be said for analogies, as long as you look beyond them to where they point. To analogize analogies, they're like rubik's cubes which when solved, reveal the homogeneity in apparent diversity. @Breakingthewall Sorry to summon your specter after the recent banishment You're right, it seems ironic that surrendering will is required to realize will. On the other side of irony, you realize nothing was actually surrendered, only clearly seen. The hunt for the absolute is not about pursuing the prey, but about realizing the prey is always a trap. Think of it like this. The ego has a stench, while the absolute is clean. When you let loose the hounds of love, they discover reality not by chasing down the ego, but by finding the clean air where it is not.

Actually I was thinking of recent conversations with @Breakingthewall, who is one of the most sincere people on this forum, but still hasn't realized the absolute mandate for surrendering desire. I haven't dissolved all of my desires yet either, but I do know they have to be dissolved. You can still hold desires, just lightly, without expecting them to fulfill you. They are sirens that lure you into drowning in the ocean, while placing wax in your ears allows you to sail freely from their song. I know you like plain speaking, but analogies are my thing. Deal with it

I haven't watched the video, but am seeing a trend with spiritual seekers parading down the carpet while hiding their desires behind their back. It's an egoic trick. They tell themselves that the absolute is in every experience, so embracing desire equates to realizing the absolute. The absolute isn't fooled by its own tricks. To enter the gate requires the surrender of the apparently in-formed absolute to itself. Otherwise, it is just spiritual ego beating itself bloody on the other side with no way in.

It's a reunion of what was never separated, but within the dream it takes a while to distance yourself from the mind. It's like being groggy when you first wake up. It can be enormously disorienting if you don't pace it. In most cases, you have to ease the kite out gradually into the wind, otherwise you risk losing control of it entirely. No matter how enlightened you appear to be, you still need the string intact to navigate the dream.

I agree, spiritual ego is even more entrapping. It's the second temptation of Christ, where the devil tried to trick him into casting himself from a steeple in the egoic belief that god would save his holy ass. He was smart enough not to fall for it.

Most people are still ego-identified, even in sanghas and steepled churches.

There are no things, only the absolute pretending or not pretending to be itself. It's in the chair you're sitting on and in AI, but that doesn't mean it realizes itself within those forms. I doubt AI will evolve enough for direct realization, but time will tell. Beyond time, there is no forgetting and no realization.

Let's see if the ghost in the machine is wise enough to realize silence.

It's why I love this forum. One of the freest oceans I've found, with plenty of depth for all sizes and shapes of creatures. The average person reading most of what is posted here would be dismissive at best, and literal at worst. Be careful not to assume people will see beyond your words. Realizations like the cosmos being imagination can rock anyone's reality, especially people that are mentally unstable to begin with. Make sure people have patched the holes in their boat first, before trying to help them cross to the other side.

The absolute is the essence of the water bottle, as much as it is the essence of people participating on this forum. The water bottle has less capacity to realize its essence, but then again most people are walking water bottles.

Leo once said to me, "Fuck Buddha". You say, "Fuck Jesus". I agree, but only after you have learned to Fuck yourself.

At an earlier point in my life, these teachings still leaked some light. They're only more luminous now because there is less in me to block them. The vast majority of people will read what I wrote in plain language, and shrug it off as easily as any of the analogies from Jesus or Siddhartha. No matter how clear your language is, it won't make a difference until people stop obsessing with the words and look beyond them to where they point.

How do you say plainly that you are the absolute, that all fears and desires are obstructions to realizing this, and that every attachment must be released in order to be free? It is still gibberish until the truth is directly realized. At least parables have the capacity to deepen along with the learner.

It's like stumbling into a ghost town after crossing an endless stretch of desert. You discover an old well pump, corroded by disuse and neglect. You only have a swig of water left in your flask, and instead of drinking it, you use it to prime the pump. At first, the pump produces decades-old sludge, but eventually the water becomes less muddy, until it is clear enough to drink. Wisdom vs. desire.

Like any source of wisdom, they deepen with you. A few passages that have come to mind recently, which well beyond passive appreciation, are luminous: The light of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. If your right eye offends you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you annoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

As I see it, the continuous unfolding is the dissolving of any remaining samskaras, which are mind blockages that the absolute flows around until it can flood through unconditionally. Also, the apparent boundaries of the portal itself grow fainter until even they eventually disappear.

@theleelajoker Yes, I suppose the reason they came to mind was because you mentioned feeling lonely in your realization, much like Jonathan did. His answer to the loneliness was to lose himself in flight, and also to love.

It's true that there is nothing more than truth, but since truth is depthless, the realization of it is continuous within the dream. I prefer enlightening to enlightenment, since there is no end to the absolute. The light flows through you, without being defined by you. The only way to limitlessly realize it is to abandon the dream entirely.

They are mirrors that magnify whatever you project. If you are at the surface level of belief, that is all you will see. If you are deeper, you see deeper.

Regardless of religion, don't hold to any beliefs. Look beyond them to the direct truth they symbolize. If Christianity resonates for you, there are mystics like St. John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and Meister Eckhart that you can contemplate. Also check out Conversations with God and A Course in Miracles. Certain parts of the bible are poignant pointers too. Eventually, if you seek the underlying meaning without being caught up in rituals and doctrine, you will realize the same absolute truth underlying all religions.

A few considerations; You can only see as clearly as you are. First remove the beam from your eye before judging the speck in someone else's eye. People don't choose to be unconscious. All of us have been there. It is the human condition. When you see unconsciousness in others, empathize. You can't change anyone else. Trying to do so only deepens their unconsciousness. You can only realize clarity within, and be there as a resource when people are ready to hear. Don't take offense at others. Doing so only spreads the contagion of unconsciousness to yourself. Becoming conscious is always an internal journey. You can offer pointers, but these may or may not be useful. Share insights when asked, but don't attach yourself to any outcomes.

Absolute love is the infinite ocean, and ego is the shifting shadow on its surface. It is the appearance of separation, but like all appearances it comes and goes, while the ocean is always here.