Moksha

There is no absolute existence, only being. You seem to have realized this about the perceiver, but the same is true about the perceived. Anything that can be thought, felt, or sensed is an illusion. The perceiver and the perceived are dualities within the dream. Neither of them is ultimately real. There is only unconditional awareness, which is within and beyond the dream. You can't convince the character of anything. You can only strip away everything about it that you are not, until you are ready to directly realize what you are. People believe they are ready to face the non-existence of their character, but it is rare to embrace this non-existence and live lucidly within the dream. It is not death, but it is seen as death. The mind only sees a bottomless void, and will fight like a demon to avoid it. It is only when you are ready to release the mind that the brilliance of your ultimate nature is realized. You need to desire this unchangeable nature more than anything the transient cosmos can offer you. The known, the changeable, is what you live with -- the unchangeable is of no use to you. It is only when you are satiated with the changeable and long for the unchangeable, that you are ready for the turning round and stepping into what can be described, when seen from the level of the mind, as emptiness and darkness. For the mind craves for content and variety, while reality is, to the mind, contentless and invariable.

Indulging the mind is a treacherous game Are you sure your mind is being honest when it proclaims that it wants you to disappear again? After all, if you truly disidentify with the mind, doesn't that disempower it? Maybe the reason you are unable to realize inner spaciousness is because the mind is secretly sabotaging your efforts. There is nothing that frightens the mind more than the threat of losing your attention. Inner silence is its worst nightmare.

The irony is that it is the mind that insists on knowing, while the unconditional spaciousness within is beyond knowledge. Craving spiritual facts only buries people deeper. Awakening is about letting go of the need to know, of the desperate desire for certainty, and of seeking validation through mystical experiences. The truth of who you actually are is realized through inner submission to the wisdom of absolute silence, not in clamoring for signs.

I agree with Leo. There's nothing wrong with giving yourself a break from the world for a while, and focusing on the inward journey. No matter where you are, you can only do that here and now. However, life is about living. It is easy to believe that you are enlightened within a secluded cave in the Himalayas, but the candle is only tested when the wind blows. Go to the Wildwoods for a while, and hone your attention within. Restore yourself, then return to the city and help others do the same.

Personalization requires localization. It's like rolling out a ball of dough for biscuits, and cutting it into circles. It is all the same dough, shaped and baked into separate forms. Ultimately there is no separation, but in the mind of the child, baking biscuits is a fun game.

Anything that enhances the quality of the dream is not a wasted effort. Fulfilling the common needs in Maslow's hierarchy, including human love, is certainly beneficial, as long as it doesn't become an attachment. Most people will never fully awaken, and that is perfectly fine. Far from a drag, people can still live beautiful lives. For the few that are relentless in deeply questioning everything, willing to strip away the false no matter how urgently the mind complains, and earnest enough to tunnel through the detritus of their conditioning, the realization of their true nature is its own reward. By comparison, the unconscious life is a candle trying to outshine the sun. There is nothing like the unconditional love of lucid living.

Everyone could use some love, but for the vast majority it won't make a difference to whether they awaken or not. There are people who are showered with love their entire lives and never have the grit to dig within for the Love that is their actual nature.

I agree with those of you that have said people need love. Maslow wasn't wrong about that: However every attachment, including the need for love, has the capacity to obscure the absolute Love that you are. Of course it's important to meet your human needs, but you can do so without supercharging them with your attention, beyond what is actually needed. It is one thing to feed the body, and another to become a glutton. You can enjoy healthy relationships, without constantly needing the approval of others in order to be happy. Enduring happiness only comes from within. Everything else, including other people, is transient and if indulged in too heavily will only lead to suffering.

We don't need love, we are Love. It is our essence. Within the dream, we need to first realize that we are not our thoughts, our feelings (including the human emotion that we call love), or our experiences. These are only attachments that suffocate us. We are not the character in the dream with all of its melodrama. When you realize what you are not, and realize that identifying with the character has only created suffering, you are preparing to realize what you actually are. Trapped within the character's perspective, this realization feels like death, but it is not. What was never born cannot die. It is the unveiling of the absolute radiance of your true nature. You are finally free from the conditioned stormclouds that have commanded your attention and obscured you all of your dreaming life. This dawning is not only possible within the dream, but it is the culmination of it. There is no clearer way of living than in the flow state of yourself, which is unconditional Love.

When the Subject <> Object duality collapses, there is only Love. No God loving you, no you loving God, only Love. Enlightenment is Love being itself unconditionally, even from within its dream.

Beliefs are born of the mind and lead to suffering, not healing. Experiencing Love is not a belief, it is direct realization of your true nature.

Nobody needs Love, but to realize the unconditional Love that we already are. You already realize this, but some may not. It is only words until the realization happens, and staying in the realization usually requires the self-shattering experience of suffering.

@LSD-Rumi Well said. The majority of spiritual seekers want an easy resolution to their suffering. I feel this is why 5-MeO is so enticing. People are convinced that if only they see clearly enough, their suffering will dissolve. In truth, realizing that you are not the mind is only the first step. You must then have the integrity and courage to integrate this seeing into your life. If it is authentic, your perspective on suffering will invert. Instead of trying to escape it, you will see it for the gift to yourself that it actually is. Instead of chasing insights, embrace the unconditional spaciousness within you so fully that you are willing to release identifying with the deep desires and aversions that bind you to life. They will still exist, but will no longer influence your life or contribute to your suffering. Only then will you be free to live fully. For most, it takes substantial suffering before you are humble enough to surrender to yourself. M: Don't be misled by the simplicity of the advice. Very few are those who have the courage to trust the innocent and the simple. To know that you are a prisoner of your mind, that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation is the dawn of wisdom. To want nothing of it, to be ready to abandon it entirely, is earnestness. Only such earnestness, born of true despair, will make you trust me. Q: Have I not suffered enough? M: Suffering has made you dull, unable to see its enormity. Your first task is to see the sorrow in you and around you; your next to long intensely for liberation. The very intensity of longing will guide you; you need no other guide.

You don't have to imagine yourself as them. You are them. When you realize that the same essence permeates everyone and everything, judgment disappears.

Even within relative reality, science has proven that time is not an absolute. If you travel at a very high speed to another planet and return, you will be younger than your identical twin. Whose perception of time is more real?

Concepts are born of the mind, based on experience within the cosmos. Both are bound to relative reality, and are incapable of representing ultimate reality. Whatever can be perceived, thought, or felt is not who you ultimately are. Your absolute nature is beyond change, beyond experience, and beyond comprehension.

In Sanskrit, supernatural powers are called siddhis. Like anything else in relative reality, they have the potential to distract from your ultimate nature. Enjoy them if you like, just don't identify with them. I spread before your eyes, Nachiketa, The fulfillment of all worldly desires: Power to dominate the earth, delights Celestial gained through religious rites, Miraculous powers beyond time and space. These with will and wisdom have you renounced.

As a name, Love is a clear pointer to ultimate reality. It describes the seamless essence that dissolves all boundaries, and is within and beyond everything. It is so loving that it even encompasses the void.

Suffering is a crossroads to enlightenment, not a direct path. When faced with suffering, some people take the path that winds up the mountain of awareness, while others take the path that plunges them further into darkness. It is ultimately a test of readiness, sincerity, courage, and intent. The ego needs suffering in order to survive. It is energized by your resistance to the moment, and by your attempts to cling to the moment instead of letting it freely pass through you. When you live in a flow state, the ego deflates because it has nothing to feed it. There is no value in seeking suffering. Life will bring it to you in abundance. Instead, focus on preparing yourself to learn the secret of suffering, which begins with the realization that you are not the thoughts, the feelings, or the experiences that induce suffering. Your true nature is unconditional spaciousness, and when you directly realize it, you will be free.

If by light you are referring to photons, it is bound to the cosmos just as darkness is bound to the void. The expression (cosmos) and the potential for the expression (void) are dualities, and neither can be without the other. Instead of asking which came first, realize the essence within and beyond both of them.

Exactly. That's why I prefer Law of Attention over Law of Attraction. People get caught up in manipulating reality to suit their preferences, which is precisely the opposite of spirituality. It is the perfect recipe for suffering. Let go of attracting something to you in the false belief that it will fulfill you in some way. It never does. Instead, surrender to what is. Embrace the full range of living. Denying reality is not only insane, but it blinds you to your true nature, which is already infinitely abundant. You will never find enduring happiness outside of yourself. Allow life to freely flow through you, rather than blocking or clinging to ephemeral experiences. Attend to what actually matters, which is the absolute essence of who you are.

Attention is a microscope. Whatever you focus on, you magnify. If you live in your head, your world will be a prison of thoughts. You will constantly be distracted from distraction by distraction, in a game of whac-a-mole that you can never win. If you let go of thoughts and attend to your essence, its light and creativity will dissolve you and realize itself throughout and beyond the cosmos. You could call it Law of Attention.

Causality is an illusion. It only appears in Newton’s map of the universe, and Einstein’s map is better. Setting aside maps, how could there be a cause and effect in ultimate reality, which is beyond all dualities?

From the absolute perspective, there is no who to be. There is simply being. Even after realization, there is still a personality in relative reality. Thoughts still seem to appear, you just don't identify with them. Lucidly enjoy the dream. It's phenomenal.

Enlightenment happens when you are ready for it to happen. You can prepare for it through meditation, psychedelic exploration, contemplation, etc. but because it is a direct realization, it is impossible to know precisely when you will awaken. Years (lifetimes?) of preparation may be necessary for some to awaken, and completely unnecessary for others. Your ultimate nature decides and makes it happen when the time is right. For me, the catalyst was suffering. It opened my eyes enough to realize that I was no longer willing to cling to the conditioned mind. But that was just the first step. The real work has been developing the courage, integrity, and humility to dissolve my aversions and desires. It happens naturally in the light of your essence, sometimes suddenly but more often gradually as a deepening expression of your realization.