Water by the River

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satcitananda "Satcitananda (सच्चिदानन्द) is a compounded Sanskrit word consisting of "sat", "chit", and "ananda", all three considered as inseparable from the nature of ultimate reality called Brahman in Hinduism.[9] The different forms of spelling is driven by euphonic (sandhi) rules of Sanskrit, useful in different contexts.[9] sat (सत्):[10] In Sanskrit, sat means "being, existence", "real, actual", "true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence, true being, really existent, good, true".[10][note 2] cit (चित्):[12] means "consciousness" or "spirit".[13][14][15] ānanda (आनन्द):[16] means "happiness, joy, bliss", "pure happiness, one of three attributes of Atman or Brahman in the Vedanta philosophy".[16] Loctefeld and other scholars translate ananda as "bliss"" Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivekacūḍāmaṇi Now I shall tell you the nature of the Atman. If you realize it, you will be freed from the bonds of ignorance, and attain liberation. There is a self-existent Reality, which is the basis of our consciousness of ego. That Reality is the witness of the three states of our consciousness, and is distinct from the five bodily coverings. That Reality is the knower in all states of consciousness-waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. It is aware of the presence or absence of the mind and its functions. It is the Atman. That Reality sees everything by its own light. No one sees it. It gives intelligence to the mind and the intellect, but no one gives it light. That Reality pervades the universe, but no one penetrates it. It alone shines. The universe shines with its reflected light. Because of its presence, the body, senses, mind and intellect apply themselves to their respective functions, as though obeying its command. Its nature is eternal consciousness. It knows all things, from the sense of ego to the body itself. It is the knower of pleasure and pain and of the [ 62] sense-objects. It knows everything objectivelyjust as a man knows the objective existence of a jar. This is the Atman. the Supreme Being, the ancient. It never ceases to experience infinite joy. It is always the same. It is consciousness itself. The organs and vital energies function under its command. Here, within this body, in the pure mind, in the secret chamber of intelligence. in the infinite universe within the heart, the Atman shines in iu captivating splendour. like a noonday sun. By its light, the universe is revealed It is the knower of the activities of the mind and of the individual man. It is the witness of all the actions of the body, the sense-organs and the vital energy. It seems to be identified with all these, just as fire appears identified with an iron ball. But it neither acts nor is subject to the slightest change. The Atman is birthless and deathless. It neither grows nor decays. It is unchangeable, eternal. It does not dissolve when the body dissolves. Does the ether cease to exist when the jar that enclosed it is broken? The Atman is distinct from Maya, the primal cause, and from her effect, the universe. The nature of the Atman is pure consciousness. The Atman reveals this entire universe of mind and' matter. It cannot be defined. In and through the various states of consciousness-the waking. the dreaming and the sleeping-it maintains our unbroken awareness of identity. It manifests itself as the witness of the intelligence. Water by the River

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester "Jester's privilege Jester's privilege is the ability and right of a jester to talk and mock freely without being punished. As an acknowledgement of this right, the court jester had symbols denoting their status and protection under the law." Yet, you are working quite earnest on your own demise by self-transcedence... So, let's all drink to the death of a clown! May he be in permanent bliss and happy, Sat-Chit-Anada! And continue writing his usual hilarious posts ever after... Ain't no royal court like this lovely place here, with such magnificient royality, nobility, prophets, and even sometimes clergy, And with the most hilarious jester yours truly is aware of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_court "In the largest courts, the royal households, many thousands of individuals constituted the court. These courtiers included the monarch or noble's camarilla and retinue, household, nobility, clergy, those with court appointments, bodyguards, and may also include emissaries from other kingdoms or visitors to the court. Foreign princes and foreign nobility in exile may also seek refuge at a court." So Namaste, let's all drink to the death of a clown, and bon voyage everyone! Clowning by the Selling Water by the RIver

For the ants yes. For the one doing the tying it is not so good Karma, as it is for the one tied. Where do you get these examples from? Some mushroom was a bit kinky? An Infinity of Infinities (Cantor) means: Even if Reality keeps exploring new adventures/realms/dreams forever, it doesn't need to imagine all crap... Although quite some crap probably is imagined, just look at our lovely little planet. Shhh. Much more important is the Alien Awakening of the day, outdated in a week. There is stuff in my fridge that stays fresh longer... Selling Water by the River

Yes. All appearance/form is impermanent. Everything is appearance/form. What is Reality? What is constant? ... Beauty opens to the divine, and relaxes the contraction of the separate self perceiving the beauty for a moment. When aging, the youthful skin-deep beauty can be replaced by an even deeper beauty: A radiance of inherent love and openness, depending on the inner growth of the beautiful being. That radiance can have an even more heart-opening effect on others. A life well lived leads to a growing radiance of love/compassion and wisdom/awareness/peace. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is these two properties (wisdom/awareness and love/compassion) that are the main imprints of the soul carried from life to life as Karma. All of that happens on the relative level, but still decides the future of the (relative level) individual being/perspective, this life and the following ones. Until one is permanently established in non-separation, Karma holds its grip. Water by the River

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. - Tao Te Ching The paths can be pointed to with concepts, and the Tao can also be pointed to (mostly via negative). But not more than pointing. At the end, one has to become the Tao. The caterpillar has to die for the butterfly to reveal itself. Or instead, one can go exploring the "ten thousand things", never realizing the Tao (and being It). The discussion we are having here is millenia old. Just one example of many: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huineng They have been resolved in all traditions (Buddhism, Christian Mysticism, Jewish Mysticism, Vedante, Yoga, all of them...), always in the same way. Selling Water by the River PS: By the way, yours truly still writes long points full of technical pointers. So on this side here there is for sure no aversion to logic, concepts, thinking (on a Relative Truth level) and long technical texts. But at a certain point, shortly before the final deep realization (caterpillar -> butterfly), at the right state and view, all (!) of that pointing and all views (and any identity still left) have to stop for the Absolute to reveal itself, by itself, for itself. The Absolute Truth. And maybe that has not happened with certain people claiming something different than what all (!) wisdom traditions have claimed before. None of this can be proven until Enlightenment. Neither to these certain people, nor to anybody else. So all that remains for the seeker to choose its path is the little voice in the heart. And the energy and emotions that the proponents of the different perspectives radiate. Bon voyage!

https://www.actualized.org/forum/search/?&q=bliss&author=Water by the River I know. What kind of idiot would post a search link to his own posts about the topic of bliss And probably some won't like the following statements (because they implicitely nothing else than a call to action for practice/meditation of whatever form, because suffering can end): When resting in ones True Nature in certain awakened states, the psychological resistance (to what is) of suffering is gone. And these states can go from peak state, to plateau, to permanent. Bliss and love and compassion flow then from ones True Core. Every being, depending on its Karma, has at least to potential to do and realize that, this life or the next. At some point of the path one gets the choice to do exactly that, and one wouldn't contract again, because it becomes a choice. Sure one can get sad, or feel pain, hunger, whatever, but no resistance to it, no contraction, no closing down. "One" stays open, no resistance or psychological suffering added on top. It blows through ones Being like the wind. Adi Da called the separate self "self-contraction", which can be relaxed with love. Sellling Water by the River Ken Wilber on that: Ken Wilber, One Taste: "Monday, March 24. With the awakening of constant consciousness, you becomesomething of a divine schizophrenic, in the popular sense of “split-minded,” because you have access to both the Witnessand the ego. You are actually “whole-minded,” but it sounds like it’s split, because you are aware of the constant Witness or Spirit in you, and you are also perfectly aware of themovie of life, the ego and all its ups and downs. So you still feel pain and suffering and sorrow, but they can no longer convince you of their importance—you are no longer the victim of life, but its Witness. In fact, because you are no longer afraid of your feelings,you can engage them with much greater intensity. The movie of life becomes more vivid and vibrant, precisely because you are no longer grasping or avoiding it, and thus no longer trying to dull or dilute it. You no longer turn the volume down. You might even cry harder, laugh louder, jump higher. Choiceless awareness doesn’t mean you cease to feel; it means you feel fully, feel deeply, feel to infinity itself, and laugh and cry and love until it hurts. Life jumps right off the screen, and you are one with all of it, because you don’t recoil. If you are having a dream, and you think it’s real, it can get very scary. Say you are dreaming that you are tightropewalking across Niagara Falls. If you fall off, you plunge to your death. So you are walking very slowly, very carefully.Then suppose you start lucid dreaming, and you realize that it’s just a dream. What do you do? Become more cautious and careful? No, you start jumping up and down on the tightrope, you do flips, you bounce around, you have a ball—precisely because you know it isn’t real. When you realize it’s a dream, you can afford to play. The same thing happens when you realize that ordinary life is just a dream, just a movie, just a play. You don’t become more cautious, more timid, more reserved. You start jumping up and down and doing flips, precisely because it’sall a dream, it’s all pure Emptiness. You don’t feel less, you feel more—because you can afford to. You are no longer afraid of dying, and therefore you are not afraid of living.You become radical and wild, intense and vivid, shocking and silly. You let it all come pouring through, because it’s all your dream. Life then assumes its true intensity, its vivid luminosity, itsradical effervescence. Pain is more painful and happiness is happier; joy is more joyous and sorrow is even sadder. It all comes radiantly alive to the mirror-mind, the mind that doesn’t grasp or avoid, but simply witnesses the play, and therefore can afford to play, even as it watches. What would motivate you if you saw everything as the dream of your own highest Self? What would actually move you in this playful dream world? Everything in the dream is basically fun, at some deep level, except for this: when you see your friends suffering because they think the dream is real, you want to relieve their suffering, you want them to wake up, too. Watching them suffer is not fun. And so a deep and powerful compassion arises in the heart of the awakened ones, and they seek, above all else, to awaken others—and thus relieve them from the sorrow and the pity,the torment and the pain, the terror and the anguish that comes from taking with dreadful seriousness the passing dream of life. So you are a divine schizophrenic, you are “split-minded” in the sense that you are simultaneously in touch with both the pure Witness and the world of the ego-film. But that really means you are actually “whole-minded,” because these two worlds are really not-two. The ego is just the dream of the Witness, the film that the Witness creates out of its own infinite plenitude, simply so it will have something to watch at the movies. At that point the entire play arises within your own constant consciousness. There is no inside and no outside, no in here versus out there. The nondual universe of One Taste arises as a spontaneous gesture of your own true nature. You can taste the sun and swallow the moon, and centuries fit in the palm of your hand. The pure I-I, the greatI AMness, breathes to infinity and creates a Kosmos as the Song of its very Self, and oceans of compassion fall as tears from your very own Original Face. Last night I saw the reflection of the moon in a cool clear crystal pond, and nothing else happened."

Hm, how about doing BOTH? Practicing transcendence/meditation AND doing shadow work? Considering both as important, because shadow work & growing up and speeds up waking up? No transcendence/meditation and no shadow work: Nightmare Only shadow work & working on good Karma, No transcendence/meditation: with a bit of luck a quite happy dream with a normal dose of suffering. But no Enlightenment normally. Only transcendence/meditation: Anything from enlightened not so cool freak-show to (usually) no Enlightenment at all (built in safety mechanisms of reality. We don't need enlightened jerks). transcendence/meditation + shadow work: anything from quite happy dream to very happy waking up It is in no way either or. Integral is doing both. And yours truly believes that nearly everybody can benefit from some shadow work. Selling Water by the RIver

It is more metaphorical. Nothing can permanently ignore what it really is, so the illusion of separation ends (even if it takes many lives) at some point ("pulls it all back"). Gravity is just a physical force, affecting matter. The other dynamic if "pulls it back" is working a few "manifestation-dynamics-levels" higher. Water by the River

Infinite Consciousness/Reality (I don't use God though technically correct because it creates more misunderstandings in this context than it solves. Like blowing up the Ego to God-sized dimensions, which the exactly opposite route than transcending the separate self/Ego) is awake throughout. IT is aware, and is what you really are. "It" (True You) is nothing specific (despite containg/being everything), but empty Awareness. Totally empty/nothing, but aware, and containing all form. But arising in it is what you think yourself to be right now (I-thoughts and I-feelings), that you don't see/view fast enough to transcend. You see "through" them, like coloured lenses. These lenses of perceptions (I-thoughts and I-feelings, separate-self arisings, making you feel and think you are a body or mind WITHIN Reality, but somehow separate from the boundless Reality) are what cloud your understanding of the Nature of Infinite Consciousness/Reality. When you learn to view (and cut) these arisings fast enough (long training process normally), awakened or nondual states can appear. Then the locatedness of "you" drops, making You the whole field. And other effects (infinite, eternal/always here, empty/impersonal). The three points above are at least in my perspective more useful to describe the process (than asking what wakes up, God or Ego), because: God or Infinite Consciousness doesn't awake. It is always awake/aware, can't be different. The Ego doesn't really exist (EXist=stand out from Raelity). So it can't wake up. It the sum/Gestalt of the appearance of I-thoughts, I-feelings that arise in True You. Once your mindstream/perspective awakenes, these arisings are no longer believed and (if wanted) totally cut off. Your Ego/character becomes literally something like moskito buzzing around in you. And if the character becomes annoying/suffering, you can "chase" it away like an annoying insect. The volume/believeability of its voice goes to "lower than 5%" of what is was before. That is just a pointer. It can only be really understood what it happens. The tools you use to imagine that state (necessarily including I-thoughts) are those that prevent the awakend state in which you could understand it. So the path is Meditation, Trekchö/Cut-Off every thought, Neti Neti, get empty, change to awakened states. And let these states refine and empty your Identity towards Truth. Because what clouds your mindstream, what you think you are, the I-feelings and I-thoughts, are not what you really are. You are much more. But you can only authentically say that when you are in awakened states. Before having stabilized these nondual states, thinking you are everything is just wishful thinking. It doesn't end suffering. Because it is not a change of thinking/concepts. It is not deciding or believing to no longer belief concepts (That "stripping" would be more concepts). it is learning to cut any arising concept/belief/I-thought/I-feeling FAST enough so that your state changes to awakened and nondual states. Thinking to want to no longer belief or stripping of beliefs/ideologies is itself a thought process, not the cutting of all thought arisings including that one. These are very specific states that have counterparts in the bodily energies for example. Enlightenment is a state shift towards nondual, boundless, and empty/impersonal (at least if there is intention for cutting the mindstream if wanted, for example for getting the bliss of the primordial Consciousness). At other times, the character can do its thing. But the body-mind has become an object doing its thing within YOU, Reality itself. (1) If it wouldn't remove suffering, what should make you stay in these enlightened states? You would continue grasping and searching for evermore experiences, like every unenlighened being. (2) Also, you will know the nature of Absolute Reality beyond any doubt. That includes what You are, what Reality is, what every arising/form/phemenon is in its essence, and that you are immortal. And nothing else can be anything different than THAT. Since anything there could be, in any dimension or realm, would just be more "form" or content arisings within Infinite Consciousness. But what would (2) be worth if you still suffer? You would search and grasp for some other experiences... Which obviously the enlightened ones stopped doing. All of them, at all times. They didn't grasp for experiences, and didn't suffer when they didn't get certain experiences. They for sure had preferences, could feel pain, but they didn't grasp or "psychologically-suffering-wise" resist what is. She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes, without danger. She perceives the universal harmony, even amid great pain, because she has found peace in her heart. - Tao Te Ching Since every separate being (or better: perspective) is at its essence Infinite Consciousness/Reality itself, every mindstream will end up enlightened. The game is to cast the formless out into form, explore the infinities of infinities that can be manifested (God will never run out of these), and come back home. It is the nature of Reality. It is apparently what Reality does. Love is what throws it all out, and pulls it all back, and its also the essence of every form. That btw. is not fancy mental musings, but actual Reality, potentially directly experienceable by every(!) being in certain awakened states. Water by the River PS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film) "During the evacuation, Donnelly expresses his love for Banks. They talk about life choices and whether he would change them if he could see the future. Banks knows that she will agree to have a child with him despite knowing their fate: that Hannah will die from an incurable disease and Donnelly will leave them both after she reveals that she knew this."

. Chuck Norris is dead. The good news is: He is already getting better.

Yes. Let us assume a few things as true (and see if they resonate): (1) that Reality ultimately is "good" (and not evil) and wants every being to finally realize its True Being. (2) Which (realizing True Being) luckily is the same as peace/bliss/happiness. (3) What is the ONLY way to ensure that? Suffering until realizing Ones True Being. At least suffering from time to time, to make beings keep searching and growing... Only Alternative to that is: happy ever after not knowing or realizing what one really is, or what Reality is. Forever. Sounds rather cruel to me.... It is some kind of mathematical-logical formula if we just work with these three assumptions (that is why I wrote if they resonate). If we assume that these three points (1) (2) (3) are true, there has to be sometimes suffering until Full Realization happens. And only the final thing (Full Realization, Deep Identity Level Shift of Full Enlightenment) delivers the peace of the transcedence of suffering. And its not bleak, empty, dead, nothing, or "personal minus". It is the Fullness of Reality, personal/character (plus) minus separation. The celebration of manifestation, but without attachment. The character then can grow to its full potential, fear gone, joy and celebration here and now. And the even better news is: One only illusory "leaving" ones True Nature and being separate. No"one" ever could really be separate. That is not possible in an Infinite Totality. It can only appear as such. The ILLUSION-arising of the separate-self within Oneself (True Self). So THAT is the ultimate criteria or compass if there is one: Suffering or not. Separate-Self Contraction (and Illusion/Ignorance) or not. An imaginary trip back home, after casting Oneself out into manifesting Infinite Realms of form and manifestation. Bon Voyage & lets don't forget to celebrate the ride back home. And lets never declare a stage as end-point that contains suffering. It only prolongs the way back home, until that illusion-mindset is also broken by suffering. Selling Water by the River She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes, without danger. She perceives the universal harmony, even amid great pain, because she has found peace in her heart. Only in being lived by the Tao can you be truly yourself. Approach it and there is no beginning; follow it and there is no end. You can’t know it, but you can be it, at ease in your own life. Just realize where you come from: this is the essence of wisdom - Tao Te Ching

Well, BazookaJesus is the most AWAKE, and Nobody is enlightened. Ok, enough kidding. Awakening: Basically, you can experience 95% of Nonduality/Mystical Experiences with a center/separate-self still not fully seen through/transcended. And that is what prevents fully realizing or Being Absolute Reality/Infinite Consciousness itself. You definitely can have Unity/Nonduality Experiences with some kind of separate-self (although often quite empty, ego/persona quite transcended) still well & alive. Full Enlightenment: When these last remnants of the separate self disfiguring True Nonduality (or ones True Nature of Infinite Reality itself) are seen through, transcended, suffering ends and grasping for experiences/insights/understandings end. Impersonal centerless Empty Boundless Eternal Infinite Consciousness/Reality. That which you and every being already is right now, can never not be, but are (maybe) not fully aware of. Semantic Challenge: Often Enlightenments and Awakenings are equated and/or confused. But most often, Enlightenment is considered an "end-state", an end of suffering. Understanding of relative stuff and exploration & the adventure of course can continue. But beyond Full Enlightenment there is only more relative stuff (form) to explore. The Absolute Reality has been understood or realized. Suffering is dramatically(!) reduced and the potential of Ones True Nature to fully end suffering is understood and takes over understanding/being what One really is is the hallmark of Full Enlightenment. More on the topic: And confusing Awakening and (Full) Enlightenment is confusing the road to more high-level-dreams (with some necessary illusion/ignorance/suffering) with the road to the Deep Identity Level Shift of Full Enlightenment, or the end of suffering. All has its time and place, and the point of the ride is the ride. But at some point, comming home is also wonderful. Beautiful Book: Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions, Lex Hixon Bon Voyage Water by the River

Well, I don't have the worry that humanity will run out of gladiators any time soon. But some of the smarter gladiators could start thinking of themselves as Manjushri... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manjushri "Mañjuśrī is depicted as a male bodhisattva wielding a flaming sword in his right hand, representing the realization of transcendent wisdom which cuts down ignorance and duality." ... and the show will go on. And Maya will smile at us all. And a few could even smile back and not look serious at all. And maybe the ones smiling and having fun are or were candidates of Mañjuśrī-Seppuku? Well, if there weren't a show like that already running... One (without a second) ought imagine one.... Water by the River

Very true. Any sign of specialness and self-importance is a sure and perfect sign that somebody is not resting in True Nature. Self-Importance is among Mayas most seductive tricks. And its even totally logical: If one deeply identifies with being all of Infinite Reality, how could one part of Reality/Oneself be more "self"-important or special than another part? Where is then the "other" one could superior to, special to, or self-important towards to? Selling Water by the River @Bazooka Jesus : And that is why Bazooka Jesus is the most awake, because such a "I am the most...."- post has to made with the biggest smile possible. On which, so far, Bazooka has perfectly succeeded.

Maybe a mariachi or two were deeply impressed by Selling Water by the River

Wise words. After waking up reality becomes a lucid dream so to say, but one can still have a nightmare or a beautiful dream. And a beautiful dream can be considered to be delivered by good Karma (or wise actions, affecting all of Maslows exchange levels). And mainly love and compassion bring good Karma. And Shadow-work increases love. So it makes for a more beautiful dream. Still a dream, still relative truth, but a nicer one. And "promoting" the nightmare, or casually risking it, is ... well, not so, um, sustainable. Although my view is higher than the sky, My respect for the cause and effect of actions is as fine as grains of flour. – Padmasambhava Selling Water by the River

And the answer from God/Reality: Not today, darling. Selling Water by the River

IT is available any time, and most of the time it is always there without doing anything. If the character gets annoying and tries to generate bad emotions via suffering (which has reduced tremendously anyway), "I" just look into it, see what "I" really am, what the "substance" of the character trying to close down/feel bad really is, and the bug is dead and transcended again. Goes from "oh, that is not good"-character-arising to a small voice somewhere in the background unable to grip attention, and the field again nondual and infinite without center. The arisings of the separate self just stop, don't get believed anymore, loose their hypnotic power, because it feels way better and the "choice" is there. Yet, my functional character works better than ever. Less filters, more intuition, much more bliss, love and compassion. What would it be worth if it wouldn't be always available? Its actually too good to be true, besides being true. @Arthogaan wrote that a bit more direct experience description is appreciated, which I understand. Which I don't often do, because here is already enough ego-bravado, so I tend to write more on the neutral and technical side. But at the same time, sometimes it is probably good to write a bit more about direct experience. Besides, when I write technical descriptions, I write it from own experience and understanding, and use the best sources I know to show how similiar the deep structure is over various systems and paths. Water by the River PS: And a more technical description, using an analogy: Before fully realizing what one really is (Impersonal Infinite Consciousness/Awareness/Nothingness without a second), one doesn't really know that 2 +2 is 4. One intuits maybe that it is more like 3,9 than 8,5. One intuits that it is eternal (always here), nondual, infinite, mere appearance (lets say thats 4.5). But its not fully impersonal, some individuality of being a separate "anything" (although already an aware nothing) being still there. Ones Deep Identity is not obviously fully it, because that Realization is still missing. Roger Thisdells Videos stage 4 and stage 5 are the best material I am aware of to describe that subtle (but absolutely deciding) difference. But once knowing ones True Nature (when it becomes really nondual, fully impersponal, yet at the same time really the Whole Reality), one knows exactly that 2 +2 is 4, always has been, always will be, and can't be different. There is no more doubt about. Couldn't be. Doubt is moving within Oneself, it doesn't make sense, one knows its structure as moving arising appearing (doubt-) thought. Reality is directly known and understood by BEING it. Infinite Consciousness/Reality understands/realizes its own essence/being. There is nothing else besides "it", and nothing else that is or could be aware. So it can only be known by being it, the boundless infinite nondual Totality. The first time realizing 2 + 2 is 4 is a direct and unmistakenable realization/experience into THAT which is (and was) always here and the case. The magic word is fully impersonal, fully empty, separate self fully transcended/dead/gone. That is the common denominator of all Full Enlightenment Experiences/Realization descriptions. They all use different surface language, that is the deep structure element in all of them. If that is missing, it is one of the preliminary Enlightenment/Awakening Experiences on the path leading to the Full Realization/Shift. And after knowing/realizing 2+2 is 4, that knowing is always available in case one gets sloppy and the character tries to create some confusion or suffering. I look into the character-arisings, see there Nature/Substance, which is the same unnameable Suchness of Everything, of Reality, and 2+2 is 4, the character bug is dead again, and doesn't cause suffering. So in that way, it is always available (it is and was there all along anyway), and one reorients the whole character to constantly stay in that. In Ken Wilbers Words: From Peak Experience to Plateau to Permanent (which holds for all transformation stages). But once 2 + 2 = 4 is known, then the separate self character just burns like ice in the desert. Maybe that is a bit helpful. PS PS: And of course, lets not forget, only @Bazooka Jesus is AWAKE. The ONE and ONLY.

Yes, very true. One IS already Reality, but some arisings ("my person") is clouding this understanding/realization/Enlightenment, and causes suffering. Sorry, can't stop the commerical : My path basically was Trekchö: Learning to cut off the "clouding-over mechanism" of the separate self illusion fast enough. And before getting fast enough, getting familiar enough with it. But each way is unique, each being has certain points to work on and navigate and transcend. Yet, I am still highly convinced of this method for transcendence when one is ready for it. Bon Voyage! Water by the River

Yes. Let me allow to hijack the post Beyond the "no-self" of no biographical self/ego self there are some more "encompassing" "higher" no-selfs. Or better said: Some stages of much more empty no-selves. First personality/biographical self/"ego" goes (1) then time goes: Always here Mind, time is just a concept (2) Then the locatedness of being in the body for example goes: one is the whole visual field, or beginning nonduality (3) then that becomes infinite. Anything that could appear appears in boundless Reality/Infinite Consciousness. (4) Then we have personality/egoless (1), timeless (2), boundless/nondual (3) and infinite (4). All of these are Awakenings/Enlightenments. But not the Full Enlightenment/Waking Up. But then there is even a murky no-self still there: It is nothing, totally empty, but still some individuality/separation still there, moving as I-thought/I-feeling on Reality/Oneself. This here: IN that state (1)+(2)+(3)+(4), when all last traces of individuality are seen moving within onself (that takes time), then the Big Bang or Waking Up or Full Enlightenment can happen, where one actually becomes Reality, no more questions left. And Infinite Absolute Reality/Infinite Consciousness/Nothingness can be described as (True) No-Self (since no individuality is left splitting Reality in two), or as Self (because all possible worlds appear in it). Then You ARE Absolute Reality (everything that shows or could ever appear, and all beings/perspectives), but no longer confuse a separate individual part for your true self. I have written about that before in previous posts, one can search for examle if one is so inclined for Basis Enlightenment in my posts. The problem quite often here on this forum, and with the effect of some of Leos teachings: Thinking one has realized No-Self, while one has NOT achieved True No Self, but some of the preliminary versions of No-Self (see above), boosted by psychedelics, and including a lot of higher realm stuff accessed with that. Nothing too bad with that, if it is just a step/stage, is just not the end of the story, and doesn't end suffering. Or worse: Not even having had the Awakenings (1)-(4), and just conceptually boosting the separate self and equating it with God/Reality. Problem of these stages: Instead of finally transcending/killing the separate self, these moves boost it. And most important: Only @Bazooka Jesus is awake. I mean, come on, that mother of declaration of AWAKE can not be topped, so I think that is something we can all agree on Selling Water by the River PS: To make it a bit more practical: Ever dreamt you were somebody/something completely different? Or dreamt of being just an empty camera not self-reflective at all, just watching, thinking and reflecting nothing? That is pretty near. Infinite Consciousness is totally empty, just aware. Can take any feeling/thinking of being anything, anyone, anybody. It is empty, impersonal, so that it is compatible to any mindstream. "IT" is already the Awareness of all Beings. YOU! Already. But not what you think you are. Only an empty Awareness can be in the perspectives/mindstreams of other beings/perspectives, not the "loaded" mindstream of a being that still feels separate (has ego-arisings the cause the illusion of being something specific/separate). Imagine being somebody/something completely different. An Alien. A cat. And YOU, your Awareness is still there. And nothing really is lost if such a shift were to happen. So nothing is lost, just the illusion that all the thinking/feeling brings, moves, in you. And besides this Awareness/Nothingness, nothing is, was, ever will be. THIS is also all appearances, Consciousness appearing as appearances, nondual. IT is Reality itself. And to fully get/understand that, ALL identity has to go. Impersonal, Fully Empty Awareness. Nondual and infinite, timeless, always here, never not possible being not here. Anything possible necessarily appearing in IT/YOU. And the True One/You are still there... Impersonal. Silent. Infinite. Aware. Timeless. Containing all appearances. Nothing besides it. One without a second. Reality itself.

https://integrallife.com/wake-grow-edge-unknown-human-being/ Selling Water by the River

Enlightenment without Shadow-work can be very very awake. And very very uncool, abusive and cult-like, like this example: Wilber on Adi Da: http://www.adidawilber.com/update_on_case_of_adi_da/ So, why not at least strive for the cool, integrated and loving version? With shadow-work, maturity, love and compassion? Enlightened or not, the cool & integral version of realization is a happier dream than the Adi-Da version. Although Adi Da is very awake, see the videos of him on youtube. Selling Water by the River PS: Only @Bazooka Jesusis awake