WelcometoReality

And then ther's nothing left to say. ?

@Khan 0 Good pointer. ? To question your beliefs. Do you actually know that they are true?

Yes from that perspective, without thoughts, there is only what IS which is totally unknowable. There's neither "choice" nor "no choice". No "self" nor "no self". ?

Well said. ?

Have you've ever had a thought that you want to murder somebody? Did you act on it or not? Thoughts come and go without a thinker that creates the thought but the thought can be believed/acted upon or seen and let go of.

Interesting how? ?

Surrender happened. It's not like I decided to stop trying. ? You called it nondual state of presence.

Yes a shift. The awakening was an intense release of energy. Blissful Happiness and laughter. After came alot of anger and sadness. Mostly anger. Not with the awakening itself. Awakening is only the beginning and afterwards there is still alot of ego to let go of, desire, anger and fear. No, it's only the beginning of the work. ? It died in a sense of no sensory separation. No longer a sense of self looking out from the body but the sense of self was still there in thought and feelings. After the realization the work is all about seeing the egoic energy in thoughts and feelings. Yes

Surrender happened. Real surrender is not something you do. It's the giving up. You can't decide to give up because it wouldn't be a real giving up. ? I have always had an interest in truth. But it wasn't until I had the realization that "the tree is not a tree, it just is" (realization that thoughts are not real) that I came in contact with spirituality. I got so scared by the realization because I subconsciously recognized that the ego wasn't real. The next thought I had was that I had to become something. So that led me to start with self actualization stuff, which led me to Leo, which led me to spirituality. After that maybe a year or two. That's the only big realization I had. The I am/being. And then there's the non-being which isn't a realization.

An awakening happened. A shift that continued back and fourth between separation and non-separation for a while until it was abiding non-separation.

It happened 6 years ago while writing on this forum. The day after a SDS.

Yes, one becomes aware of the struggle/intention that arises so surrender just happens without an intention to make it happen. It's felt like a giving up. The futility of struggle becomes apparent.

@RMQualtrough In what way did you not function, you said that you were walking down the street so not all funtioning was lost. I'm curious to hear what it was. ?

Why is it impossible?

What would that look like, how would your life be more exactly?

What does your soul want?

"Enlightenment is absolute cooperation with the inevitable." -Anthony de Mello

Should and shouldn't comes from the conditioned mind. If you think that you shouldn't be staying up late you can inquire into the thought like this. 1. "I shouldn't be staying up late" 2. Is this true? Why shouldn't I stay up late? 3. Because I should go up early and I'll be tired if I stay up all night. 4. Question those statements. Are they true? 5. Do I need to go up early? 6. Yes I have work tomorrow. 7. Is there something wrong with being tired? 8. No, but I don't like being tired at work. I don't perform as well when I'm tired. 9. So if I dont want to be tired at work I also want to go to bed early. Just an example but you conclude what you want rather than what you should or shouldn't do.

Being arises from non-being. So being is experienced and non-being is a non-experience. I am can also be identified with but yes I agree that it's good to be on the lookout for any identification.

@playdoh I would say that how you speak is a reflection of the the world you've already created (your beliefs). "Is it bad to talk about other people?" If you believed that you wouldn't talk about other people or you would feel guilty when talking about other people. "Is it good to talk about other people?" Maybe it's not good or bad? Maybe the more relevant question is what you're saying about these people true or is it distorted by your beliefs about them.

Yeah, that's the meaning of the word so logically you're correct. Experientially it means being aware of the nothing in which every "thing" is arising. Personally I wouldn't say that "nothing is happening" but everything is happening within stillness/nothing. Something is opposed to nothing until it's realized that something isn't opposed to nothing but the same thing. Nothing is always present but yes it does not exist. Rather it is that which make it possible for existence to exist.

She's talking from a state of self-love and from that state it's easy to self-love. ? She doesn't talk about how to get there which can be triggering. If you're in a state of self-hatred you can't just snap your fingers and suddenly switch your state. What you can do is ask yourself what's keeping you from loving yourself? Meet it and question if it's actually true.

I still went to work during that time. You don't have to let your life fall completely apart. ?

Then it impossible to define it as a thing. Yeah, what is it then? It can only be sensed or non-sensed directly. ?

Yes desire and struggle seem to be closely linked. Struggle to get a certain object or to achieve something that you desire. Do you struggle to breath or getting water and food from the refrigerator? Or even struggle to go to work? Some things one do is effortless. I would even say that most things are effortless but maybe that's based of how I function now. I have definitely struggled alot in the past. Fighting as defend myself? Yes if that's what is needed. Fight to get somewhere and achieve things? No, there is no struggle without desires. The ability to push yourself disappears. It's all happening effortlessly and genuinely. Learning can be effortless as well. I love to learn. Read books. Learn to paint, woodworking, brew beer. But I do it because that's what I like to do not because I need to learn it in order to achieve something. Don't get me wrong, Desire is great to achieve big things. Where would Elon Musk be without desire? Maybe work at walmart. Or maybe the universe would have some other great plan for him, who knows. My guess is that he would be happier without desires.