cetus

@The White Belt I think the pictures of teachers are there to represent the teachings beyond the physical.

@Shrek_Of_Justice You've got that right! It's like living in a bubble of thought. I remember the my first 'escape' from the bubble of thought and concept. I sat there for hours silently observing people running around, going from one place to another. Doing their scheduled chores right on schedule. I gotta do this. I gotta do that. I gotta be here now. I gotta be there after. On and on and on. And they're all running over each other just to keep their schedule on schedule. It looked like absolute insanity from where I was standing. It was so alien because I couldn't relate to anything that was happening at that moment. Like I was in a totally different country with a totally different culture, and I totally didn't fit in. haha That's why I say you don't see it happening until you actually step out of it and view it from the outside. I remember thinking 'Holy shit, that's me too!. I've been literally sleep walking through life.

@Not a shaolin monk Well let's step back and take a good look at this. First there is the labeling of 'weird' and 'regretful'. That's ego creating judgement. And your concerned about that hampering 'spiritual progress'. Were you bought up in a Catholic background? Never mind. That's me. haha I say find a partner who willingly shares to explore all the same avenues as you. -and who knows, maybe both of you will reach Nirvana Tonight.

@TJ Reeves Have you ever felt the collective consciousness of the planet and it literally bought you to your knees?

@WaterfallMachine I have some advise. Don't play into the hands of the ego. Let the truth slowly integrate. It takes time to settle in. Hopefully your still young and discovered this at an early age. If you are, that is very good. If your not too young, that is good too. Better late than never as the old saying goes. Here's a thought for ya. You could go through your whole life watching the sun cross the sky from sunrise till sunset and mistakenly think it is the sun that moves across the sky. But that is a misconception of reality. What you discovered about yourself is a lot like realizing this for the first time. Reality has not changed one bit. You've only awoken to the truth as it has always been and dropped the misconception.

@Brody You are allowed to do anything once you see there is no you to do anything.

As far as mental masturbation goes, it could be a form of resistance to truth. Other times I think it's done to keep the ego stroked. And as for others, it may be a form of escapism. Ego substituting one habitual obsession for another.

All joking aside though, it's not only the forum by any means. I see myself working within this conceptual framework along with society at large. It's like a well oiled machine than seems_ _ _ scheduled? or something? Maybe that's it? Conceptual schedules within conceptual borders. Whatever it is, it's a real framework for sure. When your in it you don't realize it's even happening, unless the perspective is changed by some means.

@Shrek_Of_Justice Now that your LSD trip is over, welcome back to the forum for some serious hallucination.

A pig and chicken head to a restaurant for a bite to eat. The sign outside reads 'Todays Special Ham and Eggs'. The pig says to the chicken, Oh no, I'm not going in there! The chicken says to the pig, 'Don't be afraid, I'm not'. The pig says, 'That's easy for you to say. From you they only want a donation. From me they want total surrender.

Could you use a good laugh along the spiritual Path? If so this would certainly do it.

@Visionary Try this. Open both B-beats above at the same time. It takes on more of a surround sound with both playing simultaneously.

@The White BeltBefore the waterfall there is turbulence. After the waterfall there is calm.

I like what the questioner said- "everything felt very unreal and outputting, I was glad to be back'. It is like that for the ego. I said to someone on the forum just last week "when the ego sees true reality as it is, it usually turns away from the raw-stark truth. Only in the absence of ego do we truly realize how much the ego colors reality. As Rupert put it so well "the solidity of it is gone'.

@John Iverson *I tried Binaural Beats for a while but stopped because they were too programed or something. I prefer just sitting in nature and dissolve into what it offers. Here is an experience @All_Around_Me had with B-beats. I was meditating using binaural beats and at one point, when I felt `emptiness` in my head and lost the sense of my body and my eyelids began to twitch very fast, I became really scared. I noticed (if I can say so) my own horror, though it felt quite distant. Also I felt an intense pressure in a forehead zone. I stopped to meditate, however the feeling of floating didn`t disappear at once. Also when I came up to a mirror I had a strange feeling that I am looking at myself not from my own eyes. I had a feeling that I expanded. All that scared me a lot and I had a panic. However the next day I felt quite okay. I didn`t meditate for two days (because of fear), but at the same time I wanted to, so I meditated yesterday. Even though I did it without any music I felt that floating sensation and `empty head` once more. After that I panicked as well. That night I woke up after 90 minutes of sleep and couldn`t fall asleep again. I have a high pulse rate and high blood pressure right now. Can anybody explain me what actually is going on with me and what should I do? Or can you tell me about techniques that can stabilize my condition? I would be very thankfull.

One of the hardest things when your trying to effect change is that_ _ people like this gentleman_ _ are right- In some cases. Steve Jobs

@Dodo You gotta love Adyashanti. What I said about whether nothingness is conscious awareness or not has a lot to do with how I feel theses days and I'm questioning what is true reality. I could throw out knowing all together. It's ran it's silly course.

Watch what happens @10:15

@Shanmugam @Anna1 Non-duality wars will not be tolerated on this forum.

I don't know. Does nothingness have consciousness? What would nothingness be conscious of? Maybe consciousness is a aspect of existence only. Could it be that the absolute has no awareness of existence or of itself? If existence is Maya. And all existence is created by consciousness, Wouldn't that mean that consciousness is also an illusion? I know that's thinking outside the box here.

Doesn't everything you've said here prove the use of a conscious brain ?

'Consciousness is a biological process'. Great point he makes there too. The organism (through conscious awareness) is a biological process specifically tuned to it's environment. The octopus navigating it's watery environment made a great comparison vs. consciousness as the human organism navigating it's land based biological environment. So I've been contemplating what is the self and I'm seeing sort of a two prong process to what is 'me'. First and formost there is the natural biological process of body and brain. In that respect I am really no different than a rat or an octopus. Each organism being fine tuned to it's specific environment through conscious awareness and a brain that makes continuous choices to better it's chances for survival. But what makes me as a human different from the rat or octopus is the addition of a stronger sense of self or ego. So the point being, even when the ego is reduced, there still remains the conscious awareness of the biological process that exists as body and brain. It seems that some part of that sense of self will always remain as long as that process continues to function as consciousness. So when it's said the 'I" doesn't exist, that is true on the absolute level. But it is also true, while I'm alive, there will be the sense of self that does exist as part of a natural biological process. For instance, I wouldn't say that my dog has a strong sense of self or ego, but she does have some sense of self. She has her likes and dislikes. She may prefer one toy over another one day to the next. Is it possible to completely eradicate the sense of self? This stems from the question I keep asking. I know I don't exist in the absolute and everything that is 'me' is just a dream. But something of 'me' persistently remains. Could that something' be consciousness as this biological process and as long as this biological process is alive (conscious) some sense of self will always remain? Because that's how I'm viewing myself from the point of the absolute. Everything that is 'me' is just a conscious biological process navigating it's enviroment What do you guys think?

@123456789 The Sacrifice For Tantra: Non-ejaculation In a first stage, the fundamental problem a man engaged on the Tantric spiritual path has to face is summarized to “ejaculating” versus “not ejaculating”, and for many practitioners this is a perpetual source of confusions. The main purpose of Tantra has always been finding a direct path towards the spiritual freedom, using all the resources with which God endowed us, and not the secure, but very long road that requires the pilgrimage through a great number of reincarnations. Basing its teachings and concepts on the observation of the facts that the Eros is at the basis of the human existence and that it represents the motive force of all human achievements, the authentic Tantric tradition sustains the idea that the human being needs to confront with this primordial force and to finally be able to master it, using it in a creative manner. The Tantric masters teach us that one must not deny the inner urge to make love, but it must be used in order to get spiritual blessings through it. There have always been various people who interpreted the sexual Tantric writings differently, often one interpretation contradicting completely some others. For instance, on one hand there are those who prefer to interpret these texts on a purely allegorical level, as a reflection of some inner processes, of some communions that do not necessarily involve a physical intimacy. Still, Tantra is a spiritual path based on lovemaking, which sustains the practice of the sexual continence. The sexual continence implies that both man and woman should avoid the loss of their sexual energy during lovemaking, loss materialized in the case of man through ejaculation, and in the case of woman through having explosive orgasm with the discharge of sexual energy. The regular, common lovemaking (involving the ejaculation) is suitable for people who do not have enough spiritual faith and for whom it is truly difficult to see lovemaking as a truly spiritual act. Before beginning to practice the spiritual love and lovemaking, these people should first of all change their views of the Eros, adding to it a spiritual dimension as well. They have to purify their bodies and their minds and to bring more spirituality into their lives. They can do this by changing their ways, by spending more time in the company of spiritual people, adopting a vegetarian diet, reading sacred books, practice yoga, yogic breath and meditation, as well as the cultivation of a new positive attitude regarding the eros and spirituality. During this preparation, it is best if one avoids for a while the sexual activity – it is indicated that the sacred Tantric writings are regarded as purely allegorical. Only thus one can obtain maximum spiritual results. The sexual continence implies the retention of the sperm and of the analogue sexual secretions (in the case of women the menstruating blood and the liquids secreted during lovemaking) inside their bodies and then their transmutation. Through the transmutation process results a refined energy (ojas) that can be easily sublimated into more refined energies. Sexual continence represents an important aspect in order for the Tantric rituals to be truthfully fruitful. The Tantrics recommend that the man preserve his sperm, as this leads to an increase in his spiritual and physical power. Through the sexual techniques characteristic to the authentic Tantra, men learn to consciously refrain from ejaculation, to channel their erotic energy inwards, and to fully satisfy their lover. Only after they have achieved this they will be able to obtain indeed authentic spiritual leaps.

The seeker awakens to the truth that there is no seeker. The moth before the flame.