Toby

You were asking about "consciousness" and "awareness" earlier I guess? This is exactly the "consciousness" / "awareness" paradox. At least how some authors define the terms. You can awaken into consciousness which is beyond ego. But consciousness itself is appearing and disappearing in awareness. Authors that write on that are: Bernadette Roberts in "What is self" (self = consciousness, no-self = awareness) Adyashanti in his audiocourse "experience of no-self" (he sometimes uses rather "being" for consciousness and "absolute" for awareness) Nisargadatta Maharaj in any of his books ("I AM" = consciousness, absolute = awareness) Siddharameshwar Maharaj "writes" like Nisargadatta in the book "Amrut Laya" and sometimes uses the term "turiya" or "I am" for "consciousness" and "brahmann" for "awareness". So, if you are drawn to it, check them out.

This video says a lot if Owen should be taken as inspiration on how to relate with people at all

Dropping ego has nothing to do with dropping healthy boundaries and common sense. Just look what the effect is with the "disciples". I know of one teacher that is a disciple of Papaji that exploits his female students and when you meet these women in other settings you see the effect. It's really not unlike women that were abused as children or raped later in life.

It is not "consensual" because the client / student cannot really consent. There might be all kind of ridiculous projections / regressions on the side of the disciple which makes a "consent" more an exploitation (by the guru) of a vulnerable space. So I'd rather call it abuse. Abuse is most likely damaging.

People use words differently. For some it is just an experience. For some it would be the same as "enlightenment", for some it is just "mystical union" that can appear as a state of consciousness which can be easily mistaken for nonduality. Nisargadatta Maharaj, Adyashanti and Bernadette Roberts write and speak on the latter all the time that "unity consciousness" or "universal consciousness" is not the final state although it is in itself relatively deep.

A book that explores pride and how to recognize and deal with it in oneself.

Ken Wilber uses "Types". For example certain Enneagram Types and/or Subtypes would have "vanity" ... even while being overall in tier 2.

I don't really remember exactly because it's a couple of years ago I read the book but weren't there examples of fictional people where some "regressed" to show that it is not "one directional"?

It's from that one: https://www.soundstrue.com/store/from-fixation-to-freedom-499.html Really recommended to listen to all of it to get a sense of the different types.

You could find patterns like that in the Enneagram as well:

agree. amazing audiobook.

I actually have been "diagnosed" with Autism years back when I once visited a psychiatrist (who in Germany by default are psychotherapists as well). So I researched the topic, spoke with a lot people who have the symptoms and came to my own conclusions (which were that I don't really have the symptoms but others clearly do). So if I were to be diagnosed with Autism again I would do exactly the same again: "research" it if it even applies to my situation and then also research what can be done about it.

I guess it is pretty normal as a human being to have both the need for closeness and also for spending time alone.

"Autism" is just a label for some symptoms which you might or might not have. You can look them up in DSM-5 or ICD-10 and see for yourself if you even remotely agree. Yes, it is just a label but is has some truth to it. For example if you are unable to read emotions or facial expressions it doesn't matter if you see "Autism" or anything else just as a label, it won't improve the situation. It's really practical: you have some symptoms and then you look what you can do about it. Some psychiatrists might be able to help, "some" might not.

@Feel Good at least I deliberately write "imo" or "in my experience" because I know it's just one perspective.

@Faceless imo it is very easy to fool oneself without having a mirror or any kind of feedback. "Independence" is as much based on fear as "dependence". In fact I would even go so far as saying that a teacher is more necessary after any kind of awakening. At least that is my experience.

I don't know what would be wrong with a green college. As everything in tier 2 includes, green or orange or even blue would certainly be included.

Regarding to spirituality I would tend towards saying that it is more interesting what this consciousness basically is instead of what form it takes.

There are great teachers everywhere. Just depends on where you live and if you are able to travel. Oh wait, you can also have Skype sessions with some. Btw: imo it is almost impossible to get very far without a real teacher. and recognizing some version of "there is no x, y, z" is imo not very deep.

It is just a marketing like "better car" imo.

@Nahm I was talking about "aligned eating" and "choose a better thought". Sounds like something straight from Abraham Hicks. And then when someone directly asks you about it you don't even say where you got it from.

Is this also a term from Abraham Hicks?