Toby

That's actually a good question.

I guess it's a slight misunderstanding of Ramana's approach. You take the "I"-thought and trace it back to the "source" where it arises from. There (where it arises from and subsides to) is no separation or feeling of separation. But I agree that it can be done any time.

Depends really what is available to you. For me, there is a zen group and a tibetan group in relatively close distance. I went once to each. I don't know, maybe I'm misperceiving things but I missed a bit the spark of truth there. Instead I find myself driving to satsangs about an hour away where I feel a resonance with. Makes much more sense to me personally. But if for example a zen or mindfulness group was the only one available in any kind of distance I would go there. It helps you get some quietness and stability so that it is easier to do selfinquiry on your own (even if it is not part of what they do).

Just let yourself drawn to what you are drawn to. Don't worry how it looks to your super-ego.

The more or less famous "Progressive muscle relaxation" works similar and is also proven to work.

Good to notice it's just an idea.

The mindset is the same. It is the assumption that you are someone who can control life. If everything goes "right" outwardly or emotionally/mentally you then call yourself a creator. If things go "wrong" and you are sad about it, you call yourself a victim. It is the same mindset which shows up differently. The only way to be free from it you have to question who you are and if it is really you (as a person) who is in charge of life. You see then that you create the universe but you are not in charge/control of it. This is not a mindset but an insight. A lot of PD-teachings and New Age teachings will tell you otherwise. That is my perspective and as I said, I could be wrong.

The thing is that he - as a disciple of Papaji - just copied a "little" bit the setting and behaviour and elements of Bhakti towards "him". When I watch here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un2mFHFw7PQ) from 2h11m I don't see insecure and neurotic people. I see a lot of people who really got it and who are happy and grateful for that. That's my perception. There are of course some who might just feel happy and peaceful in his presence and are a bit addicted to it and project all sorts of stuff onto him also.

I found this story too inspiring not to share. It somehow expresses deeply the humanness of even so called enlightened beings:

The problem is that you as an ego cannot control life. So if you want to be a "creator" or "controller" of life you will simultaneously also be a victim and vice versa. They go together as far as I've explored this issue. But of course, I could be wrong.

Every teacher has it's pro and cons. Mooji is imo a decent teacher, of course imo there are better ones but if you happen to live near his ashram I would go there. He probably can show you more than you would be able to realize on your own or by taking psychedelics.

I am.

Sometimes - if the fear is too strong - it is good to go more slowly and go back and forth with facing the feeling/sensation and resourcing yourself and give yourself time to integrate. Somatic Experiencing (some therapists do this and there are also some books/audiobooks of course) is something very helpful for that.

No-Self has nothing to do with OBE/AP. They are very very different things.

Silence/Peace includes noise and no-noise. For example: the sage Nisargadatta Maharaj held his meetings in the middle of Bombay which is quite a large city with lot of noise. It is also possible to be on a retreat in a perfect environment and still not able to find peace because the mind is too active. So the investigation would be more: what are the megaphones (thoughts, emotions) that are distracting you? Some of them might be too powerful to just ignoring and meditate away but worth giving some attention to.

From my experience I can say that fear, if really met is love, peace, freedom, joy, aliveness, excitement. Or maybe it gives rise to deeper seemingly negative emotions which can be felt which then reveal some of the more essential qualities. If you are not short of money AND if Adyashanti even resonates with you, you could get his: - Guided Meditations at SoundsTrue (it includes 8 different meditations and one in particular to work with recurring emotions. They have a 75% "summer sale" at SoundsTrue right now, ending at July 3, 2017 at 11:59 PM Mountain Time) - go to http://www.adyashanti.org/cafedharma/index.php?file=library_radio and search for "fear". Get "Fear: Gatekeeper of Awakening" for 10$ which is also quite good

Have you also explored what the energy of fear really is?

They are good at reading people and faking emotional intelligence though.

I don't think so. A lot of prisoners are psychopaths (more the antisocial type) but have below average IQ and education. A lot of CEOs and politicians (more the charming type) are also psychopaths but have probably way above average IQ.

If you like techniques maybe Loving What Is - Byron Katie (The Work).

Tirivuannamalai at Arunachala. Haridwar/Rishikesh. Make sure to visit Ashrams of Ramana Maharshi and Anandamayi Ma.

It's not about asking questions. Ask as many questions as you like. But don't start a thread for every question as it helps other people when they browse this forum-section.

And it also helps to realize if you are spamming on a forum. Seriously, you just asked the same question hours ago.