Hyperion

@Hojo Paradox: Your comment is both smart AND stupid. Contradiction: I am rolling my eyes AND I don't give a hoot.

BAM. That's what I am talking about. Two sides of the same coin. Appearances are real, reality is conscious, conciousness is illusory, illusions are reality. Different ways of saying / pointing to the exact same thing. The World Is Illusion. Only Brahman Is Real. The World Is Brahman. 🕉

In my conversations with spiritual seekers (as well as those who claim to have stopped seeking), it has become increasingly clear to me that one of the main things that trips people up on the spiritual path is the all too common inability to distinguish between paradox and contradiction. The difference between paradox and contradiction is often quite subtle (and therefore easy to miss) but nevertheless important, since being able to tell the difference between the two essentially equates to being able to distinguish mature spiritual insight from half-baked baloney. Once you have truly internalized it, the ability to tell them apart becomes a rather effective BS-detector that will save you considerable amounts of time, doubt and confusion and show you where you may (still) be attached to certain one-sided views / beliefs and stuck in delusion... so, proceed to read at your own risk, and don't say I didn't warn you. From Wikipedia: A paradox [...] is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion. A paradox usually involves contradictory-yet-interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time. They result in "persistent contradiction between interdependent elements" leading to a lasting "unity of opposites". In other words: A paradox is a statement or (meta)perspective which implies that two opposite aspects of a thing are equally (in)valid. The statement "less is more" is paradoxical because it equates two opposite qualities which seem to be mutually exclusive; the statement "this statement is false" is paradoxical because it leads to the inevitable conclusion that the statement itself is simultaneously true AND false - and also, it is neither. Here is why this is important: Reality is fundamentally paradoxical. Anything that can be expressed with words is always and without exception a relative perspective; and for any one relative perspective, there is always an opposite and complementary counter-perspective which, from an absolute standpoint, is equally valid - or invalid, depending on how you look at it. (Before you accuse me of reckless relativism, let me point out that the statement "all perspectives are equally (in)valid" is itself a relative perspective and therefore cannot be absolutized. You're welcome.) Paradoxical statements therefore point to a higher order of truth where seeming opposites are seen and recognized as two sides of the same coin that complement and imply each other; they are seen to be different (relative) aspects of the same (absolute) thing/no-thing/everything. Examples of such statements are: "Reality is dual AND nondual", "I am a person AND I am not a person", "appearance is real AND illusory", "time exists AND doesn't exist", "there are other people AND there are no other people". (Again: You may agree or disagree that the opposite perspective in each of these examples is equally valid as its counterpart, but the fact of the matter is that they complement and imply each other by their very existence; one perspective simply cannot exist without the other, just as there cannot be high without low, light without dark, positive without negative etc.) So, how is a contradiction different from a paradox? A contradiction is when you assume and express a one-sided perspective (that essentially denies and invalidates the complementary opposite perspective); and then, you express a second (relatively unrelated) one-sided perspective that invalidates the first one. So instead of acknowledging two opposite sides of the one coin, you acknowledge only one side and then say something else which contradicts that. Examples: "Reality is nondual AND cannot be labeled or described", "all is one AND all is nothing", "there is appearance AND there is no duality", "there is no time AND everything is impermanent", "you are God AND you don't exist", "there are no others AND most people are lost in the dream", "there is nothing but awakeness AND there is noone to awaken" --- the classic (Neo) Advaita contradictions. Again: The difference between paradox and contradiction can be very subtle and easy to miss; but with enough practice (and insight), it will become more and more easy for you to immediately and intuitively tell them apart. So keep sharpening your sword, fellow Samurai, until you can cut right through the drivel. Tl;dr: A paradox is a trans-logical metaperspective that points to a higher truth; a contradiction is an illogical fallacy that indicates attachment to an inconsistent belief system. Having said all that, please feel free to contradict what I just wrote.

PS - Here is an additional pointer for those who may be slow or reluctant to (in this case quite literally) put all of the pieces together: One thing that my "theory" implies is that so-called enlightenment is not a state, meaning that it's not the experience of a specific quality such as oneness, timelessness, emptiness, formlessness or no-self, but rather the unification of all states / qualities / facets of reality: Oneness AND multiplicity, time AND timelessness, fullness AND emptiness, form AND formlessness, self AND no-self - in short: ALL of reality. So if you feel like you are experiencing a "permanent" nondual state, then keep going... you have made a crucial first step by shifting from a dual to a nondual perspective, but now it is time to transcend both duality and nonduality by bringing them together and seeing the full picture. (Of course, none of this is prescriptive. If you prefer to stay attached to a certain relative perspective, then by all means, go ahead - your body-mind, your choice. You can even choose to pretend that you don't have a choice, if that's what floats your boat. I am just pointing at the bigger picture here... do with it what you will.) 😌🙏🤎

@Someone here Here is a relatively simple analogy that might help you to understand better what I am talking about. This is the famous Yin Yang symbol, which I am sure you are familiar with. Now, here's a question for you: Is this symbol white, or is it black? It's obviously both, right? So the symbol possesses / represents not only one specific quality, but two: Whiteness and blackness. Now imagine a thing which has not only two qualities but literally every single quality that there could possibly be, including the quality of not having any quality whatsoever. This "thing" - which is no-thing as well as everything - is the Absolute aka. All of Reality. This no-thing / everything cannot be experienced directly, since it is impossible to experience every possible quality that there is all at once. So what does it do in order to be able to experience itself? It splits itself up into infinite parts, each of which represents and embodies a specific quality (just as Yin represents blackness and Yang represents whiteness), and then it lines them all up in space and time so that it can experience them one by one. Now, when it moves its awareness very slowly from part to part (so to speak), then each quality that is being experienced in the moment is being experienced for a pretty long time; and the longer it takes for a certain quality (or part of reality) to be experienced, the more dense, stable, sticky and "permanent" it seems. Now, go back and take another look at the Yin Yang symbol. Imagine that you could never see (experience) the whole symbol all at once, but only one part at a time. Imagine that there is a switch in front of you that you can flip either to the left or to the right; and depending on which side you flip the switch, you see either the Yin part (black) or the Yang part (white) appearing on the screen. (Remember: You can never see them both at the same time.) - So, the only way for you to get an idea of what it would be like to see the full symbol all at once is to flip the switch back and forth as fast as possible; and the faster you flip it back and forth, the more it will seem like you are looking at the whole symbol. This is basically what spirituality is about. It's about learning to flip the switch as fast as possible (by whatever means necessary) in order to "perceive the Absolute" - which you never fully do, but you can get closer and closer and closer and closer to it... unto infinity. Because that's literally what the Absolute is: Infinity aka. All there is. Hope that helps.

Says who? Cool. Very true. Uh-oh... I'll take cover, lol.

That's relatively (un)true, just like any other relative perspective. 😘 There's nobody here to chew anyone out, remember? It's all a dreeeeeaaaaaam! (Relatively speaking.)

The following is my attempt to formulate a "theory of everything" that is as short and concise as possible and doesn't contain any kind of unnecessary fluff. I hope you have fun with it... and please keep in mind that this is only a conceptual model which, just like any model, is nothing but a necessarily incomplete and ultimately inadequate abstraction. Enjoy. --- The Absolute is the totality of Being. It has no specific quality, as it is the origin, the sum, and the essence - or field - of all possible qualities. Therefore, the Absolute cannot be directly experienced; an experience is always the experience of something definable, i.e. of something that possesses a concrete quality. In other words: Reality is only ever partially perceivable, experienceable and cognizable, but never as a complete whole. Consciousness or experience of reality is therefore only possible where the Absolute seemingly splits up into several parts and establishes contrasting relations between them; it is the contrast between these different parts (or states) that gives them their specific qualities and thus makes them experienceable. Relativity is thus a necessary condition of existence: No relations -> no contrast -> no qualities -> no experience / cognition of reality. In order to perceive itself, the consciousness of the whole, which can only ever be experientially aware of specific parts or aspects of itself, must constantly alternate between contrasting qualitative states; therefore, no state can ever be permanent. However, a state can appear more or less permanent if the speed or vibrational frequency with which consciousness shifts between contrasting states is accordingly low (-> one-sided fixation, relative stagnation, seeming incompleteness / fragmentation, suffering). But the higher the frequency, the more consciousness approaches a holistic experience of total reality where contrasting qualitative states seem to be experienced simultaneously (-> unification and integration of all opposites, 'spiritual awakening", "enlightenment"). This is the essence of all spirituality. --- Due to popular request, here is a more easy-to-understand analogy (which I originally posted below) that illustrates what I am talking about in the text above: This is the famous Yin Yang symbol, which I am sure you are familiar with. Now, here's a question for you: Is this symbol white, or is it black? It's obviously both, right? So the symbol possesses / represents not only one specific quality, but two: Whiteness and blackness. Now imagine a thing which has not only two qualities but literally every single quality that there could possibly be, including the quality of not having any quality whatsoever. This "thing" - which is no-thing as well as everything - is the Absolute aka. All of Reality. This no-thing / everything cannot be experienced directly, since it is impossible to experience every possible quality that there is all at once. So what does it do in order to be able to experience itself? It splits itself up into infinite parts, each of which represents and embodies a specific quality (just as Yin represents blackness and Yang represents whiteness), and then it lines them all up in space and time so that it can experience them one by one. Now, when it moves its awareness very slowly from part to part (so to speak), then each quality that is being experienced in the moment is being experienced for a pretty long time; and the longer it takes for a certain quality (or part of reality) to be experienced, the more dense, solid, sticky and permanent it seems... even though no experience can ever be permanent (since an experience can only exist in contrast to another experience, just as Yin can only exist in contrast to Yang.) Now, go back and take another look at the Yin Yang symbol. Imagine that you could never see (experience) the whole symbol all at once, but only one part at a time. Imagine that there is a switch in front of you that you can flip either to the left or to the right; and depending on which side you flip the switch, you see either the Yin part (black) or the Yang part (white) appearing on the screen. (Remember: You can never see them both at the same time.) - So, the only way for you to get an idea of what it would be like to see the full symbol all at once is to flip the switch back and forth as fast as possible; and the faster you flip it back and forth, the more it will seem like you are looking at the whole symbol (while at the same time the two contrasting parts will seem less and less dense and solid.) This is basically what spirituality is about. It's about learning to flip the switch as fast as possible (by whatever means necessary) in order to "perceive the Absolute" - which you never fully do, but you can get closer and closer and closer and closer to it... unto infinity. Because that's literally what the Absolute is: Infinity aka. All there is. Hope that helps.

I know, and that's precisely the issue that I am pointing out. You don't seem to realize that the perspective of "there is noone here / there is nobody to teach / there are no other people" is just as much a mentally fabricated story as the perspective of "there is someone here / there is somebody to teach / there are other people". They are simply two (relative) sides of the same (absolute) coin. Purely conceptual fairytales, just like anything that can be expressed with words. Like this, for example: Again, nothing but a relative perspective aka. mental story. I could say the exact opposite of what you wrote, and it would be just as (in)valid from an absolute standpoint. No words can ever capture that which is absolute. It is that which holds all perspectives, gives rise to all perspectives, encompasses and is aware of all perspectives, regardless of their content. And guess what... even THAT isn't absolutely true, lol.

Then why do you assume that enlightenment means that one adopts and becomes attached to the relative perspective (aka. mental story) of "there is noone here / there are no other people"?

Still confusing nonduality with absolute truth, are we?

I swear, every once in a while AI coughs up some real good shit. ✨️

This. 😘

THIS, of course.

@Princess Arabia Check out ZDogg on my other thread. You ought to love the guy.