Cathy92506

Awakening isn’t about bliss, it’s about no longer being enslaved by thoughts/emotions. Fear is normal. It comes and goes. Sometimes there’s peace, sometimes there’s emptiness, sometimes it’s just life being life. And in the end, it feels ordinary.

I agree with you. I'm curious what your mindful practice looks like? I practice Zazen (seated meditation) and Kinhin (walking meditation) for about one hour every day. I embrace the silence and stillness. I can hear and feel it.

Is awakening even real. I believe being "Awakened" is a spiritual fantasy. Rather, we are awakening. Because we are all human beings, we make mistakes, make bad decisions, blunder, etc. We all slip up. I believe you have to first define what awakening is for you. Mine is reaching a level where you no longer idenitfy with your thoughts and feelings. You don't carry around that emotional baggage with you. You do this effortlessly throughout the days. But I make no claims that I've completely dissovled my ego. So before you ask, "Is Awakening Even Real?" What does Awakening look like to you? I'm curious.

Thank you.

I understand. Thank you. So you can actually tell a "happy" person from other people because they are always looking happy and have a "happy go luck" attitude.

What is infinite flow state? Are you talking about when you meditate? When you embrace stillness and silence, is this infinite flow state?

What does "true happiness" look like? I have a friend who is an addict and he tells me he is a happy person. I'm just curious what it looks like.

What does "self-love and acceptance" look like? Someone who does healthy habits, such as eating healthy and exercising? Practicing daily gratitude? And what does "total self-embracent" look like? Are you talking about someone who looks self-confident?

Such as?

a person who is just really good at processing their emotions? For example, they go throughout the day, and if they identify with thoughts and/or emotions, they write them down, process them, and figure out why they are attached to them. And that helps to let it go. They do this with all those identifying and attaching thoughts and emotions. Soon, this person becomes a natural at it. They go throughout their whole day not identifying with any of them, and if they do, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

I hear that term a lot, and it seems like everyone is searching for it, and some claim they have achieved it. From my training, "Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water." The difference is that we don't carry around all that emotional suffering with us. Imagine a child who gets lost in a daydream. The child identifies with the fantasy: the excitement, the adventure. Then the lunch bell rings and he snaps out of it and goes to eat lunch. All those emotions are left behind and forgotten. If you believe Cosmic Enlightenment is real, what does it look like?

Is it possible that your questions have has legitimate concerns, but they're based on a misunderstanding of what healthy meditation practice looks like. Real meditation develops clarity and presence, not detachment from life.

Mine has been a long path from egoticism, developing the habit, and counting my breath for 40 minutes. I now focus on my breath and soon I embrace stillness and silence. I can feel it. This is what I focus on. I've noticed it's a lot easier to notice silence and stillness during the day when I meditate in the morning.

"I don't think what You describe above is common, the process of "letting go" which in other words means not letting the past/memories rule You, is not the case for most ppl, at least not from what I am observing and experiencing," Eckhart Tolle says that most people live their lives lost in thought, identifying with them. I'm always wondering what "most" mean though. Because 51% is "most." "Enlightenment itself is much more than letting go or living now," Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water." What is your picture of a person that is "Enlightened?" Is it someone who has a 'love-glow' about themselves that other people will easily notice?

It seems to me that there is a "spiritual marketplace" where a lot of money can be made, all in the search for "enlightenment." There are countless courses and lectures you can subscribe to. Infinite yoga poses. Infinite meditation retreats. You can pay $10,000 and fly to Brazil to participate in an Ayahuasca retreat. And after one event is done, it's time to do another. It's endless. There is no money in the belief: "Before Enlightenment - Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment - Chop Wood, Carry Water." Can you imagine a Yoga teacher, or a Zen Master saying, "Give me your $$$ and I'll teach you how I wasted 20 years of my life doing this in search of Enlightenment." BTW, there is value in those methods. Just as one spends 40 minutes on the treadmill, there will be positive, subtle effects in one's life. It's the same with meditation and yoga. But one doesn't do 40 minutes of treadmill in search of Enlightenment.