Cathy92506

I think I see what you're pointing at, but I don’t agree that non-attachment means “you die” or stop feeling. In my experience (and in most traditions), it’s more like you still feel everything — just without getting completely pulled into it or defining yourself by it. If anything, there’s often more clarity and presence, not less.

Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. What changes is your relationship to your thoughts and emotions. They still arise, but you’re no longer automatically identified with them. You’re not building an identity or a story around every feeling. There’s a natural sense of presence—of being here—without needing to control the mind. You’re still human. You still fall down—but you don’t get lost in it the same way, and you get back up. Life stays ordinary. The circumstances don’t transform. The shift is internal — in how you relate to the voice in your head. *** PLEASE CRITICIZE, ADD, DELETE, OR WHATEVER.

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.