Scholar

But beauty is not in contradiction to suffering. Beauty and suffering are two aspects of Isness. If we were to frame it like this: God creates World. In World there is Suffering. Suffering creates world which avoids suffering. In a way the nature of suffering is to avoid itself, one might say in Gods eye it is the ultimate tool of avoidance. A magical fascets that seeks to reduce itself. That in itself is utterly magical and impossible, and one might say God created it this way with Wisdom. In World, just the presence of suffering will be the avoiding of suffering. In a way, one might say the celebration of suffering, the true acceptance of suffering, is to avoid suffering. That is the magic, and that is why you would frame it Devilry, why you would oppose it to Beauty, despite there being able to be beauty among suffering and the other way around. What I am trying to point to is that this is all within Worldness, God accepts all of Worldness. So the closer we get to Godness, if we were to frame it as a duality, would we not more and more come to see the utter Wisdom in all aspects of Isness, including suffering? Would we really call it devilry? Could we infact call it anything at all? Would we not end up creating "Unconsciousness" out of pure love? Would there not be so much love that we would once more be Worldness? To put it in a poetic way, would we not once more fall in Love with Creation and fully Immerse into it, reigniting the "dream"? Loving Murdering so much that it is not framed as "unconscious" or a lesser form of Love, but so Loving that the Being of the Murdering would just be by itself, "Unconsciousness" being utterly pure and perfect. The Full Circle being that Unconsciousness is the greatest and Deepest State of Consciousness there could possibly be? Or in other words, recognizing that the Isness of all Isness is equal? I see it differently. There is no "yours", there is no "you" and "me" other than being different aspects of Isness. Possession and identity are Isness, not the other way around. "I am God" is inherently Isness, but it is as much Isness as anything else. Isness does not belong to anyone, Isness is, and not even that. There is noone to allow anything, there is just Is. The way you just framed it is a very particular way of it Being. Framing it as observing, consciousness, subjectivity. To make it clearer for you, I will not just stand there, I will beat the shit out of the person. That's simply what would happen.

What does that matter? Everything I will do will be Maya, saying "It is all maya and illusion" is Maya, beating the crap out of him is Maya. There is no difference. I will not do anything, there will however be "beating the crap out of him".

That is contradictory to what I see.

But that is only one aspect of the dream. Why only focus on the suffering part? And yes, of course I, as a human, as an ego, will care about the rape. That's what it's all about. Wouldn't a higher perspective celebrate all aspects of Maya? Isn't the suffering itself the celebration of suffering? How better to appreciate suffering than by creating suffering? Saying we call it devilry because of suffering is like saying "Suffering is suffering, that's why we call the ego devilry.". Like, "But I don't want suffering to be suffering!", but that in itself is suffering! That's all suffering is about. Suffering is not anything but suffering. It's like suffering is suicidal.

Is the ego not only from the ego's perspective illusion, lying and devilry? Isn't illusion, lying and devilry = Truth, as much as anything else can be Truth? Devilry gives it such a negative vibe. Why not call it dreamery? A dream is amazing. Calling it devilry and illusion seems so human.

I have recently discovered that what I viewed meditation to be has changed in a subtle but signficant way. Prior to this change, I viewed meditation as "Focusing", "Paying attention", "Letting go", "Inspecting" or "Being mindful". Basically it was something you would do, sitting down or otherwise, as some sort of exercise. The way I look at it now is that there is no focusing, there is only Being with Reality. For instance, instead of "Being mindful of the stars", one would instead "Be with the stars". Even though this seems like a language game, in practice I found that it is not at all. The visualization of to be with or to be among has much more to do with dissolving into reality than "being mindful of". The "being with" seems to naturally dissolve the subject - experience divide. Another interesting aspect is that it seems to involve love, it seems to involve connection. It is not about "Seeing or observing accurately", but rather about connecting to existence, connecting to the "substance" of realness. To be with reality like to be with a loved one, this "framing" makes it very easy for my mind to just go right into it, effortlessly. When there is suffering, be with it as if it was lonely. Try to fill it with your presence. Connect with it, be with it. Don't look at it, be with it. This also recontextualized choice for me. I now much more clearly see that I can choose between being with Love or being with Pleasure. It's not about the question of "Do I want to experience pleasure or love?" but rather, "Do I want to be with pleasure or love?". Once can go towards one or the other. It is not about possession, it is not about "experiencing" them, it is about stepping into these aspects of realness, of being with these aspects. You are not an observer, but instead you are like a substanceless sphere which can swim through Realness or Maya. That through which you swim is that which you "experience". There is really no experiencing, there is only the swimming through. The swimming through is the Realness. There is no divide between the swimming and that through which is being swam. Meditation is like deeper swimming. In essence, instead of observing, start connecting. That is all that needs to be done. Connect with Isness. You can start with a pencil, visualizes "connecting", "being with", "sharing love" and the mind will naturally do what it needs to do.

https://cronometer.com/ See if you get everything you need from the things you eat. I would get rid of the milk, whey, yoghurt and cheese. Chicken, fish and beef is also not healthy if you would consume it every day. Best to replace it with sources that are environmentally friendly, ethical and healthier. You can replace fish with mussels, for example. The beef and chicken can be replaced with insect substitudes.

It was a gradual change, it all kind of stemmed from multiple recognitions of Isness. The strange thing is that these insights or changes in awareness did not happen through me sitting and meditating, but usually were a consequence of contemplation after one of Leo's videos and then reaching the limitations of contemplation, as in seeing the absurdity and impossibility of every fascet of realness. I listened to music while contemplating, music of this kind: I don't know why, but somehow it gets me into a strange state. I am highly sensitive to specific kind of music, extreme emotional reactions that really exhaust me after a certain period of time. There is contemplation, a state of flow, then the glaring limitation of contemplation, thought and logic. And then there is just impossibility, a recognition of the magic behind, or rather on, the scenes. It is obvious that all aspects of reality are irreducable, they are existence itself. Redness is Redness, and it is as real as anything can get. To recognize that Redness, an aspect of reality most mundane and common to us, is utterly mysterious and magical, that will definitely help out with some of the confusion. When you see redness, you will also see Goodness and Badness. You will start "seeing" everything for what it is. It will make no sense anymore to say things like "Reality is meaningless", it will be like saying "Blue is yellow". Blue is blue, yellow is yellow. Meaninglessness is meaninglessness. Meaning and meaningless are two aspects of realness that are there, right within our being. They are there. It makes no sense to say there is no good and evil when there clearly is, however nothing can ever be good and evil but good and evil itself. No action can be good, just like no action can be red. One aspect of being can never be the other. Sound is not vision, so how could murder ever be evilness? After a few of these recognitions I seem to have deconstructed more and more intuitive assumptions. Like the subject - subjectivity duality, but more importantly the object - trait duality. For example before there could be a horse, a horse that was brown, a horse that was fast, a horse that was hairy. Now, there is horseness, brownness, fastness, hairiness. The language came after the recognition, but the language change gave way for more deeper recognition. In this way, the concepts of mind and reality, subject and consciousness, do not fit anymore. They seem redundant, they seem delusional. Deliberately delusional. Then there is a even deeper recognition of delusion, and a recognition that delusion is magical. It is literally impossible, it is literally magic. And it is Creation. It is amazing, it is utterly wonderful. All understanding is magical, as is Redness. In the end there is just this weird sense of utter magic, framing is really unimportant, as the frame is recognized for the frame. The frame is the frame. At this point it makes no sense to become more aware, because awareness, attention and mind were part of the frame. At this point, thought becomes Being. One can connect to thoughtness itself, as one can connect with Redness itself. Language at this point is utterly magical, it is literally impossible, it is irreducable. The magic of the redness becomes the magic of the thought. It is poetry, poetry is magic. Now "Being with reality" is not an act, it is not casual. It is magic. The magic that despite it all being a delusion, it is Isness itself. Despite it being thought, it is Isness. Isness is beyond all comprehension, yet it is also comprehension. Where I am now is at a strange wall where even Isness- Beingness start to fall apart. They seem to not make any more sense. A realm in which Redness does not exist, in which Redness doesn't "is". A realm in which Redness reds. Redness reds. Blueness blues. Goodness goods. No seperation at all, pure Blueness, pure Redness. So pure there is not even purity. Magic does not exist. Magic magics. It is so interesting, because from the perspective of language this just looks like a language game. Redness reds? Well, that just means Redness is red, does it not? This is beyond the meaning of the words, a lack of recognition will not allow one to see it. It seems like there is no difference between "Higher consciousness" and "Lower consciousness". Both of them are pure magic, they are the rawest form of reality possible. They are rawness itself. Going from "higher" to "lower" consciousness just is different Isness.

I get a lot of my micronutrients in by eating Vivo Thrive. Multivitamin tablets usually aren't that effective and might even be harmful, the good thing about Vivo is that they only use natural ingredients, so it's basically a mixture of whole foods. https://www.vivolife.co.uk/products/thrive-living-multinutrient It makes a notibale difference in my energy levels and well-being.

But it is also subtle in that you might have this Forum open in the background, and while you are doing your task you keep thinking about this forum. Even if you are not actualling doing anything in the forum, that might be multitasking, as your attention becomes divided. This is why it is important to create an environment that will cultivate focus. Turning off your internet even if you are not using it, so your brain doesn't have the feeling of being able to access it at any point, which will have an impact on your attention. Also when you are browsing, trying not to have many tabs open. You can create rituals even, so that your brain knows when to start focusing, when it is time to pay attention. Learn from the whole Zen Minimalism culture, learn from the Japanese in general. They are a good example of creating a culture and environment of focus. Do the same with your digital environment, imagine what it would look like if a Japanese Zen master was to design it. You have to create an infrastructure which will support your ability to focus. Focus is extremely valuable in our day and age. Just nailing down that one aspect will help you tremendously.

No, multi-tasking is when your attention is being interrupted and switcihg between two or more different tasks. In the rat study what they did is create a noise and visual cue to break the concentration of the rats over and over, and at some point they would get worse at focusing in general. Listening to music might not necessarily be multi-tasking when it is not distrupting your focus. When you are writing something and then suddenly you think of the music that you are listening to, for whatever reason, that will be harmful. When the music becomes background noise and you can fully focus on whatever task, then it is not multitasking. Listening to a podcast while doing something for example can be viewed as multitasknig because your attention will switch between the podcast and whatever you are doing. It's not all black and white, for example you could be driving on the autobahn and listen to a podcast and it might not really be multitasking. You should develope a sense for when it is happening, you will notice when your brain is not in a meditative state, when it is not flowing and when it is scattered, then it's not healthy. It all depends on how intensive of a task it is that you are doing.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/ There have been some studies suggesting that Multitasking might cause permanent brain damage. With rat studies they found that after making the rats multitask, over time their problem solving skills declined permanently with no recovery. No joke, but obviously rats cannot consciously train themselves to focus and concentrate, so there might be hope for us multitaskers.

Nothing is insignificant, only insignificance is insignificant. Dust particles are dust particles, humanity is humanity. Everything else is a story. Significance of humanity is as much a story as insignificance of humanity. Humanity, dust particles, insignificance, significance, are all part of Being. Why and why not is also part of Being.

Anyone know if Enlightenment causes epigenetic changes in human beings?

About censorship and controlled narrative.

This thread is a perfect example of why we need epistemology taught in schools. Free speech without people being able to think for themselves is a recipe for disaster. Maybe China is right after all.

Are you agreeing with Ralston here? To me it seems like a dumb take, especially when one day we will most likely just plug in and be insta-"enlightened". It seems to me like Ralston has created a duality between world and mind, action and awareness, which is simply not there. Isn't enlightenment just a specific Isness?

You do realize that it being the warmest August on record means that it was the warmest world-wide, not in every single location on the planet. That's not how climate works. You are confusing local weather with climate.

Would you include people themselves too, who actively deny climate change, or just the industries as a whole? Do you think there should be consequences for people who consciously acted in their self interest despite knowing of the impact they have on the climate?

I don't think we are claiming that we are aware of the Truth, just that we are aware of the path. I am in no rush to reach the ultimate Truth, I enjoy discovering stuff on the way. If I just went full non-dual instantly I wouldn't be having the insights I am having. This particular topic I thought gave the opportunity to try to communicate valuable insights into the unfolding of duality. I think, whether Leo wants to or not, people cling to his frameworks. They do not have the awareness, so all they have is the framework. They would say Framework "Idealism better than Realism" while not recognizing the underlying mechanisms at play. And recognizing, being aware, of the magic that is happening right at the interplay between dualism and non-dualism, so to speak, is just amazing. Why would we not talk about that? Being unaware of it is in my opinion "one step further away" from Truth. You can have insane experiences just by questioning or looking at some of the fundamental aspects of Isness. I feel like it's different from ego-work, but it is still very valuable, because it gives one a glimpse of the magic, if one can truly see it. To me often it feels like we are being rushed, we are being forcefully pulled towards "Truth", and I think then we get a lot of people talking about stuff they never themselves discovered. I prefer a more natural evolution, a path that is filled with curiousity, not a need to be at the finishing line as fast as possible. I had the best progress personally whenever I would blend out the knowledge I have about non-duality, and when I would just follow things that I was actually curious about.

That is because the only meaningful thing there is is meaning, one part of Creation is Meaning. Nothing matters and Nothing matters. Nothing redness.

You can also say "Reality is an infinite world". World and mind are the same, there is no difference whatsoever. You just prefer using the word "mind" because you have preconcieved notions attached to mind and world. It stems from how you looked at the WhatIs prior to awakening. For example, you had a conception of consciousness in relation to brain in relation to world. Fundamentally, you could have framed it simply as whatisness or worldness. It's literally the same as framing it as mind, just calling it a different name. To use the word mind without it's relation to worldness is as arbitrary as using the word world without it's relation to mindness. In the end it's simply whatis, it has nothing to do with what people understand as mind or world.

What I speak of is not Truth, it is different from it, but it is still mind blowing if you were to recognize it. Also, the way you frame everything is only one way to frame it. Saying "You are it" is thought, saying "Everything else is finite" is thought. Redness is not Finite. Redness is Redness. Redness is absolute. The problem here is that you still confuse your sense of meaning and value with different dimensions of Isness. Awakening is as meaningless as Redness is. However, Awakening can manifest meaning. But so can Redness. If you have never truly recognized Redness for what it is, and for how impossible it is, you will obviously not see what I mean. Reducing everything to the most core non-dual Truth and denying dualistic truths is in my opinion a trap. What you are doing here is basically like going to the surgeon while he is operating, telling him that he cannot capture Truth because it is mystical. In what world is that helpful. Every single person here is aware of the concept of Truth Leo has been teaching us, and how to get to what it is pointing at. It's not helpful to just spam it as if it was a solution to every conversation we are having here.

The way how to "get" this is by going in some weird sense "meta". It's like there is the conceptual (the realism/the idealism) and then there is the Conceptual. The Conceptual is more of part of the way reality is perceived rather than merely how we are thinking about. It's like the "structure" of reality, even though that might not be a fitting word. It just has to make click, and once it does, you will get so frustated because people just won't get it. You will be pointing to it but they will confuse your words, operating on a different level of analysis. I got to this point by questioning and inspect the most common sense things there are, like roundness. What is curvature? Actually inspect, look at the existential nature of curvature. What the hell is it? How can it even exist? What is the feeling of roughness? What the fuck is it? Do that with all things you call perception, and at some point everything will reverse. That which you have framed to be perception is actually the substance. It is literally existence, it is literally reality. And it is impossible, it's literally impossible. Think about some of the senses you have. Taste, Vision, Hearing, Feeling. Notice how radically different the. How absurdly weirdly different they are from each other. I mean, how different is Feeling from Vision? It's like impossibly different. What if you never had vision? What would that mean? And then it will strike you, holy fucking shit, there are literally infinite "senses". And that which one calls senses is LITERALLY what reality is made of. There are infinite more "senses" that are completely different from all the senses you are experiencing. They are all so radically different as each of your senses are to each other. So foreign you could not possibly imagine. That is literally what reality is (atleast as far as Maya goes). It is fucking insane. This kind of realization will blow your mind, you will get a real sense for how fucking weird reality actually is. It is so weird, one cannot comprehend it. Once you see this you will immediately know that everything you were telling yourself was bullshit, this is beyond thought. You will get a really spooky sense of how impossible this is. What you viewed as most common, as most self-evident, what you thought to be so insignificant that you did not even notice it before, it will now seem like magic. Whatever is the cause is beyond all comprehension, it is beyond all intelligence. To create the color red takes as much intelligence as to create all of the universe. Intelligence is really the wrong word, it is almost insulting. Calling it Infinite intelligence is limiting it. It's more like Incomprehensible Creativity. I mean how can it possibly do this? How can it create Redness where there has been no redness prior? From what did it create Redness? How could it create, from something that was not redness, Redness? This is insane, it is literally impossible. Think about it, when you create something, you need parts. You need to take the parts and develope something from these parts. But you cannot create Redness from parts, because you would require red parts to create redness! This is what this Creativity can do, it can Create beyond limitation. It can create so radically that it can create things that are uncreatible. It can create that which cannot even be imagined. Ask yourself, how could you possibly imagine a completely different sense without ever having experienced it? This is what is happening, even though it is impossible. Then there is an aspect of interconnectedness. Look at the rawness of these senses, of these dimensions of realness or isness. Look at how what is going on is completely, insanely, hilariously ridiculous. How in the fuck can there be THIS? Chairs, trees, cakes, pebbles, moons, literally anything. It's fucking insane, it literally is insane. It's the weirdest thing ever, and we take it completely for granted. We don't even question it. How come we can explain the motion of the universe with math? It's fucking magic, I mean literally. Math is magic, just like redness is. The fact that all of this is so interconnected, the fact that there can be understanding, that there can be logic and everything else. It is magic, I don't know what else to call it. Look at the physicist, the philosopher, the biologist, the surgeon, the plumber, the computer scientist, the prostitute, the artist, the musician. Look how deeply immersed they are in creation. If they were to stop and reflect upon what is going on, they would know that reality is impossible. That music is impossible, that physics is impossible, that nature is impossible, that philosophy, plumbing, computers and sex are all impossible. They are literally magic. And yet, none of them believe in magic. They ALL study magic for a living! It is fucking hilarious, it is a cosmic joke. Each and every one of them literally studies magic, they make a living off magic, yet none of them believe in magic. The greatest magic trick is to be so immersed in magic that you do not even recognize it anymore. Somewhere along the line of these realizations you will recognize naive realism, beyond it's mere conceptual framework, is much like vision or feeling simply one dimension of reality. And it is an important one, as it allows for this to happen. It is not understanding, it is literally a way reality expresses itself so as to play in the way it does. We wouldn't be talking if the magic of naive realism wasn't part of our "perception", or in other words, if it was not a dimension of Isness. Think about it, how can a cat operate in world if there was no difference between world and cat? For catness to be there, there needs to be worldness. This is different from non-dual work, as it is more of an recognition of duality. It is not about understanding Duality, but about the Substanceness of Duality. Once you really see the magic, you will not even need to doubt the most common sense view of reality anymore. The scientist discovering the outside world? Sure, why not, it's all magic anyways. Discovering this feels like that: