Nahm

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God = Truth. God doesn’t ‘have beliefs’ (like solipsism). There’s no such ‘thing’ as a ‘true thought or belief’. ? That one really got me! Appreciating ‘your’ wisdom & humor sir. Great ‘stuff’. ?

Love is unconditional & infinite (real). The knowing is what is illusory as love is not two. The knower of anything is illusory, as love is not two. Hence, Nonduality. There isn’t a separate self which knows, has, or understands anything about love. The ‘trap’ isn’t that there isn’t meaning, the ‘trap’ is believing thoughts, or, experiencing thought attachment, and being in denial / insisting you are the separate self which knows stuff about love. Meditation is “the answer” so to speak, because that “knower” is “the separate self”. There isn’t actually a separate self, there are only thoughts that there is, and the believing of, or ‘attachment to’ those thoughts, even though those thoughts all feel discordant. Self Inquiry. SELF INQUIRY This is a meditation technique of enlightenment, i.e. "self realization". By realizing ‘who’ you are, the bonds of suffering are broken. Besides realization, self-inquiry delivers many of the same benefits as other meditation techniques, such as relaxation, enhanced experience of life, greater openness to change, greater creativity, a sense of joy and fulfillment, and so forth. Focus on the feeling of being "me," to the exclusion of all arising thoughts. 1. Sit in any comfortable meditation posture. 2. Allow your mind and body to settle. 3. Let go of any thinking whatsoever. 4. Place your attention on the inner feeling of being "me." 5. If a thought does arise, ask yourself to whom this thought is occurring, as this returns your attention to the feeling of being "me." Continue this for as long as you like. This technique can also be done when going about any other activity. Many people misunderstand the self-inquiry technique to mean that the person should sit and ask themselves the question, "Who am I?" over and over. This is an incorrect understanding of the technique. The questions "Who am I" or "To whom is this thought occurring?" are only used when a thought arises, in order to direct attention back to the feeling of being "me." At other times the mind is held in silence. This practice of turning awareness back upon itself, prior to the ‘I’-thought, is a gentle technique, which bypasses the usual repressive methods of controlling the mind. It is not an exercise in concentration, nor does it aim at suppressing thoughts; it merely invokes awareness of the source from which the mind springs. The method and goal of self-enquiry is to abide in the source of the mind and to be aware of what one really is by withdrawing attention and interest from what one is not. In the early stages effort in the form of redirecting attention from the thoughts to the ‘thinker’ is essential, but once awareness of the ‘I’-feeling has been firmly established, further effort is counter-productive. From then on it is more a process of being than doing, of effortless being rather than an effort to be. If the info here doesn’t cheer ya up, the monster face will. I mean just look at it.

Impermanence is a thought which out an actuality, like unicorn.

Cessation, or, no mind, isn’t a concept, can not be conceptualized, and is liberation, and is the stark opposite of anything suppressive, separative, limiting, or restrictive.

@omar30 Ok. I was just curious really, if you’d asked that particular question and what they actually said in response.

@omar30 Is it surprising?

@omar30 That’d probably be why then.

@omar30 I honestly don’t know anyone who has went to or even mentioned going to India for spiritual purposes. That sounds more like something in a movie about Americans. Is that meditation posture Indian?

@omar30 Not 100% convinced, but I’ll take your word for it. Not to imply you should or should have… did you point out that what they are afraid of, is really what they were told? As in, not anything they’ve actually seen or experienced themselves? Do they say anything about religion & happiness in any way?

@omar30 I don’t know that they do.

@omar30 But do they literally say “we want you to be part of our religion because we are afraid and we want you to be afraid” ?

Do they literally say that? (“we want you to fear / be afraid”)

@omar30 This forum. We should all take pause and reflect, but that’s just an opinion.

It’s much more local than that. This is the only place where spirituality isn’t the inspecting & relinquishing of concepts, but rather the adhering to concepts, essentially to fit in and not be belittled or prohibited from participating. Back in the day, spirituality was about seeing through the concepts acquired from religions. ‘Your’ connection with God is ever-present & ever-felt, but unfortunately, apparently, in your experience thus far ‘spirituality has concepts’.

@Rilles There is a puppy and it is looking at you. There is no puppy and there is no you. Both of those statements are true. Both of those statements are false.

@omar30 Your best guess will do, not looking for a correct / right answer here… why do they want you to be religious?

?? Hi me.

That’s impossible. It’s ‘trying to bend the spoon’ vs ‘seeing what is’. Of course “sense” is a thought / a word / a label, but in the way it’s used here “the sense others are looking at you”… that isn’t ‘a sense’, it’s the thought, or belief… in others, looking, and you. @Tyler Durden Feels like what this symbol points to ?

Reminded me of some trip reports.

Indeed. Also not every thought needs to be a thread.

Recognize the feeling of relief & expression are inseparable, like sharing a discordant secret and thus liberating of it. That is the outcome of expressing. You can also do the reverse and entertain different interpretations, while feeling the subtly of discord and alignment for more adjacency to truth. Notice you’re doing that effortlessly right now while reading this. They are already perfectly, naturally ‘challenged’ in perfect time, and this discord is felt when the discordant beliefs are activated via relativity, or, simply in being around other people and different situations. Imo, rather than an orientation of challenging beliefs, orientate toward the easiest & most natural alignment possible - what you want. Make a dreamboard. Two birds one board. Focus upon wanted, let’s say, ‘activates the body’s natural tendency to clean out’. Limited beliefs come up & out all on ‘their’ own. Daily meditation & daily usage of the emotional scale make for a smooth ride. Get out there and experience new stuff. Get. Crazy. To the extent your budget and schedule permits…. Think up who would be most opposite culturally etc, to you, and go talk to that person in person. Go to a country you haven’t been to. Make recipes from other countries for fun. Do the practices of different religions for a week. If you’re male, ask a female what’s it’s like being female, and listen. If you young, ask the old, and listen. If you’re old, ask the young. If you’re straight, ask someone who isn’t and listen. Never ‘wait’ when waiting, do somethin new, something you haven’t done before. Learn something you would never otherwise learn. Examples for me… long line at Walmart yesterday, asked the lady in front of me what her dream is for her life. She thought I was nuts initially, and hugged me on her way out. (Separate example) learned how to use a sewing machine to make a dress for my daughter. Bonus; now it’s easy to finally make t-shirts fit. Listened to a genre I never really resonated with for a week (country music) turns out it’s all about God & love it now. You get the idea here. You won’t remember who you thought you were. Whatever comes to mind for you, try it out & enjoy.

Check the app called 3Fun, not only for finding your third wheel but to plug into a community that’ll likely share more ideas than you can get to in this lifetime. Give it your best nonetheless of course. Trip reports welcomed.

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TLDR but much love to ya and Godspeed sir!