Nahm

Totally hear where you’re coming from. The emotion love, imo, is an echo of truth, a reassurance, like beauty, rainbows, or bubbles. You are nature, and it’s beauty is not accidental, it is all of the same source. What you’re looking at is intelligence, yet you are convinced it is “nature”. How beautiful is that - really!? It’s ‘too good to be true’. Imagine if your imagination was such that just by imagining it, you could be an ant for a few days. And snap! you’re an ant. But the ant’s intelligence is that of an ant. It doesn’t house, or, can’t fit, the entirety of what it is to be Paul - and as the ant, you totally, 100% believe you are only the ant - it’s obvious even! (as the ant). And then you’re ant buddy is like, “yeah. What’s with cherry pickin intelligence & love as “actual” “!?!? And ant you’d be like “yeah! I think it’s bs, just Paulitual bypassing!”. As the ant, “intelligence” & “love” would amount to sniffing out food, working together to carry the food, feedin the queen, wrapping baby ants in saliva, etc. The ant wouldn’t readily be privy to the fact it is actually Paul’s imagination, cause it most definitly feels like an ant, for real. It’d have no idea that “it’s” ant intelligence & “it’s” ant love is actually intensely scaled down & limited, but yet the very same - love & intelligence that is Paul. The ant would never, in a million years, believe all the hardship & suffering of being an ant is actually the ant’s creation, not Paul’s. Paul is the love & intelligence. Ant ain’t hearin that though. Cause it’s ‘real’, bein an ant. It has to keep “anting” because it could “die”. Then eventually the ant does die... and... - snap! Just Paul again. As Paul, the ant didn’t die, nor was it born, nor did it live, because Paul know’s full & well he just imagined it. It’s too good to be true that you’re actually.... Maybe love is not “a person’s emotion”. Maybe we just think it is. Maybe the you you’re used to as you, is actually the very same you imagining...and maybe you actually love being ants!

@Aakash As it’s currently conceptual, then inquiring into the feeling could very well be a big step in the right direction. The mind will likely wander, looking to create the feeling from thought; looking for memories, thinking of people, movie scenes, who knows. I would think the way to go would be to label any of those as thoughts and let them float away. I’d keep relaxing into the present moment, acknowledging all is well, nothing needs to be done right now, this moment is enough, I am enough, this moment is enough, I am enough. This is interesting. Hope it goes well!

@Aakash It’s not coincidentally similar to self inquiry; never settling for any definition or idea of “ I “. Keep discarding, or not settling for, any definition, or idea, of love. Everything which comes up about relationships, things, activities, interests, etc - label them as those particular relationships, things, activities, interests. As you would go relentlessly deeper in the feeling “me”, also with the feeling “love”.

One way to look at it is, what is this ‘thing’ people use the word “love” for? And then just forget the word alltogether.

@randomguy123 Can you remember before this chronic anxiety (stomach)? Did you grow up in a household with someone wound too tight, stressed, or angry? What are you doing in terms of activities of creative expression? If you could snap your fingers and a change would be done, what would you start? What would you stop? (Actions, things you’re doing or not doing) How do you see the trajectory your life is headed in, relative to how you want it to be headed, on a scale of 1 - 10, and please explain your answer.

@kieranperez Totally understandable.

@Pouya “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves – Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are born to manifest the glory that is within us. It is not within some of us, it is in everyone. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Williamson.

@kieranperez Psychedelics can reveal the actuality that you are behind the pattern of visioning & doubting. The vantage point, or “view”, can free you from it, but is not necessary. Therapy can shine clarity on the conditioning appearing to drive this pattern too. In cognitive understanding, you’d also be freed from it. Writing down what you want, outlining simple steps, and following through - and feeling into discomforts which arise - will also free you, in a one day at a time fashion. The opposite would be to continue to get angry, without inspection, justifying conditioning, “pushing” taking action into the future - “when you’re more level headed”. Writing down one simple step to be accomplished each day would serve you well in either case. Consider spending one hour a day, early in the day, taking action. When you do decide to make the changes you desire, it will be in surrender, in silence and peace, not in conversation, nor intensity - it will not be remarkable, but extraordinary. And by all means try some psychedelics.

@Ingit They??

@Ingit What are you doing about the overthinking, worrying, anxiety?

@Ingit Were you diagnosed with that by a dr, and are you getting treatment?

@Arthur Awesome! ?

@Devi Shanti Hi & welcome. You sure picked a good one. ?

The cessation of thought is found in practice.

@XYZ Ya, let that go. Thinking ‘why’ is throwing a penny down a well, and expecting an answer. It just doesn’t work that way. Looking into the nature of who you are is more difficult but much more fruitful than looking for why answers, and of course paradoxically answers all the why questions.

@ajasatya Thanks! Marriage is like psychedelics; neither way is right or wrong, but you very clearly know from direct experience, or you don’t. Both are a total mindf’ing trip, with the potential to show you Love and Truth which could not have been imagined or dreamt of.

@John West Do you ‘trace’ the unpleasant thoughts? As in, look to understand the motives behind them?

Have fun, it’s all a big joke.

@Genghis Khan Great share, thanks!

@Shroomdoctor How do you feel about all that?

Choosing consciousness over alchohol is consciousness work in & of itself; honest self awareness & analysis, commitment to change, discipline in followthrough, being an example for others who may be stuck - you should feel good about doing the work! (And you know you won’t miss hangovers, regrets, self loathing, etc.)

There’s a paradox at play, in that those closest to us offer the deepest teaching, yet we try to teach those closest to us - like a mirror so close, so clear, we unknowingly trying to ‘comb the hair’ of the mirror. Ask yourself what is to be learned from him. The humility will initially be perplexing, and then quite eye opening. Then, yet again paradoxically, once you have embraced and embodied this ‘teaching’ “from him” (as a mirror), he will take notice and be very interested in what transpired, what was transcended, in you.

@FoxFoxFox I think we’re seeing this the same, really, and have very similar, if not the same, intentions. I can really appreciate what you said there. I do want to point out, (because you said “the rest of your writing”) and not to appear to take credit, that is not my writing. It’s from the SAND website. Mine was just an offering of an explanation, just an opinion of what the writer was conveying. It’s open to any interpretation of course. I don’t know that he / she would consider it a concession, though I’m in agreeance with you, consessions are problematic. I’d add their name btw, but there isn’t one on the site. I am thankful for your comment. It draws attention to the limiting nature of making a post like this with only one explanation of nonduality. I should probably add at least a few more. https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/about/nonduality/