jjer94

Notice the subtle dualism here. Is wholeness all there is, or is it awareness? Take a simple look in direct experience. Where or what is this "dumb inanimate matter" in your experience? Furthermore, where or what are the "objects" that are supposedly made up of this matter? Hint: Look in thoughts. Thoughts refer to objects in experience, but can you find those objects? What is an object other than seeing/touching/tasting/smelling/feeling? Even that is saying too much. Again, another dualism. How can there be levels of consciousness if consciousness is one undivided whole, as you say? Again, look for "levels" of consciousness in your direct experience. This is precisely your issue. There is nothing to understand! NOTHING! You already are what you are. Thought creates a "you" that "understands", but there is no "you" and there is no "understanding." There is only what already is. I suggest looking for the "you" that "understands" in your direct experience.

So, let go, Jump in Oh well, what you waiting for? It's alright 'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown...

Day after day, alone on the hill The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still But nobody wants to know him They can see that he's just a fool And he never gives an answer But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning around Well on the way, head in a cloud The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud But nobody ever hears him Or the sound he appears to make And he never seems to notice But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning around And nobody seems to like him They can tell what he wants to do And he never shows his feelings But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning around He never listens to them He knows that they're the fools They don't like him The fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning around

The "Be Aware of the Present Moment" Farce Ahh, yes. Be aware of the present moment and I will eventually reach a state of no-mind, which is enlightenment....I will be thought-less all day and forever in a state of samadhi....Pure bliss....All I have to do is try to stop thinking in my meditation and become so aware of the present moment that it just sticks. Right? .....RIGHT!? --Wait...What does it mean to "be aware of the present moment?" Isn't the present moment all there is? Well, yes, that's what Eckhart Tolle told me so it must be true....I'll believe anything the New Age gurus say. They're so enlightened and peaceful looking. --Isn't that a contradiction though? Be aware of the present moment in the present moment? Yes, but my thoughts bring me to the past and the future, and that's baaaaaad. I've gotta be a drill sergeant and prevent myself from thinking ANY thoughts. All thoughts cause suffering, therefore I must get rid of them. --Okay, something's off here. You just admitted that being aware of the present moment is a contradiction, but now you go off and say that thoughts bring you to the past and the future? I mean, when I look in my direct experience, sure, thoughts come that have images with labels such as "past" and "future," but all of this is happening in the present moment. How can you ever be un-present or un-aware? And inquiring further, where is the "you" that prevents "yourself" from thinking any thoughts? Where is the "you" that is aware of the present moment? Just look in your present experience for this "you" and all of this "I must be aware of the present moment" hogwash will be flushed out of your system. Are you kidding me, dude? I'm right here! I meditate my ass off every day so I can become totally aware of the present moment! It's all proven in The Power of Now! --Look, dude. Let me lay it on you. Thoughts appearing in awareness created a "you" that needs to be re-created constantly. It's fundamentally incomplete and needs an objective. So what does it do? It makes enlightenment into another one of its goals, and pretends that it can achieve enlightenment like any other goal. You just need to "be aware of the present moment" as you say, right? Or meditate for twenty years and boom, fireworks? But this "you" is the very thing that stands in the way of enlightenment. "Your" head is on the chopping block! Enlightenment is already the case. It's just your sense of ownership over a tiny sliver of experience that's the obstruction. Where is the "you" that owns this body, this mind, whatever it is you use to identify yourself? Of course, man. I know, the "you" is an illusion! All I am is Being! I'm Being! And if I meditate enough and be more aware of the present moment, I can realize myself as Being! --Sigh...

Listen very carefully, and do everything that I say, in this exact order, and you will attain super consciousness forever: Meditate for precisely 21 minutes and 34 seconds daily. by the fortieth day at approximately 20:00 hours, you will see a blue pearl of light shining brilliantly in your awareness. at that exact moment, stop meditating and do a handstand. Headstand is fine too, but less effective. And if you really can't do that, go for the tripod. while in this position, repeat out loud five times: "I want to get off Mr. Bones' Wild Ride!" this should activate a thought in your head that says "That was stupid." Good, this means you're close! Now make an omelette. Not just any omelette though. A four-egg omelete topped with extra pink himalayan salt, two sliced shitaake mushrooms, one and a half pinches of cayenne pepper, and diced green pepper. Oh, don't forget the pepper jack too! After eating your omelette, drink a julep outside while singing "Row Row Row Your Boat" and gurgling the liquids in your mouth as if you were underwater. And voila! Superconsciousness activated. Now make sure to follow each and every step to the tee, or else your life becomes meaningless and you won't know anything. Wait a sec.....

I’ve got skies of blue, And every lovely line of that old tune, Right outside the door. But my hiding place will keep me away. Start new, With wonder of a wide-eyed youth, A land without a chart, And a history without a mark. Stay young and golden aged. Never move or change From such a perfect state. A dull view. A world that’s growing old on you. But permanence is hard, When you’re losing it right from the start. Stay young and golden aged. Never move or change From such a perfect state. In my head, I’ll stay here for the day.

The moment you see what is in perfect clarity is the moment you're ready to die. You see that you've never been anywhere. You see that you've been searching for that which has been staring you straight in the face. You see that "anyone" could never "own" THIS. Even "awareness" itself. You see that yearning for the past and hoping for the future makes you fear death. You see that the universe has been leading itself back home through the muck and mire of illusion. This ONE is so overwhelming in its utter beauty and seamless perfection, you can't help but cry endless tears of joy and gratitude and laughter. This is it! This is happiness. This is joy. This is peace. This is love. This is divinity. Beyond all the mind's stories of happiness, joy, peace, love, and divinity. Thank you doesn't cut it. But that's all I have to express my endless gratitude for being. Thank you thank you thank you. Thank you so much for this life.

Walt Grace, desperately hating his old place Dreamed to discover a new space and buried himself alive Inside his basement The tongue on the side of his face meant He's working away on displacement And what it would take to survive 'Cause when you're done with this world You know the next is up to you And his wife told his kids he was crazy And his friends said he'd fail if he tried But with the will to work hard and a library card He took a homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride That morning the sea was mad and I mean it Waves as big as he'd seen it deep in his dreams at home From dry land, he rolled it over to wet sand Closed the hatch up with one hand And pedaled off alone 'Cause when you're done with this world You know the next is up to you And for once in his life, it was quiet As he learned how to turn in the tide And the sky was aflare when he came up for air In his homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride One evening, when weeks had passed since his leaving The call she planned on receiving finally made it home She accepted the news she never expected The operator connected the call from Tokyo 'Cause when you're done with this world You know the next is up to you Now his friends bring him up when they're drinking At the bar with his name on the side And they smile when they can, as they speak of the man Who took a homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride

There is no outside. There is no inside. You are headless. There is no here. There is no there. You are boundless. There is no subject. There is no object. There is only awareness. There is no something. There is no nothing. There is only what is.

Thanks for asking for clarification. I'm not asking you to try to have the desire or "crave it intentionally" as you say. I am indeed asking you to completely let go of trying to control your sexual behavior. In other words, if the desire arises, fap away. Of course, if you're with other people you may want to wait until you're alone Get it? Just listen to your mind/body. "But when it comes I am not supposed to react with craving and literally start jerking off neither should I hate it and try to suppress it. What I should do instead is mere observe it." You can precisely do that observation while you're jerking off. The point is not to try to control your body/mind's impulses. It's to see plainly that you suffer when you do it, or you use it to cover up suffering. No need to change your behavior or stop it. The body/mind will autocorrect itself. So, to clarify: If you feel the urge to fap five times in one day, act on those urges and do the observation thing while you're acting on them. If you don't feel the urge at all to fap, then don't. It's just like when you're hungry and you're full! I appreciate the openmindedness. That'll take you far in and of itself. Cheers dude.

@Marc Schinkel Very well said, and that's exactly the case. People will begin to ask you about it precisely when their ego is on the brink!

To me, this sounds like avoidance of: This is exactly the point of the fapping frenzy. Do you really think the Buddha faced ego dissolution with a smiling face? We get these ideas that enlightenment work is somehow gentle. Sure, the realization of your true nature may be gentle, but the purging of egoic emotional attachments is far from gentle. And oddly enough, the more you resist and deny your emotional wounds, the deeper they get! Notice all of your excuses here. These are defense mechanisms to avoid facing the emotional wounds that will open when you listen to your mind/body's desires and fap like a madman. Are you going to continue frantically build a dam, or are you willing to let it break? It's up to you. In the end, time will tell. All the best, man.

Everybody wants to be someone else Everybody needs to be somewhere else To fit right in, to be ordinary but not the same To fit right in, to be ordinary and never change Everybody started so helpless Everybody couldn't even, couldn't take what they needed Whether they know it, whether they don't mind not knowing at all Whether they know and forgot it, whether they don't mind not knowing at all Everybody wants to be someone else And everybody needs to be somewhere else It's the way you look, the way you talk about things, the way you are The way you look, the way you talk about things, the way you are You've got a baby in your belly, baby kill it with fire In our kingdom of convenience where we sing in the choir This a conference of our failures, a union of regret Where we bow beneath the worry for what hasn't happened yet And all of this will come crashing down To fit right in, to be ordinary but not the same To fit right in, to be ordinary and never change

The Vampire's Code You know how in the movies, vampires cannot enter into your house without first being invited inside? Be like a vampire when it comes to discussing nonduality. Avoid talking about this stuff with friends and family unless they specifically ask you about it. There are lots of sleepwalkers out there that are simply not ready to hear this stuff. It may cause them to lash out in a somnambulistic rage, or in a perverted way, make the "principles" of nonduality somehow fit in their own egoic belief system(s). If you do preach nonduality to friends and family, you may want to dig below the surface and experientially grasp why you do it. If you're honest, you may find that you yourself have twisted these teachings into your own belief system, and this is your new way of defining yourself as a separate self. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's the case. Just become aware of it. If you have the urge to talk about nonduality, that's what this forum is for. Practice the vampire's code starting today, and save yourself a lot of trouble.

Can I make a suggestion? Oh well, here I go anyways. You're having trouble quitting because you're subtly labeling masturbation as "bad," while at the same time, you obviously want to do it. Then you cover up this desire with things you label as "good," e.g. Self help books and meditation. You're covering up the cause of your addiction by treating the effects. But the cause is still there. In my opinion, you're being too moralistic in your approach. Keep going with it and you'll see for yourself. I suggest you try the opposite route for a week: fapping frenzy! Go crazy. Do it, like, ten times every day, whenever you feel like it. You've been holding back for so long, and you know you want to... Make a report of what happens when you do that. Or not. It's up to you. Cheers.

Send your dreams Where nobody hides Give your tears To the tide No time No time There's no end There is no goodbye Disappear With the night No time No time No time No time No time

@99th_monkey Thanks for sharing! No need to be sorry. You're on to something... If I could make one suggestion for you? Contemplate the ideas of "outside" and "inside" in your direct experience. What makes your thoughts any more "inside" than the birds chirping outside your window? Cheers!

Too blind to know your best Hurrying through the forks without regrets Different now, every step feels like a mile All the lights seem to flash and pass you by So how's it gonna be When it all comes down, cycling trivialities But don't know which way to turn Every trifle becoming big concerns All this time you were chasing dreams Without knowing what you wanted them to mean So how's it gonna be When it all comes down, cycling trivialities So how's it gonna be When it all comes down, cycling trivialities Who cares in a hundred years from now All your small steps, all your shitty clouds Who cares in a hundred years from now Who'll remember all the players Who'll remember all the clowns So how's it gonna be When it all comes down, cycling trivialities So what does this really mean When it all comes down, cycling trivialities Cycling trivialities...

The Fireworks Effect The Fireworks Effect = Mistaking the possible side effects of a spiritual awakening (bliss, joy, kundalini, extreme constipation, butterflies in the stomach, spontaneous combustion, etc.) for the awakening itself. Awakening to your true nature or an aspect of it is just a simple recognition. Nothing has changed in your experience; you have only discovered something which is already the case. Your reaction to that simple recognition is unique for every individual. That is why all of the spiritual teachers' stories about their awakenings are so diverse. Beware of the Fireworks Effect. Be careful not to waste your time looking for a fleeting experience, expecting that that is the awakening. Many people fall into this trap and use meditation to waste decades of their life trying to relive brief moments of fireworks. Your true nature is not a fleeting experience. It is that which knows all fleeting experience. And that is about as subtle as it gets. Cheers!

@How to be wise "I've got more important things to do" This idea will be removed when enlightenment happens. Your scarcity mentality is the product of an ego that imagines it will be complete in the future. You feel incomplete and unenlightened precisely because of this mentality. Enlightenment is not just some trinket you pick up at the candy store while you pursue success. It's an entire change in perspective and lifestyle. Just a heads up.

If You Were the Last Man on Earth What would you do if you were the last man (or woman) on earth? Assume you have all the food and water to survive for the rest of your life. Would you go cliff jumping? Write music? Meditate? Travel? Invent a new product? Write down at least five things. If you have more, great! These things are your authentic desires: your desires without the filter of others' opinions on what you should and shouldn't do, without the filter of wanting attention from others. Now ask yourself, why can't I do these things right now? By asking yourself this question, you're essentially uncovering all the limiting bullshit thought-stories in your head. These stories are the lifeblood of the fear-based ego. There's no need to change the bullshit; that's just piling on more bullshit. All you have to do is illuminate it. Shine the light of awareness on bullshit. It will dissolve with enough persistence and prime the body to pursue the things that it feels authentically inclined to do. Cheers.

You're "trying" to slow down your life instead of removing the things in your life that cause it to be fast-paced. You already know the things you need to give up in order to slow down. You just don't want to deal with the emotional labor of coming off the addictions. Sorry, but the only way out, is through. A meditation habit is a great method for weaning off addictions and slowing down the pace of your life. If you've never done it before, Leo has some great videos that will teach you. Cheers!

Now stop parroting and confirm all of this in your direct experience!

the Universe, she’s wounded she’s got bruises on her feet I sat down like I always did, and tried to calm her down I sent her my warmth and my silence and all she sends me back is rain . . . rain the Universe, she’s wounded but she’s still got infinity ahead of her she’s still got you and me and everybody says that she’s beautiful... the Universe, she’s dancing now they got her lit up, lit up on the moon they got stars doing cartwheels, all the nebulas on the tune and the Universe, she’s whispering so softly I can hear all the croaking insects, all the taxicabs, all the bum’s spent change all the boys playing ball in the alleyways they’re just folds in her dress the Universe, she’s wounded but she’s still got infinity ahead of her she’s still got you and me and everybody says that she’s beautiful... and everybody says . . .