Max_V

I have the feeling that this goes way back to the start of humanity. Everyone at some point is more or less interested in the question "What is it that is aware of my experience ?" Some people dig deeper into that, others consider it for a while and then forget about it.

I thought this video was pretty interesting. Rupert is basically telling his opinion on making spirituality into a practise/discipline. Setting specific times on when to do it, etc.

Sadhguru has an ashram in India. You could look into that, I've heard and seen a lot of good things about it.

Thank you

I really love Rupert Spira. Other than that I ocassionaly listen to Mooji aswell, a great teacher too For books, I'm reading The Book of Not Knowing at the moment and I plan to read Presence Volume 1 from Rupert Spira next. The courses from Trinfinity Acadamy have helpt me a ton too Good luck on your journey

@Mad Max lol you're kidding right?

I've been doing self inquiry for about a month now. What I've noticed is that once I ask myself 'Who am I ?' Often nothing happens. A good analogy would be how an arrow get's deflected when shot on a knight with heavy armor. It feels like the question doesn't come through. It flows around for a bit and then it vanishes and my mind automatically goes into fantasing. Should I eleborate this question for the mind or is this a normal thing in the process of self inquiry?

@str4 I'd really like to try this. I have ADD though so I have a tough time concentrating on one thing for long. Do you ever experience troubles on that department with this method?

I will use ' What am I ?' Rupert Spira has a cool twist on this ' Am I aware ?' That one quiet interesting too Language feels so limiting too though. In english asking these questions already is limiting but in my own language (Dutch) a lot of english words have no direct translation like ' the mind ' for example. Should I ask these questions to myself in English or try to make my own question in Dutch?

Don't judge therapists too fast. I've been doing a ton of personal development and spiritual practice on my own but I still have some unsolved anxieties and insecurities I have had since a long time. These are stuck in my psyche and having a therapist has been helping me a ton . Don't underestimate how psychotherapists can help you with the psychological issues you have.

When you ejaculate, you use up a lot of your energy. When you stop doing this for a while, your energy levels will rise like crazy. Some people will interpret this as super powers

Pleasure is not the same as joy. It is derived from entertainment, sex, alchohol, etc. Not from the inner peace that is the natural state of your being. That said, all things materialistic are finite. If you attach yourself to something finite, you are bound to suffer since one day it will end. When you think about it like that, attaching yourself to something materialistic is insane.

Before this thread vanishes, I was wondering if more people have gone to his or other teachers retreats or talks. What were your experiences and how did they help you?

So today was the special day, I went to see Rupert Spira. It was probably one of the most inspiring and iluminating experiences I have ever had in my life. To interact with a master is something extraordinary especially the way he moves and looks. So much love in his expression and voice. Even when there is someone who can't speak english very well, he treats them with so much respect and understanding. I was just simply blown away by this whole day. One of the many topics we talked about is the now Everything you ever experience is now. I know, I know.. everyone already has this figured out, it is some of the basics. But when you investigate and contemplate this deeper it get's very freaky. Rupert talked about how everything is happening now. In the infinity of consciousness there is not such a thing as 'time'. Everything that could ever happen and has happened is happening now. Only the mind is finite so it can only experience a couple or so dimensions at a time and therefore cannot experience everything at once. So everything that is happening now, seems to happen in a specific order. But this is only because the limited mind cannot experience infinity so it creates time. When I heared this I was just so puzzeled. Everythings is and can only happen now. Contemplate that for a minute After all this, I have already planned to meet him again as soon as possible. Everything just clicked, it feels like a lot has opened up for me.

Have you guys read The Book of Not Knowing? I am reading it now. It's one of the best books I have ever read but since some time, I feel the deep urge to read other books aswell. Some Rumi, Rupert Spira, Way of The Peaceful Warrior. This is probably just my poor attention but I still wonder what your opinion is on reading multiple books at the same time.

Why not? But when things go so far, question if you don't want to go a step further witht the person.

@Maxx How do you prevent these things from happening?

@Barna Time is an illusion. Why? Because it is impossible to do something in the future or the past. You are always doing it now. Think about it. Even doctor who failed , he went back in time but when was he doing that? He was doing it NOW

@Real Eyes He came to amsterdam for a weekend retreat. I was only able to go one day sadly because I cannot afford a place to stay. It suprised me that there weren't as many people as I though. 234 to be exact. So it was quite easy to talk to him if you want. Even in the afternoon break, you could walk up to him during lunch and have a chat. Sadly I did not have the balls to do that I also figured out he has something that is called 'webinars' it is basically a skype call with him and a couple other seekers. You can ask him questions etc. Since the next time he is coming to Amsterdam again is next year, I suppose I will be at a lot of his webinars

@Real Eyes The direct path is what he is talking about. So seeing in yourself how amazing it is that you, awareness, are experiencing and 'knowing' everything at this moment. How awareness is always available because it is the only thing that is and will ever be. Going back deeper and deeper to the source of the one that is aware. Self inquiry is a great tool for this.

Have you ever suffered from social anxiety and if so, has it completely left you or is there still some residue left?

@Sukhpaal I have had both. When I'm used to my meditation habit, 6 hours is enough for me. But now that I bumped my sessions up to 1 hour, I had to sleep atleast 8 hours for a couple days because my body was really worn out from it. So you are not alone !

@Franz Thanks, I will work hard So awesome your girlfriend is so helpful and loyal to you.. keep her close to you man, she sounds really special.

Thanks for the story, it was really interesting. I kinda feel guilty. I feel like I'm not putting enough work into this, not reading and self inquiring nearly enough. School is something I'm really intertwined with atm but I still feel really inauthentic. Hopefully one day, I can have the full time and commitment to go as far as you have into this. Tomorrow I'm going to one of Rupert Spira's lectures and I plan to just completely throw myself in there and just give everything I have. So I hope he can clear up some stuff for me and my understanding can deepen on this topic so I can get more involved in this work

@unholy The self love part I found when looking within :). Tantra is a way of learning to manipulate your sexual energies into something positive. You can look it up anywhere, got the tip from @Shin