Joseph Maynor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridge_(band)

I got a lot of results by doing a lot of self-inquiry and contemplation work. I also had one profound trip on Salvia Divinorum. Working with the theory is not to be under-emphasized either -- that's what triggers your awareness epiphanies. I notice that there's a silly taboo against theory in enlightenment, but you do need theory to grow faster. Theory is like a catalyst in Chemistry, as are profound psychedelic experiences. But theory is a double-edged sword too if you don't also learn how to dump the theory in favor of awareness. I've found a nice balance. Theory now serves my awareness rather than distracting from it. You gotta make sure you don't fall into the trap of believing the theory like ideology, but rather use it to calibrate your awareness muscles. It takes a journeyman's touch to negotiate the theory without getting trapped by it. You might need a profound psychedelic experience more than anything -- an experience of ego-death. Once you see that you can't unsee it. That moved my awareness up a few pegs when I had my trip. It got me beyond beliefs to a profound awareness of Being. Now, what's cool is more shifts are happening that are kind of balancing things out now. I feel like my enlightenment is getting both deeper, but also wider too. Wider in the sense that I am less neurotic about "being enlightened" and just let go and let what happens happen. So, I am re-acquainting with much of what I was doing before, but in a more conscious way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(Klaus_Schulze_album)

@Brimstone I'm starting to realize that maybe this isn't a problem folks! Right? The ego wants there be two but there is only one. But how the hell do I make sense of ordinary life now? I might need to go move to Leo's cave. Haha? I don't know. However, life seems to travel on seamlessly notwithstanding these issues. These issues of the Mind.

Your "control" is just a sensation in awareness. There is no control. It's an illusory control.

What would a rock be without your awareness of it?

Truth is just what is perceived minus thought augmentation. Basically, you need to realize how the Mind is freaking up your reality.

And to never have been born if you could have decided that? Is this life just an exercise in suffering, albeit mitigated by "spiritual work"? Why would anyone want to experience life here if they weren't forced to? It seems like what we are doing is learning how to minimize suffering in an inherently cursed situation! A life of being tormented by egoic thoughts and emotions. And because there is no point to life, there doesn't seem to be any reason to be here in the first place! And because life is suffering, it seems like life in itself -- at least here on Earth -- is a fount of suffering, and that bringing more souls here is in a way an immoral act. I'm just putting ideas out there to start a discussion, don't take any offense. Let's get some insights instead. It's kind of weird to think about this -- but would blowing up the Earth be the most ethical thing we could do for ourselves? Think about it! The only reason we like life is because we're here. And we don't like it 100%, not even close. Why would we choose to be in a place where we don't like it 100%? We would not! And nothing is carried over. At least religious folks have a story of carry-over -- what happens here is somehow related to what happens in the next place. That gives this place a moral imperative. But as enlightened beings, we could seemingly skip this experience without any consequence. Relevant videos to watch:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_yoga Have you read about ISKCON? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Society_for_Krishna_Consciousness

Notice that your question is nothing more than images and sensed thoughts being picked up in your awareness. And reading answers is nothing more than images and sensed thoughts being picked up in your awareness. That's all that is real. Everything else is thought-story -- pure fantasy.

When you give up trying to control and you give up the idea of free will and you just accept reality for what it is and you give up the idea that you are an ego -- what remains is authenticity. Great video on point:

Sometimes a masculine decision is the best decision though. It depends on the context. I agree that greedy men have screwed up the planet the most probably. But they did it to get the hot women, who wanted those greedy men! So, you see the gender argument implicates both genders at the extreme end of analysis. If women didn't exist men would be standing around picking their noses. And if women rejected the greedy men, we wouldn't have a problem either. Women actually select those men! So, reality transcends gender. Women are just as guilty as men of succumbing to ego.

But would you have chosen to be here knowing that you would face this pointless suffering and obstacle? That's my question. Sounds like coming off a bad trip to me.

@Hero in progress You seem very certain and adamant. Be careful about moralizing. All beliefs are false. You're making a very strong "should" statement. Watch your rule-making. You're gonna spit into the wind and take it right in the eyes with your rules. One exercise you should do it formulate the opposite of your moral rules and then realize that reality could very well be those too. Reality doesn't need to fit into the skinny-jeans of any mental rules. Talk to the mother of one of the kids randomly murdered in Vegas about the goodness of reality. Reality is not good, not bad, not rule-bound, not beholden to human proclivities. Pretending we're Jesus is a sneaky egoic trap. We're the Devil too. Reality seems to bob and weave randomly between all of our rules and hopes.

Think of all the people who never realize your movie idea? Would blowing up the Earth on their behalf justify the .00001% of enlightened beings taking one for the ginormous suffering team? Your perspective is not the only perspective. Ya know?

It's not about hating life. It's about whether we would have chosen to be here. Not hating life is a much lower bar than that.

@harisankartj "On 10/4/2017 at 9:03 AM, harisankartj said: loving teenage friend who decides to befriend the nerdy kid in class who gets bullied all the time (the one who suffers). great analogy!!" // This sounds like a projection of Jesus to me. Jesus is a pipe-dream. Sometimes reality is Satan too. But all of the time, reality is neither. Reality is indifferent to human proclivities. Reality is just as much about someone getting randomly murdered at a Vegas show as it is about befriending the special needs kid who gets picked on in school. Let's not wear pink glasses -- I wanna be reality as it is, not as the mind wants it to be.

Here's Leo's Enlightenment Exercises:

@Arman I appreciate your reaction. We need to be careful about moralizing. You gotta be able to let go and trust that you will do the right thing in the moment without clinging to any rules. I still take Hero in progress' recommendation in good faith as valid, but I appreciate the trap of moralizing too. I will take some liberties to scribble about why here. All in good fun! I enjoy a little scribbling from time to time, so bear with me. Just because we're enlightened beings doesn't mean that we deny reality and cling to some moral rules -- which is just mind too! Sometimes you gotta punch someone! I can conceive of contexts where this would flow as a matter of course. If you're standing at a bus stop and a wild rabid dog attacks you, you're not just gonna stand there and say -- dig in boy! That would be suicidal. You're gonna grab a rock, a stick, whatever, with the specific intent to injure the animal bodily if necessary, maybe with the intent to severely injure said animal. We don't need to be pacifists just because we're enlightened. Sometimes an ass-kicking is exactly what reality orders in the moment. It depends on the context! And we certainly need to take caution clinging to any moral rules, since all beliefs are false -- as tempting as it is to pretend that we are Jesus -- we are not. Even Jesus would throw-down if he had to, if his bodily security were seriously at risk. That's reasonable, right? Kick him in the balls, stick a knife to his throat, and take his wallet and see if Jesus really turns the other cheek! Yee-ah right! I don't think so, haha. He's gonna grab that knife and end you with it -- whaddja think he's stupid! I always tell people, "I might be crazy, but I ain't stupid." So . . . We can't be pipe-dreamers. That not reality either. That's model-building, rule-making. Maps masquerading as the territory. We need to fully trust our authentic Being without clinging to any "goody-goody" moral rules. Meaning, purpose, and values are relative, and beliefs are false. Rules are wrong basically! -- an augmentation of reality. Projecting "What would Jesus do?" everywhere, although full of good intentions, does not make that a reality one bit. It's a sneaky augmentation of reality actually -- a sneaky rule that we've created to try to control reality and not accept reality as it actually is. Jesus is a concept, a thought, a mental projection, a pipe-dream. Leo actually says that the high consciousness person can get tough when he needs to: Watch: In this video Leo talks about the error of clinging to should statements: Watch:

Here's a great video to get you a primer on the scope of Inquiry:

Two great ones:

Watch this video. Leo talks about 4 kinds of meditation in it: (1) Do nothing meditation (2) Awareness-focus meditation (3) Active release meditation (4) Mindfulness meditation

Here's another video on point. Maybe blowing up the Earth would be a form of masculine compassion. Again, just provoking a discussion here; I'm not saying I endorse any of these views. The baby horse example is on point!

@Aimblack There are people on here who know more than me, but I think the answer is that the Ego is an illusion. It is not real. Therefore, it should not be honored. I thought like you until I realized fully that there is no free will and that honoring the Ego only causes a lot of mental suffering for me. Basically, thoughts are thinking they have control over you -- which they don't. Reality is already doing what reality is doing regardless of what thoughts think about it. The Ego is fully an illusion. So, when it is clung to, it only causes you suffering through bad Karma. Bad Karma can be thought of throwing sand into the wind and having it come back into your face and eyes. It's sowing the seeds of suffering basically. Honoring the Ego causes bad Karma. You gotta realize there is no Egoic you, no free will, and no control. The Ego is thoughts fooling themselves that a "part" of reality is a self-controlling thing. There is no part of reality though, that is a thought. Reality is non-dual. You can see the no-free will realization by letting go and realizing that your life still goes on! It's a bit freaky when you see this. This was one of my most profound enlightenment experiences when I noticed this for the first time. There's no you in there controlling things! It's all just happening as one giant reality flow. Videos to watch: