Forestluv

@How to be wise The “personality” or “character” has values - which appears *within* conciousness.

Check out the iTalki community. It worked wonders for my Spanish

All and none of them. . .

@Arkandeus Letting go of control can be extremely difficult to the ego. There are so many nuances and subtleties to control.

It doesn’t have meaning and doesn’t not have meaning. Just is.

My personal will is evaporating. Often, there is no reason for my actions. No meaning or purpose. Just doing whatever.

Am I too good to fit into nature? After all, the rain just caused the drowning of thousands of insects. A snake just ate a cute little mouse. A squirrel pooped on the trail. Two birds have conflict over territory. It makes the office look like a love-fest.

How can seeking be selfish when there is no seeker?

@okulele The knowing isn’t like knowing a fact. It’s just knowing. After my sister died, I grieved. I *know* what it’s like to grieve the loss of a loved one. I don’t have to convince myself or anyone else. I have no desire to debate whether I really know what the grieving process is like. When I encounter someone who recently lost a sibling, there is a connection - a knowing. Similiarly, when consciousness/awareness/reality is present, there is a knowing - that doesn’t need to rationalize or debate. Later, my mind may try to interpret it and become confused, but that is expected since it can’t be figured out or understood.

And unlearn

@Key Elements For sure. It’s potent stuff. I’ve met people who are super careful and intentional with psychedelics and others that are carefree and spontaneous. I wouldn’t advocate being careless as it prolly increases the risk of unintentionally harming oneself or others. Yet. those who have a “whatever happens, happens” attitude seem to surrender soooo much easier.

Very nice. You are aware of your stage. Sometimes when I listen to nondual teachers, they say something like “at an early stage, the self may appear as. . . “ And I think “Omg! That’s right where I’m at!!”. It’s cool being somewhere others have passed

Really? I stumbled my way into my first trip. I messed up measuring on the scale and took about 120mg of 4-Aco-Dmt (about 6X a normal dose). It was the most profound experience of my life.

The character appears and disappears within consciuosness, just like everything. The character has no more relevance than an apple that appears in consciousness. Why give the self character any more relevance than a character that appears in a movie?

BINGO!

@Frylock Sounds like judging and assigning value. They are being, just like you are being and adyashanti is being

Hard to define. . . I’d say it is the character with a story that appears within consciousness

Notice how retreats describe finding inner peace, love, joy and serenity. Sunsets and butterflies. Why don’t retreats ever describe losing self control and going into full-on panic, terror and insanity. It’s all part of the deal.

My ego fought like hell and still does to some extent.

For me, psychedelics are the #1 tool. The only thing the ends The Story

@Lexonn Figuring this stuff out seems really important. Yet, it has no more relevance than watching a movie.

The ego lives in opposite, such as good / bad. So of course it can be”good” or “bad”. That’s how the ego loves to frame the conversation!

@Thanatos13 I spent 25 years trying to figure it out. Meditation, retreats, dharma talks, the sangha, hundreds of books, thousands of hours on personal development and with self help groups, traveling to 20 foreign countries. And on and on. . . I know what a spinning mind is like. And my mind was expanded more in one four hour period than those 25 yrs. combined. All this intellectual sparing is great. Yet it aint IT. You won’t find IT through your intellect. Why not try and eliminate your self and see what arises?

@Thanatos13 You won’t figure it out. Perhaps try taking 200ug of lsd, 30mg of 5-meo-dmt or go into 10 days of solitary in darkness. Yet, ease your way in. It can be absolutely brutal to the self. The self won’t let go without a fight and you are immersed in self.

@Thanatos13 It’s not something that is learned or understood. It just “IS”. It is repulsive to the self. It’s no-thing and every-thing. Every idea and thought you have just “IS” and has no more relevance than any other thought. The self and all it’s thoughts is all WITHIN it. For my self, moments of awakening came with self dissolution. Everything I thought and believed was stripped away. Early on, the loss of mental control was so terrifying my self wanted to commit suicide since that was the only way to regain control. If one is immersed in debating and “figuring it out”, they haven’t even encountered the rabbit hole yet. As the self dissolves, there are not the same highs and lows. The character still goes on, but there isn’t the attachment to the story or the chase for completion. The self gains nothing, it gets jack squat. The self gets exposed and loses all. There is no way to sugar coat it: the process involves brutal and terrifying moments to the self. Yet, its also beautiful and liberating. With that said, there are some beautiful duality teachings. And a reminder to all: dual vs nondual wars are against the TOA - so keep it civil.