RickyFitts

The absence of the contraction of fear, the absence of which allows love to flow freely.

I watched some of it, I've listened to this sort of thing quite a lot over the years and it's in one ear and out the other at this point to be honest. I should probably just give up trying to wrap my head around it.

Seems to me that it's more like you'd be a traumatised, dysfunctional person who had a glimpse of enlightenment. Is it really possible to be traumatised and enlightened at the same time?

Speaking of which, here's another one she shared with me that I always loved:

@Tristan12 You're so welcome, glad you liked them! Yeah, the VAST song is just beautiful, isn't it? It was shared with me by the same wonderful woman who shared the very first song on this thread with me, funnily enough, which is also an achingly beautiful song (ah man, she had the most amazing taste in music).

@Consilience You're truly an inspiration, many thanks for sharing your insights. ? I'd been thinking about extending the length of my sittings, and this thread gave me the extra motivation to do so - I'm already feeling the benefits, so thanks again.

Yep, and for me too - it's a lesson I learnt the hard way, too! You're absolutely right in what you say about the avoidance of such feelings perpetuating the suffering, though that avoidance is so instinctual that it tends to be extremely challenging to actually allow yourself to feel the pain, discomfort, etc. But recognising that there's no other way around it is an important first step.

Yes, this is a very important part of the process for most people. Having a glimpse of awakening can seem to make it all the harder to face these feelings, ironically, because they feel so shitty in contrast to the bliss of spiritual liberation, and there can be a temptation to try to hold onto spiritual truths as a way to avoid having to face these feelings within ourselves. After a while, though, it becomes apparent that this doesn't work and that these feelings have to be faced in order to be truly liberated. But do you have the stomach for it? I think this is what Jesus meant when he said, 'For many are called, but few are chosen'.

I reckon you could be right about that. All the more reason for him to do a video on the subject, perhaps.

?

Both are within you.

'Do not seek after what you yearn for, seek after the source of the yearning itself.' - Adyashanti

@Spence94 I saw your thread, trauma's a big issue for a lot of people (myself included) so it's an excellent idea.

Peter Levine's book 'Healing Trauma' is very good, it's available for free as an audiobook here.

I remember signing up for a spiritual forum a few years back with this naive idea in my head that the members would be more evolved and mature. Er yeah, didn't take me too long to figure how misguided that was! ?

@Preety_India As I say, I'm just feeling talked out at the moment and I'm working through some stubborn emotional upset and energetic issues (it's taking a while, but I'm getting there). Maybe it's something I'll do in the future.

@Preety_India I'm not feeling very talkative at the moment, I'm currently processing some emotional/energetic issues so don't have the desire or energy for journalling. I've thought about it though, maybe I'll do it in the near future.

Yeah, he gets it - when you really pay attention to your own inner workings, what he's saying becomes so obvious. Thanks for sharing, guys.

Not sure this is exactly what you have in mind, but the spiritual teacher Jon Bernie holds online gatherings for $20 per person in which he gives a talk and then has interactions with some of his students - he releases them as podcasts that you can listen to if you want to get an idea of what they're like (only the audio's available in the podcast, but video's available with the online gathering of course).

It can be very easy on the spiritual path to get caught up in the various spiritual concepts, but harnessing the power of attention is hugely important I feel (I know it's something that's been indispensible on my own path) so I just wanted to share this video that explains why it's important and how to do it:

@Esilda Yeah sorry, I meant to say 'like a favourite sister'.

I only have eyes for one woman, Loba (I mentioned my relationship with her to Esilda privately recently), I like Esilda but I've always thought of her as a favourite sister.