David_eh

I agree there is a difference between seeing through the illusion and tossing it away but also the death of the ego still leaves a useful and unique expression of the oneness.

Keep in mind that the notion that the universe doesn't need us is also just that. Keep the wonder alive and don't cling to your views.

Yeah, except that once you're dead there is no using the illusion of separation to explore. It is a tool, not an affliction for crying out softly. The affliction is the disease of us and them. Or the illusion is being separate, not being period. There is a huge difference in the implications. No wonder people are so confused. If you're going to teach about non-duality please do so responsibly. There's no reason a proper understanding would lead to a nihilistic outlook.

What stopped me is curiosity and/or wonder. When it comes right down to it, everything is information being shared. I feel that means something.

I made it here ok and being dead is most likely just like waiting to be born whether there is consciousness or not. We are temporal waves on an eternal ocean but it's all the same water.

I figure killing yourself (unless in constant pain or the like) is like writing half a book. I also think it's pretty irresponsible. Everybody has something their uniqueness brings to the table that we can all benefit from. Almost seems selfish coming from someone who has allegedly seen through the illusion of the self. Your uniqueness is what makes you useful. Not "special" whatever that means but useful. If two heads are better than one when it comes to figuring out stuff then we've hit the mother load. Pretending to know there is no meaning is highly illogical. For one thing, you don't really know either way and for another, meaning could be something that is made rather than found. If you want to find meaning then help somebody. If you want to find purpose then be useful. It's really that simple.

This is a very strange insight in my eyes. That the individual self is a trick of the mind doesn't mean it's just a waste of time or whatever. Just because we see through the illusion doesn't mean we stop using it... Put another way, duality is our tool, not the other way around. Carl Sagan said we are a way for the Cosmos to know itself. Are you nihilist or self actualizing?

I like it except for the tendency to label potential as nothing. Nothing doesn't exist and the label doesn't do potential any justice.

Just my opinion but there's too much violence and perversion in the Bible to even come close to enlightenment. Heck, the godhead isn't even enlightening. Jesus is another matter in my eyes.

As a new member and someone who doesn't exactly know the core doctrine other than non-dualism I'd probably continue to find it useful to the extent of learning exactly what that is while I find the time to watch what seem to be some pretty insightful videos. What I've read by Leo I've enjoyed and agreed with I think but being a unique aspect of the oneness, I see some things from a different angle. That being the nature of uniqueness, I wouldn't ever be able to take on a guru except as another pointer to the moon, so to speak. I hope that made sense, heh. Picturing it as a seasoned member I can totally see your logic here.

Cold definition: The conceptual opposite of being in the dark. Sometimes used as a synonym for being completely aware and awake.

Even just seperateing and isolating apples in order to count or own them is a concept because having borders between things is a concept. There is an infinite amount of possible apples and the potential for apples has always been.

The individual self exists only in relation to everything else. That is not to say it doesn't exist. When you say "dissolving the ego" I think you are trying too hard. The "I" is an illusory tool, not something to dismiss. I do find it fascinating talking with people that think we aren't real but the illusion is existing separately, not existing period.

If free will were really free I could sprout wings and fly. We can assert our will as long as the conditions allow. We have conditional will.

Except that a creator god is nonsensical. It is silly to pretend we have no ability to make decisions and follow through. There is not free will but there is conditional will. If there was free will I could sprout wings and fly but if there was no ability to affect change at all like many here think then we would all just be on auto pilot. It's an amusing little thought but in the end it is irresponsible doctrine to pretend we have no ability to assert our will.

Everyone seems to be missing the obvious. It is not a matter of free will or no ability to decide. We have conditional will.

Uh, no. If compassion is just some nice ideal in spite of the truth instead of the logical position in light of the truth then the understanding is flawed.

The illusion is a tool, not some kind of boogeyman to be gotten rid of. None of what you just said made a lot of sense and I don't think you understood my argument. Who said anything about being superior? If there were no free will then it is kind of silly to bother trying to decide on anything including what to have for lunch. Saying there is no free will is the same as saying there is no personal responsibility for our thoughts and actions. It's the same as saying it's all God's will and it's a complete cop out.

I'd say that conditioning dictates our thoughts and actions only to a degree and that conscious choice does the rest. Through taking charge and being mindful, we interrupt animal instinct. Otherwise it's kind of silly to bother with self actualization.

If your practice makes you feel like you are somehow superior to others then I'd dare say you have a ways to go. If you are calmer than the average person then people will feel more at ease around you. If you feel free to speak out against things like racism even when it's disguised as humour amongst your peers, you embolden others to do the same. It has nothing to do with looking down on others and everything to do with compassion.

I think it's a Middle Way/interdependence thing. Decisions are surly influenced by conditioning but conditioning depends on individual world views and what is done with the input. When we are mindful of what we are doing our will is much more free than when we are simply reacting to stimulus without proper consideration. The idea that we have no free will seems to me to perpetuate a kind of irresponsibility.