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Another realization I got, which is an obvious one, but I hadn't thought of it in the bigger picture before, is that our individual egos are a result of the collective ego of the society we live in. And then I started wondering how the heck we would be able to evolve out of that trap. But then I heard Roger Castillo mentioning that the ego will automatically start to be removed from people when we become aware and learn the new conditioning he is talking about. Roger is a "disciple" of Ramesh Balsekar, who was a very hardcore nonduality teacher, so the new conditioning might appear somewhat nihilistic at first, but seen from an evolutionary perspective it becomes a full picture for me. The new conditioning is the realization that nobody is a doer in the ultimate sense. So that's what will happen! If that's the truth, and I think it is the truth, then more and more people, including myself, will automatically become reconditioned.

This is a great short book/poem about pure nonduality. Written by the Third Chinese Chán (Zen) Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan. I recommend it highly for contemplation, for giving up the illusions you are stuck in. You can find it here.

The founder of Israel and it's first prime minister was a Spiral Dynamic stage yellow thinker. I live in Israel and just recently finished personal biography research of this incredible man. As a student of spiral dynamic, I immediately noticed how developed he was on the spiral- especially by the end of his life... Here are some amazing facts about him: - Spoke 11 different languages (including ancient Greek in order to study philosophy from the source!) - He had a collection of over 27,000 books in his 2 houses! In his house in Tel Aviv, the entire second floor is a privet library with a bedroom! The library contains 22,000 books from all over the world! the diversity of the books is shocking: Greek and Roman philosophy in the original languages, History books of dozens of countries (including USA, UK, India, China, and many other countries in Africa, South America and Asia which he all studied), Books about all religions, Spirituality, Nonduality, meditation, yoga, psychology, brain science, astronomy, biology, medic, physic and much more... So how can you read so much as a prime minister? During the nights... - You can actually go to his house in Tel Aviv (today it's a museum) and witness the books and even read from them inside the museum (on his will he asked to give people read from the books in the future so the museum allows it for free) - His houses were very simple and modest and he valued the simple kind of lifestyle (look at the pictures) - After living in Tel Aviv for a few decades and after he declared the state of Israel and was the first prime minister, he went to live in the middle of the desert in a small "Kibuts" (a form of collective community settlement in Israel), growing his own food, having chickens and a cow in his house, reading and writing, doing yoga and meditating. - He traveled to Burma and India doing meditation retreats and practicing yoga. During his journey, he met with monks and enlightenment masters. - One of the most famous pictures of him is the "head standing" on the beach of Tel Aviv, Today there is a statue of him doing it (look at the pictures) - One of his best friends was Albert Einstein, they shared many ideas and Ben Gurion even asked Einstein to be the president of Israel! (In Israel, the president is mainly representative, and the prime minister is the one who actually runs the country). By the way, Einstein said no... - By the end of his life, he gave a British reporter an interview in English in his house in the desert (6 hours long) which turned into a 2 hours movie called "Epilog"- only when you hear him talk you can really understand what I'm talking about. Some quotes: "God? it's not the one in the bible, it's everywhere" "I don't believe in just a physical world there is much more magic than that in here" "Through yoga, man learns to control his body better - in his internal and external organs and in this way in his spirit as well" Ben Gurion was not enlightenment and during most of his life, he dealt with political issues and his main vision was to establish a state. In addition, he definitely had some spiral dynamic stage orange and green ideology, but he was also a true seeker who realized the fact that there is more to this reality than black and white thinking, especially by the end of his life just like Einstein and Maslow were. This post is just an introduction for you, If you want to know the full story go read his biography (the best one is of Michael Bar Zohar). In addition, watch the movie "Epilog".

What are the proper expectations we who are into consciousness and nonduality can expect a more consicious and integrated world through politics and policy change? Covering the realities of how Marxism is actually correct along with the limitations of it. What our role is as conscious creators who are moving towards 2nd and even 3rd tier in creating a more conscious society and how we can infuse that with politics? Ecodharma and politics What would 2nd Tier politics and society even look like? What kinds of policy changes in our systemic national and global societal infrastructure need to be changed in order to elevate the rest of mankind up Maslows Hierarchy, Spiral Dynamics, and other such stages of development and of course towards the possibility of being able to achieve liberation much easily for everybody? Such as UBI, legalization of psychedelics, etc.

@Buba Lets say your brain is in a normal waking state without any substance. What is perception? of what you see, feel, hear, ect? What is the essence of it? What is it made out of? If you become very very present and reach a level of no-mind (less thoughts) and deeply question this, you will realize that the physical feeling of whatever you feel, has the same essence of your dream, of a substance's hallucinations, of deep dreamless sleep. It's something very very subtle and empty. Science likes to zoom in untill they reach a limit. Atoms, sub atomic particles, quarks, strings, whatever comes even after that. Maybe it never ends. Meybe everything is made of something lesser and also mades up something more. What if there was no end to "what's something made of" and "pure awareness/nothingness" be the ultimate substance? It really must be experienced. Materialism is right in physical domains. Yes if you shoot your brain this perception will be gone. But it's not ultimately true. Nonduality goes beyond it.

I would LOVE this! People into spirituality I feel need to have a better understanding at the interconnection between nonduality and politics. I notice a lot of people into spirituality (particularly on this forum) are quite politically retarded in regards to their understanding. If we want a more conscious and awakened world in a way that is both not a pipe dream and sustainable, we need a more conscious politics. Theres a reason Sadhguru, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, Krishna, and reknown mystics both past and modern, and have worked with the rulers of their civilization to help bring transformation for those in power in order to bring conscious transformation to the people.

@abrakamowse Well if your intent is for things to run smoothly, I guess that's what you have to do. Masons do it, and most religions do it to some degree. It shouldn't be a problem in nonduality, except apparently anything goes so we're especially fucked. How many books on enlightenment have been written by women? How many female enlightened masters are there? Apparently women are only capable of fawning over a master and not being there for purely spiritual reasons. They are a distraction, bad luck, too emotional, not to be taken seriously. If someone wants to be valued, they will either leave or find a way in which they can be valued. Finally respect women as equal spiritual beings as a community and these things won't happen.

You cannot ask a question about God until you meet him. I heard a really good quote regarding nonduality; "most questions about nonduality are the wrong questions...like the question 'what colour is the number 4?' "

Enlightenment does not imply entire cessation of thought. The cessation of thought in certain practices helps us see through thought and not identify with it. Enlightenment does not get rid of the ego, but you can now see past the ego. Concepts point to experience but we confuse the concept as the experience. This work is all about finding balance. Be careful about how much you theorize. Even now you are just theorizing what you think you see in these people. Entering nonduality does not mean you never use duality and it becomes useless. Rather it becomes a tool. Duality vs nonduality is also a duality. Nonduality will see both perspectives and use either where it applies. Something only becomes dogma and indoctrination if you hold it as such.

@iTommy I hear ya. ? A decent contemplation might be, without a thinker of thoughts, do thoughts arise? Why would they and for what? Duality arises in a nondualist, but does duality arise within nonduality?

@WHO IS ?? “Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.” The Buddha (Sutta Nipata) “To support mother and father, to cherish partner and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupation - this is the greatest blessing.” The Buddha (Mangala A powerful nonduality. “The root of suffering is attachment.” - WHO IS

Knowledge is a veil, duality (appearance / illusion) . The ‘real’ of the feeling of knowing knowledge, is knowing the self derived from having forgotten the self. There is no actual duality known, only an idea of a knower and it’s knowledge. A being which is itself infinite intelligence recognizing itself, never actually knowing any thing. There isn’t actually any knowledge or a thing to know, You just appear that way. Duality isn’t perceived within nonduality, nonduality is known in spite of the illusion duality, like remembering in spite of having forgotten, but what was forgotten was No Thing / The Substance Of Not Knowing / You. A body isn’t dropped, there never was a body. Duality isn’t dropped, because it never actually was some thing, delusion is dropped, in recognition there isn’t any. There is only Being recognizing and knowing itself. If the cosmic joke is not funny, the joke is on “you”.

Regardless of what I focus on or desire, it doesn't work out for me. Life used to be a fascinating wonder for me. I wake up in the mornings terrified and go through the day emotionally numb, feeling little. I look at my own mother and don't even know if she is really real or not. Can she see me? Is she as alive as I am? I don't know any more. I feel utterly alone and don't know what's going to happen in future. I can't even find the motivation to sort my career out either because when all is said and done, there is ultimately no point. I'm god anyway so maybe when I get enlightenment, I can bring this whole thing to an end and realise how utterly stupid I was to create all this. I just want to stop working and spend the rest of my days doing meditation and spirituality, because part of me still believes I've maybe got it all wrong. Maybe all I've got to do is accept that anything that appears on my computer screen or in reality as a whole is just me feeding back to myself to create the illusion that I'm not alone. Isn't that nonduality in a nutshell?

Hey, I have zero experience with psychedelics, or anything like that. But after learning lots of theory about nonduality and enlightenment, I want to have a little mystical experience using psychedelic substances. But I have no idea what to expect, or what am I suppose to start with. Is a microdose of LSD good for my purposes? And also, what is the ideal environment for the thing I am looking for? I suppose an empty room will do. And I suppose trip sitter is necessary too. What would you suggest?

Agreed. Syd Barrett ate too many sugarcubes... and the nonduality became too much for him

That's because questions can only arise to the sense of a separate self. AKA the separated self, AKA the dual aspect of nonduality, and so only a dual answer will suffice which is yes and no in the same instant. Because both answers are true, in that reality is both non-and dual by it's very nature. The empty mirror of consciousness and what it reflects are the same ONE...never two.

Free will vs no free will is yet another duality. The way the whole question is framed is fundamentally dualistic and silly because it assumes there is more than one entity. If there only exists one entity/object, does it have free will or not? See? It's an absurd question because anything it is, is identical with its will. There is no other outside it that could control it. The whole notion of control breaks down because control requires two objects: a controller and the controllee. This cannot hold if nonduality is the case. Being and Will turn out to be identical in a nondual state of consciousness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QCCz4mtd0E I'm not sure if the artist was going for this, I read briefly the song was written about someone with addiction. But doesn't it sound like he's talking nonduality?

I dare to you say that to an enlightened master in person while trying to look him/her in they eyes LOL you damn devil. Of course you think you don’t have any responsibility in the matter. Just another a sign that shows that all of this for you is all talk with no real genuine insight - much less the humility. You don’t give two shits about truth. Only whatever serves your own selfishness to not take any action and recognize your responsibility. Neglecting the world is neglecting yourself. Let me make this clear before more additional dribble: I am not enlightened. I am not awake. I’m still a fool. However, I recognize and am honest about what I have not become conscious of but also that which I do know and understand and what I have learned displayed from people who’ve devoted their lives to this work for thousands of years up till today. I’m not saying I’m more awake than you. I’m not here to play peacocking games. I am here to say though that what you’re reguritating is nothing but talk. You’re dribble about nonduality is just more lazy neoadvaitan garbage. I suggest you toss that and take responsibility for your life and humble yourself to the task at hand.

@Inliytened1 I haven't watched your video to be honest, and I'm not planning to. Although I've watched Leo's series nonduality debunks materialism long ago. It does not matter to me the source of the ideas, they are just ideas and you're defending them. And then you think that you must. Isn't that you attaching yourself to an identity? For what? For your ego's survival of course. I don't see how you are liberated in any possible way. You're reacting to my comments all the time, or at least that's how it seems. If that is liberation, I don't want it. And I'm not suppressing my emotions, perhaps I was bad at communicating some of my ideas.

@kag101 I want to elaborate on few things you seem to be missing: As far as that Benthino guy: You have to separate realization from embodiment and also ego development. It’s very common for people who have genuine deep enlightenments of which the realization “sticks” to actually get “worse” as a person because they deepen repressed unconscious shadow material. He seems to be a guy that seems to have genuine experiential understanding of enlightenment, yet very partial. Realizing Love is very different than embodying Love. Which leads me to the next point... I personally very much understand the side of being frustrated by people who talk a big Nonduality game (including myself) yet, not only don’t walk their talk, but haven’t even genuinely experienced what they’re talking about to begin with. So when people talk about how everything is all Love, and it is, yet they themselves haven’t realized in their direct experienced as a result of their own deliberate practice, it is hypocritical. So of course, I imagine that’s what you’re probsbly calling out (which I tend to have a bit of a reputation for on the forum here). Having said that though... the truth of the matter is that in the end is that everything that ever occurs ever happens because of God’s Love. However Love as we’re talking about here is not a human emotional love so that Love which is unconditional does not discriminate as to what we as egos would normally make distinctions of what is and is not Love, since the “love” that we in ego consciousness are unknowingly referring to is a form of love that is under the filter of survival. So what I’m saying is that you can become conscious that for example that the holocaust occurred because of God’s Love. Not only that, you can also become conscious that you caused that. Why? Because you Love. Because Creation. Now, obviously that’s a very radical realization but nonetheless it is the case. Bringing that into one’s own life and going around with that realization as an ever present conscious experience is a totally other matter.

I see where you’re coming from, and I apologize. I meant that in the sense, sometimes it’s more simple than our conversations suggest. Sometimes in addressing the sensations one is experiencing rather than the thought content of dogma, nonduality, religion, etc, etc, the polarity is known in the self if you will, and then the Self begins to become known, and the Will becomes known. Again though, sorry. I am probably the biggest thread hijacker in the community and I can be more mindful of that. ?? Simpler said, rather than “what are you thinking? ”...perhaps “what are you going through?” Helps.

I've just been going with the flow. In the past year my six year old son started asking questions about magic, if it's real or not, about dragons, and lots of questions about God and what God can or can't do. He's a bit behind developmentally because he has mild autism. I try to explain infinity and nonduality as best as I can. The other tricky thing is that I know that most of his friends and teachers are going to have a very dualistic idea of God. So far we haven't had any funny situations come up. The most important thing to me is to teach them to love other people and be kind, and I let them be who they are within reason. Raising them when they are babies and toddlers is extremely difficult because it's so intuitive and what's required from you isn't great theory like Leo's video which is for parenting older kids. What's required is your presence. Just being ok during the tantrums and not losing your cool too can be incredibly difficult and exhausting. We have kids because we think we will be great parents, but in reality you feel like you're winging it and just getting by, and we all will mess up our kids somehow no matter how enlightened you are. It's a humbling and beautiful experience.

I would love it if there was another mom with kids who has gone deep with nonduality. Balancing both has been and is quite a feat. I'm wondering if I should check our Teal Swan's forum, are there more women there? One reason why I don't talk about the more feminine aspects of my life and spiritual practices here is just because I don't think most people will appreciate it... just because most people here are male. I really appreciate the male perspective, and I have a hard time committing to difficult practices so that's partly why I'm here I guess. I try to give my perspective when it seems appropriate but I also feel strange and uncomfortable about talking about feminine subjects on a forum of mostly men.

Awesome progress. I would call this Law of Attraction, rather than nonduality.