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@Bas & @OliverB Your comments are appreciated. I hope any further entries will be equally satisfying. @Soulbass I do not believe someones soul or spirit, are associated with one's mind even a psychological "soul". The soul perhaps contains the mind, but the spirit is everything. Soul can be seen as the trap bounding spirit to the physical, and the mind is the greatest trap stopping the soul from realizing spirit. Just this fundamental understanding can help you ascend to entirely new levels. Perhaps a certain seer may have the capabilities of looking into another mind, or they could be extremely intuitive which would also give enough of an influence to help unlock things. I would say there is a certain danger associated with having anyone else unlock you. What you're talking about reminds me an awful lot of DBZ where Guru wakes up Gohan and Krillin only to have them become over confident of their new found abilities and ultimately be defeated. Sadhguru warns of the issues associated with such an awakening, and from personal experience which I cannot discuss at this juncture (not because I don't want to, but because there are legal entanglements) I must agree. "What if someone touches you and causes you to progress immediately? Automatically you have gone from the clerk to the CEO of your own existence, but you're not aware of the change, of the functions, how would you handle it? The body must be prepared to handle such an amount of energy, if the body is not sufficiently prepared something will break and you will fall back down. Better to build a staircase and climb it, than jump into ecstasy, fall down lost and feel like you can never get back. This leads only to misery." (Paraphrased and not nearly correctly from Sadhguru). As far as the muse goes, I believe this entirely correct (though a limited analogy). I believe it is correct because the existence as it is portrayed at the moment is not your fundamental existence. You are experiencing a creation, the entirety of this creation is complete. It is a single complete object, and the creator has made it that way. You may find peace and allow grace to flow through you, but that too is a trap in many ways. There is something far beyond this, which may be transcended only by jumping into nothingness. Realizing ones self, opening the third eye, and ascending intellectually is what most refer to as enlightenment, but true enlightenment is to go even further beyond, to become boundless, to jump into it completely and be boundless. Only once you have no bounds may you truly be your own creator, only then can anything possibly "new" or your "own" be created. Which brings me to my last point, I have relatively little interest in identifying with any of the powers enlightenment grants. They were lucrative and lured me for a long time, but what purpose would there be to break out of this trap only to be trapped in another which only pretends to be more "powerful"? Time travel is one such trap, it is the desire to change or experience something from the same egoistic mind-frame, this inadvertently traps you to the ego. I'm not saying it's bad to enjoy the thought or even the experience, but you must recognize why the thought is enjoyed and ensure that it does not trap you. The goal is the extricate yourself entirely from being bounded, to stop being a slave to thingness. It cannot be completed as long as their is some desire to be an object. This is why I mentioned that in a lot of ways the experience I had of the fourth dimension is a trap, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I am reaching a juncture where multiverse travel is possible. That being said exploring a multiverse would just be a multitude of new possibilities designed for one thing, to enslave me further into identification. Identification is the biggest trap, it is the biggest thing holding us back. The mind is the machine, and the self will propagate any fantasy or trauma that could possibly hold your attention long enough to identify. That is what must be broken through.

It is as much "mine" as everything is me. I only said "mine" within the knowing that it's me who keeps going on with it. There were more people in the beginning asking it,but they quickly withdrew from Forum to enjoy their nothingness in bliss I of course got it from my Guru, My father, Moojiji who has completely undone the person and left the me open, spacious and free

Conscious simply is being aware of what you are doing right now, in a basic daily level, when you are asleep, you are not totally conscious about what is happening around you. And when you dream at night, the dream looks so real so you are not conscious that you are dreaming. Same thing with daydreaming, you are not focusing in your task because your mind is thinking about something else, so you are not being conscious. In spiritual awakening, it's also the same meaning but it goes into deeper levels, it's referred as awakening from the dream of reality, which is made by mental projections. The more conscious you are, the more you will realize that the physical life as we know it is some kind of human mental projections, and things actually are not as they seems to us as humans, in a deeper level (which is enlightenment) all reality will collapse and the only thing left is your true nature which is pure timeless consciousness(Aka present, presence, or the Now, the nothingness, God, Spirit, Higher self, Allah, Shiva, Universe, Space) Terms may vary due different teachings but the essence is one.

@Algi Perceiving some higher ideas doesn't mean you can't be understanding and compassionate about your family or friends interests, ideas and so on. You can realize they are on a different level from you and plant a seed for them to start looking at same things from a bit different perspective. No need for dramatic explanation to them how they are not body and mind but nothing more than nothingness. You can just point out to them things which help them to do next step in their life and have interesting discussion there as well. I actually found to be more close to my family after raising my conciseness and could better feel them and find common topics for discussion.

@brianman3 Watch each thought fade away, what does it fade away into? Nothingness Another thought arises, and yet again it fades into nothingness Let each thought fade away and give it no power. For me, empirically, cannot be a thought for only a thought comes and it goes, cannot identify a me within for thoughts arise and they go into the abyss.

It does have that connotion of an inferior ego to it. But I know what is ment. Everythingness would be a more plausable use of the word, because everyone is amazing in a way. Lets reframe it in a more true way: everything in existance is nothingness, but it seems that I experience diversity of everyones highest wisdom and expression.

@99th_monkey Pure Transparent Awareness, Nothingness, Presence, Consciousness

So nothingness is perfectly empty consciousness. Pure self, or true self beyond all associations?

I have a question, Can nothingness be directly experienced within consciousness? Or do we at best indirectly experience nothingness. It seems to me that if it were true nothingness, it could not because than it would be something. Or maybe advanced spiritual beings can directly experience nothingness? But there would be nothing to be experienced. See my confusion?

@Aldo Marchand this is a REAL trap!!! You assume there is a YOU living life. That is incorrect! You are NOT LIVING life!!!! You ARE LIFE being lived by a "concoction of elements" that your person-hood is imagining currently of being "you" That right there is the big issue.... There is [insert concept*] living you, breathing you, walking you, speaking you... that imagined you * concept has been named: God, emptiness, nothingness, Higher Self, etc

We are the same thing: An empty space (Nothingness) where everything occurs (Everythingness).

Here's exactly how: Step #1: Have an enlightenment experience on Who am I? Step #2: Have an enlightenment experience on What am I? Step #3: Have an enlightenment experience on What is another? By the end of that process, you will have realized that you are nothing, and so is everyone else. You = Other = Nothingness Figure yourself out first before trying to unravel the puzzle of Another.

One of the great poins about enlightenment for me is feeling more responsable for the other people rather than carrying only about yourself. Reality is about Us not about me. Nothingness opens the door to everything as you are not only centered inside of your ego. The true self is about breaking the cage of animal mode and going to the scientific/spiritual discoveries through alot of observation and serious inspired work. For real improvements you need inspiration and faith in the future.@Pinocchio @Galyna @Emerald Wilkins @Kini @Ramu @Leo Gura (My little contribution here --> But i have alot of doubts about no freewill beacuse i'm a composer and creativity flows here, so i believe you have the true freedom of choice when you create unique things for all !)

There is one huge misconception that is concluded from that video that is easily made. Nothingness is still existing with the fact that everyone has their own unique expression. Personality is of the soul ~ Matt Kahn. The fact that we live as a whole seeing to look trough the eyes of a seperated being is a gift. It is not about getting rid of the personality but to transition to being emptiness in his own unique expression. Only you do not have different personalities, but only your authentic one. All enlightened persons have a personality. It would not be a healthy thing if everyone was the same, don't you think? This is is a really vital question you posted on this forum.

Personally, I think you are confused about this Enlightenment. In fact, we are all incarnated in body and we all gonna die, so this is not matter of choice. You are a chimp, whether you want it or not :). So you can forget all concepts about Enlightenment, Power of Now, "getting in touch with the nothingness" and the like. Spiritual awakening absolutely doesn't exclude working, achieving goals or just enjoying your daily life experiences. It has nothing to do with giving up your personal life to become a "spiritual person" whoever it may be. You can include for beginning Mindfulness practice in your life to become self-aware chimp and take very practical benefits of it, without making any exaggerated metaphysical/existential claims on nature of cosmos or life&death. "The quality of mind cultivated in vipassana is almost always referred to as “mindfulness,” and the literature on its psychological benefits is now substantial. There is nothing spooky about mindfulness. It is simply a state of clear, nonjudgmental, and undistracted attention to the contents of consciousness, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Cultivating this quality of mind has been shown to reduce pain, anxiety, and depression; improve cognitive function; and even produce changes in gray matter density in regions of the brain related to learning and memory, emotional regulation, and self-awareness."

Hello @Neuroticon You can be multi-talented and master many fields. Don't worry about that. You need to learn to align your talents, skills and abilities with your purposes. Step back and see the big picture of all your interests. Contemplate about it. Make a list of interests that are most dear to you. Does one stick up more than the others? Self-improvement is always an improvement of something substantial that you consider part of you (or an extension of yourself). (When self is "nothingness", than there is no sense in improving it, right? So we improve and manage all the things we are creating, are connected to or surrounded by :-)) When you have a dream or a life purpose, you will know which of those parts you want to utilize, what you need to upgrade and master. You should commit to a purpose, so all your talents and abilities are focused. Then you will improve as you go. This doesn't mean that you should shut your eyes to new possibilities. You can also upgrade your dreams, goals and purposes. Spmetimes a new door opens and changes a whole lot of our previous outlook. Just don't lose yourself in too many tasks at one given time. Master the pieces one at a time. That's the way masterpieces are born. ;-) Chris

Hi everyone, I just had some questions on Leo's most recent video "The Enlightened Self - A Description Of Your Existential Nature." I'd love to hear any ideas, and any points I make I would love to be proved wrong in! First up, how can we say that we are the "nothingness"? I can perhaps understand there is something outside what I can ever experience, but I would say that I am still experience. I reckon (or reckoned before the video at least) that experience is derived from the "nothingness", but how can someone say, "I am the nothingness". Are we not a small derivative part of the "nothingness"? It seems to me like an ant saying "I am the colony" when instead he is a small part of the colony (which consists of other ants, but also the eggs, also the ground, also the tunnels, etc). I would perhaps argue that there is more to us than our experience sure, and this is almost certainly outside time, but I wouldn't say it is accurate to call ourselves "it" - but instead we are a result of "it". When I die, surely I am dead, and the universe just continues on without me entirely? No part of me, not even my "true self" can survive a gun shot to the brain right? As another example, when I am doing work and I am in a state of flow, "I" do not exist for hours and there is no consciousness as such - but whatever does exist there will end after a gunshot to the head right; that would suggest the "true self" still exists in the brain? And the last example here, if someone is meditating and in a TOTAL state of enlightenment, would he remain after a gunshot to the head? Or would that "nothingness" and the "true self" still exist? [Sorry for the gun shot to the head example the whole time, but it's useful in this thought experiment] Second, why the choice of the word "nothingness"? Words are all about definitions, and isn't nothingness by definition nothing and non existant (non existant from any perspective)? Wouldn't a better choice of words be a "singularity" (a point outside space and time) or the "no concept" (outside concepts)? Does anyone know any other words or phrases that you prefer? Third, why do people who are people who experienced enlightenment so sure they are correct? Why do they think that their new insight isn't just another illusion? Or if not an illusion, isn't the experience still in the mind? Or is the enlightenment "experience" actually escaping experience and the brain itself, and thus totally outside the brain? Would a MRI of the brain for instance show the enlightenment experience, or does the whole process of enlightenment actually occur outside the neurochemistry of the brain? Last up I would actually like to say I found the huge similarities to what Leo was saying with quantum physics hugely impressive. The below channel on YouTube attempts to provide a visualization of it. If anyone has a few spare hours it's very interesting. There are themes of the singularity = 0 = infinity, deeper levels of reality, and the ultimate illusion of our lives. In my interpretation though, it would suggest we are fundamentally trapped in our existance of 3D snapshots of a 4D spacetime worldline, and we are not the singularity as such, but rather we are a derivative of it.

@Pinocchio I define Nirvana as Nothingness.

Exactly how vast is this nothingess, and where does it end? What is beyond the nothingness? That space suit analogy help me disidentify with the body for a a moment.

You assume there are "other persons." You may want to re-examine that assumption in your direct experience. No, you won't be able to experience. Experience is unique to your particular mind and body. The Truth (nothingness, as you and Leo call it) is not unique. It's the substratum behind experience that's always been there for eternity. It's just not any particular quality. I have an analogy that may help. You experience the world through a space suit that comes with various attributes: height, weight, looks, intelligence, personality... Sorry to say, but one day, that space suit will cease to function, and it will break down. What remains? Just plain old space. You currently identify with your space suit instead of the space, what you've been for eternity. While it may seem like you lose something when the space suit breaks down, you never lost anything. You were always the space pervading the space suit. Enlightenment work is the process of dis-identifying with the space suit and remembering that you're space. Again, re-examine your assumption of there being "others". What if your experience was all the experience there ever was?

Religion or rather Mythology is a great language to use if you understand it and don't just go by the dogmatic version. The best part about it is that the symbols go straight to the subconscious mind, no scientific or psychological description or explanation of things will ever do that no matter how well told it is, so if you for example listen to Leos videos your left brain might start to grasp what he's saying really well but you will still be hold back in every aspect by your subconscious mind. This is probably one of the biggest reasons why meditation is so damn important but if you smash the pillars of Religion and Science together you'd probably only need half the meditation to reach the same level of enlightenment (or something to that effect). Rituals is the best shit ever if you want to change your subconscious btw, haven't tried it myself yet but it's pretty obvious, I've been told to read "kabbalah magic and the great work of self-transformation" by a guy who seam to really understand shit on youtube so if anyone is interested check it out. If you say that you will live your life by nothingness and try to explain that to your red brain you gonna fail, if you say that you will live as a Brother or Sister of Christ and become a born again christian, you gonna fail, if you use all of those symbols and understand the meaning behind them you will progress even if it still take some time you will move forward because your subconscious understand that shit far better than your red, left brain do. On the top of the blue pillar on the Kabbalistic tree of life lies Chokmah - Wisdom, this is to see the reflection of the Christ which is the Hidden one - The Nothingness that you are in everything and everyone around you (as strange at that sound seeing how it's nothing but you'll probably understand what I mean one day if you keep at it, it's the "shining light on things" meaning that Leo talked about in the latest video). The blue pillar is the sub-conscious that see everything as one and there's no time or space in that part of the mind. PS. The Book of Enoch say that the Elect will one day come down even on Mount Sinai which is the moon or human consciousness, that is the true enlightenment The Demiurge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g89tzZq98tw

The idea is that you are everything, and you do experience everything. The issue is that you don't realize your assumption that you are a small person in an infinitely vast universe. You take for granted that you are a small element in a larger existence. This is getting caught up in the illusion. But it is equally likely that your perceptions in the present moment are existence itself. So you have the content of your thoughts and the content of your five senses. These occur in the field of awareness that is nothingness. Imagine that there is nothing more than what you perceive right now in the present moment. Past is just a thought. Future is just a thought.

That is very relatable. I'm bought into the idea of nothingness (which is already a thing if You make an idea of it) from OSHO's books and every time at the beginning of meditating session (strong determination sitting if You will) my mind is like a part of an atom, constantly moving in all directions, I have all that concepts of my ankles touching the ground inducing very painful, uncomfrotable feeling I can sense even before starting. I have a concept about what will happen to my body, what I will feel and how big Resistance I will feel against it. The more I sit, the harder those thoughts are hitting me until I reach a point of submission, letting go of an idea that I AM, I FEEL, I HAVE A MIND AND THOUGHTS. There is noone to feel the pain. There is no mind to start thought process. What happens I cannot fully describe. Think of it as "I" no longer exists. The mind is off. Thoughts are off. That kind of insight is short in terms of time, but is like a touch of the eternity. Plus after the session going back into normal standing possition takes me good 3 minutes, because of the pain I feel, but how hard I laugh doing it is remarkable - I have no idea why I'm laughing, someone please tell me

@Akim great points, I am very interested in seeing a reply. @Ramu The ego is definitely a construct of the mind (and so is my concept of my brain), but after killing off the ego entirely there is still experience/awareness. So I don't think losing your ego makes you understand nothingness; I think that is another step in enlightenment. "nothingness" seems to be outside experience too (that's what Leo indicates in his videos) and I agree there must be something outside our experience. We can call it the "universe" or "nothingness". BUT, I see no indication why we are the entire nothingness then, why can't we be an epiphenomenon of the "nothingness", just like mass is a phenomenon of no-mass lightspeed particles? Or we could be a finite part of the infinite nothingness. To me we seem to be derived from the nothingness, or to be a very small part of the nothingness. I would love insight as to why my perspective is incomplete or flawed however

@Leo Gura Let me express my doubts, I think it will be beneficial and I don't necessarily think that you are wrong, I just want to look at it from other perspective. But what is wrong with phenomena of the world, like experiences, smells, thoughts, concepts, how are they a prison? There would not be anything like that after death. This flower only exist as a brain activity, this smell or thought is only exist as a brain activity. So you are saying that after death there would not be "nothing", instead there would be a timeless subtle "nothingness" that exist now but we are distracted by phenomena? What if that "nothingness-awareness" is just a small feature of reality that lead to interesting things in human brain, because human brain integrates tons of information but there are also other examples of "nothingness-awareness" that are boring and featureless, and our human existence is very rare and lucky in some sense? What if concepts of self and things are good and useful? What if good enlightened people are in some sense build on foundation of concepts with more subtle and developed processes above them and not build on removal of all concepts, may be they just go unconscious? What if "nothingness-awareness" is not a source but just a product of the brain or something else? What if reality is much more complex than space, time, existence, phenomena? We conceptualized even quantum mechanics with invented mathematical language and built wonderful things. What if we can conceptualize enlightenment, why not? What if probability of ultimately breaking something in your psyche is much greater that developing it? What if that process of self inquiry and meditation is dangerous and can lead to mental problems in some people? There are examples http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/meditation-is-touted-as-a-cure-for-mental-instability-but-can-it-actually-be-bad-for-you-10268291.html http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/is-mindfulness-making-us-ill#comment-67355752 What if you need a good teacher for doing this work? How can you find a good teacher and be sure that he is not delusional himself and subconsciously or even consciously motivated by ulterior motives? What if it is all just delusions and enlightened people just have delusions more pleasant to experience? What if enlightenment doesn't exist, it is a delusion and the most dangerous and persistent one in the world, because it promises more than anything else in the world, to end suffering, which gives mind infinite reasons to defend it?