Conscious Death in the Power of Now

[Fadious]

I read in The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle that during physical death "A portal opens up only very briefly, and unless you have already encountered the dimension of the Unmanifested (your own true self) in your lifetime, you will likely miss it. Most people carry way too much residual resistance, too much fear, too much attachment to sensory experience, too much identification with the manifested world. So they see the portal, turn away in fear, and then lose consciousness. Most of what happens after that is involuntary and automatic. Eventually, there will be another round of birth and death. Their presence wasn't strong enough yet for conscious immortality."

Reading this passage startled me..

Is reincarnation and cycles of birth and death true? How did Eckhart know this? Is this based on beliefs in Hinduism, Budhism, Sikhism etc.. and can one know this for themselves BEFORE physical death?

So is this really the goal? To escape the cycle of life and death?

Isn't there a point to God experiencing itself through its forms also?

I believe we should honor our life, live it, follow goals and desires coming from higher intuition, yet remain detached from outcome, surrender, and keep turning attention inwards.

After reading this I feel some pressure, where before I was approaching my self-inquiry practice from curiosity about my true nature, now I feel like I don't want to "miss that window"..

Also I didn't understand what was meant by "Most of what happens after that is involuntary and automatic."

[Someone here]

1 hour ago, Fadious said:

Most people carry way too much residual resistance, too much fear, too much attachment to sensory experience, too much identification with the manifested world. So they see the portal, turn away in fear, and then lose consciousness.

If I were faced with a choice between stepping into a portal into the unknown or returning for another incarnation.. I would need absolute certainty that my ultimate destination is safe ..which I do . There has to be a deep knowing that nothing can truly harm you in the end..that love ultimately prevails no matter what. Reaching that certainty requires work . 

If someone has not realized this.. then fear and resistance are completely understandable. The heartbreaking part is that if such a moment ever comes..whether you are able to surrender will ultimately be by God’s grace. The ego cannot make surrender happen through its own effort because the ego itself has no real independent existence. That is precisely the obstacle.. the one trying to surrender is the very illusion that stands in the way. In the deepest sense.. there is no separate self to surrender. Many people who awaken through psychedelics have no idea how they were guided toward that experience. They often assume it was their own choice..without recognizing the unseen forces that may have led them there. Take Ramana Maharshi…He seemed destined to become a realized sage. It is difficult to argue that his realization came solely through personal effort. Perhaps it was the unfolding of karma or some deeper grace..something I don’t fully understand..but his life suggests that realization is not simply something the ego achieves through willpower.

 

[gettoefl]

Here is suffering, one way or another. You want here until you don't want here. Stay as long as you want. Go when you choose. Everyone will leave. Some linger, some hasten. Cool either way. When oneness prevails, there isn't suffering. But you need faith to grasp that and to walk the walk.

[Hojo]

After I awaken a portal opened up behind my head.