What are the most important traps of awakening?

[CaptainBobbyOlsen]

I would love to compile a list of the most important traps of awakening, and reflect upon how they arise in the story of this body, mind and soul  

What i mean by “trap” is simply that which is/has a potential to hinder the blossoming of the understanding of reality in this life, in this very moment. Everything that makes you turn off the highway and go into a blind allyway just for you to realize that there is nothing for you there, and then you have to go back onto the highway without having gained much if anything from deviating from the highway  

What i have noticed in my own life and contemplations is simply that at any given moment(not all but most moments) there are at least one trap (usually many at the same time) operating that limits “my” understanding of reality right at this very moment. Examples of a few of the traps that are operating at the very moment of writing this text are:

- The thought/feeling that there are “traps” hindering reality right now

- That there is something missing right now

- That there is a “someone” who can do anything about “traps” right now

- That i need to understand reality better than i do right now in order to find total peace

I have observed in my own life that whenever i notice and reflect upon a trap operating at any given moment, there is somewhat of a release from that trap itself. When for example i notice that i am engaging in the trap of conceptualizing and thinking too much about reality, there is an instant release from the thinking itself and a more direct and usefull/satisfying experience of reality as it presents itself moment to moment.

Direct moment to moment experience without any traps operating is what i sometimes think of as the true end of “seeking”.

So what are some of the important traps that you have noticed in your own life, and what helped you in overcoming/dealing with them?

Thank you  

[Surfingthewave]

17 hours ago, CaptainBobbyOlsen said:

 

I have observed in my own life that whenever i notice and reflect upon a trap operating at any given moment, there is somewhat of a release from that trap itself. When for example i notice that i am engaging in the trap of conceptualizing and thinking too much about reality, there is an instant release from the thinking itself and a more direct and usefull/satisfying experience of reality as it presents itself moment to moment.

Direct moment to moment experience without any traps operating is what i sometimes think of as the true end of “seeking”.

Yes, the instant release from thinking you so describe is the moment to moment awareness, or awakening. 

There are many traps but the biggest are:

-Ego arising out of thinking you are Enlightened (the guru effect) 

- The trap of continued "seeking" rather than just being/practice 

- Thinking the destination is more important than the journey 

[Michael Jackson]

One major trap is to think you have fully realized when you have not. For example some people get stuck at the realization of no-self and think they have reached the ultimate. Do not stop until you fully know the answer to every single important question you could ask. Questions that need to be answered:

• Who or what am I?
• What is Life?
• Why is there Something rather than Nothing?
• What is Love?
• Why does suffering exist?
• Why is there a table inside of your room? How does the table come into being?
• How is the world / the universe being manifested?
• What is Existence?
• What is a problem?
• continue the list.

Basically, you need to realize you are God. From that place, all your question will get their answers.

[Michael Jackson]

17 hours ago, CaptainBobbyOlsen said:

- The thought/feeling that there are “traps” hindering reality right now

- That there is something missing right now

- That there is a “someone” who can do anything about “traps” right now

- That i need to understand reality better than i do right now in order to find total peace

Also, these things are not in any way obstacles to truth. There IS something missing right now and you feel it deep down inside of you. What is missing is God. Also, there IS someone who can do things about the traps/illusions and you better start doing something about them if you want to realize truth.

And yes, obviously, for total peace you need total understanding of reality. Without understanding of reality peace will never be possible.

[Surfingthewave]

@Michael Jackson

Interesting points. 

I would have to disagree with you on the point about something missing. 

There Isn't anything missing at all - that's a very big trap. 

We can't quite get our head around this - as seekers think they have to look for something. 

It's more like a circle. You come back to yourself. 

[Michael Jackson]

3 minutes ago, Surfingthewave said:

@Michael Jackson

Interesting points. 

I would have to disagree with you on the point about something missing. 

There Isn't anything missing at all - that's a very big trap. 

We can't quite get our head around this - as seekers think they have to look for something. 

It's more like a circle. You come back to yourself. 

@Surfingthewave

Well technically there is nothing missing since everything is right here right now. God, infinite beauty, infinite Love is always right here, right now, infinity is in your hands.

But when it comes down to feeling, you are disconnected from that truth, deeply disconnected. And this disconnectedness is what makes us feel like we have "lost something", but can't quite point to what we lost. And this disconnectedness is the reason why basically the entire human race is permanently in a state of suffering, although many people are not even aware of that.

To restate it in a better way: Nothing is "missing." You haven't "lost" anything. But you have forgotten. You have deeply forgotten the most important thing in existence. Hence, you better get up and follow your intuition. The reward will be infinite.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Michael Jackson

[Surfingthewave]

@Michael Jackson

Yes - lovely description. We are programmed to feel that disconnect. But we are also programmed to connect. 

What we also don't realise is we can turn suffering into joy, like alchemy. 

We are programmed to want to go to the next level, to live in a state of need, of lack. We have literally been programmed (by culture and society) to feel this way. This is why Leo's teachings are so popular as he shocks you out of it. Very powerful. 

As you say we have forgotten.Or as I like to say, It's an unpacking, rather than a search. Put down the heavy backpack of expectations and free yourself. 

 

 

[Raptorsin7]

@Michael Jackson Well said. The course in miracles frames it in a similar war

[Seraphim]

@CaptainBobbyOlsen That's a good question to ask.

19 hours ago, CaptainBobbyOlsen said:

- The thought/feeling that there are “traps” hindering reality right now

- That there is something missing right now

- That there is a “someone” who can do anything about “traps” right now

- That i need to understand reality better than i do right now in order to find total peace

There is some truth to those neo-advaita teachings, but I think they too can be traps, are you willing to consider that? The I-thought is a part of our psyche, it adds a layer of resistance to our experience, sometimes it is subtle but the resistance is there and that is why people seek enlightenment, believing that "nothing is missing right now" is not necessarily going to get rid of the I-thought, and until it is truly gone, it is an incorrect statement.

I am 100% sure of that, because I remember clearly how it felt to live with the I-thought, and nowadays every moment of my life is proof of how much better it feels to be free from the I-thought.

 

[VeganAwake]

There aren't any real traps because there isn't a real goal or end result which needs to be reached. 

The same way that there is no such thing as spiritual bypassing because there isn't a real right or wrong path in the first place.

It's so much freedom that the mind has to create imaginary boundaries and goals in order to feel secure and grounded.

❤ 

 

[RMQualtrough]

Developing New Age thoughts, thinking that there are hidden powers or laws of reality which would be different in a nondual setting... Ofc there is no difference in reality whatsoever, it is still going to function the exact same way. You still aren't going to read minds, or win the lottery, or gain telekinetic powers.

[CaptainBobbyOlsen]

@Michael Jackson Great points! Are there any “traps” operating in your direct experience as you read these words? If yes, then discribe them and the actions that you take in order to no longer be trapped by them

[CaptainBobbyOlsen]

@Seraphim Yep, i can easily see the statements being a trap themselves haha

Tell me exactly what changed in your psyche when the i-thought no longer arose. What were your thinking-processes before and after?

[Michael Jackson]

22 minutes ago, CaptainBobbyOlsen said:

@Michael Jackson Great points! Are there any “traps” operating in your direct experience as you read these words? If yes, then discribe them and the actions that you take in order to no longer be trapped by them

Hi @CaptainBobbyOlsen I wouldn't call them traps. I would call them illusions. For example, I am currently under the illusion that I am a human body. I am under the illusion that I am on a physical planet called "earth", inside a physical room called my home, that I am a mortal, limited, physical creature, etc.

All these things are illusions that my true Self purposefully put on to itself. To see through these illusions psychedelics are the best tool I know of.

[VeganAwake]

1 hour ago, Michael Jackson said:

All these things are illusions that my true Self purposefully put on to itself. To see through these illusions psychedelics are the best tool I know of.

If all that was stated above is recognized to be illusory, wouldn't it also put into question the assumption that a True Self is purposely creating this so-called illusory reality?

Or is it something "you" just heard about and took it on as a belief with no questions asked?

❤ 

[Michael Jackson]

2 hours ago, VeganAwake said:

If all that was stated above is recognized to be illusory, wouldn't it also put into question the assumption that a True Self is purposely creating this so-called illusory reality?

Or is it something "you" just heard about and took it on as a belief with no questions asked?

❤ 

@VeganAwake

This is something I have become directly conscious of. I am God. As God I purposely create the entirety of reality. Every speck of dust in my creation is perfectly formed and designed by my infinite intelligence.

The True Self isn't an assumption. It is what remains when you let go of assumptions and look directly at reality without a filter.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Michael Jackson

[BlueOak]

Knowing anything.

[SriSriJustinBieber]

I would have to say that the biggest trap I have observed is to believe the realization of "nothingness" or no self means your seeking is over.

[Michael Jackson]

1 minute ago, SriSriJustinBieber said:

I would have to say that the biggest trap I have observed is to believe the realization of "nothingness" or no self means your seeking is over.

Yes, exactly. This is something that many people realize, even without psychedelics. But in comparison to the absolute that realization is minor. It's like the first step of a 100m run. It is something, but far away from completing the entire run.

[VeganAwake]

1 hour ago, SriSriJustinBieber said:

I would have to say that the biggest trap I have observed is to believe the realization of "nothingness" or no self means your seeking is over.

Well if it was clearly recognized the self is an illusion who would be left to continue seeking?

Who would be left feeling like there's still something that needs to be found?

❤ 

Edited March 25, 2022 by VeganAwake