Very good guest. Perfect timing! There were so many beliefs around being a silent, peaceful person with enlightenment. That all feelings would stop and all negative thoughts would come to an end. Oh boy. 😃 Lol! So much stress showed up last night. Then, the ‘person’ showed up in the foreground and I could see that I was the silent fullness behind it all. Laughter erupted. And now, this video shows up on my home page today. 😃 😃😃💕💕😃😃😃
I woke up around 1976, and my life was like a cue ball hitting an object ball and then going off in a totally new direction. The best thing I can say about it is a quote from the great Zen master Tilopa: "When you look for it, you cannot find it. When you find it, you can't get rid of it. When you do neither, it's right there." Waking up is realizing that the world is not what it seems, nor is it different. If you, Heaven forfend, were blind since birth, all the great and persuasive people that tried to tell you about light would be of no avail. You might repeat their words, you might believe them, but you would never know. Than, along comes a new operation that restores your sight, and suddenly you know. Beware the high-talking, holy-acting, self-proclaimed teachers out there. Enlightenment is all around you, waiting to get in. All you have to do is let it.
I wonder how your life changed on a practical scale. I know that for many, and myself, life can take a complete 180 because once fervent striving can be seen for what it is, the perceived 'fruits' seem empty and pointless. But discovery (or uncovering) never seems to stop.
I got disconnected from this reality a few years ago. I wasn't meditating or anything like that. I became nothing and all things. There was no time. I felt like I've been without a physical body all of myself. It was like the real 'Self'. I've been looking for me all of my life. Thinking back I can't describe what I saw. I became the nothingness or emptiness. I know now that I will have to go back into the real 'Me' when I die. I know that I'm not 2 separate individuals, but ONE. The observer and the observed are One and the same. 💗
Thank you for this interview. Through my mindfulness and meditation practice I've reached the state where I could sense that there is stillness sort of underlying my thoughts. Initially the feeling was very subtle, yet now I can feel it more clearly. As a result my sense of identification with my thoughts diminished. I think that mr Forman's account is very useful for people like me who very often do not know what they ought to expect. Certainly this is in my opinion the most honest intreview.
I could sense the honesty of Dr Forman. I used to live in NYC for many years and went to CUNY for graduate studies in public administration. It would have been a treat to have Dr Forman as professor.
Yes, yes yes, I sense the same sense of spacious, that alows all this. The speaking, the listening, the sharing, all happening in this openness, it feels like I'M SPEAKING TO MYSELF, not a you speaking to another. Thank you for this.
Comparing one teacher with another is a poor criteria for judging "who's enlightened', like it even matters. To feel a resonance with a speaker is enough.
Enlightenment is just knowing thoughts and emotions are involuntary, you can choose to think or feel a certain way. But there is that unconscious pull. Your attention is sucked into a story. When your not present that thinking mind will take a hold of you, when accompanied by the emotions you will be lost. When do people get depressed? Because you believed in the story in the head. My father has a continuous pain body, every time the emotions comes he drinks, its been like that for 30 years. I use to get mad, but now i just let him be...would be nice if he could wake up, but to over come the pain body, you have to face it completely, i don't know if he is willing to.
If you think enlightenment is some thing that can be attained and that it has some attractive characteristics, and that this is misleadingly presented by some sources, you have been reading and following the wrong sources in stead of doing self inquiry. Read Ramana Maharshi "Guru Vachaka Kovai" . There is no description of enlightenment anywhere is his words. His only advise is to stop believing in the illusions of the mind. And just experience the reality that presents itself when the mind is no longer in charge. No where he describes that reality in ways that the mind could grasp or run after. No cracking up of anything. Not even stillness is to be believed in. It's everything and nothing in one. No point of reference. Just be. The only thing that is not what is it cracked up to be, is your own mind.
great explanation of change to ''stillness'', glad there are numerous people that silence is spreading.... interestingly that there are a lot of ways to become ''silent'' ....
Fantastic presentation. Thank you for honestly sharing your spiritual experience, Doc. I could very much relate to your points of view and believe this video will help many like me towards at least somewhat understanding that they are not alone when experiencing similar thinking to yours.
In the sense of giveing, its more of the sharing of the energy the peace the balance that we automatically feel in that individual, which we obsorb and can be a chain reaction
If one wants to understand conscious advancement without the reliance on mystical or religious traditions, I suggest reading The Evolution of Consciousness series of books by Endall Beall. These books blow the doors off of all traditional perceptions about human cognitive advancement and what spiritual advancement truly means. They are cogent, easy to understand and cut to the bone where understanding conscious advancement is concerned. I found these books on Amazon and I have never found anything as useful as the explanations and tools provided in these books.
Wherever a being is born, whether unmoving or moving, know thou Arjuna that it is from the union between the field and the knower of the field......the bhagwat gita
he says that he asked raamdass, who told him he was enlightened, i think the truly enlighteded person would know themselves if they were enlightened or not. so you are correct. and i love krishnamurti, hes helped me a lot.
I think the deterministic universe and what we know about it or think we know about it, teaches us that none of us could or would exist without the preexistence of the infinite universe as a whole.
Not known to hope for. Love it. It’s like every thought is about a previous thought or someone’s previous thoughts or a know quantity. What would original thought be like or about without previous reference points. Like what would the First ever human think about if they were on earth alone with no previous thoughts or anyone else to reference
I don't think this man attained enlightenment. He says he thinks this is what these religions speak of when it comes to enlightenment, but his own experiences are more akin to paradigm shifts, expanding self awareness, and peacefulness. He doesn't touch on the core of religious experience that permeates mysticism, is referred to by perennial philosophy, and is notedly more remarkable than the average benefits of meditation. Still I think most people would agree with his title; the affect of enlightenment isnt about power, its about experiential understanding that leads to a happier life. it doesn't solve the issues of our physical existence and social responsibilities, our delicate health and misfortune, or our intelligence and decision making. It gently opens the mind to a new perspective that can imbue a person with a lifelong sense of happiness and compassion, though mindfulness is still necessary to switch between the different modes of thinking
I thought the book: 'Enlightenment Ain't What It's Cracked Up to Be' was very deep and honest. The interview- I felt - was so interesting that I purchased the book after...
ive decided to copy paste your message exactly as it is but as my point of view....hope you dont mind......because it fits perfectly to what i want to say.....
Authenticity and vulnerability is the key to enlightenment not just presence. What I notice that is missing in this conversation is “joy” and “lightness” which is a byproduct of enlightenment. It is more ordinarily than anyone ever imagined.
Don't lie! That's a big one! We don't even know how much we are lying all the time untill we start looking at it. And why are we doing it? It's the egotistical mind that believes that by lying it will get something that's it lacks or avoid something that it fears, and never realise that by this very act it constantly manifests circumstances it than stuffers. So, don't lie and love everyone, as Maharaji told Ram dass. 😘
its clear, from several interviews, they are not enlightened, but had an experience, even though there is a lasting effect, they did not follow the path, first there is a know thyself, before the practice can safely started, as ego never died, clearly seen in these interviews not unless one has gone into the (inner) underworld. and seen and overcome, chained ego, can you return and.......... there is only one who has done so and remain able to see the unseen as well as the seen and know it.
We were promised so much in TM way back in the 70's...very cultish. After 50 years of meditation, contemplation, there is an expanded state of consciousness as described but maybe not liberation....don't know. I hear very little from meditators from then.... self realising....just silence...ha ha.
"My thoughts didn't change, I changed". "It was such a pleasure to meditate for 8 hours a day during that year, what a lucky guy I was..." Hey Dr, sounds like your "enlightment" went only for a couple of watts and then got directed to your ego. So many dualist points of view in just the few minutes I watched.
Funtastic Casino I've experienced what people call enlightenment and I was stunned by how amazing and ordinary it is and how the individual person still definitely exists yet is held in the magnificent embrace of a Self as large and open as the universe. From what I know of how others experience and understand this it is unique and universal for everyone. All the opposites are held together. What Dr Foreman talks about is what I know to be true myself.
Without taking anything away from the speaker who presents a very worthwhile talk I ageee with the gentleman above Enlightenment as it's understood in teachings of The Buddha is the realization of Anatta (No Self) & the ending of all Fettas (defilements of mind) - if you still feel anxiety or identify as a self you still have work to do. As Adyashanti says "the road to Enlightenment is full of people who have set up camp somewhere along the way. That said a seeker doesn't need to be fully Liberated to help & inspire others on the way. Peace & Metta!
I am enlighten. Check my video by clicking on my name. Its not perfect but I tried to be as accurate as possible. I can answere any question if you have. This is the truth.
@@dhammaboy1203 How can it possibly be proven that Buddhism has the complete truth? If it can be proven, then why get stuck on Buddhism? Why should the rest of us accept it as the fullness of the truth?
See in order to write a book about enlightenment, you must be enlightened first. This guy's enlightenment is a very limited partial and still self centered experience and has nothing to do with seeing the truth or awakening to the truth. He is by no means qualified to give lectures about enligtenment...Please listen to people like J. Krishnamurti and you can see the difference immediately...This guy is another new ager...
They say enlightenment cant be claimed.so, how can one write a book about enlightenment or be enlighten when at the same time if you say that you enlighten you are not.
I'm sure that Dr. Robert Forman is sincere, but it took about 5 seconds to tell he's not enlightened. Meditation has been proven to develop the mind but enlightenment has nothing to do with the mind. The only person since Ramana Maharshi who's genuinely enlightened is Samantha Richardson.
![Rick Roderick on Baudrillard - Fatal Strategies [full length]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2U9WMftV40c/mqdefault.jpg)
It's amazing how honest this man can be. I think that I've learnt more from him than from a dozen gurus...
Very good guest. Perfect timing!
There were so many beliefs around being a silent, peaceful person with enlightenment. That all feelings would stop and all negative thoughts would come to an end. Oh boy. 😃 Lol!
So much stress showed up last night. Then, the ‘person’ showed up in the foreground and I could see that I was the silent fullness behind it all. Laughter erupted.
And now, this video shows up on my home page today. 😃 😃😃💕💕😃😃😃
I woke up around 1976, and my life was like a cue ball hitting an object ball and then going off in a totally new direction. The best thing I can say about it is a quote from the great Zen master Tilopa: "When you look for it, you cannot find it. When you find it, you can't get rid of it. When you do neither, it's right there." Waking up is realizing that the world is not what it seems, nor is it different. If you, Heaven forfend, were blind since birth, all the great and persuasive people that tried to tell you about light would be of no avail. You might repeat their words, you might believe them, but you would never know. Than, along comes a new operation that restores your sight, and suddenly you know. Beware the high-talking, holy-acting, self-proclaimed teachers out there. Enlightenment is all around you, waiting to get in. All you have to do is let it.
Very well put Sir.
How do you full you your time, knowing you are that? 😘
1976 was a " great" year.
I wonder how your life changed on a practical scale. I know that for many, and myself, life can take a complete 180 because once fervent striving can be seen for what it is, the perceived 'fruits' seem empty and pointless. But discovery (or uncovering) never seems to stop.
I got disconnected from this reality a few years ago. I wasn't meditating or anything like that. I became nothing and all things. There was no time. I felt like I've been without a physical body all of myself. It was like the real 'Self'. I've been looking for me all of my life. Thinking back I can't describe what I saw. I became the nothingness or emptiness. I know now that I will have to go back into the real 'Me' when I die. I know that I'm not 2 separate individuals, but ONE. The observer and the observed are One and the same. 💗
The transcript of this interview is available to view here.
conscious.tv/text/144.htm
Thank you for this interview. Through my mindfulness and meditation practice I've reached the state where I could sense that there is stillness sort of underlying my thoughts. Initially the feeling was very subtle, yet now I can feel it more clearly. As a result my sense of identification with my thoughts diminished. I think that mr Forman's account is very useful for people like me who very often do not know what they ought to expect. Certainly this is in my opinion the most honest intreview.
I could sense the honesty of Dr Forman. I used to live in NYC for many years and went to CUNY for graduate studies in public administration. It would have been a treat to have Dr Forman as professor.
thank you, can really sense the spaciousness you guys creating. The openness and honesty works relieving for me on many levels
Yes, yes yes, I sense the same sense of spacious, that alows all this. The speaking, the listening, the sharing, all happening in this openness, it feels like I'M SPEAKING TO MYSELF, not a you speaking to another. Thank you for this.
When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate
Comparing one teacher with another is a poor criteria for judging "who's enlightened', like it even matters. To feel a resonance with a speaker is enough.
Enlightenment is just knowing thoughts and emotions are involuntary, you can choose to think or feel a certain way. But there is that unconscious pull. Your attention is sucked into a story. When your not present that thinking mind will take a hold of you, when accompanied by the emotions you will be lost. When do people get depressed? Because you believed in the story in the head. My father has a continuous pain body, every time the emotions comes he drinks, its been like that for 30 years. I use to get mad, but now i just let him be...would be nice if he could wake up, but to over come the pain body, you have to face it completely, i don't know if he is willing to.
I like this channel. This guest was a little bit light weight but I think that makes his experience easier to relate to.
If you think enlightenment is some thing that can be attained and that it has some attractive characteristics, and that this is misleadingly presented by some sources, you have been reading and following the wrong sources in stead of doing self inquiry. Read Ramana Maharshi "Guru Vachaka Kovai" . There is no description of enlightenment anywhere is his words. His only advise is to stop believing in the illusions of the mind. And just experience the reality that presents itself when the mind is no longer in charge. No where he describes that reality in ways that the mind could grasp or run after. No cracking up of anything. Not even stillness is to be believed in. It's everything and nothing in one. No point of reference. Just be. The only thing that is not what is it cracked up to be, is your own mind.
great explanation of change to ''stillness'', glad there are numerous people that silence is spreading.... interestingly that there are a lot of ways to become ''silent'' ....
Great interview, thank you for uploading. An amazingly genuine and truthful man.. ❤️
Fantastic presentation. Thank you for honestly sharing your spiritual experience, Doc. I could very much relate to your points of view and believe this video will help many like me towards at least somewhat understanding that they are not alone when experiencing similar thinking to yours.
In the sense of giveing, its more of the sharing of the energy the peace the balance that we automatically feel in that individual, which we obsorb and can be a chain reaction
If one wants to understand conscious advancement without the reliance on mystical or religious traditions, I suggest reading The Evolution of Consciousness series of books by Endall Beall. These books blow the doors off of all traditional perceptions about human cognitive advancement and what spiritual advancement truly means. They are cogent, easy to understand and cut to the bone where understanding conscious advancement is concerned. I found these books on Amazon and I have never found anything as useful as the explanations and tools provided in these books.
every fucker on here is selling books.
Wherever a being is born, whether unmoving or moving, know thou Arjuna that it is from the union between the field and the knower of the field......the bhagwat gita
Very lovely! Thank you 🙏
he says that he asked raamdass, who told him he was enlightened, i think the truly enlighteded person would know themselves if they were enlightened or not.
so you are correct. and i love krishnamurti, hes helped me a lot.
I think the deterministic universe and what we know about it or think we know about it, teaches us that none of us could or would exist without the preexistence of the infinite universe as a whole.
Not known to hope for. Love it. It’s like every thought is about a previous thought or someone’s previous thoughts or a know quantity. What would original thought be like or about without previous reference points. Like what would the First ever human think about if they were on earth alone with no previous thoughts or anyone else to reference
I don't think this man attained enlightenment. He says he thinks this is what these religions speak of when it comes to enlightenment, but his own experiences are more akin to paradigm shifts, expanding self awareness, and peacefulness. He doesn't touch on the core of religious experience that permeates mysticism, is referred to by perennial philosophy, and is notedly more remarkable than the average benefits of meditation. Still I think most people would agree with his title; the affect of enlightenment isnt about power, its about experiential understanding that leads to a happier life. it doesn't solve the issues of our physical existence and social responsibilities, our delicate health and misfortune, or our intelligence and decision making. It gently opens the mind to a new perspective that can imbue a person with a lifelong sense of happiness and compassion, though mindfulness is still necessary to switch between the different modes of thinking
Meditate and seek the truth everyday. End of phase 1 of becoming enlightened.
I thought the book: 'Enlightenment Ain't What It's Cracked Up to Be' was very deep and honest. The interview- I felt - was so interesting that I purchased the book after...
Thanks for sharing about this interview, Bhavani. At some appropriate time I know I'll want to watch it.
You watched it :-)
ive decided to copy paste your message exactly as it is but as my point of view....hope you dont mind......because it fits perfectly to what i want to say.....
Authenticity and vulnerability is the key to enlightenment not just presence. What I notice that is missing in this conversation is “joy” and “lightness” which is a byproduct of enlightenment. It is more ordinarily than anyone ever imagined.
Don't lie! That's a big one! We don't even know how much we are lying all the time untill we start looking at it. And why are we doing it? It's the egotistical mind that believes that by lying it will get something that's it lacks or avoid something that it fears, and never realise that by this very act it constantly manifests circumstances it than stuffers. So, don't lie and love everyone, as Maharaji told Ram dass. 😘
Dr Robert Forman ‘Enlightenment Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up to Be’ Interview by Iain McNay
its clear, from several interviews, they are not enlightened, but had an experience, even though there is a lasting effect, they did not follow the path, first there is a know thyself, before the practice can safely started, as ego never died, clearly seen in these interviews
not unless one has gone into the (inner) underworld. and seen and overcome, chained ego, can you return and.......... there is only one who has done so and remain able to see the unseen as well as the seen and know it.
We were promised so much in TM way back in the 70's...very cultish. After 50 years of meditation, contemplation, there is an expanded state of consciousness as described but maybe not liberation....don't know. I hear very little from meditators from then.... self realising....just silence...ha ha.
Coming off benzodiazepines caused a psychotic break in me. It'll make you question your reality.
"My thoughts didn't change, I changed". "It was such a pleasure to meditate for 8 hours a day during that year, what a lucky guy I was..."
Hey Dr, sounds like your "enlightment" went only for a couple of watts and then got directed to your ego. So many dualist points of view in just the few minutes I watched.
He hasn't experienced enlightenment, he still believes in a separate self. His separate self has simply veneered Advaita over his experience.
Funtastic Casino I've experienced what people call enlightenment and I was stunned by how amazing and ordinary it is and how the individual person still definitely exists yet is held in the magnificent embrace of a Self as large and open as the universe. From what I know of how others experience and understand this it is unique and universal for everyone. All the opposites are held together. What Dr Foreman talks about is what I know to be true myself.
Without taking anything away from the speaker who presents a very worthwhile talk I ageee with the gentleman above Enlightenment as it's understood in teachings of The Buddha is the realization of Anatta (No Self) & the ending of all Fettas (defilements of mind) - if you still feel anxiety or identify as a self you still have work to do.
As Adyashanti says "the road to Enlightenment is full of people who have set up camp somewhere along the way.
That said a seeker doesn't need to be fully Liberated to help & inspire others on the way. Peace & Metta!
I am enlighten. Check my video by clicking on my name. Its not perfect but I tried to be as accurate as possible. I can answere any question if you have. This is the truth.
@@dhammaboy1203 How can it possibly be proven that Buddhism has the complete truth? If it can be proven, then why get stuck on Buddhism? Why should the rest of us accept it as the fullness of the truth?
@@dhammaboy1203 Excellent! Thank you for such a clear explanation.
van morrison "enlightenment.........
It only happened a few times with me...this sounds like it´s a revelation...it is not! It´s calming but that´s all...this is utter GARBAGE!
See in order to write a book about enlightenment, you must be enlightened first. This guy's enlightenment is a very limited partial and still self centered experience and has nothing to do with seeing the truth or awakening to the truth. He is by no means qualified to give lectures about enligtenment...Please listen to people like J. Krishnamurti and you can see the difference immediately...This guy is another new ager...
They say enlightenment cant be claimed.so, how can one write a book about enlightenment or be enlighten when at the same time if you say that you enlighten you are not.
I'm sure that Dr. Robert Forman is sincere, but it took about 5 seconds to tell he's not enlightened. Meditation has been proven to develop the mind but enlightenment has nothing to do with the mind. The only person since Ramana Maharshi who's genuinely enlightened is Samantha Richardson.