There is truth to that, you do have to watch what you say enlightenment is Like the most beautiful box covered in beautiful rapping with a ribbon 🎀, that you wish you didn't open, it's a box of nothing, with beautiful words like oneness and isness, love peace and harmony, you don't want enlightenment, when you are alive, enlightenment is for the chosen few, and to be experienced after death, being alive and enlightend is depressing. You don't want or need enlightenment, eat good food fruit and veg, exercise and a good routine, love the only possession you have your physical body, and the rest will look after itself, and enjoy the small things,
@@animationcreation7078 When you are depressed as hell, it is a good sign, and many people call that "dark night of the soul". Took me f-ing 3 years, but I learned a lot about myself. Maybe the more f-uped you are before, the longer the dark night. I don't know. And I am still f-uped, but I work on that.^^
The difference between a spiritual awakening and a psychosis is that you don’t respond to it with a delusion (i.e. become the next saviour or something/someone special). Also, when you talk to god it’s called prayers, if god talks back to you, it’s a psychosis.
I've experienced both Kensho and psychosis and I can tell you, they are nothing alike. If you ever experience them in the future, you'll know the difference as easily as distinguishing between sugar and salt.
Well said. I had a deep "spiritual experience" about 27 years ago where it felt like God came into my life and it hasn't left me. It never really gave me any special powers, I still needed that root canal from the dentist.
Always remember you are a living flesh, you need the things the body needs, its natural and also we are under a system, if you can see in your mind that we are souls experiencing being a human. After spiritual awakening it will still turn back to your ego, but this time a new version of your ego, you'll realize again you are in these reality that need a root canal.
First comment I ever made. The Buddha was very clear about what the Supreme enlightenment was. A lot of Zen practitioners believed that true liberation is just a perception of Satori or emptiness. The Buddha just called people who have reached the states of mind a body Witness. The base of nothingness and perception of non perception were the Budda's two main studies before his attainment. He took them as far as they could go and then considered them unworthy of the brahmas, monks and holy Seekers. The reason that one cannot stay in this state is because of what the Buddha called the defilements. Wanting or craving, aversion or hatred, sleepiness or dullness, restlessness or worry or regret and doubt or what the Buddha believed to keep trapped in notions of self and in the bonds of Maya. He also went to say that the Nirvana that he obtained was not subject to birth, old age, sickness and death. I studied Zen and practice zazen for years without making any progress, until I actually went back to the Pali Canon and studied the true teachings. With my deepest respects I must say I think you're caught in the same cycle.
The path to enlightenment, if you must call it that, is not easy. What I see here is opinion and misunderstanding. Once the doorway is open, you cannot go back, it will bring more turmoil. Having an opinion about a spiritual experience is the first clue that it is nothing more than the ego creating a "spiritual" journey setting you up for failure and then vicious judgement. These are the most dangerous people. There is nothing for the seeker in books and retreats if you set "enlightenment" as a goal... this is ego... and it will fail. Rather let the process unwind as it will, in this lifetime or the next. It is not anything magical, it is just you going back to you. Once there, keep quiet... live life with a sense of knowing. The conundrums of self and humanity are irrelevant to the wise. You are not the doer nor the reaper of what is to be done... but that wisdom that you now have... be careful with how you use it. Better to be silent
@@danielcampos9628 When people don't understand another person and their comments! 😏 It's sad. Really really f**** sad. This is why we've war after war after war and MANY MANY conflicts between us human beings. We sometimes do NOT understand each other. Not even a simple comment Let me tell you my friend......you've been looking in the wrong direction all the time for what you are looking for. By your comment from just now, I know this for a fact! Some people are simply not ready, or unfortunately they may never be.
Brad I love this video because I feel the same. I feel awakened but I tend to avoid a lot of "awakened people I've come across because they seem fake to me. They seem like they are trying so hard to be on a other plane that they are avoiding there " bradness" or whatever their name is , ..and not being present in life. My favorite quote ( i heard on my kids video Kunfu Panda)...yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery but today is a gift that is why it's called " the Present". Anyways thanks for being Real
On the topic of that great gift that is life... I tend to think a natural exploration of the oneness experience would lead others to see CONNECTION to other people as the ultimate point of this life and the most incredible gift.
Yes, most people on UA-cam are like that, sadly. That's why I now follow channels like Hardcore Zen more and more. It's funny, as long as you are not seen through the bullshit in the spiritual world, you have not experienced enough. When you finally let the carrot go, you see all the masters, teachers, non-teachers and so on and through their bullshit. Well, maybe not all, but most of them. At least that was my experience. I was like a drug addict, and an imagination of holiness was my drug. So many so-called enlightened people use you in that way. Man, and even some tell you, they have no ego anymore. That is the joke on top.
unfortunately ego is something on this plane anyways that we just have to deal with. I do believe in the power of prayer and even if you are not Christian there is a quote that Jesus made that rings true.... "In the Bible, Jesus says, "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men … but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen" (Matthew 6:5-8). "
I've had transcendental experiences - I can say it always felt completely new but yet deeply familiar. Personally however I feel that these experiences are supposed to only happen occasionally and not to be pursued "as a way of life". I have begun to see greater joy in the mundane aspects of life and being grounded in physical reality.
Completely agree. Jordan peterson says that these kind of experiences destabilise The psyche, so too often of those and its detrimental to mental health
@@alr.3137 Yes, perhaps also one can become attached to these experiences and suffer in the attempt to, as you say, pursue these experiences more and more. I would think also that because they are few and far between, the latching on to them will lead to one making the attempt to re-create these experiences in memory, which leads to them circling within their own fictions.
correct. there is a reason why we don't constantly live in that state. it is because the ego is necessary for survival. The ability to separate one from the outer world is HOW the universe experiences itself.
@@Fuar11 I don't think we need the ego to be on earth. Ego makes us suffer.i think it's finding peace with ourselves as and how we see the world. Ego makes us compete etc when really when we awaken we realise we can live in a collaborative creative peaceful world and not egoistic distructive one. Know what I mean...? :)
I once knew an enlightened zen master. He owned a little pottery store in a little town in Washington where he sold his pottery. I was introduced by a friend. My folks and I weren't interested in buying anything, we were just hanging out with this friend who wanted to see his awesome zen friend. The zen master asked if we were going to buy anything. No. To which he said: then I have no time for you. When we left he didn't even say bye, nice to meet you, or anything. Then he started talking to our mutual friend, who later raved about how much of a blissful awesome open-minded guy he is. Our mutual friend also revealed he owed the guy some money as he was doing an investment plan to buy some pottery. Thus, I learned that a sign of a true enlightened person is someone who only gives you the time of day, and is otherwise rude, if you are putting money in their pocket!
Wow, this was just what I needed right now, some practical down to earth explanation. Just checked out one of those way too out there "spritual teachers " video. It just left my head spinning. There should be more videos on UA-cam that are that are more practical like this. Thank you, I feel loads better
All those legends about the Buddha don't make it easier. All that mystical crap about nature bowing to Siddhartha after he awakened following that night of battling Maya and all those demons... When you're young and susceptible you can really get sucked in. Sometimes I think that realisation is realising none of that stuff is real. Like you go to your teacher and tell him most of this stuff is just junk and he (or SHE 🤣) winks at you and hands you your diploma. Like there's some big hazing going on and if you get the joke you pass.
In my experience, the only thing you can rely upon is reality, and reality is obvious at all times no matter how many thick books you read. And even if you tried to believe in some kind of Divine Deeper Dimension, you always know (somewhere in the back of your mind) that you are fooling yourself, trying to trick yourself into seeing something as Real that is actually just another dream in the virtual reality of your thoughts and emotions. And that kind of bullshitting yourself will show in your everyday life by making dealing with your actual tasks and challenges even more difficult. Your everyday life as it is is as "enlightened" as it gets, and it is much more precious than you may be inclined to believe. Practice zazen every day for 5, 10 or 20 years, and that dream of a Better Deeper Parallel Reality will vanish, and your screwed up everyday life will be sufficiently divine - because it is real as opposed to all your dreams and wishful thinking. (Of course, I might be wrong about all of this.)
Keep sitting daily. One day you too may move beyond your ordinary ego and discover something other than that. Yes there's something that exists beyond your thoughts, lol.
enlightenment used to be for people who had no interest in day to day life.i was thought that spirituality was for the chosen ones who had no interest in sansar(world).there is saying in nepal,"ghar gari khana nasake shadu ban".meaning if ur not a household guy become a shadu(sage).but in the western culture it has become cool to call oneself englightened and awakened.
That sense of being a “me”, rusts into being unique, being special, even after experiencing something banal and common place. It’s always lurking there in the shadows, ready to make a fool of us. The Tibetan teacher the late Chogyam Trungpa talks about this too. Thanks Brad, first YT video of yours I’ve seen.
Well said, Dogen and I approve this message. The point is not to spend all day in bliss, but to not perpetuate suffering. Knowing that which is seeing through my eyes is that which is seeing through your eyes, is to be freed from the suffering of the illusory self, and to free others from their suffering also. Bliss is ok once a day around 5 am, though.
Uma vida sem sofrimento é a maior ilusão e vocês vendem isso essa ideia de libertar do sofrimento apenas para ganhar dinheiro em cima dessas distorções da realidade
Take a kid to the beach. Make sure they are happy (fed, thirst quenched, peed), get them building a sand castle. Within minutes that kid is fully in the moment. We all were when we were little. Tap into that. Help them build that sand castle.
Yes, and striving towards that, striving towards a fulfilling individual experience is what you should do instead of denying your individual nature to reach enlightenment. There is beauty in finity.
It's always so paradoxical. As soon as you've "awakened" you realize how "asleep" you really are and that you never really get "there." It seems enlightenment is merely the acceptance of what is truly here and now, and what is. Good, bad, ugly, amazing, it doesn't matter. Painting a more dramatic illusion over what is to make it more palatable or more "profound" is basically to remain asleeo in a dream world of illusion. God is all, including the mundane and menial. Great video.
Our thoughts and feelings are pure energy, and they vibrate at a certain frequency. When we focus our thoughts on something, we emit a signal with a specific frequency. This signal is then broadcast into the universe, and it begins to attract energy that vibrates at the same frequency. When we understand energy, frequency and vibration, and how they impact our lives, we can begin to live in flow. Flow is the state of being in alignment with the Universe. When we are in flow, we are in harmony with the energy around us and everything begins to fall into place. We attract what we desire, and our lives become effortless and joyful. The key to attracting what you desire is to live in a state of flow. This means alignment with the energy of the universe. When we are in flow, we are in harmony with the natural rhythms of the universe. We feel joyful, creative and connected. We attract what we need effortlessly and without struggle.
Spiritual awakening is simply an “Ah ha!” moment- a subtle but definite realization about an aspect of your nature. You remember yourself in action and your mind most of the times. You start to have a different interaction with everyday things. It’s silent and joyous and over time it becomes your rhythm. Thank you for sharing more light on the matter, although your title was a little misleading.
I think it could be possible that staying in any one state or believing any ideology or spiritual idiom too strongly for too long will cause problems. Yes we are all connected but we are all still separate. Where the mind goes energy flows, but we all each have our own free will. Let’s say you go to a restaurant with some friends and a waitress spill a pitcher of lemonade on your head, it could be a terrible night for you while some of your friends are laughing and others are checking to see if you’re ok, and the waitress herself is apologizing. If we were all as connected as some spiritual “gurus” wouldn’t we all have the same thoughts during that experience. Or let’s say you’re watching a movie with friends maybe one person is really tuned in to the soundtrack while another is watching the screen form tiny details, someone else may be texting, and you may be thinking of something completely different. If we really had the power to influence people’s thoughts so profoundly wouldn’t we all be having the same thoughts? Idk to me too much spirituality makes people fall back into an almost infantile state of mind believing everything to be their fault or their responsibility will make them become ocd or have a form of toxic positivity, or even worse a total god complex. Take everything with a grain of salt and don’t believe everything that anyone tells you
I know so many people who had profound mystical/awakening experiences (myself included). You treasure them and they may even help to shift your perspective on life, but the real work of spiritual practice is not over.
Spot ON!!! I love the Hasidic story of Zusye. Zusye said: "When I come before Hashem (God) Hashem will not ask me why I was not Abraham, Issac, or Moses. He will ask me why I was not Zusye." Beautiful. Thank you, Brad.
"The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence." (Nikola Tesla)
When people ply you for interpretation of certain hypothetical scenarios in the grand scheme of life and zen- I just read the “what if neither a clear mind nor a cloudy mind comes?” Zen anecdote you once brought up. It’s like, what is the intention here? Are they looking for practical answers in daily living, or looking for the Grand Answer to All Things? (Keep up the good work sir.)
Thanks! It's always hard to know exactly what people are really asking when they ask some things. I try to avoid answering hypothetical questions because they call for speculation. "What would you do if happened?" Well... I honestly don't know. I can speculate. But I can't be sure my answer is correct.
How does anyone who experienced "enlightment" can be sure that it was not some kind of self hypnosis or trick of your mind or even some kind of "hickup" of your mind? An analogy could be steroscopic images. If you learn how to cross your eyes, it takes a bit of practice and patience, suddenly you can see a 3D image ... maybe meditation practice is like "crossing" your mind and sometimes strange, weird mind stuff happens in your brain. I don't want to be cynical, and I am not, but the brain and conscious is not really fully understood, and sometimes stuff happens with your mind and it does not necessarily mean anything special. I totally agree, that the normal state of mind, everyday, that's the important stuff, and this I learned from reading your book and others...
It's really hard to explain how one knows. The analogy I usually use is of dropping a bowling ball on your foot. You would know that it happened. The phenomenon I'm talking about is every bit as real as that. And, like with the bowling ball on your foot, it leaves a lasting impression that you can't deny.
right, I thought about that. Sometimes a bowling ball is dropping on your foot and sometimes just a brick... How could you tell the difference? The impression (pain, deformed foot) is the same, but it is left to interpretation what actually happened. Just curious, but I don't want to drive this analogy too far. And with all respect, I never intend to invalidate your or others experiences, I am just very, very curious ;)
It's difficult to explain. Analogies are all I can come up with. I think the reason the "awakening" analogy has lasted so long is that it's a good metaphor for how it feels. It's similar to the feeling of having a really, realistic and convincing dream and then waking up and realizing it was just a dream. You might even have a moment when you're not sure which was which when you wake from a particularly realistic dream. But then things come together and you don't need any more convincing which was which. It's sort of like that.
I would say that enlightenment is not necessarily something you gain but more it's the consequence of losing things... relieving yourself of all of the things that we have picked up over the years that bombards our minds and weighs us down... my particular meditation is about silencing the mind coming the heart unlearning the things that are unnecessary to know at that particular moment and knowing how to retrieve that information when necessary... I suppose that if your mind isn't weighed down by so many thoughts and contemplations it works better it's more in tune with the body and things that once seemed impossible become possible.. imagine if there's absolutely nothing on your mind and for whatever reason you need to regulate your heartbeat; having your entire brain work on that one goal could make achieving that goal much easier than it would be if you were trying to do so while worrying about multiple things. (work family bills whether you should save money and eat in or spring for some sushi)
btw. I watched the new Blade Runner recently and it had maybe some Buddhist tendencies, notions... I felt that the idea that the self is an illusion was very prominent in the film. Also, that you are not your memories was a strong theme. And that the very moment, the here and now, was represented by scenes related to snow... Highly recommended, I wonder if the director Villeneeuve is into Buddhism, maybe. It was not your typical SciFi ... don't know if you still do those movie - buddhism investigations
The truth is no real spiritual person would ever come up to tell his experiences even anonymously. So what we hear about these so called awakenings is not true
@@scottkraft1062 That was not complete enlightenment, that was a death experience, followed by a dark night of the soul. No experience remain, everything is changing, except that what you are.
Mate, thanks so much for your thoughts. Really. I've watched a lot of vids on UA-cam of these enlightened folk and, for me at least, you really helped balance my perspective on it all. Really appreciate it.
Waking up is just stop dreaming to find out the dream never really happened. Good morning. Iam always afraid of people who tell me what the universe wants. But i try to stay open.
I shifted from a narcissistic person to a person now can truly comfort being with myself, I don’t see other people on their journey that is lesser than me. True awakening is not bull shit, but it takes a person truly take their inner strength to drop their ego at all levels, to go back to be with their own true self. Yes many people are still sleeping walking, but they will get there on their own timing. A person who thinks spiritual is to make them more superior is still not truly awakening, they are still in their ego mind. Even as they are like this way, we should not judge them, they are on their journey, they will eventually realize their ego really doesn’t make them any more superior, because people can sense their energy . A true awakening person has that certain in their eyes and energy, they will have love and compassion for every one, because we all came from shadowed self, we have have darkness and light in each of us. You judge people’s problems only reflecting your own problems. Spiritual awakening is to drop ego, fear , hate and anger. If you see a person call them self “ spiritual “, all you need to know is how they truly in their own energy. If they are not quite there yet, they are in their delusional of their spiritual state, it’s ok, all you need to do is leave them alone, do your own self work.
Awakening and a "spiritual experience" are not the same. You haven't dissolved the self. It sounds more like you had an experience of the arising and passing away.
agreed but but you kinda look at god as someone other than you, if you actually realize that you are god. you become god. that's why you get a sense of connectedness and oneness during the awakening. because we are all one.
SPIRIT MEETS SCIENCE: Im so sorry for you, spirituality did the opposite for me. "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." (Nikola Tesla) This theory is based on the idea that everything in the universe is energy, and that this energy vibrates at different frequencies. By understanding the frequencies of these vibrations, we can unlock the secrets of the universe and harness its power.
Energy is the ability to do work. Frequency: 1. the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample. "an increase in the frequency of accidents due to increased overtime" 2. the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light), usually measured per second. "different thicknesses of glass will absorb different frequencies of sound". vibration: an oscillation of the parts of a fluid or an elastic solid whose equilibrium has been disturbed, or of an electromagnetic wave.
I agree and everyone has different experiences. I have had supernatural experiences like for example a candle flying across the room...a 45 record repeating itself again on a manual turntable that I never touched... etc..and have had other Buddhists try to take that away from me, because it is different from their experiences....or it does not jibe with what they read etc...
Wow I know this is 6 years old now but I just came across this video today…I have to say this video has definitely shed some light on the experience I had (about 7 years ago) but has since gone away. I would spend months trying to get back to that place and couldn’t understand why I had even left. Your video has helped answer some questions…thank you 😊
Thank you so much Zen! :) You know this enlightment thing and the evolution of the soul and that all humanish thing that we have to deny in order to reach this just lead me a complete depression and I was constantly losing the personality I had, the person I've became during my life. So please anyone who seeks enlightment, please realize that even the want of enlightment goes against the rules of this enlightment. Motivation is our core factor to experience this life and ourselves. Follow your own nature. This state is not approachable in this physical realm and this will only make your personality decay slowly and slowly. What matters now is the YOU , your ego and the chance to experience things the way YOU experience it. You only live once this life, even if your soul has a lot to live. Let me finish with my favourite quote from the Assassin's Creed series. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." - live your life by your own beliefs with intention to make your and others' life better, follow yourself and become more and more yourself, there is no actual truth which one person can declear
I know! I spent ages trying to fix that. Finally, I semi-fixed some of it and just left the rest as it was. You will also note that the whole thing re-synchronizes at about 5:40 or so after a painfully obvious edit. I recorded the video in 3 segments. The middle segment was out of synch for reasons I cannot fathom. But the 1st and 3rd segments were fine.
So, it’s not bullshit for a short period, as in a few weeks, maybe a month. If you’re not careful, it turns to schizophrenia. That shit happens to ppl with kundalini awakening all the time, and it happened to me. Lots of pain spurred it on. Dark night of the soul type shit, divorce, suicidal thoughts, abandoned by family type shit. I was looking at knots of wood in a bed frame and seeing a universe of beauty, no drugs involved. No prior conditions. Just so so so so much pain. I began to get moments of what the Hindus call “bliss” that would last hours in place of the anxiety I used to feel for hours at a time. I didn’t stay in that state, but if I would have been in an even worse state (as in, homeless and exposed to the elements), I’d be in a daze on the street now
So what about samadhi after experiencing Nirvana? Is is - as masters says - when ones self isn’t experienced and then objects aren’t separated from us (everything is what it is), so they aren’t objects anymore as they were before the nirvana experience. Does Soto tradition not mention that? In Rinzai there is a lot about it I think
In general, the Soto tradition doesn't describe experiences of samadhi or nirvana, at least not in the way it seems like you're referring to. Dogen talks about "jijuyu zanmai" or "the samadhi of receiving and using the self" in his essay Bendowa. That's about the closest thing I can think of in which samadhi might be described as a special state or condition. He also has an essay called "Zanmai-o Zanmai" or "The Samadhi That is King of Samadhi." In that essay, ordinary zazen is described as the highest samadhi. wwzc.org/dharma-text/zanmai-o-zanmai-samadhi-sovereign-samadhis
I've watched a lot of Brad videos, but this may be my favorite. He does a good job of putting some clarity around something that is highly personal and ultimately indescribable. How many Zen books do you have to read for you to get that indescribability? (I've lost count, myself. Starting with A Glimpse of Nothingness in 1973).
Just heard again: a great reply. Kwong Roshi said something like "it's like a circle, and you come back to your starting place: to Beginner's Mind". Also, you can't be more "you" than "you". Suzuki Roshi said someplace: the quality of your zen experience when you let go of your self, is exactly the same as for Dogen or Bodhidharma or for Buddha. Even if you are a relative beginner. He said, of course there is some difference in maturity or depth, but it is the same quality. I myself lost my spiritual virginity (a fantastic metaphor) in an est course (really!) in around 1980. That repeated, deeper in the est 6day course, and to some extend in all their other courses. But then they made the mistake of teaching us to sit (I think it was for 10 minutes) and my Aikido teacher really had us doing zazen. I stopped all the est stuff as I could see that it left "traces" and that the zen teachers were "the real thing". Did daily sitting and sesshins at least once a year for quite a while. Each sesshin I would have a profound experience. But, I realized that I would have the same experience with every sitting. The problem was getting my butt down on the cushion and maybe going thru 5 minutes of pain/frustration. At this point my attitude is just like Brad: it's like brushing my teeth, and if I delay sitting I just don't feel right. "Enlightenment experiences" are of no interest in comparison to just being at home in our bodies and our lives and our own problems and Karma. Maybe it opens a door, ok great, but you need simply to be back here engaged as fully as possible. I think that is easier and more possible if one is able to sit sesshins, so I wish I still had time for that. But if not, daily sitting is just right.
What does "spiritual" mean? Can it be verified? If not, one is only dealing in words. Bamboozled by them in fact. Which only adds to the "sleep" of humanity. Read Gurdjieff
@@mryan4452 I'll tell you something , woo woo nonsense it most certainly isn't. Although I've had a number of the woo woo brigade come over to my channel and they too thought it was woo woo. When they found out it wasn't , they , thankfully , left very quickly. Those who stick around gain something of inestimable worth. Do have a read of The teaching of Gurdjieff by C.S. Nott. Extraodinary. The real deal. Doesn't get more real. Have a good day now 👍
@@hermesnoelthefourthway if I had a penny for every time somebody claimed that about some author or guru, I'd be a millionaire. I might give it a read sometime, I fully expect it to be gobbledygook woo woo.
I have a friend who is so enlightened that he never misses an opportunity to tell everyone how enlightened he is compared to everyone else. But he doesn't consider himself morally perfect. He doesn't believe in absolute truth or morals.
I want to genuinely thank you for this video. I went into an “awakening” a week ago and it led to severe derealisation due to my mind not being able to comprehend all the existential questions. My brain was so stressed that it launched the defence mechanism and I was on the verge of kllng mslf. I tried to seek help under those “enlightenment” videos and all of the commentators were giving me different explanations and reasonings. I came to conclusion that the only thing that is true is the fact that a human cannot know everything. We are framed into 5 senses. My ego cannot understand why we are put on Earth to have a human experience if our true goal is to “get enlightenment”? We’d feel oneness anyway when we die, so why try to stay enlightened while you have a life to live? I don’t want to sit under the tree knowing everything is God and having no attachments to the life at the age of 22. I came to conclusion that dissolving an ego is not a necessity for a human being. It is possible but you cannot function in the society FULLY without it, so the use for that is questionable. I’ve booked a therapist session after my “awakening” because it really screwed my mental health. I wish people talked about it’s “side effects” as well. If you’re ready to live a life as common consciousness, with no attachments/desires/achievements - go for it. I choose to feel all spectrum of emotions and experiences as a human being.
@Isabella Landreth That’s not any spiritual “awakening” like most people think enlightenment is, just different neural connections being made in your brain because of the DMT; perfectly natural and explainable, not metaphysical or spiritual.
i used to want to get back to my enlightenment experience. then i realised that yeah, its interesting, you can learn some stuff but its not important really. if anything its just good to get it out of the way. id say thats probably the most useful thing about having one :P. i'd also say that me having one was a bad idea and it led to trouble later in life for me. I was 17 when i had it and i used an object based meditation. it was only the second or so time i had ever meditated and i went really hard. i didn't know what i was doing and then before i knew it i was floating down the street and all the rest. however! years later (after id stopped meditating for about 5 years) it led to another experience completely randomly where at university a lecturer told me something about the nature of sound (i did a music production degree) and it literally blew my mind. as in, i didn't have a chance to take the info he gave and map it into my 'idea' about reality. what he said just BOOM - changed my reality in-front of my eyes. I thought i was loosing my mind essentially. this didn't happen to anyone else. i later read in a buddhist book about hearing things not at an intellectual level and i knew then that it was probably because id messed around with that experience when i was younger. luckily, i didn't need to leave UNI as it didnt happen again. but i was really scared, lol. so its a cautionary tale. anyway g2g
yeah, Enlightenment is a waste of time. So isn't zazen. All you need to do is conform to the teachings of your society, and follow your ancestors wisdom. That's how a good person knows right from wrong. What good is navel gazing? What good is Nirvana? You don't even need Buddhism. That's not our culture.
@@ou-rb2gv 'All you need to do is conform to the teachings of your society, and follow your ancestors wisdom. That's how a good person knows right from wrong.' This is clutching onto concepts and views, obstructions of consciousness.
In my own opinion, this was more of a "Spiritual Awakening with a Spiritual Ego is Bullshit". 'Cuz everything you described that's bullshit about this is someone who is in a spiritual ego and thinks about being better. Spiritual Awakening and Ego deaths are bullshit however what spirituality actually teaches isn't. Infact, learning stuff from spirituality actually helps you in life. In my own research, I have found many things that work.
It is a CATEGORIZED profession, if you declare you make a living off from Tarot the banks are more willing to give you a loan than if you are an youtuber (which isn't categorized so you have to put as "Other" on the list of professions)
@JONEWING!! EXACTLY!!! That is how you KNOW it is Fake, Fakeee, FAKEEE!!!!! Faker than fake!!!! This is what I call pseudo spiritual capitalism , also known as Swindle and Pimp spirituality. This is the REAL pandemic virus that needs to be addressed!! Real treasures, wisdom, knowledge, gifts, from GOD are NOT FOR SALE!!
I used to believe that, then when your in a room with 3 or more people and your thinking the same thing at the same time... and you have had more then one experience it bugs you out. Or some one walks by you and and you pick up a random sentence in your head and then that person says that exact sentence... You tend to view things differently I have been bugged out by the experience to the highest degree. I also don't follow any of the spiritual terminology or want to be part of it
i like you're teaching style, although i'm not really sure wether this is meant as 'teaching'. Anyways, i could use some lessons, i'm not new to this, but i'm at a point where i want to deepen this practice in my life. I feel a pull to find a form in life where i spend my time facing being, it is a kind intuition that has a kind personality feel to it. It has made me sober up my life and face struggle more sober aswel. Emotions are stronger, but more transparent because of it. Got any tips for someone who is looking to deepen this path over time? perhaps some pitfalls? of maybe some bullshit call i could use? I'm looking for other peoples perspective on this.
Practicing with a community can be useful. Try visiting a few places and see if there's one you like. As for pitfalls -- don't necessarily believe your own thoughts, and don't believe anything you can't make sense of. My blog is at hardcorezen.info and it has an FAQ section that might be useful. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply =). I have a retreat planned in the summer in a place nearby, the practice vipasanna in the tradition of a burmese master, ba khin. I'm really looking forward to that, i'll apply your advice by trying to make friends there. Other question, is this (not youtube, but teaching) the way you make a living? If yes, how did you build that for yourself?
wow. nice talk! thanks. i'm really glad i've found you and your channel, seems like you're taking a fresh and anarchistic and empowering standpoint on spirituality. looking forward to reading your books. with love, marcus.
If someone over using hand gestures annoys you then don't watch more than 10 seconds of this video. Enlightenment or conscious awareness aside, this guy is definitely not playing with a full deck.
This is the complexity of the ego against the spirituality, like you're doing making this video, its the ego that contradicts. After the enlightenment you chop wood and carry water, absolutely true bc you are in a reality and you are human, and reality has nothing to do with spirituality its a different world, this is the tin line separating both worlds, spirituality is being empty, being surrendered, letting go of yourselves. It will humbled you, its feels happy yet isolated, it brings confusion whether you will join the norms or just be yourself. After spirituality you feel a new version of you, you'll see things now differently in a new level. Its like discovering your true self. Not all of you could understand it.
Wait, if god created everything down to every molecule and beyond, Why would he need to experience anything through our eyes? He would already know every experience we could possibly have because he created it. Doesn't make sense.
We are the way he knows. We are God's tastebuds. Our eyes are not our eyes. That's the mistake we make. We are tastebuds who decided we're not part of God's tongue.
@@HardcoreZen Look i understand we are not our ego's but your comment makes no sense. I know no one who has "decided they are not part of god's tongue". :/ If you mean our eyes are not our ego's eyes then ok, but there's a much more sensible way to say it then what you've typed here. Vague statements with no context are a waste of time.
Spiritual awakening is absolutely a real phenomena and it has been documented in every religion and tradition for thousands of years. The archetypal basis of almost every religion is the spiritual awakening or Individuation process. Someone who has never experienced this would display ignorance and fear over it. Those who have experienced this long, arduous, and agonizing process of Self Realization will tell you it is absolutely real. It terrifies neophytes and those who don't know the Truth.
When i first saw the name of your video I wanted to say to you that YOU that YOU were a bunch of bull crap and had NO IDEA at all what you were talking about. It was at that point that I heard my higher self ( or whatever you wanna call it ) say, " REALLY LUX? Watch the video with your mind CLEAR of labeling, judging and all opinions. Let's see what your reaction is then. " Well I must say that it's completely different than it was before. Nothing but thanks to you dear brethren for all the work you do in order to aid others in a topic that our society would deam taboo. Peace and Love to you and yours brethren. Be well, Lux Lux
"Bewusstsein gibt es seiner Natur nach nur in der Einzahl. Ich möchte sagen: die Gesamtzahl aller »Bewusstheiten« ist immer bloß »eins«."- Erwin Schrödinger
yes, it is a glimpse in to how you will feel at the time of separation from the body. that is how I would explain the Experience!!! I feel People use it as an addiction from reality!!!
Spiritual awakening IS real, but most people who thing they have awakened are really just repeating new-age tier archontic lies. True awakening is only possible through intense emotional pain, nothing else.
This crap of just giving in is just what the ARCHON loves weak auric field and they're in,these lot don't know they're playing with black energy and once it's in the assembly point and they're giving up bye bye soul and that what they want your soul they'll be pissing themselves laughing at this FFS 👉👹
I have neurological perspective on this. I thinks it's more phenomena. What else could it be? The choice we have is amygdala or no amygdala? Adrenaline or no adrenaline?
Spiritual awakening is real. It is a non-event for all those who are not awakened. Everyone gets there eventually. Meditate, introspect, and insights will emerge.
Everything is subjective to whom experiences it. It definitely is real, I'm only speaking from having it happen to me with no prior knowledge or familiarity on the subject. It's too easy to dismiss.
Honestly speaking am just a beginner about meditation and other stuffs of awakening, I have just like 3 months up to now and what I experience Its really different from before I see my life in new pictures and feel happiness and love around me than I felt before although am single, I really appreciate and grateful for this chance and when I find this you tube channel speak against about it I got shocked and listen to it carefully but I found nothing from what I used to experience
@@magneticsechonge8922 People who are unaware speak according to their limited experience. You are the experiencer of your life. Your guidance is within you. I would recommend Mooji and Eckhart Tolle on UA-cam. 🙏🌝
People have different reactions to stress....mine was to become super analytical and looking for meaning and clues to what I should do to be happy....which sounds good on paper...but I was looking for meaning in things like etymologies of words and numbers, I should have been looking for meaning in the human cultural artifacts that have been designed to solve problems like lack of housing and stability. Things like you know, a job and hygiene. But I was raised to see myself as being in but outside of "the world", and no one ever spoke to me about a career or college, so I just saw my identity as needing to survive in alternate ways, which led to me being homeless and staying positive and out of panic attacks by being obsessed about "spiritual" things. Not an ideal scenario by any means but I was doing the best I could being dealt a shitty hand, and at least it made me super environmentally conscious and spend a lot of free time picking up trash lol
What about people who had these experience through substance like ayahuasca or the toad. I did aya a decade ago but I didn't feel anything spiritual it was so traumatic felt the whole world is flipped into a hellhole
Yes it’s very hard to I remember it. Which sucks, especially when meditating and trying to have the experience again. Remembering the experience hinders it.
Thank you for this. From my personal experience the new age is a new cage and keeps your mind in a loop of chaos. Be free and live and try your best not to worry if you can .❤
If I am to go into this "spirituality" thing, it better give me superpowers, like being able to psychic-force the slot machines and roulettes in Vegas to spin out jackpot after jackpot for me, or at least turn red traffic signals green with a single thought. If these are not possible, I am not interested, and that is probably why I could never be convinced to dabble in that world.
My friend became more narcissistic and conceited after he became "enlightened"...He said, "I have to dumb down 98% of my conversations now!"
That happens, unfortunately.
Ego is a side effect of losing one's ego LOL
BAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!! OH YEAH!!!! EXACCTTLLLYYY!!! Lmfao!! Thank you for the giggle @VCR!!
@@carpo719 LMFAOOOOOOO!!
There is truth to that, you do have to watch what you say enlightenment is
Like the most beautiful box covered in beautiful rapping with a ribbon 🎀, that you wish you didn't open, it's a box of nothing, with beautiful words like oneness and isness, love peace and harmony, you don't want enlightenment, when you are alive, enlightenment is for the chosen few, and to be experienced after death, being alive and enlightend is depressing. You don't want or need enlightenment, eat good food fruit and veg, exercise and a good routine, love the only possession you have your physical body, and the rest will look after itself, and enjoy the small things,
Whats that old saying? Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, go on Opra , make 15 million.
Thank you Eckhard Tolle.
😂😂😂😂😂
What do you do after enlightenment? Chop wood and carry water.
Anthony Salvatore after the ecstacy, the laundry.
Nah, probably get pizza
Live in woods and grow a big ass beard
Sash
Lumberlightenment. Sassy.
@SkinLeg Pockets people lose it without it also. Hope she's in a better place now.
And I think many confuse awakening with bliss or “happiness”...and modern western Buddhism does nothing to dispel that delusion.
exactly i was depressed not happy
Congratulations, you have found the definition of awakening
@@animationcreation7078 When you are depressed as hell, it is a good sign, and many people call that "dark night of the soul". Took me f-ing 3 years, but I learned a lot about myself. Maybe the more f-uped you are before, the longer the dark night. I don't know.
And I am still f-uped, but I work on that.^^
I had similar experiences, turned out to be psychosis.
damn u good?
The difference between a spiritual awakening and a psychosis is that you don’t respond to it with a delusion (i.e. become the next saviour or something/someone special). Also, when you talk to god it’s called prayers, if god talks back to you, it’s a psychosis.
I've experienced both Kensho and psychosis and I can tell you, they are nothing alike. If you ever experience them in the future, you'll know the difference as easily as distinguishing between sugar and salt.
I can attest to that
@@SaurusMediaOfficial Any recommendations on experiencing kenshō?
Well said. I had a deep "spiritual experience" about 27 years ago where it felt like God came into my life and it hasn't left me. It never really gave me any special powers, I still needed that root canal from the dentist.
No one has special powers. People do have skills
Sal C
God loves the dentist, too.
Transport King
Of course there is a God. How else would there be enough tooth decay to keep the dentists in business?
Always remember you are a living flesh, you need the things the body needs, its natural and also we are under a system, if you can see in your mind that we are souls experiencing being a human. After spiritual awakening it will still turn back to your ego, but this time a new version of your ego, you'll realize again you are in these reality that need a root canal.
@@pauljordan3227 Actually, some people do but it's not a big deal and the ones who do do not generally make it known, especially in the US.
First comment I ever made. The Buddha was very clear about what the Supreme enlightenment was. A lot of Zen practitioners believed that true liberation is just a perception of Satori or emptiness. The Buddha just called people who have reached the states of mind a body Witness. The base of nothingness and perception of non perception were the Budda's two main studies before his attainment. He took them as far as they could go and then considered them unworthy of the brahmas, monks and holy Seekers. The reason that one cannot stay in this state is because of what the Buddha called the defilements. Wanting or craving, aversion or hatred, sleepiness or dullness, restlessness or worry or regret and doubt or what the Buddha believed to keep trapped in notions of self and in the bonds of Maya. He also went to say that the Nirvana that he obtained was not subject to birth, old age, sickness and death. I studied Zen and practice zazen for years without making any progress, until I actually went back to the Pali Canon and studied the true teachings. With my deepest respects I must say I think you're caught in the same cycle.
The path to enlightenment, if you must call it that, is not easy. What I see here is opinion and misunderstanding. Once the doorway is open, you cannot go back, it will bring more turmoil. Having an opinion about a spiritual experience is the first clue that it is nothing more than the ego creating a "spiritual" journey setting you up for failure and then vicious judgement. These are the most dangerous people. There is nothing for the seeker in books and retreats if you set "enlightenment" as a goal... this is ego... and it will fail. Rather let the process unwind as it will, in this lifetime or the next. It is not anything magical, it is just you going back to you. Once there, keep quiet... live life with a sense of knowing. The conundrums of self and humanity are irrelevant to the wise. You are not the doer nor the reaper of what is to be done... but that wisdom that you now have... be careful with how you use it. Better to be silent
@@danielcampos9628
When people don't understand another person and their comments! 😏
It's sad. Really really f**** sad.
This is why we've war after war after war and MANY MANY conflicts between us human beings.
We sometimes do NOT understand each other. Not even a simple comment
Let me tell you my friend......you've been looking in the wrong direction all the time for what you are looking for.
By your comment from just now, I know this for a fact!
Some people are simply not ready, or unfortunately they may never be.
@@kreasenchetty
🙌🏼👈🏼
Right View. It is the beginning of the end.
@@kreasenchettybeing back with oneself, being silent, thanks for sharing.
Brad I love this video because I feel the same. I feel awakened but I tend to avoid a lot of "awakened people I've come across because they seem fake to me. They seem like they are trying so hard to be on a other plane that they are avoiding there " bradness" or whatever their name is , ..and not being present in life. My favorite quote ( i heard on my kids video Kunfu Panda)...yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery but today is a gift that is why it's called " the Present". Anyways thanks for being Real
That's a great quote. Thank you!
On the topic of that great gift that is life... I tend to think a natural exploration of the oneness experience would lead others to see CONNECTION to other people as the ultimate point of this life and the most incredible gift.
Yes, most people on UA-cam are like that, sadly. That's why I now follow channels like Hardcore Zen more and more.
It's funny, as long as you are not seen through the bullshit in the spiritual world, you have not experienced enough. When you finally let the carrot go, you see all the masters, teachers, non-teachers and so on and through their bullshit. Well, maybe not all, but most of them.
At least that was my experience. I was like a drug addict, and an imagination of holiness was my drug. So many so-called enlightened people use you in that way.
Man, and even some tell you, they have no ego anymore. That is the joke on top.
unfortunately ego is something on this plane anyways that we just have to deal with. I do believe in the power of prayer and even if you are not Christian there is a quote that Jesus made that rings true.... "In the Bible, Jesus says, "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men … but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen" (Matthew 6:5-8). "
GAZER GAZER DATS TUFF
Spiritual so is fucking mental.
I've had transcendental experiences - I can say it always felt completely new but yet deeply familiar. Personally however I feel that these experiences are supposed to only happen occasionally and not to be pursued "as a way of life". I have begun to see greater joy in the mundane aspects of life and being grounded in physical reality.
Completely agree. Jordan peterson says that these kind of experiences destabilise The psyche, so too often of those and its detrimental to mental health
@@RaduP3 no doubt about that - even the really pleasurable ones can overwhelm the psyche.
@@alr.3137 Yes, perhaps also one can become attached to these experiences and suffer in the attempt to, as you say, pursue these experiences more and more. I would think also that because they are few and far between, the latching on to them will lead to one making the attempt to re-create these experiences in memory, which leads to them circling within their own fictions.
correct. there is a reason why we don't constantly live in that state. it is because the ego is necessary for survival. The ability to separate one from the outer world is HOW the universe experiences itself.
@@Fuar11 I don't think we need the ego to be on earth. Ego makes us suffer.i think it's finding peace with ourselves as and how we see the world. Ego makes us compete etc when really when we awaken we realise we can live in a collaborative creative peaceful world and not egoistic distructive one. Know what I mean...? :)
I once knew an enlightened zen master. He owned a little pottery store in a little town in Washington where he sold his pottery. I was introduced by a friend. My folks and I weren't interested in buying anything, we were just hanging out with this friend who wanted to see his awesome zen friend. The zen master asked if we were going to buy anything. No. To which he said: then I have no time for you. When we left he didn't even say bye, nice to meet you, or anything. Then he started talking to our mutual friend, who later raved about how much of a blissful awesome open-minded guy he is. Our mutual friend also revealed he owed the guy some money as he was doing an investment plan to buy some pottery. Thus, I learned that a sign of a true enlightened person is someone who only gives you the time of day, and is otherwise rude, if you are putting money in their pocket!
I saw that your audio was out of sync and I became enlightened.
😂😂😂
I didn't know I was going after some kind of spiritual experience by trying to stay present all the time. Thank you for grounding it in the reality.
Thanks!
Love it man! Being a "seeker" is one thing. When one "finds", then what? Someone still has to do the dishes. You got a subscribe and like from me.
Wow, this was just what I needed right now, some practical down to earth explanation. Just checked out one of those way too out there "spritual teachers " video. It just left my head spinning. There should be more videos on UA-cam that are that are more practical like this. Thank you, I feel loads better
All those legends about the Buddha don't make it easier. All that mystical crap about nature bowing to Siddhartha after he awakened following that night of battling Maya and all those demons... When you're young and susceptible you can really get sucked in. Sometimes I think that realisation is realising none of that stuff is real. Like you go to your teacher and tell him most of this stuff is just junk and he (or SHE 🤣) winks at you and hands you your diploma. Like there's some big hazing going on and if you get the joke you pass.
Tell me about it
In my experience, the only thing you can rely upon is reality, and reality is obvious at all times no matter how many thick books you read. And even if you tried to believe in some kind of Divine Deeper Dimension, you always know (somewhere in the back of your mind) that you are fooling yourself, trying to trick yourself into seeing something as Real that is actually just another dream in the virtual reality of your thoughts and emotions. And that kind of bullshitting yourself will show in your everyday life by making dealing with your actual tasks and challenges even more difficult. Your everyday life as it is is as "enlightened" as it gets, and it is much more precious than you may be inclined to believe. Practice zazen every day for 5, 10 or 20 years, and that dream of a Better Deeper Parallel Reality will vanish, and your screwed up everyday life will be sufficiently divine - because it is real as opposed to all your dreams and wishful thinking. (Of course, I might be wrong about all of this.)
Carl Kellner .....datz insightful!...
Yes! I appreciate you.
Clearly u don’t know the power of the mind. What u see in the mind is real,for u we hold our own reality
Keep sitting daily. One day you too may move beyond your ordinary ego and discover something other than that. Yes there's something that exists beyond your thoughts, lol.
enlightenment used to be for people who had no interest in day to day life.i was thought that spirituality was for the chosen ones who had no interest in sansar(world).there is saying in nepal,"ghar gari khana nasake shadu ban".meaning if ur not a household guy become a shadu(sage).but in the western culture it has become cool to call oneself englightened and awakened.
That sense of being a “me”, rusts into being unique, being special, even after experiencing something banal and common place. It’s always lurking there in the shadows, ready to make a fool of us. The Tibetan teacher the late Chogyam Trungpa talks about this too. Thanks Brad, first YT video of yours I’ve seen.
Thanks!
Well said, Dogen and I approve this message. The point is not to spend all day in bliss, but to not perpetuate suffering. Knowing that which is seeing through my eyes is that which is seeing through your eyes, is to be freed from the suffering of the illusory self, and to free others from their suffering also. Bliss is ok once a day around 5 am, though.
Uma vida sem sofrimento é a maior ilusão e vocês vendem isso essa ideia de libertar do sofrimento apenas para ganhar dinheiro em cima dessas distorções da realidade
Asim e
Take a kid to the beach. Make sure they are happy (fed, thirst quenched, peed), get them building a sand castle. Within minutes that kid is fully in the moment. We all were when we were little. Tap into that. Help them build that sand castle.
Yes, and striving towards that, striving towards a fulfilling individual experience is what you should do instead of denying your individual nature to reach enlightenment. There is beauty in finity.
It's always so paradoxical. As soon as you've "awakened" you realize how "asleep" you really are and that you never really get "there." It seems enlightenment is merely the acceptance of what is truly here and now, and what is. Good, bad, ugly, amazing, it doesn't matter. Painting a more dramatic illusion over what is to make it more palatable or more "profound" is basically to remain asleeo in a dream world of illusion. God is all, including the mundane and menial. Great video.
3:41 I'm glad you said that. There's something about you that seems very different, so I'm excited to have found this channel.
I agree with u.... being spiritual or religious in the real world is just like being left alone in a wild forest and learning french to survive.
Our thoughts and feelings are pure energy, and they vibrate at a certain frequency. When we focus our thoughts on something, we emit a signal with a specific frequency. This signal is then broadcast into the universe, and it begins to attract energy that vibrates at the same frequency. When we understand energy, frequency and vibration, and how they impact our lives, we can begin to live in flow. Flow is the state of being in alignment with the Universe. When we are in flow, we are in harmony with the energy around us and everything begins to fall into place. We attract what we desire, and our lives become effortless and joyful.
The key to attracting what you desire is to live in a state of flow. This means alignment with the energy of the universe. When we are in flow, we are in harmony with the natural rhythms of the universe. We feel joyful, creative and connected. We attract what we need effortlessly and without struggle.
Spiritual awakening is simply an “Ah ha!” moment- a subtle but definite realization about an aspect of your nature. You remember yourself in action and your mind most of the times. You start to have a different interaction with everyday things. It’s silent and joyous and over time it becomes your rhythm.
Thank you for sharing more light on the matter, although your title was a little misleading.
I just think this is one of your best videos/talks … meaningful, brutally direct and fun.
I think it could be possible that staying in any one state or believing any ideology or spiritual idiom too strongly for too long will cause problems. Yes we are all connected but we are all still separate. Where the mind goes energy flows, but we all each have our own free will. Let’s say you go to a restaurant with some friends and a waitress spill a pitcher of lemonade on your head, it could be a terrible night for you while some of your friends are laughing and others are checking to see if you’re ok, and the waitress herself is apologizing. If we were all as connected as some spiritual “gurus” wouldn’t we all have the same thoughts during that experience. Or let’s say you’re watching a movie with friends maybe one person is really tuned in to the soundtrack while another is watching the screen form tiny details, someone else may be texting, and you may be thinking of something completely different. If we really had the power to influence people’s thoughts so profoundly wouldn’t we all be having the same thoughts? Idk to me too much spirituality makes people fall back into an almost infantile state of mind believing everything to be their fault or their responsibility will make them become ocd or have a form of toxic positivity, or even worse a total god complex. Take everything with a grain of salt and don’t believe everything that anyone tells you
I know so many people who had profound mystical/awakening experiences (myself included). You treasure them and they may even help to shift your perspective on life, but the real work of spiritual practice is not over.
Straight up!
It's called suffering from delusions.
@@SanFran51 delusions about what
Spot ON!!! I love the Hasidic story of Zusye. Zusye said: "When I come before Hashem (God) Hashem will not ask me why I was not Abraham, Issac, or Moses. He will ask me why I was not Zusye." Beautiful. Thank you, Brad.
"The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress
in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence." (Nikola Tesla)
You described my experience and my perspective perfectly. 💯
When people ply you for interpretation of certain hypothetical scenarios in the grand scheme of life and zen- I just read the “what if neither a clear mind nor a cloudy mind comes?” Zen anecdote you once brought up. It’s like, what is the intention here? Are they looking for practical answers in daily living, or looking for the Grand Answer to All Things? (Keep up the good work sir.)
Thanks! It's always hard to know exactly what people are really asking when they ask some things. I try to avoid answering hypothetical questions because they call for speculation. "What would you do if happened?" Well... I honestly don't know. I can speculate. But I can't be sure my answer is correct.
How does anyone who experienced "enlightment" can be sure that it was not some kind of self hypnosis or trick of your mind or even some kind of "hickup" of your mind? An analogy could be steroscopic images. If you learn how to cross your eyes, it takes a bit of practice and patience, suddenly you can see a 3D image ... maybe meditation practice is like "crossing" your mind and sometimes strange, weird mind stuff happens in your brain. I don't want to be cynical, and I am not, but the brain and conscious is not really fully understood, and sometimes stuff happens with your mind and it does not necessarily mean anything special. I totally agree, that the normal state of mind, everyday, that's the important stuff, and this I learned from reading your book and others...
It's really hard to explain how one knows. The analogy I usually use is of dropping a bowling ball on your foot. You would know that it happened. The phenomenon I'm talking about is every bit as real as that. And, like with the bowling ball on your foot, it leaves a lasting impression that you can't deny.
right, I thought about that. Sometimes a bowling ball is dropping on your foot and sometimes just a brick... How could you tell the difference? The impression (pain, deformed foot) is the same, but it is left to interpretation what actually happened. Just curious, but I don't want to drive this analogy too far. And with all respect, I never intend to invalidate your or others experiences, I am just very, very curious ;)
It's difficult to explain. Analogies are all I can come up with. I think the reason the "awakening" analogy has lasted so long is that it's a good metaphor for how it feels. It's similar to the feeling of having a really, realistic and convincing dream and then waking up and realizing it was just a dream. You might even have a moment when you're not sure which was which when you wake from a particularly realistic dream. But then things come together and you don't need any more convincing which was which. It's sort of like that.
I would say that enlightenment is not necessarily something you gain but more it's the consequence of losing things... relieving yourself of all of the things that we have picked up over the years that bombards our minds and weighs us down... my particular meditation is about silencing the mind coming the heart unlearning the things that are unnecessary to know at that particular moment and knowing how to retrieve that information when necessary... I suppose that if your mind isn't weighed down by so many thoughts and contemplations it works better it's more in tune with the body and things that once seemed impossible become possible.. imagine if there's absolutely nothing on your mind and for whatever reason you need to regulate your heartbeat; having your entire brain work on that one goal could make achieving that goal much easier than it would be if you were trying to do so while worrying about multiple things. (work family bills whether you should save money and eat in or spring for some sushi)
btw. I watched the new Blade Runner recently and it had maybe some Buddhist tendencies, notions... I felt that the idea that the self is an illusion was very prominent in the film. Also, that you are not your memories was a strong theme. And that the very moment, the here and now, was represented by scenes related to snow... Highly recommended, I wonder if the director Villeneeuve is into Buddhism, maybe. It was not your typical SciFi ... don't know if you still do those movie - buddhism investigations
The truth is no real spiritual person would ever come up to tell his experiences even anonymously. So what we hear about these so called awakenings is not true
It took me over a year to make a couple of videos explaining complete enlightenment and it's not fun
Bro everything is fake in this world
@@scottkraft1062 That was not complete enlightenment, that was a death experience, followed by a dark night of the soul. No experience remain, everything is changing, except that what you are.
How do we know the universe wants anything.
For it was written by Tommy I mean vishrant the god Guru accended master three yr in a row voted best Guru on the market money back guarantee 😂😂
Mate, thanks so much for your thoughts. Really.
I've watched a lot of vids on UA-cam of these enlightened folk and, for me at least, you really helped balance my perspective on it all.
Really appreciate it.
I'm glad I could help.
So now what is your perspective?
It is a mental perspective
Truth! i was "Enlightend" only to find i was the only one that was dumbfounded and i was going through puberty
He doesn't "think" it's possible. Don't think, that's the point
Oh you got me there!
I'll go one further. Don't exist. Deep, eh?
Waking up is just stop dreaming to find out the dream never really happened.
Good morning.
Iam always afraid of people who tell me what the universe wants.
But i try to stay open.
I shifted from a narcissistic person to a person now can truly comfort being with myself, I don’t see other people on their journey that is lesser than me. True awakening is not bull shit, but it takes a person truly take their inner strength to drop their ego at all levels, to go back to be with their own true self. Yes many people are still sleeping walking, but they will get there on their own timing. A person who thinks spiritual is to make them more superior is still not truly awakening, they are still in their ego mind. Even as they are like this way, we should not judge them, they are on their journey, they will eventually realize their ego really doesn’t make them any more superior, because people can sense their energy . A true awakening person has that certain in their eyes and energy, they will have love and compassion for every one, because we all came from shadowed self, we have have darkness and light in each of us. You judge people’s problems only reflecting your own problems. Spiritual awakening is to drop ego, fear , hate and anger. If you see a person call them self “ spiritual “, all you need to know is how they truly in their own energy. If they are not quite there yet, they are in their delusional of their spiritual state, it’s ok, all you need to do is leave them alone, do your own self work.
Awakening and a "spiritual experience" are not the same. You haven't dissolved the self. It sounds more like you had an experience of the arising and passing away.
agreed but but you kinda look at god as someone other than you, if you actually realize that you are god. you become god. that's why you get a sense of connectedness and oneness during the awakening. because we are all one.
And the awakening doesn't last long, you go back to your boring mundane life, where you're annoyed at drivers causing traffic.
SPIRIT MEETS SCIENCE: Im so sorry for you, spirituality did the opposite for me. "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." (Nikola Tesla) This theory is based on the idea that everything in the universe is energy, and that this energy vibrates at different frequencies. By understanding the frequencies of these vibrations, we can unlock the secrets of the universe and harness its power.
Energy is the ability to do work. Frequency: 1.
the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample.
"an increase in the frequency of accidents due to increased overtime"
2.
the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light), usually measured per second.
"different thicknesses of glass will absorb different frequencies of sound". vibration: an oscillation of the parts of a fluid or an elastic solid whose equilibrium has been disturbed, or of an electromagnetic wave.
Inimitable again, Brad; in your wit, insight and down-to-earth moral truthiness. Gasho.
There is no answer to a general status of spirituality. It has to be a peesonal experience that makes you grow as a human being.
I agree and everyone has different experiences. I have had supernatural experiences like for example a candle flying across the room...a 45 record repeating itself again on a manual turntable that I never touched... etc..and have had other Buddhists try to take that away from me, because it is different from their experiences....or it does not jibe with what they read etc...
Russel Williams was an enlightened master.Died in 2017 aged 94.Modest andhumble ,he told us what would happen in 2019 and the future.
Wow I know this is 6 years old now but I just came across this video today…I have to say this video has definitely shed some light on the experience I had (about 7 years ago) but has since gone away. I would spend months trying to get back to that place and couldn’t understand why I had even left. Your video has helped answer some questions…thank you 😊
Thank you so much Zen! :) You know this enlightment thing and the evolution of the soul and that all humanish thing that we have to deny in order to reach this just lead me a complete depression and I was constantly losing the personality I had, the person I've became during my life. So please anyone who seeks enlightment, please realize that even the want of enlightment goes against the rules of this enlightment. Motivation is our core factor to experience this life and ourselves. Follow your own nature. This state is not approachable in this physical realm and this will only make your personality decay slowly and slowly. What matters now is the YOU , your ego and the chance to experience things the way YOU experience it. You only live once this life, even if your soul has a lot to live. Let me finish with my favourite quote from the Assassin's Creed series.
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted." - live your life by your own beliefs with intention to make your and others' life better, follow yourself and become more and more yourself, there is no actual truth which one person can declear
❤
A verdade é Cristo meu irmão
Cristo is what you become after your transformation
The question of why the experience of "god-consciousness" ends is ... Buddhism 102: all things are impermanent.
people who do need to watch this video won't.
Thanks!
audio and video are out of sync starting at about 2:16
I know! I spent ages trying to fix that. Finally, I semi-fixed some of it and just left the rest as it was. You will also note that the whole thing re-synchronizes at about 5:40 or so after a painfully obvious edit. I recorded the video in 3 segments. The middle segment was out of synch for reasons I cannot fathom. But the 1st and 3rd segments were fine.
So, it’s not bullshit for a short period, as in a few weeks, maybe a month. If you’re not careful, it turns to schizophrenia. That shit happens to ppl with kundalini awakening all the time, and it happened to me. Lots of pain spurred it on. Dark night of the soul type shit, divorce, suicidal thoughts, abandoned by family type shit. I was looking at knots of wood in a bed frame and seeing a universe of beauty, no drugs involved. No prior conditions. Just so so so so much pain. I began to get moments of what the Hindus call “bliss” that would last hours in place of the anxiety I used to feel for hours at a time. I didn’t stay in that state, but if I would have been in an even worse state (as in, homeless and exposed to the elements), I’d be in a daze on the street now
So what about samadhi after experiencing Nirvana? Is is - as masters says - when ones self isn’t experienced and then objects aren’t separated from us (everything is what it is), so they aren’t objects anymore as they were before the nirvana experience. Does Soto tradition not mention that? In Rinzai there is a lot about it I think
In general, the Soto tradition doesn't describe experiences of samadhi or nirvana, at least not in the way it seems like you're referring to. Dogen talks about "jijuyu zanmai" or "the samadhi of receiving and using the self" in his essay Bendowa. That's about the closest thing I can think of in which samadhi might be described as a special state or condition. He also has an essay called "Zanmai-o Zanmai" or "The Samadhi That is King of Samadhi." In that essay, ordinary zazen is described as the highest samadhi.
wwzc.org/dharma-text/zanmai-o-zanmai-samadhi-sovereign-samadhis
I've watched a lot of Brad videos, but this may be my favorite. He does a good job of putting some clarity around something that is highly personal and ultimately indescribable. How many Zen books do you have to read for you to get that indescribability? (I've lost count, myself. Starting with A Glimpse of Nothingness in 1973).
You mean that "dropping part", right? Yes, he says it very direct, right. I like that too.
WRONG ! watching this video is not the most important experience !
"convince yourself you're fully in this experience at all times." Keywords: convince yourself!
I love this one! Great to hear some truth spoken in a humorous and honest way! I will check out your books! Thank you.
Just heard again: a great reply.
Kwong Roshi said something like "it's like a circle, and you come back to your starting place: to Beginner's Mind". Also, you can't be more "you" than "you".
Suzuki Roshi said someplace: the quality of your zen experience when you let go of your self, is exactly the same as for Dogen or Bodhidharma or for Buddha. Even if you are a relative beginner. He said, of course there is some difference in maturity or depth, but it is the same quality.
I myself lost my spiritual virginity (a fantastic metaphor) in an est course (really!) in around 1980. That repeated, deeper in the est 6day course, and to some extend in all their other courses. But then they made the mistake of teaching us to sit (I think it was for 10 minutes) and my Aikido teacher really had us doing zazen. I stopped all the est stuff as I could see that it left "traces" and that the zen teachers were "the real thing". Did daily sitting and sesshins at least once a year for quite a while. Each sesshin I would have a profound experience. But, I realized that I would have the same experience with every sitting. The problem was getting my butt down on the cushion and maybe going thru 5 minutes of pain/frustration. At this point my attitude is just like Brad: it's like brushing my teeth, and if I delay sitting I just don't feel right. "Enlightenment experiences" are of no interest
in comparison to just being at home in our bodies and our lives and our own problems and Karma. Maybe it opens a door, ok great, but you need simply to be back here engaged as fully as possible. I think that is easier and more possible if one is able to sit sesshins, so I wish I still had time for that. But if not, daily sitting is just right.
What does "spiritual" mean? Can it be verified? If not, one is only dealing in words. Bamboozled by them in fact. Which only adds to the "sleep" of humanity. Read Gurdjieff
Read a little bit about that dude. Seems like more woo woo nonsense?
@@mryan4452 I'll tell you something , woo woo nonsense it most certainly isn't. Although I've had a number of the woo woo brigade come over to my channel and they too thought it was woo woo. When they found out it wasn't , they , thankfully , left very quickly. Those who stick around gain something of inestimable worth. Do have a read of The teaching of Gurdjieff by C.S. Nott.
Extraodinary. The real deal. Doesn't get more real.
Have a good day now 👍
@@hermesnoelthefourthway if I had a penny for every time somebody claimed that about some author or guru, I'd be a millionaire. I might give it a read sometime, I fully expect it to be gobbledygook woo woo.
@@mryan4452 surprise yourself. Have a look at one of my videos . I assure you they'll be no going back for you 💯
Im tired of spiritual people, some make business like they were more elevated them others. And some have a kind of posture wich is arrogance.
I’ve been on the 5d ascension bs for a while - it was cool though.
eris ames
What's that?
mood
It's made up balony nonsense
do it again while baked, you'll get it
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have a friend who is so enlightened that he never misses an opportunity to tell everyone how enlightened he is compared to everyone else. But he doesn't consider himself morally perfect. He doesn't believe in absolute truth or morals.
That sounds fun... not!
I want to genuinely thank you for this video. I went into an “awakening” a week ago and it led to severe derealisation due to my mind not being able to comprehend all the existential questions. My brain was so stressed that it launched the defence mechanism and I was on the verge of kllng mslf.
I tried to seek help under those “enlightenment” videos and all of the commentators were giving me different explanations and reasonings.
I came to conclusion that the only thing that is true is the fact that a human cannot know everything. We are framed into 5 senses. My ego cannot understand why we are put on Earth to have a human experience if our true goal is to “get enlightenment”? We’d feel oneness anyway when we die, so why try to stay enlightened while you have a life to live? I don’t want to sit under the tree knowing everything is God and having no attachments to the life at the age of 22.
I came to conclusion that dissolving an ego is not a necessity for a human being. It is possible but you cannot function in the society FULLY without it, so the use for that is questionable.
I’ve booked a therapist session after my “awakening” because it really screwed my mental health. I wish people talked about it’s “side effects” as well. If you’re ready to live a life as common consciousness, with no attachments/desires/achievements - go for it. I choose to feel all spectrum of emotions and experiences as a human being.
Your comment is the best. I love you.
I was searching "is awakening real? "Does awakening really exit?" "Is spirituality real?"
it dose promise just do dmt
@Isabella Landreth
That’s not any spiritual “awakening” like most people think enlightenment is, just different neural connections being made in your brain because of the DMT; perfectly natural and explainable, not metaphysical or spiritual.
@@loganleatherman7647 white ppl moment
i used to want to get back to my enlightenment experience. then i realised that yeah, its interesting, you can learn some stuff but its not important really. if anything its just good to get it out of the way. id say thats probably the most useful thing about having one :P.
i'd also say that me having one was a bad idea and it led to trouble later in life for me. I was 17 when i had it and i used an object based meditation. it was only the second or so time i had ever meditated and i went really hard. i didn't know what i was doing and then before i knew it i was floating down the street and all the rest.
however! years later (after id stopped meditating for about 5 years) it led to another experience completely randomly where at university a lecturer told me something about the nature of sound (i did a music production degree) and it literally blew my mind. as in, i didn't have a chance to take the info he gave and map it into my 'idea' about reality. what he said just BOOM - changed my reality in-front of my eyes. I thought i was loosing my mind essentially. this didn't happen to anyone else. i later read in a buddhist book about hearing things not at an intellectual level and i knew then that it was probably because id messed around with that experience when i was younger.
luckily, i didn't need to leave UNI as it didnt happen again. but i was really scared, lol. so its a cautionary tale.
anyway g2g
Hmmm. Interesting!
I rushed the end of that story because i was eating into my morning zazen time before work, lol.
yeah, Enlightenment is a waste of time. So isn't zazen. All you need to do is conform to the teachings of your society, and follow your ancestors wisdom. That's how a good person knows right from wrong. What good is navel gazing? What good is Nirvana? You don't even need Buddhism. That's not our culture.
@@ou-rb2gv 'All you need to do is conform to the teachings of your society, and follow your ancestors wisdom. That's how a good person knows right from wrong.'
This is clutching onto concepts and views, obstructions of consciousness.
In my own opinion, this was more of a "Spiritual Awakening with a Spiritual Ego is Bullshit". 'Cuz everything you described that's bullshit about this is someone who is in a spiritual ego and thinks about being better. Spiritual Awakening and Ego deaths are bullshit however what spirituality actually teaches isn't. Infact, learning stuff from spirituality actually helps you in life. In my own research, I have found many things that work.
Spiritual practices can help, paying for it doesn't
@@carpo719 EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!! REAL SPIRITUALITY IS NOT FOR SALE!!! and if it is, YOU BETTER RUN LIKE HELL!
Do you consider kensho to be useful?
Can you derive learning from It to engrain into your normal life? If so, how would you go about It?
It is another moment
Great video! Is your nice german pen a Stabilo?
IT IS!!!
Nice! I want to try those out. @@HardcoreZen
Interesting that many make a living off of spirituality.
Turning pure teachings of a better way to live into an industry for profit.
It is a CATEGORIZED profession, if you declare you make a living off from Tarot the banks are more willing to give you a loan than if you are an youtuber (which isn't categorized so you have to put as "Other" on the list of professions)
Welcome to earth
@JONEWING!! EXACTLY!!! That is how you KNOW it is Fake, Fakeee, FAKEEE!!!!! Faker than fake!!!! This is what I call pseudo spiritual capitalism , also known as Swindle and Pimp spirituality. This is the REAL pandemic virus that needs to be addressed!! Real treasures, wisdom, knowledge, gifts, from GOD are NOT FOR SALE!!
@@HamandChzShow NO!!! Welcome to the FAKE WORLD OF MONEY!
@@deakhanani yeah, that's earth nerd.
Okay you spoke strictly on "enlightenment". "Spiritual awakening" is a method of coping with psychosis or schizophrenia.
Hahaha yea 😂
Spiritual Awakening is psychosis. They only made it sound Spiritual to stop you from going nuts.
I used to believe that, then when your in a room with 3 or more people and your thinking the same thing at the same time... and you have had more then one experience it bugs you out. Or some one walks by you and and you pick up a random sentence in your head and then that person says that exact sentence...
You tend to view things differently I have been bugged out by the experience to the highest degree. I also don't follow any of the spiritual terminology or want to be part of it
Here's a test to know if you're enlightened. If you think you are, you're not,
XOXO!!!!
i like you're teaching style, although i'm not really sure wether this is meant as 'teaching'. Anyways, i could use some lessons, i'm not new to this, but i'm at a point where i want to deepen this practice in my life. I feel a pull to find a form in life where i spend my time facing being, it is a kind intuition that has a kind personality feel to it. It has made me sober up my life and face struggle more sober aswel. Emotions are stronger, but more transparent because of it. Got any tips for someone who is looking to deepen this path over time? perhaps some pitfalls? of maybe some bullshit call i could use? I'm looking for other peoples perspective on this.
Practicing with a community can be useful. Try visiting a few places and see if there's one you like. As for pitfalls -- don't necessarily believe your own thoughts, and don't believe anything you can't make sense of. My blog is at hardcorezen.info and it has an FAQ section that might be useful. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply =). I have a retreat planned in the summer in a place nearby, the practice vipasanna in the tradition of a burmese master, ba khin. I'm really looking forward to that, i'll apply your advice by trying to make friends there. Other question, is this (not youtube, but teaching) the way you make a living? If yes, how did you build that for yourself?
wow. nice talk! thanks. i'm really glad i've found you and your channel, seems like you're taking a fresh and anarchistic and empowering standpoint on spirituality. looking forward to reading your books. with love, marcus.
If someone over using hand gestures annoys you then don't watch more than 10 seconds of this video. Enlightenment or conscious awareness aside, this guy is definitely not playing with a full deck.
What brand are those "really good" pens?
Before awakening; chop wood, carry water. After awakening; chop wood, carry water
@@LDRester I thought the saying was “Before awakening chop wood, carry water. After awakening get somebody to do that for you.”
So basically you had a trip.
Not going to read the other comments, but I really enjoyed these insights. Authentic and sincere 🤓
This is the complexity of the ego against the spirituality, like you're doing making this video, its the ego that contradicts. After the enlightenment you chop wood and carry water, absolutely true bc you are in a reality and you are human, and reality has nothing to do with spirituality its a different world, this is the tin line separating both worlds, spirituality is being empty, being surrendered, letting go of yourselves. It will humbled you, its feels happy yet isolated, it brings confusion whether you will join the norms or just be yourself. After spirituality you feel a new version of you, you'll see things now differently in a new level. Its like discovering your true self. Not all of you could understand it.
It's called suffering from Spiritual delusions. Suffering and Negativity is not evil.
@@SanFran51 what are you referring to?
@@dropbyfishingtv7339 THANK YOU!!!!! SPOT ON!!!!
Wait, if god created everything down to every molecule and beyond, Why would he need to experience anything through our eyes? He would already know every experience we could possibly have because he created it. Doesn't make sense.
We are the way he knows. We are God's tastebuds. Our eyes are not our eyes. That's the mistake we make. We are tastebuds who decided we're not part of God's tongue.
@@HardcoreZen Look i understand we are not our ego's but your comment makes no sense. I know no one who has "decided they are not part of god's tongue". :/
If you mean our eyes are not our ego's eyes then ok, but there's a much more sensible way to say it then what you've typed here. Vague statements with no context are a waste of time.
@@tsunamisun2369 OK then. Have a nice day!
@@HardcoreZenHaha you too!
Spiritual awakening is absolutely a real phenomena and it has been documented in every religion and tradition for thousands of years. The archetypal basis of almost every religion is the spiritual awakening or Individuation process. Someone who has never experienced this would display ignorance and fear over it. Those who have experienced this long, arduous, and agonizing process of Self Realization will tell you it is absolutely real. It terrifies neophytes and those who don't know the Truth.
Did you even watch the video?
When i first saw the name of your video I wanted to say to you that YOU that YOU were a bunch of bull crap and had NO IDEA at all what you were talking about. It was at that point that I heard my higher self
( or whatever you wanna call it ) say,
" REALLY LUX? Watch the video with your mind CLEAR of labeling, judging and all opinions. Let's see what your reaction is then. "
Well I must say that it's completely different than it was before.
Nothing but thanks to you dear brethren for all the work you do in order to aid others in a topic that our society would deam taboo.
Peace and Love to you and yours brethren.
Be well,
Lux Lux
"Bewusstsein gibt es seiner Natur nach nur in der Einzahl. Ich möchte sagen: die Gesamtzahl aller »Bewusstheiten« ist immer bloß »eins«."- Erwin Schrödinger
Jah!
@@HardcoreZen Congratulations, btw! I hope your visit to your Los Vegas cousin (?) is fun, and i hope your Wedding was Most Excellent Indeed.
yes, it is a glimpse in to how you will feel at the time of separation from the body. that is how I would explain the Experience!!!
I feel People use it as an addiction from reality!!!
Spiritual awakening IS real, but most people who thing they have awakened are really just repeating new-age tier archontic lies. True awakening is only possible through intense emotional pain, nothing else.
This crap of just giving in is just what the ARCHON loves weak auric field and they're in,these lot don't know they're playing with black energy and once it's in the assembly point and they're giving up bye bye soul and that what they want your soul they'll be pissing themselves laughing at this FFS 👉👹
I have neurological perspective on this. I thinks it's more phenomena. What else could it be? The choice we have is amygdala or no amygdala? Adrenaline or no adrenaline?
This video is an example of a man struggling with classic solipsism
“Shadow Denial” Great video.
Spiritual awakening is real. It is a non-event for all those who are not awakened. Everyone gets there eventually. Meditate, introspect, and insights will emerge.
Everything is subjective to whom experiences it. It definitely is real, I'm only speaking from having it happen to me with no prior knowledge or familiarity on the subject. It's too easy to dismiss.
Honestly speaking am just a beginner about meditation and other stuffs of awakening, I have just like 3 months up to now and what I experience Its really different from before I see my life in new pictures and feel happiness and love around me than I felt before although am single, I really appreciate and grateful for this chance and when I find this you tube channel speak against about it I got shocked and listen to it carefully but I found nothing from what I used to experience
@@magneticsechonge8922 People who are unaware speak according to their limited experience.
You are the experiencer of your life. Your guidance is within you.
I would recommend Mooji and Eckhart Tolle on UA-cam.
🙏🌝
People have different reactions to stress....mine was to become super analytical and looking for meaning and clues to what I should do to be happy....which sounds good on paper...but I was looking for meaning in things like etymologies of words and numbers, I should have been looking for meaning in the human cultural artifacts that have been designed to solve problems like lack of housing and stability. Things like you know, a job and hygiene. But I was raised to see myself as being in but outside of "the world", and no one ever spoke to me about a career or college, so I just saw my identity as needing to survive in alternate ways, which led to me being homeless and staying positive and out of panic attacks by being obsessed about "spiritual" things. Not an ideal scenario by any means but I was doing the best I could being dealt a shitty hand, and at least it made me super environmentally conscious and spend a lot of free time picking up trash lol
What about people who had these experience through substance like ayahuasca or the toad. I did aya a decade ago but I didn't feel anything spiritual it was so traumatic felt the whole world is flipped into a hellhole
Yes it’s very hard to I remember it. Which sucks, especially when meditating and trying to have the experience again. Remembering the experience hinders it.
Just revisited this and it is beautiful
This reminded me of a quote by Carl sagan, "wr are a way for the cosmos to know itself"
Thank you for this. From my personal experience the new age is a new cage and keeps your mind in a loop of chaos. Be free and live and try your best not to worry if you can .❤
If I am to go into this "spirituality" thing, it better give me superpowers, like being able to psychic-force the slot machines and roulettes in Vegas to spin out jackpot after jackpot for me, or at least turn red traffic signals green with a single thought. If these are not possible, I am not interested, and that is probably why I could never be convinced to dabble in that world.
Reading accounts of Ramana Maharshi do you think he was a fraud or continually ‘awake’?
What about has your life changed through wanting to change and become good from bad or wrong if you like ??
For the most people the question should be:
Is there a life before death ?