neti neti

How does one see without eyes?

In observing oneself, the observer observes all.

I cannot, nor do I desire to witness whatever photons enter your eyeballs to tell you what you're perceiving. Such things may be possible with training, but don't amount to much more than parlor tricks imho. You seem thoroughly convinced by this grand hall of mirrors. I however am my biggest skeptic. Do you believe your reflections have any substance apart from yourself? There's only one vision, and that which observes is multifaceted. But I can't see what you see in that sense. Your private world is quite your own. Unique in that you've specially tailored it to suit your deepest desires. Any mail of "yours" is only forwarded to "me" as "needed". We're engaged on a journey in which we wouldn't dream of violating each other's privacy...and yet, there's no such thing as secrets.

Yes, I am and yes, I can. How could I not? This facet of consciousness is exactly identical in nature to yours. The apparent differences can be owed to the degree in which each facet makes use of its capital. I see your striving to speak in dimensions of the dimensionless. I see your culprit of other-ness projecting its delusion as if it were mine. I see your restlessness and contention aims only to finally, once and for all, prove yourself wrong. I see your clouding of the reality of our painfully obvious one-ness. I see your doubt, and, if only for a moment, I see it dissolving as you read these words. The observer intent upon any lasting satisfaction by truth which can be told, is destined for disappointment. There seems to be looking, but really, there's no eye(s). Just one 'I'. No-two, and for that matter, no-one. Being the center of every-where, is to say I am the center of no-where. No centre(s). Just me, whatever that is. And btw, I ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH...

The observed is of the quality of the observer. Observation is as per the observing... as is the eye, so shall be the vision. Is one confined to the defined 'I' of one's storm, a distinct locality? Limited to what that 'I' perceives as 'me' and 'mine'? Or is one, in reality, the 'eye' of all 'eyes'?

"When names and forms Are put away, When all judgment ceases, What remains is called The True. It appears like a mirror In which the Infinite Is reflected. It looks back at each Who gaze upon It." "Great effort is required to see that Clear sight is not The result of effort. Overlooking what is obvious is The common obstacle. To see what has been Shining in plain view is The simple remedy." "The present moment resides Between imagination and stupor. When both are rejected, It shines like a lamp in A room with ten thousand mirrors." ~Wu Hsin

Obviously, you should be Angry, about not REALLY being Angry. So, just own it already! Now I'm all worked up about this blatant yet thinly veiled emotional hypocrisy of mine. Time for the punching bag!

What more could a man hope for in a world of one-liners?

Lol oh well... alright. Sigh... so much for dignity then. Who are we fooling? We're all just smart monkeys anyway, savages with opposable thumbs! For what it's worth, I don't mind the best of both worlds. Purple pill, anyone? Knowledge is power, but uh...

Wait... you mean, this isn't really AIR I'm breathing, in this place ???

Omg. I need one of those delivered overnight, no matter the cost. I must wonder though, how much extra breath will it allow one to retain?!

"The many years I spent in solitude, I learned the exquisite torture of loneliness. I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." ~Poe, from Altered Carbon

The world is unapologetically honest, if one is honest with oneself... the most honest of my mortal enemies is more friend to me than those close who would hold their tongue.

Think sad. Really sad. Like shitting yourself. Constantly. And diapers. Lots and lots of diapers. Or, you may return as some poor abandoned puppy whose master just deserts in the rain, only to be mercilessly squashed by a semi. And then coming back again, as a cockroach or something else just as grotesquely short-lived for shunning the gift of life. Just really sad consequences. Much sadder than your perceived current circumstances. The cliche of, it could always be worse, is terribly accurate. All one has to do is look around for that truth to present itself. But everything alternates in cycles from one extreme to another. Life pulsates back and forth, death is just the final copout. Try to imagine existence without the many requirements we generally consider as needful, and you'll soon realize that true happiness isn't acquired or dependent upon circumstance. True happiness inherently consists of sorrow and suffering, for one cannot be without the other. True happiness is your very nature. What we believe in our minds becomes as a god over us, standing between us and Reality. Because we so often trust fictions as truth, we become transfixed, stuck in place. Blinded and hypnotized against our conscious will to identify them for what they are. We're therefore rendered powerless by them, making ourselves unable to remove such impediments by our own will. It often becomes too much for our egos to bear until life becomes so utterly painful that we'll try Anything to find relief. But do know that you will commit suicide only by Permission and Only as it serves the purpose of existence as a whole. When we, in total frustration and hopelessness, admit that it's not in our power to remedy our state, the miraculous is then able to step in and rearrange such circumstances For us. Unless of course, you enjoy the predicament you've found yourself in, and deep down you just really really like the way things are right now...

Hey! Meat body sounds a bit degrading for such a bleeding edge self-healing crap-producing sack of skeleton. I prefer the more neutral yet dignified term, flesh suit.

My experiences with water fasting were always powerful. Perhaps your suggestion above is true. Indeed, the influx of power in practice may have much to do with the release of energies otherwise engaged in the arduous process of digesting. It should be carefully advanced in stages with regard to its prolongment, so as to not bring too great of a shock upon oneself too soon... most especially when combined with other practices, no matter how deeply blissful one may seem to feel. There can even come a point where one arrives at a sense of dis-embodiment. Yet, the body knows best, and one would do well to make full use of the mind's subtilty/clarity to keenly identify and act upon the body's promptings.

"The window is the absence of the wall, and it gives air and light because it is empty. Be empty of all mental content, of all imagination and effort, and the very absence of obstacles will cause reality to rush in." ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

I'm not too knowledgeable, but my understanding is that when breath is retained properly, it's because it happens inadvertently so to speak from any perspective of observation. For me, the mechanism for most practice boils down to how one has the capacity to become the object of one's attention. I imagine any limits imposed upon that capacity to fully express itself, depend only upon perceived self-limitation of the subject. Since mind and breath are one, when mind becomes sufficiently and intensely one-pointed, the breath easily suspends. But it's quite imperciptible, naturally, and can be a bit of a shocker coming to and seeing how long the breath was actually being "held".. and still be "alive." When there's no one there to realize they were holding on too long, there's no one there to gasp for air or worry about when to breathe again. This kind of breath retention is accomplished quite mindlessly, in every sense of the word, because in becoming that which a pure mind merely reflects, suspending functions of the physical body becomes quite trivial. Just speaking from experience, and intuition, thus all the above could be completely contrary to what knowledgeable persons may contribute. And there goes the village idiot again, prancing off into the sunset happily talking to himself.

"The more I try to explain myself, the less I understand myself." "Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible." ~Eugene Ionesco

If it was indeed an initiation of sorts, what do you think about my seemingly complete inability to even take an initial stride towards the first step of the ladder? It wasn't fear, but a real sense of it not being possible to return to awareness of my physical form as I know it. The consequences of the decision seemed very plain and straightforward. It felt very much more along the lines of a warning, as if I had stumbled upon something quite forbidden. Like the real test was beyond a point of no return.

sure, why not? playing solitaire is great for passing time, but it eventually gets a bit boring.

It is the Game which changes the rules. Rules do not change the Game.