wstein

doubtfully: love, integrity, numbers, infinity, common sense, self respect, knowing

If you are in the US I suggest Meetup.com. At least in my area (Austin) there are lots of active groups. It should reach many 'non-religious' people. Generally people are less certification biased. Even if you don't want to host your group there, it would be place to ask others who run meditation groups for advice.

Transmission is a way for two beings (people) to interact on a spiritual level. The one way implication of the word 'transmission' is because this is most commonly done in a teacher/guru to student/acolyte situation. The usually vast difference in spiritual development usually makes this a one-sided affect. The usual purpose is to temporarily 'adjust' the student closer to what they would be after more spiritual development. This both facilitates accelerated learning and a provides experience/familiarity of the end goal of the practice. The effect typically only lasts a day or two. As this is an very unequal power situation, the student should trust his teacher before allowing transmission.

Spirituality is the relation of self to non-self. A spiritual person is a person that explores or seeks to understand the relation of self to non-self. By implication also explores the issue of what is self anyway.

" only try to realize the truth ... , there is no spoon" (or cat)

Some things help with this: 1. Your personality is not the same as your identity. There are some warnings about disassociating with your identity, I do not see that as problematic. Disassociating with 'self' (personality, inner nature) can be problematic. The key here is to accept that which you are and release that which you merely think of as yourself. 2. Get to know your inner self, what is your nature, what are you attuned to, there is no need to 'seek' the things one is attuned to 3. Presence, allow your inner being to fill your body, there are meditations for this, just be The combination of 2 + 3 will lead to action happening spontaneously when circumstance aligns in a way that resonates with your personality. Action does NOT spring from from motivation nor the decision to act.

This topic is NOT about what the title suggests. It is not about critiquing. It seems to be about some hurt feelings caused by someone disagreeing with the authors views followed by some promotion presumably about their tradition.

The only Truth is that there is only one Truth ...

"Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth...there is no spoon." Or chair.... Or you.

When a world (dreaming or awake) disappears, it is really hard to know if it is gone or you are merely failing to perceive it. Perhaps it is YOU that no longer exists.

Most people are generally unaware.

So you want to mess in foreign affairs to stop them from messing in foreign affairs???

I disagree simultaneously to varying degrees. Even if you can somehow reframe that into binary, agreeing/disagreeing is only one example of thought (for may brain anyway). It is entirely possible you are a computer simulation.

Its not some (external) God that needs to wake up. YOU are the divinity that needs to wake up.

The process of becoming (realizing you are) enlightened however is whole lots of no fun.

Very different, though both at (chi) energy constructs in the body. Dantiens are energy storage centers where a reserve of energy can be stored for later use (and quick access). Chakras are spots along the kundalini channel (goes along spine for the ones in the body) where energy of specific types (frequencies) leave the channel. The specific chakras correspond to physical organs in the body (mind, throat, heart, etc). Dantians do not overlap chakras.

I used the watch-your-thoughts method. Basically you try to notice when a thought (includes mind chatter) arises (most commonly during meditation to start, then all the time). The more often the better. At first there is no waiting for thoughts (or chatter), in fact there are so many you can't respond to them all. No matter, just notice that a thought has occurred. Do nothing else about it, do not try to stop the thought or worry about thoughts you missed. If at the beginning you are having trouble doing nothing about noticing a thought, simply label it "thought". At some point you will notice the thought that does the labeling. Nothing more to it other than practice. At first thoughts will occur in lower density (hard to notice for a few weeks perhaps). Then eventually the thought will become sparse enough that there are gaps between them. You are pretty much there when you notice something odd only to realize its mental chatter. Yes I know this seems like it would stop all thinking, it does not. It only stops the mental chatter. It took me about 2 years to reach inner silence as my default state. Now I lack mental chatter >95% of the time. [advanced] once you get to inner silence as a default, you will probably notice other kinds of chatter (emotional, physical, psychological). The same method works for them. Eventually you reach inner stillness.

Isn't awareness without feeling basically the way of spirit?

BE that which you are. No need to limit yourself to 'feeling'.

Dualistic fallacy. Yes

Correct (well the illusion of correct anyway).

Thanks to all that took this topic seriously and answered in an authentic manner. Too often 'enlightenment' topics go off the rails right away.

Depends on your nature and what you want. Contentedness comes from being satisfied with what you got. It does not matter so much what that is other than how available it is to you. Some are born nearly enlightened and can reach a satisfactory state with little effort, many of those will actually be comfortable with that. Some are social emotional creatures who are most contented when around others; enlightenment will not be a decent path for them. Any time you are asking a 'should' question, the answer is no.

If by 'say' you mean speak through the body, then yes, correct. If by 'say' you mean communicate, then yes correct. Saying is not relevant to existence, it is only valuable for communication to others. Similarly, thinking things is not relevant to existence. Ditto for knowing. You don't know if you are unaware. Well technically you might still know but are unaware that you know (unable to access that knowledge). That does not mean you don't remain, It just means you don't 'know'. You can still experience, live, exist, create. Its those experiences that awareness takes and turns into knowing when you 'wake up'. Its really hard to explain being in the parts of reality where experience is not possible (thus no knowing). It feels very mental (though in actuality is consciousness). Its a sea of concepts and potentials, all 'possibilities' yet nothing actually 'happens'. There is no need to actually know anything as the possibilities are simply there (at once). Why know something when the original 'it' is there? That would be like looking at the brochure of Disneyland while standing in Disneyland. One could stand around reading the marketing material or one could simply go on the rides. The brochure is like the knowing, you can know all that Disneyland offers. Still, you can enjoy Disneyland (which remains) without the brochure. What remains independent of awareness or knowing is the enjoyment. Still true that without awareness you don't know that you enjoyed Disneyland. However there is no need, that enjoyment is simply present with you.

I see NO reason one has to be aware in order to to be. A blind person can make a painting, yet they can not ever see it. Is there still a painting? I say there is a painting because the blind person painted it. That blind person knows what was painted only because they painted it. I have done vast amounts of lucid dreaming. I have had 'false awakenings' while lucid dreaming, several in a row actually. I remained 'lucid' through all the false awaking including still being lucid when waking up into this world. An alarm clock can wake you out of a dream only if it exists in a world in which you are are sleeping. Its true that dream worlds cease when you wake. That is because you cease continuously creating them. It has nothing to do with your awareness of them. This world exists because you and others are continuously co-creating it. Even though at times you stop participating in creating this world, others continue to do so. Basically you are fixated in the value of 'knowing' which for you is based on being 'aware'. I'm not sure why you think only you continue when you are not being aware. Since you don't trust any other sources of knowing, there is nothing I can say or show you to make you understand my experience of reality. My experience suggests that I remain even without any knowing or awareness. Further my experience suggests that other 'things' also are able to remain when I am unaware of them.