wstein

First, there are not complete works that cover all topics for every 'enlightened master'. As such the best one can say without also being an enlightened master is if there are any things that are covered by many of the works we do have that are not contradicted by the works of another master. Even so , we don't know how accurately what is recorded reflects what those masters actually taught. I suggest a few truths that might qualify: -Self awareness leads to a better quality of life -Your state of being affects how you act and respond to the world -You are not your body -Human beings are a single species -Words can not convey the 'deeper mysteries' -One is not limited to their physical capabilites -All life is connected

By my definitions: -both of these refer to states that one can acquire gradually, thus I preface the 'full' state as 'fully" i.e. 'fully enlightened' -Being awake has to do with being aware that there is more to 'reality' than the physical 3D world of the mind and senses. -Being enlightened has to do with grasping/understanding/grokking the nature of all of 'reality'. Being awakened does not usually show from the outside as it does not affect the ways and actions of daily life nor does it necessarily alter ones energetic state in an obvious way. Similarly with minimal states of enlightenment, both are hard to recognize unless you are fully enlightened. Moderate levels of enlightenment show with minimal interaction to others also enlightened to some degree. Most of those who are 'just a mortal', would only quickly recognize someone in a fairly advanced state of enlightenment. When someone says they are 'awaken' I don't pay much attention. When someone says they are 'enlightened' I instinctively try to interact with them in a non-physical way.

Strictly speaking, its the sorcery that is causing the looping, not the time travel. That makes more sense. I guess we will wait for the the book to find out what happens.

I'm assuming from the questions that you mean travel to the past. The way out is obvious, time travel again: either leave or arrive at a different time than the previous 'loop'. Or, leave yourself a note to not do such a stupid thing as to create a time loop. As an aside, how does your fictional character get caught in a time loop? Most versions of time travel cause distinct if not extreme divergence from the previous time line.

Pretty much one can NOT tell. Almost certainly some of the times, the new view is less accurate than the old one.

Sometimes that which appears new is something old ...

You find the path, walk the path, leave the path. Or maybe you wander around lost never finding a path. Either way, eventually you let go of the training wheels and get on with the pursuit of spirituality ... find your own way, express who you are. Walking where so many others have been that they built a path does not lead you to yourself.

Though there are methods that use sleep paralysis to start astral projection, Sleep paralysis if NOT required to do astral projection. Usually people start with lucid dreaming to become conscious while asleep. There are methods for transitioning from a lucid dream to astral projection. Again, no sleep paralysis required. Check out Robert Bruce (Astral Dynamics) for good instructions on how to astral project without sleep paralysis. If you really want to project while awake, check out Robert Monroe's mental projection. Note: they sell a hemi-sync device to aid the process, that is NOT required either.

If you are already enlightened, then the question of 'wanting it' is moot. For everyone else, how can they know what it is they ask for (want)? In a sense to 'want it' is a matter of blind faith. I know several others who are somewhat awakened (short of full enlightenment), none of them sought awakening, they just ended up there as a byproduct of another aspirations. I don't want enlightenment per se, though by some definitions I already am. I don't see it gets me anything i desire or value. To whatever degree I am awake/enlightened, it is a byproduct of actually wanting to 'know' that which 'is'. I can say its mostly the pain of separation (from self) that drives the interest to know. Pretty much there is an implicit assumption that knowing the source of the pain will allow me to address it.

Pretty much all the shields described in this thread so far are of the 'energy' type. While this is one of the easiest to learn, it is not one of the more effective types. It also has significant drawbacks. First, it leaks away over time. Second, it gets 'used up' when challenged by an attack. These drawbacks mean it has to be replenished or rebuilt fairly often. Typically this is days if not in use or fractions of a second if being seriously attacked. There are ways to attach a power source to an energy shield but that has its own problems. A 'ward' is typically an energy shield with an attached power source. Some of the other shielding types are dimensional shield, temporal (time) displacement, spatial (distance) displacement. These are not affected by being challenged and typically stay in place until taken down (drawback: one must remember to take them down). As to the issue of it taking possibly too long to build a proper energy shield: One can create a temporary energy shield by dumping lots of energy into their aura. This can be done extremely fast (fraction of a second). As any advanced martial artist knows, chi can be moved within the body so fast that it can stop a physical blow/strike after it touches the skin but before it does any damage. Note this is only effective for a few second or minutes if you are being actively attacked, but it is long enough to erect a proper energy shield or take other evasive action. Putting energy in your aura is also very effective at dealing with people with 'bad' energy. Simply fill your aura with energy until it starts to leak off the outer edge. This will protect you from crowds or corrosive family members for about 3 hours.

When it comes to spiritual practice, I am largely self taught. I didn't have the benefit of traditions, teachers, or books. That was also before the internet. Still I learned a lot on my own. Later when as an adult I moved to California and found out that most of what I had learned was already known for years, decades, centuries, and even millennia. Its nice now a days to have forums like this.