Aaron

Hello Ion, My only questions is if you are the powerful psychic you proclaim to be, with precognitive visions, telepathy, and the ability to see auras, why you have not chosen to lead us all from darkness? One of your potential rivals the dragon of the east! I certainly hope he doesn't become jealous of your power. Aaron

Hello Jeff, This is a good question and not one easy to answer. When I talk about my experience it is one that stems from understanding the nature of my existence, who I really am. I reached an understanding of this by meditating and stilling my mind to the point that there was no thought or realization at all, but simply nothing, when I reached that state I experienced a sensation of light all around, not moving, not flickering, but consistent and existing within all things. My perception of self did not exist, but rather I was light and light was all that was. When I began to experience this sensation I felt as if myself was an echo in the distance, yet there is no distance, so that would not be a good explanation, rather it is as if I was only a shadow of myself. When I explain this phenomena to people I explain how I understand these things to work, this does not mean I have a supernatural awareness of the nature of existence, or the creation, or the creator, but rather insight into the nature of me. When I say I understand the me before I was me, it is because I have examined myself through contemplation and come to understand that the "I" that exists is only transient, that the "I" before me, was merely born from this stillness, the light. When the "I" ceases to be, when my body ceases to breathe, my body's remains will be within the material world and continue to exist within the material world, but the "I" that I was before I was born has never died and is still here and now and will be after the "I" I understand myself to be is gone. When I say we cease to be upon death, I am talking about the conceptualized "I" we believe ourselves to be, not the true selves that we are and will always be. We are born of the light and are always the light. Why do we come to believe that we only exist in this world then? To learn a lesson and once we learn that lesson we will cease to exist in this material world. I do believe this and I think it is by understanding that the light that gives birth to all things is me and that it is also you, that we can begin to understand the nature of existence. So as long as the light exists, and it can never not exist, we exist. So I don't fear death or the passing of me, because I know that I will always be, just the portion of light that clings to the material under the guise of "I" will continue to return to be another "I" until I have learned what I need to learn. (Keep in mind that portion is not a good word for it, because I am never separate or individual from the light.) I can honestly say that this has nothing to do with suffering or liberation, but rather something deeper, an understanding of the fundamental nature of what "I" is and what I am in a complete sense. I also understand that I am not bound by duty to learn this lesson or instruct others in this lesson, that all things will pass and return, and when the time is right they (I?) will be aware of this and they (I?) will not need to return anymore. I hope that isn't too confusing. Aaron edit- I really hate putting this stuff into words because words can never truly explain it.

Hello Ion, In the beginning? I'm surprised once again! I had no idea you were able to perceive the beginning. This is another masterful example of your psychic potential that intrigues me. Perhaps I can share my observations and you can make a judgement based on my experience. There is stillness, from stillness comes light and the material world. None of these are separate, for light is just energy that does not move, the material is energy that moves. This is a very simplified explanation, but it is also the reason when one experiences light that they do not sense the existence of the world or thought, because when one is within the light these things seem to cease to be. (Keep in mind that I only use the word energy because it is the closest thing I can come to describe it in a way for someone that hasn't actually experiencing it can understand it on an intellectual level.) Now the fact of the matter is that nothing ceases to be, rather the "I" that exists within the light is not the light, which is what "I" return to when I return to the light. So the "I" that I am is still within this world, but the "I" that I am within the light is unaware of it, because within the light there is no thought to perceive it. I can walk and talk and think, yet I am aware of the stillness, but not aware of the light, because light is not the stillness, even though it is not moving, light is the precursor to the material, the energy that is created from stillness that gives birth to the material. When I say we live forever it is because we are born of the light and are the light, just as we are born of the stillness and are the stillness. There is no truth in this, it merely is. I like your play on words though, the whole Genesis thing really added some oomph to your opening post. Aaron

Hello Ion, I am not passing judgement, nor making assertions, I was merely asking you a question. As for your answer, it was wrong. You do not clearly understand Void and Light, but that's fine. I think what has happened is that you came up with a conception of these things that met your expectations. To help you I will explain this to you, in the hopes it will help you in your practice. Void and Light are not separated by dimensions, they exist within the same space and all space. All things arise from stillness and stillness exists within all space. What people like to call the void is actually stillness, it is the force from which all things are given birth, the creator of light and material. Light is forever and always, material existence is forever and always, it is also light in movement. Think of it as light is still energy and material is moving energy. So the world in which we walk and think in, is actually the light in movement. In order for one to experience this light, then one must first experience stillness to become aware of it. Of course this explanation has no value, since the only real understanding of these phenomena comes from experiencing them. It is much like describing how to create a paper airplane. One might understand the basic concepts of building an airplane, but without actually building that airplane, one can never really know what the airplane actually is. You are free to be psychic, but just as you offer your guidance to those about my status as a pretender, I offer my guidance to those that there are many that claim these abilities, but none that can actually prove them in practice, because the body we live in and the world we exist within does not work along those lines. My enlightenment did not grant me any knowledge of the creation or the creator, it did not grant me an audience with the Gods, nor any great psychic potential, it only allowed me insight into the nature of existence, nothing more. I will not claim anything I have not received. I have however spoken to greater powers, those beings that have passed without losing their identity of self, so I know they exist, but I also know that I am no great power, nor are there any great powers present on this forum. If these great ones are awake within the material world, I know they are silent, for their duty is not to guide but to watch. If they choose to guide, it will never be to give an answer, but to encourage others to seek the answer. Now for those who are queasy with my sudden shift to the supernatural, let me assure you that there is no way I can prove this to you, so I will not ask you to believe this in any way. This is merely my experience and I accept it as that. Aaron

Then let me be more clear, there is no need to cultivate virtue, to understand cultivation principles, and so forth. The only necessity is to eat, drink, shit, and sleep, everything else is a construct. If one seeks a degree of awareness, then that's fine, but I have no requirement to encourage it, nor is there a desire to save the world because it is the "good" thing to do, rather I do what is necessary, not what is right. If there are no good men, there will be no bad men. If you cease trying to uplift society, then society will cease to descend. If you cease loving, then you will cease hating. Understand the true nature of compassion and you will understand the nature of necessary action. How do I know you are not aware, because these simple principles confound you. The truth is that it is not about everyone seeing good as good, being bad, but rather that anyone seeing good as good, gives rise to bad. It is only when one can examine something for what it is, without passing judgement, but rather accepting it for what it is, that one can begin to understand necessary action. Do not love and you will not hate. Do not dictate what is good and there will be no bad. The simplicity of existence is simple to understand, yet it confuses everyone. Give up your great insight, and there will be no ignorance. Aaron

Great, then can you tell us the nature of the void and light? Rarely do I have the chance to ask an omniscient person these questions, so please forgive me if I am presumptuous. I simply find it interesting that with all your psychic potential you still choose to speak to us with typed words, wouldn't it be more practical to telepathically contact us? Or is there some kind of taboo related to the invasion of the mind? I'm not sure how the super-true-enlightened masters operate, so forgive me again if I am confused. Aaron

For the sake of clarity, Zen is not the answer in my opinion, nor is Buddhism. There is no karma for instance, at least not from my experience, (although I did lean towards believing in karma at one time), nor is there a wheel of dharma. When I die, nothing of the "I" I have become in this life will pass on. The notion of karma is simply a way to encourage people to behave, a softer gentler form of sin. If one wishes to believe in these things, that is fine, but I allude to the notion that if one becomes intellectually enlightened regarding these "truths" that one should examine the nature of that "truth's" arising, because more often than not, it arises from a lesson taught somewhere along the road to that awakening, rather than a spontaneous understanding based on one's own experience with the void, nothingness, stillness, source, etc. Also, because the topic was headed there anyways, I am not of the school that believes one who is awakened must "liberate" the masses, because this is simply an erroneous belief that something is wrong with the masses. There is nothing wrong with the masses at all, in fact the only thing they need to do is eat, sleep, shit, and live, nothing else. They are already aware and some may get a sense of this some day and seek more, but most will not. There is no need to encourage this, although there is certainly nothing wrong with encouraging it either. My experience has taught me that there really is no such thing as right or wrong. That these notions of morality are simply transient constructs of the social mind. Within each of us lies the capacity to understand the idea of necessary action and when one can do that, then morality becomes obsolete. Now the good news is that the notion of necessary action is achieved along the way to "true" awakening or enlightenment, so one does not need to be "awakened" to understand necessary action. The irony is that in fact none of this is necessary. Most of what we do isn't necessary. We don't need to save the world, for the world is not in need of saving, it merely is what it is. If we begin to understand the notion of necessary action then that desire to save the world will evaporate. So why do I bother explaining any of this? Because there's no harm in explaining it and in the end my experience may benefit others. Aaron

Hello Ion, I think we're talking about two different types of "awareness", intellectual and experiential. You had an intellectual awakening, a knowledge of the nature of the universe on an intellectual level that allowed you to view things in an unbiased manner. I would wager this is the experience most Taoists have in regards to "awakening", and Buddhists for that matter. When I talk about enlightenment, I am talking about an experiential awareness, one that is beyond rationalization, but stems from an awareness of the source of everything, the void, the light, whatever you want to call it. When one experiences this then they understand the connection between all things, as well as the transient nature of all things. Compassion is not based solely on the desire to liberate, but also because one is aware of the synchronistic experience of all things. Those who have only had an intellectual awakening will lean towards liberation (imo), not realizing the synchronistic nature on a truly experiential level. There is nothing wrong or right about this, rather it is just an observation I have made. An intellectual awareness is better than no awareness at all, so it should not be diminished, rather I am merely stating that there is another nature to awareness often missed, because it is mistaken for an intellectual awareness, or assumed to not truly exist. This experiential awareness requires no guidance to achieve, because it is merely becoming aware of who you are, not just the you that you have been taught to be, but the eternal you. I hope this helps to clarify a bit of what I am talking about. Aaron

Hello Jack, I'm not sure what to say except that you obviously have no idea what I'm talking about, and I have no idea how I could make you understand. Since you don't need to understand, nor really change your ideas, I wont argue with you. If I debate with Xabir it's because I sense he understands this intellectually and simply needs prompting to understand it experientially. I know he differs in opinion and that's fine as well, if he chooses to stay the course, there's no skin off my nose or the universe's for that matter. It is what it is. Aaron

Hello Jack, I do not think there is anything wrong or right with following a tradition, just as there is nothing wrong or right with giving up those traditions, rather my point is that they are not needed in order to attain insight and awareness. If one seeks within they will find it, if they practice the three virtues of clarity of mind, dedication, and meditation. Dedication should not be confused with attachment, but rather a knowledge of there being something more and the practice of acquiring awareness. So again, I will not say Buddhism is bad, or any other religion, because bad and good do not exist, but rather that one should not follow something blindly, nor view the destination as being reached by only one path, but rather we should remember that if the destination is really there, then no matter how we get there, we will know when we arrive. Aaron

Hello Xabir, I am sticking to the topic of stillness, which has nothing to do with "I am", but rather "I am not". When you can explain to me what stillness is, then I can accept that you have experienced it, but so far you are off the mark. Aaron

I used to think one must understand love and compassion before they can achieve enlightenment, but after achieving enlightenment, I understood that one comes to an understanding of compassion as a result of enlightenment. Compassion, or at least our understanding of it prior to enlightenment is restricted by the mundane, as you like to call it. So one should not strive to know compassion, but rather practice and in practicing their knowledge of compassion will arise on it's own. Aaron

This is how I know you don't know what you're talking about. This comment would not come from someone who has experienced stillness. Stick to topics you've read up on, or your ignorance on others will show. Also keep in mind that all Buddhist experiences are described in the same language, in fact you've been programmed by your teachings to experience what you experience. You don't experience the actual phenomena of awareness, but go through an intellectual process of learning about awareness and then mistake that for the actual experience. This isn't meant to insult you, but I know now that you are still a young man and that you still see this very much as an intellectual experience, which it absolutely is not. This is why I am adamant that it is a constructed experience, rather than a natural experience that can be achieved by all people without instruction. Aaron

Trust me, more people should care less. If people cared less, then there wouldn't be as many problems in the world. You care less and that's a good thing. Aaron

Yes. Need is the operative word. You have to decide what you need to do within limits. If you feel you need to hurt yourself, then that is a want, not a need. Everything you actually need to do, I already listed, so if you are having doubts, refer to that list and it can help you to decide what to do next. I hope you are well. Aaron

Well that is a good way to view it. More people should care less. Aaron

Well then, make sure when their reality contradicts your own, that you ask them to check their reality. Aaron

Yes... I think that's perhaps why I have doubts about it. If one cannot achieve it without guidance, then is it actually something that can be achieved naturally? In my opinion true enlightenment is not something that requires teaching or guidance, but it merely requires one to awaken to the true nature of reality. That is done simply by sitting and stilling the mind. Where is the teaching in that? Here I can teach you! Go to your room, sit comfortably and stop thinking so much! What do you mean you can't stop thinking? Something must be wrong with you! This is a very simple thing to accomplish. Mojo Bob did it in twenty minutes! Yes, you definitely need help. Well we will have to smack you with the big stick now, but this is for your own good. Don't give me that look. Now you quit squirming and get back over here! You want to be enlightened after all! Do you expect to be enlightened without guidance? Aaron

I was in Florida when Charlie hit, then three other hurricanes and we all thought that something was going to happen, that the horrible weather was a sign of worse things to come. We tend to be a pessimistic race. I would recommend that you can think about tomorrow, but you should live in the here and now. I mean what's the worst that could happen, a violent natural catastrophe that wipes mankind from the face of the universe? Aaron

The easiest way to heal a broken spirit is to eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty, sleep when you are tired, and get out of the house when you are lonely. If you can do these things, then the spirit, which is resilient, will heal. However, if you deprive yourself of these simple comforts, then the spirit will be deprived as well. Also, if you have grown tired or disillusioned with religion, then let religion go and just do what you need to do. (Need is the operative word here.) Aaron

Hello Cowtao, I almost exclusively watch cartoons these days. Real tv is quite boring. I enjoy the Simpsons, but I also like Family Guy, American Dad, and of course Anime. (I can recommend some for those who seek the path of enlightenment.) I think that anyone that is seeking enlightenment should at least watch an hour of cartoons a day. This was an important insight into the nature of enlightenment that we can all learn from. Aaron

Hello Tulku, I'm not doubting that one can develop a practice where they can meditate instead of sleep, but from my understanding many monks have learned to catch up on their Z's while they meditate, without getting caught of course. The trick is to not snore! Anyways, if you happen to stumble across the secret to this method, don't be afraid to share it. The idea is interesting. Aaron

You're welcome Kate. I think we should throw normal out the window and just let them be who they want to be. Occasionally you may need to help someone with a reality check, but I'll leave that up to you to decide when that is needed. As for me, I am fine where I am and I hope you are fine where you are. Aaron

Good. You are obviously an authority that can authenticate our experiences. We need that, otherwise everyone could say they were enlightened, and then who would know who to follow and who not to? Imagine the chaos of a world of people who did not simply know what they were supposed to do as defined by over 2,000 years of ideology and religion. This is a grand thing indeed and I look forward to more of your insight, because I was worried that we would not have anyone capable of discerning true enlightenment as defined by the authorities and mundane enlightenment! I can breathe easily now. Thank you, Aaron