manitou

Actually, it is a mindset of awareness that I practice whenever I remember to think of it. I will say that it happens maybe six times a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. I don't believe I'm insane, but I could be wrong. There is much inner work on the ego that needs to be done for the right balance on this. Of course we need a degree of ego to interact, to stay out of oncoming traffic. It is losing the unwanted arrogance, selfishness, small-mindedness, judgment, envy, jealousy and other similar traits that stand in the way of self-realization. It's really not a binary thing.

An ego that is allowed to exist as it is will never uncover humility. Humility is required for true understanding of what and who we are. A merger of Oneness cannot be done with an intact and strong ego, you will always experience yourself as separate. A merger of the oneness (the I Am consciousness) with an un-dismantled ego will result in psychopathy.

Yes, that's always possible.

To see others as opponents is to believe you are separate from them. It merely affirms the ego, which as we know is a block to enlightenment. Or do your teachings teach differently?

Polarization and deeply held opinions are greatly limiting. If one is geared for enlightenment at all, one realizes the fact that none of us can possibly see things in the same way due to different conditionings. The enlightened one accepts all that happens. Krishnamurti once said the secret to his enlightenment was that 'he didn't mind anything that happened'. This extends to people of all varieties as well. We are all One, or in essence all 'god' - the play continues on whether we like it or not. Why have a firm opinion? It does nothing but blind you to other possibilities. And into the mix is the idea that linear time is an illusion - it's always Now. Yesterday is Now. Tomorrow is Now. Things appear to be unravelling in a linear fashion, but in reality it's 'already happened' because it's always happening in the Now. So we can't possibly see the whole picture anyway. There are those rare moments when the lucky ones absolutely experience the Oneness with all life - animate and inanimate. I had an incredible moment like that yesterday while walking the dogs. I was a part of Everything, and a feeling of love for everything on this earth made my heart swell. The realization that the true answers lie with transcending the appearance of things sort of sets things into a beautiful order, where opinions and judgments are rendered moot. I take it this comment is a bit lofty for some, lol.

Hi Will, Your intelligent presence is so welcome on this site. This strange website has some very interesting dynamics to it. Many on this website are very familiar with the Daodejing, or Tao Te Ching, depending on the bookstore. To truly see life through the eyes of a Daoist (and will explain input which will probably feel counterintuitive to everything you've ever learned), it would be the best if you were familiar with this wonderful text. Online are many translations - my personal favorite is Lin Yutang, but many who aren't previously familiar with the DDC like Stephen Mitchell's translation. I think that what you'll find on this website is a bit of a quest for self-identity, or self-realization. Buddhists are a strong presence here as well. There are many folks here who do aren't Daoists in particular, but have metaphysics in our souls and find our conversations tilted toward the answers of life's most fundamental questions. Many crossroads find themselves here, with the basic Truths of all the world paths meeting in the desire to know the essence, the I Am of it all. It's sort of transcendent, really. You make a good point about separate views. And isn't it crazy how we can never possibly see things the exact same way, seeing as we were born and raised in different circumstances? With different genetics? Different filters completely. Nice meeting you. Manitou

Ergo the theory of relativity...

Our senses are pretty limited. We hear/see/smell/etc within a particular range. Just imagine all the other ranges that could just as easily be experienced. A bat sees in neon green, a totally different experience than ours. If the atoms all decided to stop spinning, there would be absolutely nothing there. The atom is 99.9999999% space - and I'll bet it's actually 100% space once we figure out how to view the entire atomic makeup. I think this whole thing is nothing but Thought. Just one big strange Idea.

Just passing through. I have to tell you, I've been hanging around this place for maybe 12 years, and I just feel like a retort this exquisite must be held up on display on its own merit as the clever thing of beauty that it was.

Glad you found us, Chrissy. It's always a delight to find people vibrating on the same frequency.

For me, this is much easier said than done. Those of us with nasty upbringings, the reverberations seem to go on ad infinitum. When you're brought up feeling like a P.O.S. it is next to impossible to undo this. The only time I truly feel love is when I am in Oneness with life, with all things, all animals, all people. From time to time. And to remember that when I am looking into the pupils of another's eyes, that I am looking at the vast, void awareness that we all have in common. It'd be great if I could stay in that mindset, but at some point that just becomes 'the Practice'.

Going a little further with the self discovery idea - I'd love to share one of most wonderful passages I've ever read, from "Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism" by Yogi Ramacharaka, written in 1904: "The brute instincts are still with us, constantly forcing themselves into our field of thought. Occultists learn to curb and control these lower instincts, subordinating them to the higher mental ideals which unfold into the field of consciousness. Do not be discouraged if you still find that you have much of the animal within your nature - we all have - the only difference is that some of us have learned to control the brute, and to keep him in leash and subordinate and obedient to the higher parts of our nature, while others allow the beast to rule them, and they shiver and turn pale when he shows his teeth, not seeming to realize that a firm demeanor and a calm mind will cause the beast to retreat to his corner and allow himself to be kept behind bars. "If you find constant manifestations of the beast within you, struggling to be free and to assert his old power, do not be disturbed. This is no sign of weakness, but is really an indication that your spiritual growth has begun. For whereas you now recognize the brute, and feel ashamed, you formerly did not realize his presence -- were not aware of his existence, for you WERE the brute himself. It is only because you are trying to divorce yourself from him, that you feel ashamed of his presence. You cannot see him until you begin to be 'different' from him. "Learn to be a tamer of wild beasts, for you have a whole menagerie within you. The lion; the tiger; the hyena, the ape, the pig, the peacock, and all the rest are there, constantly showing forth some of their characteristics. Do not fear them - smile at them when they show themselves -- for you are stronger than they, and can bring them to subjection -- and their appearance is useful to you in the way of instructing you as to their existence. "They are an amusing lot, when you have reached the stage where you are able to practically stand aside and see them perform their tricks, and go through their antics. You then feel strongly that they are not YOU, but something apart from you -- something from which you are becoming rapidly divorced. Do not worry about the beasts -- for you are the master."

This thought occurs to me as well, 2ndchance. If your initial and following posts, it made me wonder if your posts were ignited by some sort of substance. That is the same mental place I would get into when I drank a lot. But if not..... It sounds to me like you are on a threshold of sorts. You were not capable of seeing your shortcomings until they started to peel away from you. Before this, you were your shortcomings. This seems to me like this is how the system works. If we reach a place where we can see ourselves for what we really are, warts and all, this is certainly a big step toward enlightenment. After all, a big component of enlightenment is nothing more than the intentional removal of our previous conditioning - which has to be seen before it can be removed. You appear to be at a place where you are seeing much of your conditioning to this point. Your unhappiness with your alpha male ego is huge. Personally, I think you're on the verge of a quantum leap to the next level, whatever that may be. Do be patient with yourself. Do understand that everyone who has reached enlightenment had to go through exactly what you're going through - looking at themselves for who they really are, and taking responsibility for the fact that we've screwed up in the past and hurt many people in the process. Some would call it the Dark Night of the soul. It is a necessary rite of passage. But you're in just the right place, on this website, where people will understand exactly where you are and what you're going through. I wish you the very best, friend. Just don't give up right before the miracle occurs. Love to you - Manitou

I believe this is incredibly profound, brother Steve

This is my way of seeing it too. It has to do with the fact that we are 99.9999999% not here. The .0000001% remainder are the mass of the protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks, neutrinos spinning. The rest of the atom is space. And the components of the atom is being broken down further. As our instruments get bigger and smarter, I'm guessing that the end realization will be that we are nothing but the dream of the One Intelligence. Without the spinning action of the atomic components (or the solar system, for that matter) we wouldn't be here at all. I read recently where the scientists involved with the Hadron Collider have found that some atomic components, when split, actually bend time by splitting into the past! So much we don't know.

I like that. Makes sense to me.

I agree. Many recovering ones go on to do incredible things. It has to do with the 'fearless and thorough moral inventory' as described in Step 4 of the 12 steps. Once this process of viewing ourselves (out of necessity!) begins, it continues throughout one's life. When I first did that step, I made the assumption that I had every character defect I could think of, and then it was just a matter of figuring out to which degree it manifested within me. Then there are remedies to remove it, or at least as much as we can at the time. It also includes the humiliating process of making amends to those we had harmed. As I see it now, after doing this in awareness for 38 years, the steps work as well as anything else to start the process toward self realization. But nobody tells you that when you first walk in....

I'm currently reading The Day After Roswell by Col. Philip Corso, as recommended by my new Bujinkan ninja friend. I've never given the UFO thing much thought until now. Holy crap.

Yes, I agree, that too is the trick. We must remember that everything we have done has been part of our path - we wouldn't be what we are today unless we had gone through the very circumstances that may make us cringe today, LOL. And, being a recovering alcoholic, I've got plenty to cringe about - but now the cringe turns to chuckles when I realize what a jerk I was....(Like for example when I was wearing a beautiful black gown on New Year Eve, but coming out of a blackout and finding myself kneeling on the floor barfing into a toilet in the men's room at some strange bowling alley - I had no idea how I got there---I mean things like this were not unusual at all). All I can do now is give myself a break and laugh about it.

This, to me, is the essence of humility. It's unusual in society to run into people who look within to find out 'why they've manifested this' because of their own character deficiencies. The tendency, of course, is for people to place blame on others when things don't go our way. As I see it, the only way to change the situation is to change ourselves. Nice post, Kondensation!

Say you're the only person sitting in the front row of a movie theater. The movie that is playing is Your Life in real time. YOU are the watcher. The movie is the dream.

I guess this is one type of internal realization. Please don't choke; do turn your head to the side.

Wonderful thread. I feel that the really important thing is that, regardless of where in the world we are born, man was born with this 'question' in his heart. That is our commonality. At the bottom of the question is "who am I?" I'm of the opinion that the trick is to transcend any particular path we were born into. Dogma is divisive and limiting. Transcending the dogma is liberation. And I believe they all go the same place. Jesus obviously transcended his upbringing. As did Siddartha. They found their enlightenment by internal realization, not parroting someone else's words.

In my personal practice, I find that remembering that we're all One, all the same consciousness is a great benefit to staying non-judgmental toward people. The reason we recognize shortfalls in each other is because we possess the same, otherwise we wouldn't be able to recognize them. Remembering the Oneness also helpful in approaching new people and fearing no one. I just look at the pupils of someone's eyes and remember that the eye-to-eye contact is merely a component of the great web of awareness.... and, when I'm in consciousness, remember that they too are 'god'. Who's to hate?

Seems to be a good way to gauge our own growth.