So You Think You’re Awakened: What next?

[Mark]

Two new threads in one day. This may never happen again. LOL I'm posting this particular one in support of Chris's Enlightenment thread, as it simplifies the process of discussion by just posting a link to a pre-existing forum entry rather than to my blog.

So You Think You’re Awakened: What next?
Rahkyt

You already know what it feels like to wake up. Every morning, you find yourself in a place where you are aware of your surroundings. It may be the alarm clock, it may be a ray of sunshine floating through your blinds to caress your eye-lids, it may be some other sound. You find yourself lying there for however long, experiencing. Then, suddenly, you become aware of yourself experiencing. The day floods in and the night recedes instantly, you begin to think of getting up, your plans for the day. Any dreams you may have been having slip into unconsciousness, as the waking mind is not equipped to fully understanding them. This is the common experience of awakening.

There is another type of awakening that occurs in pretty much the same manner. This Awakening has different variations and levels, much like the kind of awakening that you are currently familiar with.

During the course of any normal day, we are each relatively aware of our sojourn through life. We believe we know who we are and why we are here. Many of us have religious beliefs; we think there is a God, maybe in Heaven above, maybe somewhere else. We know there is a government, we know there are problems with the financial system. We know people who have it really good and many of us now know people who have it really bad, so we are aware that there are variations along a scale, although we may only be vaguely aware of why. We know that there are inequalities; we may have experienced them personally in some instance during our lives and have a memories of times when we were personally victimized. Our perspectives seem fixed, our experiences, straightforward, and this is enough of an awakening to make it through the course of any normal life.

But just being able to navigate the daily grind is not enough anymore. There have always come points in human history when people at a larger scale of occurrence begin to realize that there is more to their world than has previously met the eye. Often, it has happened against the direction of the collective will. People have had to be dragged, kicking and screaming from their placid lives – although this occurred figuratively, most often – as events and facts revealing an alternate understanding of the world began to amass beyond their capacity to deny. If the dragging and screaming occurred literally, it was often too late and their awakening coincided with the onset of the final sleep, death.

The first and most common type of Awakening these days is economic. Ever since the collapse of the monetary system in 2008, brought on by unregulated financial instruments and predatory lending, things have gotten worse for the majority of the world’s people. While wealth has continued its relentless path of concentration in the richest hands and banks, the Western world’s middle class ranks have been steadily thinning. Faced with joblessness, the lack of opportunities and limited welfare benefits, the realization that the educational system actually mis-educates has been sinking into the minds of more and more people. Understanding out-sourcing, international economic agreements, the trans-national nature of corporations and other previously arcane topics sends the newly disenchanted down rabbit holes filled with information previously disdained and irrelevant to the lives of the sleeping, but newly relevant to the burgeoning understanding of the nascent Seeker.

It is true that drugs, alcohol, television and video games can delay the search for truth for a while. But, without a job to be able to afford these things for long, the Seeker then has few other options available to him other than to attempt to understand why this has happened. Why her perception of the world has shifted and what the new parameters of reality have become.

The second type of Awakening that often seems as if it is the pinnacle of consciousness is often reached through the study of politics, but includes aspects of economics as well as general cultural production and world history. This type of Awakening occurs when one becomes aware of the existence of secret societies and their history within the evolution of Western Civilization. It often begins once one is apprised of the meaning of the symbols on the American one dollar bill and proceeds from there through wormholes of potentiality where Illuminated Ones mask themselves as Knights Templar and Masons, as Rosicrutians and Hospitallers. Into a space of understanding where Boy Scouts become neophytes engaging in arcane rites of passage while Disney cartoons and the Wizard of Oz turn out to be more diabolical than innocent. Turning down this path is dangerous for the Seeker, as the information gleaned therein begins to separate her from her family, friends and society itself. People start to look at him askance, wondering if she’s still putting in job applications. If he’s thought of joining the Peace Corps yet or applied to teach English in China. Once adversity rears its ugly head in the form of social censure, ostracization and the broaching of unpopular and apparently taboo subjects, a deeper form of Awakening begins.

The third type of Awakening that happens to people is related to the first two. It occurs when people begin to really understand that not only does the system not have their best interest at heart, but that it is actually trying to kill us all. Beyond the economic system, beyond the politics, it soon becomes clear to the Seeker that the environment around us has been eviscerated by human greed and consumptive patterns of living. But not only is it the external, biological environment that has been under attack, but the internal, physiological environment has been invaded as well. The food that we eat, the beverages that we drink, the products that we use to cleanse ourselves and live our daily lives often have toxic repercussions upon and within our bodies. From fluoride in the water and toothpaste to aspartame in our drinks. From mercury in our teeth to the numerous pharmaceutical offerings of questionable potency and probable toxicity, the Seeker begins to understand that he is seen as a commodity to the corporate overlords and so is imminently expendable. This understanding then leads the Seeker to naturopathy and holistic health; to seeking alternative and health-building not health-destroying ways to live that impact the body and the earth in a minimal fashion. Vegetarianism, Veganism and Frutarianism are paths that become viable to the Seeker as she begins to understand the true nature of the world and her place in it.

And this is where the path of Awakening generally ends, for most people. And why not? Up until this point, the Seeker has gone from placidly going about his daily life, content with the mainstream pleasures and accomplishments that are generally indicative of success in life. A job, a family, a bit of spending money, maybe a house, condo or nice apartment, friends and vacation time. Coming to the understanding that a life lived consciously is comprised of much more than just going along to get along is a quantum leap from a start-point of ignorant material comfort and nominal success.

This is an evolution of consciousness, right? Losing financial stability in life or seeing someone close to them lose it may have brought her through the steps of Awakening all the way to the point where he has begun to live a transformed life. The Seeker no longer drinks grape or red soda. She is now eating veggie burgers instead of prime sirloin steak, he even eat fruit now instead of candy. Their carbon footprint has lessened – as they probably now recycle – drive less – if they even have a car – and don’t litter. Even if materially poor, the Seeker is attempting to live consciously, aware of what is going on around himself and aware of her own responsibility as a citizen of the world. So what else could there be? What further type of Awakening is possible?

Thus far, the path of Awakening has corresponded exactly to the process of waking up each day as enumerated earlier: 1) an awareness of one’s surroundings, occasioned by some intrusion upon primal consciousness (noise, light, pervasive being-ness, etc.; living life unaware of Self; omnipresence) 2) awareness becoming aware of itself (thinking of the day; learning what the world really is; omniscience) 3) awareness projecting consciousness into materiality (getting out of bed; living consciously; omnipotence). Not coincidentally, the experience of mundane awakening approximates the cultural Awakening process brought about by research and information synthesis and integration (holistic economic, political and cultural awareness), which then leads to the next level of iteration, that which represents the process that is the subliminal goal of all previous efforts, culminating in the beginning of the Seeker’s sojourn upon the path of Higher Awakening. The three-stage process mentioned above is also, not coincidentally, an exact rendition of the steps of material manifestation, of Creation itself as expressive of the most sublime principles of spiritual understanding.

At this stage of the process, it is no longer about studying or debating, sharing or even caring what other people think about you and your path in life. It is about going deep within. It is about connecting with your spiritual core. Knowing exactly who you are.

This is formidable task. This is where most Seekers balk. This is where most fall back into the comfort of group-think and stagnation, preferring intellectual masturbation to inner knowledge. This is where the programs of a lifetime reassert their primacy, where the ego recognizes the threat and responds. Where a not-so-subtle material re-entrenchment occurs once you’ve realized that you’ve reached the point beyond which your family and friends must finally realize that you’ve gone Off the Reservation and are no longer even attempting to conform to their culturally-based standards of normality and social acceptability.

This is the point where knowledge becomes lived reality, something done rather than something thought or talked about. The goal of all life, all evolution; beyond thought, beyond conception, beyond understanding. To finally and truly Be, integral consciousness manifest, existing within the eye of the storm, the center of the circle, placid and peaceful, flowing through life formed yet formless, like water, malleable yet firm, self-aware within and thusly aware of all else without.

But that’s a topic for another day. Welcome, to the real world.

[greybeard]

Once upon a time I thought I was an authority on various subjects and could be relied on to have an opinion on everything.
I think it some what funny to realise that I know nothing---I might know "about" but spiritual knowing is no learned or book knowledge.
Even at that life is a total mystery --- What can I safely say I know?
Only one thing--- "I am" everything else is up for debate.

Chris

[Mark]

You've said a mouthful here, Chris.

As an academic-in-training my default mode of being is supposed to be one of being knowledgeable. However, I am finding that my spiritual side is resulting in the expression of that professional stance quite a bit differently than when I was younger and very much into debate, argumentation and the stimulation of intellectual interaction. Now, it is more about allowing people to discover things on their own. If I must participate, then I do so in a way that facilitates the knowledge-accumulation process without hijacking it by claiming the status of the all-knowing savant, which is a trap, and actually how you are expected to behave to a large extent in traditional instructional and learning institutions.

When you know that it is all pointless in the end, but you still have to live in the world and participate in it and the lives of others, it is an interesting conundrum indeed to work out how to be true to yourself and what you know as Truth while fulfilling your duties to society at the same time.

Or, as Huey from The Boondocks says:

[Ba-ba-Ra]

All I can do is bring a light and loving heart and a bright smile to the world. In truth, most don't care about other's opinions unless they validate their own. But silent, non-judgmental listeners can do much for this world. A compassionate word, a squeeze of a hand, help as well.

[Sunny-side-up]

Thank you for your post Rahkyt.
Your post is a good reminder as to the path I have been on
and a great help forwards as well.

Posted by greybeard (here)
Once upon a time I thought I was an authority on various subjects and could be relied on to have an opinion on everything.
I think it some what funny to realise that I know nothing---I might know "about" but spiritual knowing is no learned or book knowledge.
Even at that life is a total mystery --- What can I safely say I know?
Only one thing--- "I am" everything else is up for debate.

Chris

Once I had found a Project Camelot vid which linked me to Project Avalon. I knew this is where I had to be, I was quite desperate to join, I needed to be here. I knew this.
I to thought I knew quite a lot on various subjects just like you greybeard/Chris but I wasn't even sure I could say "I am" about myself. I still have moment's of being lost or found, but now I can find balance and strength within the posts and words found here.

[truthseekerdan]

When one thinks that is awakened, it might not be that -- when one is truly awakened, there is no "real next"...

Much Love & Blessings

[Observer1964]

To be honest, i wouldn't mind being asleep again for a few days, just thinking everything is allright and life is good as it is... just for the feeling of it.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5e6LEl9J78g

[Deega]

Thanks Rahkyt, I love your explaining how you see, feel ''awakening''.

Even though I went through the stages you mentioned, I kept on learning (College, Universities), always searching for some unknown.

And yet, I feel that I don't know much!, life bring new things everyday, so the knowledge of yesterday is ever changing. I find that challenging, rewarding, fullfilling, glad to be part of it all!

[Mark]

Hi all, thank you so much for your comments. I find truth in every post. I find joy beneath your words, can sense your sincerity and dedication to the path of awakening.

Of course, this write is indicative of the path of my own journey and the understandings that I have come to as a result.

And at the same time, there was no journey. There is no understanding, only a resting, a completion.

Even while the movement continues.

LOL

Words will forever be inadequate, and yet, we must use them in order to communicate. Unless some of y'all want to meet on the astral plane sometime and use telepathy instead?

I look forward to what comes next, even if there is no next! Blessings, to One and All!

[Orph]

I'm not awakened, but I'm not asleep. My entire life has been spent trying to figure out what-in-the-heck am I here for? I've gained "knowledge" up in my head, but it's all useless crap as far as I'm concerned. I have not progressed one iota, not one iota as to the why am I here question. I'm still no closer to understanding that question than when I was 5 years old.

Oh sure, ... we're here to experience, we're here to learn, blah, blah, blah. ( <--- And I say that for me, and me only. We're all on different paths here). But for me, it's all crap! That stuff in no way answers the deep questioning that is within me. The emptiness. The solitude. The yearning. Living and experiencing "up in my head" has gotten me nowhere. But I can't seem to find a way to shine the light on that void that is within.


Who am I? Why am I here? When I can truly FEEL it and KNOW it in my heart center, then maybe I'll consider myself awake.

[WhiteFeather]

Maybe we can plant some good seeds in fertile soil and watch them grow with us. Just a thought. Great Thread My Bredren.
Ps Your your an amazing entity oh good seed planter.

[bruno dante]

Great thread!

I think even Avalon, which I really enjoy participating on, is a place to.graduate from. One can only debate, philosophize, and share what is essentially the same info so many times before getting a bit of the verbal diarrhea. Its a cozy little nook, shelter from a dangerous world, but I think many of us use it as a crutch - no different than alcohol, video games.etc...And I'm talking about myself here as well. I believe my researching, philosophizing, debating self is coming to a closure. At times I feel I'm experiencing a restless goodbye to a persona i outgrew long ago. I don't want my Pop to let go of those handlebars, if you'll excuse the lousy metaphor. I'm dipping my toes in...but I'm afraid to jump in. In other words, I'm a damn coward! Ha!

I've had my head in books and computer screens for so long...its easy to forget there's a world out there and a life to be lived. And all my old crutches no longer work...so what now? I've been balking at truly applying myself for so long, that there's not a single cell in my body that will tolerate in anymore. I'm facing the infinite void and there's only one choice left....jump!

[Guest]

What a thought provoking, deep and compassionate thread.

I don't think we ever stop creating, learning or growing. It's exciting to me. We are so vast limitless and Spirit is always there to meet us.

Presently I'm working on having presence -being present and it's not easy as I thought it would be.

Love

Nora

[markpierre]

Posted by Rahkyt (here)
So You Think You’re Awakened: What next?
Rahkyt

Check the buckles on your parachute. No parachute?

That's how you know. No ground to land on either.

[mahalall]

renouncing ones renounce to expand and share the light

[Another1]

My wake up began in 1986 and at one point I felt like the last person on Earth to be wiping sleep from eyes, the gurus fixed this well and there be 2 dozen years since trying to wake up again, get back to that perfect place

Am getting used to the idea that expectations were merely symbolic of what was to be found here. Still have to chop wood and carry water, which is a surprise because I'm fairly clever person even and by pure human standards I should be fairly comfortable in the material world by now. As should many of you in my layman's opinion. Sometimes it feels as if the elusive controllers simply used philosophy to pull our teeth n claws ... I know they certainly do not want the likes of many of you here to be in full power of the tools needed to build businesses and heal communities ... we're much more manageable like this, humble, happy for daily bread and the occasional songbird that lands on the sill.

The part of me that will survive losing this skinsuit is alive and well, happy to meet many of you here at Avalon and walking the streets of a small town watching for the occasional turtle to be found stuck on its back, offering gifts of sage and white candle as house warming gifts to new neighbors and basicly staying open to any opportunity to shine a light or breath on an ember.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=DrGuVa-4BVE

[Ba-ba-Ra]

So You Think You’re Awakened: What next?
Rahkyt


Perhaps the answer is simply: **Live your life internalizing and applying everything you've learned**

[donk]

You can't be "awakened" to everything can you?

I try to spend my life, at all times asking myself (and everything and everyone around me): what is the purpose of your presence?

I tend to get a different answer every time...and I think that's what life's about. .........for me, anyway

[greybeard]

It depends on your definition of awakened.
If enlightenment is meant then there are levels of that and then there is abiding enlightenment and non abiding.

Non abiding is an enlightenment experience---an experience is not real enlightenment, enlightenment is a state of consciousness not an experience, a complete change of perception.

The non abiding is encouraging but the ego gets in there and claims to be an enlightened person.
Enlightenment is not a personal event--- there is no person left after the event.
There is One without a second expressing through a persona.
In unity consciousness there is a knowing that everything is of the same essence----given time this can mature into full enlightenment which is also known as God-realisation.
Any awakening is beneficial in the dream--it makes life easier but still there is an individual who is the dreamer of it all.

Full enlightenment is up till now a rare event--- less than 100 in the world, however the situation/energy is changing and according to the late Dr Hawkins the opportunity for enlightenment is 1000 times higher than at any time in history.
Ayashanti when he became a Zen student had a very strong desire to enter this state--- when it happened he was in unity consciousness it took another 7 years (not sure on the exact length of time) for full enlightenment to occur. He thought that if one of his students made it then he would be happy--now he relates that 100s have.
So that is encouraging.

The Experience of no self

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OQT6FWOmkOU

Chris

[Mark]

So many wonderful responses. Rather than write a general post I want to write to each of you in turn. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to visit this thread and participate, you and those who visit are greatly appreciated.

Posted by Orph (here)
I'm not awakened, but I'm not asleep. My entire life has been spent trying to figure out what-in-the-heck am I here for? I've gained "knowledge" up in my head, but it's all useless crap as far as I'm concerned. I have not progressed one iota, not one iota as to the why am I here question. I'm still no closer to understanding that question than when I was 5 years old.

Oh sure, ... we're here to experience, we're here to learn, blah, blah, blah. ( <--- And I say that for me, and me only. We're all on different paths here). But for me, it's all crap! That stuff in no way answers the deep questioning that is within me. The emptiness. The solitude. The yearning. Living and experiencing "up in my head" has gotten me nowhere. But I can't seem to find a way to shine the light on that void that is within.


Who am I? Why am I here? When I can truly FEEL it and KNOW it in my heart center, then maybe I'll consider myself awake.

I quoted your post in full, Orph, because I can feel the pain through your words. Perhaps not a physical or even emotional pain, but an existential pain that exudes from your sentences and that many find resonance to. There is the tendency to lash out, when there is lack or the sense of inner stability and certain knowledge is missing. To attack and deny, to claim sovereignty and declaim against the universality of experience. "What I am going through is mine alone, you cannot know where I am because you have not walked in my shoes." Even though it feels like it, you are far from alone. To live life not knowing for certain that there is more to life and there is more past life can be a void of potentiality that can be too much for many to handle. That you are here, participating and seeking is a sign that there is more for you here on this journey. You are right to invoke relativity in the sense that each of our journeys are different and nobody experiences the world in exactly the same manner, but at the same time, there is a certain underlying reality that is the same for all of us. There are conditions of existence, of energy and of potential that create timelines of possibility that limit the infinite expression of creation to tracks commiserate with our life experiences, which have a sameness about them that makes all of Terran Humanity more related than not, more experientially similar than not, more of a family than strangers.

The useless crap is even necessary. Each synapse you've formed in finding new information has contributed to the overall density of your personal neural network, each of which can be metaphorically thought of as trickles, streams and rivers of light, contributing to the ocean of light that our brains appear as if viewed from a certain perspective, a glowing energetic sphere of information, energy, light. Everything that we learn opens us up to even more distant potentialities and, eventually, a shift begins to occur in the way we think and the way we process information.

The emptiness, the solitude and the yearning is a part of the journey. The journey is, paradoxically, not such in the sense of traveling from one place or space of being to another, but, instead, a halting, stopping, a realization that there is nothing to seek. Because what we seek is already within us. We have access to Eternity right here in our bodies. We have the capacity. It is just veiled by the waterfall-like rushings of thought and ego, of desires, the problems of the day, the regrets of the past and the worries for the future. This is the human condition and our individual and collective choice. The beauty of it is that going nowhere is exactly where you need to be, so you are well on track. That void within that you wish to shine light on can be accessed through the heart-space more readily than through the mind and the ego. It is elusive, as we attempt to shine the mind's spotlight upon the vastness of the All we despair when we find nothing to latch on to, there is no experience there, no cognition, no sense of being, of self as we understand it. That is why the heart and its capacity for magnetic resonance is one of the surest paths within. At the risk of sounding trite, we have to let love do the work for us.

There are methods. Many. How well they work depends upon how well we are able to move past our frustrations and desires and truly release what is necessary to find that space of non-abiding awareness. Peace to you.

Posted by WhiteFeather (here)
Your your an amazing entity oh good seed planter.

I'm appreciative, Bredren! Always, for your kindness and expansive love. These seeds are so filled with light and love and life, they virtually plant themselves! LOL Blessings to you in turn!

Posted by bruno dante (here)
I think even Avalon, which I really enjoy participating on, is a place to.graduate from. One can only debate, philosophize, and share what is essentially the same info so many times before getting a bit of the verbal diarrhea. Its a cozy little nook, shelter from a dangerous world, but I think many of us use it as a crutch - no different than alcohol, video games.etc...And I'm talking about myself here as well.

Hi Bruno. I've been here for a while and I leave sometimes and then return. I've found no better space on the Net to engage in this type of in-depth discussion and have the conversation proceed organically and according to the highest intentions by most of the participants. That is a rare occurrence and so PA is appreciated on my part for being that kind of space. In regards to graduation and all that you've mentioned, if the debates and verbal "diarrhea" are part of the reason why people come here, then yes, I agree that, after a while, it can get tiring and it becomes time to move on.

I don't come here to find things out. Everything here is available elsewhere also. I come here for the people. Those with whom I resonate on a higher level. To see how they are doing and to share how I am doing. To discuss these deeper issues, which have been discussed for many millennia and I find that if one is truly on a journey of awakening one can never grow tired of expanding one's consciousness.

But that is different from the petty argumentation and debate that sometimes occurs. Because I have a very full life outside of PA I'm not here often but when I do come I try to spend my time engaging only in that which I find resonates with me. I may read about some of the drama, feel for those participating, but I do not engage because that is not why I am here.

Posted by bruno dante (here)
I've had my head in books and computer screens for so long...its easy to forget there's a world out there and a life to be lived. And all my old crutches no longer work...so what now? I've been balking at truly applying myself for so long, that there's not a single cell in my body that will tolerate in anymore. I'm facing the infinite void and there's only one choice left....jump!

That's all I'm talking about! LOL Take that leap! Blessings!

Posted by Nora (here)
What a thought provoking, deep and compassionate thread.

I don't think we ever stop creating, learning or growing. It's exciting to me. We are so vast limitless and Spirit is always there to meet us.

Presently I'm working on having presence -being present and it's not easy as I thought it would be.

Hi Nora, no it is not, is it. Our minds are wired for activity, we've spent a lifetime installing the wiring. LOL The process of getting down into the walls and floors and cutting it all out can be lengthy. Or, it can occur in an instant, depending on our process. The beauty of clarity is that light passes through consciousness within finding purchase, and all that is existent is available for processing if that is the need of the moment. In that space of being Life itself becomes exciting, every moment becomes a wonder, the future becomes an indescribable paradise where Newness is perceived through the innocence of non-expectation, all that is received is done so in gratitude and humility.

Thank you for presence and for sharing your experience!

Posted by markpierre (here)
Check the buckles on your parachute. No parachute?

That's how you know. No ground to land on either.

And that is a mind-boggling thought if you take the time to visualize it. And I did when I read your words, it was an exhilarating ride! LOL Thanks, Mark!

Posted by mahalall (here)
renouncing ones renounce to expand and share the light

Yes, Mahalall that is a very concise formulation of truth you've shared here, thank you for it. Renunciation in this sense is a retreat from sensory experience, which allows that which lies beyond to express through our physical forms. Clarity of being. There are those who shine with the light, and others can indeed sense it, feel it when in their presence. It is a sharing of the most intimate type and a step along the Pathless Path.

Posted by Another1 (here)
My wake up began in 1986 and at one point I felt like the last person on Earth to be wiping sleep from eyes, the gurus fixed this well and there be 2 dozen years since trying to wake up again, get back to that perfect place

Hi Another1, how is the trip going?

Posted by Another1 (here)
Sometimes it feels as if the elusive controllers simply used philosophy to pull our teeth n claws ... I know they certainly do not want the likes of many of you here to be in full power of the tools needed to build businesses and heal communities ... we're much more manageable like this, humble, happy for daily bread and the occasional songbird that lands on the sill.

I think this is a very important point you make here and it touches upon thoughts I've been having lately in regards to agency and how deeply to participate in society once one is well on the path to full awakening. There is the idea that one should continue to seek the highest form of enlightenment and, by so doing, one contributes to the whole and to those with whom one interacts along the way. And then there is the more material choice of engaging fully by building business and healing communities. In interacting with the forces of society who have all of that on lockdown one wonders how they would react to a mass of fully conscious individuals acting in tandem to make a change in the world.

I envision it as a choice of non-participation. Small groups and communities that choose to live off the grid and to interact with each other, refusing to participate in society as it is but instead creating a more sustainable and life-oriented way of living. I wonder if they would attack, like in all of the movies where they show idyllic communities being overrun by maurauders, often betrayed by the material needs of folks within those societies whom the interlopers have made greed-based in-roads with. The same pattern repeated, yet again.

Is that a true path? Is the conception of a conscious community such as Shambhala possible and can it exist as an expression in the material world?

Posted by Ba-ba-Ra (here)
Perhaps the answer is simply: **Live your life internalizing and applying everything you've learned**

Perhaps you are right, Ba-ba-Ra. I wanted to thank you for Presence. Seeing your words on any thread I create is always a joy and brings a smile to my face.

Posted by donk (here)
You can't be "awakened" to everything can you?

If you are awakened fully, you "are" everything. There is no filter. You are open and processing information continuously, letting it pass through you. Most on the path are not fully awakened though and we still have limitations. But that's really just part of the fun! Even though sometimes it's not so fun, right?

Posted by donk (here)
I try to spend my life, at all times asking myself (and everything and everyone around me): what is the purpose of your presence?

I tend to get a different answer every time...and I think that's what life's about. .........for me, anyway

Thank you for sharing your experience, Donk! For me, I've come to a space where I've let even that wondering go. As you stated, it can be variable depending upon mood or situation, so the answers become relative to the thought process in the moment. Instead, I just let it all come and go, but I do try to keep an even sense about good and bad, if there is anything that I do consistently in that regard. Like Forrest Gump said, "My mama told me life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get!"

It's true, I think. As is your contention that life as an expression of creative diversity is a truth that is universal.

Posted by greybeard (here)
Full enlightenment is up till now a rare event--- less than 100 in the world, however the situation/energy is changing and according to the late Dr Hawkins the opportunity for enlightenment is 1000 times higher than at any time in history.

That is amazing, as is the statement of Adya, as you have paraphrased him. I get the sense also that is so and it is apparent in the general awakening of the mainstream population. I saw a commercial the other day where two guys were talking about a new car, one didn't want his friend to purchase the same one he had so, as a desperate strategy, he said, "You can't believe the lame-stream media." When I heard that I laughed out loud, it is indicative that conspiratorial themes have entered the mainstream. You never would have heard that term on a commercial that plays hundreds of time a day on a cable TV channel even as little as a year ago because they wouldn't have used the phrase if it hadn't entered the general lexicon. But it has. Indicative that those who statistically dissect our desires, our levels of knowledge and our participation through polls and focus groups now understand fully that people are seeking another way. That the world has 'awakened' to a greater extent than has been apparent in the past.

There are many other signs as well. Those who are at the stage of awakening to some of the more material aspects of our shared world, may not realize what it is that is going on, what they are going through, but there is no doubt that knowledge will invariably come to them and that something great is well under way. Bless!