Enlightenment: The Ego, what is it? How to transcend it.

[Zampano]

So going back to watching some "ConsciousTV" interviews, thanks to some half deaf guy with a grey beard :-)
I stumbled onto this gentleman named Faisal Muqaddam.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5G88dn9es30

For me, at about 40.00 it becomes very interesting. From now on, I will give some keywords for you interested people.
Some keywords: Hug your ego-ego thrives for the higher individuated self-the uniqueness and miracle of the soul journey

I have to stop here because...some thoughts and conclusions...ego self wants to make us thrive for lots of things,
material and not material, but at the end it is looking for unfication with the individual self. Which is the awareness of the self, from a higher self perspective.
Just playing the cards.

47:30 humanity needs to become more spiritual and spiritual needs to become more human.
nuff said

at the end it reminds me of...before enlightenment peel potatoes and wash cloth, after enlightenment peel potatoes and wash cloth.

[Izheheruvim]

Greetings

This discussion is so long that to read the entire thread would be extremely tiring for the ego )) Could the most active and knowledgeable participants summarize the most essential points, or refer to the most seminal and insightful posts? Who was helped by reading the comments and in which way? It seems that with so much negativity out there enlightenment is becoming a critical task, and i personally consider this thread to be one of the most important ones at the forum. Also, the major challenge i see is that there are different opinions on enlightenment whereas it's supposed to be something uniform.

Peace

[greybeard]

Hello Izheheruvim

This link actually would be a good place to go.

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post456904


You can open this thread on virtually any page and you will find something helpful-- good videos abound.
If you go back one page the Tony Parson video is educating.

For myself, every thought that comes up I surrender the juice I get from it to God (most are judge mental)
I do my best to stay in the moment without comment on what I observe.
As a result my mind is virtual silent.

Basically the ego would starve to death without the "story of me"---its a separation device.
It depends on self identification--I am this, I am that, I am the labels that I and others put on me --Im that kind of person.
In non-duality there is no individual person only SELF.

Chris

[greybeard]

The collected works of Ramana Maharshi

Page 42 (Who am I)

16.What is the nature of the Self?

What exists in truth is the Self alone.
The world, the individual soul and God are appearances in it.
Like silver in mother-of-pearl, these three appear at the same time and disappear at the same time.

The Self is that where there is absolutely no "I" thought.
That is called "Silence".
The Self itself is the world; the Self it self is "I"; the Self itself is God; all is Shiva, the Self.
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The late Ramana Maharshi is the most respected enlightened sage and quoted by virtually every enlightened soul.
Ramesh Balsakar called him "The guru's guru" and kept his photo in prominence at his lectures.

Chris

[johnf]

Greybeard, thank you for your answer about Tim Freke, I finally looked up non abiding enlightenment
now I have a way to understand my agitation when listening to him.

jf

[greybeard]

A Great Change is on the Horizon - Gregg Braden
Red Ice Radio

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Vab_xBV7I

[Izheheruvim]

Thanks to everyone for your feedback and recommendations!

I'd like to throw a few thoughts regarding my understanding of ego since what i mostly find are descriptions of the the end result, that is enlightenment, rather than technicalities. Probably the virtue of brevity and clarity will be missing in my case. But the definite advantage should be in-depth exploration showing, among other things, how different perspective on enlightenment may emerge. I'd also apologize in advance for my a bit pedantic tone. I feel much more at ease when speaking in Russian. In English i often lack abilities to "round up" my language, that's why my thought process might seem very structured whereas there's always an element of creative chaos to it ))

Apparently one of the most common ways to understand ego is in terms of its limitations, what Greybeard refers to as "a story of me". Tim is also talking along the same lines describing his experience. My personal take on those limitations is what essentially brings excitement, irritation, depression, fear, sense of dissolution and urge for self-defense pinpointing to a sort of equilibrium where ego finds itself comfortable and the hierarchy of its needs. Like as long as everything is fine and nothing really disturbs or excites you, you can't really feel your separation from anything. It can be only felt when ego is confronted or pushed away from it equilibrium. For instance, only when the temperature around is either more or less than 36.6 C, one can feel warmth or cold. Otherwise the external environment feels like continuation of the body as far as temperature is concerned.

Turning to the quality of experiences. One thing would make one excited and leave indifferent or sad another, and vice versa. For someone emotional states will come and go rather easily but somebody would be stuck in them. Someone would aggressively search for some external sensations to find an equilibrium, and another would be content and grateful for what he or she has got. To understand all variety of things that ego might be up to one should first understand two basic qualities built into it: tendency to make sense of things and impose one's own will along with having a corresponding emotional sustenance. On the top of that, there's even a deeper pattern what ideally should make sense along with its matching emotional component. This deeper pattern is often reflected in religious teachings as moral laws, but it has psychological reality in the first place and is often referred to as 'conscience'. These tendencies can be also presented as an interplay of gunas:

"According to this theory, there are three gunas: tamas, rajas, and sattva. Tamas, so to speak, is the feminine principle. It is characterized by inertia, cold, darkness, chaos, density and introversion. Its Chinese equivalent would be ‘yin’. As far as human psyche is concerned it corresponds to desires and feelings. Rajas is the masculine principle characterized with dynamism, warmth, light, order, lightness and extroversion. It underlies all goal- oriented activities, i.e. physical and mental work. Its Chinese equivalent is ‘yan’. Sattva is the principle that balances tamas and rajas and fosters their development. For example, in a harmonious individual who is both emotionally sensitive (tamas) and intelligent (rajas) the principle of sattva is prevalent. As a rule, this principle is also associated with morality which is the foundation for spiritual ascent.

In such a view, spiritual ascent is nothing but establishing a progressively higher harmony between tamas and rajas so that at some point they merge. One may envision an isosceles triangle in which equal sides would represent tamas and rajas, its height – sattva that balances and pushes them higher, and the top of the triangle would be their junction point:



I am going to make a few illustrations.

The grossest (by “grossness” I mainly refer to physicality) and basest kind of interaction between tamas and rajas in psychological terms would be violence (rajas). In this case, a victim experiences suffering (tamas) which, in turn, becomes an emotional feeding for the violator. Daniil Andreev, the author of “The Rose of the World” (Roza Mira), has a special term for the radiation of human suffering – “gavvah” which is basically of tamasic nature. Violence and suffering it produces can be considered a specific example of a more general pattern of relationships: domination (rajas) versus submission (tamas). Sexual intercourse would be another rather gross interaction of tamas and rajas when a masculine partner compensates for tamas and the feminine for rajas. A subtler form would be feeling of gratitude (tamas) for something done (rajas) or experiencing joy (tamas) when being appreciated (rajas). An example of union between tamas and rajas, the highest form of their interaction would be spiritual love that simultaneously loves (tamas) and understands (rajas). Such love is detached. Therefore, in this context tamas would always contain an emotional element while rajas would involve an action and/or appreciation of it. In reality these two principles are not easy to separate since feelings and desires tend to turn into actions and any action has an emotional underpinning. Probably, this principle is also reflected in the Chinese symbol “Yin-Yan”:



Interaction between tamas (‘yin’) and rajas (‘yan’) has certain inner logic: the grosser it is, the more it requires some outward manifestation and vice versa – the subtler it is, the less dramatic. For example, one may long for a sexual relationship to compensate for tamas or rajas which is something rather outward. But a higher level of harmony would enable to enjoy more subtle things such as emotional closeness or spiritual realizations. In turn, this would result in the lesser dependence on the gross. This is not to say that the higher and the lower inherently conflict with each other. Often interaction between tamas and rajas happens simultaneously on multiple levels. The point is that the subtle is less dependent on the gross, and while the gross is supposed to be the means of expression, the essence should come from the subtle.

One may envision human attention as a flow of particles which, bouncing from the sides of the triangle, are approaching its top. The closer the top, the higher their velocity is. When they reach the top it maximizes:



This diagram also shows that the flow of particles takes place within ‘inner triangle’ – the area of the maximum possible deviation towards tamas and rajas. If attention goes beyond this area, it loses its upward momentum and moves to the side. The more attention goes to one side, the more it loses connection with the other and the more it starts gravitating towards its opposite on the grosser level. For example, one who deviates too much towards tamas, i.e. emotionality and/or inertia, becomes a potential target for domination and aggression from those deviated towards rajas. Besides, those deviated towards tamas might develop a grosser rajas to compensate for it. An example would be an individual fanatically defending his or her beliefs. Or, those trying to achieve subtler rajas (righteous conduct) without corresponding subtle tamas (love for purity) are likely to gravitate towards grosser tamas (sexuality). This imbalance can be resolved if sattva rises to the level of rajas that would raise tamas along."

If the above presentation more or less accurately describes what and why makes up the ego, then everyone should be able to map himself or herself into this scheme. If spiritual progress takes place then all signs of limitations of ego, i.e. fear, irritation, depression, etc., turn into a more detached, sublime, pure and beautiful pattern. One can still feel depressed or afraid of something but the focus of attention in this case is more on others than oneself, feeling others' pain rather than own suffering. At the same time, one doesn't get stuck in those emotions and retains joy and dynamism. Dependence on external stimulation and moodiness gives way to self-sufficiency and equanimity. Enjoying grossness and dirt becomes replaced with ability to appreciate subtlety and beauty, etc.

Also it becomes clear that enlightenment is neither just about feeling connected to everyone and even feeling blissful nor about only having deep insights but it's a combination of both. If either tamas or rajas components are missing then it's no longer the central path leading to the genuine enlightenment where both should unite and smoothly cooperate. For example, what Jill Taylor describes as her enlightening experience in this video is actually missing the subtle rajas component in my view:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

Regarding the ultimate enlightenment. Shri Ramana Maharshi described Kundalini shakti as "natural energy of Self". In the light of all the said about one may infer that Kundalini is the subtlest form of tamas whereas Self or Atma is the subtlest form of rajas, and they actually meet and become inseparable in "Love that understands". Gnostics would refer to it as "sacred marriage". Therefore, the unity of Kundalini and Atma seem to be the highest destiny of ego and the most genuine case of its enlightenment. Whenever this unity is not set as a goal, if not theoretically then practically, or whenever certain conditions are not met, that is sublimation of ego according to moral standards, there must be something wrong with the process, a kind of deviation.

I personally have my Kundalini shakti awakened, so for me it's not just a theory but reality, of course, to a certain point. And i do hope that many other people will get their Kundalinis awakened far beyond this point and become much more enlightened and empowered. Peace

[greybeard]

Can We Choose To Exist Separate From Source?



YouTube viewer Jennifer asks: Suppose an LB is about to merge with Source but then decides it wants to stay permanently separate from Source because it prefers to carry on experiencing life as a separate and independent entity. Would Source be cool with this?



One of the many gifts of my afterlife experience was the ability to understand complex concepts from the different perspectives of a human, a spiritual being, and Source itself. Jennifer's question can be viewed differently depending upon which perspective we take.



Human Perspective: We believe we are mortal human beings with immortal souls. We experience life as separate beings from our parents, siblings, children, and all other Earthly creatures. So it makes sense to believe we are separate from Source/God as well. Our religions also tell us we can suffer permanent separation from Source and we believe it and fear it. So, from the human perspective, it does seem possible to stay permanently separate from Source. In fact, that fear is the basis for the concept of hell.



Light Being Perspective: We believe we are spiritual beings that live eternally without physical matter bodies. We experience the afterlife as discrete consciousnesses and think of ourselves as individuals. So we believe we are separate beings from Source. Our experiences have taught us that we can enter into physical matter over and over again to know what it is like to be various things and creatures in the universe. We know we only put part of our energy into physical matter, giving us the sensation that part of our consciousness is separate from us. From the spiritual perspective, it seems possible to stay permanently separate from Source in much the same way as parts of our own consciousness temporarily seem separate from us while inside physical forms.



Source's Perspective: Source knows that it has imagined a physical universe that it has populated with all kinds of imaginary creatures and things. Source knows that it interacts with itself through all of it by putting small parts of its own consciousness into what I call Light Beings, who then incarnate into physical matter. Source has intentionally given its Light Being parts amnesia about who and what they really are in order to make the physical experience feel absolutely real. Source knows that when they are ready, its Light Being parts will awaken to the knowledge that they are actually Source's consciousness and have never been separate at all. They will realize that they are literally Source pretending to be separate individuals from itself through the power of amnesia. So, from Source's perspective it is impossible for one of its characters to permanently separate from Source. Source's thoughts cannot leave its mind any more than a human's dream characters can leave the human mind and live on their own in the world.



Thank you for being open to the messages I have returned from the afterlife to share.



Nanci



Next Month: I will discuss whether we disappear when we merge into Source.


Nanci L. Danison, JD, afterlife experiencer and author of BACKWARDS: Returning to Our Source for Answers, BACKWARDS Guidebook, BACKWARDS Beliefs: Revealing Eternal Truths Hidden in Religions, and the Light Answers to Tough Questions series of CDs and DVDs (A.P. Lee & Co., Ltd., Publishers). Visit me at www.BackwardsBooks.com or watch me on YouTube.

Subscribe to this newsletter at www.BackwardsBooks.com.
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Sunday, November 3, 2013, 2:00- 3:30 pm Eastern Time (US)
"Soulless Humans"

My afterlife experience revealed to me that not all humans are occupied by a Light Being soul. Many people believe this may be what creates evil in the world. This workshop will discuss the differences in personality and behavior traits between Light Being souls and human animals, whether there is a way to tell is a body is soulless, why some bodies are empty and how they got that way, whether soulless humans are responsible for evil, how to control evil, and more. Register at www.BackwardsBooks.com

[MariaDine]

Love the thread Greybeard !!!

...and I add a little something about a man who had a near death experience...amazing revelations about the EGO and the power of though ...

----------------------------

Interview took place on Sunday July 8th, 2007 Mellen-Thomas Benedict shared details of his incredible Near Death Experience (NDE) that took place in 1982,

He was without vital signs for at least an hour and a half before he returned to his body. Here are some of highlights of what he learned while on the "Other Side:" The Other Side is not all it's cracked up to be--being in a human body is actually a more optimal way to experience the universe.

Black holes at the center of galaxies function as great processors of universal matter-- a total recycling machine.

It's humanity's manifest destiny to leave Earth and colonize other planets.

Within the next 400 years such "star seeding" will begin.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=X8FBdLFUQc0

[greybeard]

Thanks MariaDine for your post and kind comments
Yes a lot to learn from NDE.
Eben Alexander and Dannion Brinkley are also worth a look---I have posted the videos but that was many months ago.
Regards Chris

[minkton]

The Self is where there is absolutely no I thought...


Ahhhhhhh. Chris! Thanks for posting that. Isnt it funny how suddenly a penny will drop! Relief of some comprehension of process for me, thankyou for your presence and input, brother along the way.
X

[minkton]

Being in flip flop is kind of weird. Anyone has anything to share about the experience and process..what I feel like is
" flickering" or..like some parts of me are lagging behind quite radically...as if there is no uniformity of realisation across the continuum of whatever collection of stuff equals the I thought, here.


Idk if this makes sense to anyone..hopes so.

[greybeard]

Nassim Haramein We Are All One 2011 -
Introduced by Bill.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=za2Xzh9vvFA

[greybeard]

Removing fear---as much as anything this thread is about that.
As long as there is identification with the me thought---(my body) there are various desires to gain and fears of loss.
Thats where the ego thrives---It compares---Keeping up with the Kardashians is the modern equivalent of keeping up with the Joneses.
If your not happy as you are then all the money in the world is not going to make a jot of difference.
That is not to say you cant improve your life situation but in improving ones attitude through gratitude and humility, life gets better on all levels.

The Buddha saw the enlightened as freedom from misery.
Dr David Hawkins likened this world to purgatory--- a chance to grow spiritually.
If we do not learn positively from the vicissitudes of life, then we reincarnate here.
There is only Love or fear and it seems we have a valid choice here.

There is a wealth of uplifting videos and posts by many here---the thread is a resource for me and others.
Just clicking on any page will bring up something of interest--- its always current no matter which page.

Happy exploring.

Chris

[Rich]

Posted by greybeard (here)
As long as there is identification with the me thought---(my body) there are various desires to gain and fears of loss.

Good point, imo fear itself is not the problem (none of our feelings are) but a pointer of what we are trying to protect, we, more or less think fear protects our attachments like the attachment to body.

Or maybe it could be said that our negative feelings are the consequential response to our attachments.

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

Letting go of fear is definitely a fast track.
After processing some fear recently I saw that this person (me) is just a tiny piece in 'my' (the one) mind,
but we zoom into this little part forgetting that we are the whole.

I have used the process Bashar describes in the video (but learned it from Lester Levenson) to turn negative feelings to love,
you can also turn it to whatever other feeling you want like peace.

1. bring up the feeling by remembering the event as strongly as you can in the moment
2. then use your imagination or memory of a situation where you had a preferred feeling
3. and apply it to the situation where you had a negative feeling and replace it with your preferred feeling,
until you feel good or at least better about the situation.

It will allow us to see that it is not the situation but our attitude about it that
is the determining factor of our experience.

[greybeard]

Thanks EmEx.
Yes I agree with you.
It seems the enlightened have no startle reflex.
For us fear is necessary but there are two kinds---emotional and valid.
Valid can be life threatening--hence fight or flight natural response.
However with a cool head the best way can be found out of life threatening rather than knee jerk.
Emotional fear is just a drainer on life force which affects you to the point you may be unable to extract yourself from a situation.
Its a balance--- we have a body which deserves looking after but we are the indweller and when body expires off we go home.
Regards Chris

[MariaDine]

Dr. Antonio Damasio - field of research - EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IvBHBt26g28

MORE

https://youtube.com/results?searc...be.YsihRisN3nM

[Rich]

Posted by greybeard (here)
Valid can be life threatening--hence fight or flight natural response.

yes, fear can protect us if we are ignorant for example if we
think we are seperate and we get really angry we might
want to hurt someone but the fear is even stronger than the
anger and stops us because we are afraid that if we kill
or hurt we will ourselves get killed, but the more clear we get
the more we see that fear does not protect us but creates
dangerous situations that reflect our inner fear.

adrenaline release of the body in danger is natural imo enlightened or not.

[greybeard]

On Topic speaks with David Sereda, a well-known UFO researcher and filmmaker who has studied world religion, science, physics and paranormal psychology for over 25 years. He talks about his personal journey and his revelation into the secret technology he extracted from the math in the Great Pyramid of Egypt. He also shares his numerous experiences with alien contact. You can subscribe to On Topic: Culture, Spirituality & the Esoteric on iTunes, or hear the whole episode at our website: http://ontopicshow.com/show-8-ufology .

Help support David Sereda's new film project The Quantum Pyramid:
This film will mathematically prove the Great Pyramid builder intended it to be a giant crystal oscillator capable of faster than light speed communication.
You can be a part of it here: http://igg.me/at/David-Sereda.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the video David also speaks on the Schumann resonance being drowned out by mobile masts and other interesting things.
Not saying I believe in all of it but worth a listen
Chris

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

[Mark]

A thought:

Enlightened Sages are often silent.

This is for a reason. The silence is a cultivation of that space of Being beyond egoic externalization. By remaining so, they are able to exist within that space with little interruption from the egoic mind. It is also a side-effect of having few thoughts, as such, to verbalize. Just Being. Existing.

Sages, Gurus, those who make the choice to externalize and verbalize in the attempt to help others find their own experience of enlightenment, has always been, is, and will always be problematic. Words are by nature limiting. Funneling thought and experience into predetermined forms. How can words approach the perfection of the limitless? Express the ineffable experience of totality? They cannot.

And yet, we are entities predisposed to communication. And, in a space such as that we co-habitate currently, the Internet, words are the primary mode of expression and, therefore, subject to misunderstanding, misinterpretation, purposeful or not-so, and sheer incomprehension. Depending upon the speaking and/or writing skills of those attempting to share information, or experience, all of these interpretations manifest, often, within the space of a single conversation.

Buddha's first impulse was not to teach. Jesus stayed out of the public for 20 years before he did and was promptly executed upon speaking and acting. Many of those who speak up now do so within the safe space of devotees who surround and protect them. Others do so from the space of video creation or the written word, on blogs and websites devoted to spirituality. These videos, satsangs, essays, all serve the purpose of cultivating an actual physical space between those who have experienced enlightenment and those who have not. Those who believe what the enlightened say, and those who do not.

Enlightenment remains a dangerous business.

People do still kill the messengers. If not necessarily physically these days, due to the many methods by which they and those who follow them act to protect them, then by social censure, argumentation, character assassination, derision, minimalization.

There are, not many - in comparison to world population - but a substantial number of people who are enlightened who do not advertise it. They have known all of the fancy words, phrases, descriptions, prayers, mantras and koans not as symbols or mental constructions but as experience, as actual, lived life. They walk around every day interacting with people on their jobs, on the streets, even online. They talk, they laugh, they play with others, listening, advising, experiencing, sharing consciousness deliberately and with the highest intention in mind, to help other people to realize what lies beyond the petty dramas and events that circumscribe awareness and limit possibility. Their peace and inner stability is palpable to others as both a physical field and also a mental force that imbues their written words with added meaning, their connection to something beyond, noticeable. They may not claim the word enlightenment, but they live the experience every single day.

The proof of it is sometimes visible in their actions, sometimes not, from an outside vantage point. Because they have free will and choice, their actions are determined by the necessity of the moment and the realization of the experience as lessons, as co-creation between them and those they interact with. Beyond good and evil. In service of Source, the highest Love, of which human morality and virtue are but one side of a dichotomized expression, both of which are necessary for the full materialization of higher purpose.

It is often thought that self realization is something that can be actualized by seeking. By meditating, by praying. And perhaps that is so, if, after the course of many lifetimes, a soul reaches a point where it has experienced all it has needed to, and, in the current lifetime, engages in these practices. But then, for some others, very suddenly and perhaps seemingly out of the blue and with no previous experience or interest in these areas, something happens to wake them also from the dream. To present them with incontrovertible evidence that they are much more than they might have consciously admitted to themselves prior to that event. Often, the "consciously admitted" part of that is only the ghost of societal indoctrination, or Mara, fencing in the herd whispering softly yet insistently in the attempt to keep the psychological constraints in place.

Because they really did know it all along.

Enlightenment from this perspective can be considered a birthright, and also a form of grace. Something bestowed upon an individuated consciousness field in recognition of a certain state of clarity that has been arrived at, not always by conscious effort, but also by what may seem to be synchronistic happenstance. A near-death experience, a shock to the system resulting in an extreme case of cognitive dissonance, an astral encounter of such force that it tips one into the furthest reaches of conscious experience. But in the greater scheme of the infinite and the eternal, the journey has been long and the desire of many aeons of individuated spiritual evolution has culminated in the Now moment, which is all there ever really was in the first place.

So the journey ended, before it began. The search resulting in finding what was sought in the very place one entertained the thought to begin searching. Like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, lost in the Land of Oz, home was available all along.

And this might seem paradoxical. Magical. It may seem to invalidate effort, to inculcate a sense of futility in Seekers. Another koan, or story, meant to obscure rather than reveal. Available and able to be interpreted only by those in the space of being to comprehend its meaning and exercise their divine right of free will in making the choice to Be. And for that to be the full expression of their connection to the All.

The comforting realization at this point must be that, even in order to bear witness to these ideas, to be able to watch the videos, to read the books, to be able to mentally craft the synaptic network necessary to comprehend, one has reached a stage where one's development - as laid out by the remorseless dream of Source in its manifestation of materiality - has reached the next stage of its own realization. And even if one serves as the warrior to put the spear into the side of Jesus, or the questioner who prompted Buddha in derisive disbelief, or the one to dismiss the advice of that weird, quiet bum on the corner who accosted you with unsolicited but relevant advice on things he could have known nothing about, the time has come for you to move forward, and deeper, to settle into spiritual space already inhabited, already known at some level, deep within.

And none of this, really, requires the Sage to speak. The world requires movement, change, material beingness. Different levels of awareness are the condition of incarnation. Identification is not necessary. Labels, titles, are not important. Only the experience is. The realization. It is pre-destined.

The only question is, at what point do we each make the choice?