There are only two choices in life....

[Honza]

...and those are either I AM or not I AM. There is no other choice. I AM is so incredibly strong it will suck you into itself unless you fight hard to break free. IMO only of course. To me Christ is freedom from I AM. Plus all the spiritual techniques that I have found to be free of I AM. I cannot abide it. It is pure ignorance IMO.

[snowyowl]

Originally Posted by Honza

...and those are either I AM or not I AM. There is no other choice.

From a traditional logical pov maybe, as it only sees a binary option of true OR not true. But there are other philosophical systems like the Two Truths Doctrine and the Tetralemma which allow other possibilities.

So I AM can be true on the relative level and NOT I AM true on the absolute level, at the same time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_truths_doctrine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetralemma

[Honza]

Originally Posted by Honza

I AM is so incredibly strong it will suck you into itself unless you fight hard to break free. IMO only of course. To me Christ is freedom from I AM. Plus all the spiritual techniques that I have found to be free of I AM. I cannot abide it. It is pure ignorance IMO.

I should not say things like that. It is not good for my health. For years I have been trying to make peace with I AM. Progress is slow.

[Miss Hepburn]

I really have NO idea what you mean:''make peace with I AM".
What does I AM mean to you?
Do you mean when you enter a zone of feeling the presence of God?
Or when you reach some state by saying, like a mantra 'I AM, I AM, I AM', of bliss or maybe deep insight ?
I have no idea.
Your op: "There is no other choice", was so foreign to me...still is...again, I have NO idea what you are talking about.

[Honza]

I AM implies ones 'own' self. Make peace with I AM implies make peace with ones own self. What is so confusing about what I said?

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Honza

I AM implies ones 'own' self. Make peace with I AM implies make peace with ones own self.
What is so confusing about what I said?

Well, when one has no idea what YOU mean by I Am, one would not know what YOU mean.
Will someone else think I Am implies their ''own self''? I dunno.

''I AM is so incredibly strong it will suck you into itself
unless you fight hard to break free.''- you said.

I do not see how your own self 'will suck you into itself' and that you must fight hard against this.
So THIS is why your statements make no sense to me.
I'm not confused - they just make no sense to me...as you put them.

Example: If a person says his apple is purple...I am not confused by that.
It just makes no sense.

[Honza]

Well, I AM implies a lot. More than just ones own self. I have no idea what other people mean by I AM either. I just go with it.

[Native spirit]

I am with Miss Hepburn on this


Namaste

[Honza]

That is the nature of spiritual discussion. No one really knows what other people are talking about because it is personal and subjective. I just try to understand what other people might mean. Try and interpret their concepts. When people ask things like "what do you mean by I AM" it is very difficult to answer. It would take a whole book to answer. One needs to be intuitive and try and understand other peoples point of view.

[Anala]

I get what Native and Miss H are saying

Is “I Am” a spiritual belief or a perspective?

I may be wrong in the way I conceptualized “I Am”. I am not sure which belief system it is referring to.

I do not know what it entails. To state “I Am” could be like putting on a label. I am (fill-in the blank). Labels dependent on situation. We change them and wear them like coats. It can be taken further until there is a loss of self. To be swept up into the belief system of a label until one losses their identity.

There is, “I think, therefore I am”. Being a sentient being defines existence.

Or is it more like “I Am” as a statement or superiority? Therefore eclipsing God, Divine, Universe,… etc?

I too, am curious about this.

I don’t usually swim in the deep end and could be totally missing the point.