Nirvikalpa Samadhi and what it is like to exist in a non-dual state

[A human Being]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

the opposite of humility, openness, and receptivity. For example pride in the idea you are somehow 'correct' and the desire to not learn things especially with respect to what you might be doing 'wrong' and to do things one's own way at all costs can make for a very thick phonebook.

Oh right, I see what you mean - yep, pride really does tend to inhibit understanding, I've found. I just wasn't sure how your comment related to the bit of my post that you quoted, maybe I'm just being a bit slow.

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by A human Being

Oh right, I see what you mean - yep, pride really does tend to inhibit understanding, I've found. I just wasn't sure how your comment related to the bit of my post that you quoted, maybe I'm just being a bit slow.

i was kinda like, it is much easier to attract worthwhile spiritual experiences if you aren't putting a wall between yourself and the experiences... if that makes any sense...

[A human Being]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

i was kinda like, it is much easier to attract worthwhile spiritual experiences if you aren't putting a wall between yourself and the experiences... if that makes any sense...

Yeah, completely.

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

i was kinda like, it is much easier to attract worthwhile spiritual experiences if you aren't putting a wall between yourself and the experiences... if that makes any sense...

Here's a question that I've never had answered. According to the narrative we are Spirit on a human journey, according to non-duality the experience and the experiencer are one and the same. If the Spirituality is true, how can we have anything other than a Spiritual experience?

Originally Posted by NoOne

I wanted to write about the experience of non-duality itself.

Non-Duality is in a Duality with Duality. If there is Duality and non-Duality, that's the definition of Duality. One of them anyway. According to Rupert Spira Duality is the 'distance' between consciousness and the 'objects' of consciousness. Both Duality and non-Duality are 'objects' of consciousness. AS is Spirituality.

In Advaita Vedanta there is "Not-two," which is essentially the 'collapsing' of the distance between consciousness and its objects. There is only one 'object' and that's you.

We already exist in both so-called Duality and non-Duality, the ego/Ahamkara is differentiated consciousness and the 'creator' of Duality while the self/Atman is undifferentiated consciousness or so-called non-Duality.

[Aknaton]

I personally think that with No One's experiences and realizations, we ought not to continue to think that enlightenment is reserved for the so called 'great yogis'. I would guess that there are a lot of enlightened people on this forum.

@Greenslade, what is the source of duality?

[NoOne]

@Aknaton
It is always tricky to apply such terms to any one person, as there is no clear definition as to what "enlightened" means. To me, it corresponds to the term Jivanmukta as described in my earlier update, someone who is permanently enlightened and lives in a Samadhi state day and night. That is a lot harder to achieve than a mere glimpse into enlightenment which is what happens when Kundalini breaks to the top or a Nirvikalpa Samadhi state is achieved through other means.

Making it stick is the tough part and it requires dedication, sacrifice and the right lifestyle.

@Greenslade
I'm not that well-versed in philosophical discourse, I simply go by what I have "seen" of non-duality. To me the difference is simply that of separation. In non-duality, everything just "is" in unity, in non-duality, everything is (seemingly) separate and exists in polarities. Duality arises when non-duality wishes to manifest separation and distinction, wishes to experience the world as many different "Jivas" or individual sould which will provide it with a slightly different point of view in each case. Then, when after untold aeons of time, when the Jiva returns to Brahman its experiences are integrated and enrich the whole.

[Spirited_self]

Is right lifestyle dependent on the person? or is there is framework that encompasses what a "right" lifestyle is?

When you went through your kundalini awakening, did you experience intense ringing in the ears? I was in an altered state last night and there was a high intense ringing in my left ear. As I focused, I heard a smaller ringing in my right ear and chose to focus on the right ear. The ringing in the right ear got way intense that It "popped" and I'm in this space and my spine is on fire. There is just a very intense fire all along my spine but felt like it stopped at my throat chakra. I tried to meditate and chant OM but the intensity of the fire kept breaking my focus. I asked the divine mother to move the energy upwards and felt like I was going to explode. Does ringing in the right or left ear have any significance?

[NoOne]

@Spirited_self

Does ringing in the right or left ear have any significance?

Yes, it means the energy has moved past the throat chakra and into the ajna chakra (third eye area)

When you went through your kundalini awakening, did you experience intense ringing in the ears?

Yes, that is pretty much universal in fact, though not always connected to Kundalini. Any time energy moves in your head intensely, you will hear some sort of sound, depending on the intensity. Often, it is like the buzzing of bees, hence the frequent beehive symbolism. With Kundalini, when the knot to the crown is first pierced, often a sound of rushing water is heard.

Is right lifestyle dependent on the person? or is there is framework that encompasses what a "right" lifestyle is?

Every tradition has its own requirements, which are often quite strict. Some might prescribe no meat, no alcohol, no sex, in fact no orgasms allowed at all, plus pretty much a monastic lifestyle. Others, such as tantric systems, might go the opposite direction and they encourage the consumption of meat, alcohol and the directed use of sex and orgasms to force Kundalini upwards to sublimation. They even have friggin tantric orgies in the temple (you saw the famous temple art, I'm sure), though this is now extremely rare.

So, I would say, if you have a tradition you're part of, you'll have to follow their recommendations, but if you're walking your own path, you'll just have to experiment and see what works best, whilst being guided by intuition.

Still, living a moral lifestyle is important, Kundalini will force you to mould your life around her requirements and not vice versa. She may force you to move, change careers, get new friends, etc... You will know what is the right thing to do intuitively, often it requires no thought or consideration at all.

Once Kundalini is active, direct knowing becomes a thing. There is no thought process involved, you just know, with full conviction.

Originally Posted by NoOne

@Greenslade
I'm not that well-versed in philosophical discourse, I simply go by what I have "seen" of non-duality. To me the difference is simply that of separation.

Non-Duality is separate from Duality and non-Duality is in a Duality with Duality. Think about it.

Non-Duality doesn't manifest anything, the ego does and this is where redefinition turns what should be Spiritual understanding into nonsense. The ego/Ahamkara creates Duality by way of differentiated consciousness, and that's where perceptual separation comes from. Ahamkara is "The 'I' of invented things," the 'things' of perceptual reality. That's where your different points of view come from. The experiences ae perceptually separate, not 'actually'.