Hello. I'm an enlightened person.

Originally Posted by Falling Star

Very interesting introduction CiaranRT. Welcome to SF, i am sure you will find many enlightened beings here.

I hope so. If not... well, I'll see if I can help with that.

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Hi CiaranRT, welcome, yea my Enlightenment is just simple, just to be who I truly am, nothing more or nothing less.

I think that the process that buddhists refer to as enlightenment (and Hindus as Mokhsa, and Taoists as becoming one with the Tao and Sufis as Fanaa) is actually something else.

It's something quite specific. It has lots of flowery names, but when you really drill down (and that took me quite a few years) there is a specific psychological process that they are talking about.

It isn't magic, it isn't rocket science, it's not vague at all - in any way - and it has no alternate interpretation. There is a core.

They call it, in Buddhism, the delusion of self.

This is quite a grand way of putting it. I think too grand.

It's less of a delusion. It's more like an assumption.

We assume that the experience of life we are having is being 'lived' by someone. Us.

It's not. The experience of life we are having is the totality of all that is nad has no source in any conventional sense.

It is the present moment - it is uncaused in the same way as one piece of water in the flow of a river has no cause. It's not magic, but to say that there is a 'thing' pushing it on is to ignore that it's just part of the flow.

This present moment of existence, this flow of life - there is no self standing outside it experiencing it.

There is no self in any sense.

One of the main ways a person can get lost is to confuse 'no you' with 'I am the flow'.

This is quite a distraction. The truth is, there is no you in any sense. There's just the flow. Just the flow of life.

That's it. There's no you.

Enlightenment is simply the recognition that this is not just an idea. It is the actual case.

For that, you need to sit down and seriously look at it - but the path to enlightenment only takes as long as it takes to see this, and no longer.

Once attained - yes, it can (and should and will) be deepened.

It is not the end of a journey. It is the first step - BUT - the first step cannot be anything else than this: the simple recognition that there is no you.

You can't believe it - that doesn't do anything.

You can't 'work it out in your head' - that doesn't work either.

These things are fine though - don't feel you need to burn either out. You just need to step beyond them, and start asking real questions about real life and really looking for real answers.

That's the step beyond 'understanding' and 'belief'. Start engaging very deeply (well, as deeply as you can) with reality.

So yeah, I was going to respond to everyone on this thread, but I think I've covered most of the things you've brought up.

You should have enough to chew on for now.

I've put a link in my signature to a big piece (it is really long, so be warned) that goes into a lot of detail about who I am (so to speak) and what the path I've taken to get here is. Don't feel you have to soldier through it if you don't want to.

Much love.

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Well whats the use of having a path if there is no destination ?, its either you want to stay on the path or be at the destination.

Because Growth is not really a destination but rather the condition of consciousness--that we can't escape. Reaching a destination of Growth would mean to stop growing. Is that really a valid goal?

Isle

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Well whats the use of having a path if there is no destination ?, its either you want to stay on the path or be at the destination.

I think this is an extremely perceptive thing to say.

Many people try to attain enlightenment - and it's not historically speaking been easy.

There are a thousand distractions at every step, and many of them are subtle, and seem both reasonable and kind.

This, I believe, is one of them - that the 'journey' has no destination and is itself the purpose.

The truth is of course, that a journey without a destination is not a journey.

Enlightenment is very real, very real indeed. It's not a massive, cosmic leap - although it is very profound and, if I may lighten the language somewhat, very cool. But it is real, absolutely.

It's just the recognition that there is no you, and never was.

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by CiaranRT

I hope so. If not... well, I'll see if I can help with that.



I think that the process that buddhists refer to as enlightenment (and Hindus as Mokhsa, and Taoists as becoming one with the Tao and Sufis as Fanaa) is actually something else.

It's something quite specific. It has lots of flowery names, but when you really drill down (and that took me quite a few years) there is a specific psychological process that they are talking about.

It isn't magic, it isn't rocket science, it's not vague at all - in any way - and it has no alternate interpretation. There is a core.

They call it, in Buddhism, the delusion of self.

This is quite a grand way of putting it. I think too grand.

It's less of a delusion. It's more like an assumption.

We assume that the experience of life we are having is being 'lived' by someone. Us.

It's not. The experience of life we are having is the totality of all that is nad has no source in any conventional sense.

It is the present moment - it is uncaused in the same way as one piece of water in the flow of a river has no cause. It's not magic, but to say that there is a 'thing' pushing it on is to ignore that it's just part of the flow.

This present moment of existence, this flow of life - there is no self standing outside it experiencing it.

There is no self in any sense.

One of the main ways a person can get lost is to confuse 'no you' with 'I am the flow'.

This is quite a distraction. The truth is, there is no you in any sense. There's just the flow. Just the flow of life.

That's it. There's no you.

Enlightenment is simply the recognition that this is not just an idea. It is the actual case.

For that, you need to sit down and seriously look at it - but the path to enlightenment only takes as long as it takes to see this, and no longer.

Once attained - yes, it can (and should and will) be deepened.

It is not the end of a journey. It is the first step - BUT - the first step cannot be anything else than this: the simple recognition that there is no you.

You can't believe it - that doesn't do anything.

You can't 'work it out in your head' - that doesn't work either.

These things are fine though - don't feel you need to burn either out. You just need to step beyond them, and start asking real questions about real life and really looking for real answers.

That's the step beyond 'understanding' and 'belief'. Start engaging very deeply (well, as deeply as you can) with reality.

So yeah, I was going to respond to everyone on this thread, but I think I've covered most of the things you've brought up.

You should have enough to chew on for now.

I've put a link in my signature to a big piece (it is really long, so be warned) that goes into a lot of detail about who I am (so to speak) and what the path I've taken to get here is. Don't feel you have to soldier through it if you don't want to.

Much love.

Yes thanks for all that CiaranRT, but as I said for me it was simple, it is who I AM, no need to go further, to go further will only take me away from what IS.

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by IsleWalker

Because Growth is not really a destination but rather the condition of consciousness--that we can't escape. Reaching a destination of Growth would mean to stop growing. Is that really a valid goal?

Isle

Hi IsleWalker, in pure Consciousness there is no need to for growth, who is going to grow, we are not the mind body but pure Being, as long as we believe that we need to grow we are still in the illusion of the ego.

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by CiaranRT

I think this is an extremely perceptive thing to say.

Many people try to attain enlightenment - and it's not historically speaking been easy.

There are a thousand distractions at every step, and many of them are subtle, and seem both reasonable and kind.

This, I believe, is one of them - that the 'journey' has no destination and is itself the purpose.

The truth is of course, that a journey without a destination is not a journey.

Enlightenment is very real, very real indeed. It's not a massive, cosmic leap - although it is very profound and, if I may lighten the language somewhat, very cool. But it is real, absolutely.

It's just the recognition that there is no you, and never was.

Yes there is no you and there is no one to be Enlightened, to believe there is is just an illusion, also to believe that Enlightenment is hard to obtain is just another lie, the ego mind body will make up anything to keep it alive.

CiaranRT, Welcome to this forum! I am also an enlightened being. From what I can tell, there are many enlightened beings around.

There are people who are seekers, and being a seeker is quite entertaining, so much fun that some people seek forever. There are also people who find that which they seek, and when the find that for which they've been looking, whether we call it enlightenment of whatever, they realize that what they have found is a begining, not the end. Best wishes!

[psychoslice]

I AM the alpha and Omega, in pure Consciousness there is no beginning or end, this is true Enlightenment.

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Hi IsleWalker, in pure Consciousness there is no need to for growth, who is going to grow, we are not the mind body but pure Being, as long as we believe that we need to grow we are still in the illusion of the ego.

PsychoSlice--

This all gets to be symatics after a while. Consciousness to me is the state of awareness that all matter and non-matter possesses. Our mind and bodies possess consciousness too (or were created from consciousness.)

There is the All is only Oneness camp and the All is Individuality. And then there is the one that puts them together.

I am of the latter camp. IMO there is a reason for both. We can be individual AND part of the Oneness as well. If we bury ourselves in Oneness, we don't assume the responsibility for contributing our unique form of creativity. We are all unique energy with unique gifts.

But I'm sure we could argue the symantics forever. I'm not sure it gets us anywhere.

Isle

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Yes thanks for all that CiaranRT, but as I said for me it was simple, it is who I AM, no need to go further, to go further will only take me away from what IS.

Well look - the point of seeing through the 'delusion of self' and thus becoming enlightened is not to remove anything.

The point is, there was never anything there to begin with. There was never a you. Ever. There's nothing to defend, and nothing to attack. That's the whole point.