A guide for staying the I Am

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Mak6831

I went to shopping today with my mum, and I noticed that I cannot know whether other people exist. Ofcourse, I can see them and notice their movements and speech, but I cannot absolutely know their own existence. And If i cannot know their existence then whats to say i exist? when noticing this, I was shifted into a state of presence, not very strong but there was a slight dissolving of the separate sense of self. I also noticed today that when i observe a particular belief arising in the now for what it is - an illusory pseudo reality rather than something objectively real - I feel like ive raised my vibration. believing the thought feels 'lower', not in a bad way, the absence of the belief is more truthful and 'Higher'.
This all came about when i was not focusing on the 'I am' it just naturally arised without my doing..
Does this make any sense to anyone? I would love to hear your thoughts

Can we know that other people exist? All we can know is our subjective experience of these other people. We experience them through our senses - we see them, we may hear them, we may touch them, we may smell them, and (if we get very intimate) we might even taste them.

All these sense impressions are then interpreted by the mind - that is a man, that is a woman, that is a child. But what we experience are our own interpretations of our sense impressions. On the physical plane we cannot experience that which is outside the range of our physical senses (ignoring the faculties of any higher senses).

So in one sense, we are alone with a bunch of sense impressions creating the appearance of other people. And for other people, we are just a bunch of sense impressions which they experience.

So does anyone actually exist? For each one of us, our existence is the only reality, and all the physical forms we experience are projections of our existence.

This may help to dissolve the sense of the separate self which you mention. Because even on the physical plane we realise that all is occurring within ourselves and our interpretations of our senses. And the realisation of the I AM brings the knowledge that the Self is all there is. Which leads to love, because what is there which is not ourselves and not worth loving?

Peace

[MikeS80]

Originally Posted by Mak6831

Thank you for that, I think I was caught up in some sort of spiritual gymnastics.

No problem bud

[MikeS80]

Originally Posted by iamthat

Can we know that other people exist? All we can know is our subjective experience of these other people. We experience them through our senses - we see them, we may hear them, we may touch them, we may smell them, and (if we get very intimate) we might even taste them.

All these sense impressions are then interpreted by the mind - that is a man, that is a woman, that is a child. But what we experience are our own interpretations of our sense impressions. On the physical plane we cannot experience that which is outside the range of our physical senses (ignoring the faculties of any higher senses).

So in one sense, we are alone with a bunch of sense impressions creating the appearance of other people. And for other people, we are just a bunch of sense impressions which they experience.

So does anyone actually exist? For each one of us, our existence is the only reality, and all the physical forms we experience are projections of our existence.

This may help to dissolve the sense of the separate self which you mention. Because even on the physical plane we realise that all is occurring within ourselves and our interpretations of our senses. And the realisation of the I AM brings the knowledge that the Self is all there is. Which leads to love, because what is there which is not ourselves and not worth loving?

Peace

I get what you are saying about our senses, but if all is one and one is all, which included our senses, mind, body (which processes our senses) etc etc, at the end of the day, it does not really matter. Oneness/the eternal and infinite right here and now is never against itself because it is everything and vice versa. Besides, it is the feeling of I AM that senses and feels in the the eternal and infinite right here and right now. You just need to feel your physical feeling of I AM present/presence existing in oneness/the eternal and infinite right here and right now and this includes your senses, feelings, mental processes in your mind.

Separating oneself, other selfs/Selfs and/or anything else (such as our minds, bodies etc) from oneness is what matters from a spiritual perspective/POV. This separation is duality, not saparating anything is non-duality. The seen physical reality and the spiritual reality are not separate from each other, meaning are both the eternal and infinite right here and right now.

[Mak6831]

Originally Posted by iamthat

Can we know that other people exist? All we can know is our subjective experience of these other people. We experience them through our senses - we see them, we may hear them, we may touch them, we may smell them, and (if we get very intimate) we might even taste them.

All these sense impressions are then interpreted by the mind - that is a man, that is a woman, that is a child. But what we experience are our own interpretations of our sense impressions. On the physical plane we cannot experience that which is outside the range of our physical senses (ignoring the faculties of any higher senses).

So in one sense, we are alone with a bunch of sense impressions creating the appearance of other people. And for other people, we are just a bunch of sense impressions which they experience.

So does anyone actually exist? For each one of us, our existence is the only reality, and all the physical forms we experience are projections of our existence.

This may help to dissolve the sense of the separate self which you mention. Because even on the physical plane we realise that all is occurring within ourselves and our interpretations of our senses. And the realisation of the I AM brings the knowledge that the Self is all there is. Which leads to love, because what is there which is not ourselves and not worth loving?

Peace

I think this is what i was experiencing for sure, it totally make sense now. It was somewhat of beautiful experience but I dont think I shall look into it further than what was experienced. I have been focusing on the I am and the last two days ive noticed that it is actually incredibly subtle, and not that effortful to do. It feels like the I am is just here and theres no energy in noticing it. This is incedibly different to before where it would require a lot of attention to notice it. Is this a good sign and that Im beginning a process of establishment, or is it some sort of illusory trap that my mind is playing?

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Mak6831

I have been focusing on the I am and the last two days ive noticed that it is actually incredibly subtle, and not that effortful to do. It feels like the I am is just here and theres no energy in noticing it. This is incedibly different to before where it would require a lot of attention to notice it. Is this a good sign and that Im beginning a process of establishment, or is it some sort of illusory trap that my mind is playing?

Yes, the I AM is subtle - it is always present and yet most people overlook it, even those who are seeking it. The thought of I (as in personal identity) gets in the way.

You may find it helpful to read Ramana Maharshi. His process of self-enquiry is all about investigating the I and where it is. Because when we try to find the I we discover that it does not exist. There is just open awareness, and the thought of I arises out of that awareness. All else follows from that initial thought of I.

There was a Major Chadwick, a British ex-army officer, who lived for years at Ramana's ashram. You may find this account of interest:

https://o-meditation.com/2019/03/14/...ajor-chadwick/

I cannot directly quote the full article because of restrictions on the length of quotes, but for those who tend not to follow links on SF, the story ends:

In this spiritual ecstasy of experiencing the ‘I AM’, where there was no Chadwick, just the ‘I AM’, he asked Bhagavan, “Bhagavan, is THIS it?”
Chadwick recounted, “Bhagavan gave me the most glorious smile, and then confirmed, “Yes, Chadwick, THIS is THAT!”
I then asked him, “Bhagavan, is it so simple?”
Bhagavan replied, “Yes it is that simple.”
Since then, I’ve never had any doubt.

Peace

[utopiandreamchild]

Originally Posted by Mak6831

Hello, I've read a lot of stuff here that I dont seem to resonate with a lot, so i thought I would set up this thread in order to for people to share truth along our path to freedom. I have read much of I Am That, I have read some of ramana maharshi, I enjoy listening to rupert spira and mooji. can people please give me more advice to stay as 'I am', I am constantly getting distracted. I know this is my mind but i haven't been able to become established within I am
Any advice dudes?

I AM LOVE is the most important affirmation. Don't know if that's what your looking for but all the best much the same. Amen

[MikeS80]

Originally Posted by A human Being

As I see it, it's awareness that realises; perhaps a thought then arises in response to the realisation, but awarenesss precedes thought. In my own experience, any realisations I've had have arisen throughout the entirety of my being, they weren't purely mental. The issue that a lot of spiritual seekers run into (and I'm by no means immune to this) is that they try to figure out spiritual conundra on a purely mental level, they haven't learnt how to access an intelligence that's much deeper than the intellect.

Awareness is the knowledge or perception of a situation or fact and is 100% mental. You are not talking about awareness, you are talking about something else.

A guide for staying the I Am.

We are all part of the infinite consciousness. I just hope that we keep the sense of I.The only thing I remember about that is before my birth, knowing that I was falling through darkness towards my future body. I only get vague remembrances of events before that.

[Mak6831]

I think I get all of you are saying but what is 'I'?

Originally Posted by Mak6831

I think I get all of you are saying but what is 'I'?

It's what can never be directly known just like the face cannot directly see itself.