Why duality is not true, part 2

[Maisy]

My theory on duality as it relates to enlightenment. There are two basic states we can be in:

#1 - Delusion

This state is a result of consciousness identifying with the body and the mind as itself. Consciousness has mistaken two (consciousness or actual self and the body/mind self) to be one.

#2 - Awakened

Awakened is a now state of enlightenment or self realization. One is cognitive of their true identity as it relates to the body/mind. (I don't think of enlightenment as a permanent state as some do. I see it as having to be maintained though concentration. Also, as earth bound souls, most will just have brief experiences of it.) In an awakened state, one is aware of two distinct things, me and the body/mind, and aware of how "I am not that."

On the subject of duality is a funny thing the way I see it anyway. A delusional person believes two to be one, and an enlightened person is aware of the two and thus escapes and is detached from the experience and perspective of the other. To be "one" one has to be aware of the two natures, body and consciousness the way I see it. Without an awareness of the body/mind and non-identification with it, one will have a dual nature, the actual self and the body/mind self acting and experiencing as one.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by movingalways

Is reality cut in two?

Maybe we need to differentiate between absolute reality and relative reality.

Absolute reality is one thing everywhere, the state of formless Being which pervades all form or duality. Formless Being is limitless and unchanging.

The relative reality of form is limited and ever-changing. Absolute reality pervades all relative reality.

We may deny the relative reality of form or duality, but this discussion can only take place within duality. All of your ideas about reality arise within the duality of the mind. If we say that duality has no reality then the mind is not real, the ideas being put forward are not real, this discussion is not real.

So why bother having an unreal discussion about that which has no reality?

And let's face it, for most people the existence of formless Being is just another concept. It is not real for them. The mind likes to intellectualise about reality but most people only know the relative reality of duality. They spend their daily lives dealing with relative reality. Whatever mental concepts people may have of absolute reality are nothing to do with absolute reality.

Peace

Non duality requires the following of no precepts.
Except maybe one, but then again it's not something you can follow religiously:
Be neutral to your 'encounters', be they people, situations or whatever.
Apply no dogma, rule or precept to it. Be yourself.

Because by definition, as a creature conceived and growing on planet Earth, you are already one with it.

You are at your place.

Of course I'd be lying if I pretended I always felt that way.
Why the need for a 'part 2' instead of continuity though?

[Apakhana Akshobhya]

Originally Posted by movingalways

Witnessing 'the dream' is an important step in nondual realization. At some point, however, because 'two' is not true, the subtle duality of witnessing the contents of awareness collapses...relax...the witnessing ego has no say in the matter.

The ego doesn't do the witnessing though, it's the Awareness does yea?
That's the whole premise of sakshi bhav. *

*Awareness and ego have to separate to remove the obstruction causing dualistic perception in the first place. If awareness can witness the self occurring and then not occurring and then occurring again then the only real thing that has it's office above that is the Awakeful Witness that is awareness.

[Ewwerrin]

Originally Posted by movingalways

Just know that after ego death fear, Self love follows.

Thank you so much. This means so much to me. It means everything to me to have atleast one human say this to me. I am so tired of being afraid of duality anymore. I'm so done with it.

[Ewwerrin]

Originally Posted by Amhrán Grá

Be yourself.

Yes, it is as simple as that! from now on I am going to be myself. I will no longer care about all the dualities that people believe in! They have nothing to do with me.

Dualities can only burden down and slow down the eternal continuouty. And it is so useless and meaningless also in terms of all the suffering that it brings about, so futile and so meaningless and pointless.

I'M DONE WITH DUALITY. ITS GAME OVER FOR DUALITY. IM DONE WITH IT. FOREVER.

From now on, there is just me. I exist. And I don't care what anybody else thinks. If they have a duality perspective of me then from now on forward, IT IS FOREVER THEIR OWN PROBLEM.

I'm not gonna play that ball anymore! I'd rather croak then live one more second wasting my time on dualities. The suffering that other people and their dualities have caused me is ENOUGH. I'm done with all their meaningless meanings and lies and delusions over which they force me to suffer. As if that suffering is going anywhere! it's all a lie and delusion. There is no value in living for the delusions of other people. No one is helped that way. Not them and not anyone. And especially not me.

I'm gonna throw all dualities like a big rock AWAY and I'll never touch it ever again! It's over! I'm done with all dualities forever. All the mind traps. All the human illusions. and lies. and deceptions. I say FAREWELL to them ALL. May they forever dwell in the meaningnless illusionary and delusionary nothingness that they are.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Ewwerrin

...The suffering that other people and their dualities have caused me is ENOUGH. I'm done with all their meaningless meanings and lies and delusions over which they force me to suffer. ...

Is it possible that you have been the creator of all your suffering?

And you are projecting that responsibility onto those around you?

And you are then blaming them for forcing you to suffer?

When all the while there is just you and it is all your creation.

Which means that you are free to change your creation whenever you choose to do so.

Peace

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by Apakhana Akshobhya

The ego doesn't do the witnessing though, it's the Awareness does yea?

That's an important point to me. I am the only thing aware in me. I am awareness! My mind is not aware. There is no aware ego anywhere. Thoughts are not aware. But I was watching some science show and they were talking about how the brain does billions of calculations and parallel processing and stuff to determine what thoughts to present to us. It's a very sophisticated "computer" program running in the brain to provide thoughts and input for us.

Awareness is also involved in those processes taking place in the brain we are unaware of. For example, scientists discovered if you ignore your thoughts, the regions of the brain that make thoughts slow down or stop making thoughts all together. Also, scientists discovered one of the "calculations" the brain does when "deciding" which thoughts to present to us in any given moment is to look at what thoughts we prioritized in the past by reacting strongly to or giving the most of our attention. So us thinking about one thing a lot is "telling" the brain to offer up more of those.

The brain is "smarter" than us which is why it fools us so easily about who and what we are. Once you realize that thoughts appearing to your awareness only have power and reality if you accept them, they lose all of their power to cause a reaction in you or to make you feel some negative way.

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by iamthat

Is it possible that you have been the creator of all your suffering?

I think yes and no. No because we "awareness" is not the creator of all of our experience. Our brain and it's mind, our biological programing and emotions, is what we witness and experience. Our ego or identifying with this body as self also plays a roll. For example, we lose our job and can't pay our rent. That's a bad experience and suffering because on this earth we are this body and this body needs security, food and shelter. It seeks pleasure and avoids pain. We as awareness is all tied into this body and it's experiences and needs while it is alive. So being stuck in this body with it's mind plays a roll in the creation of suffering.

But then yes also we are involved in being the cause of suffering because we can be detached from what the body needs and wants. Like we can give up pursuing pleasure or caring about it (for the higher pleasure of no desire or wants.) Take somebody that hates their face and gets all kinds of plastic surgery and stuff. They are the cause of that suffering because we can be detached from this temporary body as self. We can not identify with this temporary body as being us. We could not give one care about what we look like because the body is not us! We could not think of it as us. Why do we care about how we look?

Also yes because we can ignore our thoughts and not have them cause any suffering in us.

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by Ewwerrin

All the human illusions. and lies. and deceptions. I say FAREWELL to them ALL.

That's the way to end all mind caused suffering. Throw out all concepts. Like the concept of duality like you say. Be done with it. Don't make a concept or idea reality. They have zero realty if we transcend them. We are right here now in this current moment. I am in my room. The warm sun is peaking through my curtains. It is quiet. Why add an idea to this now? Why add any word or thought? Why add any résistance or idea of something lacking or missing?

This suffering or conflict that is caused by feeling we need to improve, that we need to discover, to make ourselves better or improved in some way. That we are not already 100% perfect just as we are. 100%! This feeling and idea, this thought we are not already there and perfect can be let go of. That means there is nothing to do! Nothing to pursue. No practice or effort needed in any way. You know what creates all of this non-sense and suffering? An idea. One idea we choose or are brainwashed to accept. That we are not already perfect. That there is something we can DO.

But then imperfection is obvious. We make mistakes, harm others. But see we jump into the idea WE are the cause. What is "we?" Well it's "ego" a self put together with thought/mind and memory and identification with this body. That is the ME. Identification with a body and it's mind that is programmed to be self centered and always about itself and not others, unless the others give us pleasure in some way. It's always comparing, interpreting, judging, weighing this against that. Thinking. (Which is the awareness and attention being focused on the thought stream in the mind.)

The doer is ego. It requires identification with this fake self all build on fake unreal identifications. We do not make thought but we believe they are by us and from us for us. That path to freedom and liberation is built not "on doing" but on "not doing." It's not something we need to do, it's something we need to stop doing. To simply be in the present moment and notice when our attention goes to the mind. Is on mind and thought. When thoughts and ideas create reality with our cooperation. The awareness is enough. It liberates us.

The reality is now is perfect no matter what is going on. The reality is we are perfect exactly how we are. The reality is we can feel profound peace and bliss and love, without any conflict within or without in any moment. Enlightenment is not found or created or produced. It is always present. We just don't experience it because we are focused on "ourselves." Our mind and thoughts and false identity or ego. When we let go of all ideas and beliefs and mental images, all mind produced content and reality, throw out all of it, we then experience the real world. The beautiful mysterious now.