I finally found my path...

[Godspark]

Hey all,

Just wanted to share what I discovered a couple months ago as it may help others on their journey...

It came to me that I have been spending over 20 years researching everything and anything considered to be spiritual, supernatural or esoteric since my awakening in 2001. Yet, I've never had a mentor or teacher to guide me! It's extremely hard to find a guru in western civilization unless you join a church, cult or monastery.

So I came to a realization that I am my own teacher and mentor! I've always just gone with what resonates as truth when reading and researching, only picking what corresponds to things I've already experienced in the past as truth. I started to see just how much I look inwards, into my inner self for answers and truth which I've been doing for many years without really knowing it. I also started to discover that this whole inner self teaching thing, is what many philosophers and teachers have hinted at throughout history - to know thyself!

Here are some examples:
Lao Tzu - "Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power"
Aristotle - "Mastering yourself is the beginning of all wisdom"
Socrates - "To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom"
Pythagoras - "Man know thyself, then thou shalt know the universe and God"
Confucius - "What the undeveloped man seeks is outside, what the advanced man seeks is within himself"

Not to mention...
Jesus Christ "The kingdom of God is within..."

I've also spent many years doing consistent meditation and believe I've reached what buddhists term "Samadhi" a number of times. So it became very clear to me that my inner self is the most important aspect to develop. Afterall, you only experience things through the perception of your self, and through deep meditation discovered that my self, the self, goes beyond all time and space, all reality, all dimensions, all form, everything to ever exist. At a very deep and core level, the self exists eternally as "I AM" and anything else we experience is just an extension from that point of perception, as though all reality is just added on top from the point of "I EXIST" or "I AM". We are constantly perceiving a reality around us, but when we stop and sit in silence just observing, we begin to notice the deeper thread of just pure existence as self.

Yesirenee!

I spent the last dozen years meditating and diving into consciousness studies and from all angles. It's that deep, deep inner silence that's prior to thought even the very first thought, the "I" thought. It's existence Itself, consciousness Itself, bliss Itself. That's the Ineffable and we mistake it for the effable. I am conscious instead of I am Consciousness Itself.

What really helped me pull it together and open the floodgates was Advaita Vedanta. If you're still looking for guidance I highly recommend Swami Sarvapriyananda's talks and they can be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/VedantaNY/videos

Originally Posted by Godspark

Hey all,

Just wanted to share what I discovered a couple months ago as it may help others on their journey...

It came to me that I have been spending over 20 years researching everything and anything considered to be spiritual, supernatural or esoteric since my awakening in 2001. Yet, I've never had a mentor or teacher to guide me! It's extremely hard to find a guru in western civilization unless you join a church, cult or monastery.

So I came to a realization that I am my own teacher and mentor! I've always just gone with what resonates as truth when reading and researching, only picking what corresponds to things I've already experienced in the past as truth. I started to see just how much I look inwards, into my inner self for answers and truth which I've been doing for many years without really knowing it. I also started to discover that this whole inner self teaching thing, is what many philosophers and teachers have hinted at throughout history - to know thyself!

Here are some examples:
Lao Tzu - "Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power"
Aristotle - "Mastering yourself is the beginning of all wisdom"
Socrates - "To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom"
Pythagoras - "Man know thyself, then thou shalt know the universe and God"
Confucius - "What the undeveloped man seeks is outside, what the advanced man seeks is within himself"

Not to mention...
Jesus Christ "The kingdom of God is within..."

I've also spent many years doing consistent meditation and believe I've reached what buddhists term "Samadhi" a number of times. So it became very clear to me that my inner self is the most important aspect to develop. Afterall, you only experience things through the perception of your self, and through deep meditation discovered that my self, the self, goes beyond all time and space, all reality, all dimensions, all form, everything to ever exist. At a very deep and core level, the self exists eternally as "I AM" and anything else we experience is just an extension from that point of perception, as though all reality is just added on top from the point of "I EXIST" or "I AM". We are constantly perceiving a reality around us, but when we stop and sit in silence just observing, we begin to notice the deeper thread of just pure existence as self.

Excellent.

[Godspark]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Yesirenee!

I spent the last dozen years meditating and diving into consciousness studies and from all angles. It's that deep, deep inner silence that's prior to thought even the very first thought, the "I" thought. It's existence Itself, consciousness Itself, bliss Itself. That's the Ineffable and we mistake it for the effable. I am conscious instead of I am Consciousness Itself.

What really helped me pull it together and open the floodgates was Advaita Vedanta. If you're still looking for guidance I highly recommend Swami Sarvapriyananda's talks and they can be found at

Thanks! Will definitely take a look right now.

I've heard a lot of good things about Advaita Vedanta.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Godspark

Hey all,

Just wanted to share what I discovered a couple months ago as it may help others on their journey...

It came to me that I have been spending over 20 years researching everything and anything considered to be spiritual, supernatural or esoteric since my awakening in 2001. Yet, I've never had a mentor or teacher to guide me! It's extremely hard to find a guru in western civilization unless you join a church, cult or monastery.

So I came to a realization that I am my own teacher and mentor! I've always just gone with what resonates as truth when reading and researching, only picking what corresponds to things I've already experienced in the past as truth. I started to see just how much I look inwards, into my inner self for answers and truth which I've been doing for many years without really knowing it. I also started to discover that this whole inner self teaching thing, is what many philosophers and teachers have hinted at throughout history - to know thyself!

Here are some examples:
Lao Tzu - "Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power"
Aristotle - "Mastering yourself is the beginning of all wisdom"
Socrates - "To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom"
Pythagoras - "Man know thyself, then thou shalt know the universe and God"
Confucius - "What the undeveloped man seeks is outside, what the advanced man seeks is within himself"

Not to mention...
Jesus Christ "The kingdom of God is within..."

I've also spent many years doing consistent meditation and believe I've reached what buddhists term "Samadhi" a number of times. So it became very clear to me that my inner self is the most important aspect to develop. Afterall, you only experience things through the perception of your self, and through deep meditation discovered that my self, the self, goes beyond all time and space, all reality, all dimensions, all form, everything to ever exist. At a very deep and core level, the self exists eternally as "I AM" and anything else we experience is just an extension from that point of perception, as though all reality is just added on top from the point of "I EXIST" or "I AM". We are constantly perceiving a reality around us, but when we stop and sit in silence just observing, we begin to notice the deeper thread of just pure existence as self.

NICE OBSERVATIONS

and welcome to Spiritual Forums.........

Originally Posted by Godspark

Thanks! Will definitely take a look right now.

I've heard a lot of good things about Advaita Vedanta.

You can also poke around my YouTube channel (link in my sig) and peruse the Teachings playlist. I have my favorite talks from him there. He's really a pleasure to watch.

[Godspark]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

You can also poke around my YouTube channel (link in my sig) and peruse the Teachings playlist. I have my favorite talks from him there. He's really a pleasure to watch.

Sweet thanks!

[Godspark]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

NICE OBSERVATIONS

and welcome to Spiritual Forums.........

THANKS! <3

[Miss Hepburn]

Yes, excellent, thank you. And welcome here, Godspark!!!!!
Your research reminds me of me starting seriously at 19.
Compiling all the wise insights if masters along with the intellectuals Jung, Einstein, Bertrand Russel.

When on the same day - 3 of their books in front of me (Gemini's do that, many books at the same time), turning pages -
ALL three said the same thing:
Wherever man is to get, whether individually or as a whole - he will not get there by using the mind.

"What?"

Took all the books back and returned with a stack of spiritual books - Gita, Greek teachers, other Eastern books, can't remember them all.
I had left Catholicism so did not return with the Bible, but talked to Jesus that I was taking a small detour to learn more.
From there so much unfolded...meeting the right people and such. That was decades ago and never regretted anything on this Path.

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Yes, excellent, thank you. And welcome here, Godspark!!!!!
Your research reminds me of me starting seriously at 19.
Compiling all the wise insights if masters along with the intellectuals Jung, Einstein, Bertrand Russel.

When on the same day - 3 of their books in front of me (Gemini's do that, many books at the same time), turning pages -
ALL three said the same thing:
Wherever man is to get, whether individually or as a whole - he will not get there by using the mind.

"What?"

Took all the books back and returned with a stack of spiritual books - Gita, Greek teachers, other Eastern books, can't remember them all.
I had left Catholicism so did not return with the Bible, but talked to Jesus that I was taking a small detour to learn more.
From there so much unfolded...meeting the right people and such. That was decades ago and never regretted anything on this Path.

I know you know this but it's worth repeating for all who peruse this thread: The path beyond mind is through mind. There is no path, but only a fool doesn't follow it. Embrace the paradox. LOL!

Godspark,

When all this started for me late in 2019 I bought these books and if you don't have them I'd suggest 1 & 2 are beyond helpful and the others are optional.

1 - The Ten Principal Upanishads translated by Shree Purohit Swami & W.B. Yeats
2 - The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran
3 - Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works by Swami Nikhilananda
4 - The Heart of Awareness (A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita) by Thomas Byrom

They can all be found on Amazon.

The only caveat and it's an admonishment often voiced by Swami Sarvapriyananda is #4 is dangerous as it's the same statement of ultimate reality stated over and over again in different prose. The danger is one takeaway can be since one is already One a conclusion can be made no further study, effort or practice is necessary and that's a great mistake.