So one of my favorite topics currently is the unfoldment of the awakening process, the signposts and markers along the way as the whole “me” identity falls away. Given that more and more people are awakening, this provides us with a deeper recognition of how the human ego based in separation has been constructed in the mind (the fall of man), as well as the undoing of all that (awakening). We get to see it happen again and again, more and more, from a variety of perspectives. The following is a post by Tom Thompson. He published this on facebook and many of the spiritual traps he pointed out cracked me up. Been there, done that, basically… (By the way, Hotei is the Laughing Buddha or the Fat Buddha. You know.. the one you’ll often see in Chinese restaurants. ) With Tom’s permission, I am sharing his essay here with you guys.

Realization is sudden. The fruit ripens slowly, but falls suddenly and without return.

-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Hotei Has Returned to the Market Place

This essay is in response to many discussions I have had with students over the years. Its purpose is to help clarify certain aspects of the awakening process. In this essay, I am not going to be overly concerned with the politically correct semantics of “enlightenment” or “advaita,” but simply point out some things that may be useful to know about.

As awakening happens, there seem to be several stages that many people go through. These stages can be a little confusing because they are not delineated anywhere on the maps of our day-to-day consensus reality, nor on most religious or spiritual maps. Please remember, these guidelines are descriptions of what may happen, not prescriptions for what must happen. The process is different for everyone.

THE RELATIVE

The first stage is the apparent separation between “me” and “everyone and everything else.” We click into this stage around two or three years old. In this stage, we become very aware of the phenomena and people out there at the other end of our senses. We learn that the way to survive and thrive in this world of appearance is through the effective control and manipulation of the “me-in-here” and the “everything else-out-there.” For instance, we may be taught that life is easier if we have a pleasing personality so we learn to smile a lot and say please and thank you. We notice this usually has a positive effect on “them-out-there.”

We are taught that life works better if we do things like get good grades, empty the garbage, work hard, remember appointments, follow through, make money, and have all of the right thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are considered “good,” “healthy,” and “successful” by our society. We learn to “fit in” with the rest of herd and follow the consensus map of reality without ever really questioning it. Questioning the accepted maps of reality tends to confuse and upset the herd as they believe their maps are reality.

In a nutshell, we learn to manipulate “in here” and “out there” to conform with what we have been conditioned to “believe” is best. We discover there are lots of things “in here” and “out there” to manipulate, control, and keep track of. And they all seem to keep changing all of the time, no matter what we do! This is due to the relative and transitory nature of phenomenal reality. It is hard to keep all of our ducks lined up in a row. Reality just continues to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, whether we think it should or not!

It is important to realize that almost everything that falls in the categories of religion, spirituality, psychology, metaphysics, and philosophy is in this stage of separation. When you enter a religious/spiritual/psychological belief system, you are being taught to translate and manipulate your experience, inwardly and outwardly, according to the system’s map. All maps are an overlay on reality. As Alfred Korzybski pointed out, “The map is not the territory.”

THE ABSOLUTE

If one pursues a spiritual/religious path and learns to translate and manipulate the mystical process well enough, or sometimes quite by accident or grace, one may fall into the Absolute. In the unqualified Absolute all separation, and thus all phenomenal existence, disappears. There is only the unborn — vast, timeless, deathless, and free. If there were still a separate someone able to talk or think about it, they would say in amazement, as great realizers have, “From the first, not a thing is!” or, “Nothing has ever happened!” or, “There is only vast emptiness, no holiness about it!” But since there is no “one” and no “thing,” nothing is said or expounded. There is only vast emptiness, still and silent. And herein lies the peace of God! No spiritual teachers or preachers saying anything! Thank you, Jesus!

Once the initial terror of self dissolving into Nothingness wears off, this stage is quite addicting. It is a great hiding place. The bliss and peace of absolute samadhi seems infinite. It is like deep sleep wide awake. The relative world is an old dream that never happened. In some systems, this stage may be mistaken for enlightenment, but it is really just a half-baked state. The trouble with the Absolute is it is relative experience. But it sure can knock your socks off!

THE RELATIVE IN THE ABSOLUTE

Sooner or later, if the human instrument continues to live, there is a coming out of the Absolute as this merging is actually just a relative experience. The upside of this experience is that free awareness may now be recognized as always already being present. This is good! The downside is that the “enlightenment” experience can easily be hijacked by the conceptual mind, and an “enlightened ego” is born. Not so good. This is where spiritual aspirants often become spiritual teachers, leap on their high horses and ride off in all directions proclaiming, “There is no one! Just One! And I am That!” And this is true. Sort of. Side ways. But not if you think about it or believe it.

Inspired to share their “enlightenment” with others, “No One” now changes their name from “Suzy” to “Ma Avidayananda,” starts having satsang, sits up front in the guru seat, and always has a dedicated student scurry off to pick up the big fat “donations” check at the end of their “I Am, There Is No Me” retreat.

The trouble with the bliss of samadhi is that eventually you have to go to the bathroom, eat breakfast, change the baby, or yell at the neighbors to shut up their stupid barking dog! That darn Relative has such poor boundaries! It just keeps intruding on the bliss of our enlightened state. If the whole universe would just realize how enlightened we are, it might start behaving appropriately. This can be a difficult time as something truly profound has obviously happened to us, but the universe doesn’t seem to care or notice. Enlightened egos just hate this! They can’t get any respect.

What often does begin to happen in this stage is that awareness becomes increasingly aware of itself as the ground of being and becomes less involved in seeking any identity in phenomenal reality. The drive to control and manipulate both ourselves and others begins to shift and fall away. It becomes more and more apparent, even to an ego, that “I” am not the doer, “I” am being “done.” Things happen, including “me.”

THE ABSOLUTE IN THE RELATIVE

Do shadows exist? Of course they do. I can see one very clearly right at this moment. There it is! Shadows appear in all different shapes, sizes, and shades. Without a doubt, shadows do exists!

And so do you!

But shadows do not exist by themselves. There are no independent shadows. They are totally dependent on something else for their existence. A shadow is a shadow of something else. Without that something else, shadows don’t exist. A shadow has no separate and independent existence. And neither do you. A shadow is totally dependent on something else for its existence. And so are you.

You, as a separate and independent entity, do not exist.

You! You are being used! You are being used by the infinite creative intelligence of the universe as the interdependent go-between of the Relative and Absolute! You are the timeless, nondimensional point where the Absolute expresses the Relative and the Relative returns to the Absolute. Behind you, vast emptiness. In front of you, the ten thousand things. No boundary, except you. Without you, nothing exists!

No wonder you are so confused and dysfunctional! Just like Alice, in ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND:
“WHO ARE YOU?” said the caterpillar. (This is the ultimate spiritual question!)

… Alice replied, rather shyly, “ I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present — at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.”

“What do you mean by that?” said the caterpillar, sternly. “Explain yourself!”

“I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,” said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.”

Yes, Alice, we do see.

An apparent “someone” in the apparent “Absolute in the Relative” knows exactly how Alice feels! “I can’t explain myself because I’m not myself” is the truth. It is in this stage that friends and family may become very concerned about you. Things that may have been of profound interest to you throughout your life may lose all significance. You are no longer trying to find yourself or any meaning and significance in the transitory dance of the phenomenal world. You may suddenly leave a long relationship that has never really worked. You may drop out of a successful career. A doctor may suddenly become a gardener. A lawyer may open a bed and breakfast. If you have been a spiritual or religious person all your life, seeking suddenly stops. You stop going to church, reading books, running off to retreats, or attending the guru of the month club.

You are losing your human form as consensus reality no longer defines you. You are no longer identified with beliefs or maps. Conceptual reality is clearly seen for what it is — a bunch of concepts with no basis in reality. Thought seems to happen less and less as there is no longer a separate “me” story to prop up with obsessive thinking. There is just present awareness, this as it is. Life lives you as it always has.

This is where “compassionate folly” may begin to happen. Be very clear that the “compassionate folly” is not something someone does or practices as an elite “enlightened one.” It is not a position one takes in life. It is something that spontaneously arises when all of one’s interest in what human beings do or believe to avoid the void falls away. There is then no longer any identification with most of the “doings” or “beliefs” of humans beings, as they are seen to be based on a false assumption. Yet at the same time, the love and compassion for humans seems to increase as there is no longer any sense of fear or separation. This means joyful participation with other humans may continue (although not always) without there being any identification or involvement in whatever they are doing or believing to avoid the void. So you may go out to play golf with your friends even though you couldn’t care less if you ever saw another golf club in your life. You may enjoy the game more than ever, but it is not because of golf, it is because you are “being” with your friends. The context of doing is being.

Friends and family may start to say things like, “Something has happened to you. You’ve changed. You are just not yourself anymore.”

No kidding.

They’re right.

You’re not yourself anymore.

HOTEI HAS RETURNED TO THE MARKETPLACE

There is the simplicity of being- this as it is.

The knot of resistance dissolves.

A deep surrender or relaxing into life happens.

A deep acceptance of and openness to all people and situations occurs.

If fear arises, fear arises. If laughter happens, laughter happens. Get up, go to work. Eat lunch. Enjoy the weather.

Everything happens by itself.

The play of compassionate folly arises spontaneously.

Relative and Absolute — what? Where?

Wisdom, compassion, and skillful action arise spontaneously from the ground of being.

There is only this now.

The search has ended.

The seeker is gone.

Hotei has returned to the marketplace, laughing himself silly, pointing to the hazy moon of enlightenment.

What else could he possibly do?

Where else could he possibly be?

Originally written and published by Tom Thompson, http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com

Reader Question:

Hey Ariel, how’s everything?

For a long time I pondered the meaning of the phrase “Jesus died for our sins”. In the past you made some very good interpretations of bible quotes, but if I remember correctly, you never talked about the christian concept of Jesus dying for our sins.

Do you have any explanation of this phrase?

Thanks a lot, and have a nice weekend,

F.

My Response:

Good question. You’re right that it’s not something I’ve ever talked about here.

So what’s the story taught in Christianity? Someone please correct me if I’m wrong because I really haven’t studied the Bible much, but from what I understand it seems that the idea was that basically the God of the Bible wanted to wipe out all of humanity as a result of them being such sinners. I’m not sure who thought up this plan, but Jesus came down to take the karmic burden upon himself. Instead of humans rising up beyond their egos to get into heaven (become enlightened/reach nirvana), humans now only have to believe in Jesus as being their lord and savior and they’re magically free of all that they have created, karmically speaking… It’s a much easier task, but people should still strive to be good people and live like Jesus did. They’ll never be able to fully do it though. After all, Jesus is more holy than they are. Jesus is perfect. Humans are mere mortals. They are “just human.” The Divine and the human are separate in this respect. We can only be one and not the other. (Oooh, separation.) Jesus must have been Divine. Afterall, he wasn’t born like a regular human. His mom was a virgin. The Divine doesn’t typically take the form of a human.

I dunno about you, but a bunch of pieces to this story feel way off. Let’s explore…

Karmic Debt

With respect to Jesus dying for our sins, maybe there was some agreement made for Jesus to take upon himself the karmic burden of humanity for a while, either temporarily or permanently, as a way to make it easier for people to go through their spiritual process. I honestly don’t know what agreements were made on that level. Either way, people are eventually going to have to take responsibility for the energy they created and rise above it. Since there is ultimately only One of us here, whatever YOU create and cause another to experience, YOU will experience yourself, even if it happens after the death of this particular incarnation.

There’s a wonderful metaphor about karmic debt I once heard. How does repaying financial debt work? Let’s say you borrow $100. Well then someday you’ll have to repay that $100. (Let’s assume there’s no interest.) If you have only $100, then paying back that $100 now is going to significantly affect your net worth. Now let’s say that the debtor allows you to repay that $100 5 years from now. In the meantime you take that $100, invest it, and turn it into $1,000,000. 5 years later when it’s time to repay that loan, paying back the $100 will be a snap. No problem at all. Your bank account will hardly notice the difference.

So perhaps Jesus dying for our sins was a way for us to delay the karmic effects of our actions so that we have a chance to raise our level of consciousness to a point where the results of our actions don’t impact us as deeply as they once would have, allowing us to consciously grow without getting overwhelmed with too much too soon.

To give a silly and overly-simplistic example, let’s say you insult someone by calling them a dummy. Such an action arises out of a particular level of consciousness that has a judgment around the word dummy. If someone was to call you a dummy back, you’d probably get really pissed off about it and fume about it for who knows how long. If, on the other hand, the return of your action is delayed so that you have the chance to heal your energies surrounding the word dummy, then when you get insulted back, it won’t be an issue for you any longer and you’ll just shrug it off. You will have demonstrated to yourself that you have grown. If Jesus really helped us out in this way, what a tremendous gift this was, and if so, thank you man!

Things may have been set up that way, but if so it would only be a temporary thing. What you put out is what you get back. Everything is here and now. There is nowhere else for what you create to go! There is no escaping your karma. There is only the rising above it (or not).

Getting In To Heaven

The idea is that Jesus died for our sins to help us get into heaven. Well what is heaven anyways? I basically define it as living in unity with God, in a state of oneness. It is living in a state of wholeness, living in a state of non-separation with the Divine. Heaven is not so much a literal location but more a level of consciousness. People talk about going “up to heaven” as if heaven was literally “up” in the clouds somewhere. The word “up” is a pointer more towards vibrational frequency and level of consciousness. You raise your vibration and raise your level of consciousness. It’s an internal transformation, not a trip that’s literally taken through space, as if we literally travel from earth to heaven. From this perspective, the concept of “bringing heaven down to earth” makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?

To do this we have to die to our limited moral identities (egoic separate self) and wake up to our true selves (which is already one), but the thing is that our physical bodies don’t have to actually die to go through this process! In the east this process is referred to as enlightenment. In Christianity it is taught that you can only get to heaven after you die, and while this is true, this mistakenly assumes that the “you” that dies must be the physical incarnate you. This is a mistake in understanding.

“The Kingdom of God is at hand.” You don’t have to physically die to wake up. Who you think you are does, yes, but who you really are wakes up from who you think you are. Every person who has ever become enlightened has demonstrated this. Jesus was simply one man of many to live this and teach this.

This moment already is the promised land. We only see it otherwise when we believe in thought as if it was literally “the truth” (the finger pointing to the moon is not the moon), when we fill our consciousness with the energy of fear and separation and thus misperceive reality.

No One Can Do It For You

One thing I’ve learned about spiritual teachers is that they can’t do it for you. You have to do the work, whatever that entails. You have to raise your consciousness. You need to stop resisting what is. You need to start loving what is. You have to wake up. Ultimately the point is about who YOU really are, not about the guru who gets you there. Respect and appreciation for the teacher, but it’s about realizing YOURSELF to be the One and the All. YOU are the greatest gift you could give yourself.

To say that someone else can do it for you is fantasy. It’s delusional. Can an enlightened teacher help you out? YES. Can meditating on their energy or being in their presence or following their advice benefit you? Certainly. Can they do the work of surrendering your ego for you or receiving the grace of God? NOPE.

To suggest otherwise is a copout, IMHO. That’s choosing to not take responsibility for your own life which is incredibly disempowering. There is tremendous value and wisdom in surrendering to a higher power, yes, but this is not that.

The ego would love if it you could just accept someone as your lord and savior and have that be enough. Man that’d make enlightenment, awakening to infinite love, getting into heaven, and all the other spiritual prizes so easy, wouldn’t it? Sure, just adopt this belief system, do these particular actions, pay enough money, apply this strategy, or whatever else and you’ll get what you want, but in my experience, it just doesn’t work that way. It just really doesn’t.

It’s basically about surrendering the ego, not accomplishing something with it. You can’t force yourself there.

So is the story about Jesus dying for our sins true? Perhaps there’s something to it. I don’t know. Someone build a time machine and let’s go back in time and ask him. Either way, whatever happened, what’s done is done. It’s history. Here we are in this day and age. Now what?

If we assume there is something to the story, does that absolve us of karmic responsibility to rise above the egoic level of consciousness and give us a sort of get out of jail free card with respect to retuning back home to a state of oneness and getting into heaven?

Nope. Not so much.

Surrender and Letting Go

Edit: This last part here has been added after the original posting of this post. It is a story about Ramana pulling a Jesus and having someone who came to him feeling really guilty about being a sinner give all his sins to Ramana. It’s a cool story on surrender and letting go. Click here to read. Reading this, it shines a whole new light on being released from sin.

Beautiful Day © Marc Adamus

There are so many paths back home.. which is a funny idea given that you’re already home. There’s just a lot of mental activity that can cover up the truth, just a web of imagination that’s telling you something other than what’s real.

“When we wake up out of the dream of ego, the only thing that gets resolved is an idea that thinks something needs resolving.”

-Matt Kahn

Have you ever made up a story in your mind that you believed to be true… and later you found out it had NOTHING to do with reality? That’s what being asleep, in a spiritual sense, is like. You totally believe a thought to be true, only to later (maybe) find out that it was totally false. Yet the interesting is that, despite the fact that it had no basis in reality, you can experience it to be just as real as if it actually was true, so real in fact that it basically makes no difference whether or not what you’re experiencing is the reality or an illusion. Either way, the experience is effectively just as real and so it makes no difference. That’s how powerful the illusion is. It’s the next best thing to the real thing, and experientially it can be just as effective.

All these paths to awakening involve stepping beyond the mental stories of the mind one way or another and back into pure beingness, here and now.

The path taken by this so-called individual (this Ariel character) involves resting as pure awareness, allowing the mind to relax, the Self to return back into conscious awareness, and awakening to progressively deepen on its own accord the more the mind relaxes its insistence upon the existence of a separate self, both mentally and emotionally. (I think. I feel. etc.)

Every time awareness starts getting caught in the web of the mind (being stuck in the mind), awareness simply takes a backwards step and notices that it is aware of the mind, and aware of awareness itself. Instant exit. It because an almost automatic thing now, and even this movement is seen to be yet something else that arises within awareness.

Many Paths…

There are so many paths to awakening… resting as awareness (Adyashanti), being still, chanting mantras, selfless service (Karma Yoga), self-inquiry (Ramana), focusing the mind upon the “I Am” (Nisargadatta), surrendering to a guru, surrendering one’s will at length to God (David Hawkins), the Eightfold Path (Buddhism), just stopping (Gangaji), being Present (Eckhart Tolle), and so on. Each path gives you different sights and sounds along the way, sure. Each path gives you different experiences along the way, of course. Each path may take a different amount of time, no doubt about it.

People have woken up following all of these paths. People have woken up following no specific path at all.

What may be appropriate for one person and their energy may be inappropriate for another. And that’s totally fine. It’s not about finding “the one true path,” for such a thing does not exist. It’s a matter of finding the path that resonates with your being, and aligning yourself with that.

Even within a single religion there may be many different focuses depending upon which church you go to: forgiveness, appreciation, prayer, service, grace, surrender, meditation… each of these focuses are appropriate for some people more than others. It’s truly a matter of finding the path that is appropriate for each individual.

One Mountain…

Many paths, one mountain.

Some paths may be shorter than another. Some paths may climb a steeper and more intense face of the mountain. Yes. There are differences. Some may loop around the base of the mountain seemingly forever before turning upwards… or they may head in another direction entirely, away from the mountain.  Of course. But again, it’s simply a matter of finding the path that is most appropriate for each individual. The wonderful thing is that so long as we keep our sights aimed upon God (or Truth, Love, Light, or whatever pointer you wish to use), God is so big that you can’t miss!

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me..”

-Jesus, John 14:6

Statements like the above can be confusing. This statement points not to one path, but to the one mountain, and ultimately we all ARE this same one mountain, of which Jesus was but one conscious manifestation of. It’s about recognizing your true nature AS the Way (Tao), the Truth, the Life itself, and no one can own that or the path to that for everyone already IS that. As discussed previously, enlightenment is about awakening to your true nature beyond any limited mortal sense of identity. This non-dual identity-less identity can be called Brahman, the Self, Christ Consciousness, Being, and so on. Different traditions use different words to attempt to point to the same one unnameable Presence.

Yet ultimately, the I Am that I Am, is the same I Am that You Are, which is the same I Am that Everything Is. There is only one “I Am,” and you are it. Everyone who truly awakens comes to this same realization. There is only one of us arising as everyone and everything. There is only One. I Am That and so are You.

I am the wisdom of your own heart. I am all that you could ever want, every single thing your heart desires. I am that. Nothing else could truly fulfill you. I am Infinite Love. Open your heart and you will find me there. My home is your heart.

As these words flowed through, it struck me how similar this message is with that of Jesus Christ. It was also recognized how easily these words can be misinterpreted and misunderstood, so let’s provide a bit of clarification for what both of us were talking about.

I am the Infinite, consciously aware of myself, expressing that which I am through this vehicle we call Ariel. I can express myself in a myriad of ways: through music, a street sign, a chance utterance by a stranger passing you by… all these are tools available to me. The clearest and most direct way I have of speaking to you is through the direct channel of your own heart. Your heart is smart. Your heart is wise. Your heart is all-knowing. You may trust it.

I am All That Is. I am all the Love in existence, and even more, for I am constantly expanding. I am everything you could ever dream of, and even those things of which you have yet to dream.

I am you. There is only one of us. Look within. The gateway to all that you seek is within you.

Appreciate yourself. Love yourself. For you are the Infinite. You are the living Divine.

Everything is this living Divine.

It can awaken in any person, including you. There is no question.

If you really want the Truth, look within. Even if it seems others have found it, what you perceive them to be is literally nothing more than a figment of your imagination. You alone are real. Be yourself.

When I say to open your heart and let me in, I mean this Infinite Love that I Am and I share, not just this Ariel dude as opposed to someone else. This Ariel dude is just a vehicle, a meat suit, that is at one with oneness, being used like a telephone to deliver a message, but do not confuse the messenger with the message. Think of Ariel more as a channel than literally someone who can make you happy. He is reflecting back to you what your heart already knows. That is all.

The “I” that I refer to here is way beyond just Ariel, yet is inclusive of that. It is beyond the “you” character that seems to be arising here, yet it is inclusive of that. It is the infinite Love that is always available within, right here right now deep in your own heart.

Look within.

I love you.

The other day I interviewed Clara Llum about her spiritual journey and realizations, and today we will be sharing the next part of the discussion where she interviews me.

The topics discussed include, but are not limited to:

• Ariel’s Initial Entrance into spirituality
• Ariel’s First Teachers
• The Effectiveness of Religion upon Awakening
• The Awakening of Mass Consciousness
• The Necessity of Teachers to Confirm your Enlightenment
• The Interplay of the Physical and the Spiritual: Awakening, Sports, and Sex

From this point on, Clara’s questions and comments will be in normal font while mine will be italicized.

hello

hi Ariel!!

It’s a joy to have this second conversation, this time around and about YOU :-)

absolutely!

OK, do you have any predilection for the questions, or I just “shoot”?

anything goes, so let’s go for it and see what unfolds

OK, I read your website “about” section… and there you already answer some possible questions. But anyway, your readers may enjoy to explore a bit more about Ariel “the person” and his thoughts. I know this is very conventional question, but there it goes… Let’s talk about your background.

Ariel Begins His Spiritual Journey

Describe if you will the course of your spiritual research and the present stage that your are going through.

Sure. My parents at first wanted to raise us Jewish and so we went to Sunday school for a few years at most when we were young, but quickly left that. Just wasn’t for me. Tried doing the church thing, but that didn’t work for us either.

So you were once Jewish and also later Christian?

Oh, synagogue rather. Never Christian.

After seeing my mom meditating now and then, I was asking her what she was doing, which naturally got us into a discussion about God, spirituality, and so on. I was very curious, and also pretty adamant about “How do you know FOR SURE that God exists and that what you’ve been told is true” and so on.

You mentioned you moved away from being Jewish, with someone else… Who is “us”?

my brother and I

I see. He’s younger?

yeah, about 2 years younger or so

Did your parents remain Jewish?

Not really. My dad was never into religion at all. In fact, he’s been having the same dream his whole life about being stuck in some sort of prison with really high brick walls where he was tortured for his religious beliefs. He was born shortly after WW2 and has had lung problems his whole life… so it almost seems like memories and effects from his past life. In any event, he’s not too keen on being religious this time around.

My mom’s father’s wanted us to be raised Jewish and so she made a little more of a go at it, but when she saw it wasn’t for us, she let that slowly fade away.

And your mother, she meditated… how?

She meditated basically by just sitting still and being quiet from what I understand.

Very nice of her.

Yeah, so I’ve been quite fortunate in that my both parents have been very open and supportive in allowing me to do my own searching without having lots of doctrine imposed upon me.

Is your mother’s meditation practice related to your development and path?

In a sense. Her practices ignited our conversations which lead to me starting to read books by various spiritual authors on religion-less spirituality.

This takes us to the following series of questions… The Teachings.

Spiritual Teachings and Religion

What authors opened your understanding, impacted you at first?

Some of the first authors would include people like Stuart Wilde, who explored Taoism and ego transcendence, and Neale Donald Walsch, whose conversations opened up a whole world of God beyond religion.

I have one question in regards of that…

What’s your take on institutional religions? How they are connected with the need for answers and to a spiritual journey that is so in demand these days?

They can be a great start, so long as it is recognized that they themselves are not the answer, nor what is actually important, but merely to be used as pointers to point beyond themselves.

When old and dead doctrine supersedes living truth, the greater gift is missed.

Do you discard that people can get enlightened or something alike by following traditional religious paths? Is that occlusion a defect of the religion or of the priests?

There are a whole variety of reasons of why religion has lost its purity and deeper meaning. Even putting aside any deliberate changes that were made for one reason or another, no matter how hard we try or how good a job we do, it’s simply not possible to put into words that which is beyond words, to describe the indescribable. And so there is an inherent loss of fullness when we try to box the infinite into a finite set of words and writings.

I understand that idea, but this would apply to all of us teaching using words…

It most certainly would.

I wonder if religions are still alive somehow. If they still carry enlightening power…

Religion may certainly lead to awakening, as may eating a bowl of soup, and if that path resonates with someone, by all means explore it. Yet it can be helpful to recognize that there are many misunderstandings and deviations from the original Truth (some religions more than others…) and so it would be wise to understand that one must eventually let go of ALL understandings in order to find Truth.

I agree with that. Some religions seem more alive and functioning than other ones. It’s like they keep old codes of symbols that few people know how to use or to interpret anymore… would you agree?

Absolutely.

Too much emphasis on the rites, words, but little understanding maybe. Have you explored from inside some other religions? Hindu? Buddhist?

Only superficially. I really enjoy connecting to my own inner guru, and from this place of connection, looking back and seeing the beautiful truths within many religions, and the way that the teachings have been misunderstood and misinterpreted over time.

I understand what you’re saying very well. When some degree of awakening happens, then the many scriptures appear more clear in meaning…

It’s really amazing to see this happen.

But before of that, the language seems cryptic, very obscure.

lol yes, Zen koans especially

And I think that is one big problem for religions: they don’t communicate to the common person because of that archaic language.

There seems to be some sort of belief that God is old school and would only appear using words like “Thou and thine.” God can’t be alive here and now, speaking like modern normal people. Somehow “Thou shalt not kill” is more God-like than “Don’t whack people upside the head.”

Yes, it’s a relief, and a revolution: mysticism is becoming mainstream.

About this, I have some questions…

Modern Spirituality and Awakenings

What do you think of the last decade’s explosion of nondual teachings being offered and the profusion of teachers?

Quite beautiful to see changes coming about, and a sort of integration and blending happening between the east and the west. Recognizing that it’s all one, why not?

You have a point. We are the latest generation of now 200 years of the West studying the East, starting with Emerson and others.

The blend has been happening for a long time now, but do you think people are really becoming awakened in mass?

I see the same blending happening in so many ways. Science and religion, the mind and the heart, the east and the west, black people and white people, etc.

EVERYWHERE I LOOK people are awakening!

Yes, I agree, it’s a time of many convergences.

There’s so many people that are having some sort of glimpse of something more than the limited self. They may or may not necessarily know what it is, but there’s a recognition of something deeper. It’s like this inner being bubbling back up and ready to resurface into consciousness.

Maybe it’s true this is the Age of Aquarius! :-) It may be so!

That nonduality, “God is all”, is becoming a mainstream concept, is something amazing.

It really is.

I also have faith that this is “something,” that we are seeing changes that will improve our life together.

Even things like the proliferation of self-improvement books and the prominence of the Law of Attraction are offering something more. They’re a step in a positive direction. Even if people don’t agree with some of this stuff, the fact that it’s even arising within their consciousness is already quite cool.

Yes, I agree, even if there’s many cheaters doing business.

Certainly, but that seems to happen in almost every arena.

In regards to nondual teachings… There’s been a criticism also from teachers of Vedanta trained under traditional gurus in India about the little efficacy of what they call neo-Advaita. What’s your position?

Live YOUR Truth and don’t cling too tightly to what others have taught. If what others have taught is indeed the Truth, your own discoveries will point you right back to what the more traditional teachers have taught. Nothing in this world is static. Demanding that anything in Maya remain constant is a problem waiting to happen.

Yes, what I bring is their concern about the lack of efficacy of the so called neo-Advaita movement.

How so?

Because they suggest some methodology and many neo-nondualist teachers refuse any method.

Ah, so there’s a problem with other people not doing it right?

Yes, they argue that neo-advaitins contribute with much confusion… I mention this because I have a friend who is very prominent in that debate. Anyways, we can say what we said before: what works for someone, works for them. Even the confusing teachers point to clarity.

Certainly.

And this without even mentioning the Buddhist skepticism… meaning the lack of support from most Buddhist schools toward this movement. Are you aware of this controversy?

Nope.

You do very well! Let’s talk of something related to tradition…

Sure.

You Wanna Teach? Who Says You’re Enlightened?

Lineages. What’s the role of “confirmation” of enlightenment? Have you received such kind of sanction from another teacher? Is that important? How?

I’ve been wondering about that lately.

I just mention this because it is something that some neo-advaitist teachers seem to have adopted. Well, most of them claim some kind of lineage. It’s like a love/hate relationship with tradition.

love/hate?

Meaning: “I want to play outside of traditions, but I claim my authority from it”.

oh interesting…

It’s very common.

kinda sounds like a child’s pseudo-dependency upon a parent

Even some big names are affected with this. What’s your take on the whole thing? -i.e. confirmation?

It can be very helpful to have a teacher available to point you beyond where you are now, but what is confirmation necessary for?

People use confirmation to start teaching others. To justify it.

Truth stands on its own. It needs no justification beyond itself.

I agree. That’s a courageous stand.

So long as the teacher is within their integrity, open and honest about who they are and where they are along their spiritual journey, it’s okay if you’re enlightened or not. It can be dangerous to teach something that you haven’t yet fully realized, and so it’s important to not try to pretend to be something you’re not.

I totally agree. So called non-enlightened people can teach very well too. It happens all the time.

Yet one of the great things about teaching is that if you’re full of shit, people will call you out on it and it will become clear. You can fake it to others for a little while, but you can’t fake Truth to itself.

Buddha said teaching is the greatest form of giving.

It really is a blessing to be able to teach.

Sometimes people abuse large groups for years.

They do. Things happen. Is it really up to us to make sure other people do something or not do something based on whatever rules we make up though?

I agree, people are just following their path with the lights they have, and it’s just fine.

You are very much on top of your blog, website, and forum, providing a lot of content for your online visitors. How do you feel about that?

It’s simply a way for me to express the inner whatever-this-is that I am. It’s like my way to paint or sculpt. It’s my creative outlet. And what I find is that when you’re true to yourself, you automatically offer the greatest good to others as well. How wonderful!

So my own selfishness in wanting to be me turns out to being the most Selfish thing (with a capital S) I could possibly do.

I see you connect very well with many people, and I congratulate you on that. You are doing very good. I see your honesty and care.

Thank you.

Ariel’s Heroes and Helpers

Who would you like to meet if you could? – alive or gone.

hm… Whoever/whatever has a complete and total perspective of All That Is. That’d be pretty awesome. Probably not a human being, but still.

Names?

If I were to pick a person though, maybe Jesus and Buddha. Not so much to ask them questions, but to just feel the energy, presence, love, and light. I have connected to them in meditation, and their energy can be overwhelming, so it’s nice to gradually go beyond where I am now little by little.

That would be great. Do you have favorite authors or books that you go back to for inspiration? In the present stage, I mean.

I do.

Who?

Probably Neale Donald Walsch or Marie Levit.

Interesting.

Their conversations take spirituality and make it very practical and directly applicable to real-life. Same with David Deida.

Physical Spirituality

What’s been the role of the body on your peak aha insights?

A place to ground and experience that which I know within. It seems like insights take on a whole new level of depth and understanding when they are applied rather than just realized. There is value in manifesting the truths you have come to know.

I see. That’s from the mind to the body direction. How about the opposite direction? Does your body enlighten you once in a while?

It helps show me where I have yet to open fully to Love. The body reflects my emotions which reflect my thoughts which reflect my beliefs which reflect many of my subconscious resistances to Love. It’s like a feedback mechanism allowing me to deepen my own exploration into myself.

You are big into sports. Has this provided you peak moments of bliss or ecstasy?

It allows me to experience Life’s expansive aliveness in a very new way, to unite the internal aspect of the spiritual game with the external aspect of actually living your life. It allows Creation to flow and manifest in a variety of new ways.

My last question, or so….related to the previous. Have you found that sex is a gate to experience oneness?

The energetic aspects of it more so than the physical. The limited physical act itself I have little interest in at this point, especially when it is primarily based in lust and disconnected from the heart. What I enjoy about it is how sex can be integrated with the deeper aspects of ourselves and used as a vehicle to experience oneness in yet another powerful way. Combined with the deeper energies, the physical becomes Divine.

I agree, the heart is of primordial importance. When energy, love, and awareness unite, great insights and bliss manifest.

Yes indeed!

And they are just the envelope that contains the message: we are all and beyond.

Closing Thank You’s, Appreciation’slposion

It’s lovely to talk with you, and also I recommend everyone to follow your blog posts, forum inputs, and tweets @arielbravy.

Thank you very much Clara. I really enjoyed where you took this conversation, and I would recommend people to check out your website and tweets at @lux1008.

(Everyone is also welcome to subscribe to updates to this blog via RSS or have these posts automatically delivered directly to your inbox via email!)

You are a refreshing hub to all things nondual.

Gracias, gratzie, merci, danke, cpacibo, and thank you.

People can feel your love and enthusiasm.

Also your innocence and playfulness, and this is very inviting.

You do a great job.

Just bein’ myself! God is my homeboy. He makes me look good.

A pleasure to meet you.

and you as well!

Greetings to the common friend through whom we connected, another nondual teacher and artist, Ashley Ruiz, Ash.

Ash! What an amazing beacon of love and light in living expression!

I hope to keep meeting you around. LOVE!!

Love and synchronicity make the world go around. I hope so too!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwyeqVEe0vg

Heaven is not just some place that we go after we die, somehow separate from earth. Heaven is simply a particular level of consciousness. We can bring Heaven down to earth by raising our level of consciousness to the point where we realize that Heaven is already here in this moment.

“The Kingdom of God is at hand!”

Change Thine Frequency

The reason Heaven wasn’t being perceived or experienced before was that we were vibrating at a lower frequency. In the same way that we can change what channel a TV is set to by changing the frequency it’s tuned to, we can change what frequency we’re attuned to and shift to a different level of reality as well.

“My Father’s house has many mansions.”

When you die and you go “up to heaven,” it’s not that you literally go up vertically into space. (Afterall, everything is Here and Now.) You do go up, but you go up in your frequency, in your vibration, in your level of consciousness as you drop all that heavy earthly ego baggage.

You can do this very same thing while still alive here on earth. You just get enlightened. It’s just a matter of letting go of all the lower vibing stuff so that you naturally and automatically rise up higher and higher.

This is something you do within yourself. You raise your own personal level of consciousness. The external world is basically just a reflection of your own internal state of being. Thus you must go within to do the work in order to see it reflected back to you in the world.

“The Kingdom of God is within you.”

Walk the Walk

It’s not about changing the world itself directly, but changing yourself. Yet by changing yourself, you change the world. You bring Heaven down through you.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

No one else can do this for you. It’s like when you are miserable even though everyone around you is happy: You’re still gonna experience miserableness. If everyone around you is manifesting heaven on earth, if you’re creating hell for yourself, you will only experience hell. Thus if you want to experience Heaven, YOU must manifest it for yourself.

For some examples of people actively bringing heaven down to earth, check out this forum post by CaterpillarWoman as well as this forum post by Katrina as they share their own personal experiences.

You could even say we’re creating Heaven in the forums, a vibrational heaven which we can model and take back out into the “real world.”

The idea of being a “good person” is just another false sense of self that we can buy into. Being a good person is not the point of spirituality, interestingly enough. It is not the goal. It’s not about being some superloving and compassionate saint. It’s about realizing who you really are. With this realization, you may find that you naturally become very loving and compassionate, just like the many others who have done so before throughout history, but that’s secondary. It’s not the primary focus. It’s a superficial change that tends to occur in the presence of the deeper inner realization.

One identity that I’ve been playing for a long time is being “a good person.” I was a good student in school, avoided getting in trouble, was a law-abiding citizen in life, and so on. There’s nothing wrong with any of this at all. It’s simply that none of these define who you are.

self-definition

If you stopped being “a good person,” would you cease to exist?

Well no, of course not. Then it’s not who you really are.

You are not a good person.

But what does the mind do when it hears the phrase, “You are not a good person?”

That’s right. It goes straight to its opposite. “If I’m not a good person, then that means I must be a bad person.”

But is that true? If you stopped playing the part of “bad person,” would you cease to exist?

Again, no. You are neither a good person nor a bad person. You are not definable along any part of the made-up spectrum between good and bad. In fact, you are not definable at all. You exist beyond duality.

Integrating the Dark and the Light

Inside you you have the potential to be a very dark person. A killer and a rapist.

Inside you you have the potential to be a very light person. A healer and a lover.

You have the potential to draw forth from any energy and play any part. You are ALL that is.

Getting stuck in being “a good person” is only half of the story. You are the good AND the bad. You are the light AND the dark. And yet you are neither for you are beyond both entirely.

With this comes the acceptance of the dark portions of yourself and the willingness to face everything and be anything if necessary, for it is all you. With this realization that the darkness is just as much a part of you as the light, any remaining unresolved darkness within may come rising to the surface to be released now that you have stopped repressing it. As it comes up, it’s almost saying, “Are you really willing to face me?”

You may experience fear, powerful emotion, tears, and even the feeling of dying, yet none of these experiences are you. You are the awareness which is witnessing these experiences.

As the darkness arises, it is accepted and loved as it is without being judged or asked to change and thus you are healed as you transmute the darkness directly into light with the Love of the Self. You become lighter. More enlightened. Filled with light.

This is about accepting yourself FULLY as you are, warts and all. It’s about being willing to look directly at all aspects of yourself without running away, no matter what. It’s the willingness to bare your soul and be who you truly are.

Accepting Others Unconditionally

The world we experience basically functions as a mirror to reflect back to us our own internal state of being. One interesting thing about accepting the darkness within yourself is that you find you automatically begin accepting the darkness within all others.

You’ll begin to drop the need for others to change in order for you to accept them. Thus your love flows ever more freely and unconditionally. You no longer hold back your Love for any reason. Your Love becomes truly unconditional.

Is Who You Are Actually Okay?

We have this deep dark fear that if we are who we really are, we won’t be acceptable.

Religions teach us that we are sinners by nature. Original sin, as it’s called. We need to do the right things and be the right person in order to (hopefully) get into heaven.

Advertisers tell us we aren’t good enough by default and need their products to make us better.

As little kids, we play naturally and those around us tell us “no” or “yes, good boy, good girl” as a way to get us to conform to their standards rather than be ourselves. We learn that we’re not acceptable as we are and need to change who we are to fit in and be loved, to be safe and secure and protected.

There’s this movement in our society today for self-improvement, often based upon the idea that we’re not good enough just the way we are and we need to become something or do something or achieve something to become valuable and worthy.

There’s this deep deep drive in our society to be a “better” person, whatever that means to us.

Fear of Surrender to our True Nature

There’s this fear that if we let go totally and just be ourselves, whoever we find ourselves to be, maybe we won’t be good enough. Maybe we’ll act out all those crazy thoughts that our mind thinks if we totally let go of control of resisting.

There’s the fear that our true nature is somehow evil and through surrender we will fall into the darkness, never to return.

Are you willing to find out? In the name of Truth and no longer living a lie, are you willing to be who you really are, at all costs?

Are you willing to face your own death? I’m not saying you need to want to die, but are you willing to face it? Are you willing to face the destruction of all sense of self? Are you willing to lose everything you’re now holding on to and think is real?

Are you willing to let go of being seen as a good person, as opposed to something else?

Are you willing to let go of ALL sense of identity and all beloved sense of self and dive straight into the unknown?

Are you willing to sit here, not knowing, not trying to figure out, not trying to fix it, and not trying to get anywhere to escape who you are?

Are you willing to just be?

We’ve all heard the famous statement in the Bible saying, “Judge not, lest ye not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

Great, but what does that really mean, especially to those of us who don’t speak Shakespearean? I recently listened to Bashar explain this statement and it was truly an eye-opening experience so I’d like to share this realization with you all now.

It seems that the above statement regarding judgment has been misinterpreted by people over time, something very common (and actually almost unavoidable) when people try to understand something that someone who’s coming from a much higher level of consciousness has said. In the process there’s been some information that was, shall we say, lost in translation.

A Judgmental God?

There’s the myth that God is basically a human ego, just a larger and more powerful one, an angry and jealous God who judges all others.

Chances are if you’re reading this site, the idea that God is a spiteful, angry, and jealous God feels a little off and you’re open to something else. With that, let’s take a look at the statement, “judge not, lest ye not be judged” from a higher perspective.

Judging “Others” Is Really Judging Yourself

First off, in this physical reality, YOU are the Creator of your reality. YOU.

(We can get into the discussion that from yet a higher perspective, there really is no individual doer, and really what’s going on is that while yes there is certainly creation happening, there actually is no separate individual to create, but that’s another topic entirely. Either way, you get the point.)

Secondly, there really is no external reality outside of your awareness. It’s all in your imagination. If you think about it, you can’t even prove than anything or anyone actually exists given that everything in physical reality could all just be in your imagination and part of some elaborate dream. Nevertheless, you can still have an exciting experience in this dream world.

See, our physical reality only exists when we focus our awareness upon it. It is through the principle of focused awareness that manifestation occurs.

Third, there is NOTHING other than YOU in the Universe. You are everything. You are the Infinite. You are All That Is, expressing itself as an individual, yet in your mind you perceive all these separate beings which really, truly, in essence are YOU.

The separateness “out there” is all a dream that you’re perceiving “in here.”

So whenever you are looking at something in the “external world” and create any sort of emotional response to it, it is truly YOU who is being affected.

When you judge another, it is YOU who is sitting in the vibration of that which you judge.

Experiencing The Energy of Your Own Judgment

Now, “Judge not, lest ye not be judged” has nothing to do with being judged by someone or something outside yourself, including God. That’s not the true meaning of this message.

You see, as you negatively judge something, as you devalue it, you yourself take on the vibration of that judgment, of that devaluation!

From a vibrational standpoint, you CAN NOT perceive that which you are not a vibration match to. It’s like trying to see white through rose-colored glasses. It is literally impossible. Your entire physical reality is simply an illusory perception and what you perceive is determined by your frequency of vibration.

So if you are perceiving something as valueless, you have to be in a place of valuelessness to declare something else as valueless, you see? You have to devalue yourself and bring yourself down to that same level in order to judge something else as valueless.

Do you recognize how that statement, “Judge not, lest ye not be judged” is not a threat or form of punishment? It’s a simple way to say that you will experience the energy of whatever you put out, something people like to refer to as The Law of Attraction, or even Karma.

What you put out is what you get back.

It’s as simple as that.

Unconditional Love

The great thing about this understanding is that it works from the other direction just as well!

Since “you” are at the direct experiential effect of your own states of being, you can choose to simply love everyone and everything UNCONDITIONALLY. No matter what. In every situation. At all times.

My beloved, Love and ye shall be Loved.

Yet another great thing that happens is that when you choose to give up all of your judgments in the first place, you don’t actually have to force yourself to be Loving. You see, Love is your true nature, and when you stop buying into your own judgments (which are all lies anyways, good or bad), you’ll tap into a much deeper and more profound realization of your true nature. This is automatic and applies to everyone, including you!

Preference is Not Judgment

Judgment is essentially superimposing a sense of value onto what is, saying this is more worthy or valuable than that for whatever reason.

By letting go of judgment, everything becomes equally valuable, infinitely valuable.

You then have the option of choosing based upon preference. You can prefer vanilla over chocolate without devaluing chocolate, you see?

Instead of bringing your own frequency of vibration down by vibrating with that which you feel is of little to no value, you make the neutral observation that something is more harmoniously in vibration with your true, essential, core being, and thus you expand to become “more of yourself” in physical reality.

So, Love!

(Note: I had originally misquoted that “judge not” passage above saying “Judge not, lest ye be judged” instead of the accurate quote as “Judge not, let ye not be judged.” My shakespearean is a little rusty and I thought lest meant “or else,” rather than its true meaning which is closer to “for fear that.” I’ve edited this post to make the fix, but the message of the post remains the same. )

There’s a very important difference I’d like to talk about because without being aware of this, it may seem like two different paths and ideologies can be in conflict with each other whereas they’re simply choosing to ultimately achieve the same thing, fulfillment of the soul and a place of well-being, but via different methods and teachings.

The Saint is a man who disciplines his ego. The Sage is a man who rids himself of his ego.

-Fingers Pointing Toward the Moon by Wei Wu Wei

Historical Background

When the Buddha came to the earth and began teaching his Dharma 2500 years ago, he basically began teaching a pathway to enlightenment. His eight-fold path leads to the end of human suffering and self-awakening.

Enlightenment is essentially a complete disidentification with the ego, our idea of a separate self. As one searches for Truth and begins to look within, they will often find that there really is no separate self in the first place, only the idea of one which they can then pretend to be real and thus who I am. Enlightenment is about letting go of identification with the false self, with that which you are not.

For those of you familiar with David Hawkins’ map of consciousness, spiritual awakening corresponds with consciousness level 600, the initial level of enlightenment.

Now practically speaking, total spiritual awakening can be a pretty challenging task for people, especially for people back thousands of years ago who were far less spiritually evolved than people today. You and I have a bit of a head start compared to people in those days since many of us are open to and have been exposed to higher level teachings our whole lives.

Yes you can become enlightened this very instant, but it generally takes a lot of effort to get to that level of surrender.

When Jesus came down, 500 years after Buddha, he taught people to strive for a different goal which is easier for the masses to reach: Unconditional Love.

We can’t really say to ourselves, “Let’s be enlightened now” and have it happen just like that, but we can choose to be unconditionally loving in the moment.

Jesus taught about loving your neighbor as yourself, being a loving person, and so on. His teachings basically guide people to being the best “me” that they can be. He encourages people to become the highest and most loving and compassionate separate self possible, even though he does mention how we are all Gods and ultimately One.

For those of you familiar with Hawkins’ scale of consciousness, Unconditional Love calibrates at consciousness level 540, the highest level attainable before enlightenment at 600. Again, if you don’t know what the numbers mean, no worries. What’s important to take away is the idea that Unconditional Love is the highest state that an individual can attain.

Both paths, unconditional love and enlightenment, are absolutely amazing and deal support the fulfillment of the soul. It’s not about gaining worldly possessions and attaining worldly power and status, but about fulfillment of the soul and becoming whole and complete as a being.

If everyone in the world reached the level of Unconditional Love or Enlightenment, MAN what a place this’d be!! Both levels are utterly phenomenal.

Ego Purification

What are some common techniques of ego purification used today?

• Positive thinking
• Affirmations
• Self-improvement
• Choosing to be loving towards yourself and others
• Forgiving yourself and others for mistakes and sins
• Overcoming fears by choosing to believe more helpful thoughts
• Replacing guilt and shame with love and acceptance

Notice that all of these have something in common: They all seek to improve the mind and better the self, to achieve states of being that lead to greater success and harmony in the world. They are all very helpful and constructive tools to assist us in reaching higher states of being.

Much of our society today is aimed at ego purification.

I want to quickly differentiate this from ego fulfillment, from buying products to make yourself feel better the way many advertisements encourage us to act, for example. That is encouraging us to move away from a feeling of lack. Here I’m talking about cultivating a sense of inner fulfillment and sharing that sense of completion and well-being with the world. It’s like having your heart overflow with unconditional love and naturally expressing that state of being with the world for the sheer joy of being in this state, not because you seek to fill an inner void.

Ego Transcendence

What does transcendence mean in the first place? We toss the word around a lot, but it’s not exactly a common word. Let’s define transcendence first of all so we’re all on the same page.

Transcendence is about going beyond one’s current level. It’s like going from first grade to second grade. You don’t destroy first grade, but you master the lessons it offers and then move up to the next grade, having understood the lessons it offered. You may then set down first grade now that it’s served its purpose, just like any other toy you’re finished playing with.

When you get your fill of playing with separation and duality consciousness, as well as the suffering that arises from this state of consciousness, you’re then ready to truly commit to rising up above the level of egoic consciousness and towards a more unified state of consciousness.

Instead of replacing one belief with another, you rise above the level of beliefs entirely into pure knowingness.

Instead of replacing one made-up story with another, we let go of the stories and search for a Truth that is prior to all stories in the first place.

What are some common techniques used to help us transcend the ego?

• Self-inquiry
• Not believing a single thought the mind thinks
• Meditation
• Surrender
• Letting go via the Sedona Method
• Dropping judgment and instead allowing things to be the way they are
• Letting go of inner resistance
• Looking without labeling

Notice that the main point here is that instead of replacing a not-so-helpful belief with a more helpful belief, we are choosing to stop making up beliefs in the first place. We just allow things to be as they are without adding an additional story to it.

The mind is less engaged as a tool to interact with reality. Yes it is used in certain techniques such as self-inquiry, but a technique such as self-inquiry is actually used to help the mind unravel itself. The person performing the self-inquiry comes to find that there is no “me” to perform the self-inquiry in the first place, a pretty striking realization.

Similarly, the Sedona Method also uses the mind to consciously ask yourself questions, but the questions lead to the loosening and ultimately the let go of the mind’s grip upon us, the self-imposed limitations we place upon ourselves, and thus lead to freedom and liberation.

While ego purification is about moving away from pain and towards pleasure, away from bad and towards good, away from fear and towards love, ego transcendence is about realizing that there is another option: rising above the level of duality entirely and experiencing that which has no opposite. Becoming that. Being that. I am that.

Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.

-Rumi

Wrapping Up

So there’s two main avenues which both are targeted at lessening or even ending the existence of human suffering. While they aim to do so through different avenues, both methods can be supremely helpful to the person who begins taking advantage of them.

Both ego purification and ego transcendence are valuable and have their appropriate place, but here on this site, we focus on ego transcendence.

Which path is more appropriate for you is up to you to choose.

Which path do you prefer and why?

What is the opposite of sin? Does anyone have know?

What you focus on expands so if one wants to transcend sin, certainly one would need to focus on whatever is beyond sin. It’s interesting that Christianity focuses so much on sin, but it’s not clear as to what exactly is its opposite.

According to some quick research, people are suggesting innocence, righteousness, holiness, faith, virtue, or simply being a good person and doing the right thing.

Some even suggest that sin doesn’t have an opposite. Everything you do is sinful because you are a sinner and thus everything is a sin It’s just a matter of degree.

Talk about pessimism!

My definition would be to be in alignment with and to come from the higher self, unconditional love, your christ consciousness, your buddha nature, and an open heart… but that’s a bit wordy.

It’s not so much about finding the opposite of sin as it is transcending the realm of duality altogether and rising up into a place where only nonduality exists, where only Love exists. Love is all there is and sin is an illusion. Sin would therefore be choosing anything other than Love, an action sponsored by the lower self, the false self, and the ego mind.

If we looked at a building, sin would be a brick on the second floor. Love would be a brick on the ninth floor. The higher brick is not opposite to the lower brick, nor is it better or worse. It’s simply on another level entirely.

You don’t solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that created it. To go beyond sin, you must raise yourself up to a level that transcends the possibility of it entirely.

If sin has an opposite, what is it and how would we compress it into a single word? Love? Oneness? God?

What say ye? What single word represents the opposite of sin?