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+--- Thread: Some resources I have found helpful lately (/showthread.php?tid=19335)
Some resources I have found helpful lately - Stranger - 07-10-2021
I want to share a couple of thoughts and resources which have provided me with a new sense of clarity about spiritual development.
First, Michael Singer's podcast. Michael Singer speaks with a wonderful clarity and simplicity, which cuts through all the BS and gets to the practical heart of the matter. Both of his books are terrific, and the newly released podcast - which consists of selected recordings of his teaching talks - is shaping up to be another great resource for seekers, with two episodes released so far and more coming.
The second is Katha Upanishad. Ancient, super clear teaching on the Law of One (monism/advaita). The first few stanzas set up an allegorical story, which is fine as a literary device, but the real teaching starts with chapter marked [2] that follows the 29th stanza. I suggest reading the whole thing anyway from the beginning - the first chapter is short and itself meaningful.
The personal thought, inspired by both of the above and personal meditation experiences, is this. All the physical sensations we experience; all thought and mental activity; all emotional experience -- all of this are separate from consciousness - the Witness who is experiencing these. It is the physical sensations, the thoughts, and emotions which, together, paint a consistent illusion of being human. The consciousness who is experiencing these is not a human consciousness. It is, directly and completely, 100%, the consciousness of the Creator.
Your consciousness - the everyday, normal-state consciousness you are familiar with - is directly and 100% the consciousness of the Creator.
Put another way: the You watching the constant slide show of physical, emotional, and mental experiences of being human - You are the Creator. There is nothing in between.
You are the Creator, absorbed in a fully-VR video game which comes with consistent visuals, physicals, emotionals, and mentals - all designed to trick you into thinking that the character you are playing is all that you are, and the illusion presented to your mind and senses is a real world; it is not - it's made to appear consistent.
Your Creator-self is not somewhere far away. It is what's left if you focus on the actual experience of being and not on the contents on the mind.
Just as you can never find the Creator through physical sensations, you will also never find the Creator among your thoughts. Consciousness is apart from thoughts. All thoughts are external to Consciousness, just as the physical world is external to Consciousness. Your conceptual mind is like a vestment, a bubble around you with little thought-forms buzzing about. It is external to You. If you want to experience Self as the Creator, you can't do it by thoughts or knowledge. YOU are the Creator; all thought and knowledge is outside of your core Being.
Therefore, let physicals, visuals, thoughts, emotions buzz around and do their thing; pay them no mind; instead, "hang out" with what's left - and that is the Creator's Being.
I'm still working my way through all of this, and I welcome all replies and comments.
Love you all!
RE: Some resources I have found helpful lately - Ming the Merciful - 07-26-2021
(07-10-2021, 11:24 AM)Stranger Wrote: I want to share a couple of thoughts and resources which have provided me with a new sense of clarity about spiritual development.
First, Michael Singer's podcast. Michael Singer speaks with a wonderful clarity and simplicity, which cuts through all the BS and gets to the practical heart of the matter. Both of his books are terrific, and the newly released podcast - which consists of selected recordings of his teaching talks - is shaping up to be another great resource for seekers, with two episodes released so far and more coming.
The second is Katha Upanishad. Ancient, super clear teaching on the Law of One (monism/advaita). The first few stanzas set up an allegorical story, which is fine as a literary device, but the real teaching starts with chapter marked [2] that follows the 29th stanza. I suggest reading the whole thing anyway from the beginning - the first chapter is short and itself meaningful.
The personal thought, inspired by both of the above and personal meditation experiences, is this. All the physical sensations we experience; all thought and mental activity; all emotional experience -- all of this are separate from consciousness - the Witness who is experiencing these. It is the physical sensations, the thoughts, and emotions which, together, paint a consistent illusion of being human. The consciousness who is experiencing these is not a human consciousness. It is, directly and completely, 100%, the consciousness of the Creator.
Your consciousness - the everyday, normal-state consciousness you are familiar with - is directly and 100% the consciousness of the Creator.
Put another way: the You watching the constant slide show of physical, emotional, and mental experiences of being human - You are the Creator. There is nothing in between.
You are the Creator, absorbed in a fully-VR video game which comes with consistent visuals, physicals, emotionals, and mentals - all designed to trick you into thinking that the character you are playing is all that you are, and the illusion presented to your mind and senses is a real world; it is not - it's made to appear consistent.
Your Creator-self is not somewhere far away. It is what's left if you focus on the actual experience of being and not on the contents on the mind.
Just as you can never find the Creator through physical sensations, you will also never find the Creator among your thoughts. Consciousness is apart from thoughts. All thoughts are external to Consciousness, just as the physical world is external to Consciousness. Your conceptual mind is like a vestment, a bubble around you with little thought-forms buzzing about. It is external to You. If you want to experience Self as the Creator, you can't do it by thoughts or knowledge. YOU are the Creator; all thought and knowledge is outside of your core Being.
Therefore, let physicals, visuals, thoughts, emotions buzz around and do their thing; pay them no mind; instead, "hang out" with what's left - and that is the Creator's Being.
I'm still working my way through all of this, and I welcome all replies and comments.
Love you all!
Stranger? I agree with your dialogue, however at a certain point you must break free and liberate yourself. I am not denying your quest for Spiritual Knowledge, except at the end you will find that it becomes meaningless. Once you discover the Ultimate Truth, (your Inner Reality), the teachings of others become more of a burden than a gift. I have trodden the same Path, and I am looking at it as the "Observer", (and not the "Percipient"). We are all "Creators", (but), we are also the "Creators of Our Own Destiny". I now consider the teaching of former Gurus and Masters as Guidelines, and not an Absolute, (within themselves). Not that I do not value what I was taught, but, everything is in a State of Change and Flux. The Universal Knowledge is eternal and like ourselves, is evolving. Even Spirituality does not stay in one place, and we must learn to evolve with it. My Philosophy has become, embrace everything, and yet also, deny everything. Once you have found your Inner Reality, the concept changes.