Cheers,
Glen

And, it doesn’t appear that the process starts from the mind. I liken it to something from outside the normal realm of 3-d experience and reality coming and touching me. It’s as if a corner of heaven is bent down and happens to touch me… from there reality is changed to such an incredible plane… one that I didn’t create. I didn’t even know about before meditation.

I’m not like most meditators, choosing not to know about the BuddhISM expectations and path that ’should’ be followed as one meditates samatha / vipassana style… I didn’t want to know. I wanted the essence. What happens in my own experiment when I sit, focus on breath and be mindful of the present moment when I’m going through my day? Wow. LOTS! Anyway – enough writing… enjoying your articles immensely. – Vern

Vern at AimforAwesome’s last blog post..Video 1: Questioning Your Religion

Yes, we all experience everything in a different way. A big “mistake” that people make is to try to be like the Buddha. If he sat under the tree, then that was his gig. Not mine. I don’t have any nice trees to sit under. I prefer my Lazyboy! We all have our own unique path, don’t we? And yet, I agree, there is something to meditation. Or sitting, as I prefer to call it. Just stop, sit, and let what comes, come. Very powerful process, in my opinion.

Nice to have you here. I will try to head over to your blog and have a look!

The Buddha, Jesus – they were just people – if they really existed at all. Because they experienced something doesn’t mean you can by repeating what they did. You’re a different person. Your mind is not the same as anyone else’s and yet there are similarities. It’s a nice thought that we can sit under a bodhi tree and find enlightenment, but a lot lead up to the point he was at before he sat down.

That said, there is something to the meditation idea (focusing on the breath and mindfulness). I found amazing states as the mind slowed, then stopped. I am starting to write more at my main blog but the most material is at seemlessness. Many videos and things I hope you have a look at if you have some time. Best of Life Tom – I love your blog – I grabbed the RSS already. Vern

Vern at AimforAwesome’s last blog post..Quieting the Subconscious Through Meditation

Mark Krusen’s last blog post..Justa reflecting on some things.

Even when we’re at the heights of existence, sharing the experience can broaden the horizons even more.

Good teachers like Adya are the special treasures

Davidya’s last blog post..The Electric Sun

And yes, the opening or awakening never ends. Always more refinement, more opening, more growth, and more love is possible. Where is the end to infinity?

Davidya’s last blog post..The Electric Sun

The awakened are not perfected. Duh! That needs a more complete response on my part. It seems that the One is always looking to more clearly express love in the world of form.

I would also say that its important to understand that who we seem to be changes over time so there is no single answer. I have found a framework for seeing how that evolves is quite useful. Adya’s post-awakening discussion DVD for example. Each of us steps through that uniquely, but there are some general ‘typicals’, just as there are typical growth stages in a childs maturing. Understanding the pattern helps us step through the disintegration stage of the growth cycle that arises as we drop the old but have not fully stepped into the new. A road map if you will, and a verification of experience.

So I guess we could say the question remains an important one even if there is no one answer.

Davidya’s last blog post..Desire vs Craving

As Tom mentions, theres a lot of pseudo past life stories floating around. Always a bad sign if they were always famous or with the famous. But as you observe, we tend to draw out what relates to the current scenario, what we need to know. If its valid, it will tend to grow in clarity and complexity over time. False tends to be stuck and deteriorate. True also tends to be hard to take, that we may have behaved like that. Tom’s prostitute comes to mind. Violence, hate, stupidity, death. Past lives are not typically pretty. On the other hand, when you remember death a few times, it looses any hold on you.

I’d say that in some ways its a blessing not to go there. Stick with the now and the truth. Much more fun.

Davidya’s last blog post..Deepest Being

You may find past lives slightly more useful when experienced directly. They can give context to some of the curiosities in our lives, like why I was lead to police work for a bit. (it was not a natural fit) That said, they are part of what i call the mesh, the structure of illusion, the story, so they are something to move past. Theres a cool stage when the mesh collapses and the supposed causality and ‘karma’ dissolve. This actually changes history. But thats another subject…

A few others i had to learn that come to mind – there is no one truth. Nor one guru. You will outgrow the teacher. The teacher is human. Oh, and the awakened are not perfected (laughs)

Davidya’s last blog post..Deepest Being

I think these older forms of spirituality and traditional religion are about giving people complete answers to the “who am i and what is this?” question. I feel that you recongise that this is not a question with an easy, one size fits all anser.

Steve Mills’s last blog post..Stress Of Connection Culture

actually, I love the whole post.

@Alex You are so right, my friend. Balance is very important. We can spend an enormous amount of time on our “spiritual life” and let the rest of our life go to hell. Been there. And vice versa, too. Been there also!

Definately agree on #11.

You can use all of your life to find out “who you are”, or “why you’re here” or similar. But you can also do a (little) bit of that, and enjoy the rest.

For me it’s *all* about finding the right balance.

Alex Kay’s last blog post..On Being a Man

What a great sharing.

I absolutely agree with you on the 7th point.

“The Truth is outside of the mind and cannot be found in the mind”

This one really got me thinking.

Thank you for this great article, Tom.

Raymond Chua’s last blog post..The Most Powerful Skills to Learn Any Skills You Want

Our thoughts are part of us, not vice versa.

Evan’s last blog post..Some Great Posts

@Mark When you go beyond the mind, you discover yourself, who you really are. When you aren’t thinking, even for just a moment, are you not still you? Aren’t you aware of things? What are you when you aren’t thinking? THAT’S the question!! What are you?

Mark Krusen’s last blog post..Justa having a day together!

Tejvan Pettinger’s last blog post..Eliminating your weakness – the positive way