DISQUS

Clay McElveen · 9 months ago

This article harmonizes with my allowed ego. Im not sure I understand why I find peace in hearing this awareness from others only in that it allows my ego to not feel alone within this frame of mind. Of course at ultimate awareness those feelings mean nothing and absolute understanding is reached, but the ones who have reached awareness realize that this maya was created by the ultimate oneness and most likely for some type of enjoyment, so they attempt to jump back into it without that particular fear that comes without experiencing awareness and allow themselves to just enjoy it with ultimate creativity. So, thank one for having this blog ;-)

nicholaspowiull · 9 months ago

In this way, yes the ego is an enjoyment, especially when it's realized that the ego is not you.

Thank you for the stopping by, taking the time to read this article, and commenting :)

towandaw · 9 months ago

This article reminds me of the Zen saying, "Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water." We are still physical beings living a physical life. I have really enjoyed your articles, so I am glad you have decided to continue them!

nicholaspowiull · 9 months ago

Indeed, even after so called enlightenment, life still continues much the same. The only difference is that you don't see yourself as the thought patterns that the mind produces. John Greven explains this in a very clear manner, perhaps more direct than anybody I have ever came across. If you're interested in hearing what he has to say about it check this podcast out from Urban Guru Cafe: http://urbangurucafe.com/wordpress/2009/02/10/28-john-greven-one-presence-awareness/

towandaw · 9 months ago

Thank you for directing us to this link. It's wonderful!

nicholaspowiull · 9 months ago

It's my pleasure indeed, I am delighted you enjoy it :)

Thank you for stopping by, taking the time to read, and commenting. You are much appreciated.

Small Footprints · 9 months ago

I have felt little "glimmers" of what you describe and talk about but ... I'm not there yet. I'm envious of the stage you are at and what you know and understand. I need to read, and re-read this post!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!

nicholaspowiull · 9 months ago

You are there, you are there now, always have been. It's just overlooked. To say "I'm not there yet" that is just a thought of the mind. The mind is just a pattern ran by the brain (nothing more or less than that).

All thoughts mean nothing, no thought will ever understand this and even when the thoughts are seen as false, there is still nothing to understand since there is nothing but this life. Nobody understands this life, the mind-thoughts wants to understand it and that is the only problem.

There is this awareness that watches every thought, that ever-present awareness is who you are. That consciousness of being aware, is who you are, that's all. That is the all of everything. The mind is nothing, yet everyone puts all their energy into thinking. Thinking just happens, yet it means nothing.

That is all enlightenment is, is realizing that the thoughts mean nothing. Stop giving energy to thoughts as something and you have enlightenment. The thoughts are what causes the seeking, the thoughts are what causes the suffering, the thoughts are what causes separation in yourself since the thoughts are content comparing itself to content. Just be aware of all this content without labeling it through the mind.

This is really just a simple thing. The words and how to describe it make it complex because the mind brings forth more thoughts about the words. It's just as simple as allowing the thoughts but not minding the thoughts, that is what enlightenment points to, that's it.

Nothing to be envious of, it's just a simple thing that anyone can do. Have thoughts but see them as nothing but thoughts. Have thoughts and be aware of thoughts.. be aware.

Georgia · 8 months ago

"You literally feel the sense to do nothing and therefore you don't know how to function in the world. All your personal desires vanish, all your goals, all your passion, all your achievement to get anywhere. All you can do is sit in the wonder of it and soak up the perfection of it all and the freedom in being free from it all." I remember this feeling well. My mind has made it depressing to go back to "chop wood carry water" :)
~love and gratitude

nicholaspowiull · 8 months ago

Yes to the mind this may seem depressing because it no longer holds any validity. What's recognized is that all the mind-thoughts become irrelevant and hold no more value for you.

In my research someone who 'awakens' to this and doesn't have much past experience with depression in their life, they may think that it's a form of depression. This is just the mind trying to understand what is happening, but the mind can't comprehend it because it's beyond the mind. The key to 'awakening' is realizing that the mind has nothing to offer, not that the mind is ignored but just that it doesn't know how to live in the eternal moment of now which rises the problem in not knowing how to continue.

When one has depended on the mind/thoughts their own life and all of sudden the mind is not being depended on, it can be quite confusing, but when one realizes that the mind holds no truth in this eternal moment then one can enjoy every moment because one doesn't have to refer to the opinion of the mind.

Melanie · 8 months ago

Very good article, very interesting philosophy to contemplate on, a thought I had on reading it was....how we cannot always help people to see, or to be....in a higher state of consciousness..I had this thought because there are a few from my past I tried so stubbornly with...I have read there are only two kinds of seed...and I am thinking there are those who will never evolve far from their own selves, and I mean that very literally. Im not trying to be a buzz kill, just an interesting thought I had contemplated while reading your article. Best regards...

nicholaspowiull · 8 months ago

In my experience it becomes quite simple to help people when one comes from a place of helping to not get anything out of it.

Most people help because it helps them to feel better in someway or another. Rather that be to boost their seeking in pleasure, to change another to make their environment better, to have the other see what they see so they don't feel alone, to feel like they are doing something good, to feel like a better person, to feel helpful, etc.. They are infinite reasons.

However, when you stop caring if people get it or not, you stop trying or forcing effort, then life happens the way it happens and you are very okay with any outcome because for you it's not about changing anything or anyone. It's about inviting others to share a perspective you enjoy, it becomes much like a musical play.

A musician plays music for other people and the musician invites others to see their musical perspective with them, but even if nobody else shows up to the invite, the musician we still play their music and enjoy it, rather people are there to share it with them or not because it's not about changing anything/anyone. It's about enjoying this life while we have it.

People spend there whole lives trying to gain pleasure and avoid pain, but true enjoyment comes when you allow both exist and you allow both to be experienced, when both are allowed, then you stop running away from anything or in most cases everything. There is no need to avoid pain when you merge with it. When you merge with the pains that happen, then the pains disappear, when you run then the pains chance you.

The pains will not last, nothing does and that is why chasing after pleasure becomes painful since no pleasure can ever last. As soon as you complete a goal, another goal is presented, it's endless. However when you stop seeking pleasure or goals and stop running away from pains, then life becomes the musical play described above. :)

It took my whole life to figure that one out, but when you reach these 'higher states' of consciousnesses, this is seen and that is the only reason I continued writing articles after I reached 'awakening'. However, one doesn't have to reach 'higher states' to see this because truly there are no 'higher states'. This is just a very simple way of being, since you are being the being you are and not forcing anything.

When you stop minding what happens then bliss is allowed, contentment is allowed, peace is allowed. Everything everybody is chasing after happens when they stop chasing it. Everything everybody is running away from: pain, fear, suffering, etc... stops happening when it's allowed to happen. It's just simply allowing what is here now, to be what is here now. :)

This doesn't mean to have no goals, it just means that your happiness is not dependent upon reaching the goal. You start heading towards a goal because your desire causes that action, but you don't care either way if it gets achieved or not because you realize that your happiness is not contained in achieving that goal (goals are endless and for always incomplete).

Your happiness is contained with enjoying this life now as it is and enjoying the desire feeling, and enjoying the doing feeling that the desire arisen from, and enjoying doing something about it and enjoying it once it is achieved, it becomes an enjoyment all the way around. Everything becomes taskless because tasks can only happen when you not enjoying something. Anything can be enjoyed when it's allowed to be because you realize it will not last. Nothing will.

Melanie · 8 months ago

You say this, "When you stop minding what happens then bliss is allowed, contentment is allowed, peace is allowed. Everything everybody is chasing after happens when they stop chasing it. Everything everybody is running away from: pain, fear, suffering, etc... stops happening when it's allowed to happen. It's just simply allowing what is here now, to be what is here now. :)" This is so very true, and altho I am still thinking of a couple people from my past that I just could not help, be it for whatever reason, and they caused me much pain and suffering, we still come back to this...but trust me, I couldnt do it for them, they had to do "it" for themselves...attaining what we are speaking of...
I also rather liked this one, "People spend there whole lives trying to gain pleasure and avoid pain, but true enjoyment comes when you allow both exist and you allow both to be experienced, when both are allowed, then you stop running away from anything or in most cases everything."
Like Khalil Gibran said, there is no joy, without sorrow...

nicholaspowiull · 8 months ago

Yes there is pain/suffering and there is healing/bliss here in life, but when you become aware of who you really are, both become irrelevant because neither one or the other of any opposite can change who you really are. Who you really are is behind the awareness, being aware of all this life.

It's like you are sitting there watching a movie screen of images and appearances changing. People think they walk different places: from here to there. They can see their legs moving, but that is just the images and appearances on the movie screen changing. People feel the legs moving, their is a body sensation, but that is just the image/appearance of 'feelings' changing in awareness on the movie screen. Whatever is appearing on the image screen is what is appearing but when you realize there is nowhere that you can go because you can't leave the movie screen, then you realize that it doesn't matter what is on the screen because who you are is sitting there watching the movie called life.

You can't change the movie, you can't change the people in the movie, you can run away from the images/appearances and the images/appearances will change but nowhere you go in the programmed movie is there going to be a change in the movie. There will always be pain and non-pain, etc.. no matter what images change on the screen.

And here you are still sitting watching the movie, there is no escape form the movie and there is no reason to escape it because no matter where you try to escape there is only just this one movie, just this one life. You are still unaffected and unchanged by this movie, no matter what images/appearances are there.

Trying to change the movie, is what causes pain and suffering. Just enjoy the movie, it could be a horror, a comedy, a drama, a inspirational film... but whatever is playing, enjoy it by knowing that it can't be changed by you. Learn to enjoy all the varieties of movies, you can't have an inspirational movie playing all the time, eventually that would cause boredom, that is why you can't have joy without sorrow.

You don't go to watch movie that has nothing but joy in it, you like to watching the conflict/sorrow because you know that it's temporary and makes the joy parts much more fun to watch. You like sitting there watching the movie, because you do it out of entertainment value. You accept whatever images arises on the screen because you know you're unaffected by it.

The problem here is that people have forgotten that they are only watching a movie and at best they think they are watching a series of movies so they divide the movie into segments. When one 'segment' of the movie 'ends' (pain), they rate the movie. Yet that was not the end of the movie, you can't rate a movie until you watched the whole thing. That pain was leading up to some joy but they missed the joy all together because they focused on the pain. All pains will eventually lead to joy because the movie is always changing.

All you have to realize is the suffering starts when you start trying to change the movie. When you stop trying to change it then pain is allowed and when pain is allowed, then it's moved through quite quickly and now the joy can come faster.

People experience more pain then joy because they hold onto that 'segment' of the movie: they keep talking about it, they keep remembering it, they keep bringing it back up, they keep showing to others, they keep replaying it over and over again. That part of the movie was not meant to be played over and over again, let the movie keep playing.