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PINNED FEATURED List Of Enlightenment Exercises

Started by Leo Gura, January 2, 2017

136 posts in this topic

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Leo Gura
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Posted January 2, 2017

This thread is meant to be a concise list of exercises pointing to the truth of enlightenment -- the truth of no-self.

All of the exercises listed herein are PRACTICAL! They are NOT philosophical or theoretical. They are not to be debated or pondered
intellectually. They are to be actually done! Do each exercise carefully and notice what direct experience reveals. Often times direct experience
will reveal something counter-intuitive, something that goes totally against all common-sense and any models you have of how reality works.

Feel free to contribute your own exercises to this thread. But do so in a concise and practical manner, so whoever is reading this thread can
focus on LOOKING or CONTEMPLATION versus debating or asking theoretical questions.

This document is a work-in-progress. I'll keep adding more exercises to the list.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exercise #1: Drawing An Imaginary Line

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Locate a distant object in your visual field. Any object will do, like a tree, a car, a sofa, a lamp, a book.

Now, take your index finger and try to draw an imaginary line from that object to "you".

Draw this line using your finger, but go very slowly. Move backward from the object to "you".

Pay extra-careful attention to exactly when and where your finger reaches "you".

Notice that it never actually reaches "you", because there's no you there!

The line always terminates at nothingness.

Become deeply conscious of this until your identity as a self starts to break down.

If you think the finger reaches you at the skin threshold, look more closely. In your direct experience do you actually perceive skin
between the object and "you"? Be very careful here. There is no skin between object and eyeball. For that matter, there is no eyeball

Exercise #2: Noticing Space As Unitive

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Locate a distant object in your visual field. Any object will do, like a tree, a car, a sofa, a lamp, a book.

Now ask yourself, "What is separating ME from this object?"

 Notice that the space or air in the room is actually unifying you and the object, rather than separating you two.

Notice that EVERY object you see is unified into one field of awareness.

The space or air connects "you" to everything.

Become directly conscious of this until you can feel it.

Exercise #3: Noticing That All Phenomena Is Democratic

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Although it may seem like "you" are sitting there and "seeing" objects or "feeling" sensations, this is an illusion.

How can one phenomena in the phenomenal field be perceiving another?

How can one phenomena in the phenomenal field be above another?

How can one phenomena in the phenomenal field be primary while another is secondary?

It may feel like the sensations which make up "your body" are primary while the objects outside the body are secondary. But is this really
true? Take a close look! How can one sensation or phenomena "see" or "feel" another sensation?

It may feel like the sensations which make up "your mind" are primary while objects and sensations outside the mind are secondary. But is
this really true? That a close look! How can one sensation called "a thought" see or feel another sensation such as an object in your visual
field?

Notice that ALL sensations are on exactly the same level. No sensation is superior. There is no hierarchy! It's a perfect democracy. Notice
that thought sensations do not reign above visual sensations or body feeling sensations.

If all sensations are exactly level, how come you think or feel that "your body" or "your mind" is perceiving everything else, as though it
were at the top of a hierarchy?

How can one sensation perceive another sensation when they are exactly level?

Become deeply conscious that no sensation perceives any other.

Exercise #4: Noticing Objects Exist Only Where They Are

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Locate a distant object in your visual field. Any object will do, like a tree, a car, a sofa, a lamp, a book.

Now ask yourself, "Where is this object occurring?"

Notice that that object is NOT occurring inside your body, or inside your mind.

Notice that that object is BEING exactly where it is: outside of "you".

Become deeply conscious of this: That object is existing OUTSIDE you!!!

How is it possible to access an object outside you?

Ask yourself, "What is perceiving that object?"

Notice that it CANNOT be the body or the mind! Because those are sensations occurring elsewhere, not where the object is.

Become deeply conscious that your sense of "you" is false, and that in fact YOU are everywhere!

Exercise #5: Sensory Field Connection

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.
 Ask yourself, "What is connecting my visual field to my auditory field to my tactile field?"

How is it that sights, sounds, and feelings are connected?

Are they connected?

Is each occurring in the same dimension, or is each occurring an separate, independent dimension?

When you hear a sound, for example, where is it occurring relative to the visual field?

When you feel a feeling, for example, where is it occurring relative to the auditory field?

Etc.

Try to become deeply conscious of what is connecting all the seemingly independent fields.

Exercise #6: Noticing There Are No Objects

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that objects do not actually exist.

What is an object really?

In actuality, all you have are ever-changing sensations. Not objects.

An object implies a static thing, but there are no static things in direct experience.

Notice that anything you might call a "thing" is changing every second.

Notice that anything you might call a "thing" is actually just a series of sensations. And all sensations are subtly vibrating and morphing all
the time.

Notice that when you blink your eyes, whatever "object" you were looking at, literally disappears.

Notice this literally means: "that lamp you were looking at ceased to exist for a second."

Notice how the mind actively fudges direct experience to create the illusion of static, persistent objects, but that in fact there are no
objects.

Every time you blink your eyes, the entire visual world disappears.

Become deeply conscious of this until your old paradigm of a static physical reality starts to break down.

Notice also that you as an object also do not exist.

Exercise #7: Noticing The Self-Image Isn't You

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

As you sit there, notice that you have a self-image.

In fact, this is primarily how you know you exist: you see yourself in the mind's eye.

Explore this self-image as it LITERALLY arises in direct experience.

Notice that you have a schematic represention of the outline of your body.

Notice that you can sorta see your own face, the back of your head, the contours of your body.

But also notice, all of this is just a set of sensations!

Notice that this self-image is composed of fleeting mental imagery.

Notice that what you think you are is actually just a series of images!!!

Notice that an image of your body or your face is NOT actually you!!!!

Become deeply conscious of this until your identity breaks down.

Exercise #8: Noticing You Are Not A Point-Camera

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that you feel like you are a camera looking out onto the world.

But notice that reality cannot have any point-cameras.

Notice that reality cannot have perceivers.

What would a perceiver be?

Anything you might want to call a "perceiver" would have to be an object percieving another object.

But this is illogical.

An object is really just a series of sensations. And one sensation can perceive another sensation.

Become deeply conscious of this.

Notice that there in fact is no "perceive" object in your direct experience.

Try as you might, you cannot locate any perceivers. All you have a perceptions.

So then, what is perceiving all these perceptions?

Notice further, that whatever "it" is, it cannot be a sensation.

Notice further, that whatever "it" is, it cannot be located at any point in space, because all of space has to occur "within it".

Notice that you are NOT like a camera. You are NOT looking out onto the world from a point behind your eyes. Instead your are omni-
present.

Become deeply conscious of this, until your conviction of you being located as point in space breaks down.

Exercise #9: Noticing The Gap Between Thoughts

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that thoughts automatically arise for you.

Now, try to notice what is there in the gap between one thought and another.

What exists between two thoughts?

This exercise requires VERY careful observation. Do not guess. Actually look!

Exercise #10: Noticing The Source Of Thoughts

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that thoughts automatically arise for you.

Now ask yourself, "Where did that last thought come from?"

Look very carefully!

Where are thoughts coming from?

Literally! Literally! Literally!

Where do thoughts literally come from????

Notice that thoughts literally come from nothing and nowhere!!!

 Be careful about speculating about how thoughts arise from the "brain".

Notice that "my brain" is a thought! You have no literal direct experience of "a brain".

Be careful about speculating about how thoughts arise from the "unconscious mind".

Notice that "my mind" is a thought! You have no literal direct experience of "a mind".

Become deeply conscious that "brain" and "mind" are illusions and that the true source of thought is nothing.

Exercise: #11: Noticing That Sound Occurs Exactly Where It Is

 Quote

Get an empty wine glass and a metal fork.

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Gently tap the wine glass with the metal fork.

Notice where the sound occurs.

Notice the sound DOES NOT occur inside your head!

Notice the sound DOES NOT occur inside your ears!

Notice the sound DOES NOT occur inside 3D space!

Notice the sound occurs exactly where it is.

Notice that you cannot honestly say where the sound is.

Notice that you cannot honestly say what the sound is.

Notice that the sound is a part of you, yet occurs outside of your "body and mind".

Become deeply conscious of this until you stop feeling like you are hearing sounds and start to feel that you ARE the sounds! Literally!

Exercise #12: Noticing The External World Doesn't Exist

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that you have an notion of "external reality" -- a world "out there" beyond "me".

Notice that this is literally a story, or a thought, or a mental image.

Notice that in fact you've NEVER experienced a world beyond direct experience.

Notice that there is in fact ZERO evidence of an external world.

Notice that any ideas or justifications you have for the existence of an external world are merely thoughts!

Now -- here's a doozy -- notice that you actually DO have a direct experience of absolute reality.

That direct experience is.... NOTHING!

So the external world exists as... literally NOTHING!

Become deeply conscious of this until your old paradigm of a physical external world breaks down.

Exercise #13: Noticing Other People Do Not Exist

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Try to think of another person, such as a loved one, parent, child, or spouse.
 Make sure that the person you're thinking of isn't in the room with you.

Now, notice what they actually are: they are a thought!

Notice that what that person literally is, is an image arising in your mind. Nothing more.

Notice that you've never actually directly experienced anything other than your direct experience.

Become deeply conscious that other people do not exist.

Become so deeply conscious of this, that you feel alone in the universe.

There is no one here but you. You are all that's ever existed and will ever exist.

You are completely alone. You imagine others to make yourself feel connected.

When you see your loved ones face-to-face, you are STILL ALONE! That's you looking at your own direct experience. Nothing more.

Exercise #14: Noticing That Nothing Is Hidden

 Quote

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Try to take in everything in your direct experience simultaneously.

Take it ALL in. Everything that's visible, felt, and heard.

Now become deeply conscious that this is the only thing there is!

Notice that nothing is hidden.

There is nothing beyond what is occurring right this second.

Notice that anything else you might think might be happening "behind-the-scenes", is just a thought happening right now.

Become deeply conscious that NOTHING IS HIDDEN!

The above exercises are true enlightenment work. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Keep practicing all of these exercises diligently, for months, until all your imaginary paradigms of reality break down and you are left only with
direct experience. When you start to feel like this silly creature below, you're on the right track:

Enjoy
 Extreme Z7
Member
985 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Leo Gura ...

Acharya
Member
34 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

I recommend to those who have not yet done so to read Vigyana Bhairava Tantra of Osho. It contains a lot of techniques to have a taste of the
nature of reality.

Psychonaut
Member
480 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Leo Gura Is the point of these exercises to create a "self" that thinks it is "no-self"? You can't think yourself into enlightenment
 Nature
Member
16 posts

Posted January 3, 2017 (edited)

@Leo Gura , you should put together all this practical material that you're writing on this forum in a book. It would be fantastic

Edited January 3, 2017 by Nature

Aware
Member
337 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 1:21 PM, Psychonaut said:

You can't think yourself into enlightenment

Try think yourself out of enlightenment.

Juan Cruz Giusto

Member
341 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Leo Gura in the exercise of "people don't exist", after enlightenment, why do you become so loving? Why would you like to help others if you
are not really sure they exist?

Martin123
 Member
2,056 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Juan Cruz
Giusto
They´re you.
They are existence.
They are.
Being is love.
You are.
Therefor you love.

Ego´s like "IMA LIKE YOU, you with the red hair. BUT YOU!!! YOU WITh THE BlONDE HAIR! YES! YOU IN the BACK! YOU I do NOT LIKE".
Atman doesn´t pick who to love.

Juan Cruz Giusto

Member
341 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Martin123 so ego cannot know other but if you get enlightened, you know yourself and therefore you know what other really are.. If a person
know it's true nature, he know the true nature of everything else

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 1:21 PM, Psychonaut said:

@Leo Gura Is the point of these exercises to create a "self" that thinks it is "no-self"? You can't think yourself into enlightenment

Don't mistake these exercises for mere thinking. They are pointers to direct consciousness. They are to be experienced.
 Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 4:49 PM, Juan Cruz Giusto said:

@Leo Gura in the exercise of "people don't exist", after enlightenment, why do you become so loving? Why would you like to help others
if you are not really sure they exist?

All is one. This is not possible to understand until you experience yourself as empty spirit. Tasting spirit is like pure magic, pure divinity. But it
requires an awakening. You cannot see spirit yet because it's so obvious and close that you're overlooking it. Like a fish in water who cannot see
the water.

Big_D
Member
60 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

So can we do this "exercises" instead of self-inquiry?

Anna Konstantaki
Member
372 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/02/2017 at 11:53 PM, Leo Gura said:

When you start to feel like this silly creature below,

Sorry, I just couldn´t resist...

I´ll go work on enlightenment now... They´re called tarsiers... By the way

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 6:32 PM, Schuchti11 said:

So can we do this "exercises" instead of self-inquiry?

These exercises are part of what I call self-observation or self-inquiry.

The newbie mind needs something to start with. These exercises are that.

If you're an experienced meditator, you can simply go into one-pointed concentration on the Self and break through that way.

Or you can use these exercises to slowly deconstruct your mental models of reality until a breakthrough dawns.

It's all just different ways of skinning the same tarsier

abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Leo Gura In the exercise 1 , I don't get this part

  Quote

Notice that it never actually reaches "you", because there's no you there!

But when my finger touches my body, the ego can say... hey! That's me... and that's the problem. We know we are not the body, but we still
think we are.

Aware
Member
337 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:08 PM, abrakamowse said:

the ego can say... hey!

Can it?

abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:24 PM, Aware said:

Can it?

He can't... but if there's a body it cannot "see" that there's nothingness. Maybe my question was bad formulated. Unless the body is
nothingness.

Aware
Member
337 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:26 PM, abrakamowse said:

He can't...
It can't?

Emerald
Member
3,224 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Leo Gura Thank you!

abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted January 3, 2017 (edited)

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:29 PM, Aware said:

It can't?

Just words, neither is "it" nor "he"... it/he doesn't exists....

John 8:44 "You belong to your father, the devil (it/he/ego), and you want to carry out your father's (ego) desires. He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies."

Edited January 3, 2017 by abrakamowse

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 Meditation,…
  

PINNED FEATURED List Of Enlightenment Exercises

Started by Leo Gura, January 2, 2017

136 posts in this topic

 PREV NEXT 

Big_D
Member
60 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:02 PM, Leo Gura said:

If you're an experienced meditator, you can simply go into one-pointed concentration on the Self and break through that way.

One-pointed concentration? Monkey-mind says NOPE!

Seems I have to do the exercises first

Btw I really appreciate that you take your time to answer our question, giving us tips/exercises and all this stuff. What would we do without
you? Probably sitting on couch and eating a bucket of ice cream lol

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:08 PM, abrakamowse said:

@Leo Gura In the exercise 1 , I don't get this part

But when my finger touches my body, the ego can say... hey! That's me... and that's the problem. We know we are not the body, but we
still think we are.

"A finger" is a sensation. "The body" is a sensation. How can one sensation "touch" another sensation???

Look more closely!

There is no finger.

There is no body.

There is no you looking out at the world!

And there is no "world" for that matter.

All of those are conceptual constructions. Deconstruct them all. Direct experience has none of that. It's just raw, free-floating sensation.
 abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 9:13 PM, Leo Gura said:

"A finger" is a sensation. "The body" is a sensation. How can one sensation "touch" another sensation.

Look more closely!

There is no finger.

There is no body.

There is no you looking out at the world!

There is no world.

All of those are conceptual constructions. Direct experience has none of that. It's just raw, free-floating sensation.

Thanks @Leo Gura , I am so blind. I keep forgetting things I already now.

I need to remember myself.

abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

Maybe I need to watch some of your videos about "physical sensations"...

bobbyward
Member
186 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 8:02 PM, Leo Gura said:

The newbie mind needs something to start with. These exercises are that.

If you're an experienced meditator, you can simply go into one-pointed concentration on the Self and break through that way.
at this stage for me it seems like the mind is using these self observation/ self inquiry questions as a sneaky way to perpetuate itself, these
questions make the mind feel useful and give it something to do. one pointed concentration on the self is torture for the mind, it makes the
mind redundant.

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

 On 01/03/2017 at 9:53 PM, bobbyward said:

at this stage for me it seems like the mind is using these self observation/ self inquiry questions as a sneaky way to perpetuate itself,
these questions make the mind feel useful and give it something to do. one pointed concentration on the self is torture for the mind, it
makes the mind redundant.

No, the sneakiness here is the excuses and distractions being made to avoid doing the exercises.

Just do the exercises and you will progress very well.

All rationalizations for why the exercises aren't good to do, or can't possibly work, are just distraction.

Don't get so hung up on avoiding the mind that you fall even deeper into mind.

Steady practice is the key. Debating whether or not to do practice is a trap. If you do the practice, you will see results.

And enlightenment itself is not the only measure of progress. Your awareness will grow A LOT even if you don't become enlightened here. You
should be happy with any gains in awareness you make, no matter how small.

Christian
Member
397 posts

Posted January 3, 2017

@Leo Gura So true man. Wasted 2 years in that trap and now I am starting to see it. Stop talking shit. STOP IT. Do all that can be done each
day and you will get your result. Actions=results

It is so fucking simple, why make it any more complicated? What's the point. You are gonna die anyway so might as well crush it!

Samuel Garcia
Member
99 posts
Posted January 6, 2017

 On 01/02/2017 at 11:53 PM, Leo Gura said:

How can one sensation called "a thought" see or feel another sensation such as an object in your visual field?

What do you mean by this? Doesn't the visual sensation cause/influence thought?

 On 01/02/2017 at 11:53 PM, Leo Gura said:

How is it that sights, sounds, and feelings are connected?

Are they connected?

Is each occurring in the same dimension, or is each occurring an separate, independent dimension?

Where does focus fit into this matter? For example, they say blind people are more attuned to their hearing (maybe because they have more
focus on the hearing and none on their seeing). When intensity of physical pain increase, doesn't more focus go onto that pain (feeling) and
less onto hearing and seeing. But you said that no phenomena is superior to another. Isn't attention/focus the thing which connects sights,
sounds and feelings?

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 6, 2017

 On 01/06/2017 at 11:50 AM, Samuel Garcia said:

What do you mean by this? Doesn't the visual sensation cause/influence thought?

A visual sensation might influence a thought, but that's not what's being investigated here.

We're investigating what is perceiving sensations.

Can a thought perceive a sensation?

Can a sensation perceive another sensation?

Take a close look.

How is perception happening? How is it even possible in theory? What would a perceiver even be when all there are are perception?

 Quote

Where does focus fit into this matter? For example, they say blind people are more attuned to their hearing (maybe because they have
more focus on the hearing and none on their seeing). When intensity of physical pain increase, doesn't more focus go onto that pain
(feeling) and less onto hearing and seeing. But you said that no phenomena is superior to another. Isn't attention/focus the thing which
connects sights, sounds and feelings?

Focus is focus. Yes, focus happens, but this is not what I meant when I said "superior". I was referring to an existential superiority. For example,
is red existentially superior blue? No. Is color superior to sound? No. Is your hand superior to a book? No. Is your body superior to a tree? No.
How then, can you identify with any one thing over another? Notice, the only way that can happen is if you create a tacit heirarchy of
sensations, where you basically say, "Okay my body is above that tree. And my mind is above my body. And I am above everything. I own
everything."

Except what is that thing which sits at the top of this hierarchy and claims to "own" everything?
Could it be that there is no such thing, and that the hierarchy is really a fantasy?

Take a look. Is there a hierarchy within the field of sensations? Or the field utterly democratic, everything co-arising from who-knows-where?

Nexeternity
Moderator
405 posts

Posted January 9, 2017 (edited)

Bubble excercise

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that you seem to be in a bubble of awareness.

Observe the visual field, what is behind the things you see? What is around the edges of that field?

Observe the audio field. Try to listen to the farthest sound you can. What is beyond the farthest sound?

Observe your body. What sorrounds the edges of the sensations of your body?

Notice that you are that visual, audio, and kinesthetic bubble of awareness as well as the nothingness that is beyond it.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Nexeternity

Typo

Nexeternity
Moderator
405 posts

Posted January 9, 2017

No free will massage excercise

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Look at one of your hands and forearms.

Massage them with your other hand in a slow free flowing manner.

Notice that it feels like you are doing this.

Notice however that its imposible to know the exact moment when you would begin the massage.

Notice that you dont know exactly how the massage will be, the pressure you will use, what áreas you stay longer massaging.

Notice that its impossible to know the exact moment when you will end the massage.

The massage is really happening by itself, there is no you doing it, any sense of control is illusory.

Wouter
Member
153 posts

Posted January 9, 2017

@Leo Gura I got some questions while doing the first exercise.

-How slow should we draw the line?

-Where should the line end? Touchingb our bodies, near or eyes,...?

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 9, 2017

 On 01/09/2017 at 9:57 PM, Wouter said:

@Leo Gura I got some questions while doing the first exercise.

-How slow should we draw the line?

-Where should the line end? Touchingb our bodies, near or eyes,...?

- Up to you. As slow as it takes for you to stay conscious of what's happening.

- End it at wherever you think you are. This will be revealing. If you end it at your eyeball, then that tells you you think you're behind the eyeball.
If you end it at your chest, then that tells you you are identified with the heart feeling area. I usually draw it to my eyeball, only to realize, there
is no eyeball!

100rockets
Member
100 posts

Posted January 15, 2017 (edited)

@Leo Gura LEO, I heard you talk about being able to experience being a tree (or anything else) in a video. Can you tell me what that
phenomenon is called and what exercise should I use for that?

Edited January 15, 2017 by 100rockets

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
 16,488 posts

Posted January 15, 2017

@100rockets That is called a state of Samadhi, or mystical union, or direct consciousness, or enlightenment, or simply reality! You already are
everything you experience. Right now! Already! Always! Just realize there never was a "you" who experienced anything, and what's left? The tree.

The exercises listed here are pointing to Samadhi. Just keep practicing and you'll get it.

Experience occurs without an experiencer. That's all there is to get.

100rockets
Member
100 posts

Posted January 15, 2017

@Leo Gura Thanks!

abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted January 16, 2017

@100rockets @Leo Gura I was in a meditation group long time ago, where some guys used to meditate on a rock. They felt like if they were
the rock, now I understand what they were "doing". I was a teen at that moment and I really didn't understand meditation properly.

Naviy
Member
217 posts
Posted January 16, 2017

@Leo Gura

Leo, do you want to make a thread like this about meditation techniques too?

alifesurreal
Member
32 posts

Posted January 16, 2017

 On 01/02/2017 at 11:53 PM, Leo Gura said:

Exercise #1: Drawing An Imaginary Line

Thanks a LOT for these practical tools!

I kind of extended that first exercise and started visualizing how it would be if I were able to continue drawing that line beyond my skin? I
continued the line into my head, and when I realized that I'd actually pass right through my head without touching anything tangible, that gave
me a very direct experience of the empty/hollow nature of that "self".

Thought I'd share this as it helped me move forward in my process

Anton Rogachevski
Member
835 posts

Posted January 22, 2017

@Leo Gura In what way is the "advanced student" had advanced? Or is there a progress to be "experienced" before breakthrough?

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Leo Gura
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16,488 posts

Posted January 22, 2017

@Anton Rogachevski I don't understand your question.

The White Belt

Member
464 posts

Posted January 22, 2017

@Leo Gura Leo, are you baking your weekly video for a little longer this time? Can we expect to see one next Sunday or are you taking a break?

Anton Rogachevski
Member
835 posts

Posted January 22, 2017

@Leo Gura How can I know I'm advancing?

Martin123
Member
2,056 posts

Posted January 23, 2017

@Anton Rogachevski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijSng_X9soc

Nexeternity
Moderator
405 posts

Posted January 23, 2017

Nothingness must exist exercise

Sit comfortably and quietly, still your mind, and become aware of direct experience.

Notice that Nothing must exist for you to be aware of something.

Notice in your visual field that there has to be Nothing in front of the thing you actually see for you to see it. If there was "something" in front
of the thing you were seeing you would see that "something" and not the something that you do actually see.

Notice that In your audio field there must be Nothing for you to hear what you actually hear. If there was "something" you would hear that
"something" instead of the something you do actually hear. When hearing silence there must also be Nothing for you to be aware of it.

Notice that in your body Nothing must pervade and filter through all the sensations you feel or else if "something" pervaded and filtered
through what you were feeling you would feel that "something" instead of what you actually feel.

Finally, notice that in your mind, in that dimension in which you are aware of thoughts, that there must also be Nothing for you to be aware
of the thoughts you are actually aware of, or else if there was "something" you would observe that "something" instead of the thought you do
actually observe.

Nothingness must exist for us to be aware of anything at all.

 Leo Gura
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16,488 posts

Posted January 23, 2017

 On 01/23/2017 at 0:12 AM, Anton Rogachevski said:

@Leo Gura How can I know I'm advancing?

If you do the exercises every day, you'll start to see noticeable gains in awareness within just a few weeks, and definitely a month.

The only way to fail is to avoid doing them.

PureExp
Member
306 posts

Posted January 29, 2017

@Leo Gura Thanks a lot for sharing. For those who are interested, here are some exercises for directly experiencing the fundamental truths. I
call them introspection, but its same as self-enquiry. So far there are 7-8 of them. They are fairly detailed, so posting a link, but I've started
posting short versions in this forum. My terminology is from non-dualism, but nothing fancy, just plain English.

Start here : The Art of Introspection.

(Everything is in public domain, learnt from masters, took many years. Feel free to copy/share/do whatever you like, I don't take credits).

Anton Rogachevski
Member
835 posts

Posted January 30, 2017

@Leo Gura It's interesting that you say "Not to meditate" while doing it. I've had the most powerful inquiry in some very deep meditative
states.
 Martin123
Member
2,056 posts

Posted January 30, 2017

Rest in in awareness.

- take a deep breath

- give up your thoughts for 2-5 seconds, just give them back to where they came from
- realize there is present moment
- rest in the present moment for the 2-5 seconds
- realize that this presence is always there, even when you are not paying attention, even when you are on your most damaging and self-
focused ego trip, this awareness is always there. It is literally screaming HEY I AM HERE LOOK AT ME at all times.

Do this exercise as often in the day as you can remember, this can even serve as a substitution for a regular meditation practice!

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted January 30, 2017

 On 01/30/2017 at 1:32 PM, Anton Rogachevski said:

@Leo Gura It's interesting that you say "Not to meditate" while doing it. I've had the most powerful inquiry in some very deep meditative
states.

Meditation is of course good. The reason I said the above is so that you focus on the self-inquiry aspect of this work. You can bring the
meditation back in later, after you're got a handle on why you're meditating.

Too many people meditate without understanding the true point of meditation. Or they attain meditative states and confuse them with
enlightenment.

Parki
Member
151 posts

Posted February 3, 2017 (edited)

I am sure if it's okay to write it, cuz I haven't break it down to myself.
So WARNING this is just a thought came to my mind and I'haven't check it for myself.

Does pain(and here by pain I mean pretty much any body sensation like pain, tickling, asmr, a hug) is located in space?

- Push your index finger with your thumb finger to feel pain a bit.
- Close your eyes(or try with opened eyes, I am sure not which one is the best)
- Move the finger in space and notice if the pain is moving too.

I think this exercise could help recognize if pain is actually located in space.

Edited February 3, 2017 by Parki

 abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted February 3, 2017

 On 02/03/2017 at 3:06 PM, Parki said:

I am sure if it's okay to write it, cuz I haven't break it down to myself.
So WARNING this is just a thought came to my mind and I'haven't check it for myself.

Does pain(and here by pain I mean pretty much any body sensation like pain, tickling, asmr, a hug) is located in space?

- Push your index finger with your thumb finger to feel pain a bit.
- Close your eyes(or try with opened eyes, I am sure not which one is the best)
- Move the finger in space and notice if the pain is moving too.

I think this exercise could help recognize if pain is actually located in space.

I am doing something lately, I trying to focus in the pain when I have a pain and feel what is that pain? Is it a sensation? What is it... and it goes
away.

I am not saying that a can control a big pain, but maybe some of those enlightened yogis can. Who knows?

Not a shaolin monk

Member
32 posts

Posted February 4, 2017

@Leo Gura after enlightenment these exercises will still being useful?

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted February 4, 2017

@Not a shaolin
monk Depends on the depth of your enlightenment. Chances are you'll be doing this work for years to come, make yourself
comfy.
 Afonso
Member
419 posts

Posted February 12, 2017 (edited)

I get confused when you say "Become deeply conscious of". What is this about?

Edited February 12, 2017 by Afonso

Leo Gura
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Posted February 12, 2017

@Afonso That's the trick, isn't it?

Here's an example: become deeply aware right now that you are going to die, and to the self, that death will be ultimate and endless.

And then compare that level of consciousness to your typical day. Notice the difference. This gives you a little clue of what it means to become
"conscious of something". Although this isn't deep consciousness. It's very shallow still.

WorthyBird
Member
16 posts

Posted February 15, 2017

"Illusion of time" contemplation/exercise:

Try to experience time without thought.

Conversely, try to experience eternity by thinking of it.

 Tuure
Member
4 posts

Posted February 20, 2017 (edited)

Could you use affirmations to speed up this process? For example "I am nothingness". Could it be possible to program the false sense of self
out of your mind this way?

Proubably not since words are symbols.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Tuure

Leo Gura
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Posted February 21, 2017

@Tuure No. But what you can do is use affirmations to program your mind with the intent to become conscious of what reality is. Which would
be the same thing in effect. At some point, you would actually merge into the infinite. That's what mantra meditation is.

There is no need to program the false self out and the true self in. Just realize the self is a program.

Then all that's left is what's true.

Anton Rogachevski
Member
835 posts

Posted February 21, 2017

@Leo Gura Any powerful affirmations you might suggest?

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Leo Gura
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Posted February 21, 2017

@Anton Rogachevski You're just wasting your time avoiding the actual work. Do the exercises! They are the most direct method.

AlwaysBeNice
Member
1,167 posts

Posted February 21, 2017

 On 02/21/2017 at 8:52 AM, Anton Rogachevski said:

@Leo Gura Any powerful affirmations you might suggest?

'I don't exist' and 'I am (or life is) perfect' I like. They are helpful to shape your mind, to get into the right state of being in life and to create a
conscious distance between thoughts and who you really are as consciousness.

abrakamowse
Member
3,665 posts

Posted February 22, 2017

I am awareness, I am pure consciousness...

123456789
Member
253 posts

Posted February 23, 2017

In exercise #12 it says

 Quote

Now -- here's a doozy -- notice that you actually DO have a direct experience of absolute reality.

That direct experience is.... NOTHING!

So the external world exists as... literally NOTHING!

I am confused. What do you mean by "nothing"? Consciousness?

Leo Gura
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Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted February 24, 2017

@Lenny Notice, what is your current experience of the "external world"? The world you believe exists beyond your phenomenal field?

It's literally nothing.

That's what the "external world" turns out to be. You might say you have access to the entire external universe. It just happens to be absolutely
nothing.

You have to realize that reality doesn't need any external causes. It's all right here. There's nothing behind the scenes the way you were taught
in science class.

Of course this means you have to open yourself up to a deep inherent mystery. Hence it's called mysticism.

123456789
Member
253 posts
Posted February 25, 2017

@Leo Gura Thanks for explaining, but I still have more questions about the exercises.

1) In exercise #1 it says the following:

 Quote

The line always terminates at nothingness

In my experience it doesn't, it terminates at my forehead .

2) In exercise #3 it says the following:

 Quote

How can one sensation perceive another sensation when they are exactly level?

In my mind it makes sense for one sensation to perceive another even if they are on exactly the same level.

3) In exercise #4 it says the following:

 Quote

Become deeply conscious that your sense of "you" is false, and that in fact YOU are everywhere!

Even if the sense of "I" (body-mind self) is false why would that mean that I (whatever that is) am omnipresent?

4) In exercise #10 it says the following:

 Quote

Become deeply conscious that "brain" and "mind" are illusions and that the true source of thought is nothing.

Yes, in direct experience "brain" and "mind" are illusions but the source of thought is silence, not nothing. Even if the source of thought is
nothing and nowhere wouldn't it mean that there is no source?

5) In exercise #12 it says the following:

 Quote

Now -- here's a doozy -- notice that you actually DO have a direct experience of absolute reality.

What do you mean by "absolute reality"?

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted February 25, 2017

 On 02/25/2017 at 3:04 PM, Lenny said:

@Leo Gura Thanks for explaining, but I still have more questions about the exercises.

1) In exercise #1 it says the following:

...

In my experience it doesn't, it terminates at my forehead .

Look closer. Do you see a forehead? Or is the "forehead" an mental image? And does the line then terminate at a mental image? Is that what
you ACTUALLY experience?

Or do you ACTUALLY experience a line terminating at nothingness?

 Quote

2) In exercise #3 it says the following:

...

In my mind it makes sense for one sensation to perceive another even if they are on exactly the same level.

And in a kid's mind, it makes sense that Santa Claus organizes the distribution of Christmas presents.

Yes, "in your mind" it makes sense because it's a fantasy. In reality it's false.

Your mind is the enemy here. What makes sense to the mind doesn't matter. Reality is otherwise.

You can take it as an axiom of this work that no sensation perceives another. Now your job is to verify this by finding the actual perceiver.

Hint: the actual perciever (you) is non-existent. You're never going to find it as an object. Because you are emptiness itself.

 Quote

3) In exercise #4 it says the following:

...

Even if the sense of "I" (body-mind self) is false why would that mean that I (whatever that is) am omnipresent?

There's no logical reason why it would. You have to discover via direct experience what you are. Then you'll see that what you are is infinite and
without location (hence omnipresent).

 Quote

4) In exercise #10 it says the following:

...

Yes, in direct experience "brain" and "mind" are illusions but the source of thought is silence, not nothing. Even if the source of thought is
nothing and nowhere wouldn't it mean that there is no source?

Well, be careful not to get lost in terminology. Language is a poor vehicle for this work. You need to have the direct experience of reality.

"Silence" and "nothing" might point to the same thing.

"Nothing", "source", and "no source" might point to the same thing.

And "nothing" might point to something very different than what you imagine.

 Quote

5) In exercise #12 it says the following:

...

What do you mean by "absolute reality"?

Absolute reality is that which is true all the time, without change, under all circumstances.

What is the ONE thing which never changes?

Nothingness. Every other experience is relative truth.

Hopefully you're starting to notice that all experience is changing all the time.

Hence experiences cannot be The Truth. Experiences are not Absolute.

To use a scientific metaphor, you might think of the vacuum of empty space as being an absolute. Although in fact, not even it is absolute, since
it's merely a concept/experience your mind is having.
 123456789
Member
253 posts

Posted February 27, 2017

 On 02/25/2017 at 11:26 PM, Leo Gura said:

Look closer. Do you see a forehead? Or is the "forehead" an mental image? And does the line then terminate at a mental image? Is that
what you ACTUALLY experience?

Or do you ACTUALLY experience a line terminating at nothingness?

@Leo Gura No, I don't see a forehead but I am aware of a physical body sensation. Does it count? or are we working with the visual field only?

Leo Gura
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Posted February 27, 2017

@Lenny Is there a "you" aware of physical body sensations? Or just physical body sensations (without any you)?

Work with any field you like. But realize, there is no you experiencing it.

Be very careful with your wording. Don't be sloppy here. When you say, "Forehead", what exactly does that mean? Is a physical body sensation
an actual forehead? Where is this sensation occurring? How could you know if you didn't have a mental image of it? Is a physical body sensation
equivalent to having a physical body? And if you're drawing a line in the visual field, what do physical body sensations have to do with it? What is
connecting the distant object to the terminating point of that line?

Slowly and clinically deconstruct the phenomenal field. Notice all the things you're assuming about it, which are just pure fictions. 90% of what
you assume is there, isn't.

PureExp
Member
306 posts

Posted March 4, 2017

There's an app for it

I never used it, and I'm not its coder. Just sharing...

--

Who Am I Daily

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whoami.daily
 PureExp
Member
306 posts

Posted March 7, 2017

James Swartz

Great and fairly detailed introduction to Vedanta. Swartz is a brilliant teacher. That's in 16 parts totaling 16 hours, but it saves 16 years of your
life.

123456789
Member
253 posts

Posted March 10, 2017

Doing these exercises over and over again makes my mind go nuts and the resistance to doing them bigger...

Leo Gura
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Administrator
16,488 posts
Posted March 10, 2017

@Lenny Of course. Because they lead you beyond the mind.

FirstglimpseOMG
Member
346 posts

Posted March 29, 2017 (edited)

I managed to notice something wild about reality the other day while contemplating lots and doing this;

Sitting in my comfy chair, while absent-mindedly lightly rubbing my chest through my t-shirt, I looked up at my stationary ceiling fan. Suddenly I
realized, and managed to feel, once I worked it, that the sensation of my body, both from the fingertip side and the chest side, and the
sensation of seeing the ceiling fan simultaneously, were both perceptions (sensations?) ONLY. One and the same thing.

So on one level, The I that I Am cannot essentially be the body-mind, as the body-mind is the same damn thing as the perception of the fan.. a
perception. On another level, both the perception of the body-mind, or rather, the perceptions of the body mind, including that perception of
itself, is creation in action. Experience by existence. But practise noticing, and making your distinctions.

Edited March 29, 2017 by FirstglimpseOMG

Speeling, content

FirstglimpseOMG
Member
346 posts

Posted March 29, 2017 (edited)

Geez, can you reverse it too, and be closer to Truth maybe; Existence only via experience... Co-creation?

Edited March 29, 2017 by FirstglimpseOMG

Leo Gura
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Administrator
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Posted March 29, 2017

@FirstglimpseOMG If you are stuck grasping at experiences, you will NEVER reach Absolute Truth. The Absolute cannot be an experience,
because all experiences are limited and changing, hence non-absolute.

In this work, you have to imagine that there is something beyond experience. A "thing" which cannot ever be experienced, but can nevertheless
be known.

FirstglimpseOMG
Member
346 posts

Posted March 29, 2017 (edited)

@Leo Gura I'm just sort of floundering around. Trying not to get caught up in semantics but still easily confused... is the ultimate goal not to
'know thyself', to come to the fullest realization of our divinity, and thus then acting as such here and now, more and more, in the meantime?
Pushing the evolution of this whole existence in the truer direction, towards peace and love and conservation and all that? Sure I want to
somehow break reality very badly, but I'm pretty sure that in the meantime, while I strive and suffer, any little things that keep me on the path
without being misguided, including the half-baked 'nowhere near knowing the absolute, but got 3 inches closer' experiences, have the power of
accumulation. I'm sort of slow at this, and a pretty lazy ego, which I strive to transcend a little here and there, so anything that gets me or
keeps me meditating and contemplating and allowing and being more present with love, I do grasp at. I know conceptualizing, contemplating
and looking for experiences won't get me there, but surely the heavy contemplation, spurring the 'aha' stuff, which enables the 'aw shit, here
comes the love again, hold on to something' stuff, must have big value. I'm not only 'getting' that essentially I'm not an illusive ego & body/mind,
I'm able to occasionally feel it too, and it comes through as big, unprecedented love and peace and recognition. It is very fleeting, but it sure
feels like unconditional love in action for the moments of it. The more I know what that is/I Am, even if it's on a sliding scale of waking up and
becoming 'Enlightened', and that experience/knowledge is manifesting as right action rather than egoic interference and backfiring.. well, don't
we recognize, once we begin to wake up a little, that we have been momentarily Enlightened thousands and thousands of times up to this point
in our lives?

Mind tries hard to grasp with less ego and less chatter.. too hard? Should I just shut up and meditate/concentrate/contemplate deeper & more
consistently?

Edited March 29, 2017 by FirstglimpseOMG

Are there prizes for run-on sentences?

Leo Gura
 Topic Starter

Administrator
16,488 posts

Posted March 30, 2017

@FirstglimpseOMG Yes, definitely you should be growing long before you reach enlightenment. Every baby step you can take it good.
Sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it. Even if you aren't loving, sometimes you can just force yourself to behave lovingly, and although
that's not ideal and can become a problem if over-done, it can be useful. You gotta start somewhere and you can't be too picky at the outset.

@BLABLABLA Except it's not simple because you cannot imagine it, ever! So don't even try the imagination route. I'm just saying you need to be
openminded and cognizant of your own mind's limitations. The mind must be smart enough to realize, "Hey, I will never get this, and that's
okay because there's something beyond me at work here. I'm not the only game in town so let me stop acting as if I were."
 CGeo
Member
36 posts

Posted March 30, 2017

Should you set a timer for these enlightenment exercises, set an alarm to go off. For how long?

Big_D
Member
60 posts

Posted March 30, 2017

@CGeo Your death IS the timer! lol

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