Messages

one entity looked like an angel without wings, a white male about seven feet tall with curly blond hair and extremely toned muscular condition with no body fat, wearing a white robe and exuding an aura of white light with a gentle and nonthreatening countenance.

another entity was cloaked in a dark robe and hood, so as not to startle me with it's foreign appearance.

and another entity seemed half-human and half-lion.

Awesome, I've always wanted to meet a higher frequency being. What were the places that you met these entities?

The difference lies in how you perceive and relate to the sphere. It's all in your mind. And mine.

How does one relate to the invisible? And if the differences between infinity only exist in the mind, then what does sameness really mean? 

So, has anyone seen anything like what's pictured below while astral projecting? (artist's conception)
The picture's kind of big and I do not have the original here so have a thumbnail. These things are slightly longer than a tall man's arm though significantly thicker. If you see one, try talking to it -- see what it has to say.


Edit: I think this would be the correct forum -- kinda new here.

Were the sharp teeth really necessary? I mean, usually I wouldn't expect something like that to be able to communicate. Maybe it would've been more effective for the purpose if you would've made them with a more emotive face? No offense, but hell, a smiley face would probably be better than the face on what you made. At least with a smiley face one wouldn't half expect to be bitten.

I would suggest that completely stilling the mind loses the ego identity - albeit temporarily.

That's an interesting theory, no doubt. Do you have any experience or someone else's experience backing it?

i've encountered this argument before and i respect your position, although i disagree with certain vital aspects of it.

i suggest that the ego identity is indeed an illusion, but illusions are nonetheless real and exist with concise purpose as evolutionary extensions of reality.  illusions are inherently holy, serving as evolutionary catalysts, without which evolution cannot exist.  the illusory ego-identity is inherently holy as an evolutionary catalyst.

we all need a strong, healthy ego to become the best that we can be.  to remove the psyche's projection of the ego-identity is to invite mental illness.

So you're saying that to still the mind is to invite mental illness?

Also, could you explain your position about the ego being an evolutionary extension of reality? I've never heard that idea before.

Oh crap, what the heck happened? Why did it modify your post instead of posting mine? 

EDIT: I must've hit the modify button, lol. Damn, I thought I hit "quote". I didn't know the modify button actually worked on other people! Sorry, I'll repost here and fix your post.

They both do not exist in our universe, you can't compare things which do not exist

Well now, how do you know there isn't really an infinite space between any two things? Geometrically speaking, the line between any two points always contains an infinite amount of points.

Just because you can't define infinity doesn't mean it can't exist - it only means it can't exist in the mind. However, it is impossible to compare anything to infinity because of its all-encompassing nature. While on the one hand you could say that you can't compare things that don't exist, you could also say that you can't compare things which are one and the same.

An infinitely small sphere is the same as an infinitely large one if neither can really be defined, and that's the paradox I'm trying to show.

I think to get a bit of clarity on this issue, we need to define "service to self". I would define "self" in that sense as the ego, which isn't real, except to itself. The ego is a self concept, and in the serving of it one only thinks one is serving oneself. I guess the real question boils down to, if one isn't really the ego, then outside of the ego, what is one really? If you no longer see the ego as yourself, then what do you identify with? I'd say that if you no longer identify with yourself then you identify with everything else - and at that point you would see the other as yourself and thus the terms "service to self" or "service to others" would become meaningless. Service to others is meaningful only if you believe that there is an other separate from yourself. Serving Who You Really Are is to serve others, and that's the paradox here. 

What I'm trying to say is that nobility is relative, and only exists as a concept. Really, it doesn't matter whether you choose to follow your ego or follow the truth, because the ego creates its own suffering and the truth is always self-evident outside of the ego.

The parable goes back to my original question when you look at it this way: was the prodigal son ever loved any less by the father for giving into his selfish ("service to self" or "ignoble") desires? In other words, was he ever any less "noble" than his brother?

did the other son know that he was merely a character in a parable?  did the father tell him that he was merely an actor in a parable?

Lol. There are many ways to interpret a parable. You could assume that the characters have their own motivations and personalities, or you could assume that the characters are metaphorical and merely placeholders (being used only to get a concept across). I tend to go with the latter.

why might one regard either of these ('service to self' or 'service to others') to be more noble than the other?

The manifestations of those two orientations are what give us the concept of nobility - for instance a selfless person like Mother Teresa is usually considered more noble than a greedy corporate executive. Ultimately though, nobility is exactly that, a concept.

When I think of "service to others", the heart and intentions of a person are what really matter. It's the choice to "love for the sake of love". This would be seen as more noble than any other path that is apparent in this world because it goes against the tide of the times. In Truth, however, it's the only reasonable choice. Is it more noble to keep your sanity while living with the insane than to fall into depravity yourself when you know you could be helping to bring them to sanity?

for example, is it more noble for me to pay the mortgage of my next door neighbor versus my own, when i can only pay one mortgage at a time?

If you were to pay off your neighbor's mortgage with the intention of being seen as good, is that really "service to others"?

also, i'm not quite sure how the parable of the prodigal son ties into 'service to others'.  both sons in the parable seem quite selfish throughout the entire story, even if they believe themselves to be serving others.

If you'll recall near the end of the parable the prodigal son wanted to actually go to work for his father. Also, I think that the other son by asking "what about me" wasn't necessarily being selfish, but was rather asking a very necessary question for the sake of the parable itself, because if the question wasn't asked then the father couldn't have given an answer, and no lesson could be drawn from the story.

can you provide a specific example for the sake of context?

The parable of the prodigal son. One can also think of this in terms of the "service to self" and "service to others" orientations to life and how a soul must choose between them in every moment.

Does nobility matter ultimately?

Not in the present moment - not in oneness. I believe that, paradoxically, the noblest quest in the mind is for the mind to transcend itself.

Is one any less noble if one chooses the right path only after discovering where all the wrong paths lead?

Well, the difference is that a sphere with an infinitely large radius has an infinitely large volume, and a sphere with an infinitely small radius has no volume at all

Anything else you would like to know?

Still though, how would you be able to know that that is really the difference unless you're able to compare them and find out? 

What is the point though?   

What's the point of a paradox? If there's no answer in the mind, then where can the answer exist? It must be in reality. Thus the point of a paradox is to attempt to bring you to reality by forcing you to search there for its answer.

If there is no difference between the largest thing and the smallest thing, then from where comes any difference at all? And if everything is intrinically connected, then how? If you want to find the answer to these questions, you need only look within yourself. After all, what's a point of view that sees nothing but itself? 

26. Cosmic Vertigo

Sensing that one is on the verge of total oneness, one who has lost hold of The Truth fears the immanence of "non-existence" because one does not realize that the self which is afraid is an illusion. This fear is the result of covering The Truth with a false identity and no matter what that identity is it is but a façade. Identification with the picture cannot take away The Truth that the picture has no meaning in and of itself. The self may change, it may die, and it may be remade – this is not the nature of The Truth. Only in the utter and complete losing of self may one be born again into eternal life. The circle will keep one on its path until one becomes the center, and it is when one becomes the center that one becomes the origin of the circle. Thus it is said that the unmoved is the source of all movement.

A sphere of infinite radius has no center because it has no edge. How then does one grasp the center? To grasp the center, one must only grasp The Truth – and if there is no center, then there cannot be anything outside of it. What then is central to all things if they are separate? It must be nothing.

To jump headfirst into the abyss, lose yourself and fall right into place – this is the meaning of life. While the cosmic vertigo may be terrifying, if you don't get to the bottom of things you will never understand The Truth.
 
27. Zero

One becomes zero becomes one again ad infinitum. When will it stop and recognize itself for what it is? In the mind, oneness cannot exist – yet in oneness, the mind cannot exist. What then is the mind? It must be zero, and anything that is divided by zero in Truth is undefined. The mind defines reality by dividing it – there is no other way. Behind zero is all negativity, whilst all that is positive rests in front. Why is this? It is because the root of anything negative must be imaginary. The number line thus is symbolic of the apex of wisdom.

28. Versus Exodus

What is all encompassing can have no opposite, and what means the same for all things can have no equal. How can one learn that which cannot be defined? How can one see that which cannot be described? How does one know that which can exist only outside the mind? How does one start one's way to Mastery when there is nowhere to go? A leap of faith with the willingness to fall – this is all that is required.
Peace comes from stillness, mystery is answered by sameness. Listen in the silence, wait the eternal wait – in this way nothing is left undone within you.
 
29. Home

Home is where the heart is. Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home. No matter how splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself.

Come home...


30. Collapsing the Vortex

Meaningful concepts swirl about in your head, beckoning you forth to that which defies all explanation. If what is paradoxical is not nonsense, then what must it mean? The answer is simple, but not easy. What is paradoxical is The Truth and what is not paradoxical is a lie, because what is paradoxical is representative of the reality that cannot be defined. As long as you have need of definitions, you are asleep in the dream of time and the call to awaken may mean nothing to you.

So, how can you awaken? Thoughts must be transcended. To do this, you need to come into alignment with Truth, and to come into alignment with Truth you must reflect that which is Truth. Become whole within yourself – find love in yourself for the sake of love. When mind is balanced it ceases to exist. All perceptions of thoughts, expectations, desires, or knowing are imbalances because they are illusions of the self. If you think you know what oneness is, you don't – you can't. Just be here now, and watch what happens. What awaits you on the other side of your slumber is a peace which those who think they know will never be able to grasp and a love which holds all things in its embrace.

Obscure and obtuse the words may have been, pulling you under the kaleidoscope vortex. The colors and forms become meaningless when you submerge into the infinite depth of oneness, and the cruel masquerade ends its desperate dance. There the illusion of black and white and everything in between fades, and you are left with only Truth.

Darkness within darkness, the brightest light there is.

Problem with infinity is, like you point out, our language fails us.

An "infinitely small point":
Oh you mean infinitely divisible "downwards", like a fractal? That I can sort of see logically.
Otherwise it makes no sense. A infinitely "small" "sphere" will be.... what... nothingness?

An "infinitely large sphere":
Again, for me logically speaking, an infinite volume cannot have a shape at all. It can not be defined as a sphere, because as soon as you do that, it would not be an infinite volume any more.
It will also not have one center point. I agree that in an infinite volume any arbitrary point can be the "centre" (as meaningless as this statement seems on the surface).

If not one center point in an infinitely "large" sphere, then how many can there be? An infinity of them, or is it since a center point as geometrically defined is impossible, is it impossible for anywhere to be the center? And if one were to create the center, would one be creating an infinite sphere, since the center of a sphere with zero radius (infinitely small) is the entirety of the sphere?

These questions might be unanswerable, but trust me, there is a point. Only a false sense of knowledge can get confused in the first place. 

PS - I know infinity doesn't have a shape, I just say "sphere" for lack of a better word to give the concept meaning. 

this is clearly a side view of an ancient egyptian toilet.  the king is sitting on it while praying to the gods.

LMAO! 

I'm sorry, to me that makes no logical sense at all.

It's not supposed to, heh. Infinity is a paradox, that's what I'm trying to point out. 

You see, in an infinitely large sphere, there is a center point but no end in any direction, so therefore the center point could be anywhere (or everywhere all at once, it makes no difference). In an infinitely small sphere the center point is the entirety of the sphere. When dealing with infinity there is no such thing as large or small, except in the case that you define infinity as being "out there" in some direction. Truthfully though, to try and define infinity is nonsense because it is impossible to contain, so any words or meanings attached to it cannot possibly be what it really is.

This probably belongs in the Philosophy section, but heck, nobody reads that anyways. So here goes:

"What's the difference between a sphere with an infinitely large radius and a sphere with an infinitely small radius?"


Thanks to Alan for the inspiration for this. One of his posts said that the universe was a sphere with an infinite radius.


DISCUSS!!!...
please.

25. Love and Wisdom

Love without wisdom is weak, while wisdom without love is foolishness. In Truth, the two are inseparable aspects of the same mystery, and only when the two become one can the mystery be made real. Separate, the two lose touch with The Truth and the grand mystery returns to the shrouded darkness that lies beyond all understanding. When love cannot recognize itself in all things, it is contained. When wisdom cannot sense the reality of its own understanding, it means nothing. The grand mystery is impossible to contain, and its meaning means everything for all things. In Truth, love and wisdom ultimately mean the same thing – and yet this thing means nothing to the mind because in Truth the mind cannot define reality. To the mind, love and wisdom must be separate: this is because their source is oneness, and oneness is impossible to the mind. While the mind believes they must be separate, in Truth when one is separate from the other it cannot be genuine. Thus to the mind, neither one can be real.

24. The Advent of Truth

To those who think they know, wisdom and philosophy hold no practical value, and paradoxes have no worth. This is because they believe that whatever answer they are looking for must be something that the mind can comprehend. The mind cannot grasp something that applies to all situations the same, yet the only real answer is oneness, since it alone is real for all things - and it is only oneness that by its very nature is entirely inexplicable. To fear oneness is a symptom of being controlled by the ego because upon the appearance of oneness the ego vanishes. When the ego goes, so go all degrees, proofs, or meanings of separation. If you can make real the true nature of oneness in your life, then you must see only sameness as reality and all differentiation as illusion – you must abdicate all sense of knowledge and replace it with what is ineffable. The replacement of that sense of knowledge with the cognizance of the only Truth is the purpose for all wisdom. The worth of wisdom is revealed only upon the advent of Truth - and it is a pearl of great price indeed, for to come to an understanding of wisdom requires one to lose all one thinks one knows and all one thinks one is.

23. Principle and Reason

God is in all that is, and all that is rests in God. God is the principle of unity and, in Truth, this principle is the answer to all paradoxes. What the mind cannot define cannot exist within it, and the answer to any paradox must be a reality. Reality, thus, cannot exist within the mind. In the knowledge of this is reason. The mind is necessary only in the dream of time, but those who think they know believe that time is reality and what logic proves must be The Truth. Logic depends upon the belief in separate things for it to mean anything, and time depends upon the belief of separate moments for it to mean anything. In the belief of separation there cannot be reason, because in Truth the mind cannot contain reality – reality must contain the mind. The denial of this is denial of The Truth, principle, and reason.

22. Illusions of Self

The true nature of selfhood lies within the mind and in the mind alone. As long as the mind is necessary, there is a perceived separation between observer and observed. The mind gives definition to the self, and yet can only do so within the imagination. Outside of the mind, the imagined self cannot exist, yet you must. Who You Really Are is not really a self at all, it is something utterly indefinable – something paradoxical. Unconditional love is the function and only true desire of Who You Really Are – any other functions or desires are attempts to balance the mind's displacement of love in the imagination, and yet all imbalances are but a result of letting go of the center.

The belief in separation is the foundation of all fear and pain. Its roots lie in the need to think, and the need to think is a result only of unawareness of The Truth. The Truth is purely objective, while the mind is purely subjective. This is because the mind exists as an internal reality, while The Truth exists as an external reality. Any attachment of meaning to the external reality is but a thought, and all the illusions of self with their fleeting desires and ulterior motives do but lead you astray from Who You Really Are and What You Really Want.

My kundalini raising was really physical - my chakras were closed at the time and I had no guidance or anything like that so when it came up it veered off to the side. I thought I had broken my back, but I was eventually able to redirect the energy all over my body. Unfortunately my awakening drove me insane eventually, but I'd gotten over it by continuing to work on myself <-- this all happened over a year ago.

What the...?

21. The Dream of Time

The meaning of unconditional love is oneness, and unconditional love is the meaning of oneness. This is because they are, in truth, the same – where sameness is, there is no separation. The appearance of oneness is ineffable, and so is the feeling of unconditional love. The only difference between them is perception. When one becomes fully lucid in the dream of time, time's rules no longer hold one to its limits because one exists outside of time. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, yet in perception one may see action and reaction as unequal due to the time that separates action from reaction. In unconditional love, every action one may make brings only love. This is because one no longer exists within the illusion of time, thus action and reaction are made the same – and sameness is the nature of reality and unconditional love. Time is a dimension of mind, and does not exist in reality. Reality is the only place one can go when one awakens from a dream, and dreams exist only in one's mind. If one thinks one is in reality, it is that thought that keeps one from reality's true nature and keeps one asleep in the dream of time.   

^ Most likely.