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The stages one moves through on the way to enlightenment: monday, tuesday, wednesday...

Oh crap they’re onto you!

Awesome, thank you, I'll give it a read.

It would make sense to include accuracy of quotes and attributions in that equation, wouldn't it? Misquoting seems pretty lazy when there is an actual quote tool built into the board, doesn't it? A misquote where the actual quote is literally inches away would garner an "F" in my estimation.

Really ? Do you mean that woman that put the poster up in my town offering to teach 'Faerie Tantra ' might have been faking it ? .

In one of the sermons of the Pali Canon, Gautama the Buddha described “seven (types of) persons existing in the world”. Here are the first two “persons”, followed by an explanation of Gautama’s terminology: And which, monks, is the person who is freed both ways? As to this, monks, some person is abiding, having apprehended with the person those peaceful Deliverances which are incorporeal having transcended material shapes; and having seen by means of wisdom (their) cankers are utterly destroyed. I, monks, do not say of this (person) that there is something to be done through diligence. What is the reason for this? It has been done by (them) through diligence, (they) could not become negligent. And which, monks, is the person who is freed by means of intuitive wisdom? As to this, monks, some person is abiding without having apprehended with the person those peaceful Deliverances which are incorporeal having transcended material shapes; yet, having seen by means of wisdom (their) cankers are utterly destroyed. This, monks, is called the person who is freed by means of intuitive wisdom. I, monks, do not say of this (person) that there is something to be done through diligence. What is the reason for this? It has been done by (them) through diligence, (they) could not become negligent… (MN 70; tr. Pali Text Society [PTS] vol. 2 pp 151-154; more on “The Deliverances”, DN 15, PTS vol. ii pp 68-69; pronouns replaced) “Those peaceful Deliverances which are incorporeal having transcended material shapes” are the last five of nine states of concentration that Gautama regularly taught. He would generally describe a set of four “corporeal” concentrations, and then describe the set of five “incorporeal” concentrations. “Corporeal” is defined in the Oxford dictionary as “relating to a person’s body”. The four corporeal concentrations can be said to relate to the body, in that they culminate in a cessation of habit and volition in the activity of the body. In particular, they culminate in a cessation of habit and volition in the activity of inhalation and exhalation. About the five “peaceful Deliverances which are incorporeal having transcended material shapes”, Gautama said very little. My understanding is that they have to do with the experience of things that are beyond the range of the senses (MN 7, PTS vol. I p 48; SN 46.54, PTS vol. V p 100). According to Gautama, the “incorporeal” concentrations culminate in a cessation of habit and volition in the activity of the mind, in particular a cessation of habit and volition in the activity of feeling and perceiving. The three “cankers” were said to be three cravings: “craving for the life of sense”, “craving for becoming”, and “craving for not-becoming” (DN 22; PTS vol. ii p 340). When the cankers are “destroyed”, the roots of the craving for sense-pleasures, the roots of the craving “to continue, to survive, to be” (tr. “bhava”, Bhikkyu Sujato), and the roots of the craving not “to be” (the craving for the ignorance of being) are destroyed. I believe “freed both ways” refers to freedom both through “those peaceful Deliverances which are incorporeal having transcended material shapes” and through “intuitive wisdom”, though there are other interpretations in the literature. Gautama went on to describe five additional “persons”, all of whom had “seen by means of wisdom”, but none of whom had completely destroyed the cankers. Consequently, they each had “something to be done through diligence”. (One Way or Another, from my site) Here's the first of the remaining five "persons existing in the world”: And which, monks, is the person who is a mental-realiser? As to this, monks, some person is abiding, having apprehended with the person those peaceful Deliverances which are incorporeal having transcended material shapes; and having seen by means of wisdom some (only) of his cankers are utterly destroyed…. This, monks, is called the person who is a mental-realiser. I, monks, say of this monk that there is something to be done through diligence…. I read that to say that the successful attainment of all the "jhanas" (concentrations), even combined with "having seen by means of wisdom", doesn't necessarily suffice for the utter destruction of the cankers. As to the value of teachers--this with regard to Buddhism, but I believe the same applies to teachers in other faiths, though the nomenclature may be different: If a person can exhibit a mindfulness like Gautama’s without having become enlightened (without having utterly destroyed the cankers), and can have “seen by means of wisdom” without having completely destroyed the cankers, then how can one know who to trust as a teacher? Gautama’s advice was to go by the words of the teacher rather than any claim to authority, to compare the instructions of a teacher to the sermons Gautama himself had given and to the rules of the order that Gautama himself had laid down (DN 16 PTS vol. ii pp 133-136). Nevertheless, activity (of the body) solely by virtue of the free location of consciousness, the hallmark of the fourth concentration, has been conveyed by demonstration in some branches of Buddhism for millennia. The transmission of a central part of the teaching through such conveyance, and the certification of that transmission by the presiding teacher, is regarded by some schools as the only guarantee of the authenticity of a teacher. The teachers so authenticated have in many cases disappointed their students, when circumstances revealed that the teacher’s cankers had not been completely destroyed. Furthermore, some schools appear to have certified transmission without the conveyance that has kept the tradition alive, perhaps for the sake of the continuation of the school. (ibid, parentheticals added) Amazing, the things that one can learn from some very old books, things that no one teaches anymore.

'Are there recognized phases one moves through on the path to the LIGHT?' In my view, yes and no. If an individual locks themself into a very specific mindset/framework, then they will be inclined to operate within the framework they have locked them self into. This may well happen at an unconscious level. It seems to me, however, we are all individuals within a larger whole, and one size does not typically fit all.

You are also dismissing my patient explanations out of hand as well . AS I said , I found it sometimes a handy pre written cut and paste option for material I already know is right and if I don't I check the references embedded within it , Also although you agreed with me that yes there is an AI response ..... that YOU dismiss out of hand as unreliable , you don't even bother to check any research on it . If you are automatically denying an AI response without checking on it , you are a bigger 'AI hater ' than I am !

Yes, important factors to take into consideration. However, during my practice, my bodily sensations seem to fall away. And my attention is mainly on the narration in my head and the quiet that creeps in. But, thank you.

If a homeless person wanted to offer you advice on which stocks to invest in, would you listen? If a teacher with no accomplishments offered to teach you the real deal stuff, would you listen? I think you should be very mentally hygienic, and focus only on practices which have good evidence backing them. Anyone can make a course and a website and charge a monthly fee, but not everyone knows what they are talking about.

Oh what a disappointment, I though they would teach how to throw fireballs

sure, it’s a ‘simple’ car.

Said the man whose avatar is flying on a carpet...

Everything I do is a complication of simplicity. Some call it "unenlightened action" but I prefer to think of it as "my journey."

I appreciate you sharing your experience, it sounds authentic and profound. I have experienced something similar though I use different language to describe it. When working with surrender and transcendence, it is important to have a healthy and stable ego as a foundation. Letting go of the primacy and agency of the ego can be very destabilizing for some so there needs to be some way to find grounding and support if that becomes an issue. Given your mention of psychological challenges, I suggest a modicum of caution and self-awareness as things shift for you. If we surrender to something greater or deeper, like you describe, there can be a tendency to objectify, project, analyze, interpret, anticipate, label and all the other things the mind is so good at. (There is little more dangerous than someone who thinks they speak for and believes they know the will of God.) So when the mental activity arises, which is inevitable (eg "Part of me wonders: Am I becoming passive? Irresponsible? Or is this the beginning of true surrender?"), I find it important to always return to inner stillness and silence. When we are quiet enough, the answers we need are there, effortlessly. If they are not coming, the best practice IMO is to let the questions remain open, trusting that answers will be there when truly needed or when we are ready. I appreciate how Steven Harrison talks in his book The Question to Life's Answers about questions being alive and full of potential, whereas answers are essentially dead - nothing more to gain from them. When it comes to integration, I think this is an important part of the process each of us has to explore and navigate for ourselves. In my tradition, every experience of life is taken as the path. One suggestion is to try and find some balance between that sense of surrender to the "absolute" and the value of the "relative" aspects of life, the mundane daily grind. Certainly there are those of us who have the opportunity and aptitude to choose the life of a yogi and to retreat from society for a time or for our remaining years. Most of us need to live with others, maintain a job, support a family, and find meaning and nourishment in the mundane. For me, finding that balance involves finding the essence of the divine within the mundane, finding the joy and nourishment in the little, everyday experiences, particularly in my relationships with other people. In particular, I find it very rewarding and instructive to dedicate time and energy to serving and helping others, both formally and spontaneously whenever the opportunity presents. Another important part of the process is to not neglect one's physical and mental health. An unhealthy body and mind cannot possibly optimize the connection with the source. Get enough sleep, eat whole foods rather than processed, drink enough fluids, reduce consumption of sugar and intoxicants, get plenty of physical exercise, limit exposure to the morass of propaganda and psychological manipulation that masquerades as "news" and "social media." All of these things have been very helpful to me in terms of the integration of the spiritual and secular in my life. I think it is a great blessing to find some sort of refuge and guidance in life, something we can trust, particularly something that is pure and stable. Integration for me means that we are able to use this to really show up in our lives, to be fully available and present, rather than withdrawn and disconnected. So much of our behavior is programmed, conditioned, and reactive, coming from a place of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty. If we can allow our actions to come from a place that is less biased and less influenced by transient emotional states and conditioned patterns, they tend to be more creative, appropriate, and beneficial, IME. Good luck to you @Kati

https://timetravelinstitute.com/t/time-travel-economics/13033