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Table of Contents
Part Ⅰ. Enlightenment.
What is enlightenment?
- What is the most important event that changed your life?
- Who are you?
- What is spiritual enlightenment?
- What did you realize upon spiritual awakening?
- How do I not exist?
- What is the importance of enlightenment?
- What does enlightenment mean to you?
- What do enlightened people know that others don’t?
- Why are there so many different interpretations to enlightenment?
- Why is the state of enlightenment so hard to describe?
- What is a central quality in achieving enlightenment?
- What are the criteria for enlightenment?
- Is enlightenment overrated?
- What makes you enlightened? Why?
- What is the best single word for an enlightened person?
Is enlightenment possible?
- Is enlightenment a scam?
- Is it possible to achieve Nirvana?
- Is it really possible for humans to be without ego for prolonged periods of time?
- Does enlightenment really exist?
- Is it possible to experience a permanent state of enlightenment?
- Is it possible to reach Nirvana in one day?
- What is the best feeling you’ve experienced?
- Do you credit your realization to personal effort or were you pushed to a corner by an act of grace?
How common is enlightenment?
- What is extremely rare, but people think is very common?
- What percentage of the people who think they are enlightened actually are?
- How many enlightened people are living in the world right now? Would you know if you interacted with one?
- How do I know if I am enlightened?
- Do people really attain enlightenment and how long can they stay enlightened?
- Why is enlightenment so difficult to realize?
- What does it mean to be intellectually enlightened?
- Why are there so many enlightened beings online?
- Can someone test me to see if I am enlightened?
Stages or levels of enlightenment
- What are the levels of enlightenment?
- Are levels of enlightenment a linear progression?
- Are stages of enlightenment obsolete and old fashioned?
- How does emptiness relate to the sense of Being?
- How do I reach a new level of spiritual awakening?
Spiritual awakening
- What is the difference between spiritual awakening and spiritual enlightenment?
- What are the differences between the higher self, awakening and enlightenment?
- Is spiritual awakening a continuous process or a one time event?
Spiritual realizations preceding non-duality
- Is the statement “There’s a reason for everything” a soothing lie we tell ourselves?
- What do people in spiritual circles mean when they say “We are all one”?
- How should I understand my higher self in relation to my current identity?
- Is enlightenment the understanding that occurs when you see the world is a simulation?
Self-realization
- Do you stay enlightened when you reach the state or do you go back and forth?
- What are the differences between self-realization, enlightenment, omniscience and salvation?
- If there are endless levels to enlightenment, what should we be calling the simple realization that All is Self?
- Is awakening the pinnacle of the human experience?
- Does spiritual awakening happen one time or can it happen more than once at different points in you life?
- Is understanding the reality of consciousness equivalent to being enlightened?
- Is seeing the ego as illusory enlightenment?
- Is it spiritual awakening when you’re losing all emotion?
- What literally happens to the self when someone has a spiritual awakening or enlightenment?
Non-duality
- During ego death what does the sensation of oneness feel like?
- What is the connection between enlightenment and non-duality?
- What was your strangest non-dual moment?
- Is there still a sense of being with non-dual consciousness? Who is the one who feels this beingness?
- How different is non-dual awareness from enlightenment?
- If we cut our hand, only we will feel so where is the oneness there?
- What is the difference between present awareness and enlightenment?
Enlightenment
- Once someone becomes enlightened does consciousness continue to evolve?
- Can enlightenment be lost?
- Does the ego exist after one is enlightened?
- If one is enlightened do they still have to meditate?
- When do we know we are truly awake?
- Was the Buddha awakened or enlightened? Is there a difference?
- Does an enlightened being have an expanded sense of self or no sense of self?
- How do you know when you have attained ultimate enlightenment and there’s no further to go?
- Is enlightenment when the drop falls into the ocean?
- If all dreaming ceases in enlightenment, how is anything experienced after, when that dreaming is existence?
- Can one who has attained Nirvana feel pain?
- How many years did it take you to progress from first identifying with awareness to the last stage of being a human body?
Misconceptions about enlightenment
- Why do some people hold onto myths and fantasies about enlightenment?
- Is enlightenment only for privileged people?
- What is some of the misleading information taught about enlightenment?
- How can an enlightened person acknowledge that they are enlightened? Isn’t such an acknowledgement fundamentally against the state of being enlightened?
- Are there any movies that can aid you on your path to enlightenment?
- Can two enlightened people have children or is it considered an attachment?
- Would a spiritually enlightened person think of themselves as being enlightened?
- Does endarkenment (the opposite of enlightenment) exist?
- Has there ever been a Buddhist monk disappear through enlightenment?
- Does enlightenment free people from enslavement to reptilian Illuminati overlords?
- Is the purpose of enlightenment in the end to sell books?
- What is the difference between enlightenment and nihilism, if all philosophy and religion are flawed?
- How do you deal with enlightenment?
- What does it mean when people say that "everyone is already enlightened"?
Manifestation and synchronicities
- If consciousness manifests reality, then an enlightened person can manifest anything?
- Why do some people experience more synchronicities than others?
- What is good advice for making sense of the signs and synchronicities of a spiritual awakening?
Enlightened beings aka supermundane people
Recognition of the enlightened
- Can an enlightened person easily identify another enlightened person?
- Do awakened people recognize other awakened people?
- How do people know if someone is enlightened? Would it be possible to identify this via neuroscience means?
- If I lose my physical body and become just a mind, how would I be recognizable by other minds that knew me in my body?
- Can enlightened people argue with each other about enlightenment?
Perception of the enlightened
- When you’re enlightened, what effect does your presence have on other people?
- Are enlightened people creepy?
- Can people feel the presence of an enlightened human being?
- Can one give spiritual advice without coming across as if they think they’re better or wiser?
- Can an enlightened person be an egotistical asshole?
- The eyes are the windows to the soul. What would we see in your eyes?
- Why is it that spiritually awakened people have a tendency to compete with one another?
- If enlightened people have dissolved their egos, why do their egos appear so disproportionately inflated?
Gurus and masters
- What is an enlightened liberated master the master of?
- Does an enlightened person have the power to liberate others?
- What makes a successful spiritual leader?
- At what point does one realize that they are an enlightened master?
- What is the difference between someone who is enlightened and an enlightened master?
- What makes you skeptical about Sadhguru?
- Was Osho a narcissist or a sociopath?
- Who is Jed McKenna?
- How can a be in a spiritual authority if they do not eat a Sattvic only diet?
- Has anyone achieved enlightenment in recent history (last 100 years)?
- Why is it so hard to lead a life as preached by great yogis and masters?
- Why all enlightened masters were/are men?
- Who declares that someone is enlightened? Is there a panel of people that says he or she is enlightened?
- Is the guru/disciple model outdated in our age and time?
- Why is there no other mystic that reached the peak of wisdom as Gautama Buddha?
- Why did Osho, Jiddu Krishnamurti and U. G. Krishnamurti never understand each other?
- Are ascended masters born enlightened?
- What is the enlightened person committed to his spiritual practice called?
- Is it true that a mystic is someone who experiences the ineffable and can't stop talking about it?
- Why don’t those who are enlightened just keep quiet? Why do they have to talk at all?
- Are you the Maitreya?
What’s it like to be enlightened
- What’s it like to live with no self?
- Do enlightened people still ever experience bonding or the feelings of closeness or intimacy?
- If you are enlightened and you are living among unenlightened people how do you hide your enlightenment?
- Do birds and squirrels follow the enlightened around and rejoice in their blissful presence?
- What does it feel physically when one gets awaken like Buddha did?
- Can an enlightened being function and be accepted as a normal member of society?
- What is a good career for someone who has achieved spiritual enlightenment?
- What would a fully awakened person do when they see a homeless person asking for help?
- Do enlightened individuals cry?
- Do enlightened people need social interaction?
- Do enlightened people lose the ability to experience sexual tension and attraction?
- How do enlightened people experience seeing their body in a mirror?
- What surprises you most about your spiritual journey?
- What makes an enlightened person become a savage?
- What do people get wrong about you and your personality?
- How do enlightened beings achieve repeatable results if they live in the moment?
- Can an enlightened being feel pride?
- Do enlightened people maintain any recurring preferences? How do they make decisions?
- How can enlightened people feel love if their mind is completely clear and free from worldly feelings?
- Could an enlightened being be offended?
- Can an enlightened person fall in love?
- If enlightened people love everyone and everything, how do they handle people or things that bother them?
- Is it better to be enlightened than not to be enlightened?
- When someone is enlightened can they live a normal life?
- What does it feel like to have an illuminated mind? Not just a brief spiritual awakening.
Influencing others
- If you are enlightened, how do you deal with an unenlightened person?
- What do you say to people who do not believe in spirituality?
- How do I stop someone’s ego?
- How do I deliver a Shaktipat to my beloved spouse and soul mate?
- Have you attempted to discuss your spiritual awakening with non-spiritual friends?
- With the entire world heading into a completely enlightened state, why is it that many still refuse to accept, adapt, and change?
- How does someone on the path to enlightenment best go about transmitting the Dharma in a way that doesn’t result in them being dismissed immediately?
- Are you only enlightened if you’re able to share it with people?
- If suffering is illusory, why can't an enlightened master change the illusion and liberate everyone?
- Does one always feel a transmission from an enlightened being?
Spiritual abuse
- Why would my enlightened partner try to abuse me? Is that what enlightenment is about?
- How should I respond when a hurtful person uses the excuse that emotions are just the mind?
- Can you be an enlightened asshole?
- Why would Zen masters attack their students and even beat them close to death?
- How can you distinguish between a spiritual guru and a narcissist posing as an "enlightened being"?
- What are the signs of an abusive guru?
Methods and practice
- What slows down our spiritual awakening?
- How long does it take to get enlightened?
- Is it possible to actually dissolve the dream and ego?
- How hard does ego fight back?
- What is the best way to see the illusory nature of the self?
- What is the best I can do right now in the direction of enlightenment?
- Is there a relationship between burnout and spiritual awakening?
- Can enlightenment be achieved through pure reasoning?
- Does faking that you are enlightened help you get enlightened?
- Can I reach enlightenment by myself?
- Why should anyone seek to stop seeking?
- You are to convince me to seek enlightenment through any method. What is your sales pitch?
- Can someone reach enlightenment while living a busy lifestyle inside society?
- Are teachings on enlightenment that reduce to “You are already enlightened” of any use to anybody?
- Why seek to know oneself?
- When Nisargadatta says "The very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive", what does he mean?
- Is liberation simply a matter of courage to believe that you are already free and act on it, as Nisargadatta says?
- UG says the mind cannot make the realization. Nisargadatta insists that witnessing one's own thought can lead the way. Which is it?
- How does one avoid one's ego on the path to enlightenment?
- Do your answers about awakening push readers through the “gateless gate” the same way koans do?
- Is there such a thing as enlightened behavior?
- How strong do you have to be to become enlightened?
Meditation
- Is enlightenment a big bang or you get enlightened gradually through meditation practice?
- Is mindfulness practice similar to Buddhists who seek enlightenment?
- Can you get to a psychedelic state through meditation?
- Why do painful forgotten memories from childhood popup during meditation?
- What kind of drugs can enhance the meditation experience?
- Do I have to be spiritual to meditate?
- How do I protect myself from spiritual attacks when meditating?
- Why shouldn’t you interrupt someone who is meditating?
- What is the best material to sit on while meditating?
- Why have I lately been experiencing sudden contractions of my legs like spasms when I meditate?
- Witnessing
Psychedelics
- How do psychedelics cause hallucinations and why are they more intense when your eyes are closed?
- Does doing DMT lead to spiritual enlightenment?
- I was never an emotional person, but since my last acid trip I am crying all the time. How do I reverse this?
- Do you need to take a hallucination substance to have a hallucination?
- Can the psychedelic experience be considered objective relating to an afterlife or spirituality?
- Does smoking marijuana hinder your ability to reach higher levels of spiritual awakening?
- Why do people on psychedelics often obsess over free will and whether it exists?
- Should psychedelics be reclassified since they are safe and proven to be psychologically beneficial?
- Why do they say that DMT is a spiritual drug?
- Is it dangerous to take psychedelics while on SSRIs?
- Do enlightened people enjoy psychoactive substances?
Judgment and acceptance
- Is acceptance the most important spiritual practice?
- Is judging a sign of ego?
- Should I also accept moments when I don’t want to accept things as they are?
- Is it OK for me to feel like I accept myself even if no one else accepts me?
- What does Nisargadatta mean when he said deny yourself nothing?
- At what age did you truly love yourself, mind and body?
- What should I do when tears flow in longing to know myself and feel helpless at the same time?
- What are the punishments for refusing to surrender to your own unconditionally loving mind and going back into the evil person?
- Why do I live a life of trying to prove I am able to myself and to others?
- Why does spirituality discourage comparison and competition?
Perfection and imperfection
- How can an imperfect being label or consider another entity as perfect?
- Does an early spiritual awakening lead to seeing the world as extremely flawed?
- Why do so many enlightened teachers say, “The world is perfect as it is,” when there are so many problems?
Loneliness and aloneness
- What is the opposite of loneliness?
- Is it normal to prefer being alone after a spiritual awakening?
- What happens over time to a person that is left in solitude without any human contact?
- Does a person who attains enlightenment become a dysfunctional member of society?
- How do you deal with isolation when you are enlightened?
Kundalini
- What is the difference between kundalini and spiritual awakening?
- Can Kundalini awakening be scientifically explained?
- Does Kundalini awakening have a cyclic or repetitive nature?
- Is awakening Kundalini an actual physical thing or is it more psychological?
- Is Kundalini awakening a myth? If not how do I reach that point?
- Is it possible to experience Kundalini awakening from the top down in your body?
Spirituality
- Is spiritual knowledge more important than knowledge of material reality?
- What is the meaning of the spiritual knowledge if we all are destined to die one day?
- Where does spiritual warfare take place and what is it about?
- Who’s the real enemy inside yourself in spirituality?
- How can I embrace the unknown in spirituality?
- What is meant by a spiritual level?
- Do you feel stupid to be spiritual around not-so-spiritual people?
- What is the most profound spiritual book?
- Do we need to be aware of the spiritual battle that is taking place around us?
- How can a person develop their own unique spiritual path?
- Can becoming more spiritual cause sensitivities to everything, like foods, fragrances, people’s energy?
- Is spirituality religion? What does it mean to be spiritual, but not religious?
- Is inner beauty a spiritual beauty?
- How can I deal with spiritual transition and the confusion and uncertainty that comes with it?
- What is the biggest spiritual battle you have experienced? How did you overcome it or did you give up?
- Have you ever felt blessed by a divine source?
- In the spiritual journey, how can you know whether you’re following yourself or an idea you read?
- Is it possible for brain damage to cause constant out of body experience?
- Do the Himalayan mountains possess hidden spiritual wisdom?
- Do spiritual people have no ego?
- As a spiritual person do you ever have doubts about spirituality or spiritual process?
- What are the secrets that enlightened people hide from the common people?
- What is the biggest spiritual secret?
Ancient spiritual traditions
- What is the ego?
- Is there only one enlightenment and many paths to it, or different types of enlightenment?
Christianity
- Is Buddhist enlightenment the same as Jesus’?
- Would Jesus Christ recognize any of today’s Christian churches or denominations?
- Why am I such a bad Christian? Why can’t I stop disappointing God and screwing up?
- Is living our life to be like Jesus a good idea?
- What is the Original Sin and its consequences?
Buddhism
- What makes Samma Sambuddha different in relation to Arahants and other illuminated ones?
- Are Samsara and Nirvana just states of mind?
- Is Samsara a fair system?
- What exactly did Buddha awaken to?
- Is the cessation of cyclic existence possible, given that a Bodhisattva would always return to the world out of compassion to help a non-Bodhisattva?
- What does Buddhism say about anger?
- Why is there so much importance of making merit in Buddhism?
- As a Buddhist do you consider yourself enlightened?
- Is Buddhist enlightenment the same as ego death?
- Why did the Buddha die if he was enlightened?
- Was Buddha the first enlightened human?
- Is Buddhism good for those who wish to strengthen their minds?
- Is a Bodhisattva fully enlightened or are they a slave to their compassion?
- How would people react if I called myself a Buddha?
- What happens when you reach Nirvana?
- What stops an enlightened being from returning to Samsara?
- Are Nirvana and Samsara inseparable?
- Are Monks the real masters of the mind?
- If, in Buddhism, there is no self, what reincarnates, and what is reborn?
- How are Samsara and Karma related?
- In Zen, what is suchness? Is it the nature of emptiness?
- How can Buddhists realize emptiness?
- Is Nirvana eternal?
- Are Sunyata and Nirvana one and the same?
- Is a Bodhisattva's realization higher than that of an Arahant?
- My commentary on the Heart Sutra
Hinduism
- After attaining enlightenment was Buddha basically identifying as Brahman, universal consciousness?
- When ego is dissolved in enlightenment and one experiences oneself as Brahman/Being/The Absolute, do they continue to experience that after death?
- Is the Buddhist Sunyata/emptiness the same thing as Brahman from Advaita Vedanta?
- Are the highest states of consciousness in Buddhism and Hinduism equivalent?
- What does Western society fundamentally misunderstand about practice of yoga?
Spiritual experiences
- What are a few common features of truly spiritual experiences?
- Are spiritual experiences real or an illusion of our mind?
- Is it true that some people can meditate themselves into an out of body experience? How is that possible?
Supernatural spiritual abilities
- What are the abilities of an enlightened or awakened person?
- Is it wrong to envy the supposed spiritual abilities of another?
- Are people with psychic abilities spiritually advanced?
- Can your psychic abilities be a byproduct of your third eye opening?
- Can the high level of consciousness lead to higher extra sensory perception?
- Can anyone talk to spirits or supernatural beings?
- Is enlightenment a supernatural or neurological phenomenon?
Positive and negative energy, auras
- How do I keep people with good aura closer?
- Do enlightened people get their energy drained when they spend time with negative people?
- Why some spiritual people keep saying you have the most beautiful energy, but can’t be real friends?
- Is it true that some people can see auras? What do they mean?
- Has someone who is a professional in spiritually ever told you the color of your aura?
Reincarnation
- Can an enlightened being remember their old life with all their hopes, dreams and frustrations?
- What happens to us once we stop reincarnating?
Karma
- If ego is an illusion, would it follow that karma is equally an illusion?
- If there were no such thing as karma or God, why should you strive to be a good person?
- Will you be affected by karma if you don’t believe in it?
- If you were the only living person in the world, how would your actions affect karma?
- Do people who take pleasure in others’ pain fail to understand the reality of karma?
Chakras
- Is it possible to see a chakra, how do we know they actually exist?
- Do we have more than 7 chakras and how do we utilize them if we do?
- How do chakras work?
Soul
- How does the soul enter in a baby while it is in the mother’s womb?
- Can a person have more than one soul?
- As food is to the body what is to the soul?
- Once you are enlightened are you aware of your soul?
- As a spiritual person how does it feel when someone tells you that souls aren’t real?
- Why do some enlightened people claim there is a soul and others don’t?
- Where does belief in an immortal soul comes from?
- Is the body separate from the soul?
- Can an enlightened soul never be truly crushed?
- What is the soul made of?
- Is each of us a soul or do we have a soul?
- Do you believe that an Amoeba has a soul?
- Do you know anyone without a soul?
- Are even the most kind souls selfish?
- In what way do emotions, actions, reactions, and thoughts affect our soul?
Modern day and New Age spirituality
- How come there is such a huge surge in awakened people all of a sudden?
- Is mindfulness enlightenment?
- What are the characteristics of New Age spirituality?
- I had my spiritual awakening already and want to become a spiritual coach, will charging money accumulate my karma?
- Why is ego considered to be so bad in the New Age guru type circles?
- Do any other Divine Feminines who are totally surrendered feel like your ego keeps sneaking back?
- Do Swarovski crystals attract negative spiritual energies? I own 8 of their Christmas stars and I can feel something angry is watching me?
- Is the law of attraction real or is it just another concept of the dreaming mind?
- The separateness of 3D is an illusion, but transcending ego isn’t really viable in 3D. How to strike the right balance?
- Do astral body and astral travel really exist? Are they real?
- Does anyone really have a true self or is that just another name for a well adjusted ego state?
- Is spirituality in America making a lot of controversy?
- To enlightened people, is there such a thing as high and low vibrations, or is that ego talk?
- Do enlightened people build a shell that protects them from the impositions of low vibrations?
- If you lose friends during spiritual awakening, is it because you're not vibrating at the same frequency anymore?
- What is the shadow?
Part Ⅱ. You.
Ego
- What is the human ego and what is its purpose?
- How can you tell when one’s ego is in control and how do you silence it?
- What is the difference between ego and selfishness?
- What is the difference between loving yourself and an ego?
- What is the difference between ego and self-esteem?
- What is the difference between ego and confidence?
- What is the difference between self-respect and ego?
- What is the difference between ego and personality?
- What is a positive ego and a negative ego?
- Why does it hurt someone’s ego to lose in a fair fist fight?
- Why is ego death sometimes seen as liberating and peaceful?
- Why is ego useful?
- How is ego counter-productive?
- How does ego develop and “ripens” before it can be lost?
- Who created the ego? Is it just a illusion built on our conditioning without any merit?
- Why is it that we anthropomorphize everything?
- Do attempts that the ego makes to accomplish an end generally have the opposite effect?
- Is it bad to feed someone’s ego?
- What is a healthy ego?
- What does the ego do?
The body
- If self is an illusion, is there an explanation as to why awareness is localized to one’s body?
- Do only awakened people hear a high-pitched ringing?
- Can the unconscious determine the quality of our health?
- Can one have health issues that would make enlightenment impossible?
- How can I transcend the physical body permanently?
Ignorance
- What is the most important thing humans ignore?
- What is the biggest lie everyone holds up as true even though everyone knows it isn’t?
- What is the cost of ignorance?
- Why no one understands that life is fragile and futile?
Specialness and vanity
- If you’re enlightened or otherwise superior, what are some things you are lacking?
- Do enlightened people feel special as they’ve been touched by God?
- If I am already a nobody, will enlightenment make me special?
- What prevents us from enlightenment?
Wisdom, knowledge, intelligence and understanding
- What is wisdom based on?
- Are enlightened people wise?
- Is it necessary to know everything?
- What is it like to have Buddha-like intelligence?
- Is enlightenment like your thoughts vanish into understanding?
- Personally, how do you measure the level of intelligence in a person?
- At what point do we become adults?
- What is wrong with generalizations in general?
- What is the difference between intelligence and wisdom?
- Where have you encountered a surprising source of wisdom?
- Is happiness really at odds with the pursuit of knowledge?
- Is human brain made to understand just the world around us or to understand itself?
- Does IQ have anything to do with spiritual enlightenment?
- Will we ever understand physical reality, or is there a limit to human mind’s comprehension?
- If we are living in a simulation, for what purpose would some higher intelligence have created it?
Truth and falsehoods
- Does enlightenment create paradoxes? Is truth paradoxical?
- Does every human on Earth already knows the truth, but interprets it through ego-mind lens?
- Is it possible to be free from hypocrisy?
- What is it like to be living with no ego?
- Does it help or benefit us to cling to truth?
- How can we cope with the truth that there’s no security in anything?
- A knife can’t cut itself, since it’s doing the cutting. How can we know ourselves when we are the ones knowing?
- Do you know anyone who willfully denies the truth?
- Why do people tell their opinion and not the truth?
- Where do I look if I want to find the truth?
- Why do we keep lying? Is it possible not to lie?
- What's more important: truth or life?
Reality and illusion
- Is there a reality beyond illusion?
- Why is it so painful to see that people are not spiritually awakened and are living in an illusion?
- Does spiritual experience point to the world being unreal or the mind being unreal?
- What are examples of illusions we mistakenly believe as reality?
- If the reality we experience is the reality we create, what then is real?
- What is the difference between delusion and illusion?
- Illusion and confusion
Beliefs and imagination
- Is there ever a time when you should not question authority?
- What is it called when you think of something so much that you believe that it’s real?
- How do conscious and unconscious work in the theory of imagination?
- Why don’t most people question everything?
- Should you believe in what you are seeing or should you believe in what you are seeking?
- Can enlightened people be hypnotized?
- What is the longest amount of time you believed something to be true that wasn’t?
- How powerful can a belief be?
- Do enlightened beings have beliefs? What happens to beliefs after enlightenment?
Sanity and insanity
- Is enlightenment actually a mental illness?
- Is it common to think you are going crazy when on the path to awakening?
- Is it possible to imagine insanity?
- What if the truth disentangled your sanity?
- How do you know your enlightenment/spiritual awakening isn't just mental illness?
Objectivity and subjectivity
- Do truly enlightened people share the same point of view?
- Does objectivity exists?
- Does objective morality actually exist? How would you prove its existence?
- Are we alone in our own subjective experience? Will we ever be truly understood?
Mind and consciousness
Conscious, subconscious and unconscious
- Are our conscious minds just spectators to the unconscious mind?
- What are some truths about the subconscious mind that most people don’t know?
- Is the state of enlightenment a no-consciousness state that lasts forever?
- What is the distinction between the conscious and subconscious mind?
- If in enlightenment there are no more questions, does that mean life loses its mystery?
- Is it true that like an iceberg only a small portion of the mind conscious, and the rest is hidden beneath the surface?
- Are ego defense mechanisms conscious or unconscious processes?
- Can someone’s subconscious mind affect another person?
- Is the ego unconscious?
Consciousness and awareness
- Is existence conscious?
- Where does consciousness reside?
- Does the collective unconscious act across time and space?
- When does a collection of chemicals begin to become alive and have consciousness?
- Can you explain how awareness transcends consciousness?
- What leads some enlightened to also reject consciousness and others to stay in spiritual ideas?
- Is the experience of one's own experience the most fundamental experience?
The mind and the brain
- What is the difference between mind and brain? Is mind just brain and its processes inside? And consciousness?
- Does the mind control the brain?
- Does the mind shutdown after enlightenment?
- Does the mind give rise to consciousness or does the consciousness generate mind?
- Is the essence of a human being in their consciousness or in their memories?
- Is the human brain logical in nature?
- What makes humans so curious and inquisitive?
- How do you know that enlightenment wasn't just another manifestation of your mind?
- The magnificence of the human mind
Thoughts
- Why are my thoughts so out of control? I feel like I need to act on them in order to feel better.
- What is the true nature of thoughts?
- Did Buddha have complete control over his thoughts?
- Why do sometimes ideas come suddenly? What happens to our brain?
- Can one still get music stuck in their head after enlightenment/self-realization?
- If not thinking, than what is the real use of mind?
Emotions
- What psychological mistake do people make again and again?
- Is it better to cry when we feel sad and hurt or should we avoid crying?
- Is it a conscious choice if you decide to feel a certain way?
- Why is laughing much more acceptable than crying when they are both ways to release emotions?
- How do I get rid of my emotions?
- What are some rare signs of emotional maturity?
- What is way more protected than it needs to be?
- How can you learn to control your emotions?
- How do you distinguish between reacting to an emotion and surrendering to it?
- Does a beginner in spiritual path feel emotionally unstable?
- Are emotions physical?
- What leads to people repressing their emotions?
Happiness
- Is it true that a truly happy person doesn’t have any malice towards others?
- What’s one thing that has to happen before you can die happy?
- Do you agree that our happiness is massively dependent on how we connect with and contribute to others?
- Why do I never feel satisfied?
- What’s more desirable, enlightenment or happiness?
- Which virtues are the most important to happiness?
- Is happiness a choice or a happenstance?
- Is it really possible to be always happy when you are enlightened?
Love
- Is Nirvana a state of eternal love?
- If I can’t explain why I love the person is it love?
- Is it true that everybody just wants to be loved?
- Is indifference the opposite of love?
- Is the absence of hate love or indifference?
- Is there any better feeling than love in the world?
- Why do we overlook the flaws of someone we’re in love with even when it’s detrimental to our well-being?
- Why would one risk everything for love just to have it then lose it when things don’t go as planned?
- How do I know if my intuition is right?
- What is the connection between unconditional love and enlightenment?
- Do you have unconditional love for humanity?
- Do you need to be enlightened to be able to truly love your partner?
- The end of dependency is the beginning of love
- The mind is a crying child
Compassion
- Is compassion an illusion?
- Can you be hurt so much that you lose your empathy?
- How do you give yourself and others unconditional compassion?
- Was Buddha truly enlightened? His compassion makes me feel otherwise.
Forgiveness
- Why is it so hard for people to forgive?
- How can I let grudges go, and why do I hold them towards certain people?
- A master once said: "How can you forgive your narcissistic mother when you haven't forgiven yourself for being born"? What does it mean?
Peace
- Is peace just an illusion?
- If you had to choose between peace, love and happiness, what would you choose?
Meaning, reasons, purpose and goals
- Does it matter if I do nothing?
- Why do we spend our lives searching for meaning when nature never intended us to be anything more than animals?
- What is the point of life if we are going to end up dead and forgotten?
- What is the purpose of spiritual enlightenment?
- Would it be hypocritical to be enlightened and still have earthly goals in life?
- What do you believe your reason for existing is?
- What is the difference between living and existing?
- What is the ultimate potential of a human being?
Success and failure
- Why do I still exist when I failed at everything?
- If ego is the source of success, why get rid of it?
- Do you still have ambition in enlightenment?
- Can people who don’t wake up till noon still be successful?
- Would you rather die and be known as a significant or successful person?
- Why does my ego prevent me from accepting that I’m the root cause for the everlasting cycle of my own failures?
Free will
- Do spiritually enlightened beings believe in free will?
- How does the concept of power tie into spiritual enlightenment?
- If you reached spiritual enlightenment, do you accept hard determinism?
- Is free will an illusion of our conscious mind?
Time
- Is the sense of time an artificial concept created by our minds?
- If time is an illusion, then why do we age?
Suffering
- What are the origins of pain?
- Can a spiritual awakening be a rude awakening as well?
- Do I want to become enlightened or is it not for the faint of heart?
- What is there to be learned through suffering in life?
- Is enlightenment the cessation of suffering or the cessation of identification with the sufferer?
- Is it true that enlightenment is not the end of emotional suffering because ego is still there?
Desire
- What is the difference between wanting and craving?
- Are all doings the work of ego?
- If Buddha tried to teach that to desire is to suffer, why do people desire to be enlightened?
Pain and sorrow
- Why is spiritual awakening so painful?
- Do people need to feel pain to truly achieve happiness or enlightenment?
- Are defilements abandoned by recognition of the mental pain causing them?
- Is it true that emotional pain can be just as destructive to your body as physical pain?
- Why is it so difficult to remember exactly how physical pain feels?
- Do you ever enjoy the experience of emotional pain?
- After awakening has anyone been able to feel great pain and sorrow radiating from nearly everyone?
- What is the most emotional pain a person can ever experience?
- Why is spiritual awakening always painful?
Fear
- What do you mean that the ego is driven by fear?
- Is it normal to be really scared during a spiritual awakening?
- Is paranoia caused by misperceiving some happenings or by not perceiving some?
- How can we cope with the fear coming with seeing our ego is never constant and may not be real?
- Fear is anticipation of pain
Loss
- What did you lose as a result of spiritual awakening?
- Is the key to enlightenment losing everything?
- Can huge losses be considered spiritual awakenings or the catalysts thereof?
Guilt and shame
- What is the purpose of embarrassment from an evolutionary standpoint?
- How can I get over the fact that I hurt someone and forgive myself? Is it my karma?
- The confusion between guilt and shame
Good and evil
- Is human by nature good or evil?
- Are people fundamentally good or bad in general?
- Are people born good and something happens in life that makes them bad?
- Are all bad people punished or will be punished?
- Are good people automatically good and don’t know they are?
- Why don’t good people believe that the world is bad?
- Does man have an innate sense of what is good and what is bad?
- Do you believe there are people who deserve to die?
Altruism and egoism
- What are some examples of enlightened self-interests?
- Is enlightenment a selfish pursuit?
- People are not bad, they are just selfish, right?
- What does “even a desire to do good can lead to the dark side” mean?
Personal relationships
- Why is it so hard for people to get along with each other?
- Is it true that there are few things more liberating in life than giving up the need to be liked by everyone?
- How is it healthy for certain awakening gurus to devalue the importance of personal relationships?
- Why does it seem like people are constantly testing me even though I have demonstrated that I’m not the one to disrespect?
- Why am I so spiteful?
- My friends all either baby me or bully me, what does that say about me?
- How do you learn to separate truth from lies when you are being gaslighted?
Romance and sexuality
- Is celibacy necessary to reach enlightenment?
- Is sex a hindrance in path of spirituality and enlightenment?
- My girlfriend pleasures herself a lot. Is the problem with me or her? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?
- What is the evolutionary purpose of pedophilia?
- In an enlightened romantic relationship, what role does monogamy play?
- Is it normal to switch from homosexuality to heterosexuality after Kundalini awakening?
- Are couples subconsciously attracted to each other by natural body scent?
- Why am I attracted to older guys when I’m already in a relationship?
- Why do I still like a girl who broke my heart?
- Should I continue to act the same way around my crush after he has told me he likes me?
- Why do I find crazy attractive?
Psychology and personality
- What is the most interesting psychological fact you know of?
- Is ego a psychological problem of human beings?
- How mentally tough are you and what are you doing to get stronger?
- Was Carl Jung enlightened?
- Do we tend to dislike others who have character flaws similar to our own?
- What characteristic is underrated in people?
- Are highly sensitive people real?
- What is humor?
- Should you major in psychology if you are good at manipulating people?
- What is the psychology behind consistent defensiveness?
- Why are people fascinated with other people?
- What is the psychology of people who talk bad about other people?
- What is the psychology behind being condescending?
- How to retain your personality without clinging to it? And on the other hand how to rest as awareness without clinging to egolessness?
- Why do some people curse so much?
- What is the essence of charisma?
- What is a clear distinction between spiritual and psychological?
Arrogance and humility
- How do I know if I am being humble?
- What is humility and why is it hard for some to understand?
- Is arrogance a result of ignorance?
- How do you crush someone’s pride?
- Do modest people really overlook their successes or they just choose to ignore them?
Cruelty and kindness
- In what ways do people weaponize kindness?
- Why is it often harder to treat ourselves kindly than to treat others with kindness?
- Which virtue is better, kindness or honesty? Are they complementary or mutually exclusive?
- Can kindness be taught?
- Why do people make excuses for bullies instead of admitting that kids can be cruel and sadistic?
- Why are Buddhist societies so harsh when the Buddhist philosophy seems so kind?
Complexes, inhibitions and insecurities
- Can spiritual enlightenment cure psychological issues like negative self worth, low assertiveness?
- What happened to your previous problems, issues and complexes after spiritual awakening?
Sleep and dreaming
- How does enlightenment affect dream life?
- Is it common for an awakened being to be traveling to parallel realities during sleep time?
- Why can I lie down and dream but be fully conscious and not asleep?
- How does a spiritually enlightened person experience sleep?
- Are lucid dreams different than hallucinations?
- I never experienced sleep paralysis before starting meditation. Should I stop?
- Are the people you see in dreams conscious?
- Can you feel achieve enlightenment in your dream?
- Why is it so difficult to remember the details of a dream?
- What is the difference between vision, dream and fantasy?
- Why, when you’re dreaming you don't know you’re dreaming?
Life
- What works perfectly fine but people complain about because they don’t understand it?
- How can we make our life flawless?
- Do you have a philosophy which guides your life or do you take more of chaotic approach?
- How come people complicate life?
- What makes a life well lived?
- What is the most inconvenient truth about life?
Death
- What do enlightened people believe happens once you die?
- Is there consciousness after death?
- Why can’t I cry after a death?
- Is it possible to have a deep feeling that you are near your death?
- Why is enlightenment considered a spiritual death?
- Is it better to be dead or enlightened?
- What is the difference between non-existence before birth and death after life?
- What will happen after your body dies when you reach Nirvana?
- If there was no life before one was conceived how can a one believe there is life after death?
- What words would you have on your gravestone?
- Why don’t we like thinking about death?
- Did Buddha had a natural death after he was enlightened?
- Is it normal to be afraid of dying alone?
- Is an enlightened person still subject to the process of death and decay? Does that still bother them?
- Do you still fear death after you've reached enlightenment?
Depression and despair
- Can someone be depressed and enlightened at the same time?
- How do I accept the fact that without being on my antidepressant I am mentally unstable?
- Should depression be managed like chronic pain?
- Can depression be a form of an ego death?
The dark night of the soul
- How do you know if you’re experiencing the dark night of the soul?
- Has anyone suffered a dark night of the soul and overcome it through complete surrender?
- What is the practical explanation for the dark night of the soul? Is it really awakening or psychosis?
Psychosis
- Is psychosis strictly a mental illness or can it be spiritual in nature?
- Why is spiritual awakening mistaken for psychosis?
Depersonalization
- Can an experience with ego death cause depersonalization? How do you live normally after such a profound experience?
- How have people handled depersonalization? Is it enlightenment’s evil twin?
Suicide
- What is the biggest mistake ever caused by ego?
- What is the position of Vedanta regarding suicide?
- Are spiritual gurus making people feel suicidal?
Drugs and alcohol
- Can my past drug use prevent me from enlightenment?
- Can enlightened people still suffer from addiction problems?
- Does consuming alcohol have any negative effects on the practice of meditation?
- What's the saddest truth about alcohol?
Diet
- Can a non-vegetarian person become enlightened?
- Why do all the enlightened beings prefer vegetarianism?
- Can an enlightened person be a meat eater?
- As a spiritually awakened person, do you drink alcohol and eat meat? Should we stop this to awaken our spirituality?
Part Ⅲ. The world.
Society
- What will the next civilization think about us?
- What has caused people to become so sensitive and easily offended?
- Could it be said that social media magnifies our egos and insecurities?
- When you’ve been enlightened/awakened, do you find it hard to watch meaningless TV?
- Why are humans so destructive to the Earth?
- Why is it that people are capable of lying as well as telling the truth?
- Why are people so judgemental toward those who “end up alone”?
- Why has power shifted from older people to younger people, unlike in the past?
- What single act by governments would make you feel that the world’s future is bright?
- Why can’t we as a society stop putting value on things that don’t matter?
- Did Buddha oppose slavery?
- What would happen if every person in this world is spirituality enlightened?
- What makes one culture better than another?
- Would the world be better without humanity?
- Are people becoming more evil or more good?
- What professions have the most egotistical people?
Morality
- Why do some people resist living lives of moral integrity?
- Is there a difference between ethics and morality?
- Is it immoral to obey a law that you consider to be immoral?
- Is trying to achieve moral perfection selfish?
- What is moral but untrue?
- Does “The Good Place” do a good job depicting philosophical principles?
Crime and violence
- Why do humans get random thoughts of violence that we discard?
- Is the murder of a human and dolphin considered the same, as we are both technically considered intelligent beings?
- Why does boredom spawn crime?
- Is stealing considered to be morally right?
Gender
- Can women achieve enlightenment?
- I’ve heard people say that women are insecure. What does it really mean to be insecure?
- Is the female emotional response to being left by a male partner different than it being vice versa?
- Why are people transgender from an evolutionary point of view?
- Can women shut off their emotions like men do?
- Is it wrong to believe that men and women have roles?
- Are women more kind than men, on average?
- Can women be as egoistic as men?
- What does it mean to be masculine?
- Is feminism destroying masculinity?
- What is the biggest misconception about women and, likewise, about men?
- Are-men born with an innate predisposition towards or is it how men are socialized?
- Why do men have such a hard time talking about shame?
- Are there more than two genders?
- Why do men always want to be right?
- Why is every country in the world male-dominated?
Children
- If babies are enlightened, at what age do they lose it?
- What things seem harmless, but are indicators of a disturbed mind?
- How do you know that you have an enlightened child?
- Do we experience the deepest levels of presence as children and most of becoming present is remembering how to be this way?
- How do I get rid of the guilt after scolding my children?
- What are some truths you learned in adulthood you would rather keep a childlike ignorance of?
- Why do teens feel like they are invincible and don’t have to follow rules?
- What is your philosophy about childhood?
- Will we overcome being afraid of the unknown like little children can?
Capitalism
Stereotypes
- Why do people ignore the fact that stereotype often have some accuracy to them?
- Are there any racists who believe their prejudice against another race is reasonable?
- Is there a difference between being racist and saying racist things?
Mental disorders
- Can you explain multiple personality disorder using id, ego and superego concepts?
- Can someone with a bipolar personality disorder be enlightened?
- Do people with schizophrenia have inflated egos or a lack of ego?
- I have been diagnosed with ADHD. How can we prove to the general public that ADHD is real?
- Is it possible to be enlightened and not know it?
- How would you compare psychopathy to being enlightened, given their similarities?
- What’s the polar opposite of spiritual enlightenment?
Narcissism
- Is enlightenment enough to heal narcissism?
- Why do enlightened beings get opposed by narcissists?
- Why do everybody hate and want to discard narcissists?
- What is the driving force behind a narcissist being so cruel?
- How have you used your experience of being involved with a psychopath/sociopath/narcissist to become enlightened?
Science, philosophy and religion
Science
- Why can’t I believe in science?
- Does science hinder spiritualism?
- Why won’t science and spirituality join forces?
- Why did Einstein say imagination is more important than knowledge?
Philosophy
- What specific attributes qualify an individual to become a philosopher?
- What is the importance of the philosophy of self?
- What have you learned from philosophical ideas?
- Was Marcus Aurelius enlightened?
Religion and atheism
- Do people hold religious tenets for emotional and not factual reasons?
- If I’m an atheist, does that mean I sold my soul to the devil?
- What religion has been the most damaging in all of existence?
- What’s the difference between a fully enlightened person and an atheist person?
- Do you agree that religion was created by the rulers for the purpose of subjugating the people?
- Has religion lost its purpose?
- Is God enlightened?
- Why is ego an issue when ego is a creation of God?
- Could an enlightened or awakened being believe in the existence of a God?
Animals and biology
- Are humans not biologically wired to live comfortably? It seems we tend to create problems when all the basic needs are met.
- Do animals have ego?
- Why does the Animal Realm even exist if the beings on it will never attain enlightenment?
- What differs a human from an animal?
- If freedom is simply being able to do what you want, are animals more free than humans?
- Why would we evolve to feel such grief and loss of will to live when we lose our child? It makes no sense from a biological perspective.
- What is the biological purpose of morality?
- Do plants really respond to human beings or their words?