I think I found something interesting. A study in France discovered that a man whose posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in the brain was removed, felt absolute bliss, a mindful state, and timelessness. Not only does the removal or de-activation of the PCC provide the patient with a mystical state of consciousness, but also the de-activation of other parts of the 'default mode network', like the mPFC (medial prefrontal cortex), gives feelings of 'oneness' and connection with all and everything. Ego-dissolution is also a part of this mystical experience. The fact is: this all happens when the main parts of the brain are deactivated or removed. So, these mystical states are probably the 'default mode' state of our consciousness when the brain is not working. When we die, we will probably experience these mystical experiences and become one with the bigger field of consciousness, God, Brahman, or whatever name we give this magnificent state of being.
Hello again Jonathan. It's just me again, wandering around your videos this Friday morning here in sunny UK. The thought comes to me (quite often) that enlightenment might have a dark side, as it may reveal something that could have been helpful some time ago but now it is too late to be of use or comfort. "If only I had known -whatever- then" and so on. As a result, regret and sadness may follow. I realise that leaving things in the dark does not make them absent or make them go away but perhaps it is justified in order to avoid futher regret. I am not sure if this makes any sense but I thought I would put it into the melting pot. Blessings and peace
Dear George - Your question is the kind I often respond to at my website - www.AssistTheSpirit.com - where you might find some blog posts you enjoy... But in the meantime, per your question... Truly, from the awakened perspective, there is no downside or dark side to enlightenment or awakening. When it comes to a fear like you've described - that there may be regrets - Awakening does _not_ meet it by answering "yes, there will be regrets;" or "No, there won't be any... you'll be fine." Instead, awakening meets that fear by revealing (in the light!) that the fear itself is baseless... is built on illusory falsehoods with no substance, rendering the original question itself irrelevant. The freedom that results, then, comes not because the question was answered, but because the question itself falls away due to the unreality of it's premises having been revealed. I've tried sometimes to put this into words from time to time using a favored metaphor of light from the hallway falling into a darkened room when the door is opened. You'll find this metaphor in both of these older vids on the channel if you're curious: ruclips.net/video/BfBm9YzqBcE/видео.html and this one: ruclips.net/video/tFoHcUolVGU/видео.html And for the record, I'm happy to carry on the conversation here, if you like, or elsewhere, or who knows... perhaps next time I'm in the UK and doing a spiritual gathering we can kick these sort of things around in person! Till then, peace be with you, George! - Jonathan
@@jonathanvanvalin4518 Thank you for your full response Jonathan. I will need to take my time thinking about it but meanwhile I appreciate the thoughts you stimulate
Isn´t it another illusion to present Awakening as purely gentle and "lovely"? Can´t there be fierceful action as well? That´s something we can learn from the Dzogchen and Advaita teachings - without necessarily following them "step by step". While there is this falling away of an individual self/persona that you mention, along with all concepts a false morality also disappears, giving room to a proper response, in the moment.
Dear Felice, I can speak through my own experience which has been a journey of great peace contrasted by many, many... many!... moments of fear, tumult, bafflement, etc. So yes, the journey often contains such things, at least according to my experience. And those of many who communicate with me. What seems clear, though... is that when I am coming from "awakened mind" (for great lack of a better term) peace is absolutely inevitable. In fact, it is really the only possibility; the natural default setting. On the other hand, when I am operating from "egoic mind," or "separated mind" it is inevitable that some form of fear will crop up. As I went along, the closer I came to what turned out to be a rather thorough awakening, the more the fear patterns arose, and there was a period of a few years where this became acute, wild, profoundly troubling, and ultimately drove me towards significant life changes. It was a difficult period. And then came the time when it all gave way, and there settled in a peace that has never really left. And you know what? I'm still human, and it's basically impossible to be a real, live, actual, human - even one that has gone through a significant shift - without also occasionally having to deal with something that tugs at some old egoic pattern, even if vestigial. It's sort of distinction between the before - when fear patterns really ruled - and the now - when I can meet the demands of being human but with most of the fear patterns gone, and the vestiges that remain treated from a gentle, kind, quiet, forgiving place... that I couldn't possibly have come from, so consistently, before the shift. The difference between the two is large. Frequently impossible to explain to the friends and family that have known me forever. So I just love'm up as best I can, and look upon them with unfurrowed brows, and try to be useful. And it makes sense, somehow, to sing a song to those with ears to hear who are heading down a similar to the one I've traveled. What is awakened in me is always oriented towards peace. Always and eternally. That which is egoic, is not. I live in one more than the other, yet still have to meet existence in human form, so... it's not perfect. But I'd invite anyone... and always... towards this, rather than away from it. More peace is a part of the package, and gives us options for dealing with the fears that may pop up in a way that wasn't really there, so much, in the past. Aaaanyway... I invite you toward this as well! may these words serve you in your journey.... Peace be with you, Felice! - Jonathan
And Felice... after writing such a long response above, I realized I could probably have just zapped you a link to the video in which I tried to express much of what I said above. If you still have a mind for such things, maybe this will give you food for thought: ruclips.net/video/oc6sxPLMk98/видео.html Cheerio! - Jonathan
@@jonathanvanvalin4518 Thank you for your extensive reply, dear Jonathan! I just watched the video that you recommended, and found that it really contains a particularly fundamental insight (among others): As long as there is a sense of lack, of needing things to be your way there can be no peace (realized). This peace/love/wisdom is what we always have at hand, we just have to unlearn all the other conventional stuff. AND (and this was my point, earlier) this peace must not be all roses all the time but can also exist in a fierceful response to certain situations, in that proper moment. There is a misunderstanding for many people around us who e.g. see Non-Dualism etc. as a sort of spa ritual for well-being, but that is not the case at all. And what happens - regarding that special shift in us - happens naturally, there is nothing to decide and to accomplish from our personal vantage. The boat is empty ... . Your post about your own "near death" I read with great admiration for your openness, there was something similar for me while I almost drowned, 3 times ... . This shift actually begins already in childhood, I am sure, and truly never ends ... . Peace, love and laughter!
Beyond words 💗
Peace be with you, friend! 😊 🙏
I think I found something interesting. A study in France discovered that a man whose posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in the brain was removed, felt absolute bliss, a mindful state, and timelessness. Not only does the removal or de-activation of the PCC provide the patient with a mystical state of consciousness, but also the de-activation of other parts of the 'default mode network', like the mPFC (medial prefrontal cortex), gives feelings of 'oneness' and connection with all and everything. Ego-dissolution is also a part of this mystical experience. The fact is: this all happens when the main parts of the brain are deactivated or removed. So, these mystical states are probably the 'default mode' state of our consciousness when the brain is not working. When we die, we will probably experience these mystical experiences and become one with the bigger field of consciousness, God, Brahman, or whatever name we give this magnificent state of being.
Spot on man. Keep spreading the wisdom!
Glad you appreciate it. May it be useful to sweeping aside the veil! Peace!
Hello again Jonathan. It's just me again, wandering around your videos this Friday morning here in sunny UK.
The thought comes to me (quite often) that enlightenment might have a dark side, as it may reveal something that could have been helpful some time ago but now it is too late to be of use or comfort.
"If only I had known -whatever- then" and so on. As a result, regret and sadness may follow. I realise that leaving things in the dark does not make them absent or make them go away but perhaps it is justified in order to avoid futher regret.
I am not sure if this makes any sense but I thought I would put it into the melting pot.
Blessings and peace
Dear George - Your question is the kind I often respond to at my website - www.AssistTheSpirit.com - where you might find some blog posts you enjoy... But in the meantime, per your question... Truly, from the awakened perspective, there is no downside or dark side to enlightenment or awakening. When it comes to a fear like you've described - that there may be regrets - Awakening does _not_ meet it by answering "yes, there will be regrets;" or "No, there won't be any... you'll be fine." Instead, awakening meets that fear by revealing (in the light!) that the fear itself is baseless... is built on illusory falsehoods with no substance, rendering the original question itself irrelevant. The freedom that results, then, comes not because the question was answered, but because the question itself falls away due to the unreality of it's premises having been revealed. I've tried sometimes to put this into words from time to time using a favored metaphor of light from the hallway falling into a darkened room when the door is opened. You'll find this metaphor in both of these older vids on the channel if you're curious: ruclips.net/video/BfBm9YzqBcE/видео.html and this one: ruclips.net/video/tFoHcUolVGU/видео.html And for the record, I'm happy to carry on the conversation here, if you like, or elsewhere, or who knows... perhaps next time I'm in the UK and doing a spiritual gathering we can kick these sort of things around in person! Till then, peace be with you, George! - Jonathan
@@jonathanvanvalin4518 Thank you for your full response Jonathan. I will need to take my time thinking about it but meanwhile I appreciate the thoughts you stimulate
Isn´t it another illusion to present Awakening as purely gentle and "lovely"?
Can´t there be fierceful action as well?
That´s something we can learn from the Dzogchen and Advaita teachings - without necessarily following them "step by step".
While there is this falling away of an individual self/persona that you mention, along with all concepts a false morality also disappears, giving room to a proper response, in the moment.
Dear Felice, I can speak through my own experience which has been a journey of great peace contrasted by many, many... many!... moments of fear, tumult, bafflement, etc. So yes, the journey often contains such things, at least according to my experience. And those of many who communicate with me. What seems clear, though... is that when I am coming from "awakened mind" (for great lack of a better term) peace is absolutely inevitable. In fact, it is really the only possibility; the natural default setting. On the other hand, when I am operating from "egoic mind," or "separated mind" it is inevitable that some form of fear will crop up. As I went along, the closer I came to what turned out to be a rather thorough awakening, the more the fear patterns arose, and there was a period of a few years where this became acute, wild, profoundly troubling, and ultimately drove me towards significant life changes. It was a difficult period. And then came the time when it all gave way, and there settled in a peace that has never really left. And you know what? I'm still human, and it's basically impossible to be a real, live, actual, human - even one that has gone through a significant shift - without also occasionally having to deal with something that tugs at some old egoic pattern, even if vestigial. It's sort of distinction between the before - when fear patterns really ruled - and the now - when I can meet the demands of being human but with most of the fear patterns gone, and the vestiges that remain treated from a gentle, kind, quiet, forgiving place... that I couldn't possibly have come from, so consistently, before the shift. The difference between the two is large. Frequently impossible to explain to the friends and family that have known me forever. So I just love'm up as best I can, and look upon them with unfurrowed brows, and try to be useful. And it makes sense, somehow, to sing a song to those with ears to hear who are heading down a similar to the one I've traveled. What is awakened in me is always oriented towards peace. Always and eternally. That which is egoic, is not. I live in one more than the other, yet still have to meet existence in human form, so... it's not perfect. But I'd invite anyone... and always... towards this, rather than away from it. More peace is a part of the package, and gives us options for dealing with the fears that may pop up in a way that wasn't really there, so much, in the past. Aaaanyway... I invite you toward this as well! may these words serve you in your journey.... Peace be with you, Felice! - Jonathan
And Felice... after writing such a long response above, I realized I could probably have just zapped you a link to the video in which I tried to express much of what I said above. If you still have a mind for such things, maybe this will give you food for thought: ruclips.net/video/oc6sxPLMk98/видео.html
Cheerio! - Jonathan
@@jonathanvanvalin4518 Thank you for your extensive reply, dear Jonathan!
I just watched the video that you recommended, and found that it really contains a particularly fundamental insight (among others): As long as there is a sense of lack, of needing things to be your way there can be no peace (realized).
This peace/love/wisdom is what we always have at hand, we just have to unlearn all the other conventional stuff.
AND (and this was my point, earlier) this peace must not be all roses all the time but can also exist in a fierceful response to certain situations, in that proper moment.
There is a misunderstanding for many people around us who e.g. see Non-Dualism etc. as a sort of spa ritual for well-being, but that is not the case at all.
And what happens - regarding that special shift in us - happens naturally, there is nothing to decide and to accomplish from our personal vantage.
The boat is empty ... .
Your post about your own "near death" I read with great admiration for your openness, there was something similar for me while I almost drowned, 3 times ... .
This shift actually begins already in childhood, I am sure, and truly never ends ... .
Peace, love and laughter!