Hello fellow seekers

[goatsnest]

Hi all,

I've been walking round the spiritual supermarket since '95.

Distilled it all down so far to buddhism and lately the whole non-duality thing that lead me here.

A few questions:

Buddhism seems to be on the same route as non-dualism, but I don't get this waiting a few lifetimes before you do so. Is nirvana a higher level awakening.

Do people realise awakening that often? seem to be the case the more I look into it. (and when they do, is it obligatory to write a book about it!)

I think i had an 'experience' about 5 years ago - spontaneously after reading that the whole universe was once the size of a pin-head or something. I had this insight about everything being connected. I was in a weird way for about 3 days and then it went. I wasn't really here, but was, sort of drifting around detached, but also very present. Difficult to describe.

I look forward to your thoughts, sorry if I sound a bit flippant about it, but I've been on many a wild goose chase!

Thanks and respect to you all.

[zendancer]

Hi Goatsnest: Welcome to the forum. I wrote a long response to you, but when I went to post it, the crazy thing disappeared. I don;t know what happened, but I'll reconstruct it later. In the meantime, here is the short version of what I wrote:

1. Buddhism is a big belief system and contains a lot of variety.
2. The multiple lifetime thing is just as nonsensical as the idea that Gautama leaped out of his mother's side at birth and made various holy proclamations in the four directions. Investigate whether there is anything separate from reality that would need to wait several lifetimes for anything.
3. Awakening is the realization that there is no separate entity who can do anything.
4. There is no higher or lower in nirvana. Oneness is oneness.
5. Yes, lots of people are waking up. It is not obligatory to write a book about it, but many people do that. This is often helpful to others. Forty years ago if you had a cosmic consciousness experience, it would have been hard to find anyone who knew what you were talking about. Today, there are many people who can give you good feedback about what happened and what to do next.
6. It sounds like you had a glimpse into the nature of your true self, and for a while "you" weren't there. After a few days, old habits of mind returned and brought "you" back. Reality remembers what was experienced during that brief glimpse and is interested in returning to the truth. This is why you are here.

There are many folks here who can keep you pointed in the right direction. Cheers.
BTW, where did the screen name come from?

[goatsnest]

Thanks for your kind words Zendancer. I look forward to the long version when you get the time.

The name's to do with a friend some years ago who said he'd seen goats climbing trees in Greece (or somewhere) I didn't believe him and stupidly commented that perhaps they also make nests. If you do a google image search you'll see plenty of them up trees! I use the name for my solo music project as well.

[karen]

Kewl! Welcome BTW.