If you ever feel powerless to your circumstances and end up spiraling, remind yourself that if you created all this, then logically it follows that you MUST have the power to change it as well and bring forth a different experience. That is the great thing about taking responsibility for your consciousness. The deeper you go within and reflect, the deeper the realization that everything really is a result of your own consciousness and not a result of random chance. Just be patient and kind to yourself and remember not to compare your experiences to others. Everything will be okay.

When your mind feels completely stuck or trapped in a cycle, you could ask yourself 'Can I allow myself to see it in another way?' without forcing any particular change in thought. Just asking that open-ended question allows you to take a step back and it softens the charge, it takes you back to neutral ground. Suddenly you are reminded that it can be seen in a different way, it doesn't have to be the same way you had always thought of it, thinking it was something fixed. You're reminded that you have a choice, in fact you always have a choice in how you see something and you can choose to see it how you want. Remind yourself of that freedom and allow it to be.

Love the part of you that's sad. Love the part of you that's angry. Love the part of you that's fearful. Love the part of you that's in pain. All problems come from a perceived lack of love. Love heals and dissolves it all. Love yourself completely and unconditionally, and feel it with your entire being. There are no bounds to love. It is part of our very nature.

Sometimes I will have deeper realizations about certain truths I had accepted and there's no words for it, it's more like this deep feeling of knowing. It really does feel like my Self is my ultimate guru, guiding me in the most delicate, perfect and precise way.

One way to deal with those difficult, intrusive or scary thoughts that are hard to ignore is to see it transformed in your mind into something totally neutral. You can have a designated image or symbol for this, it just has to be something you see, think and feel completely neutral about. For example.. a random food item on a menu, or a cloud in the sky. So when an intrusive thought comes up in your mind, pause for a moment in stillness, then give that thought a shape/form/colour and see it transformed into your designated neutral image/symbol. Now all of a sudden, it's not scary at all! You can spend some time just observing this neutral thought if you want. Just think "oh, it's just a cloud.. it's just a burger" and notice how you feel no particular way when you look at it. Then let go of that now neutralised thought and allow it to simply fade away. If you keep doing this, the same thoughts you once found to be scary will eventually be completely neutral thoughts you find no reality or meaning in and it's like 'oh whatever, moving on'. You won't even need to neutralise them with this exercise anymore.

Just had a realization earlier that one of the reasons people drink alcohol or do drugs is to quiet the thoughts and reduce the perception of limitations in their mind because it lowers one's inhibitions, allows them to feel more free and that they can express themselves in ways they normally would be too afraid to.

It feels great when you realize you don't need that permission slip to feel free and do what you want because you're on this path and have been dropping the limitations themselves. Once they're gone, they're gone for good. You don't need something external to provide a temporary escape from them. Keep going wherever you are now.

Musings

One of the greatest and most freeing things I appreciate since I started all this is no longer believing in the idea of "life lessons" like I used to. They're not "life lessons" that one falls victim to and they're not put there by something outside of you like mainstream spirituality likes to put it, no God is "testing" you to make sure you're ready for good things. There's nothing there that wasn't placed by you through the thoughts and beliefs you accepted (which most are operating on an unconscious level). It's just life happening the way it was always designed to be.. as a mirror of your consciousness. If you think it's a life lesson, that's *you* assigning that meaning and so it shall be.. and if you think life lessons are something you are destined to keep having.. well good luck but it's a no for me. But every time something happens that you don't prefer, it's an opportunity to look within and see what limitations and false beliefs you can let go of. No more believing you're the victim, take responsibility for everything. There is nothing "out there" but your own projections.

I realised this myself too on my journey, in the past I was too busy making sure I intellectually understood what previous masters were saying (this came from a lack of trust in my Self) and thus delayed my own experience (and value of it). How many times in life have I chosen not to even try to experience something because of what others have said? Then later on I unexpectedly do try it by chance and my experience is different and thus my personal truth also becomes different to theirs. This is what taught me that you can't just take what any person (not even a master) says as gospel. At most, take it in for checking only if it resonates with your heart. That's why my best advice will always be to listen to your heart and take only what resonates. There is no right or wrong way to approach life, only you can know yourself what your personal truth is. Lesson learned, don't deny your own experiences for that's the whole purpose we came here for: to experience and know our Self 🩷

All the answers that could be given are already available to you whether it be teachings from Lester Levenson, Robert Adams, Nisargadatta Maharaj or 4dbarbie.. I've noticed there are some people from months ago who are still asking the same questions 'How to do this, how to do that? How to get? How to know? How to be?', just going to different bloggers perhaps hoping for "the" miraculous or revolutionary answer that will fix everything.

All this time spent on here and what has it yielded you? At this point, if the posts, asks and books have not already pointed you to what you feel is to be done, if they have not given you any certainty on the right direction, then stop looking for answers here. In doing so, you are robbing your own power, agency and freedom by expecting others to give you the answers, you are trapping yourself here and then getting frustrated about not being free. Ask yourself the same questions that you are wanting answers from others.

Accept the good, accept the bad. Resist nothing. Want nothing. Expect nothing. Let go of everything. Don’t attach yourself to anything. Just allow everything its being and watch all unfold.

No matter what you're doing, you can't be wrong because there is no such thing as wrong or right; it's all an illusion. So don't stress out so much, it's going to be alright. Everything is alright. Everything is okay. Just follow your heart and your very own Self will guide you back to beingness.

The more I let go, the more I feel the open spaciousness, lightness, freedom and stillness in my being and this doesn't go away or diminish; it only grows as I let go more and more. Or perhaps it is also accurate to say the more I see it is me in my being: I am spacious, I am still, I am free. My mind is slowly becoming more quiet naturally; thoughts don't come as much as they used to. Sometimes I get bursts of random happiness and joy over the lightness/weightlessness I feel in my being. There's also increasingly more overall acceptance, peace and surrender of all that is.

There is no forcing or striving for this quietness, all you can do is simply allow it to come into being by letting go of everything more and more.

Desires are like itches, the best thing to do is let it be and it will dissolve in its own time by itself. But it might be so strong you think scratching it (i.e. thinking or doing anything about it) is okay because it feels good and gives temporary relief. Then the itching and stinging grows stronger and bigger and makes you want to scratch even more. Eventually you realise scratching it only makes things worse instead of better and this will never end; desires never end, old ones just get replaced with new ones.

You realise that in order for it to disappear, you need to stop scratching it and stop thinking about it (i.e. let go of desiring). When you do, it begins to calm down and you begin to find peace with letting things be as they are. Then it quietly fades away and resolves on its own without any effort on your part. This is what surrender is.

Whatever externals you credit to giving you "happiness" has the same power to cause you "suffering". True freedom is seeing beyond the illusion and knowing Reality and who you are. Then nothing can hurt you. Your peace and joy need nothing but Self-remembrance.