Are non-dual states of consciousness something you have experienced?
From a single, tiny gap between thoughts to longer periods, anything goes!
Of course it is hard, and by definition impossible, to describe these in words, so any attempt will have to be good enough :-)
All we can do with words here are using those as pointers to that state, as well as trying to describe previous experiences.
I'll do some longer posts later, want to hear from others first. In short I can mention now that the first real, kinda controlled experiences I had was with meditation around 95, then later when I got back into that universe in 2016 it was getting into the deep end compared, with ~4 days of no new thoughts arising, while still very much functional fortunately!
Hell, I even did a business meeting in that state haha, and that worked out very well actually... Not saying I did that with no thoughts or concepts of course, but there was nothing in me that added to those, it came & went within open, non-grasping consciousness sorta :-)
So, anything goes in this thread!
Yes, at least twice.
It happened in moments of great focus, or after a long moment (days) of solitude, unexpectedly.
It's like you're dissociating with what you usually think to be yourself, i.e. your physical and mental bodies, and observe them from afar. No thought can disturb you, because you see them arising and subsiding, and obviously the spaces in between.
But who is the one watching all this, though?
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Is what is watching really a "who"? ;-)
To me it seems to have no limited characteristics like that... Its emptiness & clear, unconstrained consciousness at the same time kinda...
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Cool discussion guys! I’ve had lots of interesting experiences but it’s hard to articulate them..though I can relate to what @erict875 says. I think meditation is the key, lots of practice.
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This is the first time I've heard about this, is it achieved only with meditation?
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It sometimes feels like that is by design! Can't have people knowing they can experience a break from all of the chatter, can we? ;-)
Many types of meditation is designed to get this result, but some people experience these states spontaneously. Some know them and can go in & out of them at will, I knew a German who claimed he could do that, he mentioned it as a simple matter of fact without any pride in it, so I believe him.
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Yes, and no. It depends what you understand by "meditation"
I think anyone can achieve it, and does it to a certain extent more or less regularly, when the conditions are right, i.e. when not distracted. Professional athletes, and creative people like artists, when performing, are so focused that they get there instantly. They call it "flow"
In my personal case, my most vivid experiences were while spending a week on my own in a remote forest cabin, silent. The other time was while swimming a long distance in the sea...
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there was nothing in me that added to those, it came & went within open, non-grasping consciousness
11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
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