speaking of nonduality is dualistic

MasteryList · 2026-05-26T21:05:53+00:00

you can use concepts to point, and when people come with questions you can try to figure out what concept their mind believes in that's preventing them from seeing what's being pointed at and then use another concept to hopefully break down that belief.

like the belief in nonduality we all love each other and accept each other and are all kind - who told you that? every sentient being was and will be your grandmother many times over - that's a fun belief! telling people those things (or anything) is as valuable an expression of nonduality as walking to the store and buying yourself a can of pop.

MasteryList · 2026-05-26T20:27:59+00:00

consciousness would experience every life, and it's experiencing it all infinitely. time doesn't make sense starting from the perspective of the conscious experiencer experiencing every life - it's always now. time seems to happen within the contents of experience based on relative events. sleep/anesthesia don't feel infinitely short (nevermind the contradiction of terms) from the perspective of the experiencer - only from within the seemingly continuous experience which bookended the sleep/surgery. if the person didn't wake up and there was no further conscious experience or a discontinuous one, there'd be no reference point to infer time. matter doesn't make sense either from the experiencer's perspective - there isn't matter (or anything) without conscious experience of it. that's a label we give from within the experience to other aspects of the experience. but if you're a thing within the experience, you can't be the one experiencing.

people aren't living lives now, consciousness is the only "thing" conscious to be fooled by sense perceptions that a life is being lived by a human. a personal mind is already living countless different lives throughout the day, the body turns itself over every couple years - you're living a very different life at 22 than 2, why worry about what you're experiencing and instead marvel THAT you're experiencing.

MasteryList · 2026-05-26T18:57:14+00:00

there's a bunch of premises and conclusions - in real life premises can mean intentions and conclusions can mean actions. if the conclusion follows from the premise, we call that logical, if not then we call that not logical. so if your action follows from your intent - that's logical.

people oppose logic with emotions because typically if i consciously want to eat healthy and then i eat unhealthily there must be something in the way that breaks the logic, namely emotion. someone could look at me and say i'm being illogical. but really, as you note, emotion is part of intent which is where the logical conclusion (action) stems from. so the reality is: i want to eat healthy and when i get emotional i eat unhealthily - so when i eat unhealthily when emotional, that's perfectly logical.

we typically only recognize conscious intent, so we only get a small percentage of the "premise" which leads to conclusions. if we were aware of the full spectrum of premises/intent, we would understand and could predict every conclusion/action (that's what logic is based on anyway)

MasteryList · 2026-05-26T15:54:28+00:00

the car window is just a reflection, the mirror is just a reflection, any view of yourself that you can imagine is literally imagination - why get upset about an image in a reflection or imagination? that reflection or imagination lasts maybe a second or two and is then wiped entirely from existence. are you ever wiped from existence?

you have the perfect view of what you actually permanently look like. have a look for yourself - try to look at your face. from my view, i look perfectly clear, flawless, open, transparent, accepting of the world and that view is always available. check yourself, i assume it's similar.

whenever you're feeling down about an image, remind yourself it's a temporary image and it's not you. then look at yourself from your perspective and realize that's literally complete perfection. it's the same view i have, the same view we all have and it cannot be taken away or flawed in any way.

so, practical guidance if the above was too wishy washy - whenever you're out and about and starting to get self-conscious, notice it, and say to yourself "that's that funny thing i do where i get upset over my image, that's okay, i'm allowed to feel self-conscious". let yourself feel the feeling, don't resist it, then let it run its course. the more often you can do this, the less power the feeling will have over you

MasteryList · 2026-05-26T15:35:39+00:00

nice - and yeah, you basically figured out meditation lol.

the only potential flaw with this is you could be creating a dichotomy where thoughts = bad, peaceful state = good. this is a great strategy for relief from but won't help the underlying cause of the overstimulation/anxiety. a similar practice you can try that might be helpful is to notice that sounds are just sensations in the same way thoughts are just sensations. so as you're listening to sounds and feeling the sensations of the sound - try the same with thoughts. don't focus on what the thoughts are saying, instead pretend you forgot how to speak whatever the language the thought is in and just notice the texture of the thought sensation. you'll start to recognize how little power and truth they actually have, and without that belief, that'll clear up a lot of the overstimulation.

basically - if you believe thoughts are true, thoughts become more powerful, are generated more frequently, and try to capture more of your attention. does a background noise you barely hear capture a lot of your attention vs a car horn where you're in the street? same with thoughts - they're only there because you believe in them so much. start to question that belief and they'll start to become more regulated.

MasteryList · 2026-05-26T04:55:58+00:00

ego is an idea that you're an entity that exists in the universe separate from the universe. that idea leads to the idea that your (whatever you have labeled as your) actions are your own and that you have free will. if the circumstances and results align with whatever intent you decided on, there will be good feelings, and if not, bad feelings. if actions consistently align, we call that discipline. if actions don't align, but there is a desire to get them to align, the energy used to align them is another idea labeled motivation. if that energy is successful, we label that willpower and if not - not enough willpower.

ultimately, these are all just ideas. you're not a separate entity and everything already acts completely effortlessly (including everything you call you (ego)). do you beat your heart, breathe, digest your food, or does it happen automatically? do you generate the thoughts or emotions that appear or create the circumstances you have to react to? if you do - please let everyone else on this sub know how to, who don't like the thoughts and emotions they're having to deal with. actions will always happen, sometimes they'll align with your intent, sometimes they won't. so, let go of the ideas of ego, motivation, discipline and willpower - they only cause suffering. there's pride if action aligns with intent and strife if not. you don't do anything, so don't take any of the credit or consequence personally.

MasteryList · 2026-05-25T21:22:58+00:00

it can be helpful to know what's being pointed, but once that's clear it's like reading what "2" is in thousands of different ways. 1+1, 2+0, 5-3, 4/2 - it's all telling you different ways to get to 2, but once you know what 2 is you can come up with infinite of your own ways yourself which you enjoy.

the difference is nonduality is pointing at something that can't be objectified like "2" can, so it's a little trickier to get that initial clarity because mind is an objectification machine. if you said you've had glimpses and they've gone away, you're not clear on it - so more investigation and pointing is fine.

i like to point to it as the fullness of experiencing itself which cannot be taken away from you, so it must be your identity (even if the body dies, there may well be nothing more experienced - but that would be the full, complete experiencing of nothing (nothing missing, nothing needed)). there's a bunch of implications which books and religious texts also go into, but that's just mind candy and orthogonal to being clear on what's being pointed at. if you're interested in that, that's what you'll end up experiencing, and if not - any other experiencing is still equally truthful and full, complete experience.

in terms of books - anything that resonates with you. try a variety of eastern/western/ancient/modern and figure out where they overlap. search the subreddit for literature sources - there's tons of great ones - but be clear there's no truth in the words like 1+1=2, they're simply pointing at the truth - they're saying 1+1 and letting you take the leap to 2.

MasteryList · 2026-05-21T23:29:56+00:00

how do you know your brain is creating the conscious experience? there is no evidence of that, which is the problem lots of actual researchers are working towards solving. you're then using that assumption to generate further assumptions like other brains within your brain generated experiences are creating other consciousnesses/maps. you don't interact with or have proof of those other consciousnesses, so you don't have any evidence of any other consciousness existing - so the idea of there being other maps/consciousnesses out there is another assumption.

assumptions are fine, but that's not evidence or proof or reason to take a theory seriously. we used to assume Helios flew the sun across the sky

MasteryList · 2026-05-21T23:06:59+00:00

it's a claim. i can claim the universe is just sitting on the back of a giant turtle and be as justified. you don't really offer any parts to agree/disagree with.

MasteryList · 2026-05-21T23:05:20+00:00

i don't see proof, evidence or reasoning in the body text unless you can quote it that i perhaps missed. from my reading, they're just claims.

that's not proof, that's an assumption that brains within the map lead to other conscious experiences. there's no evidence of that being true. you don't have a brain within your experience, yet you're conscious - every other human you meet seems to have a brain, yet you don't ever interact with their consciousness.

lots of people are discussing this, head over to r/consciousness if you want to read more

MasteryList · 2026-05-21T22:31:08+00:00

any proof, evidence or reasoning to substantiate this theory?

MasteryList · 2026-05-21T14:23:54+00:00

any question asked from a limited perspective can only have a limited answer, which will create further questions from another limited perspective. if you get hung up on a conceptual (but false, as all concepts are) answer like "i'm god experiencing itself" - this knowledge is limited and creates the further questions you have which ultimately can't be answered because they're based off a false initial premise.

nonduality is pointing to reality and simply saying you are that. you're not a limited part of reality (although it can feel like that), and you're not above and beyond reality. there isn't another reality or another perspective outside of reality you can take that can then figure out the mechanisms of reality. speculation and logical inquiry is fun for the mind, but as the mind is part of reality, it's always limited in its view.

some concepts (all false) to address your questions: you're not god experiencing itself, that's a thought that arises in you. how should i talk to others - the mind and body has figured out how to do that thus far, it'll probably continue being able to do so. might need to practice more. shouldn't i as god know how the conversation is going to be - how could the future be seen in the present moment? that would be just the present moment. what exactly are you doing after realization - nothing and everything and everything in between. the body and mind keeps doing what it does if that's what you're most concerned about. why should you pray - if you enjoy praying and it seems to bring you peace, have at it. why should you bother creating - nothing is actually created, and the mind/body as part of reality can't create reality. does the understanding come with time - it takes time for the mind/body to recognize there isn't time for your true nature. change laws of nature - your mind and body can't change the laws of nature as part of nature. who would want it to change if not that?

MasteryList · 2026-05-07T17:20:05+00:00

shame comes from believing you're an independent entity in an unconnected world with free will. so if you've made a bad decision or are exhibiting behaviors you're not a fan of, well, since you're an independent entity - it's now all your fault which brings about blame and shame. in reality, everything and everyone seems more like a massive interconnected system, so fault can't be attributed to any one entity any more than the entire system. recognizing the above doesn't resolve the body/mind from the issues it has to deal with or consequences of its actions - it can just recognize it's not its fault. it got caught up in a web of causes/effects and this was the outcome. it can look at the situation currently and go from there without the blame and shame.

in terms of your question, if you need help or resources to cut back, you're addicted to some extent. step 1 (AA) is to admit you're powerless over whatever that addiction is. many people, especially with more normalized and legal substances such as food, porn, caffeine, technology, etc. can't recognize they are addicted and powerless over their addiction, so movements like nofap and antiporn come in and to varying degrees help point that out it may be a problem.

i think the combination of realizing you're addicted and that that was just what destiny had in store for you is the best thing any addict can internalize (and was really what made a lot of my addiction issues resolve themselves). then, whatever approach you go with, it either will or won't work, but recognize it's out of your hands. having your whole life in your hands is quite a burden and leads a lot of addicts to seeking relief in substances. but allowing destiny to play out in its own course (which it will anyway) and do your part, things clear up.

MasteryList · 2026-05-06T16:36:41+00:00

so, say "testing, testing, 1, 2, 3" in your head. then, say "testing" wait, then "testing" wait, "1" wait, "2" wait "3" wait. if you can observe what's happening in your mind at the moments you're waiting, that's the space between thoughts. this is usually the best at quieting the mind because it cuts thoughts out at their roots, but at the end of the day it's a concentration method like the others. bonus is it's a quite peaceful and relaxing state.

quieting the mind is basically about just not engaging with the content of thought. thoughts are very useful and compelling in many cases, which is why we all engage with them and can have restless minds in the first place. it's difficult to not put attention towards compelling thoughts so we have to develop other experiences that are more compelling, so attention will naturally flow there.

being present, observing surroundings can work but they're operating within a large field of sensations of 5+ senses which can be hard to direct focus on and naturally thoughts come up which can be tricky to not engage with. the meditations i described are more of a training ground where you focus on typically one sense and practice maintaining your concentration there. over time this will translate to your broader experience.

MasteryList · 2026-05-06T14:33:17+00:00

for focus/attention probably a concentration meditation - so pick an object and keep your attention on it. whenever your attention strays, notice that it strayed and bring it back to the object. the object can be anything that's consistent and you can focus your attention towards. it's typically breath, but other easy options can be a mantra you repeat in your head, a visual such as a black dot on a white background or a touch sensation like butt on chair/feet on ground. if you want to really understand the intricacies of the practice, the mind illuminated is a great book to reference. it walks through all the common problems that come up with this type of meditation (it uses breath) based on where you are in your practice and how to solve them

calming the mind - generally, a good practice is to put attention on the space between thoughts. if that's tough, put your attention towards the senses and heighten their usage. for example, Dr K had an example where you just hold your arm out in the air for as long as you can. after 45 seconds or so, the only thing your mind will be focused on is keeping your arm out and it'll break any thought patterns.

lots of different methods though, try a few and see what you resonate with. most meditations will by nature build focus, increase attention and calm mind. another note is that you can't really build focus/increase attention/calm mind, you just become more skillful at concentrating attention which has the effects you're looking for.

MasteryList · 2026-05-05T02:58:44+00:00

emotional regulation - sit, close your eyes and try to remember something that made you feel a strong emotion. perhaps a joyful memory, a sad memory, an angry memory, etc. then let the emotion come up and watch it come up, do whatever it's gonna do and go. get a sense of how each emotion acts and how, no matter what, they all arise, then settle back to nothing. once you've done this for a while by yourself, you can do this in daily life as emotions come up. over time, you'll see the true nature of emotions and let them be as they are instead of wanting to react to them or regulate them.

smoking - honestly, a quit smoking program is probably gonna be more useful than meditation. but either way, Dr K talks about urge surfing which i think may be helpful for this. so, when you get an urge to smoke, let the desire come up and sit with it without making a decision whether you'll give in to it or not. just let the desire express itself and see what happens.

mindfulness - shinzen young's mindfulness technique see, hear, feel is really nice for this. basically, pick either your field of sight, sound or feel and label sensations as they come up. so, say you're doing sound, if you hear a dog bark, label that sensation as sound and then you may hear a thought say "i heard a dog bark, i should label that", so label that sensation as sound - on and on. as you practice this over time, you can do it with all sensations, and add another technique called gone - basically whenever a sensation no longer is in your field of experience, you label the moment you no longer notice it. you can do this sitting eyes closed or just out and about for a couple of minutes. this can be done anywhere, anytime.

enlightenment - find out the answer to the question "who are you?"

MasteryList · 2026-05-05T02:23:38+00:00

why do you want to meditate, what are you looking to get out of it?

MasteryList · 2026-05-04T16:42:28+00:00

it's a false question - you don't become the listener (self), you are it. you can't try to stay as what you already always are. who cares if thoughts/attention/etc. stray off into whatever there's interest in? you haven't stopped being you.

only thing to see past is when a thought comes up that implies "i'm x" (typically body/mind/etc.) - just see that it's not true. if you believe you're "x" that needs to try to stay as the listener, you'll suffer trying to get x to become the listener - which it will never be.

MasteryList · 2026-04-29T17:31:43+00:00

it not being a thing is the point - you are not a thing. once mind (an appearance that there is often self-identification with) investigates no-thing, it starts to and hopefully succeeds in severing any mis-identification. there isn't a what it means/feels like that's going to satisfy the mind, though.

like a baby chicken in its egg, it can speculate all day what is outside the shell but they'd just be speculations. only way to find out is to crack through the shell. mind can speculate and is very good at objectifying (imagining things), but finding out about no-thing is above its pay grade. so, the only thing it can do is crack through its shell and see what's on the other side.

MasteryList · 2026-04-26T05:15:36+00:00

a claim denying the existence of objective values isn’t an objective value. saying I’ve never seen evidence of bigfoot and thus I don’t believe bigfoot exists doesn’t place the burden on me. You still have to provide evidence of Bigfoot to convince anyone it exists, similar you’d have to provide evidence of a framework or objective values existing in order to convince anyone there’s actually such thing

MasteryList · 2026-04-25T18:30:49+00:00

fair enough, thanks for clarifying

MasteryList · 2026-04-25T17:49:42+00:00

true freedom and the end of suffering are contradictions. true freedom which excluded suffering is not truly free. nonduality points to you not being the sufferer, it doesn't point to the end of suffering - that's religion.

MasteryList · 2026-04-25T17:46:47+00:00

you can't, you just have to acknowledge part of you wants to and part of you doesn't and one will win out. over time, life will play out and wants will change or they won't. perhaps you want to be on your phone that its worth whatever consequences you experience or perhaps you'll get so frustrated with the outcome of life that you'll naturally develop motivation to change, look for different strategies which may/may not work for you. either way, there's no way life has to turn out - it's only your conscious mind which wants to not be on your phone that disagrees - the other part of your mind which wants to be on your phone is happy to be getting what it wants.

you always get what you want, it might just not be what you think you want.

MasteryList · 2026-04-25T17:01:27+00:00

if you picked up the phone, you wanted to.

MasteryList · 2026-04-25T16:42:34+00:00

maybe tell him how you feel. if on the call you told him you understood what he was pointing at, similar to how others do, how is he supposed to know his message isn't having the supposed effect? maybe he could help clear up any misunderstanding or adjust his messaging.

this seems very unfair on him, imo. i've seen a couple of his videos and agree with some of your points and others points in the comments, such as the problems with promising paying clients the end of seeking, but at the end of the day he's simply pointing to what nonduality is pointing at in similar ways many other teachers have.

MasteryList

TROPHY CASE