What Prevents Awakening?

[@MeerazPokharel]

When I am meditating, pondering on nothingness I realize even nothingness is an idea, so I see the pointlessness of thinking and thoughts become apart from me. I see clearly that everything, literally everything is a thought and I am not that. Then I come face to face with death, then fear arises. Now I am learning to accept and embrace the fear and be willing to die. After all, fear has just been a mechanism that helped me to stay alive and experience this beautiful life. Poor fear, why avoid it? Embrace and love it instead. And trust this emptiness innocently and wholeheartedly.

[@notoddbuttoddwho2550]

Love you words, Thankyou :) hope you don't mind but I screenshot your words to reflect on them :)

[@infinitenothingness]

Why be afraid of death? 💀 It happens to everyone, eventually, and is the greatest _release_ you will ever experience. 🙏 Ram Dass - "Death is like taking off a tight shoe." The body dies, *you* don't. The Self is infinite and beyond death. ⚫️

[@MeerazPokharel]

@@notoddbuttoddwho2550 ofcourse brother 🙏

[@cosmicsalamander]

Yes, slow down and trust. Thank you 🙏 💕

[@DenaA-d5i]

This is the most helpful video for me at this time and I forever feel thankful for this. Thank you. Like OMG.

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

Glad it helped!

[@codycarl6027]

Holy shit I got you I got you brother I got you lol !!!! Ive been studying this for some time (if I can even put it that way anymore) and I never put exactly that what you just said together like duuuuhhhhh right.... thank you so much thank you so much Angelo.

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

You're welcome... let "that" take you :)

[@pjd27p84]

Thank you Angelo 😊

[@Mimi-xs7gi]

Beyond thoughts is peace

[@ravanti5780]

It feels like my heart is breaking, perpetually

[@catherinehelle7267]

This is wonderful news.

[@Christopherbarett]

Thanks for this video. It's really sticking with me.

[@Im.finite]

Hey, this having a big impact on me. I’m thinking of starting a new KZbin with an energy healer friend collaborator where we gather spiritual teacher or healers so to speak to possibly hold lively deep and fun intimate discussions on what audiences most need from spirituality today. So far about 12 people are in our shared fb group and it’s a lovely friendly environment. Topics include authenticity, honour, freedom, compassion, service to others, balancing discipline vs self forgiveness, etc, surrender and effort, etc along the path, if this something you feel like you might be interested in, please please please let me know. So much love, so happy you exist, again and thank you. ❤

[@lalitavajra6078]

'thoughts are like ghosts......fluctuations in consciousness' 🤓🤣love it, thank you. Brilliant talk, pointing.

[@joeniemchak]

Thank you for this, Angelo :)

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

My pleasure!

[@DenaA-d5i]

I would love to hear more about diving into turning toward the thoughts themselves and how to question them and my reactions to them in a really slow way. A step by step would be so helpful. I know it should be my own process and only I can do it, but I’m spinning a bit about this.

[@nat998]

Hi Dena, my advice would be to work with the playlists on this channel. There's one dedicated to Thought (for eg, see the vid: "How to Disentangle Yourself From Thoughts"). Also check out Mind-Identification Playlist. Just watch a few vids and see if something sticks. Also, the book goes into a step-by-step outline for how to do this, in a way you can incorporate into your practice. So, that would be my first place I'd begin - with the book. Goes way more into detail and is structured to give the big picture overview. Good luck! ✨

[@DenaA-d5i]

@@nat998 ordering the book today, so helpful. I can’t even wrap my head around the excitement I have to investigate this. What angelo also said in another video about “what would I need right now to change to be happy” resonated so much I cried. Your advice is really helpful. And I truly thank you for taking the time to write. Much love.

[@codycarl6027]

Love this guy.

[@nat998]

@@DenaA-d5i It's my pleasure - I love your excitement! 💛 I hope you enjoy the book. Let us know how it goes, Dena! 🤗

[@DenaA-d5i]

@@nat998 I will, looking forward to this❤️❤️❤️

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Thank you! This is great!

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

Glad it was helpful!

[@EricGross]

If the "notion" that I am not the body, that are "true" being is that which sees the body, then who is it that is born and dies?

[@nicolasnake9819]

The space where thoughts form feels like noise static, feels like there is a voice or many voices talking in a very low volume, wanting to call my attention...as soon as I unconsciously drift to this thought noise, the volume increases gradually until I'm drifting through thoughts. It feels like unconsciously I really really don't want to turn off my mind, even when thoughts can feel very uncomfortable

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Thinking about the nature of illusion. At first there was "day" and "night". Then we understood earth rotation. Is there a perspective beyond that?

[@shivalimuffin9102]

Ive been having this awakening almost against my will, ive progressed very fast but im stuck at this one level, please id like some direct help or insight if possible, i guess im just shooting my luck here, ur videos helping me so much, thank you

[@baronbullshyster2996]

Taking about positive thinking. There is so much said about positive thinking. But you’re just being kept in the world of thinking. Observe the thinking.

[@geoffreybeene]

Hi Angelo, there's a lot said about needing to be on fire, how the inquiry consumes you, how you become self-directed towards the natural outcome. I seem to struggle with... not being on fire, but wanting to be on fire? I believe this path is real and sorely want to pursue it, but I don't seem to have this obsessiveness or drive that seems to be required. Any tips on how to really light the fire under me?

[@DenaA-d5i]

What is the very surprising revelation? I know I am not what I think I am but am that which is everything but then I pop back in and feel my suffering self…I will try the slowing down of explore thoughts, but wondering what your revelation would be described like. I like this video

[@nat998]

Good work! 😀 So, you can read through your whole paragraph and recognize that it's all just thought. In the first sentence, there's a belief or view reflecting on the nature of awakening - what it will look like for me? It's very natural to wonder, but notice how self-referential this thought is (how it assumes that there is a me, who will maybe in the future have an experience called awakening). Just see this belief and recognize the nature of it as thought. Notice not the content of your experience (thought-stuff/ideas), but the quality of its nature, ie, what it's made of. Thoughts are reflections of sensations. Second sentence - notice the thought, "I know...I am everything". Just an idea. Having an intellectual thought about what you think you know you are... isn't the realization itself. Just see it as another subtle belief. On and on... these are good questions you're asking yourself, but don't follow the mental answers your mind will try to come up with to answer them. See that any thought/belief isn't anything concrete, that will ever encapsulate the immediacy of direct experience living. All the mind can do is think about this. That's its function. Go deeper into that which is more fundamental to the sense of _You_ than what a thought could suggest about this. You are here right now. ☀️

[@DenaA-d5i]

Thank you super helpful and really appreciate you going into detail. Yes the sensation behind my thought clearly is discomfort within my body. So great to see thought follow a gut sensation. Never saw that before. The sensation if investigated says” something feels wrong with this moment”, I so appreciate your time to help and write your observations they’re super valuable for me, many thanks❤

[@nat998]

@@DenaA-d5i Wonderful, Dena! I'm glad it was helpful. Happy to help where I can! That keen interest - towards recognizing thoughts for _what they are_ (reflections of sensations... an overlay, on top of raw sensory experience), will serve you well. Be open and curious and invite it in. The actual thought itself (eg: I'm feeling discomfort in my body) can stay. You don't even need to engage the mind with further thoughts about it. The nature of mind is to think thoughts, and thoughts can loop in a referential way. They spark yet more thoughts. Easy to get lost in the maze of it. It's all totally fine to let the thoughts come, good or bad- just practice catching them, and _noticing_ what exactly is happening. In your immediate experience of reality, what is already here? _You_ always *are* here. No coming and going for *You* , as you feel your self to _Be_ . Thoughts, feelings, perceptions and sensations arise and fall. What _is already_ in your current experience right now... _That_ which is noticing/encompassing ...ALL these moments of experience, in a very KNOWING/self-conscious and aware expanse? It's very exciting to go towards this root of your own felt sense of being (I Am!), and your own sense of awareness (I know I Am). It's the ultimate whodunit! What could possibly be more exciting to uncover than: "What AM I? WHERE AM I?" 😁💛

[@reece1685]

I used to vape daily a few months ago for about a year and I stopped due to guilt. Over the few months after stopping I've had a urge to vape. The past week I had a urge to do it so I vaped for a week and now I stopped due to not knowing what to do due to there still being guilt and it being "bad" for you. My question which I would like guidance on is, do I carry on fulfilling this desire until or if it stops or do I resist this desire with willpower? I have heard non duality speakers recommend both of these approaches which is why I feel left confused, any reply would be much appreciated, Thanks.

[@kathiescott9649]

I’m observing the same... if I stop from guilt, I still have to deal with what creates the urge... if I don’t stop, neither does the guilt, and then I watch my “person” to see what is causing the urge... I’ve done this long enough that I’m ready to just deal with thinking about it all the time, until that loses its charge, and hopefully, I’ve learned along the way WHY my mind tells my body it really wants to do this, and that I just might as well! Obviously I’m not able to hold the idea I don’t want to, longer than the idea that I do! Letting go of the whole idea is what I’m hoping naturally occurs, as I inch my way along...

[@reece1685]

@@kathiescott9649 Yeah what is confusing me is some non dual speakers say that you shouldn’t resist any desires that arise and some non dual speakers will say resist the urge/desire which has left me really confused

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

I would say don't overthink it a focus your attention/will on practice/inquiry

[@Raynaputi]

Have you encountered anyone who has gone through addiction treatment who has experienced the awakened state? I have a sense that if your nervous system is too overworked, the mind gets more active and you have less free will to be able to look objectively.

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

Yes many. But if there are destructive aspects of the addiction ongoing, may he more worthwhile to address that first

[@asassa01]

Why the awakening is not an event (ultimately)? And why it does not happen in the future? When we talk we have to use conceptualization. So concept like past, present and future must be used and are understood by everyone. All of you spiritual teachers, at one point in your life (by your own admission) had an "experience". Maybe at the moment of realization you realized that there is no ego, and no time, but this is a different story. Please explain.

[@guppiefang]

Who is the artist for the thumbnail images? Many of the videos have interesting art in the thumbnails, but I don't see it when I watch the video. Are these images on a web page somewhere?

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

This one is Midjourney (AI generated).

[@guppiefang]

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake Ah, okay, thanks. That's cool, but it also disturbs me and makes me a bit sad for artists, and because we're all being replaced!

[@louthefou4052]

Any ides where to start when you dont know what hes talking about?

[@HappeningAlong]

"how do i know what i'm thinking, feeling...? how's that possible?" see if this question intrigues you. if it makes you curious. it may be a good way to start. if not, then no need to worry.

[@birgit8996]

yes, that's exactly the point. Not understanding what someone is talking about... what remains when nothing needs to be understood! When nothing needs to be achieved... When no thought is true!!!!

[@nicholasoberry1010]

having just watched this, maybe take some time, days and weeks, and work with the explorations and inquiry he is describing. As an ongoing practice.

[@hansenmarc]

The quick answer is that Angelo has a book that goes into all of this in a lot of detail. Other favorites on the subject are Waking Up, by Sam Harris (for an overview of the process), and The Mind Illuminated, by Culadasa for details on what to do (available as a free pdf available if you do a Google search). Maybe I’m as confused as everyone else, but what he’s talking about seems pretty straightforward to me (at least based on my own experience). My first “shift” happened when I noticed that my awareness was separate from the contents of my awareness. What does that mean? I noticed that I could examine a thought instead of “living it”. For example, I accidentally make a big mess and then instead of immediately reacting, I examine what’s happening: Whoa, a strong feeling of frustration is arising. What does it consist of? There’s a small increase in heart rate, and my face feels a little warm. My muscles feel a little tense. That’s about it in terms of physical changes. Thoughts are arising about how someone didn’t put something away properly, and that’s what led to this. Those are just thoughts, and I can choose whether to give them attention and keep them alive, or let the frustration go and have a peaceful chat about the proper way to put stuff away. The part of me that was aware of all this (my awareness or consciousness) wasn’t itself affected in any way. It was like the film screen that the movie was being projected onto: completely unaffected by the contents of the film. Identifying with the screen instead of the movie contents is the difference between being *aware* of upset thoughts rising and *being* upset. Another insight was that I have very limited influence over the thoughts that come and go in my head. If I give a train of thoughts my attention, I keep it going. Otherwise, the thoughts come and go very nearly randomly. So if we’re not our thoughts, then who are we? My second “shift” was noticing that I always believed my sense of self was constant, and the “lens” through which I experienced everything. After some investigation, I noticed that actually that sense of self comes and goes. When someone says “I lost myself in ”, those are examples of the sense of self being absent. Same with the flow state sometimes experienced when playing music or sports. On the flip side, my sense of self became very strong when I was speaking to groups of people, especially if I made a mistake and got called on it. So essentially, the sense of self is really a kind of thought or idea. Lastly, these are concepts. There’s a big difference between understanding and believing them and experiencing them for yourself. The key is to repeatedly examine your own experiences and find the difference between your “raw” sensory experiences and the thoughts and beliefs that get attached to those experiences. I hope this helps.

[@tom_see]

Read his book!

[@shinrinyokumusic1808]

Why would investigating where thoughts are forming have anything to do with liberation

[@VeritableVagabond]

because without the investigation, we suffer from the thoughts. the thoughts are telling us reality has to be a certain way and if reality doesn't go that way despite what the thoughts say, we suffer.

[@nickm5760]

I understand that this awakening can be helpful to relax and feel bliss, but I don’t see how it helps to navigate the world we live in. When I practise feeling awake I feel like just being in the moment, but it makes me not do any action to do the necessary things to support my life (work to have a roof under my head and food).

[@louthefou4052]

I will never get it 😅 been here for 2 years now or so

[@kevinp7134]

There’s nothing to get. This isn’t something that is supposed to ADD concepts/beliefs. It’s more of stripping away all of your conditioned mind until what’s left is pure conscious awareness with no sense of ego/self as we were conditioned to believe. Similar to the pure consciousness awareness of a newborn human without any conditioned perceptions and beliefs/concepts/judgements/thoughts

[@ethanspanierman5939]

it can take a long long time

[@birgit8996]

Is this really true, who can know? Do thoughts tell the truth?

[@martinspiering5817]

If you're truly interested in awakening, and it hasn't clicked for you for that long, consider another teacher/tradition. Plus, watching someone talk about awakening on KZbin (even if they are very trustworthy and their advice is gold) should be 1/100th of your practice. You will likely need a regular meditation practice, some like-minded people, and time to reflect/enact multiple times throughout the day/night.

[@makaniistorm8664]

@@kevinp7134you need self. How else would you live life?

[@CnockCnock]

Hello Angelo, self-inquiry only reveals my (self) views are thoughts. However, this does not lead to and knowing of what I am. In other words, I am stuck. I was wondering if you or anyone else here had any advice.

[@shivalimuffin9102]

Please angilo please how can I contact u, I'd like to speak to someone who can give me pointers directly

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

try Josh: www.sogoodllc.com/

[@shivalimuffin9102]

Thank you sir

[@pinkifloyd7867]

🥰

[@louthefou4052]

This dude is too deep for me i guess

[@Jordan_C777]

I feel that way about plenty of things he says. Sometimes if you revisit it later it might hit you differently though, like if you’ve changed at all in that timeframe.

[@vviimmi]

it be like dat

[@codycarl6027]

Not a beginner course for sure, but then again perfect for a beginner, you gotta love it live it become one pointed

[@hoodedmenace6024]

We are all already awake...we just have to get out of our heads long enough to realize it. There is no free will so when we get out of our heads happens when it happens...when we are ready.

[@josephmitchell6796]

Just give yourself the opportunity to revisit it sometime.

[@richmac6345]

So nicely said... as someone who has friends in the Advaita camp and the Budhist camp... I'm just looking for the fastest way out of illusion... Advaita was before Budhism... which is the best to study lol Sorry... Thanks Angelo ;) x

[@anitacastelli1321]

Sadgirhu world economic troll truth

[@sinkec]

Anything is welcome in this unknowable upside downess including the dream called my life 😂

[@augustusbetucius2931]

What prevents awakening? Right now it might be that you look like your pants might be on fire in this video. Or maybe it's your feet. In any case, all that smoke rising up, your on fire or it's a rock concert. No disrespect intended (as if there's anyone who could disrespect or be disrespected) but some humor seemed useful. Thanks for the content. Your first item was a good one. The first fetter has gone, but, no surprise, there's a lot that needs to be seen and let go of. How the world is seen here is no longer relevant.

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

😂

[@kazumawarren]

Thank you Angelo 🙏