Why Does Self-Consciousness Result In Suffering 100% of the Time?

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About my videos: These videos are a resource for anyone wishing to wake up from the dream of separation. Awakening, enlightenment, and liberation are becoming far more mainstream possibilities than they once were. There are many good teachers out there, and if you resonate with the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, Rupert Spira, or Sadhguru, you might find resources here that address these deeper promptings to investigate your true nature.
Disclaimer: The information presented in these videos is not meant to diagnose or treat any psychiatric or medical illness. The inquiries presented herein are potent and can have powerful effects on the way you experience yourself and reality. If you feel you are at risk of harming yourself or others, these videos and practices may not be the best thing for you at the moment. Seek help wherever necessary which might include a hospital emergency department, a suicide helpline etc.

[@martinspiering5817]

"If you're not talking about ending suffering or getting to the root of suffering then I don't know what the hell spirituality is about" This times a million. Western culture is all about suffering (conscious or unconscious)--no pain, no gain . . . if you're not hurting or tired at the end of the day, you're not pulling hard enough . . . rise and shine (and then crash and burn) . . . the list goes on. So given these cultural mores, realizing the inherent futility (and destructiveness) of this attitude can take a long time, but it's well worth changing course when it's glimpsed that there's a better way.

[@KathleenMoore-fr5fm]

Divinely/Human Evolution ❤❤❤😂😮

[@mathieutremblay8907]

"You try to create separation where separation doesn't exist".

[@anncairns1099]

We are all survivors of something 💗

[@just_me_melanie]

after a shift I experienced in December, I was able to see, just for a flash of a moment, the conceptual world from which I had been experiencing everything all my adult life. like an endlessly gyrating pinpall machine of thoughts and concepts, referencing and infering and interpreting every way to Tuesday. I was fully able to see the uncomfortability I had been experiencing so deeply and so long. I couldn't see it until I had shifted out of it for that one moment. and one of my first thoughts was, oh my gosh, people need to know about this!

[@bethhayes1]

OMG, yes! I feel like I have completely lost my mind. I have never seen so clearly the absurdity but don't know how to make it stop or go away! Horrible!! I'm also a nurse so the suffering I see around me... rough! And, this is spot on. Thank you!!

[@AlexanderSamarth]

Unfortunately I realized suffering 20 years before first awakening. Rough haha

[@Morgan313]

In honor of Father's Day, I have a dad joke: Why is Angelo an anesthesiologist? Because he helps people wake up. Hahaha.

[@silverhandle]

Ooooo nice!

[@lunkerjunkie]

"I'm not suffering" - things a superior identity would say

[@renko9067]

Like the cartoon dog in the burning cafe who says “This is fine.”

[@AlyciaJane]

Just broke up with my last friend bc I couldn’t take it anymore.

[@renko9067]

You have a way of shining a light on things that can make me laugh out loud. I love your point about religions. That their various mystics agree points to validity. Of them all, Buddhism deals with it most directly. Just as you deal with it more directly than Tolle or Spira, with your regular pointings and inquiries.

[@anncairns1099]

Watching Bossy Robin in our birdbath, it’s a beautiful day 😊👍 Thank you Angelo 💗

[@emma_and_a_horse]

Thank you 💙 Suffering is a gift from the universe 😗👌

[@joshuahutt]

4:40 "It's all ultimately and fundamentally trying to move against the natural energetics of the moment. That's what's happening. We're literally fighting life all the time." Yeahhhhh... 🥲

[@sheadailey3155]

So grateful. Lately awareness is swallowing me I’m letting it happen big shift feel like freedom is imminent but suddenly the thought of make money or die comes up. I’ll just keep seeing through it before it starts dividing everything up. Thanks so much need to meet you I’m in Denver

[@AlyciaJane]

“It’s impossible. Just keep looking.” Thanks

[@RiikkaVuorijarvi-ni4rp]

One or two months prior to my big shift I felt literally the walking embodiment of NO. I WAS the raw undiscriminating total resistance rising from the gut and making me throw up. Yet I tried to go on with my life. The feeling intensified in waves but never really subsided. Getting hijacked by the unfiltered emotional energy wasn't fun even if I knew what‘s going on. And now, after awakening, a new and unexperienced set of emotions are looming around and having their way with the remainders of my ego. There is no option but to face it all.

[@mjjay3881]

All these videos I watch and yet I'm still about 1% of the way so"s to speak..but who's in a rush ..

[@stephenvankleeck4801]

The % is a lie.

[@mikeyfinn2]

8:20 🎯 a mime pushing hard to get through to the other side 😩😅

[@alfreddifeo9642]

This also is a beautiful way of pointing it out. There is much gratitude for your work on the human suffering it resonates here. Thanks for pointing the ways out of suffering. You are truly a Blessing, may all blessing there is surround you with peace, love and happiness 🙂

[@Bernd05]

The synchronicities are getting of the charts. Looked for Paul Hedderman but couldn't find it the last days. Popped up after this video. What a fun dude 😂

[@Amorcomacento]

Obrigado! ❤

[@Sean.F]

Lovely video. Thank you Angelo!

[@Bernd05]

How did I ever overlook that I don't have to react. Amazing

[@Schneebs]

Angelo, I was wondering if you have any insight on individuals who naturally lack an internal narrative. Would these people be closer to the natural state than the rest of us with the constant dialogue? I find it fascinating.

[@johnpienta4200]

The loss of confusion between what is actually happening, in direct experience, and what could/should/ought to happen. It's very simple, but not easy. Oof.

[@jdubluffy1959]

The more I try to focus and squint to see this truth the more obscured it becomes. I think I’m doing this wrong 😂

[@renko9067]

Yes. There is more than one way to squint 😆

[@johnpienta4200]

In a way this is also right. Haha. If you watch that action: "expending effort to see it the right way" and notice that something feels off... That's a form of suffering right there. Watch what makes it come and go, where it comes and goes from/to. What is the shape of that suffering. And who's/what's there experiencing it. It can be maddening, but it can also be a game or an investigation.

[@renko9067]

@@johnpienta4200 I still find myself thinking I need to do something, even when I know better. The unbinding is happening on its own. Just thoughts.

[@jdubluffy1959]

@@johnpienta4200 thank you this is great advice!

[@victoriapelz2346]

What I don't understand in this whole process.. and I would happy to hear what your experience are.. When I realize :,, I am suffering. '' I also realize what creates the suffering - Identification with thinking/psychological structures and the emotional reactions to it. So what i tried was to just oberserve all of this and let the reactions happen... and I felt pretty disconnected and even worse than befor?! And I allowed that to happen too but I start feeling so bad that I felt I need to take care of myself. After some Journaling and other Self-Regulation I felt much better. I felt connected to myself again. Like I love myself. So my question is: How can do I not identify with my self-concept/psychological structures and still take care and love myself?

[@injoyinmyself2018]

What does "self concept" mean to you?

[@victoriapelz2346]

Name, Age, Personality, Character traits..

[@ChrisMcClymont]

Self sooth, tell yourself it will be alright, practice metta so it's easier for the ego to let go. It's afraid. If you're afraid of "feeling worse" then you're still trying to mitigate or fix experience and not surrendering to what is. The other thing is that if you do too much shadow work and focus on negative feelings, then it can seem like there's nothing beautiful, nothing to look forward to. Look around, practice gratitude for being alive. The fact you are alive and get to experience "this" is INCREDIBLE even if there's pain in the experience

[@injoyinmyself2018]

@@victoriapelz2346 Awesomeness, then 3 things to think about, what does *waking up* mean to you, what are you hoping to get out of this, what is it that you really want? You don't have to reply on this comment section.

[@victoriapelz2346]

Hei thank you very much. Yeah it just happened again and I also noticed that self soothing is very helping. And yeah, I am doing kits of shadow work haha. So also true. Gratitude... Yes. Thanks for your answer :)

[@cormacmoose432]

Existential discontent? - 5:40

[@malcolmmacdawson]

Thank you. What a straight, clear, truthful talk knowing the pain of believing we are a separate self.

[@SweetMellieSue]

Thank you for making this so clear.

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

Glad it was helpful!

[@KristinShepherd]

Beautiful beautiful. Thanks.❤

[@silverhandle]

For the one-pointed approach: should we consciously “be the one-pointedness”, while we simultaneously consciously feel the energy of the body/relax into the heart? - or, solely “be the one-pointedness”, and just allow everything else to take care of itself, including the “energy body”? Does that make sense? 🙏

[@silverhandle]

I feel that “feeling into the one-pointedness” and staying “there” is the ticket!?

[@elonhusk222]

Self consciousness hates this

[@AlyciaJane]

I hate self consciousness

[@JesusChrist-vp4qk]

@@AlyciaJane whose saying this self consciousness or ?

[@Ana-uu8fj]

It is a funny game. The only way to win, it's not to play!

[@KathleenMoore-fr5fm]

Awaking. The only game in town

[@rationalmystic5]

Please tell me where can I get the info on the next live KZbin q and a session.. I checked in the channel in community msgs but it wasn't there. Thank you.

[@dvdmon]

I just looed and I see it posted there 13 days ago: "Hello Sustainers and above! The next Live (Here on YT) will be June 15 at 3PM MDT. Come one come all!" Maybe you aren't at the sustainer level and so can't see it because of that?

[@ianmccall1789]

i have a conceptual question relating to the maps of awakening. i know you advise to not compare terms and equivocate different terminology but, here goes. i suspect that when you talk about first awakening, equanimity, non-dual, and liberation, these can be translated to the buddhist 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th paths, respectively. also, it’s clear that first awakening (1st path, stream entry) corresponds to the falling of the first 3 fetters. but, it’s never been clearly explained to me how the rest of the fetters fit into the rest of the paths. my guess is that equanimity (2nd path, sakadagami) corresponds to the 4th and 5th fetter. nondual (3rd path, anagami) corresponds to the 6th and 7th fetter. and, finally, liberation (4th path, arahat) corresponds to the dropping of the final three fetters. honestly not sure why i wrote this down but if someone reads this and it actually clarifies some model-type question you have, then that’s good enough.

[@Morgan313]

Not to quibble with your main point, but Sakadagami is the weakening of the fourth and fifth fetters, and Anagami is when the fourth and fifth fetters break.

[@ianmccall1789]

@@Morgan313 thanks for your response. maybe i should clarify that my understanding of the four path model is based on Daniel Ingram’s book “Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha”. he’s pretty clear that his model is different from the traditional one. but, to my chagrin, he doesn’t elucidate the four paths in terms of the fetters, except when speaking of the 1st path. lastly, it seems strange to me that the shift from anagami to arahat would involve breaking the last five fetters at once since most people (who’ve experienced it) describe the realization of non-dual as quite distinct from the realization of no-self.

[@VeritableVagabond]

It doesn’t map neatly because it’s a different map. But anatta realization definitely makes sense with the last 5 fetters. I just looked at the last 5 and what they’re describing and someone who’s realized anatta would definitely have let all of those go.

[@RyanBowcutt]

@@VeritableVagabond I’m curious to know why you say that the last two fetters are broken before anatta (no-self realization)? In the first four minutes of this video, Angelo says three times that restlessness, the ninth fetter, remains “when the self structure drops out”. And he’s said elsewhere that anatta corresponds to breaking the eighth fetter. At that point, restlessness and some resistance patterns and shadow material remain, so liberation comes later - upon breaking the last two fetters.

[@RyanBowcutt]

A few thoughts: 1) Everything I can find on this topic calls these the four stages, not paths. 2) Any idea why Daniel Ingram creates his own version of an established model rather than just creating his own model from scratch? That’s bound to cause confusion and distraction (as we’re seeing in this thread). 3) It’s quite strange to me that the traditional model ignores nonduality and no-self - even though these are, by most accounts I know of, very significant shifts - while breaking one shift into two parts. Ingram’s model makes a lot more sense to me but it’s strange to me that his still ignores no-self. Does he explain why that is? 4) I think the way you’ve mapped his four stages to the fetters is correct but, like I mentioned to another commenter here, I think a stage for no-self is needed between nonduality and liberation that corresponds to breaking the eighth fetter.

[@svenphil8879]

well said

[@AlastairGames]

brilliant

[@danielu1763]

And all I have to do is unlock my theta flow state by following the link in the advertisement!

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

flowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[@FreedomBreeze24]

thank you!

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

You're welcome!

[@lynnhunter4493]

🙏🙏🙏

[@K.Loves.You8]

Hi! I had a question. Whenever I get present, I feel my first chakra right away. Like it's a part of me. But it seems to take away from the state of total mind freedom... or am I just seeking emptiness without unconsciously, which is a barrier to non-duality?

[@just_me_melanie]

when you say discreet, at 4:13, do you mean distinct? 😄 I'm at it again 😄 also, I sent you a message via your website, in reference to the live you did a few days ago. I look forward to connecting!

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

“t” between “e’s” discrete Discrete means “separate” or “distinct.” It's used especially in mathematical and research contexts as the opposite of “continuous.” Discreet is used to mean “inconspicuous,” “cautious,” or “discerning.” It's used in less technical contexts, usually to describe people, actions, and things. We’re learning so much from each other 😂

[@just_me_melanie]

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake wow. I thought discrete was just an alternate spelling for discreet. and they are pronounced the same as well?! crazy.

[@RyanBowcutt]

Is suffering anything other than the pain of unpleasant thoughts? Each of the six senses can bring unpleasant experiences. Is the unpleasantness of certain thoughts fundamentally different from that of certain sensations or tastes (aside from the fact that it's produced by the mind rather than the environment)?

[@juanplazas4593]

Hello from Bogota, Angelo! 🇨🇴 My ego has a question for you. The more I practice self-inquiry and the more I 'witness the witness', the more time I can be in that gap between thoughts. However, all I can experience is void. Like looking at a black screen. No thought and no negative emotions, just 'blank'. Is that it? Where's the bliss Advaita teachers talk about? Where's Sat-chit-ananda? Am I doing something wrong?

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

Throw out the blackness and see what’s next

[@juanplazas4593]

My mind doesn't understand this lmao 😢 I don't know how to go further and drop the 'blackness' I appreciate a lot your reply, tho🙏🏻

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

@@juanplazas4593The fact that your mind doesn’t understand this isn’t a bad thing. What if it’s not about going beyond. Bc beyond is also a concept. What if you set aside “going beyond” as well ?

[@juanplazas4593]

@@SimplyAlwaysAwake so... expecting something extraordinary to happen is basically my mind coming in through the back door, huh? 😮 I guess 'blackness' it is, but without labeling it or any experience during the gap between thoughts. Guess I got obsessed with this eternal bliss and happiness so many people talk about You're the man Angelo, thanks a lot!🤙🏻🇨🇴

[@RyanBowcutt]

@@juanplazas4593 If you’re noticing blackness, it makes me think that a good amount of your attention is in the visual field and/or that you’re believing thoughts that are noticing and labeling your experience. What if you tune your attention more to the thought space and stop believing thoughts? How would you even notice blackness then? And if you aren’t believing thoughts, would it make any difference then whether thoughts are appearing or you’re in some gap between them?

[@dvdmon]

So, maybe this is completely off, but I think from what you are saying in this video, suffering via self-consciousness is kind of almost an infinite loop of sorts - we build and believe in an illusory separate self, which is untrue, and deep down we know this, but because this is what we are taught to believe by parents, society, etc., we adopt this believe, and then it's almost like there's a cognitive dissonance because of that - which causes psychological stress (suffering) like other forms of cognitive dissonance. Then because we can't admit we are suffering (or at least not for this reason), we deny that suffering, thus creating even more cognitive dissonance, yielding a kind of never-ending loop of suffering! Whoa!

[@RyanBowcutt]

Interesting. I’ve had similar thoughts about a feedback loop between resistance and suffering. Maybe that’s the same as what you’re talking about. Perhaps the question is: Does being unaware of suffering imply that it’s being resisted? And we could break this question into two parts: 1) Does being unaware of suffering imply that it’s being denied? 2) If so, does denial imply resistance?

[@dvdmon]

@@RyanBowcutt As for #2, I would think that resistance is inherent in denial in that denial is (I think?) a primary mechanism of resistence, no? As for #1, this seems the more central question. If we take believing as a separate self as suffering, and we assume that at least subconsciously we know we aren't separate, that would suggest we are denying/resisting the idea. This gets tricky though with people who are intellectually convinced, but haven't made the leap of experiential knowing. In that sense you aren't consciously resisting/denying, or are you? Has your mind just constructed an elaborate trap to allow you to think you are accepting the idea of no separate self, but all along it is keeping you stuck in this intellectual fascination with the idea? The more I think about it, the more I realize all this conjecture is just more intellectualizing the main issue, and keeping us in stuck in thoughts...

[@RyanBowcutt]

​@@dvdmon This is all hard for me to talk about confidently since I'm not totally clear on what resistance and suffering actually are. But from what I can figure at the moment... I'd say that denial of an idea only implies resistance to it when there isn't genuine ignorance of of it. When there is genuine ignorance of it, there isn't conscious resistance to it, but is there subconscious resistance to it? Perhaps if it's known subconsciously AND is trying to come into consciousness like a repressed emotion, but do ideas do this? I kind of doubt it. Our subconscious mind is much larger than our conscious mind, so the former probably knows a lot of things that it simply can't convey to the latter. That said, we aren't necessarily talking about an idea - the fact of whether we're suffering or not - being confined to the subconscious, are we? We might be talking about the actual experience of suffering being so confined. If that's the case, then we aren't talking about mere cognitive dissonance, and I think the question then is can suffering be repressed like emotions can be? And if so, is this repression an act of resistance that creates even more suffering? I might pose these to Angelo... Regarding intellectualization, I realize that that can be a big pitfall in this process but I also think that not doing it enough can be a pitfall as well by resulting in misunderstandings that go uncorrected and cause people to get stuck for years or even decades on practices (or lack thereof) that can't move the needle. And I doubt that Angelo could make a video like this one (or say a lot of what he says) if he hadn't ever gone though the kinds of thought processes that we're going through here. So I tend to think that conceptualization gets overly demonized. I'd really like to see more nuanced commentary on it. Just my 2¢ on that! Feel free to share yours if you'd like. :)

[@dvdmon]

@@RyanBowcutt yeah, I think they are good thoughts (lol), and good questions. I do agree that no thinking at all just blind acceptance and belief can be a serious problem, especially when it comes to some gurus who would take advantage of that vulnerability (as Angelo notes in his book). My thinking was more along the lines of, when we get to these theoretical, hypothetical, philosophical/neuroscientific/psychological questions, that in some ways its very hard to discern the truth, and it's very tempting to create abstract frameworks that attempt to explain everything, and yeah, it takes us away from everyday living experience. There's nothing per se wrong with that occasionally, and can be fun, but as with everything else, the dose makes the poison, right?

[@RyanBowcutt]

@@dvdmon The dose definitely makes the poison. Perhaps the middle way is what (I’d like to think) I’m looking for on this. It seems to me that some conceptualization can help (at least some of) us to avoid certain pitfalls and useless practices but I definitely agree that it can become a useless practice of its own that takes us out of direct experience.

[@dvdmon]

Also, it seems like this video has been sped up a bit if I'm not mistaken. If so, I'd vote for not doing this kind of editing in the future. If it isn't then maybe I'm just slowing down in comparison to you - some kind of unspecial relativity?

[@ThermaL-ty7bw]

bullocks , animals are self conscious , they don't have this problem just the ones that walk UPRIGHT , something happens to the brain , when animals start walking upright different perspectives arise , which makes you look into other ''problems'' in life that's all it is no need to go invent things we already know about we are able to COMPARE OUR suffering , with each other , THAT's the actual problem , not the self , the OTHER PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM there always someone better then you , but you need to learn NOT TO CARE ABOUT ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU , once you understand THAT , then your ''suffering'' ... just goes away ... , no more suffering when you're not suffering , you THEN can help other people , without being SELF absorbed ... people who are suffering , are suffering BECAUSE they don't want it to happen to anyone else , they're not SELF-suffering , we ARE suffering because we are a SOCIAL SPECIES that SEES each other suffering , it never was about ourselves , ever

[@derekwhite2929]

There's no such thing as a fixed self......... the Buddhist emptiness!

[@chinchilla_462]

Tzatziki kebab

[@SimplyAlwaysAwake]

Yummmm

[@Jay-kk3dv]

Bro talking serious nonsense. Self-Conscious causes suffering because you realize you are not perfect and you desperately want to be perfect

[@AlyciaJane]

Nah. That would be very simple and easy. NOT what he’s talking about. One day you will see, my friend.

[@GumbyTheGreen1]

Wanting to be something you can’t be is just one cause of suffering. There are many others. The question is what causes all of those causes (e.g., why do some people care about being perfect?)? That’s what he’s talking about.