Enlightenment

when I was 17 or 18 - last century! I had an experience which revealed to me that all is One. Words cannot describe what I experienced.

I had returned home after a 2pm - 10pm shift(I was a postal worker), and got changed into my running gear. It will have been around 11pm that I 'hit' the road for a 5 miler along a scenic route. I had completed the first mile easily enough, then BOOM I was no longer running - or doing the running! I was now the 'witness'. Everything became one.Fluid. Effortless. Beautiful.

There! Sounds lame! But lame it was not!

I knew then that everything was connected.
We are One.

That is awesome! I just now decided I am taking up running.

@Road to Nowhere
Even though Kendo is a martial art, it also emphasizes Spirituality. It's the Sword but it's to discipline the Spiritual.

Writing fiction has given me an interesting perspective on spirituality. In fiction, there is no story without conflict or growth. Desire may equal the root of all suffering, but wanting/needing something is the root of all fiction. And really the worse the suffering, the better the story. Don't know if this "means anything" as applied to real life, but it's interesting to contemplate the parallels.

I tend to think that what humans refer to as the 'World' is primarily a series of stories within stories, stories alongside other stories, even stories about stories. There are the global, macro, civilizational stories and embedded within those, it remains nothing but stories all the way down to the individual level. It's a completely abstract universe we've collectively created and reside in, unique to human beings, built with nothing but words.

Hey @prettyvacant I know this was posted a few weeks ago now but wanted to say I found this very inspiring to read!
I kind of had a bit of a similar thing happen to me years ago (in my 20's) except it wasn't from running or even moving at all, I was just standing on the bus and then suddenly a powerful feeling came over me that I was completely safe and I just needed to have complete trust in the universe to protect me. So then I just relaxed and wasn't resisting anything at all and I felt like I was just flowing with the energy of life itself. It was a really cool experience & it was kinda mysterious to me what made it even happen, it was like it came outta nowhere but I've always remembered it cos it was a really great feeling. I have been trying hard to get more physical activity going in my life so that I can get into jogging again like I was doing pretty good with earlier in the year (pre-March basically). I hope when I really get into it again that I will feel that way about life more as well. I'm so happy & delighted for you that you had such a powerful experience like that, very awesome & hope you will have lots more experiences in life like that!

Oops sorry also meant to say ty to the OP ( @Road to Nowhere) for posting such a great topic, for all the cool videos & info you've posted in here, and to everyone else who posted cool videos or info here too! I'm so glad this topic is here cos I definitely strive to have as high of a level of consciousness as I can and don't want to continue to be living my life in the lower, fear based levels cos they only lead to resistance, suffering, misery, destruction and negativity. Oh I also wanted to post about a couple books I've read that deal with this subject and that I highly recommend everyone in the world read, which are:

- The Four Agreements (Very helpful book imo, talks about how to focus better and how to live in a more positive, loving way)

- The Untethered Soul (Also a very helpful book that talks about how to think in a more calm & balanced way about things and not defining yourself by any of your thoughts, feelings or experiences. I've read this one a LOT of times)

That is great JMG glad you are here, thank you for the recommendations I will check them out. I always take time to research and pursue, where I feel guided and speaks truth to me. I don't always have all the answers, this thread and many here has helped me on my path. I can't thank SF enough for being part of my journey.

Thanks for sharing your experience JMG. Such experiences can happen anywhere! And be totally unexpected! During my experience I was both the experiencer and observer. There is so much more to Life than we can even imagine.

The 'reality' we experience is the one 'they' want us to experience! From the moment we exit the womb 'they' ensure we do not see/experience the true reality. Religion is both a hit and a miss! Yes, there are nuggets of truth within most religions, but they are mostly distractions. God(I prefer the term Source)is too big for any one religion! Religion makes God look stupid!!!

If you have an hour listen to this:

An author I have come across, Neville Goddard, is someone worth reading/listening to. I have a number of his Kindle books, all very reasonable priced too! His take on Jesus and Christianity is a breath of fresh air, and possibly life changing if you 'get' what he is saying. I highly recommend - The Lord Is One, a short but profound read. You will be blown away! Also there are plenty of You Tube videos of Neville, such as:-

The world of Man is in chaos on so many different levels! The alleged pandemic, I don't deny that their is a virus, but it isn't the 'monster' that we are told it is. They, whoever 'they' are want us living in fear 24/7! So it is important we guard what we feed our minds. It is about balance. I got rid of my television set over 10 years ago, and have not read a newspaper for roughly 10 years. I realise I need to meditate daily, and to feed my mind what is healthy; and to visit trusted alternative news sources. As Edgar Cayce once said, 'Mind is the builder'. Build the reality that benefits YOU, and those you love will also benefit. Yes, we live in testing times, but always remember, we are here to learn and grow - and to Love.

I have much to learn. I want to learn! I want to grow and I want to love.
I like this dude, he's learned and funny. I hope you enjoy!

This guy is great, he is grounded wise and full of wisdom. Whether or not if one believes what bible says about the story of Adam and Eve is fact or fiction, that is for oneself to decide. I myself question a lot of the bible I believe it is divinely inspired but has been changed and altered by man for power, money, greed, manipulation and control. With the bible and other divine inspired knowledge, I rely on common sense, intuition and if I am guided to seek the truth. Concerning your point on the state of the world, there already taking away our freedom of speech right to assemble and religion ect. if we don't come together soon and revolt, rebel, and rise up against those in power we won't have freedoms left.

Plus he has a great beard! His humour appeals too!

I'm reading a collection of Neville Goddard's books and I highly recommend his writings. Yesterday I hit rock bottom, where all was dark. My wife tried to help but I wanted to be on my own. Later on I read some of Neville's writng and it brought me out of the darkness! He says that our inner dialogue(imagination) creates the reality we live in, so I was to blame for the pain I experienced! I am now paying close attention to my inner dialogue, I am also going back in time to see why things happened as they did. One thing I have discovered is my inability to sustain a balanced relationship with the opposite sex, which I think was due partly to my parents failed marriage - they divorced after 42 years of marriage! I knew there were problems when I was in my teens. My brother is hopeless with his relationships! So I am paying attention to my train of thoughts! I saw a pattern in all of my relationships - after a period of time I get bored with the relationship and become distant. No blame is portioned to the women I was in relationships with.

Neville's interpretation of the Bible back up his claims. I haven't done Neville's work justice, you have to read his books for yourself and soak up his wisdom!

Edgar Cayce had a famous catch phrase: Mind Is the Builder. Its time to pay attention to our inner dialogue!