I would like to conclude this by saying that this is not "the blueprint", or the only way to have an awakening. It's just one of the ways.
There are lots of other ways it can be done.
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Having a long standing, formal spiritual practice like meditation does make you more prepared and more likely to have an awakening.
But I also know people who've had various awakenings through:
- psychedelics
- tantric practices
- reading a profound book
- help of a guru
Etc.
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Having a framework does seem to be helpful for doing the work, otherwise the "I am insane" period post-awakening can last longer and be more damaging.
It also seems that dissolving the framework is a good idea after the work is done, so it doesn't turn into dogma.
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Don't forget the "I am insane" period *before* awakening. Without a map, it's really easy to get stuck there. Potentially for the rest of your life.
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How's your experience of dissolving the framework been?
I can't even bring myself to respect any framework to begin with, so I wouldn't even know where to start... I'm sure it's easy to slip into when the results come, though - judging by every enlightened person I know.
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Really good point about the "I am insane" period before awakening. The potential to get lost there if going without a map is maybe even greater than post-awakening, because there is less clarity and one is more prone to delusion.
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And the potential for delusion doesn't stop post awakening! Someone with a sense of authority can easily get stuck in their own bullshit, as is evident by the plethora of ego trips / abuse stories among gurus.
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If anything, if you were an abusive prick before you got enlightened you'll probably be a *worse* abusive prick after, as your last sense of attachment to propriety fades away...
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Yeah, that seems to be exactly the case. Personality defects (and also harmless quirks and eccentricities) seem to become more pronounced post awakening.
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I have noticed that my personality (although mostly still in the liquified state) is much closer now to what it was when I was a pre-teen, before I really cared what people thought of me.
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Yeah. I've become a lot more assertive and simultaneously less sociable. More polite and less compassionate, too.
Etc.
All of which I'm completely OK with.
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My big five profile is... interesting. I am extraverted only inasmuch as I am very assertive, agreeable only inasmuch as I am very compassionate, utterly non-conscientious, almost off-the-charts in openness and also virtually not neurotic at all.
Self-reported, but...
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