Jamie,

Thank you for your comments and the links provided, the Advaitist view is
indeed very closely related to Gnosticism, however I am not quite sure what
you are referring to in terms of the gaps Thomas Merton fills in Maharshi's
explanation of the self. I think Merton is talking on two different levels
of the self and what we are when discussing our relationship with God,
whereas Maharishi does not. The false self is our identity, composed of
mind and body in relationship to an (apparently) external world; this is a
more or less shared understanding between Maharshi, Merton, and the
Gnostics, however in at least the Advaitist tradition this illusory self
need not be considered good nor evil but rather a fragmentation of the true
self, the Atman, that is meant to be transcended and that produces
suffering when identified with.

The Atman is the pure, formless, empty awareness that underlies all of our
conscious and unconscious experience. It is out of this nondual awareness
and through consciousness that form, and thus all duality, emerges and is
dependent on. It is our true self, our soul, in that it is the God in the
"us" or "I" that takes on form. God, or Brahman, is the other side of the
Atman, the absolute nonduality that does not take on form and underlies not
just "us" but all of manifest existence. We can see here that Atman and
Brahman (soul and God) are not separate on the nondual level. On the
manifest level of duality, our relative existence, Atman is not separate
from the external world because it gives rise to it, they are the something
in front of the eyes and the nothing behind the eyes (two sides of the same
coin, in which the nondual is the coin itself). This is a simplified
explanation of everything being one, since all is the Self.

I don't know if that helps or answers your question. I'd love to continue
conversing on it though.

To your other question, Merton again is talking on two levels, the you that
has not been alone in yourself is only your relative self. In reality, you
cannot be separate from yourself, only through illusion can that appear to
be the case because the ego does not actually exist outside of nonmaterial
ideational constructs (i.e., mistaken identity with the manifest).

I would challenge you to really practice Self-inquiry and find the ego,
find the I that says it hasn't been with itself in some time, the I that
claims to be egoically attached. You will not find it because it is not
there, as Alan Watts said, ' it is the marriage of an illusion and a
futility,' but you need to actually experientially realize this vicious
cycle. The you that is trying to detach is the you that your are trying to
detach from, it will never work, so just leave it be.

Again I hope that helps, let me know what you think.

Regards,


Nicholas G. Lattanzio, Psy.D.

On Sat, Sep 5, 2020, 11:50 AM Jamie D <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I listen, meditate to these pretty much every night.
>
> Ashtavakra Gita part 1 by Ramana Maharshi
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_VtoeqjssELs&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=4Vd_CmgJ21JTwXMVLdKZzvuTkUw1zi1WJkZ4FXWoEXU&s=A7lAY6UzxVvxRKS8snBJPoc6r7xs9xApVeJ98Qnykb8&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_VtoeqjssELs&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=MBJUGRPs0LnLJfOz6t_VCdrzBRLhCkUblfx01kOI1XU&s=XOuX_OlFHfRcfjnKV870WnUco-haIKP6EuVv-AkCbAY&e=>
>
> Ramana Maharshi series
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_fXzYDcBNZMI&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=4Vd_CmgJ21JTwXMVLdKZzvuTkUw1zi1WJkZ4FXWoEXU&s=31sJKQ-5xLH1TJsPXHoNnLY1SuqJeqlvRQb7V8o5tdg&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_fXzYDcBNZMI&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=MBJUGRPs0LnLJfOz6t_VCdrzBRLhCkUblfx01kOI1XU&s=Z1GhpihVZ0xs6Zyyrm0rM76P8oRvpQEeHrAw2YVP3Lo&e=>
>
> After a year or so studying Ramana Maharshi, (mainly through the above
> channel) I listened to Thomas Merton's talks on contemplation (Christian
> Mysticism) and was blown away because in the above talk, Thomas fills in
> some substantial gaps of Ramana's Teachings about the self. (Thomas Merton
> describes the outside world as false, like a shadow, which is interesting
> because Gnostics believed the outside world is evil, or at least
> identifying with it is)
> I can't put my finger on it right now, as to what that is, because it's so
> big, but I'd be super interested if you notice a connection.
>
> Thomas Merton on Contemplation
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_kQR7qCjoY-5FU&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=4Vd_CmgJ21JTwXMVLdKZzvuTkUw1zi1WJkZ4FXWoEXU&s=aPT3hAk_evMU9d_NjYwjfbQP_KtNXCGW6kPjASMHZiU&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_kQR7qCjoY-5FU&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=MBJUGRPs0LnLJfOz6t_VCdrzBRLhCkUblfx01kOI1XU&s=blGG-Gf2sQO5qyANDznJViYv4d3vuPGnDa7FHLZsVas&e=>
>
> Thomas Merton showed me in the second or third video how I've never even
> momentarily been completely alone in myself for decades. (for just a
> moment, try to not even believe "other people" even exist... And be truly
> alone) My inner reality is strongly attached to egoic needs... And the ego
> is way bigger than I thought... It's not just the imaginary identification
> with the body, but the entire imaginary model of the external reality
> that's attached....
>
> If anyone has advice on purging such a massive inner prison, I'd love to
> hear it.
>
> On Sat, Sep 5, 2020, 9:07 AM Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I know this is a less than typical area of discussion for TOK, but I
>> wanted to share this interview with you all. Mooji has been one of, if not
>> the most influential figure in my life, and his teachings (following the
>> lineage of 19th century sage Sri Ramana Maharishi) reflect the deepest and
>> most profound experiential pointing's of all meditative techniques while
>> emphasizing the simplest and most fundamental tenets of meditation in
>> philosophy and in practice.
>>
>> The technique he shares is known as self-inquiry, and is what is known as
>> a deconstructive meditative practice in that it deconstructs identity,
>> justification narratives, and the contents of consciousness to bring one
>> into a state of self-abidance in which the here and now is experienced in a
>> uniquely direct manner. This is the essence of nonduality in an
>> experiential sense, and is considered "the direct path" to self-realization.
>>
>> I hope those who watch some or all of this enjoy it, the discussions of
>> the technique and of the ontic is at a minimum highly thought provoking. I
>> have practiced self-inquiry for about 5 years now and it has transformed my
>> life in a truly inconceivable manner. I would love to give a presentation
>> on this to you all in the future as well.
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_1NjPdqd7mQM&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=4Vd_CmgJ21JTwXMVLdKZzvuTkUw1zi1WJkZ4FXWoEXU&s=Dqrp3MUL5p3zzRQDqgWLz-2YJxbSG0zhoTq7etRjyW8&e= 
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_1NjPdqd7mQM&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=6GsjgGDtE21HPeOKsaSUCT8EiDPDsYJukF4BMsk0SJE&s=9rt7eO3zM_-Br7J87Tm4ryqB_uUxPZAU6abChp-94nA&e=>
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>>
>> Nicholas G. Lattanzio, PsyD
>> ############################
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