14) The process of nondual awakening
Persistent non-symbolic experiences (PNSE): Eastern psychologies have often pointed to the nonsymbolically mediated, or immediate ways of knowing as the only kinds of knowing that can lead to enlightenment or true insight into human nature. In fact, they consider our addiction to language-mediated, discursive thought as a major hurdle in realizing the true or divine Self ...
Jeffery A. Martin defines "persistent" as "having continually experienced one or more forms of non-symbolic experience for at least a year." Also, PNSEs "form an ongoing basis for how reality is experienced".
Location 1
A dramatic reduction in, or loss of, an individualized sense of self is experienced. Emotions are more transient and "do not have the power over them that they once did". Conditioning can still trigger thought streams and stronger emotions but these diminish in a few seconds.
There is a sense of peace and "beingness", more "real" than anything previously experienced. This peace can be disrupted by external "psychological triggers" but soon recovers when triggers are removed.
The sense of self seems to extend beyond the physical body. There is a high level of well-being experienced, and a sense that "everything is unfolding exactly as it should".
Location 2
Experiences deepen beyond Location 1, particularly w/a decreased level of self-related thoughts and a decreased ability of thoughts "to draw them in". Emotions become increasingly positive.
There is more likelihood to feel that there is a correct path to take or decision to be made when presented with choices. The sense of well-being increases beyond that experienced in location 1.
Location 3
The range of positive emotions experienced in location 2 is replaced by a single dominant emotion composed of positive components such as compassion, joy and love. If negative emotions begin to arise, they do not become "full" emotions.
Remaining self-referential thoughts continue to fall away. The experience of inner peace and "beingness" strengthens as do feelings of connectedness and "unity/union". Christians feel merged w/God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. "Spiritual" folk feel united with all-pervasive consciousness. This is the typical "stopping point" for Christians and some Buddhist sects.
The world is seen as being unable to be other than it is in the moment. There is little/no sense of there being "a correct path" or "decision" as there was in Location 2. There is an increased sense of well-being.
Location 4 and beyond
Remaining vestiges of self-referential thought are gone, as are experiences of emotion. Feelings of union with God or an all-pervasive consciousness disappears.
There is no sense of agency or any ability to make decisions. Life is simply unfolding and they are watching the process happen.
Episodic memory weakens particularly for scheduled non-routine events. This group has the highest level of well-being. The folk who moved along the continuum said they could not have imagined a higher level than they had experienced in the previous one.
(Episodic memory is the memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual who, what, when, where, why knowledge) that can be explicitly stated. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place. For example, if one remembers the party on his or her 6th birthday, this is an episodic memory. They allow an individual to figuratively travel back in time to remember the event that took place at that particular time and place.)
(The "and beyond" is important because, as i said in my Buddhist Geek's interview, "Enlightenment is Capable of Endless Enlargement"; there is no end to the process. we have 50,000,000,000,000 synaptic interconnections; if only a few % are in "selfing" networks, there is still much rearrangement required. Fortunately, it doesn't happen all at once. Also, I found that "Location 4" is a portal, not a box; much lies "and beyond". )
Source: Do All "Awakened" Folk Behave The Same? Better? Worse? Are They Mystical?
Remarks:
The examples of non-symbolic experience from the Hood Mysticism Scale are given in Jeffery Martin's Ph.D. thesis which is linked in the post. They are on p. 163/150.
Examples are:
1) I have had an experience which was both timeless and spaceless.
3) I have had an experience in which something greater than myself seemed to absorb me.
11) I have had an experience in which I had no sense of time or space.
12) I have had an experience in which I realized the oneness of myself with all things.
17) I have had an experience in which ultimate reality was revealed to me.
18) I have had an experience in which I felt that all was perfection at that time.
23) I have had an experience that is impossible to communicate.
The question is just how persistent these experiences are.
Persistent non-symbolic experiences (PNSE): Eastern psychologies have often pointed to the nonsymbolically mediated, or immediate ways of knowing as the only kinds of knowing that can lead to enlightenment or true insight into human nature. In fact, they consider our addiction to language-mediated, discursive thought as a major hurdle in realizing the true or divine Self ...
Jeffery A. Martin defines "persistent" as "having continually experienced one or more forms of non-symbolic experience for at least a year." Also, PNSEs "form an ongoing basis for how reality is experienced".
Location 1
A dramatic reduction in, or loss of, an individualized sense of self is experienced. Emotions are more transient and "do not have the power over them that they once did". Conditioning can still trigger thought streams and stronger emotions but these diminish in a few seconds.
There is a sense of peace and "beingness", more "real" than anything previously experienced. This peace can be disrupted by external "psychological triggers" but soon recovers when triggers are removed.
The sense of self seems to extend beyond the physical body. There is a high level of well-being experienced, and a sense that "everything is unfolding exactly as it should".
Location 2
Experiences deepen beyond Location 1, particularly w/a decreased level of self-related thoughts and a decreased ability of thoughts "to draw them in". Emotions become increasingly positive.
There is more likelihood to feel that there is a correct path to take or decision to be made when presented with choices. The sense of well-being increases beyond that experienced in location 1.
Location 3
The range of positive emotions experienced in location 2 is replaced by a single dominant emotion composed of positive components such as compassion, joy and love. If negative emotions begin to arise, they do not become "full" emotions.
Remaining self-referential thoughts continue to fall away. The experience of inner peace and "beingness" strengthens as do feelings of connectedness and "unity/union". Christians feel merged w/God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. "Spiritual" folk feel united with all-pervasive consciousness. This is the typical "stopping point" for Christians and some Buddhist sects.
The world is seen as being unable to be other than it is in the moment. There is little/no sense of there being "a correct path" or "decision" as there was in Location 2. There is an increased sense of well-being.
Location 4 and beyond
Remaining vestiges of self-referential thought are gone, as are experiences of emotion. Feelings of union with God or an all-pervasive consciousness disappears.
There is no sense of agency or any ability to make decisions. Life is simply unfolding and they are watching the process happen.
Episodic memory weakens particularly for scheduled non-routine events. This group has the highest level of well-being. The folk who moved along the continuum said they could not have imagined a higher level than they had experienced in the previous one.
(Episodic memory is the memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual who, what, when, where, why knowledge) that can be explicitly stated. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place. For example, if one remembers the party on his or her 6th birthday, this is an episodic memory. They allow an individual to figuratively travel back in time to remember the event that took place at that particular time and place.)
(The "and beyond" is important because, as i said in my Buddhist Geek's interview, "Enlightenment is Capable of Endless Enlargement"; there is no end to the process. we have 50,000,000,000,000 synaptic interconnections; if only a few % are in "selfing" networks, there is still much rearrangement required. Fortunately, it doesn't happen all at once. Also, I found that "Location 4" is a portal, not a box; much lies "and beyond". )
Source: Do All "Awakened" Folk Behave The Same? Better? Worse? Are They Mystical?
Remarks:
The examples of non-symbolic experience from the Hood Mysticism Scale are given in Jeffery Martin's Ph.D. thesis which is linked in the post. They are on p. 163/150.
Examples are:
1) I have had an experience which was both timeless and spaceless.
3) I have had an experience in which something greater than myself seemed to absorb me.
11) I have had an experience in which I had no sense of time or space.
12) I have had an experience in which I realized the oneness of myself with all things.
17) I have had an experience in which ultimate reality was revealed to me.
18) I have had an experience in which I felt that all was perfection at that time.
23) I have had an experience that is impossible to communicate.
The question is just how persistent these experiences are.