Blanche, Thank you for sharing this additional perspective and the recommendations.
Christi, Thank you for this list. I am sure I can find some interesting readings to dig deeper.
Om Interpaul,
Yeah, the mind is a funny thing hay…
Being human we think that we are conscious because we have judgment, discrimination and choice, but we are only partly conscious, the other part of us is animal; so, the animal part of our nature is what is referred to as ‘ego’ in yoga, and the ‘mind’ (little mind, ego) is a product of our animalistic nature; so what does this actually mean? Well, the ego is what keeps us alive, it is the identification of separation and as such, it tells you to protect yourself, feather your nest, the extreme example of this can be seen in the modern billionaires and millionaires, that amass wealth, yet don’t do anything to help make life better for others; the reason for this is complete absorption in the identification of separation (ego), however, economics is a funny thing, someone can only be (financially) wealthy, if someone else is poor (otherwise, how would you know the difference)… all part of the delusion, anyway I’m digressing so…
So, the egos purpose is to provide an existence for itself to exist (self preservation/protection), so naturally (it) fears death, now, because the ego is currently intertwined within us, it can sometimes be difficult to decipher what is truth and what Is not. As consciousness expands within us, we become aware of more than we were aware of before, and this can be difficult (to experience).
I understand your doubts, fears and apprehension Interpaul, its a normal and healthy product of development, it’s all part of the dissolution process, what we used to think was real, isn’t, so how do we know if what we are experiencing now is real? Well only you can find the answer to that one…
And yes, it is possible to become overly absorbed in any one of our bodies, however like christi says, it has a way of self correction, eventually we will become used to the feeling of the body we are lost in and get bored, and realise that it wasn’t what we are looking for.
‘Yogananda’ (once) described the state of complete absorption as ‘unending and ever new’, no boredom there, so what does unending and ever new feel like, well, maybe I’ll expand on this another time.
I would be inclined to say that, your fear of becoming addicted to one of your bodies, is more detrimental to your progression than the very thing you are worrying about.
Yogabuzz108, Thank you for sharing your perspective. You have covered a lot of territory here and I appreciate your encouragement. Your last line got my attention as it reminded me of a response I heard, I believe from Sunyata or Blanche to a prior post, suggesting what we fear is not just a concept but how our brain really thinks things are. I am very aware of the unhealthy aspect of fear. I recently went into my fear and gave it attention. I realized it is a voice in my head trying to protect me from actions which it perceives are harmful. I acknowledged it is based on some experiences in my life that did result in harm. Reframing fear as a protective voice and making intention to honor what it has to communicate, take it seriously, and then release it, Samyama style, seemed to make a difference for me. 
I’m grateful for you bringing up this topic as I have been pondering a similar question myself…
My question is…
How do we know what is real when our perception of reality is repeatedly changing ie. Each and every time we think we have found some level of understanding, we transition to a place beyond where we were, and realise that what we thought was real wasn’t…
Ie. Any time we try to attach to an idea of what we perceive as being constant we are shown that it’s not.
And with this in mind, how do we know when we are in a position to share what we have, when we are aware of what we don’t know…
And if we are in a position to envelop others into the expansion of our heart energy, and it returns an ever increasing outpouring of love for the giver and the receiver, is that egoic or…
Hi Yogabuzz,
These are all great questions. Basically, in yoga, we use inner silence (samadhi) as the guide, or measure, of what is real and what is not real. So, as we cultivate inner silence, we start to see things that we previously thought were real, falling away. As one spiritual teacher put it: “Inner silence is a great truth barometer. If it does not exist when the mind is silent, then it does not exist.”
And there are deeper and deeper layers of inner silence, or deeper and deeper layers of samadhi. So, we can find that what we believe to be true at a certain stage, turns out to be just a plateau on the journey up the mountain, and there are higher peaks beyond it. So, there is no resting place, or final destination where we can say: “Ah, now I have made it. Now I know what is real”. Instead what happens is that the person walking the path begins to look more transparent, and so does the path, and the mountain we are climbing. So, even these things do not survive the truth test. They do not exists when the mind is silent. In truth, there is no seeker, there is no path and there is no destination. There is no mountain.
The questions themselves, also do not survive the truth test. The questions about what is real or not real, or what is true or not true, do not exist when the mind is silent. So, if these questions still exist, then that is an indication to meditate, to go deeper into samadhi. And it is a combination of meditation, samyama and self-inquiry that leads to the questions becoming dissolved. This state, where there is no longer any process of discrimination between the real and the unreal, is called vairagya. Then we can share our heart freely without any concern. If sharing your heart is something that concerns you, then it could be best to focus more on meditation, on samyama, and on self-inquiry practice, for the time being, until you reach the point where you can see clearly that there is no giver or receiver, and there never was.
Christi
p.s. This will be the topic of a 4-day online AYP retreat that I will be leading during February looking at the stages of awakening on the spiritual path. Details are here
Christi!
You have provided me with the answer that I started to doubt even existed…
Thank you!
Oh, and I would love to join the 4 day course, however I don’t get home from work until 18:00, will you be running it again at some point that will be in the evening?
Yogabuzz
Hi Yogabuzz,
Glad I could be of help.
I’ll PM you about about the online course.
Christi