Hi Alessa,

I appreciate you trying to understand everyone, see everything through an extremely kind and accepting lens, and give everyone the benefit of the doubt, even if their words might be unjustly harsh and critical.

The way I think about it, language is a social construct that is supposed to alert us to danger before it becomes violence or results in negative consequences.

Many times, the ultimate argument is that language has limitations. And so if there is conflict and an unwillingness to hear each other and respect each other’s perspective (even if we disagree), we can blame it on the language, and so no one gets offended.

In my opinion, James said some pretty unequivocal things, which cannot be explained differently than him telling us that we’re stuck in the ego and are lying to ourselves. Here are some examples:

Dec 13-15:

Just i recommend to you, actually to all to stop these playing house games, but get real.

Many of you here to say kind words or saying ah darling you are so good stuff or heart emojis stiff… But all is a lie. İf anyone ask anyone here to borrow the money, they will never get back to that person.

So, everyone should stop pretending to be good and get real.

you guys are not even aware that you lie to yourself.

You guys haven’t meet with the devil/you yet. And i am offering to you to meet.

When death comes, your these squeamish personalities will burn till not even ashes left from you. Surrender before too late.

The self improvement is self / mental masturbation.

And (Sept 25):

İf anyone says spirituality is self-improvement. They just want to sell. Don’t buy that. İf sellers make people feel good, sellers makes money. However, if anyone hears what real Spirituality is, all of you guys run. Because, even in this forum, everyone try to impose them beliefs.

Dec 18:

What was said by me was not to you and all people in forum at all. İt was said to separate self’s, which is the one who got offended by what was said etc…

Curiously enough, James accused us of imposing our own beliefs, when that’s what he has been doing all along. None of us has been imposing our own beliefs on this forum – people have been discussing things and respectfully sharing their perspectives. But then came James and concluded that “people are imposing their beliefs”. Accusing the others of what he himself has been doing.

I can say that I don’t always say everything I think when answering people on the forum. It is not my place to comment on how people should live their lives. I’m not opposed to people who do have that style though. Everyone is different.

I can see how some people might interpret that as a lie or fakeness. It aligns with my values to support people regardless and encourage their autonomy. I think that from this lens, it takes the sting out of edgy words like lie and fake.

Interesting perspective… so you’re not actually bothered by someone telling you that you’re living a lie, or that your kindness is fake?

To be honest, I don’t think we should try to take the edge off of stingy words (someone’s arbitrary accusations) – without addressing that sting. Because stings hurt. Stings can be abusive. Words can both build and destroy. So we must ask: why the sting, why these accusatory words? (and why the dire warnings of what will happen to us if we don’t heed his words (burning DNA and suchlike))?

James maybe believes that we’re in danger and need strong words to awaken. Maybe he believes that he is practicing tough love (which might involve using strong words to confront someone’s destructive behavior, for their own good).

But are we really in need of tough love? Are we asleep and need to awaken from our slumber before it’s too late? Or is James projecting those things on us?

Merry Christmas to you too, Alessa! ✨ ❤️

Hi James

I know that you have had some extremely difficult experiences with your health and I’m so sorry that you suffered through. 🩵

I hear that cultures in the east have a focus on preparing for death. To ease the transition. So I agree that it is important, especially as old age and illness can cause a lot of suffering. It is a shame that the west doesn’t explore these things more actively. 🩵

I guess… Everyone has different experiences. I drowned and had to be resuscitated, I found it quite peaceful.

I’ve had some fun experiences with feeling surgery whilst awake. *sarcasm*

And medicine has saved my life.

Then again I have had health issues that made me long for death because quality of life is important.

I came into this world through a lot of abuse. I experienced more. But I have also met some amazing people who have helped me. I do believe that kindness is healing. I do believe that the good outweighs the bad, but it is important to actually look for it.

Like you say, getting up in the morning is a blessing. A lesson you only really learn when you have things once taken for granted taken away from you. 🩵

Life is a mixed bag, you make what you can of it. For what it is worth, I’m glad that we are all here today. 🩵

Hi James,

I have died many times and saw the hell or process of surrendering. And you have literally no idea what is waiting for you.

My last death, me never came back, not only me, the attachment of James, which is the even he breathes or sun that he get warms died.

Did you have an NDE? (or more of them?) If you’d like to share more about the circumstances under which this happened, I’d be interested to read. It seems it was both a liberating and a scary experience? I guess scary for the ego, as you’re saying everything “burns” (not just the body and the DNA) but also our personality, i.e. the ego? And in your experience, no individuality remains, no soul?

People have had quite different NDEs – some saw only love and light, others saw images of hell, and then used it to warn people. (Many years ago I’ve read one such warning testimony by a woman named Gloria Gallo, who was struck by lightning and miraculously survived. But I can’t find it now, perhaps I remember her name wrongly).

There is also a book on the after-life called Journey of Souls, by Michael Newton, which actually talks about our soul being preserved after death and going through a process of healing and learning.

I’ve just watched about an NDE experience by a woman struck by lightning (if anyone is interested, it’s on youtube, the video is called “Struck by Lightning: the skeptic discovers life after death (NDE)”). She had a beautiful experience, she felt like home, she got many answers (e.g. she saw that a soul chooses their parents before it incarnates, which was interesting to me because I’ve heard it before).

She was a skeptic, didn’t believe in life after death, but the NDE changed that. Now she says: “I did not believe in life after death, I thought when you die that’s it, it’s over, lights out, you’re done… and that is not the case, consciousness survives.”

Anyway, it seems she had a different experience than you, James. I’m not questioning your experience, I just find it fascinating that different people have different experiences. This woman (Elizabeth Krohn, who was struck by lightning) also said that everybody is presented a different image of heaven, I guess depending on what certain things mean to them. It’s all very individual.

Alessa, I didn’t know you had a NDE too! I remember you mentioned you almost drowned once, but I didn’t know you needed to be resuscitated. And that you left your body – wow!

So, not only body anything and everything you attached will be burn with death. And it is timeless till completely surrendering.

And if you experience that for even 30 minutes, believe me, mental hospital or best drug won’t be able to calm you down and will go insane.

It sounds like you had a scary experience, James, or at least an experience that changed your life. I’d be interested to know more about your NDE and how it came about, if you feel like sharing.

Dear James:

This morning, I feel stupid (and that’s okay). ALL THIS TIME, I thought you were speaking from a Non‑Duality perspective, but now I see that you used the language of NON-DUALITY, but your actual view is NIHILISM.

Nihilism says there’s nothing underneath or beyond the personal self. Non‑duality says the personal self isn’t ultimately real, but instead of “nothing,” it points to an impersonal awareness or consciousness that everything arises from and returns to, saying that individual people are like waves in the ocean, waves arise (born) and fall (die) but the ocean (universal, non-personal consciousness) remains.

You say: there is no ocean. There is Nothing.

Non-duality says: the personal self is not ultimately real, but what remains is awareness (the ocean), not Nothing. Death dissolves the person (the wave), but it does not dissolve consciousness (ocean). There is no ‘void’ to fear after death.

In your most recent post, James, you shared: “I lived in darkness and silence for 1 year and meditated around 8 to 10 hours per day.”-

This is an extreme, highly unusual kind of sensory deprivation and social isolation, James. That kind of experience can absolutely reshape someone’s worldview, but the direction it takes depends on the person, so I read:

Meditation doesn’t automatically produce peace or enlightenment. It amplifies whatever is already inside the person. So, if you were already leaning toward nihilism, then the 1-year sensory deprivation and isolation could have deepened and solidified your nihilism.

You believe life has no built‑in meaning. My goodness, James, this is NOT TRUE. But we’ll have to agree to disagree (at least, this is my intention).

I believe that there is a consciousness beyond individual death. You’re giving way TOO MUCH importance to the Ego when you claim, basically- that Nothing Else Exists (NEE, if you will, lol)

Anita

Hi Tee

Yes, well I don’t know about left my body. But my body and mind went dark. Then there was white everywhere and a feeling of peace. 🩵

To be fair, I was pretty peaceful going into the whole experience. My trauma may have ironically saved my life. This was before I was assaulted and after I was free of my mother. So I was pretty happy. I didn’t want for anything. I knew to stay calm to preserve oxygen. I figured if it was my time to go, it was my time to go. 🩵

After I was resuscitated, I just went back to swimming, but I was a bit more careful. 🩵