email exchanges with JA:

I use the word "love" to describe this feeling of wanting to embrace, so it is the same as "commune", "unite", "become one with". Love is not the Universe, but an action. The Universe is to be loved.

See, the "is to be" sounds very prescriptive. And this wanting to embrace, what is this?

Perhaps this wanting to embrace, is the true meaning of life. Life "is to be" cherished, celebrated, embraced (strangely enough I find these very prescriptive religious words quite accurate in describing things). It is to bring the Universe into harmony.

Yes, there are only different ways, no better, no worse, but different for different individuals. That's why we are all different, and no one is better or worse. The lack of harmony in us happens when we are away from the Universe, when our action is against nature, when we don't "fit together" with the Universe. Maybe it is also another way of saying, when the channel of our love for the Universe is not open.

here is where I run into great difficulty: harmony implies connection; with what? the Universe? is it better to be connected? And no worse, but only different? Pol Pot, Hitler, The Bushes, only different?
Has then universe no moral dimension?

Yes, connection with the Universe, and in doing so, you are connected to yourself and everyone else in the Universe, since the Universe is in each of us. Yes, it is better to be connected, see above.

Hmm, difficult moral questions. I think, the morality is a creation of the human beings. (This point I already knew, or agreed, before my "enlightenment".) The "evil" people do things to disrupt the peace and harmony of the world. They have their free choice. It is not for us to judge, but for us to act. Since life is a personal experience, it is up to each of us individual, to decide what to do (with our lives, with the universe, to bring the world back into harmony). At times like this, there are many things we can do and should do, and we must, because if we don't, it will mean the end of our human species, and end of our experience with life.

The morality you speak of is supra-human. For if we as humans make the decision to bring the universe back into harmony, to what authority do we appeal? Mind? Free will? Harmony itself? The Universe? Is it the Universe which desires harmony or is it we humans? Is harmony a better state or process than discordance? I decide to act against perceived evil (or discord). Why? A random choice of will? What evidence can I find that the end of humankind would create discord? Isn't there a distinct possibility that such annihilation could promote harmony? Or must humans exist for harmony to exist? My experience with life will soon end. Because the Universe is in me, will the Universe be diminished? Will your Universe be diminished? The stardust to which you referred so long ago is finite, if infinitesimal. Are we the ultimate zero-sum game? "Nothing is created from nothing?" So very Epicurean. Or is Harmonia another dimension?

As you may have noticed, it is the moral dimension in this phenomenon of yours that interests me most. You talked briefly about morality as a human construct. Let's assume that's true for the rest of the discussion now. But perhaps we'll return to this later.
If a moral sense in an individual leads towards harmony, is it not good? And if another's journey leads to discord, either for himself or for others, isn't that at odds with what is better for him or the others? "Good," "better," yes, terms of judgment. Judgment before action. I act in a certain way because I have already judged, by some standard, that the action has value. You write about enlightenment after you make a judgment that it is good? But why? Because it is better to help others on a journey than to keep it to yourself? Because it is an aid to you for further enlightenment?
And is further enlightenment better? Where do those inherent values originate?
I see you very much in the world, perhaps not my world, but taking a part in it. We have, if not intersecting paths, at least tangential. When you reach enlightenment, is there meaningful jorneying for you? To what? More enlightenment (a difficult concept for me)? Pure enlightenment? Let's suppose you reach a point of pure enlightenment. What then is your position as regards us travelers?
Do you become a model for the good journey, or just a model of a journey? And I take conscious part in you and your being in the Universe, either by acknowledging what you have done or by turning away. But what of my brother, who does not know you exist? He may find out from my interaction with him, but only if I find it important or he happens to go blog jogging and runs across you. But in a moral universe, I feel the need to affirm my connection to you and to him, thereby bringing the two of you into moral connection. Morality is the code of conduct for our human interactions, our human connectedness. We can extend this morality to everything, and have. How I interact with living things, with the planet, with beyond, all becomes or has been what I embrace as morality. Perhaps it is analagous to the roadmap for the journey; of course, it is not the journey itself. But it is more than simply a map, too; perhaps more like a guidebook. A map shows only possible destinations and many routes, a guidebook presupposes a single destination and the best route or at least several good routes. I have determined ahead of time there is a destination. Harmony, we'll call it. I travel towards it, experiencing the road and the journey. How I relate to the road and the travelers I meet affects the journey.

I will reply a few of your questions. I am already starting to lose it though, my power of all knowing. The master says that what I encountered was actually called "awakening" not "enlightenment", since awakening doesn't last.

There is no real authority we can appeal. Everything is within ourselves. When harmony is reached, we will know. The universe desires harmony, and I'm sure we all agree it is a better state. We humans are merely beings in the universe. You decide to act against perceived discord because it is your free choice, and this choice will bring you closer to harmony. Humans don't have to exist for harmony to exist, but without me as an individual, I cannot experience the world. When I die, the universe I experience will die, but the universe as a whole will go on. The stardust is the material that our bodies are made of. Harmony is another dimension, and perhaps the ultimate dimension. Everything else is within it.

If a moral sense in an individual leads towards harmony, of course it is good. If one's journey leads to discord, it is not good for anyone, himself included, because he is part of the universe, so if his action upsets the universe, he will also not be at peace.

I want to share my discovery, to bring some others (those who are interested) closer to a journey they might truly enjoy. For me, it is my personal journey, and it is my free choice to share these with you when I can, because this the way I want to live my life after seeing what I have been shown, not based on morality. Perhaps morality is like words or laws, that we human beings use to help interact with the universe. But, I don't think I really understand the precise meaning of the word "moral".

I am really losing it. So, I will add your questions to my "wish list" and when I see the truth again I will get those answers. Now I understand why I need a master. As I am writing these to you, I realize I am nowhere near true enlightenment, and I feel a yearning to go down that path, to find truth again, and to be united with Being. Or perhaps one day you will also reach this state of being.