Leo Gura

That's why it's called the Gateless Gate. Neo-Advaita has some good stuff in it, but it's also very flawed. People following Neo-Advaita are not likely to go all the way to the full depths of consciousness. Because consciousness is more nuanced and complex than Neo-Advaita leads us to believe. It over-simplifies things too much and can lead to Zen devilry. But there are dangers with every teaching, so... whatever. If Neo-Advaita were strictly right, why would any other teachings exist? Why would there be so many books written on this subject? Why so much complexity discussed?

@Mighty Mouse The elephant has many parts.

@Mighty Mouse I always leave room for broader and deeper.

@NoSelfSelf Yes, there is much more to see and understand.

Which is a commonly recognized trap: "When you meet the Buddha, kill him." But of course, saying it and doing it are two very different things. The problem with devotional paths is that the devotional figure itself becomes the chief obstacle. It happens all too often with Christians. They are too afraid to realize that they literally are Christ.

@AlwaysBeNice There's a good reason they were quickly banned in the late 60's. People's minds were being opened too easily, and that doesn't bode well for the status quo and the egos in power. But also ordinary people abuse them too easily, misunderstanding the truth being shown.

Both A sudden strike is often years in the making, like a dormant volcano. And much work remains afterwards for integration and embodiment, and further enlightenment experiences. There's no easy, binary way out, the way most people love to assume.

That is interesting. Yes, I supposed in practice even dogs have a sort of proto-ego, because they are rather advanced animals. But usually, animals are surrendered to the moment. Even if they are sad or angry, it's less of an ego thing than with humans. Enlightened people can also be sad or angry. They just don't resist it so much.

Life is a constant struggle for physical survival. This is true for lions and antelope as it is for an enlightenment master in a Zen monastery. Modern society just allows us to outsource much of the "dirty work" of survival. But survival must still take place if the physical body is to stay alive for longer than a few weeks. Enlightenment actually deactivates the Default Mode Network in the brain. So it's sort of like getting a lobotomy. You basically go brain dead at the deepest levels of enlightenment.

@captainamerica I will explain everything in the next video.

1) It will happen, just accept it. This journey is often 2 steps forward, 1 step backward. Sometimes 2 steps backward. Sometimes 3 steps backward. The key is to just keep going and re-commit yourself every new day. 2) Have a strong vision and think about it frequently. So you have some noble beckoning you. 3) Pace yourself intelligently. If you bite off too much too fast, you're actually slow down your progress. You need to learn -- through trial and error -- just how much change you're able to stomach in a given week, month, year. The more noble and compelling your vision, the more change you will be able to stomach. When my vision is really HOT, I find myself able to make lots of changes and they stick pretty well. When my vision is weak, I find myself backsliding a lot. 4) Learn to be your own cheerleader. When you fail and backslide, learn how to console yourself, reassure yourself, and cheer-lead your spirits back up. Learn positive self-talk rather than dumping all over yourself. 5) Mindfulness is huge 6) Psychedelics are huge. I've found that nothing gets me in touch with my authentic motivations better than psychedelics. They clear out all the extraneous materialistic crap. Although they too can have their own backlashes.

@Steph1988 Moving out and become self-sufficient is a huge step forward for anyone in their 20s. It will be tough to do serious development work while living with your family. They will suck you back into your own patterns. They will be threatened by changes you're making. So it's best to do that on your own. Your mind will entrain to your family's level of consciousness. You also feel a sense of power and autonomy when you're not beholden to someone else paying your bills or providing you a roof. You want to become independent so you can set your own healthy standards and not have to put up with low consciousness crap from other people. If it takes you a few years to establish this level of autonomy, it will be worth it. I'd consider it a foundation for all future personal development work. Then again, if you're stuck living with your folks for the next year or two, don't make that into an excuse not do the work. You can still grow enormously if you apply yourself. And since you're young, you've got a lot of energy to invent into this. So really, it's good both ways. The more toxic your family is, the faster you should be aiming to move out. To be financially independent feels so GOOD!

These videos are meant to be stepping stones for people. To get people interested in doing the work. It's hard to get someone to do the work without first titillating their mind with cool concepts.

@MM1988 Animals don't need to become enlightened, they're already surrendered to reality. They have no illusion of doership. They already flow. Which is why you don't find depressed cats. The only one who needs to become enlightened is YOU. Nobody else. Once you are enlightened, the whole world is enlightened because you are the world.

@ZX_man Nonsense. This is why we question dogma and think for ourselves rather than listening to Buddhist scriptures. "Man" or "Woman" is a false identity anyhow. What you are isn't a man or woman. And in fact, your consciousness is identical to that of every other living creature, from an ant to an elephant to a space alien. All of you are identical.

Yes, the weekly videos will continue. I'm just working on making myself more authentic within them, and trying to make them more potent.

Lots of speculation going on. That's okay. As expected. Firstly, I appreciate all your support and love and passion. Secondly, I just shot a new video which explains and gives context to the last video. That should answer most of your questions. So just hang on. It will be uploaded in the next day or two. I do not claim any kind of "enlightened" status. It's best to see me as just a guy, like yourself, who shared a powerful experience via one video.

I've been under full anesthesia when I was a teenager. But it felt no different than deep sleep. Just a blank, and then I woke up in a foul mood. I wonder why some people remain conscious???

@Sukhpaal Yes, of course that's a good idea to leave a toxic area. You should be traveling around more and living in different cities anyways. Don't stay in any one city for too long. You start to stagnate. Go to new places, meet new people, learn to live diversely.

@Sukhpaal It can, but not unless you're deliberately practicing spirituality hardcore already. Moving to nature and thinking that that will make you spiritual would be a big trap. It doesn't work like that. Your mind will find ways to trick you into being unspiritual no matter where you go or who you hang out with.

Huh? That doesn't make sense to me. For me, in deep sleep, there is nothingness present. Zero.

Conscious enough to see that passion doesn't conflict with enlightenment. It all depends on how high quality your original passion was. If your passion was selfless from the get-go, that will survive the purification process and even get stronger. If your passion was eating donuts and chasing girls, that probably won't.

@MsNobody I thought most of Dali's inspiration came from psychedelic drugs. He was like constantly high.

Very interesting. What drug did he administer? How was your unconsciousness different than deep sleep? Yes, you're right about the infinitely complex part. Reality is an Absolute infinity. Yes, 5-MeO is similar, except I never lost all consciousness on it. Perceptions are still present for me. You just realize they are all infinite in a very strange-loopy sort of way.

Actually, it's not a big IF. You don't have to worry too much about over-doing love. Just make sure it's true unconditional love, not egoic clinging for thing. True unconditional love is selfless and it's about giving, not taking or having or needing. If you're an addict, try some psychedelics. They are the fastest cure I know. You need to experience what unconditional love is, and they will show you that. Just be ware, if you have a lot of inner demons (which of course you do if you're a serious addict), they will be faced during your trips, and that will be challenging. But that's real growth. LSD is a good substance. Start very low. And take full responsibility for yourself. This is not medical advice.