Leo Gura

All the above. Careful not to oversimplify it. In reality, it's a tricky and multi-faceted beast. There is not just ego to consider, but the entire process of mind and self-survival. One enlightenment experience will rarely nuke the whole ego, and certainly won't change the entire mind with all its habits, dogmas, programs, cravings, fears, quirks, and neuroses. For most people, their first few glimpses don't stick. Because the mind needs a really deep exposure to "get it". This exposure process can take years of work. I personally feel it happening in myself this way. I feel my mind preparing itself for the ultimate demise. It's not ready yet. Even though I've died many times by now and know what that entails. Each exposure to the Absolute slowly burns off the ego. Don't expect it to be a clean cut, black and white, instant Buddha-like enlightenment. This will also depend on which techniques you are using. The yoga path will be quite different from the self-inquiry path, from the psychedelic path. The psychedelic path in particular is lots of small exposures which gradually re-sculpt the mind in a big way. I suspect most meditation paths like Zen are that way too.

@MaxV So, you've dipped your toe in the rabbit hole... Careful not to get cocky with them. They will skullfuck you if given the chance.

Everything is what it is. You see it directly as it is. Trying to add labels to your perceptions doesn't make them any clearer, just the opposite. "3D" and "2D" are just empty labels, and either way you label it, you mislead yourself. Just go sit in silence. There is your answer.

@supremeyingyang Be careful what you wish for. First you build a tribe. Next they love you. Next they overthrow you. Next they go killing other tribes. Next they dominate and oppress the world. Your goal shouldn't be to create a tribe, but to help people in some way. Don't turn the means into ends. That's like saying: my goal is to become famous. That confuses the means for the end.

@Light Lover Sounds like you're taking this concept of mastery too literally. You don't ask people: how do I master X? Rather, you start learning bits amd pieces and in 5-10 years you'll have a clear understanding of what mastery entails in that field. Knowing how to master illustration is easy. You just draw a lot and read books and take courses on drawing, shade, color, anatomy, etc. This is a well-trodden path. Don't go reinventing the wheel. Many trade schools exist for stuff like illustration. Or you can teach it all to yourself through independent study and practice.

@Binary Encoded Sunset Glad you're getting it.

Enlightenment, in a nutshell.

@The White Belt The difference is, in Scientology, they record all your private intimate conversations and then use it as blackmail against you in case you ever want to leave or badmouth them. And they pressure you for huge donations in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they make sure you don't study any other perspectives but their own. And they beat you. P.S. "Hey, come join Actualized.org, where at least we don't beat you."

Careful about that. People who are not ready to hear about spirituality are best left alone. Just because you've cognized a profound truth doesn't mean everyone will understand or treat you nicely for it.

That's what's called Group Think. And the whole point was to kill it off. I want people thinking more for themselves. Yes, that takes more effort and time. Let's see how things go. It can take some time to get used to a change like this. And I understand not everyone will like it. And some of you have some legit reasons. As with everything, there are tough trade-offs such decisions.

Yes, but probably only partially, so people have incentive to show up.

Okay, thanks all for the feedback. I will take it into account when hatching my plans for 2018. I'll keep you posted if/when the tour begins.

Okay, rank and reputation has been disabled. Let's try this out for a week and see how things go. The option to re-enable always exists.

@Chives99 Cause there's a lot within spirituality and the psyche to explore. It's sort of like if you were randomly dropped on some part of this planet for 5 hours, you would be quite confused and perplexed. And each random drop would feel and look wildly different than the last. Because the Earth is a vastly varied terrain. The jungles of Brazil feel very different than the frozen wasteland of the North Pole, and different yet again from NYC. If you really wanted to understand that whole Earth, you'd have to travel hundreds of times to see a good cross-section of all the the terrain. To really get a good understanding of psychedelics, you have to trip dozens, if not hundreds of times. Which very few people do. If you've only tripped a half-dozen times, yeah, every trip can seem kinda random. But when you trip regularly, with intention and a larger purpose, you will start to see patterns emerge.

@Shroomdoctor It's a really tough balance to strike. People come from so many different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences here. If we crack down on New Ageism too much, people will rant and whine about "censorship!" and totalitarian rule. If we let freedom and egalitarianism reign, then all opinions are valid and then you get a natural cross-section of all the worlds spiritual ideas, which are immense, wide, and crazy to most Western minds. So it's a damned-if-we-do,-damned-if-we-don't situation. Personally I'm not a fan of mixing UFOs with nonduality. But some people are really into that. It helps to distinguishing this forum from the Actualized.org videos. They are two very different things. This forum is for you guys to share ideas. And in a free marketplace of ideas, you have to expect that some crazy ones will get shared. We might have to crack down on New Ageism a bit more in the future. I'll be keeping my eye on it. I'm just giving you guys fair warning so you don't scream and holder "censorship!" if we start cracking down. The point would to be keep this place free of BS and distractions. Maintaining a good community means having editorial standards and specialization. I would rather have this place be more about strict nonduality than people debating about UFOs. We might have to re-instate the a New Age sub-forum, so that the Meditation/Consciousness sub-forum is more about strict nonduality work.

@Parki Stop using Iboga. You are going to harm yourself. You've chosen the worse of all the possible options.

No, that's not what I say. It's way more complicated than that. And infinity/nothingness doesn't map to anything, because it is everything.

Great example of a thing going full-circle.

@Whoami3 Access concentration? That's like asking if it's easier to jump with a rocket strapped to your back.

Good, you've glimpsed a bit of the Absolute. But it goes deeper! Way deeper!

I consider tripping outdoors an advanced psychonautical activity. It requires much more planning and wise judgment than tripping at home. Def not for newbies and not for your first dozen trips. There are too many variables to consider, which hardly any newbie will think of: weather, food, water, sunburn, snakes, bears, bugs, poison ivy, mud and dirt, cars, people, police, getting lost, nighttime, etc.

If you can think of a way to blend all your passions together cohesively, then that is fine. That will be your singular purpose. But otherwise, you need to focus and specialize. Success comes from specialization. You can always branch out later once you've nailed one thing well. If you are being indecisive, that itself speaks of a larger problem: you are unclear, confused about what you want from life. And so that is exactly what you will get from life: a muddy, confused mess. The whole point of finding your LP is so that you don't have doubts any more about your core direction in life. That doubt and indecision kills your ability to master anything. You want to be able to wake up every morning and know exactly what you're working towards, without seconding-guessing yourself. By not making the hard choice, you've made a choice to be mediocre.

That's too niche for us. Topics about kids and awareness you can post in this sub-forum. Topics about general parenting you can post in the Self-Actualization sub-forum.

He was a she, but yes.

@Sahil Pandit Watch out of bears. I had a bear creep up on us in the woods while tripsitting a friend.