Leo Gura

Actualized.org has been upgraded to a new server. This server should be more reliable and 5 to 10 times faster. If you notice any bugs or errors, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy

Yeah, I love the barber shop one.

Yeah, it should be. We got 10x bandwidth increase and solid state hard drive.

@John Flores Correct. Except in a nonphysical reality, the body isn't as necessary as we assume.

Reminds me of this cool technology I found called Holophonic sound: http://www.acousticintegrity.com/acousticintegrity/Holophonics.html But you need to wear headphones for it to work. It's quite freaky!

There's a very deep structural problem here: Absolute Infinity = no limits You = a limit Now, what would happen to a limit if it become unlimited? Why might a limit not want to become unlimited?

That's a tricky assumption, stemming from the paradigm that self and other are real solid entities. Consider this: if everything in one (as nonduality suggests), there is no separation between you and other beings. In which case, it would be possible to have a direct consciousness of what another being is. Turns out it is possible to have direct consciousness of another. Because another is you. And you're both nothing. To accomplish this feat, you'd have to have an enlightenment experience on the question of: What is another? Enlightenment has many interesting facets. More than people first suspect.

@Key Elements Fair enough, just felt I needed to emphasize the potential trap some readers might fall into.

No, I said the brain does NOT render reality. The brain is part of the stuff rendered, obviously. I said nothing renders reality. << that's facing the mysticism head-on. Imagine a game like World of Warcraft running on a server, but the server isn't silicon-based, it's literally nothing. That's sorta like actual reality. If you object, "But how could that be?", notice: how could anything be? Notice that no way is any less mystical than another. And notice that reality doesn't need to obey the limits of your rational mind or human intuition, because reality is unlimited. It has infinite capability, and is therefore literally indistinguishable from magic.

@Key Elements That description of an enlightened person is a gross idealization. You will be sorely disappointed if that's what you expect. That is more like a description of Jesus than your typical enlightened guy. And even Jesus had his prickish moments. So be careful about filling your head with such ideals. Yes, enlightenment generally orients people towards happiness and humility and love and all that, but it's not guaranteed by any means, and it will takes decades of additional work to actualize that potential. It's very useful to make a sharp distinction between enlightenment and one's behavior, emotions, and level of development. You can treat these things almost like independent variables. In the same way that just because one knows calculus, doesn't make one nice or loving or humble or charming.

This question reminds me of a critic who was so outraged by George Berkeley's philosophical position that the external world does not exist -- the world being nothing more than an idea inside the mind of God -- that the guy kicked a rock at Berkeley, causing him to bleed, and said something along the lines of: "There! Proof of an external world!" The general problem with people who are stuck in a naive realist paradigm is that they are trying to judge other paradigms without first stepping outside their own. You cannot make a paradigm shift without leaving your old paradigm behind. You are correct in this way: using ordinary human consciousness, we cannot know for sure if there is or is not an external world. But when you experience Absolute consciousness, you'll realize that reality is not physical, because it is Absolute Infinity. And if you start to develop paranormal abilities like OBEs, and other sorts of spiritual powers, you'll see that reality is non-physical. Or just take a large dose of psychedelics. This stuff isn't theory. You can empirically verify what is being claimed for yourself. If you really care, verifying it is not that difficult.

"Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given it wings." -- Hindu Proverb

@Emerald Wilkins Doesn't change the fact that "hungry child", in this case, is a concept. Which is not to say you'll never run into hungry children, as if they are a myth. They are real -- when you meet one. If this causes you to be cruel to hungry children -- by say, stopping your donations -- then that's for you to reconcile. As in West World, just because you realize you're in a game, doesn't mean you have to be an asshole. The game reveals your true colors.

Of course there can be multiple causes/factors. Humans are complex critters. But it shouldn't be hard to tell what your obstacles are. Just sit down and honestly ask yourself: "What are my biggest obstacles?" Your intuition knows. Things like bad habits are obvious. Things like negative motivation is obvious. Just ask, "Why am I doing X?" and see what the reason is. Is it to avoid fear, or pain? Etc.

@jse That empathy is also a sensation to become mindful of. Don't cling to your humanity so much that it keeps you from discovering your divinity

This is not helpful to someone who is stuck in a rut or is a chronic underachiever. There are times in life when you need to surrender to just being. But NOT when you're stuck in a lazy rut. When you're stuck in a rut, when you've been a victim for YEARS, when you haven't done any serious work on yourself or your career, getting mobilized is very important. Doing is very important. Action is very important. The practical reality is that most people have enormous potential which goes 99% untapped. Telling such people to "just be", "just relax", "you are already perfect", "success is fool's gold" -- that is only going to confuse them, because that's advice you give to someone who's a neurotic overachiever, not a neurotic underachiever. The life purpose course is not designed to enlighten people. It's designed to get them moving towards tapping into their enormous potential on this mortal plane and handle their career. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is important to keep in mind. People find it really hard to follow advanced spiritual advice when they can't even achieve the basics of successful living. It goes over their head and they use the advice to justify further inaction. One needs to find a balance between doing and being. And even at the most advanced spiritual levels, being is never done at the expense of necessary doing.

That's exactly what it is, FOR YOU! The greater tragedy is not being mindful of what is concept and what is experience.

@Joel3102 Progress is always rocky. Up and down. Expect ego blacklashes after retreats or huge gains in consciousness. This is a mastery path, so it will look like any other mastery path.

If you meditate every day, you should experience a 10x exponential gain every year. Year 1: 1 Year 2: 10 Year 3: 100 Year 4: 1,000 Year 5: 10,000 Etc.

The Hindu model of Atman/Brahman may help clear up this confusion. You are both an individuated unit of consciousness (Atman) and Absolute Infinity (Brahman). "The soul" can also refer to other mystical phenomena besides this.

If someone crapped in a Zen sand garden at a serious Japanese monastery, they would probably bury that guy 6 feet under that garden, and that would be the last anyone ever heard of him.

@100rockets That is called a state of Samadhi, or mystical union, or direct consciousness, or enlightenment, or simply reality! You already are everything you experience. Right now! Already! Always! Just realize there never was a "you" who experienced anything, and what's left? The tree. The exercises listed here are pointing to Samadhi. Just keep practicing and you'll get it. Experience occurs without an experiencer. That's all there is to get.

There is hungry child when he appears before you. Otherwise, it's just an image in your mind. This requires mindfulness practice to see. Try doing the practical enlightenment exercises I pinned to the top of this sub-forum. Those will develop mindfulness in you so you can understand what is being said here.

Did you experience this through 5-meo, or how?

Well, definitely stop doing drugs. That's gonna fuck up everything no matter how hard you work at personal development. No drugs except psychedelics for spiritual growth purposes << That's just a baseline rule you gotta start following. And ditch any hard drug user friends, because they will only pull you down. Also ditch any gambler friends, they will pull you down. Then start a daily meditation habit. You need to ween yourself off of materialism. Start to notice that there is nothing satisfying about materialism, even when you get everything you want. Money, women, cars, houses, gadgets, etc. None of this stuff is fulfilling. Start to notice this so that your focus gradually shifts to growth, learning, love, consciousness, deep relationships, life purpose, etc. Find a healthy and fun activity to replace your gambling habit. Because you will certainly backslide as you continue this self-development journey. Have a plan ready for when you backslide. You might want to look into do a week-long meditation retreat. You might want to look into psychedelics if you're hooked on recreational drugs. Psychedelics will also be good for combating your materialistic attachments. If you're seriously addicted to recreational drugs, research Ibogaine treatments clinics. Your life will never be the same again.