TheAvatarState

OK, I'll look into it more. Thank you. My financial situation is currently really bad. So I'll see what they can offer. Are there any other things I should know? Things they're looking for?

@Leo Gura You're right. I've been through a few false starts, and the ego backlashes are very real and predictable. I understand the message that I need to start slow. What I was looking for was a tip or technique on how to implement some basic good habits and KEEP them. For instance, my goal is to start with 10 minutes of meditation per day, read 30 minutes, and do the simple Wim Hof method each morning (cold shower and 5-10 min. of breathing). And that's it. I understand that's basically nothing to most people, but at my current state that would be a good step. Consistency is the key. So in times when my ego wants to drag me down, when it connives and tries to convince me in every way possible, is there anything I can try to keep focused on the task? In my case, just having awareness of these egoic urges isn't enough. If you possibly have anything more to share with me, I would greatly appreciate it! And I do apologize, I wasn't thinking and posted this in the wrong sub-forum ?. All I'm looking for is a little "leg up" on my psyche to give me the confidence to snowball that. I'm basically at ground zero. @Mu_ thanks for the response! I'm going to start very slow, and see if I can maintain that. @winterknight thanks for the reply. I don't think a psychoanalytical institute is right for me right now. My psyche isn't FUCKED... I'm still functional. I haven't tried a more strategic and calculated approach yet to overcoming this shit. I'm going to try that first. If I find that I have some MAJOR issues below the surface that's preventing me from helping myself, then I'll try it.

@Arhattobe yes, you're correct in recognizing the nuance of humor. You can say the same thing about love. Lower-consciousness love is directed at someone and is conditional. It can be warped by romanticism. However, true love (nondual), fully unconditional, is not really directed at anyone in particular, it's the emanation (release?) of something higher. It comes from a different UNDERSTANDING. One could say it's the metaphysical connection. So along those lines of reasoning: what is humor and what is its source? I'm talking about the genuine, high consciousness smile or laughter. Why do we feel it? Am I being deluded here? I'm not content with just believing it's something we feel when we're happy... I know there's something more. So humor me.

@Arhattobe If I'm not mistaken, you said "ask anything." I didn't realize your perceived relevance to a spiritual path was a factor. That being said, please answer me this: why is the 10th Ox herding picture of someone who's laugh can brighten multitudes of people? Why does the sense of humor and the wise, enlightened master usually go hand in hand? Is it just a byproduct of spiritual truth? A coincidence? Is this illusion? Or is there something more? Because I believe this to be very relevant, I'm curious of your opinions on this. Thank you

@Arhattobe What is humor? What is its source?

https://theconversation.com/bizarre-dark-fluid-with-negative-mass-could-dominate-the-universe-what-my-research-suggests-107922 Sound familiar? They even use the analogy of bubbles because they can be modeled as having negative mass. This "dark fluid" sure sounds a lot like Leo's description of the Universe as a sponge... It's striking how this brand new theory at the cutting edge of physics and cosmology gets a little closer to the infinite void of Consciousness we know it to be... Anyways, I hope you find the chance to read it, it's fascinating. I think it's a lot more relevant than you might expect.

Thank you @Leo Gura for creating this wonderful thread. I think it's a very important topic! Here's a great article of the playlist that John Hopkin's University used in their double blind study on the effects of Psilocybin mushrooms in terminally ill patients. And while this is a highly effective and beautiful way to spend a trip (I encourage everyone to try it at least once), it obviously doesn't provide for all the experiences one might want to have. Sometimes you WANT to potentiate the trip and mindfuck yourself! Sometimes you WANT to have more emotional range... to induce a sublime state in one moment, then bawl your eyes out the next! I have some suggestions that no one else has mentioned yet. I'll start with perhaps the holy grail. I believe that everyone's life might be a little better if they were to listen to this album while tripping (preferably in nature). I recommend the entire album "Valtari," but here's my favorite song off of it: I'm not sure if this next one is the best WHILE you're tripping (it could be), I find it provides a nice, chill atmosphere for the come-up. It's really underrated how important the come-up stage is. The Full Album is called "Glaciers" (I couldn't find the full album on YT). As I'm sure many of you know, there's quite a bit of prog rock from the 70's that's REALLY good for tripping. I've found these to be my personal favorites: This next one was quite a find... If you're looking for the most mystical and extra-planetary experience, then give this one a shot: I love Pink Floyd, but I've found their best album for tripping (MDMA for healing is especially potent) to be The Division Bell. This song will literally put you on Cloud 9: Ok, moving into psytrance. I'm sure most of you have heard of these already, but I'll put my favorites in anyway Anything by Entheogenic. Here's the latest album: Shpongle... you gotta have Shpongle. If you're new to them, I'd start with this album ("No Turn Unstoned" if you just have time for 1 song): Then move on to Museum of Consciousness (my personal favorite) and Codex VI. Absolutely my favorite more "recreational" tripping music. But don't fool yourself into thinking there's not something to be gained for spiritual purposes. It definitely enhances your trip in unfathomable ways. You're just along for the ride

@SageModeAustin I feel you man. Life is hard. I'm also going through a really rough time. It seems like the distance between Nihilism and God-awareness gets shorter every day. One day I'll feel so happy and peaceful that I'm on the right path, the next I'll descend into egoic mind Chaos... There's nothing but suffering. None of this actually matters. What's the point? FUCK THIS!!!!! I know that these thoughts are illusion. I know this is a violent grasp of the ego to regain control of "reality." I know these emotions inside me are doing everything in their power to make me quit and fall back asleep. Despite this "knowing", I can't control my emotions and I'll still feel them. Emotions overwhelm logic 10 times out of 10. It's literally the most violent and savage battle ever conceived, and it's playing out inside my own mind. Perhaps it's the Dark Night of the Soul that everyone's talking about. It's like a dark vice grip, and I can't control it. Here's the bitter (or sweet?) irony of it: Everything you said was true. Not even Leo Gura can deny that. But he'd tell you that it's a perspective. "Nothing matters" is the fact. Is that the ugliness of it? Or is that the beauty of it? See, I can understand the infinite beauty of this infinite void/consciousness that evolved to where we are right now just so that it could experience and marvel at itself. It's mind-blowing how beautiful this universe is. Inexpressible. On the other hand, I can also see the suffering in it. The grueling nature of it. The filth. The stink. This isn't just a human perspective, look out in nature and the universe. It's cold. It's heartless. It's savage. Everything that lives has to fucking struggle to stay alive. Death is inevitable. It fills me with sadness, disgust, and a little rage that we're trapped here with no say in the matter. I'm being as open and honest as I can, for you. I can see both perspectives so clearly, so fully. I can feel each on a cellular level. What's interesting is that they both make me cry, but for vastly different reasons. I cry with joy and wonder when I experience the beauty of nature. It's the most beautiful sensation one could ever have. Nirvana. On the other hand, I cry like a little child when I experience the anger and helplessness of existential defeat. It's the most palpable and sour emotion you could imagine. It's literally what it feels like to die and not have anyone else care about you or remember you; it literally rips your heart out. Imagine yourself as the man on the floor bleeding to death, still conscious, watching the credits of your life roll past your eyes. Helpless. Is this not the worst fate imaginable? That's because you're taking the perspective of someone who is dying. "Is dying" is an active mode of consciousness. Notice that. You can be locked in that mode while still physically "living." That's the tragedy. Notice how both of these perspectives seem to lie at the same point: Ultimate Truth. Remember Leo talking about the theme of things going full circle? You must go past the inflection point to get to what lies beyond. Life and Death are balanced at the same point. They are the same thing. That duality collapses. God and the Devil aren't on opposite sides of the spectrum of "goodness!" They actually wrap around to lie at the same exact point! God is the Devil. That duality must collapse. But what lies beyond (inflection point), and is there even such a thing? Yes! Even though they're viewing the same thing, there's a very clear and distinct difference between these two perspectives. This may sound really strange.... but it's TIME. Yes, you read that right. "Wait, what? How does that make any sense?" Or if you've heard about this concept before, it really is that simple. That. Fucking. Simple. It's hilarious how simple it is. The difference between someone thinking the world is ugly or beautiful is directly correlated with how much they're living in the present moment. That's literally the only difference between the two perspectives. Now, notice how I'm not saying both perspectives are equally valid... One is closer to Truth, one isn't. One is illusion and ego-based. One isn't. In one perspective, you're trapped in your own mind and actively dying. In the other, you're actively living. I'm not going to spell it all out for you, but the more you contemplate this, the more you'll realize how true this is. It's easy to delude ourselves into thinking it's more complicated or that there's some other way. But it really is that simple. Good luck my friend! I'm certain that I helped myself just as much, if not more, by writing this out. And yes, I'm aware that you could have been tongue in cheek. Doesn't matter. Because this is actually a perspective one could have. I wrote it for myself and anyone else who might need it.

My suggestion? Take 200-300ug. In my experience (vast experience), the trip is very likely to be positive and "controllable" or "steer able" from disaster as long as you're not taking over 300ug. Set and setting are everything. If there's even a 5% chance of something weird happening in your environment outside of your control (like a neighbor), don't do it. It doesn't matter if you're at a friends house or not, you can take things over and make the space as comfortable as possible. Prioritize a stable and safe environment over "familiar." The trip rockets you off anyway. Safe travels my friend!

The wisest people speak the most simply and clearly. There's this whole attitude in academia that you have to be verbose to sound intelligent. This is totally wrong. "If you can't explain it simply, then you don't understand it well enough." -Albert Einstein

@Sven One thing to ponder... Why is enlightenment so funny? It's the most oddly funny thing in the world. What the fuck is going on here?

Perhaps it's the sensation of laughing about laughing? Always keeping a meta understanding of a humorous situation can lead to an infinite regress of laughter, only for you to surrender to infinite PRESENT laughter. There's infinite humor in every moment... It's just a matter of if you're aware of it or not. And not like "savage" laughter. It's humor that's more tender, I'd say... Anyways, that's just my thoughts on it ?

Oh, I'm sorry that I completely misunderstood you. My bad... So you understand that you as a human body have absolutely no control. The one doing the scripting is not you. Is it ultimately scripted? That's a tricky one. This experience only knows and has the present moment, so a "planning ahead" or strategizing is not possible. The very concept of a script is just that: a concept. It can have no actuality. If you haven't yet, I highly recommend watching Leo's live awakening experience video, and the follow up one explaining the integration of the experience. There is no script, but things are exactly how they're meant to be. That's where your inner peace came from. The future will happen exactly how it will happen, inevitably, but there is no script. It's perfectly chaotic. Perfect. Cheers!

@Bauer1977 You don't have to believe me. You don't even have to believe Leo here. You can demonstrate this for yourself. Whether you click this video or not is not up to you. Either your desire for Truth wins out, or your desire to stay asleep wins out. Here is the man himself:

I don't think I misunderstood you. There's an important distinction to be made here. "Not resisting" is not something you can flip like a switch. If it was that easy, everyone would do it. One must learn why they're resisting. They must make sense of it. Why is chasing the Ox one of the first steps to enlightenment? Because the ego needs something to chase to make it worthwhile. It is only through this process of chasing and taming the ox that you are able to embody and see that you were the Ox the whole time. ONLY THEN can you surrender. If I read your post correctly, you advocate for beginners to stop chasing and making sense of the world. It doesn't work like that.

@cetus56 LOL! No, I'm far from embodying it, as I'm still on my early journey. But I feel it. I know the source of humor. And it's a beautiful thing.

Your post doesn't make any sense. Sorry. You're trying to analyze depressed people from the vantage point of (probably) already having an enlightenment experience. Just because YOU can just "be"(and understand what that means), doesn't mean an unconscious person can. You're not appreciating your own journey and how you attained some of these insights. You're absolutely right that someone first starting consciousness work will feel even MORE depressed. More nihilistic. That's egoic reaction. That's not something to avoid! That's the journey! That IS what you should be working through! So anyone who's reading this, have faith in these practices. You must understand your entire ego and all its tricks. You must go through the darkest depths of your being, and face your worst fears and insecurities. I'll add that psychedelics help immensely with speeding up the process, but there are ultimately no shortcuts.

Uh, wow. My close friend and I are completely tapped into infinite humor. You're the only other person I know that resonates with that too... It's quite an amazing thing! It's not something you can explain to people. You're either tapped into that "frequency" or you're not.

Buckle you seatbelt, Dorothy. Cause Kansas... Is going bye-bye! ?

I've learned to not go there with my parents ?. I had an interesting conversation with them over spiral dynamics, but they couldn't help but interpret the model from their blue/orange perspective. That I was somehow judging and pidgeonholing people. "Like, liberals are somehow more evolved than me? WHAT?" These topics just don't translate well to people that aren't fundamentally open minded and non-judgmental.

You trolling me, bro? I was trying to explain my situation of time travel and quantum entanglement, and you went off on a tangent of feeling ultimate love. ? It's all good though! You're not wrong... It just seemed a little off topic. I meant everything I said. Perhaps you're taking life a little too seriously if you think love is all there is at higher metaphysical states of Consciousness. Yes, love is the emotion we perceive when we connect with ourselves. It's literally the connection. But HUMOR! It's there too! And I feel that it's a metaphysically based emotion like love. It's the ability to laugh at ourselves about our own insignificance. There's beauty there.

@Nahm oh yeah totally. In order to get to that highest form of love, you literally have to die into it. You nailed it! But there's something else I've realized. When you try going after these states of total "presence" or "being," there's another potent emotion that surfaces. Humor. I've gotten to a point where my perception gets lighter and lighter, and I'll start laughing uncontrollably at the beauty and illusion of it all. It's from this pervasive existential humor that love tends to pour out of me. Or is it the other way around? Have you experienced this?

@cetus56 No I haven't watched the movie Dune, but that makes sense of intuition which dreams are gong to pan out. @Nahm You're right, my perception of future events is just as real as any other perception. My theory is that we all seem to be "synced" into the same time because we are all one mind. However, it is possible to become "de-synced" from the usual experience and feel things that are "probable" to happen in the future (which is like the "standard" time of this giant mind). The reason I say probable, is because your knowledge of future events can alter the path. Quantum entanglement. Here's a very real example from my own experience: sometimes I can pick up on my phone alarm and vibration before it goes off. However, if I don't have the INTENT of keeping my phone right where it is, then I won't feel it early. That's because in a probable future timeline, I'll intuit the alarm going off before it actually does and pick it up, thereby preventing myself from feeling the vibration in "the future." I'm still in the early stages of figuring out how this works. Really exciting but really scary at the same time. It's not consistent yet, but I'm working to hone this sense...

I would be very skeptical of suddenly coming to a conclusion about a problem such as this a day after posting a topic, and after reading a single book and throwing some thoughts around. What is that, a combined few hours of work? You think that's it? You say you're satisfied... WHO is satisfied? Certainly not the force that compelled you to research this in the first place! That's not possible. You've settled for an easy middle ground where your ego and your true self are both partially satisfied. "At least I can't say I didn't search." But on the other hand, "at least I still have some control." Your journey is far from over my friend. You're going to be eaten up on the inside even more now. Don't deny it. You've admitted that you don't have control over "the force" that compelled you to come here, yet you said you were in complete control of your egoic mind and how you interpreted it. Think about that. That is to deny that these parts are interlinked and part of the same system. When they obviously are. Be careful of judging your previous actions from the lens of the present. We all know hindsight is 20/20. But in the moment you chose to read the book, you had no clue if it contained more information that might have been helpful to you! You had no choice but to read it. If we rewinded time millions of times over, you would have bought that book every. single. time. You getting this? Did I have any control on writing this response? No. I saw your message and knew I had to shake you up. Did I have any choice on how to word this, or how I chose to be harsh and blunt? No. This is all calculated on how I feel best to respond given my current knowledge. This is not meant to overwhelm or belittle you in any way whatsoever. I believe that this is what you need to hear, and I can't explain it. Quantum mechanics tells us that there are nothing but probability fields, and things only "come" into existence when observed. You used the example of the interaction of water molecules. What is the force that decides how things come together? Do you think you egoic chimp brain had any power over that? Fuck no. Get real.

Oh I completely understand where you're coming from. It's a valid point, and we should all be mindful of that. But Wim Hof is not great because he is immune to cold. Wim Hof is great because he is a conscious, holistic human being who teaches other people how to become in tune and conscious of their own bodies. To formulate his own method, he gathered wisdom from various ancient spiritual traditions. This isn't "new" stuff," and he's definitely not masquerading around as some god. I think you'll find that out quickly if you research him.