Identity

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About Identity

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  • Birthday 04/22/1996

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  1. Yes, well put! was just reading the ‘conversations with god’ book and this sentence reminds me of what you mention here: “Being at the spiritual game means dedicating your whole mind, your whole body, your whole soul to the process of creating Self in the image and likeness or God.” So, it sounds like this moment is calling you to further embody your personal strength, and that being the right step in creating Self in the image and Likeness of God. Yeah, that’s I guess also what this post was about. Is the fact that becoming aware of what god is, to deeper and deeper degrees is definitely a key dimension. And yet the creating of self, and life, in the image and likeness of god, seems at least as big a task. And that definitely should be looked at as genuine spirituality.
  2. Right, I hear you. And can definitely see in my own process also how at times there can be this pure intent, and at times there are other desires/motives behind the same practices. With that, there is also a new respect for the need to be have a narrow and pure definition of what the word ‘spirituality’ refers to. Thanks!
  3. To be transparent; I read the original post and looked at some others, yet did not read the entire thread. Yet the topic does interest me as well. Understanding more about how form operates. I agree that there is more to it than simply saying ‘consciousness is fundamental, yet for the rest let’s stick to the laws of materialism’. From my own experience, there is clearly a more personal, intelligent, way that god operates through form. Especially in more expanded states of consciousness, things like synchronisities are definitely a thing. The chakra system clearly has some connection to phenomenon that can be directly experienced. And, at the same time, it’s a slippery slope as well to veer off to much from ‘common sense materialism’. I’s definitely also not the case that reality is so contextual and moldable (at ordinairy states or consciousness) that any thought or belief goes. There seems to be a connection there between degree of consciousness and fluidity to form. Yet how this all works exactly is quite a mystery to me. Especially also because it’s easy to fall into self-deception…
  4. @Sincerity If I get you right, you’re saying from one perspective all developmental persuits are ‘spiritual’, whilst from another perspectice it can be seen as a spectrum ranging from ‘physical/survival’ to ‘spiritual’. Both being true in their own sense. Yeah, that’s a nice way of looking at it
  5. @Carl-Richard Hmm, what are you pointing to with this sentence? Do you mean, that the intent behind spiritual practice is the best way to suss out ‘real’ from ‘fake’, since before complete enlightenment there is always a sense of self in the work?
  6. Hee Leo, hee community, It’s been a while since posting. To be honest, over the last year or two the newer Actualized material resonated less with me. But this recent video on ‘fake spirituality’ really reconnected me again. What struck me most was the longing and integrity for God. It reminded me of the genuine leadership Leo embodies, which reignited my motivation to deepen my spiritual practice and connection. Interestingly, the time Leo has taken away from the regular pace of content creation has been valuable for me too. It gave me space to step back, integrate, and explore other perspectives. One of the main perspectives I explored was a form of Nondual Tantra. Over the past two years, I’ve participated in a course with six week-long retreats and 10-day retreats, together with my girlfriend. It was nice to see how well these teachings hold up against Leo’s “pure” yardstick for spirituality. The focus is on inquiry, direct experience, and practice, with with little dogma, and whatever tradition exists is held loosely, without the need to conform. That said, while I see the value in separating “pure spirituality” from “survival,” I also feel something gets lost in that distinction. The biggest growth I’ve experienced lately has been about integrating and embodying the spiritual connection I’ve built on my own. In previous years, the spiritual connection and understanding became solid; through years of meditation, 50+ trips, and a general attitude of metaphysical inquiry. There’s real substance in my experience of what the word God points to. By no means do I claim to have mastered this field but that hasn’t been the main growth edge for me. What’s been most transformative is the integration work, especially during group retreats with around 50 people, where many inquiries are done in relationship with others. If we use the chakra model for a moment, it seems Leo’s “pure spirituality” focuses mostly on opening the top two chakras. But for someone like me, whose challenge has been authentic expression, going deeper there without integration creates a separation between my solo work and the rest of life. Simply drawing a hard line between “spirituality” and “survival” can be limiting. A big part, maybe the majority, of the work is allowing insight to permeate into life, into form, into survival. One retreat exercise really showed me this. Using breathwork and meditation, I entered a mystical state where emptiness and infinity were crystal clear. Yet I could feel how it wasn’t fully integrated, how I longed to feel it in my heart, my bones, every cell of my body. So while I see the value in a no-bullshit definition of spirituality, and the danger of muddying the waters, I also see the need for nuance. For expanding spirituality to include integration into form: in how we relate, live, and embody. Just throwing this out there to see if it resonates. Also curious if you, @Leo Gurahave any thoughts on this. With much love and gratitude.
  7. This video was helpful for me in creating more nuance about what discipline is, and isn’t. I’ve been contemplating for a while what ‘conscious discipline’ would look like. Mainly because of the limiting aspects unconscious discipline can have. The self-guilting, the lack of self-awareness, the boxing oneself in with too much structure. And what Teal Swan refers to as bulldozing. In conscious discipline none of those elements are necessary. One can have complete self-awareness, compassion, nuance. And at the same time decide from will to act in a way that is beyond the path of least resistance. To act in alignment what one believes to be right, that contributes to their vision, that contributes to expansion. When developing discipline, I would be wary of unconscious discipline, as I find that there is plenty of that to go around in the personal development spheres. Then again, arguably there is a natural evolution where one first needs more of these unconscious elements as support structure before letting them fall away. At least, that seems to be the progression happening in my own life. I hope some of these thoughts help you with your goal to develop self-discipline this year. Good luck!
  8. @integral Haha, daym, looks like you’re crossing boundaries I aint ready for yet. Agreed though; underwear? Silly restraining invention 😝
  9. @Moutushi hahaha, that sounds like a fantastic time 🕺🏻
  10. Haha this discussion puts a smile on my face. Love you guys ❤️✌🏼
  11. Right, if I understand you correctly, this perspective is similar to the point I’m trying to make. Just like @Leo Gura says ‘no legs, no pants, no problem’. Yet, if I see the ‘form’ Leo walking around. There will be legs, and most likely, there will be pants. Right? Unless you’re THAT wild. @UnbornTao and yes, the possibility to eliminate beliefs sounds great. Yet, when you’re in a conversation with someone, words are still being said, right? However awake, detached, loose, the ideas are held, surely there is still some general philosophy that acts as your operating system? These examples are symptoms of the underlying idea; No matter how deeply one gets grounded into nothingness, there will still be some form that appears, right? That’s actually what I’ve been really enjoying about the tantric perspective. Yes, be deeply rooted in the formless. But don’t reject the form, fully infuse your consciousness into that form. Feel it. Live it. Live the human experience.
  12. @Lila9 Yup, definitely agree that there is a lot of stage greeny shallowness going around in most new age places. And then again, it also varies a lot depending on the community and the individuals. It comes back for me to this challenge; there is some form that needs to be taken. Some way to show up, behave, interact, live. Say you want to dance, waaay rather go to a hippy-filled Ecstatic Dance then to go to a macho orange club. I guess the point I’m making; if behind the new age externals, there is actually the seriousness, the depth, the direct experience. Don’t see the problem.
  13. @Leo Gura Surely you own a pair of those loose patterned pants yourself 😉
  14. After watching most of the video on the forum and reading Leo’s comments, I would like to open a conversation on the topic of new age. It seems that my ‘form’ is to a large extend that of a new-ager. Most of the characteristics mentioned in the video are boxes I check: - Beliefs, attitudes, clothes (to some extend), relationships, interests, practices. A telling sign; one of the people at the tantra centre where my girlfriend and I are doing a series of seven retreats said: ”I assume that you’re one of those ‘man circle’ guys, that lack any spiritual depth.” Aaand, my reply was; ‘I kind of do, huh? Looking at my feminine loose patterned pants.’ Aaand, at the same time, I truly feel that I have directly grasped, experienced and am embodying many of the truths and principles that we pursue in this work. Interestingly enough, from a young age, it had been challenging for me to find my place. To ‘create myself’. To take a particular form in the collective world. In the end… some form needs to be taken right? You’re either wearing feminine loose patterned pants, or you’re wearing stiff jeans in which it’s impossible to move. I’ll take the first any day of the week. Anyhow, I’m opening the floor here; Are any of you taking this form as a ‘new ager’? or have you found other ways of finding your place in this collective world?
  15. Happy to see you doing well Leo ✌🏼 if this wasn’t a tragic death of a young girl, I’d propose it to be a meme. Perhaps a mouse trap is a better fit 😂😅 oke, the croc is definitely better. subtitles: “Are you sure?”