The Blind Sage

Cool, I hope to be in that space someday

HAHA

like everything else, there's shades of nuance and levels to doing things. There's unconscious worship for which of course nothing needs to be said about that. But there's also conscious forms of worship, aka devotion. And they need not necessarily be to a human. Often times they're to deities This is what I understand about devotion: You aren't idolizing a symbol, that's not the point. You're using your emotions to become receptive to their presence, and that presence is what you will root yourself in and transform. Certain accomplished yogis and deities have a palpable presence, you will know what I speak of if you are able to spend some time with them. I'm not of that temperament, and dare I say if you're attracted to Leos work you probably wont be. So I stay away from it but I have no problem with someone else using devotion as a tool for dissolution as long as it's done well and they know the potential risks involved

@Buck Edwards Oh yeah he's for sure not a fiend, I was just making a point that the work is not about him

I've taken most of the advanced programs Isha offered to householders. Not all of them, but all of the main ones I have done. Here's my take: Isha practices are the real deal - everything else *can be a distraction If not for Sadhguru, I would not be empowered with the tools capable of transforming my experience of life in incredibly profound ways I'm still continuing to discover. Hence, I am ever grateful to him, and have a huge respect for what he's managed to offer to so many people, but the person that he is ultimately does not matter. This work is not about him, it's about my/your own growth. Both groups often forget this, the evangelists and the haters. As a nuance, devotion to a guru can be very useful to ones growth, check out Ram Dass's (Richard Alperts) talks on youtube. But as mentioned before, this can come with all sorts of issues like groupthink, exploitation, etc. Either way, it's genuinely not necessary. Sadhguru has even said it himself: "Kriya Yoga requires nothing but dedication towards the practice. As you refine your energies, there is no way you can remain untransformed." I would be very sad if it turns out Sadhguru is some fiend lol, but it wont change a f*ckin thing in regards to how I view the practices they teach. Unfortunately, I cannot use psychedelics because they cause Insomnia for me. If this doesn't sound like a big deal to you, try sleeping once every 2/3 days and see how your life falls apart in less than a week. So, regular practices are the path I must walk if I would like to grow spiritually, and Ishas practices is what my instincts have told me to stay with (so far). I practiced Samatha + Vipassana (Goenka style) for 3/4 years. The practices at Isha are far, far more potent and sophisticated. (I don't mean to upset any Vipassana practitioners, I am simply sharing my experience of these practices). I may leave Isha practices someday, I can't say for sure, but I know that you'd be a fool to dismiss the baby with the bathwater. They're amazing. Trust your instincts, commit to whatever grows you, and forget the distractions is how I see things.

Haha, not a coincidence Anga means limb in sanskrit. Ishanga means you're a limb of Isha, a term Sadhgurus disciples often use

Thanks! I assume you mean a course in miracles? Will give it a try 👍🏽

No. You said what you said because you chose to behave obnoxiously Most of us want an inclusive community forum. If a simple question gets such a toxic response👇🏽 its no surprise people would be hesitant to share ideas here 👆🏽 Do better.

@Sandhu Its probably later than the date you mentioned btw, Leo just said it's delayed bc of health problems on another post 🫤 @Leo Gura GWS big guy 🙏🏽👊🏽

Thank you sir

No shit I expect active users to have more info than I do. And I got what I came for, no thanks to you

@What Am I Rupert sheldreake has a theory about this. It's called 'morphis resonance fields' or something like that. Never looked into it properly but seemed interesting so I thought i'd share

@Leo Gura False. I have already mentioned in my post: I'm here to learn so if you think this will cause problems by all means, do enlighten me on how this is the case. Dude, I'm not refuting any of what you're saying here. I actually mostly agree with you on such topics! Our disagreement is in terminology, not in view. You are conflating mysticism and spirituality when there should be a deliberate intent to point out the differences and similarities amongst these 2 things. In fact Leo, you are quite literally already doing this. You simply are not using the proper term for it. Do not think I am dicking around being nitpicky, these things are important else you will have many unnecessarily confused people. At the end of the day they are labels- meant to have a practical function for communication, etc. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this distinction several years ago in a youtube video. I never forgot it since because it was so useful in a number of ways. I do not know why you cannot see it's value. But hey, I'm not the one who will have to be rehashing his views on this topic repeatedly every couple of months. You do you

No. Your work is not at all spiritual. Your work is about mysticism. A lot of people will awaken following your methods (not me because my physiology unfortunately cannot handle psychedelics), but no one following your methods will transcend suffering. You can claim mysticism>spirituality (and I mostly agree with you btw) but that does not in any way change what they are. Of course, wrong expectations about methods you employ will fuck you in the ass. Which is why making the distinction between spirituality and mysticism is so crucial. No shit. Forget 40 years they must know this before they even begin, nobody that isn't ignorant ever said otherwise. Many other practices lean towards spirituality rather than mysticism Being freed of suffering is not a 'perk'. It is the very function of such practices. I'm not saying it's not a waste of time because I simply don't know but am committed figuring things out as I grow. "The downside of pursuing only mysticism and not liberation is that there is no guarantee that you will become free of suffering and full of bliss. In fact, without training for those things I pretty much guarantee you won't get them." I reiterate; Spirituality=liberation Mysticism=understanding This distinction is not only accurate but very useful. It did not come from me, it was observed thousands of years ago. Do not ignore its value.

@Leo Gura I would advise you to make a clearer distinction between spirituality and mysticism. Spirituality=liberation (i.e what bhuddism focuses on) Mysticism=pure exploration of existence (i.e understanding) Whether Buddhist processes are 'worth the risks' is not my place to say, but it is a misunderstanding of what Buddhism is designed to do if you are criticizing it for its lack of results in understanding the nature of consciousness. On the other hand, it's foolish to be convinced that a knife is a suitable tool to sew a sweater because it gave you value in a different circumstance. Different things for different purposes...

Keenly waiting sir? "But Leo, isn't my mind identical to yours!?!?" - pls address this in your video thanks

Not really, I think you're unhinged/ungrounded. To what degree? Idk, but definitely to at least some small degree in the short term. Nothing unexpected, cant possibly expect someone to behave normally 24/7 when they delve deeply into mysticism. Not invalidating your recent insights/awakenings/discoveries or anything but sometimes you just come off as fkn strange lol. And then moments later you comment some shrewd take on a political discussion which makes you look very grounded lol ☝️Case in point ??

@Leo Gura what do you mean by 'alien'? Do you mean a degree of foreignness so far beyond our frame of reference you label it as alien? Or like some extraterrestrial shit? I've been out of touch with the forum in recent months so to me Leo just sounds like he's lost it a little bit with this 'alien' talk. But then again, at every step of the way where Leo grows to a new level he always seems crazy. A feature of his path I suppose. Or maybe its just the way he communicates, almost seems like he does it on purpose. Probably both...

My thoughts exactly

Assuming you mean the Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan; what you have to understand about is that it's not really Kundalini Yoga. It's hatha yoga dressed in the garbs of Kundalini Yoga, singing Sikh mantras. It's wonderful for general wellbeing but not very good for growing spiritually. Besides, Hatha yoga seems to be more of a prepatory system anyways, something you do to prepare the body before you crank up the voltage with intense energy practices. Not to say it isnt possible to have mystical insight with it, it's just that you're better off doing kriya yoga. True Kundalini Yoga is supposed to be an incredibly potent tantric (occult-based) practice that requires initiation and transmission. Where are you going to find people capable of such things? Not even Sadhguru is willing to do Kundalini Yoga because it's apparently too risky to do it with people who haven't had the necessary preperation.

@Lincisman Martial arts for personal development isn't talked about enough on this forum imo. Especially considering that the audience here is mostly male. I'm 23 and just had my first lesson a few days ago. I wish I started as a late teenager. Just imagine how different you'll be as a person after several years of training-mentally, emotionally (and of course physically). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is considered a pretty good go-to tradition for begginers. I'm still experimenting on which one I'll commit to but the consensus is that you can't go wrong with BJJ. Read the reddit FAQ forum on martial arts if you're interested. It's got pretty high quality info.

Agreed. What you said in the context of this discussion implied it was a generalised claim that anyone who has a notion of wasting time is judgemental-not something that happened to you on a personal level. But you've cleared that up- Yes, I can relate to this. I'm of Indian ethnicity as well. I remember wanting to learn pottery making as a young child but mum basically implied I was a sissy in front of a friend lmfao. She wanted me to do something that wasn't a 'waste of time' you could say. Not at all her fault tho-she was just acting out her programming. I don't completely agree but this tangent isn't very relevant, so fair enough.

I actually agree with what you're saying. I'd just add on top of it that even though your experiences are always teaching us something, we often resist acknowledging the misalignment that life is trying to show. Meanwhile we bullshit ourselves that we're resisting, and lie to ourselves that we're even playing this game to begin with. Survival's a bitch aint it! Meanwhile we could have just accepted the pain and dealt with the situation immediately. Thus, the 'wasted time'. You've got to take responsibility for the choices you make whilst also understanding the fact that this moment right here is inevitable and cannot be any other way because reality is what it is. So time most certainly can be wasted and is simultaneously never wasted. What's an actualized forum discussion without a sweet paradox? This, on the other hand, is nothing more than your projection. (An ironic one, I might add)

I originally stopped because it was an impediment to my growth. I had some family trauma I wasn't dealing with and became ant-social. Cannabis allowed me to numb the loneliness and boredom and suffering. When I grew out of that and tried to use it again I basically couldn't. Every trip was too intense and it would activate energy in my subtle body to an overwhelming degree. It would also cause insomnia; everything was too fresh and new for me to slip into sleep-even the process of breathing itself became incredibly stimulating. It would spark a fire of creativity and deep insights (metaphysical and otherwise). My relationship to it has changed from something I associate with pleasure to a plant that I consider as holy/sacred. I've used lsd&mushrooms about 6 times-none of those trips came close to the growth I achieved tripping on weed. It didn't always used to be like this tho. I suspect that the kriya yoga practices & meditation I've been doing over the last couple of years changed my physiology such that I'm much more receptive to the plant. But for some reason this receptivity doesn't spill over to lsd, shrooms or 2cp TLDR, my view=Cannabis can be used for tremendous growth-but only if done with sense. Pumping your body with thc everyday is silly no matter how you justify it.