Consilience

Can vouch. This is the most potent form of vipassana I've ever found. It's extremely simple and extremely effective, especially when practiced in a retreat setting.

Unfortunately, this forum seems to in general dismiss the importance of embodiment. Once you have all the intellectual answers or even experienced the answers on psychedelics, there’s literally nothing else to do except integrate, embody, and bask in the understanding through living life. In my view anyways.

This perspective can be skillfully balanced with learning how to investigate and see the same fundamental truth even in a state of extreme fatigue. During my first vipassana retreat, there was an all night sitting phase called “Yaza” Around 8 hours of sitting throughout the night and into the morning. It fundamentally transformed my relationship with meditating through fatigue. Turns out, when one can apply enough mindfulness to the sensations of sleepiness, the sleepiness transforms into a flowing spaciousness. More accurately stated, sleepiness is experienced without the pushing and pulling of craving and aversion, which allows one to investigate its true nature. However, for a novice meditator this probably isn't a good strategy. Learning how to amp up mindfulness or “conscious power” to dispel the sleepiness is a very powerful skill. For an advanced meditator, learning how to work with sleepiness without manipulating it away is even more powerful. Sometimes life will present us conditions where we have no choice but to experience extreme fatigue, whether because of life events demanding sleep deprivation, physical illness, or as we age and our mind’s naturally dull, fatigue is an inescapable phenomena of nature. Can we still find peace, happiness, and truth within the fatigue, as the fatigue, exactly as it’s appearing? We can, but it requires we investigate these perceptions directly.

You’re lost brother. Truth is actuality, not excluding pain or pleasure, sorrow or happiness, gain or loss… Find the truth in all experience and recognize pain does not equal suffering. If you’re only thinking and conceptualizing over spirituality, yes complete nonsense. If you’re actually applying the concepts of Actualized.org through practice, completely different. Spirituality is not about using techniques to destroy the mind’s ability to feel negative emotions. Not sure where you’re getting this false idea. Most likely a misrepresentation, an unconscious projection and criticism from a lack of serious direct experience. Spirituality at the deepest level is about penetrating into the truth of phenomena, all appearance including negative emotions. Further, negative emotions are vital teachers, and sources of introspective awareness into the unconscious movements of mind and misalignments with one’s most authentic alignment. Considering where you’re at though, stick with just realizing negative emotions and positive emotions are held in existential equilibrium when true spirituality is practiced. “Maybe there is only hedonism and all truth and meaning is a lie” To the one lost in concept, samsara, and seduced by Mara, yes 100%. Complete and utter delusion nonetheless.

What energetic practices have you done alongside semen retention?

What a high quality post!

Agreed but the problem with weed is that the after effects are quite bad. It blurs and dis-harmonizes the mind. I used to be a daily user as well and it was only until I went on my first meditation retreat did I see the subtle damage it creates. At this point for myself, the lows are generally not worth the high. Ive still occasionally used and of those occasional uses, very few sessions are ultimately satisfying because of the dulling, after effects.

To directly address the title’s question - It has helped, immensely. I was diagnosed with a pretty vicious autoimmune disease about 6 months after I learned about enlightenment and sort of held that I could, in fact, become enlightened myself. The disease routinely causes physical and mental pain, but through a very dedicated meditation practice and all the other activities (psychedelics, contemplation, reading, youtube, some yoga, etc) Ive completely transformed my relationship with it and hold it as a gift. Moreover, spirituality has made life so much more beautiful and fulfilling. Ive also really busted my ass with meditation though to a degree I rarely see others attempt. I believe this has played a critical role. Is life perfect? No. Am I always emotionally experiencing happiness? No. But these conditions are not the true fruits of the path anyways. A radical recontextualization is what we’re after. I like Shinzen's explanation of how mindfulness increases happiness in the long term: F - Fulfillment of the senses. When we have a ‘complete’ experience of pleasure and pain, both befome fulfilling. In this sense, mindfulness is the practice of having a complete experience of whatever is arising in experience. I - Insight into the nature of self. As we continue to practice, we come to experientially understand what we are at deeper and deeper levels. We also come to see the perfection of this moment as it is. There is a place for cultivated improvement (slowly increase mindfulness, or “consciousness state increases”) while also recognizing the primordial perfection of reality. Holding both truths as complimentary rather than contradictory is the true spiritual path. R - Relief from suffering. Turns out, when we apply mindfulness to our apparent suffering, the suffering dissolves or is seen to have never actually existed. We untangle perception until we see the truth of perception. if pain x resistance = suffering then (pain x resistance)/mindfulness = relief M - Mastery. When we apply the skills we’re building through meditation towards our lives, we begin to approach life more masterfully. This applies both broadly, and specifically for skills we’re attempting to buikd such as programming, public speaking, making music, writing, etc. S - A spirit of service. We learn that when we work on ourselves, we work on the word. When we help the world, we help ourselves. Experiencing this actuality rather than a fluffy philosophy are radically distinct.

I never said otherwise and even highlighted the importance of recognizing alternative motivations such as excitement, curiosity, desire, etc. Craving is the real beast. If you think I’m advocating the inability to enjoy altered states, please re-read what I wrote. I don’t feel I’m projecting anything, just sharing my perspective as someone with a lot of experience with casual psychedelic drug use and altered states.

Chronically or no, the potential for using a casual approach as a means of escape seems high. You’re your own best authority so it’s your call, of course. These matters of the underlying mechanisms behind behavior are incredibly subtle, delicate, and often difficult to discern. Perhaps casual use is driven by a pure excitement and curiosity, perhaps it’s from an underlying dissatisfaction with sobriety, or maybe both? No matter what, rock on man. I wish you fulfilling and sacred travels. ??

That doesn’t change anything about what I wrote. There is a distinction to be made with craving after an experience that is not currently present and having the equanimity to be with such craving. When craving is directly experienced (equanimity), it no longer drives behavior. When craving is resisted, which is only possible via the belief in a separate self, craving no longer drives behavior. When one is casually using drugs, even consciousness expanding drugs like psychedelics, its fundamental, psychological root is in the belief of a separate self, dissatisfied with its current experience and seeking to change it. When the actuality of craving is penetrated wholly and completely, there is no room left for dissatisfaction. The entire mechanism driving the need for a state change unravels. Of course, at the highest there is no separate self, just a movement of reality. But if this movement was seriously recognized, there would be no need to casually jump states. The actuality of what is already so is just as profound and mystical as any altered state. After all, there is no difference between the psychedelic and “sober” state. - Please note there are crucial distinctions between craving and other such mental states like desire, curiosity, excitement. Not all mental states lend themselves well if the pursuit is Awakening.

If you’re casually using a drug, it’s most likely a crutch to escape from some quality of your sober, grounded experience. Therefore, ultimately a distraction.

Oddly enough, solipsism has never really activated agitation in the mind. It’s been strange observing how many threads and how much resistance on the forum there is about solipsism. I just have no problems with it. In my experience, realizing solipsism has an incredibly palpable heart element. Recognizing absolute solipsism feels heart wrenching, it’s like tapping into infinite interconnectivity and taking on the weight of reality’s pain, joy, sorrow, ecstasy, bliss, suffering, peace, love… it’s all just one. And that oneness is overwhelmingly beautiful and I suppose could be horrifying to the unprepared mind. Perhaps an acquired taste. Yet there is a very grounded element to solipsism, an intrinsic freedom and equilibrium it necessitates. Yes it’s on some level horrifying, but on the other-hand, it is utterly unifying. Every moment, a perfect union with all other moments and beings. I don’t know how to describe why such an actuality is so supportive, but it is, truly, supportive.

I find often the abandonment creates what feels like a psychic vacuum. The thoughts and feelings of "right action" are pressurized into manifestation. If I try to act on what feels right, "right action," there always feels like an underlying wrong action, like the roots were more "what is wrong for you." But when abandoning right action, again, right action is the only actuality. Behavior starts to get quite paradoxical at this point.

I dont think the rate needs to be that quick but lets face it. Humanity is severely lacking wisdom and compassion. If we don’t collectively get our shit together, we will destroy ourselves. There’s no better way to develop wisdom and compassion than these contemplative practices like meditation. Unfortunately, they don’t work quickly enough to meet the exponentially growing challenges that we face such as climate change, rapidly advancing technology, massive wealth inequality, etc. Id also say don’t become attached to the image of the long hero’s journey. Just as there’s nothing wrong with the current speed (other than its lack of scaleability) there’s equally nothing wrong with speeding it up. No reason to assume its impossible and guaranteed to have something wrong.

It makes sense to me. I agree. I do think with technological advancements and perhaps a merging of psychedelics, neuroscience, and meditation, we could discover a new technology that speeds up the development of the brain regions associated with spiritual development such as concentration, mindfulness, etc.

I think Ive seen Leo make a distinction between understanding vs embodiment. To him, these are very distinct facets of the spiritual path and Actualized.org focuses more on the understanding component. I think there is wisdom there, but I also see a deep wisdom in unifying the concepts of embodiment and understanding in the sense that true understanding is embodiment. But… you know… #relativity

@Mosess Not sure if that's a reply, a question, or something else.

I'm speaking for others, not myself. What I observe is most people do not want max consciousness, they aren't interested in reaching some permanent exalted state, they're merely interested in living a good, meaningful, fulfilling life. This can be achieved without max consciousness. Meditation is perhaps the single most effective technique towards actualizing this aim. And since you're bringing up clear seeing, let's be clear - an exalted, fleeting, impermanent, sacred, empty, God-Realized state that shares the same fundamental essence as taking a morning shit is not intrinsically more clear than any other state when Clarity with a capital C is realized. There is something deeply fundamental missing in your metaphysical model. Obviously you'll disagree with this and I don't even disagree with striving after these states both with psychedelics and meditation both, but clinging to them is just another form of bondage and existential ignorance. But again, most people just want authentic happiness. Meditation is an amazing practice towards moving along this axis, even if the pinnacle is never reached. A good, meaningful, fulfilling life is achievable without psychedelics. To preach otherwise is not only wildly disempowering to your audience, but comes from a place of ignorance, delusion, and falsehood.

Your senses are biased. It depends on what you mean by effective. If living the good life is one’s aim, meditation and even some Buddhism are extremely powerful technologies. If the aim is God, in isolation these are probably not enough. The thing is, “most people” are looking to live the good life. Therefore, meditation and Buddhism are wildly effective.

Ironically, noting not self IS what opens consciousness to the Self.

No that's not vipassana, though looking at body sensations can be a form of vipassana practice. Vipassana is about studying the actuality of one's perceptive experience. Traditionally taught via noticing three fundamental qualities to experience, impermanence, dissatisfaction, and not-self which can lead into other insights such as interconnection, unity, the spacious quality of all phenomena, the dreamlike & empty quality of all phenomena, etc. If there's experience, vipassana is possible. You just turn mindfulness onto whatever is being experienced and notice its actuality. Vipassana while tripping is quite powerful. If there's no body, notice the sensations of no body, the sights, sounds, or other mental phenomena. If there's no form or infinity, notice those too with mindfulness.

?‍♂️

Mu ?

That would actually be a lack of acceptance. You’d be denying the part of your self that feels inspired to change.