Consilience

By realizing your ordinary life, the mundane boring act of the daily grind is none other than God. Any resistance to living your life is still ego, attachment. What comes after realization is the embodiment and purification of Self Realization. This is why daily practice like meditation is still so important. Giving yourself the space, time, and practice to let the insight penetrate the deepest levels of mind and continue to unfold. This is why we meditate, not necessary to get some bigger insight, but to let the awakening start to shape and mold the mind, to let the awakening slowly burn away selfishness and egotism. While the whole idea of "there's nothing to do, no path to walk" is technically correct, it's a rather shallow, immature understanding of spirituality. Let the awakening transform you. Let the awakening deepen. Let the awakening you feel during peak psychedelic trips and deep meditative states merge into the mundane. Let the awakening shine light into every corner of the mind until even the daily grind of wage slavery is seen as none other than the perfect expression of God. Let the awakening light a fire for your most authentic individuality to fully and completely express itself, and then transcend wage slavery altogether as you walk the relative path of Self Actualization. Or something like that haha. Anyways, as the zen saying goes "Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood carry water." Just don't be afraid to upgrade the axe.

I spent a solid 8 months diving into the Mind Illuminating, reaching stages 6-8 consistently and do not regret it at all. May have occasionally peaked into 9 and 10. Then spent some time doing zazen because I had this massive intuition that I needed to let the Fuck go and stop worry about states. Do not regret it at all. Finally, just recently completed a 9 day Vipassana retreat with Shinzen Young using his version of Vipassana, See Hear Feel with labeling, and had a MASSIVE breakthrough experience, like full blown satori state feeling like I'm tripping on psychedelics non stop for a solid 4 days. Yet I believe what led to the breakthrough was the foundation I'd set with TMI, and then the release and surrendering I'd done with zazen. My foundation was primed for a pure dry insight practice like See Hear Feel to really open me up. Plus having Shinzen's guidance on the retreat really helped me understand how to take the technique to an entirely new level I was unable to do on my own. My recommendation would be to start digging into TMI and learn how to stablize your attention though. This is a critical skill many meditators don't ever really devote serious time to. You can reach wonderful samadhi states using the techniques outlined and it's quite a powerful system overall. I've had much better immediate and therefore longer term success with TMI than the work I've done with Kriya Yoga. Because my short term success with Kriya was unimpressive compared to the work with TMI, I ended up devoting my efforts towards TMI. Eventually though, I had to give up the state chasing that's more or less built into the TMI model. I think in a sense, it's really helpful to know where you're gauged, how you're progressing, etc., but I just had to take a break and switch to a do nothing practice like zazen. I may or may not return one day I'm not sure. With See Hear Feel it's Vipassana except focusing on every bit of perception, not just body scanning which I believe is the traditional technique taught at 10 day Vipassana retreats. You start dissecting every bit of perception which essentially removes the grounding for the self to exist. For me, observing how my sense of self was primarily an amalgamation of see-in, hear-in, feel-in, see-out, feel-out perception really cracked it open because rather than experiencing the self as a single feeling, I started breaking it apart and untangling it all together. This then allowed me to start observing much more clearly the impermanent and illusory nature of not only the ego overall, but it's specific see-in, hear-in, feel-in, see-out, and feel-out components. Anyways, without going too much on a tangent, my vote is to focus on attention stability and accessing Jhana states with TMI. You won't get this with Kriya, at least not that I'm aware. And in all fairness, TMI is actually a Shamatha-Vipassana hybrid system, so you will most certainly be gaining insight into the nature of self, experience, and reality as you work through it. Once you've reached a certain level of mastery with TMI, I think you'll be in a much stronger position on where to take your practice. You'll also probably return to pure Vipassana with a new, more holistic, skillful foundation.

Going off to the mountain and taking a dive into altered states of consciousness are equivalent in this example. Just more activity. So in this case Im talking about an enlightened being who feels an authentic call to go exploring but not into the mountains, but into the mind. Yeah you’re right, it’s 100% my ego but so is all activity. Every single action is a manipulation of survival and ego. Even meditation or camping. So that point is kind of irrelevant to what Im talking about. I was simply trying to point out that these altered states have their place. Treating them as sacred explorations into the inner workings of infinite intelligence and consciousness and facing whatever comes up, heaven or hell, with surrender and love is very different than the three listed points. There is an irreplaceable wisdom gained through those explorations that’s difficult to describe.

I agree. I also think there’s a biological component. Also it’s just straight up hard to approach hence why so few men do it, let alone women. What I disagree with is the passive approach being a viable option if you’re a single man wanting a relationship.

A great way to remain single. Women don’t approach.

Wrong. There is most certainly a personality type which is driven by the excitement of exploration, beings who are curious about the unimaginable ways in which consciousness can manifest and want to experience these manifestations for the joy of it no different than how an awakened individual may go on a camping trip in some far out forest or mountain. And just to clarify, at times the exploring can be quite painful and arduous. Exploring collective realms of suffering has nothing to do with pleasure states, although the fact of the exploring can be quite joyful.

Super interesting thread. Is there a difference between the practice/art of manifestation and loa? This is something Ive never been clear on. Also, if someone isn’t 100% nailed down on what it is they’re desiring, can they really tap into loa? Or could someone use the loa by patiently waiting for inspiration? Like the desire to discover one’s purpose or next steps on their journey.

Reading all of these excuses on a personal development forum makes me realize just how powerfully a man positions himself by cold approaching... and how rare it really is. If you can become fearless and confident with cold approaches, you’ve suddenly shifted into the top percentile of men.

@fridjonk Thank you. Yes I actually watched that video for the first time recently. When he first released it I felt like the information wouldn't be very helpful. After finally watching it, I reluctantly admitted to being in the first phase of these chapters and coming to peace with it. This letting go has felt like an integration and acceptance of this first phase. Thank you for sharing @Hans That's awesome dude and thank you. Good luck on your journey as well.

Day 1 - I give up trying to do this with only my own internal accountability. Ever since this LSD Trip I have felt in my bones that I need to quit my PMO habit. I've essentially eliminated weed and caffeine from my daily intake (very infrequent use), both of which have been quite problematic. I've implemented a daily yoga practice in addition to the 1 hour per day of meditation. I've changed my exercise routine to be less focused on lifting and instead a mixture between light cardio + resistance training which overall has been great. My nutrition is really starting to get dialed in. My life purpose feels like its building subtle momentum and I'm just being patient with myself and my own creative muse. So far the patience has been paying off. All in all, COVID has been great for self actualization work. Unfortunately, the one fucking behavior I haven't been able to change is jacking off to porn. Just to speak bluntly, the girls in these videos are fucking hot. I hate to sound like such a guy, but it's the truth. And as a guy who is very sexually attracted to females I feel an extremely strong compulsion to pmo. Yet when I'm being 100% honest, I DO feel a difference when I abstain vs. when I'm pmo'ing, even if once a week. Despite this compulsive pull and strong attraction, there is a very strong calling to quit. I see a vision of what kind of relationship is possible without the unspoken shadow of me masturbating to other women other than my partner. The subtle incongruency with my attraction for a real woman, real sex and not pixels on a screen in fake acted scenes. As someone who's had plenty of real sex and plenty of real pmo sessions, real sex is WAY more powerful and satisfying than pmo. PMO is a complete waste and does nothing to help me in any way. It's pretty much the epitome of hedonism and short term pleasure ignoring long term consequences. Benefits I've observed from abstinence: More energy Calmer around women I find attractive More motivation to pursue life purpose More Physically Attracted to more women Less monkey mind in meditation More eye contact with women in public More comfortable with eye contact in general My "aura" feels more aligned (I'm aware this sounds new age as fuck) Harder erections Higher sex drive Better workouts More creativity More focus and motivation Less anxiety or nervous around strangers Overall more pleasurable sober state Current longest streak is 22 days which is pretty pitiful tbh. This has turned into one of those high leverage techniques that I can no longer brush of the benefits as being placebo. I've relapse enough and observed very carefully to know these benefits are not placebo for me. One of the interactions with large amounts of meditation, yoga, and porn is that as the awareness of the mind and body has grown, the effects correlated with certain behaviors are seen more clearly and consciously. I've tried to justify porn use and pmo based on some of the other opinions on this forum, but for me there is a significant difference in conscious state when I've accumulated about a week's worth of vital energy from not PMO'ing. This observation can no longer be denied. Moreover, I trust that this intuitive pull I've felt both while tripping on psychedelics as well as just contemplating the habit sober is from a place of self-honesty and growth. The truth is I don't want to be addicted to porn. I'm tired of the addiction. I'm tired of feeling like an addict and failing to reach the 90 day milestone. Benefits or not, this addiction is coming from a place in my mind that lacks awareness. I'm tired of feeling its shadow, but being unable to understand where the lack is coming from. I'm sick of the unconsciousness. I'm tired of my integrity being broken once a week as I fight to change. I'm tired of indulging in a habit that feeds into an awful industry that mistreats and preys upon both women and men. I'm tired of supporting the of trauma being produced by this industry. I'm tired of hiding amongst the collective consumption and acceptance of this shit. I have no desire to contribute to such systems. The truth is I want to change. I'm starting this journey as a way to document my steps to recovery. Clearly my own internal integrity is not powerful enough to quit which is disappointing. Yet what else is there to do other than to finally admit and accept it. I hope that by being public with these struggles and vision that I'll be able to finally commit. I will be updating this journal daily for the next 90 days. No clue if I'll keep going after that point, but for now, this is day 1. The content of this journal will be spontaneous and whatever I feel like sharing, pmo related or not, but what will remain consistent is checking in and counting the days up to reach the 90 day threshold. Overall the most important part is checking in for accountability purposes.

If we truly realize there is no self, then we would truly understand there is a self. If this statement were experienced directly, we would be enlightened. The whole world is an illusion. There is literally nothing here. We are just an energetic, quantum field that's popping into and out of experience moment to moment and even that is saying WAY too much about the substrate of reality. If we look deeply, we'll eventually discover our direct experience is an infinite field of nothing. When we think of this fact in the context of self-actualization, we eventually will also see that the utter emptiness of this experience is precisely what provides us the space for our most self-actualized individuality. To merge with this emptiness, to face and embody it completely would be to be living your most authentic, free, fearless, and powerful self. So quite interestingly and paradoxically, to be with nothing is to be with your little, illusory self. This unity is facilitated by an absolute surrender of will to the flow of life. The most authentic expression of who we are as individuals comes from the complete annihilation of our separation with Nothing, Truth, God, or perhaps most accurately, Love.

This! Do it man!

holy shit that's funny. I recently went 30 days no fap. While I felt a shit load of energy, I actually started becoming manic with the excess energy. Until someone has a clearly defined purpose, and vision, all of that excess energy is useless. If you're trying to determine your life long vision, I don't think having no fap energy is a good thing. I actually think more clearly and effectively without a shitload of sexual energy constantly tugging at me to be released. That all being said, good luck OP. I wish you all the best if this is the path you're committed to.

+1

Im glad it resonated ?

I resonate with both of these yeah... Even though I definitely “get it” to some degree, it’s a work in progress for sure. It’s amazing how much there is to let go of, and how unconscious we are of all the things we’re still attached to. And then even once we see the attachments, actually surrendering them is another beast. However, the fact that the surrendering/letting go is seen at all is a powerful step towards authenticity ime.

? @Javfly33 the degree to which you can let go is the degree to which god will deliver. Worth noting, letting go doesn't mean you stop contemplating or stop exerting an intention to become conscious.

I feel a release of tension and emotions in my heart. This was powerful, thank you ??

Agree 100%. The more Ive tripped, the more sensitive Ive become to a quality of experience I can only refer to as “the energy body.” It feels like an aura or something... Ive had this intuitive pull to slow down with the tripping and focus more on integration and grounding using manual practices such as hatha yoga, a little qi gong, spending time in nature, and of course normal meditation. This slowing down and larger focus on manual practices has seemed to smooth out and settle my energy body. At the very least Ive felt more grounded and embodied in the body, as well as feeling more in touch and integrated with my rather aggressive tripping when I first started using psychs. While I believe no other technique beats psychedelics in its ability to facilitate insight, they also must be used carefully and responsibly to get the most out of them.

Thoughts are quite literally true and false simultaneously. This is what is observed in my experience. I'm speaking about the concept of "Anekantavada" in Jainism which Leo brings up in his Relativity part 1 video. (Where is part 2??) Essentially, yes some thoughts can be more or less true than others, but only relative to a certain context of axioms. I don't know how to point this out in your experience other than to say quite definitively that it is there, while also acknowledging that this is a false statement as well. Why what I'm saying is false is because again, all thoughts can only be true relative to a context of meaning. This is incredibly complex, strange loopy, and paradoxical by all sense of the word. All I can say is we're both communicating about equally true and false aspects of reality.

From my pov, trying to label thoughts true or false is actually to label thoughts to thoughts. Thoughts can be true only relative to other thoughts, or false relative to other thoughts. In philosophy these are called axioms. The actuality, the “is’ness”, the being of thoughts, cannot be false. It is just what is. @Farnaby There seems to be a difference between trying to witness “the witness” and then the witnessing which is always taking place. “The witness” I find to be a thought, the actuality of witnessing is just... what is haha.

@The0Self yep +1 to The Mind Illuminated. Was enormous for getting momentum with meditation. Ive found Jhana states to be very psychedelic but with a distinctive clarity and stability Ive yet to feel while tripping. There’s a groundedness I havent felt with psychedelics that only ‘Being’ in my ‘natural’ state has provided. It’s like psychedelics are too energetically active to really feel grounded and at peace. However, the insights, states, and experiences accessed have also played a pivotal role with meditation. It’s as though the meditation allows for an energetic integration of these absurdly powerful experiences. I can actually embody and live what the psychedelic shows rather than it being a fading memory. Interestingly, I feel that my psychedelic trips go deeper because of my meditation practice. Somehow being able to stay mindful and present during the journey helps with going deeper.

Awakening using psychedelics only is like farming using Monsanto soil practices. There are some key skills *and* effects meditation develops which helps with integrating and embodying these peak experiences. One without the other loses out on their massive synergetic benefits.

+1 I can see how the video may be hitting at stage coral for sure. It's a very powerful piece of art.

Hey everyone - Due to personal reasons, I will be discontinuing this journal. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the primary one is this - ultimately this journey is a journey of surrender and lately I've felt a very powerful pull to continue to just let the Fuck go. I'm not really sure why, or where it's leading me. Lately it's felt like I'm regressing in all major areas of life. It's like I just can't think or see clearly and no amount of meditation, solitude or introspection is helping. It's as if there's this vast fog covering the future. All the plans and ambitions I had pre-covid feel decimated. Yet despite this whirlwind of confusion and deep deep deep unsettlement, the one thing I've felt is the need to just let go. I just have to trust this intuition and be patient, and trust that when I'm ready to start building the next phase of life, the path will be revealed, the people I need to meet will come into my life, and the struggle I'm feeling now will click into place. These streaks, while effective from a certain pov, have served their purpose for this time. I will continue to pursue consciousness, personal development, and keep doing the inner work, but just on my own for now. Maybe I'll start another journal again, maybe not.