Consilience

I think the big one is that this “Being” as an individual is actually non existent. That’s what’s so paradoxical about the ego is that the ego isn’t a solid, individual being. The ego, the ‘being surviving’ is a process based within the illusion of space and time. The mind makes objective distinctions like self vs others, object 1 vs object 2, while also making the distinction past vs future. As well as other existential assumptions. Within a field of these fundamental assumptions, the possibility of an individual being arises. Upon closer examination, it can be experienced that this entire mechanism of creation is a function of time, it has to constantly be created in order for the illusion of individuality to be withheld. The individual is self referencing across time in a strange loop like manor, it is both the source of creation and the creation itself, it creates the conditions needed for its own persistence but is always doing so as a function of time. I don’t know how many philosophers have become conscious of this. When one rests their attention into the present moment, realizes they themselves are the moment, realizes the emptiness and infinity of now, the ego is seen to be a facade precisely because the ground it needs to operate (primarily time but also many other existential assumptions) has been taken out from under it. Moreover, many philosophers get stuck with intellectualizing this stuff rather than actually experiencing it directly.

Women intuitively pick up on neediness and it is a BIG turn off. If op is struggling on that front, it can definitely hinder attraction. Even if you dont feel needy, displaying needy behaviors is enough to kill the attraction so learning what behaviors display neediness vs. centeredness is crucial.

You should look into the work of Corey Wayne, he’s a stage orange dating/life coach with solid amounts of stage green. Despite not really understanding the existential nature of reality, he really understands the dynamics of attracting women and what women emotionally respond to. Check his YouTube videos out, and if you like what he has to say, if his teachings and stories resonate with you, he has a free online book that outlines the principles in a very straight forward way. I pretty much found instant success applying his principles... and if youtube comments mean anything, 100s of other men have as well. If you’re continually screwing up with women, it’s something to do with your behavior. You’re more than likely behaving from your feminine energy, which women are repelled by. You of course dont want to be the overbearing, macho douchebag (love is playful), but you also dont want to be the woman in the relationship. However most men dont understand which behaviors are coming from their masculine core vs feminine core. I sure as hell didnt. But now that Ive read the book, watching his videos, the world of dating makes A LOT more sense AND Ive had success with women applying the principles. Id keep up the no PMO journey, but knowing the principles of what women emotionally respond to is much more important than semen retention when it comes to attracting women.

When you have insight into an answer that is distinct and yet identical with nothing, you will have reached a profound state of consciousness, of being. Yet it wont be a state. Words lose all meaning here.

I wasn’t asking to get an answer like God. The force driving you to make a comment like “Time for something new bud...” and the force driving youe assumption this “bud” was looking for an answer like god, what *is* that? I was asking as a genuine inquiry. If you are no one, if there is no one, who and what are you? Let’s assume what you’re stating is true, there is no one and nothing. The question remains: who and what are you?

It’s a falling into a paradigm. The separate self as a self is not real, but it is very much still in operation. If you dont care about inquiring into the nature of your experience, the force driving your experience to comment on the forum and keep the body alive, more power to you. The no one which knows it’s no one, who is that? What is that?

This is a fair point, however there is still an individual energy, operating system which is dictating speech patterns, emotions, mental chatter, all mind states, bodily survival and preferences. We can frame this energy, this ‘survival,’ as the individual, or we can call it an illusion like Parsons does. Doesn’t matter, no matter what belief system one adopts, it doesn’t change the relentless nature of this energy. If one prematurely ends their investigation because they consider it “empty” or “illusory” they are limiting their understanding of the way things really are.

You think that having insight into the nature of ego as an illusion means the ego never existed. This is false. There has an will always be a self keeping the body alive, it’s literally the mechanism keeping you alive. Just because you arent the self, just because the self isn’t actually a solid entity, just because there is no consistent thing called an ego, just because you are nothing, doesn't mean you dont exist nor does it mean this separate self isnt still keeping the body alive, it very much is. It has and will always exist until you die. This is the key belief system you’ve taken on: that your lack of identity with the ego and the fact the nature of this ego is fluid, shifting, immaterial, non-solid, to mean it doesn’t exist. This is ego *is* survival. *You* are creating this self survival system, you just havent become aware of it. You are also creating a belief of no self out of your existential nature being no self, except it’s the ego adopting this belief, not you. Because id you were truly awake, you’d know yourself to be real despite your self not existing at all. Until your being reconciles this paradox, you are deluding yourself.

The Mind of Absolute Trust The great way isn't difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences. Let go of longing and aversion, and everything will be perfectly clear. When you cling to a hairbreadth of distinction, heaven and earth are set apart. If you want to realize the truth, don't be for or against. The struggle between good and evil is the primal disease of the mind. Not grasping the deeper meaning, you just trouble your minds serenity. As vast as infinite space, it is perfect and lacks nothing. But because you select and reject, you can't perceive its true nature. Don't get entangled in the world; don't lose yourself in emptiness. Be at peace in the oneness of things, and all errors will disappear by themselves. If you don't live the Tao, you fall into assertion or denial. Asserting that the world is real, you are blind to its deeper reality; denying that the world is real, you are blind to the selflessness of all things. The more you think about these matters, the farther you are from the truth. Step aside from all thinking, and there is nowhere you can't go. Returning to the root, you find the meaning; chasing appearances, you lose there source. At the moment of profound insight, you transcend both appearance and emptiness. Don't keep searching for the truth; just let go of your opinions. For the mind in harmony with the Tao, all selfishness disappears. With not even a trace of self-doubt, you can trust the universe completely. All at once you are free, with nothing left to hold on to. All is empty, brilliant, perfect in its own being. In the world of things as they are, there is no self, no non self. If you want to describe its essence, the best you can say is "Not-two." In this "Not-two" nothing is separate, and nothing in the world is excluded. The enlightened of all times and places have entered into this truth. In it there is no gain or loss; one instant is ten thousand years. There is no here, no there; infinity is right before your eyes. The tiny is as large as the vast when objective boundaries have vanished; the vast is as small as the tiny when you don't have external limits. Being is an aspect of non-being; non-being is no different from being. Until you understand this truth, you won't see anything clearly. One is all; all are one. When you realize this, what reason for holiness or wisdom? The mind of absolute trust is beyond all thought, all striving, is perfectly at peace, for in it there is no yesterday, no today, no tomorrow.

Do you view enlightenment as a sudden or gradual thing? For example, the more that I do this work, the more I feel that enlightenment is not an end. It’s impossible to become fully awake and enlightened. From what I observe, truth is simply embodied at deeper and deeper levels in lived experience. Ive had moments where Im hyper conscious of existential truth, and moments where I slip back into ignorance so to speak... yet the truth is always present. The degree consciousness is aware is not, however. People might refer to this as a state, but I dont see how it is any other way. Consciousness can either be conscious , or ignorant to varying degrees, seemingly infinite in both directions. Ive seen an underlying truth to consciousness, Ive felt its infinite nature but this awareness isn't enduring. What are your thoughts on this matter?

Okay well what everyone else already said is great but here are some down to earth ideas: Meditation: Your biggest obstacle to this type of wisdom is your own mind, the ego. The ego is like a film which reality is interpreted through but it is heavily biased and full of projections. You need this film to become transparent if you’re seriously interested in the wisdom of these teachers. There is perhaps no greater tool than daily meditation. Spending long amounts of time in silence, boredom and concentration will work towards removing this film, and letting reality shine through. 1 hour per day. Contemplation: You need to learn to contemplate into the nature reality. As other’s have said, reading books wont help you, the insight and wisdom is already inside. Id recommend applying Leo’s “Contemplating Using a Journal” technique, it’s extremely effective if you apply it. Again, daily. Make it part of your daily spiritual work. Most of your free time needs to be at least passively contemplating, letting questions churn in the mind. The world is always available to examine and deeply wonder about. Psychedelics: If you can utilize the power of psychedelics, do so. These will help permanently open your mind up to levels of consciousness you cannot fathom. While the experiences are transitory, they also seem to leave energetic imprints. This has been my experience anyway. They will take your meditation and contemplation work and amplify them massive levels while also empowering your normal, daily sober work. The most foundational principle you need with this is persistence. You need daily exposure to meditation and contemplation to create lasting, enduring changes to your consciousness. Be patient, results will ebb and flow, backslide, and exponentially increase all in cycles across time. Just focus and the work and let your being grow.

I drink soy milk nearly everyday and dont experience any estrogen like effects. Sex drive is still very high and I have quite a muscular frame from years of resistance training and high protein diet. The concerns of soy have always seemed way overblown to me, Ive never found conclusive research for it being harmful, but then again maybe Im slowly killing my body.

Welp this is super interesting... Why would my life purpose taking so long to manifest? As in, results aren't coming at the speed I want.

@Heaven Im glad I could help man ?? I use the technique outlined in a book called “The Mind Illuminated.” There are quite a few others on this forum that use the method outlined in the book. There’s a free pdf online if you google.

@electroBeam +1 back yes 100%! Combining multiple approaches is so crucial... Good luck with your meditation dude. All I can say is be patient with getting results, but once you start building momentum, the snowball is real.

I think what Haumea writes about is very important. Surrendering one’s resistance to what is really going on is a crucial step towards truth embodiment. Seeing through the duality of tripping and sobriety is super critical too. All resistance is ego. However surrender alone I have found to be unhelpful. There was a 6 month period of my spiritual and meditation journey where I was really focused on surrender. This was back when Winter Knight was around teaching about enlightenment. I never really got much out of it. The problem I faced was that my attention span was so unstable, I literally was in a constant state of monkey mind. The only times I felt conscious where on mushrooms or LSD. If I had just “surrendered” to monkey mind, Id still be stuck. Instead I recognized the issue and saw something needed to change. Since then Ive been focused on attention stability, contemplation and still using psychedelics. The only significant change Ive made in my approach towards this work was a samatha based meditation practice, one focused on strengthening concentration. Not only has my tripping gotten significantly deeper, but my sober state of being is significantly “more conscious.” Having control over attention is like a super power in every single aspect of life, and Im still only scratching the surface of what super advanced focus is experienced as and capable of facilitating with consciousness work. When I feel resistance arising, whether in meditation or life I do exactly as Haumea suggests, which is surrender to it more deeply. Or try my best. Eventually one will discover that true concentration is a surrendering to the present moment, however at my current baseline level of being, rarely is concentration experienced this way. Yet Ive had glimpses. Overall, surrender and concentration are two oscillating paths that converge into one road, which leads one towards God. This is my perspective. This is how Ive ever had awakenings on psychedelics or sober, deep surrender to being and a deep focus on being.

Can you sit for an hour straight without your attention jumping from thought to thought? A single hour. If no, your attention isnt in a position to fully integrate the existential truths psychedelics or contemplation reveal. Nevermind the fact that if you really want to embody this work, your attention needs to be hyper focused and present at all times, not just 1 hour on a meditation cushion. For sure surrender is a component, but so is concentration. Dont be so quick to dismiss this. You should read my most recent post. But if you still disagree, more power to you my friend.

@Raptorsin7 For starters, cultivating that state requires an absurd amount of concentration.

Surrender vs blocking (resistance) is a duality, it creates the destination of surrender. I see what you’re saying but you cant escape the even the notion “YOUR DOING SOMETHING TO BLOCK IT” is duality. Everything which is not Truth is duality. Ive said this before I'm other threads and ill say it again: Im very grateful I never fell into the trap of thinking there was no point in seeking. Seeking and essentially creating a duality of enlightened vs not enlightened was super necessary on my specific path. Eventually this duality has been seem through... but it was very much needed early on.

@LfcCharlie4 Okay so I was only really doing the technique once a day rather than twice or more Thanks for the input and high quality thread!

@Mo0ngrass ??❤️

“If you are paying complete attention, everything is nirvana, but if you lose your attention even for a second, samsara begins all over again.” This is from Christopher Bach’s LSD and the Mind of the Universe. I think this quote has profound implications for our consciousness work. One of the reasons psychedelics are so effective for amplifying our consciousness and providing insights is that they essentially force our attention into the present moment. At high doses, your mind has no choice but to submit to right here, right now. Typically the ego is surviving by creating a never ending stream of distractions through the form of thoughts or by being captivated by the distractions we see in every day life. Yet many of these distractions are only given meaning as a function of time and separation. This is huge to notice. Yet if we’re being 100% honest, it’s easy to see that this moment is the only thing which fundamentally exists, existentially there is no time or separation in which a distraction can be given meaning, truth value. All meaning is empty. When we take certain psychedelics at the appropriate dose and with the appropriate set and setting, the artificial separation our egos superimpose onto reality get shut down, and our attention is completely stabilized into the present. This dynamic is what allows us to become conscious of The Self/The No Self/God. God is this moment, the only moment to ever exist. If your attention span is too weak to truly stabilize onto right here, right now, you will not be able to become conscious of existential truth. If your attention span is constantly slicing and dicing your field of consciousness into separate bits, you will not be able to become conscious of God. If your attention span is easily pulled into time by thoughts while doing nothing, you will not be able to become conscious of God. Unwavering attention stability is a requirement for being able to see Truth. This is why I always am so quick to recommend meditation, specifically a Samatha based meditation practice which cuts straight to the point and had its practitioners working on concentration. (Shameless The Mind Illuminated plug) Until you can sit for hours straight without attention shifting, you wont know God, you wont know yourself. In fact, attention instability is one of the ego’s most powerful defense mechanisms, its why distractions work so well at all. Combining psychedelic work with a meditation technique that works on attention stability all while knowing how to contemplate is the mother of all cocktails for discovering truth. But even with psychedelics and contemplation, until your attention is strong enough to stand still at your will, you wont be able to integrate your trips or insights into every day life. As you learn to hold your attention, you will necessarily become more deeply conscious of the present moment, which is of course the only path to know Truth. Truth is right here, right now. Attention stability not only allows you to know this present moment at deeper and deeper levels, it allows us to see more clearly falsehood since nearly all falsehood exists as a function of time and separation. Separation can only function if our attention span and mind is allowed to rapidly create objects out of experience. If we can slow this process down to super advanced degrees as it does on a psychedelic, this falsehood is seen even while sober. Basically what Im trying to say with this post is this: If you’re serious about consciousness work and understanding God, you’ve got to make it a focus to learn how to concentrate.

@Crystalous @Inliytened1 Thank you both. Yes this is one of his most important episodes. What Ive found is that it’s not merely the fact of distraction though, it’s also the fragility of attention stability which gives power to the distractions. This then ends up creating a negative feedback loop. The more distracted we get, the weaker attention becomes, the weaker attention the more easily we are distracted. While I agree with you insatiable seeking can become problematic, I also think if the seeker never commits to practices like attention stability via meditation or contemplating, they'll probably be lost in samsara. The ego-mind is just so so so conditioned for this distraction business.

I do cold showers but haven't stuck with breathing. For some reason I haven't found it to produce any noticeable changes? As I understand it, there is a gap in the breathing as you breath into your stomach and then into your chest while lying down. In your op, you mention there’s a larger gap outlined in his course. How long is this gap between stomach inhale and then the chest inhale? Perhaps my gaps aren’t long enough.