GreenWoods

@John West When you are new to yoga, I would recommend using the techniques by Santata Gamana. They are simple and powerful. Once you have practised for a while, you can add some more complicated of Steven's if you want.

Here Alan Watts mentions how to attain Samadhi through sex. You will like the video

@solr watch Leo's pre mortem video The biggest trap for me personally is, that my mind somehow tries to convince me that quitting and doing research on some enlightenment-related topic (like researching more on self inquiry) would bring me more benefits and is more effective for my spiritual growth. It tells me that it is wiser too quit. so watch out for that one And don't make any exceptions

@Pernani When first experiencing whole body orgasms many men report that they were sure that they were also about to ejaculate but didn't. you are into nofap? so you could just risk it. in case you ejaculate it doesn't count (or does it? idk) as you were not masturbating. how often does this occur? Does it bother you much? I am no expert but I could only think of that explanation: you are 30 days into pmo, so a lot of energy/prana accumulates somewhere around the root chakra. With kriya yoga you perhaps somehow "activate/stimulate" it (did you have sexual thoughts while doing yoga?). thus you beginn to feel orgasmic. When you get better at drawing the energy up, away from the root chakra, the urge to ejaculate will subside. your body will feel energetic and orgasmic. Whole body orgasms can also lead to mystical experiences. But usually pmo doesn't lead to getting orgasms while doing kriya yoga. I guess you are just very lucky, or unlucky, depends on how you see it You do Kriya pranayama 1 from Jc Steven's book? Another possiblity could be that you stop doing them for a while. Do the pranayamas by Gamana instead. (because with Steven's, you move the prana up and down (i hope I'm right, i don't do it according to Steven's book). with Gamana's, you draw it all up to the third eye, away from the root.) after some time you can switch to Steven's back if you want

When you are about to orgasm, do you think it would just be a dry orgasm or one with ejaculation?

@LambChop Perhaps you still love your ex subconsciously. And perhaps because you think you shouldn't love him anymore your love for him is subconsciously supressed, and your love for other people along with it. But that's just speculation... In case it applies, allow yourself to love your ex and then let him go (perhaps even meet him, tell him, hug him and then let him go). The "brick wall" between you and your new boyfriend could be due to an unresolved issue with your ex Contemplate why you can't feel love anymore You can also work on opening your heart chakra, but that doesn't tackle the root cause

also watch some of Sadhguru's videos on sleep, he says some interesting stuff

@Justincredible76 You seem pretty determined On psychedelics: You can be extremely lucky if there exists even one monastery allowing psychedelics use. But finding it - probably almost impossible... You will have to leave the monastery for some days and take the psychedelics somewhere else. On money: I don't know much about drop shipping but I guess it's unlikely that someone who is inexperienced manages to create passive income from it within a few weeks/months. But you could go to a monastery let's say for 3 years and then leave, work some months and then return or go to the next. During your break from the monastery you will also have the opportunity to study more theory to keep up with your practices. I am 19 and my situation is quite similar to yours:) I have known about enlightenment for one year and am almost as determined as you. I am about to do a one year retreat because I don't see how I could possibly be doing anything else. If enlightenment is by far your number one priority then your plan is perfect. Although... being full time in a monastery has also its disadvantages. If you have your own home, you can meditate when and how you like (unlike in monasteries) you don't have to do work which you may find unnessary, you don't have to study their dogmas, you can "freely" take psychedelics and you can visit your parents and friends more often, but you have to work to survive.... For now I guess it's best to go to a monastery for some years first and then you can reevaluate If your parents are like mine, then you probably have a lot of debates too?

Sadhguru also sleeps that little

@Justincredible76 With the internet, you should be able to find one. You can also try asking in other forums like travel forums. If you don't find anything you like, go straight to Asia, I would go to Thailand, Nepal or Japan. How strongly do you want this? Unless you are totally determined, you will probably quit a few months/years in. But that's fine. There are many ways you can live a life devoted to Truth other than being a full time monk. How old are you btw? And for how long have you been wanting to become a monk? Because in your age one can change one's mind quite often (I'm almost sick constantly hearing this from my dad :D) Yes, just work for a month or so then you can pay for the flight. In most monasteries you won't be allowed to do much internet chatting with your friends. Maybe they make an exception due to your age but don't expect to have internet access several times a month. I don't know but I guess for most monks it's a few times a year. But actually you don't need to give up your old life completely in order to get deeply enlightened. How do you think about psychedelics? I would recommend you this (that's also roughly my plan): Go to monastery for about a year. After that, your life will already have changed drastically. Then go home and go to university or prepare yourself on your own for a job you like. At the same time you can continue meditating for as much as you like, perhaps 5 hours. Let's say you do this till you are 24. By then you will be extremely conscious. And now, instead of staying in a monastery for decades, take psychedelics. In that way, your family and your friends will be extremely happy, as you can still spend time with them and are still somewhat in normal life. And you too will benefit, as taking psychedelics plus 5 hours daily meditation will propel you forwards way more quickly than 15 hours daily meditation in a monastery. At the same time you can work in conscious job and once you feel ready you can become a guru if you still want. If your parents are already shocked by your wanting to become a monk, don't take psychedelics also or they will turn crazy. The long retreat in the monastery will already drastically advance you. Psycheselics won't run away, better start to take them in your twenties

@Eonwe5 It's awesome that you try being mindful on your commute. But I wouldn't stop the real meditation session. You probably won't have big breakthroughs or get into a deep meditative state while standing in the train. The best is, of course, that you do both and don't substitute

@Justincredible76 Most monasteries will take you without you having to pay if you want to become a monk and ordain. But that means playing along their rules: sticking with their schedule, their teachings and doing work like taking care of the garden. I believe the only requierements in most monasteries are that you don't have any serious health issues or debts. In Asia it should be easy finding such a monastery When you are deeply thirsting for Truth and see no point in "normal life", I see no reason why you should force yourself into a university right now. Go and become a monk for some months/years and then you can go to university afterwards if you want. In the world is so much misery, you can find yourself a nice subject in university and then a job that allows you to help humanity in a conscious way. And as you become older/ more spiritual advanced you can transition to becoming a guru if you wish (or do both). Or you remain in the job and become super helpful as you become more conscious. Or stay in your monastery for a decade or so and become a guru right away

@mandyjw yes, you are right I will do some additional work on my vision before I start I like the idea of life being a play, Alan Watts also mentioned this often. Perhaps I will soon recognize it first hand instead of only knowing it intellectually

I'm 19 and want to do a one year meditation retreat before I go to university. I want to rent an apartment as this is cheapest (ca. $230 monthly) and I am free to do whatever I want (no given schedules with dogmatic teachings etc like in most ashrams, monasteries...). However, my parents are very concerned because I would be alone the wohle time. For example, they worry that I might do something crazy and there is no one to stop/help me. I guess that the only and very remote danger is, that I have some kundalini awakening or other unexpected energetic experience where something goes wrong and I am unable to call for help or fall into coma. I estimate the probability lower than 0.01%. But well, my parents are worried and estimate the probability for any horror event higher (and their worry is reinforced by an (in my opinion dogmatic) astrologer (my mum deeply trusts her) who says that because of my birth chart, altered states of consciousness are dangerous for me). I suppose that's all ridiculous, but for the sake of my parents' worries, do you think there is any danger?

Raising my level of consciousness, getting in touch with being, seeing through the illusions created by the ego and quenching my unquenchable thirst for Truth

I know, and I have no problem with that. But I don't like seeing my parents worry/suffer because of me But I suppose, unless I design my life according to their vision, this is invetible

If I do a technique like self inquiry 14 hours a day, then of course the quality will go down. Therefore I'm planning to do perhaps 10 hours of hardcore practices and 5 hours contemplating (perhaps even while walking outside)

why meditate 9 hours daily if you could 14 If I even tried to explain to my parents what enlightenment is, they would definitely think that I've lost my mind. I suppose I should do what seems right according to my intuition...

Thanks for answering:) I know that there will be times when I will feel depressed, insane and suicidal but I'm fine with that. I know these subtle dangers are not to be underestimated but I'm more concerned with gross dangers as those mentioned in my post. A few months ago I did two weeks and those were easy. ( I would have done more and longer retreats but this wasn't possible due to school). In the last months I was doing spiritual practices averaging 4 hours daily. Currently it's less because I'm puting all my time into planing the retreat

@Jcent Here some possibilities for a long retreat, roughly from cheapest to expensive: 1. stay at home downside: distractions and possibly obligations 2. sleep in a tent close to a supermarket and a stream (as I mentioned somewhere above) 3. Asram in india via internet you will probably only find short term ones which are very expensive. If you want to find a cheap one, you either have to go to India and search there in person, or someone in a forum can recommend you one. Downside: Flight costs, health risks, and you could end up finding only ashrams where you need to follow their schedule, including religious ceremonies, and have to help a lot. 4. rent an apartment (close to a supermarket) I don't know how expensive that will be in America, but in Germany I found several apartments to rent for about $230 monthly (they are furnished) (I found them via ebay kleinanzeigen) 5. Monastery you have to ordain. (which will most likely entail that you have to learn their dogmas, help a lot, almost no internet (your parents won't like that) ). But this might be the cheapest option you don't have to ordain. Hard to find via internet. The ones you find on the internet are either too expensive (like that one: https://zmm.org/zmm/year-long-intensive-at-zmm/ $850 monthly) or you will have to follow their schedule and work a lot. for example, here is a cheap one : https://www.zen-azi.org/en/long-term-zen-retreat ca. $320 monthly. But you have a vigorous schedule to follow. For example in Thailand you might find temples/monasteries where you can stay without all the bs but they are hard to find and you probably won't be allowed/able to have internet and stay in contact with your parents which they likely won't like. Best chances to find such a one is to have one recommended by someone on the internet or find it in person when you are there. You find a monastery in America/Europe that offers long term stays cheaply and without church involvement. Good luck finding one. 6. Meditation retreats I haven't found any conventional meditation retreats where you can stay for half a year or a year. Does anyone here know of such a retreat? That means, you would have to do several which last for a few months. If you want to meditate one year, then you will probably have to pay at least $10 000.

Do you have a life purpose / dream job ? If yes, do you need a degree for it? I also think of college as totally unnecessary. If you invest the time in studying on your own instead of wasting it in college/university you will probably be at least 3 times better prepared for a job. But you have no degree so no ones knows. So then you somehow need to prove your skills, if you succeed congrats otherwise you're fucked. It's way more risky but also way more effective

@traveler is the surgery against spirituality? One perspective could be that spirituality entails acceptance of what is. On the other hand, you are a conscious creator and can do whatever you want. The surgery won't slow down your progress to enlightenment. Training your acceptance-of-what-is muscle may quicken it very slightly though. But before you waste time worrying about your looks you might rather get the surgery and invest the time in direct practices

@traveler you wrote that since you shifted in consciousness, it doesn't bother you that much anymore. So chances are, when you keep doing consciousness work, it will probably bother you less and less. You could postpone the surgery another year and then see how you think about it then.

I've been observing large disagreements by various teachers on free will. I think it depends on the perspective, I came up with these: - 1. Perspective: Free will This human organism makes decisions and has free will. This free will may be limited (due to environmental input, subconscious programming, astrology,...) but exists nevertheless. If I remember right, Leo said in his free will vs determinism video that all the cells of the body, or the organism as a whole makes the decisions. And I supppse free will can be attributed to that organism - 2. Perspective: No free will When I say "I have free will" I am actually saying "I believe that I am the ego and this ego has free will". The ego is an illusion, there is no one to have free will, thus you don't have / there is no free will - 3. Perspective: Free will Everything that is (and is not), is created by and is God. God doesn't create arbitrarily but consciously with infinite intelligence thus you may say he has free will. Everything that is, is God's will for otherwise it wouldn't be. As you are God, every decision you make is God's decision. And as God's decisions are from a place of free will, your/every decision is from a place of free will. I however haven't yet had and enlightenment experience, let alone deep ones. So don't take my word, I can be totally mistaken/deluded. What are your opinions on these perspectives?

@SoonHei Thanks, that is quite a good analogy