Michael Paul

I think it’s a way to pry the mind loose from certain perceptions. On a higher level of existence, God is alone in the sense that it does not have an opposite, nor are there multiple “infinite Gods”, since the term “God” covers literally all that is in every dimension. On an individual level, beings such as humans are not alone in the sense that there are no other conscious beings other than yourself. All beings possess the one consciousness of God. My guess is that Leo has used statements such as “there are no other humans other than you” and “you are alone in the universe” to challenge your perspective on interpersonal perception.

Hey everyone, Over the past few weeks I’ve had several very powerful spiritual experiences which involve synchronicities and the feeling of expanded/higher consciousness with a deep connection to the Universe. I find it hard to stay grounded mentally during and several days after I go through this. I think my goal is to be able to “bridge both worlds” so to speak. Any thoughts?

Is it possible that the spiritual path can lead you to the recognition of a higher perception of reality that DOESN’T involve God, higher consciousness, or even infinite love? Could these simply be concepts in the domain of relative experience? I guess what I’m alluding to is the idea that true awakening may lie in the realization that all beliefs are limiting, including cherished beliefs about the way reality works at a fundamental level. The next step after this may be opening up to all possibilities without becoming overly attached to one perception of reality. I’m not claiming to know whether this is where the path may lead, just wanted to see what people think of this. I’ve found teachers who say things along these lines. People have asked something similar to this in the past on this forum, as I’ve lurked on here for several months before deciding to create an account. Just wanted to kick things off in an interesting way for my first post ?.

@Beginner Mind You will find that by asking this particular question you will always receive conflicting answers. Why can’t our ubiquitous experience of making choices of our own free will be aligned with the actual reality of making choices? In my opinion, decision making on a human level is self evident. However, at this point in time (and possibly for the rest of human civilization) we cannot know whether we actually do control our choices. The question is, can you be okay with not knowing?

Six years ago I experimented with Psilocybin mushrooms several times. On one occasion I made the decision to mix an eighth of Psilocybe cubensis with a medical indica strain of cannabis from Colorado. That particular strain of weed was extremely powerful in and of itself, borderline psychedelic in even moderate doses. The trip was very intense and I felt what Leo calls Infinite Love from the Universe. I way laying outside under the full moon on a clear night and felt the most insane love and connection to the cosmos. It was very cosmic and gentle. After I came down, I noticed my vision was permanently affected. It looks like I’m on a very mild dose of shrooms all the time, especially if I stare at a wall or object. Things morph, shift and breathe just like on shrooms. At at first I was very disturbed by this. I dissociated and felt severe depersonalization. After several months, however, I adapted to it and now I really don’t mind it. I guess a question I have is, is this a “disorder” or simply seeing reality as it is? As a non-physical existence?

@Bill W You bring up a good point when you say that seeing all beliefs as limiting may also be a limiting belief. This creates quite the regress hahaha. I see it like this - as human beings, we cannot help but to hold certain positions, at least in ordinary consciousness. Maybe in so-called “non-ordinary” states of consciousness we can drop all of our belief filters temporarily to see reality simply as it is (still from our perspective) without layers of various dogmas layered over it. I don’t know, just my experience.

I think it’s wise to tread lightly when it comes to the paranormal and phenomena such as channeling. Many spiritual people can easily be misled by someone who puts on a grand display of claiming to be in contact with “beings from the higher realms” or who have been “designated as a channel for the Source”. I believe many of these people may be delusional yet have good intentions. Some may be cons and claim things that need to be seriously critically assessed. At the end of the day, do I personally know whether humans are capable of channeling the Universe? No, I’m open to the possibility though. If there are legitimate channelers, they may simply be more aligned and attuned to the energy of the universe (which is infinitely interconnected) and able to translate this into language for others to understand. Are they really getting messages? I don’t know, but it seems unlikely at face value.

Suicide, generally speaking, affects more people than just the person committing it. It’s true that not everyone has the same level of connection to others in life, but mostly everyone has at least one person who would be devastated if they took their own life. Suicide can be seen as preventable to many due to the potential for intervention on multiple levels before things get to that point. I don’t know the exact statistics, but a vast, vast majority of people who attempt or commit suicide suffer from some form of mental illness. This means that many people who wish to take their own lives are in the middle of a crisis of sorts and are looking for a way to relieve the pain. I personally wouldn’t characterize it as selfish, but rather misguided and tragic. When it comes to spirituality, I’ve seen from personal experience that people can use a delusional form of it to keep themselves afloat when struggling with mental health issues, sometimes abandoning these beliefs after they seek help and begin to recover from their illness. I’m not saying that all spirituality is wrong, it’s just that many people create a web of beliefs to insulate themselves from the pain they’re dealing with.

@Leo Gura I’ve watched several of your blog post videos that you’ve posted, including Infinite Love Awakening, Tapping into Collective Consciousness, and Total Omniscience Awakening. I can’t remember which one, but in it you rejected meditation (and I think yoga as well) when it comes to reaching the level of consciousness that you were talking about. When you say “practices”, are you primarily talking about psychedelics now?

@Shadowraix You’re right that mental scaffolding does not equal the experience of legitimate awakening. I know there is variance in people’s understanding of awakening as well, and mine has changed over time with growth and development. Sometimes it’s good for me to examine and even scrutinize the underlying conceptual framework that I utilize to understand reality and check that with other people. @Truth Addict That’s generally how I’ve characterized God over the past few years since I started on my spiritual journey. God being synonymous with all of Reality itself seems to be the most accurate way to put it when it comes to the limitations of language. This post just felt like a healthy way to examine another understanding of what awakening is that I’ve come across.