Intraplanetary

Aha!!

It brought me to tears... I've been working on the shadow and my inner child recently and finding this feels like a true blessing. thank you

Hey I've been losing my motivation to self actualise after seeing Leo's videos of, and further reading about, the ego-developmental stages by Cook-Greuter. Why really try to be and do your best, endure discomfort on yourself by exercising, working hard and avoid pleasures when in the higher stages, in particular construct-aware stage, you realise that there is no inherent meaning in life? Literally, you realise that what you worked for is a mind-construct, another concept of the mind, an illusion. What do you think? Do you feel that Leo should produce more motivational content? because I do...

love your metaphor. it's always the balance...

Thanks, this makes so much sense. I struggle with confusion, hence scepticism too. It really is extraordinary challenging to embrace and navigate through confusion and not-knowing. It's like not having stability, flouting in the unknow. Ego simply doesn't want this as it's scary. Sometimes it feels like I'm a bit cuckoo from questioning so much and not getting any solid, assuring answers.

Great! Let me know if it made sense and was useful

Hey guys I need to share this with you. Long story short, I've been an avid Leo's follower since early 2016. In addition to other books and psychedelics, I've watched every single Leo's video, many of them 2 or 3 times. Yesterday, I came across this book: Boundless Awareness: A Loving Path to Spiritual Awakening and Freedom from Suffering by Michael A. Rodriguez . I've finished reading the book already. It's absolutely magical. It's helped me to connect so many dots. The writer has a similar history as Leo's being in academia and then leaving to pursue the spiritual path as he realised that academia didn't allow to seek the real truth. He beautifully and simply explains what is awareness/consciousness, makes a distinction between I-thought and awareness. Explains the structure (awareness) vs content (your life) and he talked about the true meaning of self-love which was an amazing aha moment for me. Basically, this book has so much in common with many of Leo's videos that I thought they should get married! The book's really helped me to deepen and integrate many of the concepts shared by Leo, especially about grasping your true nature through direct experience and detaching from the conceptual, psychological illusion of 'I'. Finally, I would say that I've been always seeing the spiritual path as rather challenging, hard and unique. However, I've realised that it's much simpler and easier. It's not about gaining something and becoming something; it's all about removing stuff and self-emptying to awaken to your true nature that you've always been. Cheers!

This requires questioning and deep thinking. I can't understand how my mind attaches meaning to everything by being. it takes contemplation // self-reflection.

It plays too many tricks. The more I've been diving into the work of self actualisation, the more I've been feeling confused and tripped over by my ego. I had to take time and learn about confusion and accept that it's an inherent part of this work

love this

this is some deep stuff.

@Quantum Toad beautiful and intelligent

@Forestluv Man, you said it beautifully. Love your personal example from childhood. All theses paradoxes blow my mind...

@Inliytened1 Thanks, many good points. I think I have this negative meaning attached to ego and I want to transcend it as soon as possible cause I see it as rather an obstacle to awakening. But perhaps, I should embrace it and look at in a more refreshing and playful way. And I really would like to make friends with my ego but it tricks me so much I'm always on guard. And always after pushing hard, staying on track, working on improving my body and soul, I experience soul crashing backlashes. So I feel like my ego is my enemy, not a friend to play with. Do you think maybe I'm too serious of a player? When I eat healthy, I eat extremely healthy, providing my body with the best nutrition though someone could say it's too restrictive. However, the purest cleanest diet gives me the best bodily and mental feeling and power. On other areas as well, I'm setting boundaries and goals for improving myself and I try to work hard because this is what it takes, right? Or should I be more relaxed and see this self-actualisation business more lightheartedly? What's the right approach? I remember Leo saying ego is the enemy but during these years seeing my ego as the enemy hasn't got me too far... I want to make friends with my ego but I can't trust it. It's a master in f@ucking me up after every serious attempt towards actualising. I've been getting very tired of this.

@Inliytened1 In this lifetime, my highest dream would be to discover the Absolute Truth. Accidentally, (2cb induced) I experienced ego death and rebirth and then had kundalini awakening. I had experienced the most blissful and divine moments in my life. I was seeing the aureole above my head for like a week (wow, how come?) and absolutely empty peaceful mind and full of love and joy heart for like three weeks. I promised myself that in this life, I will do everything to create the state where I could naturally experience the same joy for at least one more moment, even if I would be lying in a death bed and it would be the last moment of my life, I felt it would still be worth it to dedicate my life to reach for it. This is how powerful the experience was. However, during these years (it's been almost 5 years since I had the awakening) I feel that I made very little progress. Always standing in between my dream to awaken once more and living a normal life. I can't connect to my vision anymore. I'm afraid of dedicating my life to awakening and never getting there or not overcoming these realisations of meaninglessness. It feels that results come very slowly, I don't have enough motivation, I feel lonely. There is no one in my life to support me with this. And so now I question this quest to enlightenment while still deep down in my heart I know that there is nothing more beautiful than to awake. But I feel lost. I understand that I need to self-actualise before I could Self-Actualise. But I found myself lost in contradictions. For example, I want to exercise and have good health and also a great shape. But on the other hand, I see this fitness endeavour and working towards a great shape as vanity and pride and insignificant in the context of discovering the Absolute. Moreover, I see myself craving for pride and showing off how good I look or how hard I work or how better or aware I am. I'm so tired sometimes of keeping myself in check all the time from feeling pride, from being judgmental or above someone else. The more I work on raising my awareness the harder and more contradictory it becomes. I have the why for Self-actualising because I had a direct experience of awakening and this is the best reference point one can have. However, I don't live in a monastery but in an urban jungle and I can't create enough space and time and truly work on discovering the Absolute, because I first need to pay the bills and maintain relationships. I can't find the why for self-actualising for working and dedicating myself to something. I don't really know what's important anymore. If it's important at all.

@Someone hereI think looking for meaning and purpose is inherent in ego. We always look for meaning in life. It's an unconscious automatic thing we do. Like shitting. However, some people can go constipated their whole life. Some people find it, some people engage with a toxic purpose and some die looking. I need to look for a why, I need to have a purpose. Because this what creates the energy to grow and thrive for something better. However, it made me question this whole thing about meaning after learning about developmental stages and I felt like... why try at all if I'm on the road to realise it's meaningless anyway? It's like I want to take life purpose very seriously because it's such an important thing, right? But actually no, I can't take it that seriously because it's just a mind-construct. So it's contradictory. A paradox. However, as few people pointed out, I create meaning and I'm attaching a negative label to meaninglessness. It gave a better more aware perspective and a lot to think about.

@Someone here The example made me laugh However, I can't agree that the example it a good fit. It's not like you not gonna help yourself but self-actualise. Quite the contrary, It involves an intention, logic, reason, strategising, intuition also. Full mind and heart work. The mind is like a medium, tool or bridge to transcendence. Digesting food and shitting is unconscious. it's done by biological processes we're not aware of and not in charges of. Yes, we aware of the need to shit but it just happens through the unconscious digestive process. You also said if you have energy and desire you don't need a why. But I think desire is created by having a why. When you have a why automatically you have a desire and then energy tunes in to manifest your why. I don't have a good why, hence I'm not burning in desire and have low energy to really go and do my best

@Inliytened1 Yes I couldn't agree with you more about myself creating my own reality and meaning to everything. But in the construct aware stage, this comes to an end - you realise there is no meaning at all. But do you still go about creating the meaning? Is it possible? I think it should feel fake. I can't tell I'm not at that stage, and also I'm not quite convinced it's worth it to reach for it all...

@Leo Gura hey, thanks for giving me this new perspective... I haven't realised my mind attaches negative meaning to meaninglessness. it just felt natural. Thanks, it's a lot to think about

@DreamScape what is beautiful? It's not beautiful at all to work on self-actualisation. it's extremely hard and it's gruelling dirty work. Especially when we live in a society where this work is not even acknowledged or supported. it's f@cking lonely. So what is this for? just to realise it's meaningless? I know life is beautiful and I have many days of blissful moments where I even cry of the beauty of life and divinity of existence. but WHY try to work on going so far with ego development? I don't see the WHY.

Hi I'm thinking to buy the course as I finally realised i don't have a true, meaningful life purpose. I thought I have but I realised there is nothing that make me thrive in life. Even though I've been improving in coming aware of my emotions and thoughts, I still feel I'm stuck with my old habits and fear to face my own pain. I know I must become the light if I was to make a real contribution to the world and I must face my own darkness to become the light. But I need to know the WHY... How does the course help you to find your purpose? has the course been useful to you?

@silene Yes, it does. every chapter comes with a practical meditation exercise that's extraordinarily simple. They usually take around 5 minutes at the time and are based on the direct experience of your thoughts, feelings and perceptions. I felt it was so very easy and natural to do the exercises. While the book teaches you that there is no ego-self in the first place by giving self-emptying practices and getting you in touch with your true nature as awareness, it also deals with shadow integration. it explains the process of integrating what's been neglected and leads you towards embracing all your emotions. It makes so much sense to start with self-emptying because it helps you to realise there is no one who suffers there is no 'I'; it's just agglomeration of concepts, yet it feels so self. Still, the shadow integration must happen to allow the energy to move through the body without labelling it as bad. It's not an easy practice but it's the way to liberation - TO FEEL IT ALL. Hope you'll find it useful had you decided to get it

@rasheedabill Hi Emotional intelligence and awareness are very similar concepts. They both assume that you can understand and recognise your emotions and can label them; and also not react to them but observe without acting impulsively. I think the difference is that emotional intelligence is a broader concept in which emotional awareness falls into. To be emotionally intelligent you're also able to recognise and understand other people's emotions and can respond accordingly. I would advise to start with the Sedona Method. The book is very cheap, there are other materials available online such as free audio from real courses and emotional chart where you can really learn about all emotions and finally see where they're coming from. Usually, we feel emotions but we really don't understand their origins and can't specify behaviour that manifests from those emotions. I've attached the file for you. it's highlighted by me but you can find a clean version online. I wouldn't advise to jump into some course, especially if you have to pay for it and if you're just starting on this work. There is plenty very valuable material to explore online for free first. Learn about different emotions, sensations and relevant impulsive behaviours. Then start to observe them in you and see where are your weaknesses and the strongest negative emotions you feel powerless. And only then if you want to address something very specific, get some course to complement your work. Though the key is in becoming aware of what you feel, either good or bad, and most importantly accepting that you feel bad and that you can't control some of your emotions and you react. This is universal, you're not alone. All the best, Emotions chart.pdf

Hi Wanted to share my recent experience which feels as upgraded and more tuned in to the source awareness. I can now very clearly identify my emotions and subtle differences in a wide range of emotions. I learnt the whole spectrum of them from the Sedona Method. I can now feel the emotion arising and I can catch and it label it. This really feels like a superpower. I feel as emotions lost their mystery because before I was basically led by my emotions I wasn't able to distinguish between them let alone detach. But now, I'm fully aware of them rising and then disappearing after I label them; or I can redirect them or even hold it for further investigation, for example locating them in my body or seeing why they are arising which of course is all to do with my mind creating meaning and interpreting all the stimuli that I receive. I also have very interesting bodily sensations. For example, the other day where I contemplated this thought 'I am that which I seek', then very spontaneously I felt as I needed to lay down and once I lay on the bed I had this wave piercing through my body as if this deep profound understanding 'I am that which I seek' aligned in my body. Mind-body connection. Does anyone feel anything like this?