evolving55555

Why are we advised to face east while meditating and praying? What is the point? Does it really matter…

Leo, I am currently in a 3 month retreat in the middle of the jungle, in the mountains of Costa Rica. This is a very high frequency place, the nature is rich and abundant in high spiritual teachings. I am surrounded by spiritual and safe people. We will have and have had many ceremonies here (Ayahuasca, Peyote, Bufo, Rapé, Kambo, etc). In between all those ceremonies and other activities, we have many rest days during which we are free to do what we desire. Leo, I would truly appreciate to know what your best advice is for me to make the best use out of those 3 precious months. I am very disconnected from the outside world here. What should I focus on the most out of everything? More meditation? What do you think will bring me the most spiritual growth? What would you do if you were in my place? My husband is coming to join me for half of the stay, so we will also be growing together on this journey. I meditate, read, go explore the jungle to unlock and remember my abilities and my connection to nature, plants, flowers, do breath work, have my own personal mushroom trips, journal/introspect, workout, I will also facilitate my own ceremony for everyone. I try not to get distracted by the gatherings of everyone staying together to talk and ”chill”. I do not consider this to be a vacation. I listen carefully to your words and see you as a mentor. I would be very grateful to read what you have to say. I look forward to receiving the advice of everyone else here as well.

@Leo Gura it’s not…

Leo had posted this video about 5-MeO-MALT and I asked a question in the comment. My question: Does 5-MeO-MALT come from a plant? Leo's answer: Nope, plants are overrated. So my question is how can one trust the insights or epiphanies received while on man-made chemicals? It's easier for me to trust substances that come from plants or natural sources but I don't know about man-made chemicals.

@Jodistrict I'm not talking about how dangerous it is, I'm talking about the veracity of the epiphanies and insights that we get on these drugs.

@Jodistrict yeah I might not have been clear enough. Synthetic ayahuasca is a synthetic version of what's in the plant which I would be fine with. I'm talking about an example like a psychedelic like 5-MeO-MALT, substances that are totally man-made.

That's what I'm thinking about. I need more clarification to justify taking man-made drugs @Leo Gura

Excerpts from the video, Sadhguru's speech: “Isn’t it fantastic that if there’s no purpose, you have nothing to fulfill, you can just live? No, but you want a purpose and not a simple purpose, you want a God-given purpose. It’s very dangerous. People who have a God-given purpose are doing the cruellest things on the planet because when you have a God-given purpose, life here becomes less important than your purpose. (...) The greatest thing about life is that there is no meaning to it and there is no need for it to have a meaning. It’s the pettiness of one’s mind that seeks a meaning because psychologically you will feel kind of unconnected with life if you don’t have a purpose and a meaning. People are constantly trying to create these false purposes. (...) Don’t look for a purpose because if you’re looking for a purpose, you’re seeking madness. If you find one, you are mad. If you think you’ve found a purpose in life, you’ve for sure gone crazy. Only insane people have a purpose. These are things you create in your mind. (...) The purpose of life is to live and to live totally.” What Sadhguru says in this video confuses me because a lot of us here are exploring our life purpose. Why does he say that having a God-Given purpose is dangerous? I understand what he means by people who create false purposes but what about people who are seeking a pure and spiritual purpose? Why does he say to not find a purpose...

Considering you're a young person, this is an important topic. Reconsider the reasons why you would have sex with this girl. Yes, all your friends are doing it but you need to do it for yourself because it's the right thing for YOU not for anyone else, not to impress anyone, not to feel like you're part of the group. Do it for the right reasons. Ask yourself, why would I choose to have sex with this girl? Well, I promise you, you'll have other opportunities in the future too. There's no rush. Feeling horrible is a very strong emotion. Practice listening to your intuition, it's very rare that intuition is wrong. If you do not feel right deep down inside about doing something, then maybe it's a good thing that you're reconsidering it. Ultimately, I can only talk about my personal experience so from what I've seen around me (I'm a 23 female) and from my own sexual experiences, I can tell you that starting to have sex will most likely emphasize your craving for sex especially because you're in your teens and simply because hormones and the body want sex around that time of life. It's not like you're going to have sex with that girl and your body's going to stop craving it all of a sudden. Your body will most likely continue to crave sex, just be aware of that. If you choose NOT to have sex, then you will probably continue to crave sex too anyway... The craving will most likely continue in both cases. Was that a typo? Did you mean that you want to distract yourself from the real work you need to be doing or did you mean that you do not want to distract yourself from it? Because if you meant that you want to distract yourself from the real work you need to be doing, then, once again, reconsider the reasons why you would have sex with her. Trying to distract yourself is not a good enough reason. ----- You said in another comment "I was just wondering if it was a bad time to get some success sexually that's my core question because I feel bad going to parties and hanging out with my friends for hours not working on myself." Throughout your whole life, you will want to work on yourself. Self-development and learning are a forever thing, we're always evolving! So should you stop yourself from having sex in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years just because you'll also be working on yourself? No. So no it's not a bad time to start getting some success sexually. Personally, I think the right time to have sex is when you have no doubt about it. You're ready to go all-in and to explore. That's when you'll have no regrets and a positive experience. In the future, it would still be nice to be able to look back and tell yourself that this was an awesome time! ----- Lastly, the guys here are giving you some tips about building report and making sure that the girl does not know explicitly that you want to have sex with her. All I have to say to that is: remind yourself to take the girl's feelings into consideration and to be genuine. This is what's gonna differentiate you from all the "f boys" vs being a more mature version of yourself. This way of thinking is going to teach you a lot. If she's not a 100% down, forget it. You'll have the best time and the most fun only if the girl is all in as well.

I'll keep it short. I'm going to attend my first ever 10-day Vipassana retreat at the end of next month. I'm 22 y/o. Considering these two things, do you have any advice for me to get ready for the retreat? It can be in regards to anything. I've read many posts in the forum and found some great pieces of advice. However, the posts were older so I thought I'd bring this topic back up if any new members would like to share their experiences or if the advice given could benefit anyone new as well! Side note: I'd like to take a moment to thank Leo for creating this forum. I don't have any friends that want to go as deep into spirituality as I want to and I was able to find here a very unique and safe space where I know I can be understood and supported by like-minded people. I'm very grateful for that. -Jasmine

@blankisomeone Yes, we do. Pretty simple answer:)

Thank you, I'll use your tips:)

@Kensho By the way, are you allowed to use the eye mask and earplugs while meditating in the hall? Or from your experience, is that what you did? I was going to use them while sleeping of course but I see how they'd be beneficial in group meditations as well.

@Leo Gura No, he doesn't look like a guy without a clear purpose.

@BipolarGrowth Thank you!

@Kensho Awesome, thanks so much!

@Consilience Wow, thank you. I haven't read that advice anywhere, I'll act on it.

@Carl-Richard oh, thanks. Yeah, I'm going to watch Leo's video about non-duality, it's on my list!

@allislove Wow, thank you for pointing me to this video of Leo. Just finished watching it and taking notes. I see how crucial it is for me to understand this for the retreat. Really mindblowing.. I feel like I just came out of a mini trip. I'll be implementing the exercises he suggested in the video

@Carl-Richard Am I understanding well your comment by replacing the word "relative" for "Actuality" and "The Absolute" for God or the present moment or Truth?

@Seeker531 Ok, thank you. I'm acquainted with basic meditation techniques. Do you have suggestions of more advanced techniques I could explore?

@Applegarden8 Got it, thank you!

@Flowerfaeiry Awesome. I will remember this, thank you!

@Chi_ Yes, it is a S.N. Goenka Vipassana retreat. I'll be following your advice, thank you!

@Vignan Yes, thank you for the advice!