noticeom

Everything is awareness. The body does not produce awareness. It's the other way around. You have these fundamental misconceptions about reality and seem to be trying to fit explanations of awakening into your existing paradigm. In order to understand you have to deconstruct your current way of seeing reality.

@Atb210201 Totally. I used to make attempts and lots of weird paranormal shit would happen. But ya, who cares about belief.

I actually had a similar experience a few weeks ago. Haven't been able to stop thinking about it. At least I think it's similar.(?) It's like I woke up before I woke up. I became aware, and then reality started to appear within that darkness. No out of body experiences or anything though. What you're talking about sounds like astral projection. I recommend doing some research about that. Fascinating stuff!

Was just pondering this same thing. Two thoughts come to mind: - "Oneness" is a way of defining existence. Which puts a conceptual limit on limitlessness. - The path goes much further than an experience of oneness. It might get into deeper paradoxes which is beyond my current level of realization.

Wow, awesome interview! New found respect for Frank.

well, if you're living from the ego (like 99.99% of people are) you are innately afraid of death. I once had a sleep paralysis experience where I thought I was going to die. Had no choice but to fully accept it. I let go of everything fully and got pulled "back" into the void of nothing. Came back and wasn't afraid of what was happening anymore or the possibility of death. But the ego surfaced once again and the fear of death came with it. The two come hand in hand. But if I were to not be a pretentious douche, I'd say I'm at like a 7. Ego shattering experiences like that will definitely shave off a number or two.

So I've been slowly but surely getting more into politics, governments, and keeping up with the world. Anyone have any solid sources for keeping up? I'm not really interested in the whole Fox and CNN thing. It seems like news sources like that are just trying to frame content in a way to get you to go along with their one sided narrative. Thanks in advance

I used to use meditation music. Was nice. But found that I was putting so much effort into controlling my environment and I'd get upset when I would get distracted. Then started to not control anything and embrace everything and my progress skyrocketed. Silence is nice, but letting go and embracing reality is what it's all about in my opinion. I learned that a "distraction" is only what you get bothered by, and the mind labels an experience as a distraction. You don't have to be bothered or label anything. I guess it depends on what your intentions are with the sitting session. I also like having some perception to analyze sometimes too. But at the end of the day theres nothing wrong with using earplugs or meditation music.

100% agree with Adyashanti. 1. he's not demonizing them. He literally said he just hasn't seen a whole lot of good. But theres potential. Nothing wrong with that. I haven't seen a whole lot of good either besides watching Leos videos. And reading some stuff on the internet. But never in real life. 2. Psychedelics CAN cause irreversible negative effects on a person. One of my best friends destroyed his life with mushrooms and 8 years later sill struggling to pick up the pieces. Sill experiences daily psychosis, anxiety and depression. I definitely believe they can be an incredible tool if you know what you're doing and are mature enough. I personally want to go deeper into psychedelics. Also, Adyashanti has had psychedelic experiences. He once said he prefers the sober awakening because it's a lot more grounded. I've only had sober awakenings. But have had mild mystical experiences on psychedelics. Grace only comes when you're truly ready for awakening. There's a lot of huge valuable insights that you will inevitably miss out on if you only do psychedelics.

You'll only misunderstand by trying to understand. Just take it into consideration without believing or denying. You answered your own question. You have to do the work and experience it for yourself. Just do that and stop conceptualizing. The mind cannot conceptualize absolute truth.

Yes, all form is a manifestation of pure consciousness. mind/body is just a tiny sliver.

It gets WAY better. That's not enlightenment though. What makes enlightenment enlightenment is self realization. In Zen they say if there was no becoming then it wasn't enlightenment. So keep digging. Sounds like a nice experience though. As for integration. Don't try to hold onto it. Let it go. Spirituality isn't about feeling good all the time. That just won't happen. Learn to ride the wave of life. Accept what comes, and let it go. If you're constantly chasing the "spiritual highs" spirituality turn into something like a drug addiction, and you'll drive yourself crazy.

Notice the watchingness of the hand. The presence of the hand. The context of it. Also, I recommend switching the focus to your core sense of self. You'll get a lot more breakthroughs from doing that. Notice yourself. Notice that what you are is an object of awareness. What is watching you?

There is no "you." What we really are is consciousness (nothingness), which manifests into form (reality). Reality is consciousness. You are reality.

Why wait 12 days in between sessions? I'm also thinking of experimenting with LSD in the near future. Also, when micro dosing LSD do you just cut the tabs?

@Purple Man I'm also very fascinated by this. Keep in mind that you can always miss something in an awakening. You can experience the same thing again and again and it gets clearer and deeper.

Everything is "destiny." Life makes no mistakes. as for free will. heres my favorite quote that sums it up perfectly. "Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills." - Sir Arthur Schopenhauer So I guess they are kinda the same huh

My daily practice is basically "resting with reality." So I'm not concentrating on any one particular thing. Personally I've never liked those techniques and never saw any value in it. I consciously follow the natural flow of awareness. Whatever arises, wherever awareness wants to go, I am intimately present with it. And eventually the bounds between you and the object disappears. I feel that this is a more natural way of going about it. You're not wrestling with your mind, or awareness. After all, awareness is the main thing we're dealing with and trying to understand. It's really just about letting go of all control. You don't have to suppress your thoughts. Theres nothing wrong with them (just step back and stop identifying with them). So don't get too involved with the mental chatter. Just let the mind do it's thing and it'll calm down on its own with enough practice. The only thing is, when you're not concentrating on anything and being open, you're more vulnerable to going unconscious. When that happens you're likely to start daydreaming. When this happens and realize it, I come to the breath for a moment to get centered once again, and open it back up to the whole experience. In the beginning I think it's important to exercise discipline and learn to sit still. But once you can do it comfortably for like 45 minutes you don't really need to keep track of time. And it really doesn't matter how long you meditate for. 5 quality minutes of fully letting go is better than 50 minutes of pure struggle. Don't torture yourself! Just enjoy it and get up when you feel an intuitive sense of completion. It's very important to me to do this everyday. Even if it's just for 5 minutes. Been at it for about 6 and a half years. I really do it to pursue self realization. But I also need it at this point to stay "grounded." To stay clear and calm. [edit] It's about letting go of control and embracing everything. There are no distractions. A "distraction" is just something you are bothered by and what the mind labels as a distraction. You don't have to be bothered. Just rest with reality.

@Space Ah I see. That makes sense. Thank for the input! Ultimately I think I'm pretty set on getting into it at this point.

Ok, so, I've been on the fence about experimenting with psychedelics for years now. I've had a serious daily meditation and contemplation practice for over 6 years now. Gone on various retreats. And all that led me to a handful of awakening experiences. Still working on taking it deeper, and embodiment. My logic has always been; if I've been doing this without psychedelics, then what's the point? But I've been revisiting some of Leo's videos on psycheldelics, and doing more research and starting to seriously consider diving into it. Hoping it can speed up the process that is already in motion. Through some research I've read, and listened to psychedelic nerds talk about deep awakened states and it seems like they fail to recognize the significance of their experiences. So I have two main questions. Do you really think psychedelics are necessary? How could you distinguish a psychedelic hallucination from a deep realization of absolute truth? And I know I really just have to see for myself. Which is why I think I'm going to try LSD soon for the first time. But just want to hear what people think.

You can ACTUALLY directly experience the nature of reality and your true orientation in it. You ultimately have to ditch the concepts, beliefs, and explanations to do so.

@Flowerfaeiry That's what I hear! Drugs have always freaked me out, so I'm trying to be very cautious about everything.

@undeather Yes love that inquiry tip. This is one of the main reason I'd like to try psychedelics! And thanks for the link i'll check it out!

Reality is just a paradox that doesn't need our silly human explanations. You are always god wether you realize it or not because god is the only thing that exists. "You" are a psychologically constructed character. But you are an empty individual, and oneness at the same time.

@Space Ok this helps thanks! I've had the utterly undeniable realizations so I get that. But was just thinking that if you experience something that was drug induced it might be deniable. There's the question, "what if it was just the drug?" or, "what if the undeniable quality was also just the drug?" Experiencing deep awakenings totally sober there is literally nothing to deny in that way. Appreciate the response