ChimpBrain

I'm glad to hear you had such a positive, enlightening experience! My wife and I split a hit (first time taking it) a few weeks ago and I was a little disappointed. I didn't notice any of the introspective qualities similar to what LSD and mushrooms have had on me on the past, even at a comparably low dosages. I'll try a full hit eventually. For now it's mushroom season

I think you might enjoy a series of dialogues between David Bohm and Krishnamurti on this subject. How thought and the ego are the biggest threat to humanity, and how open, non-combative dialogue is the only way forward. I forget the exact name now but I'm sure you can find it if you just youtube search "Bohm Krisnamurti" https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bohm+krishnamurti

Long story short, I never took the Idea of the Law of Attraction very seriously. I watched both of your videos on it way back when I first discovered the channel and it basically boiled down to a glorified form of mindfulness as far as I could tell. Like "be conscious of when you're having negative thoughts, and when you do , let them go and focus on something more positive" and this will cause you to have a happier more abundant life, but only because due to this, your physical interaction with your surroundings will change. Since these videos are older and you seem to have made a pretty drastic shift in what you think is possible/probable about reality lately, I was just curious if you still believe it's all perfectly explainable through logic/rationality or whether you now give more credence to the possibility that there is some kind of mystical or "energy" or "vibration" related explanation. Like I said I never took it very seriously. Partly because of the mystical explanation and partly because I related it to use for the attainment of material possessions. We had a couple over for dinner last weekend who are super into it and were proselytizing all evening. They wouldn't hear any of my skepticism and provided anecdote after anecdote. They also believe in every conspiracy theory under the sun and claim to have communication with the dead, so needless to say my skepticism is on full tilt from the get-go. The husband is someone who I've always actually liked though, so I watched some "Abraham" Hicks videos today and I've gotta say, it's such a sexy idea it's one of those things that a person WANTS to believe in. But therein lies the trap lol. I think I've found some value in it regardless of whether it really has anything to do with energy or vibrations, but I was just curious if you're thought process on it had transformed at all. Thank you @Leo Gura! And anyone else feel free to chime in with your thoughts/experiences too. I made the thread to ask Leo but I'm interested in anyone's opinions (as long as you're not a flat earther :p)

From this reply I presume you're into law of attraction or parallel beliefs to some degree? If so, what's your honest take? I can't tell whether or not you're implying a mystical cause/connection or making a similar statement to what Leo said above. I know your reply wasn't directed at me, I'm just trying to see this from ad many perspectives as possible. Thanks, added it to my audible list.

No I have not, nothing even close, my default position has been skepticism since I was a kid and started to question to the religious teachings my parents raised me under, and the older I got the more that was the case... until I found Leo's channel. I think it's important to make a distinction here though, what's fictional to you would be paranormal to the person who actually experienced the event. If one of these fictional events actually happened to you, and you were convinced it was real, it would go from fictional to Paranormal in an instant from your perspective. Im sure there are people here who can explain this far better than me, it's not something I'm well versed in at all, hence why I'm asking questions myself

Damn, your writing skills and ability to explain a concept are impressive! Props, that was beautiful!

Sure, some have already been mentioned in the thread but other examples would include ghosts/spirits, ESP, telepathy, Astral projection, near death experiences, alien abductions, etc. I'm sure you could Google and find a loooong list of examples.

@Nahm You might just be misunderstanding the definition of paranormal. It just means something that's inexplicable via current scientific knowledge.

Thank you both! This is the explanation I was leaning toward before watching the "Abraham" Hicks material. It makes perfect sense. We all know that person who's energy and enthusiasm for life just feels great to be around. Of course that person is going to have more successful relationships and business connections, the interactions they have with random people all day everyday will have a positive tint to them, and all of this adds up over time. And then we all know that person who's the polar opposite of that. It's not necessary to attribute a mystical cause to something that can be explained logically. I've been more open to mystical/paranormal stuff lately after hearing Ram Dass talk about some of the inexplicable things his guru Maharaji did while he lived with him in India, but like Leo mentioned, this is an extremely advanced spiritual practitioner, and these people are not lol. I also don't doubt that wholeheartedly believing in LoA with zero nagging doubt can help you to maintain the positive mindset necessary for it to work. Sort of like someone who truly believes in paradise for martyrs has no fear of blowing themselves up for the cause. Thanks again!

Leo mentions physical energy blockages in today's video and how anxiety, stress, depression, etc can manifest themselves in the physical body. I've heard this concept before but I know nothing about it and want to learn more because I think it applies to me. Does anyone have any good resource recommendations for this type of thing? I poked around on YouTube and watched a few vids but nothing really struck me as helpful. I was hoping you guys could save me countless hours of blindly searching. Thanks, and much love!

Thanks again @Leo Gura! I ordered this one too and it looks like the most applicable one of the group.

Thank you for the recommendation but this would require being far more "in touch" with yourself than I am. Frankly I'm not even sure I know what an energy blockage is and I could be completely misdiagnosing myself here. I'm sure the books will shed some light on this for me. Thanks again!

Thank you everyone! I've ordered a few books based off the the recommendations here. I never found the Martin Ball video. I found one of his on "fractal yoga" that I thought might have something to do with energy blockages but it didn't. Oh well, I think the books I ordered are exactly what I was looking for! Thanks again @Leo Gura @Martin123 @Arman

Thank you, I'll watch the Martin Ball video tonight.

I only know about binaural beats so that's all I'll speak to, but they're pretty legit. If you find the right ones and use headphones they can definitely help with relaxation and meditation. The best ones I've found were created by Cory Allen but they weren't free. I'm sure you can find good ones for free though if you look into it.

@Echoes Have you already watched Leo's video on it? It's one of his older, shorter ones but still worthwhile. Sorry, I don't have anything to contribute except for a hefty dose of skepticism.

I love this topic. I first heard the idea that we might be living in a simulation about 6-7yrs ago and initially liked it on the surface but honestly thought it was just another "sexy" possibility for me to latch onto like the stoned ape theory or something. Since then though, the more I've learned (I use that word loosely), the more it actually does make sense. Does anyone know any recent books that explore the idea in detail? Bostrom's book Superintelligence touched on it a little if I remember correctly but it was way more about the future of AI. Edit: my bad, I didn't realize there was a trilogy of books listed in the OP!

I just read a description of depersonalization syndrome and it sounds a lot like the description of enlightenment Leo posted in the insights section recently. Besides this medical diagnosis with symptoms that sound reasonably similar to a lot of people's goal in life, what exactly are you experiencing that makes life so terrible? I'm genuinely curious, not trying to oppose your position somehow.

Yeah the Waking Up podcast is great.

Several times a week I come across an article, video or podcast that I'd like to share with people here but I don't feel like it's something that justifies starting a whole new thread for and all of the attention and/or responsibility that comes along with that. And since we don't have an informal or less serious "miscellaneous" section I just never end up sharing it. So I hope this thread can serve as sort of an informal miscellaneous section in itself. Feel free to share any sort of content here that's relevant to self improvement in some sense that you don't want to make a new thread for. I'll start with this, the Mindpod Network. This is a site with a ton of articles, podcasts and past speeches from people like Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Krishna Das, Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Zach Leary, and plenty of others. http://www.mindpodnetwork.com/our-podcasts/

I give to Give Well, Will's charity, as well as Cool Earth another one he recommends. I do it because I make decent money and don't spend my time volunteering or anything locally. I think I make a bigger difference by donating than I could "in real life", but I don't get the same kind of reward in the form of increased happiness, gratitude, contentment, etc that I would if I were doing something to help people one on one. I don't imagine I'm telling you anything you don't already know here.

You can go read on Liberation Unleashed where they have guides that walk people through the process of self inquiry to get some ideas of the kinds of questions to ask yourself.

I've been listening to heavy metal since I was a kid but only got into personal development and self awareness about a year ago (thx to Leo). I used metal as my go-to for workout music for years but during this last year I started to notice I was leaving the gym in a really aggressive state of mind. So much so that my interactions with my wife and daughter were affected. I started mixing it up with EDM and hip hop beats (no lyrics) and found they didn't have the same effect. Just my experience, take it for what it's worth. I still love metal for getting me amped. But I use it sparingly when I A) really need it, and B) won't be interacting with my family immediately after leaving the gym.

I've had my most profound meditation sessions on a mild dose of mushrooms. About 1 gram. Any more than that and the visuals become too overwhelming for me to actually meditate, although the realizations/insights still flood in at higher doses.

Belize maybe? https://internationalliving.com/countries/belize/move/