Key Elements

I like the ball of yarn metaphor in this video. The way Leo described it, it reminds me of the movie, Interstellar. Life and all the other realms in Absolute Nothingness is just a "movie" / "story," that came out of nowhere. It's like, if a person actually passes away from this life and has achieved nirvana, they could "watch" life and all the other realms like a movie. They could even participate in it without being involved in it, and sometimes vice versa, and they are also one with the Absolute Nothingness, but that's not their "natural" state, to interfere with others. They may give hints to teach, and we're very awed by this, but it's all peace and no suffering for them. It's nothing unusual for them. They already "grew-up" and learned their lessons. What they have over there is not what we have over here.

Fun little path game along with good meditation music:

(Relationship song with spiritual aspects.)

@Leo Gura I said something here in response to what you said. I find it important. Let us know what you think, but don't misunderstand what I said. This is the best I could explain it. Don't get me wrong. It's 100% your choice to do whatever you want. However, when you comment like this, there seems to be lots of gaps. Something is missing. I'm just trying my best to fill in the context. What about this? It brings up questions and more thoughts. Nevertheless, just keep trying your best. It all boils down to nothing -- not a pointless one, but an "awesome" one, an awesome story. Saying spiritual stuff is interesting. The person cannot use too many metaphors or say it in such a "painted" sweet way that it sugar-coats the meaning too much. At the same time, if you say it too directly, it may sound like an insult to the other person. The person may think you're "projecting."

@Leo Gura The story of the 10 Ox Herding Pics ends in The Cloth Bag Monk, not Riding the Ox Backwards. The Maslow pyramid can't be turned upside down. That's why the Shaolin monks have mastery as their foundation. Are most of them, if not all of them, even going to see and be Absolute Infinity? Maybe, maybe not, but that's just the icing on the cake. It's not the cake itself. Discovering a fulfilling life is the cake. Non-duality is the same as duality. That's why life is a blessing and is always inviting us back to live it to the fullest. In other words, the entire Maslow is interconnected to self-transendence. Don't even think of skipping the foundation and expect to get awarded. What is life telling you to do in a non-egoic way? There are indications in our earth realm that points out the Absolute Infinity -- those footprints, those "ah-ha" moments, which the rational mind can't explain or even comprehend when one encounters them. Are they tangible? Yes, of course. Some are. There can be witnesses other than yourself. They are out of the ordinary. Those can't be ignored. This is how life invites us back to live life. Absolute Infinity comes back to the ego with the awakening. Incorporate this as wisdom, not an obsession. Life is a school. You can't just end it and expect nirvana. If you don't do well, you can't graduate. If this is a riddle for you, solve it.

Why or why not? You may answer this question below. I'm willing to hear whatever answer you have. I'm sure others do too. There is no "right" or "wrong" answers; just say your answers if you want. Just don't say that the other person is "wrong." This is not a debate. I'm only creating this thread for educational purposes.

To me, it sounds like the both of you started your relationship too young. To have a "crush" and then infatuation in a relationship is normal at the beginning of a relationship. These problems of neediness show up in the behaviours of the couple. But then, sooner or later, the both of you have to realize how to develop yourselves independently without emotional attachment. If you could do this without breaking up, that's a mature behaviour. Notice that I cannot be the one who tell you whether or not you should break up. No one can. The couple know their relationship more than anyone else. I know that a functional relationship involves two independent ppl who know themselves and tackle with life. They try their best independently. They know themselves deeply and know they're unique. When they come together, they know how to work as a team and not call it quits. However, I don't exactly know what's the next baby step decision for you toward that. Relationships are very personal to have an outsider tell you. Another note: the process of going from a disfunctional relationship to a functional one is not perfect. Nothing in life is. It all takes work.

This is actually a very good question. They say that in enlightenment, everything is "you," and everything is one. When you walk past a homeless person, do you feel like helping him in some way? Most ppl will answer yes. But, why? Can you understand this in a very deep way? Why are you and the homeless person "one?" This is the difference between mental illness and enlightenment. If the person is not mentally ill, he is still aware of the present moment (the maya). In enlightenment, the "oneness," the "Absolute Infinity," still goes back to the ego ("self"), and not get stuck in some other dimension (illusion).

It's your choice. I was further explaining how enlightenment relates to relationships. Detachment is the key word.

This is Leo's relationship clip on detachment: As you know, detachment is also very much related to enlightenment. If a person ever saw and became the no-self and went back into the ego, the person will understand the oneness, yet the person is detached from all that. Can this word detachment be applied into a relationship? The answer is: yes. If you can fully and practically understand it, great. If two egos are detached, and yet work together as a team throughout life, that is the basis for a healthy relationship.

Who? Leo? He's not. It's choice. Yes, of course. The thing is, if a person doesn't have a career now, he/she still studies for it. But for relationships, you might want to try to understand why it happens and what is a healthy relationship. Why? Understanding enlightenment / spirituality is also the ability to see how things interconnect, although you don't have to be in a relationship. How is being in a healthy relationship connected to enlightenment? Can you answer that?

It's your choice. You don't need a gf. You could stay single your whole life -- totally fine. Leo's videos on relationships are for those who are seeking relationships or are in relationships. However, a thought did come up for me when I read your post. Suppose you do meet a girl but you weren't looking. The girl likes you and you like her. You didn't know this is going to come up. It does happen to ppl. Wouldn't it be better to understand what a healthy relationship is, or how to work toward one when you're actually in a relationship? I did read somewhere that one of Buddha's disciples, who was a monk, "fell in love" with a beautiful gal. Then he knew he couldn't be a full-time monk and pursue enlightenment full-time. Maybe this guy didn't know what's a relationship.

Do you think this video is true for the majority of young people today who are seeking relationships (or even just slightly thinking of it)? All comments are welcome.

@Shroomdoctor Sounds good. What you said sounds informative. Well, on my side, I am in a relationship (married). Over the years, what worked is two ppl being independent on many different things, esp emotionally independent. You can't depend on your spouse or anyone for this. The more independent you are the better. Then, both of you come together to work as a team and not give up. The more the couple can adjust and work this out, the better.

@abrakamowse oh..Thanks. Nothing like different karmas being the reason or not being the reason for trying 5meo. But, you know, even meditation is sometimes too strong for some. Leo did a clip on "The Dark Side of Meditation."

I wonder what his reasons are for rejecting.

Well, that's great. But then, I shared the story of the guru's wife. See what happened to her? She didn't even use psychedelics. Using psychedelics is probably the most powerful method compared to the other methods that we talked about in the forum. That's why I suspect that we have different karmas, and therefore have different life paths. You got to really know yourself before you try any method.

Thank you all for the answers so far. Ever since Leo mentioned that he spoke to Peter Ralston about taking psychedelics, I've been curious/wondering what's the reason why he (Ralston) got upset and rejected psychedelics. Ok, so he got upset/angry, but what is the actual reason for rejecting psychedelics? (I think this is what Leo said, but correct me if I'm wrong.) I think, maybe, perhaps, if you already have profound awakenings through meditation, strong determination sitting, yoga, psychedelics, your karma (fate), then you may not want to take psychedelics. The decision to take psychedelics or not has to be a wise one. In fact, all the other methods (whether it's psychedelics or not) have to be used wisely, if anyone is to try them. I'm only saying psychedelics because this seems to be the strongest method to get awakenings. Here's another case I'd like to openly share... I was in Hyderabad, India a few years before coming back to the US. There was a famous local guru there that ppl talk about. He knows how to do astral projections so that he could be anywhere in the world. So, if you're away from your family, he could tell you how they're doing without you seeing them. His wife started trying the same thing (astral projection) and failed. She did it through strong determination sitting but died. The guru said that she lost her soul trying to do this. The method she used for this is strong determination sitting, which is also powerful. From what I could make of this story, it looks like we have different karmas. That's why one method doesn't fit all. I'm saying this just for precaution. I think we all have this life to fulfill -- to live a loving/fulfilling life. Be careful when making a decision. Know yourself. For me personally, this happened, then another "ah-ha" moment, then another "ah-ha" moment, and so on. So, I'm going to hold off on any method now except maybe mindfulness meditation. Let's see what happens. Eventually, I'm probably going to express this (non-duality) in my life purpose indirectly so that those who are ready to hear it will hear it.

@solr The way you described him, he doesn't sound mature enough and developed enough for a relationship. It takes a certain level of development and responsibility to have a healthy relationship.

@Charlotte you're welcome.

@Charlotte You forgot karma. Maybe the tumbleweed did not live a good past life, and now it has to suffer as a tumbleweed. I just reload the website and everything gets refreshed.

@Charlotte Oh no..I just noticed that the tumbleweed is about to cross the road. I hope no car comes by and crushes it.

Oh.. I love this tumbleweed metaphor. Tumbleweeds just get blown by the wind. They don't know where they'll end up. At least we have a choice to think twice.