UnbornTao

Contemplate and go for the Truth, your concern is hardly relevant. I’d stop intellectualizing too much and go directly after the truth. Direct is the way to go, and contemplation is probably the most straightforward method for that. Meditation can be beneficial, but waking up is about the Truth. Do not conflate the search for Truth with beneficial mind states.

Hey Emerald, this sounds interesting! What’s in store for me? Would be fun to do one for yourself and show the results on this thread

@Insightful27 Have you purchased Leo’s booklist? Read God is Nothingness and SantataGamana’s books for learning real yoga. Maybe start a blog, post whatever you’re interested in. Hope that’s useful.

Vernon Howard. His style is austere, straightforward and ruthless. Don't get turn off by the new-agey appearance.

How do you guys read? Which format do you prefer? eBooks are convenient but you can easily get overwhelmed and distracted amid tons of digital files. What about audiobooks?

I’ll try it.

I loved AL-LAD. You can do it solo but starting with low dosages. From AL-LAD you get a creative high — similar to LSD. I’d postulate that bad trips are unlikely on this. Alcohol is unnecessary unless you want to try it; you’re not missing anything really. I haven’t tried weed but wouldn’t recommend it anyway — there are far better alternatives. If you do, do research the substance. Also take into account that weed isn’t physiologically addictive but a psychological dependence could be developed.

Overview of the spiritual path for beginners. I love it! No nonsense, just pure honesty. Vernon is the epitome of tough love, like a Rinzai master. Rude but compassionate. To those of you who hold ideals about gurus being quiet and peaceful all the time, go study Vernon’s teachings. ––– Interview Q: As the author of self-help books, with some 7 million readers, you must enjoy riding the high wave of success. A: Success in terms of inner-development is measured by whether people change the way they think, and therefore the way they live. I would consider it a success if one reader in a hundred took the first step toward a higher level of being. Q: What do you mean by a higher level of being? A: To understand the higher, you must first understand the lower. You must see that life as you presently live it is a thinly disguised chamber of horrors. Anger, envy, loneliness, fear, guilt and the other demons that inhabit our minds must be exposed for what they really are… phony phantoms! Having emptied ourselves of wrong ideas about ourselves, there is room for Something Higher to enter. Q: How does one attain this higher state? A: Begin with self-honesty. Face your life as it actually is. See yourself as you really are. Without ruthless self-honesty, nothing can be done. With it, everything is possible. Q: Isn’t this ruthless self-honesty a harsh remedy for a person who is suffering? A: Not if it is used impersonally. We must study ourselves as a scientist studies a problem, objectively. Honest self-inquiry should not include self-blame or any kind of self-reference. This is what is known as non-identification. We are on the way to solving our problems when we learn to see them without calling them “I”. Q: How about such commonplace human problems as anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness, sex, marital strife or addiction to drugs? A: If we are the victims of bad experience, bad habits or bad treatment by others, it is not because something is wrong out there, but because something is out of order within us. I’m not condemning anyone. I am stating a fact. You can change jobs, or change mates, or change locations. But nothing will change, really, until you change yourself. I am talking about changing your actual nature. You can, through correct inner work, rise above all such problems, and they will trouble you no more. I promise you that. Q: Can anyone learn to do this? A: Each of us has the capacity to gain this new Understanding. But most of us are too comfortable in our suffering. We don’t know anything else. Even when someone tells us we can rise above our problems, we don’t believe it. Nevertheless, there is a way out, and anyone who honestly wants to can find it.

A funny read on RationalWiki about Leo Gura. Enjoy: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Leo_Gura “Since Gura's arguments and beliefs are mostly unsubstantiated, usually preposterous, and sometimes outright demonstrably false, the way in which he manages to convince anyone that he's talking sense is through his rhetoric.”

Healing with Whole Foods if you’re serious about really specific knowledge on nutrition. But I decided to focus on a more straightforward book like The Whole Foods diet by John Mackey. Other than that Leo’s soup and blueberry recipes are a great start. P.S: both books contain supposedly great tasting, plant-based recipes.

Fun read: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Leo_Gura Is it supposed to be a joke, a parody or what?

In high school, I felt like I was mostly wasting my time. The educational system didn’t genuinely help or teach me to cultivate a love and curiosity for learning, other than memorizing information and developing a few skills. This seemed the norm for most students, if not all. After finishing school, I got interested in poetry, science, philosophy — subjects that I used to be indifferent towards back in the classroom. So I read books and did research on philosophy, psychology, literature, nutrition, business, and spirituality. So far, I've invested more than a thousand dollars on personal development books and courses – a considerable amount for a 21 years old. I’ve explored the field of psychedelics, too. With this, I want to lay out my educational journey thus far. Then, at some point, I considered that the point of philosophy is contemplating reality and generating insights on your own. That made me wonder. I took it as a serious possibility. Truth, understanding, self-actualization and life-long learning are my main passions. Frankly, I’m not overly interested in academic philosophy. Why would you go to college in order to study philosophy? Don’t get me wrong: I'm not "against" university. I do acknowledge that, overall, it can be helpful and enriching for many. My point is, if you're committed and disciplined, being self-taught in certain fields might be comparatively much more effective and enjoyable than the conventional route, as you'll be pursuing your actual interests and passions on your own. Da Vinci and Alan Watts, among others, inspire me as to the possibilities of autodidactism. Thoughts?

I wouldn’t intellectualize the process too much. Contemplation is setting out to directly experience whatever is true regarding your object of contemplation. It’s an ontological (being) matter. What is X? Also discarding every belief and assumption we can possibly find. Your questions are rather secondary. Hold a question throughout the day. That said, start with 15min/day and remember that persistence is the key, so no matter if we contemplate 3 hours in a given day and then stop altogether the next three weeks. Sometimes it’s better to be in a quiet room without distractions and use a timer. Use a journal as you contemplate if you want, but again when it comes to contemplation, its very simplicity is what makes it hard sometimes. No prerequisites really. Also check out Leo’s video on how to contemplate using a journal. Good luck

Neither suppress nor act it out. Let it be there. What’s anger? Why (purpose) is it there? Adding guilt to the equation is unnecessary. Also consider that anger is based on a sense of hurt and it’s always related to the past.

Becoming conscious, having breakthroughs, and generating insights into the nature of things. Wondering. Contemplating. Doing independent research. Working to experientially grasp the material. YOU being at the source of learning, in this case relative to philosophy (the love of pure wisdom and understanding).

What were you studying?

You may get a sense of what it is to be “charismatic” by microdosing LSD, but basically authenticity and confidence are the key. It’s not so much about what you say but how you say it. Drop the desire to be liked. Be present, natural. Try to listen to what they’re trying to communicate. Back straight, body relaxed, eye contact, clear voice. And practice.

@TheSomeBody I’m curious: What do you study specifically? Which tools, texts, and resources do your teachers facilitate you? What have you found most fascinating thus far?

Thank you guys for the advice. I stumbled upon John Taylor Gato and the book Choose Yourself. Fascinating ideas on education, learning and individualism. As an addendum, I make a distinction between education, or info we accumulate at school, and learning. Besides, the essence of autodidactism might be defined as the following: Taking full ownership for your education; being at the source of your own learning and joyfully following your curiosity out of intrinsic motivation, for its own sake. In my estimation, most people don’t really seem to be doing that. Actually putting your ass on the line and not depending on anyone of course doesn’t imply that learning from others can't be done or isn't prioritized. A main issue for me with the university path is how passive it is from the beginning. You're basically told what to study and to follow instructions. Sometimes understandingly so, though. I'd love a video on self-education, learning, and the educational system — conscious education. Truth-seeking has the spirit of autodidactism. That said, I’m considering attending uni in order to study psychology. After all, both approaches can be taken on at the same time, or one path can be followed at a later date.

Perhaps revisit the fundamentals: diet, exercise and sleep. Your symptoms may at least be alleviated by working on those. Check out The Inmune System Recovery Plan. Your nutrition can cause depression, brain fog, ADD, anxiety, chronic fatigue. Hope to have been of some help.

Easier said than done, but could you enjoy the fear? Become conscious that you’re creating the emotion —emotions are created by us, they don’t “fall” on us by circumstances. Notice that it serves a purpose. Contemplate fear instead of avoiding it. What is it? It’s an experience, like being bored. Or when you feel boredom. Separating the emotion from yourself in this way helps us realize that it’s not us. It’s external to you, like having blue hair — as much as you dislike it, it’s not really you. Fear components: Relative to the future: can’t experience it if you live in the present (not creating a possibility of a future) Holding a concept of an experience you’re unwilling to go through (stop creating the concept or be willing to experience it) The experience you’re unwilling to go through happening in the future So practice, do it anyways, and contemplate it.

Thanks, @Stakres . Neuroscience looks like a fascinating field, I might look into it.

I like Wordpress with the genesis framework + theme. It’s expensive but simple, fast, secure, and beautiful if you like studiopress’ templates — but take that as the opinion of a layman. Other than that, I’ve fallen into the trap of choosing the best possible tools, software or themes. Sometimes it’s better to start with whatever you’ve got, knowing that you can change it in the future.

Healing with Whole Foods might help. It's a bible.

What you’re looking for is the book list. There's an Epistemology section with gems in there. Totally worth it.