UnbornTao

Let me know when you become a Buddha Seriously.

Qualia Mind CBD oil Modafinil Maybe microdosing some psychedelics. Better nootropic than coffee: no coffee.

Drugs don’t increase consciousness, neither do they produce enlightenment. Only You can become conscious of You. That’s the meaning of direct. Bumping your head against a wall also changes your state. Enlightenment could happen in any circumstance or state — these don’t change the Truth of you. Physiology and chemistry are irrelevant to awakening. Drugs change your state and open your mind; you can even have insights and be empowered to pursue consciousness for yourself. Consider: A monk became enlightened as Buddha held up a flower. Let’s hold up flowers so that we can become enlightened! But there is not a cause-and-effect relationship. Ask Martin: he once said that ultimately it was himself becoming conscious of his true nature. The drug won’t do it for you. Also consider Timothy Leary or Alexander Shulgin. They didn’t become profoundly nor permanently conscious after all of their trips — apparently they tripped a lot. Timothy was really convinced that he could; he was wrong, though.

Hey Leo, are you going to add new books to the list? Btw, how is your book writing project going?

Has someone here deeply and directly experienced what love is? We can easily and blindly fall into belief systems as if they are true, accepting what sounds good with no deep consciousness on the matter. Setting psychedelics aside: What are you conscious of now that you weren’t of before? Is it a matter of semantics? Perhaps bliss points to the same consciousness that Leo’s referring to as love.

You're assuming that they became conscious of what love is. In any case, what’s the opposite of love? What is then what we call love in the relative domain?

Your mind may still be confused as to what you went through. In the same way that a Hindu might say that he talked to Shiva, or something like that.

Two short yet very powerful ones: Ashtavakra Gita and Hsin-Hsin Ming. Maybe watch Buddha’s documentary narrated by Richard Gere. I’m too lazy right now to look it up. But learn to motivate yourself; waiting for something else to do it for you is disempowering. Also contemplate what you’re experiencing. That’s a good “spiritual” practice.

@Mind of a beast This could be helpful: “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” - Matsuo Basho.

@Epiphany_Inspired Cold showers. Fasting could work, too. Whenever I fast energy comes up naturally after a few hours. You feel strangely powerful as if in an organic way. “Depriving” the body (brain included) as in nofap or fasting challenges increases my energy, among other things. Try out cold showers in the morning and let me know how it goes.

And no alcohol for me either.

Interesting. A week ago I started with these “challenges” rather spontaneously, I just didn’t drink caffeine for a day and decided to do the same with porn... Being addicted to both and cutting them off simultaneously has probably made it harder, but shorter. First few days: headache, irritability, fatigue, insomnia... Oh, I also stopped consuming processed sugar almost entirely, except bread, almond milk, etc. which contain sugar, too. However, I’m happy with what I’ve been able to remove — 90% of processed sugar at least. Day 10: improved energy throughout the day, better sleep quality, increased self-steem, mental clarity, etc.

Besides live events, Ralston is also offering relatively cheap online satsangs. https://chenghsin.com/register/satsang-with- ralston-online/ Maybe that’s a better option for now.

Depression is caused by creating a negative future. Watch Peter Ralston’s video for that. Pretty much everyone on earth feels that sense of emptiness. It could be said that’s why the spiritual path is taken. No circumstance will ultimately satisfy anyone. So start creating a positive future for you, maybe take the life purpose course, and pursue Truth, liberation.

@Emerald Thanks!

I just got Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate, I also suffer from ADD. That book may be useful.

Wonder, question. Ask: What am I? Become in touch with the sense that you don’t really know. And keep contemplating until you get it at deeper and deeper levels. Psychedelics might open your mind and inspire you to go all in.

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.