ajasatya

@Edvard it doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong. if you're leaning towards it, go for it with all your heart. it's your responsibility.

@Mastral

no. it has nothing to do with enlightenment. if you want to acquire super powers, that's something else.

@Loreena just to explain a little better what @Leo Gura said... when we're thinking/speaking/acting from a low consciousness perspective, we will experience suffering that comes from regret loneliness anger impatience vanity attachment jealously materialism luxury so our big task here is to purify ourselves from those by letting our egos dry out until they become humble servants of Truth.

huh, i think @krazzer got this because he doesn't seem to be someone who suffers from attachment. i still go to ayahuasca ceremonies twice in a month even though i'm not searching for anything. i just enjoy life the way it is . i play within duality like an innocent child. i talk about spirits and reincarnation. i talk about zen and make people practice zazen with me. i dance like the wind. i play a role without identifying myself with it. it's all fine. no suffering at all.

@Max_V try to feel those emotions in your body. instead of using the mind to come up with an idea about fear, find the fear and feel the fear in your body. observe it for a long period of time. you don't even need to ask yourself what it is. just be with it. don't run away to your thoughts.

@Loreena no. there's no shortcut. you have to accept the entire universe just the way it is. have you ever been to a retreat?

@Joseph Maynor do you live stuck in the past? are you anxious for the next move? if your answers are no, then you've already attained the pragmatic healing that the meditation habit provides. you can move one step further and let go of gains from your meditation habit. just meditate for no reason. letting go of gains is a real method to make your ego actually dry out. it feels unpleasant. it feels like a waste of time. but that's how the real work feels.

@krazzer watch out for the desire to be acknowledged, congratulated, looked up. let us be servants of Truth, not the opposite peace, compassion and wisdom.

have you tried group meditation? why don't you join a sangha? yoga classes with interesting people? have you ever been to an event that promotes healthy eating habits? don't just throw yourself in places inhabited by toxic people. you deserve better.

how is your physical health? do you eat healthily? do you practice exercises?

@Jack_Clark hello there! i appreciate your decision. why don't you start a journal and show us your journey? let your story inspire others! https://www.actualized.org/forum/forum/16-self-actualization-journals/

why would you turn it off? monkey mind is a nightmare from hell. being able to spend the day in the meditative state is a blessing. instead of turning it off, why don't you let it sink deeper in you? get used to it. your life has gained an incredible boost.

are you resisting a lot of temptations? how was your life? subjecting yourself to such a hard meditative program when coming from a life immersed in bad habits and addictions can be harmful. and consistency is more important than diving too deep in a rhythm that hurts you. take your time. walk around. go to a park and contemplate it with a relaxed body. sitting meditation is not the only tool. use everything you can.

@Loreena hatha yoga

you still want teachings. you want better teachers. let me tell you a little secret. nobody will come to save you. you want something for your mind to chew. you want a mental comprehension of Reality. i have bad news for you. that ain't happening. there's no ultimate authority other than your own direct experience. you can read the entire bible. you can read all zen literature. you can listen to all spiritual speeches that have ever existed on this planet. nothing will happen. jesus himself could appear in front of you right now and tell you everything he knows. that wouldn't do shit. sit down and stop demanding. what are you? nobody needs your answers and your ignorance is nobody else's fault. where the hell have i dropped my keisaku?

to be honest, i saw it happening at the very moment i finished watching this video, which was the first video i watched from you. why'd i know that? because i could feel your unstoppable thirst. a real Hearth of God looking for the Fire. i know that you won't feel complete peace until you do it. there will always be this silent voice coming from your heart. if you really manage to perform this huge leap and quit the shit out of everything to get enlightened, and if you actually do get enlightened, that'd be the perfect situation. i've being thinking for quite a while that the best way to serve Truth after enlightenment is doing something like adyashanti does. he organizes retreats in which people have no option other than doing the real work. wish you the best.

no. you're on track. keep going. if you say that Reality just is and that separation is a concept, then what is it that says "my skandhas"? what is it that possesses skandhas? you don't have to verbalize an answer. you don't have to answer it here. just contemplate the question and go further. it is one of the biggies. but be careful not to think that you're done. if you notice true enlightened masters, you'll see that they completely embody Truth. they think, speak and act naturally accordingly to their insights. their moral behavior is straightforward, clean and compassionate. they move their bodies gracefully in calm and relaxed ways. the more i read and meditate, the more i appreciate the term self-mastery that @Leo Gura uses. for me, it feels like becoming a servant of Truth.

hello, @Michael119! my experiences come easier when i am alone, not necessarily sad or depressed. i had one peak experience when i was deeply sad/depressed/anxious. that peak experience felt like an ego breakdown. are you judging your solitude with negative labels? i wouldn't! solitude is a blessing. trash culture tells us that being alone is wrong and that we should feel bad about it. are you being caught by that trap?

i laughed out loud when i noticed myself using the reputation button on your comment. but i'd agree with that decision. and @Leo Gura, your discernment has impressed me again. this forum is a true gem on the internet right now.

as soon as we start looking for mistakes of "others" we dive deeper and deeper into ignorance.

@Milos Uzelac i am mysteriously feeling very happy for you

during my last 2 years i've performed a lot of different yoga practices: kundalini yoga hatha yoga raja yoga bakti yoga and this is how i've been shaping my life: i practice kundalini yoga everytime i have the chance in some open event i practice bakti yoga mainly in my spare time. the mahamantra melts my heart very easily. my practice of raja yoga is equivalent to my zen practice (zazen), which i perform every monday hatha yoga is the one that requires true mastery for me, so i am preparing my body to become a teacher. the process involves a lot of physical pain because i am healing my shortened muscles slowly. i am already 28 so it takes quite a while. hatha yoga also involves deep knowledge of human anatomy so i have to read and practice a lot to test things in me before i can teach. when i feel like i'm ready for an yoga teaching course, i'll do it. but this is not my main income. recently i've entered a masters degree in computer science and i'm working towards becoming an university teacher. i'll be a professor with perfect health. these are my aims: becoming a zen master becoming an yoga teacher becoming a professor here a cool video i found yesterday.

@Lauritz i've been almost exactly where you've been (im a computer scientist though). i did quit the job and experienced other things. let's be honest here: finding a job is pretty easy if we're competent enough. i thought about permaculture too but in the end i choose the yoga path. don't be afraid. if you have doubts about your life, think how it'd be like to know that you were going to die in 2 months from now.

@S33K3R it is certainly a phase, since enlightenment requires such a strong commitment. but it's the practitioner's responsibility to find his own balance otherwise he'd be practicing some sort of violence to himself. about the serious energy, you're probably experiencing episodes of aversion to your own past everytime you see something that resembles it. have you been seeing your own ghosts?