Joseph Maynor

You can't stop every loonie with a deathwish who wants to take a few others out with them. The greatest threat to security is the lone accountant who goes apeshit.

@egoless There is a choice in maintaining awareness and there is an increased ability to be aware of how the mind and ego operate. That allows you to control the mind to a greater extent over time. You can decide to not feed the bears basically. Once you see this, you'll see that you are creating the dream. This is paradoxical to the no free will belief. In a sense you lack egoic free will, but through being and awareness, you actually create your dream! This is what I think I'm starting to discover. If you stay in being and in a clean environment, the mind has less fuel to monkey about. Then you can just let your authentic dream flow forth with less monkey mind interference.

You need to just let your authentic self be which can only happen by letting go. You will still do, but what you do will be totally authentic. Basically you will stop pretending like you have control. There is no partial enlightenment. That is just unwillingness to leave the Ego Consciousness Paradign.

We should have a forum member conference at some point. It would be fun to meet all ya'll in person.

Enlightenment is a journey not a destination. There is always more awareness and more mindfulness that can be attained. So, I wouldn't worry about any percentages. Just worry about raising your awareness and see for yourself what changes in your life. Get a taste of the honey on your own tongue and then you will see for yourself. Probably start with just developing a daily meditation habit. 20 mins to start. Watch:

I used to lie a lot in my youth too. What you gotta realize is it doesn't help you. Best to be honest. But to do that you gotta do spiritual work. Start from the beginning of the process and ease into it.

Kids are smarter than us from a being perspective. Hippies try to return to the child; which is what makes them so lovable.

@haai14 It depends on where you are in your development. Earlier on I benefitted from the following types of meditation besides "Do Nothing Meditation" : 1. Awareness-focus meditation: keep your focus on your awareness during the meditation. 2. Mindfulness meditation: notice what's a sound, thought, touch, sight, etc. 3. Active-release meditation: actively release things as you meditate like thoughts, sensations, emotions, etc.

The mind and body exist they're just not your mind and body. This is kind of a loose way of speaking, but I think you see my point. What is illusory is that the mind and body are yours.

Take your time! You can't rush good art.

Ask yourself these -- What is physical death? What is psychological death? You have to do some inquiry for yourself. A theoretical answer will do you no good. Tell me what you come up with and I will respond to that.

@Brimstone Everything is born out of that blank canvas. Without silences music could not exist. Without whiteness the black marks of writing could not spin their tales.

The Upanishads. I read them a couple of months ago. There's a lot of fluff in there but also juicy bits of non-dual theory. It's amazing when you see it. You realize -- damn! These early peoples were smart! All the non-duality theory we have today is in there! You'll be shocked when you read some sections. It's like you hit some kind of time-loop or something. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads This guy is a good author, but I don't think this is complete, but you might get this one and read it. https://www.amazon.com/Upanishads-Classic-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380214 Here's what I read -- it was 4 volumes. I read all of the Upanishads, but there is a lot of fluff in there. The juicy bits are spaced out in the fluff like diamonds tossed into a sandbox. https://www.amazon.com/Upanishads-1-Swami-Nikhilananda/dp/0911206159/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506807988&sr=1-7&keywords=upanishads

Make some voluminous notes that you can review on a daily/weekly basis. Don't forget to do the meditation, self-inquiry, responsible psychedelics, contemplation, as well as reviewing the theory. You need all of it. The element that a lot of people don't talk about is participation on this Forum. My growth has been expedited because I utilized this Forum to the max. You gotta collaborate with other people on the path. Also, when you are growing you'll appreciate the emotional support of others who are going through it too. The Ego needs to be bullied and cajoled into cannibalizing itself with carrots and sticks. It's a long-term re-negotiation process. But the Truth don't lie, so it becomes increasingly hard for the Ego to survive when your awareness increases beyond certain threshold points. Watch all of Leo's videos multiple times. Repetition is so important to learning. Over and over and over and over again. Finally it might stick. Then over and over and over and over again. This is where reviewing notes on a routine is helpful. You're not gonna be exposed to something once and learn it. The Ego will shoot that down fast. Remember -- the Ego is like a system that wants to survive. You're not gonna knock it off its guard by a half-hearted attempt to raise your awareness. You gotta grab the bull by the horns and engage this like a soldier on the battlefield. You gotta face-down the Ego. There is no easy way around this -- around the gritty and non-linear process of increasing awareness. Watch this video on point:

You gotta have some reason to shake yer ya ya's out. You're just not in the right space for it to click. Instead of bringing the weather with you, you gotta find a way to tap into the vibe. I understand that there is not always a great vibe either. But you have to be in a certain kind of open, freeing, one with nature, no-boundaries mentality.