Jacobsrw

True. However, he wouldn’t be enlightened in that case. To be enlightened means transcending beyond dogma and belief altogether. One cannot be open to Being while equally closed to aspects within it, otherwise that would contradict being the openness to begin with.

@Virtually I feel they are speaking about consciousness from two completely contrasting dimensions. I could be wrong but it seems, Leo is speaking about it through the lens of human subjectivity, where it seems Ralston is speaking about it through the lens of consciousness itself. Ralston is trying to convey the fundamental nature of Truth where Leo is elaborating on all the finite compartments within it.

Interesting distinction. I like this example. However, If one is open to Being would they not be automatically open to content? Since Being contains ‘content’ within it. Although one not open to Being and open to content is common. Stage orange, materialistic, which pervades the entire globe.

He assumes that one who is irrevocably destined for infinity would be in fear of it. That is a massive assumption. One who experiences infinity would likely not know a limited life in which to compare it with, therefore infinity would the equivalent experience to a finite life.

Hahaha don’t get to comfortable up on your high horse, I extrapolated on a feW myself ? However, thanks again, great episode.

After watching Leo’s video on open mindedness, a few things clicked. Implicit understanding which gets clouded by the ego was illimitable. Personally, I found the video extremely fruitful in many ways. It led me down paths of inquiry of my own in which I further discovered things beyond the content itself. The episode was a catalyst perse. Here some of the insights I came across both from Leo directly and my own contemplations. •Open mindedness is not static, it comes in degrees and gradations, constituted by levels of relativity. •One is not an “open minded” person but rather open minded situationally depending on the capacity of tolerance. •To learn anything truely, one must first be open minded. Otherwise what will be discovered will only be within the parameter of an already existing position. •Things that appear absurd and crazy are only so because you are closed minded to a paradigm different to it. •Your level of open mindedness is predicated on the context of your existence. Where you were born is the determining influence on your level of openness. •A thing is only what it is according to the limits of your level of openness. You only see the degree to which your openness has allowed you to see. •Close minded paradigms use self defence mechanisms and threats to convince people of their paradigm. Fear is one very mechanism used to obscure open mindedness. •People are open minded to the extent it serves their paradigm and close minded to extent it threatens it. •Love is synonymous with open mindedness, fear is synonymous with closed mindedness. •Imagination determines the action you are able to conduct. Without imagination you could not go to places not presently in front of you. A must first be imagined before it can be pursued. •Imagination can be a tool to open the mind - since all is imaginary anyway.

@Skin-encapsulatedego I admire your enthusiastic interest but be careful not get caught down a rabbit hole. The most powerful teaching will always be the rawness of your own direct experience. Try no to romanticise or fixate on teachings but rather observe and investigate your very direct experience.

@Skin-encapsulatedego Ralston is magnificent and eloquent in what he speaks. For me personally, after watching dozens of his videos and finishing the Book of Not Knowing, I’ve surmised that he is likely fully aware of such a principle of love but referees to it in different terminology. He uses words such as Being, Truth Etc. The manner and caliber in which he speaks displays that he uses them almost synonymously with the word love. I feel he may also be avoiding explicit use of the word “love” due to its utter bastardisation (can’t blame him). Having use it he may further perpetuate its misuse and delusion. He uses many terms that are much simpler and less conventionalised. His practice you are referring to is much like Leo stated. It’s a basic practice but just requires extensive concentration. Same with Self inquiry, they both lead to the same destination (which is nowhere) but just travel different paths to get there. It’s basically just exploring into ones own existence. Don’t get caught up in these differences, seek to understand the nature of your own existence in your own direct experience in which ever way best resonates.

@GodDesireOnlyLove @fridjonk Very true. It’s so beautiful is it not... utterly astounding and incomprehensible. We can’t even put into words the magnitude of what we are attempting to explain ??

@fridjonk Hahaha but that’s the point! There is no point once you realise it, in which there is only a point proceeding the realisation of it ? Or, the meaning of life is that there is no meaning. Which counterintuitively, becomes a meaning so meaningful it’s beyond meaning.

@WhatAWondefulWorld I am sorry hear you feel in this way. Not to pull a pun on you but it really is a “a wonderful world”, your username says it all. Life is an experimentation. Don’t limit yourself to what you have only attempted or interacted with. Go out and test many things. The more the better, that way you will know what you have the capacity to master. And I guarantee you have the capacity for multiple things. Impossible that you couldn't, considering the eccentricity of you, which can never be replicated. If you begin to explore you will realise you have so many things you could do that there is no limit, there’s infinite possibilities.

@Leo GuraThat’s one way to put it. Or, the point is that there is no point.

In all due respect, your teachings may be pointless but what they are pointing is not. The very point of a thing can not be what is being used to convey it.

@Seeker_of_truth they only exist dependent on the mind, they do not exist objectively in reality. Categories are something finite that the ego has asserted. The best thing you can do is dissolve your categories by exploring them. Contemplate why you like one thing over another and why one thing has to bring joy over another. Explore this so deep that you get to a bottom. You should find that all this is founded on a fragmentary belief system that can be discarded. You could then explore how joy can be seen in all things. What is joy and desire? Explore this and the answers should come to you. Our problem is that we are so stuck in the ego-mind that we can see the reality beyond it. Once we do, joy can be experienced whenever.

@Victor Mgazi I would say it appears as though because the mind is finite and inherently limited, it only has the capacity to observe one fragment of experience at a time. Supposedly, full consciousness or wakening entails being able to observe all things at once. However, for a conventional ego this is not apparent. So in experience I feel that consciousness is taking a back seat ride while the ego navigates reality and this why all parts of experience are relative and appear in parts. Ultimately, consciousness would think this to be ridiculous being that it knows all is accessible through as of now but this is incomprehensible to the finite ego-mind. If it’s of any value, I’ve found experimenting with our sensory experience to be extremely enlightening. For example, I sometime sit and stare at a single feature of my experience (eg. A dimple in my bed sheet) and just stare at it until my perception begins to change. What I find happens is that the object begins to move and morph, almost like a psychedelic experience. Try it, will it utterly bewilder you. This is what I have concluded, that all sensory experience in its ordinary state is likely to be a hallucination, which we experience as sturdy and solids due out sensory conditioning (cognitive development). As a result we assume reality from the materialistic perspective. This all breaks down under further investigation. Because just think about it. At birth, all experience is distorted, odd and hard to make out. Then all of a sudden, once you grow use to it and the mind is trained it all begins settle and appear solidly consistent. And further, if you research people who have never perceived or heard and then they gain ability to, their first experience of doing so is much like the child, it’s all distorted and hallucinatory. In fact, watch this video it’s quite illuminating. States something similar

@Serotoninluv worded it beautifully. It’s all relative to what you want to achieve. Assigning an objective “good” and “bad” is likely to turn out to be very limiting. Since in life you will continue to change and morph so too will your perspective on what is best to do. In fact what’s best now, may be the worst for you in year. Be open to that. I am by no means fully awake, but in my view, I feel rather than stratifying reality into strict categories of enjoyable/non-enjoyable or wants/non-wants, seek to see the beauty in all things. Literally, see the beauty in cleaning the toilet equivalent to your most favourite activity. Because fundamentally, life has no preference and is already perfect and whole. As counterintuitive as it may be, work on developing your perspective rather than your actions. Your actions will follow as a result. It’s better to have a clear perspective from which action can manifest. Rather than optimal action that has no guiding perspective.

@cle103 Interesting insights! I haven’t tried 3 gms before only 2 but feel it might something to eventually experiment with. I find the ways that ego is narrated throughout a trip very enlightening. Your descriptions almost seem like a birth and collapse of many self-hoods. It’s like the ego wears a number of masks all of which need purifying (or dissolving) in order to develop oneself. The insights are implicit and sometimes tricky so it’s good you can unpack most of it. How do you find your experience after these trips? Do you find much is forgotten quickly or each trip breaks you into a deeper layer permanently?

@AlphaAbundance great words! Thank you. Will take that on board. I’ll start working on my leadership skills ?

Hi everyone, I’ve been on here for several years now and just thought with the value I’ve already attained that I’d share some recent life changes for the purposes of feedback. So I’ve been studying psychology for the last few years and should be graduating around the start of next year. My plans are to focus my future work primarily around psychological health, art and consciousness work. I have a business on the side that I work on and develop products/content etc. but I have now recently stepped into the Human Resources sector to supplement my study. This job description is ‘Youth Mentor’. Which essentially, entails working in residential housing with young people who are troubled, un-homed and/or misfortunate. I’ve been working there for about a month now and it’s been fairly good so far. However, the job is definitely challenging and psychologically taxing. I do my best to see the relationship between my consciousness work in my personal life and the work itself. Though at times, this is difficult to do, due to the demand of the job itself. These demands may be but are not limited to: abuse, non-compliant young people, escalations or just generally maintaining house order. My trouble is trying to maintain my consciousness practices while working. At times it slips by the mind due to heightened situations. My question is, how does one do their best to maintain good healthy practice while working a challenging job? Has anyone had any experience in this field, the health sector, support work or any type of challenging work in the social sciences? What have been some useful methods which instil and maintain a balanced sense of self in these fields? Thank you in advance ?

@UnconsciousHuman Similar to what @Leo Gura stated, he holds intellectual integrity, however, this a function of the psychological community he adheres. JP is not necessarily a malicious man, he is somewhat unsure of himself and uses his scientific endeavours to try and rectify this. Of course science is limited and this one of the delusions I feel he does not acknowledge. He is good at compartmentalising material, just not so effective at broadening and expanding upon it. Yet, the point is that his apparent deception, myopicness or dogma is more of an innocent misunderstanding than an intentional act of misguidance. Almost like a dog vehemently chasing it’s tail, not realising the tail it’s chasing is it’s own.

@njuufa in youth work? No I haven’t but that’s a great idea. Someone more experienced in the field would be great in sharing insight.

@kindayellow the following: Mediation. Practice sitting and doing nothing. Learn a new skill. Read. Begin journaling. Make plans for future goals. Watch documentaries on philosophy, psychology, health and reality. Do something that you find extremely challenging. Contact someone you’ve been avoiding or contact all people you haven’t in a long time. Start a project that helps people and builds an income. Start to refine the basic everyday skills. Eg. Cooking, cleanliness, hygiene, communication and exercise.

@Vipassana Great work! Thank you for the informative post. Really resonated with the relativity of time. I’ve been considering a practice of this caliber for quite some. I do 2x 20 sessions a day at the moment and aim to at doing something like this. Interestingly, my challenge isn’t sitting for long periods of time, my challenge is maintaining a stilled mind within the period. I’ve sat for 2 hours on several occasions and in each, the mind wanders off into irrelevant thoughts within 5 or so minutes. I look forward to attempting this.

@TimStr I fully admire your courage and authenticity in this post. I feel we should all take some insight from this. It’s so easy to become deceived by the efforts of assuming “your doing it all right to begin with. Often the very deception we assume we are free of, is the very deception we are holding. Leo is holds a lot of wisdom on this path but I would say, it would be wise to tread the path in this work carefully beyond heresay. It’s important not to assume those more experienced or primed are any less deceived than you. The biggest self-deception will always be ones own mind not others.

@VeganAwake haha I like the way you put that! Indeed so. We are chasing the very thing that’s right in front of us and we, have created the obstruction that blinds us from seeing it. life is truly magnificent and probably much simpler than we assume it to be.