Forestluv

A mind immersed in content. . .

Yes. Unity consciousness is completely fearless. One doesn't experience unity consciousness, one IS unity consciousness. There is no separation between the one who experiences unity consciousness and unity consciousness. It seems like you answered your own question. Separation consciousness = fear and anxiety. Unity consciousness = No fear and no anxiety. The next realization is Separation consciousness = Unity consciousness. The mind is creating these distinctions.

To me it sounds like he has existential anxiety related meaning, survival and identity. My advise would depend on his orientation. Is he oriented toward personal development or awakening? If he is oriented toward personal development, I would recommend practices that reduce mind and body anxiety and introspection of personality dynamics. If he is oriented toward awakening, then improving his personal situation will not be top priority. To transcend the person, he could do strong doses of psychedelics, a meditation retreat, solo retreat etc. Based on what you wrote, it sounds like underlying existential fears are arising yet he is still mostly oriented to seeking relief of the anxiety. To see if he resonates with seeking existential answers and transcendence, he could watch some nonduality videos. If his reaction is "That is interesting, yet how will it help me reduce my anxiety and improve my work habits?" - then he is more oriented toward PD. . . .If he resonates with nonduality he may have glimpses of deeper realizations he is attracted to. For example, a realization that he is identified with a personal story.

@Dumuzzi You are within the personal story that a "me" exists. . . "How can someone have an unshakable self esteem and be completely fearless?" The terms "unshakable" and "completely" are absolute and involve transcendence of the self (death). You are asking "How can someone have relatively stable self esteem and be relatively fearless". This is a different context that involves personal development.

You are conflating *you and You* as well as *consciousness and Consciousness*. The term "conscious" is often used in the context of personal awareness. For example, "I am conscious of the pain in my shoulder, yet I am not conscious of what Vladimir Putin is thinking". This is the common usage we are all conditioned with. Consciousness is a term to point to the transcendent You that is Everything. So your question becomes "Why am i not conscious of Consciousness?". . . Because you have not awakened to You. . .

I like this frame. We need to construct a thing called a "belief" and a thing called "nothing" to believe in. Yet we can deconstruct this to Nothing. What comes prior to the construct of belief of Nothing? Poof! Nothing. As well, we can construct to Everything. We can construct an infinite number of connections between things that there are no longer things. One Everything. Through full deconstruction or construction we arrive at Nothing = Everything. . . We are in a balance of deconstruction and construction. Two sides of the same coin. For me, the subjective experience of deconstruction and construction has similar, yet also distinct feelings. For example, imagine we have an idea we are very attached and identified with. Something like "I am a human being". We could ask "what is a human being". We can further create complex structures of human-ness. For example, we could and nuances of human-ness or see inter-connections between humans and other life forms. Or we could deconstruct and examine the idea of human-ness itself. We might ask "What was I before I thought I was a human. Where did the idea of "human" come from?" In terms of transcending the personal construct, I've found deconstruction to be key. In terms of existential questions like "what is intelligence", I've found both deconstruction and construction to be of value. And there is also re-construction. Formless can have an infinite number of forms such that Formless = Form.

"How to stop being the ‘nice guy’?" Perhaps re-frame this question. . . . What is the underlying energy and motivation?. . . So the goal here is to get laid. To me, this doesn't sound like genuine nice. It sounds more like "Pretending to be nice so I can get laid isn't working for me. What other tricks are there that work better". If your aim is to get laid, it's best to take a look at your behavior from an objective view. For example, you may be acting nice in an effort to get a woman's attention in hopes of getting laid. This sets up expectations and a vibe to it. Thinking things like "I'm such a nice guy - I bought her lunch and she won't even return my text". If I buy her lunch with hope and expectation of sex, that isn't being "nice". Falling into nice guy syndrome is a trap. If the aim is to get sex, I think it's much better to say "I've tried acting nice to women to have sex and it isn't working". . The underlying intention and desire is a big factor. There is an energetic dynamic at play. . . You aren't asking "Im such a nice guy, why don't fish like me?".

@capriciousduck You may want to check out iTalki. There are tons of native English speakers there you can chat with on skype.

There will be serious trust issues in the relationship. Without trust, sour will overwhelm sweet.

Ime. . . San Pedro, AL-LAD and 4-ho-met are the most gentle. Yet, the OP asked "most gentle and most clarifying". I'd consider these to be the most gentle, yet not necessarily the most clarifying. For example, 4-ho-met is very gentle yet also has visuals (the CEVs are off the chart amazing). I wouldn't consider it very "clarifying". Similarly, San Pedro is a gentle mystical experience and is somewhat clarifying. Ime, 5-meo is by far the most clarifying. Yet for many it's not very gentle. As well, I don't know how clarifying 5-meo would be for beginners that have a lot of karma to work through. I started using 5-meo after about 30 trips of standard psychedelics - so I had already cleared away a lot. I'm not sure how it would be for a newbie - for all I know, it could create all sorts of issues and complexities. Now that I think about it, the "clarity" part is much more nuanced and has more variables than the "gentle" part. Therefore, I would recommend going with the "gentle part". Something like San Pedro, AL-LAD, or 4-ho-met. Or a low dose of LSD. Alternatively, a cannabis edible can give a gentle quasi-psychedelic experience.

It looks like you are reaching deep levels and developing mastery in this technique. It clearly has a lot of value - both spiritually and practically. I think it's super cool you are sharing your insights with the forum. Very few people have reached these "realms", partially because not everyone is willing or able to do the intense amount of practice required. Would you say that you have some predisposition abilities (genetics, childhood conditioning, ability to concentrate, mind structure) that may have allowed you to progress as efficiently as you have? Or do you think everyone has roughly the same ability/potential and it's just a matter of doing the work and having a good teacher? You are creating a construct of joy/happiness, neutrality and negativity. I'm totally into that. I find as much value in construction as deconstruction. Here, there are three categories: joy/happiness, neutrality and negativity. I like how you used this framework to describe aspects of attention, craving and awakening. It's a really nice framework. I'm referring to something different, yet I don't mean to suggest this idea is better, deeper or truer than what you offered above. And I don't want to distract from its value, so I'll be brief. We can use the categories of joy/happiness, neutrality and negativity as framework to construct - which you have done very nicely above. We can also deconstruct - which would take us to a different dimension. This dimension isn't better, worse or more awakened. It's just another form of ISness. . . The categories of joy/happiness, neutrality and negativity can be deconstructed down to one category : absolute Happiness. Here, there are no conditions or categories. So, the category of neutrality is absolute Happiness. The category of negativity is absolute Happiness. All conditions and mind states are absolute Happiness. This is just one of many "awakenings". As you have described, this absolute Happiness does not have much utility for spiritual awakenings, concentration, well-being, fulfillment in life etc. . . So it is equally valuable to construct. From absolute Happiness, we can create three relative categories: happiness, neutrality and negativity. With this framework, we can further create things that will bring spiritual awakening, meta awareness, well-being, attention, mindfulness and skills. It's beautiful. And I think what you are describing is beautiful. . . And quite advanced.

@Nickyy I appreciate your feedback. Neither of us is wrong. . . We are just not on the same frequency. That is ok. It happens sometimes. Let's end our discussion here. Do not try to engage with me on this matter anymore in this thread. Let's allow the thread to return to the original topic. If you would like to continue the discussion with me, feel free to PM me. Yet don't do it here or a warning may be issued. Thank you.

@Nickyy Sometimes these types of side-tracks can be helpful in threads - and I'd like to add one more point before I leave - especially since Leo recently made a video on this and it is super cool when we can apply new learning. Here, it's not the content I don't want to engage in, it's the structure of the dialog I don't want to engage in. I am super interested in the content of Spiral Dynamics - I created a University course on it. I love hearing about different perspectives on Spiral Dynamics. It helps me identify my own blind spots and to deepen and expand my understanding. So it's not the SD content. It is the structure of this dialog that doesn't resonate with me. The structure of the dialog is that there are two personalities - each with their own perspective - and each personality tries to defend their position through arguing. To me, this structure is like chewing on tinfoil. It's like you are asking me to discuss SD while chewing on tin foil. No thanks, I'll pass. Another example to highlight this without all the personality dynamics. Imagine two people are about to converse about the coral reef in Australia. They are both super interested in it. There is so much juicy content!! All the amazing creatures, scuba diving - so much to explore. So the content is amazing. However. . . the structure of the conversation is that we cannot use any words that start with the letters "p" or "r". Each sentence must have the word "shark" in it, no words can have more than three syllables and every 7th word must rhyme with "salt". . . As much as I love the content of the Australian coral reef, the structure is awful to me. The structure of the conversation takes all the fun out of the discussion. No thanks, I'll pass. In my view, you are so immersed in content that you can't see structure. Some people may love this structure, I do not. To each their own. I'll move on now and let the thread go back to the original topic.

You keep creating "me vs you" and "right vs wrong" dualisms. We can't explore together with that dualism. It's too bad. I thought you offered some good ideas. But oh well, it happens sometimes. Have fun.

Your desire and curiosity to explore and discover is awesome. One thing I've found is that if I create a situation in which there is a "secret, perfect" thing and nothing less will do - it can be counter-productive. For example, I wanted to learn Spanish in the most efficient, best way possible. I looked all over for the best language learning tecniques so I can learn it efficiently and quickly. Yet, each method seemed to have nuances and a downside. I thought "there must be a secret method that is the best, with little downside" I even spent time on iTalki forums asking about "secret methods". . . I had a genuine desire to learn Spanish the best way possible, yet guess how much actual Spanish I learned during this time. . .

If it's working for you, then I am happy for you. Hopefully what I wrote is helpful for someone else reading the thread.

Also be mindful of appeals to authority. In the context of open-ness, it can have value. In the context of personalized righteousness, it can reinforce contraction. In the Spanish example. . . two people might have differences in their understanding of the subjunctive tense. One person may go to a native Spanish speaker and ask "Is this correct"? Be mindful of underlying desire and orientation. For example, are we restricting ourself to a binary model of right vs. wrong? Perhaps it is not about theory vs embodiment. Perhaps it is about theory and embodiment. As well, is our motivation to learn and grow or is it. . . "I think I am right and he is wrong. I am going to ask a native speaker and prove him wrong". . . That is a very different orientation than "Perhaps I have a blind spot, yet I'm not sure if this person is correct. Perhaps I should ask a Spanish teacher to see if I have a blind spot." These are very different orientations and energetics which will affect one's capacity to deepen and expand their knowledge. You are missing the point. There is now a "me" vs "you" dynamic as well as "right" vs. "wrong". At this point an exploration is not possible. We are not on the same frequency and there is no point continuing the dialog, it would be counter-productive at this point. I am not saying you are wrong. I actually think you have some good ideas. Yet I don't want to debate and argue "your ideas" vs. "my ideas" and who is "more evolved". I prefer explorations, which you are not interested in - which is fine. We just aren't on the same frequency and orientation. . . .Happy trails to you.

Personalization is part of the contraction. There is a trans-personal realm. If we were having a discussion about a bizarre insect only found in the Amazon forest, it would be impersonal. We would both be curious and desire to explore and learn. Neither of us is attached/identified to being the Amazonian insect. This would be a Tier2 trans-personal exploration. . . . Adding in personal attachment/identification alters the energetics. . . Perhaps one person says "I've actually been to the Amazon and saw this bizarre insect". An impersonal response might be "Oh my gosh! I've only seen it on YT videos. What was it like in person?"". Notice how this open-ness allows for exploration and learning. . . What happens when it gets personalized?. . . "This guy think he knows more than me. He thinks he is special because he has been in an Amazon forest. He thinks he is better than me. Well, I've also been in forests. He has no idea who I am and he is judging me. I'm going to show him I know more than him". Adding in these personality dynamics alters the energetics. It is no longer a free exploration of an amazing insect in the Amazon. It is now a personal debate, rather than an exploration.In terms of evolving/expanding/learning, it can be a block. For example, I am at an intermediate level of Spanish. If I have an attachment/identity of being fluent in Spanish, it is a block. For example, if another person who speaks Spanish tells me "I noticed you haven't been using the subjunctive tense very much, it might be something to look at". I could reply "I know the subjunctive tense. I've actually lived in central and south America. You don't even know me.". . This creates conflict. . . Without the personal dynamic, I may respond "I hadn't noticed that. Maybe I am missing something. Could you give an example how I might expand my use of the subjunctive? I studied Spanish in Peru, perhaps the use the subjunctive differently. . . Oh, you studied Spanish in Spain. Super coool! What was it like living there? I've also wanted to visit. Exploring different dialects of Spanish is so fascinating to me". . . Notice how this orientation is very different and allows space for growth and expansion.

I'm not referring to "advantages" and "disadvantages". That is an intellectual framework. Such frameworks have value, yet it's easy to become contracted within them. Living in a multicultural city is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a much deeper level of immersion. More like living in an impoverished village in Honduras for a year. You would likely get direct experience and deeper understanding. As well, some people have predispositions. For example, some people have predispositions to intellectualizing and analyzing. It's just there predispositions and personality. Yet they will have a much harder time understanding that which is nonverbal and post-logical. Consider the quote "Most people considering integral ideas have also had enough of it". This is a highly contracted statement - with resistance, attachment and identification. Yet it is very difficult to see when a person is immersed within that contraction. This is part of having a human brain and mind - I've experienced it as well. There are aspects of Green you are not seeing, have not realized, have not integrated and have not embodied. You can stay within your realm or expand. It's up to you. I'm not saying one is better than the other. It's like being in room 227 in a Grand Hotel. If you want to stay within room 227 and explore that room - great. Go for it. Yet there are many other rooms you are not aware of. There is value in exploring room 227 and there is value in leaving 227 and exploring other rooms. There is a distinction between "considering" integral ideas through logical thought stories and actually experiencing, being and embodying. The map is not the territory.

It's easy to become contracted within intellectual constructs. These can be very helpful in building frameworks, yet they are very limited. A major part of evolving from Orange to Green and into Tier2 does not come through theory and logic. It comes through practice, observation, direct experience, awakening and embodiment. For example, we can spend all day everyday intellectualizing about Green, yet that aint actual Green. There are deeper levels of understanding that do not come through through theorizing (although theory can also be helpful). One can theorize about Green and not realize they are contracted within theory. For example, I did a lot of conceptualization about marginalized and ostracized groups. I did a lot of conceptualization about objectivism and relativism. A lot of conceptualization of stages. This is just one form of understanding and imo, it is a relatively shallow form. Understanding through direct experience is much much deeper. For example, rather than sit around conceptualizing about marginalized/ostracized groups, I moved to central america and actually lived within poverty-stricken marginalized groups. I volunteered in a psychiatric hospital and spent a lot of time with people with various mental illnesses that have been marginalized/ostracized. I dated a black woman and directly experienced racism and my privilege. This direct experience understanding cannot be attained through logic and intellectualizing. It is only attained through direct experience. This direct experience, integrated with theory, allows for embodiment - which is a much deeper level of understanding than theory alone. Knowing is a relative term and it's very easy for the mind to get lulled into thinking a particular relative knowing is actual knowing, objective knowing or absolute knowing. There are many realms and degrees of "knowing". For example, someone may have a lot of factual knowledge, yet very little direct experience knowledge and embodied knowledge. The conflation between relative, objective and absolute is like a fog machine and makes it difficult to evolve/progress. As well, there is often personal attachment/identification which also hinders progress. For example, the statement "I know what green is" is a highly limited and contracted state. It doesn't allow space for expansion. One of the most important realizations is how little we know. If we consider the the infinite amount of what can be known, we can realize we no virtually nothing. We could spend our entire life time studying a pencil and after 60 years of dedicated research, barely scratch the surface. Each of us knows 0.00000000 (add 1 trillion zeros) of infinite knowledge. This rounds off the zero. Yet the mind often personalizes knowledge and becomes attached/identified with it. It is like a person holds a single grain of sand in their hand and becomes mesmerized such that they believe that grain is the beach. Realizing this is very liberating and allows space for unlimited exploration.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think which states of mind are most conducive to spiritual insights and realizations is a really interesting area. Ime, a busy distressed mind is not optimal for insights/realizations to appear. I find anything that can relax the mind and body is helpful. Meditation, yoga, time in nature etc. It allows space of insights/realizations to appear. For me, the "space" is more important than "joy". Joy can be an expression of what arises in the space, yet for me joy isn't the key - it is the empty space. Yet, a happy mind-body is generally a better mindset for insight/awakening than an unhappy mindset. Yet I wouldn't say it's the joy itself, I would say it's more about attachment/identification, desire and distraction. When my mind body is unhappy, there is usually thought stories occurring in my mind and desire to change Now. For example, if the mind is worrying about making money there can be insecurities and desire to change one's state. We don't like being Now and want a better now in which we feel good. In a joyful mind-body there much less desire to change Now. This makes it easier to be Now, since we are not seeking a better state. We are happy with Now. Yet this is still within a pleasure/pain dynamic. As soon as the thought/desire to make the happy state stable and permanent - desire arises and a pleasure vs. pain duality appears. We may seek the joyful state and become motivated to stablize the joyful state. We may start chasing joyful states. Relative joy distracts from unconditional joy. For example, last year I was in an isolated area of Belize that was paradise. After a week, my mind and body was relaxed and joyful to levels I didn't even know exist. One day I was floating in the ocean and everything was perfect, I was in joyful bliss. No worries, no distractions, no personal stories, no me. Various insights and realizations appeared. There was no time. . . Then, there was a thought about how joyful this was. As soon as joy appeared, non-joy appeared. If I am joyful, then I am not unjoyful. This appearance completely change the energetics. There were know thought like "What if I become unjoyful again? I don't want that. I want this joy to be stable. What if I return home to work and become unjoyful? How can I make this joy stable?". Then appearances of desire and thought stories. There is a mixture of joy and unjoy. For relative joy to exist, it must contrast itself to nonjoy? How can we tell if we are joyful? We must contrast this to nonjoyful. . . This can be beneficial at the personal/human level, yet relative happiness is a distraction and resistance to unconditional / absolute happiness. Unconditional/Absolute happiness is not dependent on conditions. It is impossible to be unhappy because there is Happiness in all conditions. There is unconditional happiness during meditation, while cooking, while running away from a pit bull, while having sex, while worrying about work, while being angry etc. . . . Ime, relative happiness can be important at the personal/human level - relative joy/happiness is healthy to the mind and body. Yet I need to be careful, because relative happiness can be alluring, mesmerizing and captivating. It can distract from unconditional/absolute happiness.

Sourcing is against forum guidelines

Yea, the work isn't easy. Just my take. I'd probably let go of the judgement whether the feelings are "wrong" or "foolish" and try to simply observe. If you don't like rap music, you don't like rap music. You don't need to try and force yourself to like rap music to be a better person. It seems like you don't like how you are feeling and perceiving. You can't change street people, they are the perfect them. If there was a movie of your life, who better to play the street people in the movie than the actual street people? They are the perfect street people characters, just how they are. However, you can change your perception and how you relate to street people, such that it doesn't bother you anymore. You may be satisfied with that. You might not be bothered anymore and it is a non-issue in your life. Or you could go more advanced such that you feel love for street people. . . I think Leo's first video on "What is Love" covers this well.

Regarding your description of "street culture", it seems like you are upset because: You then ask: Deconstruct the matter. You say you feel hatred toward them because of personal reasons: it feels unpleasant to you and you feel threatened. You can look at those feelings. There is no need to label them as "wrong" or "bad". They are just feelings within you. What are these sensations like? Is it a sharp pain? Where is the feeling? In your chest? Your gut? . . . Why are those feelings arising in you? What is it about you that you are perceiving the world in this manner? As well, observe the thought story. How often do you have thought stories about this? When you engage with this rage thought stories, what happens to your body? Does the discomfort increase?. . . What are you doing that may increase the intensity of perception? Do you think about it a lot? To you vent about it on forums? Do you watch YT videos about it? Do you talk a lot about it? Do you visit parts of the city that can amplify these thoughts and feelings?. . . Once you deconstruct this at your personal level, you can expand. . . You can start to learn about the lives and the struggles of "street people". You can start to learn about their suffering and why the act the way they do. You can start to develop compassion, empathy and love for them. Perhaps you will become an advocate and start a non-profit organization to help street people to live more fulfilling lives.