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I’m a newbie to enlightenment and meditation and over the past few days Iv’e been using the Neti Neti. And now Iv’e associated myself with this constant awareness. However, isn’t awareness caused by brain, which means that I’m the brain, right? I feel that my biggest obstacle is my constant association with the brain. I mean everytime I self-inquire, I associate the brain as a thought or feeling but the fact that I have a brain and it feels like it’s the only constant Iv’e had from birth and if my brain is destroyed then I die. My brain controls my body, my brain experiences life, my brain is the centre of all experience, my brain is me, right? I’m so confused and I need help! On a similar note, wouldn’t my body be apart of me not a separate experience from me. In other words, my legs are apart of me because I can control them.

These are all random notes I made from an a state of no-self. When searching for the self you might believe it's emptiness inside of your skull. You may look at you hand and believe you're a hand. You may even believe that you are the Nothingness in the air, between objects. You might think you can focus on this awareness as being somewhere in the air as a point of focus. You will then look back to an object in Actuality instead of trying to find awareness in the air. Now, put your attention on the empty, sentient subject or perciever which is God or Actuality. You are God, there is no other way to explain it. To find God you have to play the game of hide-and-seek (spiritual seekers). Why are you hiding from your no-self (God) and not seeking? To find this god play the game of hide-and-seek (neti-neti method) God is this sentient emptiness of awareness, who is father like and watching his children - Jesus is the son of God, which is a metaphor to explain the small self (ego, son) and the true self being God (holy father). Is Holy supposed to be a joke? Whole; Full; complete Hole: A hollow space in something solid (Emptiness inside the self) The word holy is a word that is supposed to refer to Whole and Hole as being two totally different words but the exact same or One because despite them being spelt differently they are pronouced identically and there is irony in that holy is spelled differently from both words and this word holy seems seperate from Whole and Hole but it isn't because it's still the same pronunciation which made the sound. Can you see that holy is both seprate from Whole and Hole Holy represents the unification or oneness of Emptiness and Fullness. Beautiful metaphors: Waves come in, Wave come out. Sun day, Moon night Sun smile, clouds cry God can see with clarity (abscene of a mind-conciousness) the outside world (trees, grass) and the inside world (person percieving reality - self) as it is neither. Hide-and-Seek meditation I am not The body or body sensations (feeling of being a mind is body sensation) The human mind or thoughts (mind creates perceptions into conciousness aka God) e.g. the thought it exists as pink brain producing it's own conciousness The object (hand, table, orange) Emptiness of space between objects - Air Subject (perciever - ego) The sharp mind focus (highly focused, lowly conciousness) Mind Conciousness Meditation frustrations Meditaters get annoyed when they can't see that they are this empty, sentient awareness. The meditator doesn't realise they need to release any sensation of what they think one-by-one in a game of hide-and-seek, the game is to slip out of the stream of possible self sensations (seek-by-stripping) it could be: feelings or sensations, thoughts (Perceptions taking place in conciousness or God's mind) God's mind is not an object or idea of god. It's the empty, concious, sentient being. Your mind just created an idea of God as an image now (not actually God) - Decontextulisation. When you play Hide-and-Seek still focus on Actuality, what are Actual perceptions (not mind created perceptions aka thoughts and images) What we are doing with all this meditation work is trying to get objective reality to exist without the subject (the self) and to do this you need to be focused on real perceptions in reality (cars, hats, furniture) but you also need to realise that the despite there being this concious mind perceiving the world, there is a conciousness above it which can be accessed by seeing the subject with absolute clarity. If there is no subject then you need to strip every single one when in a ego conciousness until you become the no-subject. God is the non-objective subject. A self (person) is an objective subject. The problem with reality is that you shift between God experiencing existence and the mind experiencing existence. Strip EVERY single possibility of what you could be until you run out of objective subjects and you become the non-objective subject. Can you see how you cannot find the non-objective subject you have to become it. It's a seeing through being and to be it, you have to not be everything else in an egoic conciousness because if you are not in a non-dual conciousness then you are being something which isn't the no-self. You need to fall into this state of conciousness. This state cannot be located therefore it needs to be unlocated. The proccees of finding a no-self is normally done backwards and thus nobdy gets results. You can't find something if it isn't there, you just need to unfind the thing you thought you found.

@winterknight yeah i see where i went wrong .. when asked who is the one asking saying i is the one who is everything or coming up with a written answer is just the activity of the mind which i didn't realise i was witness to so it was a fake finishing using words, i didn't actually experience it in my direct experience i have gone deeper though since i've taken myself off this belief track and understood the importance of holding the "i" but its really difficult when there is nothing in me that represents me , the only way i can express it was , it was like smoke inside my body, except the smoke was not in the material world then there was this kinda world started to form after i focused more where i was in a constant state of experiencing things, detached from what ever was happening in my body. but i still have doubts, so its as you said i will continue until i'm sure, plus i've kinda started enjoy doing it, do most people normally do self-inquiry with their eyes open or closed? before this i was doing a neti neti style self-inquiry but then i realised the limitations of it if you don't know what to think is you next, its like a methodical approach. whilst this time, i just hold onto what i feel is I and just inquiring into where it is, what is it, and whom. the neti neti style i did with my eyes open and normal self-inquiry i do with my eyes closed.

AWAKENING AND HEALING https://non-duality.rupertspira.com/introduction "Enlightenment is the recognition that our true nature – the essential experience of ‘being aware’ or Awareness itself – does not share the limits or destiny of the body." - this is what I meant by Awakening in the post above. It might seem like a one time thing, but in my experience the recognition takes practice. We tend to recognize, only to forget and recognize again. As we recognize again and again, it becomes a) much more frequent b) intuitively known. It is the abandoning of seeking. This recognition can be practiced by e.g. Neti-Neti (negating everything). "This understanding is then gradually integrated into every part of daily life." - this is what I meant by Healing in the post above. It involves recognizing who we are, and exploring the part of the ego that needs to be healed (emotion, tension in the body, thought...). While in the Awakening we negate everything right away and turn to Awareness as much possible, in Healing we recognize Awareness, but also turn to the experience in order to heal it. This healing can be practiced by e.g. Noting (as described by Shinzen Young)

@tedens Oh I was sober doing this well I was on modafinil cramming in information for an exam haha. But basically 2cb showed me that I get sucked into a lot of traps. And when I smoked weed It kind of put a couple more pieces into it and then doing neti neti put even more pieces into it. But at the same time there was no pieces it was more it took pieces away from the puzzle but by doing that it was putting the pieces in you feel me ?

@Mu_ I mean I started with lucid dreaming cos thats cool then i started meditating and then came across leos channel then I started doing neti neti. I recently got serious about it because there is existence so what do I do here whats worth pursuing?( and yes i know you cant pursue enlighetenment haha) I mean psychedelics and enlightenment are at the top imo because theyre kind of literally the ultimate thing.. And yeah friendships and relationships and chasing cheese is fun lol but it all ends so.. I see enlighetnment as priority because its the only thing that can really make me unconditionally happy. How about you?

so on my way home today I was doing neti neti and just asking myself what am I and looking i kept looking and looking and I would find something and then I would ask so who is aware of that that cant be me if im aware of it.. After taking 2cb I see the traps that I get into for example I would try to explain what i am but then after 2cb I see how thats not it( neti ) haha. everything i look for is not it. Like its gotten to the point where i know i dont know. but then even deeper than that i say i dont know thinking thats it when its not. so then what am i. and even asking the question it implies a self in the I. But ofcourse that cant be me its a word. And im percieving the word. But who is percieving? all of this thinking is a bunch of thoughts which is occouring to me.. but then where is this me? I got into the trap of talking about it and thinking about it and i get confused with believing that the thoughts or words are it but theyre not.... And saying that theyre not is another idea and not it..... Its just going round and round in circles. My thoughts are getting so tangled.... There are traps upon traps upon traps upon traps upon traps...Whats really strange is that my mind shuts up a bit when I do neti neti or just comes up with ridicoulus answers like am an interdimensional being that flies to space or saying this is stupid or I am everything or i am nothing or i dont know what i am but its all not it. This is so fucking ridicoulus haha. Idk if its possible to grasp what I am using my mind. And omggg even saying this is contradictory. Thoughts? I just dont fucking know looool can anyone relate?

You mean goddess Kali? Actually it personifies the neti neti method. Ruthless destruction of all illusion until only Truth remains.

Indeed, but with enough neti neti you will become conscious of that which you are and That which you cannot say is not that. Neti neti is just a practice to eventually make you conscious of that which you truly are: God.

The construct (ego-mind) is always looking for some-thing,or point of reference it can attach to . Leave "no place in which to rest, no stable ground to stand on." Neti,Neti: Not this, Not that

@Truth Addict Yeah I did start to do Neti Neti but after Leo's video on how to do self inquiry I've now gone straight to just observing awareness as he says that's what all the questions are leading you to anyway, this sense of 'I am-ness.' One other question is, you mentioned there is no watcher. But can God not watch itself, if awareness is watching awareness, isn't that what's hapenning? To me it seems like the whole essence of being is God marvelling in it's own creation.

@Wisebaxter yes. but regarding underpants... you know what i mean. maybe it could be interesting to reflect on neti neti regarding underpants.

Got a new trick up the sleeves: 1) Set timer 40 min. 2)Sit down and do a focus meditation for 20 minutes. Focus like a motherfucker, every time you get lost in thoughts only by a tiny nano second you get right back on the breath. Push, stretch and force your concentration. Like a muscle, you are working out here, you badass Mr. Mind Olympia ! 3) After 20 min, you build up that focus, now you put your sharp ass focus on Being, or I AM ness. You focus on the I AM ness like your life depends on it. Now every time you get lost in thoughts only by a tiny nano second you get right back on the I AM NESS ! You do this for 20 minutes. 4) After this you get ya ass up, but mindful on the I AM ness. You move around, you see things hear things smell things taste things, but now, every time you get lost in experience only by a tiny nano second you ask yourself: What's not changing ? or What hasn't changed ? and get right back on the I AM ness. You take a shit, get lost in thoughts ask What hasn't changed ? Get right back on the I AM ness. You eat and I AM NESS, got lost in thoughts ask, Ok, what's not changing ? I AM NESS. And try to keep it, or more exactly try to Be more and more. Simple. Kinda real time neti neti. Have fun ! P.s. What hasn't changed since you started reading this ?

my vocabulary isn't broad enough to describe what happened last night. Taking 5 grams of polysyllabic allowed me to experience consciousness in a way I have never been. Listening to Leo's guided meditate allowed me into a state of complete open mindedness, looking around the room in a way that has never been me before, hearing the words of the meditation with a different context and meaning than has ever been before. From this level of awareness, I listened to Leos guided enlightenment video, the Neti Neti method, and this is where it gets freaky. By the end of this hour long video, my awareness was no longer contained strictly in my head, aware of the bodily sensations that were there from the beginning, relaxing so completely that the vibration of the room filters through me, coming to the conclusion that I do not know what I really am, physically, metaphysically, existentially. what am I? my consciousness zoomed out, the room equalized and I became then space entirely, eyes closed, sensing what the room holds, feeling the energy of the room pulse back, forth, around, sounds, energy, subtle air currents, all of it perceived at a deep level, the level of change, below the labels assigned to reality. It was awe inspiring. complete surrender to the actual moment of reality. Merging with the existence of the room. There are no words that can do it justice. it was not simply an "Experience" it was not an object or feeling, it was an awareness of my true nature, the watcher, the perceiver. Pure Being Paul

@now is forever Ok thanks, I followed @nistake adviced and just checked at some drugstore and actually found something that seems to be that, it says it's an "isotonic filtered sea water solution, 100% natural", bingo ? Although it's a spray, and I tried it a few times and I barely see any difference, I don't know if I use it properly though, I spray it standing so it mostly just falls down, althought it seems like it's supposed to be like that, they say to spray for a few seconds and let the excess run out, then blow nose @oysterman Ok thanks, seems quite different than what I have know since my solution just get sprays in one nostril and some part falls out and some part remain in the nostril i guess I actually had the same thought about the 'neti ... neti neti ?' pots

@Jordan94 I have a problem with allergies that leads to very blocked nose. I like to clean out the mucus with a neti pot before kriya (saline, roughly isotonic solution poured through one nostril and coming out the other!) You can get ayurvedic-style ceramic neti pots, and you can get plastic ones. Also, I find that exercising beforehand helps me get the mucus out. But it's quite impractical/tiring to vigorously exercise for a few minutes before kriya. So I use a mix of exercise and neti pots and good luck. P.S. Not 'neti neti' pots! Neti neti meditation is also pretty good though..... EDIT: @Leo Gura Have you tried using a neti pot instead of decongestant? It's very pleasant when you get it at just the right temperature. Leads to lovely nasal openness. It's very effective and has a nicer vibe than the 'chemicals', if you're a spaced out stage green hippy like me. Despite the fact that the natural salt is also a chemical. Just like me, if you harness the energetic vibes of these pink Himalayan salt crystals in your nose tubes, with none of the required cultural and ayurvedic understanding of what's really going on, YOU TOO can placebo yourself into the divine consciousness! Just search on amazon "neti pot", most things will do.

sorry i didn't mean see the ox, i meant be the ox- but for the reference of the 10 pictures i said see the whole ox (front and back), hmm i can't really self inquire anymore, nor do neti - neti, they get me up to awareness and but i can't maintain it. i read that i have to meditate to focus on it more, which would you recommend- no mind meditation (plus i don't even know how to meditate)! my motivation is so low at the moment

Right. Because that is the True Self! The point of Neti Neti is to negate everything but the one thing which cannot be negated: existence/consciousness itself. That emptiness is your true nature. It's what you were before your body/personality was born. So now just sit and quietly observe that existence/consciousness. But make sure you aren't getting attached to any kind of forms or images of it. Images of it are not it. You must be it directly, without thought or image. Watch my newer video: How To Do Self-Inquiry

@Leo GuraYesterday i saw your video on Neti-Neti. I am not thoughts sensations feelings but how can i negate the feeling of the waking state or existence? The sense of me or i feeling or identity which is present with in this feeling of existence can be negated but not the feeling of existence or being concious. I don't know how to put it in words correctly. Pls clarify. Thank you.

Via Negativa is not minimalism. It is the path to God through total self-negation, AKA Neti Neti method. This should not be confused with material minimalism.

I ask What am i and Who is aware then i go neti neti style ex. My thoughts, emotions , body cant be aware there is awarness to know them not other way . I had realisation that “I” am space without objective quality before ego backlash happened

Anything that the "I" can perceive, is not the true being. So where do I look? If anything that is perceived is eliminated (neti neti) , then there is no where to look. The perceiver cannot perceive itself. The knife cannot cut itself. The eye cannot see itself. But how do I leave the "I" behind? How can I undone being the perceiver? I know there is an infinite possibilities opening up from realising that anything perceived is not me, but I still can't take the leap.

@Anton Rogachevski Glad it resonated, i once heard a story of a woman who had an awakening glimpse when a gunman confronted her, i think it illustrates how a normally fear-inducing experience can act as a shock catalyst to recognising yourself beyond the usual story of it - she probably thought i have no choice but to NETI NETI through this! haha

Snorted 10mg of 5-MeO-DMT Oxalate Duration: 1.05h, Onset: 22min, Afterglow: 1h Report: I had a good set and setting, with the mindset that I was going to die and not come back. I tried to convince myself of this, but I knew that there was nothing else to do than surrendering, I was definitely not egoistic about it, I expected to die and I wanted to surrender to my true self. I did kriya yoga just before snorting, I didn't eat for the whole day before the administration. After snorting, I immediately went to lay down comfortably on my couch with my head tilted down and my arms spread out, I relaxed and started surrendering into whatever came. The burning didn't start until 5 minutes in, and it gradually got worse and worse, it felt like the salt didn't get absorbed. I still laid there just surrendering, I figured that my nose would start to produce snot which would help the substance to dilute and absorb. I didn't feel anything until 22 minutes in (I watched the clock). As I laid there on the couch, just constantly surrendering into whatever came, my awareness started to surge and a body load came. My hands started getting hallow and numb as if they fell asleep, but I was very aware of them and I kept surrendering. I surrendered into any discomfort and any pain, but there was not so much pain, of course I surrendered any thought which would worsen the pain, but the pain or discomfort itself was very bearable, like when you do strong determination sitting, it is very painful, but you can bear it, but if you start thinking that you're about to die, then the pain becomes much more significant... I surrendered all the thoughts, I surrendered completely into reality. Any fear became irrelevant, I wasn't afraid of the thought to snort another 30mg's. but at that moment I was too incapable. In the peak, my awareness was like never before, I was very aware of reality at that moment, completely aware of the body, the surroundings, and the thoughts, there were a few thoughts, but the frequency of them was greatly reduced, and they seemed to appear as mere sentences in the head, just floating around. It is very comparable to when you do some neti-neti, and you consciously disidentify with everything you thought you were, and you just be there, reality just is, and "you" have no idea what it is, it just is. I couldn't identify with an "I", there was just reality, all the colors, all the sensations, but they didn't really belong. There was no infinity, no love, no emotions, just the present moment. All the thoughts in my head had no "I" in it. At that moment it was very inappropriate to refer to an "I". At one point my mother came into the room, and I was kind of capable of talking to her, but I was like at 30% of my energy; I couldn't do much. I am very open to her about drugs, and she might have suspected that I did some, but as she saw that I was okay, she told me that she will come later. I gave into thought if going to the toilet... I went and looked myself in the mirror, I couldn't identify with what I saw, there was a person there, but that shape was made out of all these colors, I might as well have been the wall! The afterglow was me being much more aware and doing my stuff from that headspace, and gradually I became immersed in more and more thoughts and now here I am. I know that a larger dose will increase the awareness much much more and I have no damn idea of what would happen at that point. Insights: Operating from a place of awareness is the most pleasant thing, it is very worthwhile and beneficial, life-changing. What you do with your body is responsible for what you feel in life... do the actions that make you feel the best and be aware of that, don't just only be aware, but be aware while doing the things that make you happy. Takeaways: I am now more intimate with the direction that im shooting for in terms of awareness. Next time I will administer rectally (I hope the syringes will arrive in my mailbox pretty soon, or I will snort the thing instead), and I will prepare myself in the same way. Some tips: What really helped me here was that I approached the experience while being consciously detached from my expectations, my life, and the ego as much as possible by expecting physical death, but by also making the conscious choice that Im ready to die in order to experience my true self... If I wouldn't be ready to die this way, I might have gotten a panic attack. I was also determined to surrender into anything, essentially not doing anything for the next hour. Fasting and meditation before the experience really made it smooth for me, but practicing surrender into pain (cold showers) played a big role in me being able to surrender into reality (all the weird sensations going on) with the threshold of it being unbearable, greatly heightened. Essentially, a practice of surrender into pain made it much easier for me to handle the physical sensations, but also the expectation of death and the metaphysical curiosity played a big part in removing the thoughts that would make the pain even worse and greatly lowering the threshold of it becoming unbearable. I'll report you guys very soon when I go 15mg's.

@Aakash that’s a really interesting question, @Nahm recommended me once to use the neti neti method differently - saying: i don’t love you to the tree and: i don’t love you to the sun etc. i thought you could also start saying that to your enimies after a while - but don’t do it the other way round.