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My job allows me to take a month off each winter and two months each summer. I'm considering using that time for solid consciousness work. I have a career that I find rewarding and it comfortably pays the bills. I'm curious to what extent full-time communities, such as ashrams, are necessary or helpful. I've had a few glimpses into nonduality (mostly with psychedelics, yet a couple sober as well). One recurring message is that "IT" is right here, right now. That I don't need to travel thousands of miles to India in search of anything, because right now I am zero miles away from "IT". The sense feels like "truth". Yet then I read about people going to ashrams and monasteries and think perhaps some are a good idea.

@Wes Thoughts You have to be smart here. Of course 2 solid months of personal development or consciousness work would be a huge boost. If you did it seriously, you might even get a glimpse or two of nonduality. But then what? You go back to working at McDonald's in your half-enlightened state with hardly enough money to pay your next bill? Going for broke is a bad idea. You don't want to paint yourself into a corner. It would be smarter to figure out a more sustainable solution. For example, many Zen monasteries charge a low initiation fee for living with them for a whole year. So if did that, you could buy yourself a whole year of practice. Or you could hatch a plan to save up more money so you have more time later and you don't go broke. If you are SERIOUS about pursuing enlightenment full-time, there are plenty of ways to do it. Society does have avenues created specifically for such people. That's what monks and yogis do. There are entire communities designed for that, and they don't require you to be a millionaire. But they do take serious commitment. So the most important first step is to clearly decide how serious you are and what you really want to do for the next few years. If you have no good career prospects, pursuing enlightenment full-time for a few years might be a really good option. But it must be done seriously.

@Nahm That's true. Nonduality is always the case, it's just whether you choose it to be the main theme of your life or not. Possibly in the next 20-50 years when psychedelics become more and more mainstream and accessible. Removing its negative stigma. The growth on the planet could be raised exponentially. I could hear the news, "young man took acid and realized he was mere frequency vibrating at a high velocity. Realizing he was one consciousness..." (Bill Hicks, something like that. 1:45 Jim Carrey is so going to be the next Hicks holy shit!

@JustinS Every person discovers nonduality. It’s almost always when they ‘physically’ die though. I think you did this life so you wouldn’t know and then could discover, the truth, and still be ‘alive’. That what we’re aware of is all that we’re aware of is a real mind bender. I hear you on avg Joe. It’s like being Jim Carrey who’s no longer Jim Carrey and trying not to pull a Jim Carrey.

There is a point during the trip (as in all my trips) where I have a feeling this nondual experience will surely last forever and that I'm awaken now. It surely is convincing at that peak experience when I feel limitless. But of course I eventually come down. However, I can see the subtle nuance pathway being veiled to me for me to be awakened. It's just a continual peeling of the onion and seriously questioning my limiting beliefs and paradigm locks and not to get so easily sucked right back into them as I sober up. Really I feel sharpening of awareness, more trips, and continual studying is necessary for a persistent breakthrough. I like the slow motion water droplet Leo posted in his blog. Each I time trip it's just easier and exciting to just go as far as I can. Dying becomes a skill to be learned or better yet surrendering is the most beautiful art. How willing are you to die right now at this moment? Enlightenment is right now. I am nothing right now. A ghost, a hallucination is a breathtaking dream we call reality. But it's so convincingly real. My parents are convinced, my friends are convinced, and society is convinced that this is real and that we are born and we die. How would an average joe in western society possibly find out about nonduality?

@Voyager I have an insurance agency, so I’m biased I’m sure, but man have I seen some horror stories when people do not insure themselves. Hospitals should not be this way, but they are. In terms of nonduality, it doesn’t matter.

I've experienced many ego deaths. When the self dies it's gone. There is no "lower" or "higher" self. In my experience, absence of self is nonduality.

Hmmmm, so a solo retreat without talk and thought would be nondual. And. . . using inherently dualistic language to describe my summer trip to Peru is also nondual - because the fundamental nature of nonduality cannot be separate. So, the nondual must be a "nothing" and "everything". Because as soon as I try to classify things as either "nondual" and "dual", I am making "nondual" a something that is separate from a "dual" something.

I especially like this segment because it elucidates research by Jeffery Martin and his term for non-dual consciousness, which is Persistent Non Symbolic Experience (PNSE). This is a crucial misconception many people have about consciousness work-- nonduality isn't simply about dropping linguistic paradigms; rather, it runs MUCH deeper. Reality is not simply the models that precede language, but something that precedes (and includes) even that. All perceptions are partial, symbols we construct for survival needs. To do consciousness work to look beyond that. What lies beyond experience?

@Leo Gura I doubt I've experienced deeply enough to really grasp this, and am of course asking this without really having taken a stance, but is asking about organism's survival in relation to the perception of reality, not a valid question just because of non-duality? Sure, you can make an arbitrary distinction you want, and of course, there's not really a separate being there, but is it misguided to investigate relative frameworks, like how organism survive while having certain mental models? I know that it holds lots of assumptions, like there being such thing as "organism", "life", "death", "survival", etc., but it just seems like a valid inquiry on the relative plane. For context, I've only had tiny, tiny glimpses of nonduality and am pretty indoctrinated by culture, naive realism, etc. I haven't experienced God, Absolute Infinity, absolute relativity, etc. directly, only heard about such things second hand.

@Barna Was just wondering if you had anything on that. I have 'channeled' as well. Not sure what else to refer to it as because it was not the same as nonduality experience. As far as I can see, we are the connection between quantum or superposition or everything everywhere....and physical, or positionally certain, or manifested (atomic). I think when there is something that just can not be seen, it might be me.

@Joseph Maynor For you, yes Don't worry, they will come back. Life goes on, even after enlightenment. Lots of enlightened folks are also deeply intellectual. You just gotta divide and conquer this thing first. Of course a lot of mental masturbation will fall away. But that should actually trim the fat off your intellectual pursuits and make it very potent. Why waste time studying bullshit? These days, a lot of books or papers I can't even be bothered to read, or some people I can't bother to listen to, because it's just such bullshit after you experience nonduality.

@Dodo Ah, thanks, Dodoster, for the compliment about my website. It is not very big and it is not growing rapidly, but boy, have I put in tons of time polishing up those essays. It sometimes surprises even me that I get inspired to rewrite an essay that I have had for years. This happened just last week when I took 4 or 5 days to rewrite this essay: Why Do We Call It Nondual Wisdom? https://infinitelymystical.com/essays/nonduality.html 4 pages

@Serotoninluv My opinion is this: The traditional "you" is an illusion and that means that it does indeed exist, but it exists in a deceptive way. First of all, the reality of what you commonly think of as "you" is indeed a person. What is the deception? It is not an autonomous being even though it looks like it is. It is not who or what you truly are in the most fundamental way. What you are fundamentally is Source-Awareness. As you know, I talk about this in many of my essays. By the way, I wrote the following essay two years ago but I recently rewrote it. Here is the link: Why Do We Call It Nondual Wisdom? https://infinitelymystical.com/essays/nonduality.html 4 pages Some of my points in that essay might be of interest to you. Best regards. In truth, I honor your divine nature. - Thomas Razzeto

@Joseph Maynor Hi Joseph. Thanks for taking the time to read some of my work. There might be more items of interest on my website. Below is a link to an essay that I wrote two years ago but I just spent about 5 days rewriting it. I just uploaded it yesterday. (Most people would be surprised that it takes me that long to rewrite a four page essay, but I just keep reading and editing until is feels done.) Anyway, here is the link: Why Do We Call It Nondual Wisdom? https://infinitelymystical.com/essays/nonduality.html 4 pages As I often say, this material takes time to sink in so no rush and no worries. All my best. In truth, I honor your divine nature Thomas Razzeto https://infinitelymystical.com/

@Serotoninluv You touched on a point that I am going to be a little picky about: (paraphrase) you said that if something is an illusion and doesn't exist, then why do we (etc). The correct definition of an illusion is something that exists in a deceptive way. I go into this (and much more) in the following recent post. The comments about correctly understanding what is meant by the word "illusion" is right in the beginning of the post: Now let's get to the main point you make about using "I," and "you" and so forth. I think it is perfectly fine to speak conventionally most of the time. For example, if you want to know if someone went to the beach (or whatever), just ask with conventional pronouns. Now, when it comes to what you truly are (fundamentally), well, by that I mean pure awareness, the power of sentience. This is the One Divine Awareness and "it" is the Source of everything. This is why my mentor, Timothy Conway, and I call it Source-Awareness. (Very few people in the so called nondual community use this definition, but that is a different and long conversation. Ha, I think it is very, very, very few people that use the phrase Source-Awareness but I really like it since it reveals the two capacities of this transcendent Reality. I go into that in many essays but especially the one titled The Loving Heart of Enlightenment.) Once you get the hang of it, you can easily tell from the context what is meant by the pronouns. Does a sentence make sense with the conventional understand? Yes? Then use the conventional understanding. So if you ask someone if they went to the beach today and they reply that they are the unborn formless Source-Awareness and can go nowhere, well, that is true in the larger sense but it is a dysfunctional reply since it does not address what was really being asked. I touch on the value of being able to use these pronouns and still hold the nondual perspective in the following essay, which I first wrote about two years ago but recently rewrote. Note the part where I talk about the sentence "I love you." Here is the link: Why Do We Call It Nondual Wisdom? https://infinitelymystical.com/essays/nonduality.html 4 pages You might find that essay helpful. All my best. In truth, I honor your divine essence. - Thomas Razzeto

Thank you. For the past few months, there have been some glimpses of awareness that seem nondual. Would you recommend pursuing teachings on nonduality / teachings from a nondual perspective? Or, is it more effective to continue with duality teachings with an awareness that it's from a non-dual perspective?

@egoless It's a tiny glimpse. Careful though, about chasing mystical states. That can be a big distraction. Your present experience -- regardless of state -- is already nondual. The most important thing is to realize that, so that you are conscious of nonduality 24/7, regardless of state. The Absolute is the Absolute always. It's true right now. It's was true during meditation. It's true after meditation. It's true while you're on the toilet. It's true when you're angry. It's true when you're happy. It's true when you're miserable.

do whatever amount you need to get a breakthrough. the type of experience you have with it evolves over time, but ya it does get easier, and enjoyable. anybody who is serious about using 5meo should read martin balls book : Entheogenic Liberation: Unraveling the Enigma of Nonduality with 5-MeO-DMT Energetic Therapy

@Ilya It's not easy. Also, every time I think I've arrived I realize that I am just at the beginning of this. I see now that this is a process that has to unfold or unravel -- pick your metaphor. I also see now that conditioning has basically fed the Ego into thinking of me as a self. I've always had a sense that there was something odd about me, and now I realize that in the back of my mind I always felt the nonduality tugging at me in subtle ways -- like in my 20's. Now I see why that was. We have convinced ourselves that we are selves! But it's all just beliefs overlaid on top of perception basically. I think you have to trip hard to really become aware of this fully. Be careful with psychedelics though folks. I don't think I would have ever gotten to this place had I not had that massive trip. The same Being I was there is the same Being I am here. And all I can do is be! What control is there to be had? I'm like watching myself do myself now. Now I see why this has to be done in steps. It would be too painful to go through Enlightenment all at once. Ya ever see the movie Alien? It feels like that. But I had a similar feeling back in March when I had my first big shift in the Ego unsettling process. It actually felt worse then. This one is more like a calm despair. That one was more like grieving a death. I just feel generally bad, not cheerful at all. But not depressed either. Just kinda moderately sick in some way. I think it's the loss of the illusion of control that is really hard to accept. And it's just weird to realize that what I thought was reality is basically just a movie -- just like when I had my trip. Same deal. I don't want anybody to hurt themselves with psychedelics, so be careful. But I have to say that that caused a big shift for me. You gotta really understand what Being is. Once you get that, that's when things start to happen fast. Once you see an error, you can't overlook it. Denial only works if an error is not fully seen or comprehended.

I've been to BM the last 2 years and no it's not ideal for enlightenment, though I've met a couple people into nonduality. There are thousands of different camps with people interested in different things, you just have to find the right ones for you. I recommend tripping and watching the sunrise (not directly). It's interesting to see when everyone is literally you and that most of everyone who is tripping also realizes that they are you. Only at an open and deserted place like burning man can I really open myself up when on psychedelics in public. I wouldn't go back though until I find the right camp to be with. I've thought of going solo but at an event this massive with 70,000 people it's nice to be with a small solid group that get nonduality. There are other festivals as well that support Green stage; Symbiosis, lightning in a bottle, Lucidity, Tribal Gathering,

Of course. You were literally Hitler. The only reason you have any knowledge of Hitler is because you are him. Consciousness happens through BEing. You cannot be conscious of a thing without being it. Literally. Ego denies this of course. That's what it means to create the self/other boundary. Nonduality = no boundaries When you can look Hitler in the eye and love him as much as you'd love your child, in that moment you will vanquish all evil in the world. But note: he might still throw you into a gas chamber. But you'll be at peace about it. You will understand why it is necessary.

@cavedraw1 Ime, anonymous or onymous aren't descriptive of the experience of oneness. The twoness is it's fantasy, that's nonduality. (God would be the second thing from your perspective in your post.) Rather than a God which assesses and judges and sees separation, I can only affirm to experiences of all is love to the question about spirituality. To experience the oneness, there is the giving up of the idea I am something else. The physiological realization of this is my connotation of what is referred to as the experience of ego death, synonymous with love. Godspeed on your journey! Great question.

@Pristinemn 1) That is fine, as long as you understand what you mean. The LP statement isn't for anyone else but you. 2) Well, what you're really talking about with "mystery-awareness" is "spiritual connection". It's the whole aim of spirituality and nonduality. You've only felt 0.001% of its full power yet. Wait till you experience the Absolute. It is 10000% "mystery-awareness". It is Sat-Chit-Ananda. It's that ineffable thing you're pointing to without fully realizing it yet. 3) Don't worry about the how. Just decide that this life purpose is what you want to devote your life to, and trust that your INTENT will pave the way. It will be a fun discovery process. You cannot know the path before you walk the path. Very important: YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW HOW. You merely need to get clear that this is the most important thing in life. The rest will follow. You're on the right track. Don't doubt yourself now.

Your question is very confused. I'm not sure what you're asking. Drop that whole life of thinking, and there's no problem. It's a good image to put into people's minds, because it subverts the norms of what happiness is. Too many to list here. It's not easy to give up a successful business. Many years have been invested in building it and I've made certain commitments. I don't fast. Yes, I eat animals, although I am in the process of reducing that. The entire world of social interaction is unreal. The people you think you're talking to do not exist! Yes, I've watched GoT. I would not be surprised if a hardcore mystic was able to transmute physical matter. Video games were my life purpose for most of my life. So I played a lot of them. They are addictive of course. I rarely play them these days. Having a life purpose, and getting into nonduality is a good way out of video games. Psychedelics Bed No No, I have zero desire for power over people. Sounds like you're treating awareness as "a state". Instead, notice that awareness is ever-present. You cannot not be aware. That's hard to define. Almost anything an increase consciousness. And people are so different. I tend to feel that you gotta go through whatever you gotta go through. Everything in life is a teaching moment. Even the things that seem like an utter waste of time turn out to be necessary. Of course you want to avoid nonsense like cults, conspiracy theories, etc, etc. But as far as spiritual techniques go, try whatever resonates with your highest intuition. Lucidity is a good word to describe it. If you just become conscious right now that you are alive, that's gives you a good pointer for what the essence of consciousness is. Consume tons of very diverse sources of information, including images, books, lectures, etc. No, it's never been a problem for me. 1) Not really. When taken PROPERLY, gradually, observing all precautions, there's very little risk. 2) I am against recreational drugs. They are totally different from psychedelics. 3) Direct consciousness is how I know. You can't understand what that is until you have some direct consciousness breakthroughs. 4) Not sure what your question is. YES! Of course just because the person is a successful doesn't mean he understands Absolute Truth. 5) It's a matter of what time-frame you look at it from. In the short-term consciousness is getting worse. In the long-term I think it's getting better. Technology tends to exacerbate problems of consciousness. Materialism, consumerism, and pragmatism are likely to lead to the collapse of the American Empire. Evolution tends to work in spurts, with occasional great cataclysms. 6) Yes, I am against such types of medication, except for very rare cases where people really have a physical disorder. 7) Probably won't talk about OCD for a long time because there are more important topics for me to cover and I'm not an OCD expert. Thanks I know I CAN. It's just a matter of whether I SHOULD. No Of course my life experiences totally shaped my current LP. Although I think no matter which jobs I held, I would have ultimately found my way to enlightenment. No Who has oral sex with a condom??? Life is a risky proposition. Yes, I am deeply concerned. Ecology is extremely important. Not just global warming, but a dozen other environmental problems that humans are doing. It's still possible global warming might turn about to have non-human causes, but that doesn't excuse all the pollution we're doing. The government should be making massive investments in clean energy and taxing carbon. 1) Probably not for a long time, since I got more central topics to cover. 2) No idea I have a long video called something like How I Lost 65lbs, where I talked about all the details. It was a long time ago. It's like asking, is every human a man, yet some don't have testicles? Enlightenment is a word which distinguishes one who is aware from one who is not. I'm not that great at eliminating distractions. I can work hard. But I have also wasted a lot of time on video games and TV, especially when I was younger. One advantage I have is that I deliberately keep my life pretty simple. I don't invest much time in: family, sports, friends, relationships, hobbies, partying, etc. My life is basically: work, personal development, philosophy, a bit of intimate relationships, some entertainment. It's an odd thing. Sometimes I do feel the love from you guys, and it feels good and exciting. But 98% of the time, I don't really feel it or focus on it. I am not that good at gratitude. I tend to be self-involved and focus on what I need to do, or contemplating life. Neither of which have anything to do with other people. The more conscious I become, the less I pay attention to what anyone says or thinks about me. All the external feedback I get is basically irrelevant. Some people hate me. Some people love me. But no one really understands me. It's all just people's projections. One thing I've been blessed to validate for myself over the last 5 years is that fame is completely fake. It has zero positive effect on one's happiness. I can see how some people get trapped into chasing it if they aren't careful or consciousness. I'm sorta doing a long-distance thing at the moment. It's my real name.