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Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep learning, Artificial Neural Networks, Autonomous systems, autonomous vehicles, robotics, data "science", internet of things, digital twin, digital transformation, the tech utopia. Example of companies that talk about this stuff and believe in the tech utopia are and are of stage orange are Synopsys, Hexagon, Autodesk and Siemens. Shown is Synopsys's website. Website of the other companies are shown in subsequent posts. People confuse them as yellow, as the are are bit nuanced. But the 'bit nuanced' stage is the "achiever" in the nine stages of ego development, not the stage 5 "autonomous" stage. This is why people also miss identify the University of Queensland as yellow when the are in fact orange, and at most the highest cognitive and ego development of staff at the Uni, is partially in the pluralist stage, so they are definitely "not yellow" although they are nuanced compared to "conformists" or "experts". Stage yellow requires a post-conventional mind and cognitive development, so if your mind or cognitive development is conventional you are definitely not in this stage.

Both approaches have their own benefits and drawbacks, of course. I'm glad I received formal education up until the age of 17. However, the school system is archaic; it feels like Windows 98. As the saying goes: "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." In the same way, then: "the current educational system is the worst form of mass education there is, except for all the others." I'm all in for massive transformation of it. On the other hand, introverted and independent individuals like me still conserve their innate curiosity from childhood and passion for learning. Kindling that fire is key, even more so than rote memorization. For us, self-education is and will continue to be a treasure throughout our lifetimes. Following this approach is deeply inspiring and exhilarating since you get to be in the driver's seat. I very much resonate with Robinson's message and teaching style. School kills initiative and creativity for the most part but also gives a mediocre educational foundation for society, which is better than none.

Leo's video on the topic is great and I recommend everyone to watch it. Here are some additional recommendations of mine while actualizing this potential in spirituality. Awakening by itself will help you fall in love with life but prior to such deep transformation, there are tangible steps into going in that direction. The key principle you need to follow is the acute sense of ease, joy and attention you pay towards your mental state moment by moment in daily life. Now obviously such behaviour and mentality change is not possible to cultivate on a consistent basis prior to making some progress in meditation skills. To aid in your journey, keep in mind to never grip towards your life goals and day to day activities too tightly. See, life goals regarding attaining certain things, wanting a 'better' life, looking forward to doing something at 5 pm and spending the morning hours in a state of anticipation - these are all certain mental habits we all fall into. But the more you imbue your life, goals and activities with a sense of profound ease, joy and presence (thanks to your spiritual practice), your life will slowly enhance itself. You will FEEL much more conscious than your usual states. Behaviors will change on a micro basis as your mental skills develop in meditation. This becomes a feedback loop and informs your 'unconscious' aspects of your psyche to revise their worldview. When you become obsessively focused on a goal or an activity of any kind, just be aware of how you are losing the joy of 'the process'. The actual day to day moments while we do our hobbies can be enhanced radically. There is so much craving, seriousness and resistance to your favourite hobby that it only becomes obvious how wrong you've approached this whole life business after you make some progress. You'll read this post in different times of your life. Wherever you feel you are in your life, there is more wisdom you can sprinkle to your life. Turning this into a daily practice is what all Zen masters are doing each time they sit in meditation and intend to maintain wisdom in daily life. Make this process as enjoyable as possible. Don't strain and grip for goals and activities. Your 'to do list' should relax its handles on you. Enjoy these activities while staying present and joyful in the process. Be very careful not to get swept away by life so that you can actually be present for it. However much 'fun' you think you are having. Always curb your urges and desires with the wisdom spirituality imbues you with. And intend to integrate this perception to all life activities as much as possible. Hope this gives inspiration and hope for what is possible for you! Much love, Arda

Yes, they catalyze personal transformation. But Peter's talking about enlightenment. Overall, I agree with your statement.

@JoeVolcano I'm more thinking about how you can actually make this society as great as possible. I have had the thought of yes if everyone's consciousness rose and everyone chose freely the kind of personal transformation you're talking about then yes of course it would be amazing and everyone would be happy etc, but for me it's kinda waste of time as it's not going to happen anytime soon, further to that humans just don't evolve in that way. Development is messy and takes long, as in thousands of years. Your perspective is that things could be much better, but that could and should always be the perspective throughout human history. Where we are now is built on what was down before and where will be in the future is built upon what we do today. Saying this society is terrible and not worth it because everyone is not fully conscious and aware is really absolving yourself of any responsibility.

@Consept Yes, I agree with that definition of yours, as it's a basic level of a trans person's self awareness, they have an internal image of themselves as a slightly to moderately different gender role than the biological sex of their physical bodies. My take on Transexuality generally, the second definition that makes it more metaphysical and spiritual and most people would be confused or lost in understanding, is that it means you are beyond sexuality. Similar meanings to transcendence, transformation, transpersonal, transpersonal psychology, trans-rational. 'Going Meta' also is similar as you are widening your scope to see much more than the context you were viewing from. At most, people would think you are talking about celibacy, or asexuality, but actually it's more radical than those two, as those two the mind has developed attachments to. A person whose truly transcended sexuality would be deeply detached to all things sexual and wouldn't be too bothered at all.

Looks like it was ignited by the birth of his child and therapy. That's a pretty incredible transformation. High levels of self-awareness that you wouldn't expect from someone who was a Nazi for that long.

Teal is just a representation of our side we are not healing or integrating. Rather blaming, judging and dismissing. She is just playing a role for us to see our darker sides. Ram Dass once said: "When someone passing through and spewing their crap on to us, that is their karma, but how we choose to act or react to that, is our karma." As: If we judge them, that is our own judgment to ourselves. But if we see them for what they do, willfully or not, and if we observe that, then that is our act of understanding towards our different aspects. As much as I want to shame her for it. I can see that I would probably have acted the same If I didn't go through the things I did in my life and seen the things I have seen. But if I were to have that erased and be entered to her reality, I would have been the same. Watching that video when she is telling stories about her childhood (don't know if they are true), but being "forced" to bathe in cow's blood and make out with other kids, at age 6 and being raped and molested. No wonder she is the way she is now, no matter how much healing work she has/hasn't done. By the looks of things, she is just gathering people in her life to show/mirror her different aspects, back to herself, and seeing if she can heal and integrate them. In whatever avatar and life story we go through when we enter this reality. What we get programmed with as a child and in our early adulthood, will deeply affect and shape us in the years to come. Unless we go through a self-deconstruction phase at some point, where we go through so many ego-deaths and have our many layers of identity peeled of like layers of an onion, it is just going to be hard to let those pieces go. And as long as we exist as finite selves, we are just going to have a few or many layers of ego. That is just how we can exist. I don't know if Teal has worked with psychedelics. But going through her shit in her life without any aid to show herself to herself so thoroughly (like with psychedelics) is real ballsy. So I got to give her that. Either way, reality will mirror what it does best, which is mirroring. So she is getting to heal and to work on herself, the way her reality is playing out. Having multiple ego-deaths, and going though phases of self/identity shedding (ouroboros style) will wash us of our different disfunctionalities. But not many are lucky to walk that path/direction. I don't know how awake she is. But as Ralston once said about enligtenment, "Don't expect transformation". I wish her the best.

I found a story of a man who had a NDE and was the type of person that people would have issues with his world view and actions. So sit down get comfortable and listen to a story of transformation. Its powerful!! I love it!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAd_v4IfB5w

In a 1st world democracy, it is mostly in their rights to pursue a transition in some states, and identify as a trans person in some places, but others it is tricky, especially if we throw in age of consent, and the major differences of the upbringing narrative of heterosexuality, traditional gender roles and it's function in society, compared to other forms of sexual narratives and other gender roles that's behind their mental representation systems. However, to me that's all superficial appearance, because there's a deeper truth that's related to their sexuality in their life experience, and their state of consciousness. Transexuality, as it means to me, is parts and the whole of the definition: we have trans, sex, and uality in this word. Trans is a prefix word to other words like transcendence, transcendental, transformation, transposition, transparency, transpersonal, transvers, translation and all the common meanings of these words denotes a going beyond, or going meta, away and above the following implied meanings of the root and suffixes of those words. Then we have sex, as in the act of procreation and reproduction in biological male and female bodies, exchange of biological fluids and genetic material for the formation of offspring who will inherit the mother and father's genes, which is deeply attached and tied to our survival as an ego, from the person level to group level. We finally have this strange word, uality, which is phonetically and literally open to interpretation, could be duality, or reality, or unity. So, to me, transsexuality is a state of being that is more freer from the attachments of sexuality normally common and enforced by the EGO, individual to collective, from mainstream culture. As a way of life, it's challenging, given the prolific heterosexual narrative of a culture seen in mainstream information ecology like in tv shows, movies, social media, news, social gatherings and events, life experiences in a city or village. Not to mention that if we factor in stages of development, cognitive and moral development, personality traits, ego development, other states of consciousness and being, and other life experiences, we end up with a trans perskn that doesn't fit into a simple box, but is a ckmplex entity onto itself. How can society standards and government adjust to trans person and integrate them into society, while managing varying degrees of backlash from different groups with different perspectives?

And I know you'll say how I'm a burden Yeah, do your worst, all at once I know what you want from me, from me I know what you're thinking And it's not the voice of all the others You've only said it to yourself I know what you want from me, from me I know what you're thinking, thinking... Lovecraft also had a lifelong interest in dreams, and many of his stories are the product of his dreams. The unconscious symbolizes the archetype of the unknown. The dreamlands in Lovecraft's world are windows into forbidden knowledge and forces beyond humanity's understanding. A vast, uncanny and incomprehensible dimension that can be answered through dreams. The dream cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by Lovecraft. One of the most noticeable of which is, the dream quest of unknown kadath - illustrating the scope and wonder of humankind's ability to dream. Everyone has their own dreamland but share a common general land of vision. And I know you'll say how I'm a burden Yeah, do your worst, all at once I know what you want from me, from me I know what you're thinking, thinking And though they sound like one another You've only said it to yourself I know what you want from me, from me I know what you're thinking, thinking... Lovecraft's stories are so bizarre that the average reader is stripped of all their preconceptions about reality, and even their sense of self. In the stories, the characters who fear the loss of individuality and attempt to preserve it are the ones who fall into madness. The concept of otherness, of the quality of being different, is important to be integrated. The self and the other are to be simultaneously accepted. In the story, through the gate of the silver key, the protagonist Randolph Carter, holds the silver key and opens the ultimate gate - there he sees his past and future selves, yet he also begins to see Carters in every known and suspected age of earth's history. These Carters are all equally himself. He even notes how each small decision alters who each of those Carters become in their own timelines. This omniscient awareness gives way to a loss of individuality - one learns that one is no longer a definite being - distinguished from other beings, therefore the other becomes just as worthy of acceptance and consideration as one's self. This is a transformation from paranoia to schizomadness. Concepts which are used as philosophical metaphors describing perceptions of one's identity, those with paranoia have an urge to align everything with their identity and disregard otherness. On the other hand, schizomadness refers to an integration of the unconscious, accepting other identities, beings and one's simultaneous place among them. This is also reminiscent of Carl Jung's approach of individuation, where one integrates one's unconscious content in order to advance towards the self, one must accept the loss of individuality by acknowledging that one is not the master of one's own house, but this is usually met with paranoid persistence. Through the reading of Lovecraft, the reader goes through their own anti-human becoming, a window into otherness unveils the monster as none other than one's self and the horror to change this is the only monster we are meant to conquer. In the outsider, Lovecraft tells the tale of a man who lives in solitude in a decaying dark castle and can't recall when or if he ever saw a living person. He decides to climb the tower into the unknown outer sky, since it was better to glimpse the sky and parish, then to live without ever seeing the light of day. He enters a window and is met with people who's faces were hideously distorted with fear, fleeing with horrible screams. The man trembles at the thought of what might be lurking near him unseen, he then sees a reflection. I know always that I am an outsider, a stranger in this century, and among those who are still men, this I have known ever since I have stretched out my fingers to the abomination within that great gilded frame, stretched out my fingers and touched a cold and unyielding surface of polished glass.

I've never been diagnosed but I'm almost certain I have social anxiety, I experience a lot of the same things you do. One thing I've noticed is that I'm awful at socialising when I'm sober, but when I have a few drinks I can easily be the most sociable person in the room, and I actually enjoy socialising a lot when I'm tipsy. It's a very big transformation I'm not recommending alcohol as a solution, however it did show me that it's actually possible to enjoy talking to people and that has been very valuable The main difference mentally is that I'm not really afraid to express myself in that state, things enter my mind and I say them. Compared to when I'm sober and it feels like I have 10 filters something has to pass through before I allow myself to express it.

No doubt was Jackson an extremely racist slaveowner. However, his nationwide expansion of democracy to every white man in the country regardless of class, money, background, etc. was such a historic step forward for America that fundamentally changed all of society for the better right after the Jeffersonian era. I don't see how I am cherry picking dates and events, when each of those periods I mentioned in my first post all FUNDAMENTALLY REFORMED THE STRUCTURE OF ALL OF THE USA approximately every 10 to 30 years. Legalizing gay marriage in every state is definitely some kind of significant progress just like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank were too. However, all of those progressive wins along with every other positive smaller things that happened during the Obama era all together still didn't end up creating nearly as much progress for society as Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal did or as much as Wilson's New Freedom agenda, or as much as the New Deal programs did, or as much as the Great society policies did. That's one major reason why many people including many liberals, many black and brown people, and many poor people in the US have felt like Obama let them all down. By no means were TR (Teddy Roosevelt), Wilson, FDR, and JFK/LBJ perfect, but I don't think that most people have ever really believed or said that any of those guys let them down when it came to domestic affairs. It's only been hard conservatives who have hated everything those presidents did. I mean our country desperately needs to undergo some kind of progressive historic transformation on the level that each of those legendary presidents were each able to accomplish during their times as president in the 1900s. I know that this hasn't happened since around 1969 because no liberal president since then has ever had the votes that either TR, Wilson, FDR, or LBJ had with Congress. But isn't there some way that we can get those massive amount of votes in both chambers of Congress needed for some kind liberal or progressive president who would be able and willing to pass a flood of new laws that would make dramatic structural reforms for America that people like me are talking about?

In this spiritual journey, you'll have to develop a 'no self' or 'no-I' palate for integrating spirituality in daily life. In simpler terms, this is the first time you can consciously reduce the sense of I, separation and craving levels to a noticeable degree where your state of consciousness changes. Once you feel the inklings of this transformation in your formal sessions (or daily life), I encourage you to go after it and replicate this insight experience over and over again. This is not the time to distract yourself with entertainment. Re-create the same circumstances - causes and conditions - which enabled you to reduce the sense of I looking at the world. --- How to Nurture This No-I Awareness: To reduce the shortcomings of open eyes and effectively practice, do the following: 1- Visual field strongly increases the illusion of duality and separateness. A self looking at the world. In daily life, whenever you are interacting with anything, looking at anything, allow the no-I perception to show its colors through reminding yourself the insight. You'll instantly recognize the same perception rearing its head by reducing craving, self perception and overall ease pervading your conscious experience. That is how you know you are doing it right. You'll also experience puny self-centered thoughts (planning, worrying etc) losing a lot of their pull over you. Do this each moment in daily life. Warning: This will feel quite disorienting. You might find it very challenging to walk straight or speak with people. This is the initial shock. It will get easier as the insight matures. Don't be too hard on yourself. Keep your energy levels high. Smile often to create a sense of ease. Then continue to maintain this no-I awareness each time you look at the world. This form of nurturing as a practice is absolutely essential for spiritual development. To reduce the shortcomings of closed eyes and effectively practice, do the following: 2- Make sure your body doesnt feel like a burden. Since closed eyes facilitate greater awareness of body sensations, thoughts and emotions, it is important to have enough equanimity, joy and tranquility to reduce the illusion of a self. Otherwise, closing your eyes and meditating will be more challenging than open-eye meditation. You need to nurture this awareness of no-I in both ways to experience insights. If you feel like there is not enough lubricating elements of samatha, then it is time to do more samatha prior to this insight process with closed eyes. --- Once you do this practice, slowly integrate your favorite hobbies and activities with open eyes. Be patient and do this every morning. I hope I don't have to say that you need to start your day with a strong formal session to enhance this awareness for the rest of the day If dullness or drowsiness sets in throughout the day, open your eyes and continue maintaining no-I awareness the best you can. If you are extremely fatigued, then take a nap and continue the practice. No need to force the mind to energize itself if it is too sleep-deprived. Much love,

In doing research for my business, I have been developing a list of qualities associated with authenticity. some of these are definitions that I have thought about and "come up with" but many of them coming from articles online. A concept of personality in the fields of psychology, existential psychotherapy, existential philosophy, and aesthetics In existentialism: Authenticity is the degree to which a persons actions are congruent with their values an desires, despite external pressures to social conformity. Authenticity in art: A work of art that is faithful to the values of the artist. Un the field of psychology: authenticity identifies a person living n accordance with their TRUE SELF, personal values, rather than according to the external demands of society, such as social conventions, duty, and tradition. Independent thought, thinking for ones self. Knowing ones self. Values Desires Strengths Avoiding herd mentality, standing alone. Reliable, accurate representation The individual takes responsibility for proactively shaping their beleifs, then the be willing to act on those beliefs. To say that something is authentic is to say that it is what it professes to be, or what it is reputed to be, in origin or authorship Authenticity describes a person who acts in accordance with desires, motives, ideals or beliefs that are not only hers (as opposed to someone else’s), but that also express who she really is. Integrated Whole True to ones self, for one's own benefit. Independent of external and psychological pressure. "Language of personal resonance" "Not just being involved in the authorship of such a law, but about how this law fits with the wholeness of a person’s life, and how or whether it expresses who the person is." - (Menke 2008) Inner connection Intuition Introspective examination of one’s inner motives, values, intentions and conscience. Inward and Upward. Becoming what one IS. Being ones Own. Owning up, owning what one does. Human being is a “relation of being”, a relation that obtains between what one is at any moment (the immediacy of the concrete present as it has evolved) and what one can and will be as the temporally extended unfolding or happening of life into an open realm of possibilities. To the extent that our lives are unowned or disowned, existence is inauthentic (uneigentlich), not our own (eigen). to realize the capacity for authenticity, one must undergo a personal transformation a relation between two aspects or dimensions making up human existence. Intrinsic motivation and desire. standing up for and standing behind what one does—as owning and owning up to one’s deeds as an agent in the world—becomes possible in this sort of resolute commitment to the “for the sake of which” of one’s existence Anything you would add to this list?

@Loba (Posting here, cuz thread got locked). I honestly don't think I could have ever recovered without your writings. Most of the content out there is in one direction, your contents is in another, and it stands out. It gives me the balance I'm looking for. At a surface level, one might think that you don't have a lot to offer, because you don't often flaunt much logical understanding that most people cater to and consume. But in reality, you do understand logic, better than most as I see it, and at the same time you see and understand patterns/non-logic, which is something not everyone is capable of. Actually, I don't know any people who are capable of the latter, let alone both together. The value I get from reading you is non-linear, so it's not like "Oh, yeah. That makes sense." It's more like "This doesn't make much sense logically at least for now, but maybe it will someday or in some other way." And so with time, it actually does. The alchemical transformation you talk about is legit, it has been since the early days of your older journal. Your writings showcase that in themselves and in others who read them (my experience at least), with time and patience and open-mindedness. You are a great writer, because you are genuine, honest, and have a great mind-heart-body integration. Thank you, honestly. Keep on doing what you love, even if the world is not ready for it yet, as long as it resonates with you. You're a goldmine. And if anyone is lucky enough, they will stumble on your journals and maybe they'll learn something if they are ready.

Carl, I have a question - do you keep report history available? Because that chick was goading me and the other dude into an argument nearly the whole day. I had reported those before asking my question here, and they were removed by either the girl or a mod, but I am not sure by who. This chick isn't some innocent bystander or anything like that, she surmised I was talking with someone by following them, and me around on this website and then started freaking out about it. Do these reports allow mods to see the whole picture before adding confusion to the fray? @Knowledge Hoarder Not so, try reading my recent journal entries, they're all about alchemical transformation, I use energy work to bring peace onto planet earth, you know very little about me. Now might be a good time to inform yourself. Or don't, I don't care one way or the other. Also, reported and blocked, goodbye little kid. @Gesundheit2 Thanks Ges. That actually means a lot to me. I feel that once they're done, they're pretty well-rounded and thought out but I was wondering if at the end of the day it was just a hobby for myself and only myself.

Fear of death is only for the ego and the separate self that think it is not a part of everything else. But passing this fear is and can be the hardest thing to do as a separate self. Because all your life, you have been buying in to this dream and everything about it. Including this thing called death. Fear of death is really a huge fear of having to be selfless, and stop caring only about yourself, and start caring about reality as a whole. The ego will hijack this truth with giving you/us a HUGE fear of death. Death is an illusion. But it is the roughest illusion there can ever be, because there Is so much stored up deception, thoughts, emotions, fear and a primordial weight around it. Even though I have been through my fear of death during 50+ trips, and thought I already moved past this. I was surprised few weeks ago during a DMT trip where I was being strangulated with love by God. Because I had asked so thoroughly what REAL AWAKENING was. And of course, it is behind this primordial fear of death. I went through the biggest trauma of my life. Because I had feared death since I was a child. I was becoming Infinite, while I was being choked to death by God. And the love of Reality. And I resisted it of course, because my fear of death was apparently greater than becoming one with God. Until a few days later where I told myself that I wasn't going to live with this fear anymore. I was so done with this crap. Having to fear this for 25+ years. I took 3-4 tabs of LSD and deliberately went in to a deep state of meditation, and stopped my heart. I passed out after that, and went through THE BIGGEST awakening ever. And saw the illusion of life, outside this dream. I was EVERYTHING. And my fear of death, was really my fear of being EVERYTHING. My fear of death, was owning it to myself that I was God. Or shall I say: There Is Only God. My body passed out for I don't know how long, while I was going through this transformation. And I became so Conscious that I became unconscious. I could have been there forever. But I didn't really know I was gone, until I came back. I returned to "my body" and It was the most surreal experience of my life. I'm still shocked that I am living and that I still Am. But I live with the joy of life and appreciation for what is. Rather than fearing what may be, or what will happen in the future.

Nice! One day I'll post my 9 year all natty transformation, both muscles and hairline ?

@thisintegrated He has no overarching structure or formulation enfolding (perceiving/prospecting); he has no true external objective (lack of judging). All of it, this project, is an internal process that is externally disoriented (Ti life purpose devoid of Fe, which is not a well-constructed and sensible Te plan) wherein he had described his entire catalogue of videos as documentation of his awakening and transformation (a Ti-exclusive illustration of this going on over time). He often is brought to tears through external people's emotions and meanings and traits (by naked images of other people or movies that other people have made, that being a signifier of Fe). This is all on top of the fact he actually scored as an INTP, which statistically points to him truly being one.

Notes: In alchemy Nigredo, or blackness means petrification of decomposition. It was believed by alchemists that the first steps towards to philosopher's stone required all the ingredients to be cleansed and cooked excessively to a uniform black matter, but what does this Nigredo phase mean for our physiological wellbeing? How does it operate in our unconscious? What are the implications of this process when viewed at the collective level? Is it the same as shadow work? What does the blackness represent? Let's uncover the truth to these and other questions. For Carl Jung the purpose of alchemy is to liberate the whole individual which is hidden in the darkness, threatened by the rational and correct conduct of life. Consequently experiencing themselves as hindered and on the wrong path, the Nigredo, or blackness was the initial stage of the alchemical process. It is the original dark chaos, also known as massa confusa, where all the elements were chaotically swirling around together. It could also represent the state of separations, where the elements were separated from one another. I could also represent the state of separation where the elements are separated from one another, in this state a union of opposites is needed and male and female lay together to produce a third. This third product of their union is marked for death and so the mourning period begins, the Nigredo phase. Putrefactio and mortifactio are two aspects of the Nigredo phase where the former means rotting and the later means killing. Here we see how this phase is closely associated with death, Saturn rules Nigredo phases, and the opposites that need unification are the sun and the moon. Let's not forget that Saturn is also the god of fertility, this means that the alchemical expression is a fertile earth expressed as a transformation as death into a new life. The head of a raven is another traditional name for the Nigredo phase. In the practice of analytical psychology, the term Nigredo becomes a metaphor for the dark night of the soul, when an individual confronts the shadow within himself. Carl Jung claims that the shadow personifies everything that the subject refuses to see in himself and represents a tight passage, a narrow door whose painful constriction, no one is spared who goes down to the deep well. When an individual makes an attempt to see his shadow he becomes aware of and often ashamed of those qualities and impulses he denies in himself, but can plainly see in others such things. This is a painful and lengthy work of self education. Alchemists projected their inner psychic contents to matter and their transformational practices concerning it, the Nigredo that was the black work of alchemists represented a critical involvements experienced by the ego until it accepts the newly formed equilibrium brought by the creation of the self. For Jungians the Nigredo phase could be interpreted in two mains ways: First - the subject is unaware of the unconscious i.e. the connection with the instincts. Nigredo here makes the subject bringing about awareness to his unconscious. Second - says that the Nigredo is a part of the individuation process which is subjectively experienced and brought about by the subjects growing painful awareness of his shadow aspects. It is a prerequisite for personal development. As the individuation unfolds, the confrontation with the shadow produces at first a dead balance, a standstill that hampers moral decision and makes convictions ineffective or impossible - Negredo; chaos, melancholia. Melancholy can arise when working on ones self, the alchemists advice music to leave the alive the soul. The Nigredo phase is followed by deep emotions, it is slow, repetitive, difficult, dissecting, effortful, severe and pulverizing. Allthewhile the worker enters a Nigredo state; depressed, confused, anguished and subject to pessimistic even paranoid thoughts of sickness, failure and death. Mourning is caused by the loss of an object or person who carried an important projected value, and in order to withdraw projections and assimilate their content into one's own personality, it is necessary to experience the loss of the projected as a prelude to rediscovering the content or value within, therefore mourners are fortunate because they are involved in a growth process. They will be comforted when the lost projected value has been recovered within the psyche. This is the darkest time of despair and disillusionment. All of this gives the power for the enantiodromia to take place where the Nigredo phase gives way to the Albedo phase, where the decent into the unconscious suddenly becomes an illumination from the psychic realms above. Enantiodromia: Jung describes it as an emergence of the unconscious opposite in the course of time, this characteristic phenomenon always occurs when an extreme one sided tendency dominates conscious life. In time an equally powerful counter-position is built up, which first inhibits the conscious performance and subsequently breaks through the conscious control. When it comes to the colour black - it carries the meanings of the random and the formless, like a black hole it sucks into it and makes vanish the fundamental security structures of a Western consciousness, by abstaining colour, black prevents phenomena from presenting their virtues. Black's deconstruction of any positivity, experienced as doubt, negative thinking, suspicious, undoing, valuelessness, explains why the Nigredo is necessary to every paradigm shift. On the mythological level Nigredo represents the difficulties that men needed to overcome on the Hero's Journey. Alchemists said that the Nigredo stage lasts 40 days. 40 days has a symbolic value. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert. St. Antonius spent 40 days in the Sahara desert being plagued by visions. The Israelites wandered for 40 days in the desert and there are 40 days of fasting between Easter and the Ascension day. When it comes to literary works, the raven, but Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare's Ophelia come to mind. In the birth of the Red Book entitled, "Decent into the Hell in the Future", we find the following dark passage: I see a grey rock face along, which I sink into great depths, I stand in black dirt, up to my ankles in a dark cave, shadows sweep over me, I am seized by fear but I know I must go in. I crawl through a narrow crack in the rock and reach an inner cave whose bottom is covered in black water, but beyond this I catch a glimpse of an illuminated red stone which I must reach, I wade through the muddy water. The cave is full of the frightful noise and shrieking voices. I take the stone. It covers a dark opening in the rock. I hold the stone in my hand, peering around inquiry. I do not want to listen to the voices, they keep my away but I want to know. Here something wants to be uttered. I place my ear to the opening. I hear the flow of underground waters. I see the bloody head of a man in the dark stream, someone wounded, someone slain floats there. I take this image for a long time, shuddering. I see a large black scarab floating past on the dark stream, in the deepest reach of the stream shines a red sun, radiating through the dark water, there I see and the terror seizes me. Small serpents in the dark rock walls, striding towards the depths where the sun shines, a thousand serpents crowd around, veiling the sun, deep night falls. A red stream of blood, thick, red blood springs up, surging for a long time, then ebbing. I am seized by fear. What did I see? In conclusion, a Nigredo phase is a psychological process that can be also viewed as shadow work. Here a problem is given full attention by being reduced to its core. It is not done purely in an intellectual manner, but in an emotional one. Confrontation with our inner reality is often painful and can lead to extreme states of feeling. This confrontation makes us understand what we project to others and the world. It makes us become aware of our own darkness. Only through this process where our false ideas and beliefs are burned away do be become aware of what we really are, as Nigredo is the first stage of the individuation process which alchemists believe to be the making of the philosopher's stone - lead to gold, psychologically and spiritually.

You are naturally attracted to the specific forms or types of information, tools and techniques which align with your current belief systems, in order to guide yourself through the awakenings that are most relevant for you specifically. But do understand that only you yourself possess the creative power to change anything, you are the only source of power. You choose to label, interpret, give meaning to or decide to utilise the imagined effect of some kind of external tool or methodology in order to give yourself permission to experience the desired inner growth, expansion or awakening about your true divine nature of reality and experience. Bashar very clearly explains this understanding in this clip about what he terms 'permission slips': This fundamental understanding will help anyone greatly on their unique path of awakening when truly applied to physical daily life experience. I highly recommend listening to this explanation of how all tools, ideas, objects, philosophies etc. operate in our consciousness by what they represent to us personally and how we interact with them psychically, It is of no importance what type of 'permission slip' you choose to embrace in order to allow yourself the experience of the transformation or awakening you desire. Like Leo already answered: experiment, discover and explore whatever works for you currently by trusting your intuition, sense of alignment, flow, passion, highest excitement, following your heart's intelligence or higher guidance to tune yourself vibrationally. A very common pitfall for many is projecting way too much power onto some illusory thing that is inherently meaningless or neutral, apart from the meaning you as the creator give it. Which can quickly become a limiting perspective, belief or identification when you have naturally integrated the specific wisdom or consciousness that certain approach symbolised for you, and are now ready for the next level or dimension of your self realisation. Therefore it is wise to always stay open and receptive in order to at least notice the energetic resonance, synchronicities, intuitive messages and new inspiration that might currently be much more valuable and relevant than all previously believed in or identified with forms, ideas, substances, tools, methodologies, philosophies etc. Everything is always changing, you are always changing, always discovering, exploring, deciding, giving meaning to, creating, but also supporting, guiding, inviting and enlightening yourself from a higher or different point of view. The actual creative challenge you have given yourself with this current incarnation could for example be expressed as: How can I allow myself to be more fully enjoying this apparent contrast and my life experience? What does speak to my imagination or inspires me the most? Who do I truly wish to be or what type of energy do I want to radiate? To which topic or perspective do I wish to contribute? What do I regard as valuable and wish to represent or share with other selves?

@Leo Gura In all honestly Leo I don't mind that answer, and I'm not suggesting that you're wrong. I acknowledge that there is significant depth to what you have to teach, that's why I'm participating on your forum and asking you questions. I'm not trying to bother you. If I didn't have respect for you, I wouldn't be here. Despite what you may think, I bet I've spent as much time listening to and contemplating your videos (at least within the time since I discovered you) as anyone else here. But, you must admit that what you've said thus far doesn't demonstrate that you have a superior understanding of Advaita Vedanta, or any understanding whatsoever. Nor does it settle precisely how you think I'm misrepresenting the teachings. My questions to you are not rhetorical, and they are not presented in bad faith. I'm a genuine person asking you genuine questions, and although you make it unbelievably difficult to have a mature/productive conversation, I'm willing to put that aside to see what I might learn. I'm more open-minded than you may think. You must at minimum concede that you know very little about me, and yet assume so much. Aren't you the guy with the video on how assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups? So, if you're unwilling to address my questions then so be it, but if you change your mind and feel up for the challenge of actually bringing some rigor to your criticisms of how I and/or Shambhu have misunderstood the true Advaita Vedanta, then I'm all ears, and I'll gladly open my mind to what you have to say. That is a promise. Furthermore, it's not like Vedanta is just one teaching. There are many schools, many ways of thought, many lines of argumentation, and many interpretations. The notion of immutability comes from the Vivartavada and Ajatavada theories. Not all schools of Vedanta adhere to this way of thought, and although there are many schools of Advaita Vedanta, you will typically find agreement amongst Advaitins regarding Brahman as immutable. It sounds to me that you may resonate more with the Parinamavada, which is the notion that the world is a real transformation (Parinama) of Brahman. Where as in contrast, Vivartavata is the notion that the world is merely an unreal manifestation (Vivarta) of Brahman. Vivartavada states that although Brahman appears to undergo a transformation, no real change takes place. The myriad of beings are unreal manifestation, as the only real being is Brahman, that ultimate reality which is unborn, unchanging, and entirely without parts. Ajatavada is similar but slightly more radical, and is favored by the Neo-Advaitins. This is where they get the idea that nothing ever happened. It was famously expounded by Gaudapada (Shankara's guru's guru) in his Karika on Mandukya Upanishad. Ok, will you consider a healthy discussion with me? I'd be very grateful. I assure you, I'm not looking for an argument here. I have no interest in lecturing you, on the contrary, I'm asking you to lecture me. What is your precise understanding of Advaita Vedanta? And how does it relate and/or contrast to what you've discovered directly via awakening? This is what I want to ask you. Thanks for your consideration.

Yes they definitely can. And I am speaking from experience, also from what I have seen in others. But so can LSD. It too can open up the heart. It just depends on what your intentions are going in with. But mushrooms tend to deliver the punch a bit ruthlessly, at times Set and setting is key here, for these types of trips. Put on some comfy clothes, prepare some fruity snacks, and a lot of water. Put on some relaxing meditation music of your choice (preferably something that touches your heart) and just dive deep in to yourself. It depends on how much you give in to it. How fearlessly you are willing to face everything that is no longer serving you as a being. Inquire deep in to yourself: Do I want to be capable of being more emphatic towards myself and others? Am I willing to stop telling this story about myself? What do I have to give up about myself, to integrate this aspect of myself? Am I ready to face myself? Am I ready for change? What does it mean to open my heart? What am I missing here? What am I running away from: By being cold, distant and not connecting with others, on an emotional level? Is this just a programming I have received from people close to me? Have I received the emotional connection from others, when I have been in a rough/tough situation? And what did it look like when someone connected to me deeply? What did I feel when I was seen? The trip is just going to be there as a catalyst and a helping hand. You still have to take the necessary steps to go beyond your programs, lies, fears and illusions. Maybe try to have someone trip sit for you, if you think it might go out of hand, and if you don't trust yourself. But the more you own it yourself, the better the transformation will be. Edit: (Regarding autism: I have no first hand experience of this, but have been friends with a guy who has autism/asberger. And he absolutely hated taking psychedelics. He resisted the whole thing and it made him worse. Mostly because of his traumas. So don't take my word on this matter, this is just from my experience and others who I have observed. Take everything that is said here, with a grain of salt.) I am no professional when it comes to autism/asberger + psychedelics.

I too had my first major awakening at 19 lol. I was in deep existential crisis then and thanks to huge psychological suffering and victimhood I had this one year of strong motivation of digging and digging. Then synchronistically "Power of Now" by Eckhart showed up and half year later Jed Mckenna. And of course daily meditation before and after high school. And then one day the universe went silent for 5 minutes and disappeared. But I still had rigid atheistic, logical, materialist mind so after that began the Spiritual transformation of the character that is taking place to this date. Really only after 2 years after that glimpse and after taking 5g of shrooms I really viscerally believed in God (as I). So I would say that this existential dread comes in waves, and it is different for each person. But the end of high school, end of your twenties, mid-life crisis all seem potent to create suffering deep enough to have the motivation to strip away the ego.