Leo Gura

Walter is an example of someone how DOESN'T have self-governance. He's a slave to his neurotic mind, and ultimately it gets him killed (spoiler alert). So... yeah... You don't wanna be Walter. Dysfunctional characters are fun to watch on screen, but you don't want their life.

@Huz Sure, because Truth technically has nothing to do with morality or proper conduct. One could know the Truth and nuke the entire planet, just like one could know that 1+1=2 and then murder their family. Knowing 1+1=2 isn't necessarily connected to any particular mode of behavior. Just because I know 1+1=2 doesn't necessarily mean I'll be nice to you. Many spiritual aspirants make the mistake of conflating Truth with moral behavior. The reality is that immoral behavior is equally as true as moral behavior.

An egoless person would see the truth of the matter behind the concept of ownership: there cannot be a "thing" that owns another thing. That entire structure is silly if you really think about it. What is the thing doing the owning? What establishes ownership? What are you really saying when you say, "I own that thing over there"? Ownership is a convenient fiction we've created to make our lives easier. There's nothing wrong with using this fiction. It is handy for everyday living. Just understand that there isn't really anyone doing the owning, and that ownership is a completely arbitrary relationship. I could claim that I own you. It would be no more true than saying I own the Moon or that I own a car or that I own my body. Now, does this mean I don't use a car in everyday life? Of course not! I have a car and I use it, and if someone tried to steal it, I would make an effort to stop them.

Yes, this is one of the wrinkles commonly encountered on this path. Traditionally you would be beaten and yelled at for questioning a head monk in a Zen temple. And that tradition still runs through many spiritual teachings. But also there's something to it. Because many people who come into spiritual work are sooooo off-base that they need a good slap across the face to sober up from all their fantasies. The trick is in finding the right balance between harsh truths and compassion for the clueless newbie. Some teachers are more compassionate than others. Some teachers are less mature and self-developed than others. Some teachers are straight up assholes.

@Katiee The title of this thread is the title of the video with the technique.

@Dragallur Do NOT be having conversations in the middle of meditation! What nonsense is this? When you meditate, people around you should know not to approach you. If not, make it known! And be strict about it. Treat meditation like it's the most important aspect of your life.

What you want is REAL yoga (basically meditation), not the physical yoga you see at your local gym. Nothing wrong with physical yoga. It's good for the body & mind. But it won't get you enlightened. Not even close.

Sit down and be aware. Words will not help you here. They will only confuse you. You need to just sit and struggle to be aware and see what happens. You will not get a short-cut to the "answer" by asking others. That misses the point.

They can be used to aid one another. Use both! You can use illusion as a tool to help you find the truth and embody the truth. As long as you're alive, you're in the playground of illusion. So learn to play with it. But also seek the Truth.

This forum is mostly for you guys. I don't make much money off it. It mostly costs me money and time to manage it and host it. If enough of you don't like it, or you turn it into a pit of unconsciousness, I have no qualms about shutting it down. Use it as a resource for sharing useful ideas, not to gossip about shit while avoiding real-life self-actualization work. This is a problem that every community faces. Especially one in which doing hard emotional labor is required to progress. Why do you think religions exist? Exactly for this reason: they are a way to gossip and avoid the real work. That's what collective unconsciousness does. It breeds.

Depends on how wise you are to start with.

Yes, it's pretty clear McKenna doesn't give a purely objective description of enlightenment. It's highly dramatized. But also this has value, as what the ego sometimes needs most IS a dramatization, not a scientific, clinical description. McKenna's work is designed to light a fire under your ass, to punch you in the gut, to shock you awake. I do the same thing sometimes with my videos. I sacrifice truth and accuracy for an emotional punch to the gut. Because if I was truly objective and scientific, I would just come up without emotion and say: "Do whatever you want with your life. Nothing matters. Even truth is meaningless. Any action you take will be eclipsed by the ocean of time and long forgotten. Bye." But that wouldn't be very helpful to you. Most people basically have to be hoodwinked into the enlightenment. It's a delicate balance. In a sense, this is a deep problem about marketing. For marketing to be effective, it has to be a lie. That's the current state of society. No enlightenment teaching is immune to the marketing problem. Because enlightened people want to create more enlightened people. Somehow this shit needs to get marketed. You can't stop it. So then it becomes a question of... what's the best way to market it? And there are a thousand different answers. The Jews, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Yogis, Buddhists, all have their own ideas about that. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Enlightenment is in a very unique position because ANYTHING you say about its necessarily false. So in a sense, the most clinical and scientific description is no more accurate or useful than a story from the Bible. Because like Ralston says above, there is NO WAY! And what that effectively means is... it's up for grabs. People will spin it in their favorite way. And everyone has a different favorite way. You can read Ralston's book or McKenna's book, and neither one will really help you. Hell! Every minute you're reading a book, you're further from the Truth. Or both will help you! (If you're wise )

That's the difference between regular self-help and consciousness work. With consciousness work you're breaking down distinctions such as inner/outer and happy/miserable. Happiness really only comes in a consistent way when you abolish the distinction between happiness/not-happiness, and self/other. Imagine getting your teeth drilled and being happy. That's what it really takes to be happy. If you can't be happy in a situation like that, how can you truly ever be happy? Your happiness is really just accidental.

They can be related, but life purpose I think of as more monolithic and more concrete. A vision is very loosey-goosey. You could have a vision of living in a big house with a sports car. That's not what I would classify as a life purpose. You can also have many different small visions. But you should only have one life purpose.

Sorry, this will sound self-serving, but if you're stuck in life and don't know where to start, that's what the Life Purpose Course was designed to address. It's a rather deep pickle you're in, and no one video will solve it. But a 25 hour course might. A course has the structure you're currently lacking from watching one-off videos. It baby-steps you through it. Then once you've that down, the one-off videos will be much more useful to you.

Recently watched this documentary about Yogananda's life and spiritual mission in the USA in the early 1900s. Awesome stuff. Brought tears to my eyes. You can get it on Amazon: click here. Or maybe on Netflix.

It all depends on how you view death. If you view it in a negative way, then yeah, perhaps. But that's not how I personally view it. If you watched the very last video of the life purpose, you know what I'm talking about when I look at death.

Mindfulness isn't practiced to REMOVE emotions! That's to misappropriate mindfulness for ego purposes. The proper use of mindfulness is to be AWARE of emotions. So the next time you're pissed off, don't try to get rid of it, enjoy it mindfully. All meanings are ultimately false. You want to get to the point where you are aware of that and don't need any positive meaning at all. That will take practice.

On my bathroom mirror I have written: "You're gonna be DEAD soon! So enjoy existence now."

@yahoo Sounds like you got a solid foundation there of passion. You just haven't spent enough time pondering it and testing the waters career-wise. How would you feel if you taught other people how to go on adventures around the world? Or if you took other people on adventures around the world for $$$? Expand your thinking. There are HUNDREDS of possibilities just within this narrow are of adventuring. For fuck's sake, people love adventuring! You can definitely tap that passion in yourself and in them and make a decent living doing it.

@MarkusR Of course you should adopt what I say to your style. You should be learning from many other sources besides myself. But if you do the things I say, your life will transform in ways you cannot even imagine. Sure, some of the stuff I say will not fit your personality type. Learn to ignore those parts. Yes, I used the word should!

@TriniVal Sounds like you need more business knowledge and training. Invest in that. There are so many great business training programs available. Choose one and stick to it like a motherfucker. Failure is NOT the enemy. Your lack of seriousness and commitment is. Get your doubts ironed out and focus, focus, focus.

Treat money like a tool, not as a goal. If you need X amount of money to get your life purpose accomplished, they saving up some money can be a smart move. But don't chase the money. You will actually sell yourself short that way. If I had followed money, there would be no Actualized.org I followed my purpose instead and now money is irrelevant and plentiful AT THE SAME TIME! I can pretty much guarantee you'll regret chasing money, in the end.

If you really are this moment, then when this moment disappears, do you disappear?

I'm closing this topic down. This forum is still quite small. If we start fracturing the community then it may not thrive and even die. Keep your discussions here please, so all members benefit. That's what the forum is for.