Focus Shift

@KennedyCarter See, but that is somewhat of a paradox. Desiring to not be attached to an outcome is still an attachment to an outcome "How can I desire not to date someone, so I can date them?". Mark Manson instead suggests to be more direct in our intentions, and move on if it doesn't work out.

What are your experiences, if any, with mantras when paired with meditation? In the past two years I've been working with a Tantric Buddhist as a mentor on the left hand path. He's given me a number of mantras to different deities, such as The Vajra Sattva, Kali, Tara, and Jambhala. As someone with an agnostic upbringing, I find the philosophy of spirituality to be quite appealing. These mantras however have helped me build a relationship with these entities. What do you think of using mantras or offerings to make contact with Gods or Goddesses?

@unborn_chicken Find places that resonate with what you like to do. Yoga classes can be a good way to meet open minded/spiritual people, some may even be free depending on where you're from. A coffee shop may be good, bookstores, meditation centers, etc. Meetup.com is a good place to find stuff that you're into I used to be quite reserved in college but in the past two years I've been putting myself out there a lot more, you'll be amazed to find how many people like us are out there.

@Olivia24 Typically I work out 2 to 3 times a week, things like running, yoga, pull ups, crunches, push ups, etc. My vitamin D was pretty low and I've been feeling a bit better since taking that.

@Michael569 I'll bring this up to my prescriber. He did suggest we start weening the dose down. I have to keep an eye on that though because it's a condition I'd rather not leave to chance.

I did a blood test and my Vitamin D was really low, I've been taking that and I'm starting to feel better. Thanks everyone for the suggestions though, more content on the way!

Zen Buddhism seems to have a mixed view on psychedelics, which of course varies depending on the Zen Master you speak to. On the one hand, it cannot be denied that psychedelics produce mystical experiences as described in eastern writings. It is not uncommon for people to have a psychedelic experience and then take up a meditation practice soon after. Others who are more traditional think that psychedelics are a cheat, and produce a more shallow kensho (as opposed to getting there purely with decades of meditation). Is the belief that enlightenment can only be attained through meditation (and not through psychedelics) just religious dogma, or is it beneficial to have a practice like Yoga or Zen before radically altering one's consciousness?

@Preety_India That, and my next one is very long I've heard that there's brain fog if you've had covid so I'll look into that as well.

What happens when you die? This is a question that I'm sure we've all pondered since learning about death from a young age. To a religious fundamentalist, life is a test to determine if you go to heaven or hell. To a skeptic, when our brain stops working we go to oblivion forever. For those who are more spiritual, reincarnation is a viable explanation. I give a few examples of past life and near death experiences, as well as The Tibetan Book of the Dead to find out what happens when we die.

JP is one of my favorite figures (as is this platform), but I thought the critique was very precise and fair. I like how it showed what multiple states of consciousness get right, as well as what they need to integrate.

I remember a few years back, Leo had a video about building a strong infrastructure. This includes practices like backing up all your files to multiple hard drives regularly so that if one fails, you won't lose all your work, keeping track of all your paperwork, getting the right software and hardware to optimize the systems you have in place. In other words, getting the small stuff right so the big stuff becomes easy. What about your social systems? A naïve employee could give sensitive information to your competitors inadvertently, hackers could use social media to get into your passwords, or go dumpster diving to retrieve financial information. Social Engineering could also be used to observe body language and micro expressions to see if someone is telling the truth or if rapport is built. What systems do you have in place to ensure you don't get "hacked"? As Napoleon Hill once said, “War is ninety percent information”.

@Leo Gura I like both your work and JP, it would be a great discussion for sure. I'm sure there's overlap with both of your audiences who would listen eagerly.

This is one that I found from the Christopher Ryan podcast. Pretty solid green outlook http://anyakaats.com/podcast/

To me, Peterson seems to be more Orange, strong emphasis on individualism, dislike of ethnocentrism and collectivism (blue and green).

@SamC I like a lot of Peterson's work too, I don't think he opposes feminism per se (equal opportunity for the sexes), and in fact has suggested that women should be more disagreeable in a workplace to become more successful.

What are your experiences with DMT? Do you think that DMT offers answers for investigating the nature of reality? Are psychedelics necessary for having a mystical experience?

Huxley points out that although mystics acknowledge miracles as "real" they are a distraction to true spirituality. What do you make of psychic powers, the paranormal, and levitation? I levitate in this one for real! I didn't use After Effects I promise

@WaveInTheOcean Yes, I believe this is what the Perennial Philosophy, and other mystics have pointed to.

The sixties, not unlike our current time, was filled with strife and social conflict. However, it was also a time of expanding awareness through new and eastern ways of being. With greater acceptance of psychedelics today, are we seeing a more precise psychedelic renaissance today?

“The divine Ground of all existence is a spiritual Absolute, ineffable in terms of discursive thought, but (in certain circumstances) susceptible of being directly experienced and realized by the human being. This absolute is the God without form of Hindu and Christian mystical phraseology. The Last end of man, the ultimate reason for human existence, is unitive knowledge of the divine ground - the knowledge that can come only to those who are prepared to die to self, and so make room, as it were, for God. Out of any given generation of men and women very few will achieve the final end of human existence; but the opportunity for coming to unitive knowledge will, in one way or another, continually be offered until all sentient beings realize Who in fact they are.” - Aldous Huxley

Not gunna lie when he said they call that bull Nancy Pelosi I lol'd

Where does man end and reality begin?

When we think of science, typically we think that theories are verified or unverified by a rigorous process. Unlike literature or philosophy for example, where different interpretations can be argued about forever. Is science purely no-nonsense and rigorous? Or are there theories that can be argued about forever? What are the limits of science? Does science have a lifespan, and if so, when will it end? There's also a few jabs at Richard Dawkins in this one

@Rilles It's a great book by John Horgan that I got a while back and finally got around to reading Figured it was very fitting with Leo's critique of materialism.