Enlightenment

@PlayTheGame I've had weed induced DPDR. Later, after it resolved did 5-MeO, DPT, 1-p LSD, 2CB and never had any problems with it. Classic serotonergic psychedelics don't tend to induce DPDR. Stay away from salvia Divinorum and high doses of weed

But then how can you say you are unlimited when even on 5-MeO breakthrough, awareness still has the same set of shapes and colors? This is probably the biggest mystery for me. Even tho I've had a breakthrough, like you say colores and shapes didn't disappear (I had my eyes open). Isn't there a possibility that awareness is in fact, a mental construct, a composite of physical and mental phenomena?

@Leo Gura Frank Yang did breakthrough doses of 5-MeO and said he had similar experiences on Samatha/vipassana retreat. He is experienced meditator

@Meta-Man

@Leo Gura Why would you even take a possibility of maintaining an alerted state like on 5-MeO, sober, seriously? Nobody assumes cocaine/heroin/weed state can be maintained sober, why it would be different with 5-MeO?

There's truth in that. I completely agree with Leo that 99 if not 100% of spiritual teachers have not reached levels as high as him. Those levels are simply unsustainable and he calls them awakening which I think confuses many people because awakening is understood as something that sticks in a more permanent way. Why not call it 5-MeO peak/merging with the Godhead/Pure consciousness experience?

Why God? Why did you make me a complaining creature? Nobody would be complaining if they would feel bliss beyond ecstasy all the time

Where you totally awake in one of your "live awakening" videos?

You mean high school kid who is able to follow instructions from youtube

It's soo true. Alcohol plays such a big role in society's survival. I was contemplating lately why then population just didn't evolve eventually to the ones who do not need to dampen their fear with alcohol in order to find a mate. I think it comes down to the fact that such very low neurotic/fearless people are simply not optimal for survival either, they would not care enough in other areas of life and therefore would not be the best survival machines. The best scenario seems to be - be anxious and afraid enough so you care enough about career, money, kids, health, whether you fit in a group etc. but also have a magic substance (alcohol) to dampen your amygdala activity on Friday night and be able to talk to girls.

Well, it will invalidate the whole notion of the Ultimate Reality, if you can get higher and higher and it doesn't seem to end

Precisely that But it does invalidate the whole idea of enlightenment as the end of suffering. I've experienced a horrible, stress-induced major depressive episode with anxiety, which lasted ~14 months while being in a non-dual, no sense of self and agency state. It was easier to bear but it was still tremendous suffering. During that time I've tried so many things and almost nothing worked, the only things that gave me some relief were antidepressants and anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen. Xanax worked great but it builds tolerance very quickly and you can actually die from the withdrawals, so I was fucked. BTW I've also tried 5-MeO and it did nothing to my depression/anxiety long-term (I mean like 1 day+). Kenneth Folk said that during his episode he was able to temporarily end suffering by going into a Jhana, I was not able to reliably enter Jhanas unfortunately. Now I have a whole new perspective on why people call cessation of consciousness Nirvana. Even at the peak of my depression, if I only could fall asleep, I would go completely unconscious and it felt amazing.

It's been completely lost I still distinguish effort from effortless. It's just that regardless of whether or not I have to use effort it doesn't have a 'self' component to it. It kind of feels like a metta conscious perspective all the time. Before, I was much more self-conscious and had much much more and louder voice in the head. The effort is still tiring to the body and mind but it doesn't corrupt that metta conscious perspective.

It's not insight deconstruction. It's a method/technique fit. If you would use precisely the right technique for your type of mind, you would awaken within hours/days. IDK why Eckhart Tolle is known as such high authority here. Sure he is pretty deep in nondual awareness in daily life but lacks experience with high dose psychedelics and concentration. He just milks the same topic all the time be in the now yada yada yada. My intuition tells me a good dose of 5-MeO would totally mind blown him

@Leo Gura Have you tried TM style mantra meditation (not concentration)? You've had 2 awakening experiences sober if I remember correctly, what technique produced them? If you do the same techniques right now, nothing happens? @ardacigin A few things I disagree with you about I honestly don't know for sure if Martin if in a persistent no-self, non-dual experience but I think you overestimate how immune to suffering one becomes after a permanent shift (even very deep). People are still humans and will suffer in physical pains or extreme waves of insomnia like in Martin's case, no permanent shift exist that can make you immune to it (parinibbana maybe). If we take extreme physical pain, it actually would be easier to endure for extremely advanced, non-awakend Samatha practitioner on a retreat, than to someone with a permanent shift but no concentration skills. I myself still have problems with anxiety even tho I'm deep into no-self experience for over 2,5 years at this point. Again I don't know how realized Martin is but he is right about the ego, you have to have an ego to function, understand the symbolic meaning, I wouldn't be able to write this without ego. Awakening is not ego loss, it's a disidentification from it. The ego can only be truly lost in temporary states. I'm a rare case of someone who: 1) Had a breakthrough on psychedelics 2) Have permanent non-dual awareness in daily life which I don't have to do anything to maintain 3) Have been in a highly concentrated state of effortless attention and awareness and also in Jhana, however, this is my weakest point and you are surely more experienced than me in this regard I guess you @ardacigin haven't had a breakthrough on psychedelics yet. Even tho I have an extremely logical/skeptical mind, I have to give credit to Leo for how radical a breakthrough is. It's still the most insane, radical, powerful, crazy experience I've ever had. I don't rule out the possibility of the same state sober in extreme concentration. Leo is on the other hand very experienced with psychedelics but lacks experience with persistent versions of awakening and concentration.

1) Consciousness affects matter (I'm curious what someone like Sean Carrol would say about these studies) 2) LSD and Magic mushrooms have been shown to reduce brain activity (contrary to what materialism would assume) https://www.bernardokastrup.com/2016/04/the-lsd-study-youre-being-subtly.html https://www.bernardokastrup.com/2014/08/magic-mushrooms-and-brain-activity.html 3) Instead of weakening, the brain is more active than ever during anesthesia (again contrary to what materialism would assume) https://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/what-really-happens-brain-during-anesthesia-truly-terrifying.html/ 4) A new paper argues the condition now known as “dissociative identity disorder” might help us understand the fundamental nature of reality https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/could-multiple-personality-disorder-explain-life-the-universe-and-everything/

Ehh... so then how is nonduality you teach, different from solipsism? I don't get it, you are basically saying it's not solipsism yet only my mind exists?? Sure it does feel like solipsism. Like nothing exist, neither ever was existing outside of my mind I remember in one of my trips right before I entered total unity, I was thinking about Martin Ball and his advice for symmetrical body posture etc. and suddenly in one moment all distinction between me and Martin collapsed, and it literally felt like I was Martin Ball and I've been talking to myself all this time. It just so happens that I was thinking about him at the time so he was present in my consciousness when it all melted into one. But for example, Leo Gura for some reason was completely absent from my conscious experience at the time. Does it mean there literally was no experience of being Leo Gura at the time because he was absent from MY mind? I don't assume that

Try to let go of wanting to not be depressed. Everybody experience mood fluctuations Well, either you're not mindful enough to notice your thoughts (dullness) or you're a world-class meditator. Can you focus on the sensations of your breath for 2h without any interruption + without any thoughts?

@daramantus Everybody who had a high dose psychedelic breakthrough know what Leo talks about. Breakthrough of psychedelics really feels very solipsistic, like nothing exists outside of me. Yet I think taking that perspective as the only True one and rational sober mind as falsehood is not the way to go about it.

1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight is the absolute maximum that has been shown to have benefits in terms of muscle mass/strength. Anything beyond is completely unnecessary and most research finds no more benefits after 1.4

I agree. I guess Leo would say something like the other tree exist in your mind as an idea of a non-existent tree

@Raptorsin7 I experience life in a much less personal way now I'm much more present. My mind wandering and self-referential thoughts are hugely diminished. When I'm anxious or afraid for example, it doesn't create as much suffering as before. I lost a lot of motivation to pursue money, career etc. Better default concentration. Generally, I enjoy the good times as much as before and bad times like depressed mood and/or anxiety are more bearable.

I don't know what is exactly meant by emotional mastery but enlightenment doesn't get rid of negative emotions fear etc.