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@Riyaazbasha What part of your life do you feel you want to improve? Do you have a vision or a dream of where you want to be? Ultimately the only way you can know is by asking yourself. The answer will be specific for you. No one can give it for you, because they are just not you. So figure out what is it you want. This is a long process, so don't expect answers form the get go. Maybe you want to draw? Maybe you want to design and build machines? Maybe you want to get better with girls? Maybe you want to get in shape? Maybe you want to build an exciting life for yourself? Only one way to find out. Visualise and ask yourself what do you want. Most importantly - start loving where you are at. Don't do it out of insecurity or lack of confidence. Do it cause you love yourself and you want what is best for you. Good luck forward.

@Conscious life Whatever is said, it will not be direct experience of yours and will ultimately be a mental abstraction that only weights your psyche. How do you know if someone ain't just lost as well in abstractions? You don't. Only one way to find out. And for that you should drop the stories, because they are not what is important. Whichever paradigm you use, the point is to transcend it, not root yourself in it, because reality is ultimately groundless. Can't explain an abstraction without a different abstraction. So you have to drop it.

Start practicing self - love and acceptance of whatever arises. This is not a problem with the content of the thoughts, but with the orientation of your consciousness. Don't go on creating stories about why that is, because they'll be victimising towards yourself, because that's just the way your consciousness currently is. Love it. Allow it to flow through it. No way around it.

@Rahul yadav It doesn't have to be a distraction . There just isn't a "straightforward" way to enlightenment. Some will be swayed towards a more Occult path, others the a more stoic one. Everyone with their taste. So thanks for the share!

@Rasheed Yes and no. Your spiritual path is deeply personal to you - processing YOUR fears and YOUR conditioning. Spirituality simply means how conscious are you. You can do business consciously or unconsciously. You can be a conscious guru, or have shadows (a lot of examples come to mind). This is not a problem of content, but a matter of consciousness. So this means that whatever you do, your degree of consciousness is how spiritual you are. You can be a spiritually developed fisherman. And yet precisely, because it's not the content, EVERYTHING is the spiritual realm. Everything is spiritual. It's just how conscious are you of it.

@DreamScape The example Leo gave of Kilindi Iyi was what arose in my head when I was reading the post. When talking about this kind of stuff expect every notion you have or way to abstract and categorise to lose its "applicability". When looking in that direction expect VERY out of the ordinary characters and /or an incredible amount of courage to have gone so deep in "the twilight zone". This is something very, very advanced for 99.99% of humanity, because you have to transcend every notion of what reality is. Also I think David R Hawkins has spoken on visiting such dimensions.

@Beginner Mind You have seen the tip of the shadow of the mountain you have to climb. What you felt was direct experience . Your understanding of awareness transcended simple abstraction to directly tasting it. Nice for starters. Now what are you going to do after this? P. S. Don't obsess about responses or bumping your topic the n1 position. Whoever chooses to respond will.

@arlin This framing of the question shows that the psyche is oriented towards "going somewhere" or "achieving something" and as such the impermanence of life is seen as a threat. "Why live if I'll eventually die?". Questions that have a similar dynamic are : Why create anything if it will eventually fade to dust? Why change or save the planet if it will eventually be burnt to crisp by the sun? This POV is useful, but when it becomes a living experience stronger than simple "being" (aka to not have to go "to somewhere") one tends to see everything through it and as such is not be able to experience simple presence. Go for a walk. Go for a hike through nature. Draw. Socialise. None of those activities needs to "get" somewhere to be enjoyed. Only when you are able to fundamentally enjoy simple activities, can you apply your mind on top for an even greater expression of your Will. Learning to appreciate and experience without all the extra abstraction is something you need to simply feel better as a human. It doesn't need to have correlation with spirituality per say.

Will be sharing excerpts from my journal. You are free to chime in, this is not my main entry log.

Once you've suffered enough, you'll want to change. Some people are consciously more oriented towards growth and evolution. That doesn't mean their path is easier. Most of the cases they are the ones that have to go through that suffering. So knowing how one handles this is no use of you,cause you are unique. If you really wanted change from the bottom of your heart, you wouldn't be asking. When one experiences resistence it's because deep down you're more comfortable with where you're at now. No matter how much you believe or think you "must change", it ain't gonna happen if you're not ready for it. Meet yourself where you're at. Ask yourself, are you really ready to leave behind your current life.

@28 cm unbuffed You'll grow more just by sitting silently with what happened to you, than going on with symbolism about "corruption", archetypes, paths and so on. This ain't really a "high consciousness state", rather an example of self - bias and how the ego corrupts glimpses. This is not even the tip of the iceberg of what you can experience. Precisely because you had that you reaction, you have years of purification and growth to go through before you can claim any form of "transcendence".

With less words, you are that bridge.

@Ethan1 This really can be transcended, for it's a false dichotomy. From a certain POV it for sure seems like they are opposites, but that's in the unhealthy cases - that of myopia with daily trivia, and the daydreaming that follows from not fully embracing your current situation. When one is mature, those are not really separate things. You work with small steps towards your vision and purpose. And what bridges the two "perspectives" is a great amount of self - love and drive towards a life purpose. The more transcended and conscious it is, the more selfless you are the more you can bring your Will into existence.

Love 'im. Helped me a lot to start embodying green.

@arlin Depersonalization and nihilism are the consequence of a very low consciousness. The ego is masking itself behind the labels "not me", "not mine". This is not a "higher state" of selflessness. In fact, that's the furthest one can be from it, because you're not surrendering control, rather you have denied the responsibility in the first place. Yet you can pass through it and grow. I know, because that "episode" you describe was my experience for 2 years of my life. This state of consciousness is a consequence of a lot of unhealed trauma and impurities. Start by realizing you actually don't know. Focus first on basic self - help and personal work. Work on your life, on YOU. You can't handle or are in denial with your current experience. Learn to give it love and accept it - start from there. There's a lot of basic growth you need before you can even look to "the higher states". And that's okay. If you deny this in front of yourself and try to grapple with those experiences, the problem will fester.

I suspected something along these lines. Appreciate the nuanced responses.

As I'm not very familiar with American politics, I want to ask about the significance of the Iowa caucus. Why after the Iowa Caucus has the conversation shifted? Why do the results from one state "kill the chances of Biden" and shift Mayor Pete to a position of the possible "democratic nominee"?

Psychs (mushrooms in particular) have had a empowering effect on me. I maybe won't use the word "motivation", because of the connotation it mostly holds, but they for sure have sparked a very powerful sense of focus and direction for me. Stemming from the state of Self - Love.

I was referring to the 10s as well. The "spiritual realm" is not somewhere "out there". It's here, you are in it. You are it. Look at your hand. That IS the miracle of creation and spirituality. It's just a matter of how conscious are you of it. Walking through nature, psychedelics, mystical experiences allow you to see with more clarity. It's a matter of consciousness. Seeking it "out there" and going after it in such a manner is fundamentally what distances you from experiencing it and creates that duality. You've taken for granted the entiery of existence. What I said was neither a personal attack, nor meant to discourage you. It was an observation outside the personal context that from your POV may seem threatening because it's challenging your perspective. I was pointing out that the given Christian examples are extremely distorted, because they hold a separation /duality that is what is keeping you away from becoming conscious. The fact you resonate just points to your conscious evolution and has northing to do with a shaming or moralistic tone. I've went through it, for I was raised by a very Christian household. So what I'm pointing to you has nothing to do with "you" per say, but rather the dynamic that is displayed.

I think those are the results with 100% of the precincts. Mayor Pete is the winner in the state delegate equivalents with a small margin, while the popular vote was for Bernie. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/pete-buttigieg-bernie-sanders-lead-iowa-caucuses-updates-today-2020-02-06/

@SerotoninluvIt's a good habit to have. @Identity There's a reason retreats are so effective. I would say one has to be able to thread both worlds. There will be times you'll have to skew the pendulum in the opposite way. I for example now am focusing on socialising, building connections and so forth. I was for a long time in the other end, so I feel a natural draw to bringing this inner mindfulness externally in my life. There is a balance to everyone's life. IME there's always some kind of an outlet for everybody, the difference is whether it is conscious or not.

@Norn Thanks for the share. I had some pretty sweet realisations as to the importance of having a commonplace journal. Funny thing is is that I perceive it as an extension of my intelligence (similar to the "second brain wording"). It definitely is something very important, and good for you for spreading awareness.

@MrDmitriiV You have some balls. That great of a jump in dosages is often what makes or breaks the trip. I did something similar with shrooms. I advise you to focus on more frequent low dose trips for purification. Your sweet spot should be where you feel challenged and exhausted at the end, but not overwhelmed. Safe tripping, brother.

@Matt23 Honestly, don't spend your time like this. I'm not saying you are wrong per say, just realise it has no significance in the bigger picture. One's orientation towards events like these is very illustrative of the entire conscious orientation. From your post I see you are operating from the personal paradigm. Nothing wrong about that, but there are so many more beautiful states and paradigms.

@Space Try not "to frame it". Go in openly without expectations. You can not do a lot differently than what you are able to. And that changes with experience, so be ready to make a lot of blunders. In the end - try to have some fun