Inliytened1

No meditation is really about just being there. Being present. It's not about surrendering. It's just staring at your hand. Or doing concentration meditation. Or self inquiry. Thats what the nature of meditation is. Nothing guarantees awakening but I can tell you that suffering plays a large role. Such that Jesus suffered on the cross. But that happens when life happens it is completely distinct from meditation practices .

Thank you @Ramasta9 this is excellent work. He needs to be reminded to come full circle. He has not done that yet. Bless his enlightened heart.. I can feel that now. But yet rather than diving into life and coming full circle to enjoy life to the fullest it almost seems like he just wants to paint that as the "dark side" and honestly i don't carry the paint for that. Let's get him moving in the right direction - thanks for that.

Bless you. Yes. The problem is neo-advaita became a religion. There was no metaphysical framework or spirituality. It was a material universe with no self in an empty body. All this no different than believing Jesus was the son of God who died on the cross. But bless you for bringing some of it hack.

Me too.

True on all counts brother. Suffering is indeed the best teacher. Words of wisdom. Rather than criticizing whether psychedelics work spend more time speaking about what you have said here to me they are wise words . Much love to you brother.

His stance is there is no you to take psychedelics.

Well the question would be as to whether it could produce a non-dual state for some and produce ego-death. I would not rule out that it isn't possible just because it didn't happen. Just like I'd say to Leo that meditation shouldn't be ruled out because it didn't happen. Or just letting go one morning when going to work. It worked for someone. The funny thing is Leo's best work to me was before he actually became enlightened but it was when he came back from his.meditation retreats. I don't know if he was taking psychedelics at this time. But some also came after. Either way for teachers like Ralston and Gura both are tremendous teachers and both have merit. Sorry to say but @Nahm i just think he's living in a world of deception and not enlightened at all. Sorry to break that you. Maybe he is but he could have fooled me.

Well said. So why can't psychedelics be a means of surrender or jumping off the cliff? Because it was intentional? when you surrendered without bounds and fell off the cliff didn't you mean to put yourself there ?

Right but in your words what is that?

Oh here come all the neo-advaitans now. Glad you all came out to play tonight. Glorious! 😀

Which is?

And what is after physical death?

Exactly. He really wants to say that experience belongs to the ego mind. The problem is the ego has co-opted Consciousness and made it theirs. And so experience has been co-opted by the ego. It isn't God or Pure Being looking at a thing it is the self or the body. So his premise is that anything with an egoic goal is null. This is obvious BS because it is the ego that co-opted Consciousness in the first place so how else would it get out but in reverse? Besides all of that - the ego is still no different than Consciousness or God - it's just that we want to strike a duality between the two. It's very tricky but very simple at the same time.

That's where the intent is. I am not knocking you I'm just saying you have to start from ego somewhere. It just is that. The thing is enlightenment is like winning the lotto. Its a secret door out of the.Matrix but you did use the Matrix at some point or the content within to get out. You purchased the ticket. You don't just wake up and boom you're enlightened- at least not for most of us.

If I recall and i may have confused you with someone else but didn't you sit in darkness for days? If not did enlightenment just simply dawn? Unfortunately this does not happen for all. For many a tool can be leveraged and this isn't a problem. Again what is within the Matrix breaks you out of the Matrix. Even if you just "let go" this had some type of intent. Otherwise you wouldn't allow yourself to let go.

It can be for some. A tool can be used for ill or good. Many sit in meditation with a desire for achieving enlightenment - an egoic pursuit- where for me i knew nothing I simply went through the motions seeing where it would go. It must be for the blind pursuit of Truth not for self achievement but for Truth itself. @James123 yet the same can be said for picking up the tool of psychedelics. You should not be so quick to judge.

Exactly. But I'll expand on that. When i awakened it wasn't even about letting go or achievement it was from a place of complete spiritual ignorance and just a curiosity into what is like a child might wonder about a toy or the sky. Nothing more. Ignorance is bliss. But spiritual knowledge could lead to the desire for achievement as you say - and therein you will be doomed to never discover Truth. The same can be said for psychedelics as much as you may want to dispute that. It is really no different than meditation.

Exactly. Haha are you Italian? Love the metaphor. I wish spaghetti would have enlightened me! 😃

If all things are within the Matrix then all things are equal within the Matrix. Sitting and staring at the wall or ingesting a pill are all still content within the Matrix. This is missed by even Ralston.

Well if he took it already knowing it would not work then of course it wouldn't - the ego would already be on the defense. You should actually ask yourself why Ralston is so bent on proving why psychedelics don't work rather than worrying about whether they work or not. The Truth is no can rule out anything that can trigger enlightenment and enlightenment is a shift in Consciousness. So if we disagree there - in states- we may as well part ways. But it is a shift and one would be a fool to rule anything out.. Hopping on a bus to school in the morning could initiate enlightenment. This is a foolsgame and it's sad to see someone like Ralston wasting time disputing such things.

His video on What is Perception basically is paramount in understanding that there is no subject/object duality. This is an illusion. For example what would it mean to have an object out there somewhere with no one to perceive it? What would that even mean? It means that reality is Consciousness itself. What is the difference between imagination and reality to you? Because what if imaginary and real were the same? What if that was a duality that could collapse? That would make reality ultimately Mind because it collapses the duality of everything and nothing. You're basically fighting against idealism by depositing materialism. But it breaks down quickly for reasons stated above.

That's just foolishness. So then mediation is limited with mind? Mediation is ego too? If you were in the matrix and someone told you to break out you needed to use psychedelics or mediation would you refuse them because they are content within the matrix? What if they worked to get you out of the Matrix? You have to use the means within the Matrix to break you out of the Matrix.

It depends. If beneath all of this is a weeping child then maybe. As long as he has a certain level of intelligence and is underlyingly good he can. Most psychopaths have severe childhood trauma or they were damaged in childhood. No one just comes out evil but those that do would have a hard time becoming enlightened. If you are Satan incarnate then no. It would be no different than asking me if a dog could awaken.

Maybe it's because you are caught up with the term but if you take Oneness literally you would realize that there is no separation between anything.

Yes if you mean ego. But don't confuse psychedelics with this it's two separate things. Psychedelics can trigger ego death. How do you know they can't? I don't blame Leo if he bans you for this because despite your views being subjective they could negatively impact other users. However on the other hand he shouldn't ban you since your views are subjective. The sword cuts both ways. It's not Consciousness but yet Consciousness is eternal. So which is it?