noselfnofun

Yeah I would have to agree with you from what I have seen from others and read. I'm very tempted to do a 2 year intensive retreat in a monastery to up my practice. I think certain people also develop quick/slower but that will all just depend I guess. Its actually not that hard to do 2 to 4 hours a day of practice if you get up early, even at one point I was doing 1.5 hour sit then would go to the gym before work, like you said its just the emotional toll it takes on you but in the end it is worth it thanks for the motivation.

yeah I use to be a very passionate filmmker when i was younger and Stanley was my inspiration, he could really add depth to his art. I would of love to have spoke with him regarding his opinion on consciousness, I don't think he knew much about it despite being a very intelligent man who had a thirst for knowledge.

Awesome, I'm doing a Vipassana retreat in 6 weeks. Whats most inspiring is that you cut out a lot of your addictions before the course and started to gain balance in your life. What sort of spiritual practices do you do when not on retreat?

Nicely explained

Yes it is interesting I just read an interview where he said "I worried that people would think I’m saying that meditation will solve all the problems I raise. It can help people cope with stress but it’s definitely not the silver bullet that will save humankind from all its problems" found here https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/aug/05/yuval-noah-harari-free-information-extremely-dangerous-interview-21-lessons he goes on quite long retreats yearly like 30 days plus. Maybe he just dose not think meditation and spirituality is the answer or he dose but is keeping quite because he dose not feel qualified. people like him are really good at seeing what the problem is and maybe people like Sadguru are really good at solving them. You would think that having spent such long periods in silent retreat he would of experienced profound levels of peace and well being which of course would be one slice of the pizza in solving the mess humans have found themselves in. Or maybe he just hasn't. His ideas are definitely interesting and are getting people thinking so good on him there

Great thanks for writing that. Funny enough I remember when i was around 7 I was eating at the dinner table at primary school and I had a really weird thought about who I was, I blanked out. It happened again around a week later in the exact same place at the dinner table. Now I look back I always wondered if that was a small glimpse into the truth self.

Is there anyway to test or thing to look out for to see if you are gifted spiritually? I think another reason why so few awaken is because so few are willing to really put in the work, I only know a very selected handful of people who do enough work to give them a chance at waking up. It would be interesting to see what would happen if everyone on the planet was made to spend all day meditating and doing different practices to see what the different results would be.

I agree with this I think it's genius what ken is getting at. So easy to neglect your personal life when seeking enlightenment and end up in tricky situations I've been there and seen it happen to lots of people. It's all linked in living a better life, personal growth may not be directly linked to progressing with becoming more conscious but it can be if you want it to.

This is very helpful and practical, thank you

Cool didn't know you did MMA. MMA is my favourite sport, to do and watch. However I now have a love hate relationship with it as I'm not sure if it holds me back in my journey to becoming a more conscious and compassionate person. I know its useful to know it but I now think I will probably never need to as just cannot imagine myself in a fight anymore. Also watching it surely cannot be to healthy, two guys smashing each other. Do you have these thoughts or think it depends on your approach towards it? I don't get these so much with BJJ its more MMA, watching and competing in it. I was training recently for a match but got injured and now think I will just stop all together

Nice, yeah never to late, really handy to know. One of my best friends is an MMA fighter from the north caucasus's the same place as the lightweight UFC champion Khabib. They grow up wrestling from like the age of five. He showed me the power of good wresting, then in return I took him on a meditation retreat and he said it was the best thing he ever did in his life lol.

Yeah same. I think it may of just been a phase in his life, I wouldn't think to much of it. Maybe even what he is doing there is real, it just wouldn't work well in an actual fight

Was thinking last night could someone live a truly happy life without attaining enlightenment? is there a middle ground on this path? or is it, you will always suffer if you never get to the truth.

Ah interesting, my parents also find it hard to come to terms with the fact I am pursing this. I am a bit more selfish than you at this stage so have just gone ahead with it, however I think it's very honarable of you to put someone else's emotions above yours like that and is in itself a big step towards the truth anyway. A part of me also feels I should do this. I left a great relationship because of this journey and I sometimes look back and think I should of just capped where I was and stayed with her to make her life wonderful too. I guess everyone has a different journey. Good look brother

Yeah not a fan of there teaching, main reason being is it's to direct and dose not accommodate to the fact everyone is at different levels of understanding so it will just resonate with a am very small niche audience, I just think it could be done with a bit more empathy. But if it resonates and it helps nothing wrong with that

Happiness is just the absence of any kind of mental suffering

also when you close your eyes or are dreaming, do you have a body then?

Yeah this can some investigating before you full realise you are not the body. One way to look at it to help is if you were a body, then you would be a body, like a unconscious body without anyway of even knowing if you are a body or not. However, you can perceive a body, you are aware of a body just like you are aware of a sound, a thought ect, of course its easy to know we are not the sounds we hear or the objects we see but why is it any different in regards to the body? if you can perceive something then you cannot be the thing you are perceiving as you are aware of it. And if you were it then you would not be aware of it in the first place you would would just be it.

Do you guys think one has to reach a certain level of emotion maturity and self actualisation before they are read to take on the task of waking up? If this is the case how dose someone know they are at the right level. I have been thinking this for sometime. I do think this could be the case but it is not talked about to often. However I will say suffering seems to be the main motivation for people to want enlightenment. I think that could also be the way the universe sends you the message you've been drafted to wake up Would love to get some thoughts on this.

thats awesome man I hope it stays that way:)

cool, I may see it differently slightly in a sense that I feel the ego/bodyminds objective is to free itself or another way to look at it, find true peace/happiness. I guess I meant to say a very deep sense of peace and well being compared to just enjoyment. could thos people who chase money really have that from such efforts, I guess its possible. I feel self realization is what the body mind is truly seeking, to loose itself haha or maybe I'm biased and thats why I asked this question because I sometimes thing god look at everyone suffering without them even knowing it and if only they knew about this but that kind of mindset needs to be investigated as maybe I'm wrong.

Yeah no worries man, yes a deeper true happiness, one where they feel more connected to life and have a relative amount of strength to deal with the challenges life can throw at us. Yes I agree self transcendence is needed for that deeper connection with life if its consciously done or not. I feel some people are probably closer to that then others naturally, could be there Karma at play. It seems human connection is the way most people reach this state of self transcendence, but because of our inability to find it easy without other people it causes great conflict and pain. Also the other question I eluding to was is there a middle ground with this path in terms of progress with peace, fulfilment and happiness. say someone who has a very dedicated practice to mindfulness and devotion to the truth, they may never fully realise the self but because of there efforts there life is way better off then if they didn't start the journey?

But seriously very motivating and very clear and practical points, I think in terms of Leo. I actually think he is a clever guy and he will be or is fine with the way he is going about his practice I think once you have a passion for truth and have an open mind like he dose you can't fail. Plus we don't know him personally to see what he really thinks, just get a sense form his videos. Its more his listeners that could fall into these traps

Amazing post, thank you. I can for sure see this to be the case with proper diligence and practice. You have motivated me.. I live near a good monetary where I will be staying for a year or two, ajhan sucittco lives there and yeah he is a bit hesitant to give out info but some of the other monks do. Also I'm luck as Rupert spira dose lots of events 2 mins walk from my house. I need to check out the book the mind illuminated. Do you think stream entry is possible for us in a lifetime with enough practice ?

True I should of just said body mind, I just didn't know how to phrase it.