Miavono

I tried DMT...it was hell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wcZw8lIUSo All of my own experiences (thought limited to micro dosing with Psilocybin and LSD) have been formative and very meaningful but I have been very cautious and careful about my approach, sometimes it feels like it would be cool to 'just go for it' but then I see stories like this and think that my integrated approach with meditation, breathwork and all the other non psychedelic techniques are worth sticking too and that there is no rush. Here is a powerful example of how things can go wrong if they aren't respected or taken naively. I would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts about Sorelle's experience and if they have any similar insights, whether surrendering is always the right thing to do and how they have overcome and really rough trip? Leo's videos have been very formative in shaping my respect for Psychedelics and opening my mind to them, I fear that these types of stories will increase over time as the popularity and attractiveness of them grows too. On one hand I would like to think that they won't fall into the same fate that they have the last few times that they have had a large societal surge, but something also makes me think that it won't be sunshine and rainbows and there will be some big backlash with legality and the acceptance of them as a valid tool because the scary stories and the fear they induce can spread like wildfire, bad news seems to travel quicker than any other news.

As a musician I find it intriguing to follow other artists and see their perspectives and spiritual development. I can't figure Kanye out. what do you think? he's got some epic artistry and seems to be genuine about his purpose here but at the same time seems to gravitate towards controversial thinking for the sake of it. Where is he on the spiral? some things he says suggest green/maybe yellow, many others suggest purple red, blue and orange, depends on his mood. He seems to have life experience that is unlike anyone else I can think of which would likely bring up some pretty profound thoughts and opportunities to awaken or at least grow spiritually, but the opportunity to get lost in ego, addiction and devilry also seems enormous. Part of me thinks that there's not really much to learn that is truly deep/ spiritually developed from him, but another part feels like there must be, but you just need to take his words with a pinch of salt. It would be too easy to just criticize, and I get the obvious criticisms, but I feel there are some gems of wisdom in him somewhere among the crazy. what do you think?

Thanks for the replies. I feel I do understand more than I let on but I'm trying to avoid deceiving myself into thinking I've got it sussed. I will continue doing the work and see what happens. The main thing I'm trying to establish is how you know genuine growth has happened, people talk about raising their consciousness or their consciousness expanding etc but how do you know that has actually happened other than just feeling like it? if you got severe brain damage and became very mentally retarded are you suddenly less spiritual? if consciousness comes first and creates all experience, then surely all experience is equally spiritual in it's own right?@Nahm @cetus56

Watching Leos newest video about Teotl and the Aztec Non-dual teachings etc,and I'm getting stuck on an uncertainty I've had for a while. what is it that dictates, represents or influences someone's level of consciousness and connection to Teotl/God/infinity? I thought initially it might be to do with your mental ability such as focus, ability to quiet the mind, understanding of complex concepts like non duality etc, your level of intelligence and/or maybe the efficiency/ capability of your brain. It didn't take long for me to realise that just having more neurons or more brain power would not necessarily mean more connection to Teotl / higher consciousness. a neuroscientist might say that its more neurons or processing power but as far as I'm aware consciousness makes the brain and neurons etc not the other way round. There does however seem to be some sort of link as most of the people who seem to have a higher consciousness also seem to be more intelligent, mentally gifted or experienced in controlling their mind etc (that could all just be a correlation though as there are plenty of seemingly unconscious intelligent/ mentally gifted people) so what is actually changing when you become more conscious/ aware/ connected to truth? is it nothing? were you always infinitely conscious and connected? is it that you are removing delusion and discovering truth that was always within you? if so what allows the formation of illusion if not consciousness in the first place? I'd like to think that I've got myself a bit mixed up but I'm unsure. I'm trying to self verify what Leo says about the world being imbalanced and society being in the dark ages still, and that companies like Coca Cola are the antithesis of consciousness and connection to Teotl. Or that our suffering and problems come from lack of awareness and consciousness. Currently however when I contemplate these issues, trying to be as non bias as I can, they don't seem like issues with respect to Teotl/God. A chubby, disease destined fat kid, on a Coca Cola Drip with no understanding of anything but Minecraft and masturbation may seem unconscious or disconnected (My intuition says so) but isn't the kid God, and just as connected to Teotl as you or I or Leo? just another expression of infinity. Infinty has an infinite number of apparent problems, suffering, pain and delusion and they are all wonderful and all one even if they are illusions, or am I missing the point? If everything is consciousness/ Teotl, what defines an unconscious/ disconnected person? If there are degrees of consciousness what are they measured in? The fact that consciousness can have levels seems too rational and logical or symbolic to actually be based in Truth? if you are in an infinite field you can move an infinite distance and still be in the same place, the same infinite distance away from the edge so can trick yourself into thinking you are more conscious when really you've always been a constant variation of the same infinite consciousness? Someone can spend their whole life promoting spiritual growth and consciousness work, which is totally cool, but someone can also do the exact opposite and its also just as cool in the eyes of infinity? If not, what is it that the spiritual person has or is that Cola Kid doesn't or isn't? what is the criteria, if there is one at all, for being on the right path/ connected? No path? No Grounding? (as Leo mentions in the video, the rooting in Teotl is rooting in nothing) How then can one point at society and say anything at all that isn't just a valid variation of infinity. If you want to have a problem with the way things are, great! go out and change it and shine your light. if you don't want to have a problem with it, also great, go out and be Cola Kid. Ultimately you may think you are rooting yourself in money, sex, family or some sort of objective good, but really it is all rooted in Teotl metaphysically speaking. If not where am I going wrong? I also wondered what an animals connection to Teotl is like? are they deluded into thinking they are a Shark or a whale or a dinosaur and if they want truth, or to be balanced and spiritual they should really lick a few toads for some juicy 5meoDMT, or sign up for the 10 day Jurassic vipassana retreat? or are they actually very spiritual and at one with Teotl because they aren't so self deceptive? I'm not attempting to deny the points that Leo made about the Life Lessons from the Aztecs, rather I'm trying to verify it for myself instead of just believing Leo (coz I know you don't want us to just take your word for it ). As far as I can see I'm all for people being more conscious, connected and spiritually balanced but in thinking that I realised I don't know how to explicitly differentiate between the consciousness of Cola Kid and Leo so I don't know how to say that one person is more or less conscious. being able to do that seems to imply a duality and a delusion in itself. I really appreciate the newest vid Leo, and thanks to anyone in advance for reading this and replying. I'm trying to consolidate my uncertainty, hence my question being a bit scatter brained.

@Sahil Pandit ah that's exactly what I was hoping to find although when I searched for 'trap' earlier nothing of significance showed up in the results. I wondered why a list didn't exist already but clearly it does. The search function doesn't seem as effective as it could be. Thanks

@Gabriel Antonio thanks! It's something I'm trying to get on top of so I can pursue whatever things I'm doing with a bit more certainty. I know what you mean by just trying to hide with spirituality as if you can just meditate your problems away because you'll be 'woke' if you do it enough. I've had to work hard not to fall into that trap.

@rNOW thanks for the response. Very helpful to sy the least. I do a lot of living inside my head too. It's easy to neglect your own reality if you get too sucked up in your own imagination of what it should/could be like rather than what actually is. Verifying things seems crucial because if not I find I can just start living, thinking something is a certain way when I haven't really checked for myself. I then don't actually understand my own principles because it wasn't from my own derivation, it's really just blind faith. The point about having a midway between realisations and feeling empty or lost is something I definitely experience regularly but you absolutely come through the other side if you allow yourself to keep going. Thanks again

What are your biggest or most significant traps you've realised/ fallen into or learnt from on your own self actualisation journey? Things you wish you knew years ago, didn't waste so much time on or the things you wish you focused on earlier? Is avoiding traps and mistakes in itself a mistake because it's often best to learn from mistakes? For me so far my biggest mistakes or traps have been: overthinking things too much trying to change too many things at once then crashing too much theory, not enough practice doing things because I think they will please/ impress other people rather than listening for my own authentic desires Not addressing subtle addictions: worrying, arguing, procrastinating, social media, complaining, moralising, playing victim, lying to myself and others, blaming and not taking responsibility. neglecting the simple things in life that you need to take care of first ( habits, food, sleep, money, exercise and overall health) i.e. Getting the hierarchy of needs backwards, doing too much heavy consciousness work and contemplating without taking care of the distractions first. Idolising people and their ideas instead of taking them at face value being idealogical with my own beliefs and habits and trying to get others to change theirs to back up my bias. Then realising I fucked up and having to admit I was wrong (a valuable lesson but tough to learn the hard way) not learning to pace myself and treat it like a marathon rather than a sprint forgetting to laugh, have fun, see the funny side of all this and play everyday. I would take everything so seriously Relying on other people to provide answers and solutions instead of at least trying to figure things out myself first I'm sure there are many more but those seem to be the most prominent for me, how about you?

@Leo Gura thanks for your reply I expected that would likely be the problem, non duality is very tricky to say the least, and yet at the same time it's always simple really. My initial uncertainty came from listening to an Alan watts lecture where he spoke about the difference between black and white, light and dark, heads and tails and that they naturally imply each other, therefore are really the same thing. So I wondered if it was actually possible to have one without the other, because who says there has to be an opposite if it's non dual? Is the fault there with language and symbols? They are what cause the false perception of duality when really heads and tails are identical? I find myself going in circles a bit much which I'm sure would suggest I need to shut up and do the consciousness work instead of trying to think my way to an answer. I guess that's why the mystics only use riddle speak. That being said, does that mean that it subsequently has unlimited free will? To be whatever it decides? Or Is there no other way but for it to encompass everything and anything possible and impossible? The reason I ask is because I'm wondering if you think it would be possible to become conscious of that will, and experience being that creative instead of through the lens of a limited/ finite being. Infinite creativity. Have you experienced that yet like you say you have infinite love, infinite intelligence etc? If so how would you decide what the fuck to create other than everything possible. ? Thanks again Leo

Chances are I haven't thought this through enough or my metaphysics is off but hence the query. Does Absolute Infinity or God have any fundamental rules or laws that it must embody in order to actually be. If so what are they and what creates them if not God? For example perhaps, it has to be everything ever, and equally nothing. It has to be non dual by nature and any opposite depends upon its pair in order to exist, like light/ dark, existence/ non-existence. This would suggest to me that there are certain limits to it but that doesn't fit into something that is limitless. If it truly is limitless aren't such apparent laws like nonduality and Infinity just that, apparent? If it is groundless then it can be literally anything it wants, including finite without infinity, light but without requiring darkness to define it, or it can exist without necessitating non existence to imply it. Like I say my thinking may well be very flawed, however if it can ultimately do what it wants how it wants because it truly is limitless then it must have infinite free will, despite its manifestations appearing to have no free will at all (like you and me). Wouldn't this suggest that it could be all 'bad' without good, or all 'good' without bad? If not, does that not then point to a limited thing? If it does not have infinite free will to be any configuration it wants, does it just spawn into everything and nothing because it has to? Something that is completely unlimited (like an infinite river with no dam to stop it) will just flow helplessly, being every possible variation it can be to Infinity. Would that not suggest that it is limited to being infinite or am I just spewing paradoxical word salad? Hope any of that makes sense. Question mostly for Leo with respect to his recent 'what is God? ' mini series but happy to hear anyone's ideas. Thanks