Bill W

I think masturbation, porn and video games are fine if done in moderation. Gossip is a good one to try and eliminate. Masturbation and porn are great for me although the masturbation is dropped as I don't need it right now as I have a girlfriend. Well I masturbate with her but I count that as part of the sex.

I'd rather be called a devil. It has an air of banter about it.

I love all the teachings and books I've looked at with Osho. I saw the documentary as well. I guess it happens with many teacher's in that they end up over doing things a bit? Excess rather than moderation. Most of them are probably just as obsessive as we are.

My idea of what an ego is, is probably not what any other person would say it is! I have developed my own theory on this that I mostly keep to myself. I'm not sure if my idea of what the ego is correlates with what any authorities on ego would say. Actually to call it my own theory is a stretch. I think books like the Chimp Paradox have helped me form this opinion and belief. Our ego is a major reason for monkey mind. It is a mostly dysfunctional alarm system that one day might evolve into a more functional part of us, but until that happens, all we can do is try to transcend it. There must have been a good reason for it, but somehow it has malfunctioned mostly. It see's danger where there is none. It wants us to strive for things that are not actually always in our own best interests. The ego is willing to sacrifice the whole of the rest of the person to meet it's needs. People killing each other over an insult, or road rage are examples of how dysfunctional the ego is. It literally kills you. It makes you the dumbest motherfucker around. I'm not sure if we need to work on eliminating or just retraining it. I'm not sure if there would be any catastrophic consequences of eliminating it. For me, Enlightenment is the transcending of the ego. Intentionally transcending the ego is the most advanced life skill there is for me. You would be in the top 1% of the world, if not the top 0.1% in terms of being an advanced human being. You cannot be offended. You always forgive. Life holds no fear. If there was a medication or therapy that got you to this point, it would be the most valuable thing in existence, especially if you had it and others did not. You would be in the top 1% or 0.1% even of the most effective human beings on the planet. It would be like steroids for the mind and soul. The mind with a transcended ego is a fortress. It would be like Neo from the Matrix when he is dodging the bullets for the first time. This is Heaven on Earth.

Hi Natasha, This reads to me as you attempting to put a more mature spin on the purpose of this thread. Fair enough. I'm not the moral authority Police as I have a lot of my own less mature / growing up issues to work on. To me this thread shows that even Leo can have an off-moment and that we are all still battling the idiot inside of us. Joel Osteen, I am sure can take sillyness on the chin and rise above it. I have no personal attachment to him anyway. I like silly comedy too, heaven knows I watch some strange stuff to get laughs, I just wouldn't make a thread on it under the sub section of the forum that's entitled meditation, consciousness, spirituality, and enlightenment. I think there is a separate thread for this kind of stuff already. Laughs and giggles etc. It's also so easy to mock others, and often Leo himself would reply "just get on and do the work" and he is correct about that. I'm actually just feeding back to Leo and the forum what I have learned from Leo and the forum itself. Get on with your own work and don't waste time taking the piss. I'm guilty myself at times. I'm not better than anyone else here.

@Zigzag Idiot Nice one and thanks for the other recommendations.

I actually wouldn't mind if you defined highly conscious as I'm not sure what that is (genuinely question). I've been pretty much agnostic all my life, neither "here" or "there" in terms of religious beliefs. Over the past 9 months I've become very interested in Christianity, so I'm at the beginning of my journey, and probably looking for the same literature you are asking me about. I will say that I am enjoying the author Gina Lake. I think some of her stuff is referred to as "channeling". I don't care either way for channeling. The text is useful or not, regardless of where it came from so to speak. A year ago I'd have dismissed these books out of hand just by the cover, thinking them as nonsense. How times have changed for me. These are the two books of hers I've really got a lot from

One my favorite books is this

If I was a moderator I'd lock this thread. Sorry to be the party pooper. I can be a right miserable git at times, but alas, this is a place where we try to rise above the general trash that exists all over the internet! Love to all though (seriously). Enjoy the comedy.

Beautiful as always. Lots of similarities between this post and my insights/experience gained through AA.

This is unbelievable. What a fantastic gesture. I wouldn't have complained having to pay for this. Can I make a donation to anything as a thank you?

@Jkris Hi, I didn't read that thread. If anyone wants to know why a thread is locked they could speak to the moderator who locked it, but usually the reason is given at the end of the thread just before locking. They could always PM a moderator. They will point out the mistake/error and it can be corrected by starting a new thread or just dropping the issue. I think that's how it works pretty much? I think sometimes also threads get locked through no fault of the OP of the thread.

I hate this saying. I accept it has it's merits though. Also, I believe the term "choice" is a grey area somewhat. People can only "choose" something if they are aware and understanding of their options. It's like consent. It's not consent if the person doesn't know what they are agreeing to. My personal belief is that some people just don't know there is another way or many other ways to approach their life. I'm not excusing the need to take personal responsibility though.

I forgot about a cognitive technique of identifying your "demands". This is related to not being flexible and having beliefs and expectations that are out of touch with how the world and other people actually are. I love Albert Ellis' work for neurosis. It's simple and effective. He was a genius. YouTube him.

How to get rid of neurosis? Good topic. Getting rid completely is a lofty goal, but to start the ball rolling....... Also, I'm not talking about regular levels of the below attributes, I'm talking enhanced levels, levels that take time and work to get to, levels higher than the average person. Neurosis builds up through time and gets hard wired into the mind. It won't just go if asked nicely, you have to dig deep. 1. Courage & Faith as things will get worse before they get better and if you are looking for an easy way out, I don't think there is one 2. Self-honesty as if you fail to diagnose the real issues, you will fail to match the right intervention to them 3. Humility as you will need to give up being so important 4. Selection of behavioural and cognitive techniques which may include things like; meditation & mindfulness, education, eliminating substance misuse, overcoming avoidance, general relaxation, letting go of attachments, detachment from thoughts, developing new habits, letting bad habits go, identifying and overcoming the need for instant gratification. 5. Might need to identify a suitable mentor, sponsor, or therapist to help with steps 1-4 above. The neurotic is unlikely to achieve the above themselves. There are a lot of traps to side-step and negotiate. It's also especially hard to do number 1 on your own. I believe you need a power greater than yourself.

Hell no. Leo and the mods do a great job locking threads that require locking. If you have a thread locked, either heed the warning and advice or move on to another forum. Leo and the mods give plenty of opportunity for said person who had thread locked to learn from their mistake. I'd say considering the aims of this forum, Leo and the mods are very patient with many.

Real to you. Mostly you interpret your "direct experience" to mean something. You cannot escape that much direct experience is an interpretation and therefore subjective. Burning yourself on a red hot stove is direct experience. Not much interpretation if any is applicable. The direct experience is pain. I think this is what you mean. Only a tiny fraction of your direct experience can avoid being an interpretation and therefore subjective. It sounds like you are almost saying that you have managed to short-circuit your brain and stop it from making an interpretation of your direct experience. Why don't you tell us some of the things you have down as direct experience and we can let you know if they are subjective or not. EDIT: I think I missed your post above which may have partly answered my post, so this might not be relevant now.

Agree, agree, agree.

My favourite posts on this topic. I would add to acceptance that going to sleep at night not fearing tomorrow is happiness for me.

So when does something become slander in terms of your thread title and post? I've never heard of this guy anyway.

@ivankiss I am going to appoint you as my Actualized.org mentor/sponsor. Do not be overly alarmed about this. You won't feel a thing, I promise. I will start by reading all 856 posts of yours by this time next week. I'm being serious.

Is that what 5-MeO-DPT is? Self annihilation? Sounds extreme.

I love your honesty. You'll get there. You have heart. I am more speaking out loud here than specifically aiming it at you but I do wonder sometimes if people over emphasise meditation. I think it's crucial don't get me wrong. I think it's actually essential, but, I do sometimes sense a flavour that people think if only they meditated more or meditated all day everything else would get better. Not saying that's what you think. You haven't alluded to that at all. It's just that for me personally (and my journey is different to yours) if I was having a retreat I'd make meditation a big focus but not the entire focus. I personally think a retreat should encompass a variety of spiritual practices. Things like being in nature, connecting with like minded people, reading, self inquiry (not sure about this one though), exercise, watching an uplifting spiritual film can all be part of a spiritual holiday / retreat. You can say it's the ego stopping you. You might be correct, but perhaps you just weren't as committed and enthusiastic about it as you thought you were.

Agree with this. These churches and such places you list have no obligation to cater for your needs. If they have rules that exclude you then tough luck. That's life. There's got to be some places or a place that you will find accepting, you just have to keep looking..... Good luck and best wishes though, I don't mean to put you down or anything, I just needed to say this.

Bonnie Tyler be so proud of you. You are about to be rocketed into the 156th dimension.