Danioover9000

@PlayTheGame As long as the psychedelics and spiritual techniques you're doing are not over the top, then it might be safe to continue while under DP/DR. If DP/DR is at an intense degree, then either tone down psychedelics/spiritual methods, opt out psychedelics for regular meditation or stop and take a break for a while. If the disorder is that serious, seek help. And thanks for posting, I sometimes need self hugs too. @arlin It may be either a higher degree of DP/DR, or you are suffering from mild DP/Dr but also experience another disorder or a situation that's creating this anxiety on top of DP/DR. If it's not too much, dial back the self inquiry/psychedelics/other methods and switch to regular meditation. If it's severe, seek professional help. One last thing, do not do Salvia if you experience intense forms of DP/Dr and any other disorder, period. End of discussion.

@PlayTheGame I think it depends on how experienced you are with spirituality and meeting spiritual masters face to face. Meeting these masters is important because the issue is not about awakening, it's about getting examples in real time, because that can help you develop an intuition on who is and isn't awake. However, Because awakening is like enlightenment, which is beyond one's mind, then it's important to go and directly interact with such people. Have you met Leo in person? Because if all you have of Leo is only the videos you see of him, then it is not sufficient. There are many factors that causes a person to change, in this case Leo's radical skepticism to close minded authoritarian claims of being more awake/ that spiritual teacher is not awake. However, that's insufficient to dismiss him outright because such a dismissal is out of personal style. Criticism of Leo isn't just because his authoritarian style and claims, it's also about how some topics, warnings and bans are handled by moderators, and the quality of such threads, and personal dogmas against mods/Leo, among many other factors besides Leo's style. I think Leo's rebuttals to some of these criticisms are not sufficient to say Leo is intentionally malicious on dismissing criticisms, it's because if you read some of these criticisms carefully, they are small and illogical to take seriously. If you're having problems dealing with the forum, then it's treating this forum anything else than this way: search for high quality materials, verify the materials, review if such materials work or not, and repeat, keeping in mind forum guidelines and treating users lightly, like how in Chinese Go (Weigi, Shodan, Baduk) stones are sometimes treated lightly in a game, otherwise if stones are heavy(too many stones in one area, too inefficient) risks over concentration and if those stones die, that's alot of points lost.

While it's possible, Because China still maintains bio weapons labs and also treats most of their wild life in their food markets like trash, it's not likely. Around the 1950's, most of the Chinese population were starving, they didn't have enough domestic animals to feed off of. The government then legalized hunting and serving wild life as food. Later, along with the paranoia of dealing with capitalism and competing with western military, they kept their bio labs operational. That's about 70 years worth of 'habit' that the Chinese collective ego operates on. Nowadays, to an outside culture, that's already a bad habit to outgrow (with environmental movements and most military moving on from on bio weapons application). The Chinese culture has a long way to go to outgrow their food markets and current military practices. It worked very well then, not so much now.

What I've learned so far in this thread: Main issues: who is really awakened, who isn't? How do we know any one teacher is truly awake? All teachers and their teachings are false? How do we verify for ourselves without losing too much time? Also issues about authority to teachers and students. Issues on misunderstanding awakening from other states, enlightenment, paranormal experiences ect. Side issues that seem random, coming out of left field: masculine and feminine and what governs truth/untruth(possibility/impossibility), how to do contemplation properly, being a personal god vs an external god, solipsism, nihilism, questioning existence and sentience, the whole Viper's nest of trying to word, define and re-define God for yourself, using language magic to divine god, touching on ideas and beliefs as mind viruses that spread, reconciling old beliefs with new ones, and how God practices on different universes and how you've done this once upon a time too. Also the issue of threads getting off into tangents on other issues that hardly have anything to do with main issue.?

@PlayTheGame I do have depersonalization disorder and some derealization around evening and the 'visual Snow'. What I can tell you is that there are distinctions between this disorder and spiritual concepts like no self, non-duality ect...But only you could make those distinctions. It's important to tell the difference now because it's easy to conflate this disorder to some spiritual concepts. The good news is that very few people will ever experience permanent depersonalization derealization, and sometimes it comes and goes. For a newbie, it's important to clearly understand these seperations. I've done self-inquiry in the past, and it intensified this disorder, but I managed to keep myself together. Talk to a really good therapist and seek professional help if you suffer the more intense forms from it.

Because the road got fed up of being eaten all the time.

I think he did mention that he'll update most of the enlightenment exercises.

In this case, yes, because we're lucky to have the internet and other spiritual paths shown to us and we have it easy. At that time, it's not a waste of time, it's very valuable for them, and it's more serious then. But really, who knows?

@Artaemis Jesus Christ ?. We're all talking about wether Leo's right or wrong calling Sadhguru and all teachers as not fully awakened we're focused on talking about awakening, and out of nowhere BAM! "Leo's like Hitler, we gotta balance the masc with the fem! Watch out!" ???

Actually, Leo brought up an example using Peter Ralston's story of how he asked for no Nova Cain while in the dentist getting a root canal, and I think the example with his friend is on the blog post, who had recently became enlightened, vomited during the 5-Meo-DMT trip on a full stomach. I remember it might be on Leo's strong sitting meditation video, or a meditation video. Personally, It's extremely difficult to tell if one person is more awake than the other. Instead, I spend some time drawing a tree with my elephant friend doing his best painting a tree.

It could very well be as simple as this: this is his passion. One, among many, of his values is understanding. Because he loves understanding reality, he can dedicate most of his time and energy developing how he understands, how he researches, how he thinks easier than somebody who doesn't share that same love of understanding. This flourishes into eventually his website and his spiritual path. So the big take away is find what values you love and develop in that direction.

I suggest reading up on the history of the Spanish fly and other plagues that mankind had faced in the past. What I found interesting is that the factor that drove the high mortality rate in the Spanish flu was the following: lack of social distancing, lack of proper healthcare at the time, slow lock down of carriers and underestimating the lethality of a new pandemic (mostly viruses but sometimes bacterial and rarely fungal) to that of a common illness. Interestingly, Australia at that time was far better than the countries with the highest mortality rate, simply because they forced all ships to dock at least a mile away from ports, so that they could send a boat with doctors to verify passengers if they have Spanish flu like symptoms or not.

Oh ok. Thanks for the information. I guess I'm more sensitive. This is a first for me.

Hello forum, after much struggle I finally got some shrooms and worked the courage to try it out. I was tempted not to share and typically keep insights to myself that were personal, but my close friend persuaded me otherwise to share this one. I researched a bit, and the suggested dose was 1.5 grams. I instead took 1 gram because I like whole numbers and am a chicken with new experiences in life. Also, I went to a room I double checked for safety, secured it, took out objects I don't like/ have negative association, and put objects I liked. I also had my best friend as a trip sitter. I trust her enough to babysitting me in this trip. I didn't include trip music, because I wanted pure experience of it. After taking the shrooms, during the 15 minutes I was lying down doing some form of letting go, letting go of what I expect about this mushroom, calming myself down in case something from my past crops up in trip. My experience with meditation and mindfulness was helpful. Around 25-30 minute mark, it hit me. I began to see the colours around my room brighten up and saw light patterns forming, not just on the walls but on my arms and spreading out around my body I'm seeing. I also felt my heart race a bit and felt really happy and surprised about my body. I wasn't expecting it to be very bright and lively! I lost track of time and began to walk around the room, smiling at the lamp, the cabinets and my friend like an idiot! I think it's comparable to some of my visualization sessions but the quality was so high! I had some minor insights into what colours are and what feeling emotional really feels like. Like just wow! I haven't felt this strongly happy for a while. I don't know what happened next, but my friend started humming and the colours started glowing from bright to dim and the walls had ripples on it, like it's not a typical wall I know anymore! I think roughly half an hour later I was coming down a bit and decided to lie down and it felt so relaxing to lie down. I think I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, I was happily giving flake to my friend for not being quiet, but she just shrugged. Wether she did it or I hallucinated the humming I don't know. Anyways hoped this experience is interesting for you and maybe some inspiration to trip. I might trip again next week, the week after or next month. See you all later!

@SOUL , @Derek White , @Javfly33 While I'm involved in tulpamancy I found out that these practices and concepts originated in Tibetan Buddhism, out of a small group that deals with using visualizations that create beings and worlds to destroying them over and over again as a way to attain enlightenment for many hours. A female scientist was able to disguise herself as a male monk and lived with this group for about a year and learnt the esoteric art of this group. Regardless if they knew or not, they taught her how to visualize into being a wolf tulpa, and after a year of training, when she finally returned to see her colleagues, she was able to will this wolf before the group and somehow her colleagues could discern features of her wolf. wether the accounts are true or not, this demonstrates how powerful imagination is already, without even starting the journey to develop this power. Physical, non-physical, it's so powerful that it's fluid. What you see is what you get.

Here's my working definitions of solipsism in case you find yourself in such a position at some point: 1. A state where one's perception has changed from identifying an outer thing, static or dynamic, as an illusion more so than as the noun one is accustomed of attributing this thing/object as, within that one's mind. 2. An idea/notion of oneself ,the subject, as a consistently existing entity as real and another being(human, animal, plants), the objects, as something not real, not consistently existing as oneself 3. A belief in that oneself is real and others are not, and through repetition and emotional charge this belief becomes a more solid identity than a fluid one e.g. I'm a solipsist, I believe in solipsism, with negative/positive feelings behind these words... 4. A notion that offers "shelter" from the effects of depersonalization /derealization from e.g. external traumatic circumstances, spiritual growth, schizophrenia, multiple identities. A form of denial of the self as an illusion as much as the world is (technically, the world's realness is denied). 5. A form of misinterpretation of glimpsing The True Self, either the suffering is too much or the lack of focus dilutes the glimpse's effects onto body/mind. 6. A placeholder of depression, nihilism, anger, confusion and most types of suffering. A way of justified evil, from self to other, and justified victimization of self from another. I hope I helped with explaining what solipsism roughly is. If this resonates with you, you're in the solipsism trap. Any questions, let me know. Peace!

@SoonHei Nice analogy!

Wait until you get involved in making a tulpa for months/years, designing a sentient being in the mind space, and realize at some point in that journey that that's how God designed you as well. If you're serious enough, you could samedhi with the tulpa. Of course, mystical/paranormal experiences, psychedelics and enlightenment helps too.

Could you elaborate more on experiencing this solipsism trap? And how are you so far now?

Easy there! I've been through that negative swirl, and I came out much better than before, as soon as I realized I was feeding the swirl. It's typical to go through a stage where you blame the person or situation outside yourself for these negative thoughts and feelings. That dynamic is natural when an ego tries to deconstruct itself. While that dynamic adds more negativity, it is normal. Venting out the negativity is another thing. Ideally, I wouldn't vent it out in public spaces, online included, because that doesn't help most of the time. Either vomit that out on the journal here, or in private. It's not worth the risk of getting kicked out.

Come to think about it, when I've experienced negative effects of self inquiry back then, it sucks because I wasn't aware that this solipsism trap is a thing, and it took quite a while for me to re-ground myself amid the swirls of thoughts around me.

@Gsk , @OBEler , @The Lucid Dreamer I could relate to the confusion, anger and suffering when solipsism and awakening are being conflated with each other. I've had experienced a haunting with an evil ghost, and recently have a friendly spirit with me, and those experiences combined with self inquiry I did 2 years ago added more negativity, but I handled that well enough not to do something dangerous to myself and others. I've recently found that I might have a tulpa and have been involved in tulpamancy, and after some time of doing exercises for developing tulpae I have a little bit more of an understanding about solipsism confusion and even nihilism. I recommend some of you try tulpamancy out and find out yourselves. I think at the relative level, these practices might help in understanding how identities are constructed and how they develop. If you're brave, though, develop psychedelic experiences and do 5-Meo-DMT and see for yourself.

You have potential to be a good poet. You might want to study other poetry forms before doing free verse. Also, *instantaneously.

Don't speak of compassion so cheaply.

I'm calling out your irresponsible and disrespectful posts to the people who have the disease and those who're afraid of it, and you being a smart ass! Not once did I say I'm a materialist, or a spiritualist, or whatever position I am, I'm calling you out. While I'll never ,100%, understand you, I know enough that your being ignorant, and being irresponsible.