bazera

@Leo Gura What if you do for example Hatha Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Holotropic Breathing, Mindfulness Meditation, and some other things for a couple of years, and then try 5-MeO, will that increase your chances of seeing God?

I have a question to intermediate and advanced practitioners. I'm a noobie at yoga and can't still my mind. I'm following the process explained in a book (also I'm doing Sadhguru's yoga), but my mind is all over the place, I struggle to stay aware. Is this a matter of discipline and should I discipline my mind more to be aware like by force? Or is this something that gets improved over time?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BHGBDT2D?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title This is a new book that I've found and ordered, haven't received yet but maybe you guys will find it useful. The author also has a youtube chanel and a discord group, so he is pretty accessible I think, unlike JC Stevens.

@Leo Gura Exactly. I'm doing the technique like a monkey, having no idea even in theory why I do the things in the 1h technique. But if it produces some results, that's okay. It's the part of the trial and error process. I think one should have many additional sources, like for example when I do Sadhguru's yoga, I'm also familiar with other yogic techniques, and in their books, for example in JC's Kriya book, some things are much better explained about bandhas, mudras, etc. Then I cross-reference that to what Sadghuru teaches me.

@Leo Gura I think you have to approach Sadhguru's work just like any other teacher's work, just like your work. Picking up what is suggested, testing, and going through the trial and error process while making sure that you're thinking everything through. But some of the things that anyone teaches, have to be taken as kinda faith, to stick with it, while realizing that you are doing so. So I just learned the Sadhgurus Shambavi Mahamudra yoga technique that I am supposed to do for the next 6 months at least. In my mind, that's not sheep behavior because it's a clear set of instructions that I can test and verify if it has any benefits for me. Maybe for a year. I think the danger with Sadhguru is if one believes everything he says without actually verifying what's being said. But that's the danger with all the teachers, you included. But with you, what I like is that you stress the point of independence thinking like 100x than Sadhguru or any other teacher that I've listened to does.

@Leo Gura What do you think is the reason that Sadhguru doesn't appreciate psychedelics as much as you do? Only because he doesn't have sufficient (or maybe any) experience with them?

@Leo Gura Why do you call introversion a disease?

@Leo Gura Can you elaborate on this? You've mentioned that a couple of times but haven't explained that experience further. What was it like? Did the demon speak to you? Was it like an actual demon that we see in movies or in Christian mythology? Why dragon and demon? Did you intend to see those specific ones? Why not angel?

@Leo Gura The problem with that is that beliefs doesn't seem to just be that easily removed, they are based on the prior experiences. So is the source of that wisdom to realize that every moment is new and fresh? I mean, if for example I lose a hand in past that makes me feel insecure, or where bullied at school, for less extreme example, what would the process would look like? Fundamentally, how can we re-imagine ourselves without massive experiencial change? How can I think of myself as humurous if all the prior experiences told me that I am not, without massive humor experience? I guess you need both, visializations and experience. But I think just the experience will beat visualizing, if one has to choose one over the other.

@Leo Gura Do you think you will cringe at your current self/videos in 5 years?

Even better, iBalls. Meh

@Leo Gura Aren't those shallow (by your standards) practices used to get oneself into a condition where he or she is more ready for higher things? What I don't understand about your position that Buddhism or some other teachings are bullshit is that, aren't those helpful in bringing a human to a level where he's more comfortable or ready with the more radical and deeper teachings you suggest? Can a normal person start listening to your deepest teachings and use those without gradually prepping himself? Aren't the teachings kind of like school grades? If one wants to handle high school, he should first graduate middle school first, right? Is middle school "bullshit" relative to high school? yeah, but you also need that right? What am I missing here? I guess your point is that people get stuck in middle school their whole lives. And we should avoid that.

@Leo Gura What would you say of Sadhguru's teachings? Do you view those in the same regard as Buddhism?

@Leo Gura If you were living in Ukraine right now, how would your perception of Russia change? Won't your survival agenda play a role in demonizing Putin? I live in Georgia, it's country below Russia that was attacked in 2008 and is still under threat of attack. And people around me demonize Putin, even considering the perspective of Putin is considered treason here. I understand that it's just a survival agenda but a strong motive to demonize something that hurts you.

@Leo Gura Do you see your teaching phase as just a phase? We should enjoy it while it lasts, right? Or you see yourself teaching in one form or another but through the different medium.

@Leo Gura In the future, what creative mediums are you seeing yourself using when video creation becomes uninteresting? Maybe mastering digital art even more?

@Leo Gura So there is no concept of a "bad" trip for you anymore? You try to integrate and appreciate the trips and even deliberately induce trips that most of us would call a "bad" trip?

@Leo Gura Can you tell us what will those 2 courses be about?

@Leo Gura Are you also working on the more practical course you've been mentioning, or just a spiritual one? Also, will your spiritual course require some prerequisite experiences or can it be taken by a person with no spiritual practice/experiences, just having a theoretical foundation through your videos and some books?

Hey, I've been interested in astral projection lately, and plan to learn doing it with this book: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/426154 Have any of you astral projected before? What were your experiences?

@Leo Gura For everybody? Or for only those who have some kind of Spiritual understanding, for people like you.

@Leo Gura But you need to have an altered state of consciousness to have the kind of understanding you are talking about, and dogmatic practices supposedly produce those (maybe much milder versions than psychedelics, but still). And if you don't have access to psychedelics, maybe due to your country's strict rules, stricter than USA or Europe, isn't your best bet some Buddhist practices or some Yogic practices? And meanwhile, working on your living situation in order to accommodate the availability of psychedelics, if there is a curiosity about something deeper.

@Leo Gura And what about Yoga schools? Like for example Kriya Yoga, doesn't it emphasize more than just no-self?

@Leo Gura If you were starting now, with the advice that you currently give, to not trust blindly to Buddhists, what would you do differently? You wouldn't spend much time with meditation and do more psychedelics? Or what?

@Leo Gura What do you think of Ralston's teachings? How would you compare them to Buddhism or Vipassana? Do you think what Ralston teaches is closer to what you refer to as God than Buddhism?