LfcCharlie4

I haven't read all this thread, but this is one area I happen to disagree with a lot of teachers, even my own as they aren't vegetarian/ Vegan. From the absolute perspective, nothing matters, however relatively talking we can always embody these teachings in a relative sense and live the understanding. Ramana Maharshi actually talked about the complete equality for all living sentient beings, including Animals, and would NEVER kill an animal for food, and this was way before the factory farming practices that we have today! I'm definitely not saying you need to be vegan or whatever to awaken, as you don't, you need nothing to realize the truth of your own being. However, embodying love for ALL beings, and knowing that all animals are literally YOU, why would you want to harm them unless you absolutely had to for survival reasons? Like if we HAD to I completely get it, but it's 2020, you can thrive as a Vegan EASILY, there's so many plant-based doctors and the like to help with that. I personally, do not see any need to eat meat or dairy, and even if it was slightly healthier, surely another living beings' life is more important? Question: Is it not killing life to prepare meat diet? Ramana Maharshi : Ahimsa [non-violence] stands foremost in the code of discipline for the yogis. Non-Violence can easily be applied to our eating, and out of true Love for all beings, why would you want to kill someone for your pleasure?

Btw you can't make awakening a 'goal' later in life, whether you are conscious of it are not you are the Absolute! But, anyway, what's your 'goals' with meditation then, that will help with people's recommendations.

Yep, inherently everything is meaningless, and that gives us complete freedom to create the meaning and purpose in our lives, as you said it is complete freedom. Why do anything at all then? For the love, for the joy, for the beauty, because you can basically! But, simultaneously, it doesn't matter if you do nothing as you said! However, the motivation for 99% of people to do something is to find happiness in that activity/relationship/object, realizing Happiness is a synonym for realizing The Absolute completely frees us to enjoy duality as we please! For some of us that will mean being President, and for others it will mean meditating in a cave- Absolutely, there is ZERO difference! I actually agree with you @VeganAwake ! However, I think we will disagree on the fabric of existence- Love. Love is all that exists and is the highest 'force' in the Universe.

@Waken Beautiful! Make all of life meditation is such a key point. Formal sit down meditation is great and very helpful, I still do it most days, but the most important thing is realizing we are ALWAYS meditating as meditation is what we are, not something we do. Formal meditation just allows us to completely rest for X amount of time. Of course, we can also 'water down' meditation to help reach more people, such as those looking to meditate for anxiety, or for sleep, or just for Mindfulness, but of course, the highest meditation is resting as Primordial Awareness or finding the silence in Self-Inquiry. For the highest teaching is Silence.

@Martin123 Yeah, she wrote a book called 'Intimacy With The Infinite' ,again I'm biased so keep that in mind It's basically a Spiritual Autobiography (Think 'End of your world' by Adyashanti) that goes into detail about her Awakenings in 2013 and 2014 I believe, years might be wrong! Anyways, it's kind of like 1 chapter of the journey she went through post-awakening with her personal life and, family life, and honestly, that part reads like a novel, let's just say I've never known awakening to transform someone's life that much! The other chapters are more pearls of wisdom, delving into topics like Presence, Spiritual Bypassing (A lot of people on here need to read that), The Void (what Ramana talks about), Awakening the Heart, Desire, The Stink of Enlightenment, The Enneagram and Non-Dual Freedom. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to not only read an inspiring story of living this understanding in all areas of life but also just for genuinely great insights and writings from a Self-Realized being. Oh and the reason I originally resonated with her so much is she's not like one of these airy-fairy teachers who don't talk about the elephants in the room, she covers things like Money, Relationships, Sex, Desire, etc in a very direct way. So, the book isn't about the Enneagram solely, but she has a YT series on that I think. Either way, I would recommend everyone to read it, but like I said I'm biased as she is my teacher!

Made some notes on Leo's latest video- He said he will be teaching - 1) Realizing at greater and greater levels you are constructing everything - All your own mind - You are God and the only being that exists- Includes EVERYTHING 2) Constructing all spiritual ideas, beliefs, concepts, teaching etc You are doing EVERYTHING- You are the truth, you are consciousness and LOVE 3) You are GOD (absolute, Self etc) 0 separation between you and God, everything is GOD. Absolutely GOD and 0 separation - become conscious of this after awakening 4) All that exists is Consciosness = God and it is all that exists 5) Nothing but states of consciousness, and everything is this at all times - whatever you are constitutes this - Some more self conscious then others, but everyone is pure consciousness 6) Love = Absolute, you are love and completely selfless, Love so much you constructed this infinite universe out of Love. Love = Solution to all problems. Love EVERYTHING as all is YOU!!! Love = Understanding God and Creation. 7) No fear as a result, all fear comes from fear of self, Total self-awareness ends this! Only fear those aspects you've disconnected from and stopped loving. Absoluten Love = No Fear! You are immortal and CANNOT die! 8) You have no beginning and you have NO end Pillars: 9) Radical open-mindedness - Epistemology, science, remove obstacles to prevent you from realizing you = God. All we're doing is removing obstacles to realizing The Self as Ramana Maharshi called it, or The Absolute, or God. The unnameable. Exist in SO many domains. 10) Ultimate teaching - You are GOD. All comes back to this! Many fears, issues, survival needs can prevent this 11) Need to change YOURSELF to get the results you want. Death of the false salf, gives you the true results you desire. The NEW YOU remains, You as GOD, living a life in peace, happiness, fulfillment = Living as The Self. 12) If you do things you've always done, without changing yourself, you will get the same results you always have. Maybe some surface changes, but nothing DEEP! 13) Become Infinitely Selfless and reconfigure your life to express this Truth and Consciousness in the World, however, you plan to do that. Satisfaction = living as God and activating your full infinite selfless self! BEcoming God is the only thing that can truly satisfy us 14) Work goes way deeper than you could have ever imagined getting into it! 15) The fruits are also WAY beyond anything you could have EVER imagined! If I'm honest, to me this sounds like what most Self-Realized teachers teach, such a Ramana, Nisgardatta (His book was titled I AM THAT for this reason!), Rupert Spira, Francis Lucille, Adyashanti etc etc They all teach what I have written above, in their own way after all so many words are used to describe the nameless. The Absolute/ God/ The Self/ The Big Self/ Pure Awareness etc etc To me, it sounds like potentially, 5MEO is one path of finding what you seek, as are many other paths, the more traditional ones, not that 5MEO is the ONLY path. It was certainly Leo's path, however, there are plenty of teachers who teach literally THIS who did not use psychedelics. I am also very interested on the healing aspect Leo mentioned that is certainly something that intrigues me, as healing is a big interest and passion of mine, also prevention with a healthy and active lifestyle, but that's another post! So, it seems Leo is teaching THIS in his own way and with his own flavor and personality and 'methods' he uses which is up to him. I wish Leo nothing but love and healing during his 30-90 day break and honestly hope he manages to truly heal his thyroid and find the answers he is seeking, as it has been a longtime issue for him, and seems like it is certainly carrying a burden in his life I would lastly like to point out this goes deeper than the MAJORITY of teachers, however, I don't think it goes deeper than EVERY teacher that ever existed, as those fully Self-Realized beings have been teaching these exact things for millennia in their own way, like how Ramana said 'The Self' Instead of 'God.' These are INCREDIBLE teachings, let me be clear, and I hope Leo heals himself and is able to flourish and teach these things in the most accessible way to his audience, as full Self-Realization is the greatest gift of all! Have a great weekend everyone.

This is why I always advise people to read the book '1000', yes I'm biased as my teacher is Ramaji's wife, but it shows the distinctions between many teachers and helps you understand why things like this happen. It's also just a model to help understand this because of course awakening can't be quantified, but there are key 'distinctions' between teachers that you'll begin to notice as you go deeper. Basically, using that book, Tony Parsons is in 'Early Non-Duality' similar to Eckhart Tolle (who he tries to shit on which is funny), Jim Parsons, Fred Davis etc, this is the 'No-Self' 'Nothing Exists' stage, but the absolute truth can not be a form of Negation (No/Not).

@Hello from Russia £

In the UK, I guess middle class these days is supposedly anything below 79k a year (household income) and the UK average is like 25k I think, so somewhere in between there, although this varies place to place of course. The most recent study was in 2011 and 47,000 household income constituted Middle Class, but in 10 years a lot changes!

@outlandish thank you!! But no I don't snore, I've been doing steam pots, going to the steam room and drinking Ginger Green tea and It already feels a LOT better, oh and have a nasal spray, I'm going to see how it is in a week or so.

Not one to self diagnose, but this has been an issue for a while. Basically, never Ill, but have a kind of blocked and stuffy nose consistently, and then recently have had some tension headaches and dry throat in the mornings. And, it's extremely annoying to have despite cleaning up my diet and lifestyle further this year I didn't think much of it, but my GF mentioned second-hand smoke can cause excess mucus, and a study showed it could be responsible for up to 40% of Chronic Sinusitis (idk if I have that yet). My mum is a very heavy smoker and has been all of my life, and although I don't smoke I think this could be the cause, but I'm not sure what I can really do as I still live at home with my parents, and telling someone to quit smoking isn't as easy as it sounds. Some smokers are so heavily addicted it's unreal. I'm really not sure what else it could be, I'm going to try and book an appointment with a GP this week and get it sorted but wondered if anyone had any tips here for how i can sort this out naturally/ prevent damage from Secondhand smoke. I bought an air purifier and have a Himalayan Salt lamp but it isn't doing much either. I'm open to anything, I know the ideal is either move out or get my Mum to quit, but believe me, I have tried for years and years. The only good thing is it's put me off smoking for life. Thanks for any help guys https://www.health24.com/Medical/Sinusitis/News/how-secondhand-smoke-boosts-sinusitis-risk-20180821

@Red-White-Light That's a great graphic! @PursuitofLight I am on the same journey as you, looking to train for enjoyment and overall health of the body first and foremost, however, I, of course, want to also look good simultaneously, which paradoxically happens when we train to our fullest potential and eat a healthy diet! Training purely for aesthetics will never fulfill you, it's like running a business solely for money. When you operate at a 'higher' level your business (body) still needs money to survive though, so there's nothing wrong with wanting to also look good and build muscle, the issues arise when we train SOLELY for that reason- like me when I was 15 thinking not being skinny would help with girls! However, you have to give Kudos to Bodybuilders work ethic, even the steroid abusers, the work and dedication it takes to build that much muscle is insane! But, also very damaging to the body if your pumping yourself with drugs every day. I would say as well as 'light to moderate' you want to add in heavy compound lifts, not just light accessory work. It's actually dense, wiry muscle that is most associated with longevity and overall health, and doing this will, of course, help build your strength as well. 5x5, Rest Pause Training etc, whatever one resonates most with you! I like your mix, cardio and stretching is essential. I'd also add in some 'group/community' exercise in the mix, don't underestimate the power of socializing. I play cricket for 5 months a year so that's how I get mine, you can try group exercise classes, or join a sports team, whatever floats your boat, but honestly, the social side of Cricket for me makes it 10000x better. # I'm going to link some Ben Greenfield articles who talks a lot about this: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/anti-aging-articles/how-to-look-good-naked-and-live-a-long-time/ https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/fitness-articles/workouts-exercise-articles/longevity-training/ I personally follow a modified Kinobody training program as I like how minimalistic it is, but you can find something you like online! Forgot to add I'm personally vegan for ethical and health reasons, however, if you eat plant-based you're going to need certain adjustments to your diet to optimize it for muscle building.

Probably easier just to close your eyes, I wouldn't stress too much about this

Not only does it feel like I'm talking to myself because you are literally The Self as well, but an MDMA experience where I finally didn't feel depressed is what made me think there is more to life! However, the experience is just that, an experience! You're not going to go through life on an MDMA high forever, but true Self-Realization is far better than any MDMA or any high, as recognizing the truth of your own being consequently results in absolute Peace and Happiness. If you think enlightenment will mean you get to never have a 'Negative' (as Nahm said we create the meaning whether something is negative/positive) emotion then you'll be in for a rude awakening. If a family member dies, do you think you won't be sad? The difference is there's no 'Me' who attaches to the thoughts and emotions so instead you FULLY feel it in the NOW, with your whole being and once you've done that you let the feeling go. A famous master once said to his student- 'Enlightenment is fully feeling with every inch of your body, in every moment. So, in actuality, you will feel more not less! However, I think you mean you're currently struggling with some things and want enlightenment to solve all of them, which of course true awakening can help tremendously. However, even post-awakening, there's integration and often shadow work, so if you're suffering with certain issues I would look for more direct solutions simultaneously. It becomes much easier to investigate your true nature without the burden of depression and anxiety, believe me! Also 'I' never become enlightened, there's no such thing as an 'Enlightened Person', there are simply beings who have recognized their own true nature fully, and those who it is currently veiled in. Enlightenment won't make you special, it will actually humble you a lot as you realize YOU and EVERYTHING/EVERYONE are The Self, so all sense of superiority or inferiority are gone in that aspect. But, please let me make this clear Enlightenment is NOT an experience, many on here talk about 'Enlightenment Experiences,' great you had a glimpse of your true nature, but true awakening is the recognition of what you and reality are, and an abidance as that! So, to answer your question, awaken and find out for yourself. More concepts and ideas aren't going to help you much as it seems you're already idealizing an enlightened 'state.' Investigate your own being, is there anyone actually at the 'center' of all of this? Is there a thinker or just thoughts? Is there a feeler or just feelings? Good luck my friend, and if you need some encouragement Self-Realization is the most amazing realization possible, but you can only know that from your own existential 'experience.' (I get the irony in that last word!)

self-Inquiry is a direct form of meditation if you haven't tried that! Natural Pure Awareness Meditation is simply a 'practice' where you allow ALL thoughts and feelings COMPLETELY without doing anything, and if another thought rises about that though you just leave it be, and allow it to be as it wants to be. This is done to allow The Self (Absolute, Awareness etc) to come forward and 'reveal' itself to you, as Natural Pure Awareness unconditionally allows everything. These are the 2 'practices' I recommend to seekers wanting to realize the truth of their own being. I don't recommend these to friends/family who just want to meditate to reduce anxiety or relieve stress, simple Guided Meditations for them, but you said you want to go deep!

@Mongu9719 Wish you the best mate, hope you find a path you can relate more with, and that you get everything you want out of life! If you ever need a friend or anything, messages always open to chat mate

@Aaron p Saying 5MEO CAN be dangerous, and has been known to cause deaths, and point out our brains aren't fully developed until 25 isn't Dogma, it's more saying if you are going to use, do it safely and do research beforehand. I think you mentioned you're only 22, like me below 25, so all I'm saying is just be careful! It's more the 15,16,17 etc that I'm worried could get reckless with this, as I know I wasn't great at 17 with MDMA and many people around me were using WAY too much and way too frequently. The side effects aren't always instant either. So, this isn't anti-psychedelic dogma, I have stated several times I'm a big proponent of plant medicines being used safely and effectively. Do I think a bunch of Under 25s repeatedly using 5MEO alone in their rooms will always fall under that? No. However, if one tests the drugs, uses correct dosage, maybe has a trip sitter for the first few trips, doesn't overuse the substance, then sure it's unlikely there will be many issues. So, see this as more of a 'Be Careful' than 'Dogma,' Also, be careful of endless seeking and the need for more, more, more and something that isn't THIS now, in the end we always have to come back to THIS. Experiences are great, but they are just that, experiences.

@DLH This is what I'm trying to say! I'm not saying this isn't amazing work, more that it isn't special or unique. It's a unique path that involves different means than the Ancients, but everything he said, has been said for centuries and millenia. I do agree though, a lot of context is needed with these teachings as there are many cultural differences and what not, which is why Tantric (Outward path as Rupert Spira calls it) is likely to resonate most with people, where they can enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life as part of their practice, instead of renounce them. However, eventually Non-Duality = Duality, and the world as it is is seen as this very Buddha planet, so it's not like the embrace of 'duality' won't happen eventually anyways I really appreciate 'old timers' (your words not mine ) on here that can see this, and see this is not new, unique etc, while remarkable, it is not as if Psychedelics are helping people get where nobody else has ever 'got to' (Terrible wording I know!) more that it can help people see the nature of their own being and reality and give insights into it. Whereas, before most ancients went through decades of seeking and practices, or like Ramana, had spontaneous awakenings. Who knows maybe everyone here done centuries worth of seeking in past lives and now it's time to truly wake up! Again, thank you man!

@Consilience If there is the desire to seek further, keep going. 1 insight is not always enough. think about it, we’ve had these habits for years, decades even,. if there is even the slight “need” to continue seeking my advice would be to follow it until you “arrive” home. It will be worth it!

Sorry, I guess I get defensive as I’m very used to people being on the attack against me and having to play defence whether that’s with Psychedelics or Rasa, but you’re right I don’t need to do that. Maybe it’s also a habit from English where we had to use “evidence” to back up our points ? And, yes I agree with you, infinity and deepening of the human dimension is ongoing. I was just trying to say there’s an end to the typical “seeking” that starts us off on our spiritual search. And, I understand what you mean via explanation, I think just was confusing that with recognition and understanding sorry. Ill be the first to admit true integration and embodiment isn’t an overnight event, as Rupert says there is no end to the expansion of consciousness through oneself, and why would anyone want it to end! It gets more amazing every day!

@Nahm no, but awakening is not simply about experiences that’s my point, while they can be great insights and helpful, true awakening isn’t about an “experience.” I do see your point but enlightenment isn’t just simply experiences and peaks. I’m not not denying 5MEO could be more intense, but at the end we realize the same truth of our own being. Everyone is The Self after all. you’re right though, I can’t comment directly on 5MEO until I do it, however my point is all these experiences are great, but are simply experiences and insights. But, abidance as the Self > any experience. https://youtu.be/Un_B_XN9D64

@Derek White let’s just agree to disagree. If psychedelics are your path I wish you good luck And no, Seeking does come to an end, of course in the human dimension there can always be deeper, but once you realise THIS as it is, there is quite frankly nothing left to seek.

@Derek White I have no need to take Psychedelics though, I've taken LSD 3 times post-awakening and maybe I didn't take enough but it made me feel love more intensely during the trip but didn't give any great insights, etc. Once you realize the truth of your own being, all seeking ends and you realize you literally are The Self and EVERYTHING IS THAT also. And, yes Nisgardatta literally states in his book life is a dream, Ramana Maharshi says the world doesn't exist etc as do many teachers, I'm not saying Leo isn't a good teacher for some people, I'm just saying there are teachers outside of Leo that have had permanent awakenings this deep. I've followed Leo for years and appreciate his work, but have also worked with other teachers and from what I see on here, they currently, are a lot more effective at helping people realize full Self-Realization. I can only speak from direct experience, and you're right I have limited knowledge of Psyches, it's more of an observation of this forum. But, like I said the only way to know would be to take 5MEO myself which I don't plan to, and wouldn't want to until I was at least 25 even if I had the desire to anyways. I do struggle to believe Leo is more conscious than the Buddha or Jesus or Ramana, sorry. Bear in mind I'm not saying Leo isn't awake, I'm just saying what he is saying now, is the same/ very similar to what the teachers I mentioned say. It's not new, it's just a new method of getting there, which could be more effective but I'm just pointing out there's other great methods out there, personally I went from struggling seeker to Self-Realization in 9 months, now I have plenty of integration and shadow work to do, but abiding peace and happiness is absolutely beautiful and has revolutionized my life. I honestly, couldn't imagine living any other way now. I am vilifying this from Direct Experience btw, my existential experience is literally what he is teaching, I just didn't use psychedelics to get there, so I'm merely saying you can awaken without them, not saying they aren't a viable option. Just for younger people, or those who don't want to other options are available, that's all. Sorry if I came across as digging at Leo, that wasn't the case, I have great respect for teachers who are trying to help people wake up I'm also big on Psyches being used for healing, I've posted about that before and am glad they are being used! P.S. Just wanted to add Self-Realization isn't special or make me an 'enlightened person' it is simply the recognition of the truth of our own being seen clearly. Everyone is The Self, it cannot be any other way, many are just not conscious of thiS!

@Nahm All my experience of Psychedelics has been post-awakening except MDMA, which isn't really a psyche, I've tripped on LSD 3 times and honestly it didn't do overloads for me, I just have little desire to try any further unless there was a reason to, such as healing. Okay, create was the wrong word, I guess sometimes it seems like it exaggerates that part in people. Don't get semantic on me Ramaji also says the book is merely a map, just like the 10 Ox herding pictures, or the Seven valleys of Sufism, 5 stages of Vedanta etc, eventually like all other maps has to be tossed in the fire. The map is not the territory. If you actually listen to any of Ramaji's and Ananda's teachings they too say there's no hierarchy, it's usually those who are not fully realized - Mooji, Bentino - that take on the role of the enlightened person and act superior. In terms of charging, they are not monks or aesthetics and need to live. Leo charges for his LP course, Booklist and has a Patreon and before that had Ads on his videos, Rupert charges 100s for retreats, Eckhart and Adyashanti have courses that sell for 100s if not 1000s I believe. People have to live, and in this society, we need money to survive. Ananda has 3 children to support, sorry if you think it's wrong to charge for 1-1 teachings, when people go to private therapy they pay. Yeah, you're right, I haven't experienced 5MEO so can't really comment, but see no need to try. What I was 'seeking' has been realized, I'm more than open to being wrong about 5MEO, I'm just saying from my direct experience of what I've seen on here, SOME seem to think Psych awakenings are superior, that's all.

@TrynaBeTurquoise Exactly, so many people meditate these days that aren't into Non-Duality or Awakening and get huge benefits from it. Of course, it's without them knowing helping them awaken to their true nature but simultaneously helping them reduce anxiety, depression, help them sleep, physical benefits etc Well said! It's part of the reason I still meditate post awakening. P,S. I know you love good ol Ben, but have you ever followed Wim Hof's breathing, I'm thinking of starting it?