LfcCharlie4

@Meetjoeblack hence why I gave the warning. I don’t follow PUAs as I’m in a relationship. ive seen all the shit on him before. But, his overall advice is solid as foundational advice. Just he himself has a major sex addiction and many psychological issues, a lot of PUAs do tbf. @Shin Yeah, but once you embed these techniques of approaching, how to frame, how to text etc, it will really help. And you no longer think about it as it becomes natural. But I agree you want it to become natural, however for the average guy who’s into pickup tbis will take a lot of work.

@Leonora agree with this, it’s an amazing model, but people here very obsessed with it. @Yahya Id say mainly Yellow, although Leo’s recent videos mainly Turquoise

Yeah this is a normal stage for a seeker, where you question everything, it is honestly so shit. However, you will never find it in the future, everything you’re seeking is right here and right now, not in some future trip or experience. Of course those insights could help you realise this. THIS is it, so your everyday life, is it, there isn’t a magical state you’ll get to where you have wings, instead you’ll experience Now without resistance and embrace every moment. Enlightenment is the recognition of The Self, often people dress it up way too much. Of course integration and embodiment work is needed, but firstly realise THIS as it is is it

That’s a great quote by Adya.

Awesome post mate. Disagree about 5 love languages though, certain people will genuinely respond better to different ways of receiving love, maybe you could upgrade the ways of giving this love and you could simultaneously work to heal that areA, however, do think it can help

Cut first and get shredded, take up some form of cardio for the health gains also, can be a sport you like or any sort of cardio you enjoy. im guessing you will want to stay lean post cut, so only lean bulk, there’s no rush to get huge unless you want to compete or whatever, also try to stick to healthy and natural foods in your diet, easy to get side tracked and chase gains at the cost of your health. Kinobody has easy to follow 3 days a week programmes for both cutting and bulking, also employs intermittent fasting which makes weight loss effortless.

In terms of pure results check out John Anthony Lifestyle, but I mean I’m guessing you’ll be a lot more conscious than he is, most PUAs employ sleezy and manipulative tactics so learn the keys from them, but apply them in a more conscious manner.

@Bennn absence of experience is impossible, without experience NOTHING would ever exist, and by that I mean there would literally be no existence possible, all there is is experience. Just like all there is is consciousness.

@HAL9000 this is common practice with online courses, for example Tai Lopez (the in my garage guy) has had all of his courses pirated and sold for like $10. It’s the same as people pirating movies and music

Thoughts aren’t an issue, it’s the resistance to thoughts and identification with them that is. You don’t NEED thoughts to live, as natural pure awareness takes care of everything, however, thoughts can be useful in some areas of life, and it can even be fun to think sometimes, I often daydream before bed, maybe it’s preparation for dreaming at night lol, but don’t think you can never think again, that will just make you think more. What would be more useful is actually Welcoming your thoughts and treating each thought as a guest in your guest house and loving EVERY thought unconditional! investigating your thoughtS is also key, where do they come from? Where do they go? What is at the centre of them?

No direct experience but sounds like it would be incredibly intense mentally and physically, especially on the heart, be careful with drugs bro especially if you’re mixing! also, what are you trying to get out of mixing the two?

Yeah, you could argue some have Karma from this life or past lives for those genetic diseases that are uncontrollable. But, Awareness/ God etc gives us complete freedom to as we please, and as a result this means ANYTHING goes, like we know smoking causes cancer and eating shit causes diseases yet we still do it. You get what I mean? Also, creation isn’t possible without destruction, destruction and physical death are a part of healthy functioning of a healthy organism, without death there can’t be life. However, this doesn’t have to be suffering, of course there will be negative emotions and pain, but the suffering comes when the I-Thought clings to these things. Don’t think I’m saying you shouldn’t be sad, what I’m saying is when you are sad be completely sad as long as you need to be, totally feel with every ounce of your body (same for all emotions) and then let it go when the time is right. That is part of becoming emotionally mature and “current” it’s not easy by any means.

@Shin Pre spirituality I was the BIGGEST stress ball with exams, however it meant I revised intensely and got very decent grades, however the motivation was more out of fear than enjoyment. Whereas, now if if was doing exams it would be of course disciplined but done in a way I could actually enjoy learning the content and whatever is needed for the exams, I’d also help others a lot more, which I hardly did enough of at school in areas I was more naturally gifted. I guess we all live and learn

@SantaMaria Anytime, hope you enjoy your exams as much as someone can ?

@Flowerfaeiry Potentially, just from the people I’ve spoken to, they have no understanding of non-duality usually or enlightenment, sometimes Buddhism. Realizing truth goes way deeper in my experience than reduced stress and anxiety, I think it’s more the effects meditation can have if done regularly in terms Of reducing the stream of thoughts and allowing emotions. However, I guess you could say it’s related to truth but is certainly not an awakening of any kind in most cases.

As @Nahm said effort is needed until it is naturally dropped. The highest awakenings are those of absolute effortlessness with life, kind of like a 24/7 meditation in which you totally embrace each miracle (each moment) of life with complete acceptance no matter what arises. Natural Pure Awareness meditation can help “bring forward” your awareness from the background to foreground of your life

@Inliytened1 well said. Consciousness is ever present, no matter what state you are in. Therefore, from a relative perspective you could say the body is sleeping/ resting, yet Consciousness is ever present during this experience, I think it was Leo who said notice when you’re dreaming and you die there is still an experience of Nothingness, key is there is still an experience. Without Consciousness, no experience would ever be possible. This experience is simply All consciousness through the many forms of finite life.

Saw a post by @Gneh Onebar on his RASA experience so thought I'd make a thread for those out there who are still hardcore seekers, don't fancy the psychedelics path and want to work with a teacher 1-1. I started working with Ananda Devi in April after reading 1000 (from Leo's book list) last November time, I at first thought RASA was BS and overpriced, I basically became a Rupert Spira fanboy for about 4-5 months beforehand (I saw he was at 1000 from the book) and it was an incredible step up in understanding from being an Eckhart fanboy loool, however despite being addicted to his videos and books for 4 months or so, I didn't make tremendous progress, was considering his retreats, and may go on one eventually just for fun, but I personally think $1000 on working 1-1 with a teacher > $1000+ on 1 7 day Rupert Retreat. So, I can't remember exactly but my original LOC was like 580 or so, but LOC is just a model and isn't that important really, like all concepts must be dropped eventually, however, it's a great tool for evaluating your own awakenings and/or teachers etc. I also learned a lot about the Enneagram and my own humanity, it explained a lot of how I act and I recommend everynone doing Enneagram work. I have been receiving RASA since April roughly 1-2 times a month, usually every fortnight, and for me it has basically acted as a gradual 'Clearing' of any blockages, issues, problems I had in my own unique awakening process, as well as facilitating several awakenings in the days after, often subtly realizing certain things. It started with an awakening into 'No Self' and there being 'No-Doer' this is similar to what good old Eckhart/ Fred Davis etc teach, the whole 'there's nobody there' 'you are the one who's aware' it's awesome opening yourself to Non-Duality and this was a drastic change in my direct experience of reality, however, the 'problem' of other and world is certainly not solved here, and a true full awakening can't use negations such as 'No' the heart yearns for fulfilment and love, we will get to that. I then had an awakening into 'Being Everything/ God/ All, this is an expansion from 'No Self' into EVERYTHING being me, honestly it's very blissy and this was like a honeymoon stage for me, I was lost in life and the bliss of this awakening, to be honest, this was incredibly fun and it's easy to see why many don't move past this, as you also gain incredible 'Cosmic' knowledge, you could call it a 'Cosmic Self' as such, the space of presence in this awakening was incredible. You become the Universe. However, it isn't the end, as there is still an indentity as 'Everything/ Universe' etc, Nisgardatta wrote this awakening as the 'First Big Step.' However, this stage is not the Absolute, it goes beyond that. Next, was my awakening into Love, and this is also amazing. Realizing all is Love and Love is the substance of everything is fucking amazing, this is the next 'step' beyond being ALL and explains why teachers such as Mooji and Bentino Massano have so many scandals, as an awakening into this love has not happened, so while awakened, scandals are still possible at that stage. This awakening also made me kinda obsessed with my teachers, my love for them and those around me deepened beyond words, even for random people in the street, I was also starting to show and feel emotions much more, a simple move about the injustice of 0 hour contracts in the UK made me ball, as a 7 this was a key step to my journey as I was so keen to avoid and escape negative emotions instead of embrace and feel them. However, in modern times, traditional paths are not followed as much so it's easy to not get caught up here like many mystics of the past who couldn't let God or their Guru go. 'If you see Buddha in the street, kill him' fits well here. A surrender into the unknown is essential though, a deep unthinkable surrender, but the love you experience is beyond amazing, and is of course worth surrendering the 'Cosmic Knowledge' for, this can be especially hard for us westerners. Look at Ken Wilber for example as the perfect example of a guy who has not done this, he loves his models and cosmic knowledge, I love his work and am by no means shitting on him, just to illustrate what I mean by 'cosmic knowledge.' My next awakening was incredibly fun to say the least, a realization of the absolute. I won't lie I became a bit of a hermit for a while as realization of the absolute is so god damn beautiful and astounding it can be easy to get lost here, you realize ALl is The Self, the mind is completely dropped, knowledge is dropped, the 'other' is seen through, however it's like putting a slight protective cave between yourself and the world, instead of embracing THIS as it is, you want to control your environment to suit the bliss, the peace etc and as a result subtly reject the world, there is one final step to make. Common theme here is Monks who go off and live alone, or those who create a perfect environment for peace, although these don't always mean one is here, they are common markers. And, then we arrive to now, my most recent awakening into the true absolute, into true Self-Realisation in all it's glory. THIS IS IT, means THIS IS IT, this moment as it is is perfect beyond words, the ordinary is the very extraordinary you are after, what more could there be than THIS. This very planet is the Buddha planet, is heaven, is Nirvana, not some special space you can attain when you gain your enlightenment wings and fly off. The absolute includes absolutely everything, it is beyond enlightenment and non-duality, all concepts are washed away and the World is seen to be The Supreme Self. everyone is seen to be the Self and The Absolute is all there is. There is NO enlightened person, no other, no mind, no knowledge and of course no world just The Self. This resolves the issue of Duality and Non-Duality, as ALL is the Self, ALL can be embraced and enjoyed, it embraces both non-duality and duality, hence the ordinary becoming the extraordinary, 'duality' embodies truth as much as anything else, EVERYTHING is included, go embrace the world as it is. It is impossible to put into words as everything has become so 'ordinary' again, yet it will never be the same, the best phrase I have seen is 'Transcendental Duality' but that just adds concepts and can be confusing, it is basically pointing to THIS right now. Seeking is over. This as it is is perfect, the Ego will try hard to fight this of course, as will the mind, but resistance leaves you, you go beyond any form of concepts around this work, whatever arises now will be embraced and enjoyed. I am unlikely to do it justice with words, but that explains my 8 month journey working with Ananda so far, it's been fucking amazing to say the least, if you have any questions about RASA drop them below, I get they'll be a LOT of skepticism and thinking wtf is this guy on about, but I'm used to that by now. In terms of what's next? Just go enjoy life. Do what you love, and love what you do. Whether that's starting a business (a conscious one of course ) or becoming a Spiritual teacher, or even going to work in starbucks, just do whatever you want. You will be free and Happy, the seeking is over and all that is left is to enjoy the game of life, for me Happiness, fun and enjoyment are always at the top of my to do lists, if I don't love what I do, I see no need to carry on doing it, of course you have to be practical about this. Oh, and of course, whatever you do at this stage will always come from Love, therefore, desire as big as you well please, with Love as your driving force you have the world at your fingertips, it doesn't mean you become passive at all. Personally, I am in the process of growing my businesses, playing sports, having fun with friends, deepening my relationships, helping people grow their businesses and more importantly Living NOW. In the future, I wish to become someone to help facilitate awakening, not just a teacher, but a 'finisher' who actually helps awaken people to the Absolute, however I'll only be waking up myself, time after time Happy new year everyone!

@Visionary Awesome reply. I also got into this very young and know exactly what you mean, your motivations in terms of school work may change, instead of doing it because you HAVE to, see it as an opportunity to expand your knowledge in certain areas of life. I get what you mean by not deep enough, but at the end of the day Non Duality = Duality. Awareness is literally EVERYTHING, and other domains of life apart from awakening still have their relative importance, for example if society suddenly collapsed we’d be in turmoil. So, it’s not about stopping life but evolving with your new understandings to embody your awakenings into your life.

@Gneh Onebar @Haumea2018 can fill you in, I’m a newbie so can’t comment on things I hardly know about / experienced

I’m also not trying to belittle you or adjust awakening to my own experience. As I’ve said I’ve been where you are, I’ve had the No Self awakening and seeing the world as an illusion, but 1 awakening often isn’t the final truth, while any sort of Non Dual awakening is incredible of course, it does go deeper than No Self. It gets to the point where THIS is literally it, and guess what? THIS includes dirty old duality, meaning this very world is also it, as is literally EVERYTHING, THIS has to include everything as The Self is everything.

@VeganAwake Read 1000 and Anandas Intimacy with the Infinite, these will both show you what they’re truly saying. As I keep saying it goes beyond seeing maya as the illusion, and their content has nothing to do with looking outside yourself to feel complete. Like I keep saying full circle means Non Duality = Duality. This very world is the self, is heaven, is the Buddha Planet. Therefore, there is no need to subtly reject it, it is a play. We can agree to disagree on this, as we just go round in circles, but I feel reading both their books will truly tell you more about them. Considering Anandas comes from a Multi-Millionaire Conservative Jewish background (she literally doesn’t speak to most her family because of how they treated her) that she gave up to truly be herself and allow her awakening to flower, I do think you’re being very unfair. As I said, read both their books and then judge, or it’s like watching 5 minutes of a film and rating it on IMDB.

@VeganAwake you do know they reject working with quite a lot of people who aren’t at the end of seeking, hence the need for an introductory session. However, as the saying goes when the student is ready the teacher will appear. @Display_Name yep @AwakenedSoul444 as I’ve said it’s not a magic pill, I’ve been working with Ananda for 8-9 months now, 1-2 RASAs a month. But beyond the RASA there is work clearing out blockages, whatever is holding you back, questions you have etc, as well as in Anandas case Enneagram work. From your post it seems your chasing experiences and spiritual “highs” you won’t get that from RASA and that’s not what awakening is, a true awakening is not merely about highs and experiences, while these are great, if you just chase these youll forever be on the hamster wheel. This is why seeming is often compared to an addiction, you use the teachings or whatever to get a “spiritual high”

@Gneh Onebar as an Enneagram 7 I still meditate to help ground myself in the mornings, usually only 15 minutes these days, but it’s not a strict practice like before, it’s merely to experience the joy of meditating before I start my day @Haumea2018 also recommended some Mantras to help stabilise which I’ll be trying

I love a good old controversial post, and talking to @VeganAwake earlier inspired me to go rewatch a Satsang titled 'Is There an Ego After Enlightenment' and make some notes to make a post here along with my own post-awakening experience, as I am genuinely quite terrible when it comes to putting my experience into words, although of course NOTHING that is ever said can be completely accurate about the absolute, although words can be great helpers and pointers In summary, Yes, but not in the same way as pre-awakening, therefore, Ego may not be the best term, Ramana Maharshi called it a 'pure Ego', but even that can get confusing. Let's just say there is a Human who responds when their name is called, has likes and dislikes a personality, and acts as a Unique individual but KNOWS they are Pure Awareness/ The Self/ The Absolute, as I said it's near impossible to put into words, so you could say the identification has dropped and the 'Ego' is no longer a problem as the resistance has also been dropped. I AM NOT SAYING THERE IS AN EGO IN TERMS OF THE EGO 'UNAWAKENED' PEOPLE HAVE So, to start with as many of us know, when you investigate yourself, your thoughts, emotions, sensations etc you realise there is NOBODY and NOTHING at the centre, just Pure Awareness, Spaciousness, whatever you want to call it, and post awakening the Knowing shifts to knowing yourself to be The Self/Absolute, however as we function in this world it can often SEEM like and FEEL like there's a Little me, a Charlie this is happening to, but when you investigate, nobody is there. As the Buddha said when asked how someone knows they get this, 'Whatever arising is Not me, Not Mine' (from a Small Self perspective) However, again it can FEEL like it is, and in terms of functioning often does, and of course we live in 'the world' so likely have relationships, a family, career etc, therefore, typical detachment and indifference to everything as many non dual circles teach isn't always ideal, of course you're going to love your Family and be sad when they pass away, and this is NORMAL, feelings make us Human, without them we would be Robots. However, the feelings are now felt without resistance. As I said, true Self-Realization is about becoming more human, not becoming an Avatar, the time will come when we simply rest as pure awareness when we drop our bodies, and as always remember THIS IS IT, whatever is happening now IS IT. Instead, welcoming feelings and thoughts like we are a guest house is hugely beneficial, and post awakening ALL resistance is completely dropped, and what is left? This, as it is. Enlightenment is forever right here, right now in this very moment, as that is all there ever is. But of course post-awakening something changes, the resistance to the now is completely dropped as I said and the 'Fault Finder' (Mind) comes to a halt, so the now is completely embraced in all of it's beauty. As, I said you know there is no self there, but the Ego merely helps us function and live as a human however you choose to, and enlightenment doesn't mean you become passive, instead it frees you to do whatever you wish to do in life. The Ego is not felt in the same way and is no longer a problem as I said as the resistance to now has dropped. The problem was always the resistance to life, and to exist as a unique being is actually a beautiful gift, you could call this a unique essence that is awareness playing and having fun. Zen proverb- 'To Know and not to do, is not to do.' You always no longer think about this all day long, and simply embrace life as it is now, whatever that entails without any resistance. Often old thought habits still need to be challenged, for example if you have certain ingrained beliefs about Money, Health, Yourself, they may still need to be addressed or have mental momentum that needs to be addressed basically. An easy indicator for Typical Ego is seeing yourself as Superior/ Inferior to anything/ anyone else, as all is YOU, nobody is superior/inferior, making awakening incredibly humbling! What dissolves is what Ramana called the 'I-Thought' and as that dissolves you are free to embrace life as it is in the now. Basically your ability to receive and enjoy life is embraced hugely and as a result you are able to embrace life fully as it is, moment by moment. Life becomes a spontaneous joyous experience, moment by moment. Whereas, often the Ego-Self would avoid and restrict life, especially anything 'Negative' and has many mechanisms to do so. Also, awakening allows us to open our hearts completely and love is an ever deepening exapansion and from this we live a life of compassion, kindness and empathy. This does not necessarily mean we have to become a teacher, but means whatever we do it is always coming from love and in order to help people 'improve' their lives. And, awakening of course makes you realize EVERYTHING/EVERYONE is The Self, everyone is you, which will forever change your life. In terms of awakening making us passive: Total acceptance does not make us passive, say there is an acceptance we are overweight, does this mean we accept it and do nothing? No, true acceptance means we fully accept we are overweight and THEN take action and do what is needed, in this example clean up your diet and exercise, so you research what you need to do and go do it basically. Same for any situation in life You don't simply stop doing, you see how doing arises spontaneously within you and from this take action/ 'do' whatever you want to, if anything awakening frees you up to do whatever you truly want to in life, that may involve going to join a monastery or doing very little and that is also fine, whatever YOU want is fine, everyone will be different, believe it or not (9 Enneagram Types help show this a LOT, as always Enneagram work is hugely recommended) In fact you can actually become more productive as YOU no longer get in your own way, and whatever is needed/ you want to do, you simply do it. Remember, we are still human, will have a personality/ Enneagram type, this is okay, it is just like Awareness is driving a certain type of car, to exist as unique beings means there will be some definition, what fun would it be if everyone was exactly the same and we were all robots? So, yes it can be said you will become MORE human and MORE You post awakening, yet if you investigate there is no self at the centre of it all, what an incredible paradox just like a lot of this stuff is! It is impossible to put into words but I tried my best, most importantly, Awaken and Live in the now without resistance, no matter what arises.