Flyboy

So, I think there is something sort of inherently sexual about the dualism of form. The first division from 1 is into 2. This "primal divide" sort of seems to be at the heart of duality, and layering generalized concepts onto some of its aspects is what I would consider the nature of "masculine and feminine". It is ultimately conceptual, but the lense provides greater understanding than not having the lense. Is it "ultimately" true? No, in the same way that neither is Spiral Dynamics, or holons, or any other conceptual lense. But it helps you see an aspect of reality that is hard to see without it, so I think the concepts are useful when well-understood and applied within this context. With sufficient resolution, it all just becomes FLOW, or what IS.

The book Radical Honesty is a great read. I admit that of all the self-actualization things I've read, choosing to actually follow through on being 100% authentic seems to be the most difficult. But hey, be kind and realistic with yourself. Try to become MORE honest than you were yesterday. Try to eliminate subtle manipulations. Know yourself, be yourself. Even being honest can be dishonest. Did you tell the jerk at the office they are ugly because it's true? Or because the "truth" served YOU? Or manipulates them somehow? This is deep honesty. You won't get there immediately. But keep trying, I think the rewards are outstanding.

Also I don't think you'll get much "enlightenment" out of DMT anyway (unless you've already done a ton of meditation and are focused intently in that direction). It is not auto-enlightenment, like 5-MeO. However, it will smash your scientific paradigm, so it's very useful that respect.

Basically this is just Kriya Supreme Fire, with less breath holding

Hahaha, agreed. I personally like 1.5x for a balance of comprehension and speed. But yeah at 1x I almost can't stand it It's probably great for those who don't speak English natively though--I always suspected he spoke slowly and clearly for partially that reason.

The funny thing about a holon is it is a CONCEPT about drawing distinctions and interconnections at infinite levels of degradation. Of course, the "limit" of this increasing nuance is the destruction of the CONCEPT itself, as "at infinity (big or small)" the idea disintegrates. So it's sort of a self-unraveling concept that is mostly useful for understanding interconnections between parts and wholes rather than revealing a fundamental truth, if you will. I suppose this is true of most concepts, though

If you think Frank is bullshitting, I think you either 1. don't know much about Frank or 2. don't know much about enlightenment, or both. Obviously you can never "know", but I think it is very likely Frank is being genuine. I leave it to you to understand why if you care to actually go learn about his journey.

Agree about reading, but the density of ideas in audio format is often higher (ie. Leo's videos). You can also listen to audio while doing other things, like folding laundry, working out, commuting, driving, etc. For busy people, this is very helpful.

How exactly did Connor get enlightened again? He does seem to understand what he's saying, but his eccentricity (mostly in other videos) is certainly off-putting to most people looking into this stuff. Still, I did like the reconciliation between what Frank and Leo say, I thought that was helpful.

It might be helpful to consider that an awakening peak state that returns to "normalcy" is then relegated to concept (because it is in memory, not presently experienced). As such, I wouldn't be surprised if the feeling that "this time it's total" is related to two things: 1. The new awakening is happening "NOW", and thus is presently your direct experience. This is contrasted in your mind with the "concept" of your past awakening, which by definition cannot be the thing itself. It makes sense that this phenomenon will result in incomparability. Even after a new awakening, you remember the feeling of incomparability and it holds, even if in some ways this could be an illusion in the absolute sense. 2. Awakening has infinite depth and infinite facets, if reality is Absolutely Infinite. However, the word "total" has no meaning in our experience except "at least everything we have already experienced." So, anything that pushes the boundaries of your experience AND includes all of your previous experience would be felt as "total." Total, in the absolute sense, is meaningless, as the word total implies a limit which does not exist. Happy to hear other thoughts too

Dibs on using this as the title for a book JK, if your book ever comes out this would be a great title, with one of those absolute infinity splashes on the cover!

Frankly, I'd say you are sort of talking about the two axes of self-actualization and enlightenment... they are more like parallel and complementary. If you want to be a happy, whole, actualized, and effective person AND know the absolute truth, you'll need to do both. Neither axis have an "endpoint", though if you get through the Buddhist paths you will be "dwelling in perceptual nonduality," which I suppose is considered enlightenment or liberation or whatever. I think the meditative path is necessary to make this a permanent condition, as the separate self is incredibly entrenched in every aspect of our psyche and sensations, and doing the thousands of hours of work is necessary to really root this out at a physiological level. Ralston-style contemplation (or Kriya yoga) may offer glimpses of enlightenment, and 5-MeO may offer utterly deep peak experiences, but ultimately both fade into "memory" and therefore concept, and thus not the "real thing" per se. But, since it's a journey, obviously those things are very helpful as you progress and probably very necessary steps.

I like to think of them as breadcrumbs to help you find your way Home

Well, Kriya is actually pretty broad. Assuming you're talking about the simple Santata Gamana method, I would break it down like this: Kriya Supreme Fire - This is energy work Pranayama - This is basically concentration meditation and indirect energy work combined Pravastha - Personally, I practice self-inquiry or "do nothing" during this post-pranayama period. If you do pranayama until it gets "easy", you are basically in a 2nd Jhana type of state at this point, and this certainly counts as meditation. So, if you do a long session, I'd say it definitely contains meditative aspects. If you focus on mainly the energy work, probably not so much.

I think Dalio is a great example of "noble" stage Orange, with a decent amount of Yellow as well. He is pretty entrenched in scientific materialism, but within that context, he has a great philosophy of life and balance and pursuing what you love. I definitely recommend the book Principles, just read with a keen eye for the limitations of his thinking.

Maybe he mahasamadhi'd on us

If Truth Be Told, I think Leo's biggest flaw is that deep down, he still wants to be special. I can relate.

I'm not sure if this helps, but I'm reading a book called "The Obstacle is the Way", which is basically applied stoicism. It seems like a useful framework for getting through difficult times and lends some great perspectives. I wouldn't consider it an end-all-be-all philosophy, but it's a useful component of actualization.

Unlikely, as he himself has said. But his own comments have indicated that between Actualized.org and his health issues, he has not had the time to pursue it hardcore in the way that Yang did. Also, VERY few people ever get that far on the meditation path, it's like going to the Olympics.

I think this post a little deliberately inflammatory, but my understanding at this point is that there is a sensate aspect of enlightenment that is reached through extreme meditative investigation. I don't fully understand this path as of yet, but it seems like it relates to eliminating the "separation" or "delay" between sensation and perceiver, until ultimately when the two become identical for all sensations experienced, the "rug is pulled from under" the separate inside self, as there is nowhere left for an identity to hide. This is so-called "permanent" enlightenment. (Also, do not underestimate the amount of work Frank Yang put into his achievement--some 7,000 hours of obsessive meditation. Daniel Ingram relates a similar effort. This method is HARD.) However, virtually all enlightenments have to do with a temporary or permanent falling away of the conceptual self, so it is conceivable that this sensate method is not the ONLY method which achieves this. For example, Ralston essentially advocates a kind of self deconstruction, while Spira is more about gradual dissolution through recognition of awareness, while Eckhart Tolle dropped his ego in place of suicide. 5-MeO eliminates the ego chemically (though usually temporarily), as do many other psychedelics. Glimpses seem to result from momentary "cessations" of ego. A glimpse is not discredited by being momentary, though it does unfortunately get relegated to "concept" as soon as it is in the past, technically putting it in belief territory. Still, a memory/belief of direct experience is probably the next best thing to an on-going direct experience. That being said, as Leo and others have indicated, I think the depth to which one can "awaken" can only be an infinity beyond all concept of infinity, if reality is in fact Absolutely Infinite.

I'm doing my best man. Been doing Kriya and contemplation since I started watching your videos 9 months ago, I've read close to 20 books off your book list, and watched most of your content as well plenty of other teachers, articles, and sources for cross-reference. Psychedelics are off-limits for now after a bad online MAOI fucked up my receptors (huge mistake). I'm making real progress, but I'm not there yet. The purpose of this question is meta-thinking about the direction of the path I'm taking, and I'm just considering whether a long-term dedicated vipassana practice is worth the investment / opportunity cost over other methods. I frankly don't love the Buddhist framework, though if interpreted correctly it is essentially pointing to the same things you are. I really like the idea of overall Actualization, and I credit you primarily for championing that with your content. Big picture understanding in your content is phenomenal. But, of course, enlightenment is at the center of all of it, so optimizing that piece of the puzzle is the highest priority for me at the moment.

Context: I've watched almost all of Leo's videos, read the Ralston Trilogy, Ruper Spira, and others, and am now exploring Core Teachings of the Buddha, have been doing Kriya for 8 months, and have experience with a number of psychedelics and DMT, though not 5-MeO. I cannot use psychedelics currently because of an injury to my brain from a bad MAOI sourced online. After reading / watching a number of Daniel Ingram videos, I'm confused about what "Enlightenment" actually is. He describes it as a fundamental perceptual change of reality that is achieved in distinct stages (the 4 paths) and is ultimately permanent. This seems VERY different from "consciousness recognizing itself", as described by Rupert Spira, or from the inexplicable knowledge of absolute Truth described by Ralston. The Ingram description indicates that these other descriptions might only be "sub-enlightenment" and still "of mind", even 5-MeO breakthroughs (he describes these as 6th/7th Jhana type experiences, and claims to have experiences both 5-MeO and the meditative experience). This has led me to really question whether the "ultimate truth of reality" really IS knowable (by which I mean directly experienceable, not mental knowledge), as it seems there is very significant disagreement on what enlightenment constitutes and the state of understanding that can be attained. Despite claiming Arahant (4th path) attainment, Daniel Ingram said he remains ontologically "agnostic", which is in stark contrast to the assuredness of people like Leo and Ralston who claim certainty of Absolute Truth. Guess I'm feeling a little lost after initially hoping the direction of the path was clearer.

What kind of atmosphere do you think this creates for a female in this community? It's disappointing because of the hypocrisy. The implicit purpose of "high consciousness" and development are instantly undermined by "omg she's so hot I'm gonna wife her up boys." I've just been around way too many people like this in my life, and find it distasteful. In Anna's case, it completely undermines anything she is SAYING, and thus everything about her that is of true substance. I think that's a real shame. Beautiful girls are a dime a dozen. There is more to people and life than this low-brow masculine slobbering.

Crickets? @Leo Gura I'm someone who you have helped a lot asking a genuine question to deepen understanding. This would be an awesome opportunity to shed some light if you do think you have a deeper perspective. I am not trolling.

A little disappointed to see the beauty squabbling over an enlightened female. C'mon guys. You make this whole place look bad when you do that. That aside, Anna is great and has some really profound things to say. Hearing it from a feminine energy is also really refreshing and rare.