Moksha

@Nahm Spot on and beautifully said.

Eckhart Tolle talks about a guru that was given a psychedelic drug, then another, then another. Nothing changed.

Suffer.

Space. I look for space in my thoughts, and if there is none I try to notice it back in.

@RedLine Fair point, but the same could be said of all spiritual teaching. All lessons are only conceptual pointers to This.

I strongly support getting an education. If you do it right, learning will round out your perspectives and help prepare you for success. It's not worth mortgaging your life, though. The most important lessons can be learned, tuition free.

@bejapuskas We only suffer until we no longer need to suffer. For most of us, that means we will continue suffering for the rest of our lives. I do believe, and have experienced, that personal suffering can be greatly reduced. For some rare few, suffering stops entirely. I remember someone asking Eckhart when was the last time he wasn't present. He thought for a minute, and then described an experience from years ago when we was standing in line at the grocery store. A customer in front of him left the line, and made everyone else wait. Eckhart felt a "tug" of irritation, but then was glad he didn't say anything when the customer returned to the line, recognized him, and started thanking him effusively for his books. Must be nice, lol. Don't take it the wrong way. I sincerely appreciate you guys sharing your experience with psychedelics. It's very interesting; I just have no personal desire to try it.

@mandyjw This is an example of why conceptual divisions can be distracting. Yes, biological factors like gender can influence how we process and share information. But in the ultimate sense, gender is meaningless. We are all the same intelligence. You already know this, but the best way for you to teach is to be true to your own experience. As Leo has pointed out, people watch his videos more when he is authentic. Which means that sometimes he is not authentic. Teaching is not about gender; it's about authenticity.

@bejapuskas I think Eckhart's experience was rare in the sense that it totally transformed his life based on a single dramatic event. He no longer suffered, but he didn't know why he no longer suffered. It still took years to deepen his awareness and process what it meant for his life, but the experience itself was intense in a way I haven't heard many describe. I agree 100% on not understanding psychedelics without trying them. I'm ok with that.

@4201 It's a Catch-22. Being present empowers you to be more productive in the world of form, but presence requires you not to care about the fruits of your actions. That's why you need a sense of playfulness. Engage fully, but don't take anything too seriously. Easier said than done, I know.

@Corpus I updated my post a while ago, since my first response felt a little egoic Science has experienced dramatic paradigm shifts, such as the realization of quantum vs. Newtonian physics. I agree that in general, science has a hard time being creative. True creativity arises from Source, not from science. The most substantive advances happen when people like Einstein are able to connect with the creative intelligence that we ultimately are. I remember when I first received my Ph.D., and realizing that the true value of my education was knowing how little I knew. In that way, education is a gift. It is humbling. People that become conceptually blocked by their education are missing the point.

Men talk about wisdom; women weave it.

@Corpus I was referring to all genetic and environmental factors as presently supported by reliable scientific results. If any science claims to have all the answers, it's not real science. Thank you for the healing work you do, especially given the challenges of our current reality.

@Conceptually-made Sociology focuses on the influence of other people, while psychology incorporates all genetic and environmental influences. If you have a specific desire to help people that have been traumatized by social circumstances (e.g., family), sociology is the best path. Otherwise, psychology will give you a more diverse education. Sociologists tend to be trench workers; they help people in difficult circumstances like children with abusive parents. One of my family members was a social worker, but she eventually burned out. Psychologists help with a broader range of conditions, but they also can burn out. In either case, it has to be a calling. Don't choose it just because it sounds interesting. Unless there is a fire in your belly for it, I would do something else. As Leo said, don't choose either one if your real goal is personal enlightenment and helping others become enlightened. There are better paths for that.

@4201 I totally relate. I get frustrated with myself, wishing I could be perpetually present in this moment. But then I realize that the "I" getting frustrated is the ego in disguise. It's just another trap. Once I let go of the "I" and open my eyes to what is, everything changes. I only have to do it here and now, not in the future. We will continue slipping into our conditioned mind until we suffer enough that we are willing to stay present always. Suffering dissolves the attachments that created our suffering in the first place. That is an awesome realization.

@Conceptually-made Lol, to this day my mom still tells me I shouldn't have gone into psychology. Maybe mom really does know best. Then again, she wanted me to go into the physical sciences, and I wouldn't have been happy there either. Regardless of which path you take, you are best served by your own awakening. The healer doesn't actually heal; he just provides the space until the person is able to heal themselves. And he is best empowered to provide that space when he has healed himself.

@bejapuskas I hear you. Watching Leo's video, there is an intensity to the experience that may be rare for people that awaken naturally. Eckhart Tolle's awakening was intense, but he is probably the exception. Intensity aside, I was struck by the commonalities in our experience. I read some of the comments from people on YouTube, and many of them thought Leo was delusional. For me though, everything he said made surprising sense, and resonated with my own experience. Ultimately, what matters is the present moment and our ability to accept and appreciate what is. Sometimes I feel anxious about the future, like what if I lose clarity and fall back into the trap of my conditioned mind? Then I realize that the anxiety is FROM my conditioned mind. It's just another ego trap. All I have to do is live in the present moment. There is peace, light, and happiness here. @Breakingthewall I completely agree. The ego serves an unknowing purpose by creating the suffering that ultimately sets us free. Once you are free, the ego desperately tries to reel you back in. But by then, it's too late. You have already experienced the freedom of who you really are, and it's easier to see through the ego's lies. One of the most healing moments for me has been the realization of the chain of events that created my ego in the first place. Like you, I saw myself as a child and understood experientially how I had built a protective wall without realizing it. Unfortunately, the wall proved to be a trap rather than a sanctuary. Separating from my ego was like a blast of light that made this clear in a way I had never understood before. I wish it had happened earlier, but that is another trap of the ego. Things happen when they are supposed to happen; it is all inevitable.

@Conceptually-made It's not uncommon for therapists to choose the mental health profession out of empathy born from their own challenges. The same is probably true for many spiritual teachers. As the saying goes, "Physician, heal thyself." If you have experienced healing, you are in a better position to help others. What kind of healing do you want to facilitate?. Are you more interested in psychological illnesses like schizophrenia that would require specific training in psychology/psychiatry, or are you interested in more general disorders like anxiety/depression that might be amenable to a holistic approach? Just realize that if you take the psychology/psychiatry route, you will need a master's degree at minimum for psychology, and a M.D. for psychiatry. That is a massive commitment. My degree is actually in industrial/organizational psychology. Like you, I was fascinated by the human mind. I don’t regret what I learned, but starting over I would choose another field.

@Breakingthewall @bejapuskas I appreciate both of you answering my questions. I've read about Aldous Huxley's experiences from Doors of Perception and afterwards, and just curious how others have experienced enlightenment through drugs compared to other paths. I've never even tried marijuana, and while that could happen at some point, I don't feel comfortable trying anything close to psychedelics. My own journey has been the traditional path of suffering, but that can be a hard drug in its own right. It is a major paradigm shift, whatever causes it. For me, the suffering was intense and long enough that it finally woke me up. Like you, I don't see how I could go back to blindly believing in the lies of the ego. I don't take it for granted though. I know the conditioned mind is the devil, and will never give up vying for my attention. Fortunately once you are awake, you are no longer completely at the mercy of your mind. You Just have to stay vigilant and continue dissolving attachments. I see it as a lifelong journey, but it's already so much better than it was.

@VeganAwake Thanks, I can see how the initial experience with psychedelics might be a way for people to experience what it is like to simply be, without thought.

@Chives99 Just because you are doing nothing doesn't mean you are experiencing nothing. Do you practice inner body awareness? Have you tried observing nature without naming it? Can you feel the connection between yourself and everything else? There is something beautiful and peaceful about spaciousness. Once you tap into it, and realize that you are it, why would you want to return to the barking insanity of the mind?

@Psychventure Awareness is only the first step toward enlightenment. Leo talked about not being bound by laws, but if you look at the second half he acknowledged the need of the form to abide by these laws. Are physical miracles possible? Did Jesus walk on water? I can't say definitively either way, since I'm not fully enlightened

Some scientists believe that physical laws vary from universe to universe. If so, "god" is not bound by a changeless set of laws. Maybe as Einstein discovered, laws depend upon the scale of our perception.

Now that is Love

@bejapuskas Very interesting, thank you. When you say that under psychedelics you forget what your friends are, I bet you can still remember their names, it's just that the boundaries between you and them dissolve and everything is one? Also interesting to hear that a psychedelic can have a slow build up, rather than exploding you into awareness. I can see not forgetting the lessons of the psychedelic experience, but I guess what I'm asking is how does it translate to your regular life experience? Do you experience the same live connection to who you really are on a regular basis? Do you find your ego continues to dissolve and your desires/aversions fade when you're not under the influence of drugs? Do you suffer less and love more? I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything I have no desire to try psychedelics, and I have no judgment for those that do. I'm just curious how it translates to enlightenment and a spiritual life. That's why I found Leo's experience so interesting. Being free of concepts, experiencing the Oneness of everything, sensing the Mystery of ultimate reality, channeling intelligence word by word, and realizing that you are light is how I describe my own experience. Anyway, it was eye opening that Leo seemed to experience many of the same things. If there is an apparent difference from what I heard Leo describe, for me there is a holiness to the experience. I've been agnostic for many years, but that is how I would describe it. Healing, Wholeness, and Holiness all derive from the same etymological root. It is not just that you realize everything is One; there is also a sense of progression. It's like Consciousness is playing in the world of form, but part of the play is a deliberate increasing awareness of itself. I feel this happens cosmologically, but also individually, which is really the same thing.