Moksha

Career is a great spiritual practice. Learn to be present through meditation, and apply that presence in your career. Not only will you suffer less, but your actions will be higher quality and your thinking will be more creative and intelligent.

Even better, Love sees everything truly.

Racism is the ego manifesting itself. The ego is an illusion, and can only survive by claiming superiority over others. It is the fruit of complete identification with the physical form. The ego is blind to the One being that all of us are.

@bejapuskas I've never taken drugs, so I was surprised when I not only understood but resonated deeply with the essence of what Leo was saying. I expected a psychotic rant, and instead found the same distancing from ego, sense of awe, and realization of being universal intelligence that I have experienced naturally. I don't believe Leo's experience was an ego death as much as a Self-awakening process. After the first 30 minutes, it seemed like his conditioned mind started to reassert itself as he described being afraid of what this realization would mean for his practical life in the future, unsure of what would happen if the realization didn't last, concerned with following social and moral norms, etc. I get what you're saying about psychedelics being explosive. For me, the awakening was a more natural process. I'm curious whether people that have had a psychedelic experience are able to continue realizing the same experience after they come down from the high? Are you able to stay aligned with universal intelligence, even when you are off drugs? Do you still feel the ego dissolving, along with its attachments and suffering? My sense is that psychedelics are like steroids for the brain. The people I've seen take steroids develop muscle faster, but for their size they don't seem to have as much strength as people that develop muscle naturally. No judgment of either path, it's just something I've noticed over years of working out physically, and I'm curious if the same is true for building spiritual muscle.

What draws you to psychology, and what do you want to do with it? I studied psychology because I found the subject fascinating. It is a nice way to learn about how the human mind works. It also provides a solid grounding in the scientific method. If that is your motivation, go for it. Just realize that a bachelor's degree in psychology has little practical utility. You will probably need to get a post-graduate education if you plan to make a career out of it. If your aspiration is to be a clinical psychologist, an advanced degree is important. If your aspiration is to heal, you don't need to go the psychology route. You can still be an effective therapist without pursuing psychology, although the background helps. You just won't be able to call yourself a psychologist (which is not necessarily a bad thing). I appreciate my education. But honestly, if I could do it again, I would go into philosophy rather than psychology. And if I could redo that, I would probably go into spirituality rather than philosophy.

All you need is Love Love is all you are.

@Dodo Why are you here? Do you see yourself as someone with a message to share with others? Are you here to learn? Both? Neither? Regardless, if you are suffering in your life I wish you peace. If you have found enduring peace, I am happy for you.

@Dodo I love the humility and honesty in your response. I agree with you that the ultimate Mystery of God is beyond our comprehension. However, I disagree that there is any need for apology. We are as God made us to be, and we could not be otherwise. That doesn't mean we can't be awed and grateful for the Mystery that made us. We are the children of God, we are the Atman, we are God's emanation, we are the light of God, and we are God. Ultimately, there is only One. And yet, God still transcends us. The rays of the Sun are the Sun, and yet they are transcended by the Sun. The waves of the Ocean are the Ocean, and yet they are transcended by the Ocean. That is part of the eternal Mystery. Atman is Brahman, and yet Atman is transcended by Brahman.

@Dodo Nobody is playing God. God is playing us. And yes, God is Love. What else could God be since separation is an illusion?

@Marinador What you describe is not spiritual enlightenment. Loss of the ego is beautiful, integral, liberating, and awe-inspiring. Look at people like the Buddha, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama. Do they suffer from the symptoms McKenna describes? They are simple, loving human beings that know who they and who everyone else really is. Spiritual enlightenment doesn't mean losing form awareness; you simply realize it for what it is. It is the awakening of sanity. The human mind is a fire. It destroys when it is out of control, and it provides light and warmth when it is tended. Spiritual enlightenment is simply the realization allowing the use of your mind rather than being used by your mind. @VeganAwake You are fortunate not to need the dissolving of religious attachments. We are the ultimate primal energy, playing peekaboo with itself @Dodo Love is a living realization, not an emotion. It is the experience of dissolving every false boundary that separates "me" from "you", and recognizing that there is only One. That is what Leo was talking about, and it is the same message from every person that has experienced awakening. You mention the ultimate Mystery, and you are right. Even the awakened can only point to it, but we cannot describe it. Leo mentioned it in his video. He sensed it, but he could not understand it. And it is not because Leo is stupid It is literally beyond human comprehension. The ancient Sanskrit term for ultimate reality is Tat, which literally means "That". That is the Uncaused Cause, That is the Ultimate Source, That is the Eternal beyond existence and non-existence. I love That, don't you?

@Dodo The kingdom of heaven is within. We are already heaven, some of us just haven't realized it yet.

@VeganAwake "I" am Atman: God Imminent, one of the infinite rays of light emanating from Brahman and enlivening a transient form. Atman is Brahman, but Brahman is transcendent to Atman. Suffering arises from identifying with this form, and peace arises from realizing this true Self. The more transparent the Ego becomes, the more brightly the light within shines, until the illusion of separation completely dissolves. Awakening is the experiential realization that there is no "I". This is the realization of Love. We are all the same light. There is only one sun with its infinite emanations, playing in the world of form. Tat tvam asi.

Transparency.

@Dodo Trust yourself. And by yourself, I mean Consciousness. Once you know who you are, you will be in the most powerful position to help others have the same realization.

I rarely use the term "god" because it invokes concepts for a lot of people. Stephen Hawking may have been referring to an old man with a white beard in a heavenly throne; who knows. I heard Eckhart Tolle describe an encounter with Stephen Hawking when they were at the same university. Hawking looked straight into his eyes, and he realized that Hawking had completely accepted the isness of his reality, and was at peace. Sounds a lot like enlightenment to me.

Do you believe there were no trees before you were born? And will the trees outside my window stop changing color when you die?

Love is experiencing your Self in others. If you are enlightened, by definition you are love.

I assume you mean Mormon culturally, rather than doctrinally, since there are many Mormon beliefs which are dualistic.

Not if the bot has nothing to say beyond my own thoughts. Would you allow the bot to explode, knowing that it would end your illusory life?

Some of us have asked the question, but people believing that everything but the Self is an illusion still don't answer it. If you really believe that, why are you talking to imaginary people in an imaginary forum on an imaginary day? Are you so convinced that everything is an illusion that you are willing, right now, to put a gun to your imaginary head and pull the trigger?

I agree. Literally, "exist" means "stand out" or be manifested. Existence may or may not be real.

All concepts are bullshit.

You just posted about unbreakable rules. Maybe the mystery of Ultimate reality is one of those rules.

@Thought Art Omazing