caspex

If we actually managed that Leo wouldn't be ashamed, he'd think, "Finally, they grew up. I don't have to be so rude anymore."

That kind of thinking is a result of sole awakening in the head, but no awakening, even blockage, in the heart. Simply awakening, even to a high degree, in the head is not enough. You would need to awaken in your heart too. Then, it's obvious one should not rape babies lol. It's not that one is too awake, it's that one is too asleep.

There's no need to deal with this fact. This understanding is very enjoyable with the awareness of the love of reality. Isn't it just amazing how everyone you know is just as much a dream as you are? The only being in existence is God, your true self.

If you have awakened from the head, meaning you can comfortably see that reality is impersonal, empty, meaningless, and are completely detached from it, understanding it's all a dream without any substance, then the next thing to do is to awaken from the heart. Develop a pinpoint concentration in your chest, similar to the concentration at the third eye area. Emanate love from the point in your chest once you start feeling that pressure. Emanate more and more, until you realize you can love that point, and that emanation itself, so you detach from the emanation process, and you're loving everything at once from an entirely new dimension. It's a very intense state of love. Then, combine it with your awakening of your head if you haven't already. You'll see that this dream you saw as impersonal has been breathed with life, as if it's one benevolent being, emanating unstoppable love to absolutely nowhere. Now, let your relative self surface and be part of the dream, however, witness how your relative self is so absolutely made of love. If you don't at least have tears in your eyes, you haven't gone deep enough.

I went from forgetful, and anxiety driven to calm, peaceful and relaxed in my voice. I speak at the appropriate pace and crisply when it's a matter of exchange of information, but otherwise my temperament has become much sweeter. My words have gotten much clearer and I speak with a flow now. Sometimes the love is so great, it's hard to not speak to someone like you love them dearly. This does not mean I am not aware of my absolute sovereignty. This freed up my attention to be able to notice how others behave, I'll tell you my observations. I see people being very impatient, trying to find the next interesting thing all the time. Lots of demonization, they are so preoccupied with their life and their selves that they cannot enjoy the present. It's so utterly tragic. It makes me weep. Even kids show signs of such neurotic behavior, I have seen no kid that is peaceful. I sincerely feel that this isn't normal.

It's from a game called Fear & Hunger. The story is crazy good, it really embodies the archetype of "Life is unfair" and "Survival of the Fittest". Not just that but, "Life is out to get you"

Doubting yourself, your process is natural. Just keep trying and trying in new ways, learning from your mistakes, and practicing what works. Don't keep repeating the same thing too many times out of laziness. The only meaningful thing is to not give up, and even when you do, your desires to be better wouldn't let you stay down for too long. For me, it's actually impossible to not pursue spirituality, or general self-growth, I can only take a break. Don't worry about your thinking pattern and all that, just keep pursuing what you want. This resistance in your mind is natural and you'll overcome it as you keep pushing. One day it'll just make sense how to transcend it, but that requires suffering, which will only come from your desire to succeed.

SQAAD, you're pure love. Open up your heart and see how Infinity loves you endlessly. Realize the true nature of reality through your heart, not just your head. That's not enough. Reality loves you so dearly that the only reason it exists is because you want to survive. This whole world, all of infinity is only there for you. It loves you so dearly that it doesn't even have a sense of self, that it's one with you. All of life is of no worry when you understand the indestructible shield that is this reality's love for you. All you have to do is to love it back so dearly that you stop existing as a self just like it has done for you. Dissolve yourself in that love and you'll feel a protection like no other. Open your heart, all of this will make sense. You cannot stop worrying by simply understanding the non-duality of reality through your head. If you only awaken through the head, reality feels like a void and impersonal. That's only half the truth. Awaken through your heart.

You're infinite. What we call delusion is when infinity views itself at a lower resolution/clarity. Escaping Delusion would be simply infinity being infinity at a higher resolution. That's the difference. You are correct that Delusion doesn't exist. This is because Delusion is a blurry line drawn by us humans. For me, the line is drawn at knowing infinity's true nature vs. not. But ofcourse this line is artificial. This doesn't mean all perspectives are at the same level, in terms of resolution.

You cannot know what's truly true and what's false. Those notions are relative. The only thing that can be known to be completely true is infinity/God. In that sense, all understanding of limited forms such as concepts is simply an increase in resolution of the illusion that is that concept. Understanding in context for a limited form is simply illusion at a higher resolution and clarity. The only true understanding is that of Infinity/God, which is simply infinity witnessing itself at a higher and higher resolution.

- Nosramus, From Fear & Hunger (Game) - Ira Circosa, a youtube commenter. - Seneca - Uncle Iroh, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. - Paramahansa Yogananda quoting Sri Yukteshwar (IIRC). From the Autobiography of a Yogi.

To open blockages, go to the core/heart/seed of that blockage, quite literally. Keyword is "pure". Example: You feel blockage in your heart, think "Who am I at my purest?" and focus that questions towards your heart. You are trying to find the heart of your heart. Penetrate the blockages like a hot needle falling on a block of butter. Once you feel instinctively you are at that seed, that's it. Meditate on it. That's your true self. Whether this is literally true or not does not matter, what matters is if you feel that way or not. After meditating on it for a while, go even deeper in that seed if you can, and you'll see there's nothing left and what you call the core of your heart has now encompassed everything. To help penetration, you need to soften your heart first. One way is to remember the most meaningful moments of your life, have nostalgia and try to forgive yourself for things your blame yourself. This will only soften your heart, which may itself feel liberating. But remember that goal is to go to that seed. If you cannot transcend the seed and feel your heart encompasses everything, it's enough to simply practice enough to stabilize yourself in that core. If you cry, then you know you are going the right direction. Example 2: For blockages in the solar plexus, focus at the bottom of your diaphram. That's where manipura is. It can be hard at first, so take your time. It's deep in, but you know you have reached it when you realize this is the very core of your body. When you start penetrating it in a similar fashion with your awareness and love, you'll lose your voice, and you'll stop breathing. This is because all these activities are given power by your Manipura. I haven't experimented much with Manipura yet, so I don't know how dangerous it could be. It's exactly the place where I felt anxiety. Example 3: As for the head, you need to work on the traditional "detach from thoughts, personality and ego" and exist as simple awareness. A step beyond into full self realisation would be understanding even this pure witness is illusory and that there is truly no one. What helped me was, in order, "I AM" meditation for a few days then "Neti Neti" Method (which I performed for about 4 -5 hours at night, until I reached my first ever self-realisation at dawn.) Example 4: Gut probably deals with the Swadishthana (Sacral Chakra). I haven't done any work for this chakra so I don't know much. But I'd assume that having a fit body, healthy diet, good self hygiene, acquired good looks(as in you worked for it like having a nice hairstyle, fashion sense and such) and most of all conscious ways of gaining pleasure from life, are indicators of an open sacral chakra. Example 5: I know even less about Vishuddhi (Throat Chakra). All I know is it deals with honesty, integrity and maturity. Once it's free of all blockages and radiating unrestrictingly, you stop self-sabotaging and all procrastination. While unblocking Manipura will get rid of shame and anxiety associated with self-expression, unblocking Vishuddhi enables you to do the expression itself. But creativity doesn't necessarily come from Vishuddhi.

To bring another perspective to the conversation, I want to add that "Bhakti" seems to be essentially energy work. If you do a ritual for a particular deity lasting few hours every day, asking it for healing, help or straight up energy, you do open up your heart center massively. It really depends on the deity. The process is greatly accelerated if you apply teachings of no-self, everything is one, 'there are no distinctions' and such to the ritual. It has helped me easily open up my heart, my solar plexus and even my head. All of it within 40 - 60 days. I am literally a different person after the practice. I also started to have mystical experiences on a regular basis. You also build 'maturity' and 'integrity' automatically. You automatically do 'shadow work' at the same time. This is because you start embodying the qualities of the deity. If, for example, you worship Rama, you embody his qualities of maturity, integrity, humbleness, strength of character, intelligence and other qualities, to the extent you are capable. Rama is literally the ideal man. Let's say you worship Hanumana, you start embodying intense humbleness with physical and internal strength. All of this is to say "Bhakti" is actually an amazing practice that does multiple things at once. And this is leaving out everything about whether these deities actually exist or not or if they physically provide you aid or not, that's a plus if that's actually the case. But it only really works if you truly start believing in the existence of that diety, and that your prayers ARE actually being received by some entity or energy system. 'Bhakti' is way faster than simple meditation, when it comes to embodying higher states of consciousness. Let's say through psychedelics and contemplation you have found a new peak. 'Bhakti' will help your embody that state faster than simple meditation. 'Psychedelics', I think, change the structure of your brain and body to be able to handle high states of energy and consciousness, but when your come off the psychedelic, you are not able to generate that much energy on your own, hence the HUGE gap between the baselines and the peak of a psychedelic user. Bhakti is asking a higher entity to give you it's energy, and it can give you a LOT. But it only gives as much as you can handle. If you have restructured your brain and body to be able to handle high states of energy and consciousness, it's almost guaranteed that the deity will give you so much you'll reach those peak states again, without the psychedelics. But this is only if you are really able to connect to the deity after a few months of practice. It really depends on the deity. It's important to keep in mind, all deities have their own rules you need to follow when you do their upasana. Failure to follow which can have repercussions on your life. The part about psychedelics and bhakti complementing is just my speculation though. I would actually love to see someone who has changes his very structure through psychedelics try genuine bhakti practice. I can't access psychedelics yet, otherwise I'd try this myself.

"How do I know anything?" Truly knowing something means you have become it. Existence is knowing. Let's say you 'know' there is an apple in the next room. But that's not knowledge, that is assumption. Therefore you cannot truly be sure or know it. Let's say the apple is in front of you. You say "The apple is in front of me." do you know that? No! That's an assumption as well. You assume that that's an apple, you assume there's a you, you assume each of the concepts you used in that sentence and various other implicit assumptions. What we call 'knowledge' is a bunch of assumptions, not knowledge. True knowledge means there's no assumption going on. Which is truth. This question arises when one suspects what they know is not really knowing but assumption! True knowing means the existence of experience beyond assumptions. You don't know anything! Because 'knowing' isn't based on truth, it just means 'an assumption I am sure of'. You don't know anything because you can't know anything but only become truth. "Understanding" is simply finding truth. In other words, understanding is God expanding itself.

I wouldn't call it absolute bliss but I am able to generate energizing pleasure mixed with peace and stability at will. It seems the key is to let go of your attachment to the body completely, for the experience of unconditional pleasure. And letting go of your mind, ceasing to control it and identify with it, so completely. This gives rise to joy and happiness. Combined it feels really good and you can generate it in any condition. It's not dependent on your mood. The only reason that state isn't constant for me is because I haven't practiced it enough. The idea behind letting go is very simple and basic but you have to do it at such a degree where you almost have to grab onto your body through your will to stay in it.

When I meditate, or when I contemplate questions related to reality, or feel higher in consciousness, I feel this intense pleasure throughout the body. I call it pleasure not bliss because though it feels good it is quite intense, and I'd rather stop feeling it after a few minutes. I don't know what this is. The more I disindentify with this pleasure, the more intense it gets. It's in every part of my body. The deeper I get with my awareness, the more intense it gets, and after a while it's so intense I can't focus on the penetration into reality. It gets too distracting. Imagine your whole body was vibrating, inside and outside, with the middle of your forehead warm and tensely relaxed. It feels good but it's too distracting. Infact, when I focus on the beingness of reality, it reaches another level, it jumps from the level of pleasure to contentment, and the contentment is so intense I can't observe straight. I get distracted. I want to get further, how do I overcome this? Do you know of any references that talk about my experience? I NEED to get past this stage, I have been stuck here for months.

I looked it up. It seems I am experiencing Piti without the Sukha. I'll try climbing the Jhanas for now.

The kind of community we seek in general, and especially on this forum, cannot exist, because the structure of society simply doesn't allow it. I believe there is a structure that enables and allows individuals to be naturally imbued with integrity and authenticity, but I don't know what it is. A community always devolves and evolves going through cycles. The kind of integrity we seek in others requires people to not only be in control of their minds and ego but also of their habits, body and many other aspects of life. The way we are influenced by everything else around us, it's impossible to move against while being inside it. One of the only feasible way that ultra spiritual community can exist if it's small, mostly disconnected from society at large, and the people are high consciousness to begin with. Imagine an association of modern people living like a tribe inside a jungle, but with adequate modern technology and facilities. Other than this, I don't know if anyone has cracked how to change the structure of all of society itself, to facilitate human growth and integrity. Trying to change people on a forum is mostly a futile task, for the purposes of achieving an integral community. The only reason this place has more integrity and authenticity than your average online community is because of the resistance Leo and the moderates put up against the influences of rest of society. In other words, moderate and maintain the community's will to grow.

If you like to do it, you shouldn't limit yourself. Just remember there is a fine line between not limiting yourself and forcing yourself to achieve.

So ya'll gonna ignore the fact that Leo admitted he has strangled coyotes?

I used be this type so it's easy for me to empathize with such people... I think of them as a fellow human being suffering a different set of problems than I do. It's a love that one should hold for all people. The aliveness that they are, the body, mind and it's problems are a surface built on top of that 'soul'. If you learn to see that and love that, being seeing them in yourself, not only do you accept them, but also a part of you that you reject. I think there are various types of "iamverysmart" people but let me tell you of a kid I have met who was promoted a grade recently and she is well beyond her years in terms intellect. Not in wisdom. She is also an exceptional artist(pencil sketches) for her age. She sketches landscapes and other things that looks nothing like an 8 years olds drawings. It's crazy lol. I am pretty sure she has been praised a lot for it, and has developed a sort superiority complex(it's pretty evident if you observe her). She gets angry very easily and often gets into fights, specially with another kid I know who speaks a little slowly, often repeats herself and generally need to be taught slowly so she can understand. There's a lack of patience and wanting things to happen her way. Which directly contradicts (on the surface) another feature of hers which is obeying elders. She understands and obeys orders without question unlike other children who usually follow their emotions, and do not do something unless either made understood or forced. Although I was never as 'smart' as her, I did also used to get more than usual praise as a kid for scoring marks and understanding concepts fast, so I so understand the impatience and superiority complex that develops. Other such 'intellectuals' have been called intelligent and want to keep that identity intact, that's why they come off as tryhards. There's technical intelligence but not introspective. But you shouldn't hate them for it, just see it as a flaw that one person possesses. The reason you hate them might not be because of how they are, but because of how you want them to be. Maybe you want a person who you can emotionally connect with on a deep level or in a specific way, but because you can't find someone like that, you are frustrated. I am just guessing here, but it's probably along these lines.

this is the word of God

This is exactly how I'd have replied back then if someone wrote the same reply to me. But I will take you on your word. Even then, the spiritual arrogance you mentioned in your op isn't that isolated from what I am talking about. Mine certainly stemmed from what I have described, and dissolved massively when I got rid of the overall 'arrogance' in my nature.