oysterman

@Kazman What would Martin do?

@Joel3102 Do you think that depersonalisation can lead to awakening? Feeling out of body and feeling like nothing is real can freak out egos, but they are aspects of the emptiness of reality that can lead one to deeper awakenings. Awakening freaks out clingy egos. I am only curious because I have had horrifying depersonalisation episodes in the past (triggered by intense meditation and self-inquiry) that I eventually learned to integrate into utterly amazing awakenings. Insanity with a capital I, to use @Kazman's phrase. Amazing Insanity. AMAZING INSANITY.

@Yog Agreed. @Dodo lol. Do psychedelics not work well for you?

Nice work! To answer your question, one of my first major mind-jarring experiences occurred from a strong dose of edibles in 2016. Something like neti-neti happened at the peak of the experience and somehow blasted me into an inner space that felt like a singularity in consciousness. This was accompanied by a flash of some kind of visual appearance vaguely similar to the new actualized logo. All while I was rolling around on the floor Context: In the years prior to this experience I had experimented with a psychedelic once, and had experimented with various meditation techniques (SDS, neti neti, mindfulness with labelling). Maybe these things can potentiate it significantly. Never heard about such strong experiences from smoked though.

@Leo Gura Wow.

@Leo Gura I think this is a good perspective. Don't get caught in the eruption. For interest's sake, Leo, why do you not foresee a nuclear holocaust?

Hey There are some NGOs in the world that do awesome work, like Transparency International (https://www.transparency.org). I want to find one that helps to improve the world's deep marketing problem. Any ideas? What organisations in the world (local, global, NGO, governmental, etc) work to raise the consciousness of MARKETING and MEDIA OUTLETS? What organisations are trying to make the buses and billboards and TV and internet adverts that inundate the entire modern world more conscious in some way or another? If any of you geezers remember Leo's 'The Deep Problem of Marketing' video (see below), you'll remember that he asked us not to give him donations if we made it big from his content, but to work to improve the marketing and media channels in the world. I haven't exactly made it big, but I'm looking for an NGO or charity to become a member of and donate to a little bit. The closest thing I can think of is governmental agencies like the Advertising Standards Agency in the UK (https://www.asa.org.uk), but all they seem to do is fact check - not try to make things MORE conscious. Not try to remove the low-consciousness style of advertising (think of a mobile phone, or a coffee, being held by a sexy lady wearing a bikini). Or to try and make cable news channels less focused on extreme negativity. The news could be teaching about environmental crises and how to solve the world's problems, rather than engineering partisan bickering.

@Dima logach I've been doing it since Leo released the video about it last year. I still consider myself a beginner. However, I have had some amazing, deep experiences from the concentration that have partially transformed me and given me real long-lasting hits outside of the yoga of personal peace and contentment. Furthermore, I feel like I have cultivated a healthier connection to the divine and permanence of mystical states. It feels more comprehensive than a lot of zen buddhist stuff I have done before, but maybe I just needed a bit more cultural/semi-religious context to feel satisfied, as well as more complex body techniques. I also love the spiritual lore that goes along with it! Om kriya babaji. Praise babaji. May he help us find the divine within. Also love the chakra/prana/karma work. I know kriya will transform me totally if I keep it up. But I feel like I really need to find a trustworthy teacher by now, but J. C. Stevens' book kinda put me off. Any ideas on where to find a good teacher in the UK? There's an isha yoga center near me, should I just go to that and see? Also, happy mahashivaratri everyone - anyone else staying up and upright all night? May you enjoy the vastness of nothingness, as I am on this darkest night. May shiva, the first guru, obliterate us all into the nothingness, his greatest gift.

@Jordan94 Neti is cool cos you pour water through your nose for about 30-60 seconds continuously - gets all the muck out if you do have lots of mucus / allergens in your nose. @herghly seems interesting, let us know how it goes! My only concern would be not knowing its energetic effect on you and your spine-awareness. What if it messes something up slightly? I don't think kriya was designed with such plant usage in mind. ALSO guys, does anyone try to do kriya 3 times a day? I've been TRYING for 7 months, but it's such a tough regime for me. I love it when I do manage 3 times a day, it feels absolutely amazing. But it's so much effort, three times a day, to try and totally fuck up my reality for at least 30 mins. Especially if I wake up late, or am otherwise pressed for time. Any tips on maintaining a solid practise? I guess this comes down to good old-fashioned habit building and stuff.

@Jordan94 I have a problem with allergies that leads to very blocked nose. I like to clean out the mucus with a neti pot before kriya (saline, roughly isotonic solution poured through one nostril and coming out the other!) You can get ayurvedic-style ceramic neti pots, and you can get plastic ones. Also, I find that exercising beforehand helps me get the mucus out. But it's quite impractical/tiring to vigorously exercise for a few minutes before kriya. So I use a mix of exercise and neti pots and good luck. P.S. Not 'neti neti' pots! Neti neti meditation is also pretty good though..... EDIT: @Leo Gura Have you tried using a neti pot instead of decongestant? It's very pleasant when you get it at just the right temperature. Leads to lovely nasal openness. It's very effective and has a nicer vibe than the 'chemicals', if you're a spaced out stage green hippy like me. Despite the fact that the natural salt is also a chemical. Just like me, if you harness the energetic vibes of these pink Himalayan salt crystals in your nose tubes, with none of the required cultural and ayurvedic understanding of what's really going on, YOU TOO can placebo yourself into the divine consciousness! Just search on amazon "neti pot", most things will do.

Good luck living in the real reality Paul! Ground yourself in the things you've always enjoyed. Even if you don't feel like it. You'll definitely get used to it! And you might just develop a taste for it.

@Serotoninluv Good words I'd like to say, on behalf of everyone, good luck to Paul. It can sure be hard to go through these things, but lots of us have gone through weeks or months of this shit and come out better on the other side <3

I mostly write this post for any other people suffering and freaking out from enlightenment-related psychological discomfort. It is not always appropriate to 'push through' and keep self-inquiring. I know you all mean well and want this Paul92 to get enlightened and get through this stuff. But, I'm frankly appalled at some of the advice that was given in this thread. Including from @Leo Gura. (Leo - I only namedrop you because you are very respected in this forum, and many who read this tend to take your word as law, regardless of your repeated disclaimers against this.) Leo has given plenty of relevant advice concerning this topic, but it is dispersed, so I wanted to address this topic here in case someone in need stumbles upon it. In some of the advice given in this thread, I saw very little concern for mental health, and for sustainable spiritual growth. Yes, for some people it might be useful to "power through" uncomfortable spiritual stages like depersonalisation. You could come out of it the other side, with great insights into the nature of being and reality. But for many, pushing through while you are totally freaked out by enlightenment work could be extremely costly. And could prolong the ordeal unnecessarily. If someone has got this much discomfort from some enlightenment work, they already have plenty to integrate into their lives. After this integration, they can go back to the work. Some of the comments here stink of an unhealthy obsession with spiritual growth, at the cost of all else. Without looking at the bigger picture, and all the factors at play. Reminiscent of an unhealthy manifestation of stage orange materialism. I think Paul92 will be totally fine, but not because of some of the advice given in this thread. Please consider the individual context before applying some spiritual advice that doesn't necessarily correspond to the nuances of the situation. What if we have a reader on this thread, who isn't posting, who is in a similar but more distressed state than Paul92? Be careful of the advice you give. It could mess somebody up big time. Why did nobody suggest that Paul92, or someone in a similar situation to him, retreat to lick his wounds? Or at least outline this as a viable option in this situation? To "lick one's wounds" in this state, it might be advisable to reduce meditation to a small quantity of a very grounding technique (like mindfulness). To cease all deliberate self-inquiry for the time being. To carry on, as best you can, with your life and the things you love doing. Humanity IS compatible with many paths towards spiritual growth. Also, why aren't people congratulating this man, for achieving much joy in a non-enlightened life? Don't tell me that life is all rainbows and butterflies after enlightenment. You can be enlightened and a miserable human, or you can cultivate a joyful life. Neither of these will really affect your transcendent, true nature. Everyone, please give well-rounded advice if you are going to write anything at all. Much love from a fellow human manifestation.

Yes please, let us know Leo. I bought the book after this video came out and have been slowly advancing through the exercises ever since. It's pretty cool! Just what I needed.

Hi, interesting thread! Good to see Leo's views on this in one condensed place. I have a couple of questions. I'm vegan. Firstly, what's the consensus on soy? It's very easy for me to get lots of tasty protein from soy products like tofu. But I feel that it is probably too good to be true, there must be something up with it. Another thing - I love tea . Obviously caffeine has its fair share of drawbacks. So, what's the consensus on decaffeinated products? I love the taste of tea more than anything. I can do without the caffeine, and would say (disagree all you like ) that I never drank it for the caffeine effect. For me it's a pointless side effect. Top tip for vegans: oat milk in tea tastes just as good, and is almost indistinguishable from, cow's milk. Without the cruelty or health effects of dairy! One last thing on caffeine - I would recommend to not completely discount caffeine. Its sparing, ritual use I have seen to be most useful in advancing one's own spiritual practice.