Gustav

This makes sense to me in theory. This is exactly my secret wish that I’ve now got the impression is a dangerous belief and not necessarily always true. Hahaha sure!! Thanks for an exhaustive answer and the good spirit!! Yeah, therefore, as far as I’m concerned there’s no choice but to walk the path a let the chips fall where the may. It’s one of my favorites, it gets better every time I watch it! Cypher learned the truth and didn’t accept it, which is foolish, so yeah I’d pick Neo haha. I totally resonate with this. One part of me wants the goodies of enlightenment, one part doesn’t care and just want to creep out of my skin and destroy falseness just for truth’s sake. I have long ago crossed the point of no return. This is what I want to hear, and also what seems correct in theory. But I know theory and practice doesn’t necessarily add up, that’s why I wanted to clarify this issue in this thread. Like I said I’ve got confused by @Leo Gura basically saying that the deepest insights are the hardest to accept, but then since the truth of no-self is the basic and usually first insight, it seems contradictory that there would be significant resistance to accepting further truths. Essentially: for an ego, the simple fact of "no-ego" should be the only real threat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks for all the input! In conclusion then, if I have a full no-self realization and truly embody it, there should not be any resistance to any other truths, like I am God, I am infinite Love, which equals infinite intelligence, etc. etc., since resistance is an exclusive function of ego?

On the COVID-19 outbreak... Do you say there is a meaning behind it and if so, what does "meaning" even mean here? How should "meaning" be understood? Is this pandemic engineered by will? By what means then, and whose will? I really want to exhaust the answer!

Hello! I am a 22 years old guy from Sweden, at the time working a bit extra and mostly devote my time to personal development studies from home (autodidactism). I have some saved money and all opportunities are open basically. I seriously need to improve my game (pick-up/flirting skills) and I have now dived into lots of theory but without getting much practice. I have many goals and skills that I’m working on, but improving my game (rapidly) is something I really want to prioritize and make my life revolve largely around for the next 1-2 years. I live in a mid-size town with poor nightlife, and so I want to relocate for my purposes. How do I practically set up this project, this "lifestyle"? I don’t really have a clear idea of what it would look like tangibly. I imagine myself "going out" (bars, clubs etc.) at night, and then just doing a lot of plain cold approaching in the day time. This is basically what the pick-up teachers have done and teach. Can someone who might have tried this or have any advice comment on how to go about this in a good, healthy way? The things I wonder about are: 1. The most optimal environment? Where is a good place to live for this purpose, around the world? US, Australia? I reckon it ought to be an English-speaking country to avoid language barriers. LA? I’ve heard it’s a poor dating scene, but maybe good for practicing game? Vegas? I believe @Leo Gura said he moved there for the nightlife and to go out. Should I live near a college campus, or downtown? Which dating scenes are most competitive? Promiscuous? Etc. etc. 2. Accommodation & logistics? Should I live in a private apartment? That would cost money, the alternative is to "couch surf" or volunteer-work and get a room for free, but then privacy is obviously a problem. Other alternatives? 3. The context or official anchor during this time period? Meaning, "just sitting in my apartment" and then going for a walk a couple times a day and at night to game some girls feels a bit hollow for such a long time. I don’t want to go to university and study full-time. I would rather take a job at a café or hostel or whatever (ideally social) to anchor my existence in something. What could that be, something that still allows me to go out a lot and game? What are some other social jobs (not requiring qualification)? Or any other ideas? Are there other things to think about, or just general feedback on the idea? As I said, I really want to prioritize this part of my life. Going hardcore I see as necessary, and where I live right now doesn’t really allow that. Thanks!

I think this is the core. It’s about what is not important in the grand scheme of things. A good synonym to pettiness may then be myopia.

Hello contemplative minds! One of my favorite expressions Leo uses is "pettiness". I like it so much because personally it’s a quite sobering, grounding word. I have contemplated this, what the essence of this is, the deep wisdom. If something is petty, what does it fundamentally mean? I’ve been hoping this will help me dealing with and overcoming pettiness in my life (this would be a very good video topic by the way!). What do you think? What is pettiness?

@aurumI would agree with the example. I can know something is petty when I see it, but I’m trying to define it as good as possible. I mean, what is the pettiness in your example? What makes it petty? Is it the fact that the reaction is unproportinate? Is it the fact that’s it’s draining on the mood at all? Etc... Can concerns be small and selfish without being petty? Just challenging the thought.

Hello! I have been looking round the threads on this forum for directions to psycedelics, and realized it's against the guidelines. I respect that and so I will not ask for direct references. What I wonder is WHY?! (ROAR) Since it's so, so important for personal development, and considerring every time you @Leo Gura have mentioned them as tool number 1 (which is often), needless to say it's ridiculous no hints can be given here on this very forum (I DON'T say ridiculous in an accusing way, the point is that it's just too bad). I mean, ANYTHING you or others of this community could say to guide us who do not have access to say 5-MeO would be extremely helpful. What exactly is not allowed to be said? (We are at least openly discussing everything else about it, what it is, how to use it, what it does, and that it's a good thing) Why can it not be said? (Is it illegal or for safety reasons?) What can be said? If not directly sourcing, then indirectly? Like how does one even go about researching this? How did/do you do? I really hope I have not breached the rules asking this, but I don't want to continue scanning this forum for advice if there is nothing to find. Thanks so much! Keep rocking Leo! /Gustav

Well, I thought it was fair reasoning and questions. I really don't see why I deserve to be ridiculed.

Yes, I am lazy too, but that’s not the point. The point is I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. Like I said, anything would be helpful, as I am completely clueless. I got no answers to my questions. Just letting me know if it’s easy or tricky to get my hands on them would be nice to know. Also a big personal worry is about safety/quality. How do I tell reliable sources from unreliable sources? I can research this myself, yes, but how is this different to other topics? I could research anything then from step zero. Is it about scarcity or is it simply too restricted to drop any hints whatsoever? In any case, I want to know. All I want is to be clear on what’s what. Hope I made my point clear.

Hi @Leo Gura! I just quickly want to mention I haven't begun pursuing enlightenment hardcore, although being a serious meditator. Without spoiling the book list, Consciousness & Enlightenment obviously is the category with most books. This is curious. My inquiry comes in two parts: 1. Why is there a need to read that many books (especially when many are top-ranked), when more and more conceptual understanding leads "nowhere" in this particular matter (sure you need a knowledge base, but still)? Are not just a few enough? Do they say different things? 2. If all these books tackle the subject from different angles, what is the most strategical/practical order to go through them? Generally, of course, every individual needs to figure out for their own what "to do", but the enlightenment books concerns a very specific topic and points to an exact destination - spiritual enlightenment. It seems to me, then, at least there should be some order to read them through. For instance, I would start with the one you explicitly dub #1, but what about Yamada Roshi's book? Seems like his book should come after a couple enlightenment experiences since it describes advanced stages. Etc, etc, etc. Keep rocking and a thousand thanks for your work! /Gustav

Of course, I’m not enlightened and that’s why I’m puzzled. I am by no means looking for shortcuts or fear hard labor, and I do understand thorough research and practice is important to master anything. The only thing I’m asking about is whether or not I can plan out my reading in any way to get the most out them, so that the books tie nicely into each other. My point is: Is there such a thing? I am not skeptical. On the opposite, as a beginner who has vague notions, I think this is super fascinating. From my "position", it’s so weird that there are so many different and comprehensive books about this, because I think of the "state" of enlightenment as very simple and uncomplicated after all.

Hi! My name is Gustav and I'm 19 years old. I found Leo in the early months of 2014 and can not express in words how much I love this site! I wonder what the average age group is of Actualized.org followers? My mother's first thought was that a guy in his early thirties was pretty young to give life advice (I strongly disagree ). Although I think Leo does an AWESOME job in making the videos apply to all people, I still get a little sense that he thinks of his audience as 30- and 40-year olds mainly. I have wondered how old you guys actually are? I get the feeling that I'm among the youngest fans here, and so it would be very interesting to see some statistics on this, because personal growth applies to everyone and the sooner you start the better. Have a good one!

Hi @Leo Gura and followers of Actualized.org! What I want to address is something I think is CRITICAL and something that has meant a lot of frustration for me and really made my junior high-school year MORE difficult than necessary: so-called “speed-reading”. I want to keep it short, but I think I need to provide some context because I believe many people want to get to the bottom with this once and for all, and I think this is something that has been argued about too much: For a long time I considered myself a slow reader and although enjoying reading once I get absorbed into it, the very act of reading has caused much anxiety whenever I become too self-conscious of my pace, at which point I use to beat myself up. When I was 16 I researched how to read faster and came across “speed-reading”, something that in theory sounded like the greatest ability ever. I wondered why on earth it was so unheard of; everything made perfect sense (in my desperate mind) and the benefits are self-evident. I practiced all the common techniques and took two online courses. I’m glad I made a serious effort to investigate this, but at the same time it has been one of the biggest wastes of time, effort, frustration, and self-confidence. The result was that my normal reading got seriously damaged because I was now conscious of all the mechanics of speed-reading, and how I was not doing them. I was left being able to read neither at higher speeds nor my normal speed (without more frustration than before). Now, to clarify: When I researched how to read faster, that’s what I was specifically researching. Not how to skim, not how to take notes, organizing and grouping material, scanning for and jotting down key points, or summarizing texts. I was already very confident and effective with my study techniques, only wanting to increase the pace of my reading, everything else being equal. As I later did further research and now dared to consider opposing views and evidences why speed-reading does not work (which I at the time ignored to a fairly large extent), it seems to me like my frustrations come down to a question of definitions and misunderstanding. Speed-reading seems to be reading faster and necessarily at the expense of full comprehension but applied to different degrees and different situations. To me however, reading is looking at a text and absorbing it – fully. Selling “speed-reading” as READING faster I think is very misleading. Some people actually do sell it as a technique of more skimming nature, but many others don’t. Since I trust you @Leo Gura, I was extremely surprised to find a speed-reading book on the booklist for two reasons. One is that I couldn’t imagine what you see that I missed – I came to conclude that it is by and large a scam. Secondly, if it doesn’t mean reading everything in front of you with full comprehension, how is this useful when doing thorough studying of personal development by reading, for example, the books you recommend? Surely the point is to get something out of the books and not to "burn through pages"? Like you say yourself and as I and everyone else agrees: quality over quantity. My questions are thus: What is speed-reading for you? When do you and don’t you use it, and why? I’m tired of pulling my hair over this issue, and since this is a real, no-bullshit community, I think we need to answer this question clearly and honestly so we can all move on with the benefits of knowing what is what. Cheers! /Gustav Thanks to Leo for all your work! It has saved my life!

@Leo Gura Hi Leo! I wonder how you come up with all the video thumbnails? /Gustav