Ayham

Read Santatagamana's books in order: Kriya Yoga Exposed The secret Power of Kriya Yoga Kundalini Yoga exposed The yoga of non-dual consciousness First one, shows you the basic practice for when you start, the fundamentals The second one is more details into correct practice and more advanced practices for when you have been practicing the first one for long The third book will show you how kundalini works and how to lessen its side-effects, along with a routine plan that you can stick to, it explains kundalini yoga and tells you the practice routine to do and also demonstrates the alternative practice routines for kriya yoga (that's what you are supposed to follow) The fourth book, how to bring the practice to daily life. Leo incorporates Gamana's techniques with J.C stevens, whose book is called "Kriya secrets revealed" Personally, I would say just read Gamana's book and practice according to that, and read the megathread slowly At some point afterwards, you can read either J.C stevens book, or Ennio Nimis book (free online), which will fill you up on the details and other things, since Gamana's books are pretty short, you can finish each one in 2 or 3 days, hell, you can even finish each one in a day, so I would say use them for practice and the other books for theory. Gamana's approach is to basically: use only the most fundamental and potent kriya awakening techniques to calm the mind and raise kundalini, once you calm the mind, now you are in something called the "post practice state", now you melt in this state of no mind, purification and bliss, and abide in your true nature for as long as you want. The traditional approach: keep learning more complicated and time consuming techniques, getting lost in techniques. You can find all the books free online with a bit of piracy

ok so, here I am I meditated, only once though, for about 30 minutes, I did 3 Kriya supreme fire, then 20 minutes of watching the breath, then 5 minutes of being aware of awareness/just being/ self-abidance / whatever I studied a lot, did very well in an exam I read a lot, currently reading a physics books by Stephen Hawking called "the grand design" and a book by SantataGamana called "the yoga of consciousness" I listened to an audio recording part of the scholarship course And throughout the day I maintained awareness of the ego for as much as I could Now I am gonna journal in my commonplace book and sleep I also ate healthy, except that, my mom made a cake and I was like "fine" so I ate a bit --- I mean, pretty average, not enough, but I am excusing myself because I want to build up slowly to where I was, and because I have a shit ton of studying

Ok, I will keep the context short I am 17, from Iraq, in my last high school year, I got into spirituality when I was 12, on and off, until I got into Leo when I was 15 and I had a 3 months existential crisis or maybe a dark night of the soul, it was very scary, ever since then my life changed and I stuck to habits like meditation, reading, journaling, commonplace book, contemplation, finding my life purpose, eating healthy, etc. I stuck to a lot of this for like 2 years or 1.5 years, until I fell in love for the first time, became codependent and got heartbroken, I am still not over it but whatever, it was probably the lowest I have been mentally, it has been 6 months and I am still ugh, I neglected everything, became very unstable mentally, and depressed, and everything went to hell, still is. Anyways, time to get back, right now it is my last school year, and I have to study a shit ton, to get into a good college, but my main goal is to actually study in another country, my mother isn't rich, but my father is really rich, though he refuses to let me study in another country, like total refusal, so my hope is a scholarship to a first world country, I will use it as my escape ticket, and to get a backup degree in something useful if my LP plans don't work, I will use college time mainly to make my LP work, if that fails, I have a degree, I can work with it until my LP makes it. So what is this journal? I won't be writing my personal feelings and rants and vents here, I will track my progress, I have my own separate journal for that. What do I want to get back into on a daily basis: Meditation (it is actually Kundalini yoga, two times a day, each session about 30 minutes, I first use kundalini techniques to calm the mind and raise energy then abide in a non-dual state by doing self-inquiry, I used to do Vipassana for a long time, but I want to do this now) Reading (Spiritual books, personal development, western philosophy, physics, and psychology, these are the main topics I am interested in reading in, I read about 13 books this year, most of which were in the first half, since the second half was just hell and mental breakdowns) Journaling (not this journal, my own journal in my commonplace book, maybe ranting out my day and also saying stuff I am grateful for in each event) Eating healthy (I actually still eat healthy, haven't touched any junk food in like 2 years, I eat lots of fruits and veggies, and everything is good, but I eat baked goods and stuff from time to time lately, like once or twice a week, which is eh) 4 hours of deep work studying a day Researching and applying to scholarships (completable) Waking up early Reworking/updating my LP (completable) AND MOST IMPORTANTLY GET OVER THIS BULLSHIT So, this is a lot, how do I do this? I tried doing them all at once, of course I failed, so every month I will add stuff, and I will track all here This December : Daily meditation twice a day (total 1 hour) + update LP (something I can easily finish) + finish Scholarship audios (just download them, listen to them when I am out or walking). January: Deep work 4 hours a day + eat even healthier February: Daily reading March: Daily journaling + waking up early My deadline for finishing applying to scholarships should be May This way, I will add stuff slowly, ensure I stick to it, and it will last. I used to do all of this before but stuff fell off, and I tried getting back, I stopped being able to stick to them, so I will do it slowly. And right now, this month, even though the requirement of me is only certain stuff, I can do other stuff do, it is just that they are not a must, not a daily thing, just whenever I feel like it, like if I feel that I want to read, sure, or I feel like journaling, sure, but I won't be pushing myself daily for it. I am not doing a lot of habits, just bare minimum stuff, because this year is very busy, I have classes most of the day and then a lot of studying for it as well. So starting tomorrow, I will update my progress on this stuff, once a day.

Very interesting It is very possible from what I know, you can search reddit or this forum for stories of meditation induced psychosis, might find something that helps Though, I would say you are doing great progress How long have you been meditating? what method? And how long are your sits?

@kenway all spirituality gets thrown out of the window when it is a matter of survival Whether it's your survival or your children

It is a great book, but not worth it if you just read it and forget about it, read it, and keep practicing it every day.

There are levels, reading fiction is sure an upgrade from movies, YouTube and those type of activities, it would sure immerse you, improve your attention span, make you get in flow, have real joy rather than dopamine spikes. But there is more value in reading non fiction, maybe it doesn't get you to the same level of immersion, but it includes all others and more, you learn so much and understand more about the world. If you are engaged in movies, tv shows, etc. I would say its a great upgrade, very worth it, but it is also a matter of value, how much do you value knowledge and understanding? You can also balance it out, you can read a heavy non fiction book and a fiction book at the same time, you would specify time for the heavy non fiction book, and for the rest of the day you would read the fiction book whenever you feel like it.

@Sugarcoat exactly, but that's when it is done intentionally, not out of control, the more day dreaming becomes uncontrollable, the worse it gets and takes over your productivity, thoughts, and behavior, it can even become something known as "maladaptive day dreaming". But intentionally controlled visualization is a powerful exercise!

@StarStruck Very healthy, unlike my father. She was nice, caring, into personal development, new agey, a bit overprotective, but overall pretty good, my father pretty much disappeared from my life ever since (with more details that I won't get into). And I do have a femdom kink, but from what I have seen, most women are submissive, and I would have to force them into a different role, so I just avoid that and live my life normally, though in general I love giving up control for some bossy dominant woman who I am already close with, but this only applies to sexual situations, not normal ones.

interesting, I am into "bossy girls" more, each to his own I suppose.

I am not convinced about not having a backup plan, if things go downhill I will be screwed, I will do it stratgically. Regarding life experience, yes I probably don't have enough of that, so I am trying to get more. I get the thing about AI, so I am trying to get into an AI related field while also self learning AI and web development at home. And I am sure teaching personal development and philosophy along with spiritual topics is my purpose, I have been interested in this stuff ever since I was 12, I started reading books and watching videos on those topics, I started with new age spirituality and the productivity side of personal development, I didn't practice anything back then, I only ingested theory, at 14 I found Leo, who I consumed a lot for a year or two, all of his old videos and most of his new ones, I had a spiritual existential crisis lasting 3 months, and I have been doing practices ever since, even though I stopped watching Leo a long time ago, mainly because all of his videos got repetitive, I watch other people now. I actually thought about that, when I was doing the life purpose course, what if I am just influenced into this? but I realized the reason I got into all of this is because its my purpose in the first place, and nothing brings me more joy, my life purpose in one sentence would be: "contributing understanding that offers radical wisdom and growth" Thank you for your answers, I will consider them

Hey everyone, I am from Iraq and in my last year of high school, I have good grades and I am also working and saving money. I want to escape this place, preferably before college. I want to get a scholarship to a first world country, I am definitely applying for USA, but what else? what are some good countries that are worth applying to? I don't mean just in terms of self actualization (which is included), I also want a country with great financial opportunities. I have relatives in the USA, UK and Sweden if that helps Also let us say I leave for the USA, will I be able to find a good job? I heard it is hard to find a job as someone from a third world country. I know basics of programming and I also have a digital marketing certification, and I read books on marketing too. But not enough in any of this to get a job. I am currently working online with my uncles, they have a telecommunications company in the USA. My plan is to basically study anything in college with a good degree as a backup, during college work on my LP by making a social media following, and making contents and products, and also self learn web development. So after college if my LP is generating enough money, I will just drop everything and focus on it, if not, I will just work as a programmer until my LP generates enough money, and if anything goes wrong I should also have a degree just in case (which I haven't decided what degree) So my questions: Is USA worth it? would I be able to get myself a good job? what are some other good countries with good job opportunities, living conditions and more open to immigrants? what do you recommend for a major or a degree that has a good future (maybe AI related?) even though I probably won't work in it? tips for applying to scholarships? do you think leaving after college is a safer option? what are good states in the USA with job opportunities? Really, anything would be useful, please share anything you know

@Mesopotamian Hey, so yes, I did take Leo's LP course and I have a life purpose I want to actualize, which is an online business related to philosophy, personal development and spirituality, which I know is saturated, I have a plan to make it unique, and I am self-studying marketing to be able to pull it off better. Regarding my uncles, they actually pay me pretty well for the amount of work I am doing, I make about 25 dollars per hour. Why do I want to study? well in case my LP plan fails, I want to have a backup plan, something I can work with temporarily until my LP goes well. I am thinking mainly something related to AI and programming because it will be pretty helpful to know the things that will run our future, I also like it. Plus, studying somewhere with a scholarship is much easier than going on my own when I don't have much money, I will be able to make a good financial foundation for the first few years, then it will be easier. @D2sage Sweden seems like the best choice in Europe @Husseinisdoingfine Oh yes, it is part of the scholarship requirements too, so I would have to take it, can you tell me about it? I have to study for it right? for how long? is it easy?

I agree very much to this while I agree this is all imaginary, I think it is necessary to compare for the sake of understanding Yeah, it will definitely disintegrate, I have no idea how it is still standing (that is if you consider it standing) My passport is a bit difficult due to some legal problems, I will be able to easily do it when 18, which is close. Apologies, I edited my post. Thank you, I am glad for your existence here too

I am from Iraq too, though I haven't had the "luxury" of living in Saddam's time (I am born in 2006) But my view is that objectively, a stage orange capitalist government if done well is better than a stage red dictatorship. But our current government is bullshit, it's almost as if the government is non existent, laws are not executed properly and mostly done by tribe leaders using fire arms, the economy is extremely terrible, getting a job is more difficult than ever, the schools are terrible, I can go on and on, but I don't have to because I am sure you know how it is here. So before Iraq war, Iraq had better life quality and work quality, yet the dictatorship was a big problem. I would say it's a comparison between healthy red vs unhealthy orange, and we can't really say which is better, because I feel like most Iraqis are still at stage red, so that would work more, yet stage orange is more developed, even if it's unhealthy. In a sense, Saddam's leadership suits most of the people here with their red/blue mentality, but more developed people wouldn't like it as much, so Saddam is suited to iraq and it's collective mentality. While in our current government, most of the population is poor and keeps getting poorer, while the rich keep getting richer. Just getting a house here is extremely difficult, the prices keep getting higher, the payment and salaries are so low, even for people who are able to get employed, the average middle class person here won't be able to get a house here without being corrupt.

Canada, that's a great option, will look more into it

@Jacob Morres Awesome!

@fabger thanks for your sympathy My uncle in Sweden says life is very depressive there, everything basically closes at early evening, and there is not much outdoor life I don't think I would mind that though But there is also the language problem, I only know English and Arabic and I am not a Muslim btw

Ok I will look into it and update you here, thanks!!

Hey I really want to buy the booklist but I am from Iraq and I don't have a credit card and PayPal does not function here I have more than enough saved money in cash from my new online job, I just need a method to convert my money to digital or pay in some way I can't get a credit card because I am underage and you have to be employed to get one here from what I understand

@caesar13 can you elaborate on how that works

beep @Leo Gura?

@Leo Gura you good at chess?

@Tboy can you elaborate on the benefits and how your practice was? thanks

You need to have faith in the process of your life, why would you get rid of that? Having faith makes you not give up and preserve towards your vision which is necessary. Until your vision is actualized, you will need faith. If you are talking in regards to enlightenment, yes you should still have faith, you should have a strong desire to awaken in the beginning, contrary to what most teachers say, until at some point you won't need that desire and it will naturally disappear.