Purple Man

@Farnaby @Farnaby Yes, I understand very well what you mean, and I am not underestimating the chance of a legit DP syndrome or the severity of the symptoms. But actually my case is an example of that context I spoke about. The early experiences and insights of not being a brain or an object within consciousness which brought me to a psychologist at age 18, were the same ones that, when understood in the light of, for example, Nisargadatta Maharaj, lead me to understand that nothing was wrong with me, and propelled me into a deep spiritual path. Had I not found that context, I might have been considered a "patient".

That´s why the proper frame is so important. The same experience can leave you perplexed and traumatized or be the most exquisite realization. This video shows a way to understand what you have just said, that is, the relationship between the void and emtpy Godhead (Shiva), and Shakti (the manifest). With a context like this, you can undergo a powerful spiritual experience that shows you that you are "No Thing", not "Nothing", and do it in a magical, positive way:

Regardless of the obvious risks associated with psychedelics or hardcore meditative paths in those who are sensible enough to go down the rabbit hole in search for themselves, I have to say that I am certain that the so called "DP/DR disorder" can be a lot of times simply a manifestation of early awakenings in a immature mind that has no spiritual context or references. If, say, you discover that you are not the body, or realize the dependence of the world on Consciousness, and you do it before having found a master, the readings, the right people, even before having the terms to describe it all, you might go into panic mode, and end up believing a psychologist who diagnoses "DP/DR", when all you needed was a proper metaphysical frame. For what I heard (I don´t know if it´s true), there is a tradition of saddhus in India who take "patients" out of mental facilities when they recognize enlightenment in those people, not a disease. As saddhus are revered, they were allowed to take responsability.

There is a particular word choice that I love when it comes to describe this process of creating a form from formless modelling clay: "Infinity cognizes everything into existence". For the Absolute "cognizing" is "creating". "Stop cognizing" is sending form back into formless.

There are many definitions, but the most realistic, in my opinion, is that the dark night of the soul is a way to name the intermediate stage where you are not enlightened totally, but you have gon as far as to leave the world behind, and you´re stuck without the pleasures of the world and Godhood.

There is a fantastic interview Renée Weber had with David Bohm and he insists on this view. The logic behind it is simple: Distance decreases when a body approaches the speed of light. When you get to the speed of light there is no distance at all. There is no exit point and no finish line. For light itself there is no time or space whatsoever, or travelling. It just "is". In his view, and this is very interesting, "light" is a unified, eternal field. But this light field becomes the visible world by reducing his speed. The manifest universe is "frozen light",light that has gotten into the "speed game". In this way, it can understand itself and observe itself. As you can see, it totally resembles the notion of the Unmanifest Absolute creating the manifest as a way to gain knowledge about itself.

Thank you very much for the comment. Most of the time, I am totally grounded as some kind of absolute, total nothingness that somehow is capable of projecting (and creating through the act of perceiving it) a beam of impersonal consciousness that stubbornly solidifies into the visible universe and my inner world, with a figure which is the body that acts as the centre of the play. And I am beyond the beam and the universe, which seem to float within me. That´s my solid awakening...which I know is still lacking something. As you say, yes, it is that trascendental Awareness which I am what is imagining reality, or, as I say, creating it through perceiving it. But there is a lack of joy in the process. I don´t feel the love of a father to his children. Mind you, I am a very happy, enthusiastic individual, and in my life there is joy, kindness, music, art, calm and laughter...but there is not the kind of trascendental Love for that which comes out of myself: that individual, relative perspective as a whole. Leo Gura advised me to try the psychedelic path. It very probably would be the solution.

Yes. It is hard to embody even when there has been a very legit awakening and enlightenment has stopped being only an interesting theory to read about. I don´t know if anybody here is aware of a peculiar mystic/philosopher, Peter Wilberg. I received very interesting ideas from reading/mailing him, and he has come up with a single word that it´s like a talisman when it comes to integrate your Godhead-ness and your humanity: "intersubjectivity". This single word, "intersubjectivity", allows for the recognition of others not as mere objects in one´s own dream (which can lead to sick kinds of solipsism or even to the panic of an epic kind of trascendental aloneness), but like some type of "community of subjects", of "collectivity of individual perspectives the Absolute takes in this very moment". In this way, you can live your life grounded on the knowledge of others as relative dots connected to you, while at the same time being aware of us as the One Godhead projecting and observing those individual projections. I say this because I suppose that most of us have had life-shattering insights, and still find tough to live a normal life after the cessation of the common view of yourself/people as bodies in a universal common physical ground, so any help is very welcome.

@justfortoday Although I´m reaching out months later, I have to congratulate you for your beautiful posts, which I always read with interest. My insights have taken me to a place so similar to the one you explain. I suppose we´ll agree that I, and all of us, are the Absolute projecting (and witnessing) a bubble of consciousness where an individual perspective with a particular body-mind energetic avatar are being played, with the manifest universe being nothing but the very act of the Absolute cognizing it into existence, as JWL would put it. So far so good. But my insights have not taken me as far as to being able to assure that the Sun, as you seem to imply, projects only one ray (that is, that the Absolute emits only one perspective at a time), with all the players appearing in the projection being only "objects", atrezzo uncapable of being aware, until the moment when the Absolute ends up choosing one of those perspectives. I am more inclined to the understanding that right now I am the Absolute projecting an individual perspective, and every appearence with a form within it (bodies, things, stars, etc.), are not only inert imaginations, but icons that show where another individual subjectivity is sharing the dream universe. They would not only show what the next perspective for the Absolute will be, but where all the perspectives that are taking place now are "located", in a simultaneous Zoom call where all the participants are "on". Which I know creates ontological problems, like how can then I, the Absolute, only be aware of one perspective when there are others happening at the same time... What´s your take? Thanks in advance.

"Skepticism"´s original meaning has been slowly forgotten and progressively transformed into pure materialist dogma. At its peak, it´s the shelter for lazy minds with an extremely small scope. So although there would be no reason for him making this interview with Kastrup, I agree it is rarely seen today.

@wildflower So true. A question can (and must) be answered from a higher level than the one the question was formulated from, but I find it hilarious when a legit, mid-leveled spiritual question is answered with a "Consciousness does not exist. You don´t exist. Nothing exists". Well, true from the Absolute perspective, but answering the question that way is as silly as letting oneself die of hunger because we ultimately are not our bodies, and reminds me of a comment a spiritual master said about one of his disciples getting late everywhere, and doing it without remorse because "time does not exist"...

Thank you. interesting man, for sure. Speak of the devil, the other great expert in all Ramana is Michael James, whose excellent "Happiness and the Art of Being", among others, can be found for free on his web, https://www.happinessofbeing.com/. Also, he constantly updates his blog, https://happinessofbeing.blogspot.com/. To me it was key to a total understanding of Ramana´s teachings, which not always are correctly understood . I´d put him above Godman, since Michael James totally focuses on the teachings, and it seems like Ramana´s path is his whole life.

There is much esoterism and mystic practices or studies among some of the Impressionist/Romantic style composers. Same with Modern Art.

Christopher Bache, former university professor, one of the bravest psychonauts of all time, and writer of the life-changing book "Diamonds from heaven" (a wonderful account of his experiences with LSD) , usually talks about "ineffability" as an overrated charachteristic of the deep mystical experience. He has a very solid intellectual background and was tremendously methodic, writing every experience detail for years, so this has helped him being able to capture the metaphysical experience with words. But no doubt, there are experiences where language, even if you´re good with it, pales, or becomes a simplistic set of tags for the unitiated to have a vague idea of what that experience really means.

Maybe you´d be interested in watching the videos of Westcott Louden. His is a peculiar journey, from hard Catholicism to exploration with different mystical paths, psychedelics, meditation, etc., having some awakenings as a result of it. But what I find particularly interesting about him is his videos on the Bible, myths, stories. He has a deep knowledge about them, and comments them in light of mysticism and different traditions. https://www.youtube.com/c/Enlightenchannel/videos

@TheAlchemist @TheAlchemistI find it hilarious when hardcore materialists divide the understanding of Reality into an exalted, perfected form of Science with quasi-religious qualities, and a dumbed down, literal interpretation of metaphysical myths, in a double fallacy where hard-nosed materialism is the only refuge for an advanced mind. They seem completely oblivious of the metaphorical spirit of many of those religious tales. As you say (and regardless of some people interpreting them literally), after some insights, many of the old stories can be correctly understood and reveal from radical nondual awakenings to kundalini risings, etc.

I´m not sure if you´re speaking to me. Considering the "half your age", I suppose that´s the case:)) There are as many different advices as individuals who are willing to offer them. After many years and some strong awakenings, my journey is not complete 100% (that´s why I am here). But experience is indeed valuable, and I have a lot, so, if you ask me what is the most important thing in a somehow succesful spiritual path, I would say that, a/ total eagerness is important, but not THE most (it could lead to shattered minds, too immature for the toll of hard awakenings that came too soon). b/Take a decission and follow one particular path instead of fooling around is also important, but not THE most ( the same experience can have no relevance to you when explained through a particular tradition´s wording, and be life-changing when through the lens and style of other traditions). c/Choosing the right books is important, but not THE most (it is easy to end up mistaking what you do KNOW and what you know ABOUT. Tremendously common dead end), etc. So as the most important part of the journey I´d choose to have a solid first awakening as your anchor. My english is far from perfect, but what I mean with this is you have to earn a solid insight that will serve as your headquarters for life, so to speak. Something that you totally know, that is your comfort, your foothold, the base camp from where to climb to higher awakenings. That base camp should be high enough so that life won´t shake you as a puppet and make you deviate from your path. To me, it was the certainty that all that´s manifest comes from within me, and that "me" is beyond the universal game, so my eternity was a birth right, not something to gain through effort. Effort would be necessary for more knowledge to appear in my Awareness, and to integrate my awakenings into daily life, but my anchor was beyond. I hope that helps.

Hello, everyone. Congratulations for creating this kind of rare greenhouse for metaphysics, which I found after stumbling across Leo Gura´s videos in the net several months ago. I honestly consider them some of the best descriptions of the mystical experience ever. As this is my first post, I´ll say that I am from Spain, and although I´m older than most here (46 years old) , I suppose I share the basics with all of you: natural tendency to introspection, early age insights with no proper context, obsessive search, and finally getting that context through life-changing readings (Nisargadatta mainly, but also most of Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Christian Mysticism, Dzogchen, etc.) that seemed to explain previous awakenings and paved the way for future ones. OK. Although I obviously would like to have a response from Leo, since he´s the most experienced person here and somehow the pioneer, I would greatly appreciate any opinion/help regarding something that has been around my mind for some time, after reading some experiences that I would not say "contradict", but at least are not totally consistent with mine. Which, mind you, is solid, with some total certainties, but not spectacular, since I never resorted to psychedelics. Let´s go: My experience is simple (and astonishing at the same time): there is something like a translucent, absolutely impersonal bubble "in front of me", which does not belong to any "body", or particular time or space, within which everything (the Universe, my body included, and my inner world of thought) appears, with the exception of the Awareness inside which the bubble itself arises. And, paradoxically, I am that Unmanifest Witness or Aware Space... I already don´t feel like I am human. I see a human body and a human thoughts playing a game within me. And about the Bubble I should add that, as an unlimited canvas, any being or image can be created there. The dough is the same. John Wren Lewis, after his exceptional NDE put it best: "Absolute Consciouness focuses down into this body-mind perspective, playing something like a game called John Wren Lewesing, and it is the Absolute that watches, not John" Everything about my spiritual awakenings relate to the fact that we already are the Aware Space to which any experience appear. No spiritual practice could make me become more "Aware Space" than what I actually feel that I am. Spiritual practice can, however, radically affect the subtlety of what I perceive, affect the contents of the particular perspective that the Absolute (Aware Space) is conscious of while this incarnation exists. So my question is based on the fact that this is as far as meditation and introspection have taken me. I am very well aware that the psychedelics are a much more powerful path, and I also know that there are insights that are veiled to me for my resistence to use them. And I am surprised when I read experiences about the Godhead as being something "out there". In some of them you depict the Absolute Godhead as something with an outer flavour, like a distant light to reach or an external Mind to decrypt. In my (limited) experience, however, the Godhead is precisely that which perceives, The Aware Space where common daylife or colourful insights happen. The Watcher/Subject of "my" particular perspective and my true nature. ce. I know one of the usual posters in this forum agrees ( I asked him in another platform), but I feel like this is the last obstacle I have to sort out, and I want to be sure and have the roots in the right place, so I´d greatly appreciate opinions on this paradox and a psychedelic perspective that I lack. Thanks in advance:)

I came to this forum to erase some of my last doubts, so I want to be very cautious and offer only that I am certain of. Embodiment comes with the toll of an ego that is there to keep separation alive. Oneness is its enemy because it means its end. But Consciousness does not fear Oneness, because Consciousness´nature IS one. Regarding practices, all I can say is it can´t be something we do one hour a day. Practice has to be the way we live. You can´t sustain mantras or watch your breath while engaging with the world, but you can be at all times ( I mean, all times) 1/stabilized in Awareness as your "base" 2/contemplating that every perception is a form Awareness takes 3/ be aware of the body as the avatar that allows the perception in the projection that the manifest Universe is. 1/Aware Space, 2/Light , and 3/ Form, with Form being a particular vibration of Light, and Light being the emanation of Awareness. All Light and Form flowing from you. Sorry if this does not help. But it might...

I think one of the reasons for solid, life-long spiritual practice is not only to gain trascendental insights, but to establish solid roots that will sustain big awakenings that otherwise would shatter our minds. Even realized beings keep doing their seemingly petty practices, like puja or mantras, and there is a reason for that. I remember that when I was a kid I was terrified when I scanned my consciousness at night before my sleep, and saw nobody there. Then I spent years being scared at the fact that people were only forms within my consciousness, while I was totally, completely alone. And if I had not gotten in touch with spiritual traditions and readings from highly developed individuals, I might have gone crazy.

@Leo Gura Thanks very much for the responses. Actually I think those two phrases would perfectly sum up my experience. One Consciousness, different stages of capability and reach. One Consciousness, differently developed perspectives. And I know that my present perspective´s development won´t show me the way the Universe works, but the Consciousness which is aware of the limitiation in my particular scope is the same one that would be conscious of the way the Universe (including my ass´hairs) works if my personal reach was high enough. The magnitude and subtlety of the perceived don´t change the ultimate nature of the Awareness to which they happen. It does not change the fact that I am God, even when my particular perspective is not able to access God´s perspective´s input. Is this coherent with your knowledge? A different thing is Love. My path is dry, and the certainty that I am No Thing/Absolute Awareness does not translate into love for manifestation. And I am not saying this in a depressed way. I am more than happy and enjoy my particular existence a lot, but the kind of Love you speak about is beyond my reach.

On your first questions: 1/my experience is one of unity of all perceptions within the bubble, time included. 2/The bubble appears and dissappears (deep sleep, for example), and this on/off is not perceived by the bubble itself or by any object within it, but from beyond. 3/ That "beyond" is total "no thing". No perception perceives. Only that "No thing" is capable of sustaining Creation. You also speak of there being more stages. Leo Gura frequently speaks about "Love". As Robert Adams righfully said, when you experience life in Advaita Vedanta´s way, you become some kind of cold fish until energies and love enter the game. I am in a particular moment when this knowledge (whether partial or not, it doesn´t matter) filters life´s high and lowlights. It gives a warmth, a constant satisfaction, but I certainly feel that the dry Vedanta realization is not as profound as Kashmir Shaivism, or any other metaphysics system that allows for a better integration, or for the appearence of Love.

Thank you very much, Leo. You´ve been very important in my last years´spiritual development. Regarding what you say, I think I am not being able to correctly express what I mean by Aware Space. You say that I can be 1000 times more aware. From your perspective, would it be correct to rephrase it and say that what I am aware of could be 1000 times more developed? If that´s what you imply, I´d totally agree , since I am very conscious of the limitations of what I can be aware of. But I can´t understand how the very Awareness that is aware of my PC is ontologically different than the Awareness that is aware of the subtlest realms. To me that´d be like going to the cinema and saying that the cinema screen where "The Lord of the Rings" is being projected is different from the one where "Casablanca" was projected last week due to the difference in the perceptions. In your experience, is the Awareness that is watching my text right now the same one from which you had your deepest realizations? If that is the case, I think you and I would be talking about the same thing: Absolute Awareness/Godhead, projecting and watching the manifest Universe. If that is not the case, then I think I´d have to dig deeper to understand your view:)

Hello and thank you, Nahm. I usually enjoy your posts:) Language is conceptual and has flaws, but we need it in order to communicate our experience. One thing I can assure you: there is no conceptuality in the unity of the manifest in that bubble or in the fact that it is perceived from beyond the bubble itself. It is direct experience. Thanks for both responses and the welcome. Maybe someone will take this even further and shed a clearer light.

@BipolarGrowth Now that I read the text you spoke about, I have a better understanding of your own post itself. And to be honest, I think that the "Aware Space" I speak about is not related to the "Boundless Space" the text details. There is nothing objective about Aware Space as I understand it. Furthermore, it contains any notion of "nothingness" or "boundless consciousness". Aware Space, or at least as I experience it, has only subjective qualities, and it is not even a dim nothingness or perceptible void of any kind. It is the place where everything happens. It provides everything that is perceptible with a context in which to appear, and it is that which knows it.