SpectrumDT

In his video "What Is God? - Part 1 - A No Bullshit Explanation For Smart People", Leo talks about his mystical experiences and claims to have experienced "God" and to have "verified" that God is equal to everything, nothing, death, immortality, infinity and other things. While watching the video I repeatedly asked myself whether I believed Leo's claims, and I kept coming to the conclusion that I don't understand what Leo is saying, and furthermore it is not clear to me whether he is saying anything at all. Now, I fully believe that a human can experience euphoric states of mind wherein one gets the feeling that you've grasped some great metaphysical insight. And Leo's advice on how to reach such states of mind are valuable. But the metaphysical claims themselves don't seem to have any ramifications, and therefore they seem to be in a sense non-statements that don't actually mean anything. Near the end of the video Leo says something like "I have been very careful to verify that these insights are true and not a delusion". I don't understand what this means. I cannot figure out what the pragmatic implications of these "insights" are. If these insights have no pragmatic implications, does it even make sense to ask whether the insights are true or false? Thanks!

Yes. As far as I understand, the only thing Leo really says in the video is: It is possible to achieve exotic states of consciousness. Everything else that Leo says in the video, as far as I can tell, is just attempts to describe how those exotic states of consciousness are like. If Leo says that in certain states of mind you can get the feeling that you are identical with God, who in turn is identical with everything and with nothing, then sure. I buy that. I'm sure it's possible to reach such states of mind, and I'm sure that such experiences can be very worthwhile. But near the end of the video (as far as I understand), Leo stresses the distinction between true insights and delusions. I don't understand this distinction. What is the difference between having a true insight that I am identical with God and having a delusion that I am identical with God? If they are both purely states of mind, what is the difference? Put in another way: Let's imagine two fictional universes. In universe 1, it is possible to achieve the states of mind that Leo describes, and the "insights" you get are true. In universe 2, it is also possible to achieve the states of mind that Leo describes, but the "insights" are delusions. What is the difference between universe 1 and 2? What could a person in universe 1 do or experience which a person in universe 2 could not do or experience and vice versa?

What, then, is the difference between "true insights about God" and "delusions"?