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@PsiloPutty Where did you hear that labels were part of Vipassana? What instructions are you following? I wouldn't discuss it on this forum because people are going to talk about meditation in general with you and there are many techniques. See how Nahm just posted totally different meditation techniques for you? Vipassana is the most powerful meditation technique I have tried and you really need to learn it properly. Do whatever meditations you want until your retreat, just make sure you aren't thinking it's Vipassana. Wait until then to learn it right. --- edit --- Ok so I did some reasearch and it seems like some people do advocate for labels in the beginning. The way I learned it (at a 10 day retreat with 1 day follow ups) does not advise this at all. Also, a central part of Vipassana is that pain no longer feels like pain, but like any other sensation. If you keep calling it pain through labels, you won't get to that point. I see big advantages to not using it and my teacher told me not to. Just to give you the full story!! Good luck to you.

This is fair, but not Vipassana. Don't do this if you are trying to practice Vipassana exclusively.

@PsiloPutty No labels. Don't whisper anything ever. Always come back to awareness of body/breath when the mind has wandered but don't work in labels. Remember the mind is learning through the body not the other way around. Vipassana involves no labels whatsoever - other meditation styles do and your mind will do it regardless, but remember that it is not desirable for this specific practice. Yes you can do it at night. Ghoenke recommends it. You will learn everything at your retreat and it is best learned there.

That's how I feel about Osho. I was very into his teachings for a while and after some experiences and spiritual growth, he feels like a con man to me. So, yes, I am sure many people who discuss spirituality are snake oil salesmen and give the field a bad name.

It's Vipassana. Have you heard of the free 10 day retreats? It is best to learn the technique there rather than try to read instructions or learn it second-hand. It's essentially a concentration practice, followed by a body scan. The method is taught in layers at those retreats and they put you in an environment where you make huge changes and get established in the practice. I met a lot of people from Florida at the Southeast Vipassana Center - Dhamma Patapa - in Jesup, Georgia. Have you ever considered going?

....and here is a story about being free. I was "bouldering" today (walking and climbing around on big rocks) in a pretty controlled environment. Like the spazz that I am, I slipped and SHATTERED my ankle. It took the ER a little under 2 hours to give me pain medication. Meditation (Vipassana specifically) worked like a CHARM during this period of intense Hell - when a nurse, doc, or administrator interrupted my meditation to ask me the same 5 questions 16 times, my entire body shook in pain. It looked like a seizure. While meditating, nothing like that. I was contented. I continued to meditate throughout the day. My roommate commented a few times on how stoic I was through all of this, including being told I needed surgery and having huge needles stuck into my crazy swollen ankle. The hospital staff was happy to joke and laugh with us, and thanked me for my patience with them. This practice of Vipassana has done incredible things in my life, for my former alcohol addiction, and now the ability to look at this event as a series of mental exercises. I am so grateful for Vipassana and wanted to express that to y'all. I hope that if you have ever considered going, you will take the plunge and do it.

@Heart of Space LSD is great for being in the moment. It'a like a mindfulness tab. Why do you think of this experience as enlightenment?

@Nathan Or not arrested, just a ride home? But then you went to the hospital? Anyway if you want to discuss this in private, you can message me. But we need a clearer picture of what's going on if you want any real advice.

@Nathan Don't clam up. You came here to talk to us. Here's what I think you said happened... When you left your house, you were sober. You ended up with a lot of drugs in your system, arrested. Now you are back home and taking hella benzos. If you're faded, you're faded. You're not going to have sharp insights or good memories. So, why did you do this? Why did you wander away from home?

I don't think we are talking about the same "state," but thaz ok. Have a nice weekend!

@Leo Gura I'm in Seattle and I would help get something going here.

@Leo Gura What do you think of Natural News?

@Sartanion I have a Master's Degree and looking for work with it is degrading and shitty. It's not instant credibility in my experience. If I were young, I would study philosophy as cheap as possible - to think, enjoy that age, and also get to study abroad. Then, an ashram. Then, I would have started my own business or at least learned the art of hustling contract work. I am 31 now with a degree I don't care about, a lot of business acumen, and nowhere to direct it. I am essentially starting now where I wish I had started 10 years ago, but with a ton of fucking student debt.

What I wanna know is why is Leo so certain that psychedelically induced enlightenment episodes are the same as old school ones.

Yeah it does. Whole different way of living and not one you can see from the outside. Have you had any enlightenment experiences?

I withheld and observed - and now I've seen the beginning of the follow-up. While watching the enlightenment experience video, I noticed judgement in my mind about the repetition and consolidation of ideas previously discussed in other videos. It seemed peculiar to phrase things in the exact same way. Perhaps experiences vary, but during awakening for me, it was too stunning for words, let alone the same words forged in the previous paradigm. While we can discuss stages of awakening, the process of awakening and integration, the value of learning from psychedelic trips vs just tripping balls, and misunderstanding about abiding enlightenment - this all comes down to whether or not you believe psychedelically induced enlightenment is equivalent to "old school" enlightenment. That does appear to be a belief, and a fundamental one to the discussion at hand. I personally do not believe they are the same. I can't say that I am disappointed, because he appeared pretty clearly to be tripping, and it was nice to see him smile. To me, psychedelics are medicine, and one should not lean too heavily on them.

Such confusion on this forum. It was nice to see you smile, Leo - feeling no difference between the body and the world is ineffable and I cried a little bit sharing that with someone. It's not like it sounds and we don't get to talk about it with loved ones. That is why this place is special. ? I am holding questions and observing my own judgements.

@Adam M Personally, I do a better job applying what I've learned when focusing on one book with some seriousness. When I jump around, it indicates to me that I am in a state of curiosity. Perhaps your experience is different.

@Revolutionary Think Why does something become impossible simply because an individual actor isn't "doing" it? Actually, now that this is brought up, enlightenment is the perfect example of reality happening to you. Look at how people work on enlightenment but they don't even know exactly what it is. They aren't putting a jigsaw puzzle together following the picture on the box. Nobody gives you a picture. Nobody can help you really do it, they just give exercises that correlate with it occurring in some people. Cool huh?

@Nahm Reeeeeally not understanding the mechanics of this exercise. That's ok I just won't do it. ?

Sorry, I'm confused about the exercise. Which column do these go under, experienced or belief? What are some examples of what you would write under "experienced"? Thanks!

Can you give some examples of what you would write in each column?

Needed that, thank you! ?

@aurum I like your new picture. You look happy and seem to have made some big strides! @kieranperez My last name is Perez, too. Hope we are cousins!!! ? I believe you are 22 if I recall correctly from another post. You must go through your terrible twenties like we all did/do. It's an incredible developmenal period and very much an odyssey. There is so much idealism, confusion, and doubt. This is your time to figure out how to make money and what you want in a partner. You are going to fall on your ass and make mistakes while you do that. So, don't psych yourself out about getting to your end goals from where you are now. A lot is going to happen to you in 8 years. A lot. Like, a lot. Don't even try to conceptualize it. Just start taking some action, one thing at a time.

Start with a Vipassana retreat. It will give you insights needed to change your question to something more reasonable.