Key Elements

@mikeyy Hey, I just saw your post. The two ppl I knew who took drugs took recreational street drugs that caused their schizophrenia. Now, I'm not sure which ones. One of them, her cousin mentioned it, and the other wrote it in her journal and someone got a hold of her journal and told me. It depends on your brain chemistry. Some ppl are more prone to developing mental illnesses more than others, esp if it runs in the family. It also depends on how long you've been doing it. If you're very concerned, you might want to take a brain scan. Pls, don't worry. Just do a lot of research before you do something. Yes, it's a great idea to study mental illnesses. There's more than just schizophrenia. There's also bipolar disorder - has to do more with mood swings. There's a whole range of them.

@Leo Gura I suppose when taking any substances, one has to be sure it is pure. Otherwise, it may induce mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. I saw you mentioning in another post to test for purity before taking any substances. The person who I tried to help, hers was drug induced. I also know of someone else who suffers severely because it was drug induced. Yes, it's best when experts are giving advices on substances, and that too more than one expert. I'm guessing you want to become an expert, especially on this topic, Leo-very profound topic too. Best of Journey and please be very careful. Schizophrenia is very serious . Note: This patient I was working with doesn't have a family history of schizophrenia. Her case was not genetic - purely drug induced. I want to include in a clip below that the patient I tried to help would probably look something like this if she went off her meds. Yes, she had it horrible. Notice how you have to talk to the patient in a certain way. However, don't compare mild forms of schizophrenia with severe forms of schizophrenia. There is a spectrum. Many can control it but some cannot.

@cetus56 Yes, I understood when you mentioned Prabhaker. That's why I mentioned parapsychology. That's the branch that studies spirituality - like near death experiences, seeing no-self, etc. @cetus56 My guess is, it probably is possible to have both schizophrenia and spirituality together. I have heard that maybe a monk who is in one of Dalai Lama's temple has both.

@cetus56 It could be genetic. It could be drug induced. It's in psychology / psychiatry. The interesting thing is parapsychology is also another branch of psychology, which makes it really interesting, but those are two different branches.

I used to try to help someone who suffered from severe schizophrenia. She had all the symptoms - catatonic, paranoid, etc..Not only did she suffered from auditory hallucinations but also visual. It is extremely hard to live with if it's severe. The person has to be on meds. Symptoms could be mild and manageable to severe. Here's a documentary about it (Part 1 & 2): (This topic is under a different category.)

@iago iriarte arhatha Excellent question. Mine was our beloved, Leo, because he mentioned ox's tail in one of his enlightenment clips which led me to look at Shinzen Young's enlightenment clips. Those information opened doors for me because now I understand better what it means to live in peace, not just for myself but for all.

Here is a journey of a former US Marine who decided to become a Zen Monk. His journey looks interesting. Just wanted to share it...

Just wanted to share with you one of my favourite quotes below. Unfortunately, you won't find many people out there who will think this way. What I do to find like-minded ppl is work on my life purpose. It leads to places and you meet different types of ppl. (Also, study Leo's Graves model / Spiral Dynamics clip.) The more you work on these things, the more likely you will meet the right friends-nice ones too. I met two already who will not judge ppl on their enlightenment experiences and make their own conclusions about it. In order to have great friends, you've got to be the great friend too. Detachment is one of the important key aspects of a friendship or any relationships. (See Leo's clip on detachment.) Another note: You don't really "find" like-minded people. You just happen to meet them as you go along in your journey. Now, I'm not being strict here. Take baby steps. I like keeping a journal handy all the time. One of my journals turned into a book (that I sell to a school).

I totally agree here. The nothingness is the everythingness. It's not just about "there is no you," and "you don't exist," and end of story. Everythingness = infinite possibilities. Yes, I have to say this now. There are other types of enlightenment experiences than seeing infinity. For example, there has been reports of family members seeing their dead loved ones at the same moment. Check out parapsychology. That's the branch of psychology that studies all these things. Don't be surprised if you ever experience this in real life in a direct experience, and didn't believe it at first. Then, someone else also saw the "spirit" at the same time. Of course, there are other experiences. There are experiences that confirm your other experiences are "real" and you thought they were not. There are all kinds of experiences. Discover them, but don't get obsessed. These are great. All in all, just live life to the fullest. Develop a profound life purpose toward peace. These type of experiences give life meaning: life is profound! It's more than just work, work, work, and retire. ☺

@Leo Gura You've changed gradually (for the better). I've noticed. Continue. Of course, like everyone else, I have to practice what I preach. Best of Journey. That guy needs to do his own journey instead of criticizing other people's journey. Eventually, no one will take him seriously. Life is not about talking about others; it's about finding your own journey. I totally agree with your statement here-not only in meditation but in enlightenment as well. If you keep talking about no-self, it gets overblown and sounds like no direction. But, meditation and enlightenment are interconnected with life.

@DimmedBulb -Best of Journey to you. We drop our past because we make space for this: Otherwise...

Here's another one of my favourite quote...it's to leave people, places, and situations that are irrelevant behind.

Yes. I get what you're saying here. You know, at this point in my life, I learned that one cannot really change others' behaviours - only your own behaviours. So, in other words, if the person is really stuck in an undesirable situation, it's time to try your best to leave the situation. No one can change what happened in their past - not even a second ago. The past, even though it happened a second ago, is like something written in the history books. The present moment is the time to change what may happen to your future self. Don't worry if the change doesn't come right away or if it's not perfect. Change will come once you decide to keep trying and take baby steps toward it. Below is one of my favourite quotes because I do notice that others and yourself take you more seriously by actions and not by words. (That's why, for example, in a job interview, the employer will take the application that has references, website, experiences, etc. more seriously because it's action based.)

Then it's time to stop following the crowd.

Hahaha...lol...I'm still laughing at this. I'm still learning to control my fictional ego. (Only joking...I think it's very creative.)

@John Flores Yes, I agree to your point #1 in a sense that it has to be a healthy balance when seeking enlightenment - not just use totally one religion or one method over the other. Yes, it's what works for the individual person. I feel lucky to have grown up with 2 different religions in the US, and now since I've immigrated to India for the past 6 yrs, I'm exposed to 2 more. I'm seeing religions practiced in real life and not just reading them in books.

You know what...let me just add...if you're looking for the infinity (emptiness / nothingness / everythingness), we are not going to find it in the same ways. It's just like finding our life purpose - some are doctors, some farmers, some artists, some teachers. We mix our multiple talents together to make something unique out of it. Therefore, we also use different techniques and situations to find our own enlightenment - our own ways to meditate, contemplate, and do self-inquiry. I'm just surprised that karma is not emphasized here. Our life purpose counts toward enlightenment because karma counts. What goes around comes around (in subtle ways). There are no paradoxes in enlightenment - the everythingness is the nothingness. Everything includes literally everything including karma. Everythingness = we can't just search for the infinity "dogmatically." We are meant to live this life meaningfully, even though it's nothingness. We are meant to live in peace because enlightenment means peace...why? We usually like to move up in consciousness - our natural tendency. When we pass by a homeless person, we want to help out - at least most ppl do. Therefore, we see programs to get ppl off the streets. (I'm not saying that it's perfect.)

@DimmedBulb No...everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It's just a matter of gradually weaning off the weaknesses and bringing out the strengths.

We have to understand ourselves. Teachers are there to be guides only. You have to find your own light.

Yes, I agree with idolizing something you don't have as a basis of idolizing. But, technically we do waste time if we do this. It could get obsessive. We come with nothing and go with nothing. We can't take anything with us cause we really don't own anything. Question: Do you think the infinity is being too idolized in this forum?

Great book. Reminds me of Leo's clip below where one must evolve out of stage orange and go all the way to live this life fully.

@jes Do what's right for you and do not give in to his decisions. Be very smart and street smart about it. Think 10X before speaking to him. He probably gets offended if things don't go his way because he's stuck in his own worldview and don't see things from another person's perspective.

What goes around comes around, but it works in very subtle ways. One has to look very carefully in one's life to find out.

Good question... When you're talking about "there is no you," there are no paradoxes. It's just like saying there's no up or down in space. When you're talking about regular, everyday life, there are still no paradoxes. You could say, "Yes, I am in control because I'm following the the correct thoughts in my mind, so I could be efficient and productive throughout my day." Or, you could say, "No, I'm not in control because the thoughts in my mind are coming from nothingness. The nothingness is the one commanding me and I "choose" to follow the correct thoughts." Both answers are correct. To add to the first answer of yes I am in control: the nothingness & you are one. However, I think the real question is, how do we know we are one and the infinity is for real? We say to have a "direct experience" of it. Well, how do we know our direct experience of it is for real? Those with direct experiences of it has some explaining to do. We just can't have a little short passage about it. Practical life is what most of us could relate to. Just walk by a homeless person on the street. How do you feel? Most people would not want the person to be homeless. So, of course, as a result, you see programs to help people get out of it. That's one little hint of the infinity - that we are one - we want peace. We don't want suffering.