Key Elements

Yours is not? I'm not judging here.

Ours are natural.

@Leo Gura Leo, it all started because you mentioned seeing "a few hairs of the ox" in one of your enlightenment clips when you were at a retreat. Of course, I had to look it up to see what that meant. I found Shinzen Young's clips and he described footprints to ox's tail to Riding the Ox Backwards. When I found out about Riding the Ox Backwards, it reminded me of a "dream" I had when I was 1 yr old. Basically, to make the story short, I was the no-self ( nothingness ). Then, I became a sphere with stars all around me in blackness. Then, it was space. Then, I went through a black hole facing backwards into my 1 yr old body. I was this massive, massive light going into my body. I felt the divine love - extreme bliss - after I awoke. Long story though... I always wondered why I was facing backwards and not forwards. Then, I thought, we are only embodied throughout life, either in a human body or a soul or whatever. What we actually are is nothing/everything = the peace consciousness. That's why I realized that our ego (emotions) are all fiction. I lost a brother when he was 18 - died of brain cancer. I saw him again in a "dream" a few days later. I thought he came back to life. I talked to him and said that I was going to see him again. Of course, there are a lot more details in all of these. But, the thing I noticed in these two experiences is that I was also the observing self. When I was the sphere in space, I was observing myself as the no-self ( not embodied in anything ) at a different angle. I was the observing self when witnessing the massive, massive light going into my body. And, I was also the observing self when talking to my Bro. I witnessed myself talking to him. There were a lot of ah-ha moments (and little experiences) after seeing all your enlightenment clips. Thanks for being very articulate and clear in your clips, Leo. I find that these experiences also interconnect with my life purpose. (Karma) Note: Before, I thought the sky is the limit when working on my startup. Now, it's a life purpose toward world peace due to your world peace clip, enlightenment clips, etc. Those are the best ones! Best of luck in your enlightenment journey, esp when it comes to taking substances. And, I'm not here to judge, but please stay safe.

Your friend found her talents and put them together into something. Now it's time to find yours. It's just there. It's within. All you have to do is explore it and bring it out. Talents within one person overlap each other to make something unique. Just look at Leo, Teal, and Ralph. They're all doing spirituality with coaching in different ways cause they have different talents and present it differently.

Celebrities & Enlightenment Jokes

@FindingPeace Hmm...that's an interesting way of looking at it. I've never put a label on our automatic system of survival as being "selfish." I'm thinking we can't really help it cause that's the way it is. It's a given, unfortunately. I've always tried to come out of it (like become vegetarian, for example). I just simply see that as suffering and try to head toward peace (if I can). You know, try to head toward a more peaceful lifestyle taking into consideration of others. However, no one does this perfectly.

It's a matter of seeing the cup as half empty or half full. I rather see it as half full taking the other side into consideration.

Once, I had the opportunity (a perk) to stay at a 5-star hotel for a month for free. Nothing was to be paid. I did not have to lift a finger, not even to cook or do my own laundry. After 2 days, I hated the experience. I was bored to death. Have you heard of the saying, "An idle mind is devil's workshop." For me, it was a grueling experience. That's cause at the time, I didn't practice meditation or self-inquiry. And most of all, I didn't figure out my life purpose yet. I didn't come close to it yet. That's why I highly recommended a life purpose before something like this happens. Life is not about the money. "Money doesn't buy happiness." That's the saying.

Interesting topic...I don't see survival as being selfish. It's just something automatic. Like, "Oh no, what do I do to get my next meal?" All living beings do that, even without a second thought. Is a bird really being selfish? What about ants? No, it's just nature. We humans are too. Then, if you manage to get some surplus in lifestyle, like supporting your family, you could donate clothes or money or whatever, and even volunteer. Why is that labelled "selfish"? Most ppl don't want to see homelessness and wonder why there are the homeless. I think working hard is not selfish cause you won't be a burden on society. Then, if you decide to become an entrepreneur, you get a different type of income called passive income, not earned income, like in a job. This could make you "rich." Bill Gates started an Aids Foundation. Again, why should that be labelled "selfish?" Once upon a time, society didn't have such opportunities like becoming entrepreneurs and starting organizations. Then, it goes beyond that. Look at the Nobel Peace Prize winners. Some of them just give all the money away to charity after winning this prize. Some of them gave up their lives (they got shot and killed for doing good) and then had this recognition. Some people deserve this recognition but instead got killed for doing good and never got it. You get the point. That's why I'm not sure if "selfish" is the best word for everyone.

I like what you said here, and I like your most recent clip talking about reaching higher consciousness. It helps to meditate and dissolve the fictional ego as much as possible. Then, do self-inquiry and pay attention to your thoughts. I find this step very important. It's not just about seeing and being the infinite - although this helps. Completing the life purpose and life lessons enough till you've made a contribution to this world is fulfilling cause if you don't, you may think something is missing in the "end." Life is a school that you don't want to flunk out.

What are you going to do after having or realizing enlightenment experience(s)? How will it impact your decisions on how to live life here on earth? For me, it's a life purpose toward world peace. (Btw, you don't have to wait for an enlightenment experience to do this. There is karma. When you do this, your actions along the way could trigger experiences.) The reason is, during an enlightenment experience, you feel nothing but peace. If you see infinite, we are one - no embodiments of anything. There is no "pain and suffering" anymore. When you awake, you "feel" bliss - divine love. After thinking about it, you'll realize that the ego is just a fiction, just like all our emotions. These are the common features of enlightenment. I'm posting Leo's world peace clip and Shinzen Young's explanation of after enlightenment. https://youtu.be/ptkH0uK1uXM

I'm just quoting Leo, "Careful about idealizing enlightened people, you will be disappointed. Jesus was not pure benevolence. If you look at the descriptions of him, he was also a prick. As many enlightened masters can be. Don't equate enlightenment with automatic goodness. That goodness requires MUCH additional work. And it's actually easier to become deeply enlightened than to become perfectly good." He did mention being a benevolent force in another clip. I believe it was...The 10 things that you want but don't know you want... That means world peace without agenda is ok, if that's what your thoughts (coming from no-self) tells you.

If everything is fine the way it is, then why should an artist paint something educational on the canvas board and donate to the school to teach children? Why not just leave the canvas board empty and just meditate and "do nothing" all day? I rather see the artist paint something beautiful and meaningful.

It depends on how you define world peace too. It could be, how does one's actions have an impact on others in the long run? Positive or negative? Where am I going with this? Not everyone is able to relate to the actions of monks or Martin Luther King or Gandhi, for example. However, they may wonder why other people of a different profession behave the way they do, like an entrepreneur, teacher, or an artist, for example. Why is an ordinary person so committed to a life purpose in a different way? What's going on? Others do wonder and try to figure out.

Ok...if we see all humans as one (and also all creatures and things) - infinite. What are the next steps? What is the goal now? Could you give examples? We still have to live out our lives here on earth. We are on stage orange of Spiral Dynamics. (See Leo's Graves Model clip). Here it is... So, we do things in our lives to move up to stage green - considering all - aka toward world peace. For example, if you want to publish a book, go with a publishing house that does recycling and NOT cut down more trees. Here's another clip of a guy who went back to his village and teaches others to build houses out of earth instead of going for a 30-yr-mortgage. He emphasizes on everyone being able to get good health care equally.

"Life does not give you what you ask for. Life gives you the people, places, and situations to develop what you ask for... (If you ask for patience, it will give you a line at the bank - a very simple example.)" - TEDx talks.

They could be very cute and enlightened.

Hey folks, I just wanted to share the interesting meaning of detachment. This doesn't just apply to relationships but to everything else - whatever we are "obsessed" about or keep thinking about, and it gets in the way of doing the real work, like our life purpose or anything else important. The woman below describes detachment as "marrying yourself," because you are already a whole person to start with, not a fragmented person. She discovered that for herself. I'm posting Leo's clip on detachment too.