Naviy

Leo says that this is the most effective method: Also do meditation and mindfulness work every day. Read good books about enligthenment and watch videos of teachers on the Internet. You can also have a self inquiry journal.

All this is opposite to meditation. @Baz if you feel like you want to learn how to "focus and zone out", then you probably need to do the opposite. Try this meditation:

I have tried all meditation techniques, that were mentioned in Leo's videos, each for several months (except level 3 meditation from "How to meditate deeper" video). I also used to do breathing meditation, when you count your breaths or simply concentrate on breathing. And I also did guided meditations. It is usually adviced to do minimum 1 month of one particular techinque. But what about using all meditation techniques? For example, one day I do Mindfulness meditation. Next day - Letting thoughts go meditation. Next day - Mindfulness meditation again. Next day - Do Nothing with Strong determination sitting. Etc. Or even using different techniques in one meditation session?

How do you know that some kind of "ego" stops me from doing meditation? You're a little bit too dogmatic about all this "your ego is stopping you" thing. You need to have more personal experience than reading and listening to what others say about "ego". Because it seems that you just repeat what you have heard somewhere instead of talking from your own experience. Also, read Stephen Covey's book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", especially, where he talks about Empathic listening. And watch this video:

@Hardik jain Lack of motivation? Do meditation anyway. Laziness? Do meditation anyway. Tired? Do meditation anyway. Don't want to do meditation? Do meditation anyway. Let the lack of motivation and laziness be objects in perception during meditation. Even if they are extreme (especially if they are extreme).

This is my most favourite song ever, especially second half of it:

Do you even enlightened, broh?

1) Constant mindfulness practice (becoming present each time I notice I am not present): 2) Formal mindfulness meditation:

I think of Matrix as "The World" which is mind with all it's knowledge, memory, thoughts, emotions, concepts, words, ideas, beliefs, reactions etc. (what we usually call "real life"). Real-real life (Non-Matrix from the movie) = Truth, Enlightenment, etc. No content of Matrix can show or transfer Truth, because Truth is not in The Matrix. When you talk about Truth with words, or think about it with thoughts - these words and thoughts are just processes in the Matrix. You can learn about the Truth, you can study Truth, but learning and studying are just processes in the Matrix. There is no thought or experience that shows Truth. Any experience is a process in the Matrix. However, when you see a message on your computer screen that says "Neo, you're in the Matrix, follow the white rabbit" (=for example, when Leo is talking about Enlightenment or Reality), this could start the process of escaping the Matrix. The message itself is a process in the Matrix, but it can guide "You" (which is also a process in the Matrix) to a realization of Truth. Truth it is when "you" realize that there is no "you" and "not you", because everything (including you) are just objects in the Matrix. Matrix is a program, and everything (including you) is one single program. It is all one thing. But Matrix is not the Reality. Reality cannot be experienced by "You in the Matrix". I don't know what Reality is.

I used daily 10-15 minute visualizations to overcome the fear of public speaking in court for 6 months. Did not work. Actually, after I stopped doing them for this purpose, I've noticed that now I hate visualizations so much, that I just do not want to do them anymore. But I am pretty sure they work for other purposes. Right now I cannot choose a vision to practice it. Nothing feels important enough to do such a "painful" exercise (as it seems to me right now).

I've just finished doing self inquiry, and a thought has formed (sorry, this might be just some random raw thoughts). How can mind help to find the Truth (Reality, True Self, etc.)? Everything that mind does, is not the Truth, and everything, that mind can possibly do, is not the Truth. What executes the act of searching? It seems, that the mind does. What can be concentrated or not concentrated? The mind. What is aware or unconscious? The mind. What sees? I believe, that "seeing" is the activity of mind. Any experience is mind. What "does"? The mind. What is Will? Activity of mind. Self inquiry is the act of mind. When the mind does self inquiry, it is running circles, because both the act of self inquiry and the results of self inquiry are in the mind. How can mind transcend itself? What is not mind? It seems, that everything is the mind. What is mind then? Well, first of all, it is a thought, of course. But, also, what is mind right now, in "reality"? It seems, that everything = mind. But it is kind of obvious that the Truth is not anything and not everything and not mind. ++ What is the difference between very present and "lost in thoughts" state? These are both just experiences in the mind. We believe that "I am conscious" in the first state and "unconscious" in the second state. But both states are just experiences. It does not matter, if you are concentrated or not concentrated, if you are present or lost. The mind is present or lost (actually, it is not, because both "present" and "lost" are just equal experiences).

I never could understand how "silent observer" can exist. If anything exists, then it is not the observer. Such thing as observer cannot exist by definition. And it is not only an intellectual conclusion. This is what I see with my observations. How can "anything" be "experienced"? You do not experience a thing. Experience is the thing. There are no "things" that are being "experienced". There is only experience. Also, how can "you" experience the "experience"? Why is it necessary for some "you" to exist, so "experience" could exist too? Can experience exist without you experiencing it?

Literally, all these questions were answered in the video: You do not count the labels "see, hear, feel" as objects that you savor. If you savor inner speech, yes, you can re-remember or repeat it in your mind, while savoring it. I personally noticed that applying the skill of mindfulness meditation to thoughts is useful and interesting. When any thought arises, try to label it and look - what does a thought consist of? This particualr thought - what did it consist of? How was it like to "see", "hear" or "feel" it? Did the thought consist of something out of these 3 channels? What were/are the particular objects in "see", "hear" and "feel" channels that together create a thought?

Interesting, lol - I got into personal development after watching some science films about Universe and modern Physics, Cosmos, Stars, etc. They made me very interested in what reality exactly is. So, I started searching for modern philosophical sources on this topic and found out about Eckhart Tolle. Started watching videos of him a lot, read all the books. Then I started meditating, doing mindfulness work and searching for other teachers (found a lot of them, including Douglas Harding, Adyashanti, Papaji, Gangaji, Mooji, and all these -ji's, Cesar Teruel, Alan Watts, Nisargadatta, Byron Katie, etc.). Also, I have discovered information about DMT (the psychedelic) and became very interested in it. I've been learning about DMT experiences for years now. And then, I saw Leo's video "How to meditate". I started watching his videos and was so pleasantly surprised on how many techniques there are to improve yourself. I bought his list of recommended books and started reading. Well, now I am learning and practicing more and more of personal development, building discipline, healing and improving my psychology, mindfulness and meditation work, etc.

@Ayla What do you mean by love? A feeling? How would you describe this if you have never heard of word "love" and if you have never heard spiritual teachers talk about some kind of this very special love?

Some of my current self inquiry questions are: - What is the difference between unconscious state of mind and conscious ("mindful") state of mind? When the mind is lost in thoughts and experiences, does The Thing that is aware of these thoughts and experiences, remain unaffected by any activity of mind? Is there any difference for the awareness, if the mind is totally lost in thoughts or if it is very conscious? Also, how can I notice when I am conscious and when I am lost in thoughts? How does it exactly feel like? What is the exact difference between these two states, what changes? - What do I believe is the difference between "Me" and "not-Me"? - Why do I believe that "I" necessary has to exist? - It seems like some of thoughts and body activity I can control, and some - I cannot. Is it really so? What makes me believe that I can control some of the activities of the mind and body? What do I mean by "control"? How does Will appear? How does it feel like - to make Will to appear? Do I really create any movement of Will? Why do I believe that I am the creator of any Will? How does it feel like - to create Will? Why do I attach the feeling of "My" to some of movements of Will? - What is the MOST real RIGHT NOW in the very real-time moment? - Is there "I" right now? What is it? How does "I" feel like? - Is there anything that is not activity of mind right now? (Activities of mind: confidence or lack of confidence, any experience, any feeling, thought or emotion, any will, any memory, any belief, any object).

I personally do not pay attention to breathing while meditating. Whatever breathing happens - happens. During Do Nothing meditation, however, sometimes mind wants to focus on breathing or to control it. I let it. Maybe you should try to forget about any kind of special breathing technique? It just distracts. "You must relax your body, you must breathe the right way" only brings more tension.

Or food to egos.

Does all this "Namaste, bliss, absolute love, Sri, Baba, jijijijijijiji, beloved master, flowers, blankets", etc. thing not delude people too much? I've watched a lot of his videos and I often saw how people are just trying to parody each other and play as actors before him, just to show how fucking badass blissful and spiritual they are. While the only thing he says is "Do self inquiry, people".

What if this your conclusion is itself the result of dice roll?

Forget about goals, forget about what anybody says or what you think or say. Forget about what you have "achieved" and what you have not. Forget about any of your past experience. Forget about what you accept or do not accept. Forget about any your conclusions and experiences. Forget about what you think is right and what is wrong. Froget about all your feelings. These are just thoughts. You keep thinking and thinking and thinking. Just shut the fuck up and look at yourself. Do it as much as you can, every day. How to look at yourself? A lot of information on the Internet, including Leo's videos.

Actually, yesterday I started watching all of actualized.org videos from the very first one. http://actualized.org/articles/?p=11 Some of the videos I've never watched and some of them I've watched for at least 5 times, but now I will watch very single one of them. I've noticed that these videos have a positive effect even if they are about not the most important topic for you and even if you are not taking action. Just the idea, information, insight, point of view, advice contained in the video will stay in your mind, change your mindset and your worldview for a little bit better. So, you will never regret the time spent watching these videos at least once. All of them are useful.

@DizIzMikey Well, do not try to solve the confusion. Let the experience of confusion happen. Both "confusion" and "understanding" are equal experiences. They are both clouds in the sky. You do not need to decide which cloud is right and which cloud is wrong to find the sky itself. Also, any cloud can talk about the sky. But if you keep looking at clouds (experiences), you will never see the sky. When you say "I am confused" and concentrate on confusion, trying to solve it, you keep staring at a cloud. Then a cloud of "understanding and relief" passes by - and you keep staring at it then. What sees all the clouds?

Don't forget that: The emotion that motivated you to start this thread - is the activity of mind (of human). Thoughts that you wrote here - are the activity of mind. Your relief - activity of mind. Your conclusion that some kind of "problem" is "solved" - activity of mind. Your search - activity of mind. Confusion - activity of mind. Any ideas of "external" or "internal" or the abscence of both or whatever, any kind of ideas, conclusions, memories, thoughts, feelings - mind. What reads this and understands these symbols - mind. Even the thought about "mind" is just another idea, another object. Knowing and not knowing - mind. Thought that "you are nothingness" - it is just another thought, another object, mind again. It is human who is thinking. What is the most real right now, right here? Not an object. But the most real in the most now? Riiight now. Not a thought, not an experience, not a vision, not a feeling. I don't know, this is the question that I ask myself.

Cannot imagine Leo say something like "Yes, I am an orthodox" or "Yes, I am a buddhist". I'm pretty sure he does not give a fuck about religions (only about bright ideas and guidances that teachings might contain, which are not always easy to be discovered, though). Also, in his videos he says that it is not good for personal development to be involved in religions or politics. It's better to stay away from such things, because they address to the "lower self" and distract you from real self actualization. Here he speaks about such things too, I believe: