Samuel Garcia

Hey mate, Psychiatry as you already know is a much more valued profession than being a clinical psychologist. I was living with a junior doctor who wants to become a psychiatrist and he's into spirituality and has seen alot issues within the profession. I'd recommend being a psychiatrist if you can as you have a lot more to work as you can work in more broader fields of both psychology and psychiatry where as a clinical psychologist is inferior to a psychiatrist Of course you'll have to study medicine and do more work in things which may not interest you. Many psychiatrists do suck and are clueless as far as the ones I've met - but maybe you could change that. I did meet one psychiatrist who saw behaviour and mental health in a clearer light but he said he was having time convincing others of his views. He was clear on trying to avoid medication. But a lot of people do need medication -- because in psychiatry, doctors deal with all sorts of people in more extreme circumstances. But perhaps you could be part of the change that is needed in psychiatry. Definitely talk to professionals in both fields and see what they have to say. That's the best place for advice on your dilemma here.

What is your view on Enlightenment as explained by Nisagadatta Maharaj's, Ramana Maharshi and other sages etc? Your explanation seems to differ as you explain their are continuous stages whilst they say it's about transcending all states - waking, (dreaming), and sleeping and that the mind must become fully quiet and turn fully inward (ie. the world and all phenomena must disappear). What do you think the reaction would be if these sages, or modern day teachers like Rupert Spira and Mooji would be if they took 5-meo-DMT? Do you consider yourself enlightened? Are you happy in life? Honestly Also you could split the personal and serious/knowledge questions. Btw, thanks alot for your channel. You've come quite far since I found out about you over 5 years back! I came home one evening, and had negative thoughts about a teacher who was rude to me in school and typed in to YouTube how to let of bad memories, and your video about how to let go of the past came up. From then I continued to follow your channel and get more into self help and eventually spirituality. I think back then I was really following Infinite Waters, Philosopher's Notes, Brendon Burchard, FightMediocrity, Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn and others but now have turned a lot more to non-duality. A lot of your older videos about emotions, neurosis, being-cognition really helped me out and stuck with me. Congrats on 1M subs in advance!

@Franco There is only one ''me'' not two ''me''. Normally we think that we are the body-mind (ego) in our daily life. But in fact we are the awareness and always are even if you think we are this human body who has a whole life, and a job, and a family and friends etc. So in fact when we see ourselves as we trulty are, we see we are the awareness and the ego was never a real entity but a mistaken identity because we got lost in thoughts and perceptions. Just practice self-inquiry. Be still. And many questions will subside. I also found this youtube channel in Spanish for you if it helps! It's called Divulgación.

You are awareness. All objects which arise - the body, thoughts, feelings, the world etc -- you are aware of it all. The point is to be aware of being aware. Which is the same as being pure awareness without any phenomena or feelings arising. So when you ask ''Who am I'', you get the feeling and sense of ''me'' -- which may feeling like a thought and feeling in the body. Stay aware of the feeling of ''I'', then you will eventually realise you are aware of the feeling of I. So you eventually drop the question who am I, and drop all thoughts and perceptions and remain as stillness. Be still, to put it simply. I really recommend reading ''Be as You Are'' by David Godman - which explains it all in the words of Ramana Maharshi. There are translations available in many different languages. Also check out Mooji and Rupert Spira on Youtube -- I'm sure you can find translations in your own language. Hope this helps Franco!

Ramana Maharshi and Nisagadatta Maharaj in Be As You Are and I Am That say that once The Self is seen, there is self-realisation, and there is a point of no return and there is not falling back into maya. Presumably this is Pure Awareness, devoid of any objects. @Inliytened1 Perhaps the neo-Advitas response is appropriate here: there is only what is. Whether a greater ''degree of consciousness'' (whatever that means) occurs, it is still what is happening. The absolute *is* always. So from the point of the absolute, there is only self-realisation - no matter what relative things are happening. But ultimately we are looking for peace and love within ourself -- to BE that. That should be our benchmark, because that is what we are longing for. The logic side of things is less important, but can keep us sane. @VeganAwake Nice stuff! And I think teachers of the path of self-inquiry would agree.

I used to go to Tony Parsons' meetings quite regularly one or two years back -- and of course they are all pretty much the same. He has a strong following, of people who come regularly and others who are just checking him out. Most of his followers do not have much peace in their hearts in my opinion from talking to them and often parrot what Tony Parsons says quite regularly (as with most other teachers!). So of course all these things about how there is nothing to do doesn't help at all. What's really interesting however is that Tony Parsons did lots of practices, even after his awakening experience in the park. He did meditation for years and went and lived in Osho's ashram in India. His book actually originally was very dualistic, before he edited it to be very neo-Advita! In the end, let's be interested in what actually works. Just be really honest with yourself. Try out the practices which teachers say. Tony Parsons and Jim Newman completely misunderstand self-inquiry. Self inquiry may be a practice or something you do to a beginner the way Ramana Maharshi describes it, but that soon leads to Self-Abidance - being as you are - which is a non-practice! We must be honest with ourselves - are we truly at peace? Or are we still lost in concepts? BTW many sages have said that you only need to experience The Self once, and you will be self-realised. So different stages of enlightenment, would be just getting lost in more concepts and phenomena. We are looking at that which doesn't change.

@kindayellow I feel you man. Really hope things turn around for you.

I have struggled so much in trying to find love in other people. I feel a deep need for love in another but it seems I drive people away, because I get anxious since I fear I will not get the love I want (or I might fear intimacy on some level. How do I find all the love I am looking for within myself? (The big question of life lol) How do find the love we seek, when you feel nobody cares about you and you feel unloved? Is it necessary to look into my upbringing, because this is not intuitive at all for me. How do I remove the fear of deep intimacy with another? How do I stop seeking love from another? Gurus often day love our true nature? Why? When a typical person falls in love with another person, is that love or selfishness? Do people know love intuitively already? Or is even this love that people feel corrupted by carnal desires and concepts?

After watching Leo's video about Something and Nothing, I just want to clarify what is deep sleep and death. So I would have thought that deep sleep and death would be nothing and the world is something. But is Leo suggesting there is no difference between these two states? Isn't there a clear difference between deep sleep and the world? To me, deep sleep is nothing/infinity and the world is a finite and limitation. So there is a distinction between these two states. But then isn't being in the nothingness of deep sleep another limitation? I'm finding it hard to grasp what deep sleep is and the world is.

Well I do know of deep sleep. As in I think I slept whether it is real or not. Isn't everyone already conscious of deep sleep? Though most people may not say so, as thought says otherwise.

@WaveInTheOcean ''I sleep'' or ''blank'' are both undoubtedly concepts. @Nahm To clarify, are you saying there is no sleep or death at all and these are just concepts? My question then would be then: how do I know of deep sleep? The confusing thing is, I can only know it as a concept in this moment -- but I am conscious of the concept of sleep is just a mere representation of sleep.... But without the thought how can I know sleep? There is no sleep without the thought, only this moment. At this point I get confused with ''this moment''. If I take the experience of running, for example, it is a thought now. But I know it is more than a thought and an experience which could be had. Likewise sleep is more than a concept. What we experience now is limited to what is now, but this experience of now can change.

@Nahm A ''me sleeping'' is almost like a non-phenomena, but it is not nothing. That's as clear as I can get with this for now. Thank you so much for the guidance

@Petals Thanks so much for the share. Sleep is not necessarily pure consciousness according to Ramana. @Nahm I am confident I slept. So it is a knowing. I am not sure if its 1) pure knowing or if its 2) a knowing of absence (of all phenoma). These two are the same, no?

@Nahm All I know is what I experience. I just get a blank in deep sleep. So it is hard to scrutinise that experience. How to investigate blank? It as if I am not there in deep sleep. But we could say I am there, because I know that blank.

@Someone here @Someone here This is not about concepts. Deep sleep is an experience we all have. The waking state is the experience we are having now. I am saying there is a clear distinction of the nothingness of deep sleep and the something of the experience of waking life, as we look at this screen. Nothing and something is not the same in this instance. I'm thinking it is better think of ''finite'' and infinite'' rather than something and nothing. Nothing it better attributed to infinity because it nothing is undefined. If infinite has any ''something'' to it as some religions define God, it would not be God, the absolute. To know the world, we have to overlook the infinity/nothing that is here. But that infinity is absolute, and always remains. Self inquiry is a practice which points to the absolute.

@JosephKnecht Nice!

@Surfingthewave Yeah, I totally hear you. Leo seems a little deluded on his claims of truth since truth is always the case so there is actually nothing more to claim. He seems to be getting lost in experiences, which psychedelics can do. But there is no doubt 5 meo gives some profound experiences, relative to our ordinary lives. Some good insights on aspects on psychology gained undoubtedly. Worth sticking around for his videos I think.

@r0ckyreed It seems that you are seeking alot. What is it that you mean by awakening really? Absolute truth is always the case so you don't need to change you're experience. Ramana Maharshi and Rupert Spira are two very good teachers who talk about a ''direct path'' to enlightenment. A few years ago I came across these teachings of turning attention to myself, and completely dismissed it because I was trying to find fulfilment in an object. I even did the whole psychedelic thing having lots of trips on mushrooms as well as 5 meo, MDMA, LSD. But psychedelics in one way can open you're mind and apparently gain a lot ''insight'', but they are completely unnecessary and can cause a lot of seeking -- of an object, experience, knowledge, special spiritual state etc. These all come and go. But what is it that remains? A starting point to this stillness, is to keep resting in ''I am''.... When you get rest in yourself, a lot will enfold automatically. Spend a lots of time alone, in silence. Be with you. Be with your heart. Follow your heart. What does it want? This is your path.

Like most people I suffer. I cry everyday mainly because I feel lonely and unloved but also because of low self-esteem and I just find life hard -- even to just get out the house. I cry as a result of the feeling the emotions fully technique, mushrooms and contemplating suffering. I really don't want to suffer anymore and I feel like I have no more options and don't know what to do anymore. Is it safe to do 5-Meo-DMT? I feel like I'm ready to ''give up'' in sense. I am ready to be open. If I take it, will the experience backfire. I just don't want to suffer anymore.

Where did you get this from? Have many other traditional spiritual paths claimed you will reincarnate as everyone? Sounds like hell tbh.

So what does Enlightenment have to do with suffering? Isn't it the end of suffering?

In the video, he mentions olive oil shouldn't be heated since it oxides. Been having lots of vegetable soup recently and the requires heating the soup. Any health experts to back this up?

@Leo Gura Yes agreed -- lots more content on emotions needed!

@electroBeam I've taken shrooms 6 times spaced out over the last 8 months and also done 5 meo. A few weeks ago though I had a psychedelic like experience through feeling into the suffering in my life which include crying, screaming and losing control of my body and ''God''/ higher intelligence without psychedelics. I then took shrooms yesterday but this time everytime I felt the effects coming, my mind automatically challenge every effect of the shrooms. For example, I felt fearful but then my mind wanted to be still. I tried to ask questions about my life problems but got no response. Everytime I took shrooms before I would be super emotional ie. cry my eyes out or jump around. This time it was like I didn't take shrooms because it seemed like everytime I took, the effects were because I was caught up in emotions. The only effects I felt was that I a little more focused. Maybe it was a bad bunch but I don't think so.

@Aquarius Go online and search for meet up groups with the same interests as you. Try going to society events to a college near you so you make friends you own age. Keep going out to events and meeting lots of people and eventually you may find some more friends you can connect with. Best of luck. Hope you make more friends