RossE

Wow. The more aware I become, the more the truth of the news on TV, in newspapers really makes itself obvious to me. What is going on? All news channels are basically dedicated to scaring the shit out of people. Dramatic music, dramatic headlines, dramatic language, negative word use, constantly negative stories about death, rape, murder, criminality, protests, cancer, bombing, terrorists, sex abuse, child abuse, exploitation, drugs, politics, alcohol. The professional, serious outlook, the recurring slot it's given on TV so that viewers know when it's on, so that its important: the centrepiece of the evening line up. Hey, we even have breaks during films and TV programmes to have a news segment, because it's so important you know how much shit is going down in the world. It's amazing how it is so obviously designed to hit your sensitive spots, make you concerned, make you scared, make the world seem like a scary place. It's not designed for informing people, for spreading important things which benefit our lives and help us navigate the world. It's more like a show, a show designed not for entertainment, but for fear. This show is broadcast on national TV 24/7, lapped up and discussed by so many people at work, at home, with friends, with family. What's even more mind blowing is that the people creating the news don't really seem to notice that this is what they're creating, and those who watch it are so, so involved with it that they believe this stuff matters, that the things discussed on the news have a reality to them, that they're more than just a mere drop in the ocean, which is actually all very beautiful. You know, I actually quite like keeping up to date with things. The amazing things that are going on in the world. I would probably watch something which promotes such a message. It's just mind blowing to see this type of show being widely considered to be factual and informative. It's a farce, really. If I could offer any advice to everyday people about improving themselves, I would say to cut this nonsense out of their lives. Instead of watching the news at 6, if you really have to watch TV, watch a nature channel instead, even live sports is better. It's poison, it poisons your world view, your ability to be peaceful and free, and perpetuates the delusion that we call reality. This was a rant inspired by Leo's 30 ways video and my 5 minute viewing of the news last night. Rant over

Many spiritual teachers, famous people-turned spiritual junkies, and just regular spiritual folks, including myself and other forum members, maybe yourself!, seem to have a few things in common in their journey. 1. They buy into the common notions of success and fame, power, status, money, etc: egoic success. 2. After perhaps many years, they become materially or "egoically" successful. This part is not actually essential - see Eckhart Tolle as a prime example. 3. Eventually they realise that this is not fulfilling them, they feel empty and perhaps even fall into deep depression. They are confused as to why the success has not given them lasting peace and happiness. 4. From somewhere, like a miracle, they have some sort of spiritual realisation, or an event occurs which pulls them into spirituality. Example: George Harrison was spiked with LSD, saw beyond himself and from this pursued a spiritual path which changed his life, and his music forever. (PS definitely check out Harrison's lovely solo music for heavy spiritual references/stories. My Sweet Lord is a prime example ). 5. This path changes their life forever and they end up preaching/teaching spirituality, possibly having become enlightened. I have used many examples to build this model, and my life fits this model too. I won't go into much detail, but around 18 months after quitting therapy and coming off anti-depressents I stumbled upon a weird video for me to be watching at the time: The Beatles and Meditation. I was intrigued, seeing the four legends preaching about meditation! After this video I begin watching videos on how to meditate and eventually come across Leo's very popular one. 14 months later, I consider myself to be on the spiritual path and "awake", to an extent. I didn't have a clue about meditation or spirituality before this, not a clue, then it seemed to just come over me like a tidal wave. Does your life fit this model? It's such an incredibly common path that it seems almost "designed" to me. It's as though the ego recognises its own limitations and begins to slowly eat itself up, inside out. What's incredibly striking about this pattern is that perhaps around 90% of Western society is at stage 1, 2 or 3 in this model. Have a look at people in your life who are at these stages where you know that spirituality would help them, maybe even yourself I know of many people who have problems that the spiritual path would almost certainly solve. Even the fact that the path finds itself in worldwide cultures and mystical traditions millenia apart is very striking. This almost rules out cultural, social and historical parameters influencing the recognition and practice of spirituality within the human species. Is it naive to claim that all human beings with find themselves on the spiritual path if they survive long enough?

@krazzer I'll be damned! Thanks for sharing that. I didn't know he used to be an acadmeic.

@ctro That's a good idea! I amn't strict with it, but I do rarely watch TV or go seeking out news.

@xeeky4 Look further into that urge. It could be very revealing, if you're really honest. Why do you want it? Is it because it seems like the right path, the only path? Is it because you want to escape your life in this existence? Is it because somebody told you it's the ultimate state of bliss and you can use this to escape your family and depression? Even if this is a legit urge, you should do some deep, deep inner work before thinking about going down the spiritual route, I think going to therapy to sort out your emotional problems and family problems is a good first step. You need to get your garden looking tidy first - by that I mean your basic everyday level of happiness, productivity, self-esteem, etc. Depression is incredibly debilitating from my experience and a person experiencing it shouldn't even consider looking for enlightenment. It may be a message from your psyche that you need to change shit around in your life, it certainly was for me, looking back. Yield to that message and make basic positive changes which seem right to you - hobbies, relationships, diet etc. Over time, along with therapy, this will cleanse you. It's good that you're starting from scratch in this way - you can ditch a lot of the junk in your life without the old ties to it. Keep your meditation habit, this will help you to build up mindfulness over your depressive emotions and thoughts and could also act as a soother, a salve for you depending on the technique. I would ditch the contemplation for now, that's probably not going to help you. Most of all, remember that anyone's advice on here is just one person's opinion on your life, a complete stranger giving you advice based on very little information. Follow your inner drives first and foremost. There is a drive in you that will pull you out of all this, if you allow it.

@Surrealist I would advise abandoning spirituality for now, I can't see it being effective. This includes meditation. Even things like basic PD won't do much to help you. I think you need to go straight to eliminating those patterns of thinking and slowly begin to purge it all. You may have already tried this in your life but I would highly, highly suggest you go to a psychiatrist/psychologist, they can help you to really unearth all this. I don't know your daily routine or obligations you have, but let me tell you that emotional well-being should be number 1 to you - if that means leaving your job going to a mental home, fine. If that means expensive therapy, fine. Put it first and foremost for now.

@bworkman708 That's true, I think there probably is that knowledge to an extent. I just don't think these people - even down to the cameramen - realise the effect of such negative information on themselves and the world. If they did, something within them would click and they'd feel morally unaligned. In my opinion.

@Leo Gura Thanks, I'll have a closer look into that. I have come to realise just how unhealthy most of society really is for our human machine. It's difficult to reconcile - a lot of spiritual teachers emphasis pure love and acceptance, but when I look at this stuff, it's so obviously born from a place of ignorance and of cultural patterns and conditioning that it's hard to love and accept. I don't feel emotionally triggered by it per se but I feel disillusioned and something within me knows it's all a farce.

@DoubleYou That's not quite Do Nothing meditation. There's nothing in the Do Nothing technique that says you need to be aware or conscious of anything. You don't even need to be aware that you're meditating. The technique is about surrendering entirely. This includes surrending the need to be a good meditator. Sometimes during Do Nothing I forget that I'm even alive, let alone remaining aware of resistance or body sensations etc. @spicy_pickles I do recommend the Do Nothing technique for your purposes. Use Shinzen Young's or Leo's YouTube video for instructions.

@Joseph Maynor If you trip with an intention of investigating your beliefs, and the shrooms respond in kind, you will probably realise that most, if not all of them, are not actually true in any way. For example, I used to really love maths and science. On shrooms I saw that these things can't even come close to explaining reality, and that ALL the theory was ultimately groundless. Even the times tables. Shrooms unceremoniously ripped away my emotional investment in these subjects.

This is an old video from Leo, so he may not think it's one of his best! I disagree however. This is one of Leo's best videos. I keep revisiting it every few months just to keep myself grounded and always aware of my own faults. As you grow on this journey, you will almost encounter somebody everywhere you go that is breaking the habits you use and the theory you know and have applied. You will actually first hand see how people are destroying their lives. It's incredible. The message of this video is to continually turn back inward when you see people like this. Instead of trying to change them, you realise this is like trying to make concrete float, and use their behaviour to grow yourself. If you can start to pick up on all of the bad habits and patterns people around you have, you will have MANY opportunities to introspect. You won't even need to independently determine your own flaws, this technique provides you will almost all of them! You are probably still behaving like these people to an extent unless you're a PD God. Go check out the video, it's extremely powerful. And I thank you for it @Leo Gura

I've meditated for almost a year now and a lot of it is still worrying, being anxious, being judgemental etc. But the difference is that I do not let the thoughts bother me so much. Unless they are part of practical thinking, the content goes largely unnoticed. I almost laugh at them at times because I know that negative voice has a job. That's fine, it's trying to make a living. But you must keep it failing miserably at this job

@phoenix666 Yeah I do it, but don't get me wrong, I'm not a master at it by any means! I've got a long way to go. I think it's just from practising meditation a lot, I'm becoming more attuned to my thoughts and emotions with time. It's a natural consequence. Shinzen Young likes to use the analogy of driving a car: at first you can only drive a car on empty road, very slowly, with somebody instructing you, and it involves a lot of concentration and effort. But after years of driving you can drive for hours on end, at high speed, on busy roads, while talking and thinking about other things, with very little effort. The same goes for mindfulness. Eventually it becomes second nature. I guess I'm maybe leaving the empty road at this moment!! How long have you practised meditation? At the moment I only use it during times where there's negative emotions or words being exchanged, and use those moments to prepare the words I will say, but I speak less so that I don't fuel the fire. If it's general conversation I'm usually not too mindful unless there's judgements or gossip arising within me or through the words of other people, and I will slip into mindfulness quite a lot. The only way to truly know is to get there yourself!

@phoenix666 That's a very cool video, thanks! So intense presence is the order of the day. I find that I actually fall into meditation a lot when I'm around people arguing or angry, agitated people. I notice thoughts/emotions/sensations which invite me to get involved with that negativity, and am able to observe and watch them drift away. Something to practice and continue to practice.

Your appreciation of it will just keep growing and growing They very much are. You creative your own reality.

Hey guys Been doing some research in the past couple days - watching YouTube videos, reading articles, and I watched Forks Over Knives. There seems to be a lot of evidence that a WFPB diet is the healthiest diet one can have, and I think I've been convinced. My diet is pretty healthy (I don't live in the US) as it is, and I stay away from processed and refined food for the most part, but I do eat a fair amount of animal products. The research I did woke me up a bit. There are plenty of sources and research which say that we need meat, fish, some dairy, etc. But then there's other people that say if it crawled, had legs, could eat and walk around, don't touch it! So, unsurprisingly, I don't know what to believe! Has anyone here gone on a WFPB diet? What kind of benefits have you had? Have you had any health issues? Have you researched into it? Share your knowledge! @Leo Gura what are your thoughts on this? I get the impression from your videos that you don't eat many animal products.

@phoenix666 I guess, it's your fuel for your whole life! My diet now seems like yours was except perhaps a little bit better. On the surface I'd say yours was not a horrendous diet - a lot of people don't even eat fruit! Thanks for the advice. I think I'll give it a try for 4 weeks.

@Whoami3 This technique involves momentarily getting a taste of the item in a state of high concentration. You need to focus on what you've labelled for a good 5-7 seconds, and if your mind wanders during that, bring it back. You could intentionally not focus on each object and just label everything, but I'm not sure that would grow your concentration very much.

@phoenix666 That's very cool! Even above meditation (assuming you do)? What was your diet like before? I'm starting to prefer anecdotal evidence to hard studies because there are many, many other factors involved, and having done quantitative research myself I know how numbers can be twisted/interpreted in many ways. Also there is A LOT of disagreement on this subject, even amongst hardcore researchers. I thank you for the sources however The anecdotal evidence is strongly in favour of this diet. I am thinking of trying it for 4 weeks and then making a more permanent decision. Have you experienced any deficiencies with the diet? I've heard Vitamin B12 is a big issue, from some sources.

@Leo Gura Or Jupiter I've heard that potatoes are fine as long as they're cooked in a healthy way and not got all the additions like salt and butter in it. Reality is grey...

@randomancer If you don't feel comfortable doing 1.5g, that's fine and I wouldn't force yourself to do more than you are comfortable with. But with the amount of meditation you've done, your circumstances in life, and the preparation you're doing, I'd say it's very likely you're going to have a great time and have no problem with 1.5g. I'm not sure 1g will really do that much. 1.5g was my first dose, I wasn't tripping that hard, but man it was one of the most insightful experiences of my life. Check out my report, it might help you to decide:

@PukkaDanks In my humble opinion, if you'd stuck to around 4 core techniques and used one per session, you'd have experienced many, many more benefits by now and naturally be meditating more each day! However, I've only been meditating for 11 months so my viewpoint is limited. Occasionally I do just set the timer and don't intentionally do anything, which isn't even the Do Nothing technique - I just sit and experience whatever arises. But 99% of the time I choose a technique out of the 3/4 I enjoy and stick to it for the whole sit. It's worked well for me so far.

@Delinkaaaa Thanks for the info. I've been quite hesitant to try lucid dreaming, what effects has it had on your life?

@phoenix666 It is a lot but man, the effects are phenomenal. A big week of meditation boosts your practice so much! On a retreat you should be looking to do at least 50 hours in a week. It's the perfect setting for it That's very cool, it seems like we've both had very similar experiences with dreams! Stuff from the past comes up during meditation too, particularly during Do Nothing. I don't take the thoughts or dream seriously, and it makes me happy to know that it might be that shit getting worked through. PS: Shinzen Young talks about the taste of purification that meditation gives you from working through the past in many of his sources. A quick Google is good

Oh yup. Last week I meditated for 25 hours and man my dreams the last couple of nights have been crazy! They are generally quite crazy due to my habit I think anyways. I've not done any research but my little idea is that it's digging up a lot of unconscious shit, especially memories. Your dreams are a reflection of this process. My reason for this belief is that A LOT of old stuff comes up in my dreams - people I used to be close with, old girlfriends, old activities, etc. We should get together and do a research project