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@Thetruthseeker Leo clearly and (for the most part) accurately explains the Spiral Dynamics theory in layman's terms. He also gives it his own twist. But much of what he's done with SD doesn't belong to him – it's not his theory. A lot of SD isn't even original itself. The stages came from Graves' original research, for example. You should always cite if it's not your work. If not, you're taking advantage of the people the work belongs to. Your audience could then lose trust in you. If you're using one of Leo's original insights in your videos, you should cite him. But for the basic theory itself you should cite the SD resource you're using, whether it's Beck, Cowan, Tadarovic, or even Graves himself. I'd also say in passing that Leo leaves a lot out. If you want to really understand SD you have to go all the way back to Graves' original work. I've noticed that when I get too attached to a teacher/coach (or a friend, girlfriend or family member for that matter) it's because I either don't realise my own potential, I have fears and limiting beliefs, or I have a skewed opinion of the person I'm attached to.

I fucking love this thread. I've been in a solid relationship for three years and right now could never do what you do. Kudos. I hope you strike gold!

@Flyboy I think it would be naive to say that as a rule people with a deep spiritual connection aren't judgemental. I would actually say that many of these people nowadays are at Green and use their spiritual awareness to back up their postmodernism.

My Yellow downside (at least I think this is a problem from the Yellow altitude) is that I can see how partial other, less inclusive Views are, which leads me to mindlessly criticising people who hold them. When I see I'm criticising them, I can then step back and really ask why they see the world as they do, taking into account the relevant social, psychological, historical and personal factors (which is true Integral thinking). But often my first reaction is just to mentally criticise. Another of mine is getting too caught up in categorising people and theorising about their worldview rather than really listening to what they're saying. I think this is possible at many other stages but when at Yellow you can intuit other people's level of consciousness and can see vMemes "talking through" them, this theorising is much more potent. Can be useful, can also be harmful. I think I have more work to do on my social and emotional intelligences!

Hey guys. I'm going away for 3 nights by myself next week. I've got a hotel booked in a little town next to a lake and a region of hills. My plan is to turn my phone off for the duration of the trip, no music, no entertainment, none of my usual hobbies. All I plan to do activity-wise is meditate, contemplate life, perhaps go for a swim or sauna in the hotel in the morning, go for a few walks around the lake. I want to be silent, be still and be present. I'll take a notepad with me for writing down my inspirations. I'm not really sure why I booked this holiday, I didn't systematically plan it. I just had an urge to one day! First time I will have spent that much time alone maybe in my whole life so it's a little out of my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to it though. How can I make the most of the holiday? Have you ever been on a lone holiday like this? Share your story. Thank you

@Mighty Mouse well, I will be surrounded by woods

Hello folks. I am going on a week-long solo retreat starting tomorrow - my longest solo retreat yet. It's in a small cabin in the grounds of a mansion run by a non-dual community. No electricity and little technology. Pretty excited. I intend to do 8+ hours of meditation per day, mainly from Shinzen Young's UM system. I'm going primarily to deepen my practice. Any tips and advice you can give me? Experiences you've had on solo retreat you'd like to share? Please do I would love to know how I can optimise this opportunity.

@HII Check out the book "Spiral Dynamics" by Beck and Cohen.

Look inward for the solution. The phone is not the issue, it's you. If you're addicted there's work to do on yourself. There's years of programming to be undone. Contemplate why you became addicted, what things you feel compulsed to do while on it etc. Notice how you feel while using it. Once you've worked through the addiction, you can then contemplate if it's useful to use the phone. If you ditched the phone completely now it would likely make your predicament worse because you are dodging the core issue. A healthy place to be is being able to use this wonderful technology for practical effectiveness and enjoyment while being detached to it - not needing it.

Enlightenment has no end. One thinking they have reached it is just another realisation along an infinite plumbline. Our separate identities are very strong. So strong that I think only a few people are 100% free of self, to the point that they could be hung drawn and quartered alive and feel no pain. So, some identification will remain. I find it's a mixture of both of those things you mentioned in the OP. There will be cliff-like falls where identity is torn away from you. You look around and suddenly realise there is no self, nothing outside of self, your true nature is God but you've disguised this, etc. There will be gradual sliding and falling away. You'll realise that the identity has fallen away, but not dramatically. Slowly it has slipped away, like ice melting overnight, invisibly while you sleep. But this is along a never ending downward, outward, inward plummet to God, nothingness, empty source. Imagine a never ending ski slope. You never reach the end because the end doesn't exist. You are on the never ending ski slope.

@cena655 Meditation is not all singing and dancing. It is a deep psychological and physical cleansing machine at work. Expect a jagged, erratic trajectory as you slowly clean out the body-mind system. But of course, celebrate the good times.

Depends on the user. Someone with awareness will see the beauty in all of the "low-consciousness" material around him. He comes from a place of value, of purpose, of meaning, of abundance. Sheer enjoyment without the need for externals to achieve that. Someone without awareness will be lost and dependant upon that material for happiness, coming from a needy perspective. A need to be excited, entertained, stuffed with knowledge and the opinions of others. This is delivered to them in a very quick and unfulfilling way. Since the majority of the population are not aware, yes, I say that it's a double edged sword. Those without awareness seek technological stimulation, which (usually) makes them less aware. However if you consider spiral dynamics, it's clear that one must realise that dependence on this external stuff is antithetical to happiness. Technology saturation is indeed part of the evolutionary process both individually and collectively. Post technology dependence, individual and collective use of technology will be solely for spiritual growth and development of one and all. Even while watching a film, one can have incredible insights about reality and life. @YaNanNallari yes. These children, if they heed the call to growth, will all realise that they are miserable and will sacrifice their technological addiction in search of true happiness.

Sorry folks not been on the forum in a while. @Pure Imagination it is a game, it's a beautiful game. We are beautiful creatures endowed with incredible capabilities. Enjoy and cherish your humanity. @Black Flag Yes, the tabs are 150ug, and I did half of one, so 75ug. In my house, alone, quiet. Having done shrooms I wanted to try LSD for months, my attempts were thwarted. But grace found me so I took the opportunity. If you'd like some more advice PM me. @snowleopard These are all available through meditation, spiritual work, consciousness work. It just takes a lot longer. Psychedelics are a god-send, literally. They send you to God. @Joseph Maynor Yeah, I think I'm sensitive to them. I've detoxed my life a lot in the last 18 months.

This trip report will have a lot of capitalised words in it - these are deliberate. I'll be talking about things that are so divine that the conventional English word I use is just not sufficient to describe them. The English language cannot capture the beauty, depth, profundity and magic of what I experienced on this trip. It was like delving into why God created Mankind, its true nature, and our ultimate Purpose. I "acquired" LSD a few days before this trip - ten 150ug blotters - I have a trip organised in a couple weeks. Having done shrooms twice, and experienced death during the second one, I feel relaxed towards psychedelics. They don't even feel like drugs anymore. But last Thursday morning I woke up and just knew I had to do half a tab. Partly precautionary before my trip in a fortnight, but partly because dang I just want to try LSD and I had the time! So about 15 minutes after waking up I stuck some chill music on and slid half a blotter under my tongue. Being relaxed is extremely important in psychedelic trips. It makes the come-up a lot more bearable, actually exciting, and when the effects start coming on, you are able to enjoy them and be relaxed with them. Meditation is extremely important for this, as is set and setting, and of course, prior experience with psychedelics. Music and drinking tea or water during the "wait" is good. Low dose is also good - if you already doubt your ability to handle the dose before you're even tripping, you will likely struggle during the actual trip when your entire conventional sense of self and reality is totally gone and you have no other option but to surrender and let your ego get completely ripped away. I found LSD to be quite visual - much more so than shrooms. While the visuals were cool, I didn't let them distract me too much. What struck me more was the sheer beauty of everything from the moment the effects came on, especially people and nature. I stood and stared in the mirror for a good five minutes admiring how beautiful I am and fortunate I am to be here. I am a beautiful Being, not because I am sexy or attractive, but just because, damn, a human being is an extremely complex organism. It's incredible I even exist. I felt self-love that was beyond love I've had for anyone or anything. It was sheer awe at my own Beauty and Existence. This was to set the tone for the rest of the trip. Not long after a couple hours after dropping, my conventional reality just got completely ripped away from me and I transitioned into the Gravity-less, Timeless Emptiness. Nothing visually changed, so don't think I'm on a different planet seeing weird animals and patterns, no. You simply become your Life as it is and realise that it's all an empty Container, with no substance to it. This was a bumpy journey: the physical body goes through a lot. Your muscles and nervous system have been functioning as part of this reality for so long that when it starts to disappear, your body has a big reaction, not necessarily negative, but there is a lot of adjusting going on. The back muscles around my shoulder blade in particular were in discomfort and I was rolling around on the ground. I also felt like my abdomen was being torn apart. I see this as the ego leaving the body. the sense of time and Other goes away. I was a bit worried that if I just completely surrender, my family would hate me, I'd never see them again, that there would be no future. But I realised that this is all just part of my conventional reality and there was no point trying to hold on, and no need to. the fear of insanity really hit me. All I could do is surrender over and over and over again. Life really is just one big surrender. the sense of gravity and solidity goes away. I was throwing all manner of objects in the air - an apple, a TV remote for example - because I realised that gravity was a complete illusion. These things still moved and hit the floor but as though they were in a lava lamp. This lasted around 30 minutes, although it's difficult to say. I had to continue letting go and letting go. Once I broke free, it was incredible, and everything was revealed to me. It was like being reborn into my life, into my house, and seeing the entire thing called Life for what it really was. Insights into life: my life is really everything I have ever ever wanted. It's a miracle. We collectively just do not recognise how fortunate we are. I was rolling around on my carpet, grabbing it, rubbing my face on it, so grateful that I was alive. I was shouting "it's everything I could have ever wanted, it's just everything I could have ever wanted" it's all just a Game. I get up in the morning, I do my little routine, I do my little things throughout the day then come back to my little house and go to my little bed. When you exist as the empty container, you realise just how much of a limitation this life is upon the timeless. Imagine having a chess board full of pieces. There are so many games you could invent using those pieces in various numbers, combinations, different rules etc. The common chess rules we have corresponds to how limited our conventional daily life is. What is morning? What is sleep? What is a routine? my True Nature created it all, in its sheer Divinity and Power. My true nature is the entire universe, the existence of time and space, all the events in my life, all the people, everything. All of that is just my consciousness expressing itself. For the first time I became aware that everything is pointing to this thing called Me. It's like an Entire History of Me film that is being played out. Everything that exists in the universe I experience, it's all made for me, by me, and is all part of Me. Of course, this is true of every single one of you too. The moment I took that tab was Designed. It was the crescendo of me realising that it's all just me, the whole time I've ever existed I have neglected this realisation. This realisation was so powerful that I was crying tears of excruciating Gratitude. I was crying for my beautiful life back. It was all so meaningless, but not in a bad way. I just wanted to have it because of its extreme beauty. I may have a simple life, I may not doing anything flamboyant, but it's all just so Divine. Even drinking a cup of tea is a ridiculously beautiful event. I felt selfish but realised "I died for this. I died to see this Beauty." And I wanted it so, so bad. I was rolling on the floor and jumping around ecstatically at the prospect of living this life. I could have lived for the next 70 years in a box just loving every moment of It. As if a new being, I gave myself a tour of my house and discussed what food I eat, what time I tend to sleep at, who else lives there and so on. It felt like I was a new-born 22 year old human being, walking around in an Esher painting (because of the gravity skewing effects). More insights: I am God, you are God, we are all God, It is God. Do you wonder why people debate God so much? Do you wonder why it's such an obscure, substanceless topic? Because we are like fish in water. Fish can't become aware of the distinction between water and air because 99% of the time they're in water. It's so obvious that it is untouchable by normal means. the only way is In. In means to find who you REALLY are. Your whole world points to You. Even your bedroom wall or your lampshade. Will you look in? Or will you stall out the clock and never realise who you Are? Hint: IT IS ALL YOU. We are in a Sims Game, we Created the Sims game and Forgot. your only Purpose as this Being is to share our Divinity. We are incredible beings, we have so much Love and Wisdom within us. So much. Tap into that and share it with everyone you see. God has plans for humanity. I could feel this. I could see this. It was obvious. So much more happened on this trip that I can't even begin to cover. Lots of personal shit was purged. A lot of unusual things happened too. But after being on this Trip I just had to share the best wisdom and insights that I could. The next few hours, even after the trip was over, I was in a state of sheer bliss. I sat in my bedroom, just looking around, so grateful to be alive. I needed nothing more. Advice yoga and diet are important for full awakening to Truth. Your body needs to be looked after. It is the HDMI port between you and the Divine. Any food you eat that makes you feel shit, ditch it. meditation... man if you're not meditating in this day and age I bid you farewell seriously, it's vital. go inward, inward, inward until you no longer exist as a thing. The only way is In, remember? Oh, and one more insight, DO (PSYCHEDELIC) DRUGS KIDS. They're incredible.

Hey all This is a report from an LSD trip I did on Saturday, last week I tripped and did report #1 - take a look: I do not come to brag. In fact, I found the exact opposite is what is required for true growth. The LSD humbled me so bad that I realised how much of a selfish fucker I really am at times, and how lucky I am to have this life. It was shocking to see. Really, really painful. But I also saw the potential for growth that we all share. It is incredible and you will become a divine human being if you continue with this work. A life truly worth living. I'll give some insights without going into depth about the trip itself. Insights: you've not had a true psychedelic trip until you get your ass completely handed to you. You'll know when you have. If you have the urge to come bragging on actualized.org about your amazing trips, you have further to go. You have to have an excrutiatingly awful trip at some point to really grow. It will be so worth it though. in my view, Leo, sometimes implicitly, demonises thinking and emotions and memory and compassion in many of the videos. I find his approach quite cynical, although recently he has softened up somewhat. This is nonsense in my view. These amazing things are what makes us such whole, beautiful, capable beings. This PD work maximises all of our incredible human capacities and cleans out all of the cultural poison from them. On this path, you are not transcending being human. You are transcending suffering. You are becoming the best human being you can be, but knowing that your true nature is beyond this universe. notice when you judge others, and turn all of that back onto your own psyche. Judgement is so unnecessary, and is just a phase. Look Inward. You can find the truth of You at the very very deepest level. In fact, this is why you're here. Do so, and you will live a life so beautiful that you would take a day of it over anything else. Enlightenment is the only way to truly undo all of the cultural influences and programming that you have so that you can live a true human life. preaching will not get you anywhere. Nowhere. To help, you must guide, lead by example, be the driving force. When you do this, you will deeply touch people. awakening others and sharing joy with everyone around is probably the best thing you can do as a human. If you have been given a gift (like meditation, PD, healthy eating etc), you need to give it back to others, or use the fruits they yield to give to others more effectively. meditation is an incredible tool. If you are meditating, my goodness me, what a life you will have if you really take it seriously. This is the key to God. Looking inward is the most difficult but the most rewarding thing you can do for yourself. Many people don't, but those who do will find jewels and treasures that nobody else can access. You need to get all of the shit from the past out of your body-mind system to get anywhere in this work. Personal takeaways from the trip I am considering becoming a monk. I tasted so deeply and so beautifully who I Am that pursuing anything else just looks ridiculous in comparison. I also feel that to fully realise my LP I need to learn from spiritual masters for a few years My life will be a life of spiritual realisation and then sharing the fruits that yields with others. I feel so profoundly lucky to have found actualized.org and meditation. I feel blessed. So blessed that I need to give everything I get back to humanity for creating this world and creating me. Graves model has helped me so much on this journey. I felt like I was living in Turquoise while in non-dual mode. It was like being reborn from the ashes as a spiritual being. Graves is very powerful for personal growth, and as a model for humanity in general. My passion for meditation has been rocket boosted to the moon. My passion for healthy diet and looking after my body has been rocket boosted to the moon. You really need to realise for yourself how precious the body and mind is before you take this stuff seriously. Advice about LSD: if you take half a tab, you'll probably be functional for the most part - able to tell the time, eat, walk, think, remember. If you do a tab, don't be surprised if you're unable to do this until around 6 hours after you took the tab. It also lasts a long time. It didn't fully wear off for me until about 14 hours after I took it. don't have any pressing time issues. I had to keep checking my watch which distracted me a little, for example if you need to go to sleep by a certain time. You need a full day where you have absolutely nothing on. I just want to end by saying that a good psychedelic trip will change your life forever. It helps you tap right into God's wisdom, you will gain wisdom and understanding that most people you meet will never come close to in their lifetime. I can't explain it, you need to see it yourself. Thank you all and happy tripping

The hero always stumbles around, frightened to take his journey.

@pfletcha Keep going you selfish son of a god damn bitch. You didn't see enough.

Not true my friend. I've tripped on 1.5g and 1.7g and had extremely deep experiences. Your state of mind and reasons behind tripping are much more important than dose. There is no such thing as a bad trip, trust me

I should have added this insight in too: Yes, okay, life is inherently meaningless, but for goodness sake, go make your meaning! Whatever is Beautiful to you, that is your meaning! We have a beautiful life. @Dodo If you've not already, go take a psychedelic with the intention of finding out if that little joke you had with her could be true @Leo Gura 5-Meo DMT is calling my interest. Should I go for it?

Well, ego death is in the post that's almost certain. Start low. There's no rush. 1g is more than enough to have a deep enlightenment experience. 7g is way, way over the top, for now.

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Hello folks I know we have a lot of regular meditators on the forum, so I've come to do some research for my business, which will be a meditation teaching business here in the UK It would be very helpful if you could answer some quick questions for me. These questions are related to the motivations people have for meditating. I want to be able to offer a variety of courses that target different people's needs. Questions: 1) What was your age when you began meditating? 2) What were your top 3 original motivations for beginning this practice? 3) What are your top 3 current motivations for continuing this practice? Thank you for your help.

@Torkys Cool, definitely keep that going for the rest of your life. It's an extremely powerful habit.

@Torkys That's amazing that you began at age 14. How old are you now? Thanks for your contribution.

@LaucherJunge Thanks Junge