Self-Mastery

Oh I think it makes a lot of sense. Thus, direct experience is not a perception of reality. In other words, the final goal is to bypass the whole perception stage by increasing consciousness.

“My technique is don’t believe anything. If you believe in something, you are automatically precluded from believing its opposite.” Terence Mckenna I think the major point is that we get stuck if we take our belief system too seriously. What matters most is to be OPEN. In other words, Openness and having firm belief system are not very compatible. Even if we obtain our belief system from direct experience, it is still important to recognize that it is still a belief system because it happened in the past and we cannot necessarily generalize it. For instance, sun rising every morning is an idea and a belief and it is not necessarily true because there is still the possibility that we will not see sun tomorrow. However, my point is that why do we value direct experience after all? How do we know our direct experience pushes us closer to truth?. How do we know that our direct experience does not delude us? In other words, why does direct experience give us a better perception of reality? I still consider this possibility that we do not have any fucking way to truth at all.

I believe that I do not have any beliefs. When Leo said this, I just laughed at my stupidity I used to say this all the time; haha.

@Ariel IMO do not be too harsh about it. You can still watch video's about exercises and Leo's videos on YouTube and listen to music. Just be more mindful about it.

@Sharpadox I think it really depends on what you are looking for and what stage you are at. Having said that, if you are just a beginner, start with https://actualized.org/blueprint. It gives you a big picture of PD. I'm a big fan of following Leo in a systematic way. This is because I used to follow him randomly over the last two years but I'm so fucking shocked with his level of development over two years. Thus, I recently started to follow his videos in a systematic manner. In his website, he has categorized his videos. I pick up one category, e.g., relationship, based on my preference and needs and listen to them in chronological order. I can easily follow his pattern in this way. I also always take note and finally summarize his points for myself because I'm sure I will forget after one week . It also helps me to come back and remind myself every week. In this way, I'm conscious about my behavior and my progress. The funny thing is that I never took any note during my college years , it seemed to me that it is the most difficult thing to do. His early videos, around 2 years ago, are very short and easy. It really does not take that much time for you listen to them if need be. You can listen to many of them at once in my opinion. Over the last year, however, his videos became much more deep. Thus, it requires more time to listen and think about them. It also takes much more time and dedication to apply them in life. I suggest you to purchase his book list, as well. He has suggested many interesting books. In whatever domain that I feel I need help, I go and check some of the books he suggested. I do not think anyone takes Leo as the source of truth. He just shares his ideas and we just need to open ourselves to hear what he says. I hope it helps!

Yes, it is possible if you get lost in your ego. You need to be MINDFUL in this process. Always keep in mind that the final goal is to TRANSCEND your ego. Affirmation helps you to get rid of limiting beliefs.

@Harvey Yes. There are many limiting beliefs in our subconscious mind that make the growth path very lubricious. For instance, I cannot be a millionaire or I am not good at soccer etc. Firstly, we have to get rid of all of these limiting beliefs and have a healthy identity/ego that does not block us. The main point of affirmation and visualization is to purify us from these LIMITING BELIEFS. Next step is to TRANSCEND this identity and ego

@Azrael Dude you made my day! I was really curious to know if a person can still be an idiot (I'm not talking about this guy) after his/her awakening. As you mentioned, it is completely possible That's why all of us should work on all of aspects of ourselves

Do affirmation and visualization! You have limiting beliefs in your subconscious mind that makes you uncomfortable to say "I love you". In my opinion, it is a self-image issue. If you want to resolve this issue soon and in a very practical manner, I think affirmation and visualization are the best tools. Leo has good videos about affirmation and visualization. I hope it helps

Love is all about GIVING. It is not about RECEIVING. It is a quality that we develop in ourselves. The more we develop this quality, the more we love. Our love becomes an inner quality regardless of the external circumstances. It becomes less and less dependent on the subject that we love (e.g., girl friend etc). You love your girl friend regardless of her flaws etc; and the whole expectation goes away. Having said that, it does not mean that one will not take a proper action when dealing with his girl friend. He can still leave her and do whatever he thinks that is right to do, but he still loves her. I hope it makes sense!

Hey guys, I was thinking about the concept of "self". And, I came across this question in Quora. However, I did not find any of the answers given in Quora satisfactory. This is my current hypothesis: Consciousness is what controls us. Brain creates a mental image of what is happening. I'm just curious to know about it . Any thought? Thanks!

There are three levels of self-development: newbie, intermediate, and advanced personal development student. Positive thinking is a newbie staff. Visualization and affirmation for positive thinking and building a strong ego (identity) fall in this category. Self-image plays a significant role here. In intermediate, you start to realize that your self-image is constructed by random forces. Then, you realize that the thing you call 'you' and you are proud of is completely constructed by random forces. There is nothing to be proud of. And, you start to realize that self-image is actually the reason for your suffering. In advanced personal development, you completely get rid of the notion of self and you can see that the self is an illusion. Yes. it is confusing and paradoxical, but it's fun. Enjoy and embrace all of these paradoxes I hope it helped

Every human being worth is zero. However, this is not easy to grasp, so I suggest you do not confuse yourself with this concept yet. Yes this judgment is bad. This is because we feel a sense of NOBILITY. We say to ourselves "look I'm a noble person, I do this and that while others are living a shitty life etc". We cannot never compare two human beings-NEVER. We are very complex creatures and we have grown up in quite different family, let alone genetics etc. We are not here to judge and compete with each other. Get rid of the whole notion of good and bad. This is what we created in our mind. Accept people as they are. You are not here to change people. They live their life the way they like. Do you think you should teach them how they should live their life? Yes, value is a human construct. You think you should label people as good and bad, otherwise, you cannot live. This is not true. In fact, as soon as you let go of this labeling process and accept people as they are, you feel much better. I suggest to read "Loving what is" by Katie Byron. You realize that our motivation system is very neurotic. You realize that you can love people exactly as they are and take the best course of action. Actually, as soon as you accept people as they are, you live better and make much better decisions. Make sure about what value in your life. Focus on your life purpose rather than labeling people as good and bad. Let go of judgment completely. If it is hard for you to let go of judgment, you can still judge people, but watch yourself when you are judging. After sometimes, you realize how meaningless this judging process is. Leo has many videos, check them out. Good luck

I realized that what I need more are RADICAL openhandedness RADICAL honesty Being able to live with confusion Being able to embody paradoxes Move from Knowing domain to not-knowing domain and being Okay with it Then, the question of will may not arise at all

Oh Shit. How did I miss those!

Everything seems to be fucking paradoxical . I hope Leo releases a video about these countless paradoxes. It's beautiful when you realize you do not know anything and everything seems to be a paradox; it's also scary

@AlwaysBeNice I don't take 5MeO at this time because I cannot gain valuable insights after that. I will go for 5MeO when the time comes.

Hmmm. Very good points. Thanks. @WelcometoReality Is this identification process also predestined?. Based on what you said, this identification process seems to be predestined. In other words, it follows a very complex cause and effect pattern. @FindingPeace @WelcometoReality The implication of what you said is very profound. It implies that we are all machine. And, we even don't have any influence to cease to be a machine! More importantly, whether we realize we are a machine or not is still a mechanical process. Whether we wake up or not is also mechanical I understand that self or I is an illusion.

@FindingPeace I loved your answer! Thanks

The first rule of a successful relationship is to be honest! If you are afraid to be honest now, it is a very clear sign that you would have big troubles in future. If she does not care about your feeling, then, you should ask yourself why should you care about a person who does not care about your feeling? Overcome this fear! You do not force her what she has to do or what she has not to do! But, you should tell her what you think! She either follows or not follows. If she follows, then the problem is solved. If she does not follow, you should thank "god" that you realized soon enough that your "ideal" girl prefer a party more than you!. From here, it is up to you to live with a fantasy or accept REALITY! Wish you best of luck! BE HONEST WITH HER!

@Jhonny @aurum explained it perfectly. I 100% agree with him. It is better to stay away from porn as much as possible. As Leo suggested in his addiction video, the best strategy to eliminate every bad habit is to observe it

I do not know! May be it's just happening. You are focusing on an involuntarily act. What about those acts that you do deliberately, such as making decision about a food. @FindingPeace @WelcometoReality Does consciousness make decision or your brain? Your thought?

@FindingPeace This makes sense. Thank you!

@Orange Can we be happy with no success? YES. A yogi that has been meditating for 10 years is happy but not successful. The real happiness can be achieved when it is not conditioned on anything, including success. The real happiness is an unconditional happiness. Do we need success to be happy? NO. In fact, the opposite. If we are attached to our success, then, I can say that we are not really happy. Can we be successful and happy? YES. As long as we are not attached to our success. I prefer to be happy and successful. But, to answer your question specifically, I prefer HAPPINESS!. The reason is that you can be successful and miserable. In short, happiness is by far a higher goal than success.

I am so small I can barely be seen. How can this great love be inside me? “Look at your eyes. They are small, But they see enormous things” How shall I help the world? “By understanding it,” And how shall I understand it? “By turning away from it.” How then shall I serve humanity? “By understanding yourself.” Rumi @Kevin Dunlop It's of course not a very direct answer to your question .