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For some reason I ended up listening to the whole thing the other night. I know Leo reccommended to read Shermer's book to see different opinions etc. I didn't read the book so I though i'd listen to this. I can't say I really learnt much. What striked me was just how boring Shermer is. Not in a personal sense, but just that he lacks any sort of open-mindedness, let alone any genuine wonder or curiosity about reality. He's so stuck in his materialism, and he's not open to any alternatives at all. I think it comes down to not-knowing as well. He can't accept not-knowing.

@Andreas Ages ago, maybe sometime in 2016 or early 2017, when TJ was on the forum (atleast someone with the same name) Leo wrote some comment basically destroying or heavily criticising something TJ had written (i forgot what it was). I never saw the TJ guy again on the forum lol.

Seems to be working fine for me now as well.

@Bluebird Well of course you have metta practise, which is specifically designed to make you more loving and open. Each teacher has their own particular metta technique so there can be quite a bit of variation. You could give this one a go: https://www.personalpowermeditation.com/why-choose-love/ (also a great blog in general).

@andyjohnsonman I'm just reading Sapiens by the same guy and it's really great. It's hard to guess where he is on SD just from reading this book, but I would guess at Yellow. I can see how his meditation and spiritual understanding has influenced his perspective on history.

@Himanshu Being interested in lots of things is quite common, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Try writing out everything you'd like to do, or all of your interests, and then think about what is most important to you and what you should be prioritising. Writing things down will help you to look at the bigger picture and identify what you should be doing. It sounds like you have a lot of great creative ideas, so really the only steps are to prioritise what is most important and worth spending your time doing, and then actually do it and produce work/create personal projects. Through the process of action you'll eventually find your way. So don't worry too much about planning out every single moment of the next 1.5 years. Just take action. With regards to generating income, I don't think anyone is going to be able to provide you with a specific answer for that. It's quite a difficult question to answer.

@RigelBeing aware of being aware is definitely very similar to self-inquiry and essentially the same thing. Of course there are obvious differences between self inquiry and other meditation techniques like body scanning or noting. But with being aware of being aware, if you're intending to meditate, you probably don't want to be mentally asking yourself any questions like you might during self-inquiry. Also during self-inquiry you can have your eyes open of course. So there are some differences.

@Dorotheus Sounds like its really working for ya! Got any tips for improving the spinal breathing visualisation? For some reason I just can't get this part right no matter how much I practise.

Do whatever feels right for you. But I would say that longer sittings, atleast 45 minutes, are more beneficial. Then again, a sloppy 45 minutes is worse than 30 minutes of good focused meditation. I wasn't saying to do 2 hours in one sitting. If you find 30 minutes easy to do, try doing more. Just remember to be mindful through the suffering (boredom and physical pain) that usually comes with longer sits.

@Lisa2525 I think there's quite a few people from the Uk on here. I'm from the East Midlands which isn't too far from Manchester. I'm sure it'll be a lot different to Sacramento (particularly weather wise) but Manchester is a great city, i've heard a lot of good things about it so i'm sure you'll enjoy it. I have no idea about vaporisers. They're fairly popular in the UK so i'm sure you can get some good quality stuff here. A simple Google search should give provide you with an answer though. Regarding vaping indoors, i'm not entirely sure about the current laws. I think it varies depending on where you are. But i would imagine in most cases you cannot vape indoors in a public area, like a restaurant, shopping stores or inside public transport. Outdoor public areas are fine obviously.

@Ampresus You could definitely increase your meditation time per day. If you've got nothing else to do try and do 2 hours a day? It might seems like a lot at first, but you'll quickly get used to it. Aside from that, just enjoy the free time! Don't always be looking to fill it up. Also, if your only 14 don't get too hung up on finding your life purpose. Do keep it in mind though, and be thinking about it. That alone will be extremely beneficial. I wish someone had told me that when I was 14. Just keep studying the material that Leo teaches, continue reading as you do, and in a few years you'll be light years ahead of your peers.

I feel strongly drawn to contemplate the question Who Am I? and have been doing so for a while now. However there is some confusion as to what the question is really asking. I have doubts that i'm contemplating 'correctly' and worry that i'm just wasting hours of time heading in the wrong direction. So what does the question Who Am I? actually mean, and what is the correct approach when contemplating this question? Part of the confusion surrounding the question comes from the fact that the question is interpreted quite differently (or atleast appears to be) from teacher to teacher. For example, some may say that Who Am I? is basically the same as What Am I?. But other teachers, like Ralston, will make a clear distinction between the two. Ralston says that Who Am I? is the same as asking Who is perceiving? or 'clearly identifying the one that needs to get enlightened'. It seems like this is quite different from how other people interpret the question. He also says that it's not technically an enlightenment, whilst Shinzen Young says that his enlightenment came from contemplating on Who Am I?. So is there a difference in the approach with these two teachers? If you look at Ramaji's approach to Who Am I? it seems completely different again, and focuses on the Heart and all that. Then of course you have Ramana Mahashi who also seems to take a different approach. So what is the question really asking and how should I go forward with this?

@Aaron p Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

Oh great, looking forward to it

Maybe you need to reconsider your beliefs about enlightenment.

@Tony 845 No, enlightenment does not necessarily mean an end to depression. I would imagine it greatly depends on the depth of the awakening, but I know Jan Essman suffered from quite severe depression for many years even though he was deeply enlightened.

I do agree with you that he does have some value to offer, but he's so bitter and depressing about everything (particularly in that video!).

@Matt23 I haven't been on a solo retreat myself, but I feel that writing out some sort of daily schedule would be of use. Maybe you'll have to decide for yourself as i'm sure some people like to just go with the flow. But having a schedule of when you're sitting and when your breaks are might be good. Maybe have some time slots which are left open for you to decide in the moment.

Personally i've found that what you're describing occurs mostly during the first trip with a substance. Once I know what to expect, and have less anxiety, there seems to be more control and less intrusive or negative thinking. I pretty sure a good set and setting play a significant role in this as well.

@billiesimon Not every girl falls into the dysfunctional stage orange category. Don't make the mistake of generalising large portions of society just from what Tyler says on an RSD video. The amount of girls he comes into contact with is minuscule in reality. And of course, if you hang out in the social circles that Tyler is in you'll probably find a lot more dysfunctional orange rather than green or yellow. So his perspective is heavily biased. Even from a wider perspective what you're saying isn't true. There are many many functional orange and green girls. Just don't expect to find them in a nightclub in LA. And of course human romantic connection isn't dying lol.

@Ampresus A few points that come to mind: Make sure that you follow a path that is authentic for you, and you only. Really try to think for yourself, don't choose something for the sake of pleasing others, whether that be family, friends or even people on this forum. Understand that what you choose to do now is not set in stone for the rest of your life. I have gone in a completely different direction to what my degree was specialised in. And many others have done the same. You are in a position in history and live in a decent country where you basically have the freedom to do whatever you want, if you put your mind to it. Rather than thinking about what particular study program interests you the most, maybe think about what kind of field or industry sounds most exciting for you. There are many amazing new industries that are emerging and will continue to grow in the coming years like climate science/green energy, artificial intelligence, robotics, self-driving vehicles, psychedelics, biotechnology, virtual and augmented reality. All of which will be great opportunities to make a positive impact on the world. Or maybe just think about what kind of study programs will give you the broadest opportunities when you finish. It's likely that you will change your mind and have new ideas in the coming years. Personally I would say not to restrict yourself too much unless you're super committed to a subject. I would also say that you absolutely need to choose something that is genuinely appealing to you and that you would actually enjoy studying it. Don't just go to university/college (whatever it is for you) for the sake of it. You don't have to be deeply passionate about the subject/subjects (you shouldn't expect to be either) but its important that you want to learn. I say this because otherwise you will have a lot difficulty when you're faced with the boring and grindy work, which is usually an inevitable part of higher education. I should also mention that what you learn here is obviously not going to line up with what you can choose from. This stuff if way beyond most higher education courses.

@kieranperez Sounds awesome! Seems like you got more out of 1 session with @Emerald than I did in 5 hours with a few different coaches a few months ago.

@Garuda Doesn't sound like it tbh. The term actualized is quite commonly used in personal development.

Interesting. Well i didn't feel my kundalini shifting but I did feel quite settled and relaxed. Not sure if that was just from the fact I was sitting still with my eyes closed though. I have had a number of transmissions in the past but none seemed to have any significant lasting effect.

@Mu_ Thank for sharing. I have spoken to people who have received shakti from video transmissions. I'm sure it can have some effect for some people.