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Awesome! Looking forward to it

Leo, after reading a bunch of your recent comments I get the impression you have had some deep awakening experiences recently. Are you in a permanent state of non-dual awareness now? Whats your baseline level of consciousness? Would be v interested to hear about it.

@Shan What word you use for the label is not overly important, and there isn't a definitive list of labels to use, it's just what you prefer and find easiest. For example, Shinzen Young uses very simple labels like "Hear", "See", "Feel", "Gone" (all four of those will cover every single aspect of your experience, both 'inner' and 'outer'). Other meditation teachers will tell you to use more specific words that describe the experience, for example, "Itching", "Burning", "Birds", "Aversion", "Wanting", "Anger", "Planning" etc. There are pros and cons of both approaches. Shinzen's technique is easy and puts more focus on the actual observation of experience (which is the whole point), but the second technique I mentioned can provide deeper insight into the workings of your mind, your neurosis etc. The labelling wants to be quick, simple and effortless. You don't want to be spending loads of time thinking about what the most appropriate word or set of words is. It should really just be one word in my opinion, but i've read of techniques where multiple words are used. The whole point is conscious observation, and labelling is just used to facilitate that, so don't over do it.

Be carefull because it sounds like you're just blindly believing everything Leo says, and even then not actually understanding it properly. You need to realise that everything you're writing about is purely conceptual. All your ideas about 'enlightenment', about 'infinity', about 'consciousness', about 'nothingness' are all not what they are referring to, and are all just thoughts that are, to a certain degree, no use to you at all. They are guidelines that should be understood, but held loosely and not mistaken for whats actually true. This is all false and just assumptions that you're making about something which you have no direct experience of. You don't realise that you don't exist right now. There is no self right now, yet you still enjoy sex, family and everything else. Sensory and emotional pleasure are not affected by spiritual awakening. If anything you will enjoy them 100x more. 'I'm just consciousness' is just a thought, a belief. Drop it. You don't know what you are.

@Ruth As Soulbass said, it takes a while to change your eating habits. In some cases you can make changes over night, but for the most part its a gradual process. The easiest way to go about it, in my opinion, is to just focus on one thing at a time. Don't try to stop eating sugar, dairy, wheat and processed foods all at once. Next time you crave some sugary food, be mindful of the craving, observe the sensations and thoughts and then let it pass. As Leo says, Awareness is curative. If you crave sugary foods after a meal, try going for some fruit. Also, learn easy recipes with few ingredients. Few ingredients is the key to making cooking easy. And cooking/preparing meals yourself it the easiest way to stay healthy. If it's dairy you want to cut out, try testing out various nut milks and using them every now and then so that you gradually get used to them. That's what I did. Took a while to completely swap cows milk out, but it worked.

I used to have this. Sometimes just thinking about blushing would trigger a blush. It always happened in social settings, or when I was in crowds of people like on the train or city tube, which of course made it even more embarrassing. I believe it happens simply because you're overly self-conscious, lack a lot of self-confidence and are too concerned with what other people think about you. Don't take this as criticism or a definitive description of who you are. It may be a combination of all of them or just one. Or maybe something else entirely. But I think those are the main causes. Here's my advice. Firstly, try not to over think it. Blushing isn't a massive deal, and most people don't really care. I understand it's different in school when you know everyone, but try not to make it into a big deal with yourself when it happens. When you do blush, just relax and remind yourself to just be ok with it. Make friends with it! Remind yourself that it's quite normal. Recognise that it's a very short body reaction that'll pass in a few minutes. And if people make fun of you for it, don't react in any way at all. Also, I would advise you to stop trying to 'get rid' of the blushes because it may just be making things worse. If you're constantly thinking about getting rid of them (particularly when they happen) or intentionally trying to not blush then it's likely to happen more often. Atleast that's what I found. To overcome this you must just accept that it's happening and be completely ok with it. Whenever you start feeling anxious about blushing or thinking about it in any way just be ok with those thoughts, let them do their thing, and then move on. Meditation can help I think. Just becoming more mindful of your thought patterns will help. Some deeper spiritual insights will also be beneficial because you will become less egoic and less self-centered, and therefore probably less concerned with what other people think of you. This has been the case for me. I still blush occasionally though. But also so do many other people. I'm not sure that things like NoFap, affirmations or visualisations would directly decrease the amount of blushing, but they can certainly make you more confident, improve your self-esteem, etc which will definitely help. Don't be disheartened though. It's just a phase. Accept and be ok with whatever happens. Hope this helps.

@AuthenticMeli Hello, welcome to the forum!

@lmfao Try dividing your time into chunks/boxes. Set aside however long you need, 30 mins, an hour, 2 hours or whatever. Be very specific and set a timer for that amount of time. Then set an intention to work completely focused and uninterrupted for that period of time. Turn off, get rid of and move away from all distractions. Using time blocks makes doing the more grindy/boring tasks easier because you've given yourself a clear start and end point and all you have to think about is the actual work. It also means you've got clear break/rest periods. Try to make a little bit of progress each day and eventually you'll have gotten through all the textbooks you need to read and study. Don't think about everything that you have to know before the exams because that'll just swamp your mind and make you much less likely to sit down and work. Focus on studying small sections at a time. Break it all up. This is the key. Break things up until they are manageable. Don't try thinking about the whole until the very end when you've studied all the parts. If you ever find yourself completely unable to start working/studying due to lack of motivation, tell yourself just to do 5 minutes of the work. The hardest part is starting so by doing 5 minutes you eventually find yourself continuing on with the studying. Works every time. Goodluck! You know you can do it.

@Dhruv Just go now. Anyone above the age of 18 would be capable of doing it. Bear in mind that if you haven't meditated before it will be a challenge. It's difficult, gruelling and hardwork even for people who have done a lot of meditation. Don't go into it thinking it'll be a breeze, or that you'll get all your shit sorted out in 10 days. But it can be a very productive and rewarding experience. There have been plenty of people in the past who have attended without any experience whatsover and gotten a lot of out of it.

Check out a video I linked a while back for an sort of guided meditation with Shinzen Young: Watch Leo's guided meditation video called 'Guided Meditation - The Next Level Of Meditation'. I'd say that's pretty much Do Nothing. Sure I can see that being true. In the long run definitely. It's kind of inevitable. But for a lot of people it's only surface level, in my opinion. Watch Matt Kahn for an example of what it truly means to be kind, compassionate and loving. He's all about love. Even an enlightenment won't guarantee that you become super kind and compassionate though. You are inherently self-centered and egotistical after all. I have a sense that it's largely down to your genetics and body/brain physiology. So in most cases just a casual meditation practise is not enough. There's a lot of variables at play. It's difficult for me to advise you to be honest. Plus I don't really know what i'm talking about. I probably shouldn't have said they are the fastest way because that's probably not true for a lot of people. It's true for me though. I've had a lot of growth from psychedelics and energy transmissions. Again, everyone is different and people are suited to different paths. I've never done metta meditation, or loving kindness. I'd imagine they'd be good for someone who already has an open heart.

@WellbeingSeeker I think the main thing is just getting the habit in place. It doesn't matter so much what technique you choose first, because unless you're super lucky and the first thing you try is absolutely perfect for you, then you'll need to experiment over the coming months with various techniques to see which suits you best. This is what Leo talks about a lot. Most people end up just sticking with one technique which isn't suited to them and so they don't see many results. You don't want to be constantly hopping from one technique to the next, but trying different techniques out is quite important in my opinion. There's a a balance that has be figured out. Personally, if I were to recommend a technique it would be 'mindfulness with labelling' (see Leo's video on this and search for Shinzen Young on youtube), or 'do nothing' (again see Leo's video and search the forum as there has been quite a few discussions regarding this technique). Practising either of these will certainly improve your equanimity and your self-control/discipline. When it comes to developing compassion and loving kindness, i'm not sure that a traditional meditation technique like mindfulness will have much effect. Although for some people it may. I would say opening the heart chakra through yoga, psychedelics or energy transmissions is the fastest way to become more compassionate and loving. So you want to get the habit of sitting down to meditate in place first. This is the hardest part and you'll likely face a lot of resistance unless you're a natural. A consistent 20-30 minutes a day is a good place to start. But you want to be quickly moving that up to 45 minutes, and then an hour. But consistency and the quality of the meditation is most important. 20 minutes of really focused, highly concentrated and conscious meditation is better than an hour of lazy mind wandering. Long term, just commit to doing it every day and commit to mastering one technique when you feel it's right for you. It's also a trial and error process that you have to figure out by yourself really.

I had my third 5-MeO trip the other day. The previous two trips were very low doses. The first was 5mg and the second 10mg. Neither trips were particularly exciting, as you might have guessed, so I won’t go into all the details. I wanted to take this process slowly and do it super carefully, so starting off with really low doses was necessary. The first two doses were snorted, which is a really really unpleasant experience. And it also meant that around 20% of the dose went down my throat so really they were even smaller doses. The only interesting aspect of the second trip was when I had what I think was a ‘touch’ of non-duality. I closed my eyes and I could not differentiate my body sensations and the sounds going on around me. It was like the sounds were sensations, and the sensations were sounds. There was no difference between the two. That’s about as far as that went though. For my third dose, which was 20mg, I used the rectal administration method of dissolving the substance in water etc. It was a little awkward getting things in place, but overall a much more pleasant experience than snorting. The come up was much much quicker (around 3-5 minutes) and a lot smoother. Prior to the trip I made the usual preparations of cleaning my room and making sure I had a empty bucket (in case I threw up), fresh towels and tissues etc. The experience itself was quite underwhelming, despite it being 20mg. It’s difficult to know whether I have a high tolerance to psychedelics (I don’t to stimulants) or whether the substance I have is not the best quality. It looks like what HCl should look like, and I did test it with the Ehrlich test kit so there’s a good chance it contains 5-MeO, but you can’t be sure of course. I had the same issue with mushrooms, in that I took 3.5g (which is considered a pretty big dose) and had a fairly big emotional release, but no mystical insights or experiences. So i’m inclined to think I have a high tolerance. Anyway, as I said the experience wasn’t all that interesting. I was completely lucid throughout the whole experience, which lasted around 45 minutes. I could have got up and walked around if I needed to. There was no heavy heart pounding, anxiety or fear. Most importantly though, I didn’t have any insights whatsover. The most noticeable effect of the trip was that I went into a natural and quite effortless contemplation/inquiry. It was almost like the inquiry was just happening by itself. There was no desire to think about anything else. I was mainly drawn to the question What is aware? as I had a sense that experience was just being itself, it was just existing and that there was no thing being aware of it but itself. But this was quite vague and I couldn’t quite work out what I was experiencing. The other noticeable effect was a quite clear sense of timelessness. I got a sense that there was no time, and that everything stood completely still in the present moment. But again, this didn’t lead to any insights and it wasn’t all that powerfull. So I guess my next dose will be 25mg. If nothing comes of that, then i’d be wary of going any higher. Not sure if I want to do 30mg.

I appreciate the words of encouragement...

Sure, I can see those being important factors. Although with something as powerfull as 5-MeO, my assumption would be that it would override those factors to some degree. I don't really know though to be honest, maybe not. Anyway, I will continue experimenting. I plan on taking 25mg at some point, along with some other substances, so I will report back if anything comes of that. Appreciate the feedback as always!

@Leo Gura Yea it was definitely not anything like what you have described in the past. I would be surprised if my tolerance was that high that 20mg doesn't have much effect. So my guess is that the batch I got was either poor quality or mixed with something else, unfortunately.

@Outer My bad, it was 20mg. The scale read 0.02g. I've corrected my post. Thanks!

@Truth I think meditation, self-inquiry etc is just as important as psychedelics. They compliment and support each other. Both are important for your growth. Just please download and use a VPN before doing any 'research'!

@Shakazulu What he said is rubbish. No discussion or debate necessary. It's possible to awaken your Kundalini in a matter of days or even hours. Unlikely, but possible.

Start doing self-inquiry now, don't wait until you have a year off to do it. It's very easy and also quite satisfying to imagine yourself taking a year off and pursuing consciousness work full time. But in reality, will you be able to do this? When it comes to sitting down for hours on end, will you be able to do it? Don't underestimate the power of the ego and resistance to this work. I'm not discouraging you from doing it. Quite the opposite in fact. But try to set realistic expectations.

@herghly Get the app Insight Timer and you can set custom time interval bells. Might be what you're looking for.

@AleksM Dude put some sub-headings in so it's easier to navigate. @Serotoninluv Did you even read what Leo wrote?..

add in some retreats, some well-prepared psychedelic trips, and a hint of good luck and you're sorted.

@VadsterLobster If you haven't seen Leo's blog this is the article about a typical Dark Room retreat: https://hridaya-yoga.com/reflections-on-a-40-day-dark-retreat/ This can't be done at home with the blinds closed or a blindfold haha! Just use some common sense. In most cases it needs to be done at a dark room retreat centre, where they have specifically designed rooms. You don't want to be cooking for yourself during a dark retreat, for obvious reasons.

@Leo Gura Leo you've got some serious flexibility! Or i've just got really really bad flexibility haha. After watching your recent Blog video I gave the posture a go but couldn't get anywhere near it. My legs are not flexible enough, so they end up being raised up off the ground quite a lot.

In most cases, crying is an act of maturity. Children cry out of immaturity, but crying out of compassion for other being's suffering, or as Leo said, the beauty of reality, is a genuine expression that should embraced at every opportunity. For years I resisted and rejected crying because I thought is was immature and 'un-manly'. How wrong I have been.