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By continuing to question what and who you are, and getting to a point where you truly realise that you don't know. Until then it's all just thought and mind games.

From what i've heard other people saying, it seems that doing some 'lighter' psychedelics first (mushrooms, lsd) is a very good idea. My guess is that if you've never done mushrooms, or even some stimulants like MDMA then using the 5-Meo might be slightly on the dangerous side. Personally I won't be doing 5-Meo until i've experimented with mushrooms and LSD a bit more, which i'm currently doing. That's just me, you might be completely ready for it.

What your doing sounds super interesting, looking forward to hearing more about it! Astral projection is definitely something that i'd like to delve into at some point.

@Cammy I finished my degree earlier this year and then went road tripping in America for two and a half months. There was no way in hell that I was gonna go straight into a job! It was by far one of the best, if not the best, experiences of my life. I highly recommend you do some form of travelling when you finish, even if it's only for a few months. Just by spending a short amount of time in a different culture made me realise how much my lifestyle and outlook on life is influenced by where I live. If you feel like saving your money and doing a bit of work in a different country check out volunteer sites like WWOOF and Workaway.

Leo, am I right in saying that you've been to some of Peter Ralston's retreats? I'm really interested in going to the Insight and Enlightenment Workshop. Would you say that a good amount of solo contemplation/consciousness work is required before thinking about going? I'm also only 24, and from the UK. Would you say that paying nearly £2000 (workshop and flights) is worth it? I can't seem to find much info on the retreats other than on the Cheng Hsin website. Any comments would be much appreciated!

Something like this?

I think the key to self-inquiry is to get to a stage of not-knowing. You really don't know what you are...at all. Get past the "closed-ness of your knowing" as Peter Ralston put it. Truly realise that you don't know what you are and then you can really start to wonder. Don't just look for an 'answer', because you won't get one.

Thanks for sharing all of this man, you're journal is really inspiring! Always look forward to reading it.

I've managed to cut down my internet time quite considerably over the past few months. It's something i'm still working on though. Here my advice: Shutdown all of your social media accounts. You don't have the close the accounts completely, but just delete everything that's on the account (friends, pictures etc). That way theres no reason to go on to them. I did it a few weeks back and its awesome! Social media is the ultimate waste of time unless its being used for a business or to share your creative work or something. At the very least, cut your friends list down to your closest friends (2-5 people). Not sure if this applies to you but I'd also recommend deleting any bookmarks you have on your browser i.e. quick ways to access websites. It sounds simple but i've broken the habit of going on so many stupid websites just by doing that. As far as Youtube goes, cut your subscription list down to like 3-5 people. Again, I cut down my internet usage massively by doing this. I'm not sure I can think of any other suggestions other than just develop the habit of being tough and strict with yourself. Sometimes when I get the urge to go onto the internet, i'll just sit there and observe the feeling without any judgment. That works really well - just being aware. Also try replacing your internet time with something else. Buy a load of books! This has worked great for me. I've replaced a massive chunk of my internet time with reading. Buy e-books! If you want to be productive but not do anything at the same time, listen to audio books - non-fiction of course. A load of the books on Leo's booklist are in audiobook form so check those out. And lastly i'd say that if you are gonna spend lots of time on the internet, spend it wisely! Listen to lectures and talks (i'd recommend people like Terrence McKenna or Alan Watts) about philosophy, spirituality, science etc. Watch documentaries. Read interesting articles. Just cut out all of the TV shows, the random videos on Youtube etc. If you do find yourself on a Youtube binge, watching random stuff that isn't gonna do anything for you, then just be aware of that. Be aware! Notice what you're doing. Stop and 'look' at the situation. There has been so many times where i've caught myself mid-binge and just thought "What the fuck am I doing?", and then gone to read or just sit silently doing nothing. Hope this helps!

I’m currently unemployed, 23 years old, living with parents (who are financially supporting me) and i’m being pressured to join the rat-race (i.e. full time job in London). I finished university earlier this year (Yea, that was a total waste of money!) and then travelled for a few months - that’s why i’m unemployed. Every single part of me doesn’t want to work full time, but obviously I can’t live at home forever and my life purpose as a freelance artist is still very much in its early stages. It just seems like having a full-time job will severely restrict either my life purpose or my consciousness work, both of which are hugely more important than some lame-ass job which I don’t really want. I want to be independent, support myself financially and ultimately move out of my parents place as soon as possible, but it seems as though the full time London job is the only option. It’s like I can’t escape the standard life trajectory (school-university-job-family etc) that my parents are so desperate for me to go into. I was wondering if anyone in these forums is currently working a full-time day job, whilst also pursuing their life purpose and committing to meditation and consciousness work every day? Would be really interested to hear how you deal with it all and/or advice you may have for me.

@Leo Gura Leo are you familiar with Terence McKenna's work? Have you read any of his books on psychedelics?

Thanks for the advice man, really appreciate it!

Woo a reply from Leo! You're right, London is insanely expensive. Bare minimum £800 a month ($1000) just for rent. Gonna try to persuade my parents to let me work somewhere near home so I don't have to pay for rent. Then i'll have some money to get going with. Thanks for the feedback!

Yea I think that's the only way to go if you're gonna be working full time. I have a pretty minimalistic lifestyle at the moment, but there's definitely things i'll have to cut out or atleast reduce.

Yea I have a few friends who ended up getting pretty depressed because they had to work a 9-5 (more like 8-6) job just to pay the bills. Still, I suppose it's not like that for everyone. I'm sure there are plenty of people who love their 9-5.

The private tutoring thing sounds really interesting actually. I've never thought about that before. It could certainly be an option for me so i'll definitely look into it. I have the vision (thats the easy part), just need a more concrete future plan. Thanks for the advice, really appreciate it! Cheers man!

Yea, well I think that's what i'm gonna try and do for now. Just anxious about not having enough time to do the things that I actually want to do.

In 'The Science of Enlightenment' Shinzen Young talks about how he had crazy but completely life-like and 'real' hallucinations or visions earlier in his life. I'm sure Leo has listened to that series because Shinzen specifically talks about seeing giant insects.