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@assx95 India definitely has some different acceptable standards when it comes to approaching women and dating/relationships in general, so I suspect it's going to be quite a bit more challenging doing day game there vs somewhere in the West. But the very fact that you're out there doing approaches is amazing. Seriously - you've taken a step that millions of guys will NEVER do. Don't let this situation derail you. Re-frame it as a win simply because you've gained some experience in a difficult social situation. That's valuable in itself. Work to be more relaxed, chill, friendly and grounded in the body. You might have been coming off a little stiff and awkward which can make people feel uneasy and anxious.

@Ulax Quite a profound talk, thanks for sharing. Although I'm not sure it has anything to do with the non-linearity of life purpose. Is that in the following parts of the talk?

1) Give it everything you've got. Really really try you're hardest to make the most out of every single meditation session. Try not to slack off on sessions in the evening or nearer the end of the retreat. Every time you sit down for a new session, set a quick little intention to give it everything and try your best. 2) Don't quit halfway through unless you absolutely have to. It's really important that you stay for the full 10 days because on day 10 the noble silence is lifted and it's more relaxed. It's important to have this day to transition back to normality. 3) A few useful items to take: 1) ear plugs - an absolute must, unless you're in a private single room. Every retreat I've been on there's been someone snoring. 2) Shoes that you can slip on and off easily. You'll be going in and out of the meditation hall a lot, so it's useful to have shoes you can slip on and off easily. However, if you know the climate/weather will be bad, obviously take the appropriate boots/shoes, etc. 3) Wristwatch (turn off hourly bleeper) - they do ring bells for certain sessions, but it's just useful to have because you won't have your phone to check the time. 4) Optional item is a small pen and paper to write down the timetable. There will be notice boards around the site that show the schedule but I always find it useful to have a little timetable in my pocket that I can check without having to walk halfway across the site to find a notice board. 5) Optional: Your own pillow and other bedding items that you think will make your sleep as good as possible. 6) Good water bottle - highly recommended to take. 7) You're not supposed to take snacks but I usually take a few small bits with me, like some sweet snack bars, bag of nuts, dark chocolate. This is up to you. This might not apply to you but I always take caffeneited tea bags and coffee because the center I go to only provides decaf. And I don't want to go through caffeine withdrawals on a retreat haha! 8) Take some basic medication stuff like paracetamol, anti diarrhea and anti-constapation (yes I've had to use all of these on different retreats). Something about changing your schedule and meal times that fucks with my gut. 4) Optional advice: Don't do too much socialising on the day of arrival. I've been on retreats where there's just so much chatter and talking with new people and then all of a sudden it's noble silence. The other downside of socialising too much on arrival is that it can create distractions for the rest of the retreat. You end up thinking about what you said or what other people said or what others have done or not done etc. Any retreats I go on these days I minimise or totally remove all socialising with other people there (except for staff and managers) to the absolute minimum. I'll just go and sit in my room until the first meeting. 5) The last thing I'll say is really try to enjoy it as much as possible. Every moment remember that you're doing something that very few people are willing to do. You're also in a position of privilege to be able to do this. When things get challenging, remember that you're doing something extremely special and quite serious. You're deconstructing the fabric of reality and self. This is serious stuff. But it's also something that should be enjoyed as much as possible. I think that's everything. Goodluck!

I've been having some very similar thoughts recently. I don't want much Netflix or movies etc, and don't recommend heavy binges of course, yet at the same time I know it's a pure expression of people's creativity. It's people's life work, people's creative gift to the world. From set designers, to concept artists, to the camera crew, etc etc. And you're right, we often talk about Netflix in such a derogatory way, as though its some toxic shit that you should stay away from. Such absurdity.

@thenondualtankie Personally I wouldn't recommend LSD for a first trip because it lasts so long. My recommendation for a first trip is always a low dose of mushrooms. Just start with a very low dose so you get a taste of the psychedelic mind/feeling space, but you've still got one foot in reality. Make sure your setting is 10/10 and that you are certain no one will disturb you. Surrender to the experience, and if you get into a tricky situation, you're moving into a bad state, then focus on relaxing the body. Breath, relax and put your attention on the body. Ground yourself in the body. MDMA is not really a psychedelic. It's a stimulant which can induce mystical experiences but very unlikely if it's your first time.

Yes plugging 10mg is a good starting point. Don't go over that though. I've never done ayahuasca, but based on all the report I've read and listened to from people who have, it's nothing like 5-MeO. But at the same time, I suspect the process of letting go is much the same. Letting go is about surrendering. Surrendering your desire to control and surrendering your life. Surrendering and trusting that you will be fine and that it's okay to let go of your self and your life. No don't look at this way. Try not to overthink it, just trust in the process and relax as much as possible. The 'until you're dead' phrase is not accurate because it's not really a death because there's nothing that can die. See it more as a divine transformation.

If you've had a few psychedelic trips with ayahuasca and LSD you'll be ready for 5-MeO. Best starting dose varies from person to person. But my first test session was a really small dose - i think as low as 5mg. You could probably do 10mg on the scale, I wouldn't go any higher than that for first trip though. Then move up to 15mg, then 20mg, then maybe 25mg or 30mg depending on your tolerance/sensitivity. The low doses aren't particularly special so don't expect god-realisation on 10 or 15mg. But they're really important to prepare the body/mind for the higher doses. You need to get used to the 5-MeO experience before going to the higher doses. With lots of incrementally later doses, you can practise your capacity to fully let go and release the self more and more. The higher the dose, the more letting go and releasing is required.

Definitely, but it's not required ofc. My first low-dose sessions were without any music, just complete silence. But my higher dose sessions were with music. Test it out, see what works for you. I really like ambient music, but play whatever you feel will put you into the best state. I'd avoid music with lyrics though. You want the music to facilitate an inward journey, rather than becoming a distraction. No, and you won't want to. Focus on going inwards rather than staying with gross sensations. No I have always had perfect clarity and control over the body and mind. Never any intention to break anything or move about uncontrollably. Half a day is good. The trip duration is very quick and you are back to a normal state of consciousness pretty quickly. Maybe some rare medical issue. Can't speak from experience though. I've never had any issues.

I don't watch too many of Owen's videos these days and I don't think I've ever felt the need to share one on here either. But I just felt there was something special about this one that was worth sharing. It's just a really great video giving some super practical advice for being successful. It's veerry stage Orange, but Orange is important and necessary, so don't dismiss it. The video isn't too waffly, like some of Owen's other talks. And it just outlines the main fundamental mindsets you need to develop and embody to be hyper-successful in whatever field you want. It crosses over with life purpose work perfectly. Over the past 9 months I've intentionally moved down into Orange to get this area of my life sorted. And I have been doing so very successfully. It's been amazing in fact. So this video is applicable for me right now, and hopefully for a few others around here. For a long time I was making the mistake of staying in Green and above, with basically no material success in my life. It's been incredibly rewarding getting that part of my life sorted. It's videos like this that I think are extremely useful and applicable for this stage, which is absolutely essential and important for everyone to get ticked off.

I'm now a full-time freelance editorial illustrator. I get to design and create images for a living, whilst being able to dictate my schedule and do whatever I want. The joy that comes from living on purpose is staggering. It cannot be understated. I have an amazing story about my first job as an illustrator that I might share at some point.

You mean what is my life purpose work?

Yes. It's indescribable because the 'experience' of you realising yourself as God is beyond the capacity of language. It is beyond or more specifically prior to symbols, which is why we call it non-symbolic consciousness. It's not that I simply don't have the right words or the right combination of words to describe God realisation. It's that God realisation is just not a 'thing' that can be described. There's no 'thing' or 'experience' or 'change in experience' there to describe. There's nothing to latch onto, nothing for words to describe or conceptualize. It's a change in context rather than content. Langauge is just more content, but God realisation is prior to any particular content (e.g language, science, physics, thoughts, feelings etc).

@Azrael This is one of, if not my favourite, 5-MeO trip report - even still to this day. When I first read it, many years ago now, it had a profound effect on me that permeated throughout my life until the day that I, too, died and remembered myself as Eternal God. An unspeakably profound realisation that cannot ever truly be expressed or communicated. So I'm just commenting here to bump it and share it with anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of reading it yet.

@thenondualtankie Personally i'd never do a trip with someone else. I need to be able to fully let go and release. I'd have to be super comfortable around the other person to do that. There's usually lots of crying and ecstatic laughter which needs to happen freely without any thoughts of 'I wonder what she or he is thinking about me right now' or 'does this look weird to him?'. The other person would also need to be extremely comfortable with some strange things happening, like spontaneous vocal sounds/speaking and spontaneous body movements and shaking. Basically no one has seen this kind of thing before. They'd freak out.

My very first psychedelic trip was exactly like this. I was home in my room. My dad was out but I knew he'd be back in the evening. Let me tell you from experience, DO NOT DO THIS. Why? Because you'll spend the whole trip thinking about other people in the house, or if someone is going to come into your room and see/talk to you. You'll get caught in thought loops (I did) about this and descend into a very unpleasant mind space. One of the absolute most important things when tripping is setting. The rule is: your setting has to be so good that you can completely forget about it. There shouldn't be a speck of concern or worry about your setting when you trip because it will get in the way of your ability to fully let go and release. Either do it when you know for certain that you have the house to yourself and that no one will be coming home. Or rent an Airbnb for 2 nights.

I think the main two things are: 1) Give it everything you've got. Really push yourself to make the absolute most out of the week. Try not to half-ass any meditations to the best of your ability. If you can, try to do a few of the longer sits (>1hr). Every time you sit down, resolve to give it everything, all your focus and attention, even when you're feeling tired, frustrated and bored. 2) Don't quit half-way through. Resolve to do the whole retreat unless you're absolutely forced to leave for some important or necessary reason. Every retreat i've been on, at least a 20% quit before the end. The 10th day is very important so commit to staying until the end. Oh and take some earplugs. Definitely take some earplugs.

Thats not the reason why I think Schmachtenberger is not awake. Maybe we have a different definition for what 'awakening' is. Basically I use that word to mean some form or degree of permanent non-dual awareness and ego dissolution. It's very obvious to me when people are not awake, based on that definition.

@StarStruck Sounds awesome!

To me Wilber is pretty well developed and certainly has some degree of permanent awakening. The level of that awakening is questionable though. I don't consider him deeply self-realized. Schmachtenberger is obviously very developed but he's stuck at Yellow/Integral. He is definitely 100% not awake, although he may have had enlightenments or ego-deaths with psychedelics in the past. But even then I doubt he's gone far with them. Mainly because basically no one has. There's like a handful of people I know of who have truly gone all the way with psychedelics. I've never even heard him talk about non-duality or non-dual consciousness which is a pretty standard prerequisite for any true mystical understanding. I should clarify, this is not a critique of either of these guys. They're fantastic and i'm enormously grateful for all they're doing right now. This is what a truly self-realized human being looks and talks like:

Good luck on your journey! You'll be amalgam-free in no time.

Well said.

@Leo Gura I've just finished watching the video in your latest blog post 'Problems With Our Information Ecology'. Excellent talk, thanks for sharing. Am I right in saying you were in talks with Rebel Wisdom to potentially do an interview/have a discussion with David? Would be truly awesome to see that happen. Did it fall through? As I said, the video in your blog is great, but I feel there is still a nativity surrounding true spirituality, what Truth is, what God is. I feel a lot of these integral guys are very much stuck at integral and are constantly hitting up against an invisible wall that they don't know they are hitting. The wall being a lack of genuine, radical mystical realization. They're all wasting time talking about mushrooms and lsd and the one-off trip they did a few years ago. There is a distinct lack of understanding about where psychedelics can truly lead, what their true potential is - True God Infinity realisation. Anyway my point is that it would be so great to see you talk more publicly about this, if that's what you desire of course. If you don't want to do the conversation stuff that's cool too. No pressure.

There is a significant difference between smoking toad venom and consuming synthetic 5-meo-dmt (snorting or rectally). It's obvious the experience is very different just based on the videos I've seen vs my own experience. I have consumed synthetic 5-meo-dmt many times, and never have I felt the need to scream or roll around uncontrollably like I've seen in videos of people smoking toad venom. They are undoubtedly the most intense and powerful experiences of my life, but very often I am completely still and motionless. It was only after 4 or 5 sessions did the bi-lateral body movements start. But these are not violent and out of control. Synthetic 5-meo-dmt seems to produce a more stable and clear state of consciousness that can be 'navigated' more easily.

Exactly. This is why we always emphasise setting. Basically you want the setting/environment to be so comfortable that you can completely forget about it. It's made easier when you live on your own of course. Renting an airbnb in the countryside for a weekend is always a fairly safe option. But then again i'd be anxious the owners had set up some tiny cctv camera or microphone somewhere.

Just make sure your environment is 10/10. As in, make sure for certainty that no one will disturb you or interrupt you. You need to be comfortable enough in your environment that you can fully fully let go of yourself. Personally I love listening to ambient music whilst tripping, because of the expansive openness. But use whatever makes you most comfortable. I wouldn't be doing too much walking around. It might work for you. But i'd always recommend just lying down or have a few comfortable chairs to move between throughout the day.