AlldayLoop

The ego hates this shit lol.

I can attest to this from personal experience. I’m biased since my only experience with a psychoactive substance is marijuana. The key here, though, is I intentionally use it for spiritual and self-exploration purposes. There’s no doubt that the experiences I’ve had on it have radically changed the trajectory of my life. Before using it I was extremely neurotic. I still have many issues to deal with, yes, but I no longer have angry and violent outbursts at my parents and sister. I’m now able to actually do self-help and spiritual practices. I have a more clear direction of where I want to go with my life, and the type of environment I want to associate myself with. I am on the autism spectrum, and I believe people like us have a lot of untapped potential. Psychoactive substances can be life transforming for people like us, especially if we feel like we’re at a lost cause in the world we find ourselves in.

@winterknight@Leo Gura I think it would be great if you guys did a video together discussing psychedelics and therapy at some point. While it is complex, I still don’t think it is something to ignore. Just like how political discussion on here was taboo, but now the time has become ripe. I think that many people will benefit hearing about both sides. And discussing about this live (such as through one on one video) vs. written discussion will certainly bring out a different flavor to this. We desperately need a well informed discussion about psychedelics and therapy, especially in this crazy ass world we live in. Both psychedelics and therapy are misunderstood pervasively throughout our culture, and it’s utterly a shame.

Can you please explain what you mean by “relational-symbolic” activity?

I used to follow Mooji very regularly, but have since seen a limitation with his teachings. Unlike you, he never teaches about the usefulness of therapy or reading books. Are you a critic of this over-simplistic style of teaching? It does help people get started on the path, but I just can’t help but feel bad for people who just stay with that forever.

I would also like to add to this - make sure you don’t misinterpret what “more mystical experiences or awakenings you have” means. This can easily turn into chasing experiences, and it most likely will in the beginning. You identified as an ego chasing is painful, yes, but suffer through it mindfully knowing that God is and has always been by your side, always.

Is this a typo? What did you mean by “access”?

@mandyjw Hi, I just wanted clarification. Did you take psychedelics while doing this therapy and shadow work? Have you taken psychedelics ever?

One of my main fears with in-person therapy (or talking in-person in general) stems from how I communicate differently online (like on here or in a chat room) vs. talking in person. I definitely feel more comfortable online as this has been the way I’ve communicated the majority of my life. I am also on the autism spectrum, so I feel that I’m always expressing and analyzing from my head instead of being in the moment and expressing my genuine feelings. In person there’s no time for me to analyze something compared to how I could type it out like this. I get lost in thoughts and ideas socializing in person which prevents me from actually relating to them and I hold back expressing how I actually feel. My psychotherapist told me explicitly to not write notes or journal during the session. He told me that I have to be in the moment with expressing myself during the session. How can I let go of these fear and excuses? I know it will be more of a challenge for me, and because I’m afraid of these challenges I always set myself up with an idea that I will fail because of my limitation. Also, is practicing socializing more in person a useful strategy?

Does your Life Purpose Course cover how to do proper visualization as well as specific exercises we can do?

I’d say that in the early stages it would actually be beneficial for someone to have a psychedelic trip with the guidance of a professional. Of course this is impractical because psychedelics are obviously frowned upon in society and the therapists are probably not trained to deal with patients who are going through a bad trip. It’s funny you mention psychedelics for the purpose of removing psychological blockages because a few days ago I had the idea of seeing my psychotherapist while under the influence of marijuana (it’s legal here). I have experimented with different strains, and I’ve discovered the ones that give me a deep “no-mind” experience. When I have these deep awakening experiences on marijuana I freak out and have no guidance during the trip. I easily cave in during the peak, when I’m supposed to be letting go. Even though I feel great and alive again for the next few days after the trip is over, I slowly go back to my old egoic ways because I had no one to guide me on integrating what I experienced.

That is true for most things. I suppose you have to really ask yourself what you really want out of life, and by becoming more clear about that the appropriate steps and actions will manifest on its own. I’m not saying you don’t plan anything, but I’m saying that it won’t becoming something you force yourself to do and even if it does seem challenging you are still aligned with your true desires.

@Leo Gura Thanks. I’ll put a reminder on my phone that will go off one year from now and I’d love to share with you what has changed or not changed since then in regards to these questions.

@Jed Vassallo Environment could refer to external, but also your internal environment. How about trying out different diets or supplements for example? Let’s say you had frequent colds and you decide to try taking Vitamin C everyday to see if it helps. You take it everyday for a year, and you notice that you get colds less frequently. That right there could change the core belief of “I always get colds” to “I used to get colds all the time, but Vitamin C has helped reduce the number of colds that I get”.

Good to know, honestly. Most of us these days hate our bodies, so wouldn’t it be nice if more people were aware of this

Profound direct experience is what has helped me. You don’t force yourself to change your belief at that point because it becomes clear that it doesn’t make sense whether to believe it or not to. Just like my whole family believes they are Roman Catholic. There’s no way in this lifetime that I could change their minds about if they actually are. On the other hand, I don’t care to believe that I am or am not. They believe I was born and baptized into the faith, whereas I choose not to believe that story.

Yeah, I’d love to hear your story with the marijuana. I’ve had some insights on it so it’d be interesting to hear what you discovered as well.

Uh-oh here we go, another question for @Aakash to answer

@Leo Gura 1) To not be confused 2) To stop judging and comparing myself to others 3) To be independent and have a decent amount of money 4) To learn to take things slowly... learn day by day, instead of overwhelming myself with too much information at once.

student asks: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it... right?” master replies: ”to whom is it broken to?”

Video proof or it never happened

Thank you for adding that last part in. All my life I’ve been searching for a truth out there and that has never worked. Thanks for reassuring me that I don’t have to numb myself of emotions because I never got the chance to express them genuinely to anyone or myself. This is why I’m on this path.

Okay one last question for today. This should hit the nail on the cross. Isn’t it truer to actually say that there was never a “you” to begin with, no “barrier”, nothing to actually “realize”? I understand if you just used the words you used as to not mislead people, but I feel like it goes beyond that as well (obviously).