PetarKa

@winterknight If God / The Truth (whatever you want to call "it") is absolutely infinite and formless, then why is this "dream" of life this particular form. Why must we be human? Why must we live on Earth? Why not a totally different world? Related question: Why must there be ignorance in the first place at all? Why must there be the delusion of self? Why not just infinite awareness right from "our birth"? Why must there be a spiritual path in the first place? Does Enlightenment give the answers to these questions?

@Baldmunt I have experienced the same thing. What most helped me get over this paranoia was: Focused observation of my paranoia. Seek to understand your thought process on this topic. Writing your thoughts in a journal goes along great with this. Contemplating my paranoia. Where is this paranoia coming from? Why do I need to be paranoid about this at all? Hope this helped. Message me if you need anything else.

Maybe don't talk about Spiral Dynamics per se, but rather explain things in a more simplistic way. Don't use the colors (Beige, Purple, Red, etc.). Explain that different places have people with different worldviews. Examples: Africa is very tribal-oriented Canada is very liberal America is mixed brew (patriots, liberals, capitalists...) [Some place] is very capitalistic [Some other place] is a dictatorship Etc. That way you wouldn't have to go into the details.

@Emerald @Truth Addict @tsuki @Scholar @tedens Thank you all for the advice. Will work on it.

@Leo Gura @tsuki Thank you for the advice. I have thought about using psychedelics to help "jump-start" myself and get myself out of this mental trap. I have asked a similar question on another post. Given my specific circumstance, is it a good idea for me to take psychedelics to help me resolve this issue? I am fearful I might lose it if I do, given that even without psychedelics I have the same fear. This is a question to all. Feedback is much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

@Marinus I have 2 words of advice which I think will boost your journey. They are not specific "tricks", but rather general guidelines: Apply the principle of deliberate practice: Always immerse yourself in situations which are just enough challenging. Focus on improving consistently and incrementally. If it's too much for you to start being physical with the girl, then that's not your next stepping stone. Though, if it's something you've already done hundreds of times and you can effortlessly do it (e.g. saying "Hi!") and you aren't doing anything more, then you ain't making progress. Approach this whole process as understanding the realm of human social interaction: Don't treat girls like simple machines which do certain things when you push certain buttons. Human social (and sexual) interaction is a rich, dynamic, and complex process. What you will talk about and do will highly depend on the context (the place, the situation, the psychology of the girl, her clothes, etc.). Treat this like learning and mastering a whole field of life, just like you would when studying and mastering, for example, a certain sport. Also know that you are not starting from ground zero. Your whole life you've been interacting with people, even if to a lesser degree compared to others. You can use this past experience, if you haven't been already. Being introverted-oriented myself, these principles have helped me a lot. Keep up the good work! I wish you development and progress.

Normally one would say that 4 h / day is too much. But in this situation you have to decide. I remember there was a time, usually during summer or winter breaks, when I'd watch one video per day. I felt I needed to get a grip on these new concepts he introduced. Now I probably watch 1 video every 2 weeks. If it's getting in the way of living and developing a joyful life, then cut the video-watching to one video per week. If you find yourself having a hard time keeping up with his more "advanced" topics, go through his video titles and pick videos which are appropriate for you at this stage.

I have meditated in the past for almost 2 years. Then I felt that it was not right for me at that phase. Now I consider it appropriate and have hence started the practice again: 30 min a day, simple observation practice. I am curious as to whether @Leo Gura still holds that this is the most important self-actualization habit (as his views on some topics have changed over the years) but I would also like to hear what everyone thinks. (Question is in the title) Along these lines, I'd also ask: What is meditation effective for? (Enlightenment only? Emotional mastery? Psychological development? What?) What style of meditation do you practice?

Anyone familiar with Jorge Luis Borges? Is this a hint at Absolute Infinity? I think Leo has mentioned this guy in one of his vids, not sure. In the essay “Avatars of the Tortoise”, [Jorge Luis] Borges speculated that paradoxes were clues to the unreality of the world: Let us admit what all idealists admit: the hallucinatory nature of the world. Let us do what no idealist has done: seek unrealities which confirm that nature. We shall find them, I believe, in the antinomies of Kant and in the dialectic of Zeno. “The greatest magician (Novalis had memorably written) would be the one who would cast over himself a spell so complete that he would take his own phantasmagorias as autonomous appearances. Would this not be our own case?” I conjecture that this is so. We (the undivided divinity operating within us) have dreamt the world. We have dreamt it as firm, mysterious, visible, ubiquitous in space and durable in time; but in its architecture we have allowed tenuous and eternal crevices of unreason which tell us it is false. Source: "Labyrinths of Reason" by William Poundstone.

What do you mean by negative? In my mind, talking about free choice leads nowhere. It's like an empty statement. What does free choice even mean? I've contemplated this and found that it's a meaningless play on words.

Saying free will is an illusion doesn't contain any meaning when I hear it (assuming one is not enlightened). Because when you hear that free will is an illusion, you still will be in a situation to make decisions, free will or no free will. "Free will is an illusion." is like saying "That which you will do, you will do." Compare that to the following absurd sentence: "That which is red, is red."

@QandC Is meditation then the catch-all term for spiritual practice?

@JayG84 Children playing and building sandcastles on the beach. They aren't doing that because they see meaning in it or some goal at the end of the day (e.g. a built sandcastle). The're doing it for the simple joy of it. Look at your cat or dog if you have one. Does he see meaning / meaninglessness? Probably not. Yet he is able to lavish you with love and play. He is able to just sit in the park, chill and enjoy a beautiful day.

What do you mean by self-validating? Why "experiencing" in quotes? Is this an experience beyond all perceptions.

This question came up while contemplating what truth is. Leo emphasizes going after the Truth at all costs. I guess my real question is: What is knowledge? How do you know something is true? What does it mean for something to be "true"? In logic, a statement is considered true if it corresponds to our experience of reality, and false otherwise. Yet I feel there something wrong here. These things (truth and knowledge) are worshiped among spiritual seekers, yet I feel few of them actually understand (whatever understanding means) what they are worshipping.

Lately I have been struggling with some existential issues. Mainly on free will. I am fearful about my free will and from the conclusion that free will is an illusion I've been causing a lot of stress and fear in my life. After some research about psychedelics, I am skeptical about whether it's a good idea. I have not tried psychedelics. At first I read only positive things about them — they're used for treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, spiritual growth, etc. But then I also read that, although rare, some people might have a bad trip with bad psychological effects later after the trip. Is it worth the risk? Is my situation appropriate for psychedelic use? Is a bad trip the result of chance, or the wrong approach / setting?

@winterknight What is a question?

Loved this quote: "So, the truth is timeless, but the technology and the language are always contemporary. If they weren’t, they would deserve to be discarded. No tradition, however time-honored, deserves to live on as anything more than a museum piece if it has outlived its relevance. So, while I will be exploring an ancient technology in this book, it is also a technology that is flawlessly state-of-the-art." — Sadhguru: Inner Engineering

Thanks to all for the advice! Will see what to do. First I will contemplate thoroughly.

@Salvijus You say psychedelics are not for those who lack balance. But most of the research on psychedelics suggests that people without balance (depressed, anxious, worried about death, people in a crisis) will benefit tremendously from the trip, while there is much less research done on the benefits of psychedelics in healthy individuals. @Leo Gura By that reasoning any risky endeavor is worth jumping into. What if you forget to fasten your seat belt on the roller coaster? Is it not wise to take precautions? I guess my main question is: What's the best approach to tripping? From what I've read, if people resist what the trip offers, they will have a bad time. Is this so?

Did't read everything, but I had an insight which might be relevant. Wrote it down in my journal: "Improvement As A Way Of Life Improvement as a goal doesn’t seem to work very well, both in my experience and when I see other people. The whole process of improvement is dismissed, which doesn’t seem right. Also, who can say which is the ultimate goal? That's why I say: Improvement as a way of life, rather than as a goal. Just keep following the path of improvement and see where it takes you. Make this way of life intense, beautiful, full of love and devotion. This way of life seems much more satisfying than chasing after goals all the time and even going aimlessly through life. It is purposeful but yet flexible at the same time."

If you are skeptical about your approach to Actualized.org, then I suggest the following. Use Leo as a lead. When he mentions a book, product, or person, research that. Then you find another teacher, e.g. Elliot Hulse. Then he mentions someone. Follow up on that. Do this until you feel necessary. You have to start somewhere. Actualized.org is a great origin point.

@Enlightened Is it not so that you must seek and you must not seek? You must go, but here you are

I have been resisting the pursuit of Enlightenment because I am still skeptical of the whole thing. Leo says that to see God and then to integrate God into your everyday life might take years, decades even. That's why I keep pushing doing the spiritual practices into the future. It seems like a hell of a risk. What if I waste 20 years of my life and nothing changes? If I didn't "become" Enlightened for some reason, then I wasted 2 decades of my life just sitting on a chair and meditating. I could've at least lived in illusion and made the best out of it. I think I need a bit more anecdotal evidence about the "reality" of Spirituality . That's why I want to ask you guys who've been doing the work for some time: What Has Your Journey With Enlightenment Been Like?

I've been doing the do-nothing technique for quite a while now and I'm very disappointed. I feel like it's not doing anything at all -- like I'm just sitting and wasting my time. Before I sit down to meditate for 30 min I do 10 min of Concentration practice. A couple of months ago this helped quite a bit -- I felt like things were happening in my consciousness. Though not any more -- nothing changes for me with or without concentration. One thing that DOES happen is that after every session I feel this kind of zoned-out feeling, like I'm in the clouds, though it's quite faint. I jsed to feel this much more in the past after my meditation sessions, not any more. Am I doing sth wrong? Am I just not patient enough? Should I wait for years to see some real results? Those of you who use / have used the Do-Nothing technique, do you have any tips? Thanks upfront ?