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I was reading about ayahuasca retreats last night and I have to admit I feel very drawn to this. I have felt very stuck for a long time. Even though I practice meditation twice daily I feel like I really need a good shake up to get things moving again. Its a bit worrying that there have been deaths and rapes though. Has anyone here done this? Is it really as life changing and lasting as is made out? Or is it essentially just a mind altering peak experience that you come back down from like every other drug? I'm feeling excited to go on a pilgrimage to Peru and experience this.

Hi Leo, I've sent a message about this to you but I'm posting here also just in case you miss my message. I am currently in the process of moving home and so my IP address is going to vary as I am using a mobile account and various wifi. I am subscribed to the life purpose course and do not want to get locked out of my account. I noticed on the forums recently that this happened to someone else who had used a different IP because apparently you use security software to combat the issue of people sharing their password? So I'm just letting you know ahead of time as I really need to keep studying the course. Thanks.

Why do you think that you are supposed to switch off thoughts? It's a misconception that meditation is about switching off thought. Meditation is about learning to accept what is. If your mind is busy then accept it and notice how much you don't want it. Just notice and accept everything. Stop trying add somethin but instead let go of everything.

Over here in Australia many of the most successful actors went to university to study acting. The national institute of dramatic arts or NIDA is arguably the best pathway to a career in acting here. Do you not have something similar where you live? Is there a reason why you are not choosing to take this path if it's what you really want to do? Don't take the safest option whatever you do.

Drug users/addicts may have some experiences which open the mind to alternative perspectives however the cycle of drug abuse will do nothing but keep you stuck in a miserable state of craving which will most likely take you nowhere but towards your own premature demise. Its very self absorbed childish behaviour. If you want to grow and evolve in life the first thing you need to do is ditch your addictions. Until you do that you're going nowhere fast no matter how amazingly enlightened you might feel when you're wasted.

Social media cultivates narcissism. They have done research on it and found the more people use it the more narcissistic they are. It's all about fabricating a certain image of your self and most of the time that image is bullshit. Look at me, look how happy, gorgeous, popular and successful I am. Meanwhile back in the real world they are probably miserable and lonely.

Hi Pramit Meditation isn't about trying to escape unpleasant feelings. When we sit we can practice recognising and accepting whatever is happening but not identifying with any of it. So when you feel the legs go numb, you note gently "numbness, numbness" and bring the attention back to the breath or whatever your object of meditation is. If there is pain in your back you can observe the pain and see that it is nothing more than changing sensation passing every moment. Note if it is dull , sharp, pulsing, throbbing. Watch the mind how it wants to get rid of it (aversion) and craves to feel comfortable again. Notice how strong the craving is. Ask yourself who or what is it that wants to get rid of the discomfort. This is excellent practice and will cultivate equanimity. However meditation is not about tolerating pain. If the pain in your back is too much its ok to move but try to move mindfully and very slowly. Don't move every single time you feel pain though. Maybe only once for each sit. Also use a cushion and tilt the pelvis so that you dont place strain on the back. It doesn't matter what you do you will always eventually feel uncomfortable. This is Dukha. Accept it and learn to let go of what your mind wants.

When people ask me "how are you?" I don't feel like they genuinely care how I actually am. They expect me to say "I'm great" or something to that effect. But what I really feel like saying is "I am absolutely feeling like crap and really struggling with life right now. I survived abusive parents and drug addiction but I feel very stuck and not happy most of the time. I am going through a separation from a 17 year relationship and my confidence and self esteem is at an all time low and I feel very hopeless and helpless a lot." People don't want to hear this. They label it as negative. They only want to hear positive things that dont require a challenging response or evoke their own uncomfortable feelings. They also don't know how to be around it. How to actually really be there for a person and listen without fixing, rescuing etc The result is people walk around with a mask on feeling unable to express their authentic emotions and thoughts for fear of rejection. Perhaps this is just my experience and other people feel they do have genuine friends who they can express the different aspects of themselves around, through the up and the down times. I don't feel like I have this at all. People just want me to be "great thanks". It's bullshit.

Leo emphasises in the life purpose course about how important it is to specialise and focus in one area and become a master at it but what I have noticed is that the subject matter of his videos are massively broad. There is no way any one person can ever know enough let alone master all of these different subjects that he preaches about. It doesn't appear to be specialisation. Maybe if you read this Leo you might be able to explain this discrepancy that I'm noticing because it's really important for me that if I am to follow what you say in the course then I must be able to see that you actually believe it yourself and follow the same rules otherwise it just sounds like a bunch of theories. Perhaps my understanding is incorrect in which case I would appreciate a different perspective which might alleviate some of these doubts that are arising.

A successful happy life does not equal alineating yourself from the world and becoming a recluse. Humans have evolved in such a way that we need community and connection with others. The Buddha renounced extreme methods of self-mortification and resorted to the Middle Way of moderation, which eventually led to his enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. For him the Middle Way was a logical, reasonable and realistic solution for human beings, whether they lived as householders or monks, based upon the very nature of the human body which was made to thrive on moderation rather than extreme pleasure or pain. Living as a hermit in a cave is a very ascetic life and therefore not the middle way. If you truly know your own suffering then you will know the suffering of others and understand with compassionate why they are the way they are instead of fearing them. I'm not sure where you live but in many countries now including the USA there are small intentional communities springing up all over the place where you can live in a healthy self sustaining way with other conscious people. Have a look into it. Intentional communities

Er yeah you did say that. You asked me why I am not appreciative and I told you why. You might think you're teaching me but I don't subscribe to your view. If my mum died, my partner left and my dogs dying I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't hurt and that the pain is not real. I'm human, I feel pain and I accept that I feel pain. You're correct that the pain is not who I am however it's there and I don't deny it but I turn toward it and face it and try not to add to it or exacerbate it ie suffering on suffering. I don't pretend that I'm happy and if people can't deal with it and label me as negative such as you have well I don't need those sorts of people in my life.

I'll never give up my bed. I absolutely love nothing more. It's like my sanctuary. My comfort bubble where nothing can touch me. Having said that I don't agree that the floor is better for the body. The floor is way too hard. My back needs some gentle but firm support.

Best part of the day

It sounds to me like you're over thinking the entire thing. You can't block thoughts and the more you try to the more they will force their way into your psyche. All you can do is recognise and accept them but don't identify with them. You don't have to act on them. Just know that they are there and allow them to pass. It's perfectly natural to think sexy thoughts around someone you find attractive. I do it all the time however I don't see it as a problem. Learn to become friends with your mind. You can always have a wank later

Believing or assuming that you're more "conscious" is just a way to separate yourself ie it's ego. Whereas if you were really fully conscious you would know that there is no separation. Having said that, its healthy to be discerning about who to spend time with but not to the point that no one is good enough because they are all below you. You could start or join a Meetup group for likeminded people. Meetup

I don't recognise or enjoy any good qualities in your view so why would I be appreciative. In fact your view is the perfect example of what Im talking about i.e. you're labelling and judging me as negative because I choose to express my authentic thoughts and feelings rather than mask them over with socially acceptable niceties. You're projecting. Refer to Leos video "dude"

I agree and it's the same here in Australia. Australia is just a mini America in many ways. Don't ask me why we have gone down that road because it's always felt like a massive mistake to me and everyone I know but our government and media have relentlessly pursued that avenue. Probably because we have been allies for so long and also because we are such a young country with no real identity so we just take on the identity of others. Pity we didn't follow in the footsteps of more progressive non relgious countries who aren't all shooting each other. Leaving that aside I totally get what you are saying about putting on a brave face. Vulnerability is seen as weakness particularly in men who are still taught not cry.

Maybe I wasnt clear enough or perhaps you have just totally misunderstood but I'm not talking about random strangers. I'm well aware and have enough life experience to know that you don't just open up about your personal problems to complete strangers. You have interpreted what I have said as me thinking my problems are special or more important but it's just not the case at all. Nice try though.

Amazon Kindle books about surviving narcissistic abusive parents

What's the point of the question?

By doing his course? Might be a good start

Firstly using derogatory language by labelling women who drink as "drunk bitches" is highly sexist, judgmental and inflammatory. My advise to you about that is to keep it to yourself or amongst your fellow male friends who don't care. Putting that aside I will say that the road less travelled can be a lonely road. If for company you cannot find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, then, like a king who leaves behind a conquered kingdom, or like a lone elephant in the elephant forest, you should go your way alone. Better it is to live alone; there is no fellowship with a fool. Live alone and do no evil; be carefree like an elephant in the elephant forest.

What do you think the answer to that question is? Do you really believe that? It is not a linear path. It's about quality not quantity. It's about letting go not achieving. It's about being present not getting somewhere. It's a practice not a fix. It's not about sitting on a cushion for an hour it's about making your entire life a meditation.

Hi rush, external things can and do bring you lots of pleasure. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying such things. We live in a world full of such things so it's fine to take advantage of this. The problem arises when we are attached to the pleasure and it ends. ie you have a partner and you think it will last forever but the relationship falls apart or you are having a great holiday but it ends, or you get a nice new car but it soon begins to deteriorate. I could give you a zillion examples but you get my drift. There is absolutely nothing within the phenomenal world that can bring any lasting satisfaction or happiness because everything changes all the time and nothing is permanent. Therefore trying to grasp at something in the world to make you permanently happy is like trying to hold onto sand. It will slip through your fingers. This is what is meant that external things cannot make you happy. Read that as - permanently happy or satisfied. Once you get this, not just intellectually understand it but really deeply know it then you can live life more freely no longer seeking something in external things that is not there. You can see reality as it is, not how you want it to be. Happiness is not in the future when you achieve , attain or accomplish. It is only and has only ever been here now. Enjoy al of life's pleasures while they last. Sit lightly in the saddle.

Hi electrobeam Good on you for going against the grain and having your say. I didn't think it was hate speech. Whoever said that is over reacting. I have to admit that when I first read your post I knew it would attract the kinds of reactions that it did because many people appear to be a bit star struck by Leo and look up to him as if he is their saviour so it's only natural that they are going to jump to his defense. I think you made some good points but again it's like anything online, you can take what resonates and leave the rest. Ignore all the fanboys and keep doing what is true for you.