hundreth

I have an open mindedness test for you all: If you find yourself wondering "Why would I waste 35 minutes of my life watching this?" - just remember, there must be a valuable lesson here for us. Otherwise, why would Ra waste his time talking to us?

Fair enough, although this would be less about open mindedness and more about integration. For example, I could experience personal growth from reading Harry Potter books if I'm tuned into the right lessons. I don't know @Leo Gura - it's possible you've read so much self-help material that this is what's left for you, scavenging for whatever scraps are left over in the form of allegorical tales. Given where I'm at, I feel like there's so much quality material out there. Being more selective over the material I ingest is in my best interest for personal growth. I personally know many New Age truth seekers who lack a filter around the information they perceive to be true. They ingest everything, and the result is an even further warped sense of reality from where they started. To me it seems like you've started out on this path as a rationalist minded skeptic. This is your nature. You've discovered the limitations and have adopted a viewpoint that is almost a form of self hatred. You're now rebounding very far into the opposite direction. I imagine you'll find your balance soon. I will admit I have been stuck in a "stage Orange" mindset for some time. Your videos have helped me open up and see the limitations there. I thank you for that. I've also had profound psychedelic experiences which have given me glimpses. At the same time, I will not fight my nature. My logical abilities are a gift, and undoubtably given to "me" for a reason to balance out this dualistic illusion. Not all of us are meant to run around believing fairy tales. Embrace your purpose.

I agree with this. You can make informed decisions using science. For example, I read the PDF and came across the part where Ra describes how the pyramids were built through "thought" but made to look as though they were built by hand. I may be paraphrasing but that is the basic gist of the story. The thing is, we have tons of evidence pointing to how the pyramids were built, and guess what: they fly completely in the face of what "Ra" is claiming. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/who-built-the-pyramids.html http://michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/2012/07/build-great-pyramid-today/ https://www.hopechannel.com/read/aliens-or-egyptians-who-really-built-the-pyramids So open mindedness can only take you so far. When you reach evidence that goes against what you want to believe, part of being a truth seeker is accepting the truth. You have to weigh both sides to determine what is most likely to be true. Is it wiser to believe Ra, the extraterrestrial life form speaking through a human medium based on nothing more than hearsay, or is it wiser to trust the leading experts in the field spending years researching this stuff? It only takes one error on Ra's part to destroy all of this story's credibility. I was open minded enough to read it, but that's where it ends. I'm calling bull on this one.

One and the same.

I think it's really interesting and not all that surprising that Leo decided to walk on the path towards becoming a sage. Check out this article that goes into depth about spiral dynamics and levels of consciousness for each of the Enneagram archetypes: http://www.goconscious.com/home/articles/levels_of_consciousness_and_the_enneagram.html I'm not saying I'm too into boxing people into types, but I recall @Leo Gura mentioning he was an INTP - and it just so happens the most fully actualized form for his archetype is an enlightened sage (According to this view.) So this could be the perfect path to take FOR LEO. That said, there are different archetypes with different fully actualized forms. Take a look: You may find your calling to be more adventurous, or less involved with society altogether. It's OKAY. If we are true to ourselves, we will find ourselves expressing what is deep inside us.

Hey guys, Just wanted some insight on something I've been going through. More recently I've been very into learning about enlightenment and trying different things along the path. All the while, I've been living in a foreign country, meeting family I've never known before, and in the midst of a stressful time consuming relationship. Being a very introverted person, this experience has left me socially exhausted. I've found that meeting with all this family, being dragged around to social events with my girlfriend, etc is just a drain on my energy instead of inspiring me. I've been falling back on this concept of enlightenment as a justification for my behavior. I recently ended my relationship with my girlfriend after dating heavy for 4 months. We had several issues, some you could call red flags, but there was a lot of love there. I simply ended it because I felt like it wasn't worth dealing with, and focusing on enlightenment would be a more worthwhile experience. Now that I've had some time to essentially be alone, I'm realizing this could all simply be an excuse to escape from the world around me. Where does one draw the line between enlightenment and escape? The same could be said for why I moved out to this country in the first place. I essentially left behind my job, close friends, and family for some time to be alone. Now I'm starting to question why I have such a strong desire to be left alone. Am I just a solitary individual, or am I shutting out everyone close to me? I've always had trouble processing emotions and I fear I'm simply running away from them. I know that it's possible to find inner peace and happiness by turning inward, but perhaps I'm already too good at that. I've learned that everything is simply a game, just an experience. Even still, it's such an enormous, beautiful world out there. Why not experience it? I've gone through so much to change everything around me, but instead I'm right back to sitting at home meditating. Sorry for the long post, just venting I guess.

Yeah, that's exactly it. It's such a mind fuck when the most courageous action you can take looks exactly the same as the most cowardly. I believe that sometimes in solitude we discover just how truly inter-dependent we really are. At any moment, I can jump back into the game. What I'm meditating on right now is why I felt compelled to disconnect in the first place, and why it always feels like such a fight. I've held this notion that my interactions with the world should feel free flowing and natural, almost effortless. What ends up happening with my current level of understanding, is that the wider network around me appears as a bunch of selfish egos aimlessly doing things. Each with their own agenda and toxic environment they attempt to pull me into. I'd like to reach a point where instead of apathy and this elusive search of zen, I will have a strong sense of purpose that shields me from the gravity of others and empowers me to connect with the world around me in constructive ways. I guess sometimes the fight is just a necessary part of the process and @Bob84 is right. I need to go back to the personal development phase and work on social skills / exploring my woefully underdeveloped emotional side. Best of luck on your journey!

Thanks dudes! Very helpful.

I agree with you that consciousness is everything. That says nothing about the topic of this thread though, which is using quantum entanglement as a scientific foundation for consciousness. I'm not upset by anything you've said, just pointing out the hypocrisy in calling them arrogant while you've claimed to have the answer to a very hard problem with little to no investigation. In terms of why I'm on this forum, I'm interested in spirituality and consciousness just as everyone else is here. My perspective about this specific topic happens to differ from yours. This forum is for constructive dialogue is it not? If we all simply agreed with each other this forum wouldn't be very fun now would it? I'm sure you've found this to be true in your studies of non dualism. The illusion of dualism (maya) is just for fun. Say thank you.

Totally agree with you about dropping the need to justify consciousness in terms of quantum mechanics. Consciousness stands on it's own two feet. What I'm having trouble with is this notion that simply because his teachers are skeptical of studies relating the two, they must have not experienced higher states of consciousness. Sam Harris, while being somewhat of a rationalist, has lived abroad in India, where he studied meditation with Buddhist and Hindu religious teachers, including Dilgo Khyentse for several years. As witnessed in the videos I posted above, he too is skeptical of these claims. I think it's a bit shortsighted to conclude those who don't agree with us haven't been exposed to the same teachings or experiences. That they are somehow of a lower spiritual echelon / level of consciousness.

Let's take one of the greatest mysteries of our universe that has baffled some of the greatest minds and slap the label "consciousness" on it. Problem solved! Yet, they are the arrogant ones.

I would be careful trusting new age gurus / teachers relating consciousness and quantum physics. This reminds me of Deepak Chopra embarrassing himself at CalTech: Inquiry from a physicist: Bonus: