SeekingFreedom

@Leo Gura yesss please! I am so stuck and have no idea where to start and have been trying for a while. Would be super helpful to have somewhere to turn for some direction

@Someone here it flips the script and shows the girl that your fun, flirty and not desperate. (Which is attractive to females)

Can one awaken deeply even though they drink alcohol on a regular basis? I understand that to reach the deepest levels, one would need to surrender selfish attachments and tendencies but my question is if it’s possible to still reach those deep levels of awakening even though they are dependant on alcohol. I have recently watched Leo’s interview with Curt, where Leo had admitted that at the time he still had judgmental tendencies that he had no fully worked out yet and had not felt the need to let them go at the time of the interview. So it got me thinking that perhaps one would not need to surrender such addictions to eventually reach God. Obviously, judgements vs alcohol are completely different addictions, with alcohol being damaging physically and chemically but curious to hear peoples views on this. Asking for a friend

Thank you everyone for your replies. It’s been mind bending reading them all and trying to understand everyone’s different perspective on the question. @Leo Gura it appears my mind has tricked me and snuck in many layers of concepts. When I think I’ve got it... nope! More sneaky concepts. Thanks for your help. I will Re watch those videos that you recommended. P.S I’ve been watching your videos for 6 years and I’ve watched every single one of them (not to say I understood them all) and many of them multiple times. And I’ve only just realised that they haven’t been really helping me because I haven’t been pointing the finger at myself and looking inward. 6 effing years it’s taken to realise this!! How funny.

@Leo Gura I think I just understood what you are saying. The perception isn’t the self deception but it’s what I think about the perception which is the self deception?

@Artsu is it possible to become aware that the tree is an illusion/ hallucination?

I guess I’m confused. I recently came into a realisation that the mind is creating meanings out of everything I see, hear, read, thought etc and it isn’t how it “actually” is in reality. So now my mind is wondering what is actually there in reality without all of the meanings. For eg. I look at a tree and it’s green, but how do I know it’s green really and not just how I see it. My mind is boggled this looking inward stuff is difficult.

@Aaron p is that the only way to really know?

If I can only access reality through my perceptions and all of me and my perceptions are a self deception, then how can I know what reality actually is? And if I ever figure it out, how will I know it’s not a self deception?

@kuwaynej Thanks for your advice. I have watched all of Leo's videos and some multiple times. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the ego, it's easy to get lost in it too though. Your comment has made me realise that perhaps I need some more awareness over it. Thanks for the book recommendation, sounds like it could be a beneficial read! @PureExp I think you are right. I am definitely trying too hard, I think that may have been a big part of the problem. Effortless effort - I like that Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply to my thread. I am feeling much relief already from my frustration and I no longer feel I need to give up. I now have resources to come back to when I feel like quitting and the frustration kicks in. Just gotta reorient myself and keep going! I think it's really easy to get temporary lost & sometimes you just need to go back to the basics. Thank you all for your guidance, I really appreciate it, thanks again

@Leo Gura thank you for your advice. I think a good reframe is what I needed

@Natasha wow that's exactly what I feel is happening. Thank you

@PureExp my expectations are to have emotional mastery and live in peace. It just seems that practising "accepting the present moment as it is" and all that it entails is difficult and requires a lot of emotional labour. I guess I'm just looking for clarification from someone who has been here and moved passed the frustration. @Phil yes that is exactly what I find to be so frustrating, letting go of my perspective on reality and the never ending thoughts, but it seems the harder I try to let go of them or accept them, the more frustrated and overwhelmed I get. I get insights daily into the reality of the ego but it's one thing to know it and one thing to "be" it which is another source of my frustration. I do exercise, mostly eat healthy and meditate.

Hi guys, im hoping someone can give me some guidance here. I've been practising mindfulness, raising my awareness and spend a lot of time practising enlightenment work. Lately it's really getting me down as I feel like I'm not making much progress in comparison to the emotional labour and effort I'm putting in. I feel confused and depressed often, and on the verge of giving up! My question is, are my expectations of this work too high? And does it ever get easier? Thanks