Girzo

Haven't done the retreat yet.

I needed something as detailed and precise as Kriya Yoga to start meditating correctly. It's very easy to do normal meditation techniques wrong and undermine your own results. Vipassana is a cool one because it absorbs your attention much, so there's minimal daydreaming. So I would say go with Kriya or Vipassana. And to see solid results you would need to do them at least 1.5-2 hours daily. I mean immediate results, like within two weeks. But it not necessarily will be a peace of mind, you can get more agitated or neurotic too (temporarily).

You can't get vaccinated for everything. You will get sick, it's only a matter of how often and how severe. Do you know anyone who has been to India? What is their experience?

I am afraid India would kill not only my ego but the body too. Aren't you?

I can confirm that high doses of 4-HO-MiPT (a substance close in structure to psilocin found in magic mushrooms) create a similar experience. You would expect it to get crazy visual because it's mushrooms, but no. All the effects get silent during the peak and a break-through happens. And don't get me wrong the crazy hypnotizing psychedelia is there for the most of the time, but there are moments when it disappears, which is interesting in my opinion. It's like a typical mushroom trip intertwined with 5-MeO experience.

Respect that you manage having a 9-5 and working on your side hustle. Good work. I guess you have your first lesson and that is to get more professional as soon as possible. Offer normal prices, take downpayment upfront, surpass your clients' expectations and don't demand too much from them. Clients are clients, some are awesome to work with, others, not so much. Especially in the design field, sometimes people have weird requests and have no idea how much it costs to complete a project. Here's some reading you might be interested in: Step-By-Step Upwork Tutorial For Brokeass Bootstrap Beginners Who Need Cash Now! - For finding an additional source of clients. How To Start A Digital Marketing Agency & Hit $5K In Less Than 90 Days - A model you could use in structuring your own hustle. How To Learn Code, Start A Web Company, $15k+ Per Month Within 9 Months - Motivation and some valuable insights about finding the right kind of client, approach to learning new skills and 'portfolio piece - free or paid?' issue. Cheers

Yeah, you are going in the right direction. Keep working. If you plan on continuing with traditional meditation, I suggest you read "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha" by Daniel Ingram. It will equip you with the knowledge that will help you to evaluate progress. Depends, not always. But it means you are doing the technique right, which is good for you. You might get surprised (if you keep on working diligently) how soon you will start getting experiences orders of magnitude deeper.

Just give Kriya a try, you haven't done it yet. You can also do hatha yoga, why not. Those two types of yoga are very compatibile. Get to the First Kriya Pranayama and Maha Mudra as soon as possible, practice it twice a day for a month and then make a judgement. I can predict it will be very positive.

The good ol' "How to Study" video. The first one I have ever watched. The beginning of the beginning of the beautiful self-actualiztion journey. Thanks @Leo Gura for making it.

Here's mine

I am always dumbfounded by people who are not impressed with SD. For me it's one of the most interesting theories I have ever heard about. Some of my friends love it, some ignore it totally. My mind can't compute how you can be indifferent to something that radical.

Courses: The Natural by RSD Max or The System by Todd. Great products. What I have loved about The Natural is that apart from a lot of theory you have an additional 11 hours of infield material that recap everything on real-life examples, it's called The Hot Seat and it's terrific even as a standalone product. If that doesn't make you good at game, I don't know what could.

I feel like taking psychedelics regularly for a year has accelerated my growth into Green, but nothing too exceptional. Kriya Yoga feels just as effective if not more. I remember reading a story of a Purple guy, who was totally dysfunctional and scared of life and started taking LSD. It had grown him to Red and he became a drug-dealing, hooker-loving thug. So it seems that psychedelics don't automatically make you a hippie but push you through levels one after another. Which is good because that means you can use them to grow yourself indefinitely. At least I hope so, I acknowledge there always may be some other limiting factor.

Ah yes, I have had in mind some hybrid of Enneagram and Spiral Dynamics. Just checked and the original thing doesn't have the axis of development in it. It is probably this paper that got me mistaken: http://www.goconscious.com/home/spiral_dynamics/spiral_dynamics_and_the_enneagram_journal_article.html

Enneagram kind of does both.

I had acne on my face the next day, which I almost never have.

@Enlightenment What the... No it isn't for sure. I would bet on some Ketamine-derivative, but Leo says he doesn't like addictive substances.

@billiesimon Amp it up. Maha Mudra + Second Kriya Pranayama + Yoni Mudra, that should be your base set. Twice a day if you can. You are probably not doing it enough. Also concetrate for at least 10 minutes. 20 or more would be ideal, but there's not always time. You can also concetrate on a point 20 cm in front of your forehead with your eyes open if you don't like to concentrate as described in the book.

I have had unwanted symptoms from kriya practice. They have all passed. But I am free of any drugs. Who knows how yoga interacts with antidepressants. You are taking an offroad ride and exploring uncharted territories. Were you anxious in life before starting spiritual journey? I hope that doesn't mean you are ruining your reputation and looks, because that would be highly undesirable and adding to your anxiety.

Do you talk about the psychological side or does it cause bodyload too?

@ElvisN Don't believe in fairytales. It's not 5-MeO.

@Jcent Yes, but if I decide on that, I would be doing it Joseph Campbell-style. Living in the mountains with lots of books and free time. I really need to think it through.

@Jcent Why? Because I have finished high school without a clear sense of purpose. Then killed a business to go to college, just like you. Then dropped out, because what I have gone to study, that is eco-energy, seemed great on paper but turned out to be not suited well for me. I wasn't eager to go there in the first place too. I have to work to survive, so right now I go to a job for 6 hours, do Kriya Yoga twice a day, read a lot of books and work with the life purpose course.

Cool. I can't really decide whether to pursue spirituality hardcore right now, or build a bussiness first. I guess that puts me in the limbo phase. Gonna do 7 days contemplation retreat and decide at the end of it what to do.

@Pernani You can do kriya in whatever sitting posture you find comfortable, no preparation required. You can couple it with hatha yoga, but it's not needed.