Joseph Maynor

This is a potential issue. I'm not saying Leo's doing this, but I see this as a trap. When the Enlightenment videos first came out as we were doing personal development a few years ago, I never thought we would be getting into this truth business so much. It just sounds like more philosophy to me and a potential distraction. And then you gotta argue like hell just to convince yourself and others that you were right all along with every truth claim you've ever made.

I found out recently that your liver loves coffee! https://www.healthline.com/health-news/coffee-might-protect-your-liver https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/coffee-help-liver#1

Being is not something that is understood. It's the Ego-Mind that wants to understand.

I have completely divorced being from metaphysics and philosophy. "God" and these kinds of philosophical musings are part of the Path, so I don't want to say I'm against them, but I realize that ain't the end-point of this work: more like the beginning parts of the Path. The end-point of this work are (1) finding being and (2) understanding how your Ego works. But be careful, being is not a crafty, clever theory, as much as Egos want that to be the case.

I went through a phase where I saw "God" as an experience too (read my writings when I thought I was first moving into Stage Coral in my Journals), but then I realized later on that being is not an experience. It's clinging to experience that leads one to "God". But being is not about any kind of clinging. Being is not about Metaphysics. That's a trap with a slippery-slope that can lead you into conceptland, and I don't know how a person stuck in this kind of mental-masturbation quicksand about Enlightenment and being can climb out of it. I should focus on how I climbed out of it in my future writings. I'm not even really sure how I did it. It's like a shift just happened. A lot of meditation preceded the shift away from "need to know" and reducing being to philosophy for me.

This is important. The Path is a process that has many ebbs and flows. I was obsessed with "God" too during part of the Path. To say this is the way everybody should think as a one-sized-fits-all solution ignores the fact that every Ego has to move in and out of things and is marching to its own drum. We're all talking about the Path but from where we are now -- ignoring the process aspect of the Path.

Exactly. Being is not philosophy.

I see no utility in clinging to the belief that "God" exists. However, I want to respect people on the Path that are still clinging to God or are yet to cling to God. My Ego's been there and done that. It was part of the Path for me too. But my Ego got out of that kind of clinging to Understanding, Truth, Reality, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy, and Religion.

i think this comes the more you realize that being is not conceptual and that being is actually accessed when you get away from concepts and get away from distractions.

Wow. This is a fascinating question, isn't it. This is a classic metaphysical question that goes way back. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics I think every person should question themselves about free will. The presumption is that we have free will. The reality is more complicated than that linear kind of expectation, divorced of context and competing interests. But then we don't really want to say we don't have free will because that is defeated by the laugh test, right. No I'm not assaulting this woman, I don't have free will. Get outta here! Right? We seem to be an admixture of free will and no free will depending on the context. See, it's more complicated than free will vs. no free will. That kind of linear, binary, on-off kind of context-independent expectation of the Ego-Mind has its pros and its cons.

Why would you apply the metaphor of design to reality? Do you see the presumptuousness of this?

This is good. I had this awareness hit me too relatively recently.

First you become Enlightened and then come tell us about your experience. All this heresay stuff and wishful thinking stuff is useful at the start of the Path but is shed off like a set of training-wheels later on. You can really only speak from your own experience. The Ego-Mind can and does come up with all kinds of bullshit about Enlightenment.

Thinking of your life as a game is a concept. Your Ego is half-heartedly over-laying that on top of being. First of all, your Ego is never gonna fully believe life is a game. Your Ego is dead serious about this game if it is one. Actually the game idea goes bye bye quickly when your Ego gets in real trouble.

Thanks for posting this. I'm not saying I agree with everything you say here, but a lot of it I do.

Too much attention on making money and career and not enough attention on creating good health for yourself and keeping your stress levels low.

Playing jazz trumpet on a real bandstand in front of an audience. Finding my life purpose. Getting my daily routine/ schedule implemented. Getting my diet implemented. Implementing my Project Binder. Many of my psychedelic trips. Doing all the writing I've done about personal development. Traveling to Athens, Rome, Istanbul, Beijing, Taipei. (Each for 2 weeks at a time) Practicing jazz trumpet when I know I'm improving. Discovery of "being" and what Enlightenment Work is and accomplishes. Hanging out with friends. Exercising when I know I'm into it and motivated. Going on walks where I get to see the ocean and where I get to sort of think out loud to myself and reflect. Long meditation sessions where I'm really into it and meditating a lot (like 4 or more hours at a time). Listening to albums. And every once in a while I stumble upon a new amazing album I've never heard. One-on-one helping people with their personal development issues. Deep understanding of World Philosophy after many years of study and majoring in philosophy in college.

There is something to be said or someone coming into Enlightenment Work with a big, damaged Ego looking for relief.

Isn't believing Enlightenment theory just fear of death?

This is interesting. But be careful that the Ego is not trying to define itself as God. That's the trap with that kind of approach.

No. See you got that backwards. The seeker is you seeking. And there's nothing wrong with that, that's how it works. The Ego seeks to better it's own life and to preserve things that it cares about -- like peace of mind. Ego is not an illusion, it's the only constant fact of life. Sure, there are some things you can do about that, but most people go way off the deep-end in their Metaphysics about how this No Ego offset to Ego works in real life.

Seriously. Who is this seeker? You think being is a seeker? Is being going around trying to reduce its own suffering?

X allows me to do Y and Y allows me to do Z. Who is on this trip?

Here's a Diet I wrote for anybody who is interested: DIET => Eat foods that are high in Magnesium, Potassium, Omega 3 Fats, and Antioxidants: => Avoid red meat, excessive alcohol, added sugar, added salt, saturated fats, high-glycemic carbs, wheat, potatoes, bread (bread often has a shit-load of salt in it as well as being made from wheat): => Make sure you're getting enough Calcium and Vitamin D3: => Make sure you're getting enough soluable and insoluable Fiber: Oatmeal, beans, apples, are good for soluable fiber (soluable fiber cleans the bad cholesterol from your blood and insoluble fiber keeps your colon from being exposed to the carcinogens in your waste): => Make sure to keep your cholesterol intake down. All meat has cholesterol as well as Eggs and Dairy. I regulate cholesterol intake like I do my salt intake. I don't eat meat every day, and I don't eat eggs. The only dairy I eat is Plain Non-Fat Yogurt: => Keep alcohol intake to 2 drinks per day max if a man and 1 drink per day max if a woman per day: => Eat more Nuts and Seeds because they have chemicals in them that are good for your heart. Always go for the unsalted nuts and seeds. Supplements -- Berry supplement, Raw Cocoa Powder, Curcumin, CoQ10, Cinnamon Supplement, Garlic Supplement, Spirulina, Resveratrol, Magnesium, B-Complex, Vitamin C, Fish Oil, Pomegranate Supplement, Blueberry Supplement, Lycopene, Artichoke Supplement. Dairy -- Plain Non-fat Yogurt, Whey Protein. Meat -- Lean meats no skin. (I avoid meat to avoid adding excess cholesterol to my bloodstream.) Beans/ Legumes -- Green Peas, Red Beans, White Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Lentils, Tofu, Soy Protein, Pea Protein. Nuts/ Seeds (everything here needs to be unsalted) -- Any kinds of seeds including pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, Almonds, Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds, Quinoa, Cashews, Walnuts, Pistachios. Grains -- Oats, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Veggies -- Kale, Spinach, Beets, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Avocado, Sweet Potato, Asparagus, Artichokes, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Red Bell Pepper, Mushrooms, Green Vegetables, Celery, Jalapeno Peppers, Carrots, Lettuce, Broccoli, Dark Leafy Greens, Pea Protein. Fruits/ Berries -- Apples, Oranges, Watermelon, Coconut Water, Figs, Apricots, Peaches, Cantaloupe, Pomegranate Juice, Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries. Oils/ Vinegar -- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sesame Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar. Herbs and Spices -- Chili powder, Ancho Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika, Hungarian Hot Paprika, Turmeric, Ginger Powder, Chipotle Powder, Paprika, Basil, Curry Powder, Garam Masala, Black Pepper (Grinder), Oregano, Cayenne Pepper, Marjoram, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Rubbed Sage, Ground Coriander Seed. Alcohol -- 2 Drinks of Alcohol for a Man and 1 for a Woman Per Day is Good for You. Red Wine like Cabernet Sauvignon is best. Tea -- Green Tea, Hibiscus Tea, Valerian Root Tea.

Some if it is good, but I think there are pros and cons to having a channel like that. The pros are you get a lot of views. The cons are you're kinda stuck in that milieu of always needing to create a buzz about everything all the time. It's too neurotic. I guess it depends on what kind of a person you are. For me, I couldn't do it. I can see how it would be tough to strike the right balance between wanting to solicit views on the one hand, but not pigeon-holing yourself into a box of expectations on the other hand with your viewers by marketing yourself a certain way. If I did videos I would kinda want my videos to be like little blog pieces just like my Journal writings are. I would wanna feel free to do whatever I wanted to do. I wouldn't wanna feel forced to make a video either. But, see, the cons of that approach is you don't feed your viewers and build up your audience. I can see how there's a tension there between freedom and responsibility that has to be carefully balanced. If you're trying to make a career on YouTube, you need viewers. If you wanna go fishing, you need bait. If you wanna gamble, you need money. If you wanna become a lawyer, you have to pass the bar. If you wanna become a doctor, you have to graduate from medical school. I'm just saying this because every endeavor has requirements to it. Wealth doesn't come from nothing. To get people to open their wallets and give you money, they gotta be excited about the value that you're providing to them. And so I've always been really fascinated in what career requirements are and how to meet them without being a manipulative jerk about it.