Joseph Maynor

Who is it that believes reality is a dream and desires not to give a f*ck about said dream? That's the Ego-Mind clinging in two ways there: one as a belief and the other as a desire.

Eliminate all obvious distractions when you meditate.

The Ego-Mind wants very much to locate the "one right" truth about reality.

I like the word being myself. But then I don't put any Metaphysical jibber-jabber constraints on being either. it's just being. It is what it is and it doesn't really benefit from linguistic description.

Not to say I'm enlightened, but what work I have done has brought my neuroticism down really low. I used to have really bad problems with neuroticism, stress, insecurity, over-compensating Ego, etc.

I think the concept of awakening can be deceptive. What you have is your own evolution on the Path.

Watch out for goal. Goal is for the Ego-Mind. Making a goal out of Enlightenment can lead one away from being not closer to it. I know this is hard to wrap your Mind around. But that ain't a coincidence because the Mind is an agent of Ego.

The unenlightened Ego-Mind is suffering. When you can start mediating Ego with No Ego or being, your life becomes very . . . "stable" is the right word, I don't even want to use the word "happy". Happy doesn't always apply, but stable does. Even if you're going through shit, you can still mediate Ego with No Ego and be, and realize that reality is not marching to your Ego-Mind's drum. No Ego or being is like a pressure-release value for the Ego-Mind.

I agree, but I probably would not say post-Enlightenment. Post-Enlightenment is another one of those dubious terms. That’s not to say it never applies, I’m sure there are applicable instances.

I would frame this differently as follows: If you have unconscious shadow issues operating, that can function like a block to your Path. Ditto for what I call "supershadow issues", which is where you don't even see your own Ego-Mind accurately let alone your own shadow issues.

I don't like the word "Evil". You guys and your religious tendencies oy! It's pretty obvious to me when people or business are not coming from a pure and genuine place.

Really? Why not be the model? You can already be the model of being you.

There's a lot of heart on this Forum if you care to look for it. I realize now that a lot of people on here are genuinely trying to help others which is something that I had a hard time fully seeing before. It's just that each personality type has a little different way of doing it. And when you're stuck in one personality type it's sometimes hard to appreciate another personality type's attempt to do what you're doing. Most of the regulars on here who have been on here for years now are genuinely trying to help others, it wasn't always easy for me to see that before because I saw so many other differences. But the heart is there. That's the least common denominator among many people on here. That's what we all have in common. We want to help others. I know its kinda embarrassing to say things this plainly and bluntly sometimes.

You can always reject any question or issue. This is something that unless you studied Philosophy or Rhetoric you probably don't fully understand. You can always question the question and even reject the question. Questions and issues only have merit if we give them merit. Why do you have to be anything in the first place? What is is not beholden to your ideas to be what it is.

My ideal life looks a lot like my life right now: Physically healthy, living in a beautiful place, financially secure, emotionally balanced, engaged with the world in a way that I find inspiring and worthwhile. Honestly, nothing money could buy would improve my life much. Nothing Philosophy could present my Ego-Mind with would improve my life much. I used to feel like I needed to do all these things to be happy, but now I realize it's the things that I no longer care to do that allow me to be happy. My life is happy right now. All I gotta do is keep doing what I'm doing -- keep living well and contributing back in my own chosen way. The last thing I want to do is get wrapped up in being a spiritual Ego, that would actually diminish my peace and my happiness. When I do make my own debut as a personal development teacher in a couple of years, I'm not gonna need the money or the fame. And I wanna keep it that way. It's those who aren't attached that give off the right vibe as a teacher. And that I can see from my standpoint now, and I just gotta make sure that my Ego-Mind doesn't poison that insight for me.

"Self-mastery". That's a hell of a word. I'm still waiting to find someone who has exhibited "self-mastery". Then maybe I will feel more comfortable using that term myself.

This is the first time I've seen anybody on here do this kind of work. Good job. I'm impressed!

Why do you think you need to know this answer so bad in the first place? Does knowing this answer change being for you?

What would happen to your Enlightenment Work if you stopped clinging to all these beliefs?

It is tricky. Yes, I agree that demonizing your Ego-Mind is no good on the Path. But at the same time, the problem with the Ego is it creates all these deficiency needs that get you chasing for happiness in some other place than simply being. So, it's a bit nuanced. The Ego-Mind can thwart your happiness if you let it. And while it's doing that, you can be deluded into thinking you're doing a great thing, only to be left with a hollow victory at the end of the process, if you get a victory at all. But at the same time, to demonize and deny the Ego-Mind just pushes it more underground which makes it harder to manage and harder to see frankly. This is why there are so many Spiritual Egos on the Enlightenment Path. These people deny and demonize their own Ego-Mind which is still there. I hate to use this example, but it's sort of like being gay and trying to deny that out of yourself. You don't wanna do that, that will just make your problem worse. You're better off allowing yourself to be gay, even if you're not happy about that, because at least then your gayness isn't sent underground where it will still survive but be forced to manifest in all kinds of under the table ways. Ditto for Ego. It's best to acknowledge and accept Ego than to try to deny it out of existence, because it doesn't go anywhere. It's best to deal with things above the table rather than below the table, even if they're unsavory. So, I am a fan of loving and accepting the Ego-Mind, but I also realize the danger and traps that the Ego-Mind presents and try to avoid those too.

It's ok to want to help things, but make sure that is coming from a very pure place. The Ego-Mind can chase saving the world too in order to aggrandize itself, which defeats your Enlightenment Work and your happiness. The truth is, nothing you do in the world matters more than the quality of your being right now. You shouldn't need to do anything more than being. If you do need more, that should be examined as a deficiency need. The Ego-Mind takes Enlightenment and turns it on its ear to make it something for the Ego -- when in fact what Enlightenment allows is a cease to that kind of seeking, that kind of feeling that more is needed to make your life palatable to you. See, that's the issue. Enlightenment should be making you ok with simply being -- you should feel complete without all the seeking, all the striving, all the aggrandizing of your Ego over other Egos. That all comes from deficiency needs. You can feel someone is Enlightened when they feel complete just with being. They don't have a neurotic need to do anything like saving the world or whatnot. Now they may in fact do that, but it doesn't have that same kind of urgent, desperate energy about it. There's a humble, secure energy there because no deficiency needs are creating that feeling of lack in the moment. When you don't need anything, that is noticeable by others. There you're coming from a place of abundance, of effortless and easy contribution, not a need to fill a void within your own Ego-Mind.

Words can be a trap because we all know our talk and our walk are often at cross-purposes. Lots of talk makes it seem like we are progressing, but take a look and see how much of that is actually the case. Talk can actually be a colossal distraction from doing personal development work. The Ego-Mind likes to cling to its talk and think that it's making progress by doing a lot of talking. But then you look at the person a year later and nothing has really changed in their life -- just more and more talk, more and more distraction from making the changes that are needed to do real personal development work. Some of these people end up pretty deluded and miserable, with that huge Ego still there only now hiding more cleverly than before.

I find it a little creepy to have to tell myself I'm God. It sounds like an iffy affirmation. One of those things that a person tells themselves to feel better about themselves. There's a creepy, dodgy vibe to all this God Complex stuff. Don't we have enough narcissists in the world? I'm sure Donald Trump thinks he's God too. My intuition is not sitting well with all this God and religion stuff lately. I see it as a turn in the wrong direction. https://psychologenie.com/what-is-meant-by-god-complex-in-psychology https://lifedev.net/2008/07/31/god-complex/

When I watch Leo's videos I pay more attention to Leo's changes than to the contents in the videos. What interests me is personal development, so it's Leo's own personal development that I am looking for in his videos.

@Faceless Faceless is back! You took a sabbatical dude.