goodwig

+2 for Toronto! My gf and I live in Ottawa but would without a doubt clear our schedules and drive to Toronto!

Hi there, I have been meditating on an almost daily basis since January 2015 and have been very interested in spirituality since then, reading a number of spiritual texts and watching many videos on spirituality especially many of Leo's. My problem seems to be that it almost seems like I'm immune or something to any spiritual practice or growth as I have not seemed to progress at all since I began my journey about 2 and a half years ago. I even went on a week long meditation retreat in Thailand in December 2015 (almost a year of meditation/spirituality experience) and I seemed to be pretty much the only one not reporting any interesting spiritual experiences during the retreat. Through the research I've done on spirituality, I feel I have a good grasp on some of the more common hindrances to spiritual growth such as having expectations, looking outside for answers and having strong beliefs that block growth as well as many tricks of the ego. I currently also practice daily mindfulness often using Leo's labelling technique (outer hear, see, feel/inner hear, see, feel) as well as observing my breath and just trying to be in the moment as much as possible. I have also tried experimenting with mushrooms and either experience intense anxiety or almost nothing when I take them. I feel proud of myself that I have been trying for over two years even with no results but at this point I'm also feeling like I'm losing my motivation to keep pursuing enlightenment work even though intellectually I know it is pretty much our only purpose as human beings. So basically what I'm looking for is any advice on what might be at the root of my problem that I may not have come across during my research. I realize I have not provided a whole lot of information here so please feel free to ask me any probing questions that may help you to assess what I may be missing and in addition I'm also open to being referred to any previous posts that may have presented similar situations (I am new to this forum and have not looked much yet). Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and any advice you provide. Thanks, Glen

@jimrich Thank you Jim, I really like what you had to say here. Reminds me of one of my favorite Eckhart Tolle quotes (maybe paraphrasing here): "What problem do you have at THIS moment, not even 10 seconds ago or 10 seconds from now, but at THIS moment" and you realize there are no problems in the NOW. I know this is a common theme with enlightenment and one of its key characteristics, just gotta practice living it more

@Leo Gura Not enough. I've tried it for a few months at different points in my journey but didn't feel it was right for me as I know that there are no techniques that will be right for everyone. I have been thinking lately though that maybe I need to give it another chance and really commit to it this time which may be the best way for me to go. What about cultivating a very deep existential desire to know What is Absolutely TRUE? I feel I have a desire but probably not strong enough anymore. Would you say getting a good glimpse via psychedelics would be a good strategy to help supercharge my desire again?

@Bob84 I have been practicing inner body awareness as taught by Tolle as well as observing my breath as often as I can (I have a boring office job so it gives me lots of opportunities to do so haha). Will try looking into mooji though

@Outer They were dried, and I grow them myself using proper technique and have had effects from them before as does my girlfriend. Upon reading your comment about medication I did a little bit of research and think I found the issue. It's not an antipsychotic, but I did recently start a new medication that seems to have the ability to kill the effects of psychedelics.

@Prabhaker Wow, a lot to go through there! But I'll take the time as I know there are no easy answers or easy shortcuts to be found on the path to enlightenment Thank you!

@Flow With Life Thank you for the reply! My reason for wanting enlightenment is that I want to be able to accept and enjoy every moment and experience more peace in my life in addition to realizing my true nature. My metric for progress in not necessarily experiences but I just mentioned that to try to point out that I feel like there is something unusual about me that is really making it difficult for me to make progress. I'd say I would measure progress more based on expansion of consciousness but I feel there has been almost no change in my level of consciousness. Early on in 2015 I definitely noticed one change I went through was less reaction as you mentioned. Prior to starting meditation, I would get angry very easy but now it takes a lot more for me to react. But other than some of those changes I seem to have hit a very early plateau. I agree that I probably need to experiment with new techniques, my girlfriend has suggested that to me as well but at the same time I feel I have tried various techniques including self inquiry and many of the meditation techniques Leo has mentioned in his videos (do nothing, concentration, etc.) So yeah, maybe trying more and committing more would be helpful. Regarding psychedelics, I grow my own mushrooms and they seem to work very well for my girlfriend so I don't think there's a potency issue or anything. Some good points though, much appreciated!