Forestluv

@SQAAD Where do you draw the line between who deserves love and who does not? Can you give examples of people that are borderline for deserving love? What specific objective criteria should we use to judge whether someone deserves to be loved or not? My neighboor leaves trash on his lawn and is rude to me, Yet he seems to be a decent father to his kids. I think he is on the borderline wether he deserves love or not.

I would take the advice that everyone is giving you: block him.

Takin’ it to the next level. ?

That gopher was totally enlightened.

@thesmileyone You’ve done thousands of hours of mediation and are yearning to go deeper. What’s holding you back from trying a psychedelic once or twice? And I would not use DMT the first time. The strong visuals can be distracting and make it harder to integrate imo. As well, I would be weary of psychonauts in their own little world. I think those that are well balanced and also do meditation, yoga, journaling, retreats etc. are more mature.

It’s good to know I’m not the only one to have experienced that ☺️

@thesmileyone So cool to see you digging deeper and exploring. Great stuff ??

Love this. The flute is both bamboo and the space between bamboo ♥️

That is why I used the term “can” rather than “will”. I think a person needs to be open and willing with a certain level of maturity for it to be effective. Similarly, one needs a certain level of maturity to use power tools.

They can also save a teacher years of teaching. A six hour trip can teach a person far more in five hours than I could in five years.

ALL CAPS is against forum guidelines.

@mandyjw Well said. I've had similar observations and experience with drugs. If a person is immature or unstable, I think the risk of drugs being counter-productive is really high. I've seen some exceptions, yet in general drugs seem to be counter-productive and can cause destabalization, dependency, escapism, chasing experiences, delusions of awakening etc. I also agree that they can be useful for mental conditions like PTSD. Yet I would add that the studies showing positive results included participants that had already gone through years of therapy. And the experience was in a safe environment with a trusted health-care provider and a loved one present. After the experience, there was further counseling to help integrate the lessons. This is a very different setting than someone ordering some psychedelics online and going it alone. I also agree that when a person reaches a certain baseline level of consciousness the dynamic changes. It then becomes a powerful consciousness tool that can save a person years of practice and work. Even then, I think it takes skill to use them wisely. I think one of the keys is being able to integrate the drug-induced lessons into a sober mindset and sober living. I think that takes maturity and skill. It seems that people with a solid foundation of years of spiritual study and practice like mediation, yoga, journaling, spiritual retreats etc. have a much better chance of using the tool wisely.

In a non-dual sense, God is all aspects and God is no aspects. Love vs Hate is a duality. In a nondual sense, Love = Hate Because at the dualistic human level, humans like to feel love, not hate. How many humans would attend a spiritual retreat with the theme "Love is Hate"? Not many. Humans are attracted to the squeezy stuff like serenity, bliss, love etc.

That sounds like a high Yellow level realm. I'm also in the sciences and tend to think abstractly, big picture, integration, inter-connectedness etc. I can also see how there are so many fragments in need of synthesis. For example, neuroscience, psychology, therapeutic modalities, yoga, meditation, reiki, medication, mind-altering drugs etc. Also, how intellectual theory, personal experience and social dynamics are all inter-related. There is so much to learn from each area, yet it is like people are in different camps and can't see how all the camps are inter-related. I think there is a need for Yellow level open minds that can see this and start connecting dots. Understanding the science part can take many years of study and training. It also requires resources like access to education and money. I think people with solid science backgrounds that expand beyond science can make a great contribution. There just aren't many people like Deepak Chopra that have both scientific and spiritual integration. Even the Science and Nonduality conferences have few participants with extensive scientific background and understanding. Nearly all seem very heavy on nonduality with surface-level scientific understanding.

Psychedelics are just one tool. Deep immersion into cultures / retreats is also a very powerful tool. Regarding expectations: I've found there comes a time during immersion to let go and let the retreat do it's thing. It's like the retreat takes a retreat and I'm just along for the ride. For me, expectations can introduce an egoic dynamic which can be a subconscious distraction and block. I find it help to reorient myself form expectation to intention. What is the deep genuine intention of this endeavor? From this mindset, a sense of openness, curiosity and humility can arise.

To me, what you write brings up the contrast between life in the storyline and what is Now. I also like the storyline. I like thinking about time. Memories and hopes/dreams for the future. It has deep meaning for me and there is a type of magic to it. We don't have to reject or destroy the storyline and living within the timeline. There is a beauty about that. Yet if we are 100% immersed in the timeline, we are missing out on something else that is very special as well. Now. There is also a magic is now that is extraordinary. There is curiosity, connection, flow and all sorts of realms to explore. Imagine times in your life when you were 100% in the moment experiencing the moment. Perhaps playing a sport or a musical instrument. There was no "you". In that moment, you weren't doing it to impress anyone or gain anything. It was an expression of love and joy in the moment. When I first started having awakenings of Now, I thought I had to get rid of the story. I thought I had to be 100% in Now to be a spiritual person. This just caused lots of inner strife in me. Eventually, I realized I couldn't do it. What helped me was to step out of either/or thinking. I realized I was spending less than 1% of my day fully immersed in Now. So I made a goal of spending 20% of my day completely immersed in Now and 80% of my day within the timeline. This greatly increased my quality of life.

Hmmm, that part about god using the body as a vehicle sounds a bit off to me. It suggests separation - some entity, separate from the body, that uses the body.

Nice. Sounds like a great adventure and opportunity to go deep. If you like online journaling, you could start one in the journal section. This has the makings for a great story.

No thoughts or feelings. Emptiness. Yet not in a “bad” kind of way. An empty expansiveness. She may have sensed the “me” wasn’t there anymore. I get the part about a look of nothing. I’m uncertain about the hidden part I love random encounters like that guy in the park

@Ampresus You are fine how you are. When I grew up, I was never allowed to express anger and frustration. I had to do things just right and be a certain way for my parents and teachers. I kept it all bottled up. I was taught to repress and avoid anger and frustration. And it’s not good. Genuine expression of anger and frustration can be healthy, it can be beautiful. It can help us form boundaries. It can show us we are not being true to ourselves. Perhaps your mind body is telling you it doesn’t like the current pattern of your daily activities. Anger and frustration can be a powerful force for change. And perhaps your mind-body is saying it really does want to be an astronaut and it doesn’t like people getting in its way and saying you can’t be an astraunaut. Anger and frustration can be an expression of passion for something.

Ooohhh. That one has me contemplating. So the other night my gf and I were doing eye gazing. At times I there was a something being communicated. Then I went balnk. There was nothing. She became confused and uncomfortable and asked “What’s happening? What?” I think this nothingness through her off. Perhaps it was “hidden” from her. Is that the essence of the saying?

I agree. The map is not the territory. Yet the map still has value. Direct experience has value. Knowledge and concepts also have value. No teaching is complete Truth, they are partial descriptions of Truth. That doesn’t mean they don’t have value.

Thats often how high conscious folk roll. There is a knowing from direct experience. And they can connect through eyes.

I experienced an energetic shift from seeking to meet self needs to a seeking beyond self needs.

What is the face of an enlightened being before he appears?