Forestluv

I think it would be closer to the Truth to say the mind exists within the Absolute, rather than the absolute exists within the mind. This is often a point of confusion with the term "consciousness" and "Consciousness". Relative consciousness is within the mind. The mind is within Absolute Consciousness.

1) It's better to plug the salt form than snort. Watch Leo's blog post on how to plug. Don't try smoking the salt form. 2) Don't plug the freebase form - it would cause burning. It's best to smoke it or convert it to salt form. 3) Trip on an empty stomach to reduce nausea and body load. 4) Start with a low/moderate dose and work your way up. 5) You can intensify the experience by laying down with eyes closed. You can reduce intensity by sitting up and opening eyes.

When a phrase is beyond description, sometimes you give a couple statements: One that is closer to the Truth and one that is next closest to the Truth. A phrase like "the brain does not exist" seems like it can have different meanings / level of understandings. 1) The brain does not exist, because by strict nondual standards, nothing can be said at all. Merely saying "brain" is a step too far. Thus, the brain (or anything) neither has existence or non-existence. 2) The brain does not exist, because by non-strict nondual standards, there is One Everything. If there is One Everything, then there is No Thing - then Everything = No Thing = Nothing. The brain (or any thing) cannot exist separate from One Everything. 3) Since nothing can exist separate from One Everything/Nothing, both nonduality and duality collapse into One. The Absolute and the Relative are One. From the perspective of the Absolute, there is no brain that exists separate from the Absolute. From the perspective of the Relative, the brain does exist if one accepts relative terms. Thus, the brain is neither existence or non-existence and is simultaneously existence and non-existence. 4) All of reality is a like a dream. Literally, none of it exists. It's all an illusion. 5) The "brain" is just a concept that does not physically exist. If we examine a brain very closely with highly technical equipment - beyond atoms and quarks - we find empty space. I've come across all of these explanations and I can "get" each one if I assume different contexts and word usages. Would you say that one or more of the statements are "closer" to the Truth? Are one or more further from the Truth? Do they overlap with each other and kinda say the same thing in different ways? I think this can be an area of confusion for seekers and something I'd like to clarify within my "brain".

By strict nonduality standards, would you say that nothing exists?

I micro- or mini-dose about once a month as a boost to my baseline conscious level. These days, I don't need a high dose to enter nondual states. Yet, I'm open to a high dose if I sense that calling. Lately, an inner desire to San Pedro is arising. I'll probably do an all-day type retreat with it in the next week or so.

Another way to look at it: When elderly people reflect back on their lives, what is it they found most fulfilling? What is it they most regret? Generally, the most fulfilling aspects of their life was who and what they loved. They may yearn to be reunited with those they love and wish they spent more time with loved ones doing things they loved to do. Rarely do they wish they had worked more overtime hours to attain a fancier car, a glitzy award and that last promotion. With that said, your "work" can be incredibly fulfilling if you follow what you truly desire.

I find the aura in your videos to be relaxed, grounded and genuine ?

This got me thinking of different modes of learning and understanding. We are most familiar with the traditional mode of learning by reading information, thinking, analyzing, discussing thoughts, thinking some more, figuring it out, building concepts etc. Yet, there are other modes of learning and understanding. Other modes that take in information, yet not through words and thinking. This mode utilizes intuition, empathy and emotion. These modes are inexplicable in words because they are nonverbal modes. When the intellect mode and intuition/empathy/emotion mode are misaligned, internal conflict and tension may arise.

Yes, those are good points I hadn't accounted for. So to integrate your thoughts with mine, perhaps we could say. . . There are times and places that was hard living. Yet, people worked hard and honestly and had appreciation for each other and their community. Sometimes, an easier life becomes too easy and reduces one's chance of happiness and awakening. Take the internet - it can be a tool to increase one's level of happiness - or a distraction that increases one's misery. In terms of SD, perhaps one could say the likelihood of happiness is related to the average health of the community stage. For example, I'd say my grandparents grew up in a relatively healthy Blue society and had a better shot at happiness than if they had lived in an unhealthy Blue society. In terms of scientific social studies, I remember reading there is a correlation of people's perceived state of happiness and the relative wealth/stability of their society. It's not perfect and the correlation collapses once an average salary/stability is met. Yet, for countries that are really poor and unstable, there was a negative correlation with perceived happiness.

@ground Perfectly stated for the space you are in. Just be mindful that pontificating and giving advice to others on matters you lack experience can be counter-productive.

For sure. I didn't say it was impossible. I think it's just more challenging and unlikely. I definitely met some happy people in a poor 3rd world society I was in. Yet, there was an aura of tension/fear/anxiety in the community. Not just at an individual conscious level - at a community conscious level. It was palatable all over - I literally could not escape it and my baseline anxiety level was higher the entire time I was there. I had never experienced anything like it. When there are continuous fears of people's children being kidnapped, starving, getting robbed, raped and beaten - because it actually happens and could happen to you any day - that is a tough environment to be happy in. Can one be happy and awaken in such an environment? Yes. Yet I think it's a lot harder. A person would need to be close to Absolute Happiness. To take it one step further, could a person be happy while being beaten or watching their child being beaten by gang members? Yes, but that is entering unconditional Absolute Happiness, which is really difficult to reach.

I understand your point. You are seeing things as an objective external reality. That is: the statue means this. . . , folly means this. . . , becoming wise means this. . . Those are concepts that have relative meaning to you, based upon the conditioning your mind has undergone. There is no objective external reality. What you say has some truth, yet it is a partial truth.

Ok, then that will be my vision for the future of humanity.

Statues as symbols can have many different meanings. It's relative and context-dependent. That same statue can also be a symbol of an external god to which one is praying to. Of course. It is relative to context. Let's not sidetrack this thread. Feel free to ask winterknight something in this area. It's his thread.

Of course. Without the direct experience, it will appear as fabrication. That is a big hurdle of resistance to get over. Would you say your direct experience of actually having sex deepened your understanding of sex beyond what your mind imagined what sex would be like? Or was the direct experience of having sex just a mere fabrication?

Well, to an extent. I’ve lived within a Red-centered community and a Turquoise-centered community. It was a heck of a lot easier being happy in the Turquoise community. It’s hard being happy when one is constantly worried about being beaten, raped, robbed and killed by gangs and warlords.

Because it is inexplicable. That’s the point. One needs direct experience to realize.

Yes of course there were some working long hours. I’m thinking about overall work and busy-ness. Decades ago only one parent worked. A moderate incone was sufficient to raise a middle class family. Today, both parents work to maintain that same level of quality of life. When we aren’t at our job, it still seems like work - busy running around doing errands, shopping for so many different things, chasing cheese. . . I believe we can. If the SD model holds up, societies will gradually raise their consciousness and heal. For example, the primary role of A.I. wouldn’t be to increase productivity so we can maximize profits (stage Orange). It would open opportunities to integrate and expand communities and to allow more people to awaken.

Thats an old quote from a somewhat different context. Tradition has power. It can serve to help liberate, yet it can also restrict and contract.

If I may piggy-back on Key a bit here. . . this is such a great point. Cultural immersion is one of the best methods to increase one’s consciousness. Living with local people in their homes. Doing laundry together, cooking together, learning their language and eating meals together. And as Keys often says, having real conversations with substance about who we are - our joys, hopes, loves, fears and life purpose. Building real human connection. Not checking out and pulling out phones to surf the internet and get lost in social media. IME, cultural immersion can take a person deeply into healthy Green.

@Emanyalpsid We are all working through various delusions, including myself. Sometimes it’s not always graceful. Yet through it all, we learn and grow. Yet, sometimes the growth looks different for different people.

That is a good forward-thinking questions. I’d say tools that help with fundamental states of Yellow mides of being. Tools that help integrate, synthesize into more holism. For example, in the sciences there is so much data about complex genetic interactions. There as been an enormous amount of data generation, yet we need more synthesis. I think the complexity has surpased the capacity of a human brain or a group if human brains. A Yellow level scientist would love to synthesize all these piles of data for a more holistic view of how biological systems function. There are groups developing A.I. to process and integrate scattered data sets. For example, a computer that can process hundreds of thousands of data points from hundreds of published reports into a higher level of understanding that is comprehensible to human brain.

That certainly seems like a nice vision, yet something different may arise. During the Industrial Revolution, most people that machines and manufacturing would give people more free time to explore their interests, relax and live the good life. For example, people now had machines that washed their clothes and dishes for them - allowing them more free time. And cars saved so much time conpared to hirse and buggies. . . Yet, society ended up working more hours, getting more stressed and developing more neurosis.

Along these lines, there are egoic attachments as well as assumptions / attachments that aren’t strictly ego-based (in the traditional sense). For example, when transcending the self, there may be realizations that one’s “story” of their self is an illusory construct. And when transcending human-ness, there may be realizations that humankind’s “story” of humans is an illusory construct. Yes?

It’s fine to discuss and debate differences between Hinduism and Buddhist, yet let’s be civil and refrain from personal finger-pointing and speculating about the intentions of others. @Emanyalpsid Several users have tried to communicate to you that there is something that has not yet been revealed to you yet. You just don’t have the direct experience and won’t see it until you do. Some users may express this to you with a personal undertone, yet I assure you, what is being pointed to is trans-personal. It’s not about the personalities of you, me, Leo or other users. Misinterpreting it as personal is a distraction from what is being pointed to.