Forestluv

@Shin I've also started watching the videos. He is very genuine and has a gentle approach - he doesn't get into intellectual theorizing at all. From what I've seen so far, he stays grounded with the practices. I think a lot of people would resonate with his style. Thanks for sharing it!

Yes. I've had some very uncomfortable transition periods. Yet gradually, the groundlessness started to stabilize and a sense of stability and maturity began to arise.

@Superfluo These terms for emotions can have various levels of depth, understanding and embodiment. For example, there is the conventional idea of a personal love and a higher-level trans-personal absolute Love. Similarly, intuition can mean a lower level intuition based on personal needs, wants, survival and fear - which is the type discussed in Leo's counter-intuitive video. Yet, there is also a much higher level of intuition that is free of attachments, fear, grasping, desperation and ego.

There is a difference between trying to figure it out conceptually and trying to explain it to someone with concepts. If I could transmit it via a post-conceptual intuitive method, I would. Yet at our current state of human development we are limited by language, symbols and concepts. I know it can be annoying when someone speaks esoterically and seems to be trying to sound "spiritual". It used to drive me crazy and I would often tell people at the sangha it's simple it should be explained in simple terms. And now I find it's not so simple to explain. . . I've found that with sufficient direct experience and integration, the ego's craving for understanding and need to "do something to attain" it dissolves. What arises is a trans-egoic energy to embody it and convey it to other beings along the path. Regarding simplicity, I've found that my self can use simplicity as a cover to avoid going deeper. And I keep finding deeper levels. It is so simple, yet also highly complex. A paradox. Yet, it is not an intellectual complexity in terms of reason and logic. That is one reason it is so difficult to communicate it to others.

That's not quite it. It appears I'm unable to explain it in reasonable terms. I find conveying the territory through maps to be one of the most challenging aspects of the practice and I'm still developing these skills. Thank you for your thoughts and patience. I find it helpful to be exposed to many different perspectives.

I wouldn't limit yourself to that belief/expectation. There is a different flavor to higher states of emotion vs. lower need-based emotions. Yet, these higher emotions are not limited to soft and alluring. They can also be really intense. At first, some may seem overpowering and it can take years for these higher level emotions to mature and stabalize.

I think it depends on the person. I'd say some preparation is responsible. Perhaps do some research and practice meditation for a bit. Then, start with a low dose and work your way up. And IME, 5-meo is much more gentle than Aya.

I wouldn't say these pointers are pointing to something that "doesn't exist". That seems like a resistant ego setting up a high hurdle. The ego is making a pre-judgement that it "doesn't exist". That is a big wall to get over. If the mind doesn't believe the Ox exists and spends it's time conceptualizing against Ox existence - it's unlikely to see the Ox. I would reframe it as the pointers are pointing to something that cannot be explained or conceptualized. I would say this is closer to the truth and a lower hurdle for a logical mind to get over. It was for me anyway. Then, when the nonlinear, nonlogical arises, a knowing arises - then an energy toward it arises. I used SD tanks as a tool, yet psychedelics are a much stronger tool in this area. Like the difference between scissors and a chainsaw.

These concepts are just pointers toward that which is beyond concepts. Don't get trapped in the concepts. It's not It. . .

A little ninja Turquoise move. . .

Exactly. So go prior to the concept of Mu. Prior to all concepts, language, images, senses etc. Go find out for yourself. The words and concepts are just pointers. They aint it.

That is a contracted concept. In the null void of Mu, a deeper knowing will arise. Mu is prior to the bell being rung.

I introduced them to some kundalini breathwork. I knew they would resist, so I sold it as "Training for more efficient breath control that will help you in sports". All Aboard!

@Nahm Most of my students dislike posture. They are like kids - slumping, squirming, fidgeting. Maybe I should start docking them points for poor posture

Of course. The mind will contextualize when returning. That is not what I am referring to. I'm referring to something prior to contextualization. Something closer to the null void. Conceptualizing about it is fun and can help provide a framework for the mind, yet it aint it. Indeed. Yet that presence can be difficult for a conditioned mind to become aware of. Telling an ego "Just awaken" is like telling an alcoholic "Just stop drinking". Things like meditation, SD tanks, psychedelics, self inquiry can be useful tools.

Observe, observe, observe. There are deeper mechanisms of being, such as intuition, that are not thrown around like a rag doll in the ocean.

The place I traveled to was prior to all that. There was being-ness that had never had any experience, information, experimentation, observation, contemplation, spirituality. When the "I" returned, the mind will want to recontextualize it as an "experience". Yet, there is a being-ness prior to that. I am aware of my mind trying to contextualize the uncontextualizable.

@Charlotte During practice, I would reduce my dependency on slides and notes - so I just need to glance at bullet-points. For me, I don't like sounding like a rehearsed machine. There is the information, yet also the art of expression.

I traveled to this country while in a sensory deprivation tank. I went back to the womb prior to all experience, information, experimentation, observation, contemplation and spirituality. It was very different than anything I've ever experienced. Psychedelics can also bring a person to this country.

@Charlotte Tips on topic, style or both?

It seems anger boils down to "I'm not being treated right" a.k.a. "I'm not getting my way". Rather than repress anger or express it in a "healthy" way, why not get the the root of the anger? - which is most commonly based on self-centeredness, insecurity and survival. With that said, I've also experienced stored subconscious memory tension in the mind and body. For example, during a shamanic breathing session, all this childhood stuff about being hyper-criticized by my father started boiling up. I was just a kid, yet got criticized over and over again for not doing it right. This continued with hyper-critical girlfriends into my adult life. All those punches were absorbed in my mind and body and I never realized how deep it went until I started doing shamanic breathing. That stored tension started seeping out of my body. The breathing took over and the body was breathing itself. A mix of frustration, anger, compassion and sadness oozed out through clenched fists and tears. In this respect it was a healthy expression of the underlying issue. Yet, if I went around expressing anger at a surface level, it just isn't healthy and makes things worse.

Abakus is so fluid tripping.

Most psychopathic conditions are an interplay between networks of gene activity and environment (from a holistic perspective, their would be no separation from the individual and environment). For example, schizophrenia is thought to involve dozens of genes - each of those gene products interacts with many other gene products and cellular components - which in turn are influenced by the environmental input. Current estimates is about 2/3 of the risk is genetic and 1/3 environmental. Yet, we are talking about quadrillions of inputs which is beyond what a human mind can conceptualize - it's even beyond what a group of human minds can contemplate. It will be A.I. that takes us to the next level. Already, groups are creating A.I. to anaylze and interpret hundreds of thousands of data points from thousands of research projects is dozens of different cell types. In contrast, there are also single gene traits which are not influenced by the environment - such as cystic fibrosis, huntington disease and sickle cell. If a person has nonfunctional alleles of the gene, they will get the disease.

@Nahm It seems Absolute Consciousness and relative consciousness may be getting conflated in the thread.

Just because a human mind cannot imagine it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or cannot arise. Over and over through history, what the human mind thought impossible or unimaginable arose. The human mind consciousness is a drop in the bucket. It’s like comparing the consciousness of a grasshopper to a human. Conscious states will arise that will make modern humans look like lower life forms.