Forestluv

@Pat Pagano I thought you might like this Ted Talk on humor:

That’s what it’s all about. ?? It sounds like there were lots of other pilgrims. Did you get a sense that they were genuine, serious seekers? Was there a sense of community or comraderie?

What a wonderful adventure! Thank you for sharing. During your long solo walks, was your mindspace mostly contemplative or simply observing/being with the environment?

@helenaoftroy Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you have a solid spiritual foundation. I started a CIM course, yet it didn’t resonate with me. To me, it had an odd religious/spiritual mix. Yet, I know people that got a lot out of it and if it resonates with you, follow your desire and go for it.

Become conscious of the "I" that cannot let regret go. Within this consciousness there is stillness - regardless of whether or not the "I" and regrets arise within the mind.

Thank you, that is a great point. I've also found mini doses, or weaker psychedelics like Al-lad, to yield insights. My sensitivity has increased over time. A quarter tab can send me into a nondual reality and it is much less intense on the mind-body. As well, many people have found microdosing helpful.

For the mind-body, physical/mental addiction risk is very low. Psychedelics don't trigger the mesolimbic reward system like addictive substances do. As well, they have very low habit-forming potential. There is extensive anectodal experiences online and several studies conducted that support this low ranking. After a few trips, one can be excited and intrigued about the novelty of the experiences, yet this isn't addiction. I can imagine someone getting overzealous and tripping a bit too much recreationally - which interferes with their life. Yet, psychedelics are soooo much easier to moderate or discontinue compared to alcohol, cannabis, nicotine or caffeine. The highest risks of psychedelics come from inexperience, disreputable dealers, and not respecting the substance. . . It is the newbie that doesn't "feel anything" 45min. after taking 100ug LSD, so takes 200ug more. Someone who eyeballs their dose of 5-meo-dmt. A newbie who has never meditated or done any introspective work that finds themselves over their head as they lose control of reality at a concert - and freaking out. I would tell newbies to consider entering psychedelics like you would scuba diving. Trying to scuba dive on your own, without any training and knowledge is reckless and dangerous - as it is with psychedelics. Do research, start small, integrate lessons and get experience before diving into ego death and breakthrough experiences. To the op - I concur with others regarding once a month usage - coupled to integration with meditation, contemplative journaling etc. I did twice a month for about 6 months - I found it to be unsustainable.

For me, plugging is much more comfortable and efficient than snorting. On a mostly empty stomach, plugging just gives me minor gastrointestinal discomfort.

This looks like a transition into higher levels of awakening that haven't matured and been fully integrated. I've been in the space many times.

@mandyjw A beautiful insight . Whatever arises, arises. There is no escape from what IS. Any attempt to escape becomes what IS.

@Charlotte I love this! Sometimes just awareness can dissolve a problem. It's like shining a light into the twilight of delusion and being able to see clearly again.

Sort of. This is a great partial truth analogy. When we watch a movie, why can we relax? Because we don't identify with any of the characters. What if it was a horror movie and the person watching the movie fully identified as being the character in danger? It would be a horrific experience. Yet, if the person watching the movie does not identify with any characters, they can remain relaxed. In such an "observer" analogy, in "real life" there is a sense of observing awareness that does not identify with the character "Lynnel". There is a relaxed observing awareness always present, regardless of what happens to the "Lynnel" character in "real life". This gets at why suffering dissolves. Suffering is caused by the character identifying with stuff. The character identifies as being stuff like: intelligent, kind, unmotivated, too jealous at times, ageing, having knee pain etc. It often desires things to be different "a better job, my partner to be more attentive to me, my spouse to stop nagging, the rainy weather and my knee pain to go away, etc. The mind-body may still experience joy, anger, frustration, fear etc. Yet, there is a non-identifying awareness that is peaceful stillness, emptiness. Even when the character returns, there is no identification that all the thoughts and stories running in the mind - hence no suffering. IME and from what I've witnessed in others, there can be a lot of discomfort and resistance during the dis-identification process. It can feel like dying to the self. Yet, as self identification dissolves - fear, anger, anxiety, frustration etc. is often reduced. It can still arise, yet the baseline foundation awareness shifts from fear/anger/anxiety/frustration to peaceful stillness/emptiness. It's like the energy of the horror movie isn't so threatening and scary anymore. Quite often, the entire context of the movie changes. Not only may one realize they are not the character in the movie, yet the entire movie may get recontextualized. One may realize "wait a minute, with this new perspective, this isn't even a horror movie. That character is just acting scared within a movie that is actually a comedy, or love story, or touching story of the human spirit. Then, the entire relationship to reality can change. This is just one type of relative awakening within a holistic reality. It's like seeing and becoming aware of a hoof of the Ox - it is not the entire Ox.

A self likes to negotiate for relevance.

@Emerald is a Gem

I would recommend a person follow their desire and trust their deeper intuition regarding paths. To find which path resonates with them. To be open-minded, sincere and curious. And to do self experimentation of different practices to find which one works best for them. Most religions have a path to Enlightenment. Yet, religion can be burdened with low conscious ideology and dogma - which can create traps along the path.

I've done three floats. One 60min. and two 90min. If you can meditate for 40-60min., I would recommend a 90min. float. A few suggestions for a first time: 1. Pay attention to the instructions about turning off lights, music, buttons etc. One friend I went with spent the first 15min. trying to turn off the new age music. Then another 10min. frustrated about losing the first 15min. . . . 2. Consider using a head pillow for neck support (a small extra charge) 3. Once you get into the tank, do NOT touch your face - the salt concentration is super high. I scratched an itch on my cheek, then my eyes burned for the next 20min. 4. Accept that it will not be perfect sensory deprivation - it's more like 90% sensory deprivation. Just let go of the last 10%. I've had friends that couldn't stop focusing on a slight sound or that their toe touched the edge of the tank a few times. If you let go of the little bit of sensory perception it will seem like nearly full deprivation (except perhaps for internal pains that arise). 5. If pain arises, I try to just relax deeper - rather than squirming around. It's possible to dissociate from the body such that one doesn't identify with the pain. Then, it gets interesting. 6. When you start, let go from the get-go. Let go of trying to let go. You may have thoughts like "what's supposed to happen?", "am I doing this right?", "I don't want to screw up this opportunity", "Dang, I've already wasted the first 10min. trying to let go". . . Let all of that go. Allow consciousness to drift off wherever it goes. 7. A small amount of a psychedelic or edible cannabis made it more profound for me.

Ahhh, perhaps similar to how Hollywood actors are Green culturally, yet are still being weighed down by a corporate Orange film industry.

There are states of being without thought and conceptualization. Just observing and perceiving. Just being.

Do you think academia is evolving up the Spiral toward Green and Yellow? At my institution, there is some support at Green and Yellow levels - but not Turquoise.

Do you think women start bucking gender roles of the past at stage Orange? At stage Blue, the traditional gender role is to raise children, be a housekeeper and be submissive to an authoritarian man. Stage Orange women need to buck this role to have develop personal autonomy, personal goals, enter the workforce, dress as they want etc. So, at stage Green - does bucking of the Orange female gender role ensue? I.e. the woman does not have to play a "feminine Orange" role anymore? Regarding what you call "Power". . . An upper Orange male will experience resistance to Green masculinity because Orange males will see it as "weak" and that they are giving up power. Yet, they cannot comprehend the new form of Green masculine power they will embody if they transition through Green. So, it appears as losing. . . Yes? As more females transition through Green and into Yellow, they will be less attracted to traditionally masculine "alpha males". They will be more attracted to Green and Yellow level masculinity. I think we are seeing this now. Traditionally masculine men are seeing techies, hipsters, snowflakes, yoga, politically correct males getting in on their alpha male action. These wussy Green men are becoming more successful with women, which causes confusion, anxiety and frustration in blue/orange men (hence an attraction to speakers like Jordan Peterson). Yes?

@Leo Gura And his thesis was "An Intuitive Model of Nonbinary Empathetic Love Applicable to All Morally Relative Beings".

Welcome to the forum @Orcoda Leo has a series of excellent videos. I would recommend starting with "65 Principles for a Good Life". Leo explains what actualized.org is about and key practices / mindests for an actualizer.

Once one realizes there is no Santa Claus, why continue living as if there was a Santa Claus? It no longer makes sense. Similarly, if one realizes there is no self, why continue living as a self? It no longer makes sense. You are essentially asking "If there is awakening that there is no me, what's in it for me?". Well, nothing. The self gets served a plate of nothing. Yet, if we want to motivate a self to actualize, we can hang a few carrots: there will be the end of suffering. There will be a sense of peace and freedom your self cannot imagine.

For those of you that are SD aficionados: this is a beautiful example of how Orange views Turquoise. This is a bit too conspiracy oriented and a distraction. @Trinity You've made your point and seem locked into your perspective. Cheers.

Oh my, this question is right up @Emerald's alley. . .