Forestluv

It sounds like you have already made your conclusions about what love is. I don''t see the point of the thread if you already know the answer to your question and are telling other members they are wrong about love.

Ahhh, but what if ego is *within* Westworld? I'm just having some fun conceptualizing realities within realities. Lol

Is any part of Westworld less deceptive than any other part?

All stuff is B.S. Yet, stuff is fun. Stuff is interesting. Stuff is cool. And yes, if we look closely enough it's all B.S. It's not whether it's true, it's whether we are attached to believing anything is true.

@DustyWhy You don't need to reject rationality and science. Rationality and science are *within* something much more expansive. Rationality and science are wonderful tools. Yet, why limit yourself to rational thought? It is such a tiny part of the bigger picture. Going beyond rational thought is sooo liberating. Life becomes so much more beautiful. And you still get to use rational thought. And you still get to be amazed by science.

@Yolusef Very close. Just return to what is happening *now*.

It's so interesting to me that the vast majority of humans assume the egoic mind is sane and alternative states of mind are delusional. The egoic mind is maxed out delusion. So-called "altered" states of consciousness are delusional as well, yet much less so than an egoic mindset.

@Finland3286 To me, it seems like you've set up a scenario in which you need to choose rationality / science or enlightenment / non-duality. I'm a scientist and one of my biggest blocks was the belief that I would have to discard / reject rationality and science. Nothing could be further from the truth for me. Rationality and science is *within* something bigger. You don't lose rationality and science. You expand. Science is so freaking amazing. I love it. Have you studied any Quantum Mechanics? Some of that stuff is irrational. It sounds like "woo woo" new agey crap. Yet, it has the highest predictive power in science and winning some of the highest prizes in science (including a Nobel Prize). Much of what appears irrational and magical today will become garden variety rational in the future. Science and rationality can be an effective tools. The problem I had was that I contracted myself to rationality and science. This process isn't just about meditating and contemplating hours and hours. For me, there is also an intellectual component. For example, a relative mode of thinking is at a higher level than rational thinking which is at a higher level than either / or thinking. I've found conceptual understanding and direct experience go hand-in-hand. To me, it sounds like you haven't had any significant direct experience awakenings. The type that shakes your whole world and makes you question the nature of reality from deep within. That's what got me hooked. I had been centered in rational / logical thinking for decades. Spirituality was a nice little side hobby that helped me relieve stress, gain some minor insights. It also provided a nice community to chat about spiritual concepts. Then, after my first ego-death experience, I was like "Holy fuck!! What just happened??!!". It was so beyond anything I had experienced or could have imagined. Try psychedelics about five times or so to get a taste of it. If you limit yourself to what you can make sense of, you will not come to know that which makes no sense.

@outlandish This sounds like the type of stuff that may arise during my come-up. The real juice for me is when reality makes no sense and there is no "me" trying to make sense of it. It sounds like you will need a higher dose. I used lower doses to acclimate to the surrender process. I've tried lower doses for general insight work, yet 5-meo is so precious - I don't want to use it on something generic psychedelics can provide. I've also found plugging to be far superior to snorting.

@stevegan928 "I" and "me" are terms that make conversation and navigating through life easier. Try being nondual all day without using "I" or "me". It would be very awkward and there would be tons of misunderstandings. "I" and "me" terms are a nice tool in a relative word. Just like a saw. Sometimes a saw comes in handy, then we can put it down after doing the job.

@Roman Edouard There is nothing scary about microdosing. The dose is small and under threshold. Most people can't even notice an effect. Yet, at the end of the day might think "wow, I got a lot done today. My creative side came out". I met a guy who worked on technology development in Silicon Valley. He told me microdosing is rampant and it's hard to compete with the big players without microdosing.

@SageModeAustin Is research part of your dissertation? Perhaps you could design a research project that incorporates some of Leo's concepts.

Ampresus: I would encourage you to do both. Be open to other people's opinions. Be open to views that say Astronomy should be a low priority and be open to views that say Astronomy should be a high priority. Which opinions resonate with you? Other people's views can help reveal the truth within you. And also look within. Do both.

@Ampresus Welcome to the board Ampresus! Your English is very good. Sometimes there might be some confusion about the English (how something is said). This type of confusion is more common with ESL, yet occurs between native speakers too. Also, there can be confusion about the concept itself - this is very common with native speakers. Contemplating and discussing the concept can clear things up toward deeper understanding. Yet, asking the question may "open up a can of worms" (a saying for when asking a question creates lots of new questions). Regarding the value of astronomy: You may want to consider other people's opinions, yet I would encourage you looking within as well. Do you feel a calling toward Astronomy? Do *you* think/feel that Astronomy can contribute to humanity? How so? Would learning and teaching about Astronomy give you a sense of meaning and purpose. Leaders are often grounded in their sense of meaning and purpose. Perhaps you come up with five three good reasons Astronomy can contribute to humanity. Over time, you may deeper your understanding how Astronomy contributes to humanity and discover new ways. Imagine you meet someone who tells you "Astronomy is a waste of time. The government shouldn't be wasting so much money funding Astronomy". Being grounded, you could consider this view, but you won't immediately change your view to accept the new view". Who knows, perhaps you will learn many ways Astronomy can help humanity. Perhaps one day you will give a TedTalk about the value of Astronomy for humanity.

"Is every person's life worth the same?" There are multiple answers that can be true - depending on the perspective. I could give you an answer from a relative perspective, a rational perspective or an either / or perspective. To me, a relative perspective seems most appropriate for this question. "Worth" is a relative term. Each person has their own idea of what "worth" means. There is no absolutely true answer to your question. Now, here is where so much struggling, suffering and conflict comes into play. Imagine a person has a clear idea of what "worth" means, yet is unaware that this meaning is relative to her. She views it as an absolute truth - that her belief is universally true. She may seek to be with other people that hold a similar view as hers (which only pulls her further away from seeing it is only a relative truth). She may also get into conflict with people that have a different view. She may try to convince them her view is correct. She may argue. The human mind has a tendency to think in absolute terms. A relative mode of thinking can be very unpalatable to the self. Many minds suffer terribly in conflict because it will not let go and view things from a relativistic perspective. The self may become attached to, and identify, with beliefs. Understanding relative thinking can be an uncomfortable process, yet there is enormous freedom on the other side. You will likely get a variety of answers to your question. Members may debate about who has the "right" answer. See if you can notice how each answer is true in a relative sense.

Microdosing LSD works wonders for creativity. So much so that it is considered a "performing enhancing drug" in Silicon Valley. A microdose is about 1/20 to 1/10 of a normal dose. I find 10ug to be my sweet spot. It is under threshold (no visuals, no feeling weird or altered reality). Yet, I have a clear boost in creativity, integrating concepts and empathy with others. This does come at a cost: my ability to analyze details (e.g. analyzing scientific data) is compromised. On a microdose, my mind would want to view the data relative to the big picture (rather than critically evaluating the data itself).

It's generally a good idea to use a diversity of teachers. I avoid getting too immersed with any one teacher. Each teacher can only teach certain facets of your truth.

@emind You have created a story about how life is and it has become your reality. There are many other perspectives. Your story is oriented toward the individual. I imagine you have a strong sense of self that is separate from what you perceive as others. Another perspective is you share a higher consciousness with others. Ideas about what "they" think and what "you" think start to dissolve. Have you ever seen something so beautiful that you were awe-struck? You lost the sense of yourself and became the experience of appreciating beauty. Have you ever had a moment of such deep love that you lost sense of yourself and there was only the experience of love? That's the type of "woo-woo" stuff that is available to you. IME, mystical experiences blow away any form of intellectual, scientific or material gain. It aint even close.

This thread has run its course.

Cool. That is another way of looking at it

@Leo Gura I'm new to this area and I'd like to fully bake this realization if possible. . . In that "nothing" there was no appearance of form or perception. There was a first form that arose from the nothingness. Simultaneously, perception arose. There was nothing to perceive before the appearance. Is the *arising* of form and perception the domain of Mu? Or was there an underlying essence of form and perception in the null void? It seemed like a distinction-less, form-less, perception-less null void in which form and perception arose and gradually developed more distinctions to finally become what can be perceived to be a highly formed reality. Does Mu cover this whole continuum?

What about psychedelics? Could 100 ego-death trips with a variety of substances over a year open a closed mind? For me, there is no way my mental resistance would hold up.

Sometimes I see elaborate theories and just shake my head. We know virtually nothing about reality, yet people walk around and give talks as if they are making sense of the world based on 0.00000000001% understanding. In 500 years, perhaps humanity will have a 0.000001% level of understanding and laugh about how stupid we are. Things that none of us can imagine will be discovered. Stuff that would look like magic. Seriously radical stuff that would freak us out now. Stuff that we have no concepts for and are unable to conceptualize now. Once I started having mystical experiences, it was a complete game-changer. The world looks completely different. It's like humans are in the Dark Ages trying to figure out how a mechanical pencil works. Now, there is nothing wrong with trying to figure out how a mechanical pencil works - ya gotta start somewhere. Yet, let's not kid ourselves into thinking we've made substantial progress figuring out the nature of reality. Leo commented in a video that 99% of the growth is at Turquoise and I totally agree. Once you get some Turquoise glimpses it's like peeking into another world. Imagine a world in which intellect is a stage grey, archaic ability. Intellect is something poorly-evolved humanoid brains used thousands of years ago.

@lmfao I love science, logic and reason. It's fun stuff and a great tool. Sometimes it's best to use a saw, other times a hammer. Don't limit ones-self to one tool. Leonardo Da Vinci is my favorite mind. A biologist, artist, philosopher, poet, engineer and on and on. . .

@Zeldor Nice work. I've found direct experience and conceptual understanding go hand-in-hand.