Carl-Richard

You're reading a lot into what I said. I don't deny the possibility of there being continuities of body and mind across different lifetimes, but this doesn't change the fact that you're not that body or mind. The fact that there is a memory of a body from yesterday or 1000 years ago doesn't change the fact that you're not that body. Why does this matter you may ask? Well, because the person who goes to reincarnation as a belief (or even from direct experience) in order to soothe their fear of non-existence/impermanence (by believing that some essence of their identity will be carried on in order to reassure oneself of one's finite existence) will necessarily be disappointed. The fear of death has to be faced at the end of every incarnation anyway, because after all, it's the attachment to "this" body and mind that is causing the fear, and it's those things that are going to disappear forever. If you weren't afraid to lose those things, then you wouldn't need the reassurance of a finite eternal essence in the first place. Impermanence is a matter of fact. You cannot escape it, even if you were to reincarnate an infinite amount of times. If impermanence (non-existence of finite things) doesn't become obvious at the end of your lifetime, there is no difference between infinity and impermanence anyway. Anything finite will at the end of the day have to disappear: the only thing you're guaranteed is an infinite eternal essence; no self.

What does reincarnation even mean when there is no such thing as a "you"? There is no "you" that reincarnates

What is your definition of a psychedelic?

Bro why

Because when you're about to vomit you turn green duh

I believe there is hope for him though. I can see him moving in this direction in the future. He has a certain type of openmindedness that reminds me of Leo. After all, Leo was also studying philosophy at his age But until then:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3028383/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide#Pharmacology For 5-MeO-DMT, the low affinity for 2A is thought to explain the lack of characteristic psychedelic visuals, and the high affinity for 1A is thought to explain the strong ego surpression effects (ego death). It's much more complicated than that, but you can atleast start to understand the differences by looking at the receptor subunits. In other words, 5-MeO-DMT is not very translatable to other serotonergic psychedelics like LSD or Psilocybin.

Vegan trap card

Ever thought about experiencing it?

You have been talking about a thought arising and a feeling arising. The thought doesn't have to be linked to the feeling. Infact, a thought cannot be inherently motivating or demotivating. It's just a thought. The feeling is more like a reaction to the thought. That doesn't mean you should try to repress the feeling, but just start to notice the difference between thought and feeling. I gave you a way of dealing with the thought, but you can also deal with the feeling directly. Every time the feeling arises, really investigate what it is. In my experience, anything "bad" associated with a feeling comes from not letting yourself express it properly. It comes from shielding yourself from feeling it, from not letting it come up. This is also why the thought keeps popping up, because you don't want to see what it's trying to show you. Meditation is just as much about learning to express your emotions as being aware of the illusiory nature of thought (they go together). If you notice a feeling of frustration, let yourself feel vulnerable, don't try to push it away. Just notice that it's arising and see what it can do. Challenge the feeling to step up and show itself in its fullest form. Accept, surrender and don't expect anything else than what is currently happening.

I read that it was made in order to unite the world, but it's based on indo-european languages. Haven't we basically united europe already with English?

Why exclude?

The path back into Source is a part of the design.

Who's to say this is not a part of his path? People get different kinds of help in life: from their parents, from friends, institutions, strangers; from living in a healthy society. This is just one specific type of help. Help is not the opposite of spiritual progress. I for one have probably gotten more help than anyone I know, but there was still suffering, there was still spiritual progress. Wasn't this (too much help) which lead to Buddha's enlightenment anyway?

Who are you going to talk to with that? Yourself?

LOOOL. What do you think I look like?

Turning daily activities into meditation is a sure way to get your mind to stay busy forever

You can also look at this from the perspective of neuropharmacology. The mind-body system generally downregulates the effect of exogenous stimuli (things coming from the outside) in order to maintain homeostasis (balance between internal and external). For example, taking a drug that releases excess dopamine (say amphetamine) downregulates the body's own production of dopamine in order to reduce the excess dopamine signalling, leading to what is called "dependence". When you stop taking the drug and the duration is over, you'll have less dopaminergic activity in the areas that were previously experiencing excessive stimulation (come-down, withdrawal). If we assume that dopamine plays a role in happiness, then you haven't actually "received" happiness from the outside by taking the drug. You've only traded short-term increase in dopamine for a long-term decrease, and you've also traded away your own ability to regulate dopamine signalling. You've only made your happiness more dependent on fleeting conditions (which are also progressively fleeting, because over time you need to take more of the same drug for the same effect, approaching infinity). More importantly, your ability to be flexible in your functioning; to be alert and activitated in one moment, and calm and relaxed in another, diminishes. There is a selective numbing effect, because the drug only borrows the body's own mechanisms and resources in order to have an effect. You don't gain anything in the long run; you only externalize your own internal control and decrease dynamic responsivity. The changes are not self-consistent, and there is no potential for growth on its own, only degeneration. To maintain a steady source of happiness, you want to "upregulate the regulatory capacity of the system". Instead of introducing more stimuli from exogenous sources, you increase your endogenous ability to respond to those stimuli. You work with the ebbs and flows of homeostasis by promoting resilience and stability. It's a long-term growth mindset and is the essence of spirituality and holistic health. You start by looking at the base of the system and work bottom-up, being aware of natural cycles, systematically eliminating dysfunctional behaviors and promoting growth (get enough sleep, physical exercise, remove dietary poisons, eliminate mental trauma, train mental alertness etc.). From this point of view, unhappiness simply stems from your own inability to regulate your own system. That is essentially the same as saying that happiness comes from within.

This is very individual. For me it made me unsharp and unable to focus. My first breakthrough experience was actually partially due to me being 1 week in heavy weed withdrawal. "I don't enjoy this" is a thought. Every time you meditate and this thought arises, use it as an anchor for your attention, or as an alarm bell that tells you "oh I'm lost in thought - return to practice". That way you'll turn the thought into something positive. It will start to drive your practice instead of sabotaging it. You can actually rewire your brain to get motivated by a demotivating thought - you just need to have the intention. Infact, any thought cannot be inherently motivating or demotivating. It's just a thought. It's your reaction to the thought. That is one of the ways I got out of weed addiction. Every time my mind went "it's painful that you're not smoking right now", I used that as a sign of progress, which gave me a little boost of feeling good. What happens is that the thought which has an initial low emotional tone is gradually establishing an association with a thought that has a higher emotional tone, simply through repetition. You're teaching your brain to connect a negative thought with something positive. The negative side doesn't disappear, but it leaves you with something positive. The real trick if you want to enjoy meditation would be not to limit yourself to just one thought, but let every thought be a source of motivation.

Are we making a distinction between "higher" and "altered" states?

How do you experience thoughts?

You have to be careful to distinguish general group dynamics from cult dynamics. There is some overlap and potential conflations. I have personal experience with cults and this is not it.