@Leo Kaminski Step 1: take a hard look at your life and audit everything. Audit your health, relationships, time management, morning routine, productivity, audit your goals, values, emotional health, audit your meditation routine. (All of these should be over time increasing and getting better.
Step 2: Radically minimize your life. Refer to Leo's video on lifestyle minimalism. This really helped me get rid of all of the unnecessary things in my life.
EVERY single thing you own, should serve you in some way. Do you really need 37 shirts? lol...
Step 3:  Take 3-6 months and drill the Life Purpose course and meditate often. This will push you in the direction of your intuition. Practice "No Mind".
Step 4: Journal often, and gather/collect insights on a daily basis. There should be NO insights forgotten. Take notes on your phone, on your computer, have note cards in your room and in your car. Review these once or twice a week.
Step 5: At night, make a list of the top 5 things you should do the next day that will move your life forward. They have to be goals that will actually progress you!
(I have more advice, but this is plenty. Please keep me posted on what action you take .)

This is mostly a message of gratitude--to Leo.
Leo's channel and videos came to me at a time of need and now for me liberation has happened. The illusion is completely seen through. Suffering is gone, the sense of doership/agency is gone, separation is gone, meaning is gone. 
Thank you Leo for having your videos and this web site. They were an integral part of the profound shift that has happened. I want to tell my story briefly in case it inspires or helps anyone here.
Caveats:
I'm not interested in playing non-dual word games. I'll use 'regular' language so it's easier to understand. So-called 'enlightenment' is not a certifiable event. I'm not interested in arguing about whether or not I am really 'liberated'. I know my experience, and I’m not asking anyone to believe me. It doesn't matter. These are just words and concepts--pointers, not the truth. This is my experience. There are many paths. Go with what resonates for you. It's only a story, told by a fool, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.  
The Story
I first heard of enlightenment through zen in my early 20's - I somehow got an audio tape of 'The Way of Zen' by Alan Watts. I was intrigued, but thought liberation was out of reach for me, that it was only for monks or something. I did some zen and mindfulness reading in my 20's. Lots of Thich Nhat Hahn and some of the classics like Herrigel. Also some Taoism.
Then more life happened and as I got older, my suffering increased. I realized that I was very anxious and had some anger management issues. I saw everyone in the world as an idiot if they didn't do things the way I thought they should. I found Leo's channel and his videos helped with anxiety, getting more positive, and increased my emotional intelligence and mental control. I started to meditate again, this time seriously and it stuck right away. I easily got up to 45-60 minutes a day. I loved it.
Along the way, I re-discovered non-duality through Leo's videos.I read many books and watched countless videos on YouTube. I watched a lot of the 'big name' gurus like Mooji and Adyashanti, read some Peter Ralston.
Then I found Rupert Spira from forums and Leo's book list. Rupert showed me my true nature. His pointers were so clear. I was looking for 'the answer' to "Who am I?" and somehow when he pointed it was immediately revealed. I did a couple of retreats with Rupert. They were beautiful experiences and the energy was intense. Rupert's teaching is close to Ramana Maharshi's and is sometimes called 'the direct path' because you go to your true nature and you stay there. That is, in essence, what I did. My daily meditation became this--abiding as awareness (it's also called things like 'resting in being' or 'going to the I am'--it's being in contact with your core/source). Rupert's yoga meditations helped dissolve tensions in the body and really helped deal with suffering (and there was a lot on the way).
I discovered Roger Castillo, and though I originally dismissed him, he may have been one of the most helpful teachers for me. He has a practical, bottom-up approach and it helped me really really see that there is no doer in me or anyone--that this is all just happening. That may have been 'it' but it's hard to say.
At some point a deep peace set in where there used to be self-referential thoughts (something left, nothing was gained). At another point, all the meaning dropped from the world. Neither were set points in time, I can't say exactly when they happened, but when I looked back I noticed them.
There are still more insights and integration just seems to keep happening.
For what it's worth, Jim Newman and Tony Parsons messages resonated well, but I was mostly just agreeing at that point. There is some energy there, though--they are to me like living koans. They are not for early on I don't think, but their message can stop thinking cold, revealing what can't be thought or known. So beautiful.
 
These things may have helped (who knows):
I always had a curious, exploring nature. Always seeking. For example, I have two bars from "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" tattooed on my arm. There was questioning of reality from an early age, and a feeling that something isn't right--that I am not of this world or am somehow different. I have always had the ability to see and be comfortable with paradox. I had a near-death experience as a teen. What I felt when I gave in to the 'fact' that I was going to die was the same way I feel now. It was a very early glimpse but I thought it was 'God' at the time (I was right in a way). Teachers that really affected me (or seemed to):
Rupert Spira Roger Castillo Jim Newman Other teachers I resonated with at some point and at some level:
Ramana Maharshi Tom Das Paul Smit Gautam Sachdeva Fred Davis (he may seem kind of kooky but something in his energy spoke to me--it's not all about words) Lisa Cairns Tony Parsons Gangaji Tips for seekers:
Follow your heart, not your head Question all assumptions Believe nothing The only way out is through Expect shit to come up You may need to clear energies that help hold the idea of separation together. Rupert Spira's yoga meditations helped me a lot in dissolving the physical sense of being a body. You must explore. This actually can't be known. It is prior to thought. It could be thought of like this: There is awakening, which I would call having a peak experience or glimpse. You momentarily contact what is and wow! Is it amazing. These apparently can last from minutes to weeks or even months (for me it was days). Then there is realization, which is a visceral 'wow' or 'aha' moment of getting it, but it's not over. This seems to be a result of contemplation. It almost bubbles up from inside you and you see how it is so intellectually-ish. Then there is liberation, when this realization is taken into life and seen in enough cases that self-referential thoughts fall away and everything simply becomes the way it is. It is so simple in the end. So ordinary and obvious. There are 'awake' people who never take this step.  It is important for suffering to fall away. Watch yourself like a hawk Towards the end especially, I did a lot of examining of what was going on. I would do quick 'rewinds' in my head of my experience and tried to determine if I actually did what I just 'did' or it just happened. This alone sparked awakenings/glimpses. Every thought is untrue. The core of it all is to investigate these beliefs and discover their untruth:
I am a separate, individual entity in control of what I do. Actually, there is no doer in you or anyone. This is all just happening and it's aware of itself. I need circumstances to go the way I want them to in order to be happy and/or fulfilled. Actually, you do not need life to turn out a certain way to be happy. You are already complete, whole, and fulfilled at your core. Find your core (hint: it's the only thing that is always here).  
Thanks again Leo, and peace to all of you.
Ken
 
PS - Leo, you were so right. You are a strange loop. 

Enjoy <3

@herghly This a good video i found today explains really well
 
 

@jcgiusto Thanks for sharing these.
I also have some video summaries to share, so I just post them in this thread, instead of creating a new one. Feel free to use these in whatever way you like. These summaries may contain spelling errors, some have german side notes and translations (my mother tongue) and some of them have some of my personal notes and thoughts in them. Some of them have a style that is more transcript- than summary-like. I used Evernote to take notes and do the summaries, so i just share the public links to the notes.
I will share more summaries in this thread, as I create them.
3 Step Formula To Be Ruthlessly Effective At Anything:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s97/sh/68ec1510-9ded-4337-9fd5-b8ea3ed53ffd/0c93b4900396b4c96718cd215f65a155
Meditation Techniques: Do Nothing - The Simplest Meditation Possible:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s97/sh/74b3f66b-4868-40ab-a4be-4a6e12dd8a48/e109e7108696bf8d282e2df0d8f9b762
Benefits of enlightenment:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s97/sh/ad6c4253-e0c5-4b40-8851-b47e22e319a5/5942668978ee812a2bd87017f1814b30
Overcoming Addiction - The Root Cause Of Every Addiction:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s97/sh/b62ba95d-a657-4184-8a64-be4184cc4288/ef53e85438396979010b710e2a7bad9a
40 Signs That You Are Neurotic - Understanding Neurosis:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s97/sh/4f15a36b-8f53-44fc-bd2b-e2ca00adb97a/bb52d4a3bd36debe5ad90e421165da9a
How To Be A Strategic Motherfucker - The 7 pillars of strategic thinking:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s97/sh/e1c355cb-6552-489c-aa43-0a5754d03391/96d1c48a81f1e042aa1941059069fc2e

@Andrewww How about you start by realizing that Christ and water are something you're imagining?
Learn the alphabet before you go trying to write poetry.

Hi all,
Recently, I went to a 10 day silent, samatha & vipassana retreat at Big Bear Meditation Center in California. The course was taught by Sayadaw U Agganna, who is a teacher in the Pa Auk tradition. My previous experience with vipassana was at two Goenka centers in California. In the Pa Auk method, it is taught to first develop your concentration and later to start vipassana. They do give a separate method if you want to go straight to vipassana. For the majority of the retreat, I ended up focusing on concentration- anapanasati, which is mindfulness/concentration on the breath. As one develops focused attention to the breath, the body becomes pain free, calm, bliss like and a “nimitta” will appear. With closed eyes, nimitta are lights that appear around the nose and face. As it develops it becomes more stable, brighter, and usually white. After one achieves this and is able to stabilize the nimitta, one will then proceed to the jhana states. They teach that after the jhanas are mastered, the meditator has the choice to further develop concentration with other meditation objects (10 kasinas, skeleton meditation, etc) or go on to vipassana.
My experience: The first few days were difficult because I was accustomed to the Goenka method of watching sensations. Here, you are taught to have one pointed concentration. So the meditator picks one spot in the nose or upper lip area and focus solely on the in and out breathe right at that point. It doesn’t matter the type of sensation nor how intense it is. After day 3, I started to get the peaceful feeling throughout my body and I started seeing lights. It was kinda cool and felt like I was getting it. During day 4-7, I was able to further develop my concentration. The bliss, peaceful feeling that I experienced was incredible. It almost felt orgasmic in a way. At times, I would get so sweaty and my breathing would become fast, then the breath would slow down to barely perceptible. The lights I saw were blue, purple, and moving. When I was in this state, sometimes thoughts would cease and at times thoughts would appear but would be softer somehow. Maybe I was in the jhana at this time because I was totally absorbed. With all these good feelings, I realized that I was reaching and trying to recreate this peaceful bodily feeling constantly during my sits, making it into a craving. I developed a very bad constant headache too. After I recognizing that craving for bliss sits, I decided to back off on forcing anything and solely focus on awareness of the breath and ignore the bodily sensations (which is what I should have been doing anyway but the bodily sensations were so pleasant). The last few days were easier going and not as intense, however, my concentration/ focus continued to improve. The nimitta lights became more stable. In between sits, I felt more present to whatever I was doing. The most distracting thing I experienced was, is, and maybe ever will be - thoughts. At first, I was just trying to ignore, squash, and redirect them back to breath. Later, I realized that ignoring was making it worse, so I just tried doing metta meditation for myself and/or would acknowledge thoughts and try not to follow them, then gently redirect attention back to the breath. 
We also experienced the earthquakes as we were located about 2hours30 mins from the epicenter. This had the effect of worrying about outside concerns- worrying about families, our safety, etc… so last few days were odd. 
Overall, I enjoyed my experience and a few things to note:
Pa Auk method- this method lays out what to expect along the journey. It gives a map to enlightenment or arahatship. If you are more analytical or appreciate the roadmap ahead, then you might like this method versus the Goenka style retreat. I don’t know about the longer Goenka retreats, maybe they give you this information. But I really liked learning that about the path. I found it immensely helpful to have a teacher that you can talk to. At Goenka, I haven’t found that the assistant teachers were very open about the path. You can also find about these maps/paths in Dan Ingram’s book and many other sources.
When difficulties arise or thoughts become too much, metta meditation is the best. Learning to accept where we are at is so key and that takes love of oneself. Not to beat oneself up or judge oneself is hard, metta can truly help. I wouldn't even do metta for anyone else, just myself. 
I enjoyed working on my concentration in a way that I hadn’t before. I see now the value in doing anapana meditation in order to prep oneself for vipassana. For those having difficulty with sitting due to pain, it might be worth it to learn this method. Truly, once my concentration developed, the pain would disappear. I have a lot of knee pain and right leg pain due to a pinched nerve. I was able to do strong determination sits without trying to.
Since I’ve returned home, I haven’t reached the high level that I did while there. Maybe that is expected. I have noticed that during retreat and since, my dreams have become so real that I find myself moving a lot at night. Like I woke myself up two nights ago and I had my arm up in the air, swiping at something. While on retreat, I would have these like energy jolts that would also wake me up.
For those looking for a long, free retreat, there are several Pa Auk centers in Burma that do not charge. Our teacher said you could even go for a year. They offer private kutis, washer/dryer, doctors that visit… all free. If you want to read about this method, the book Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk is great. Its available as a free download. 

I don't think you will ever succeed in making a psychedelic peak state stick. At those levels of conscious you could barely function in the world.
Exploring Infinite Consciousness goes beyond a nondual sahaja samadhi state (as great as that is).
A lot of people are awake, let's say, but their understanding of Infinite Consciousness is very minor. They have no idea how deeply the mechanics of God can be understood. I just don't see traditional meditation techniques or self-inquiry taking many people there. Most meditators are after Nibbana or emptiness or whatever, but there is far more to it than that. They never even realize that they are missing because they do not have a means of accessing it.
Psychedelics change the game, expanding it beyond traditional awakening.
I no longer hold Buddhism or Zen in high regard. Their methods and teachings are too weak, too crude, and too shallow.

Reality experience and the concept of illusion go hand in hand. What is experienced as “real” is literally built by illusory phenomena. When there are enough foundational illusions at work, the illusions go beyond your analytical ability to notice them, which allows an automatically and autonomically real experience of phenomena that, when examined closely, aren’t exactly what they seem to be when not consciously examined. Something being an illusion doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and doesn’t mean that illusion can’t be experienced as physically, mentally, and emotionally real, because your consciousness—what is at cause in perceiving anything at all—is what gives it all solidity and experientiality. If you enjoyed the video, support consciousness mechanics and buy the book! It has a spectrum of info and diagrams you won’t want to miss! http://iamniverse.one/store.html

Guys im gonna tell you what i think can be a very key step to getting enlightened.
While meditating stare at your hand.
Now look at one of the fingers on your hand 
See it as the finger.  A part of the whole hand.
Now keep staring at the finger.  But now become conscious that it is the whole hand.
That "shift" in consciousness is what ultimately can lead to Enlightenment if you can do that.
You will start feeling the sensations in your body that is the bliss of a mystical experience.
Heres why this is so effective.
You are first seeing the finger as that part.  A part of the whole hand.  That is like what your consciousness is like to Universal consciousness or God.  Or another way is that you yourself are a finitude of infinity.
If you can make this shift in consciousness just keep doing it over and over until the mystical experience happens.
You can start working on that shift in consciousness with your little consciousness vs God Too..once u can make that shift...well fuck you will drop to your knees and weep 
This is the whole chabang guys.  All reality is is a shift in perspective.  You can look at things as a part and be conscious that they are the part and you can look at the part and become conscious that its the whole thing.
That's how God works his magic.  Its all shifts in consciousness
I would like Leo to comment on this too because for me as soon as i make the shifts ..i feel Being.  On days like today anyway..when i had a mystical experience.
But you have to keep doing that over and over.  
How fast enlightenment happens may also depend on how spiritually gifted you are too so don't get discouraged.   I know I'm making this sound easy so maybe it isn't going to be easy for everyone.
But this it guys.  Not just looking at the hand.  But doing the shifts in consciousness.

When I'm sitting idly, I have no awareness of my hand. I can make my focus shift to my hand. Now suddenly, I feel my hand.
An awareness of the sensation arises. The same thing happens with thoughts. I can see how thoughts feel, if there are any. This usually leads to letting go of the thought fairly quickly.
This leads me to the conclusion that thoughts are sensations. Allow me to explain further the similarity between thoughts and sensations. 
My hand doesn't move unless I make it move. When I make it move, I have this volitional awareness of the movement. The awareness of the movement is literally what creates the reality of the movement.
Similarly, thoughts are created by intending to create the certain thought. It's an awareness of intention. For me a lot of the time, it's curiosity. Actually, curiosity is an emotion. Emotions give rise to thoughts. Emotions are the volitional part of thoughts.
People can have involuntary movement just as they can have involuntary thoughts. I would imagine the involuntary thoughts happen more often for most people, but the equality still holds.
Just as moving the hand and becoming aware of the sensation of the hand are two different forms of awareness, so too are creating thoughts, the thoughts themselves, and "feeling" the thoughts.
Put another way, there are 3 forms of awareness I'm talking about here: emotion awareness (that which is the emotion), thought awareness (that which is the thought), and an awareness of the thought awareness (that which is aware of the thought). 
I have created a 3 prong duality and now I must collapse it to be truthful. The relationship between emotions and thoughts are blurry. When does an emotion end and a thought begin? There exists something in between an emotion and a thought. Indeed, these are just labels on a gradient of awareness. Leo did a video on this.
Similarly, where is the line between being the thought and being aware of the thought? Put another way, where is the line between thinking and being aware of what you are thinking? Surely if you're thinking you must have at least a little awareness of what you're thinking. If you're fully on the "awareness of the thought" side of the spectrum, you're just feeling the thought as a sensation and not considering the content of the thought. It's not a binary switch here either.
Engaging with the thoughts and what we call the activity of the Ego is then just thought awareness, followed by a sprinkle of some awareness of the thought, followed by some emotional and possibly judgmental reaction to the thought. Which leads to the creation of another thought, and the cycle repeats. And most people are stuck in this loop until they die. And yet the loop wasn't there when we were born, the loop was created to navigate the world.
Now it's not enough to see these words and have an abstract understanding. As this is only thoughts about thoughts. The meaning I'm attempting to convey must be relatable in your direct experience to truly understand.
Now, I don't think I'm enlightened.  This understanding seems to fade with time and I will go back asleep into the ego loop often. I'm interested to hear what people think of connection to this and enlightenment. 
 
 
 
 

I will just quote the most important part. If you want to read more: https://s3.amazonaws.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/sites/18817/themes/689414/downloads/ydwsuMgSQKXGZVoj1utb_How-To-Reach-Fundamental-Wellbeing-by-Dr-Jeffery-Martin.pdf
 
 

✓ 528hZ ❯❯ This sacred Solfeggio frequency activates your imagination, intention and intuition to operate for your highest and best purpose. It is called "The Love Frequency".
✓ 528hZ ❯❯ It returns human DNA to its original, perfect state = increased amount of life energy, deep inner peace and many more..
✓ 528hZ ❯❯ This frequency resonates at the heart of the Sun (recorded by NASA scientists). Sunbeams, the rainbow, flowers, grass and even the buzzing of bees vibrates at 528Hz. Nature in balance vibrates at 528Hz. It is the frequency of life itself.
✓ 40hZ Gamma Waves ❯❯ Associated with information-rich task processing & high-level information processing. Dr. Rodolfo Llinas (professor of neuroscience at New York University) believes that the 40-cycle-per-second wave serves to connect structures in the cortex where advanced information processing occurs, and the thalamus, a lower brain region where complex relay & integrative functions are carried out.
✓ 55hZ ❯❯ Tantric yoga; stimulates the kundalini. Kundalini is some sort of mystical energy or force that exists at your base, and during a Kundalini awakening, makes its way up from your base into your forehead region. It is your sexual/life energy from which you are made of, and it is guiding you whole your life.
✓ 80hZ ❯❯ Awareness & control of right direction. Appears to be involved in stimulating 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) production, with 160Hz. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter which makes you feel happy and euphoric.
✓ 160hZ ❯❯ Stimulating 5-hydroxytryptamine production. Also used for rapid relief from headaches and sinus infections.
✓ 432hZ Tuning ❯❯ Music based on 432hZ resonates with all the 7 Chakras and the Universe. It Transmits beneficial healing energy, because it is a pure tone of math fundamental to nature. This tuning has been presumably used by ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks, and in many classical music. 432hZ unites you with the universal harmony.
Please do not write anything negative if you haven't listened and tried to meditate at least 20 minutes with this audio track. Because the effects are real and there is nothing fake in this. You can google all about listening to various frequencies in order to heal yourself on various levels. There are many studies where for example 528hz creates beautiful symmetrical crystals when played in water. Please skip this post if you want to write something negative because there is really no need and you are just wasting your time. If you do not believe/do not want to believe in this, keep going your way and please make room for other people. And i would also like to say that im sharing these audios because i personally had a really powerful spiritual experience with same stuff a few years ago. Love <3
▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬
How to use this track
▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬
❯❯ Listen at comfortable volume level. Not too loud, not too quiet.
❯❯ Find a comfortable place with no distractions, you could also turn off your mobile phone and notifications.
❯❯ For best results you should wear comfortable headphones, but it is not necessary. Headphones will get you at least 50% more benefits.
❯❯ Any body position is good as long its comfortable to you.
❯❯ You should not doubt the magic of this audio track. You should not think about it at all. Let go all toughts that appear in your mind in order to be fully relaxed, follow your breath and let my audio penetrate deep into your soul in order to feel the most amazing effects.
❯❯ If you have a specific meditation technique that you are doing, you could use this track in order to enhance it.
Brain Waves Info:
❯ https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-are-brainwaves
❯ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-function-of-t-1997-12-22/
❯ https://blog.mindvalley.com/science-behind-brainwaves/
Binaural Beats Info:
❯ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_(acoustics)#Binaural_beats
❯ https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/binaural-beats/
Binaural Beats Research And Studies:
❯ https://www.binauralbeatsgeek.com/binaural-beat-research/
❯ https://healing4happiness.com/binaural-beats-research-studies/
432hz and other Healing Frequencies/Sound Healing:
❯ https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/healing-benefits-528-hz-solfeggio-frequencies/
❯ https://articles.spiritsciencecentral.com/healing-frequency/
❯ https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/techtransfer/technology/MSC-24180-1_Water-Filtering-Device.html
❯ https://www.healingfrequenciesmusic.com/good-vibrations-the-science-of-sound/
❯ http://sciencenotes.ucsc.edu/2015/pages/sound/sound.html
❯ https://altered-states.net/barry/newsletter420/index.htm
❯ https://upliftconnect.com/science-behind-healing-sound/
Crystals In Water:
❯ http://teslatech.info/ttmagazine/v3n4/suddath.htm
Vibration & Energy:
❯ http://www.nataliakuna.com/30-ways-to-raise-your-vibration.html
Meditation Science & Researches:
❯ https://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm
❯ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation
❯ https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/feeling-it/201309/20-scientific-reasons-start-meditating-today
❯ https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#section1
❯ https://oneminddharma.com/benefits-of-meditation/
❯ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05/26/harvard-neuroscientist-meditation-not-only-reduces-stress-it-literally-changes-your-brain/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8e640df608a2
❯ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200105/the-science-meditation
Frequency list and their effects on humans, this website itself also points to many references:
❯ lunarsight.com/freq.htm

@Wisebaxter
Waking in the morning, fully aware you had a dream. Within five minutes it’s forgotten. Why? Because awake, you are fully aware it was a dream, so there’s nothing to think about. You’re fully aware you dreamt it, you were the dream, you dreamt “you” in the dream, you were every facet of the dream. Simple. No call for thinking - it was just a dream. 
 
Thoughts about the dream don’t continue arising - because you are fully aware it was just a dream. What is there to think about? Nothing. You are fully aware it was a dream. It would be silly to think and think and think about it. 
Do you think, “but wait, what about the scenery?”     No, because you are fully aware it was a dream.
Do you think, “but wait, what about all those people?”       No, because you are fully aware it was a dream.
Do you think, “but wait, what was I? Did I make decisions?”       No, because you are fully aware it was a dream.
 
While you are not fully aware this reality is a dream - there is desire - the desire is to be fully aware. 
This is why you have dreams in your sleep. So that when you wake up, you can experience “it was a dream”. But do you listen to that? Nope. You ignore it, and start thinking. All day. 
 
When you are fully aware that this is a dream, you stop having dreams at night in sleep. Likewise, your brain stops overthinking. 
 
So the only worthwhile question is, what are you doing to become fully aware?
Welp, you’re thinking. And talking. 
Is that working?
No.
Why not?
 
You only ever have but one choice:
Let thinking go, by surrendering yourself, accept this is a dream, and be done thinking. Most people can’t do this. Why is that? Because most people are too deeply deluded in believing this is not a dream, and they are a separate, real, person. As such, this “real person” has needs - food, sex, worth, validation, relationships / love from other “real persons”. Asking them to become fully aware this is a dream = asking them to give all that up. So, it might be helpful, if in this life, you get yourself to a place of not needing these things from other people. Upon fully awakening, will you have actually given anything / anyone up? No. You’d have merely given up delusion. That’s all. 
Or
Get serious about seeking. Research reality down to nothing. Inquire into yourself, down to nothing. See these are the same nothing. Double, triple, quadruple your practices, schedule retreats, talk with those who are fully aware they are but a dream, take trips, etc. 
You are dreaming, you are the dream. So there is no one here who can wake you up. Just as when you dream in your sleep, no one can enter your dream to wake you up. 
 
Wake yourself up. 
Don’t reply. Don’t acknowledge “me”. Self inquire, now. Meditate, now. Schedule a retreat or trip, now. This adventure is well afoot. You don’t have time for me. You don’t have time for more thinking. 
 
Find God within you. Let Him be your dream sledgehammer.
“Let there be NO doubt about it....put your mind at rest”.
 
“Let me remind you, that Love will find you - let it lift you out - you are beloved.”

This is simply Ujjayi breathing. It's easy and it becomes automatic when doing any part of Kriya. There are plenty of videos on how to do it, here's a good one. And here's Manoj demonstrating it; his material is Kriya oriented.

@LiakosN
 

@clouffy Many people end up doing spiritual practice precisely because they are fed up with depression and suffering.
Through spiritual practice, through consciousness work, you can learn how depression is caused by the meanings your mind creates, and you can train yourself to stop having those negative thoughts.
It is not possible to be depressed if you fully in the present moment, not lost in the conceptual past or future. But this will takes lots of mindfulness training to actualize. It's not enough to merely know it intellectually.
This issue is not just about enlightenment. It's about emotional mastery. You must become more conscious of how your mind creates emotional states and how it assigns meaning to an otherwise meaningless world. You don't need to be enlightened to start developing mindfulness over your emotions. Nor will enlightenment automatically give you mastery of your emotions.
I recommend to burn this candle from both ends.
In practice, you need some "agenda" to bootstrap your spiritual journey. You can shed the agenda later, once you're towards the end. Careful not to burn the bridge before you've crossed.

For those of you into Kriya, I would highly recommend that in addition to reading the original Kriya book I suggested, you also read the books of Santata Gamana. I now prefer his more simplified techniques. It's a much more streamlined version of Kriya which I think will be even more effective. I found too much needless complexity and variety in the other way.
Right now my technique stack is very simple:
Mahamudra x3 Kriya Pranayama x24 Kriya Supreme Fire x3 One-pointed Concentration for 5 mins Eventually, with lots of practice, you should aim for something like the following stack:
Mahamudra x3 Kriya Pranayama x36-x72 Kriya Supreme Fire for 10-20 mins One-pointed Concentration for 10-20 mins (Bonus: Yoni Mudra x3) (Bonus: Kechari mudra) EDIT: ideally, do this stack twice per day. But if you don't have that much time, at least once per day.
Don't attempt to do this second stack right off the bat. It will not be sustainable. You need to gradually build up to it, like with heavy weightlifting.
I think the original book I recommended is still very good as an introduction and foundation because Gamana's books are so short and thin that they do not provide enough information about Kriya to a total newbie. They are aimed at people who have already been initiated in one school or another.
If you are strictly following the original book, that is okay. You can keep doing that if you want. Or you could switch to this more streamlined version like I decided to do. I don't like learning too many complicated techniques. But that's just me. Both ways should work in the end. It's mostly a matter of style. Although I actually think the streamlined version will end up to be more effective because it concentrates your limited time on the most powerful techniques, and less time is wasted on learning new complex techniques.

The fastest way is to STOP and surrender absolutely to life itself. Detach from absolutely everything. Yes including food and water. Let go of everything you think you need to live/exist. Sit in room/cave void of light/sounds. Say bye bye to life.

Nonduality is the philosophical, spiritual, and scientific understanding of non-separation and fundamental intrinsic oneness.
For thousands of years, through deep inner inquiry, philosophers and sages have come to the realization that there is only one substance and we are therefore all part of it. This substance can be called Awareness, Consciousness, Spirit, Advaita, Brahman, Tao, Nirvana or even God. It is constant, ever present, unchangeable and is the essence of all existence.
In the last century Western scientists are arriving at the same conclusion: The universe does indeed comprise of a single substance, presumably created during the Big Bang, and all sense of being – consciousness – subsequently arises from it. This realization has ontological implications for humanity: fundamentally we are individual expressions of a single entity, inextricably connected to one another, we are all drops of the same ocean.
Science and Nonduality is a journey, an exploration of the nature of awareness, the essence of life from which all arises and subsides.
What is nonduality, anyway?
There are many shades of meaning to the word nonduality. As an introduction, we might say that nonduality is the philosophical, spiritual, and scientific understanding of non-separation and fundamental oneness.
Our starting point is the statement “we are all one,” and this is meant not in some abstract sense, but at the deepest level of existence. Duality, or separation between the observer and the observed, is an illusion that the Eastern mystics have long recognized, and Western science has more recently come to understand through quantum mechanics.
Dualities are usually seen in terms of opposites: Mind/Matter, Self/Other, Conscious/Unconscious, Illusion/Reality, Quantum/Classical, Wave/Particle, Spiritual/Material, Beginning/End, Male/Female, Living/Dead and Good/Evil. Nonduality is the understanding that identification with common dualisms avoids recognition of a deeper reality.
So how can we better understand nonduality?
There are two aspects to this question, and at first glance they appear to be mutually exclusive, although they may be considered two representations of a single underlying reality.
The first aspect is our understanding of external reality, and for this we turn to science. The word science comes from the Latin scientia, which means knowledge. The beauty and usefulness of science is that it seeks to measure and describe reality without personal, religious, or cultural bias. For something to be considered scientifically proven, it has to pass exhaustive scrutiny, and even then is always subject to future revision. Inevitably human biases creep in, but the pursuit of science itself is intrinsically an evolving quest for truth. But then quantum mechanics turned much of this lauded objectivity on its head, as the role of the observer became inseparable from the observed quantum effect. It is as if consciousness itself plays a role in creating reality.  Indeed, the two may be the same thing. As quantum pioneer Niels Bohr once put it: “A physicist is just an atom’s way of looking at itself!”
The second aspect is our inner, personal experience of consciousness, our “awareness of awareness.” We have our senses to perceive the world, but “behind” all perception, memory, identification and thought is simply pure awareness itself.  Eastern mystics have described this undifferentiated consciousness for thousands of years as being the ultimate state of bliss, or nirvana. Seekers have attempted to experience it for themselves through countless rituals and practices, although the state itself can be quite simply described. As Indian advaita teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj said: “The trinity: mind, self and spirit, when looked into, becomes unity.”
The central challenge to understanding nonduality may be that it exists beyond language, because once it has been named, by definition — and paradoxically — a duality has been created. Even the statement “all things are one” creates a distinction between “one” and “not-one”! Hardly any wonder that nonduality has been misunderstood, particularly in the West.
Excerpt above from: https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/about/nonduality/
Other resources, explanations, & pointers to nonduality:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-O_KhOnJ62o
http://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/writings/what-is-nonduality/  ,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondualism
https://endless-satsang.com/advaita-nonduality-oneness.htm
 
 
Meditation Preparations & Considerations of The Temple (The Body)
Make changes in accordance with listening to the body via feeling. Let go of assumptions about what you know, what you can & can’t do, and who you are & are not. Be mindful of the distinction between what you directly experience, and your thought about something. Be mindful the term direct experience does not refer to a past, a now, a present, a future, or a self (these are thoughts). 
Be conscious of breathing, and breathe from the stomach. Notice the increase in awareness of feeling in the body when you do so. 
Maintain toxin free care & hygiene, such as with: preservatives, fluoride, aluminum, mercury, & neurotoxin free products and water. 
Get a routine physical & full comprehensive blood report, and review it with your doctor (preferably a Holistic Dr).
Eat clean. Food is mood, mood is clarity. Listen to your body & educate yourself about food; calories, nutrients, vitamins, supplements, etc. Your second best friend in this whole world, should be your stomach. Try several approaches to eating. Realize you only know about food from direct experience and let assumptions go. Listen to the body, put habit & preference of taste secondary to energy and clarity. Put direct experience, of how you feel, first. 
Exercise to the extent you are able, as early in the day as you are able. Don’t eat after 8pm, drink water instead. Be mindful of honesty, humility, & compassion. Pause to allow the presence of love when creating responses, vs mindlessly reacting.  
Get 8 hrs of sleep.              
Meditate early in the morning, before eating, and before any thought engaging activities like;
    - All screens, reading anything, listening to any thing or anyone, talking to anyone, etc. Instead, step outside and express gratitude. 
    - Thinking. Develop letting thinking go from waking up until after meditation. Every thought that arises, let it go by being aware of breathing & feeling. Use ”not till after meditation” as needed.
Love yourself enough to do this, your quality of life will be greatly enhanced by your commitment and followthrough with daily meditation. This is putting your inner well being first -  and then going about your day. It is a total game changer. Get up as early as needed to make this possible for yourself.  You’ll only fall asleep earlier as a result, and get a better night’s sleep. 
Maintain a dream journal. Every morning when you wake up, write any recollections of dreams in the journal. If there were none, write “no dreams last night” in the journal. Doing this daily develops connection and communication. After writing a dream down, let it go completely. Revisit it after meditation. Consider that in between the pure peace of sleep and awakening, the dream is the reconciliation of those two states. After meditation, contemplate the dream message. Consider it from the perspective that you are dreaming right now, and the message is that everything is fine, even this (whatever the dream was about). You will notice perspectives you’re believing, as to how ‘everything is not fine’. Those, can be let go in meditation. 
Maintain a journal for writing about how you feel. If meditation is overwhelming, don’t persist against the grain, write about how you’re feeling in your journal. Expressing in key. It is a ‘getting it out’, or emptying, by which being fills in. This is the same as saying misunderstanding is let go, and understanding arises.
Add creative expression in your days with what feels right for you, such as; creative writing, drawing, learning an instrument, singing, sculpting, building, carving, dancing - any act of creating and expressing, which feels good to you. Sign up for a drawing or painting class, etc. 
Clarity, emotional intelligence, understanding, focus, patience, and more feeling / connection, are natural outcomes of this. 
Regarding meditation, loving yourself, journaling, expressing, and making changes:
Do not ask others to accommodate you so that you can do this. Accommodate them, if needed, so that you can do this. Do not create conditions or contingencies which “allow” that you can do this. Refrain from entangling any other person in ‘enabling’ you. Simply get up earlier, and be patient when tired, you’ll be falling asleep earlier soon enough. 
Past trauma may be deeply entwined in the body, with regard to perspectives, and unknowingly suppressed, held out of the light of understanding. It is important to be humble, and be smart. Take advantage of all resources available to you. In addition to the things mentioned above, experience assistance bringing things to the surface, into the light, out into the open. That is relief. ’Getting it out’ is the key. Schedule time with practitioners of well being; massage, reiki, therapy, yoga, liberated experienced meditators, etc. Making the choice to directly experience is 99% of ‘the work’. Choose to experience the combination that feels best to you, but do not rule anything you have not experienced out. You will be glad. 
 
Proper Foundation
The quality of tomorrow’s meditation is impacted by all of the above. Recognize those as the basics, your foundation. This is - first “cleaning the house”, “emptying the cup”.  If you are not yet finding peace in meditation, the things above are likely insightful and actionable. Use them as a checklist, add to it what you learn works and doesn’t work for you. Understand why. Be mindful of the direct experience always, not the goal or outcome. Never do practices for the sake of getting them done. Never do practices with the intention or expectation of attaining, achieving, or becoming. Let go of these in your practices. Never force pracitices, and never guilt or shame yourself regarding practices. Let go of these in your practices. Likewise, never pride yourself on or claim the benefits of your practices. A phone which knows the truth of wifi, yet claims it as it’s own, is no longer listening to the wifi. It is always about letting go, and feeling the inner being, the source, within. 
 
Posture, Balance & Relaxation
Sit with spine straight, entire body equally balanced, head tilted slightly forward. 
Scan for any muscles in tension - from balancing the body, and reposition in better balance. Repeat until seated in balance; drop all muscle tension, and see if you lean; if so, adjust again / reposition for balance.
Relax every muscle, from crown of head, through body, to the toes - in waves of letting go, over and over. If you struggle to ‘find the particular muscle’ to be able to ‘let it go’, simply tense that muscle with the appropriate thought, ex: “tense the right shoulder” - this is to locate it specifically - only to relax it / let it go, specifically (only needed initially, if at all).
Stay with each muscle until you feel it release: Feel the crown of the head muscles release, feel the temples release, feel the eye sockets release, feel the cheek muscles release, feel the neck muscles release, the shoulders, the upper back, the lower back, the arms, the hands, the fingers, the chest, the stomach, the hips, the thighs, the knees, the calves, the ankles, the feet, the toes - all tension pouring out through the toes. 
*Stay with each muscle until you feel it release, then move to the next. Be mindful, vigilant of any habit forming. Feel every step. Feel each specific muscle release. 
* Repeat this, from crown to toes, over and over, feeling each “pass” more deeply relaxing each targeted muscle than the pass before.  Notice the entire body unifying in relaxation. 
 
Meditation
Do not move the body, allow it to relax into deep sleep and disappear from sensation & awareness. 
Mind fully alert & present; awaken every cell, enthusiastic presence,  a tiger at-the-ready to pounce.
Notice all senses are one sense, being.
Being is breathing, being is breathed in, being is breathed out. 
Notice the ineffable spaciousness, the silent emptiness.  It is whole, perfect, calm, peaceful. It continues on in all directions. 
Revel in the perfect peace, in innocence, as you recognize the purity that you have always known.
 
Allow Meditation “Practice” To Become A Meditative Lifestyle
As you go about your day, notice this peace is still present, this silence, this being - is always present, always the soundbed underlying and allowing all sounds, the spaciousness underlying and allowing all objects and activities, the emptiness allowing all thoughts to arise.
Carry this into each day, mindful of the effortless nature of awareness. Conscious of any tension in any muscle, relax it, mindful of the one sense; without identification, without reaction, peaceful non-engagement. 
Notice the arising perspectives of unification & connection. Surrender perspectives of separation by allowing them to pass, and return to the everpresent peace and silence which allows all things. 
When you notice reaction, wether muscular or mental, relax, detach by being again aware, non-reactionary. 
Even as reactions occur, wether physical, mental, or verbal, be aware of, not involved in. Relax crown to toes, effortless awareness is always available & ample.
Notice the sound of a voice, is not the sound of your voice. Be that unattached, and that aware, ‘that’ voice is no longer your voice, it never was. You are all sounds, all voices, all things. Be aware all transpires in the ‘one sense’, precisely where it is seen, exactly where it is heard. One Sense, one awareness. 
Notice thoughts are not your thoughts,  be aware thoughts are things, like trees are trees; there is no mechanism found for justification of  “yours”, that is just another thought; awareness is unconditional and omnipresent, and never appears in pieces, and has never not appeared, it will never let you down. Notice there is one sense, one awareness, notice the body and mind are a body and mind which transpires in this peaceful awareness, notice a body and mind is not your body and mind, notice there is one sense, one awareness, all is transpiring and arising in. 
 
After some practice a couple new things arise...
When you have ‘returned’ home, in the peace of non-reaction, the ‘finite ceo’ / “decision maker”/ over thinker/over thinking - naturally recedes, and well being of infinite intelligence will manipulate the body (it actually is “the body”) , aligning things, stretching things, cracking things, etc, just allow this. It’s difficult not to mentally react to this at first because it’s new, but just relax, it is curative, trust it - notice a person is not doing this, infinite intelligence is. Mindfully revel & appreciate this miracle. 
 
A word of caution regarding thought stories & dualistic narratives
Meditation at it’s most basic level is focusing on breathing in the stomach & relaxing the body, thus indirectly detaching attention from thoughts. Thought ceases in activity, simply from not receiving attention. The body is infinite intelligence, but the thinking dualistic mind believes it’s running the show. This is brought to an end in meditation, in ‘returning to’, or realization of, who you really are. 
When the body relaxes deeply, it releases contractions; tension from emotions created in misunderstanding via one’s forgetting who one is and  “making sense” of self & reality in an apparent physical universe & separate body. These ‘held’ tensions are the root cause of overthinking. The mind keeps churning in an attempt to resolve with thinking, what is only resolved in feeling. 
When the body (infinite intelligence / nothing to know) begins releasing the suppressed falsities (all knowledge & specifically the idea of “me”), the mind creates narratives of the experience to perpetuate “it’s control”. In perpetuating the misunderstandings, rather than relaxing & releasing the suppressed emotions by maintaining focus on stomach breathing, the mind (thinking) weaves & latches onto varies models of duality to control the narrative. (Kundalini, demons, assertion, death, nervous disorders, past “bad” trips, guilt, shame, unworthiness, fear, anxiety & past stories, depression & future stories, projections, deflections, identity, loss, sacrifice, etc)
But meditation is focusing on breathing from the stomach & relaxing the body, and thus indirectly detaching from thoughts. To believe any narrative which arises in meditation, is to sustain and perpetuate the “idea of you”, so as not to ‘directly experience’, you. 
So if you don’t want to awaken, but enjoy the fundamental benefits of meditation, just meditate for twenty minutes a day. Ideally in the morning. 
If you do want to awaken, realize you got caught up in a thought story, and meditation was focusing on breathing from the stomach, and thus indirectly letting thinking go. The truth is the mind is making it all up, and the “fear” is the mind’s label to justify denying the truth “of itself”, the profound love that is, that you actually are.
Write about how you feel and why, in a journal, to understand yourself & develop emotional intelligence. 
Talk to someone who listens, so you can express yourself and your emotions.
Write what you want in this experience of life on your dreamboard, and allow the surfacing of desire & authenticity to help you realize & release resistance thoughts. Live the life you actually want to live, the way you actually want to live it.
 
https://sites.google.com/site/psychospiritualtools/Home/meditation-practices
Posture Meditation
This body-based meditation is a very effective way to get grounded and centered. It encourages an embodied, calm, and open awareness, and discourages disassociation. If you have a tendency to "leave your body," feel ungrounded, or disassociated, this is a good practice. 
Sit with your spine straight and aligned, and the rest of your body relaxed. Keep bringing yourself back to this condition. 

1. Take a reposed, seated posture. 

2. For this meditation, it is very important that your spine is straight. Your neck and back should be in perfect alignment. Your chin should be down very slightly. 

3. If you are sitting in a chair, do not rest your spine against the chair. Sit forward so that your spine is supporting its own weight. Let the muscles of the spine be engaged. 

4. All the other muscles of your body can be completely relaxed. Allow your face muscles to let go, and your jaw to drop slightly, so that your teeth are not touching. 

5. Let your shoulders hang freely, and let your belly be soft and open. 

6. This is the posture you are aiming for, with your spine erect and your body completely relaxed. 

7. As you sit, keep bringing your awareness back to the fine details of your posture. Notice any time your spine slumps even slightly, your head leans to either side, or any other deviation. Correct these gently and repeatedly. 

8. Also notice if any other areas of your body tense up even slightly. If anything is tensing, relax it in a gently and soft manner. 

9. Keep checking in with the body, using your body (somatic) awareness; the feeling in your body. Mental images of your body will probably arise, which is fine, but these are not what you are concentrating upon. Instead, concentrate your awareness in the sense of your body. The sensitivity in your muscles, tissues, viscera, skin, and so forth. 

10. The more detailed and minute you get with this awareness, the better. Each tiny area of the body has its own sensitivity to contribute. 

11. Every once in a while you can zoom out to cover the entire somatosensory field -- the awareness of your entire body -- to bring the overall body back into alignment. 

12. Keep relaxing every muscle everywhere. Use just enough tension to keep your spine erect, but no more. 

13. Continue this meditation for at least 10 minutes, continuously contacting your body awareness. 
 
CAUTIONS:
If you have any spinal injuries or severe back pain, it is fine to allow your spine to rest in a pain-free position.                    If you find yourself distracted by a lot of mental chatter, you can use verbal labeling as an aid to concentration. 
For example, when checking on the spine, you can say to yourself, "spine in alignment." 
When checking on the body, say, "body relaxed." 
 
 
Awareness of Thoughts Meditation
By learning to watch your thoughts come and go during this practice, you can gain deeper insight into thinking altogether (such as its transience) and into specific relationships among your thoughts and your emotions, sensations, and desires. This practice can also help you take your thoughts less personally, and not automatically believe them.  Additionally, this meditation can offer insight into any habitual patterns of thinking and related reactions.  
Observe your thoughts as they arise and pass away.  
·       By “thoughts,” we mean self-talk and other verbal content, as well as images, memories, fantasies, and plans. Just thoughts may appear in awareness, or thoughts plus sensations, emotions, or desires. 
·       Sit or lie down on your back in a comfortable position.
·       Become aware of the sensations of breathing.
·       After a few minutes of following your breath, shift your attention to the various thoughts that are arising, persisting, and then passing away in your mind. 
·       Try to observe your thoughts instead of getting involved with their content or resisting them. 
·       Notice the content of your thoughts, any emotions accompanying them, and the strength or pull of the thought.
·       Try to get curious about your thoughts.  Investigate whether you think in mainly images or words, whether your thoughts are in color or black and white, and how your thoughts feel in your body.
·       See if you notice any gaps or pauses between thoughts.
·       Every time you become aware that you are lost in the content of your thoughts, simply note this and return to observing your thoughts and emotions. 
·       Remember that one of the brain’s major purposes is to think, and there is nothing wrong with thinking.  You are simply practicing not automatically believing and grasping on to your thoughts.  
·       When you are ready, return your attention to your breath for a few minutes and slowly open your eyes.  
Optional:
·       There are various metaphors and images you can use to help observe your thoughts.  These include:
o   Imagining you are as vast and open as the sky, and thoughts are simply clouds, birds, or planes passing through the open space.  
o   Imagining you are sitting on the side of a river watching your thoughts float by like leaves or ripples in the stream.  
o   Imagine your thoughts are like cars, buses, or trains passing by.  Every time you realize you are thinking, you can “get off the bus/train” and return to observing.

Awareness of thoughts and emotions is one of the areas of focus developed when cultivating mindfulness.  In Buddhism, mindfulness is one of the seven factors of enlightenment and the seventh instruction in the Noble Eightfold Path.  
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment:  https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/piyadassi/wheel001.html
The Four Noble Truths:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths
The Noble Eightfold Path: https://tricycle.org/magazine/noble-eightfold-path/
 
CAUTIONS:
Please be gentle with yourself if you notice that you are constantly caught up in your thoughts instead of observing them.  This is both common and normal.  When you realize that you are thinking, gently and compassionately return to observing your thoughts.  
If the content of your thoughts is too disturbing or distressing, gently shift your attention to your breathing, sounds, or discontinue the practice. 
·       Remember that you are not trying to stop thoughts or only allow certain ones to arise.  Try to treat all thoughts equally and let them pass away without engaging in their content. 
·       This practice can initially be more challenging than other meditations.  As you are learning, practice this meditation for only a few minutes at a time if that is easier. 
·       It can be helpful to treat thoughts the same way that you treat sounds or body sensations, and view them as impersonal events that arise and pass away.  
·       Some people like to assign numbers or nicknames to reoccurring thoughts in order to reduce their pull and effect.
 
 
Breath Awareness Meditation
Stress is an extremely unhealthy condition. It causes the body to release the chemical cortisol, which has been shown to reduce brain and organ function, among many other dangerous effects. Modern society inadvertently encourages a state of almost continuous stress in people. This is a meditation that encourages physical and mental relaxation, which can greatly reduce the effects of stress on the body and mind. 
Sit still and pay close attention to your breathing process.
Take a reposed, seated posture. Your back should be straight and your body as relaxed as possible.

Close your eyes, and bring your attention to your breathing process. Simply notice you are breathing. Do not attempt to change your breath in any way. Breath simply and normally. 

Try to notice both the in breath and the out breath; the inhale and the exhale. "Notice" means to actually feel the breathing in your body with your body. It is not necessary to visualize your breathing or to think about it in any way except to notice it with your somatic awareness. 

Each time your attention wanders from the act of breathing, return it to noticing the breath. Do this gently and without judgment. 

Remember to really feel into the act of breathing.

If you want to go more deeply into this, concentrate on each area of breathing in turn. Here is an example sequence:

    1. Notice how the air feels moving through your nostrils on both the in breath and the out breath. 

    2. Notice how the air feels moving through your mouth and throat. You may feel a sort of slightly raspy or ragged          feeling as the air moves through your throat. This is normal and also something to feel into.

    3. Notice how the air feels as it fills and empties your chest cavity. Feel how your rib cage rises slowly with each in breath, and gently deflates with each out breath.

    4. Notice how your back expands and contracts with each breath. Actually feel it shifting and changing as you breath. 

    5. Notice how the belly expands outward with each in breath and pulls inward with each in breath. Allow your attention to fully enter the body sensation of the belly moving with each breath.

    6. Now allow your attention to cover your entire body at once as you breath in and out. Closely notice all the sensations of the body as it breathes. 

Repeat this sequence over and over, giving each step your full attention as you do it. 
Suggested time is at least 10 minutes. Thirty minutes is better, if you are capable of it. 
If you find yourself distracted by a lot of mental chatter, you can use verbal labeling as an aid to concentration. For example, on the in breath, mentally say to yourself, "Breathing in." On the out breath, say, "Breathing out." Another possibility is to mentally count each breath. 
 
 
Self Inquiry
This is a meditation technique to get enlightened, i.e. "self realization."  By realizing who you are, the bonds of suffering are broken. Besides this goal, self-inquiry delivers many of the same benefits as other meditation techniques, such as relaxation, enhanced experience of life, greater openness to change, greater creativity, a sense of joy and fulfillment, and so forth. 
Focus your attention on the feeling of being "me," to the exclusion of all other thoughts. 
1. Sit in any comfortable meditation posture. 
2. Allow your mind and body to settle. 
3. Now, let go of any thinking whatsoever. 
4. Place your attention on the inner feeling of being "me."
5. If a thought does arise (and it is probable that thoughts will arise on their own), ask yourself to whom this thought is occurring. This returns your attention to the feeling of being "me."
Continue this for as long as you like. 

This technique can also be done when going about any other activity. 
 
CAUTIONS:
Many people misunderstand the self-inquiry technique to mean that the person should sit and ask themselves the question, "Who am I?" over and over. This is an incorrect understanding of the technique. The questions "Who am I" or "To whom is this thought occurring?" are only used when a thought arises, in order to direct attention back to the feeling of being "me." At other times the mind is held in silence. 
 
This practice of Self-attention or awareness of the ‘I’-thought is a gentle technique, which bypasses the usual repressive methods of controlling the mind. It is not an exercise in concentration, nor does it aim at suppressing thoughts; it merely invokes awareness of the source from which the mind springs. The method and goal of self-enquiry is to abide in the source of the mind and to be aware of what one really is by withdrawing attention and interest from what one is not. In the early stages effort in the form of transferring attention from the thoughts to the thinker is essential, but once awareness of the ‘I’-feeling has been firmly established, further effort is counter-productive. From then on it is more a process of being than doing, of effortless being rather than an effort to be.
 
 
Do Nothing Meditation
Many respected spiritual traditions, including Buddhism and Hindu Advaita just to name two, claim that the highest state of spiritual communion is actually present in our minds at all times. And yet many meditation techniques focus on  creating some special state that wasn't there before the meditation, and which goes away at some point after the meditation. If the highest state is actually present all the time, shouldn't it be possible to simply notice it without inducing some change, or special state? 

That is exactly the purpose of the Do Nothing Meditation. This technique (which is really an un-technique) will allow you to contact the highest spiritual state without actually doing anything. Each time you notice an intention to control or direct your attention, give it up. 
1. There is no need to get into any particular posture, unless you feel like it.
2. Do not position your attention in any particular way.
3. Let whatever happens happen.
4. Any time you notice yourself doing anything intentionally, stop. 
Doing anything intentionally means something you can voluntarily control, and therefore can stop. 
If you cannot stop doing something, then it's not intentional, and therefore you don't need to try to stop doing it. 
So. Anything you can stop doing, stop doing. 

Some examples of things you can stop doing are:
* Intentionally thinking
* Trying to focus on something specific
* Trying to have equanimity
* Trying to keep track of what's going on
* Trying to meditate
Let go of doing anything like this.
5. Keep doing nothing for at least 10 minutes, or as long as you like.
 
CAUTIONS:
It may be difficult for some people to notice any difference between the Do Nothing meditation and gross "monkey mind," that is, the ceaseless, driven and fixated thoughts of the everyday neurotic mind. If this seems to be the case for you, it may be helpful to do a more structured technique. 
 
 
Concentration (One-Pointedness) Meditation
One of the hallmarks of modern life is the proliferation of distractions. As media become more pervasive, and media connections more ubiquitous, time away from distractions becomes ever harder to find. Previously, people were content to sit in restaurants, or stand in line, without a television screen to stare at. Now these have become standard. The result of all this, and many other causes, is that people find it increasingly difficult to focus their minds. 

Concentration is a necessary human skill. It makes proper thinking possible, increases intelligence, and allows a person to calm down and achieve their goals more effectively. A concentrated mind is like a laser beam, able to use all its powers in a single direction to great effect. 

Concentration is critical to many human endeavors. Being able to listen to another person, for example, in a compassionate and connected manner requires being able to shut out distractions. The experience of making love can be greatly enhanced when one is not, for example, thinking about other things. 

Concentration allows a person to stop being a "reaction machine" or "robot," simply responding to stimulii, and instead to become more thoughtful, self-directed, and confident. 
Concentration is an interesting thing. It is a very general ability. That means developing concentration in one area will help you concentrate in ALL areas. So, for example, if you learn to concentrate on a particular idea, it not only helps you think about that idea (which would be very limited), but actually helps you to concentrate on anything, which is very generally useful for everything! It's like lifting weights. It doesn't just make you strong for lifting weights, but strong for anything else you want to do!

Think about one thing. Every time you get distracted, return to that one thing. 
1. Find an object on which to concentrate. This can be a physical object, like a pebble or a feather. Or it can be a mental object like a particular idea. It could even be, say, your homework.

2. Cut off any sources of distraction. These include, but are not limited to, telephones, emails, computers, music, television, and so forth. Turn all of these off during your concentration practice. 

3. Begin your period of by mentally reminding yourself what you are concentrating on. 

4. Now begin to concentrate. If your concentration object is an external object, this may mean looking at it. If it is a mental object, then think about it. If it is your homework, then do it now.

5. Each time your mind (or eyes) wander from your concentration object, bring it back to the object. It is important to do this very gently and without judgment. 
6. Repeat this process of coming back to the concentration object for as long as you wish, or until your homework is done. 
Cultures worldwide have developed concentration practices for both spiritual and practical reasons. 

Concentration is called dharana in Hinduism, and samadhi or shamatha in Buddhism. It is considered to be a key skill for meditation.
 
CAUTIONS:
Concentration can at first seem to trigger a lot of anxiety. This is, however, not the fault of the concentration practice. Rather, it happens because many people use distraction to avoid feeling emotions. Then when the distractions are removed, a tremendous amount of ambient, unprocessed emotions (i.e. emotions you are feeling but were unaware of feeling) are present. So it is not the practice of concentration that is causing anxiety, but instead it is the habit of distracting ourselves from our emotions. This may be the root cause of much inability to focus and concentrate. If that is the case, try meditating on emotions (below). 
Concentration and meditation are not the same thing, although they are related. Meditation (usually) requires concentration, but also requires relaxation or equanimity.
 
 
Emotional Awareness Meditation 
This meditation brings about a great deal of equanimity with emotions. They will not seem to affect us as deeply or adversely. 
Many people have trouble contacting their emotions directly. Even if we feel that we know what emotion we are having, that does not necessarily mean that we are contacting it directly. 

To contact an emotion directly means to feel it in the body. This is the opposite of most people's experience, which is to related ideas about the emotion.

Here is an example. A person asks you how you are feeling. You respond by saying, "I am angry, because..." You then go on to tell the person all the reasons you are angry.

In this example, only the first three words, "I am angry" have anything to do with contacting emotion. All the rest of the explanation is about concepts.

A fuller example of contacting emotions directly, that is somatically, would be to say, "I am angry. I can feel a sort of gripping tension in my belly that is uncomfortable. The tense area feels kind of twisted and sharp. Parts of it are throbbing. It also feels like it is radiating heat outwards." 

Notice that the cause of the anger is irrelevant. The practice here is to feel the physical expression of the anger as completely as possible. 

Extended practice of this meditation will bring about "skill at feeling," that is, a tremendous amount of clarity in the emotional world. Emotional intelligence. 

It will also help emotions to process and release much more quickly and completely, because we are not holding on to ideas about the emotions. The body processes emotion quickly, naturally, and fully. 
Feel the physical expression of an emotion as completely as possible. 
1. Settle into a comfortable meditation posture. 

2. Breathing normally, bring your attention to your emotions. Notice if you are feeling any emotions, no matter how faintly. It is not necessary to know precisely which emotion you are having, or why you are having it. Just knowing that you are feeling something emotional is enough. Guessing is OK.

3. Once you detect an emotion, see if you can find its expression in your body. Maybe there is a feeling of tension, gripping, tightening, burning, twisting, throbbing, pressure, lightness, openness, etc. 

4. If you like, you can mentally make the label "feel" when you detect a body sensation of emotion. Other labels are possible ("emotion" for example). 

5. Each time you detect an emotional body sensation, try to actually feel the sensation in your body, as completely as possible. Feel it through and through.

6. Completely let go of any ideas you have about the emotion, or self talk you might have about why the emotion is arising. Return to the body sensation of the emotion.

7. Continue contacting these emotional body sensations for as long as you wish.
 
Meditating on emotions is a traditional part of Vipassana practice in Buddhism. It is, for example, one of the four main techniques covered in the Vissudhimagga (The Path to Purity), an important Buddhist text.
(The version presented here is a summary of a practice given by American Buddhist teacher Shinzen Young.)
At first, practicing this meditation may make it seem as if the emotions are getting bigger. If they are negative emotions, this may seem overwhelming for a while. This is natural. It is occuring not because the emotions are actually getting bigger, but for two interesting reasons. The first is because we are no longer suppressing them. We are allowing them to actually express themselves fully. The second is because we are observing them (actually feeling them) very closely. Just as a microscope makes small things look bigger, the "microscope" of attention makes the emotional body sensations seem larger than they really are. 

The good news here is that as the emotions express themselves freely in the body, they are being processed. Usually this means that they will pass much more quickly. 

If we are feeling a positive emotion in this way, it may pass quickly, but we will also derive much more satisfaction from it, because our experience of it is so rich and complete.

If we are feeling a negative emotion in this way, we will experience much less suffering from it, because we are not resisting and suppressing it. 
 
 
Equanimity Meditation
The cause of much of our upset and emotional instability is clinging and neediness around people we like, and aversion and negativity towards people we don't like. We also have an unhealthy indifference to strangers, who may need our help, or at least our good will. 

This equanimity meditation helps us to examine our feelings towards people, and correct them where they are mistaken. This leads to a more balanced, wholesome, and helpful viewpoint. It also cuts off a lot of emotional turmoil at its root. 
Meditate on three people (a loved one, an enemy, and a neutral person), examining and correcting your feelings toward them. 
1. Sit in a comfortable meditation posture. Follow your breath until you feel centered and grounded.

2. Bring to mind the images of three people: someone you like, someone you dislike, and someone towards whom you feel indifferent. Keep these three people in mind throughout the meditation.

3. Focus on the friend, and look into all the reasons you like this person. Try to see if any of the reasons are about things this person does for you, or ways they uplift your ego. Ask yourself if these are really the correct reasons to like someone. Then do the same thing with the person you dislike, instead asking about the reasons you dislike them. Finally, do this for the person you are indifferent towards, asking about the reasons for your indifference. In all cases, notice where your ego is involved in the judgment of the other person's worth. 

4. Next, ask yourself whether you consider each of these relationships as permanent. Would you still like your friend if they did something terrible to you? What if the person you dislike really did something nice for you? What if the stranger became close to you? Think about all the relationships in the past in which your feelings about the person have dramatically changed. 

5. Now, visualize the person you like doing something you dislike or that is unacceptable to you. Would you still be their friend? Remember that many people have changed from friends to enemies in the past. There are people who you used to like, toward whom you now feel emnity. Think about how there is no special reason to feel good about a person who is only temporarily your friend. 

6. Next, visualize your enemy doing something very kind for you. They might visit you in the hospital, or help you to fix your home. When you imagine this, can you feel positive emotions toward this person? Can you remember times in the past when an enemy became a friend? Is it necessary to feel that your strong dislike for this person will last forever? Isn't it possible that they could someday become your friend? 

7. Now visualize the stranger. How would you feel about them if they did something very kind for you? Isn't it the case that all your current friends were at one point total strangers? Isn't it possible that a stranger could become your best friend? It has happened before. 

8. Think carefully about how everyone deserves equal regard as human beings. You must discriminate and make decisions based on your knowledge of a person's character, but you do not have to hold strong feelings or judgments towards them. It is very likely that your emotions around a person will change many times, so why hold onto these emotions so rigidly? 

In Buddhism, equanimity means a very deep, even profound, state of mental balance and stability. It is considered one of the seven factors of enlightenment, and a hallmark of the third and fourth jhanas, which are deep states of meditative absorption. 
This is a traditional meditation from Mahayana Buddhism. Its goal is to arouse "bodhicitta' or the mind of enlightenment. There are other equanimity meditations from other Buddhist lineages (e.g., Theravadan), as well as from other contemplative traditions.

(The version presented here is adapted from the book How to Meditate: A Practical Guide.) 
 

CAUTIONS:
It can be upsetting to bring an "enemy" to mind. When working with the mental image of an enemy, be careful not to get lost in negative thoughts and feelings. If you find that you can't handle working with a specific person without getting very worked up, switch to someone less upsetting.
 
 
Body Scan Meditation
The Body Scan is designed to help you feel and bring awareness to the myriad of sensations that occur throughout your body.  By practicing this meditation regularly, you can improve your body awareness and also better work with pain and difficult emotions in the body.  Additionally, people report feelings of relaxation and renewal after this practice.  
Sit or lie on your back and systematically bring your attention to each region of your body, beginning with your feet and moving upwards.  
 
As you begin:
·       Sit or lie down on your back in a comfortable position with your eyes open or gently closed.
·       Take a moment to check-in with yourself, observing how you are feeling in your body and mind.
·       Begin to focus on your breath wherever the sensations are most vivid for you.
 
During the body scan:
·       Try to bring an attitude of curiosity to the practice, as if you are investigating your body for the first time.  
·       Notice and feel any and all sensations that are present, such as tingling, tightness, heat, cold, pressure, dullness,  etc.  
·       If you do not feel any sensations in a particular region, simply note that and move on.  
·       See if you can be aware of any thoughts or emotions that arise as you move through the regions of your body.  Note these thoughts and emotions, and then return to the bare physical sensations that you are experiencing.  
·       Whenever you come across an area that is tense, see if you can allow it to soften.  If the area does not soften, simply notice how it feels and allow it to be as it is.
·       Feel as deeply and precisely as you can into each region of the body, noting if the sensations change in any way.  Also notice where they are located.
·       If you notice any pain or discomfort in a region of the body, see if you can practice allowing and exploring it for even a few seconds, feeling the various aspects of the sensation(s).  
 
Suggested sequence of body parts:
·       Begin with your left foot and toes, then move awareness up the left leg until you reach the left hip.
·       Right foot and toes up the right leg until you reach the right hip.  
·       Pelvic region and buttocks, stomach, low back to upper back, chest and breasts, heart and lungs
·       Hands (both at the same time) then move up the arms until you finish with the shoulders.
·       Neck, throat, jaw, mouth (teeth, tongue, lips), nose, eyes, forehead, ears, skull and scalp.  
·       Finally, become aware of the whole body and rest for a few minutes in this expansive awareness.  

The Body Scan is a variation of a Burmese Vipassana meditation practice that involves scanning the body for physical sensations.  This meditation is also done in various yoga practices.  The Body Scan is used in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), created by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.  

CAUTIONS:
If you have experienced physical abuse or trauma in the past, it is not recommended to do this practice without a trained professional.  Additionally, if you notice intense fear or other strong emotions related to a particular part of the body, please discontinue this practice.  
It is generally advised to take at least 30 to 40 minutes to complete the body scan.  However, if you wish to do a shorter body scan, spend less time on each region of the body, and/or focus on both feet, legs, and arms together as you move through these regions.  
If you wish, you can practice the body scan in the opposite direction, moving from your head to your toes. 
 
 
Walking Meditation
Walking meditation is a great way to begin integrating the power of meditation into your daily life. It is the first stage of meditation in action, that is, learning to be meditative while "out and about" in the world. 

It is great to do while, for example, taking a walk in the park, at the beach, or in another natural setting. 

Walking meditation is often recommended for people who are doing a lot of sitting meditation. If you are getting to sleepy, or your awareness is getting to "muddy," walking meditation can perk you up. Alternately, if you are getting to concentrated and mentally "stiff," walking meditation is a perfect way to loosen up a bit. 
Walking meditation is a common practice in Vipassana and Zen Buddhism. 


Pay close attention to the physical activity of walking slowly
1. Before walking, stand still in an open, balanced posture. Bring your awareness to the feeling of your feet touching the ground. 

2. Now begin walking. Keep your gaze fixed on the ground about six feet in front of you. This will help you to avoid distraction. 

3. Note and mentally label three parts of each step you take. The labels are "lifting," "pushing," and "dropping." 
 
     Lifting - when you are picking your foot up

     Pushing - as you are moving it forward

     Dropping - as you are lowering it to the ground

 As you make each label, pay very close attention to the actual physical sensations associated with each of these actions. 

4. After these three components become clear, you can add three more, so that the entire sequence is: "raising," "lifting," "pushing," "dropping," "touching," and "pressing."

5. Your mind will probably also engage in thinking extraneous thoughts, but just allow these to go on in the background. Your foreground attention should stay on the physical sensations of walking.

6. If you find that you have been completely lost in thought, stop walking for a moment and label the thinking as "thinking, thinking, thinking." 

7. Then re-establish your awareness on the feeling in your feet, and begin the walking meditation again. 

8. A typical session of walking meditation lasts a half an hour. 


CAUTIONS:
Make sure to watch where you are going, especially if you are around traffic, other people, etc. 
 
https://sites.google.com/site/psychospiritualtools/Home/meditation-practices
 
 
 
The Yoda Meditation
https://www.thedailymeditation.com/learning-to-meditate-with-jedi-master-yoda-online-meditation-course/amp
The Neo / Matrix Meditation
https://www.dc-acupuncture.com/lifestyle-personal-transformation/how-meditation-makes-you-more-like-neo-from-the-matrix
F That - A guided Meditation
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=92i5m3tV5XY

So, I have been listening to this 8-part recording of Ram Dass (aka Dr. Richard Alpert) from 1970 on YT during the last days.
It is super profound and fun to listen to, so I wanted to share it with you
He goes through a lot of stuff concerning different approaches to "get high", like meditation, mantra, yoga, psychedelics, tantra, etc...
He also shares some stories and, as always, spreads love and clarity while doing so 
By listening to so much Ram Dass lately I feel like he sneaked into my mind, he even appeared in a dream a few days ago 
He lectures at a leisurely pace, so calm your restless mind  
His teaching style is directed to people who experimented with psychedelics / had an awakening experience.
But even if you count yourself to this group of people, radical open-mindedness is required!
Stage orange and below won't like this at all.
Enjoy!
Part1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSTqtKYo9JI&t=2s&frags=pl%2Cwn
 

@ShugendoRa The issue is: What daily practices are you doing? For how long? How seriously are you doing them?
Nothing else really matters. That is the key. Without serious practices you will never get enlightened.
Which teacher you listen to doesn't really matter if you don't have your practices down. And once you have your practices down you hardly need a teacher at all. That is the paradox of spiritual work. No one can do it for you.

Sounds like you're describing Samadhi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samadhi
Which is basically a mild version of nondual consciousness / mystical experience.
But you are only feeling the tip of the iceberg now. With more practice it will go much deeper. It can even go so deep that your body and the entire universe will disappear!
It feels timeless because it is! Time is a concept created by the mind. When the mind is still for long enough, time will cease to exist.
In fact, every moment, every experience you've ever had, has been, and currently is, timeless.

@iGhost Nothing is hidden. What you're presently seeing is the storage.