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Yes you did it! Welcome home to the world of the Self. That feeling of "everything is the self" shows you have awakened for real. Update tomorrow or in a few days how it feels.

Hey interesting. My old teacher, he first started doing high dose LSD trips in the 70s. He would do every Friday, for about a year. Then on one experience he had an awakened or non-dual experience. It was an experience of enlightenment. Once he experienced that, it changed him. He knew it was the real thing, and he dedicated his life to achieving it. The next day, after that experience, he came back to reality, he was no longer enlightened. He knew LSD wasn't going to bring him there in a permanent way. He started practicing Zazen under Philip Kapleau, and didn't touch LSD again. He spent 10 years living alone, in rural isolation, just meditating. He eventually got it. I asked if it was like the LSD experience, and he said yes, but in some ways it's even better, as it's unshakable now, it's real and doesn't go away. Now I think 5-meo is actually unique, it's quite different in how profound it is. I think it's incredibly valuable to give one experiences that transcend duality, and can supercharge one's meditation practice. One of the risks is that it's so profound that it can be another form of attachment. This idea that one must get there, or live from that place, that's another form of attachment. It lacks a certain maturity, it lacks equanimity. When you meet a true elder, someone who has really walked their path and garnered wisdom, you can feel a quality of presence and being that is very embodied and mature. I don't think one can shortcut that, and I think one needs that to be balanced. There is a deep humility, there is a knowing of responsibility, there is a careful sense of speech and action. I think undoubtedly that psychedelics and even deep states of meditation can be used as another form of spiritual materialism, another distraction from Dukkha (suffering/unsatisfactoriness). I can personally say that I was deeply unsatisfied, I felt a deep sense of restlessness at all times, a lack of connection, a lack of joy, a feeling of melancholy... I was attempting to escape this state, to go beyond it with psychedelics and meditation. They worked for a time, but the feeling would always return, and ultimately I just had to accept it and see if I could still live a meaningful life in spite of it. I am now understanding the value of going through such hardships, a real sense of wisdom and maturity is garnered over time. It's very difficult, and I would have taken any way out, but luckily nothing worked and I was forced to accept it and live through it. I've been taught patience, and it's been a hard lesson.

Could be that he is not awakened, some people like to do some exercises and just keep it at that, reap some benefits and stay rather ordinary. Spiritual masters are not normal and don't seek to be liked, so most people like to avoid them as the plague.

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. I'm aware of most of the things you're talking about. It's not news to me. Regarding Shinzen Young, I have had extensive hour-long private questioning sessions with him about the nature of reality. His answers to my questions left me unsatisfied and given my deepest awakenings I can tell that he is not fully Awake. I don't see that he has an understanding of what Infinity is and what God is. And his students are certainly not deeply awakened. You could follow him for decades and never realize the things I have realized. Shinzen Young does not understand Mahasamadhi. He thinks it's a fake out done by holding your breath and killing yourself. Lol Be careful who you follow and take as Awake. Yes, of course states are not stages. I have never claimed they were. I don't claim to have reached the highest stages, but only the highest states. But also, this difference is completely irrelevant from the point of you of Truth/Understanding. It doesn't matter what stage you're at when you are in an Infinite state. If fact, there is no such thing as stages. All stages are simply states. It's just a question of how long your state lasts. It could last 1 second or 100 years. The privileging of one over the other is itself a bias of the mind. You may think my path is dangerous, but also don't forget how dangerous your path is. The danger of never fully awaking up. This proves my point. If these people failed by using traditional methods, then what hope do you have of success using those methods? There is no collective to awaken. There is only your awakening. The collective is that part of your dream which you invented to keep yourself asleep. Full awakening is a very radical thing. You don't want it.

@traveler In my experience; enlightenment has no past to awaken from and no future to be awakened to. Light is all there is. *big conscious breath*

@Nahm thank you so much for a very detailed answer. However, I don't think that you can deny the existence of separation and ignorance (even if it's illusory) within the finite forms of the Self, even if you are talking from an awakened POV - imagine being born to slavery and indoctrination having no clue of the absolute truth whatsoever - it's simply being dismissive

@dimitri Just because there are awakened people in the ether web (or whatever) doesn't mean that every mind is free of delusion.

@SamueLSD My spidey sense tells me so, yes. @DrewNows Awesome! Thanks! I too have been feeling an attraction towards the world of occult lately. Exciting stuff! There's ALOT tho. Only flirting with it for now. I was also recently reminded of the predominant element in my current experience; Fire. I wish to transcend the cycle of burning out and reigniting. So all there is is The Eternal Flame. Fire is the truth of my personal self, that I know for sure. I am dedicated to mastering it, sooner or later. Anyhow... About to hit the sheets now, will check the vid when awakened. Much luv.

There’s no cause to anything, it just does Leo It’s inevitable, eventually shit hits the ceiling and there’s nothing to blame but the system (ourselves as the government) for the ineffective means at which It destroys itself (or ripples). I’d rather look at it as individuation rather than devolution I do try to avoid the drama, moved on. But it’s a must sadly, for those who feel they have something to offer, I see it to be just another mask like the status quo and political pushes (powers that be) Your influence is great here in guiding the awakened, painting a picture to bring us through fear and into unity beyond difference, back to balance. Appreciate your view

Why did jesus claim to be only begotten son of god? Why mohammed claimed to be the last prophet of god? How can awakened people make such claims which seem so absurd? How much truth is in these claims or these just fabrications/misinterpretations or perhaps misunderstanding of metaphors by their early followers?

In regards to the addiction, yes just whitewashing it with a veneer of Advaita isn’t going to do the trick. It’s very easy to say “oh well yeah I’m addicted to porn and watch it 5 times a day but it’s all appearing in awareness so it’s cool” Its hard to actually have the self-love to know you deserve and can express your sexuality in a much healthier and loving way and take the steps to overcome this addiction. as you say, addiction is coming from a sense of lack, especially extreme addiction. But, it is also habit forming, so may take time to reverse these old habits. For example, let’s say you have an argument with someone, usually you’d have your favourite ice cream now, you would have to change that behaviour pattern, which may take some work. So, it would also be an idea to investigate why you are involving yourself with this addiction, a lot of these issues will likely be resolved before you even get to awakening work, but some subtle ones may remain and will again involve investigation and the necessary relative steps to overcome. just to be clear whether you are a successful billionaire with a jacked body & the dream life or a bum on the street injecting heroin makes 0 difference absolutely speaking, but relatively it will have a huge impact on your existence, the absolute is always at peace and happy no matter what, it’s quite the paradox. However, addictions overall come from a place of lack, hence need to be investigated. This doesn’t mean you cant do things like drink alcohol or smoke weed or eat unhealthy food after awakening as a celebration, the difference is you aren’t doing it from a sense of lack to fill a void! When I say you are “okay” with whatever happens, I simply mean your inherent peace and happiness are not threatened by it, it doesn’t mean you won’t be sad or angry when things happen, it just means your true nature and absolute happiness is always unaffected. For example, let’s say you start a business and it does bust and you lose the business, you will of course be upset and potentially angry etc, BUT you, absolutely speaking, will still be happy and at peace, if you have awakened. It’s quite the paradox and can be hard to understand, especially for the mind, my advice would be dive deep enough into awakening, and find out these truths for yourself! here’s some videos & articles that explain it better than I can https://non-duality.rupertspira.com/read/addiction_porn_and_pseudo_advaita

@LfcCharlie4 thanks for the explanation. I’m familiar with stoic philosophy and I know what you are taking about but it is hard to implement. I’m just curious about how an awakened person perceives an addiction. An addiction is resistance or escapism. Your body and mind runs away from a thing. So as an awakened person you can perform an addiction or not perform your addiction, and you are ok with both? It is kind of confusing for me if you are also doing self help. I guess one also has to be stoic when going against your own addiction, if you chose to do so. Quote: “Life simply becomes a celebration and you can do whatever the fuck it is that you want, that's Absolute Freedom, there is NO rules. This is why it's important you sit down and decide what you actually want for your life, and then you go out there and do it, Leo's video on life advice for young people is great.“ End quote. If you chose something for your life for example success, doesn’t it mean you don’t chose the other thing such as failure? How can you be ok with both succes and failure at the same time if you chose?

Awesome blog! Just wanted to add, in my experience at least Non-Duality has made sex EVEN better in terms of deepening the experience of Sex, and I do feel it is more than possible to have a relationship post awakening that is an expression of ever deepening love, and can certainly include a happy sex life. I would say when integrated it leads to a much healthier, more loving and more fulfilling sex life. The distinction I would make is in the awakening process it would be tough, as you would be so focused on your Awakening, it would become difficult I feel to maintain a relationship, I found it most difficult when seeking, and much easier post awakening. I also don't think it's as simple as 'More awakened; less sex drive.' I actually think it varies in case to case, and your natural sexuality will express itself more and more, without the need to escape through sex & porn, sure it could be lower, or Celibacy, but it could also mean a more expressive sex life too. One last point, a lot of people who have these deep awakenings tend to be older, maybe that could play a role in the sex drive too. However, it must be said, nothing beats the absolute peace and happiness that awakening brings. It's easy to take it for granted at times. Then sex simply becomes a way to celebrate life and express this understanding, instead of a way to escape life. Rupert has the only decent video I've ever found on it.

First of all if all you want is to lead a so called "good and happy life" you don't need to be awakened ..... because frankly you are not ready for it yet .Even deep meditation and samadhi experiences can put you in a tranquil state and joyful state. However , if someone is in samadhi , he may not be awakened or enlightened . To be awakened or enlightened does not mean that you will always be in peace ... it means to know the full nature of world and reality . it means to realize (experientially) that you are the Brahman yourself .....that you are god yourself (according to vedanta ( non duality)) , and let me tell you that if you are enlightened ... you dont need to be in heaven 24/7 , because for the one who knows the true nature of reality ....joy and bliss are just "emotions". But if you want joy and bliss , you can pursue the path of sehaj samadhi or yoga.. if you achieve sehaj samadhi , you will not need material things to make you happy , you can be happy under a tree but being enlightened is the best thing one can do in this life because he just realized what is reality.

Awakening can help you a bit with improving the quality of your consciousness, helping you understand deeper truths, give you important breakthroughs to solve your issues but it cannot guarantee a perfect life. You can still have the same problems as you had before. The reason why you want to be awakened is not because you want to find solutions to all of your problems and needs but to seek the higher truth. It's a process of seeking, like an explorer seeks new lands and experiences. It's also an experience and an opportunity to grow inwardly. In fact if you are looking for a more perfect life where all your needs are accommodated and problems resolved, you should probably be more interested in pd and self actualization.

Or perhaps awakened gurus appear very beautiful to those who can appreciate them?

Normies love to mythologize and idealize awakened gurus, treating them as saints. It's actually a clever defense mechanism of the ego-mind. The ego-mind reasons like this: "If awakening doesn't make a person perfect and good, then it's not real and not worth working towards." By putting the guru on a pedestal the normie/student doesn't have to take responsibility for the hard work that must go into perfecting one's life. The normie/student wants awakening to be an instant cure-all to all of life's problems. This is of course a fantasy.

where does the misnomer that awakening/enlightenment means automatically becoming an emotionally mastered terminator that experiences no uncomfortable experiences and is in pure heaven 24/7 with no chance of ever wavering from this state? I've awakened but still feel I have much to do when it comes to managing and integration my emotions and beliefs.

Your mistake is conflating truth realization with changes or improvements in one's behavior. These are independent things. Even awakened people can have addictions, "bad" behavior, and other stuff. That's called being human. Realizing what is true will not automatically make you a saint. Survival is still a powerful force that remains post-awakening.

Yes, some people in the non-duality communities have this neo-advaita-rhetoric that makes no sense, they are basically just nihilists or mind-dwellers. They think denying that they are the body makes them free but it's just a belief-system, not an actual transformation. I'm not bothered by them though, and I'm glad there are some people on this forum who have genuinely awakened.

@Meta-Man Lol good luck bro. Someone always makes clear whether they simply have an intellectual understanding of these teachings, or have actually awakened themselves by how they act, and not what they say. Similar to that guy who kept exploding at people the other day. All people really need, is a good old fashioned awakening(s) and a few years of Integration, then all will be well

@Keyhole ok,but lets look at this whole thing like a scientists would... With a mind of common sense. 1) Leo claims he is the most awakened person in the world. Maybe not THE most, but he claims he is way beyond Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Shinzen Young, Pete Ralston, etc. (Funny enough, I knew someone who also believed to be "above" Jesus in my past... He is now in a mental hospital) 2) Every single "awake" person said Truth was SIMPLE... EXTREMELY SIMPLE (Papaji, UG Krishnamurti, J Krishnamurti, ...) Do you see how something just doesnt add up? And again - the New Age talks about ALL of these concepts. And no, there is a very powerful charge behind words. The fact is that you can read a sentence or remember a concept, or as you guys say "contemplate" about Love. And guess what.. after you contemplate God (or as Leo says - "the GODHEAD" - which is an idea that comes from Christianity), you will EXPERIENCE God. You can imagine yourself to be anything. The problem is when ppl confuse the "REAL" world with imagination. And so of course, while you are tripping out of your mind, you will FEEL like you can change the weather, heal illnesses, all of that stuff - because the "natural world doesnt exist! - right? Wrong. You just debunked yourself (i dont mean you personally) But somehow, these ppl are NEVER able to demonstrate it.

@Leo Gura Then what do you mean when you talk about "pursuing awakening"? It sounds that one is pursuing one thing. Or is it pursuing one awakened state out of many others?

@Girzo again, you dont know anything about me. Ive "broken thru" dozens of times, i can "merge myself with the divine" on demand, without drugs, but, so what? It has nothing to do with truth. It's a subjective hallucination. Thats why no awakened person will accept bullshit like 5Meo DMT LMAO Leo is so f*ing arrogant, he think "peter ralston doesnt wanna take 5meo cuz hes close minded", NO LEO ITS BECAUSE WE DONT WANT STUPID FUCKING FLEETING EXPERIENCES. Why do you guys attach such meaning to psychedelics delusional experiences? Serious question.

Don't assume that all gurus are talking about a singular thing called enlightenment. "Enlightenment" is more like a giant spectrum of possible awakened states and ways of being. You can have an awakening with God-realization or without, and there are many degrees of God-realization. There are literally 100s if not 1000s of different awakened states possible.