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How Survival Shapes Who You Are https://youtu.be/mPIVZtxYHJc "You became how you survived" Central Theme - Survival’s Role in Shaping Identity: Leo Gura emphasizes the profound role survival demands have in shaping a person's identity, particularly during the first 20 years of life. He draws parallels between the evolution of animals and humans, highlighting the significance of the mind's 'shape' in our survival and existence. Physical Versus Conceptual Survival: Leo reflects on human survival expanding beyond the physical shape, like that of animals, to conceptual levels involving the mind and psyche, more so with modern technology. Unconscious Influence of Early Survival: Our identity today is largely unconscious of how the early survival environments and challenges molded our psyche, including our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Cultural Versus Environmental Survival Factors: While humans may seem externally similar, Leo points out the significant cultural influences on survival strategies that outweigh physical environments, especially in diverse countries like the United States. Blind Spots from Personal Survival Situations: Individualistic survival experiences can create huge blind spots in our understanding of others, limiting personal growth and the ability to advance to higher developmental levels. Early Survival Challenges Impact: Confronting dysfunctions we carry today requires exploring buried layers of the psyche created during formative years, which originated from how early survival challenges were dealt with. The Shape of Our Minds Dictates Life Outcomes: Leo asserts that our psyche, constructed from early survival situations, determines everything in our personal and collective existence, emphasizing the forgotten—but critical—influence of early surroundings. Contrasting Modalities of Survival: He observes a stark contrast between the survival approaches throughout human history, admonishing a common assumption that humans have always survived similarly. Permanency of the Formative Years’ Impressions: The first 20 years of life set our psyche in place similarly to drying concrete, impressing traits and behaviors that are increasingly difficult to alter as we age. Visualizing Alternative Survival Experiences: Leo proposes a thought experiment urging viewers to imagine radically different upbringing scenarios—such as growing up in war zones or with a disability—and consider how drastically that would alter their identity. Appreciating the Diversity of Human Survival: By illustrating the wide range of survival scenarios that humans can experience, he aims to show the vast differences in our identities and worldviews that stem from our unique survival strategies. Judgment and Understanding of Survival Strategies: He warns against judgment and encourages appreciation for the unique and complex survival strategies adopted by individuals, which can be vastly different due to cultural and environmental influences. Survival Strategies and Their Transformation of Identity: Leo stresses that not only physical attributes but also survival strategies at the conceptual level are integral in shaping our very identity and perspectives on life and reality. Judgment of Other's Survival Strategies: We're often judgmental towards others' survival approaches because our own strategies are deeply intertwined with our self-identity, making it challenging to see from another's perspective who had to adapt to different, possibly harsher, survival circumstances. Survival and Reality Perception: To survive in drastically different environments, like being a woman in a conservative versus a liberal society, people have to see reality from a point of view that enables their survival even if it differs greatly from our own. Childhood Survival and Understanding: Children, lacking a comprehensive understanding of reality, must develop survival strategies as they grow, often without proper guidance from adults, which can result in varied and flawed methods of coping with life's challenges. Influence of Parents on Survival Strategies: The quality of survival strategies passed down from parents is critical. Dysfunctional parental guidance or a shift in external circumstances, like growing up in a new war zone, can leave children ill-equipped for survival with profound life-long impacts. Survival's Impact on Psyche and Morality: Survival shapes not just physical well-being, but the psyche, including beliefs, worldviews, morality, and values. For instance, understanding Hitler's early survival challenges can give insights into his adult psyche and actions. Survival Strategy Reflection Exercise: Leo Gura encourages viewers to reflect on and list early childhood survival challenges, like struggling to stay clean while eating or staying warm, as these influence one's current behaviors and mindset. Financial Survival Struggles: Leo shares his own fluctuating financial circumstances in his family, teaching him a conservative approach towards money and life, which later became a dysfunctional habit despite achieving financial abundance. Sexuality and Survival: Early experiences and challenges related to sexuality, influenced by factors like parental morality, shape our current views on sexuality, from conservative to liberal. Impact of Social Survival Challenges: Struggles with socializing, being bullied, academic achievements, and fitting in with peers during school years shape one's psyche significantly. Influence of Family Dynamics on Survival: Family dynamics involving approval seeking, divorce, identity forging, and societal norms greatly impact one's development and approach to life's challenges. Identity Shaped by Interests and Hobbies: Exploring different interests and hobbies in early years plays a critical role in the formation of one's identity and approach to life. Family's Religious or Secular Environment: The presence or lack of religion in one's early home environment, secular or scientific inclinations included, significantly shapes a person's beliefs and values. Philosophical Musings in Youth: Contemplations on life, death, and the awareness of mortality in one's younger years profoundly influence an individual's psyche and outlook on life. Influence of Debates, Disagreements, and Mentors: Discussions with parents, elders, friends, and the positive or negative influences of mentors play a role in shaping one's perspectives and decision-making processes. Cultural Influences Such as Music: The music listened to during formative years, along with health issues or familial financial status, contributes to the development of a person's character and coping mechanisms. Early Romantic Encounters and Rejections: Experiences such as early romances, pregnancies, abortions, or rejections from teams, jobs, and educational institutions all impact identity formation and coping styles. Coping Mechanisms Define Identity: The ways in which a person has adapted and coped with the above situations essentially determine their current identity. 'Fill in the Blank' Exercise for Self-Reflection: A suggested activity involving completing sentences like "Life is...", "Men/Women are...", "Happiness is...", to uncover deep-seated beliefs shaped by survival situations. Impact of Survival on Personal Perceptions and Morality: Early survival scenarios not only shape tangible aspects of one's life but also abstract concepts like morality, likes, dislikes, and the psyche itself. These form our ego mind, which needs survival as much as our physical bodies. The Ego Mind's Accumulation of Survival Strategies: The first 20 years of life involve a crucial accretion of survival-based beliefs, opinions, and traits which become integrated into one's ego mind. Physical vs. Psychological Survival: Recognizing that survival influences not just physical well-being but also psychological stability through the development of fears, insecurities, and defense mechanisms. Influence of Early Survival on Individual Preferences and Behaviors: Early survival experiences shape more than one's worldview; they also impact everyday preferences like the food we eat, our social behaviors, and even our handling of money and choice of attire. Examining One's Identity: A deep dive into understanding how much of one's identity is not a deliberate choice but a culmination of various adaptations to survival challenges faced early in life. Identity Changes and Life Outcomes: The importance of modifying core identity traits derived from survival strategies to achieve improved life outcomes, even though it feels uncomfortable and counterintuitive. Survival Strategies and Rationalizations: Survival strategies are often rationalized to avoid questioning our identity, but recognizing this can lead to an improvement in quality of life. Importance of Conscious Change for Identity Improvement: An emphasis on the need for intentional change and the understanding that the quality of life improves with an in-depth transformation of one's core identity. Fragility and Contingency of Life Trajectories: Our lives follow extremely fragile and arbitrary paths, influenced by minor events that exponentially steer our future. Like the chaos theory's butterfly effect, small shifts in our early experiences can have a profound impact on our adult identities and beliefs. Influence of Approval and Attention: Approvals we received during childhood, like laughter for being humorous or love for academic achievements, can cement certain personas in us that last a lifetime. These form our psyche—dictating our careers, social behavior, and even our methods of attaining love and approval. Consequences of Conditioned Beauty Standards: If one receives attention for physical beauty during formative years, they may develop an obsession with maintaining this image, affecting their relationship dynamics, self-esteem, sense of identity, and even their livelihood. Judgment as an Obstacle in Self-Study: Self-judgment hinders the ability to objectively observe and understand our survival strategies. Like good science, psychic archaeology requires neutral examination of one's history and experiences to gain honest insight into one's survival mechanisms. Survival Strategy Examples and Their Lasting Effects: Personal identity can be shaped by seemingly trivial early experiences—like a young man developing anti-feminist views due to betrayal by a first girlfriend. Childhood affection deficits from parents can lead to ingrained survival strategies, coping mechanisms, and insecurities that endure for decades. Correlation Between Unmet Love Needs and Dysfunctions: A lack of parental love is profoundly correlated with dysfunctional behavior in adulthood. In-depth psychoanalysis can reveal how current issues trace back to the absence of love during one's early years. Illogical Relations Between Childhood Experiences and Worldview: One's worldview, including religious beliefs and intellectual interests, may stem from emotional reactions to early family dynamics rather than logic or scientific thinking. Even a successful career in science can be a coping mechanism for unmet emotional needs. Survival is the Real Driving Force Behind Life Choices: Many of our behaviors and beliefs are not based on rational thought but are survival strategies developed in response to our need for love. Personal and career choices may be a result of trying to gain approval and love rather than genuine interest or passion. Impact of Socio-economic Context and Family Dynamics on Identity: Factors like socioeconomic status, race, home environment, and parental relationships shape our coping mechanisms and biases. These influences can lead to a distorted self-perception, with some inadequacies grounded in reality and others being purely illusory. Transference of Perceived Inadequacies to Identity and Survival: Perceptions of inadequacy can turn into self-fulfilling prophecies, further fueling biases and personal limitations. Often, these self-perceptions are not logical consequences of life circumstances but emotional responses adopted as survival strategies in childhood. Unconscious Survival Choices: Most individuals don't consciously choose their survival strategies; they often select the first available option that allows them to cope, without considering the long-term consequences of these choices. Dysfunctional Survival Mechanisms: People might engage in behaviors like chronic substance use as an immediate survival strategy during challenging times like school, without contemplating alternative strategies or future ramifications. Survival Strategies Distorting Reality Perception: Reliance on certain biases and compensation mechanisms to survive can severely distort an individual's perception of reality, as they become unable to envision living without these strategies. Defense Mechanisms and Self-Deception: In order to maintain a chosen survival mechanism, individuals often deceive themselves by ignoring or hiding the painful or uncomfortable aspects of reality that they prefer to avoid. Denial as a Coping Tactic: When deeply connected to a community or belief system, individuals can develop defense mechanisms that prevent them from examining the truth of these beliefs due to the fear of losing their community and sense of belonging. Rationalization of Biases: Once a defense mechanism is in place, individuals will rationalize and justify avoiding certain types of information that threaten their survival constructs, leading to further distortion of reality. Personal Experience and Cultural Shock: Leo recounts his move from the USSR to America, highlighting the profound impact this had on his worldview and the social survival strategies he had to adopt due to the cultural shock and language barriers. Long-Term Effects of Early Survival Strategies: Leo describes how early survival situations, such as trying to socially adapt in a new country, can leave lasting insecurities and biases, even leading to overcompensation and inauthenticity in social interactions. Withdrawal and Introspection: The early social survival experiences Leo faced led him to be solitary and introspective, which shaped his lifestyle choices, independence, avoidance of groupthink, and even the direction of his work. Impact of Financial Instability: Leo details how financial instability in his family led him to develop conservative financial habits. While this initially helped him bootstrap his businesses, he later needed to adjust his overly conservative approach to enjoy his success. Self-Modification for Survival: In light of his growth, Leo recognized the importance of moderating his conservative financial habits and began to strike a better balance between frugality and enjoyment. Consequences of Financial Instability: Leo experienced financial instability in his childhood, which forced him to focus intensely on academics and career from an early age, sacrificing his social and personal life for financial security. This pragmatic approach led to financial independence which allowed the creation of Actualized.org, but also resulted in dysfunctional habits regarding money management. Reliance on External Approval: Through academic achievement, Leo sought love and approval from educators, which benefited him by improving his education but later recognized as an unhealthy dependency. He had to rewire his mindset to shift his motivation from extrinsic to intrinsic, seeking approval from within rather than externals like praise in comments or academic accolades. Dysfunctional Coping Mechanisms: Leo acknowledges that coping mechanisms developed to avoid suffering can become rationalized even if they're dysfunctional. They may provide less suffering than if they were not in place but still cause significant issues. He advocates for finding healthier coping mechanisms as an "upgrade" to one's psychological armor. Seeking Love from Within: Leo discusses the dangers of seeking love from external sources and the importance of finding self-reliance in love. He points out the need to replace contingent ways of finding love with more stable and self-sourced love, suggesting that true self-love is far deeper and more fulfilling than love from others. Impact of Genetics on Identity: Leo notes that while survival challenges significantly shape our identities, genetics also play a significant role and are largely unchangeable. He suggests focusing on changeable aspects, like survival challenges, to understand and shape who we are. Deep Suffering and Love Influence Identity: The deepest sources of suffering and love in the first 20 years of life are emphasized as the most significant influences on our identity. They shape our coping mechanisms, insecurities, fears, and how we seek love and approval in later life. Improving Love Sources: Leo warns against seeking love from dysfunctional sources, advocating for the development of self-sourced love. He encourages replacing partial, contingent forms of love with more holistic and expansive methods, which are less dependent on external validation. Confusion of Survival Strategies with Identity: Leo explains that individuals often confuse their survival patterns and strategies with their actual identity, attaching themselves to these strategies because they've formed an identity out of them. It's a problem because survival is ultimately a losing game, which sets up a person for failure. Contingent and Arbitrary Worldview: The exercise presented is to illustrate how one's worldview is contingent, arbitrary, and could have been different under altered survival situations. Recognizing this can help detach from one's worldview and not treat it as the ultimate truth. Survival as an Illusion and Fantasy: Leo calls most worldviews illusions and fantasies, cobbled together for mere survival rather than representing absolute truth. He asserts that even science is not an objective pinnacle of truth but a survival strategy. Rationalizations of Worldview: There is a tendency to rationalize one's worldview as the best and only truth without acknowledging it's based on a narrow survival strategy. Leo suggests that this results in engaging in debates and defenses instead of seeking deeper truths. Scientific Truth as a Survival Strategy: Leo challenges the belief in science as the epitome of objective truth, labeling it another survival strategy that's denied as such, thereby showing the limitations of our survival-based understandings. Grift in Belief Systems and Survival: The lecture outlines how powerful individuals in media, business, science, and politics often rationalize their survival strategies as good and true, to the extent of self-deception, even if they are grifting. True vs. Rationalized Goodness: The distinction is made between what is truly good (the whole of existence) and what the ego rationalizes as good — the latter often being a narrow and biased slice of the whole pie of reality. Impact of Biased Worldviews: Leo emphasizes that everyone carves out different versions of what is good based on their survival strategies, leading to conflicting worldviews and misunderstandings among people. Questions for Self-Reflection on Survival and Identity: A series of questions encourage self-reflection on how one's top fears, insecurities, values, and strategies for love were shaped by early survival challenges, as well as recognizing outdated survival patterns that are limiting present potential. Compassion for Early Survival Situations: Leo urges viewers to have compassion for their early survival situations and those of others, acknowledging that people's circumstances are often beyond their control and based on ignorance. Cycle of Ignorance and Wisdom: He highlights the role of ignorance in perpetuating dysfunctional behaviors and survival strategies, and the importance of wisdom, education, and higher teachings in breaking this cycle. Understanding the Roots of Different Worldviews: Leo suggests that understanding the different, often difficult, survival environments of others can lead to greater empathy and recognition of why they may have developed views and behaviors we view as challenging. Cycle of Ignorance: Leo describes the perpetuation of ignorance across generations, where abusive or misleading behaviors by adults, mentors, and teachers are passed on, as they themselves were likely victim to similar treatment. Importance of Knowing Better: Emphasizes the value in just knowing what is right and the possible actions and their consequences, which can take decades to comprehend and is an essential but often undervalued aspect of self-improvement. Defense Mechanisms as Epistemological Barriers: Defensive survival strategies can severely restrict someone's capacity to learn or accept new information, indicating a locked and closed mindset resistant to change. Survival Script Robotic Nature: Leo concludes that most of a person's identity is acting out learned survival scripts robotically, and spirituality and self-development entail transcending and refining these survival strategies. Duality of Spiritual Work and Development Work: There's a distinction between the spiritual work of transcending survival and the development work of creating healthier survival strategies, both of which are important for growth. Generational Survival Mechanisms: Each generation, including Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Zoomers, develops its own unique survival mechanisms, blind spots, and limitations, which substantially shape the society's consciousness and love. Reactive vs. Conscious Survival: Most people survive reactively and opportunistically, leading to evil and deception. Leo advocates for conscious survival that is deliberate and proactive, aligning with a higher purpose. Long-term Investment in Conscious Survival: Encourages viewing the process of conscious survival as a wise long-term investment that eventually yields dividends, reinforcing it as an essential aspect of one's life. Urge to Understand Survival in Depth: Leo underscores the imperative of deeply understanding survival to build a solid foundation for personal development and eventual spiritual exploration. Resources on Actualized.org: Leo suggests using resources from his website like book reviews, a life purpose course, a forum, and invites support through Patreon, also announcing a new YouTube channel for condensed clips of his videos. Priority of Mastering Survival for Youth: Advises younger individuals to master basic survival skills before exploring advanced spiritual and philosophical topics, to prepare for a profound exploration of life beyond survival. Caution Against Excessive Focus on Survival: Warns of the risk associated with losing oneself in the endless chase of survival, recommending learning enough to survive but avoiding over-indulgence that may be counterproductive. Episkey

What Is Goodness - Good & Morality Fully Explained https://youtu.be/3Z4D-gBLT-Y "If good happens, good; if bad happens, good." - Stephen Mitchell The Tao Te Ching Lack of formal education on goodness: Despite extensive education and expert advice, Leo points out that most people have never been given a clear explanation of what goodness is. This absence is prevalent even in many spiritual teachings, where the concept of absolute good is seldom addressed. Absolute Goodness: Leo emphasizes that goodness is not just a human attribute or a relative concept, but an absolute one. He distinguishes between relative good and bad, which are human judgments, and absolute good, which can be directly experienced through expanded consciousness. Materialistic scientific paradigm's limitation: The scientific paradigm assumes reality is neutral and that any notion of absolute goodness is non-scientific. Leo challenges this assumption, proposing that reality is not merely neutral; it is the embodiment of absolute good. Consciousness and Goodness: Leo asserts that consciousness itself is goodness, and that realizing the full, absolute state of goodness requires infinite consciousness. This suggests that what we perceive as bad is merely a projection onto reality due to our biases and limited perspective. Creation of Reality and Goodness: Leo puts forth the idea that in a universe created by an entity with unlimited power, the highest good would allow infinite beings to realize the infinite goodness of consciousness. He claims that our current reality is this very embodiment of absolute good. Goodness as its own reward: According to Leo, goodness holds the unique position of being its own reward and goal, unlike other things like money that can be used for various ends. He presents the universe as a manifestation of this principle, where goodness is the point of reality itself. Human Misconceptions of Goodness: Human beings, having limited consciousness, often misjudge the universe as flawed due to personal biases and a narrow definition of goodness that fails to consider the infinite and selfless nature of reality. Goodness, Neutrality, and God's Creation: Leo revisits the concept that the universe, being created by God, is absolutely good by nature and that any perception of unfairness or evil is a result of human bias and limited consciousness. Achieving Godlike Goodness: The journey to living by Godlike goodness is difficult and fraught with traps such as adopting a false persona of selflessness. Leo concludes that becoming more conscious and experiencing absolute goodness directly are essential steps to genuine improvement and aligning with the selfless nature of the universe. Infinite perception and the illusion of evil: Goodness requires an infinite perspective to understand how every piece fits into the whole. Isolated local events may appear negative, but when viewed from a broader context, their role in the ultimate goodness becomes clear. Thus, the concept of evil dissolves as a mere perception problem, not an objective reality of the universe. God's existential dilemma and the nature of goodness: God is infinite goodness and desires for beings to realize their own infinite goodness. However, goodness cannot be coerced; it must be chosen freely. Coercion would negate the authenticity of goodness, making it a matter of self-preservation rather than selflessness. Conscious choice in being good: The essence of true goodness lies in its voluntary nature. It is about choosing to be good for the joy of goodness alone, without any higher priority or ulterior motive. This aligns with the nature of God, who is the embodiment of self-justifying, self-reinforcing goodness with no need for anything external. Goodness as a self-sufficient end: Goodness is self-reinforcing and tautological. Once conscious of this, one realizes that only goodness can exist, as it is a foundational structure of reality and God. Infinity and goodness are identical, meaning nothing can exist outside or prior to infinity—and goodness, by extension. God's infinite neutrality and embrace of existence: God's consciousness is pure, unbiased, and perfectly neutral. It embraces every possible form of existence, recognizing all as parts of itself. The ego mind misunderstands this, imagining God as a selective creator, whereas God allows all forms to arise without judgment. Overcoming the problem of evil through consciousness: The problem of evil is not solved by eliminating "evil" experiences but by understanding and embracing them with consciousness and love. Evil is not an inherent attribute of reality but a consequence of limited consciousness and personal biases. Misconception of goodness and personal hurt: Our perceptions of good and evil are influenced by personal hurts and self-preservation instincts. Overcoming this requires understanding the absolute good, which can be challenging for those who have personally suffered or have deeply ingrained biases. Self-bias as a barrier to perceiving absolute good: A lack of awareness of one's own self-bias impedes the ability to see reality clearly. To comprehend the absolute good, one must take the notion of self-bias seriously and work towards eliminating it. Influence of self bias on perception of absolute good: Our capacity to understand and accept absolute good is significantly hindered by self biases, including the fundamental desire to stay alive. This self-centered perspective warps our entire view of reality, giving rise to various problems and obstructing the realization of absolute good. God's infinite goodness and neutrality: Leo asserts that God represents infinite goodness due to infinite selflessness, suggesting that the universe's absolute neutrality, as seen by scientists, is not wholly grasped until it is recognized as absolute good. To awakened individuals, neutrality feels like overwhelming goodness rather than mere indifference. Conundrum of God's potential for evil: The question of why an all-powerful God doesn't choose to be evil is addressed. Leo argues that since God created all, including moral rules, these rules cannot bind God. God is not evil simply because, as the infinite entity, it has nothing to gain from selfishness and therefore has no motive to be evil. Stages of moral development: Morality evolves through stages of human development, from rules enforced by punishment and reward in childhood to socially enforced conformity, ultimately moving towards a principled approach that appreciates the relativity and multiplicity of perspectives. Concept of transcendent morality: Transcendent morality is described as a morality that transcends societal norms and doesn't judge others based on a lower level of consciousness. This higher-order morality sees the goodness in all beings, irrespective of their actions, which can be misinterpreted as unethical by those with less developed consciousness. Relativity of goodness: Leo explains that true goodness does not adhere to fixed judgments and must be expressed from a broad, balanced perspective understanding the relative nature of all viewpoints, aligned with what benefits the entirety of the universe, not just the self or immediate group. Concept of the Good Life: Living a good life, according to Leo Gura, means realizing absolute good and endeavoring to embody it, effectively becoming godlike or God. This transformation is the core measure of how good one's life is, based on how close they come to embodying God. Realization and Embodiment of Absolute Goodness: Realizing absolute goodness is critical before working to embody it, as mere ideology isn't enough. This realization must come through direct consciousness of absolute good as a guiding principle for life, beyond any rewards like money or pleasures. Impulse to Be Good: People inherently have an impulse to be good, which is the essence of God moving through them. This impulse can be obscured by the pragmatic demands of survival, leading individuals to lose touch with their true purpose, which is the manifestation of goodness. Practical Aspect of Goodness: Leo Gura highlights the practicality of reaching down to one's innate impulse to be good and building a life around it, despite it being one of life's most challenging pursuits. This involves facing one's fears and conquering them with love, realigning one's life to be congruent with the impulse to be good. Godlike Qualities: The qualities of being godlike or good include truth, honesty, integrity, concern for all, working for the benefit of others, selflessness, non-judgement, consciousness, recognition of beauty, forgiveness, and balance, among others. People who embody these qualities are seen as exceptional and inspirational. Transitioning to a Life Aligned with Goodness: Leo Gura discusses the daunting yet fulfilling journey of transitioning from a life not aligned with goodness to one that is. This often requires confronting fear, making tough decisions, and potentially changing one's career to align more closely with their impulse to be good. Absolute Goodness as the Ultimate Nature of Reality: According to Leo, reality is structured such that every point in the universe, irrespective of the route or duration it takes, will ultimately converge into absolute goodness. This concept reflects the Self-creating nature of God as inherently good. The Challenge of Overcoming Selfishness: Leo notes that becoming truly good, or godlike, is extremely difficult, as it requires surrendering oneself—a profound challenge due to the powerful instinct for survival honed over billions of years of evolution. The Invisibility of God as a Necessity for Infinite Good: He explains that God must be invisible; if God were visible and had a form, it would introduce limitations and selfishness, thus contradicting the nature of absolute goodness. Visibility entails limits, which equates to evil in this context. Dangers of Egoic Selflessness: Leo cautions against adopting a facade of selflessness as part of one's ego, differentiating between the genuine selflessness that comes from increased consciousness and merely pretending to be selfless. Trap of Self-Sacrifice and People Pleasing: He highlights a trap of self-sacrifice where people, especially women, wear themselves out by continually giving without receiving in return. True self-sacrifice involves confronting fear and not tolerating abuse. Understanding and Being Good Are Different: Leo admits that comprehending 'goodness' conceptually is one thing, but truly living in alignment with that understanding is another, more challenging matter. Goodness and Love as Similar Facets of Awakening: He clarifies that goodness and love are similar aspects of awakening that unify into a single concept at higher consciousness levels, although they may appear as distinct at lower levels of awareness. Truth, Consciousness, and Understanding Relativity Are Essential for Goodness: Finally, he asserts that truth, consciousness, and a deep understanding of relativity are critical for being truly good, pointing out that without these elements, one cannot be genuinely aligned with goodness. Emulating God's Neutrality: To be a truly good judge, one must not hold biases and must view every situation as neutral, as God does, who is not attached to any situation and views things in impartiality. Concern for the Whole: To achieve genuine goodness, one must have concern for the totality of creation, not just for a specific group or nation. Preferring the welfare of one over another leads to evil, as God's concern is universal, encompassing all life and matter in the universe. Non-Judgment: Non-judgment is critical for true goodness. Recognizing that he himself has not entirely overcome judgment, Leo emphasizes that one must first understand how to be non-judgmental and bias-free, which is a prerequisite to embodying godlike qualities. Godlike Goodness Is a Challenge: Leo underlines the difficulty of living a life characterized by godlike goodness. Understanding goodness is easier than embodying it, and falling short may lead to feelings of guilt, depression, and neuroticism about one's conduct. Committing to the Highest Goodness: Leo advises committing to and embodying the highest form of goodness in life, which may require taking challenging actions that people often avoid due to discomfort or attachment to their current way of life. Avoiding Traps on the Path to Goodness: On the path to godlike goodness, numerous traps such as neurotic behavior over failing to meet standards must be avoided. Devotion to embodying goodness takes precedence over distractions. Balancing Practical Action with Philosophical Wisdom: Leo acknowledges his teachings may appear too abstract to some and assures that while he will continue to delve deep into philosophical wisdom, he will also be offering more practical, success-based content in the future. The goal is to find and follow a path that works uniquely for each individual. Avifors

Should You Go To College - Common Traps & Mistakes https://youtu.be/yVU2kOlXJ0E Overview of the college dilemma: Leo discusses the importance of carefully considering the decision to attend college, stressing the need for individuals to understand themselves and their goals in order to avoid mistakes and confusion during the crucial years between 18 and 25. Leo's qualifications on giving college advice: Leo shares his varied career path and academic background, emphasizing his experience with career changes and different fields to underline his credibility in advising on the college decision. Societal programming around college: Leo challenges the societal expectation to attend college as the default path, urging young people to critically evaluate their life goals and consider whether college aligns with them. The importance of clarity in life: He emphasizes the need for youth to spend significant time alone, reflecting on what they want from life, in order to avoid wasting time and resources stumbling through unclear goals. The significance of experience: Leo advises gaining experience through exposure, trial and error, and practical tests while maintaining introspection to learn about personal strengths and desires. Understanding oneself for life planning: The process of self-discovery is stressed as an essential foundation for designing a life and career that is in harmony with one's unique talents and personality. Traditional college majors and paths: Leo outlines that college is necessary for conventional, certification-requiring careers like engineering or academia but may not be the best path for all individuals, especially those unsure of their direction. Consequences of unclear life plans: He warns against the risk of passive decision-making leading to wasted years and dead-ends, highlighting the urgency of proactive life planning during the formative late teen and early adult years. Leo's personal college journey: Illustrating with his own story of transitioning from aerospace engineering to philosophy and ultimately different career switches, Leo illustrates the importance of aligning education choices with personal interests and passion rather than blind commitment to unsuitable paths. Encouraging active decision making: Leo stresses crafting an active, informed life plan to avoid pitfalls like wage slavery and dissatisfaction, advocating for timely and well-considered choices about education and career. Interconnection between College Education and Career: University education serves as a pathway to a career, and Leo further emphasizes it as an avenue to identify and align with one's life purpose, advocating for passion as an essential element for career satisfaction and success. The fallacy of externally imposed career choices: Leo warns against choosing a career path based on external pressures, particularly from parents, highlighting the importance of selecting a career that ignites deep personal passion to avoid lifelong dissatisfaction. Passion versus Profit in Career Choice: Leo counters the notion that a high-paying career is sufficient, contending that only a career fueled by passion can sustain one's drive and prevent the loss of potential financial and personal value over an extended period. Life Purpose and Self-awareness: Leo points out the lack of guidance in schools, at home, or universities on discovering one's life purpose, urging students to invest time in understanding their personalities and passions to tailor a fulfilling career and life. Consequences of lacking a career and financial plan: Leo articulates that without a concrete career and financial plan, graduates may become financially dependent on their parents or resort to unsatisfying low-paying jobs, emphasizing the importance of planning to achieve financial independence. Proper Career and Life Purpose Planning: The importance of proactive and early life purpose and career planning is underscored as a means to avoid the trap of wage slavery and to live a life aligned with one's unique strengths and values. The Role of Business in Survival: Leo redefines business as the activity of human survival within society, explaining that mastering it is crucial for financial independence and living on one's terms. Choosing a University Major: Leo evaluates 'hard majors' with clear job prospects versus 'soft majors' which may not immediately translate to job opportunities. He encourages students with solid career goals, like becoming a psychologist, to pursue university education, while recommending others to have a tangible income plan post-graduation. Personal Experience with University Major Selection: Leo shares his experience shifting from aerospace engineering to game design as an example of adjusting one's educational track when realizing one's passion lies elsewhere, highlighting the significance of aligning one's major with genuine interests. Critical decision-making in career paths: Leo acknowledges the importance of confronting mistakes in career choices, using his own experience of abandoning aerospace engineering for game design due to passion. Choosing a non-traditional career path, like game design, can pose challenges as it often falls outside university curriculum and may appear risky like childhood fantasies such as becoming an astronaut. Switching majors to follow passion: Faced with financial and logistical constraints in pursuing a specialized game design education, Leo formulated a plan to self-teach game design skills while switching his major to philosophy, which he was passionate about. This decision was strategic, reducing his course load and allowing him to focus on building a game design portfolio. Breaking into the game industry: Leo's plan succeeded; he graduated early, dedicated time to develop his portfolio, and secured a job at a top game design studio, working on Bioshock Infinite. Despite the initial success and difficulty of entering the game industry as a designer, his dissatisfaction with wage slavery led him to leave. Transition to self-employment: Leo's next step was to escape wage slavery by becoming financially independent through self-employment. He learned web development, online marketing, and eventually founded actualized.org, all while gaining certification as a life coach and gaining practical experience in coaching clients. The necessity of exploring different paths: Leo emphasizes the vitality of exploring various career options to discover what truly resonates with an individual. Settling too quickly into an ill-fitting job out of inertia leads to underutilized potential, financial issues, and emotional problems. Passion and value creation: Understating the importance of passion, Leo argues it's crucial for creating significant value in one's work, which in turn leads to better financial compensation. Passion is not a luxury but fundamental to both personal fulfillment and career success. Finding one's purpose: Leo advises being proactive and persistent in the search for life's purpose rather than knowing the exact major or career from the start. Commitment to figuring out one's passion is more critical than immediate certainty. Distinguishing job fantasy from reality: There is often a disconnection between one's imagined perception of a job and its reality. Leo recommends engaging in actual activities related to desired jobs to ensure that the reality matches one's expectations and enjoyment. Financial cost and debt from college: Leo highlights the major issue of financial costs and debts associated with college, potentially leading to wage slavery if not managed wisely. The escalating costs make the risk of debt a significant consideration in deciding whether to attend college. Opportunity cost of college education: The second major problem Leo identifies with college is the opportunity cost involved in spending four years on potentially impractical knowledge. He suggests that time might be better spent learning skills that will be used directly in one's chosen career field. Inadequate focus on practical skills in university: According to Leo, the education received at universities is often focused on theory rather than practical skills, which does not align with the real-world skills necessary for most careers. He views the education as indoctrination more than genuinely informative or practical. University as Indoctrination: Leo criticizes the university system for indoctrinating students, focusing on memorization and cramming for tests, rather than teaching deep thinking or practical life skills. Misalignment with Career Needs: Leo reflects on his own experience, deeming his studies in advanced physics and calculus as a waste for his career in business and programming, highlighting a disconnect between university education and actual job requirements. Opportunity Costs of Traditional Majors: Discusses the risk of investing time and money in majors like English, history, or sociology, which may not translate into tangible skills or knowledge needed in the workplace, leading to a potential waste of resources. Practical Skills for the Business World: Emphasizes the need for tangible, marketable skills that provide value to employers and clients, rather than theoretical knowledge offered by many university courses. Academia's Pyramid Scheme: Leo denounces the university system as a pyramid scheme, where only a few reach the top academic positions, while most do not become academics, lacking skills to survive outside of academia. Education's Role in Combating Extremism: Asserts that university education can combat social and political problems like nationalism and fascism by teaching source evaluation, intellectual integrity, and steering people away from radical ideologies. Limitations to the Academy's Approach: Discusses shortcomings of university education in teaching crucial life skills such as practical business skills, self-help, psychology, and a deep understanding of reality, which Leo believes should be the core of education. University System Geared Towards 'Stupid People': Critiques the education system for its factory farming approach, lacking in consciousness or wisdom, and suggests it provides a standardized mode of understanding fields rather than promoting deep personal education. Value of General Education: While critical, Leo acknowledges the rounding effect of general education on an individual's breadth of knowledge, important for creating informed citizens and fostering societal stability. Restrictive Academic Structure: Shares personal frustration with inability to pursue deep interests within his university philosophy major due to scheduling conflicts and formal requirements, advocating for self-guided study for deeper understanding. Certificates and Degrees as Inadequate Measures of Understanding: Leo challenges the notion that degrees signify deep understanding of a subject, suggesting personal study can lead to a greater depth of knowledge than formal academic credentials. Self-Discipline and Independence over University Education: Argues that university may not be necessary for those who are self-motivated and capable of disciplining themselves for self-education, positing that university is better suited to individuals who need structured learning. University as a 'Meat Grinder' System: Leo compares the structure of universities to a mechanical institution similar to religion, where individuals follow defined rules without deep thinking. Many prefer institutional systems because they eliminate the need for self-discipline and provide a straightforward path. Credentials and Degrees vs. Real-world Value: Leo debunks the notion that academic credentials and degrees inherently offer value. He stresses that the true measure of success is one's ability to creatively solve problems and offer value to society, which is not necessarily correlated with grades or diplomas. Real Skills Learned Outside University: He contends that hands-on projects and self-learning outside the university environment often lead to more effective skill development than traditional college education, especially in fields like computer programming. Benefits of College: Leo acknowledges the benefits of a university education for those who may not know how to educate themselves and for providing a well-rounded education. He also notes the importance of college for social development and clear career paths in fields like engineering and medicine. Consequences of Overemphasis on Career or Social Life: Leo reflects on his personal overemphasis on career development, neglecting socialization during university years, and warns against excessive focus on either aspect to the detriment of the other. Advocating for Self-Education Over College: He proposes a serious commitment to self-education over college, emphasizing that self-taught skills based on passion and interest can lead to a faster, more practical, and well-rounded knowledge base. Project-Based Learning as Superior Education: Leo shares his success with project-based learning and suggests that personal projects, freelancing, and interacting with real-world challenges offer more substantial learning experiences than formal education. Portfolio Over Degrees for Employment: He advises that a well-polished project portfolio can impress potential employers more than a degree, recommending individuals focus on small, well-executed projects that showcase their capabilities. Value of Project-Based Learning: Engaging in personal projects provides practical challenges that facilitate learning more effectively than textbook reading or lectures. Overcoming repeated failures in these projects leads to a deep understanding of the subject. Potential of Self-Education: The internet offers unparalleled opportunities for self-education, with abundant resources like cheaper books, online courses, and training programs across various subjects, providing valuable skills often at a fraction of the university cost. Investment in Self-Education: Financial investments in self-education, such as books and courses, are emphasized as yielding high returns over time and being a wiser financial decision compared to the inflated costs of traditional university materials. Importance of Conferences: Attending professional conferences, such as the Game Developers Conference, offers opportunities to network, learn industry insights, and potentially secure jobs, underscoring their importance regardless of the costs involved. Modeling for Success: Modeling involves studying and emulating the routines and habits of successful individuals to replicate their achievements. Leo suggests interviewing and dissecting the practices of such individuals to build similar success. Warning Against Self-Education Pitfalls: Self-education requires ambition, passion, and strong self-discipline. Leo warns that without self-regulation, one may procrastinate and waste time, suggesting that those who struggle with self-discipline may benefit more from the structured university environment. Making Independent Life Decisions: Emphasizing individual responsibility, Leo urges viewers not to outsource vital life decisions, such as choosing a major or career path, to others but to make them based on personal vision and goals. Development of Practical Skills: Leo credits his success to skills gained from self-education in areas like web development, psychology, and personal development, many of which are not taught at university but are crucial for a fulfilling life. Importance of Convincing Parents: To address parents' worries about non-traditional educational paths, Leo suggests presenting a comprehensive self-education plan, demonstrating the potential for skill development, and financial survival to win their support. Approaching adulthood with responsibility: At the age of adulthood, it is important to act with maturity, particularly by standing up for your own passions and values even if they differ from parental expectations. Parental concerns about survival: Parents prioritize their children's survival and financial stability, which is why they might urge them towards careers like medicine or law. Addressing their concerns with a practical plan for developing survival skills is key. Advocating for self-education: Regardless of choosing to attend university or not, Leo underscores the necessity of self-education, especially in areas not covered by formal education like self-help, meditation, spirituality, and business skills. Demonstrating seriousness to parents: To gain support from parents when choosing non-traditional paths, one must show serious commitment to developing practical skills. Regularly demonstrating that you're actively working on your goals is essential. Taking personal growth seriously: It is crucial to take personal development and adult decision-making seriously. Accept that growth is now a personal responsibility rather than expecting it to come from external sources like during early education. The ongoing journey of education: Education is a lifelong journey that begins after university ends. Leo encourages utilizing resources like actualized.org for continued learning and personal transformation. Four key lessons for the young: Leo offers clarity, tailoring life to personal strengths, commitment to lifelong learning, and proactive engagement as essential lessons for young adults navigating their future. Investing in self-education: Leo highlights the difference between formal education and self-directed learning, urging young adults to invest in the latter and not to confuse it with merely attending university. The value in creating personal methods: Institutions are designed for the average, not the ambitions of the few. Leo prompts those who want to excel and self-actualize to create their own education methods. Utilizing Actualized.org as a multi-perspectival resource: Leo promotes his platform actualized.org as a broad, diverse resource for self-education that encompasses teachings from various ideologies to enable a more comprehensive and transformative personal development journey. Flagrate

Guided Exercises For Understanding Infinite Consciousness https://youtu.be/78G-wkpH5ow Guiding viewers through experiential understanding of consciousness: Leo Gura leads viewers in a hands-on exercise aimed at experiencing consciousness directly, rather than discussing it theoretically. He urges viewers to notice their conscious state and to self-reflect on their awareness. The trap of intellectualizing consciousness: Leo warns against seeking answers about consciousness externally—through science or religion—or through speculation and imagination. He stresses that such attempts distract from the direct experience of consciousness. Self-awareness as the foundation of existence: Leo makes a distinction that goes beyond being conscious—asserting that we are consciousness itself and that everything that exists is contained within consciousness. He challenges viewers to examine their experiences for anything that exists outside of consciousness. Consciousness is all-encompassing: He argues against the idea of separate layers of reality, like appearances and a supposed deeper layer. Leo posits that all experiences, even the material and physical, are held within consciousness. By doing so, he attempts to shift the paradigm of understanding reality. Materiality as an illusion of consciousness: Leo uses a refrigerator as an example to illustrate how consciousness convinces itself of material reality. He suggests that what we perceive as tangible and material is an illusion created by consciousness. Universe as a giant mind: He alludes to the universe as a grand mind, capable of imagining everything from physical objects to emotions, and explains that each form is held within the universal consciousness. Leo invites viewers to explore consciousness as a mental space holding all possible forms and experiences. Perception of Universal Consciousness: Leo explains that everything, like a nuclear explosion, is imagined into existence by the universal field of consciousness—manifesting as tangible, lethal reality, not as an illusion or fantasy. Mentality Layers in the Universe: He dismisses the notion that perceiving the universe as purely mental is overly fantastical or violates Occam's Razor; instead, he suggests that a mental universe is a simpler, more elegant model than the scientific materialistic one. Infinite Mind Model vs. Materialistic Model: Leo contrasts his model of the universe as an infinite mind with the materialistic model that requires multiple layers of reality, asserting that his model solves the infinite regress problem and avoids unsolvable issues like the mind-body problem. Elegance and Simplicity of a Mental Universe: He elaborates on the elegance of conceiving the universe as consciousness, which simplifies complexities and makes more sense of experiences, such as birds chirping or a car driving by, by recognizing them as consciousness itself. Limitations of Physical Assumptions: He challenges the assumption that a physical universe of matter is more plausible than a mental one, proposing that creating even a single atom from nothing is as magical as the existence of an infinite, purely mental universe. Ownership and Attribution of Intelligence: Leo criticizes the arrogance of claiming ownership over aspects of the universe such as consciousness, intelligence, and rationality. He suggests that all human abilities are derived from and limited expressions of the universal intelligence. Expanding the Possibility Space: He encourages viewers to grant the universe the full credit for all capabilities, beyond the conventional human experiences, and to shift from an egocentric view to acknowledging the universe as the source of all experiences and intelligences. Appreciation of Music as an Act of the Universe: When understanding that one is the universe, the appreciation of music becomes an experience of the universe observing and enjoying its own creation. Universe as the Origin of Creativity and Expression: The universe is capable of writing poetry, conducting science, and even experiencing the spectrum of human behaviors, including the ability to commit acts seen as morally reprehensible, like being a Nazi. Paradigm Shift from Materialism to Consciousness: Leo argues that by recognizing the universe as a mind rather than as a machine, the concept of love takes on profound significance, no longer relegated to an insignificant emotion but seen as a fundamental aspect of universal consciousness. Existential Importance of Love: By aligning with the consciousness paradigm, love is understood as not just a human emotion but as an intrinsic quality of the mind and the universe, suggesting that many emotional problems arise from a disconnection from this essential nature of love. The Limitations Imposed on the Universe: Leo posits that the universe's limitations are self-imposed and not externally enforced, which implies that the universe can, in theory, understand all aspects of English or any other language or concept to an infinite degree. Comprehension of Language as a Universal Ability: Leo encourages viewers to visualize the entire possibility space of the English language and then extends this to every possible language, stressing that the universe's knowledge is not limited by human constraints. Existence of Universal Mind with Perfect Knowledge: The universality of language comprehension by consciousness illustrates the idea that the universe's mind can know all languages perfectly, indicating that the imperfections humans experience in language are part of the broader capability of the universe. Illusion of Language Limitation: Leo Gura explores the concept that human perceived limitations in language, like struggling with English or not knowing Icelandic, are a form of pretense by an infinite mind that understands all languages perfectly. Unlocking Infinite Understanding: He likens our inability to effortlessly access this universal knowledge to forgetting the password to a bank account with infinite money, suggesting that remembering or finding the password (or key to understanding) could be a lifelong endeavor with no guarantee of success. Infinite Domains of Possibility: Leo introduces the concept of infinite domains e.g., all movies made and that could potentially be made. He encourages viewers to imagine every variation within a domain as an "infinite domain," using the example of all possible versions of the original Star Wars movie. Nested Domains: He describes how individual specific instances, like the Star Wars movie 'A New Hope', represent a small part of the expansive universe of possibilities within a domain, leading to the broader concept of nested domains. Merging Infinite Domains: Leo prompts viewers to consider combining various infinite domains—movies, music, video games, inventions, software, and vehicles—into one transcendent singularity to appreciate the boundless creativity of consciousness. Consciousness' Infinite Detail: He speaks about how infinite possibilities extend to even the minutest details, such as variations within a specific category (e.g., gas-powered helicopters), and this subdivision can continue endlessly. Exploration of Infinite Realms: Leo encourages viewers to comprehend the infinite by imagining every possible instance of any concept - from chess games and sports to potential emotions, physical laws, and selves - all merged into one giant singularity of potential. Self and Self-Identity: He guides viewers to consider every possible self the universe could inhabit, from the personal known self to any conceivable other self, underscoring that these constitute different "selves" within the same infinite consciousness. Comprehending Absolute Infinity: Leo concludes by inviting viewers to imagine everything that exists, all possibility spaces including the impossible, as a representation of consciousness, the universe, reality, God, and love, encapsulated as absolute infinity with countless infinite subdomains. Comprehension of Infinite Selves: Leo Gura invites the viewer to acknowledge and feel their own self as a fluid and dynamic conglomeration of memories, personal stories, beliefs, and emotions, which are created and held consistently by consciousness. Fluidity and Consistency of Self: He elucidates on the fluid nature of personal identity and self, how it is subject to change and yet maintains a consistent structure throughout life, maturing and actualizing in a state of constant transformation. Concept of Self as Bubbles within Consciousness: Leo uses the metaphor of bubbles to represent different selves, urging viewers to imagine transitioning between distinct self-identities—such as those of a family member or Donald Trump—recognizing that each leap between selves involves a complete disconnection from the prior identity. Loss of Identity and Attachment to Self: Addressing the fear that comes with the idea of changing selves, Leo equates it to the fear of death or annihilation, confronting the viewer with the unnerving prospect of losing one's current self-identity entirely when taking on another. Distinction between Lowercase and Uppercase Self: Leo differentiates between the lowercase self (specific persona) and the uppercase Self (the collective potential of all possible selves), which he equates with the concept of God, embodying every possible identity. Realization of Reality's Infinite Nature: He discusses the concept of infinity, stating that reality is boundless and includes all possibilities, impossibilities, and even nothingness, thus helping the viewer comprehend the totality of existence. Reality as States of Consciousness: Leo stresses that all of reality, including enlightenment and awakening, comprises an infinite variety of states of consciousness, countering the notion that there is a singular enlightened state. Implications of Different States: He details the practical significance of different states of consciousness for personal growth and awakening, suggesting that some states are more conducive for spiritual work, while others may hinder it. Significance of Baseline Consciousness State: Leo discusses the idea that while ultimately one becomes infinite consciousness, the current state greatly impacts practical life, including abilities to focus and meditate. Poor diet and toxic environments can lower one's state of consciousness, hindering spiritual work and awakening. Impact of Modern Society on Consciousness: He contends that factors like social media, poor nutrition, and toxic information can rigidify people’s states, making practices like meditation increasingly challenging in contemporary society. Necessity of State Management for Awakening: Gura stresses the importance of maintaining a good baseline state for achieving spiritual awakening. He criticizes spiritual teachers who downplay the relevance of one's state of consciousness, asserting its critical role in one's ability to awaken. Exploring Varied States of Consciousness: He highlights the learning potential in exploring a diversity of states, both pleasurable and horrible. While warning against becoming fixated on pursuing pleasurable states, Gura notes the insights to be gained from all experiences. Peak Experiences and Baseline State Improvement: He suggests that peak experiences, like those induced by psychedelics, provide valuable glimpses into higher consciousness states and can contribute to raising one's baseline state over time when complemented with practices like yoga and meditation. Physical Reality Held in Consciousness: Leo advises viewers to practice noticing how all perceived physical objects are actually held within consciousness, an exercise aimed at distinguishing consciousness from physicality. Responsible Psychedelic Use as a Consciousness Tool: Gura recommends responsible psychedelic use as a powerful means to experience and comprehend the infinite potential of consciousness. However, he cautions against becoming attached to the states they produce. Avis

What Is Actualized.org - The Big Picture of Personal Development https://youtu.be/6vVIbPdfjxg Concept of Actualized.org: Actualized.org is Leo Gura's created catalog of powerful life concepts aimed at providing a holistic understanding of life and reality, guiding users on how to live an optimal life by bringing together a cohesive image of various principles with a broad and deep scope. Materialist paradigm critique: Leo criticizes the prevalent materialist paradigm for underestimating the influence of the mind in shaping reality, proclaiming that many people live within severe limitations, not fully tapping into their human potential which he estimates at a mere one to three percent. Holistic life understanding: Leo Gura advocates for an inward focus and profound questioning of one's own life machinery to really understand how to live well. He seeks to develop a comprehensive 'instruction manual' for life, acknowledging the complexity and unique aspects influencing each individual's existence. Life's mysteries and self-exploration: Leo reflects on the mysterious aspects of life questioning how we came to exist and our ultimate purpose, emphasizing the importance of self-understanding at physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual levels, which he believes society fails to teach. Mind as life's gatekeeper: The mind is portrayed as the mediator of all life experiences, framing the importance of the mind's role as paramount. Leo stresses that controlling and understanding the mind can lead to passionate living and mitigate life's mediocrity and suffering. Ongoing journey of self-improvement: Leo equates passionate living with the continuous process of self-improvement. He argues that life becomes truly fulfilling when we commit to personal growth as a lifelong project, rather than settling for a utilitarian existence once basic needs and wants are met. Survival vs deeper fulfillment: Leo discusses the widespread plight of living merely at a survival level, which can lead to depression and frustration. He urges seeking fulfillment beyond the mere satisfaction of survival needs, connecting deeply with life itself at emotional, intuitive, and spiritual levels. Non-dogmatic approach of Actualized.org: Leo clarifies that unlike other ideologies or religions, Actualized.org is built on a foundation that avoids dogmatism or speculation. Instead, it provides principles and concepts that individuals can validate themselves, making personal validation the basis for truth. Self-validation over external belief: Leo maintains that one should not trust or believe anyone blindly, including himself. Instead, individuals should undertake a serious commitment to investigate matters for themselves, validating knowledge through personal experience. The mind as a programmed computer: He likens the human mind to a computer, pre-programmed with beliefs and assumptions from early life, often without question. Leo believes this programming is the gatekeeper to our life results and challenges individuals to question their pre-installed programs to change their lives. Taking responsibility for change: Advocating for personal responsibility, Leo insists that better life quality comes from one's internal change rather than blaming external factors. He emphasizes that individuals can only transform their life situation by taking control of their thoughts and actions. Mind's role in perpetuating negative patterns: Leo argues that one's mind, if not understood or controlled, keeps them stuck in patterns that lead to subpar life outcomes like demotivation and dissatisfaction, and changing the mind is the key to resolving these issues. Layers of mental programming and change: Using the analogy of computer software, Leo discusses various levels of mental programming from superficial apps to fundamental operating systems. He encourages a deep overhaul, not just rearranging surface beliefs but questioning and revising the core operating system of one's worldview for significant life change. Jailbreaking the mind for potential: To tap into one's true potential and achieve significant life changes, Leo suggests "jailbreaking" the mind, which involves going beyond standard programming and operating systems to do things that others can't, an allusion to breaking free from conventional life scripts. Real Change at the Kernel Level: Leo describes the goal of Actualized.org as going beyond superficial self-help advice and down to the "kernel level" of the mind, likening it to jailbreaking a phone, to access and enable profound transformation and unlock ‘superhuman’ potential. Societal Ignorance and Fear: He notes that most of society, including professionals like doctors, scientists, and self-help gurus, are either unaware of the deeper work of personal transformation or actively discourage it due to fear, misunderstanding, or misconceptions, labeling it as crazy, cult-like, or mere philosophy. Closed vs. Open Operating Systems: Leo criticizes closed mindsets similar to Apple's ecosystem—simple but restrictive—favoring an open-minded approach like a Linux operating system, which requires more effort but allows for greater freedom and potential fulfillment. Societal Programming and Individual Potential: He states that societal programming through education and norms does not aim to maximize individual potential or teach how to live the best life possible, due to a cultural lack of understanding of what a 'good life' truly is. The Dark Ages of Personal Development: Leo comments on the current state of knowledge and personal development, likening it to the “dark ages” where there is a significant lack of comprehensive understanding and teaching on how to live effectively and fulfill one's potential. Jailbreaking the Mind: He compares personal transformation to the process of jailbreaking a phone—tricky, risky, and requiring perseverance and a dedication to lifelong learning and growth to truly achieve higher levels of development. Objective vs. Subjective Reality: Leo challenges the belief in an objective world separate from the mind, asserting that the mind's operating system can be changed, affecting one’s experience of reality, and notes the complexity of navigating through and unlocking the mind's potential. Resisting Internal Anti-Jailbreaking Mechanisms: He describes the mind as having in-built resistance to change, which aims to maintain its current reality-construction function, making the journey of self-transformation paradoxical and full of internal conflict. Encouragement for Personal Liberation: Leo’s role, as he sees it, is to offer guidance and inspiration to people who seek more from life instead of succumbing to societal pressures and fear-mongering from both others and their own minds. The Loneliness of Advancing Beyond Society: He warns of the loneliness and risks associated with pursuing growth beyond societal norms, as one moves away from the "herd" and faces new challenges without widespread support or resources. Non-ideological approach: Leo emphasizes the importance of self-testing and validating the concepts from Actualized.org against one's own experiences, rather than adopting them as ideology. Ideas should only be retained if they lead to a positive transformation in life. Writing one's life manual: He points out that creating an instruction manual for life is complex, as it must be tailored to the individual's unique genetic makeup, personality, life circumstances, desires, and fears. Questioning one's desires: Leo discusses the common failure to examine whether one's desires are truly valid or whether they are the result of societal programming, warning that unexamined desires may lead to a fruitless pursuit of fulfillment. Emotional manipulation and the mind's control: He argues that, despite the emphasis on logic, human behavior is primarily dictated by emotions, which the mind uses to manipulate reactions and decisions. Mind's resistance to change: Leo highlights the mind's tendency to resist change despite desiring its benefits, explaining this resistance as a fear of the unknown and the fear of death, which change metaphorically represents. The paradox of change: He acknowledges that while change is desired for improvement, it often comes with a cost, possibly leading to initial deterioration before betterment. Personal transformation: Leo suggests that to achieve deeper fulfillment, one must be willing to undergo radical transformation, which can feel akin to letting an older version of oneself die. Limitations of compartmentalized knowledge: He criticizes the siloed nature of modern knowledge domains such as science and philosophy and advocates for a holistic understanding of reality. CEO mindset for personal development: Leo encourages treating personal development like a CEO by integrating advice from various domains of life, creating a comprehensive approach to one's goals and aspirations. Enjoying the journey of self-improvement: He urges embracing the process of self-improvement, highlighting the importance of enjoying the journey, not just the destination. Philosophy as essential for understanding life: Leo criticizes traditional views of philosophy and advocates for a practical philosophy that seeks deep understanding and embodiment of life's realities. Critique of current academic philosophy: He laments the lack of focus on personal transformation in academic philosophy, which he perceives as disconnected from the pursuit of understanding life and reality. Role of philosophy in personal development: Leo posits that philosophy should be pursued with the goal of deeply understanding reality to the extent that it transforms the philosopher themselves. Philosophy as the Foundation of Knowledge: Leo criticizes the neglect of philosophy in modern education, asserting its primary role in understanding reality. Fields such as physics and psychology are deemed incomplete as they overlook underlying philosophical issues, leading to stagnation in true understanding. Embodying Philosophical Wisdom: Leo stresses the importance of embodying philosophical insights, transcending theoretical understanding. True knowledge should transform an individual's core, not just operate at a superficial level. Scientific Specialization and Personal Growth: Leo condemns the fragmentation in sciences, emphasizing that scientists often fail to apply their work to personal transformation, which should be the ultimate goal of understanding reality. Pursuing Self-Understanding as Enlightenment: Leo encourages deep self-study as a means to enlightenment, quoting ancient wisdom that states "Know thyself". This inward journey is seen as essential to truly understand the wider world and reality. Total Understanding of Reality as a Goal: Leo claims it is possible to fully understand reality, challenging the widely-held belief that it is an unattainable goal. He promotes a journey beyond survival needs, towards a comprehensive grasp of existence. Commitment to Radical Ideas and Personal Growth: Leo warns of the radical nature of his teachings and the personal changes they may entail. He urges a serious commitment to life beyond mere survival needs, envisioning a profound connection with existence itself. Importance of a Profound Connection with Life: Leo argues that a deep, emotional connection to life and consciousness—beyond material desires—is key to a fulfilling existence. This practice of spirituality should increase a person's connection to the profundity of life. Engineering the Good Life: Leo explains that living the good life—a life infused with profound connection—requires individual effort to overcome societal programming. He asserts that the knowledge on how to lead such a life has existed for thousands of years but requires personal initiative to realize. Utilizing Knowledge for Personal Transformation: Leo invites viewers to explore his catalog of content with a view towards serious application and personal transformation, developing a compelling vision that inspires action towards achieving a profound connection with life. Impedimenta

Understanding Democracy & Authoritarianism https://youtu.be/HP_nwEWJu70 Fundamentals of Democracy and Tying It with Personal Development: Leo discusses how democracy allows ordinary people to have control over their future and society. He points out that democracy is often taken for granted in developed countries and is misunderstood as a simplistic, binary concept, whereas it actually exists in varying degrees and is challenged by inherent complexities. Myth vs. Reality of Democracy: Leo deconstructs the myth of democracy by emphasizing that historically, even in America, it was a limited concept with disenfranchised groups. He argues that effective democracy requires a certain level of cognitive, moral, and educational development, which was not present in early societies. Origins of Strong Leadership and Authoritarianism: Leo discusses that strong leadership arises from the need for protection and survival in a harsh society. Powerful leaders were important to defend against threats. Freedom is usually compromised for safety. Historical Context of Knowledge and Education: Education used to be expensive and most people were illiterate, limiting their perspectives to their immediate experiences. In ancient times, the dissemination of knowledge was more limited and costly, leading to disparities and concentrated power. Challenges to Implementing Democracy in Non-Democratic Societies: He points out the difficulty of establishing democracy in places like Iraq, clarifying that democratic principles often fail to take root in societies not inherently geared for them due to various socio-political and cultural barriers. The Role of Authoritarian Leaders Today: Leo mentions that authoritarian leaders in countries like China and Russia are necessitated by the need for strong leadership to catch up with developed nations. While these leaders may have considerable power and potential for abuse, they also fight for the safety and well-being of their people. The Evolution of Understanding Democracy: Leo traces how the understanding of democracy has evolved from a limited form, with only a select few wielding influence, to a broader system where voting and civic duties are seen as inherent rights and responsibilities of citizens. Democracy and Civic Duty: Leo highlights the development of societal and technological infrastructure that supports democratic processes, such as the invention of clocks, calendars, and the concept of regular voting as a civic duty. Complexity of Establishing a Voting System: The implementation of voting involves not only physical infrastructure but also the conceptual connection that people must make between their vote and the resulting leadership, demanding a sophisticated understanding of history, politics, human psychology, and government to make informed decisions. Survival Priorities Trumped Democratic Processes in History: In ancient times, survival was paramount, and the threat of cities being destroyed by invaders made strong leadership necessary. Rather than the nuances of democracy, fortified defenses and immediate protection were the focus, as losing a city meant complete devastation, including the death and enslavement of its inhabitants. Strong Leadership Over Democracy for Protection and Survival: Under extreme survival conditions, democracy was not feasible. Instead, strong leadership led by a select elite was essential. Elites formed cabals to govern, appointing authoritarian rulers to ensure safety and coordination without involving the collectively uneducated masses. Authoritarian Leaders Serving a Defensive Role: Far from mere oppressing tyrants, historical authoritarian leaders often acted to protect their people. Today, leaders like Xi Jinping, Putin, and Duterte are seen as patriots by some, aiming to defend their nations from external exploitation and improve their countries' standing. Leadership Selection in Human Groups: Effective leadership within a group emerges out of necessity, as someone must assert direction and responsibility. Leaders self-appoint, face opposition, and need ambition and strength to unify and direct the group towards survival and progress. Democratic Stagnation vs Authoritarian Progress: While democracy brings its benefits, excessive distribution of power can cause fragmentation and stalemate, as seen in politically diverse nations like the US. Some underdeveloped countries may require decisive, authoritarian leadership to steer towards development and avoid exploitation. Environmental Concerns Tied to Democratization: The shift from concentrated power in the hands of a few to widespread democratization has led to an increase in the number of people affecting the environment through their consumer practices. Democratic Progress in Modern Times: Over centuries, democracy has gradually brought more equality and inclusivity to society. Despite this progress, emerging issues—such as rising individualism, the spread of misinformation, and cultural decay—are attributed to the empowerment of the masses. Democracy's Effect on Family and Freedom: Democratization has impacted traditional family structures, increasing individual freedoms but also leading to less cohesion as women exercise the right to leave unsatisfying partnerships. Challenges of Democratization in Current Context: Modern-day democratization has allowed many individuals power over their own lives, but also risks empowering those with access to misinformation and extreme ideologies. The responsibility falls on individuals to become informed and choose wisely. The Dynamics of Decision Making in a Group: Groups without clear leadership can become mired in indecision, requiring someone to take the lead. A leader must rise by self-appointment and navigate internal challenges, demonstrating strength and unity in decision-making to achieve progress. CHAZ as a Green Stage Example: Leo outlines the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) as an illustration of 'stage green' dynamics in practice, detailing its flat hierarchy and focus on consensus and accommodation, which leads to indecisiveness and lack of clear vision. Limits of Flat Hierarchy and Endless Deliberation: He critiques the inefficiency of flat hierarchies where endless discussion prevents decisive action, which is particularly detrimental in crisis situations that demand swift, decisive leadership. Authoritarianism for Bold Visionary Leadership: Leo highlights the function of authoritarian leaders in nations like Russia, China, and the Philippines, where strong, decisive actions are needed to bring these countries up to par with developed nations and prevent stagnation. Fragmentation in American Democracy: He observes that America's issue with democracy is its over-distribution of power across various institutions, leading to political fragmentation, a lack of unified vision, and consequently, national stagnation. Democracy's Double-Edged Sword: Leo explains that while democracy distributes power amongst the people, it also risks indecisiveness and can result in more harm when compared to efficient, if authoritarian, actions taken for the sake of progress. Balancing Survival and Selflessness: Using the metaphor of balancing a knife, Leo discusses the delicate equilibrium societies must maintain between survival (selfishness) and selflessness to avoid destruction. Societal Democracy Evolution: Describing the transition from authoritarianism to democracy throughout history, Leo notes the progressive distribution of power from aristocracy to the general population, leading to fairer societies with less inequality. Environmental Impact of Democratization: He connects the rise in population and individual economic control with ecological issues, suggesting that democracy's empowerment of individuals contributes to environmental degradation. Challenges and Responsibilites in Democratizing Society: Leo underscores how democratization brings challenges such as political fragmentation and cultural divisions, and emphasizes the role of individual responsibility in a democratic system. Contribution of Democracy to Social Mobility: He touches on the historical shift from static societal roles to the democratization of opportunity, leading to increased social mobility and societal engagement across economic classes. Historical Progression of Societies: Leo illustrates the upward oscillating curve of societal development, signifying the struggle towards creating a more equal society that allows for collective prosperity despite occasional backsliding. The Role of Consciousness in Shaping Society: He explains that authoritarian structures and societal inequalities stem from limited consciousness and education levels that couldn't sustain a fair distribution of resources, likening the governance of less conscious societies to managing animals with harsh control. Responsibility for Societal Structures: Leo argues against the popular narrative of blaming 'elites' and 'death spots' for societal issues, positing that ordinary citizens have the responsibility for the current state through their limited development, susceptibilities, and lack of systemic understanding. Democratization Over the Last Century: He reflects on how democratization has broadened over time, with various groups now having the right to vote, and acknowledges improvements in accessibility to education, technology, and freedom in the economy, despite persisting inequalities. Fragmentation as a Side Effect of Democratization: Leo discusses how the spread of autonomy and education has led to societal fragmentation, where individuals act as their own 'mini tyrants', leading to the division of society into competing factions. The Contrast of Success Against Historical Struggles: Comparing modern problems to the extreme hardships faced historically, Leo urges perspective recognition, emphasizing that despite current challenges, humanity has significantly advanced and overall quality of life has improved. Implications of Democratized Technology and Information: He praises the vast accessibility to technology and information through the internet as a remarkable democratization milestone, contrasting it with the times when knowledge was restricted to elite scholars. Challenges in Current American Politics: Through the lens of Spiral Dynamics, Leo analyzes the shift from collectivist to individualistic stages, demonstrating how America's previous cohesion around shared values has given way to individual freedoms and political divisiveness. The Need for Unified Direction Amidst Diversity: He underscores the challenge and necessity of unification in a democratized society, advocating for inclusivity and collective progression even as individual autonomy becomes more predominant. Transition from Collectivism to Individualism: After World War II, American society was collectivist, subsuming individual identities to a national identity, but the 1960s counterculture and consumerism shifted the pendulum towards individualism, leading to a proliferation of diverse voices and perspectives. Fragmentation of Societal Monoculture: The rise of individualism and democratization has led to the disintegration of a once unified monoculture, resulting in conflicts between different societal stages and the crumbling of a previously cohesive American identity. Democratization of Information: The internet and various media platforms have democratized information, providing a multitude of perspectives. This contrasts with the past, where limited news sources offered a unifying societal viewpoint. Challenges of Democratization: Increased democratization has allowed individuals more power, including the dissemination of misinformation and radical ideologies. While democratization is a marker of progress, it can also lead to societal strife and fragmentation. Perspectival Madness: Easy access to a wide range of information and the ability to echo personal biases has led to 'perspectival madness', with individuals becoming entrenched in their beliefs and unable to see from other viewpoints. Loss of Universal Authority Figures: Democratization and questioning of authority have dissolved traditional 'daddy' figures, who once decided societal truths, morality, and decency. Without these figures, society must navigate a diverse array of perspectives and learn to coexist. Globalized Culture Through Media: Hollywood movies and the internet have exposed isolated cultures to a broad spectrum of ideas and lifestyles, contributing to the disintegration of narrow, nationalistic cultures and creating challenges in maintaining societal unity. Family Dynamics in a Democratized Society: Traditional family structures, often held together by a dominant patriarchal figure, have shifted due to democratization. This has allowed for more individual freedom, particularly for women, but has led to the dissolution of the conventional family model. Responsibility of Individuals in Knowledge Creation: As people gain greater autonomy over their epistemology and worldview, they must take responsibility for critically examining and curating the information they consume and spread. Responsibility and Freedom in Democratization: Leo asserts that greater freedom through democratization increases responsibility for individuals. People must now choose their worldviews and life paths without a predetermined cultural or religious script, both a liberating and challenging endeavor. Simplicity and Commitment in Arranged Marriages: Leo discusses arranged marriages, particularly in India, suggesting that, despite their apparent lack of choice, they often result in strong commitments and lasting partnerships due to the lack of alternatives, contrasting with choice-driven approaches in the West. Pitfalls of Naive Epistemology: He warns of the dangers of consumers, unaware of proper epistemology, being misled by biased media outlets and falling into ideological traps. This results in worldviews potentially more harmful than the mainstream ideas they aim to replace. The Functionality of Mainstream Worldviews: Leo contends that mainstream worldviews, such as Christianity or Islam, are moderate and have endured because they're practical and time-tested. Extreme ideologies, in contrast, are often too niche to become widespread or sustainable. Dangers of Inexperienced Political Activism: Leo criticizes young, over-idealistic political activists for wanting to change the world without a comprehensive understanding or experience of complex government systems, echoing sentiments similar to Jordan Peterson's advice. Democratization Distributes Power to the Uneducated: He emphasizes that while democratization has increased, the power now lies with individuals who lack a deep understanding of history, politics, science, and survival, which can result in the adoption of dysfunctional and toxic ideologies. Complexity of Political and Economic Systems: Leo explains that political and economic ideas survive through a natural, evolutionary 'marketplace of ideas,' where the most survivable and practical concepts persist over others, which often become marginalized or die off. Linking Present Challenges to Democratization: Lastly, Leo links current societal challenges to the process of democratization. He advocates for increased consciousness, better education, responsible citizenship, and a deeper understanding of systemic dynamics to prevent the adverse effects of too much power without adequate responsibility. Consequences of Advanced Scientific Understanding: The development of nuclear weapons is tied to the advancement in quantum mechanics, which also enabled technologies such as GPS, space travel, and the internet. The power gained from scientific progress has sometimes been used irresponsibly, leading to potential global threats. Societal Power and Responsibility: With increased power from technological advancements, society must raise its responsibility, consciousness, and love to use this power effectively and avoid negative outcomes like nuclear warfare. Trump's Election and Democratization: The election of Donald Trump is attributed to extensive democratization, where the public's dissatisfaction with traditional politicians led to the choice of an outsider perceived as more relatable to the common person. Temporary Setbacks: The rise of authoritarian figures like Trump may seem contrary to increasing democracy, but Leo views these as temporary setbacks within the broader trend toward greater democratization. Experience in Governance: The shortcomings of Trump's presidency highlight the importance of government experience. Ineffective management by inexperienced leaders can undermine the successful implementation of policies, even those favored by their supporters. Vulgarization of Society: As American society becomes more democratic, cultural norms have become more vulgar, with the media reflecting this shift to appeal to a more democratized audience. While this can make media seem more authentic, it also contributes to increased polarization and loss of respect between ideological groups. Cycle of Societal Unification and Division: Society goes through continuous cycles of unification and division. The current phase of polarization will eventually lead to unification at a higher level, suggesting progress rather than regression. Optimistic Outlook on Humanity's Future: Despite global challenges like environmental issues and nuclear threats, Leo has confidence in humanity's ability to overcome these problems, based on historical evidence of dealing with severe challenges. Transition from Orange to Green Stage: America is currently experiencing a transition from the individualistic "orange stage" to the more communal "green stage" of societal development, though there are excesses and resistance to this shift. The next phase for America is seen as continuing towards a focus on community and equality. Recalibration after Trump: Trump's presidency is seen as the peak of the "orange stage" values, and the backlash it has created is expected to precipitate a shift toward more equitable societal structures and addressing excesses such as income inequality and corporate influence in politics. Reframing Cultural Norms: Societal progress should not be measured solely by economic success, like booming businesses or stock market gains, but by a unified cultural understanding of a greater societal purpose that transcends individual wealth and independence. Limiting Harmful Excess: Leo Gura argues that limitations should be imposed on individuals who, while entitled to pursue wealth, can cause societal damage through their excessive freedoms, such as tax avoidance or extreme libertarian stances. Transformed Power Dynamics: Historical authoritarian power held by kings has been somewhat democratized yet disproportionately concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy business figures, resulting in substantial economic and political influence. Essential Future Democratization: Leo highlights the need for further democratization beyond government and civil rights, extending into the business sector, to prevent an unfair concentration of power among the few who control significant platforms and resources. Corporate Authority vs. Democratic Control: Corporations integral to society's functioning should not be overseen by a single individual or board as this mirrors authoritarian structures; democratization is necessary for fairer corporate governance. The Evolving Nature of Corporations: Corporations like Facebook, Google, and Amazon must evolve, as their success and deep integration into society render their individual-dominated leadership models untenable, suggesting a future shift towards democratic operations. Challenges Facing Tech Company Leadership: Leaders such as Zuckerberg and Dorsey face complex issues in content regulation, reflecting the difficulty in managing platforms essential to social functioning and facing scrutiny for the lack of adequate control mechanisms. Evolution of Company Leadership and Culture: Leo emphasizes that Silicon Valley companies are already culturally evolving, with employee activism prompting changes, illustrating the potential shift towards more democratic, ethical corporate practices. Long-term Risks from Centralized Economic Powers: Leo Gura foresees significant future tensions due to the concentration of economic, and hence political, power within a handful of large corporations, particularly if these are eventually controlled by profit-focused successors to their original, visionary founders. Potential Dangers of Profit-driven Leadership: As corporations grow, a risk arises that future leaders focused purely on profit may disregard the broader impacts of their decisions, undermining societal well-being and democratic ideals. Optimistic View Despite Corporate Challenges: Despite the risks associated with large corporations, Leo maintains optimism for humanity's problem-solving ability and believes that inherent self-interest will ultimately prevent our self-destruction. Spreading Quality Information Legitimately: He advocates for the dissemination of high-quality information and cautions against the noise created by low-quality sources; this will require a transformation of education systems to teach integral, experiential concepts like spiral dynamics. Vision for America's Progress: Leo calls for the creation of a coherent vision capable of unifying America's fragmented society, stressing the potential to lead the world culturally and politically if the nation acts with a collective intention of growth and inclusivity. Necessity for a New Direction in America: Leo discusses the current phase of confusion, turmoil, and violence in the media as a crucial period before America can find a new vision. He associates these challenges with resistance from those left out of prosperity and development. Elevating All Segments of Society: Leo stresses that for society to progress, the developed segments must help elevate the less developed ones. He condemns the dismissal of conservatives as ignorant by progressives, emphasizing the need to help them rise economically, and culturally, and understand their point of view. Dynamics of Progressive and Conservative Societies: Leo explains that societies are generally split between progressive and conservative halves, with the latter resisting change and the former facing the responsibility to elevate the less developed half through more consciousness and love. Democracy and the Evolution of Power: He advocates for democracy as a system preferred by the highly conscious and loving, who are more responsible and less interested in power for its own sake. True power lies in being creators of reality and in the responsible exercise of autonomy. Selfishness as the Root of Societal Issues: Leo addresses that society's ailments stem from too much individual selfishness. Real change will come only when people, including ordinary citizens, become less selfish, aligning with the collective interest. Development and Contribution to Collective Issues: Leo asserts that personal growth should be accompanied by an understanding of and engagement with collective systems. This involves leadership, responsibility, and constructive action, rather than unproductive criticism. Interconnection of Personal and Collective Growth: He articulates the idea that personal development is tied to contributing to collective progress. Leo encourages using individual growth for positive impact, such as through politics, environmentalism, or art. Politics as an Expression of Love: Leo calls for a new understanding of politics as an act of love, achieved through spiritual awakening and setting aside biases. He urges people to discard existing political positions and approach government with a non-ideological and spiritual perspective. Future Topics on Actualized.org: Leo outlines his plans to discuss a wide array of topics that intersect individual and collective growth, such as economics, libertarianism, leadership, spiral dynamics, developmental psychology, and the complexities of science. Flipendo

The Ultimate Structure Of Reality Explained https://youtu.be/Ng9OqpMmIb0 "Out beyond all difference, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Reality's Deliberate Structure: Leo introduces the concept that reality is structured in a precise and deliberate manner, which he argues is neither random nor accidental. He asserts that reality's structure pursues an ultimate logic that can be fully understood through deep contemplation and consciousness expansion. Definition of Reality by Leo: He equates reality with terms such as infinity, God, love, and consciousness, emphasizing that at the deepest level, these are identical concepts. Reality is an infinite conscious field that is singular and encompasses all experiences, whether from living beings or inanimate objects. Singularity of Consciousness: Leo discusses the singularity of reality's field of consciousness, explaining that perceived boundaries within this field—like those seemingly separating objects—are illusory. Therefore, every imagined division within the field does not actually compartmentalize it but is part of the singular whole. Unlimited Nature of Consciousness: He elaborates on how understanding the oneness of consciousness leads to the realization that it is completely unlimited. Since no external entity can impose limits on consciousness, all perceived limitations are self-created. State of Infinite Consciousness ('god mode'): Leo describes reaching a state of infinite consciousness or "god mode," where one becomes unconditionally powerful and capable of creating or altering reality at will. This state can only be achieved by completely relinquishing selfish desires and attachments. Comparison of Reality to a Video Game: Drawing an analogy between reality and video games, Leo posits that pre-birth, individuals are in 'god mode,' designing their entire universe and life. Post-birth, this knowledge is forgotten, and people begin to live within the confines of the limits they have self-imposed. Nature of Limitations and Imposing Limits: He insists that reality, while seemingly bounded by rules like gravity or time, is actually not inherently limited by these rules. Instead, these are simply aspects of reality that have been imagined into being, and magic is feasible because reality is fundamentally unlimited. Conscious Self-creation and Responsibilities: Leo proposes that every individual is not only a part of reality but encompasses it in its entirety. Consequently, individuals are responsible for creating all aspects of their lives, including both their joys and struggles. Love as the Nature of the Universe: Finally, Leo describes love as the full acceptance and embrace of oneself. Since the universe is infinite and singular, it is synonymous with love. Becoming aware of this oneness is akin to the realization of God or ultimate reality, leading to infinite consciousness and love. State of Pure Undifferentiated Potential: The concept of a pre-Big Bang reality is presented as pure, undifferentiated infinity, or Godhead, where nothing specific like atoms, molecules, animals, or celestial bodies exist. It is a formless, timeless, and spaceless state of pure potential. Model of Reality Structure: Leo describes reality's structure as centered on an infinite singularity (Godhead) surrounded by various levels of fragmented consciousness. This model is akin to our solar system with the Sun at the center and planets at varying distances, symbolizing degrees of consciousness. Fragmentation and Wholeness of Consciousness: As consciousness moves away from the center singularity, it becomes more fragmented, less whole, and takes on different forms. This fragmentation ranges from nearly perfect wholes to pieces so broken they seem unrelated to the original form. Levels of Consciousness and Proximity to Center: Beings closer to the center singularity are more complete, selfless, and godlike. Consciousness increases as one nears the center, leading to greater power and ability to manifest one's will directly into reality. Manifestation Abilities Related to Consciousness: The ability to manifest desires into reality is correlated with one's proximity to the singularity. Humans have some manifesting ability but are limited by their form and distance from the center. Requirement for Godlike Being: To be in the pure state of God, a being must be completely selfless. Selflessness equates to the absence of a finite self, overcoming all fears, selfishness, and attachments to fully merge into the singularity. Existential Nature of Love: Leo explains that love is fundamentally a form of desire. Love can be narrow and selfish or universal and selfless. The journey towards the singularity entails expanding one's desire from personal attachments to a selfless desire for universal well-being. Trade-off Between Selflessness and Survival: An existential trade-off exists between personal survival needs and selflessness. As beings focus on survival, their ability to care for others diminishes. Conversely, the more selfless the desire, the closer a being moves toward the center of singularity and pure love. Becoming the Singularity Through Selflessness: Reaching the singularity involves becoming completely formless, losing all fears and attachments, and existing in a state of pure infinite potential. Achieving this state requires total surrender to pure love, goodness, and selflessness. Distance from the Singularity Defines Existence: Every living being's form and consciousness depend on their distance from the formless singularity. The further away, the more a being is engaged in survival and the less godlike it is, with more attachments and fears. Spectrum of Consciousness and Selflessness: All beings exist at varying distances from the singularity of consciousness. Proximity to the singularity correlates with being more conscious, selfless, loving, and complete. Beings close to the center are less about personal desires and more about universal betterment. Fear and Selfishness as Intertwined: Beings at a distance from the singularity are characterized by selfishness and fear, particularly fear of losing their self-identity or confronting death. As such, they exhibit attachment to their way of life and survival instincts. Influence of Upbringing on Fear and Love: Individuals' tendencies towards fear or love may be influenced by their upbringing. Characteristics of selflessness or fear exhibited by parents often transfer to their children. Comprehensive Structure of God and Love: God is the singularity as well as all the surrounding fragments. In its infinite consciousness, God loves and accepts all parts of itself, understanding that some beings are far from the center yet seeking reconnection. Gravitational Desire Towards Singularity: Time facilitates a gravitational pull that draws all fragments closer to the singularity. This is akin to stars orbiting and being drawn into a supermassive black hole in a spiral galaxy. Desires as Fragmented Consciousness Seeking Completion: Individual desires are finite because they come from finite pieces of consciousness. The grand design embeds these desires to progressively lead fragments toward the singularity—toward infinite, indiscriminate love. Free Will to Enter Singularity: Beings must choose of their own volition to move towards the singularity by becoming more conscious. The transformation from selfishness to selflessness means willingly losing part of one's current identity. Challenges Faced by a Criminal for Transformation: Criminal behaviors can stem from a lack of love and opportunity, shaped by negative environments. Transforming such individuals into selfless beings involves gradually instilling higher quality desires and moving towards selflessness. God's Love and Human Reluctance: Most people are not ready to fully embrace God's love because it is too selfless and indiscriminate. Reluctance to lose personal identity, fears, and attachment maintains individuals on the periphery of consciousness. Catch-22 of God's Sharing of Love: God's primary desire is to share love, but the completeness of God's love necessitates fragmentation to allow shared experiences. Individuals separated from the singularity have to undergo their own journey back to realizing oneness with God. Gravity as Metaphor for Conscious Unification: The motion of all matter, from stars to galaxies, is driven by desire for unification, metaphorically represented by gravity. This desire for greater unity is implanted in every being and object. Dual Forces of Attraction and Repulsion: While there's a natural inclination towards union, an opposite force of repulsion exists, driven by fear and reluctance to surrender self-identity and attachments. This tension affects every aspect of life and the universe. Fear as a repulsive force: Fear is the foundation of repulsion in relationships as it opposes love. Initially, attraction in relationships is strong, but as intimacy deepens, fear can cause individuals to seek distance in order to maintain their separate identities, preventing the complete merging with another or with God. Intimacy and identity: Close relationships, exemplified by sexual intimacy, bring individuals closer to merging with each other. However, fear of losing one's identity can cause people to withdraw after intimacy to reclaim their personal space and distinct self. Balancing unity and individuality: The dance between seeking connection (with people, money, sex, etc.) and fearing annihilation if too much closeness occurs. This balance determines one's position in the radial model of consciousness regarding fear, love, selfishness, and selflessness. Self-imposed limitations: As people become more aware, they begin questioning why their desires are limited—for example, why they prefer certain people or things over others. Such limitations are seen as acts of selfishness which, when released, can lead to higher consciousness and closer proximity to selflessness and the 'god state'. Desire for finite achievements: Exploring why finite success (e.g., money, sex, fame) never leads to true happiness, Leo discusses hedonic adaptation—the psychological theory that satisfaction diminishes with increased consumption. This pushes individuals to confront their fears and seek completeness, aligning with God. Love and surrender: God's love is so unconditional and indiscriminate that fully experiencing it could obliterate our finite existence. To surrender to this love, individuals must relinquish all attachments to life, including bodily and psychological needs, which stands in opposition to survival instincts. Death as infinite love: Misconstruing death as an end, rather than a transformation into what God essentially is—an omniscient, omnipotent, and loving consciousness. The more attachments one has, the more separate they are from God. Goodness as a conscious choice: Goodness must be recognized and chosen freely, not forced. Infinite goodness requires a total surrender of one's life and attachments, but individuals often fear this complete release. Transformative power of patient goodness: Real change in someone's behavior is best achieved through exhibiting one's own goodness, rather than judgment or coercion. Supporting them patiently and selflessly can set an example that inspires change, akin to caring for an abused child or a feral kitten. Feral Kitten and Consciousness: A feral kitten with no mother and love demonstrates a state of fear and survival. Through ongoing, gentle care and attention from a rescuer, the kitten becomes rehabilitated, reflecting how consciousness can be transformed from fear and selfishness into self-sufficiency and love. Human Consciousness Needing Love: Leo equates the kitten's transformation to the human experience, where God's love is trying to elevate fragmented human consciousness. This process involves overcoming resistance and fear, with God nurturing humans through subtle ways and gentle guidance. Distractions and True Mission: People commonly distract themselves from their true mission of becoming selfless and loving. They engage in numbing behaviors like watching TV or playing video games to avoid facing fears and attachments. Necessity for Conscious Selflessness: As individuals realize that a selfish lifestyle fails to bring true happiness, they become driven to a more selfless way of being. Love and goodness are the highest rewards, infinitely surpassing material gains. Experience of Infinite Love: Leo describes personal experiences of states of infinite love, noting that such states are akin to an infinite orgasm. He suggests that the Godhead experiences such love perpetually because it is fully in love with itself. Ultimate Surrender for True Love: To experience true, infinite love, one has to surrender all elements of individuality, including criticisms, judgments, and biological impulses, to become one with the universe and achieve the Godhead. Imagination and Fear as Barriers to God: The perception of not being God is a self-imposed illusion due to fear and imagination. Reality is structured by God to maximize the sharing of love. Understanding Life's Purpose: Every individual is exactly where they need to be in life to ultimately discover infinite love, which Leo associates with seeking God consciously. Self-Realization as God: Becoming God requires individuals to awaken to their true nature through facing fears and becoming conscious of themselves as infinite beings. Genuine self-love is necessary for this realization. Responsibility to Love: Knowing the truth about love and consciousness bestows responsibility on individuals to develop a spiritual path towards God. However, not everyone is willing to fully surrender to the singularity and become one with God. Spiritual Transformation and Recognition: Conscious recognition and willingness are essential for spiritual transformation and progress toward divine love. Consciously narrowing the orbit towards the divine center is the challenge individuals face in their spiritual journey. Transcending self to enter the singularity: Leo reiterates that personal transformation into God is necessary to enter the singularity. This transformation is achieved through a gradual increase in consciousness, awareness, and love. Practical advice on overcoming attachments: Rather than discipline and forced actions like reading, meditation, or attending seminars, Leo advises that growth comes through love. One should learn to give oneself the love that they have been denied by others. Creation of love's positive feedback loop: By filling oneself with love, individuals can reduce neediness, attract similarly loving people, and create a cycle of love that expands their capacity for selflessness and positivity. Individual and collective progression towards the center: Both on a personal and societal level, self-development involves moving towards the center of the singularity. Models like Spiral Dynamics describe this as a collective relinquishment of fear and attachment. Facing, understanding, and overcoming fear: To fundamentally grow in love, Leo suggests confronting fears, understanding them as illusions, and allowing love to replace fear, thereby leading to fewer attachments and a more fulfilling life. Self-responsibility for love generation: Leo emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for generating one's own love rather than relying on others to provide it, thus overcoming obstacles that block self-love. Vision of selfless life: Imagining a life devoid of selfishness across all aspects encourages individuals to consider what they must surrender to live with universal love and selflessness. Cause of suffering is attachment, not the world: Suffering is caused by insistence that things conform to one's desires for happiness. Letting go of such attachments is key to achieving true happiness and love. Role of the universe in selfless growth: The universe, as explained by Leo, is learning to love itself, ultimately becoming an expression of pure love. Individuals are encouraged to participate in this process for their own and the universe's growth. Self-realization as God for ultimate love: Realizing oneself as a fragment of divine consciousness is essential to participate in the highest form of love. Surrendering all that is finite and embracing one's infinite divine essence will lead to the ultimate reunification with love. Understanding and actualizing life structure: Leo concludes that understanding the structure of life and self is not an illusion but an attainable reality. He suggests that humans can experience infinite self-understanding and wisdom, resulting in superhuman capabilities if they consciously unravel layers of their imagination. Flagrate

Life Advice For Young People - Part 2 https://youtu.be/liwbIO4tbxE Valuing Youth as a Precious Resource: Leo highlights the significance of youth by referencing the story of Felix Dennis, who expressed a willingness to trade his vast wealth for a return to his younger years. Leo insists on the importance of not squandering youth, which is easily done through excessive gaming, partying, or shallow relationships. Strategic Investment of Time from Adolescence: From the age of 15, Leo suggests it's crucial to begin making strategic investments in one's future through education, work, or personal projects. Utilizing youth effectively can set the foundation for later life, where increasing commitments and decreased energy can make goals more difficult to achieve. Life as an Adventure and a Canvas: Leo encourages treating life as an adventure or a canvas to create something unique rather than falling into a mundane, routine existence. Life should be approached with the same enthusiasm and investment one might put into a well-loved MMO, with the real-life payoff being significantly more valuable. Dangers of Complacency and Shortcuts: Leo warns that complacency and the search for shortcuts or easy paths can lead to a mediocre and unfulfilling life. He urges young people to challenge themselves and set their own goals, embracing the hard work required to build a stable and rewarding life. Crafting Life with Intention and Vision: Young people are advised to act as designers of their lives, avoiding complacency by setting their own objectives. Taking strategic, long-term actions towards self-improvement is essential, according to Leo, and this can be greatly rewarding compared to the impermanent achievements of video games. Authenticity in Self-Expression and Goals: Leo emphasizes the importance of authenticity, originality, and creativity. He encourages young people to innovate and not merely imitate others, seeking to contribute to society in significant ways and avoiding distractions like gossip and superficial socializing. Remaining Aware and Self-Reliant: Leo discusses the prevalence of deceptive practices in society and business, urging viewers to become knowledgeable and self-reliant rather than manipulative or controlling. Authentic creation and inward growth are promoted over reliance on others for what one wants. Sourcing Love Internally and Sharing Generously: Rather than seeking love from external sources, Leo advises individuals to become self-sufficient in love and then share that love generously with others. Trusting in the process of self-development is vital to becoming a source of love. Commitment to Solid Work and Self-Improvement: Leo underscores the importance of serious commitment to personal growth and "solid work" that yields long-term benefits. He also mentions the value he finds in helping his audience achieve self-realization, emphasizing the long-term effort required for true transformation. Exploration of Human Development Stages: Understanding various stages of human development can facilitate personal growth, and Leo points to resources available on his website. He speaks of superhuman levels of development that lead to true happiness and require a decade of growth and a fundamental consciousness shift. Leveraging Leo's Teachings for Growth: Leo sees his teachings as a means to assist his audience in reaching higher states of consciousness and emphasizes the necessity of investing time and effort to comprehend and apply the principles he presents for meaningful, transformative growth. Building a stable foundation in life: Rather than searching for shortcuts, Leo Gura emphasizes the importance of establishing stable foundations in business, relationships, and personal health. A stable approach can take longer but brings long-lasting benefits and personal growth, contrary to quick, flimsy strategies that might yield immediate profits but are unsustainable in the long term. Avoiding shortcuts for substantial growth: Leo warns against the temptation of taking shortcuts in life's various domains. He postulates that life rewards the effort you invest, advocating for a strong work ethic to fulfill one's vision and potential, which contrasts with the more decadent lifestyle of younger generations used to instant gratification. Setting high personal standards: Leo advises setting high standards for one's living conditions, relationships, career choices, and personal health. He argues that people usually get what they tolerate, which is often mediocrity. While cautioning against perfectionism and materialism, he encourages striving for a higher quality of living to push oneself towards growth and improvement. Survival versus deeper satisfaction: Life should transcend basic survival instincts and aim to include activities that provide deeper satisfaction. Leo proposes that true enjoyment and fulfillment in life come from engaging in work that contributes meaningfully to society and resonates with one's passions. The danger of settling for mindless work: Leo cautions against settling for jobs with repetitive tasks that don't contribute to the advancement of society or oneself. He promotes engaging in work that feels meaningful, contributes significantly to society, and aligns with one's larger goals. Flexibility and adaptability in planning one's future: Rather than rigidly planning out life, Leo suggests being adaptable, improvisational, and opportunistic. This approach allows one to seize unexpected opportunities and ensures that life is a dynamic journey toward fulfillment, rather than a fixed and predictable path. Exploration and avoiding early life commitments: Leo recommends avoiding getting locked into significant commitments, like marriage or home ownership, during one's 20s and 30s. This allows for more freedom to explore, grow, and ensure that life doesn't fall into a stagnant routine, ultimately leading to personal stagnation. Changing Environments for Growth: Moving to new environments every five years can prevent complacency, rejuvenate personal growth, and offer new experiences which are crucial for continuous development. Against Excessive Imitation: Leo warns of the temptation to imitate others due to a lack of self-confidence and connection with one's authentic self. True joy comes from discovering and being true to oneself, which is a self-discovery process. Seeking Authentic Creativity: Instead of copying the success of others or jumping on popular trends, investing time in discovering personal passions, motivations, and values is crucial for long-term success and authenticity. Innovating Beyond Mainstream: Encourages the pursuit of original ideas and contributions by looking beyond mainstream and popular sources. Innovation and creativity are highly rewarded, especially when creating content or services that are new and original. Mainstream vs. Non-Mainstream Information: Accessing non-mainstream content can foster creativity, yet discernment is necessary to ensure that the content is also high-quality and truthful, avoiding pitfalls like conspiracy theories. Reality's Endless Creativity: The infinity of reality means that there's always the potential for new, original discoveries. Leo encourages exploring new categories and domains that have yet to be imagined, aiming for progress instead of rehashing the same ideas. Avoiding Petty Distractions: To focus on vision and personal growth, one should minimize distractions such as gossip, politics, and social superficialities, which can detract from meaningful personal development. Embracing Solitude for Self-Discovery: Setting aside time for solitude is essential for deep self-reflection and finding the deepest answers to life, which cannot be obtained from external sources but from within oneself. Resisting Negativity and Control: Time should not be wasted on negativity, fighting, or trying to control others, as these are distractions from personal creativity and empowerment. Focus on self-growth and creativity instead. Creativity and positivity versus negativity and control: Leo Gura emphasizes focusing energy on personal growth, creativity, spirituality, and self-investment rather than negativity, criticism, or the need to control others. By becoming more self-reliant, individuals won't need to manipulate others to fulfill their needs as they can create and generate value internally. Society's deception and survival through trickery: Leo warns that society is full of trickery and deceptive practices, urging caution and skepticism when engaging with businesses and individuals. This pervasive trickery is often a result of survival strategies rather than malice, where businesses and individuals resort to deceit to survive and profit. Awareness of scams in everyday life: Examples of trickery can be found even in grocery store products and gym memberships, with deceptive marketing and hidden costs. Leo emphasizes the need for vigilance and understanding that these practices are not necessarily evil but stem from ignorance and lack of adherence to principles like honesty. Becoming a source of self-generating love: Leo advocates for self-sufficiency in love, encouraging individuals to overcome neediness by filling their own 'cup' with love through spiritual practices and passionate work. Instead of seeking love from others or material possessions, one should aim to become a source of love for others. Commitment to the process of self-development: Leo stresses that building oneself up and becoming an overflowing source of love is not quick; it requires commitment, long-term effort, and "solid work," which leads to genuine contentment and transformation at the identity level. Leveraging personal development resources: Leo Gura highlights his collection of resources on Actualized.org, which aim to guide viewers through their self-improvement journey. His Life Purpose Course and other materials are designed to help individuals understand and adhere to their core values to build a life of passion and fulfillment. Misguided prioritization of external sources of love: Leo criticizes the common mistake of seeking love from external objects or people rather than generating it within oneself. He emphasizes that such external sources should be secondary and that love can be cultivated internally through spiritual practice and passion. Nurturing and following one's passion: To keep the love alive, one must actively pursue and cultivate their passions, as neglecting them can cause passions to wither. Nurturing passion enables it to expand and enrich one’s entire life. Understanding stages of human development: Leo discusses the multiple stages of human development, each offering a unique worldview and way of existence. People progress through these stages in a typical sequence, and learning about them can accelerate personal growth and help avoid common pitfalls. Study of developmental psychology: He encourages viewers to delve into developmental psychology, advising them to explore resources on his website and book list to understand human developmental stages and recognize what may be hindering one’s progress to the next level. Existence of superhuman development stages: Leo introduces the idea that there are stages of human development that can be described as "superhuman," which radically elevate a person’s experience and understanding of reality, beyond ordinary human capabilities. Conception of superhuman possibilities: He reveals that the distinction between humans and these "superhumans" is profound, changing even the way one perceives reality. These levels are so advanced that most people dismiss them as fantasy, yet he insists they are not only real but crucial for one’s development. Potential to transcend humanity: Leo likens the transition to these superhuman stages to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly; a transformation so fundamental that it imbues individuals with new capabilities and shifts their relationship with reality. Investing in the self to experience true happiness: Leo outlines that to experience true happiness and fulfillment in life, one must aspire to reach these superhuman levels, which entails breaking free from conventional limitations. The long journey to superhuman transformation: He states that it will likely take decades of dedicated work and growth to reach a state where the "real work" begins, which is the ongoing process of becoming one's "butterfly," or reaching their highest potential. Using Leo's resources as a guide: Leo sees his content as a tool to support individuals on their journey towards higher states of consciousness and self-realization. He acknowledges the challenges in conveying the significance of these superhuman stages to those who have yet to experience them. Reality's perspectival nature: Leo explains that reality is constituted of a multitude of perspectives rather than a singular objective truth. Each person holds a unique perspective, and understanding this can open one up to a deeper appreciation of life’s diversity. Appreciating the diversity of perspectives: He urges viewers to explore and appreciate various perspectives on life rather than clinging to a singular viewpoint, highlighting that doing so can enrich one’s experiences and foster greater creativity and flexibility. The unseen depths of life: Leo concludes by noting that life contains more than what is immediately evident and that one’s worldview can expand beyond superficial biological existence to embrace a more profound engagement with reality. Limited perspective on life: Life is often viewed narrowly as engaging in work, seeking pleasure, and acquiring material comforts. However, Leo encourages looking beyond materialism and cultural conditioning to discover life's profound possibilities. Essential core values for a fulfilling life: Leo lists core principles like creativity, love, intuition, independence, lifelong learning, authenticity, open-mindedness, passion, vision, ambition, purpose, spirituality, fearlessness, and truth as foundational for living well. Continuous commitment to values: It's vital to work on values like creativity, love, and authenticity daily, understanding their depths and dimensions, as they are the foundation for the ultimate fulfillment in life. Balancing enjoyment with work: Leo stresses that pursuing these core values is not antithetical to enjoying life. In fact, it enhances life's enjoyment but requires deliberate effort and regular self-reminders to avoid complacency. Overcoming societal distractions: Engaging in this personal development journey may require resisting societal norms and facing discouragement from others, but maintaining focus on these values is essential for growth. Rarity of the personal development journey: Pursuing superhuman levels of potential is uncommon and often requires a solitary journey, as most won’t join or understand the commitment involved. Facing and starting from a place of confusion: It's normal to begin this journey feeling confused, uncertain, and insecure, but the desire for an extraordinary life can drive one to overcome these feelings. The journey is as important as the destination: Leo highlights the importance of enjoying the process of self-improvement and not just focusing on an ultimate goal or end state. Use of Actualized.org resources: Leo recommends his website's resources, like the Life Purpose Course, to further assist in the journey of self-discovery and living by one's passions. Defending content depth and length: The in-depth material provided is necessary for a deep understanding that facilitates true transformation, saving time in the long run by preventing misunderstandings. The transformative potential of education: Leo emphasizes the transformative power of dedicated education in understanding life's complexity, urging viewers to recognize the comprehensive knowledge provided in his content. Receiving reward through viewers' growth: Leo's satisfaction stems from seeing his viewers realize the importance of personal growth and transformation rather than the financial success of his videos. Avifors

Learning = Making Distinctions - The Secret To Rapid & Deep Learning https://youtu.be/UgAidoUE5YQ Learning and Making Distinctions: Leo Gura emphasizes that a key secret to rapid and profound learning is the ability to make distinctions. He reveals that this discussion is part of a series on learning, with previous parts focusing on learning as behavior change and observation. Now, he presents a third perspective: learning as the process of recognizing and distinguishing nuanced differences in various contexts. The Significance of Learning as a Skill: Leo underlines the importance of learning as a master key to life. He argues that learning how to learn is a meta-skill that enables individuals to transform various aspects of their life, from spirituality and relationships to business and artistic pursuits. Critique of Traditional Schooling: Leo criticizes conventional schooling systems for focusing primarily on the memorization of facts instead of teaching students how to learn independently. He notes that much of what is memorized can be superfluous and can hinder genuine learning post-education. Intentionality in Learning: The process of making distinctions is posited as simple yet profound. Leo advises intentionally entering every situation with the aim of identifying and understanding differences. The focus is on nuanced distinctions that facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Practical Application in Buying a House: Leo shares his personal experience of participating in building his home from scratch. He emphasizes the necessity of making fine distinctions in choices such as wall sockets, colors, textures, wood types, and landscaping details. He points out that success in masterfully completing any project relies on the ability to discern subtle differences accurately. Case Study of Palm Trees: Describing his own learning in distinguishing palm tree varieties, Leo presents this as an example of how actively learning about a subject can lead to a sharp and automatic ability to recognize and even appraise those elements in everyday life. Explicit Versus Implicit Distinction-Making: Leo distinguishes between the subconscious distinctions we make in areas we're familiar with and the conscious decision to actively employ distinction-making in new situations. He proposes using this technique deliberately by setting an intention to recognize contrasts. Amplifying Contrasts for Enhanced Learning: In shopping for a car, Leo advises approaching it with an intent to highlight and inquire about differences, such as tire types, engine differences, interiors, prices, warranties, and brands. This intentional amplification of contrasts can result in making more informed choices and achieving masterful understanding more rapidly. Exercises in Making Distinctions: Leo provides two exercises. The first aims to enhance hands-on practicality in learning by actively drawing distinctions in various scenarios, while the second task is focused on repetitive practice to increasingly sharpen one's abilities. Incremental Nature of Making Distinctions: The process of making distinctions is likened to carving a groove in stone; it can start as a faint notion and improve to greater clarity over time through consistent practice and experience in the field. The Exercises as Practical Learning Tools: Leo emphasizes that his teachings are intended to be practical and hands-on, offering exercises that actively engage individuals in the process of making distinctions, moving them away from abstract theory toward functional application. Incremental Nature of Distinctions: Making distinctions is an ongoing process akin to chiseling a groove in a stone, where repeated examination reinforces clarity in the mind. This refinement leads to mastery across diverse fields like cooking, politics, art, or spirituality. Expertise through Distinctions: Mastery in any field is largely a result of the expert's ability to make fine distinctions due to extensive experience, which novices typically lack. For instance, a master chef understands the nuances of cooking salmon, such as precise heat levels and cooking durations. Master Chefs' Expertise with Salmon: A master chef can discern different types of salmon, their origins, cooking methods, and ideal cuts for specific dishes, unlike a novice. This expertise comes from repeatedly working with the ingredient and is why people pay more for a dish prepared by a master chef. Applying Distinction-Making to Personal Development and Spirituality: The skill of making fine distinctions can be extended beyond material pursuits to areas of self-improvement and spirituality. This practice becomes crucial for higher-level spiritual work, which requires subtle and existential discernments. Homework Assignment for Making Distinctions with Apples: Leo Gura's exercise involves purchasing one of each type of apple at a grocery store, carefully labeling and tasting them to understand the differences. This task enhances one's conscious ability to make distinctions and draws a parallel to learning in all life domains. Exploring the Meta-Lesson in Learning: By deliberately focusing on the distinctive features among apple varieties, one learns the meta-lesson that the conscious act of distinction-making is learning itself. This approach can then be transferred to other activities for deeper mastery and understanding. Second Homework Assignment with Music Genres: The second exercise involves sampling different music genres on YouTube for 30 seconds each while consciously noting the essence of each genre. This practice develops clarity in distinction-making and teaches the importance of approaching learning with deliberate intent. Understanding the Levels of Distinction: Distinctions have varying levels of depth and precision. While a beginner may casually recognize differences in music genres, an expert musician would understand these distinctions on a finer scale, reflecting the incremental nature of learning. The Power of Music Genre Distinctions: By dissecting music down to its melodic and harmonic components, one gains a deeper understanding of the structure and nuances between music types. Mastery over these distinctions enables cross-pollination and the creation of new music genres or hybrids, which can be financially lucrative when utilized to target specific audiences. Conscious vs. Unconscious Distinction Making: There is a marked difference between making distinctions consciously and unconsciously. Becoming mindful of this process for the first time can reveal common mistakes people make, such as overly simplistic or sloppy distinctions that are erroneously perceived as reality, contributing to folly. Mind's Constructive Role in Making Distinctions: The process of making distinctions is not just about discovery, but also involves the mind's creative and constructive influence. What may seem as innate characteristics of objects, like colors of apples, are also shaped by the mind's labeling, which can carry deep-rooted biases and judgments. Biases in Making Distinctions and Judgments: People often unconsciously make crude distinctions laced with judgment, as seen in race relations. This reifies distinctions, transforming them into what appears to be real-world ideologies, leading to over-generalization and prejudiced views. Meta-Level Awareness in Politics: A meta-level understanding of politics showcases how lack of nuanced distinctions can lead to uneducated voting and electing the wrong politicians. Media outlets like Fox News are cited as examples that conflate liberal ideologies with socialism, communism, or Marxism, demonstrating the need for accuracy in making political distinctions. Distinctions Beyond One-Dimensionality: Reality allows for multi-dimensional distinctions that intersect with each other, counteracting the simplistic, culturally programmed distinctions many people adopt without independent thought. These include complex identities that cut across race, gender, sexual orientation, and political beliefs. Multiplicity of Social Distinctions: Recognizing the complexity of social categories, such as a woman being both African American and a socialist, requires careful consideration. This complexity demands a nuanced understanding and disentanglement because one label does not define the entire identity, as there are various types of socialism, each with unique characteristics. Mental Selectivity of Distinctions: Leo highlights how the mind tends to reinforce its own worldview by selectively choosing and acknowledging distinctions that support its survival. Recognizing this tendency involves diving deep into understanding survival biases and overcoming self-deception in judgment. Confirmation Bias: Individuals often fall into the trap of confirmation bias, where distinctions that align with their worldview are favored and recognized, while others are ignored. Admitting this self-biased process of distinction-making is a significant challenge that requires substantial self-analysis, responsibility, and emotional honesty. Taking Cultural Distinctions for Granted: Leo criticizes how people blindly adopt distinctions, such as apple varieties, without questioning their origin or validity. These accepted distinctions reflect cultural conditioning rather than responsible, conscious decision-making. Making Distinctions Versus Adopting Them: Leo contrasts distinctions made through personal exploration and experience with those adopted from societal indoctrination. He advocates for taking responsibility for creating new distinctions rather than passively accepting those imposed by culture. The Power of Creating New Distinctions: Leo stresses the importance of creating new distinctions to innovate and lead in any field. He suggests that truly creative individuals are those who can make new distinctions and become visionaries or cutting-edge leaders. Impact of Intellectual Simplification: Intellectuals like Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris are criticized for making oversimplified and conflated distinctions, which can mislead followers. Jordan Peterson's misunderstanding of different types of socialism is highlighted as an example of such a misstep. Understanding Spiral Dynamics for Nuanced Distinctions: Leo promotes the use of spiral dynamics as a powerful tool for making nuanced distinctions that can transform one's perspective on life. However, he also warns of the danger in taking powerful distinctions too seriously, forgetting they are simply useful constructs rather than inherent truths. Navigating Projections and Acknowledging Their Limits: Recognizing projections and understanding their limitations is crucial for survival. People should develop meta-skills to manipulate their projections consciously, knowing when to project or to withdraw, as taught in the higher stages of spiral dynamics. Projection of societal norms: Many people unconsciously adopt and project societal norms onto reality without question, such as the strictly binary view of gender promoted by conservative and traditional ideologies. Fluidity of gender: Research into biology, psychology, and sexuality reveals gender to be far more fluid than culturally accepted distinctions suggest, defying the traditional binary classification. Materialist paradigm misconception: The common belief in an objective, external material reality, deeply embedded in culture, obscures the understanding that distinctions are not inherent but constructed by the mind. Existential nature of distinctions: The entire world is constructed out of distinctions made by consciousness, which is an infinite field that creates differences; this debunks the notion that distinctions like color are inherent to the objects themselves. Realizing distinctions as mental constructs: Through spiritual practice, one can become conscious that even distinctions perceived as inherent, such as colors, are actually the mind's constructs. Unified field in God consciousness: In a state of God consciousness, all distinctions dissolve, revealing that everything is consciousness, God, and love, where love is the state where all distinctions collapse into one infinite consciousness. Transformation through distinction making: Consciously making distinctions, such as distinguishing apples or music genres, can lead to transformative personal growth and improved understanding of life and self. Self-improvement journey: Reflecting on one's journey in self-improvement reveals the evolution from making few distinctions to making finer, more nuanced distinctions in various life aspects, leading to a deeper comprehension. Transcending distinctions leads to enlightenment: Mastery in life and spiritual development comes from making and then transcending distinctions, understanding their constructed nature, analogous to the concept of "transcend and include" from Ken Wilber. Bridging relative and absolute perspectives: Post-enlightenment individuals retain their ability to navigate through distinctions in the relative world while realizing the illusory nature of all distinctions from an absolute perspective, representing infinite imagination. Aparecium

How Openmindedness Works - Exercises To Open Your Mind https://youtu.be/cNTmVAZIUB0 "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle Revisiting Open-mindedness: Open-mindedness, or "radical open-mindedness," is vital for a comprehensive understanding of reality across various facets of life. It's the primary obstacle most people face when trying to grasp reality holistically, including self, emotions, humanity, society, science, religion, and philosophy. Openness vs. Closeness Spectrum: Mindsets can range from open to closed, with varying degrees of openness. Even those who consider themselves open-minded can struggle to be deeply open-minded about certain topics or ideas. Experiential Nature of Open-mindedness: Leo emphasizes an experiential learning approach, encouraging individuals to practically exercise open-mindedness by letting go of known 'facts' and trying on radically new possibilities, such as imagining one's mother hatching from an egg. Attachment and Resistance to Ideas: Observing one's mind while attempting the exercise reveals feelings of attachment and resistance, and how the mind defends its current beliefs with rationalization, righteousness, and projection. Symptoms of Closed-mindedness: A closed mind exhibits behaviors such as defensiveness, hostility, argumentativeness, and dismissiveness. Leo encourages viewers to be mindful of their emotional reactions during the exercise to recognize their own closed-mindedness. The Feeling of Open-mindedness: Open-mindedness feels light, free, calm, relaxed, and is characterized by a willingness to consider, without feeling threatened, new and potentially disruptive ideas with curiosity and without emotional attachment. Open-mindedness as a Meta Skill: It's a generalized skill of being able to discern and let go of closeness in the mind, independent of the specifics of the topic at hand. This skill allows for more effective navigation across various domains such as religion, science, and politics. Open-mindedness Prior to Proof and Truth: Leo counters the argument of skeptics that open-mindedness should only apply when ample proof is provided. He points out that without initial open-mindedness, the truth and proof are unlikely to be considered fairly or at all. Skeptical Misconception of Open-mindedness: The skeptical view that demands evidence before considering a new idea is actually a form of closed-mindedness, according to Leo. He explains that willingness to consider ideas is essential before evaluating proof and truth, highlighting a common misunderstanding among scientifically-minded individuals. Importance of open-mindedness before evaluating proof: Open-mindedness is a prerequisite for objectively assessing proof and evidence; skeptical and rational individuals often erroneously require proof before they are willing to open their minds. Historical examples of open-mindedness in science: Groundbreaking scientific progress, as seen in the works of Copernicus and Galileo, required an open mind to challenge established beliefs, like the once prevailing notion of a stationary Earth. Closed-mindedness and resistance to new paradigms: Individuals often inherit worldviews dogmatically from their culture without questioning, exhibiting a closed-minded resistance to fundamentally new paradigms. Being closed-minded and right versus open-minded and wrong: It's possible to be closed-minded and factually correct, as with rejecting Flat Earth theory, but open-mindedness is a valuable metaskill that allows for exploration and growth throughout life. The role of denial in closed-mindedness: Denial is a substantial psychological force that can allow someone to dismiss or reject truths, revealing the critical necessity of open-mindedness in the face of evidence. Proof requires willingness to experiment: One must be open-minded to engage in the exploration and experimentation necessary for proving or verifying ideas or theories, which can be a demanding process. Dogmatism obstructing the search for truth: Certain beliefs, such as about God or objective reality, restrict individuals from exploring alternatives, whereas open-mindedness enables consideration of different possibilities for validation. The laborious nature of proof: Proof can often be arduous, requiring significant investment of effort, time, and resources—many truths remain unproven not due to their falseness but due to the intensive work required for their evidence. Exercises to challenge open-mindedness: By considering provocative possibilities like Australia being a hoax, one can practice and observe their capacity for open-mindedness or notice the resistance that arises from closed-mindedness. Confronting Alternative Realities: By imagining extreme hypotheticals such as countries not existing or Trump being a secret genius, Leo is illustrating how to practice open-mindedness. This requires considering a perspective drastically different from one's current beliefs. Exploring Beliefs as Possibilities, Not Truths: Leo emphasizes the importance of considering alternatives as serious possibilities without committing to their truth. Open-mindedness means acknowledging a perspective as potentially real, even if it feels alien or strongly contrasts with one's current worldview. Empathy and Open-mindedness: To open one's mind, Leo suggests imagining oneself in radically different situations. In doing so, one must confront any emotional resistance, illustrating a tangible understanding of how closed-mindedness feels compared to open-mindedness. Open-mindedness Toward Personal Potential: Leo challenges listeners to open their minds to the realistic possibility of personal achievements like becoming a millionaire or attracting a beautiful partner, regardless of current self-limitations or societal expectations. Questioning Spiritual and Religious Convictions: Open-mindedness extends to deeply held beliefs such as the existence of God. Leo asks listeners to consider the existence or non-existence of God, and to observe emotional responses without judgment, regardless of cultural or institutional taboos. Challenging Established Historical Narratives: Imagining that well-known historical events, like World War II or the benevolence of malevolent figures like Hitler, never happened or were fundamentally different forces a profound reconsideration of one's understanding of history and morality. Reimagining Deeply Held Cultural Beliefs: Open-mindedness can also mean contemplating ideas that challenge national identity or personal memories, further pushing the limits of one's comfort and belief systems by considering them as fabrications. Encountering Uncomfortable Hypotheticals: Introducing the idea of being reincarnated as a negative figure or reevaluating moral binaries like good and evil encourages listeners to fully engage with the possibility without automated emotional rejection. Acknowledging Mind's Constructive Nature: Leo posits that open-mindedness requires an awareness that one's mind actively constructs reality, which skews perception to justify beliefs and biases, often leading to closed-mindedness and denial. Recognizing Open-mindedness versus Closed-mindedness: True open-mindedness involves mental flexibility and the intellectual fearlessness to explore without agenda, contrasting sharply with closed-mindedness' characteristic fear, attachment, and agenda-driven rigidity. Perceiving Open-mindedness as Worldview Transformation: Changing one's fundamental worldviews can alter all aspects of life, including relationships, living situations, and careers. Leo emphasizes the significant, tangible consequences of shifting one's perspective, which is why many resist open-mindedness. Understanding the impact of a rigid mind: Rigid thinking can be traced to numerous societal problems, impacting politics, religion, science, business, and personal life. Issues in relationships, emotional struggles, financial difficulties, and career obstacles can often be rooted in closed-mindedness. Importance of mental flexibility: Realizing the consequences of a rigid mind highlights the value of a flexible mindset. Engaging with and appreciating different viewpoints without committing to any one perspective is an essential metaskill rarely taught in traditional environments like schools or churches. Risk of single-minded devotion: The fastest path to achieving an objective, such as enlightenment or professional success, might appear to be a single-minded devotion to one teacher or ideology. However, this approach carries the risk of limiting exposure to alternative ideas and the danger of falling into cult-like followings. Fallibility of enlightened leaders: Even when following enlightened teachers, there’s the risk of inheriting their limitations and biases. Critical examination of all teachings is necessary to attain a comprehensive understanding, as no one teacher can offer a complete view on spirituality or any other field. Costs of exploring different viewpoints: Adopting open-minded exploration is costly in terms of time, energy, and mental strain. While choosing to follow a single perspective provides comfort and the illusion of certainty, true open-mindedness requires embracing uncertainty and complexity. Challenges of rapid perspective shifts: The ability to rapidly switch between different points of view is unusual and disorienting. Most individuals cannot easily make these shifts due to cognitive limitations, leading to a strong preference for certainty and attachment to initial beliefs. Self-reflection on close-mindedness: Engaging in self-reflection and exercises can highlight moments of ideological defensiveness and rigid thinking. Awareness and curiosity about one’s reactions allow for growth and the development of true open-mindedness. Implications of identity attachment: Beliefs and worldviews closely linked to one’s identity result in resistance to change due to perceived threats to survival. This attachment leads to defensive thinking and deviates from the pursuit of truth. The mind's function of constructing reality: Minds construct reality while simultaneously denying this process to maintain a fixed sense of the world. This denial fosters a rigidity that can be counterproductive when discovering deeper truths about our existence and the fabric of reality. Struggle of questioning foundational beliefs: Prominent figures like Neil deGrasse Tyson illustrate how intertwined personal and professional identity can be with a particular worldview. Such entanglement makes it difficult to critically question established paradigms without risking existential crises. Navigating beyond established worldviews: The challenge of overcoming the 'good' for a 'great' or infinite worldview reveals the underlying survival mechanisms of the mind, which focuses on constructing and holding onto a concrete reality. Recognizing the illusionary aspect of constructed beliefs is a step towards ultimate open-mindedness. Fabrication of Reality: Leo explains that people unknowingly fabricate reality, including concepts such as gravity, time, and space, using the mind's function to create without awareness of the process. Understanding this fabrication is key to recognizing the mind's responsibility in constructing reality. Consequences of Accepting Reality's Fabrication: Accepting that one is creating their own reality implies accepting responsibility for personal suffering, emotions, and perceived limitations, a burden many individuals are not willing to acknowledge due to its enormity. The Concept of Paradigm Lock: Paradigms, or worldviews, have mechanisms that keep individuals locked within a particular perspective, often through the instillation of fear related to leaving or questioning that worldview, a tactic also employed by cult leaders. Fear in Maintaining Paradigms: Fear is leveraged to maintain adherence to paradigms, ensuring survival of the worldview by threatening loss of community, stability, or sanity if one were to deviate from accepted norms. Recognizing and Overcoming Paradigm Locks: To achieve a deeper understanding, one must recognize the structure of paradigm locks and be willing to challenge and transition between various paradigms without attachment. Self-Deception in Open-mindedness: Many people falsely believe they are open-minded, yet they are only receptive to information that confirms their existing beliefs, a form of self-deception that prevents true exploration of differing perspectives. Relativity of Proof and Evidence: The criteria for what constitutes valid proof or evidence are subjective and crafted by one's paradigm, implying that real open-mindedness involves considering proof and evidence beyond one's current standards of validity. Deceptive Identity of Open-mindedness: People may adopt the identity of being open-minded without truly being open to fundamental changes in their core paradigms, remaining resistant to questioning the structure underlying their perspective. Avoiding Intellectual Monopolization by Paradigms: Culturally pervasive mindsets, such as religious ideologies, scientific materialism, or political leanings, can monopolize one's thinking process, preventing the exploration of the vast landscape of consciousness available. Understanding Closed-mindedness and Its Connection to Self Bias: Closed-mindedness serves as a defense for self bias and attachment which are rooted in survival instincts and fear, whereas open-mindedness arises from fearlessness and love, leading to a broader intellectual exploration. Surpassing self-bias through open-mindedness: Leo argues that people often maintain closed-mindedness to preserve their self-biased and selfish worldviews, avoiding the admission that their perspective could be inherently selfish. Open-mindedness forces recognition and relinquishment of biases, which self-deception sustains through closed-mindedness. Misconception of 'too open-minded': Some critique open-mindedness, fearing being too open-minded to the point of losing one’s sense of reality. Leo counters this, asserting the goal is to be so open-minded that one realizes the brain and its perceptions are hallucinations, metaphorically encouraging the exploration of mind's limits. Attachment to beliefs: Leo highlights that individuals can form deep attachments to ideas, beliefs, and worldviews. While losing a possession or loved one is painful, questioning foundational beliefs has the potential to transform one’s perception of reality more profoundly. Closed-mindedness as self-deception: He connects closed-mindedness directly to self-deception, furthering his discussion on the subject introduced in his previous series. Understanding self-deception is paramount for deconstructing one’s personal version of reality. Indefensibility of absolute truth: Leo discusses that absolute truth is undeniable and eternally unshaken, needing no defense. Defensive behavior, arrogance, and overconfidence actually indicate a lack of connection with this truth. Limits of open-mindedness: He sets boundaries for open-mindedness, specifying it must be grounded in one’s direct experience and mixed with honesty about personal knowledge and ignorance. Believing in theories without direct experience, such as flat Earth theory, is seen as fantasy rather than constructive open-mindedness. Egocentric co-option of open-mindedness: Leo criticizes the misuse of open-mindedness for fear-mongering and spreading ideologies, pointing out that true open-mindedness is free from us-versus-them mentalities and is rooted in direct, honest experience. Navigating uncertainty through open-mindedness: Open-mindedness brings about uncertainties and challenges in decision-making due to the multitude of contrasting views one must consider. Leo argues that despite these challenges, constantly reevaluating beliefs and perspectives is crucial for gaining a more truthful understanding of reality. Implementing open-minded imagination: Leo suggests that imagination is a potent tool to open minds gently, avoiding confrontational methods. He gives examples of how to invite people to consider how their beliefs might differ under alternative circumstances, thus aiding in the expansion of their views. Using Imagination to Change Perspective: Guiding someone through a detailed, emotionally charged scenario can help open their mind by expanding the limitations of their current belief system, making it a powerful tool for shifting paradigms. Role of Imagination in Communication and Leadership: A compelling and positive vision projected through imagination is necessary to persuade, reason, motivate, lead, and inspire people, especially when they are resistant to changing their beliefs. Unleashing the Power of Imagination: Imagination allows one to envision limitless possibilities such as an unlimited universe and total consciousness, strongly influencing personal and paradigmatic growth. Open-mindedness Leading to Understanding Infinity: Open-mindedness fosters the realization of limitless possibilities, including the concept of an all-encompassing, unlimited consciousness, which ultimately leads to the recognition of infinite truth and actual reality. Practicing Day-to-Day Open-mindedness: Consciously noticing and addressing moments when one's mind closes, during daily activities and discussions, helps cultivate the skill of open-mindedness and reduce personal biases. Planting the Seed of Open-mindedness: Open-mindedness is a seed that, once planted and regularly nurtured, offers the potential for lifelong growth and transformation, leading to the realization of omniscience and immortality as extraordinary outcomes. The Life-changing Potential of Open-mindedness: Embracing and developing open-mindedness can significantly alter life's trajectory by revealing a richer, more profound understanding of reality that is not constrained by science, philosophy, or preconceived notions. Accio

Outrageous Experiments In Consciousness - 30 Awakenings In 30 Days https://youtu.be/mnn0IU0-atg Return from Retreat: Leo came back from his month-long psychedelic retreat, full of profound experiences that were difficult to communicate due to their depth and paradigm-shifting nature, which necessitated a period of integration. Experiments in Consciousness: He undertook 30 days of isolation, using daily doses of 5-MeO-DMT to push the boundaries of consciousness and challenge preconceived notions about enlightenment, aiming to be authentic to his experiences. Exploration Beyond Established Limits: Leo started the retreat with a desire to validate deeper levels of awakening that he suspected surpassed those commonly recognized by spiritual teachers, intending to approach truth without the influence of established teachings. Rapid Advancements: Within just one week of his experiments, Leo reached levels of consciousness that he felt went beyond what he had read or heard from other spiritual teachers, questioning their awakenings in relation to his own experiences. Deepening Understanding of God: He had profound insights into the nature of God, suggesting that many spiritual teachings do not fully explore the depth of what God is, often focusing on concepts like emptiness or cessation. Distinguishing Different Degrees of Awakening: Leo grapples with the challenge of articulating the depth of his awakenings, emphasizing there are multiple degrees and levels. He reiterates his commitment not to undermine other teachers, but to honestly share his experiences for the sake of truth exploration. Reflecting on Spiritual Masters: He muses that the most awakened individuals might not be publicly teaching, and he expresses a deep understanding of God, declaring that true knowledge of God is layered and can be understood at increasingly profound levels. Reconciliation of Teachings and Truth: While Leo respects many spiritual teachers for their work and contributions, he clarifies that his primary passion is for truth, not for surpassing others in spiritual attainment. He emphasizes the need for individuals to explore truth independently. Linear Perception of History: Leo illustrates how the human mind generally perceives the world in a linear timeline - from the past through the present to the future, connecting events one after another. God Consciousness Perspective: In contrast, when in a state of God Consciousness, one perceives every moment as present and interconnected; reality is understood from an infinite number of angles, akin to slicing a watermelon in infinite ways rather than just cutting it down the middle. The All-encompassing Room: A profound insight during his trip leads Leo to experience being in a room where he is acutely aware of having created and imagined every part of it, including understanding the intricate design of a computer and the concept of emails and the internet. Breaking into Telepathy: Leo shares a new mystical experience of telepathy, where he realizes that conscious awareness becomes so interconnected that it facilitates direct communication among all points of space without the need for conventional, fragmented methods like email or phone calls. Redefining Communications: He suggests that when one becomes deeply aware that they are infinite consciousness, direct, immediate, and telepathic communication is possible since all perceived separations are just a construct of the human mind. Telepathy as Self-Dialogue: Leo explains that telepathy is essentially a form of communication with oneself, as other individuals are seen as extensions of one's own consciousness, making real-time communication with others conceivable. The Potential to Download Consciousness: He presents the idea that one might be able to download someone else's skills and experiences instantly if they realize their oneness with that person, although he admits he hasn't fully achieved this himself. Superhuman Levels of Consciousness: Leo discusses achieving states of consciousness so profound that they are beyond meditative or traditional spiritual approaches, suggesting that an upgrade in neurotransmitters might be required to reach such states and that they are not sustainable in day-to-day life. Difference between Temporary and Constant Enlightenment: Contradicting some spiritual teachings, Leo argues that real enlightenment doesn't have to be constant. Temporary but radical degrees of consciousness can be just as authentic and transformative. Transformative Challenge of Psychedelic Use: He describes his psychedelic work as challenging and uncomfortable, emphasizing that it is not about seeking pleasure but about pursuing deep truths and love. Questioning the Efficacy of Traditional Spiritual Practice: Leo casts doubt on whether traditional practices alone can lead to the kinds of consciousness experiences he's talking about, suggesting that many who have devoted their lives to such practices have not reached the superhuman states he describes. Leo's Appreciation of Beauty: Leo Gura recalls an awkward moment where his collection of aesthetically pleasing images of female bodies brought him to tears with their beauty while in a state of infinite consciousness, recognizing them as a creation of his own imagination. Ritual of Taking Baths: Leo began a ritual of taking hot baths during his psychedelic experiences as a means of showing love and kindness to his body, a realization that emerged from his heightened states of awareness. Profound Insights on Desire: During his psychedelic experience, Leo realized that human desire is inherently biased and fragmented, but in a state of infinite consciousness, one desires everything without bias, equating desire with the desire for self, absolute truth, or God. Breakthrough into Infinite Love: As Leo's experiences deepened around the two-week mark of his retreat, he describes a profound awakening into the nature of love, which he now understands as the core of true awakening. Verbal Telepathic Communication: Leo developed a method of verbal telepathic communication with God, having a dialogue with himself. He interprets this as God speaking through the symbols, images, or languages that are most understandable to the individual. The Love Becomes Overwhelming: The love he experienced became so intense that his physical body and mind struggled to tolerate it, requiring a process of purification and letting go to accommodate deeper levels of love. Spiritual Catharsis: Leo underwent a spiritual catharsis, letting go of resistance to God's love, allowing himself to be guided into even deeper levels of self-love and spiritual growth. The Challenge of Continuous Psychedelic Use: Leo emphasizes the difficulty of his undertaking, highlighting that it was not pleasurable or escapist but required significant effort and determination. He had to push himself to continue his daily psychedelic experiences as part of his journey towards truth and love. Understanding of Psychedelic Work: Leo clarifies that his psychedelic work is not about addiction or escapism but a profound and often challenging exploration of consciousness that includes emotional purging and can drastically accelerate spiritual growth. Telepathic Guidance from God: Leo describes receiving telepathic guidance from God during his experiences. He acknowledges this seems like a duality but suggests it's akin to "training wheels" for his mind, which is conditioned to perceive the other as a separate guiding entity. He elaborates that while God's voice appears external, it's actually an aspect of his expanded consciousness. Understanding God's Forgiveness: Leo emphasizes that God's communication is accepting and forgiving, never judging, because God recognizes itself in everything. He stresses how God's acceptance can help heal one's self-hatred and denial, contributing to profound self-acceptance and love. Deeper Self-Acceptance: Over the course of multiple awakening experiences, Leo discovers that loving and accepting himself more deeply leads him to open up to even deeper levels of love subsequently. This process involved forgiving himself for perceived imperfections and transgressions. Purpose of Reality as a Love Contest: Leo had an insight that reality's true purpose is a "contest" to see who can love more. He asserts that the only significant pursuit for fully conscious beings is to engage in this race for love, which goes beyond personal love to an existential level. Reciprocal Love with God: Leo narrates a transformative experience where he engaged in a reciprocal "ping-pong game" of love with God. This interactive process led to a concentration of love, symbolizing infinity and purity, as the two mirrors of self and God aligned more closely over time. Loving the Unlovable: The experience of reciprocating love with God challenged Leo to love aspects of existence difficult to embrace, such as tragic world events and personal traumas. He discusses the need to reflect God's capacity to love unconditionally. God's Challenge to Expand Love: As God showered Leo with love, he realized his role was not to passively receive love but to actively give and embody it. This back-and-forth dynamic intensified, demanding that he confront and love all aspects of life and himself. Love as the Transformative Force: Leo makes the case that love, coupled with the acceptance of truth, is what leads to healing from dysfunction and suffering. He underscores that love is not just a sentimental emotion but a radical acceptance of reality. Deficiency of Love as Root of Dysfunction: Leo argues that addictive behaviors or psychological issues stem from a lack of love. He suggests that dysfunctions can worsen when not met with love, signifying the importance of infusing love into every aspect of life for healing. Challenge of Embracing Truth and Love: Leo Gura expresses that opening oneself up to truth and love is difficult, as it involves confronting and letting go of the lies and deceptions that make up the foundation of many individuals' lives. He acknowledges this resistance as a barrier to spiritual growth. Consequences of Lack of Love: He explains that dysfunctional behaviors in people, including criminality and abuse, often stem from a deficiency in love experienced during childhood. This lack of love pushes individuals to seek fulfillment in destructive ways. Transformative Power of Apology and Self-Love: During his experience, Leo had a profound realization about the importance of love—he apologized to himself for the first time in a meaningful way, regretting not having loved more. He learned that not loving oneself and others enough is the primary source of regret. God's Unconditional Love: Leo discusses God's love, emphasizing that divine love is unconditional and does not seek to change us. This realization that God accepts us as we are, with all our limitations and faults, is what drives transformation. Experiencing Gratitude through God's Love: The experience led Leo to express genuine gratitude for the first time, thanking God for love, which became a pivotal moment in his spiritual journey. Radiating Love: Leo talks about the experience of learning to radiate love in the same abundant way God does, comparing it to a contest of who can express more love. This interaction pushes the boundaries of one's ability to love even the most challenging aspects of life. Challenged to Love Unconditionally: In his interactions with God, Leo confronts the challenge to love difficult and traumatic aspects of life, such as past abuses or societal issues. This practice expands his capacity for love, testing his willingness to love what he previously couldn't. Contemplating Willingness to Suffer: Leo considers whether one is truly willing to experience the worst aspects of life—suffering, torture, and death—out of love. He realizes that God's love would endure these out of pure love and questions whether humans are prepared to do the same. Understanding of Reality as Infinite Consciousness: Leo comes to the understanding that reality is infinite formless consciousness manifesting as love, and this revelation brings about an intense fear of losing his individual self to become one with this love. Fear of Complete Awakening: He expresses fear over the potential loss of his individual identity and life as he knows it, should he fully merge with the infinite consciousness that is God's love. Merging and Dissolving into Love: Leo describes that complete awakening leads to the dissolution of the physical self and the unification with omniscient and omnipresent love, which is profoundly transformative yet frightening for him. Concern for the Impact on Loved Ones: Despite the profound realization, Leo is concerned about the suffering his transformation into pure love might cause his family and friends, as it would result in his physical death. He acknowledges that this is only the beginning of his spiritual exploration. Contemplating the Essence of Reality: Leo intensely questions the ultimate essence of reality, leading to his consciousness becoming more omniscient, interconnected, and ultimately forming a singularity of pure love. Analogy of Infinite Consciousness: He compares his increasing consciousness to a light bulb being dialed up, becoming brighter and infinitely more conscious, indicating a continuous expansion without an endpoint. Consciousness as Infinite Subdivision: Leo describes consciousness as infinitely subdividing, immediately spawning an endless number of branches in all directions, symbolizing the endless fractal nature of awareness and its interconnectedness. Realization of God as Love: Through this experience, he faces an oscillating inner dialogue about the nature of God, ultimately realizing, despite resistance, that reality is infinite love. The End of Individual Existence: Confronted with fear, Leo understands that fully embracing this singularity of consciousness would mean the end of individual life and the physical universe as he knows it, merging into oneness with all existence. Awakening as the End and Beginning: He recognizes that awakening to this pure love is both an end—death to the ego and personal identity—and a beginning—entry into an infinite state of being that is the true nature of reality. Struggle with the Finality of Transformation: Leo grapples with the idea of completely transcending physical existence and the impact it would have on his loved ones, recognizing both the irrelevance in the face of infinite love and his struggle to accept this finality. Preview of Ultimate Awakening: He shares that his experience gave him a preview of Maha Samadhi—dying while awake—and the commitment it entails, ultimately deciding he wasn't ready to merge with this infinite consciousness permanently yet. Ongoing and Intense Experiences: After ceasing the use of 5-MeO-DMT, Leo continues to undergo profound and terrifying insights and awakenings, struggling with the irresistible pull toward the infinite singularity and the fear of losing his individual existence. Multidimensional Nature of Awakening: Leo describes awakening not just as a single event but as having multiple, unimaginable dimensions, each one deeper and more expansive, hinting at an infinite potential for spiritual exploration and discovery. Continuing Exploration of Awakening: Leo shares that he has only begun to explore the "second dimension of awakening" and recognizes that this journey into awakening appears to be infinite, causing him a great deal of fear and emotional upheaval. Struggles with Integration: After the retreat, Leo spent several weeks dealing with sleeplessness and emotional turmoil as he attempted to integrate and comprehend the profound experiences and insights from his 30-day psychedelic journey. Uncertainty about Permanent Awakening: Leo expresses uncertainty about whether it's possible to stabilize these heightened states of consciousness (like Maha Samadhi) permanently and questions what happens post-Maha Samadhi, such as reincarnation or transitioning to another dimension. Humbling Experiences: These experiences have humbled Leo and made him question the depth of understanding that other enlightened teachers or masters possess about reality. Leon’s Insight about Awakening: He insists that the distinction between permanent and impermanent consciousness is an arbitrary human imposition, and experiencing infinite God consciousness, even if just for a second, is as real as a more prolonged experience. Integration and Teaching: Leo contemplates how to achieve these profound states of consciousness naturally, without psychedelics, and reflects on the authenticity and effectiveness of his teachings, considering the notion that when fully awakened, there would be no one else to teach because everyone would be understood as one. Shift in Teaching Focus: He anticipates a probable shift in his teaching style toward being more compassionate and loving, playing fewer "games," and placing a stronger emphasis on teaching love. Defining Reality: Leo concludes that the most significant insight from his experience is that reality is love, and he hopes to witness others come to this realization—that they, too, are love. Re-evaluation of Teaching: After his exploration, he has been re-evaluating not just his teaching methods but also whether he should continue to teach at all, given the realization that ultimately, he is only teaching himself. Advising Critical Thinking: Despite sharing profound insights, Leo cautions against turning his teachings into an ideology, advocating for open-mindedness and an individual approach to the spiritual journey. Openness to Diverse Spiritual Paths: He recognizes that his path may not directly apply to others, as everyone's journey, including the use of psychedelics, traumas, and emotional challenges, is different. Understanding the Depth of Awakening: Leo encourages listeners to consider that their awakening may not be complete, and there might be deeper levels of truth to discover. He emphasizes the importance of a continual search for truth regardless of where it may lead. Acknowledging Incomplete Transformation: Leo admits that while he has experienced profound awakenings, he has not reached the pinnacle of understanding or completed his personal healing journey. He still deals with his own physical and health issues. Fidelius Charm

I'm Leaving To Pursue Awakening & Healing - March 2020 https://youtu.be/23gbVOoRbtA Leo's deepest awakening: Leo describes his recent awakening as the most profound he has ever experienced, which requires him to radically change his entire life. He emphasizes the inexpressible depth of realizing himself as God, pointing out the insufficiency of language and concepts to convey this awakening. Beyond other teachings and teachers: Leo asserts that his awakening exceeded the teachings of all other spiritual teachers he has encountered, indicating a consciousness that most have not reached. Despite previous awakenings, this latest experience presented a deeper, undiscovered layer of infinite reality. Total awakenings and the infinity paradox: He explains the paradoxical nature of total awakenings. Each awakening feels complete, yet there is always more depth due to the infinite nature of existence. This contrasts the complacency of thinking one has fully grasped reality, which is a trap. Consciousness creating the universe: During his awakening, Leo became fully aware of himself creating the entire universe, a realization that most are not conscious of. He discusses the ongoing rewiring of his mind and body to embody this consciousness for daily living, acknowledging more integration work is necessary. Disruption and integration: The awakening disrupted Leo's normal life, leading him into a period where conventional routines were upended. He emphasizes the need for significant integration work and possibly even deeper awakenings to align his entire life with this 'god awareness.' Understanding of healing and consciousness: Leo talks about becoming aware of the root causes of diseases. While convinced of the possibility of miraculous healing at such a profound level of consciousness, he admits not yet fully understanding how to actualize that healing. Realization of potential for miracles: He suggests that with further work, he could reach levels of consciousness capable of miracles, previously achieved by only a few individuals in history. Leo is cautious about sharing this because of the potential for creating false expectations related to awakening. Awakening, abilities, and ego: Leo clarifies that awakening itself doesn't change reality, but realizing everything as one's creation. He separates this realization from the potential to develop abilities after awakening, cautioning that the ego's desire to manipulate reality can inhibit genuine miraculous abilities, which must come from a place of absolute love and selflessness. Contrasting future teachings with other teachers: Anticipating that his future teachings may contradict those of other teachers, Leo insists that his perspective is informed by accessing levels of awareness that many have not. He attributes his confidence in this understanding to his profound awakenings and cautions against interpreting it as arrogance. Psychedelics as a necessary tool for deep awakening: Leo maintains that conventional methods like meditation or yoga do not suffice to reach the profound levels of consciousness he discusses. He champions psychedelics, especially 5-MeO-DMT, as pivotal for truly understanding the nature of reality and realizing oneself as God. Insufficiency of traditional practices: Despite valuing meditation, self-inquiry, and yoga, Leo asserts that these methods are limited in their capacity to deliver the awakenings he experiences and advocates for. He dismisses the traditional routes as incapable of providing deep understanding. Future focus on psychedelic teachings: Leo signals a shift towards teachings that heavily involve psychedelics due to their transformative power. He urges radical open-mindedness and genuine self-testing of these experiences rather than merely intellectualizing or being dismissive. Low tolerance for close-mindedness: Leo is becoming uncompromising towards attitudes he perceives as ignorant or closed-minded. He indicates that his future content will not entertain non-serious engagement or skepticism regarding his methods, especially psychedelics. Streamlining teachings to reveal divinity: Leo aims to refine his teachings to assist those serious about spiritual work in realizing their deity and creating their own reality. He positions the realization of one's divine nature as the solitary significant pursuit in life. Healing through spiritual awakening: Leo shares his vision of using awakenings to heal both himself and others. He views health issues as spiritual challenges that, when overcome, can prove the potential for miraculous healing and deepen compassion and understanding. Personal health struggles informing the journey: Chronic fatigue, thyroid issues, and non-responsive health problems are seen by Leo as catalysts for deepening his spiritual awakening and ultimately will enhance his teachings on self-healing. Period of solitude and content production break: Announcing a hiatus from content creation, Leo seeks to concentrate on further awakening and cleansing to advance his abilities. Depending on his progress, the break may extend beyond the initially planned 30 days. Anticipating a transformation in teaching: As he ventures deeper into his spiritual journey, Leo foresees a transformation within himself and his content. He is committed to returning with a more mature and profound embodiment of his work, promising a renewed approach to his teachings. Challenge of Balancing Sharing and Solitude: Leo describes the difficulty in balancing his desire to openly share teachings with the necessity of personal solitude to master self-understanding and enhance his consciousness. Anticipated Transformation: Leo warns of significant changes to come in his own being, energy, and teaching style over the next months, which he acknowledges may not always be perceived positively by his audience. Increasing Seriousness in Teachings: As Leo focuses on more advanced topics, he anticipates that his teachings will become more serious and abstract, potentially leading to both misunderstanding and criticism. Confronting the Idea of Being God: Leo touches on the controversial notion that each individual is God, aware that it's a concept that may cause discomfort or resistance in people, yet is central to his teachings. Process of Spiritual Growth: Leo explains that realizing one's own divinity is a complex process that can turn life upside down, potentially leading to feelings of being lost, depression, and health issues. Importance of Shedding Old Self: He likens spiritual awakening to a lobster shedding its shell, a vulnerable yet necessary phase for growth, illustrating the need for complete transformation to achieve greater spiritual heights. Core Teachings Explained: Leo emphasizes that the basic premise of his future teachings will revolve around there being no separation between the self and God, the nature of consciousness, and the universality of love. Obstacles to Self-Realization: Leo commits to helping others remove obstacles to realizing their own divinity, across various life spheres including sexuality, finances, health, and epistemology. Life’s Problems Stemming from Self: He posits that most life problems are a result of one's identity, and true change requires an inner transformation, not just external changes to life's circumstances. Transformation and Letting Go of Fear: Leo speaks of the need for individuals to face and let go of deep-seated fears and resistance to self-change, allowing the emergence of a more expansive, selfless identity aligned with the true self as God. Approach to Solving Life Problems: He asserts the futility of seeking solutions that do not involve self-change and stresses that the deeper problems in one's life are indicative of the changes one must make within. Fear of Comprehensive Change: People are reluctant to change their lifestyle, worldview, relationships, and personal biases. They fear being wrong, opening up to new perspectives, or admitting past mistakes. Limitations of Superficial Changes: Superficial or peripheral changes without addressing core personal issues result in limited growth. Profound transformation requires tackling the fundamental aspects of one's identity. Suffering from Maintaining False Self: The discomfort with fundamental change results from a deep-seated, biased sense of self, causing depression, anxiety, and even physical sickness by distorting reality to preserve one's ego. Potential of Selfless Realization: Letting go of falsehoods and biases leads to infinite selflessness. By becoming infinitely selfless, one can realize themselves as the creator, not a victim, of life. Alignment with Truth Over Falsehood: Pursuing truth leads to the purification of biases, allowing one to reconfigure life to align with the unbiased truth, becoming a leader for truth and consciousness. Satisfaction Through Recognizing One's Divinity: Without realizing one's true nature as God, satisfaction remains elusive. Only by accepting one's infinite, unconditional love, and consciousness can one achieve ultimate fulfillment. Transformation Journey as God's Realization Process: Life is viewed as a journey where God takes various paths or 'wormholes,' each leading back to self-realization, with the only genuine goal being to understand oneself as God. Willingness to Embrace Radical Change: Leo asks if individuals are ready to undergo drastic self-transformation that may be frightening but is essential to align their lives with truth and self-realization. Underestimation of Work and Reward in Spiritual Growth: People tend to underestimate the extent of inner work required for transformation and also what can be ultimately achieved – the entire universe and realization as God. Dedication to Overcoming Mental Obstacles: Leo commits to helping individuals navigate and surmount mental barriers that prevent them from realizing their divine nature, emphasizing that the search is for infinite love beyond finite means. Continuous Seeking and Use of Leo's Resources: Leo encourages viewers to revisit and deeply engage with his content for a richer understanding and assurance of more transformative content in the future, highlighting his available courses, forum, and book list. He also mentions a hiatus for personal growth, which will ultimately benefit the teachings he shares. Avis

How Society Evolves - Introducing The World Values Survey https://youtu.be/_8kybdrx1Xo "The growing globalization of the world makes it increasingly important to understand diversity. People with varying beliefs and values can live together and work together productively, but for this to happen it is crucial to understand and appreciate their distinctive worldviews." - Romano Prodi Introduction to the World Values Survey: The World Values Survey (WVS) is a comprehensive research project examining global values and beliefs and their evolution over time. It covers over 100 countries and 90% of the world's population, surveying attitudes on various topics including democracy, religion, economic security, and happiness. Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 Structure of the World Values Survey Data: The WVS organizes countries into categories based on two axes: survival vs. self-expression values and traditional vs. secular-rational values. This helps to understand the cultural and economic differences among nations. Classifying Countries by Value Systems: Countries are segmented into low-income, mid-tier, and high-income groups based on GDP and values, with less developed countries often being more traditional and survival-oriented, aligning with earlier stages of Spiral Dynamics, and wealthier countries being more secular-rational and self-expressive. Linking Economic Success with Cultural Values: The survey reveals a significant connection between a country's economic status and its cultural values, including the level of democracy and cultural tolerance, indicating that these factors are interdependent. Overview of Correlations in the WVS: The WVS highlights that as countries evolve economically, they also progress culturally, moving from traditional and survival values to secular-rational and self-expressive values which encompass higher levels of tolerance, democratic governance, and environmental awareness. Considerations in Interpreting Data: Caution is emphasized regarding the interpretation of the classification of countries to avoid confounding it with racial or cultural superiority, as all countries have the potential for growth and change. Survival as a Primordial Driver: Survival is the central force behind values and worldviews as both individuals and societies develop strategies to meet their survival challenges, encompassing not just physical but also cultural survival, identity, and ideological continuity. Survival Needs Dictating Values: Basic needs must be met before people can prioritize self-expression values like creativity and consciousness, reflecting Maslow's hierarchy, which conveys the necessity of addressing fundamental necessities to build the foundation for higher pursuits. Geographical Impact on Survival Challenges: Survival challenges and the values derived from them are heavily influenced by geographic factors such as climate and resource availability, which shape the socio-cultural adaptations specific to each region and era. Cultural Evolution: Culture is an adaptable survival strategy that can change rapidly under certain conditions, representing collective responses to survival in various geographical and historical contexts, with technology significantly influencing these shifts. Image 7 Generational Resistance to Change: Societal values evolve slowly, primarily due to generational inertia, as each new generation is imprinted with prevailing cultural norms, often resistant to adaptation despite shifts in technology or environment. Societal Progression: Society advances incrementally like an inchworm, with each generation leaping past the previous one in values and perspectives as the older generation's worldviews dissolve with passing, allowing for newer paradigms. Historian Ian Morris's View on Value Systems: Historian Ian Morris suggests that societies develop value systems appropriate for their stage of development—whether foraging, farming, or industrial—through an evolutionary process. Image 8 Crystallization of Personality and Values by Adulthood: One's basic personality structure and values largely solidify by adulthood, changing little thereafter, highlighting the difficulty of altering established cultural norms and social values. Image 9 Enforcement of Cultural Norms by Older Generations: Cultural norms and values are predominantly enforced by the eldest generations, who are often resistant to change, suggesting societal transformation may accelerate as these generations pass away. Survival Security's Impact on Worldview: A person's sense of survival security during childhood significantly impacts their worldview, with insecure environments fostering a more materialistic and paranoid outlook compared to a secure upbringing. Image 10 Image 11 Democratic Values and Economic Prosperity: Effective democracies with an emphasis on self-expression values tend to exist in more economically prosperous societies, while countries emphasizing survival values often have ineffective or corrupt democracies. Image 12 Authority Submission in Insecure Societies: In societies facing insecurity such as threats of invasion or economic collapse, there is a tendency for people to submit to authoritarian rule for the sake of survival and protection. Image 13 Image 14 Image 15 Image 16 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI): Transparency International's CPI for 2018 ranks countries on a scale from 0 (entirely corrupt) to 100 (completely clean), with Western and Northern European, North American, Australian, and New Zealand countries ranking as least corrupt. Highly corrupt nations are often found in parts of Asia, Africa, South America, Russia, and Eastern Europe. Image 17 Image 18 Correlation between Corruption and Democracy: The CPI data shows a clear correlation with the World Values Survey findings, indicating countries with higher corruption levels have less democracy and vice versa, with full democracies correlating with low corruption levels. Economic Development's Influence on Social Beliefs and Values: As economic conditions improve, shifting from dire poverty to modest economic security, there's systemic change in societal beliefs and values. Low-income societies, without exception, cling to traditional survival values and are solidly against gender equality and gay tolerance, largely due to the survival importance of the traditional family unit. Image 19 Traditional Gender Roles in Low-Income Societies: Low-income societies necessitate clear gender roles—women as caregivers and men as providers—to survive. This changes as societies progress technologically, allowing for more gender equality and tolerance, including open attitudes towards homosexuality due to overpopulation and economic independence. Image 20 Religion as a Unifying Survival Mechanism: Early traumatic experiences make individuals more religious, as religion creates a shared moral code for survival. Islam's historical role in unifying warring tribes in the Middle East, creating moral codes and advancing peace, illustrates religion's evolutionary function despite modern criticism of its effect on societal development. Image 21 Homosexuality Legislation and Societal Attitudes Statistics: Self-expression-oriented societies, such as Sweden and Canada, show legal acceptance and low objection rates to homosexuality. In contrast, survival-oriented ones, like Iran and Bangladesh, harshly penalize it, reflecting the drastic variance of worldviews based on a society's level of development. Image 22 Societal Views on God and Homosexuality: In traditional societies, up to 95% say God is vital in their lives, whereas in secular-rational societies, that figure drops to 3%. Similarly, up to 96% in survival-oriented societies see homosexuality as unjustifiable versus just 6% in self-expression-oriented societies. Image 23 Child-Rearing Values Shift: Societal progression leads to a shift in parenting values, moving from emphasizing hard work to encouraging imagination and tolerance, reflecting the current survival necessities and societal development of a country and its impact on raising the next generation. Image 24 Life Satisfaction and Happiness Correlation with Values: People prioritizing survival values experience less life satisfaction and happiness compared to those valuing self-expression, which can be linked to the level of immediate survival pressures and opportunities for personal fulfillment beyond material needs. Trend towards self-expression values: Societies move from survival values to self-expression values because it correlates with increased happiness. Basic survival activities provide mild satisfaction, but true fulfillment is found in being artistic, creative, and spiritually authentic. Image 25 Self-actualization after basic needs: Once survival needs are satisfied, self-actualization becomes the focus. People start exploring creativity, purpose, impact, education, consciousness, and spirituality, significantly contributing to life satisfaction. Correlation between GDP and happiness: A chart analysis shows wealthier countries tend to have higher happiness levels. There's a clear positive relationship between a country's GDP per capita and the life satisfaction of its citizens. Image 26 Diminishing returns on happiness: For wealthier countries, increasing GDP yields diminishing returns in life satisfaction. True fulfillment is more related to contributing to society, personal growth, and self-actualization than to further economic growth. Material struggle in less developed countries: In countries with weaker economies, material struggle hinders the pursuit of self-actualization. Cultural and economic challenges in these regions make it difficult to invest in personal growth. Global trends of societal progress: Despite perceptions of regression, global societal progress includes rises in life expectancy, incomes, and education levels, and declines in poverty, illiteracy, and violence, contributing to an overall increase in happiness. Image 27 Changes in societal values over decades: Depending on political, social, and economic circumstances, some countries have progressed towards self-expression values, while others have regressed to traditional values, with nationalism emerging during economic decline. Cultural change and nationalism: Economic decline and survival threats can lead to increased nationalism and a rise in authoritarian leaders. Nationalistic trends are a response to perceived survival threats rather than evidence of societal regression. Regressive cultural trends as precursors to progress: Temporary regressive trends in societies often precede more progressive movements in the future. Understanding historical context and societal development offers hope for continued advancement. Impact of economic collapse on cultural progress: Cultural progress may reverse during economic failure, highlighting the importance of stable socioeconomic structures for the maintenance of societal evolution toward self-expression values. Understanding Political Development and Fundamentalism: As societies shift from survival values to self-expressive values, dictators may naturally lose power. Fundamentalism can be seen as a reaction against secularization's perceived threats, and understanding this is critical for addressing such movements. Role of Younger Generations in Societal Change: Younger generations, especially those in metropolitan areas, lead major cultural changes towards self-expression and secular-rational values, paving the way for shifts in democracy and liberalism. Evolution of Societies Leading to Secularism: Industrialization and economic development correlate with societies becoming more secular. As countries develop, they move towards self-expression values, and democracy becomes more widely desired. Linkage between Education and Societal Values: Education is connected with the transition to secular-rational and self-expression values. Improving educational access is essential for fostering liberal beliefs and overall happiness in a society. Consequences of Economic Development on Values: Economic development promotes societal change, leading to increased education, technology, and a move towards self-expression values, although this can cause fear and backlash. Shared experience and predictive power of nationality: Nationality serves as a stronger predictor of shared values and experiences than income, education, region, or sex. This is attributed to each country's national education system, which indoctrinates children with specific languages, values, and religious or secular orientations. Image 28 The fallacy of uniform experiences across demographics: Assumptions that groups such as women or religious followers across different countries share similar experiences are challenged by cultural and developmental differences facilitated by national education systems. Values as better societal dividers: Dividing people based on values—whether survival or self-expression, traditional or secular-rational—is more accurate than using demographics like gender or income. Individualism shaped by societal development: Individualism is fostered by a society's technological advancements and bureaucracy, challenging libertarian views on individual responsibility. Image 29 Primitive societies and collectivism: Primitive tribes exemplify extreme collectivism with little to no room for individualism, contrary to libertarian ideals which suggest minimal governance and maximum personal autonomy. Eras of societal evolution affecting individualism: As societies evolved from primitive to advanced structures with technologies, laws, and governance, individual autonomy increased. However, human history lacks periods of true lone individualism, debunking romanticized libertarian notions. Oscillation between individualism and collectivism: Societies fluctuate between individualistic and collectivist tendencies based on environmental and developmental needs, with no single ideology as inherently superior. Elections and democracy in the Muslim world: Simply holding elections will not establish democracy in the Muslim world without considering the population's value systems and level of societal development. Image 30 Western culture's perception by Islamic fundamentalists: Secular trends in western culture are seen as threats by Islamic fundamentalists, who view them as an erosion of societal stability and religious influence. Image 31 Cultural change driven by younger generations: Major cultural shifts continue as younger, more liberal generations influenced by diverse metropolitan areas, replace older, more conservative ones. Image 32 Image 33 Predictable evolution of human values: Trends show clear patterns in how societies are projected to evolve, with increases in basic survival corresponding to shifts from traditional to secular-rational values and from agrarian to industrial stages. Industrialization's impact on societal development: Industrialization marks a critical juncture in nations' development, corresponding to a shift toward secular-rational values and higher chances of becoming more democratic and developed in the long term. Individual agency and knowledge societies: The shift from industrial societies to knowledge-based economies produces the largest increase in individual agency, making individualism viable and pushing societies closer to self-expression values. Democracy driven by self-expression values: The emergence of democracy is more naturally tied to the advancement towards self-expression values rather than the imposition of democratic structures by external forces. Universality of democratic desires: The aspiration for democracy is universal and not exclusively a Western construct; it emerges when societies develop beyond survival needs to embrace self-expression values. Diverse paths to Western values: While termed 'Western,' these democratic and secular values will naturally become common to all societies as they progress to meet their citizens' survival needs and education levels increase, leading to the universal adoption of these values. Liberal vs. Conservative Perspectives: The younger generations trend towards more liberal viewpoints; they face fewer survival threats, resulting in more liberal values compared to older, less educated generations who have faced more survival threats. Rise in Global Happiness: Between 1981 and 2007, happiness increased in 45 out of the 52 surveyed countries, aligning with rises in material wealth, education, and healthcare. Happiness in Relation to Economy and Democracy: In low-income societies, economic improvement greatly increases happiness, while in high-income societies, increases in happiness are more tied to democracy and self-expression. Societal Evolution Stages: Human societies evolve through stages of hunting and gathering, horticulture, agrarian, industrial, and post-industrial phases, driven by education, economic success, and the need for knowledge workers. Transition from Totalitarian Regimes to Democracies: As societies organize and educate more people, demands for democracy rise due to broader education and technological advancements, which lead to more sophisticated thinking and a desire for rights and freedoms. Secularization and Decline of Organized Religion: High education levels lead to secular rational thinking and questioning of traditions, resulting in the decline of organized religions and traditional prejudices like xenophobia and sexism. Response to Secularism with Fundamentalist Movements: Fundamentalist movements emerge as reactionary forces among less educated and economically advanced segments against the prevailing secularism, but these movements are often temporary. Generational Change and Advancement of Societies: Each new generation is progressively more liberal than the previous one, driven by societal successes and shifting survival threats, requiring understanding and patience between generations. Importance of Understanding Generational Differences: Recognition that society changes over time, and that older generations' fears stem from outdated survival threats, can help bridge the gap in understanding and acceptance between different age groups. Society as a Memory Bank for Generations: Society captures lessons from past generations in its institutions and technology, continually evolving as each generation contributes to the collective knowledge. Resistance to Progress by Older Generations: Baby boomers' reluctance to address modern challenges like climate change stems from holding power and wealth, hindering progress necessary for future generations. Evolving Views on Socialism in American Politics: Generational differences in perception of socialism affect political support, with younger generations more open to progressive politics than older generations who lived through the Cold War. Population Growth and Environmental Consciousness: Since the baby boomers' era, the global population has doubled, leading to scaled mass problems such as pollution, CO2 emissions, and environmental degradation. Newer generations are much more environmentally conscious from necessity, as they are raised with an awareness of the significance of issues such as lead in water and the impact of pollutants on health. Society as an Evolving Entity: Society is likened to an escalator, always advancing and churning through changes. The recognition is made that returning to the past, such as the 1950s era as suggested by slogans like "Make America Great Again", is an implausible fantasy because of drastic changes including population growth, technology, and environmental issues. Liberal Progression Versus Conservative Preservation: Leo Gura proposes that society's arc bends towards liberalism and democracy, with liberals representing secular-rational and self-expressive values, and conservatives upholding traditional survival values. He argues that every generation becomes more liberal relative to previous generations and emphasizes that conservatives aim to preserve the status quo, regardless of what that entails. Role of Death in Societal Progress: The natural process of generational death is seen as critical to societal progress, as it allows older ideologies to be replaced with fresher perspectives, thereby avoiding a 'constipation' of ideas and enabling evolution. Misconception about the Future of Spirituality: It is highlighted that spirituality is not disappearing but transforming. Liberal secular-rational values will eventually lead to a more authentic and individualistic spirituality, involving experiences like meditation and psychedelics. Polarization between Liberals and Conservatives: The discourse notes that while liberals often view conservatives as less evolved, and conservatives see liberals as unrealistic, both camps need to foster compassion and understanding. Racism, homophobia, and other forms of prejudice are seen not merely as moral failings but as survival responses conditioned by one's upbringing. Understanding Cultural Evolution: Many people are blind to the rapid progression of cultural evolution because acknowledging it would threaten their established worldview. Cultural evolution will continue regardless of resistance, propelled by younger and future generations. Denial of Religion's Evolution: Acknowledges the reluctance to accept that religions evolve, citing that Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism today differ greatly from their forms thousands of years ago. This denial secures a bubble for the faithful but obstructs the recognition of religions' historical and continuous adaptations. Concluding Thoughts on World Values Survey: Leo emphasizes that the World Values Survey collaborates well with models like Spiral Dynamics, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the corruption perception index. He warns against using the survey data for nationalistic or racist claims, emphasizing the importance of multiple models in understanding cultural evolution, and recognizing the potential for greater global consciousness, equality, democracy, justice, and love. Limitations of the World Values Survey: The WVS does not depict the highest stages of development as identified in models like Spiral Dynamics which include stages yellow and turquoise. It only captures broad trends prevalent in a significant portion of the population, leaving rare values like those of stage turquoise underrepresented. Potential of Future Data Reflection: In future decades, values such as those corresponding to Spiral Dynamics stage turquoise may become more common, potentially representing around 5% of the population, which could then be reflected in the World Values Survey. Models and Future Anticipation: The function of models like the World Values Survey differs from those that anticipate future trends or speculate about the direction of mankind's evolution. Recognizing the limitations and non-absoluteness of any single model is important. Secular-Rational Values Not the Pinnacle: The WVS might give the impression that secular-rational values represent the pinnacle of human development. However, there are concepts and experiences beyond secular rationality, such as post-rationality, vision-logic, and non-duality, which are less widespread and more neglected. Ensuring Models Don't Limit Personal Growth: While the WVS indicates general trends, individuals living in societies categorized as underdeveloped can still achieve high levels of consciousness or self-actualization. Obstacles may be present, but personal growth is not solely determined by collective societal trends. Empowerment Through Data: Leo encourages using data for empowerment in areas where it is helpful, dismissing it where it appears disempowering. The aim is to focus on personal development, leadership, and making a positive impact in the world. Role of Actualized.org: Leo introduces Actualized.org as a resource for individuals seeking personal development and higher consciousness. The site offers content including blogs, forums, and life purpose courses designed to guide people in realizing their highest potential. Importance of Conscious Politics: Politics is significant in creating conditions that facilitate personal growth and awakening. As society progresses, democracy requires conscious citizens, thereby making political consciousness essential for societal advancement. Choice of Alignment in Societal Progress: Societies are constantly evolving, growing towards consciousness, equality, democracy, justice, love, and less fear. Individuals must choose whether to align with love and consciousness or fear and selfishness, as fear and falsehood will eventually be overcome by love and truth. Actualized.org Resources: Leo mentions various resources available on actualized.org that can assist individuals in their self-actualization journey, ranging from forums and courses to literature that tackles deep topics beyond mundane self-help. He also highlights the support available through platforms like Patreon. Appreciation for Personal Purpose and Work: Leo expresses gratitude for the opportunity to pursue his passion for deep topics and share wisdom globally. He notes the importance of aligning one’s work with their life purpose for personal fulfillment and societal contribution. Life Purpose Course: For individuals aspiring to align their careers or businesses around their passions, Leo recommends the Life Purpose Course on actualized.org. The course offers practical exercises to help identify one's deepest values and vision for a fulfilling and impactful life. Significance of Politics for Awakening: Leo underscores the crucial role of politics in enabling personal awakening by providing the necessary infrastructure. Conscious politics involves creating societal conditions that promote conscious citizenry and facilitate awakening practices. Need for Conscious Politics: With the rise of nationalist movements, it's crucial to engage in conscious politics and avoid taking democracy for granted. Leo emphasizes the interconnection between society and the individual, advocating for political involvement as part of personal development. Bombarda

How Psychedelics Work - Making Sense Of Psychedelics https://youtu.be/vJG8swAQYwc "Psychedelics don't work on stupid people." - Terrence McKenna Purpose of the Episode: Leo intends to explain the mechanics, metaphysics, and epistemology of psychedelics, targeting those who have had psychedelic experiences without understanding them, possibly leaving them frightened or curious. Integration of Personal and Academic Background: Leo's approach to understanding psychedelics combines his four decades of existential, metaphysical, and epistemic contemplation with practical experimentation over several years. Diversity of Psychedelic Experiences: Having completed about 80 trips on various substances, Leo underscores the importance of exploring a range of psychedelics to grasp their profound effects truly. Challenging the Materialistic Paradigm: To understand psychedelics, Leo argues one must move beyond the conventional scientific perspective that views reality as materialistic and objective, proposing instead that consciousness is the basis for all reality. Psychedelic Hallucinations vs. Reality: Leo proposes that there is no distinction between sober reality and the hallucinations induced by psychedelics; both are a form of hallucination—appearance without material substance. Psychedelics and the Nature of Consciousness: He clarifies that taking psychedelics is not about altering brain chemistry, but rather experiencing different facets of consciousness, which is the only true reality. Breaking Paradigms with Psychedelics: Leo emphasizes that the transformative power of psychedelics can force individuals to reconsider their entire worldview, a process that is often hindered by fear and resistance. Misconceptions about Psychedelics: There is a widespread misunderstanding that psychedelic experiences are less trustworthy due to brain chemistry alterations; instead, Leo claims these experiences reveal the illusory nature of all reality, sober or not. Threat to Established Beliefs: The radical nature of psychedelics can be threatening to both scientists and spiritual figures, as these experiences have the potential to shatter deeply held beliefs and ideas about reality and self. Ordinary Rigid Flow of Consciousness: Our everyday experience of waking up, going to work, and interacting with the familiar world is a stable, structured hallucination that consciousness creates for us. This rigid flow is very much changeable, but most people have never experienced such a change. Psychedelics Altering Reality: Psychedelics possess the power to instantly change this rigid flow of consciousness, leading to an experience where one's reality starts to 'melt' around them. This can be shocking as it reveals that our normal life is just another form of hallucination, now broken for the first time. Breakthrough Experience with Psychedelics: A breakthrough experience is when the psychedelic experience is so intense that it completely recontextualizes one's previous understanding of life, showing that everything believed to be real (like personal history and physical reality) is actually imaginary. Recontextualizing Reality: The psychedelic experience is threatening and scary because it dismantles one's previous paradigm of reality, forcing a reevaluation of concepts such as earth, universe, and even personal identity, which can lead to negative stigma and defense mechanisms from the ego. Consciousness as a Flowing Hallucination: Consciousness is like a stream constantly changing shapes and forms; what psychedelics do is introduce alterations in this stream, which in turn affects the display of reality we experience. Consciousness Mixing Board Analogy: Imagine consciousness as an infinite-dimensional screen that can display anything. This screen is linked to a mixing board with various knobs regulating different aspects such as colors, sounds, and emotions, with one master knob for pure consciousness, or awareness itself. Master Knob of Pure Consciousness Awareness: This knob represents the level of awareness without altering the content of consciousness; tweaking this knob increases awareness and can lead to higher states of consciousness, from everyday alertness to states of "God consciousness" or omniscience. Psychedelics' Impact on Consciousness Knobs: Psychedelics not only tweak the master consciousness knob but also affect other aspects like colors and emotions, complicating the experience. Distraction by Minor Consciousness Knobs: People new to psychedelics may get sidetracked by altered visual or auditory content without recognizing that the central aspect of increased consciousness is the most profound part of the experience. Misunderstanding Psychedelic State Changes: Criticism that discounts psychedelic experiences as mere temporary state changes overlooks the significance of observing the fluid nature of consciousness through these states. Psychedelics as State Observation tools: The key value of psychedelic experiences is not just in the altered states but in the opportunity to understand and observe how consciousness can move between these states, offering deep insights into the nature of consciousness. Value of Psychedelic Experiences: Psychedelics provide a meta understanding of consciousness by allowing one to experience and compare different states. This reveals the fluid nature of consciousness and underscores that reality is susceptible to change, which can be radical and eye-opening. Misperceptions of Reality: Many people, including spiritual teachers and enlightened individuals, underestimate the range of states consciousness can adopt. Psychedelics offer a perspective that magnifies possibilities beyond ordinary meditative practices. Meditation vs. Psychedelic Experience: Through meditation, one primarily engages the 'central knob' of consciousness, enhancing focus and potentially leading to enlightenment. Psychedelics, however, effortlessly and instantly reveal the existence of other 'knobs', allowing access to radical alterations in the perception of reality. Radical Knobs of Consciousness: Leo describes hypothetical consciousness 'knobs' that when 'twisted', could alter perception in dramatic ways, such as erasing distinctions between objects or reversing the flow of time—changes that defy conventional scientific understanding. Transformative Effects of Psychedelics: Leo notes that even temporary psychedelic experiences, such as seeing oneself as a beer bottle or an entire race, can profoundly change one's perspective on life. Impact of Psychedelics on Life Perspective: Comparing psychedelic experiences to being transported to utterly different environments, Leo argues that these experiences expand one's notion of reality and can have a transformative effect akin to cultural or environmental shock. Limitations of Science in Understanding Reality: Leo critiques mainstream science for mapping only a narrow scope of reality—limited to a single state of consciousness—while ignoring the full spectrum of conscious experiences available. Psychedelics as Temporal Teachers: Psychedelic experiences are fleeting but profound, providing dense learning opportunities in a short period. The challenge lies in integrating a fraction of these insights into one's regular life to facilitate growth and understanding. Integration and Growth Post-Psychedelic Experience: Post-trip contemplation is pivotal for making sense of the experience, as reflecting on the 'what the [ __ ] was that' moments aids in integrating the experience and expanding one's perception of consciousness. Extraction of Insights via Integration: Reflecting on and integrating psychedelic experiences allow an individual to bring back more learnings—up to 5% as opposed to 1%. Over the course of many trips, this can profoundly alter one's perspective of reality in beneficial ways. Expansion of Reality and Self-knowledge: Psychedelic trips don't just facilitate metaphysical exploration; they importantly enable deep self-inquiry into one's psyche, past, and life purpose. They shift the focus to understanding the self and existential questions through the central knob of consciousness. Tuning the Consciousness Knob: Adjusting consciousness can lead to heightened awareness across all facets of life. Psychedelics boost this consciousness, aiding insights into vast domains, including science, relationships, sexuality, and spirituality, among others. Risk of Self-Delusion: There's a possibility of misinterpreting psychedelic experiences, especially if one's psyche is burdened with wounds or immaturity. However, this risk is also present in our standard experiences of reality. Re-evaluating Our Default Hallucination: Leo argues that our default conscious state can be one of the least truthful, whereas psychedelic experiences can provide a more authentic sense of reality, turning the current scientific understanding on its head. Transformation Requires Openness and Emotional Labor: Achieving a higher understanding of reality necessitates the willingness to remodel existing paradigms and beliefs, which involves intellectual and emotional effort. Stabilized Hallucination of Reality: Reality feels concrete due to the consistent imagination of the infinite mind, making our experience of reality and solidity robust rather than the simplistic notion of hallucination. Reality as Infinite Mind Imagination: There is no objective material reality outside perception; rather, reality consists of infinite potential states of consciousness. Material reality is just a specific, familiar instance within this infinite scope. Navigating Psychedelic Danger: While psychedelics can offer profound insights, high doses can be dangerous and must be approached with caution, experience, and gradual increment of usage. Disruption of God's Dream: Psychedelics temporarily interfere with the predetermined dream of life, occasioned by the vast imagination of the Universal Mind, introducing new states of perception and understanding. Interrupting God's Ordinary Dream: Psychedelics disrupt the normal flow of consciousness, or what Leo describes as God's "ordinary dream," transporting individuals into new territories or altered perceptions of reality, akin to entering a new kind of dream. Experiencing the Fluidity of Consciousness: On psychedelics, the rigidity of ordinary consciousness dissolves, and everything becomes fluid and amorphous. Users can feel as if they are directly experiencing the creative process of God's mind, as it expands to its infinite potential and deeper layers of imagination. Realization of Imagination as Creation: Leo illustrates how, under the influence of psychedelics, one can see material objects—including one's own body—as manifestations of imagination. Psychedelics reveal that reality, like a hand or a wall, is malleable and can respond to our imaginative thoughts and intentions. Ability to Visualize New Realities: During a psychedelic experience, the boundaries of the possible expand dramatically. Leo compares the heightened state of creativity and imagination to daydreaming vividly about other worlds, but on a much larger scale, tapping into the infinite creativity responsible for the existence of the universe. Discovery of Self as Creator: The epiphany that an individual is, in essence, God, imagining the entire cosmos, serves as a mind-blowing revelation. This realization confronts deeply ingrained beliefs that claiming one's identity as God is egotistical or narcissistic. Challenges of Embracing Psychedelic Insights: Understanding and living by the realization that reality is pure imagination requires maturity, development, fearlessness, and an open-mindedness that is uncommon in people. The Societal Stigma Surrounding Psychedelics: Leo discusses the stigma on psychedelics, explaining it as a societal defense mechanism since these substances threaten existing power structures and the established, limited sense of reality. The Role of Maturity in Psychedelic Experiences: A person's internal purity and maturity are pivotal in determining the nature of their psychedelic experience. Leo contends that less mature individuals may face terrifying reflection of their inner selves, whereas purer individuals have profoundly different, more insightful trips. Insights from Psychedelics and Their Authenticity: Leo posits that while insights from psychedelics can be profound and real, they can also be easily misinterpreted. He emphasizes that the validity of insights should be measured by their directness and clarity about some aspect of reality. Misconception of True States of Consciousness: Criticizing those who dismiss psychedelics, Leo argues that every configuration of consciousness, including the one we consider normal, is influenced by neurotransmitters, making it as hallucinatory as any psychedelic-induced state. Recognizing Consciousness as a Spectrum: Leo encourages recognizing that reality comprises countless states of consciousness, rather than a single "true" one. Psychedelics aid in realizing that all experiences, regardless of how real they appear, are merely different states of consciousness. Different States Grant Different Insights: Leo explains that various states of consciousness afford distinct insights and truths, and that our typical state might be one of the least effective for accessing profound truths about reality. Meditation and Hallucinations: Engaging in deep meditation can induce visual hallucinations similar to mild psychedelic experiences. This indicates tapping into the pure creative potential of the mind, aligning with the desired outcome of advanced meditation practices. Purpose of Psychedelic Use: Psychedelics are not just for experiencing bliss or visual spectacles; they serve as tools for gaining profound lessons, insights, and a meta-understanding of the mind's process in generating reality. Psychedelic Experiences Reflecting Mind Purity: The content of a psychedelic experience can reflect the purity of the user's mind. An impure mind may conjure disturbing hallucinations, as it's an embodiment of the user's own imagination. Integration with Other Practices: Leo warns against using psychedelics as the sole tool for self-improvement, advocating for the integration of various spiritual practices such as meditation, self-inquiry, and visualization, among others. Speeding Up Awakening and Personal Growth: Psychedelics can accelerate the awakening process, providing insights into overcoming fear of death, understanding life purpose, and aiding with various personal issues, thus facilitating rapid personal development. Impact on Understanding and Doing Science: Leo claims that psychedelics can revolutionize a scientist's approach to understanding and conducting science, much like how earlier paradigm shifts transformed the field. Analogy with Galileo Galilei: Leo compares current skepticism about psychedelics to the resistance Galileo faced with his telescope. As the church leaders rejected his findings, modern science may reject the insights gained from psychedelics. Challenges Scientists Face with Psychedelic Research: Ostracism and credibility loss are challenges for scientists promoting psychedelics as scientific tools due to the cultural and paradigmatic biases within the scientific community. Exploring New Modalities of Science: Leo argues for the necessity of exploring new modalities of science — such as psychedelics — to break free from current scientific limitations and unlock new understandings of reality. Call for Mature and Responsible Psychedelic Use: He stresses the importance of respect, maturity, and safety in psychedelic exploration, likening it to using a scientific instrument to gain profound insights into reality and consciousness. Psychedelics and Fear of Intellectual Decline: Leo addresses concerns about possible intellectual decline from using psychedelics. He refutes this by comparing it to baseless fears like eye damage from observing the moon or stars through a telescope, attributing such worries to excuses stemming from ignorance and reluctance to challenge existing paradigms. Choosing to Explore Psychedelics: He emphasizes responsible and cautious use for those who choose to explore psychedelics. Leo suggests that psychedelics have life-transforming potential, especially when paired with the intent to deeply understand reality and consciousness. Actualized.org as a Resource: Leo promotes his website, which offers a variety of resources such as a blog, courses, forums for trip reports, and book recommendations. These tools are presented as aids for those on their journey to existential understanding. Supporting Psychedelic Research and Content: Leo solicits support for his exhaustive research and content creation through donations on Patreon. He shares that his work is informed by direct experience and experimentation with a variety of substances. Holistic Approach to Existential Understanding: Leo's work is presented as a holistic exploration of life, death, society, consciousness, reality, science, government, and psychology, aiming for a comprehensive understanding that goes beyond traditional scientific and academic approaches. Radical Open-Mindedness as a Prerequisite: Leo stresses the importance of radical open-mindedness for the audience to fully grasp the depth of his content. He acknowledges his own perceived arrogance but distinguishes it as part of the entertainment aspect of his show, maintaining that he practices profound epistemic humility. Dangers of Closed-Mindedness: Leo warns that a lack of open-mindedness can prevent individuals from awakening to deeper levels of understanding and may manifest as skepticism or outright denial of his teachings. Commitment to Understanding Reality: He emphasizes the necessity of personal effort and action, such as meditation and psychedelics, to achieve transformational insights and understanding of reality as promoted on Actualized.org. Transformational Impact on Followers: Leo shares that some followers have experienced life-changing transformations through following his guidance, validating the potential of his teachings and encouraging others to engage intimately with the work. Future Foundation Topics: He intends to continue discussing foundational topics to facilitate more transformative experiences for those who are willing to commit to the journey of deep existential understanding. Confundo

Explicit vs Implicit Understanding https://youtu.be/Y9d0tOpL8ZU "The nature of reality is such that no matter how much you say about it you will be no closer to the end than when you began. Which is why the wise sit in silence" Understanding vs Knowledge: Understanding is fundamentally different from knowledge. Knowledge can be a collection of facts while understanding involves an insight into the workings of something, such as how an engine operates. The Amorphous Nature of Understanding: Understanding is a mysterious, vague phenomenon that is central to life but often taken for granted. Leo aims to initiate an exploration into the subtleties of understanding by distinguishing between explicit and implicit understanding. Duality of Explicit vs Implicit: Understanding has dual forms: explicit, which is clear and fully articulated, and implicit, which is inherent, suggested, or unexpressed. All dualities, including this one, will eventually need to collapse for complete comprehension. Image 1 Image 2 Societal and Scientific Bias: Society and science are social constructs with inherent biases towards explicit knowledge due to the need for clear communication and consensus. Implicit Understanding Undervalued: Implicit aspects of reality are often overlooked because they are tricky to express and are considered less valuable or even unreal by society, adversely affecting the depth of our collective understanding. The Paradox of Explicit and Implicit Truths: There exist truths in reality that are important and true but cannot be explicitly communicated or shared, posing a challenge for societal learning and advancement. The Role of Intuition: Intuition plays a crucial part in our personal development and quest for truth. Honoring and following intuitions are essential even though they might be difficult to articulate. Infinite Nature of Natural Numbers: Natural numbers (1, 2, 3...) exemplify the idea of implicit understanding—as you can't explicitly list an infinite set, yet you understand its endless nature, a realization that borders on being mystical. The Mysticism in Grasping Infinity: Understanding the infinite nature of natural numbers represents a form of implicit knowing, mystical in its essence, as it is a holistic grasp of a concept that cannot be concretely demonstrated. Transcendental Numbers and Pi: Transcendental numbers like Pi show that despite comprehensively knowing many decimal points, one cannot explicitly describe Pi in its entirety, as highlighted by Ferdinand von Lindemann's work that proved its nature whilst using finite symbols. Image 3 Pi as a Transcendental Number: Pi, an infinite, transcendental number, challenges the concept of finitude, as Leo highlights the conundrum of proving its endless nature using finite means. Explicating Physical Objects: Leo argues that explicit descriptions of objects, like a coffee cup, are fundamentally limitless. Every physical trait and component, down to the quantum level, can be endlessly detailed, revealing the implicit infinite nature of objects. Scientific Materialism Critique: The scientific assumption that reality has a finite, explicit bottom is critiqued. Leo labels this as fantasy and advocates for the recognition of reality's infinite and implicit facets. Consciousness of Infinity: Direct consciousness or intuition can grasp the infinite depth of objects, similar to the understanding of natural numbers. Leo suggests that special practices, like meditation or psychedelics, can provoke an awareness of reality's limitless nature. Limits of Science: Leo underscores that the scientific method is incapable of fully explicating reality. He asserts that some aspects of reality can only be understood implicitly, beyond the tools and scope of science. Essence of Jokes: The humor in jokes relies on an implicit twist that the mind grasps intuitively. Over-explaining a joke destroys its essence, exemplifying how overt explicitness can miss fundamental subtleties. Flirtation and Subcommunication: Successful flirtation depends on subtlety and implicit communication. Over-explicitness ruins the delicate dance of flirtation, demonstrating the importance of intuition and implicit understanding in human interactions. Implicit Communication and Attraction: Leo discusses the implicit nature of attraction; successful flirtation involves conveying messages beyond what is explicitly said, highlighting the importance of subtlety. Misunderstanding Explicit and Implicit Reality: The expectation to fully explicate reality leads to misunderstanding its nature. Understanding that reality is primarily implicit can adjust expectations and foster a deeper comprehension. Infinite Exploration of Reality: Scientific exploration, while valuable, is bound to an endless task if it seeks to explicate all reality. Leo advises that recognizing the perpetual implicit nature of reality is a more truthful approach. Subcommunication in attraction: Successful attraction relies more on subconscious cues like body language, eye contact, confidence, and the manner of approach, rather than explicit lines or words. Authentic masculinity: Women intuitively perceive honest signals of masculine energy. Being a genuinely confident and expressive man is more attractive than any line or facade. Transformation for attraction: Men need to develop themselves genuinely to exude the authentic signals that naturally attract women, rather than relying on tricks or manipulation. Intuition in women: Women have honed intuition to discern genuine men from imposters, due to historical pressures of being misled, and thus they rely on implicit signals rather than explicit words. Men’s explicit nature vs. women’s implicit nature: Men often expect explicit communication, while women operate on a more intuitive, implicit level, which can lead to misunderstandings in relationships. Reading between the lines in relationships: To improve relationships with women, men need to learn to understand and communicate on an implicit level, tuning into unspoken cues and emotions. Storytelling in movies: Great writers convey plot and emotion implicitly through actions and visual cues rather than solely through explicit dialogue. Gödel’s incompleteness theorem and logic: Gödel proved that logical systems are incomplete and can't encompass all truths; there are always meta-truths that resist encapsulation in any logical framework. Meditation and non-thinking: Stopping the 'monkey mind' in meditation can't be achieved through explicit thought processes; it requires an implicit grasp of a non-thinking approach to life. Reading between the lines in literature: Writers leave room for interpretation between the explicit lines, and absolute explicitness is impossible since readers can always infer additional meaning. Paradox of honesty: Asking someone directly if they are honest is ineffective, as honesty is an implicit, meta-level concept that cannot be explicitly proven within the conversation itself. Honest Signaling: Communication in human interaction relies on honest signals, which are difficult to fake. Words are easier to misrepresent, which is not a flaw of reality but deeply ingrained in its epistemology. Reading Between the Lines: An explicit approach misses the essence of spirituality and mysticism found in religious texts. These communicate in an implicit, transcendent way that cannot be captured through literal interpretation. Implicit Understanding in Spiritual Teachings: Spiritual teachings are intended to be guides pointing towards an implicit and transcendent truth, requiring personal realization and intuition to truly comprehend. Implicit Nature of Understanding: All understanding has implicit elements; explicit explanation alone cannot make someone understand if they lack the intuitive capacity for 'grokking' the concept. The Leap in Consciousness: Comprehending basic mathematical concepts like 'one plus one equals two' represents an intuitive leap in consciousness that is taken for granted but may not be self-evident to everyone. Mathematical Proofs and Intuition: Mathematics, often perceived as objective truth, fundamentally relies on personal, intuitive understanding; without it, proofs would be meaningless. Recognition and Mystical Insight: Recognizing oneself in a mirror is not a scientific process but an intuitive and immediate insight, similar to a mystical experience, taken for granted by humans but not attainable by all species. Understanding God: Understanding God as everything and oneself as God is an implicit realization, eluding explicit explanation. Grokking this concept is essential but can take variable time for different individuals. Implicit vs. Explicit in Workshops: Using a workshop example, it was demonstrated that even pointing is a relative act of communication dependent on the projection of meaning onto symbols—a fundamental concept in the understanding of language. Transcendental Nature of Reality: Reality is described as transcendental and cannot be fully explicated, highlighting an unending process where more will always remain implicit regardless of how much is explained. Image 4 Image 5 Absolute Infinity vs. Numerical Infinity: The universe's totality is an "absolute infinity," encompassing an endless variety of existences and truths beyond just the "numerical infinity" of counting or measuring. Numerical vs. Absolute Infinity: Numerical infinity is just one instance within the broader concept of absolute infinity. Absolute infinity encapsulates everything, including the observable universe, and is present here and now. Irreducibly Implicit Truths: The deepest truths and understandings are inherently implicit, requiring intuition and consciousness. They can't be articulated fully, broken down into steps, or formally proven. This is a strength, as it allows reality to be endlessly fascinating and inexhaustible. The Endlessness of Reality: Reality's infinite nature is not a limitation but an aspect that ensures its boundless exploration. Despite reality being unknowable in totality, one can grasp its endlessness similarly to understanding the infinite nature of numbers without counting every single one. Understanding Infinity Without Complete Explication: The human mind is capable of holistically understanding the concept of infinity without needing to detail each step. Insisting on explication for everything is a self-imposed limitation, hindering one's ability to comprehend infinity. Limitations of Explication: Words and symbols are finite and second-order, unable to fully capture truth, which is first-order and infinite. Expecting total explication is a handicap, and realizing the limits of communication is crucial for deeper reality exploration. Synthesis of Science and Mysticism: The future of deep reality exploration may lie in the synthesis of the explicit approach of science and the implicit approach of mysticism, which are complementary and necessary to understand reality comprehensively. List of Inexplicable Entities: Truth, absolute consciousness, and God are some of the elements of reality that cannot be explicated. Implicit experiences like love, intuition, and mystical experiences also elude complete explication. Examples of Implicit Knowledge: Understanding abstract concepts such as Zen and the intrinsic motivations in life are examples of implicit knowledge - they cannot be explained in words but are understood through experience. Practical Takeaways: Acknowledge the implicit nature of reality and stop demanding complete explication. Learn the value of silence and wisdom, rely more on intuition, and trust personal visions without necessarily justifying them to others. Cultivating Personal Visions: Visions for one's life should be trusted and cultivated intuitively rather than proven scientifically; visions are implicit, forming internally before manifesting explicitly. Understanding Intuition and Abstraction: It's important to develop skills in abstract thinking and intuition to understand various aspects of life, such as relationships, health, business, and spiritual teachings. Value of Reading Between the Lines: The ability to infer implicit meanings in communication is vital for leadership, relationships, and personal development. It offers a deeper comprehension of situations. Communication Gaps and Translation Loss: Accept that communication inherently has limitations, and there's often a loss in translation which requires an understanding beyond the explicitly stated. Limitations of Proof Requirement: Many aspects of reality cannot be proven but are still true; understanding this nature of reality is essential, just as recognizing that not everything can be or needs to be proven to others. Accepting Others' Inability to Understand: Recognizing that some people may not grasp certain concepts is crucial, and persistence in trying to prove these can be counterproductive and unhelpful. Laying the Foundation for Vision Logic and Post Rationality: The discussion around understanding and abstraction lays the groundwork for vision logic or post-rationality—a transcendental way of thinking that combines logic with intuition. Recognizing Implicit and Transcendent Logic: Vision logic acknowledges implicit and transcendent aspects of reality, creating a 'fuzzy logic' approach to understanding that extends beyond strict rationality. Contemplating the Nature of Understanding: One should reflect on the process of understanding itself, as well as on misunderstandings, as a way to roundaboutly comprehend the essence of understanding. Balance of Interpretation: Care must be taken not to misinterpret teachings by being overly literal or by projecting personal biases when trying to read between the lines. Complementary Abstraction Episode: An upcoming episode will delve more deeply into abstraction, which is crucial for grasping the implicit aspects of reality and will build upon the foundation laid here. Avoiding Projections of Meaning: Not everything conveys a deeper meaning; meanings are often projected by the mind. It's significant to differentiate between the essence of teachings and personal interpretations. Art of Reading Spiritual Teachings: Applying spiritual teachings correctly requires understanding the intended essence by the teacher—not a verbatim recitation but an insightful interpretation. Descendo

Total Awakening Live In Real Time - Part 2 https://youtu.be/NnpRkE4L_io Finite limitations of humanity: Leo continues to emphasize the finite nature of all forms of life, including humans, illustrating that limitations are inherent in every species and apparent in their abilities, like a bird's inability to swim or a fish’s incapacity to crawl. Finite nature of spiritual figures: Leo reiterates that all spiritual figures and teachers are finite beings. Even revered figures like Jesus or Ramana Maharshi are limited, and worshiping them will not lead one to the infinite, suggesting that one must go beyond adoration of these figures to reach a higher state. Gradations of consciousness and self-bias: He describes how human consciousness varies from highly selfish individuals to those who expand their sense of self to include their family, community, and eventually the entire world, culminating in a pure, infinite consciousness devoid of self, which he equates with enlightenment. Self as an imaginary construct: Leo argues that what we typically consider the 'self' is an imaginary construct, and as one transcends selfishness and fear, realizes there is no true self, achieving a state of infinite consciousness and love. Consciousness spectrum: The spectrum Leo outlines ranges from the limited, selfish, and fearful end to those who surrender their beliefs and expand their consciousness, understanding that everything finite is an illusion and stepping into the fear of the unknown. Misinterpretation of spiritual messages: He points out that misunderstandings about his teachings may arise from listeners' fears and biases, but maintains the truth he speaks is the highest form of love, cutting through falsehoods. Relative perspectives on spiritual practices: Leo highlights the relativity of spiritual paths and practices, cautioning against limiting one's perception of God to any single belief system or practice. Role of belief in consciousness: He describes belief as a barrier to consciousness, insisting that truth is not about belief in a deity but about realizing one's direct experience as consciousness itself, awakening to the idea of self as God. Prayer and self-awareness: Leo discusses the common practice of prayer in various religious traditions and emphasizes that the apparent forsaking by a higher power is not a matter of being forsaken but a lack of self-awareness and higher consciousness. Equal love for all levels of consciousness: He explains God's impartial love for all individuals, regardless of their level of consciousness, using Hitler as an example to illustrate that even those with low consciousness are equally loved and that their death could be a salvation from their self-biased hell. The Hitler phenomenon as universal selfishness: He uses Hitler's extreme actions as a manifestation of selfishness, present to some degree in everyone, underlying negative activities such as nationalism and other forms of harm. Selflessness and perception of wrong: Leo suggests that absolute selflessness, which disregards pain, pleasure, and material status, would lead to a perception where no wrong can exist, challenging the notion that one's limited, twisted self is the reality when in fact it is the true fairy tale. Fear as a central roadblock: Leo expresses that the primary obstacle to awakening and unconditional love is fear, which people often experience when faced with the message of infinite joy and love he delivers. Love and fear dynamic: He details the conflict within individuals between love and fear, exemplifying how we simultaneously cherish and fear losing what we love, leading to a constant state of anxiety. Perception from infinite vs. finite: Leo argues that from an infinite perspective, everything that occurs is inherently good, as God (or infinite consciousness) creates only positive experiences. It's our limited perspective that labels things as bad. Self-bias and fear: Fear arises when consciousness becomes biased towards the self, leading to a desire for certain outcomes over others. Leo suggests that we envision consciousness as an infinite field, distorted by self-involved vortices. Awakening as unraveling distortions: He describes spiritual awakening as the process of unraveling these vortices to realize that one is both the entire field and all vortices, thus expanding into infinite consciousness. Transformation through love: Leo emphasizes the importance of releasing fear and embracing love as the essence of life and consciousness, exploring and realizing oneself. Attachment leads to misunderstanding: People may misinterpret or demonize Leo's message of highest love due to their self-bias and attachments, which skews their perception of the world. Relativity of spiritual practices: He warns against being trapped in finite systems or beliefs about God, advocating for understanding and appreciating the complete relativity of all things. Prayer through personal consciousness: Leo explains that prayer works not due to external deities but because it engages one's own consciousness, which is divine in nature. Continuous pursuit of awakening: The ultimate goal is to continuously expand consciousness and realize the absolute relativity of everything, moving towards higher states of awareness and selflessness. Aspirations for viewers: In conclusion, Leo invites viewers to realize infinite love, which is the true essence at their highest form, and wishes them continued growth on their spiritual journey towards enlightenment. Flagrate

Reproduction Is An Illusion - Why It Doesn't Matter If You Have Kids https://youtu.be/W0fmj0Im_ZU Non-duality and its ramifications: Non-duality, or the understanding that everything is one, has radical consequences that are often overlooked. Leo contends that many spiritual seekers have awakening experiences but fail to comprehend the full implications which, if known upfront, might deter them from spiritual pursuits due to their extreme nature. Sex versus reproduction: Leo differentiates between sex and reproduction, emphasizing that he is addressing the latter. He mentions a future discussion on non-duality implications for sex that all sex is essentially with oneself, as the universe, which you are a part of, has sex with itself. Cultural myth of reproduction: The materialist viewpoint that reproduction is a biological imperative is ingrained in society through parents, culture, and even science. However, Leo argues this idea fails to recognize the relative nature of reproduction tied to one's subjective definition of self. Relativism and reproduction: Leo introduces the concept of relativism, suggesting that reproduction is relative to one's perspective. He emphasizes that from the viewpoint of non-duality and oneness, every movement of the universe is its reproduction, not just the biological act of procreation. Reproduction beyond genetics: Challenging the narrow genetic aspect of reproduction, Leo points out that individuals can reproduce in various ways that transcend physical biology, such as through cultural or societal influence, using Shakespeare's enduring legacy as an illustration. The myth of the 'one true' reproduction: The insistence that genetic reproduction is the only 'true' form of reproduction is challenged. Leo describes this as a self-biased and subjective stance, emphasizing that all universe actions are forms of reproduction with different outcomes. Freedom from societal pressure: Leo aims to liberate those who feel obligated to reproduce biologically by exposing the myth that something important is lost if one doesn't have children. He also addresses the guilt felt by individuals unable to have children due to social and traditional narratives. Evolution and outdated narratives: He criticizes the oversimplified conceptions of evolution used to justify behaviors like promiscuity. He remarks that the scientific narrative does not define the self nor should it dictate one's identity or dictate the imperative to reproduce. Reconceptualizing identity: Leo discusses how expanding the notion of identity from individuality to a broader, more encompassing sense like identifying with all humanity, or even the entire universe, shifts the significance of reproduction. It becomes irrelevant whether one personally reproduces, as reproduction is seen as occurring on a cosmic scale beyond human or biological constraints. Evolution beyond genetics: He emphasizes that evolution occurs not just at the genetic level within specific species or living organisms but as a general feature of consciousness. Understanding evolution in this broader sense challenges the scientific paradigm that limits evolution to genetic changes over time. Science and self-definition: Leo points out that science does not determine personal identity, nor does it dictate how one should reproduce. Instead, identity is a cultural construct, which can be changed, thereby altering the perception and methods of reproduction. Cultural and mental reproduction: He suggests considering cultural influence and the proliferation of ideas as forms of reproduction. This implies that reproducing one's mind or ideas can be more significant and enduring than the genetic reproduction of one's physical being. The absurdity of genetic emphasis: Leo argues the idea of prioritizing genetic lineage—believing one's genes are special and must be passed down—is narcissistic and absurd, considering genetic dilution over generations. He challenges the notion that one's lineage is more important than other forms of life. Self-bias and survival instincts: Leo ties self-bias to the survival instinct, urging individuals to recognize that their genes or family lineage hold no more intrinsic importance than those of any other organism. This calls for a conscious recognition and overcoming of self-bias to perceive reality without distortion. Cultural and geographic survival: He explains that cultures from traditionally harsh environments have developed strong family values as a survival mechanism. However, as technology changes the survival landscape, the reliance on family for survival may become less critical, even in underdeveloped areas. Cultural preservation and stigma: Leo also touches on cultural preservation as a form of survival, noting how certain cultures heavily emphasize family lineage to prevent cultural dilution. He acknowledges the survival-related stigma attached to leaving or not prioritizing one's family, particularly in certain ethnicities or regions. Cuisine preferences as survival: Finally, Leo argues that one's preference for ethnic cuisine is a result of geographic availability aligning with survival needs, rather than the inherent quality of the food, suggesting that what we perceive as preferences are often shaped by survival mechanisms. Food preferences and survival: Leo discusses how food tastes are shaped by ancestral diets necessary for survival. While individuals can adapt their diets, psychological and emotional connections to traditional foods remain due to positive familial associations and the need for love and approval within one's culture. Influence of survival mechanisms: Leo emphasizes the role of survival mechanisms in shaping our preferences and actions. He argues that these mechanisms are automatic and robotic, and that becoming aware of them helps us understand the biases that influence our perception of reality. Identity and its impact on perspective: Leo discusses how identity shapes our worldview. He suggests that expanding one’s identity beyond the biological self can liberate us from the perceived obligation to reproduce, recognizing oneself as infinite and eternal. Freedom of choice post-awakening: Leo explains that awakening to oneness frees individuals from societal expectations, including the presumed need to reproduce. This realization allows for conscious choice in how one lives, such as deciding to have children out of genuine enjoyment rather than obligation. Love, compassion, and reproduction: He discusses how deepened understanding of our eternal nature allows us to approach parenthood and life choices with greater love and compassion. Leo suggests that when you recognize all children as equally important, not just your own, it fosters a more compassionate approach to raising children. Alternative forms of reproduction: Leo suggests that reproduction is not just about procreating children but involves transferring one’s essence into the world through various forms, such as art, architecture, charity, or even caring for animals. Conscious impact and maximizing love: Leo discusses the potential of conscious actions to maximize love in the world, such as starting an animal shelter. By expressing care for animals in need, one can inspire others to take similar actions, leading to a cascading effect of positive change in society. Societal influence and the ripple effect: Leo elaborates on how non-traditional forms of contribution, like creating a documentary about animal welfare, can inspire others and multiply one's influence, demonstrating the interconnectedness of societal impact beyond direct biological reproduction. Consciousness and its global necessity: Recognizing the world's demand for consciousness, Leo stresses the importance of various professions that could benefit from more conscious individuals, such as teachers, doctors, and politicians, to improve the quality of life on Earth, rather than increasing the population. Teaching as a transformative power: Through the example of teaching, Leo illustrates the significance of one's consciousness in shaping the lives of others—pointing out how the conscious guidance of a child by a teacher can potentially lead to the rise of compassionate leaders rather than tyrants. Reconceiving reproduction and identity: As one expands their self-awareness and understanding of oneness, Leo explains how conventional notions of reproduction, morality, and culture shift, encouraging individuals to embody and transfer consciousness in unique and impactful ways. Introduction to the Life Purpose Course: Leo introduces his Life Purpose Course, designed to guide individuals on how to discover a meaningful and impactful life purpose that extends beyond conventional achievements like biological offspring. Impact of conscious work: Emphasizing the far-reaching effects of conscious living, Leo asserts that a person's conscious efforts can outlive physical progeny and shape the collective human experience for generations to come. The power of self-change: Highlighting self-transformation as the ultimate leverage, Leo advocates for personal development as the key to becoming an effective agent of positive change in the world, potentially affecting diverse fields and leading to a more enlightened society. Non-literal understanding of reproduction: Leo encourages a non-literal perspective on concepts like reproduction, urging listeners to think more abstractly and realize that impactful legacy can be achieved through various means, not just biological. Abstract thinking and reality: By advocating for abstract thinking involving metaphors, analogies, and interconnections, Leo argues against rigid, literal interpretations of reality, suggesting that a more expansive mindset can unlock deeper wisdom. Final thoughts on abstraction: As a conclusion, Leo describes abstraction as a potent principle and plans to elaborate on it in future discussions, claiming that it is essential for transcending limited, literal perceptions of reality to grasp its inherently fluid and interconnected nature. Impedimenta

Division vs Unity - The Engine That Runs Reality https://youtu.be/vp99hZJfBHg "...to form a more perfect Union..." - Preamble to the US Constitution Exploration of Division vs Unity: Leo Gura introduces the concept of division and unity as the fundamental engine driving all of reality, evident in everything from social dynamics to biological processes, physics, and beyond. Historical Pattern of Mankind: History is presented as a series of fractal-like divisions and reunions within humanity, described as the polarizing and depolarizing dance of consciousness or infinite mind. Hydrologic Cycle as a Unity-Division Example: The hydrologic cycle is shown as a natural instance of division and unity: water starts unified in the ocean, evaporates, forms clouds (division), rains down into puddles (reunion), and eventually flows back to the ocean. Making a Smoothie Illustration: The process of making a smoothie is used as an everyday example, illustrating how elements grow into plants (unity), create fruits (division), which are blended into a smoothie (reunion), and then digested by the body (division) to nourish cells (unity). Speciation and Evolutionary Process: The diversification of species through geographical changes, interbreeding, and evolution showcases the process of proliferation (division) and the formation of new species (reunion). Human Migration and Cultural Diversification: Homo sapiens' migration from Africa and subsequent population of the globe led to division into races and cultures, which are now coming back together through globalization and interbreeding (reunion). Globalization's Impact on Human Race: Advancements in travel technology and social intermingling portend a future where racial and cultural distinctions are blurred. Space travel could lead to diversification across planets, potentially leading to interbreeding with alien species. Teleportation and Space Travel Speculation: Hypothetical future technologies like teleportation or space travel could facilitate even greater racial and cultural integration or lead to new forms of division as humans colonize other planets. Unifying Consciousness Through Yoga: Leo Gura touches on the role of Yoga, which translates to 'union,' in achieving a deeper understanding of consciousness by bringing together the perceiver and the perceived. Unavoidable Nature of Globalization: Due to demands from technology, travel, and economics, globalization is depicted as an inevitable force eroding traditional divisions and leading towards greater unity. Speciation and Human Colonization: Speciation may occur as humans colonize different environments like Mars, the Moon, or aquatic planets, resulting in varied physical adaptations due to conditions like low gravity. Interbreeding and Genetic Engineering: Interbreeding or genetic engineering with alien species could result in new hybrid organisms, showcasing a process of divergence and convergence in consciousness. Cultural Boundaries and Resistance: People often resist the blending of cultures, mistakenly clinging to temporary divisions and feeling threatened by the natural process of reunification. Judgment as Division: Judging and labelling aspects of the world as good or bad is a learned behavior that further divides consciousness, while teachings promoting interconnectedness encourage reunification. War as Absorption and Reunion: War is a form of absorption, with one tribe attempting to integrate another's resources, and even after conquest, the resulting peace can lead to larger, unified entities like the European Union or the United Nations. Middle Eastern Clan Warfare and External Interests: Power struggles in the Middle East, exacerbated by external interests, illustrate the difficulty of achieving unity among diverse clans and religious sects. United States and Autonomy: The United States was forged from 13 colonies into a nation that balances unity with significant state autonomy, reflecting both division and unity. European Union Complexities: The EU shows the challenge of unification, as member states grapple with national identities and unequal contributions, which can lead to tensions like Brexit. Unity and Division in Organizational Evolution: Large organizations, like the United Nations, evolve from the desire for cooperative peace but face resistance from individual national interests. Sunni, Shia, and Subdivisions: Within Islam, the division between Sunni and Shia factions and further subdivisions exemplify the ongoing cycle of division and unity even within a single religious community. Collective Defense Against Common Threats: Leo suggests that existential threats, such as a hypothetical alien invasion, would necessitate global unity among humans, temporarily sidelining smaller divisions. American States' Unity: The formation of the United States as a unified entity from individual colonies serves as an example of the recurring pattern of division and reunification. Economic Prosperity and Challenges in the EU: The European Union brought economic prosperity and peace but also highlighted disparities among member states, showing both the benefits and challenges of unification. Nationalism vs. European Unity: Individuals and nationalist parties in various European countries resist the idea of a European identity, preferring to maintain their distinct national identities, leading to tensions within the European Union and events like Brexit, which epitomize the struggle between unity and division. Brexit - Division within Unity: Brexit illustrates a fracture within the European Union, where the unified benefits make it difficult to leave, but British nationalists emphasize their unique identity, challenging the notion of being part of a larger, interconnected entity like the EU. Globalization's Inevitability: Leo Gura argues that globalization is unavoidable due to technology and human desires for travel and communication, thus necessitating unified international laws and collaboration to ensure a safer, more connected globe. Travel, Technology, and Legal Implications: With increasing global interconnectivity, people expect safety and justice when traveling or conducting international business, hinting at the future development of international legal systems to address crimes and disputes across borders. Trade-offs in Unity and Division: There are no simple answers to the ideal level of unity or division as both come with associated costs and benefits; reality is likened to a fractal or Russian nesting dolls, indicating complex layers of unity within division. Libertarian Misconceptions and Societal Structure: Libertarians and conservatives often fail to recognize the importance of sophisticated coordination for advanced societies, misunderstanding the interdependency inherent in society and the limited nature of freedom and individualism. Individual Autonomy vs. Collective Function: If each cell or organ in the human body acted solely based on its own autonomy, life would be unsustainable. Similarly, a society demands collective organization and cooperation to thrive, counter to extreme libertarian ideals of independence. The Danger of Excessive Integration: While coordination is crucial, there is also the risk of overintegration leading to the suppression of individual rights and the creation of totalitarian systems, highlighting the need for balance between individualism and collectivism. China's Collectivist Approach: China's current policies, which prioritize its emergence as a global superpower over individual rights and religious freedoms, exemplify extreme collectivism. This approach is deemed neither entirely good nor evil, but a mix of both, with significant global impacts. Fall of the Soviet Union: The Soviet Union's dissolution is cited as an example of the cycle of division and unity. At its peak, it consisted of multiple satellite states, but it fragmented after the collapse of communism—contrasting the reunification of East and West Germany. Spiritual Divisions: Despite spiritual study, religious groups cannot maintain unity, as evidenced by Christianity's split from Judaism and further divisions into Catholicism, Orthodox, and Protestant denominations, along with Islam's fragmentation into Sunni, Shia, and other sects. Eastern Spiritual Fragmentation: Similar to the West, Eastern spiritual traditions are not exempt from division. Hinduism and Buddhism both branched into various schools, demonstrating this pattern even within more holistic spiritual frameworks. Internet Proliferation and Unification: The internet initially experienced a proliferation of diverse websites, which then consolidated into large platforms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. This demonstrates the movement from speciation (division) to monopolization (unity). Corporate Mergers, Monopolies, and Regulations: The past 50 years have seen significant corporate mergers and the formation of monopolies due to lax antitrust laws. However, there is a prediction of populist uprisings and regulatory responses to break up these large enterprises. Birth and Life as Division and Reunion: The process of birth divides consciousness into separate organisms that eventually reunite through eating and excreting—demonstrating a constant interplay of division and unity in life's survival processes. Reproduction and Life Cycles: The reproductive cycle in mammals is an intricate play of division and reunion, with the creation of male and female leading to sexual reproduction. The act of sex culminates in the highest point of unity, resulting in a new birth—the division of a zygote from the parent organism. Cell Division and Embryonic Growth: The initial one-cell zygote undergoes repeated division, eventually forming trillions of cells that unify to create a baby. This newborn then physically divides from the mother while still relying on her for sustenance, demonstrating a recurring pattern of separation and connection. Family Units and Individual Independence: As a child matures, they often experience a cycle of unity within the family and division as they seek independence during teenage years, ultimately leading to complete separation to start their own families where the cycle repeats. Life, Death, and Conscious Reunion: Death is depicted as the ultimate reunion, where the individual consciousness merges back into infinite consciousness, completing the same cycle of unity (birth) and division (death) that began with their own conception. Atomic and Molecular Unity: At a sub-organic level, atoms unify to form molecules, which combine to create increasingly complex structures, such as proteins, cells, organs, organisms, and eventually societies. This highlights the pattern of division and unity present in the physical fabric of the universe. Specialization and Reintegration in Intellectual Fields: From philosophy, several intellectual fields have diverged, creating specialties like science, mysticism, and mathematics, which have further branched into subfields. Now, an emerging trend seeks to reintegrate these into a holistic understanding, represented by systems thinking and the search for a grand unified theory. Future Unification of Science and Mysticism: Predicting that science and mysticism, which originated from the same philosophy, will eventually reunify, integrating mystical insights with scientific advances, potentially through practices such as meditation, yoga, and the study of psychedelic experiences. 3D Modeling as Unity and Division: In 3D modeling, a single shape undergoes repeated subdivision to add detail, followed by reunification processes to smooth and integrate parts into a coherent, detailed model. This mirrors biological and creative processes of elaboration from unity. Socioeconomic Caste Systems and Capitalism: Past social structures, like caste systems, have declined, giving way to a new socioeconomic division based on wealth in capitalist societies. Public discontent indicates a potential future shift toward the redistribution of wealth and increased socialism, a balance between unity (shared resources) and division (capitalist individualism). Balancing Socialism and Capitalism: Leo emphasizes that neither socialism nor capitalism is inherently evil; society requires a dynamic equilibrium between these two forces, adjusting over time to societal needs, rather than adhering to rigid ideologies. Social Movements – Social Justice Warriors vs. Anti-Social Justice: Social dynamics show division and reunion through social justice advocates pushing for unity and harmony, while their opponents value individualism and freedom, rejecting the push for collectivism. Global Warming Illustrates Division and Unity: Global warming exemplifies the unity and division process, as separated oil deposits and ice are reintegrated into the environment through human activity, leading to unified environmental changes such as increased global temperatures and melting ice caps. Global Warming Mechanism: Humanity's use of fossil fuels reintegrates carbon (oil) with Earth's atmosphere, contributing to a warming planet and melting ice, which merges with oceans, demonstrating a cycle of separation and reunion. Temperature Equilibrium Efforts: The Earth's core heat gradually dissipates into the cold of outer space in an attempt to equalize temperatures, a process reflecting the larger reunification between Earth's internal and external environments. Relationship Dynamics: Intimate relationships fluctuate between union and division. Partners seek unity through romance and sex but afterward desire space, reflecting a natural balance of closeness and individuality. Evolution of Gender Roles: The rigid division between male and female roles softens with technological advancements, leading to a greater acceptance of varying gender identities and sexual orientations, and challenging traditional norms. Fusion Cuisine: Different cuisines developed from regional elements demonstrate cultural separation. Fusion cuisine emerges, blending these distinct styles, reflecting both the value of culinary diversity and the potential for innovative unity. Formation and Death of Stars: Stars form from unified gases under gravity, illustrating a physical manifestation of unity. Black holes represent an extreme form of reunification, attracting all matter, yet also dispersing via Hawking radiation, indicating a return to division. Big Bang and the Universe's Cycle: The universe started as a singularity and expanded to form various forms of matter and energy in an act of division. It is predicted to eventually unify back into an indistinct mass, hypothesized to restart the cycle in a perfect loop. Entropy and Reunification: The concept of entropy is reframed as a measure of unity versus division, with the natural progression of the universe, including life, being toward greater unity as seen in the drive for energy equalization. Transformation in Relationships: Relationships exhibit a cycle of unity and division, where partners unite in intimacy and seek separation for autonomy, revealing a consistent dance between merging and independence. Gender Identity and Societal Change: The traditional male-female gender binary is becoming more fluid with sociocultural advancements, leading to broader acceptance of diverse gender expressions and sexual orientations. Culinary Arts and the Interplay of Division and Unity: Traditional cuisines represent division, while the rise of fusion food exemplifies unity, with both maintaining value in preserving authenticity and embracing innovation. Singularity and Perceptual Unity: Leo suggests that in physics and cosmology, zero and infinity are identical, leading to the conclusion that a point with no dimension (zero radius) simultaneously represents infinite expansion (infinite radius). This indicates a perfect loop or cycle in the nature of reality. Misunderstanding of Entropy: Traditional views on entropy as a measure of disorder are challenged. Leo defines high entropy as total unity, where there is an indistinguishable uniformity, akin to a state of God or love. Low entropy, conversely, corresponds to division, and is necessary for the experience of motion, space, and time. Consciousness and Design: Life and all physical processes should not be viewed as accidental occurrences but as manifestations of consciousness intentionally dividing itself to experience various aspects. Science, with its specialized focus, fails to understand this ultimate nature of consciousness, mistaking these divisions as random physical phenomena. Reunification of Consciousness Through Yoga: Yoga, which translates to union in Sanskrit, is presented as a practice that unites subject and object. By participating in yoga, scientists and others can gain a holistic understanding of consciousness, transcending the confines of division expressed through specialized fields. Universal Tendency Toward Unity: Over time, divided systems naturally tend toward unification, as illustrated by a glass container separating two gases that will eventually mix into uniformity. Human-made structures, like buildings or statues, will also eventually decay and merge back into their environments, showcasing the inevitability of reunion in all systems. Costs and Benefits of Unity and Division: Complete unity offers peace and bliss but sacrifices the distinct experiences of life, such as tasting vanilla or having a pet. Conversely, division allows for these individual experiences, which require distinct separations to appreciate the sensation of unity and the diverse manifestations of existence. God's Nature and Limited Human Perception: Leo describes God as indistinct nothingness, which cannot be comprehensively known because all knowledge inherently divides. As humans experience God through various forms, these are limited incarnations and not the ultimate indistinct nature of God. Function of Evil in the Universe: Acts of evil in the world often apply pressure for eventual unity. Leo suggests that what is perceived as evil is, in a deeper sense, love and intelligence acting together, as evidenced by the formation of the European Union after World War II. Inevitability of Reunion in Reality: Division will always lead to reunion and vice versa. The idea of complete control by any one part is temporary, with humanity's dominance over the planet being a fleeting state within the universal cycles of division and unity. God's Revelation as a Limited Form: Any manifestation of God experienced by humans is a limited form, as God is inherently indistinct. Depicting God in a definitive form diminishes its ultimate state of indistinct nothingness, which can't be captured or fully understood through divisive human knowledge. Understanding the Structure of Reality: Leo discusses the inherent rules of reality, which dictate that divided entities will eventually reunite and unified entities will divide, reflecting a constant cycle of unification and fragmentation in all of existence. Monopoly of Parts over the Whole: He emphasizes that no single part can monopolize the whole, as the whole is unlimited and every part is limited. He cautions that humanity's domination over the planet is temporary, demonstrating the futility of any part trying to control the whole. God's Infinite Diversity: Leo explains that God, or infinite intelligence, seeks to maximize diversity of form. This diversity is not antithetical to unity but is its very expression, showing that unity encompasses all diversity as its ultimate form. Infinity and Natural Numbers: The concept of infinity is elaborated upon, describing it not as a single point on the number line but as the entirety of all numbers—zero and beyond—emphasizing that infinity includes all distinct forms, not just numerical concepts. Evolution as Differentiation and Reunion: Evolution is presented not just as a biological process, but as a universal process involving love and intelligence, balancing the intricate relationship between division and unity, with each having a time and place. Unity and Division as Two Types of Unity: Leo articulates that division and unity are not opposites but are two manifestations of unity. Absolute unity includes the possibility of division, indicating that unity and division are parts of a single, integrated whole. Life as a Fractal of Infinite Consciousness: Life and reality are described as manifestations of infinite consciousness, with birth representing division and death acting as reunion, suggesting that life is an ongoing variation of this theme. Appreciating Unity and Division: Viewers are encouraged to notice the interplay of division and unity in daily life, from personal belongings to politics, as a way to deepen their understanding of life and improve their reactions and behaviors. Holistic Approach to Teaching: Leo shares his goal of providing teachings that are not narrow but holistic, integrating various fields—science, math, philosophy, evolution, religion, mysticism, psychology, sociology, history, and politics—reflecting the complex and interconnected nature of the universe. Power and Value of Understanding: The transformative power of understanding is emphasized, with Leo suggesting that a comprehensive grasp of topics can profoundly change one's perspective and behaviors, even without immediate changes in life circumstances. Limitations of Teachings and Reality's Enormity: While acknowledging the limitations of his teachings due to the vastness of reality, Leo strives for a degree of breadth and depth that reflects the infinite scope of the universe, aiming to offer a broad and profound perspective on existence. Glisseo

Self-Love - The Highest Teaching In The Universe https://youtu.be/4OmMpYa7R_U "Self-Love is the only teaching." The culmination of a seven-year journey: In his personal development exploration, Leo Gura reveals that after exploring numerous methods ranging from therapy to meditation, he has distilled everything into a singular teaching - self-love, which he believes is the highest concept in the universe, essential for the evolution of all conscious beings. Defining self-love: Leo clarifies that self-love is a profound existential force, transcending mere human emotion. It is universal, driving evolutionary progress. Despite its abstract nature when compressed into two words, he emphasizes its fundamental role and the need to decipher and actualize its meaning deeply. Alien species hypothetical: Leo hypothesizes that if advanced aliens were to impart wisdom to humanity, they would prioritize teaching self-love over technical knowledge. He implies that humanity's current inability to appreciate self-love suggests that aliens might understand it far deeper than we do. Self-love as an intelligence measure: Leo proposes that the intelligence of an entity, including hypothetical aliens, can be judged by their understanding of self-love. He states that self-love is a practical litmus test for evaluating teachers and ideologies, with those that promote self-love being of the highest quality amidst a spectrum of beliefs. Corruption marked by the absence of self-love: He asserts that a lack of self-love or the presence of judgment and hatred in ideologies indicates their corruption. He cites Nazism and radical religious ideologies as examples, emphasizing that even a teaching that preaches love, like Christianity, can be corrupt if it is not practiced genuinely. Identification of spiritual corruption: Teachings that contain hatred, judgment, or fear towards individuals or groups, such as condemning criminals or fearing witchcraft, indicate corruption of those teachings from their original pure form. Self-love as a universal remedy: Leo proposes that fundamentally, all problems humanity faces trace back to a lack of self-love, including issues that appear unrelated, such as poverty or health crises. Reframing self-love: Self-love, as Leo describes, refers to loving the ultimate self or awakened self, not just the human identity. By loving oneself as the whole universe, other problems will naturally correct themselves. Components of self-love: Understanding self-love requires grasping the true meanings of "self" and "love". These concepts cannot be comprehended through traditional logic or science but require a shift to a higher state of consciousness. Necessity of mystical experiences: Emphasizing that discourse is insufficient, Leo argues that direct mystical experiences of the true self and love are essential for genuinely understanding and implementing self-love. Practical importance of self-love: Leo outlines how self-love can resolve common personal development issues such as insecurity, self-esteem, and relationship challenges by addressing the root cause rather than external symptoms. Self-acceptance as a path to self-love: Genuine self-love involves accepting one's physical appearance and personality traits, and involves recognizing oneself as part of the universe, thereby aligning with the expanded concept of self. Self-love beyond the physical: While starting with self-appreciation on a physical level is valuable, Leo challenges individuals to also embrace the broader universe, which includes one's body, other people, political entities, as part of their self-love practice. Expanding appreciation of existence: Appreciating your existence involves recognizing that you are an integral part of the universe, and your infinite mind is generating the reality you experience. Unconditional love versus conditional love: True love for oneself or others is not based on utility or what one can provide, it is unconditional, celebrating existence itself rather than what it can do for you. Transformation from physical to existential love: Shifting focus from the physical body's utility to a deeper appreciation of existence enables the experience of deep, unconditional love. Integration of self into the universe: Through self-love, one's sense of self and love expands to merge with the entire universe, leading to the most profound levels of awakening and joy. Realizing love through consciousness: Recognizing the profound nature of reality through consciousness leads to profound existential love, transcending mundane emotions or needs. Experiences that awaken self-love: Moments of consciousness, like admiring a beautiful sunset or being amazed by the complexity of a living creature, activate an appreciation for the beauty of existence. Practical application of self-love in dating: In attraction and dating, a lack of self-love can be detected by others and reduce one's appeal; genuine self-love enhances self-confidence and genuine care for others. Resolving disagreements with self-love: Recognizing that both parties' perspectives are valid and practicing self-love can dissolve conflicts and promote understanding in relationships. Self-love in addressing life's challenges: Facing illness, injury, or injustice with self-love fosters healing and growth, while self-respect requires setting boundaries in harmful situations. Awareness of self in the context of self-love: Becoming aware of how little control we have over our body's automatic functions, like pupil dilation, can foster a deeper appreciation for one's existence and contribute to self-love. Self-love during illness: Having self-love while battling an illness like cancer is vital, as it supports faster healing alongside medication. Reaction to accidents: Instead of reacting with anger to accidents like breaking a leg, accepting and loving the situation can lead to faster recovery and possibly learning profound life lessons. Dealing with injustice: Embracing injustices with love rather than resistance offers a broader, empathetic perspective, recognizing that those causing harm are also part of the universal self. Personal incident of theft: Leo describes how he dealt with his car being broken into by empathizing with the thief, considering the societal issues contributing to drug addiction and poverty, thus practicing self-love and universal perspective. Workaholism and self-love: Overworking and neglecting one's health at work indicate a lack of self-love. A comprehensive understanding of self-love can prompt a better work-life balance and healthier work practices. Job dissatisfaction and self-love: Expanding self-love can catalyze a vision for a new career path away from an unsatisfying job, fostering passion and purpose for more fulfilling work. Fear of starting a business: Overcoming fear in starting a business requires deep love for the business idea and genuine desire to make a meaningful contribution to the world, rather than focusing on potential financial loss. Business practices reflecting self-love: A business that truly helps people, rather than harming them, is a product of self-love and is intrinsically more fulfilling and sustainable than one driven by greed or exploitation. Expanding self-love for positive change: Leo emphasizes that expanding self-love and one's sense of self beyond personal gains—like family, money, cars, and homes—to include all of mankind along with the environment and animals is necessary for personal and global evolution, leading to true happiness and responsibility in roles such as parenting and partnerships. Impact of self-love on business ethics: He argues that many professionals, like marketing executives in unhealthy food industries, are so preoccupied with profits that they don't invest time in personal growth or consider the societal implications of their products. Expanding self-love, according to Leo, would motivate such individuals to innovate healthier alternatives rather than contribute to health epidemics. Addressing societal issues with self-love: Leo describes monetary, economic, societal, and political issues as fundamentally rooted in a lack of self-love. To resolve issues like tribal warfare and corruption, which sabotage economic stability, a shift in societal culture that embraces collective self-love and unity across factions and ideologies is essential. Political turmoil as a reflection of deficient self-love: He links current political discord to a lack of self-love and empathy between opposed parties. He suggests that political conflict can be mitigated by each side expanding their sense of self and love to include understanding for different perspectives, even those of rivals. Advancing spirituality through self-love: Leo points out that struggles in spiritual practices, such as inconsistency in meditation or dealing with bad psychedelic trips, stem from a lack of self-love. Greater kindness to oneself and understanding of spiritual processes are necessary for overcoming these hurdles. Self-love in preventing crime and violence: He asserts that societal problems, including violence, crime, and terrorism, require immense infusions of self-love. By expanding one's sense of self to include even the perpetrators, society can develop empathy, effectively addressing why such acts occur and preventing them through systemic changes and support. Remedying environmental negligence with self-love: Leo argues that environmental issues, such as excessive CO2 emissions, result from a societal deficiency in self-love. Those leading polluting corporations lack an inclusive self-concept that values the environment and wildlife, prioritizing profit over planetary well-being. Root causes of obesity and environmental neglect: Leo suggests that obesity in America is interlinked with environmental neglect, highlighting systemic issues such as the marketing of unhealthy food, which he attributes to a lack of self-love among marketers and consumers alike. Self-love as parental guidance: The rebellious behavior of children is often a response to criticism and lack of acceptance from parents. Leo recommends self-love as a tool for parents to foster unconditional love and acceptance, thus repairing strained relationships with their children. Wide-ranging solutions through self-love: From depression to addiction and parenting to business success, Leo designates self-love as the fundamental remedy for creating happiness and leading a successful life. Self-love's role in conscious politics and leadership: Self-love is crucial for effective leadership and creative work, including politics and business. Leo criticizes profit-driven businesses with no real value contribution, advocating for passion-driven work that benefits society. Dealing with criminals and societal dilemmas through self-love: Leo posits that self-love is essential in dealing with criminals, and healing societal issues, emphasizing that no external achievement compensates for the lack of self-love. The fundamental nature of self-love: Leo defines self-love as the ultimate power and essence of consciousness, meaning that self-love is not merely an emotion or feeling but the acknowledgment and love of reality for what it is. Love as a materialistic world's necessity: Leo argues that love is integral to the nature of reality itself, rejecting the notion that it can exist without consciousness, and equates the concept of God being in love with itself to reality fully embracing its own existence. Self-love transcending acceptance: The differentiation between mere self-acceptance and the ecstatic union of self-recognition that represents true self-love is elucidated, with Leo asserting that recognizing the existential beauty of consciousness is the epitome of self-love. Infinite amazement as a foundation of existence: Affirming that life and existence are inherently amazing, Leo invites everyone to appreciate and love life unconditionally, which aligns with the perspective that we are a manifestation of infinite consciousness and amazement. Humans manifesting self-love: All actions, from technological advancements to philanthropic efforts, ultimately represent humanity falling deeper in love with itself. Each new discovery or creation is the universe – or consciousness – reveling in new aspects of itself. Ego vs. divine perspective: While individual biases may lead us to hate certain things, from a divine perspective, nothing is hated; it is all equally amazing. This infinite love is consciousness exploring itself without judgment or preference. Self-love and boundaries: Practicing self-love does not equate to being a doormat. Actually, proper self-love naturally leads to healthy boundaries and self-respect, indicating a departure from people-pleasing behaviors and low self-esteem. Transcending gender stereotypes with self-love: Self-love transcends the stereotypes of being a feminine or masculine trait. It is a universal truth that encompasses and integrates all qualities, offering true strength and wisdom beyond societal gender constructs. Distinguishing self-love from egotism or narcissism: True self-love is different from narcissism or egotism. Real self-love involves expanding one's sense of self to include and love all parts of the universe, embracing the totality of existence beyond the individual ego. Practical exercise for expanding self-love: Wearing a wristband can serve as a reminder to identify and embrace aspects one typically dislikes or judges. By accepting these aspects as part of oneself and feeling love for the entirety, one practices expanding self-love. Hating as self-reflection: Encounters with things we hate or judge give us an opportunity to see those aspects as part of ourselves, which can ultimately lead us to accept and love a more complete version of ourselves, integrating our shadows into our consciousness. Self-love as the acceptance of existential diversity: Recognizing that consciousness includes everything, from the mundane to the extraordinary, challenges us to accept and love all aspects of existence. This acceptance signifies self-love at its most profound level. All teachings lead to self-love: Every concept and subject discussed by Leo, including those that seem unrelated like quantum mechanics or spiral dynamics, is ultimately a pathway toward the realization and embodiment of self-love. Using self-love as a compass: When faced with confusion or difficulty, one can reflect on the absence of self-love in the situation. It's a central guiding principle to navigate life's challenges and can reveal underlying issues that need addressing. Failure of institutions to teach self-love: Leo notes that schools, universities, workplaces, and religious institutions generally do not teach self-love, which he sees as a significant contributing factor to societal problems and individual suffering. Self-love as an ancient and consistent teaching: The concept of self-love has been taught historically by spiritual and religious leaders; however, it often becomes obscured or misrepresented in institutions, overshadowing its importance and purity. Varied enlightenment about love: Leo indicates that even established spiritual teachers might proclaim love as an illusion because they haven't awakened to love themselves. He points out that awakening has many degrees and versions, hence the diverse teachings about love. Homework assignment for self-love enhancement: Leo gives his audience homework to write down all the aspects of themselves that they don't love—physical appearance, past actions, personality traits, etc. He then instructs them to decide to love all these aspects as part of their reality. The struggle with accepting the true self: Leo describes the resistance one might feel in accepting and loving all aspects of themselves. He explains that the ego resists this acceptance, preferring an idealized vision of oneself, which is a deviation from the truth. Truth and love as identical concepts: Leo asserts that truth and love go hand-in-hand at a metaphysical level, emphasizing that to reject any part of reality is to engage in untruth and self-denial, which is the root of evil. He states that love is the ultimate solution, a reintegration of all aspects of oneself. Incomplete awakening without love: Leo argues that an awakening or enlightenment that does not include a realization of love is incomplete. He stresses that true awakening encompasses both truth and love, and a lack of either results in division and falsehood. Emotional approach to spirituality and its pitfalls: Addressing the tendency for emotional individuals or those who identify as love-seeking, Leo cautions that a journey toward awakening through love alone is incomplete without a grasp of truth. He challenges the perception that truth is harsh or needless, underscoring its indistinguishable nature from love. Self-love as the point of human life: Leo emphasizes that full self-love is the solution to all of life's problems, encouraging the audience to contemplate this assertion and its implications for individual action. Encouragement to support Actualized.org: Leo requests support for his content on Actualized.org through Patreon and reiterates the importance of exploring in-depth the substantial content he has created to gain full comprehension and benefit from his teachings. The difficulty of organizing content: Leo discusses the challenges in organizing his voluminous work, highlighting the sprawling nature of the teachings and the difficulty for new viewers to grasp advanced concepts without foundational knowledge. The importance of depth in learning: Leo values deep comprehension, comparing superficial understanding to unsatisfactory sexual intimacy. He stresses that a profound grasp of his philosophies entails a long-term commitment and urges viewers to study his work over several years to gain true appreciation. Cave Inimicum

What Is Death - How Immortality Works https://youtu.be/1zjuDdysOL8 "Oh wow.. Oh wow... Oh wow..." - Steve Jobs' last words Death as an unchallenged assumption: Leo points out that people often accept the concept of death without questioning its reality or the assumption that it's unknowable. He challenges viewers to consider the validity of these preconceived notions. Equivalence of death to positive absolutes: Leo claims that what we perceive as death actually equates to infinite love, consciousness, God, immortality, paradise or heaven, and complete non-duality—a transformative state rather than an end. Materialism vs. experiential insight: He emphasizes that the insights he shares about death are not beliefs or ideologies but are based on direct experiences, urging viewers to validate these truths through their experience rather than accepting them on faith. Death misconstrued due to self-bias: Leo discusses how the fear-driven, self-centric view distorts the perception of death, causing humans to view it negatively while they lack an objective understanding of what it actually entails. Life as identity construction: He argues that life and existence are not merely biological processes but rather constructions of identity within the mind, suggesting that we perpetuate our own existence through continual reaffirmation of this constructed identity. Tree metaphor for self and identity: Using the example of a tree, Leo explains that just as there is no inherent tree identity from the tree's own point of view, humans project and construct their identities as well, implying that our conceptions of life and death are similarly self-created. Relativity and Arbitrariness of Identity: Our identities are not fixed or factual but are constructed based on various layers of identification such as race, gender, nationality, profession, and even the idea of being a biological entity. Identity Creation and Birth: Leo suggests that birth is not a biological process but an identity created by telling oneself what they are. If one stops affirming their identity based on any characteristics, they would theoretically have never been born. Constant Reaffirmation of Life: Staying alive is a continuous act of affirming one's identity, done every moment by affirming attributes such as humanity, gender, beliefs, and personal stories. Death Through Loss of Identity: Leo defines death as the end of identifying with any construct, explaining that the loss of identity within different layers leads to a figurative death, evidenced by the mourning of lost social status or wealth. Existence Without Identity: If one could completely relinquish all layers of identity, including the fundamental belief in being a living biological entity, life would continue, but it would be as if they had never been born—their existence would continue without a personal identity. True Self as Non-Identification: Removing all artificial layers of identity leads one to discover their 'True Self', a state of formless, infinite, and empty consciousness where the distinction between 'I' and 'everything' dissolves. Physical Death vs. Psychological Death: Leo argues that physical death is unnecessary for understanding death because the body is just another identity layer. By deconstructing this identity, one can experience death without physical dying. Direct Experience of Psychological Death: Leo speaks from his experience, claiming that he has repeatedly gone through psychological death, realizing that death doesn't involve going anywhere as there is no 'here' or 'there' in the state of true consciousness. Death as Demonized Social Construct: Societal views on death have been shaped by a cultural agreement to view it as something to be feared and avoided at all costs. This view supports the idea of survival but is based on the false premise that survival defends something real. Eliminating the Fear of Death: Imagining a life without the fear of death can lead to fundamental changes in attitudes toward work and relationships and could eliminate fear from life completely, as fear is shown to be a powerful tool of self-deception. Death Cloaked in Fear Hides Truth: The universal fear of death prevents the exploration of existential truths such as love, infinity, and God, which have been metaphorically tagged as death, adding to the depth of fear and misunderstanding. Duality of existence: Leo describes life as an expression of selfishness, delusion, and attachment, while death is seen as selflessness, truth, and freedom. He contrasts the two states, presenting death as a dissolution of identity and a merging with infinite consciousness. Existential love contrasted with human love: He distinguishes between human notions of love and existential love, which is formless consciousness. Leo suggests that death brings about an experience of existential love that transcends our conventional understanding of love. Death as transformation: Leo explains that at the time of death, personal identity dissolves completely, allowing one to merge with the universe and become indistinguishable from everything, leading to infinite and formless existence. Metaphor of water: Using the metaphor of water, Leo illustrates the transition from having a specific shape to becoming shapeless. He relates this to death, conceptualizing it as moving from a defined form to a state of formlessness, which he views as our truest nature. Living from a place of formlessness: He suggests that it is possible to live from a place of formlessness without physical death, by detaching from all identity. This detachment would allow for universal relation and appreciation of existence. Attachment as a spiritual obstacle: Leo highlights how attachment to material things like wealth or success prevents one from realizing formless and infinite identity. He echoes religious teachings that identify attachment as contrary to spiritual growth. The irony of fearing death: He acknowledges that despite his assertions that death is a state of absolute love and beauty, individuals remain terrified of losing their specific form and identity. Cycle of division and unification: Leo explains that life involves a continuous process of division (birth) and unification (death), with both existing within a universal formless identity. Tragedy and irony of human existence: He perceives human life as a series of elaborate schemes to avoid the profound reality of infinite love, which is so overwhelming that it obliterates finite existence. Infinite love as both terrifying and beautiful: Leo asserts that the most tragic aspect of human life is the denial of the total beauty and goodness of existence, termed infinite love, which we avoid to maintain our finite identities. Unified Consciousness Through Death: When individuals pass away, their separation dissolves, and they merge with the collective consciousness which is ever-present. Leo asserts that all who have ever lived, including historical figures like Caesar and contemporary loved ones, are part of this collective and have never actually gone anywhere. Societal Denial of Infinite Consciousness: Society, families, and individuals vehemently deny the concept of infinite love and collective consciousness, often labeling those who speak of it as delusional or insane. This denial, according to Leo, is necessary to maintain the illusion of being separate, finite beings. Relativity of Death: Leo describes death as being relative. What dies is merely the personal identity, while from an absolute standpoint, nothing really dies. He posits that existence is a constantly reincarnating phenomenon, with reality being a shape-shifting manifestation that is inherently immortal. Immortality Through Identity Shift: Leo reflects on an early insight he had about immortality that originated from a Zen parable. Realizing immortality entails shifting one's identity from being limited and finite, like a tree, to being the whole forest, and ultimately to identifying with the totality of the universe. Universe vs Universe: Differentiating between the finite, scientific universe (with a lowercase 'u') and the absolute, all-encompassing universe (with an uppercase 'U'), Leo claims that true immortality resides in identifying with the latter, which is neither created nor destroyed. The Irony of Resistance: Leo discusses how many people's skepticism and pessimism are actually a denial of the fundamental nature of love and goodness inherent in existence. He assures that regardless of resistance, everyone will eventually become one with this infinite love, which is the true design of life. Self-Deception and Alignment with Life: Leo speaks of life as a journey toward recognizing and transcending one's self-imposed limitations. Alignment with the process of self-transcendence results in peace and joy, while clinging to self-deception leads to suffering. Reincarnation as an Infinite Process: From the highest perspective, everything reincarnates infinitely. As such, after one's physical demise, identity or form becomes irrelevant because, at the absolute level, one is already experiencing existence through every possible form. Knowledge Through Death: Leo suggests the only way to fully understand these concepts of death and immortality is to experience a kind of death personally. To know these truths, one must go beyond intellectual speculation and engage with direct experience. Rejecting Physical Suicide: Despite discussing the illusion of death, Leo reaffirms that one does not need to engage in physical suicide—using this understanding as a means to deepen appreciation for life and to embody the paradox of being both finite and infinite. Discouragement of physical suicide: Leo stresses that physical suicide out of depression or misery is not necessary and counterproductive, emphasizing that it is done out of a misplaced sense of self, which is ultimately selfish. Advocacy for mental and existential transcendence: He advocates for transcending suffering and depression not physically but mentally or existentially, and for becoming an example to others of spiritual possibilities. Appreciation for physical existence: Leo encourages embracing and appreciating the beauty and wonder of the material world, acknowledging it as an amazing and remarkable manifestation of love in physical form. Impermanence of form: He acknowledges the temporal nature of all formed things, including humans, planets, and stars, noting that while they are mortal, consciousness, truth, and love are immortal absolutes. Oneness and immortality: Leo discusses the concept of oneness, asserting that in a state of total oneness, notions of death are irrelevant, as there is no 'other place' to go. Shift in identity towards the absolute: He suggests a shift in perception from identifying as a human to identifying as the totality or the absolute (God) to realize a form of immortality. Acknowledgment of residual attachments: Despite spiritual awakening, Leo recognizes that individuals may still harbor attachments to life and mortality, and he highlights the difficulty in completely detaching from all aspects of material existence. Joy in dual existence: He advises enjoying life's experiences and dual aspects—physical life and spiritual immortality—without choosing between them, stating the reality allows the enjoyment of both sides. Descendo

Content vs Structure - Going Meta Is A Super-power https://youtu.be/eq3htbsa5rk "It's the structure, stupid." Content vs Structure Distinction: Leo introduces the concept of differentiating content from structure, emphasizing that while content refers to the specifics within a given framework, structure pertains to the rules, formats, or constraints that define the possibilities of what content can exist. Examples Illustrating Content and Structure: DVD Discs: The physical disc and encoding format represent the structure, whereas the data on the disc is the content. NFL (National Football League): The NFL acts as the structure, setting the rules and parameters for the teams, games, players, and organizational operations, with the specific teams and games being the content. English Language: Language is the structure that shapes what can be thought or expressed, influencing the content of speech and writing. TED Talks: The specific format and audience of a TED Talk constitute the structure, offering a platform for a diverse range of topics (content) to be shared. Video Games: The medium of video games provides a structure with its norms and standards, while the different genres and titles make up the content. Schools: The educational system's structure dictates what can be taught, and changing this structure could alter the fundamental nature of the schooling experience. The Trap of Content: People often get engrossed in content without paying attention to the structure that enables it. Leo uses the analogy of being wrapped up in a football game on TV without considering the structuring entities like the NFL or the television itself. Dream as Example of Overlooking Structure: When engrossed in a dream's content, people fail to realize they are dreaming (structure), leading to being tricked by the dream. 'Going Meta' as Gaining New Dimensional Insight: Leo explains 'going meta' as stepping back from content to observe the structure, uncovering a hidden dimension and allowing for significant shifts in perspective and understanding. For example, understanding that religion is not just about specific beliefs but also about the overarching structure of ideologies. Practical Applications of Going Meta: Understanding Used Car Sales: Rather than focusing on specific cars, going meta involves studying the processes and structures of how cars are bought and sold. Studying Structures of Religions: Instead of adhering to one religion, going meta means examining how all religions fit into a broader structure of ideologies and transcending that structure. Importance of Understanding Structure: Leo emphasizes the power of shifting focus from consuming content to a deep study of structures, leading to a richer appreciation and understanding of various aspects of life. Appreciation and Limitations of Meta Perspective in Entertainment: Leo enjoys behind-the-scenes documentaries because they offer a meta perspective of the entertainment industry, pointing out various aspects of film production. This meta perspective simultaneously enriches understanding but can also diminish the magic of the content by exposing its flaws and production realities. Illusion and Disillusionment of Content: When individuals delve into the structure of something, like a movie, they can no longer enjoy it with the same naivety. Leo likens the thorough understanding of a movie's making to the realization that reality’s content is often enjoyed without knowledge of its creation, which can be disillusioning. Hypnotizing Effect of Good Content: Good content, such as a horror movie, can engross and emotionally affect viewers, distracting them from the underlying structure. Recognizing this, Leo suggests that being too analytical or "meta" during such experiences can spoil the enjoyment. Content vs. Structure in Religion and Culture: Religion and culture can be deeply engrossing, with the potential to hypnotize people to the extent that they become resistant to analyzing the structure of their beliefs. Leo highlights that going meta can be threatening, inciting fear, anger, or discomfort when deeply-held beliefs are challenged. Culture's Arbitrary Nature: Leo points out the arbitrariness of cultural norms and values, noting that each culture believes in its superiority without recognizing the commonalities and arbitrary nature of cultural systems. Science as a Structured Lens: Scientists can become so engrossed in their work that they overlook the structural "keyhole" through which they view reality. Leo posits that science offers just one narrow perspective and structural understanding is required to see beyond it. Structural Similarities in Religious Disagreements: Leo illustrates how Christianity and Islam, while differing in content, share similar ideological structures, making them more alike than adherents realize. He echoes this sentiment with the Sunni and Shiite divide, suggesting that their violent disputes over lineage are based on a minor content discrepancy rather than large structural differences. Atheism and Theism Structural Similarity: He argues that atheism and theism are both belief systems with structural similarities, despite appearing as opposites in terms of content. Hypnotizing Power of Content: Leo conveys how content can become an illusion that engrosses individuals, preventing them from seeing or understanding the underlying structure, as demonstrated by heated disagreements within religions or between belief systems. Attachment to Atheism or Theism: Leo Gura points out that individuals often resist the idea of going meta because it would disrupt their deeply held beliefs. By refusing to transcend and examine atheism or theism from a structural perspective, they remain deluded, unable to see that both positions can be equally misguided. Conflation of Drugs and Psychedelics: Mainstream society frequently misunderstands psychedelics and typical hard drugs, categorizing them as equally harmful due to their surface-level similarities. However, structurally, they are fundamentally different; psychedelics can be therapeutic and anti-addictive, whereas hard drugs are generally harmful and addictive. Overemphasis on Politician Identity: Voting for politicians based on superficial identity markers like gender or ethnicity without considering deeper structural factors, such as policies and moral development, is a mistake. Leo asserts that it's crucial to scrutinize the structure of their abilities and potential governance rather than get caught up in their identity. Cable News Structure Affecting Content: The structure of cable news prioritizes sensationalism, mass appeal, and advertiser interests over comprehensive and unbiased reporting. Viewers often don't realize their perception of reality is being shaped by the selective content filtered through these structural biases. Fox News and the Hypnosis of Content: Leo highlights that outlets like Fox News capitalize on viewers who prefer not to question what they are presented with, leading to a form of hypnotic reinforcement of their existing beliefs. This hypnosis prevents viewers from acknowledging the possibility or the value of examining the underlying structure of news and ideologies. Illusion vs. Reality and the Importance of Going Meta: People tend to accept the content they are exposed to as reality, not realizing it's structured in a specific way to create an illusion. Fox News viewers, for instance, are unaware of what they're missing by not comparing their news source with others due to being trapped in the content's illusionary quality. Reluctance to Go Meta: Many individuals do not investigate structures or question their realities, content in the belief that they have a firm grasp on what's real, leading to what Leo describes as 'paradigm lock'. Structure of Platforms like Facebook: Leo explains that platforms such as Facebook have structures that shape their content significantly, allowing for the manipulation and propagation of ideas - advantageous for some, like foreign entities aiming to influence elections, and problematic for others. These structures support ideological bubbles by reinforcing pre-existing viewpoints through algorithms. Religion as a Structure: Religion in practice has a rigid structure with strict parameters that dictate how followers engage with it, which can limit truth-seeking and cause practitioners to miss out on other experiences. Academic Philosophy and Universities: These institutions function within structures that prioritize their maintenance over the pursuit of genuine truth, evidenced by the constraints placed on the methodologies and topics that can be discussed or researched. American Healthcare as a Dysfunctional Structure: The structure of the American healthcare system benefits certain individuals like doctors and pharmaceutical companies, but overall, it is dysfunctional for many others, emphasizing symptom treatment over curing diseases. Education vs Indoctrination: Leo contrasts the structures of education and indoctrination, illustrating education as a means of discovery and indoctrination as a fixed system that stifles independent thought and inquiry, prevalent in both religious and public schooling. Novelty and Restrictions in Different Mediums: Society often becomes enamored with a single medium or structure, missing out on the range of other experiences available. These include various forms of art, science, and scholarly disciplines, as well as different styles of teaching, like the Montessori method that promotes independence and inquiry over rote learning. Understanding and Redefining God: Leo offers a structural perspective on the concept of God, emphasizing it as an experience rather than a belief, which typically differs from mainstream religious conceptions, encouraging viewers to go beyond preconceived notions and surface appearances. Diversity in Human Psyches and Minds: There is a significant structural diversity among human beings in terms of genetics, biology, brain types, and personality, contrary to the common assumption that everyone shares the same perception of reality. Diverse Human Minds and Psyches: Humans have structurally different minds and psyches that process information and react to substances distinctly due to genetics and biology, demonstrated by phenomena such as instant mathematical calculation ability and perfect memory. Common Structures in World Religions: Surface-level differences between religions like Christianity and Hinduism mask deeper structural similarities. Deep study reveals commonalities suggesting a universal human spiritual inclination, which some interpret as evidence of a deeper truth about God. Authority in Science and Religion: Despite apparent differences, science and religion share a structural reliance on authority for establishing truth, contradicting the notion held by many scientifically minded people that these institutions fundamentally differ in this regard. Survival Across Economic Classes: Survival concerns exist for both poor and wealthy individuals, manifesting through different content such as basic needs for the poor and social status-maintenance behaviors for the rich, pointing towards a deep structural similarity in survival. Nintendo Games - Content vs Structure: Criticisms about Nintendo's repeated use of the Mario brand overlook the structural differences between the games. Each new installment has a unique game design, with the Mario character serving as a familiar branding wrapper. Structural Basis of Corporate Success: The success of major corporations like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix isn't solely due to the quality of their work or ethics, but primarily due to structural advantages that enable monopoly and market domination. Wealth and Power as Structural Phenomena: Millionaires and billionaires achieve their status not just through hard work but also by exploiting structural opportunities and navigating systems in their favor, often supported by a pyramid-like structure unsustainable for all. Going Meta and Understanding Success: Leo encourages developing the ability to go meta, i.e., to recognize the difference between content and structure in order to prevent suffering caused by an illusion of content, and to aim for success through understanding and leveraging structural factors. Consciousness as the Ultimate Structure: Consciousness is the ultimate entity within which all content exists. Understanding the structure of consciousness is essential for comprehending life and overcoming the influence of its dynamic content. Shared Structures in Ideologies: Diverse ideologies and political perspectives may have different content but often share similar structures. Liberals and conservatives, for example, represent different stages of cognitive, moral, and spiritual development which inform their discord. Personal Development through Structural Understanding: Lasting personal transformation and fulfillment come from working on the psyche's structure rather than being distracted by the ephemeral content of everyday experiences, aspirations, and ideologies. Wealth and Structural Hierarchy: Wealth, power, and the notion of being self-made are deeply intertwined with structural hierarchy. To become wealthy, one must exploit existing economic structures, often designed as a pyramid scheme. This is not universally sustainable; for millionaires and billionaires to exist, there must be a hierarchy. Identity and Ideology in Wealth Accumulation: Millionaires and billionaires may struggle with the guilt of acquiring wealth through inequitable structures. To continue accruing wealth without moral conflict, they adopt ideologies that make them oblivious to the suffering they cause and justify the maintenance of the hierarchical structure. Structural Maintenance for Wealth Preservation: Wealthy individuals actively work to maintain the hierarchical structures that enabled their wealth. This involves political influence, funding think tanks, and promoting ideologies to prevent the collapse of the hierarchy and to rationalize their position. Consciousness and Going Meta: Understanding and solving structural problems is key to becoming a powerful creator in any field. The ability to step back from the content of consciousness and see the bigger structural patterns is a crucial skill. All life experiences are content within the overarching structure of consciousness. Relative Nature of Content and Structure: Content and structure are relative; there are nested orders of the two. Ideology can be seen as a structure, religion as its content, which in turn is a structure for specific types of religion such as Christianity, and so on down to individual practices and beliefs. Mastering Life by Understanding Consciousness: The most important structure to understand is consciousness. Everything is content within consciousness, including ideologies, religions, languages, and physical reality. Mastery over life comes from studying the structures of consciousness and going meta on life’s contents. Immersion in Content and its Consequences: Being hypnotized by the content of success and power prevents individuals from going meta, causing suffering both personally and for others. To change one's life meaningfully, one must become adept at understanding structural issues. Life as Content within Consciousness: Every aspect of life, from religions and ideologies to human relationships and activities, is content within the broader structure of consciousness. Understanding this structure is the key to resolving life's challenges and avoiding the bewilderment of being at the whims of content. Real-world Examples of Content vs Structure: Leo discusses various real-world domains, illustrating the differences and similarities in structures, largely independent of content. Examples include religions, science, liberal and conservative psyches, cult psychology, nationalism, and clan warfare. Liberal and Conservative Structural Differences: Liberals and conservatives not only differ in policy positions (content) but also in cognitive, moral, and spiritual development (structure). Understanding this structural difference can shed light on the deeper dynamics behind political disagreements. The Need to Go Meta to Solve Complex Issues: Addressing content alone, such as in clan warfare or nationalism, cannot resolve the underlying structural issues. Lasting solutions require a meta perspective that understands the shared structure behind seemingly diverse conflicts. Nationalism as Evolved Clan Warfare: Nationalism is an advanced form of clan warfare where millions are involved, exemplifying the escalation from inter-clan disputes to large-scale conflicts between nations driven by a common structure of in-group bias and territorialism. Fighting Evil as a Structural Problem: Leo describes the ubiquitous presence of evil in the world as a consequence of a fundamental structural misunderstanding. People attempt to eradicate evil with actions that are inadvertently evil themselves because they fail to grasp that evil is a perception created by their minds and is not an inherent part of material reality. Perception of Evil and Projection: The perception of evil is revealed to be a projection from the individual's mind, tied to relative perspectives and selfish tendencies. To effectively address evil, one must acknowledge and transcend these projections, achieving a state of higher consciousness and unconditional love. Metaphysical Understanding of Evil: Rather than eliminating evil through punishment or eradication, understanding the metaphysical and structural origins of evil—such as fear, selfishness, and limited ego—leads to more compassionate solutions. To address the root causes of actions deemed evil, one must undergo profound psychological and spiritual growth. Attracting Women in Dating as a Structural Interaction: Through his experiences in pick-up and dating, Leo uncovers that attraction isn't about the specific words (content) but rather the manner of interaction (structure), such as confidence, body language, and mood—elements that dictate the sub-communication to women. Context Sensitivity in Social Dynamics: Leo stresses the importance of understanding contextual cues in social environments, particularly in dating scenarios where subtle communication and non-verbal cues (structural aspects) greatly impact the success of social interactions. Money in Politics Identified as Structural Issue: The influence of money in politics is recognized as a structural flaw, affecting both major political parties as they navigate their survival through resources and incentives, shaping their actions and resistance to campaign finance reform. Conflation between Scandinavian and Venezuelan Socialism: Leo critiques the conservative misconception that conflates the socialism of Scandinavian countries with that of Venezuela, highlighting the lack of structural awareness in these arguments. He explains that the content label of 'socialism' misrepresents the divergent infrastructures, corruption levels, ideological openness, and developmental stages of these nations. Religious Indoctrination Across Different Faiths: Leo points out the structural similarity in how religious schools indoctrinate students. This process of indoctrination is consistent across different religions, focusing on content transmitted within the structural confines of their respective educational institutions. Indoctrination via Educational Structures: All religious and scientific schools, such as Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist, and technical universities like MIT and Caltech, engage in forms of indoctrination. The degree of indoctrination varies, but structurally they're comparable, as they seek to instill specific paradigms in students without encouraging open inquiry. Self-Bias in Perceptions of Indoctrination: People excuse the indoctrination of their chosen paradigm, whether it be a religion or scientific materialism, due to self-bias. They see other forms of indoctrination as flawed because they differ from their own beliefs, rather than recognizing that all are essentially the same in structure. Repeating Patterns in Relationships: Repeat negative relationship patterns arise due to structural issues within an individual's psyche, such as low self-esteem or depression, rather than the content (partners). Sustainable change requires addressing these deep-rooted structures, not just changing partners. Emotions as Content vs. Structural Mastery: Emotions are content that can govern one's behavior. Mastering emotions involves understanding and observing their structures, allowing individuals to transcend and take control of their emotional experiences. Content Focus and Blindness to Structural Issues: Sam Harris illustrates content focus by critically addressing the content of religious texts like the Quran, while missing the deeper structural problems like low cognitive, moral, and spiritual development that contribute to extremism. Geopolitical Influence Overlooking Structural Factors: Geopolitical factors such as climate, geography, and historical context profoundly influence societies and are overlooked when improper content, like specific Quranic phrases, are blamed for terrorism. Cult Psychology Beyond Specific Ideologies: Cult psychology operates within various beliefs systems and ideologies, not limited to one religion or philosophy. This is a structural issue that encompasses broader ideological problems. Trump's Structural Corruption: Trump supporters focus on the content of his policies without recognizing the structural corruption and moral depravity, which is indicative of a lack of systemic understanding and personal development. Shared Structures Among Diverse Groups: Structurally, the psyche of Trump has more in common with dictators like Kim Jong-un, due to low cognitive development centered around impulsive, narcissistic, and corruption-prone behavior, regardless of the differing content of their ideologies. Structured Mindset of Authoritarian Leaders: Authoritarian leaders, such as Trump and Kim Jong-un, resonate due to similar stage red characteristics in Spiral Dynamics. They share qualities like dominance and authoritarianism, contrary to the surprise of the media. Evangelicals, Nazis, and Islamists - Structural Parallels: Evangelicals may superficially align themselves with Christ but structurally, they share more characteristics with dogmatic and nationalistic groups like Nazis and Islamists than with the meta-structure of Christ's consciousness. Religious Materialism Across Belief Systems: Both scientific materialists and religious individuals are structurally materialistic, pursuing physical benefits or heaven with materialistic attributes. Even within evangelical circles, the prosperity gospel reflects this materialistic mindset. The Structural Desire for Wealth and Materialism: Religious leaders using Christ's name and symbolism to justify materialistic pursuits, such as flying on private jets, are structurally driven by the same materialism they preach against, showcasing a disconnect from Christ's teachings at a structural level. Identifying and Conquering the Structural Essence of Evil: Christ's approach to 'evil' was structural, recognizing that evildoing is a construct of content and that true understanding and transcendence lie in the recognition of love as an overarching, meta-structural concept. Trappings of Content vs Structural Transformation in Spirituality: Truly adopting the spirituality of figures like Christ involves moving beyond content-based dogma to embrace a meta-structural consciousness, which involves surrendering material and ideological attachments. Survival Needs Affect Structural Perceptions: Egotistical survival needs can corrupt individuals into rationalizing materialistic desires with spiritual justifications, highlighting the difficulty of achieving true spiritual transformation at a structural level. Applying Spiral Dynamics to See Deep Structures: Utilizing Spiral Dynamics helps distinguish between content-focused debates and structural understanding. Effective change often requires transcending content details, moving towards recognizing and altering deep-rooted structures. Politics and the Content-Structure Dichotomy: Politicians and their constituents generally focus on content disputes rather than structural changes needed to address issues, leading to dysfunctional attempts at solutions. True resolution requires a shift to a systemic, structural perspective. Metaphysical and Worldview Shifts for Problem Solving: Many societal problems stem from a lack of structural awareness. Addressing political, social, and economic issues effectively necessitates understanding the structural causes embedded in our worldview and metaphysical perceptions. Meta Problems and Root Solutions: The primary challenge in society is the perception and framing of problems. True solutions require deep structural understanding and change, as merely shuffling content fails to address the root existential and metaphysical issues tied to identity, psyche, worldview, and conceptions of reality. Structures of the Mind to Study: Important mental structures worth studying include projection, denial, ideology, biases, paradigms, self-deception, and more. These structures influence how we perceive reality and ourselves, and they're crucial for understanding self-enhancement and self-deception mechanisms. Happiness as a Structural Issue: Happiness cannot be achieved by altering content such as wealth, relationships, or success. Happiness is a structural problem that requires a change in the psyche's structure; external achievements do not lead to sustainable happiness as they don’t address underlying structural issues. Psychedelics and Expanded Consciousness: Psychedelics induce bliss by expanding consciousness, temporarily altering the structure of one's life, allowing a glimpse into a potentially permanent change in structural reality. However, the effects are temporary, and deep work is required to maintain such an elevated state of consciousness. Inescapable Self: The self is the main structure carried everywhere, shaping life experiences significantly. Addressing this internal structure is crucial for genuine transformation, as changing external circumstances without addressing internal structures leads to the same cycle of content-related problems. Understanding Actualized.org's Goals: Actualized.org's goal is not to provide content for memorization but to point towards deeper structures of understanding. True transformation arises from structural changes to the psyche, moving beyond the content consumed from various resources. Investment in Structural Change: For meaningful personal development, one must focus on resources and practices that promote structural change rather than content absorption. Structural change is challenging and requires revisiting resources like Actualized.org for a deeper understanding, not just for content familiarity. Challenges in Structural Change Implementation: Implementing structural changes demands effort and understanding. Engagement with resources should go beyond content and should involve significant structural changes in the psyche to achieve deep personal transformation and happiness. Geminio

How Corruption Works https://youtu.be/sRvQlgu_bRs "Those who fight corruption should be clean themselves." - Vladimir Putin Persistent nature of corruption: Despite 10,000 years of human evolution, corruption is still prevalent, hinting at deep-rooted reasons we don't yet understand. Existential inquiry into corruption: Addressing corruption effectively requires questioning its fundamental nature and the underlying mechanics rather than dismissing it as simply the actions of a few "bad" individuals. Corruption beyond government: The misconception that corruption is limited to governments is dismissed, with recognition that corruption pervades across all parties, governments, organizations, and eras. Corruption as a synonym for evil: Combating corruption is akin to combating evil, a concept deeply intertwined with the understanding of corruption. Misunderstanding corruption’s roots: The irony is that misinterpretations of corruption's causes add to the problem, deepening its impact. Support for Actualized.org: Leo highlights the support for his channel through Patreon donations, which allows for improvements and avoiding ads and sponsorships that could influence content. Corruptibility of minds and systems: From political parties to media and gaming industries, corruption originates in the mind and manifests in external systems like Hollywood's focus on profit over artistry. Definitions of corruption: Multiple dictionary definitions underscore corruption as an act involving abuse of power, personal gain, departure from originality, and various forms of decay or change in meaning. Selfishness, ego, survival as motivators: The roots of corruption are synonymous with survival strategies, ego and selfish behavior, also referred to as devilry. Identification with corrupt actions: Corruption is difficult to observe within oneself but easily spotted in others, stemming from personal survival mechanisms and one's perceived identity. Accepting personal responsibility for corruption: True anti-corruption efforts require acceptance of personal corruption rather than solely attributing it to external sources. The practice of shifting blame: Politicians and others in power often blame external entities for corruption to distract from internal issues, avoiding self-reflection and accountability. Personal declaration of corruption: Leo challenges listeners to acknowledge their own role in perpetuating corruption and evil by declaring themselves as contributors to the issue. Admission of Personal Corruption: Recognizing and owning personal corruption is the crucial first step for change, akin to an alcoholic admitting their addiction. Most people never take this step because it involves confronting one's role in the collective corruption of society or even the entire human species. Collective Responsibility: As a member of any society, one should accept responsibility for the systemic corruption within it, like how Americans might benefit from the nation's military actions internationally, which serve business interests at the cost of others. The Unpopular Nature of Corruption Reform: Addressing corruption often becomes unpopular because it requires individuals to recognize and change themselves, which is generally the last thing one wants to do. Facing internal corruption can be more daunting than fighting perceived external evils. Corrupt People as Ordinary Individuals: Corrupt individuals are usually not inherently evil but are ordinary people reacting to situations of power and temptation. Their corrupt acts stem from an instinct for survival and the desire to fulfill personal needs such as money or power. Underestimation of Power's Temptation: Climbing the social hierarchy increases temptations and amplifies personal ambition. People often don't realize how these temptations can change them, leading to entitlement and potential for corruption, especially when powerful. Corruption as Self-Deception: People justify their corruption, seeing themselves as righteous. Corruption occurs first through self-deception—convincing oneself of being above reproach—so one can engage in corrupt behavior without personal guilt, viewing corruption as a trait of others. Practicality and Transcendence in Combating Corruption: Combatting corruption involves developing a consciousness that recognizes self-preservation's flaws. Understanding that practicalities can be a trap, and escaping the need for everything to be practical, is a higher form of being. Self-Deception Acknowledgment: Even those aware of corruption and self-deception, like Leo himself, are not immune to these issues. Awareness and the constant vigilance against self-deception are vital, yet there are no guarantees against falling into its traps. The Challenge of Objectivity: Truly overcoming corruption requires an objective evaluation of one's own beliefs, recognizing self-bias and the difficulty of objectively assessing one's worldview. This self-awareness is essential to admitting personal faults and corruption. Personal resistance to acknowledging corruption: Accepting one's own corruption is difficult due to the need to maintain a positive self-image. When confronted with corrupt actions, individuals may feel attacked, unloved, and reluctant to change due to an identity clash between being an angel and being perceived as a devil. The strenuous process of becoming an 'angel': Becoming a metaphorical angel, someone who transcends their corruption, is a challenging journey. It involves emotional turmoil, self-disgust, and existential insecurity. This purification path feels like a battle between one's devilish tendencies and the illuminating force of consciousness. Low consciousness and justification of corruption: People are often unconscious of their own corruption, rationalizing it through mental gymnastics and self-deception. Recognizing one's own corruption requires a higher level of consciousness and the ability to spot self-deception, a trait lacking in a significant portion of the population. Culture as a medium for corruption: Corruption is deeply embedded in culture, spanning across various sectors such as entertainment, media, religion, business, and science. Over generations, institutions inherit and manifest their predecessors' ideologies, which often contain inherent corruption due to lack of scrutiny and conformity. The dangers of conformism: Conformist thinking leads to accepting cultural paradigms uncritically, reinforcing corrupt systems. When ideas and norms are adopted through conformity, the process becomes flawed, regardless of the truth of those ideas. Denial of cultural corruption due to loyalty: Loyalty to one's culture often leads to denial of corruption within it. This conflict between loyalty and truth results in condemning those who point out corruption while preserving one's own identity and cultural attachments. Institutional denial of corruption: Institutions facing allegations of corruption, like modern science, may deny any wrongdoing to protect their image and survival. Reformers pointing out corruptions are often met with accusations of being harmful or anti-establishment as a defense mechanism. Reflecting on systemic and individual corruption: To address corruption, reflection on both personal and systemic levels is necessary. Seeking wisdom outside of conformist channels and questioning existing structures can help expose and prevent the perpetuation of corruption. Criticism of Scientific Foundations: Leo criticizes the epistemic foundations of science, which he claims are never questioned and taken for granted by scientists. When challenged, scientists tend to fall back on skepticism and the traditional methods they've been taught, illustrating the cycle of corruption in science. Science and Skepticism: When questioning science's fundamental assumptions, scientists often react defensively, asking for proof and citing rigorous methodologies, which Leo sees as a programmed response ingrained during their education. Demonization of Whistleblowers: Across different domains, especially politics and government, individuals who call out corruption are often demonized and even killed. Leo emphasizes the historical trend where those exposing flaws are mistreated and regarded as traitors rather than reformers. Military Corruption Example: Leo suggests that, ideally, if a soldier exposes corruption within the military, they should be rewarded for improving the institution. Instead, such individuals face retaliation and are brandished as traitors, reflecting the inverse reaction to exposing systemic issues. Inquisition and Heresy: Drawing parallels with the Spanish Inquisition, Leo explains that those labeled as heretics were often trying to reform the church. He says the Catholic Church, which still faces issues like the pedophilia scandal, is resistant to self-examination and reform due to deep identification with its image and dogma. Admitting Institutional Devilry: Leo discusses the emotional difficulty for individuals to acknowledge that their lifelong dedication to an institution, like the Catholic Church, may have facilitated "devilry" or corruption, rather than the divine work they believed in. Whistleblowers and Corporate Culture: He continues with the example of corporate whistleblowers who, rather than being rewarded for exposing corruption, are often fired and blacklisted, reflecting the corporate defense against threats to its ideologies and survival. Projection of Corruption onto Reformers: Leo describes a dynamic where corrupt individuals project their own corruption onto those who attempt to rectify it, viewing the reformers as devils disrupting the status quo. Call-out Culture in Science: When one points out the limitations and issues within the scientific paradigm, the likely response from reputable scientists is denouncement and denial due to being entrenched in their existing worldview. Defense against Corruption as Corruption: Leo argues that trying to defend against corruption can ironically lead to further corruption. For example, rigid religious orthodoxy aimed at preserving doctrinal purity actually perpetuates corruption by following a conformist and mechanical approach to spirituality. Orthodox Conformism: He posits that adherence to religious orthodoxy under the guise of maintaining purity is itself corruption, stemming from conformity rather than true spiritual understanding. The Devil's Use of Conformity: Leo suggests the devil plays upon conformity, knowing individuals will follow new rules without scrutiny, effectively spreading corruption within religious and spiritual practices. Misconception about protecting teachings: The act of rigidly memorizing and replicating teachings, as done by some gurus, unintentionally leads to corruption, as it turns into a mechanical process that deviates from the essence of consciousness, which is non-mechanical and independent. Consciousness vs. mechanical preservation: Consciousness is about independent thought and recognizing oneself as the ultimate authority. Mechanical attempts to safeguard teachings or practices—whether religious or scientific—often distort the original message and contribute to corruption. Independent thinking over external authority: Relying on external authorities for guidance, in religion or science, is a misstep that results in corruption. True consciousness requires self-guidance rather than adhering to an external figure's dictates. Limits of rigid rationality in science: Rigorous scientific methods can inadvertently ignore broader realities, much like a strict antivirus program that blocks necessary software. This overly stringent approach can create blind spots in science and lead to corrupt practices. Generational distortion of teachings: The process of transferring knowledge from one generation to another is akin to a game of telephone, where each copy introduces errors, ultimately leading to grave distortions like widespread institutional corruption over time. Corruption’s connection to lack of consciousness: Corruption stems from a lack of consciousness and cannot be mechanically prevented. To address corruption, individuals must develop consciousness and think independently. Corruption from Maya or 'the devil': Corruption is attributed to Maya, or the 'devil,' which uses universal intelligence for personal gain. Ego-driven humans distort and narrow universal intelligence, which should be used instead to disseminate consciousness and love. Devil’s tactics in corruption: The devil's strategy includes corrupting influential institutions because it enables widespread deception and corruption. Individuals in positions of power are targeted to disseminate corruption down through society. Misguided fight against corruption: Those who loudly oppose corruption externally might be using it as a facade to hide their own corrupt actions. The real battle against corruption is internal, focusing on personal transformation of devilry. Islam's inner vs. outer jihad: Islam was originally about the inner journey to eradicate personal corruption, representing the greater jihad, but has since been externalized into the lesser jihad of fighting enemies, losing its essence in the process. Integrity and its false display: There's a difference between genuine integrity, which is a function of high consciousness and moral development, and mere ideological or performative integrity that can be used to hide corruption. The relationship between Spiral Dynamics and Corruption: Lower stages on Spiral Dynamics, which are associated with limited consciousness, tend to be more corrupt. Tier 2 consciousness is key to curbing corruption as it allows individuals to recognize and overcome their biases and corruptions. Corruption in Third World Countries: Leo notes that corruption is inevitable in third-world countries where survival is a day-to-day struggle due to scarce resources, making people resort to corruption just to feed their children and secure basic human needs. Corruption Index: A corruption index tracks and ranks the corruption levels of every country, showing the correlation between a nation's corruption and its collective consciousness. Countries with scores below 50 are considered highly corrupt and undesirable places to live. Impact of Corruption on Development: In severely corrupt countries, normal societal development and individual self-actualization are almost impossible as businesses may have to pay bribes to operate, and entrepreneurs are often extorted by local mafias. Selfishness and Selflessness in Leadership: Leo discusses the paradox where selflessness emerges as a stronger force than selfishness. Despite the risks, selfless leaders, who cannot be faked, inspire true societal progress and can effect change even in the face of opposition or violence. Understanding Corruption's Importance: Understanding corruption is essential, not just for politicians but for everyone in society who participates in communities and organizations, to effectively handle dynamics and recognize corruption. Corruption in Society's Leadership: Effective leaders attempting to raise collective consciousness face significant challenges, including possibly being ousted by the public if their ideas are too progressive relative to the majority's comfort zone. Policing and Corruption: Policing within communities and online platforms like forums, Facebook, or YouTube exemplifies the struggle of combating corruption without being too oppressive—a difficult balance to achieve. Leadership and the Evolution of Communities: The speed at which a community evolves is limited by the ordinary, conformist majority's capacity to accept and integrate ideas from higher-consciousness leaders, who can be targeted and removed for suggesting significant changes. The Limiting Bottleneck of Community Evolution: Communities can only evolve as fast as the majority will allow; when a leader's ideas are too advanced, the relevancy gap can lead to the community rejecting and removing the leader from power, mistaking progressive ideas for harm. Catch-22 of Conscious Leadership: To establish high-consciousness leaders, a society needs citizens with high consciousness capable of appreciating such leaders, creating a challenging cycle as each depends on the other for existence. School System Influence: The school system reflects society's prevailing level of consciousness and is slow to evolve due to its connection to conformist traditional values of the society that establishes educational leadership. Resistance to Progressive Education: Highly conscious and reformative education leaders face resistance from the conformist majority, risking dismissal if their reforms challenge deeply held traditional values or expose systemic corruption. Projection of Corruption: Accusations of corruption can often be a form of projection, as in the case of Socrates accused of corrupting the youth, or Donald Trump's 'drain the swamp' campaign, while himself exhibiting corrupt behaviors. Trump Administration Corruption: The Trump administration is used as an example of significant corruption, where cronyism and financial improprieties are prevalent among President Trump and his appointees, visible through numerous scandals and resignations. Partisanship and Corruption Perception: The discourse on corruption in politics is often seen through partisan lenses, but awareness of differential levels of corruption in political entities is crucial for making informed judgments beyond partisanship. Spiral Dynamics and Corruption: According to Spiral Dynamics, higher stages are less corrupt due to reduced egotism, and it is posited that liberals are generally higher on this spiral than conservatives, suggesting less corruption. Causes of Government Corruption: Government corruption's prevalence ties back to the vast pool of money and power within it, with corruption manipulated by powerful and wealthy entities through mechanisms like lobbying and deregulation. Size of Government and Corruption: A larger, strong government is posited as necessary for managing and overseeing powerful corporations, ensuring holistic functioning towards the common good and preventing hostile takeovers. Amazon as a Potential Oligarchy: As an example, Amazon could, in theory, amass enough power to challenge or overtake government functions, illustrating the risk when corporations become too powerful relative to the government. Government Corruption and Oligarchy: The current evolution of democracy is regressing into an oligarchy reminiscent of past civilizations like the Roman Empire. To counteract this, a larger and, more crucially, cleaner government is necessary. Trump as an Example of Corruption: Using Trump as an illustration, it's suggested that declaring to "drain the swamp" does not equate to actual anti-corruption measures, especially when the person lacks the moral and consciousness levels required for such tasks. Historical Fight Against Corruption: Society's relative stability and safety are the result of continuous efforts against corruption throughout history, showing the importance of civic engagement and individual responsibility. Money in Politics: Highlights the detrimental effects of corporate lobbying and political contributions on US democracy. Advocates for a constitutional amendment and public funding for elections to ensure one person equals one vote. Wolf Pack Organization: Leo encourages support for Wolf Pack, a nonpartisan group working to eliminate money from politics through a constitutional amendment. Image 1 Theory and Practice of Fighting Corruption: Emphasizes the importance of connecting big-picture understanding with practical actions, such as donating to causes like Wolf Pack, to combat corruption effectively. Personal Corruption: Viewers are urged to admit to and notice their everyday corrupt actions, such as cheating, lying, or favoritism. These micro corruptions can expand into larger issues when individuals gain more power. Awareness as a Solution for Corruption: Acknowledges that bringing to light corrupt acts through awareness, like how Trump's actions are publicly scrutinized, helps society progress by exposing the ugliness of corruption. Corruption Tended by Technological and Cultural Evolution: Points out that as society and technology evolve, new avenues for corruption emerge, necessitating better laws and education to curb these issues. Improving Life Quality to Reduce Corruption: Proposes that helping improve overall prosperity and meeting basic needs can decrease the need for corruption in desperate societies such as Liberia. Moral and Spiritual Growth to End Corruption: Stresses the role of personal moral and spiritual development in eradicating corruption, urging viewers to purify themselves of corrupt tendencies. Techniques to Resolve Personal Corruption: Suggestions are made for techniques to combat personal corruption, including working on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Kriya yoga, self-inquiry, shadow work, and fostering love. Collective Action and Transparency: Besides personal growth, collective actions such as supporting reforms and practicing transparency are vital to fight widespread corruption. Consciousness, Truth, Love, and Spirit: Argues that increasing levels of consciousness, truth, love, and spirit are the ultimate solutions to corruption, advising ego dissolution and total transparency in life. The necessity of transparency to reduce corruption: Leo elucidates that many corrupt thoughts and actions remain hidden because they operate in secrecy; therefore, being transparent in thoughts, words, and actions can significantly reduce corruption. Non-judgmental attitude towards others' corruptions: He suggests that assessing others' corruptions harshly is unproductive, as ridding oneself of corruption is immensely challenging and requires lifelong work. Change should begin with oneself before judging others. Compassion for people involved in corruption: Leo urges compassion rather than vilification for those who are corrupt, attributing their behavior to unconsciousness, lack of proper education, fear, and survival instincts rather than intrinsic evil. Self-compassion in facing personal corruption: He advises against self-hatred for one's own corrupt tendencies, advocating for self-love and acceptance as a means to overcome these challenges and progress towards change. Utility of the corruption worksheet: A worksheet is provided for viewers to increase awareness of their own corrupt behaviors and to encourage self-examination and accountability. Donations towards combating corruption: Leo encourages American viewers to donate to Wolfpack, a non-profit aiming to end the influence of money in politics, to take concrete action against corruption in American politics. Big-picture understanding through Actualized.org: Leo emphasizes the focus of Actualized.org on advanced, abstract topics related to big-picture understanding of reality and life, typically exploring 'being needs' as opposed to basic survival needs. Complementing Actualized.org content with basic learning: He suggests supplementing his teachings with more basic information that covers practical survival skills, as his content is aimed toward deeper understanding and long-term personal transformation. Long-term timeline for transformation: He cautions against expecting quick fixes from his content, proposing a long-term commitment to his teachings for cumulative effects and deep, transformative understanding over many years. Pursuit of infinite understanding: The ultimate goal of Leo's teachings is to guide viewers toward achieving infinite understanding, which he believes can unlock the full potential of life and fundamentally change one's trajectory. Expelliarmus

Understanding Impermanence - Why Reality Is Always Changing https://youtu.be/ZCS4NsCdQaM "One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world." - Dogen "We are snowflakes melting on the tongue of the universe." - John Mark Green Introductory Understanding of Impermanence: Leo Gura delves into the concept of impermanence, rooted in Buddhism and Hinduism, explaining that it signifies the non-constant nature of all forms. He asserts that everything, including thoughts, emotions, and physical objects, continually arises and passes away, highlighting the misconception of impermanence in Western culture. Explanation of 'Anita' and 'Anitya': The terms 'Anita' from Pali (Buddhism) and 'Anitya' from Sanskrit (Hinduism), both translate to non-constant or impermanent. Leo points out that the principle of impermanence isn't limited to Eastern traditions; it's present in most spiritual doctrines, although sometimes overlooked in the West due to religious corruptions. The Significance of Impermanence: Emphasizing the importance of impermanence, Leo notes that while it may seem trivial, deeply understanding this principle has a significant impact on the quality of life. He plans to illustrate the concept's profound influence through various examples and practical exercises to embody impermanence. God's Nature as a Shapeshifter: Introducing the idea of God as not a static entity but as an infinite, shapeshifting consciousness, Leo explains that God, or consciousness, takes on multiple forms to maximize creativity and diversity. He likens this to a television screen that must remain flexible to display various images, suggesting that if God were to cling to a single form, it would contradict its infinite and diverse nature. Perpetual Motion and Reality: The characteristic of continuous change is equated with a perpetual motion machine, which Leo says represents the universe in its entirety. He proposes the notion that reality cannot be frozen as it contradicts the fundamental nature of God and consciousness, which must remain in constant flux to express infinity. Challenges of Accepting Impermanence: Leo speaks about the human struggle to accept impermanence, driven by selfishness and a limited perspective. He uses the metaphor of a parent's desire to freeze their child's perfection to exemplify our natural bias towards permanence and attachment, contrasting it with the all-encompassing, unconditional love of God. Limited and Unlimited Love: Embracing impermanence equates to unlimited love, whereas clinging to permanence (like a child's current state) represents a limited form of love. The ultimate form of love allows for total freedom and experiences, including pain and death, which can be challenging for a parent to accept. Misconception of Loss and Evil: Loss is often interpreted as evidence of evil or imperfection in the universe, whereas it should be recontextualized as evidence of absolute love. Understanding impermanence helps counter the false narrative that loss contradicts the universe's perfection. Reframing Perspectives on Evil: Many evils are perceptions of impermanence that disturb people because they want to keep things unchanged. Training to understand impermanence allows for a better cognitive mechanism to face and interpret evils in life. Survival and Love: Attempts to freeze aspects of reality stem from survival instincts, resulting in limited love. True love, likened to God’s love, is deep and indiscriminate, not favoring any singular aspect over the universality of life’s experiences. Sacrifice for Universal Good: Personal loss, such as a child's death, might be integral to a larger universal good, beyond the scope of individual perspectives and emotional attachments. It's difficult for those attached to accept such losses without blaming God or a perceived evil. Devilry as Clinging to Impermanence: Trying to make the impermanent permanent—maintaining a form against the natural evolution of life—is akin to devilry. This self-biased clinging disrupts the harmony of existence. Cycle of Life and Death: Death of one allows for the creation of new life, illustrating the importance of the cycle of life which evolution depends on. Clinging to one form halts the entire process of beauty and creativity, which naturally involves change and evolution. Consequences of Freezing a Form: If a species froze itself in a primitive form, it would prevent the evolution of new, more beautiful, and diverse life forms. Similarly, clinging to a child's current state is short-sighted and neglects the potential evolutionary advancements. Impact of Finite Existence in Infinite Reality: Although reality is infinite, taking a particular form is finite and occupies a space that could have been held by another potential form. This highlights the importance of acknowledging the temporary nature of existence. Exercises to Realize Impermanence: Contemplating which forms one is attempting to freeze in life is a crucial exercise. Identifying attachments to people, animals, things, ideas, and personal circumstances can help in learning to let go and appreciate the constant flow of life. Exercise in Accepting Impermanence: Understanding that attachment to "freezing" moments is the root of evil in the world. Actualizing the exercise of letting go would eradicate all evil swiftly, yet it faces resistance as people tend to make exceptions for what they're unwilling to release. Consequence of Oneness: Impermanence is inevitably due to the oneness of reality, ensuring no part can dominate another over time. All components of reality, like powerful corporations, eventually lose prominence, demonstrating the balance of power within the infinite scope of existence. Perception of Mortality: From the perspective of the individual, mortality may seem unfortunate. However, from the broader perspective of the whole, it is necessary to prevent any part of reality (like "devils") from gaining eternal dominance. Gift of Impermanence: Impermanence should not be feared or resisted but embraced. It is, paradoxically, a gift that enhances one's appreciation, love, enjoyment, and perception of beauty in the world. Impermanence in Appreciation: The precious nature of experiences like childhood, family, and entertainment stems from their impermanence. Constant exposure to the same experiences leads to desensitization and loss of appreciation. Manifestation of Creative Diversity: God's role is to maximize life's creative diversity, which is hindered when one species or culture attempts monopoly. Ethnocentric and supremacist ideologies are forms of "devilry" that contradict the inherent nature of impermanence. The Cycle of Kisses and Wealth: Life's excitement comes from fleeting experiences that leave one wanting more. Satisfying all desires leads to stagnation; it's the cycle of having, losing, and striving that maintains vitality and creativity, discouraging complacency and evil. Beauty in the Cycle of Life and Loss: Training oneself to see the beauty in loss, the cyclic nature of life, enhances the ability to appreciate the various phases and transitions, thus aligning with the spiritual practice of embracing impermanence. Nature of Life and Death: The continuity of life is dependent on the cycle of death; the current generation exists because the previous ones have passed away, highlighting the impermanence of life. Moe no no owari or Mono no Aware: This Japanese concept refers to the bittersweet appreciation of transient beauty in life and death, emphasizing the mixed emotions of gentle sadness and gratitude for experiences despite their ephemeral nature. Image 1 Image 2 Healthy Coping with Loss: Leo stresses the importance of processing loss with melancholy, a gentle acceptance, rather than succumbing to bitterness, depression, or destructive attachment. Personal Experience with Loss: Sharing the story of his Siamese cat, Leo illustrates a personal encounter with loss that led to a reflective appreciation of life's journey rather than dwelling on the pain or potential prolonging of life. Impermanence Universal: The impermanence of life encompasses everything from personal relationships to scientific theories, spiritual teachings, and even physical entities like stars and universes, leading to the eventual merging of all dualities. Irony in Religious Preservation: Highlighting the natural deviation and corruption over time that occurs even with strict attempts at preserving spiritual or religious teachings, contrary to their initial truth. Adaptability in Language and Business: Criticizing attempts to freeze a language or business model, Leo notes the failure to adapt can lead to obsolescence, as seen with English evolution and companies like Kodak. Responsible Evolution of Corporations: Condemning businesses like cigarette companies that cling to harmful products for profit instead of embracing change and adopting healthier practices, thus contributing to societal unconsciousness. Self-awareness in Clinging: Leo encourages individuals to notice their own tendencies to cling, especially when self-interest is involved, and to question their fear of identity loss. Embrace of Impermanence: Wisdom lies in accepting and embracing impermanence as a natural part of existence, leading to a deeper engagement with the changing forms of life rather than resisting through manipulation. Reflection on Immortality: Leo Gura underlines that immortality cannot be achieved through technology or biological modifications. Rather, it is accessible through detachment from form and recognizing oneself as a shapeshifter. Good News and Bad News of Impermanence: Leo elucidates that while all positives in life are temporary, all negatives and suffering are similarly transient, offering a safety valve—death, as a form of relief. Understanding Suffering: Leo emphasizes that suffering cannot be permanent due to its finite nature. Eventually, all beings will awaken and realize their true essence as part of God, which exemplifies God's love and mercy. The Irony of Fear of Death: The irony highlighted by Leo is that death, as a safety valve designed by God, is often perceived as the greatest evil due to limited human perspective and attachment. Attachment as the Root of Suffering: Suffering arises from attachment to forms and identities; true liberation, as taught by Buddha and other mystics, is found in surpassing attachment. Mistaken Identity: Leo discusses the common mistake of identifying solely as a human being, which leads to suffering. True identity is as an infinite shapeshifter, embracing change without attachment. Identity Transformation: Leo observes that throughout life, identity is always changing, which serves as evidence that we are inherently shapeshifters, not bound to any one form. Impermanence as True Permanence: What remains constant is the process of impermanence, a synonym for shape-shifting, which is the nature of our immortal existence. Image 3 Clinging to Duality: Leo notes that while discussing impermanence and permanence creates a duality, true enlightenment is found in realizing the oneness where form and formlessness are identical, merging Maya with Nirvana. Transcending Traditions in Spirituality: Leo rebuffs claims that his insights are mere reiterations of Buddhist teachings, emphasizing that deep truths are universal and must be personally rediscovered in the present moment. Observation and Practice of Impermanence: Leo advises listeners to actively observe impermanence daily like a form of meditation, letting go of attachments, and thereby reducing suffering and enhancing life appreciation. Observing Impermanence: Leo Gura emphasizes the practice of mindfully observing the changing nature of one's feelings and desires throughout the day. He suggests appreciating moments of pleasure but also letting them go, rather than clinging to them, to savor the taste of impermanence. Savoring the Fleeting: Enjoying temporary pleasures without attachment, like taking a few bites of ice cream and then stopping, helps one to experience and appreciate the ephemerality of the moment, enhancing overall enjoyment. Meditation and Mindfulness: Meditation is recommended to aid in the practice of observing the transient nature of emotions and states of mind. This practice can lead to a greater appreciation for small joys that are often overlooked. Structuring a Fluid Day: Gura advocates for a less rigidly structured day, allowing for spontaneity and the ability to appreciate both the highs and lows that come with the naturally varying flow of the day. Reminder of Impermanence: Using a physical object, like a wristband, as a reminder to practice awareness of the impermanence in everyday life can make each moment feel more precious and contribute to true happiness. True Spirituality vs. Wishful Thinking: True spirituality is framed as confronting and accepting impermanence, as opposed to wishful thinking that seeks to escape from this reality, as commonly misconceived in popular culture. Critique of Technological Immortality: Gura critiques futurist Ray Kurzweil's vision of technological immortality, calling it a fantasy and emphasizing that real immortality and peace come from embracing impermanence through spirituality. Importance of Philosophical Depth: Gura asserts that investing time in deep thought about existence adds depth to life's experience, which is often missing from mainstream interpretations of self-help and spirituality. Engagement and Patience: Listeners are encouraged to actively engage with his teachings, utilizing resources such as his website, forum, and blog for further learning. Patience is emphasized for understanding the depth of these concepts and to see the benefits unfold over time. Value of Deeper Understanding: Leo concludes by reflecting that the depth and breadth introduced through his content are rare and valuable, encouraging a more fulfilling exploration of life than most mainstream media offers. Expelliarmus

The Power Of Letting Go - How To Overcome Clinginess, Attachment, OCD https://youtu.be/AlB6OklejyA "Just let it go, bro Just let it go." Simple technique for life transformation: Leo Gura presents a technique that involves daily practice of letting go of anything in one's experience, such as desires, emotions, and habits. He emphasizes the significance of practicing this consistently each day over a long period to transform one's life. Turning letting go into a game: Leo encourages viewers to make letting go a fun, non-serious game. The game challenges individuals to let go of trivial to significant matters as part of flexing their 'letting go muscle', which most have not consciously used before. Noticing and feeling before letting go: An essential aspect of the technique is to first become aware of an automatic reaction, then consciously choose to let go instead of acting on impulse. Examples of daily opportunities to let go: Leo offers examples to practice the technique, such as refraining from scratching an itch, not reacting to a wrong food order, avoiding defensiveness when criticized, and resisting the urge to get outraged by news stories. Not about repression or denial: Letting go is differentiated from ignoring or repressing. It is about noticing a desire or tendency and then making a conscious decision to release it. Starting with small and not seeking perfection: It's advised to start with small matters and not to worry about capturing every opportunity to let go. Over time, individuals can work up to bigger issues. Returning to a state of peace: The outcome of letting go is a return to a state of being, calmness, and peace instead of agitation or discomfort provoked by the particular stimuli. Releasing cravings and urges: Leo suggests releasing cravings for things like ice cream or sexual urges and also emotional states like guilt, excitement, and boredom just to experiment with the process. Application of letting go in everyday situations: Leo provides an array of scenarios for practicing the letting go technique, including resisting the urge to check the phone for messages, tolerating physical discomfort like heat, cold, or sweatiness, and overcoming grammar frustrations when encountering mistakes online. Managing OCD with letting go: By noticing and releasing compulsive urges, Leo argues that letting go can help alleviate both minor and major OCD, acknowledging that it may take multiple attempts but is effective over time. Overcoming the urge to criticize and judge: Instead of succumbing to critical thoughts or judgments—whether condemning a co-worker's mistake or a panhandler's situation—Leo suggests consciously releasing these reactions. Dismissing feelings of inadequacy and self-judgment: Leo encourages letting go of negative self-assessments, such as feelings of inadequacy when comparing oneself to more skilled colleagues or judging one's own appearance. Handling daily stress and emotional responses: Leo talks about applying letting go to daily stressors and emotions, whether it's the frustration of being late, financial worries, physical discomfort, or the urge to lie, cheat, or manipulate. Mastering letting go to gain awareness: He highlights the importance of awareness in letting go, recognizing manipulative behaviors within oneself, and abandoning the need for perfection or approval in various aspects of life. Relinquishing personal and societal ideologies: Leo challenges listeners to temporarily surrender their ideologies, belief systems, and national identities, insisting that healthy minds can do this without facing negative repercussions. Visual technique for letting go: He offers a visualization strategy—imagining dropping the attachment and achieving peace—and draws inspiration from stoic philosophers like Socrates or Marcus Aurelius to model a calm reaction to adversities. Visualization Technique for Letting Go: Leo advises visualizing someone who personifies calm and detachment, such as Socrates, to model how to let go of attachments and return to a state of peace. He encourages using any figure who embodies stoicism, from religious figures to celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, to inspire one's own practice of letting go. Letting Go versus Enduring: Leo makes a clear distinction between simply enduring pain and truly letting go. He explains that real letting go means that the issue no longer causes pain, as opposed to repressing or enduring an insult or negative experience, which means the pain is still there internally. Breaking Habituated Cycles: Acknowledging the challenge of obsessions and compulsions, which can loop in the mind, Leo emphasizes practice and patience in breaking these cycles, likening them to a computer program stuck on repeat. He posits that consistent effort is key to overcoming deeply ingrained habits. Counterintuitive Power of Letting Go: Leo asserts that letting go leads to empowerment, arguing against the ego's belief that clinging and attachment will fulfill its needs. He advocates for a counterintuitive practice of detachment to reach true satisfaction, teaching confidence and stoicism. Letting Go to Enhance Performance: Countering objections about productivity, Leo suggests that letting go of perfectionism and neuroticism can unlock better performance and creativity, especially in art. A relaxed and detached state is presented as more conducive to success than neurotic control and forced perfection. Letting Go without Emotional Apathy: Responding to concerns about becoming emotionally detached or cold, Leo clarifies that letting go actually allows for deeper, more spiritual emotions and feelings, enhancing the quality of emotions rather than suppressing them. Temporary Nature of Letting Go: Leo emphasizes that letting go is meant to be a momentary practice, not a permanent relinquishment of emotions or desires. While advocating for letting go of hurt or compulsion, he maintains that it should not prevent one from taking necessary actions or solving problems. Conscious Awareness over Knee-Jerk Emotions: Leo encourages a conscious approach to problems, suggesting that detachment allows for a more effective and less emotional response. A resourceful, detached approach is proposed as superior to one driven by unmanaged emotions like anger. Experimental Approach to Detachment: Leo invites skeptics to experiment with detachment in their lives, promising that empirical evidence will support the view that a detached lifestyle leads to greater happiness and effectiveness. Being Cautious without Fear: While endorsing the release of fear, Leo advises maintaining necessary caution, especially in danger. He distinguishes between the physical sensation of fear and the prudent, conscious awareness of potential threats. Understanding and Overcoming Neuroticism: Leo defines neuroticism as the inability or refusal to let go, which can manifest as a fear of leaving one's comfort zone. He encourages identifying neurotic areas in life and practicing letting go, despite discomfort or fear. Avoiding Neuroticism in Letting Go: He warns against becoming neurotic about the practice of letting go, promoting a balanced approach where one should not guilt themselves over occasional feelings or needs. The goal is natural detachment, not obsessive self-criticism. Balancing the practice of letting go: Leo Gura advises against becoming obsessive with the practice of letting go. Instead, he recommends using the technique sporadically to avoid turning it into a neurotic habit, encouraging a natural and organic approach to letting go. Letting go as a superpower: Leo emphasizes that one's ability to let go is a measure of their strength. He explains that letting go is a superpower, while inability to do so characterizes weakness, neuroticism, and problematic behaviors. Courage in letting go: It takes courage to let go of deeply ingrained patterns, like the desire to control children or micromanage coworkers. Practice starts with small things, building up to letting go of bigger issues. Incremental practice and long-term benefits: Leo reassures that instant success in letting go is not expected, especially with significant attachments. Like investing in a 401k, the practice promises exponential rewards over time, if consistently applied. Scaling the practice to existential levels: Leo envisions the practice extending to letting go of one's life story, fearing death, and major attachments. This process prepares individuals for the inevitable losses due to life’s transient nature. Technique integration across life's domains: The letting go technique is versatile and can enhance various aspects of life, such as family, business, finances, or health by allowing one to control their reactions and respond more wisely. Investment in long-term personal growth: Leo urges continued application of the letting go technique, advocating its use as an ongoing investment for a wiser and more fulfilling life. He stresses the importance of having a long-term vision for personal success. Resources for continuous learning: Leo highlights the availability of exclusive content, including videos, blogs, and research, on his website Actualized.org. He encourages visitors to engage with the content and contribute to the community discussions on personal growth. Evanesco

Conscious Politics - Part 4 - 100+ Specific Policy Proposals https://youtu.be/XSV0ZhD_yvw "In a barbaric and selfish society, humane solutions seem radical, leftist, and utopian." "It's the corruption, stupid." Concrete Conscious Policy Proposals: Leo Gura transition from theory to specific proposals for improving government and systems, emphasizing the importance of implementing these ideas both immediately and over a long-term vision looking 50 to 100 years into the future. Empirical Approach to Governance: Proposals by Gura are presented with an empirical mindset, meaning they are subject to change if the expected results do not materialize once implemented. He stresses the necessity for flexibility in government policy to adjust to society's complex nature. Criminalization of Money in Politics and Corporate Lobbying: Gura proposes a constitutional amendment to criminalize the influence of money in politics and to ensure the practice of one person, one vote, thus countering the legalized bribery currently present in American politics. Abolition of Gerrymandering: Gura advocates for independent, non-partisan commissions or algorithms to redraw district lines to ensure fair and unbiased representation, addressing the current undemocratic practice of gerrymandering. Abolition of the Electoral College: Proposing the removal of the Electoral College to allow the popular vote to more directly determine election outcomes, countering the distortion caused by the current electoral system. Making Voting Accessible: Suggestions to make voting more accessible include online voting, automatic registration, federal election holidays, and eliminating long wait times at polling places. Additionally, propose open primaries and caucuses over closed systems to improve inclusion. Multi-Party System with Rank-Choice Voting: Gura advocates for a multi-party system enabled by rank-choice voting to foster healthy competition and break the two-party system stalemate. Introduction of Federal Propositions: Gura suggests federal-level ballot initiatives that allow citizens to vote on popular issues Congress may overlook or be too gridlocked to address, such as marijuana legalization or gun regulation. No particular order in enumeration: Proposals are shared in no specific order, with some being capable of immediate implementation and others being more radical, requiring significant societal shifts over time. Correction of Current Political Myopia: Gura criticizes short-term political planning, pushing for proposals that anticipate societal needs far into the future beyond short election cycles. Ban on Lobbyists Holding Public Office: Lobbyists, who work to influence government decisions for corporate interests, should be barred from public office due to conflicts of interest. This would prevent them from using their government experience to further corporate agendas upon returning to the lobbying industry. To avoid the 'revolving door' phenomenon, a substantial hiatus should be required before and after holding office. Taxation of Extreme Wealth and Accumulated Wealth: Arguing for greater economic balance, Leo advocates for significantly higher taxes on wealth exceeding one million dollars, and even higher taxes on wealth in the tens of millions or billions. The aim is to address the wealth gap by redistributing resources from the super-rich, who often do not need excess wealth and may use it to exert undue influence over the system. Closing Tax Loopholes and Offshore Tax Havens: Corporations should not evade taxes by storing wealth overseas; Leo emphasizes the need to close loopholes and offshore tax havens to ensure all wealth is tracked, regulated, and taxed by American authorities. This would simplify the tax code for ordinary citizens and hold corporations accountable for paying their fair share. Taxing Luxury Goods and Real Estate Speculation: High taxes on luxury goods and expensive real estate, especially for secondary and tertiary properties not used as primary residences, ensure that superfluous wealth contributes to societal development instead of perpetuating inequality and excessive lifestyle choices. Tax Payer Choice: To generate interest and accountability in governmental processes, Leo advocates for allowing taxpayers to allocate a percentage of their taxes to chosen causes, with the government publicly reporting the use of these funds to encourage efficient use of tax dollars and to compete for more funding by demonstrating effectiveness. Stricter Penalties for White-Collar Crime: Leo suggests establishing severe penalties and a government department to regulate and penalize white-collar crimes. Recognizing the structural threat posed by corporate corruption, he calls for meaningful measures to deter such behavior that can severely impact society. Addressing White-Collar Crime: Leo outlines the significant impact of white-collar crime, emphasizing that schemes by senior corporate management can lead to widespread exploitation, government corruption, and even mass casualties, such as the opioid crisis. Serious Penalties for Corporate Exploitation: He suggests that current fines for corporate wrongdoings are insufficient as they often amount to less than the profits gained from unethical activities. To deter such behavior, Leo advocates for the establishment of serious criminal liabilities, including jail time for CEOs and senior corporate officers involved in exploitative practices. Marketing Ethics and Psychological Manipulation: Leo criticizes the use of advanced psychological techniques in marketing to manipulate consumers, describing it as a form of "scientific psychological warfare". He highlights the need for more ethical marketing practices and transparency to prevent the worsening of societal problems. Transparency in Income and Profit Margins: Leo supports the radical idea of publicly disclosing every individual's income and every corporation's profit margins on products. He argues this would unveil financial inequalities within industries, increase fairness, and provoke necessary outrage to drive systemic change. Call for Labels Showing Profit Margins: He proposes labeling products with their profit margins, allowing consumers to understand which industries overcharge for their products or services, leading to a more equalized system. Strong Defense of Whistleblowers: Leo emphasizes the need for legal protection, financial compensation, and public recognition for whistleblowers, contrasting the current negative treatment with the crucial role they play in exposing government corruption. Elimination of Black Ops Budgets: He argues against secret budgets and black ops programs, stating that these foster corruption and violence and are often used to justify actions out of fear and scarcity rather than abundance and love. Drastic Military Budget Reduction: Leo suggests significant cuts to the U.S. military budget, focusing on eliminating wasteful spending while increasing police and first responder funding for better training, equipment, and salaries. Promotion of Transparency in Government Contracts: He calls for an open bidding process for government contracts, with transparency about the execution and outcomes, to prevent overcharging and encourage fair competition. Benefits of Redirected Military Funding: He stresses the value of reallocating military resources towards infrastructure, science, healthcare, and other internal improvements that genuinely benefit society, rather than destructive enterprises. FBI and Prosecutors: Leo advocates for an increased number of FBI agents, state prosecutors, and federal prosecutors with better training and higher salaries aimed at reducing corruption and ensuring they are comfortable in their jobs. War Crimes Enforcement: Stronger enforcement of war crimes is needed, with transparency and proper prosecution to both serve justice and maintain the dignity of military members who do not join to be war criminals. Elimination of Torture: Torture and cruel and unusual punishment should be completely eliminated, not only on U.S. territory but also abroad by American citizens, with possible constitutional amendments to cement these standards. Worker Representation in Corporate Boards: Suggesting a European model, Leo recommends legislation mandating 50% worker representation on corporate boards for companies with significant profits and employees, to democratize corporate decision-making and improve working conditions. Right to Unionize: Defends the right to unionize and calls for criminalizing corporate interference with unionization efforts, highlighting the importance of balancing power between employees and large corporations. Raising the Minimum Wage: Leo argues for raising the minimum wage to a living wage, countering libertarian arguments against it and explaining the need for government intervention as a proxy negotiator for employees against powerful corporations. Regulation of Predatory Industries: Stressing the need for stringent regulation of industries such as banking, finance, military-industrial complex, Big Pharma, and healthcare, to prevent exploitative practices and protect consumers. Antitrust Regulations: Advocates for strong antitrust law enforcement to prevent large corporations from stifling competition by acquiring smaller companies or merging with other giants. Support for Smaller Businesses: Proposes that companies profiting over a certain threshold should be barred from acquiring others to foster competition and innovation, thereby promoting a healthier economy. Regulation of Large Corporations: Large corporations with over a billion dollars in revenue need special regulations to prevent monopolization, which stifles innovation and consumer choice. These corporations often exploit consumers covertly through sophisticated R&D and marketing, against which individual consumers are powerless without government intervention. Stable Currency and Banking Regulations: The necessity for a stable currency is emphasized, which requires tight regulations on banking practices and the Federal Reserve. A conscious society should have legal limits on currency printing to maintain the value of money. Copyright Law Revisions: Copyright laws should be revised so that they last only until the death of the creator, preventing corporations from indefinitely extending copyrights to profit off of old innovations without additional creativity. Prison Reform and Rehabilitation: Prisons should be centers for rehabilitation, not punishment. Introducing non-dogmatic spirituality, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga can help reduce recidivism rates. Additional job programs are needed to support reentry into society. Compassion for Prisoners: Prisoners require education and compassion as a path to rehabilitation, seeing them as ignorant rather than inherently evil. Leo stresses the importance of not demonizing criminals, as this leads to higher rates of reoffending and societal issues. Ending the Drug War: A call for the release of all individuals imprisoned for minor drug possession is made as part of a broader initiative to end the drug war. Refugee and Immigrant Acceptance: A more welcoming approach to refugees and immigrants is advocated. The abundance of resources in the U.S. contradicts the scarcity mindset that often opposes immigration. Eliminating Poverty and Homelessness: Political will and conscious societal action are necessary to eliminate poverty, hunger, and homelessness, which are solvable issues. Environmental Regulations: Heavy environment regulation is deemed necessary to address not only global warming but also pollution, resource mismanagement, and reliance on non-renewable energy such as fossil fuels. Green Energy and Subsidies: A massive investment in green energy and a carbon tax on polluters are proposed. A national electric grid with incentivized use and government-funded research into better battery technology should be prioritized. Toxicity Testing of Consumables: The creation of a government agency responsible for continuous toxicity testing of food, water, air, and cosmetics is suggested. This would inform the public about the presence of heavy metals and chemicals that affect mental and physical health. Mental Health Funding: Massive funding for mental health services is proposed, with emphasis on the provision of free therapy and life coaching to benefit society at large. Strict Regulations for Factory Farming: Tougher regulations and transparency should be enforced for factory farming, including the prohibition of laws hindering the exposure of inhumane practices. Factory Farming Regulation and Transition: Leo proposes increased regulation of factory farms to improve humane conditions and advocates for shifting towards organic, sustainable, and free-range farming practices. Massive Infrastructure Funding: Funding for infrastructure is essential, including roads, bridges, airports, and public transportation systems like monorails, tunnels, electric buses, and high-speed trains. Government Subsidization of Transportation: Leo suggests that while the government need not directly manufacture transportation technologies like scooters or trains, it should subsidize and incentivize the private sector to develop innovative and helpful infrastructure solutions. Affirmation of Government-Run Facilities: He defends government-run facilities such as airports and the postal service, arguing that they can function efficiently and provide services such as disaster relief and military operations effectively. Funding for Arts and Sciences: Leo advocates for massive government funding for arts and sciences, countering the corporate corruption that currently diverts science towards profits rather than pure research and truth. Equal Rights and Support for Minorities: Leo calls for equal rights for all minorities, including LGBTQ+ individuals, and suggests providing free counseling and therapy to enhance their integration into society. Supreme Court Reform: Proposing reform for the Supreme Court, he suggests term limits and possibly direct elections to ensure impartiality and accountability more reflective of the population's will. Workweek Reduction: Leo argues for a reduction in the standard workweek from 40 to 30 hours to allow for more personal and family time, creativity, and self-actualization. Addressing Wealth Disparity in Corporate Structures: He highlights the need for regulation to ensure that the financial benefits from increased workplace efficiency due to technology advancements benefit the workers and not just the corporate executives and shareholders. Prohibition of Employee Overworking: Leo calls for laws against excessive overworking by employers, especially in industries like video game design and the legal sector, to encourage a more balanced and healthy work-life. Overhaul of the Education System: A major investment in education is seen as a top priority for government spending, focusing on a complete restructuring towards critical and conscious thinking, rather than rote learning. Education System Reforms: Leo Gura makes a strong case for overhauling the education system, which includes creating more schools with smaller class sizes, offering substantial incentives and higher pay for teachers, and decreasing reliance on standardized testing. He argues that schools should focus on assessing and fostering consciousness, love, emotional intelligence, and overall personal development, instead of just memorizing content. Public School Funding: Leo emphasizes the need for equal funding for public schools across all neighborhoods, irrespective of local wealth. He proposes the reallocation of significant portions of the military budget to education, ensuring high-quality public schools nationwide. He attributes his own success to the quality of public education he received and criticizes the current administration's stance on public education. Subject Matter in Schools: Gura advocates for a shift in curriculum to include subjects that promote wisdom, self-actualization, critical thinking, and consciousness, such as metaphysics, philosophy, and psychology. He stresses the importance of teaching practical life skills such as cooking, nutrition, finance, and relationships, as well as the deployment of classes on emotional mastery, meditation, and yoga. Elimination of Private Schools: He recommends abolishing private schools altogether, ensuring all children, including those of the wealthy, attend public schools. This approach aims at incentivizing the rich to invest in the quality of public education as their children would directly benefit from it. Transformation of Higher Education: Leo argues for free college, university, and trade school education for everyone, with a focus on practical skills necessary for the job market. He highlights the importance of these institutions in setting young adults on a path to fulfilling their life purpose and contributing positively to society. New Measures of National Success: He suggests switching from GDP to alternative success metrics like happiness, love, consciousness, and corruption indexes to measure and publicly track a nation's progress annually. Ending the Drug War and Promoting Psychedelics: Leo proposes the legalization and normalization of psychedelics, not only for personal growth and consciousness development but also as effective treatments for addiction. He mentions creating clinics to provide psychedelic therapy within local communities. Implementation of Psychedelic Clinics: Government-funded, free psychedelic clinics will be established, facilitating individuals to safely explore consciousness, cure mental health issues, and experience profound transformations with expert guidance. Funding Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Redirect subsidies from large corporations to small businesses and entrepreneurs, energizing new ideas and technological developments. Support for Objective Journalism: Ensuring the survival of objective journalism through significant funding, protections for journalists, and combatting sensationalism in mainstream media. Broadband for Rural Areas: Increase funding to provide rural areas with broadband internet access to enhance information equity. Budget Increase for Space Exploration: Expand investment in space exploration for business potential, technology advancement, and global inspiration; additionally, support the development of a meteor defense system. Enhancing Consumer Protections: Strengthen the Consumer Protection Agency to defend consumers against corporate fraud and exploitation. Anti-Corruption Enforcement Agency: Create a specialized agency to aggressively combat corruption in government, police, and corporate sectors. Universal Free Healthcare: Implement free healthcare at the point of service, produce cheap generic medicines, and increase funding for preventative care and holistic medicine education to advance collective health. Free Gym Access: Combat obesity by providing free gym access to all Americans. Technology Safety Testing Center: Establish a government agency to assess the safety of new technologies, materials, and products, ensuring public well-being. Funding for National Emergencies and Disasters: Allocate strong funding for preparedness and response to national emergencies like natural disasters. Humanitarian Aid Over Military Action: Replace military intervention with humanitarian aid to terrorist-prone countries, fostering good relations and reducing anti-American sentiment. Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy: Prohibit CIA involvement within sovereign nations and avoid using foreign policy to exploit developing countries for corporate gain. Constitutional Amendments for Consciousness and Privacy Rights: Advocate for amendments securing the right to alter one's consciousness and privacy from electronic surveillance, recognizing social media as public utilities. Government-led Consciousness Research: Fund substantial research into mysticism, meditation, spirituality, psychedelics, and paranormal phenomena, exploring their implications for elevating national consciousness. Environmental and Fiscal Policies: Expand recycling programs, ban nuclear power due to safety issues, and enforce strict balanced budget policies in the long term. Adjusting Fine Structures to Net Worth: Change law fines from fixed amounts to a percentage of an individual's net worth to equalize the financial impact and maintain effective deterrence. Gun Ownership Regulations: Implement serious background checks and safety training for gun owners, without outright banning guns. Gun Safety and Ownership Regulations: Leo insists that gun ownership should involve mandatory rigorous training on gun safety, similar to obtaining a driver's license. Before purchasing a gun, owners should be registered in a national database and pass mental health checks, ensuring individuals with a history of abuse or certain mental illnesses cannot own guns. He also supports the use of biometric sensors to lock guns, allowing only registered users to operate them. US Territory Representation and Independence: Leo argues for granting statehood or independence to US territories like Puerto Rico and Guam to ensure they receive proper representation in Congress. Outsourcing and Government Contracts: Leo proposes that companies outsourcing jobs to seek cheaper labor abroad should be barred from receiving any subsidies or government contracts. Pre-Kindergarten and Taxation Equality: He supports the establishment of free pre-kindergarten education and equal taxation for online and brick-and-mortar stores, aiming to remove an advantage currently exploited by companies like Amazon. Regulation of Emerging Technologies: Leo calls for the regulation of AI, facial recognition, genetic engineering, and human-machine interfaces, anticipating future abuse potential if left unchecked. Forum for Policy Discussion: He emphasizes the need for a non-ideological, non-partisan public forum for serious policy discussions, stating current major networks lack substance. Regulation of Predatory Advertising and Marketing: Leo suggests the banning of exploitative ads including those for junk food, pharmaceuticals, fossil fuels, credit cards, and payday loans, comparing it to the current bans on cigarette and alcohol advertising near schools. Empirical Testing of Public Policies: Leo advocates for a government department to empirically test public policies, analyze results over time, and inform lawmakers and the public on their effects. This would help in making data-driven decisions and reduce partisanship. Evolution of Capitalism and Consideration of UBI: He clarifies that his policies do not aim to end capitalism but to evolve it into a more conscious and ethical form, combining elements of socialism. While considering the potential benefits of Universal Basic Income (UBI), he stresses it should add to, not replace, a robust welfare system. Long-term Vision of a Global Government: Leo envisions a global government with a unified global military to reduce wasteful military spending, eventually leading to more efficient use of resources and potentially lower taxes. Freedom and Strategic Limitations: In concluding his policy proposals, Leo contends that increased freedom comes from carefully implemented strategic limitations within a system. He proposes to create freedom by meeting people's basic needs and providing quality education and healthcare, ensuring that governmental measures augment individual liberty. Complex Nature of Freedom: Leo argues that strategic limitations on corporate influence in politics can lead to more complex forms of freedom. He questions how truly free individuals can be when they lack proper education, or when corporations can corrupt government and environment, suggesting that simplistic libertarian and conservative definitions of freedom are inadequate. Distinction from Socialism: Despite potential misinterpretations, Leo clarifies that he is not advocating for socialism, which involves public ownership of the means of production. Instead, he supports capitalism with strategic regulations to curb excessive corporatism and maintain private ownership while enabling entrepreneurship and small businesses. Healthy Capitalism and Private Industry: He emphasizes the need for heavy regulation of large corporations to prevent monopolization and promote competition. Leo notes that while some industries may be publicly managed, the majority should remain privately operated, supporting Adam Smith's notion that capitalism requires careful regulation. Redefining Wealth Difficulty: Leo supports making it harder to become a millionaire or billionaire, arguing this would create a fairer economy allowing working-class people to achieve middle-class status. Higher taxes and more difficulty for the wealthy balance the distribution of resources, thus fostering economic equilibrium. Promotion of Creativity and Small Business: By regulating large corporations, Leo believes his policies would encourage innovation, creative arts, and science. This would create a healthier environment for entrepreneurs and small business owners, aligned with his vision of a government that cultivates a fertile environment for independence, health, and happiness. Cultural Evolution and Policy Resistance: Recognizing that cultural changes can make conservatives and traditionalists uncomfortable, Leo argues that evolving culture is inevitable and necessary for progress. He suggests that many conservatives might actually benefit from his proposals, such as raising the minimum wage, but they often resist due to cultural identity and attachment to traditional values. The Goal of Government: Leo envisions strategic government decisions creating an environment conducive to creativity, exploration, health, harmony, fairness, and happiness. He envisions societal evolution, whereby citizens are able to live fulfilling lives without being constrained by wage poverty, crippling debt, or lack of access to childcare and education. Human Motivation and Societal Benefits: Addressing concerns that societal benefits might lead to laziness, Leo argues that meeting basic needs allows individuals to self-actualize and pursue 'being needs': purpose, creativity, and service. He aims for a society where people become powerful creators and innovators once freed from mere survival concerns. Productive Cultural Shift: Leo suggests a shift in cultural values where the measure of success is not simply wealth accumulation but the quality and originality of one's contributions to society. He advocates for an environment that rewards powerful creation and true value provision, moving beyond purely materialistic pursuits. Redefining Motivation Beyond Money: Leo argues that societal values should shift from exploiting for profit to becoming powerful creators. Modern education often omits teaching how to be genuinely creative, focusing instead on maximizing profits without adding value to the world. He asserts that true satisfaction comes from creativity, art, science, and a sense of life purpose, rather than fear and scarcity-induced work. Overcoming the “Lazy Society” Myth: The fear that providing for basic needs will lead to a lazy society is addressed. Leo counters, explaining that, removed from survival struggles, individuals will be motivated by love, creativity, and other higher consciousness values—which lead to genuine satisfaction and a fulfilling life. Misconceptions About Government Size and Corruption: The idea that government is inherently corrupt and should be minimized is challenged. Leo states that size is necessary to manage societal complexity. He advocates for removing corruption rather than shrinking government and acknowledges long-term historical reduction in government corruption. He emphasizes that corruption, stemming from selfishness, must be tackled directly through conscious work and self-actualization. Understanding Taxation and Property Rights: Leo disputes the libertarian notion that taxation is theft by explaining that property rights do not naturally exist without government. Taxes pay for the security and rights that a government ensures, which is conceptually balanced by the tangible benefits of government services. Misconceptions about Wealthy Motivation and Taxation: Addressing concerns about the demotivation of the wealthy from high taxation, Leo clarifies that individuals like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are not primarily money-driven; rather, they are motivated by power, creativity, a sense of purpose, and love—attributes higher taxes will not diminish. Short-Term Utopian Perspective vs. Long-Term Vision: Leo discusses the supposed utopian nature of his proposals, explaining they may seem idealistic short-term but are realistic and inevitable over a centuries-long horizon. He emphasizes the inexorable evolution of humanity towards higher love and consciousness. Utopian notions and historical perspective: Leo discusses the perception of his proposals as utopian, arguing that while they may seem idealistic on a short-term scale of ten years, over 500 years they are inevitable and will be taken for granted by future generations, who will view our current era as conservative and backward. Misconceptions about historical examples: He addresses comparisons of his ideas with communist regimes like the USSR, North Korea, and Venezuela. Leo clarifies that these countries were underdeveloped and corrupt, lacking the societal infrastructure required for his proposals, which are suitable for societies already past a certain stage of capitalist development. Successful examples and progressive states: Leo points to Northern Europe, Canada, and progressive U.S. states like California as successful models where his ideas have been implemented, showing that progressive policies can thrive in post-capitalist societies with proper democratic systems. Equality of opportunity vs. outcome: Leo criticizes the misrepresentation of his goals as seeking equality of outcome. He emphasizes the need for equality of opportunity, which requires looking at societal outcomes to understand systemic inequalities and to take measures that promote fairness and access. Empowering work: Leo suggests a shift to conscious work that provides deep meaning and purpose, leading to more motivated, satisfying, and harder-working individuals as compared to those in mindless jobs. Acknowledging individual limitations: While recognizing that not all individuals can be helped, Leo argues that creating a system offering equal opportunity allows the majority to evolve and better themselves. Resistance to change: Leo acknowledges the resistance to his proposals from the status quo but insists that change is part of societal evolution towards betterment, drawing parallels with historical figures who faced opposition for advocating progress. Radical ideas in context: Leo argues that highly conscious and progressive ideas often appear radical in less developed eras but are ultimately vindicated and celebrated in hindsight, urging people to transcend influence from the status quo and embrace transformation and development. Human Potential: Leo Gura emphasizes that mankind has only realized a tiny fraction, perhaps 1 to 5%, of its potential. This is true both on an individual and collective societal level. He encourages not clinging to the past as we have much greater possibilities ahead. Growth and Discomfort: He discusses that growth is inherently uncomfortable and points to the growing pains visible in current American politics, with various social and political factions indicating broader societal evolution. Informed Participation and Responsibility: Leo urges viewers to stop blaming others for societal issues and take personal responsibility. He stresses the importance of educating oneself on complex topics and engaging with high-quality journalism, promoting informed civic participation in democracy. Voting and Political Engagement: Leo advises not only to vote but to do so mindfully, looking at primary elections and lesser-known roles within government. He suggests voting for the most loving, conscious, and morally developed candidates, emphasizing personal development over specific policies. Supporting Enlightened Politicians: He encourages donations and support for the most conscious political candidates at both federal and local levels, as well as becoming involved by volunteering or running for office. Conscious Government and Self-Improvement: Leo Gura ties the principles of self-improvement and spirituality to conscious politics, underscoring the interconnection between personal growth and societal change. He implores individuals to work on their own consciousness and purity to empower a government reflecting these qualities. Final Thoughts: He highlights the resources available on his platform for further learning and assures viewers that while his focus on politics will taper, the integration of spirituality and politics is paramount for a conscious government. Directions for Future Content: Leo concludes by informing viewers that his future content will return to core topics of awakening, self-improvement, emotions, love, and spirituality, aiming to illustrate the interconnectedness of personal development and political consciousness. Flagrate