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@Scholar Different personality types, different brain types, different facets to awakening. Awakening will be filtered through the mind and personality no matter how awake you get. Some people are more sentimental and emotional while other people are more autistic, cool, and dispassionate. One awakened person could emphasize Nothingness in his teaching. Another awakened person could emphasize Love in his teaching. Etc. Which is why an integral approach is so good. You can get the best of all the teachings and teachers.

What he's saying has value, especially for newbie and intermediate students. But at the same time, suffering IS a conceptual activity and it can be transcended or stopped. It is something you are doing and you can stop doing it. This does mean that you stop feeling, just the opposite, you must feel it fully, with total consciousness. That total consciousness is what allows you to experience the suffering as self-constructed activity, at which point it becomes conscious and it ceases to be suffering. This requires very high levels of consciousness which even most awakened people in the West do not have. But the most advanced practitioners develop it. Which is how monks can do self-immolation. So the deconstruction of suffering is not merely marketing. It's just unattainable for most people because this requires super-human levels of consciousness which only the most hardcore practitioners will attain. The paradox is, by trying to end suffering you end up creating suffering. So that's not a good attitude in this work. Trying to always be in a positive state is not going to work well. If you really want to end suffering you must completely stop caring what state you're in, even if you're getting tortured, you have to be okay with that state. It's REALLY hard to be that conscious. But it can be done. Just don't go chasing it.

i find it hard to see an Awakened man/woman try furhter to develop Siddi's. Once your awakened, youve connected with your Higher Self, which gives you all the guidance you will ever need. Be that through visions/things that appear before you before you think of them/intuition/etc. i think a sign that someone is unawakened is when they say they want to get a siddi.

I've never meditated or taken psychotropics or did any kind of self inquiry. What I did was I spent some time with 2 teachers with very strong transmission - magnetism. 3-4 times in India and 3 retreats in Europe with an not well known teacher. Their mere presence stopped my mind. No mind experience is nothing special, but offers great relief. A lot of life energy gets liberated which is otherwise trapped to sustain " the idea of an I", an "identity". Most of our life force - energy - goes to sustain the "identity", unfortunatelly. This released energy allowes us to use it for other things. You are asking how to get in touch with pure consciousness. For me it happened during one online class with this european teacher. We are like embers, we glow and catch fire in the presence of an awakened being. But I have always, from young age, been open and suseptible to energies, I just knew things on my own. For example, when I was four, my grandad took me to a construction site of my aunt's new house, but couldn't enter the house because it was locked. I just knew where the key was hidden, it was not any usual place one would think of, and my grandad thought that I had been there before but of course I hadn't. We can only share what we have. It is important who we associate with.

I was drinking coffee whilst in awakened conciousness and I didn't realise until after that I burnt my palate. Made me feel like this.

@Angelo John Gage You’ve got a sincerity I appreciate. Awakened beings often have a similar feel to me. It can feel polished, shiny and spiritually. There’s a genuine rawness I like about your video. Perhaps due to your life history. Plus I’ve never seen a guy that feels like NJ to me awakening and speak like you. I sensed it immediately. I think it’s really cool and that you can connect within certain crowds that many nonduality teachers can’t. And not just the nonduality, also personal growth and living a good life.

@Angelo John Gage I think this is an awesome video. I think you can resonate with a specific audience better than any nonduality teacher I've seen. I grew up in N.J. and I now live in the Midwest. There is a big population of guys I think you could connect with really well. I'm not making any value judgement here, yet this is the general description: guys that have strong masculine traits and intellect. . . guys that tend to enjoy stuff like trucks, beer, barbques, fishing, hunting, camping, grew up Christian, home-improvement, football, shooting pool etc. It's hard to describe, yet you have the "IT" factor in this "genre". I cannot connect with guys in this genre. I come across as too emotional, yoga-loving, academically arrogant, soft, woo woo etc. I can connect with people in other areas, yet not here. It's like seeing one of the guys I went to high school with in N.J. awaken and come back to help the other guys awaken. I think it is totally awesome. A few comments on the content: -- I love how you framed it as "the real red pill". That is totally what it is. I have tried to use this frame and guys dismiss me because I have zero cred. in this area. But I think you totally pull it off because you've got that cred. with this group. -- I like how you discussed opposites of good and evil as being two sides of the same coin. Going from nonduality back to duality is very difficult to transmit. I particularly like your analogy that life is one giant movie and everyone is playing their role - yet since One Everything is Everything, both good and evil is within Everything. --I think the part about how "you can experience God" could be a bit confusing because it includes both the little dualistic "you" and the One nondual "You". I would have stressed this a bit by saying something like "you can experience God, which is the Ulitmate You - the ultimate You is within Everything. -- I think a lot of terms used to help people learn nonduality can be used essentially as synonyms. Words like Everything, Nothing, Reality, ISness, Oneness, God etc. I would have grouped them all together and maybe say that they are essentially the same. When I was learning nonduality I didn't know that the words are essentially the same and got confused. I noticed at times you would say something like "The One Everything is God". I would have added a bit more to highlight all the words that collapse into one when we enter nonduality. -- I like how you spoke that Christianity teaches the God within. Again, you have the "IT" cred. with guys in this genre. There is no way I could pull that off. I went through a long hardcore atheist scientist stretch and guys in this genre smell it out - they just know that I was not a real Christian that awakened. -- I didn't sense any intellectual arrogance in you. Yet you were confident and intellectual. Again, I think that is hard to do for a lot of intellectuals - I have this academic intellectualism vibe that masculine guys interpret as being arrogant. They can sense I was never part of their group. As hard as I try not to do it, I often come across as talking down to them. -- I like how you used a lot of masculine traits at the end when describing the biggest Red Pill - stoic, leadership, confidence, power - Marcus Aurelius and how he could have had all the power and sex he wanted, but he went for the biggest red pill. The underlying sense for me was "this is a man". I would have lost this audience as I talked about "surrender", getting in touch with one's emotions, like their inner vulnerability etc. Yet you described it as "gaining control of your emotions" - strength. I think there are a lot of people that can benefit from your style and vibe. In particular, I think you can reach a large segment of guys like few other nonduality teachers can. It is awesome to see and I totally wish you the best.

@LastThursday Lol I am not in the unconditional happiness state right now. I am saying assuming such a state exist (like when you are awakened). Once you are at that point why do anything at all? Although thinking about it that is assuming that the effort of doing those things will be painful which won't be the case cause unconditional happiness but still why would you do whatever in the first place?

Those of us who have awakened and those of us that are idealists, many of whom grew up believing in the materialist paradigm, know from direct experience that reality is a giant mind. Those that have not directly experienced mysticism still believe it too. But how amazing would it be if there was this door and on the other side of the door one could walk through and see the Truth. See what is real. In other words they could open this door and they would be enlightened. I often dream of a door like this where if only it existed the materialists would see for themselves that this is real. That reality is a mind. Oh but to dream! (No pun intended!)

If you haven't I think a lot of you guys on here and what your seeking is strongly communicated in her presence and words. Enlightenment is a multidimensional expression and she definitely embodies an aspect that I think a lot of you guys and gals are wondering about and looking for. She's also female which is rarer in this realm of awakened teachers which offers an interesting component.

My Kundalini awoke 7 years ago. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It is a scary 2 years that followed it. Now I think I am in balance of it. It feels nice, but still is strange. I tell you what the awakened kundalini human does experience besides feeling that bliss you guys are talking about: They have a knowing that everyone on the planet has amazing gifts to offer. THat there is no such thing as an inferior race. That love abounds us all. We are all wonderful.

I feel like I've had more than my fair share of days like this. In his 10 cd Kosmic Consciousness cd set (interview by Tami Simon) Ken Wilbur described his own confusion at times as "plutonium confusion". I can relate to the idea of experiencing plutonium confusion. Cynthia Bourgeault, in talking about the subject of Awakened Conscience has used the phrase "feeling my every-which-way-ness". I've found it to be an apt phrase as well. Its weird how this stuff can sometimes come and go 12 times before lunch,,,,,,

Hey Soul, I think your first two paragraphs have to to with the idea that theres more to understanding Self/Life/God then just Emptiness and Fullness and Awareness even maybe, and I would agree. And yes some consider the realization of emptiness "god" or the ground of Being, or any number usages of words to convey meaning/Absolute meaning and it can get very confusing and hairy when you try to really get what someone means or even what You mean, lol. And yes there are many doctrines that teachers and students adhere to with specific words and meanings to mean that your enlightened if you are doing such or realized so. Even the notion that if it doesn't lead to liberation its not useful is a hard one to quantify, at least in my eyes, because under scrutinization it "seems" to me that not many people awaken and reside in emptiness or understanding of god, or flow, or self realization even though they were doing all the "right" things and listening to Buddha or Ramanha or any well regarded "awakened" guru/master. So were they just bad teachers or students, or is there more to this then meets the eye? So to me, I leave a lot open and dont try to be to critical or judge and do my best to accept a wide range of people and their realizations, even if I'm not sure 'EXACTLY' where they are coming from. Because its all "God". So again about the video I posted, to "me", what ever that is, she seems to embody a piece of the picture in the broad sense, in the world of hard to pin down, what is what, and what means what, a communication of stillness/emptiness/authenticity, even if she appears to contradict (although theres lots of paradoxs that just are and to voice them puts you in a position to be judged by minds that dont see in such very well, including mine sometimes).

Some commentary from this mornings I CHING reading is relevant to this topic. Referring to hexagram 46 with a changing 6 line that I got in throwing the coins - ,,,,,,,,,This line can also refer to a person who thinks he has been spiritually awakened. To bring himself back into harmony he needs to free himself of the self image of the awakened person.

Not everything he says is wrong, but his worldview is generally-speaking so misguided and corrupt you'd be better served just skipping over it. It's not like there aren't 1000 better teachings available. Anyone who would go on PragerU is not to be taken seriously. Find yourself better sources. That's my point. See, it would be a mistake to take a propaganda source seriously, as though it was on the same level as an awakened teaching. This is the mistake of false equivalency. Being openmidned does not mean you let people propagandize you. It takes nuance to be able to discern what is and what isn't propaganda. He is a saavy exploiter of the culture wars. That's why he rose in popularity. Not because he makes good intellectual arguments. Those arguments are egoic justifications. They come from lack of self-awareness. Also, don't confuse popularity with truthfulness or quality. They are usually inversely proportional.

@tsuki Maybe it is my assumptions about him, from what I've heard. But he seems to say, that you need something else than yourself. Why would he have to suffer so much, when he is Awakened?

I had the exact same thoughts and concerns as you have, before I had a really profound and authentic awakening experience. For the ego the idea that everything is one can be very grim or very beautiful, depending on how you look at it. But it can never be grasped by the thinking mind. A lot of what Leo says in his video is the same information I received through my own experience. You the ego who has these mind based ideas and fears about enlightenment is not the one who wakes up. The character in the dream can't wake up, as he is a part of it. The absolute beauty of life, can not be appreciated through unawakened eyes. I'm not saying that I'm enlightened or an awakened being. I'm not. The ego is very much still there. You don't see it and then spend the rest of your life blissed out. A lot of integration has to be done after, in almost every case, I believe. But when the seeing goes deep enough, you can not unsee it or forget it. The interpretations of what you saw will always be wrong to an extend though, when taking over by the mind.

She definitely is expressing a conceptual idea of spirituality. @DrewNows @purerogue Although she is suggesting that this is the only way 'true spirituality' is expressed and something other than that is 'distorted' and 'impure', which are the words she used. Presence of being transcends all concepts of characteristics in expression one would have about it. The 'still' and 'empty' isn't any more 'spiritual' than the 'active' and 'full' because being is present through all expressions to one who is awakened. Accept the transitory nature of experience that spirituality is all expression and having conceptual notions about only certain ones being 'true spirituality' sets up expectations that could serve to inspire desire to emulate only certain characteristics instead of being present. Now don't confuse what I'm saying to mean I suggest that she is 'wrong' or that it isn't 'true'. I'm just pointing out that she said it isn't about those dichotomous concepts and yet she went on to portray them in the duality of what is and isn't 'true spirituality'. Being present isn't limited to just the stoic placid sterility of the conceptual empty stillness. Being present is what it is even through the transitory human nature of our thoughts and emotions happening in a manifest existence that swirls around in activity. @Mu_ BAHA!

I spoke with Jan about Kundalini Shakti about such a case. Here's what he said: You probably had Kundalini arousal, and not awakening. Awakening is possible only when the knots in the subtle body are untied, either by hardcore practice or by Shaktipat. And Kundalini awakening doesn't gurantee bliss asap. It gurantees that awakened kundalini will guide you towards liberation. It's up to you to follow that guidance,

@thesmileyone Not all sahaja samadhis are equal. Baseline awakened states vary greatly in depth.

What's the point, understanding reality doesnt seem to elicit happiness (like having a sated curiousity? really?) Like are you literally in constant euphoria when awakened? There is no suffering, no anxiety, no depression, etc but what about the positives (it is not like its some stimulating video game or sex that's ego , so what is there? Fulfillment? That seems to be weak) Literally it seems like the only reason anything is done is for greater joy (not only hedonism but other joys or overall greater "experiences") so how does enlightenment bring this and does understanding and being God elicit this?

@Leo Gura So would the crutch be dependent in the sense that you would lose awakened and consciousness states if you lost the finances and ressources to support your 5 Meo DMT lifestyle? What's actually wrong/detrimental with using 5 Meo DMT consistently, yeah it can be considered a crutch but why does that matter? Also wait a second.. so what I am hearing is that no matter what those 20 years of meditation are waiting for your ass if want lasting results anyway? Regardless what is the recommended (most efficient and effective) path? Doing mininum practices to build the foundation then maximizing 5 Meo DMT (to the edge of where it starts to hurt you)?

That's it right there. The picture shows two "people". One in the center is "aware" of its true nature, and the other has no clue. Your body/mind incarnation will act out the mirror image of your current identification. The one who is awakened, his body/mind would act our accordingly - in that, the Awareness beeming out of that person's point of awareness is aware that it is simply awareness, and abides in that. Knowing what unfolds before "them", is simply unfolding, spontaneously and nothing more. This one block in the picture is talking to itself for eternity and is truly unbounded in all directions and in infinte dimensions. It creates with an infinite intelligence and all this arises. All of IT is itself! And it is self aware as the infinite whole and at each infitesmial point within its creation so to speak. The cube like room in the picture should not be confused with the border when understanding the full thing. To picture that, take in the white space to be part of Reality. There's no outside to Reality.

If you’ve never met her, you don’t know. Someone can be loving 22 hours of the day and still be a raging moron another 2 hours. You’re telling me that 2 hours of being a raging moron shouldn’t be addressed? I can be a smart contributor of this forum 99% of the time but can still have a post where I act like an arrogant know-it-all. That behavior of being an arrogant know-it-all in that post is what’s being addressed. Theres a lot of non-dual keyboard warriors that are totally full of it on here (not saying this person is nor do I care nor does it matter) that dilute a lot of posts and actually lack total compassion because they’re dedicated to their non dual elitist talk and defending this front they have of being some awakened blah blah blah. This needs to be addressed more actually.

@Zigzag Idiot I started as an intellectual, but over the past 5 years I've been developing my emotional awareness since my initial awakening. Over the past 2-3 years, I had numerous mystical experiences related to chakra and all of the centers are awakened. The progress was: Third eye* -> Crown -> Throat -> Sacral and the root** -> Heart -> Solar plexus. When I started to develop my emotions, I tried to consciously mediate between them and the intellect. Reconciliation was simultaneous with the awakening of the instinctual center. Now, my everyday interactions are permeated with flow. I can't sincerely say that I reside in any particular center. I'm resting in the now effortlessly and suffering centers me without any striving. It's like time is over. * - The third eye was open ever since I can remember. I used to have multiple lucid dreams in my childhood. ** - The root seems to have always been open, but its recognition was simultaneous with the recognition of the Sacral. In fact, the final step was like there was no progression to begin with. Like it's always been that way, unbeknownst to me.