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they are wrong Enlightment doesn't mean to enjoy suffering, it means understanding it for what it trully is. No enlightened person can have their pinky toes stubbed in the wall and not scream at least 5 profanities. Pain is an ilussion to make you believe there is an "I" that needs surviving. Also it feels like you were trying to cheat the system, don't surrender expecting "IT" to appear, that is not that works. In surrendering you are not meant to achieve eternal hapiness or to be indestructible, it means you are able to understand it and see it for what it truly is, once you know that there's nothing to worry about it takes care of itself, but it takes a lot of time and practice. And no, you don't need to live with them forever. Thinking got you into this, thinking will not get you out. The more you think about a "solution" you are creating another stories which in 5 seconds will warrant another problem to fix, that's the minds job. Also never understimate the effect of small changes, no matter how minimal, they can make a huge difference later on. You are not the mind you can't be, it does everything by itself without anyone to tell it what to do, heck it doesn't even know what is doing. Fear is an illusion to trick it into thinking it is something that is not, this "I" this is so worried. You don't know your next thought, you don't know how you are going to react to it, you don't know how you can understand what you understand, because that's not you. Not sure if you will learn from this but i feel like it can help, the key is to trully understanding what he means https://gatelessgate.wordpress.com/2006/08/01/the-worst-desire-is-the-desire-for-enlightenment/ Stop telling yourself these stories of what is the truth behind this this and that, it will only distract you even more. Enlightment is nothing, that's what it trully is, nothing at all. You need to fully understand that. It's not a bliss state, it's the truth of your experience, it's not different from what you are experiecing. If you have to ask "Is this it?" It's not it, it's nothing

It has already been about two weeks since I have been on a darkness retreat. I initially planned to stay in the darkness for about 13 days. But I quit the retreat after 4 days. As I got a few requests about sharing my experience I still wanted to let you know what this retreat revealed to me. Why did I quit? The thing that made me quit was a build-up of frustration. I could have dealt with the boredom and the long hours of meditation, it was actually quite blissful at times. I became frustrated though because the place was not sound proof at all and it was not quiet. Right next to my room were a couple of dogs in a confined space and they would bark each time someone went by on the street. You could hear every car and truck going by, people speaking outside and so forth. As all other senses get incredibly heightened in the darkness, this was not acceptable for me. I would recommend everyone who wants to do a darkness retreat to research carefully beforehand if the place is also quiet. One recommendation I got for europe is this one: http://pobyt-ve-tme.cz/ it is supposed to be very quiet. I have found that when in meditation in darkness it is really easy to get into "interesting" territory pretty quickly, but sound would pull me out just as easily. And dog barking is terrible in my opinion. It really got on my nerves and then at one occasion they did not stop for about an hour and that when I called it quits. Couldn't stand the thought of having to deal with this for another 8-9 days. But then I learned from the experience and you can too. Make sure to go to a quiet place and your experience will me much more pleasant. Maybe some nature sounds are ok. Birds just sounds friendlier Meditation: Powerful stuff in the darkness. I experienced levels of bliss, which I never did in my sessions before. But I have not had that long sessions before in light. No distraction, what else is there to do but to meditate. Creativity was great at first but mental thoughts became less as time went on. I did mainly do nothing meditation, strong determination sitting and regular meditation with focus on the breath. All felt really good, but do nothing did not work as well for such long hours of meditation. Interesting: The senses of tasting and smelling became so incredibly nuanced that I was almost overwhelmed. There were nuances and literally dimensions to it, I never experienced before. At one time the smell of smoke came in the room and I was thinking the house must be burning so strong was it. But apparently it was just smoke from some chimneys in the town. In those first four days I had almost no visual of psychedelic effects. Some flashing colors and thinking that I can see the room, but nothing really solid. After-effects: Even though I did not sleep much, in fact I slept probably less than usual, I felt incredible energized and motivated when I came out of the darkness. Happiness for everyday experiences is still on a whole other level. Experiencing the visual dimension is one of our greatest sources of joy. We just forget that we are able to see at all. My biggest insight was that we do not long for happiness or beautiful experiences, but instead for anything at all. The distinctions we make, come only after are already saturated with experiences. If you experience almost nothing for an extended time, it becomes clear how grateful we can be to have such a rich life experience. I learned that whenever I want more and strive to "achieve" some other state, that I have to go back and retreat, so that everyday experiences become magical again. Conclusion: I will be doing it again for sure. But this time with more careful planning. It is difficult for sure and therefore the place must be really good to make the experience as positive as possible. In buddhism it is recommended as an advanced practice and I am sure it gets tricky once you reach the state where psychedelic compounds are released in the brain. But a week should be manageable for everyone who has a daily meditation habit. And it will increase your desire to further develop your meditation practice and give you increased appreciation, motivation and energy for your daily life. I posted a short video about my experience the day after I came out of the retreat:

This ‘fall out’ so to speak, I’ve been through it too. I’ve went a few months not even playing my guitar too, I feel you on that, cause it’s like a life line in a way, but this is deep purification in my opinion. It the rough part, but it’s a necessary part of the bigger process. Life is giving gifts, hard to see it that way now. Yoga & home routines, vs any pressure to be adding muscle, is a good experience in the long run imo. Life’s giving you this. Looking for happiness from the lessons, or anything else, it’s a rollercoaster. You can be in a state of love, happiness and appreciation just sitting, doing nothing, life is showing you this now. It’s rough, but what a gift the universe is giving you at such a young age, you’ll see this soon. Same with attachment feeling good from scheduling your day and needing to adhere to it. There’s a deep nuance you’re being given in this. Of course it’s great to plan and execute, but the deepest bliss is in the now, with no need for attachment to anything. Just that you are, is enough. You, being, is enough. Again, it’s rough, but life is giving you these gifts. All part of bigger processes, and man you are doing well for yourself dude. Watch for beating up on your self, inner thoughts wise. Progress, of course, but let go to man. You’re only young once, and nobody said you’re supposed to nail every aspect every day. Ya need some silly, some no seriousness, some spontaneity, some care free - in life. When you are, and you return to the things you love in your life, oh my God dude, it’ll be more delicious than ever. The foundation will be more solidified. You’re creating you. You are an unstoppable force. You’re gonna enjoy so many fruits from your labors, and you’re gonna help so many people. You’re hittin the practical notes, the passion notes, the determination, the skill sets, my God man, what a beautiful life you’re creating! Trade your habits for the now. All the practices will naturally return, and your love and appreciation will only deepen. And give love, especially in little situations, like the old guy you wouldn’t otherwise relate to, or really notice, behind the gas station counter. Be mindful with people, be encouraging. One moment, at any given time, any given day, living from the heart, can just show you how deeply wonderful this life is. Just straight outta the blue, it can open you right up to the miracle life is, and the wonder you are. I mean, look at @Leo Gura for example. He just recommended Matt Kahn. There’s hope for us all! ❤️

The norm of the majority is militant hedonism I.e partying, sex, beauty ,seeking power ,money, pleasure , gossip, pleasure of the senses, to eat tasty and listen songs, to touch soft and taste sweet ,and all this as Leo puts it, creates a life of desperation and suffering which majority live. The path of wisdom is narrow , but worth it. Chaos is in desire for company. Beauty is in solitude. To love others first love thyself. We are born alone and we die alone, we are always alone and not being alone is an illusion. That way lies peace. That way lies nirvana and bliss.

Just an interesting update on this one.. For some time (and to be honest, even still now to some extent..), the fear of this whole mahasamadhi scenario was holding me back from going deeper spiritually. As stated in the initial post, every time I would sit to be still & surrender, whether soberly or on a psychedelic, I just couldn't come to terms with the idea that total surrender to existence could potentially kill me. I was really, really put off by this. Ultimately I had to confront what I discovered was the ego’s ultimate fear... extinction, death and loss of all form. The whole situation ultimately became like a zen riddle for me.. I had to confront the question.. 'do I still want ultimate bliss and liberation if paradoxically it means I have to risk leaving my entire life & body behind?'. The issue for me is that I have experienced such profound spiritual states that nothing else in the world could ever satisfy me or scratch the surface in comparison, yet here I was.. confronted with the paradox that the one thing I wanted and craved so badly could also be the end of me, figure that? After much contemplation, I finally came to the stage where I managed to ‘say yes to death’ in an unreserved way, I really had no choice and I just couldn't fight it anymore. I'd really put a lot of psychological pressure on myself over this one, because I take my contemplation and understanding of life very seriously, and if there's a stone left unturned I can't help but try and turn the fucking thing over and claw at the dirt until I get to the bottom of what's under there (not by choice, it's just how I am.. these things will spin in my mind until i reach some conclusion or understanding). Anyway, in this moment after saying yes to death, like really saying yes.. and then passing through immense fear and terror, I then slipped into the most profound state I have ever touched upon. I had absolutely no body, no mind, and was just floating in the sea of infinity, and at the same time i was the sea, it felt like I had really in a sense died because everything I knew as my self, my body and my life on earth was gone, and it was beyond beautiful. Obviously I came back to life after this experience, but in that moment I had to let go beyond any guarantee that I would – maybe this is then what is required for true enlightenment? Continuous, ever-present, unequivocal and unreserved letting go of every and all form. It is clear to me that there is no death, in regards to the source of experience itself, the soul. But still, in regards to this matter of mahasamadhi.. I guess the 'belief' I hold in it as a possibility still somewhat haunts me. I know the real self doesn't die, but I'm plagued by the concern that I'll accidentally leave this body forever, against my will.. and even after this experience the idea of it still brings up strong resistances for me. I keep trying to let go beyond this fear of death, which I am able to at times.. I even remind myself that there is nothing to guarantee I'll be alive in the next hour anyway, and I aim to surrender beyond all this, but still.. what is really missing here for me is just an overall understanding, a conflict in knowledge & experience I guess you'd say.. @Leo Gura - care to share some wisdom on this one? (just to re-iterate, I'm not someone that holds on to and bows down to each and every word of a guru, but I most certainly trust Sadhguru as a legitimately knowledgeable and enlightened being, and this piece of information about mahasamadhi in particular has just been difficult to dismiss).

The romance doesn’t salve the suffering, the suffering deminishes the capacity for romance. It is as simple as, how does romance feel. You’ve got to let things be simple. The bliss is in the extraordinary. Oooohhhhh❤️ To embody...there is no greater joy possible.

Ha ha ha ha. That made me chuckle. In laughter there is truth eh? No offence. I suppose language gets in the way. With all this conciousness work, my definition of 'you' or 'I' has somewhat expanded from the everyday version. I know or feel or whatever, that whatever 'I' am it is the totally of all the appearences and not apart from them. I feel or experience myself in everything. In other words all the appearences have 'me' in them, they're tainted with the essence of me and there's no way for me to step outside of that - in fact I wouldn't know how. So it's a simple step from there to say that I don't exist as a separate entity from the appearences, I am those appearences and no more and no less. Included in all the appearences are my thoughts and mental constructs, conditioning, yadda yadda. But. My ego is still part of reality, I am told that to be rid of it is bliss. My ego is part of me and I am my ego in small part, so what?

As Camus wrote in the Myth of Sisyphus, committing suicide because you can't see a meaning in life is absurd since that claim implies that some absolute truth about the nature of existence is available to you. Which is false, because you are merely a human being, with all the accompanying cognitive limitations. I would comment that you're operating based on logical assumptions. But why does existence has to be logical? Human capacity for reasoning seems to be a by-product of evolution, which we use today for the oddest purposes like justifying one's existence - or suicide. If you want to alleviate suffering, you can devote your life to hardcore spiritual practice, become enlightened and live in a constant state of bliss away from society. Why not get the best of both worlds? I am not particularly interested in entering this deep and murky discourse of meaning and purpose. It would probably take years to master, and what for - to satisfy my need for logic? So that my life would be logically impeccable? I couldn't give less shit about it. I should admit, however, that looking into these things helped me clarify my position towards life. Knowing that I will die and that I want neither to kill myself nor to become a mystic/hardcore philosopher/scientist (who might believe that science will find meaning in the future, when humanity as we know it ceases to exist), I'm choosing to play the game, even though I didn't ask for it. And to get as much happiness and fulfillment as is available to me. Luckily, the problem of happiness is much more down-to-earth and can actually be solved.

@zedprotect I've also been questioning this topic lately. What I struggle most with is that a lot of the stuff we talk about in spirituality such as consciousness, awareness, the ultimate, kundalini, nonduality, spirit, god, samadhi, bliss, presence etc. bla bla doensn't necessarily contradict the paradigm of a (physical) world we know. Because a physical world does not exclude subjective experiences. For example: Recognizing that you're not your thoughts, but the observer/awareness behind the thoughts, doesn't automatically mean that consciousness is fundamental and that you are in essence "the absolute" (whatever this is). This could solely be the process of a physical brain becoming aware of itself. How the fuck can you know that what you're conscious of is of any trustworthiness? How do you know it is not any subjective bullshit experience? Same goes for psychedelics. How the hell would you know that what you're experiencing is not just a simple halluzination? Yes, I get it: It seems like your whole world collapses and this altered state seems super real to you. But guess what, your brain can make you believe anything it wants! And yes, there is the Ego with all it's selfish needs and wants and inferior motives and self-deception. Ok, but this doesn't prove anything about a spiritual dimension. Kundalini could be just some regular neural stimulation that affects the brain in certain ways Spontaneous epiphanies or "awakening experiences" could also be just brain stuff It seems to me like a lot of this spirituality stuff is the ego's way of trying to construct a new illusory reality for itself, in order to be free of suffering. Can't it just be that if you tell our moldable brain long enough: "Hey, I am not this human body, I am the whole universe" (which in a sense is true because all is the same physical matter) it will eventually believe it and thus relieve the "person" of suffering because of the depersonalization process that has taken place. And the possible illusion that you might be the ultimate consciousness or whatever could also be welcome by suffering brain. What if there really is a physical universe (which we do not yet fully understand, and probably never completely will) and the emergent brain phenomenon "consciousness" of an evolved lifeform in the person of Eckhard Tolle is telling somebody just this very moment: "you are not your thoughts, you are infinite awareness bla bla"... This, of course, it just some input to think about. I always try to keep an open mind and be aware of the possibility that truth might be beyond my accessibility. But maybe not.

Hey guys, I got enlightened and I just wanted to share my experience. So, I've meditated and meditated for years and just a few days ago I was finally told by my guru that I was ready for my enlightenment and all I had to do was climb to Gods temple on the tippy top of Mount Everest. So, I climbed, strained, and struggled up that mountain for days on end ready to receive my enlightenment. Some of my fingers even fell off and because of how cold it was my penis was no bigger than a hydrogen atom. But like the badass mother fucker I am I just trucked along staying mindful the whole time. After days of arduous climbing I had finally reached the temple completely exhausted, almost dead, but ready for enlightenment. So, I go into Gods temple and sit down on a pillow seemingly laid out there for me and God floats down while some new age electronic music plays (you know the stuff) on the speakers. "Wow," I couldn't believe it, God was sitting right in front of me. And God said, "you are finally ready for your enlightenment." I said, "Thanks God, this is great, this is the best moment of my life, I've been training so hard for this and struggled massively for years to get here." I was in tears I was so happy I was about to finally become enlightened. God then clasped his mighty hands together and moved them towards me as if he was going to reveal something to me. I was about to explode with excitement and amazement. And then God said "just kidding!" and poofs out of existence. Silence. I was pretty dumb struck at this point. I could feel how tired and broken my body was from the journey. My utter shock slowly transformed into major disappointment when I realized that this was what was really at the end of the tunnel of my spiritual practice. But I then shortly accepted it and let it go. My disappointment faded and I was left with nothing but bliss and peace. But it wasn't some mystical magical super ultra peace bliss, and I wasn't in some jamba juice state of super conscioussness, I wasn't strange looping, I didn't open all 45 chakra chocolates, I didn't even have a cool guru beard to match my nothing that I had received. It was just a simple pure satisfaction for what is. Far better put, a very ordinary lack of unfulfillment. When you truly realize it you'll have the laughing fit of your life. All this for nothing. Seriously, I was brutally cramping from laughing so hard. Good one God, you definitely got me. No doubt those who read this will be confused. I know, I'm sorry. Good luck everyone! Pah-pow.

You are afraid to face truth! And it's a legit fear! This is why.. ..If you trace your way back to God/nothingness, you will realise how profound and perfect everything is. Everything is complete. There is just an overflow of love, bliss, love, peace and beauty. There is nothing to do and nothing to become. There is no goal what so ever, you already are the goal. Now, because of this overflow of positive emotions, God transcend itself so speak and arise if a form of a body-mind. A mind is a derivative of God one can say. The best thing a mind can do is to let it sink back and dissolve itself into to pure awareness/God again. Which is what happened when the mind is stripped of its limitations. Awareness plus a certain set of limitations makes up your mind, there is literary NOTHING more to it. Your mind has many hopes though, many things it will accomplish, you have 20+ years of indoctrination into that mind of yours. Of course, that will be frightened to realise that the only thing worth doing is to dissolve itself back to nothingness again. Life(ego) is great, but even greater, MUCH greater is no life at all. No one is dying here, only the wrong idea that the the mind of yours is something other then limitations of what you really are. Since awareness is infinite, that's what we really are. It can limiting itself to "your" particular mind or "my" particular mind. Your fear is the fear from "your" ego, which is nothing but an imaginary unit.

I have always been very spiritual without even knowing about spiritual communities, enlightenment, gurus and such. I have no conceptual knowledge. But I always felt life is mysterious and magical. I often feel existential bliss. I feel deep connection with existential matters beyond what words describe. However, words and conceptual knowledge doesn't hurt. And now as a father I like to consume some teaching, since I don't want them to be bohemians yet not too adopted to mainstream society with all its toxic priorities and conventional way of living. But I find it hard to find a spiritual teacher that has children and therefore firsthand experience of upbringing. Leo has told us he has no children(yet) and Osho, Sadhguru, Tolle, Adyashanti and Mooji... none of them have have their own families, right ? Is there any teacher/guru that is a father? Might be a stupid question, but I am novice and all of this talk about "infinity" and "pure consciousness" doesn't appeal to me. Maybe later if I continue with teachings. As for now, I would love some pragmatic teachings for helping me out family wise. Thanks!

@Faceless By "bliss", I refer to good/enjoyable subjective experience — the opposite of suffering.

What do you mean when you use this word bliss?

Let me ask you, @Leo Gura: Is there a difference between an existence full of suffering and an existence full of bliss? Are both equally good/bad because they are truly nothing, as you so claim?

In his latest video, Leo said the goal is to be in no-mind for most of the day. But Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that he usually spends days and weeks on end without a single thought. He has remained in a constant state of ecstasy and bliss for 10 or 15 years. He sleeps less than 3 hours a day, because he controls his energies so well. He understands ‘truth’ 100%. He said that if he wanted, he could sit in one seat and stay there for the rest of his life, of course with his biological needs being provided. Compare that with what Leo has as a self actualized vision. It’s nowhere near.

The Painting by Adam M There is a painting so big that you can't see the edges if you stand closely enough. It was painted by the most masterful painters who have ever lived. DaVinci worked on it, Michaelangelo worked on it, Picasso. The painting contains the most beautiful trees, roads, rivers, boats, and animals. It is so magnificent that it has the power to make you laugh and cry and want to scream at the top of your lungs. You can feel the love and attention to detail that went into the painting if you look at it with enough care. All you have to do is look at the painting with great concentration and attention, and you will be rewarded with splendid revelations that fill up your heart with love and your mind with all the answers to all the questions that you never even knew you had. There was a young boy who had looked at the painting as often as he could. He felt as if he had been looking at the painting since the day he was born and he loved to marvel at its beauty and its mystery. He loved the painting so much that his favourite parts of the painting had etched themselves into his young mind and he would think about them often. As he looked at the painting every day, he was amazed at how vast it was and how it must have taken a very long time to paint. He would discover new areas of the painting that he had never seen before and he would feel a pure sense of wonder and awe whenever he explored the vast painting with his eyes and his imagination. As the boy got older, he wanted to learn everything there was to know about the painting so he asked his parents to buy him books that would teach him about the history of the painting, who painted it, and why it was painted. He spent so much time learning about the painting that sometimes he forgot to look at it. Now, when he looked at the painting, he saw within it all the things that he had learned about it. The boy would always talk with his parents about how much he loved the painting. He told his Dad all of the amazing things that he had learned about the painting and he convinced him to sit and look at the painting with him. As the boy's father looked at the painting, he felt a spark within him that could have rekindled an old flame if the wood had not been neglected and dampened. "I love looking at this painting with you, son," said the Dad, "I used to look at it too when I was your age. But I cannot help but feel that I am wasting my valuable time just sitting here and staring at the same painting that I know so well. I know that you love it, but I am a very busy man and I have lots of work do to." "Dad!" exclaimed the boy, trying to hold his father's fleeting attention, "everything you could ever need is already within the painting! All you have to do is have faith that you will find it if you just look closer." "I do have faith, son." said the Dad, "but I cannot help but feel restless when I stare at this painting for so long…My mind is used to moving quickly and it is difficult for me to look at it for so long, especially when you are not around to remind me of the painting's hidden beauty." The boy sighed, they had had this talk many times before and he knew that it was no use trying to convince his Dad to invest so much time and energy to reap the rewards that the painting would inevitably give him if he stared at it for long enough. "You see son, I have a voice in my head that does everything in its power to remind me of all the other impotant things that I could be doing instead of wasting my days gazing at this pointless painting. I only have so many years left and I don't want to see them go to waste! Now, I'm sure that this painting contains many deep secrets, like you tell me all the time, but I must finish my work so that I can begin packing for our family vacation." The boy's father left and that was that. The boy was sad that his father would never appreciate the beauty of the painting in the same way that he did. The boy spent all of his time bathing in the glory of this magnificent painting and the more closely he paid attention to the painting, the more divine love filled the boy's heart and soul, the more he wished that he could share the love with his father. Sometimes, the boy would get distracted by other things and he would forget about the painting for hours and sometimes days at a time. He noticed that the more time he spent away from the painting, the more things seemed to go wrong in his life. The voice in the boy's head had gotten more clever and more convincing as he got older. The voice would try to tell him that he had outgrown the painting and that he did not need to think about it anymore so that he could focus on the more important things in life. The boy had not thought about the painting for an entire year and he could not have been more miserable. He was buried up to his ears in work and he felt that he had no time left to do the things that he truly wanted to do. He felt depressed and he wished that things could be different. Then, on his way home from work, the boy saw a small, framed painting in the window of an antique shop and it reminded him of the immense beauty of the painting that he had forgotten. All of the boy's childhood memories suddenly rushed back to him and filled him with inspiration to quit his job and devote all of his time to studying the divine painting from his childhood. He sat in front of it for days and sometimes he forgot to eat because he was so enthralled by the painting's mysteries that he had yet to discover. Slowly, a sense of joy had returned to fill the boy's heart that his work had drained out of him. The voice in the boy's head fabricated one thousand and one reasons why the boy should stop looking at the painting. The voice showed him visions of poor and dirty men sleeping on the street because they had ignored their important work. The voice tempted the boy with false promises of true love and pleasure that the boy just couldn't get by sitting and looking at the painting. It even told the boy that his father would be disappointed in him if he wasted his entire life looking at the "pointless" painting. Luckily, the boy would not make the same mistake twice and he would not be seduced by of the voice's empty promises nor would he be scared by its empty threats. The boy already knew what he had to do. He had to sit and observe. He had to observe the painting in an attempt to comprehend its full glory. It was a difficult task since the painting was so vast and detailed. The voice tried to make the boy doubt himself by reminding him how the painting is too complex for one little mind to understand. But still, the boy sat, unmoved. And he observed. The shapes in the painting subtly began to blur together. The trees would blend into the ground just as the ground blended into the sky. The boy noticed that the tree was not really a tree…it was just paint, but the voice called it a tree in an effort to distract the boy from the Truth. But the boy could no longer see the tree as a tree, he just saw it as paint because that's what it was, just like every other object in the painting. That's when the boy looked at his hands and noticed something very peculiar about them. They were made of the same thing that the trees were made of…paint. The voice cried out in agony and harnessed all of its convincing power in a desperate attempt to distract the boy. But the boy was not listening to the voice because he already knew what it was…paint. And just like that the voice was gone and so was the painting and so was the boy; the only thing that was left was the paint. The paint was always there and always will be there. Everything that ever existed, exists, and will exist was, is, and always will be made of the paint. Even DaVinci, Michaelangelo, and Picasso are made of the paint. You may ask, why is there any paint at all? There isn't. You see, when literally everything is just paint there is no paint. And that's the way it always was and always will be. . . . The boy continued to sit in the painting just as he had his entire life, but now, we was fully concious of it. It felt very natural and he knew that it couldn't be any other way. The reason why he had been so mesmerized by the painting from such a young age was because the painting would never stay the same. Unlike every other painting, this painting was contantly moving and changing, the only thing that stayed the same was the paint. The boy was now free to enjoy the rest of his passing life without any worry or fear of death. He knew that his body was just paint and that it would eventually blend into the rest of the painting just like everything else. Everything just felt…right. As he sat there in bliss, he became concious of a burning desire within him to share his discovery with his father. The boy knew that his father wouldn't believe him. How could he? "Hey Dad! Everything is made of paint!" His Dad would laugh at him. The boy sat there and began to think of some clever ways that he could tell his Dad about his discovery that had always been true. Perhaps he would use a metaphor or something… The end. I hope you liked it! What do you think?

@solr The awareness / consciousness / love increases as the self deception (believing the illusion is actual reality, and that you are a separate being) decreases. The shocker is that there is only bliss. That’s it. All else is self deception / devilry. Look at your hand - see it - that’s literally because you’re fooling yourself. It’s not actually there. The most convincing aspects of the illusion are thinking it’self, and specifically, thinking one is a separate self, and pain (imo). The root of all suffering, is self deception. This is why Leo always stresses the importance of an open mind, and a genuine attitude of ‘there’s always more’, and an open heart. Imo, it’s the most intricate process imaginable, and then the rest, the larger part, is unimaginable until it’s experienced / accomplished. I try not to fault or judge anyone who claims their own situation of reality could not possibly be outside of what they have experienced combined with the capacity of their imagination. Admittedly, at first glance, it sounds absurd. That’s why it is so difficult, and take enormous commitment.

The present moment is that fresh untouched by others space where you can let go of past and future and bathe in the current of bliss.lol

You forget to realize that everything good that has ever happened in your life, every positive emotion, every feeling of joy, every inch of love you've felt was ALSO created by you. doesn't that show you how powerful and meaningful your "egoic constructs, fabrications and lies" can be? That means you literally have the ability to bliss out like a yogi for no reason whatsoever. The issue is your subconscious doesn't know it yet.

First of all, planning is a good thing, we all agree on that I believe! Without it - No Leo youtube episodes every Sunday morning! However, if you aim for a fully enlightened consciousness, what will that do with your planning abilities? After all, enlightenment is about the NOW, it's about peace and fully accept what is. Love, bliss and beauty! Pure Enlightenment is a total absence of any manipulation, you are guided by intuition, not by your mind. So, is there anything like a "good" manipulation? Planning as well as other intellectual activities are manipulations(Even if it has a good purpose). And also, what about "becoming". Life purpose is about "becoming something". Becoming also involve manipulation, at least manipulation of yourself. There seem to be a conflict here?

All the things I thought I wanted turned out to be empty and in the process of getting it, I realized I didn't really need it or even want it. My desires exhausted themselves and here I am not wanting. True not wanting. I don't want to be perceived as special or as an inspiration. I don't want to have a different life. I don't want to be anyone else. I don't want to escape this limited form. I don't want a different destiny. I want this one. I want this pain and all these problems. I want this society I don't belong in. I want this boredom and emptiness. I want the feeling of not being good enough. I want all my imperfections and traumas. I want everything I didn't want. I want everything I denied. It's not real 'wanting' it's a more so complete yes to everything. Prior to this, my innermost desire was to escape this particular life, this character Danielle. Spirituality was like the perfect way to escape myself and my life while telling myself I was facing it. I just switched between distractions, before it was 3 hours of watching Shameless and after it was 3 hours of listening to Mooji or whoever. I actually thought I would gain something by listening to them, what?! The whole idea just seems absurd to me now. Sure, they can guide you out of dead ends and bring clearity, but they can't give you anything. Not really. All these spiritual ideas were just lies on top of lies on top of lies. Truth takes care of it anyway, my complex blabla isn't necessary. There is just a silent yes present here. The tension in my body has decreased and I've been entrenched in bliss followed by hysterical laughter. I don't know how long this will last so I might as well say it now when it's true. Give me all the pain! Give me all the suffering that ever existed. Swallow me alive, I don't care. I'll say yes no matter what. There is an just an ocean of love in me that can't say no anymore.

@Serotoninluv Agreed. @SOUL What do you mean? @Faceless Sweet I live native american drums @Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj Cool way too look at the subject, I'll think about it. @alyra For me I think listening to music is more than just a bad habit since I listen all day, so I am addicted. And yeah, obviously not going to give up my carnal needs, and personally I think of enlightenment as something natural, not groundbreaking. Isn't in my top priorities right now. Also consider that many people think many different things about enlightenment and what it is, what it means for them, so it's a lonely journey. For some, awakening to the law of attraction is what enlightenment means. For others it's ascetism. As Leo said too, different people access different aspects of reality. For me enlightenment would mean that bliss of non-doership combined with the nature of consciousness/reality-fabric. What I practiced a lot is biokinesis and it taught me a lot about reality. That was my path. Now your path might be totally different. So yes, I agree that we are not yogis, not at all. The yogi life-style isn't for everyone. Honestly I think of myself as a pretty average or even lower than average person. @pluto Is the vibrating sound of my neon light healing? Buzzzzzzzzzz...... Jk

@Aftermarket Kundalini energy is really bliss energy but it gets stuck in any emotional traumas or addiction blockages first which causes life to be pretty chaotic. Your going to really have to work through your issues and lay down healthy habits if you want your life to be more stable. Doing nofap works great I find. It will probably take a while to

I've found that my spiritual journey has isolated me a little bit from society. I moved to Sydney, Australia from Canada to study physiotherapy a year and half ago and it's been difficult having no support or not really finding many people that I'm connecting with given my interests (anyone I mention meditation or spirituality to seems totally disinterested, it's a very catholic, far right leaning country, and the culture has little interest in ice hockey or psychedelics for the most part . I've diligently been meditating 20+ minutes every day for about the past year and a half, looking forward to Leo''s videos each week as they always bring me back to some form of self reflection and focus in my life. The ego backlash concept is something that I have noticed a lot and I find very challenging to deal with. I feel for me it happens when my mind gets to a point where it doesn't want to endure suffering anymore, and demands I cave in and give it what it wants - a bunch of addictions. Then eventually through the process, my awareness overcomes this and I get back on the right path. But this cycle has repeated itself so many times, and I'd like to see if other people have unique experiences/tips to helping overcome this. The one time I managed to avoid it was after an exam being extremely upset because it hadn't gone as planned and obviously felt I could have done much better. It was incredible how upset I was over something so small because I knew I'd passed the course already. But rather than letting my emotions drive me to distraction city (facebook, chess, whatever) I decided to contemplate on why I was so upset for about an hour, then meditated for another two hours. I just sat there and decided to face the negative emotions head on. The result was pretty incredible... I came out of it feeling as though I was experiencing everything for the first time. I was in awe of the simplest of things, from eating a sandwich to even the feeling of gravity pulling me down. I started watching some youtube videos on what I was feeling and felt a deep sense of connection and love for everyone on the screen. It was total bliss, somewhat similar to an experience i'd had on psychedelics, but toned down a little bit. My most recent insight is that when we go into these backlashes, our emotions > conscious awareness. Our actions become ruled by how we're feeling and we go into our more primitive way of being. I think the only way to ever overcome this (and I'd like to hear other people's perpsectives) is to get to a point where conscious awareness >>> emotions no matter how strong they are. I can't emphasize Leo's message enough that you NEED to build a consistent meditation practice, IMO only awareness can help you dig yourself out of your ego's holes.