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@sjonesartist Wondering how your going with this.. I just watched a vid from Earhart tolle. outlining how we like to replace that whole in our life with more stuff.. i.e. when we should probably justy deal with being comfortable with the whole.. Runs along same lines of what leo said a few weeks back about being lonely.. When you look at the whole closely the feeling of emptiness.. many ways to do this.. You realise its very similar to who we really are which is why we try to maintain and cling to our physical selves and try to keep busy.. a good example of how to see the nothingness and or the emptiness.. is.. reflect on before you where born., what did that feel like.. reflect on what you think death is like.. reflect on what it was like when something was stolen from you.. that feeling of loss or emptiness.. they all seem to be earilly similar.. I think something you said about getting bussier and meeting new and more wider experiences is great on one respect as long as you at the same time deal with and face the issue of emptiness.. what do you think??

I have been pursuing this work for some time now. Enlightenment is a topic that spellbinds me, and I have been adamant about practicing it. So when I ran into the pastor at my former Church (I used to be a Christian) I couldn't help but ask him about just that. I asked him about Jesus being enlightened. He basically said that Jesus was God's True son, and that we are all simply God's apex of creation. He went into how traditional Zen and Buddhist methods of consciousness work will lead you away from Jesus, therefore leaving you an empty atheist. I disagreed and stated that I am indeed not an atheist, nor have I ever been, and I loosely explained the "nothingness" and "ego-death" concepts to him. I stated that I do know there is a God, and that God is all of us reduced to the most certain and True form, nothingness. He disagreed with me. Nonetheless, I questioned him on weather Jesus was merely an enlightened man who shared his ideologies and thus (perhaps even unintentionally) sparked the Christian faith, and mentioned Ibn Battuta and The Buddha as other examples of people who kindled religions with their concepts. He basically said again that Jesus was God in the flesh, and these other guys may have had some high degree of spirituality, but didn't embody the Truth. If you are familiar with Western religion, this should ring a bell. I was simply wondering about people's tenets on the situation. I was deeply conversed with a man I have known for many years, and couldn't help but notice his hortatory towards his own faith (duh!). This bothered me, and I seek other opinions about the matter. Does anyone have any thoughts on religions? Perhaps this plays in part to default positions (me being raised Catholic/ other people brought up to believe a certain doctrine)?

For you there is no going back, others may stay in denial a while longer and that is perfectly fine too. Many people have had these experiences without ever touching psychedelics. Blaming the drugs is a good way to stay in denial for a little longer. It works (for a while)! Creating existence and denying ones own essence is the amusement part of Nothingness. Just imagine you are the infinitively creative nothingness (which we are) wouldn't we create any experience, be it good or bad, when we knew it wouldn't change us in any way? How do humans behave while playing GTA? Does it get boring quicker when you have all the cheats and power in the world? Just be aware that your path is (probably) not finished yet. Enlightenment is not having "experienced" the absolute. A better pointer is accepting everything as it is on a moment to moment basis. Just be brutally honest with yourself. When we allow everything to be as it is we are as close as possible to our true nature while immersed in the human experience. Nothingness allows everything to be as it is. Everything is as it is. Look around, everything is as it is. But for now, just enjoy the moment.

@Prabhaker thank you. I alwayz thought yoga is to prepare your body for meditation but Today while doing yoga i realized its not like that and Yoga itself is Meditation. Whole slow movments makes you aware of your body and nothingness,today i felt like i was meditating doing every posture.

@Leo Gura I just got through watching Day 9 of your solo retreat. Basically, you were saying that there is no end goal - that you're not going to find happiness when you retire or when you're rushing through work toward some goal - the moment of happiness is in the here and now - in the meditative / contemplative state in whatever you're doing. This is the best time to do self-inquiry too - when your thoughts are coming from the nothingness and not distracted from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This increases the creativeness within. So, my question for you is, are you able to apply what you learned here in your everyday life - at least some of it?

@Pure Imagination Yep yep yep. I have had glimpses that cannot be unseen in the past couple months. It has been pretty uncomfortable but I'm starting to come around to just loving it, there is no other way. The monkey mind won't shut up about it haha. I haven't been doing inquiry enough I admit but when I do it can go deep... Basically who the fuck am I!?!?!?!? I had a pretty good glimpse of nothingness the other night when I was listening to Leo's guided inquiry. I need to start inquiring every day but I'm just a lazy mofo still. @Dodo For real though, why do we all project the struggle game so much... Haha

Nothingness also doesn't exist, but it's real! Also the magic moments are the ordinary moments!!! And thank you that you are so sorry to break it to us.

Entry 151 | Psychedelic Dream Report Last night, I experienced a dream like no other. Although I've never taken drugs or psychedelics in my life, it seems as though I "tripped" in my dream last night in a monumental way. The specific meaning behind this dream remains a mystery for the time being as I'm bewildered by it completely. A good 95% of the dream was humanistic and believable in many ways. It was a hot day and I was chilling in the entrance to some sort of temple or old building with members of the Indian music ensemble. Although most dreams give the illusion of appearing realistic, this one felt unparalleled in that remark. The gorgeous heat of the sun beaming down on my skin, the appearance of my musician friends, the passage of time, even my state of consciousness within the dream felt completely real. My thoughts and emotions felt identical to what they do now. As far as I was concerned, it was real life with no question about it. Much of the dream occurred in this scenario, which felt really good but perhaps not as noteworthy as what happened right at the end of the dream. Remembering that it was a hot day with no clouds in the sky, I felt a spot of rain hit my skin. And then another. The sky began to darken and as I looked up, I saw the ash clouds of a gigantic explosion and a turquoise nebula shining through. I slowly came to realise that it must have been a meteor or something similar hitting the Earth, meaning the end of the world. As I spoke words along the lines of "is the world going to end?", time began to slow down before I managed to finish the sentence. The people around me, including myself, began to fall to the ground. The sound of my voice distorted like a record being slowed down. The colour schemes transformed from normal "everyday" colours to highly saturated, intense colours. My thoughts and emotions began to revolve around fear and terror. Instead of hitting the ground, I seemed to fall through it. The entire scenario, now in bright luminescent colours, began to zoom out of perspective until nothingness remained. My thoughts and emotions became the equivalent of that of a dying person. Once wrestling with life, now just peacefully letting it go. Remember that it felt like real life to me. It genuinely felt like death had finally come. All that remained of the nothingness was just pure awareness. It remained for a few more seconds before I "woke up" in bed to discover that it was all a dream. I checked my watch and I had only been asleep for 3 hours in all of that time. The most intriguing thing about this dream for me is the maintained awareness from the dream world to the awakened world. It left a great big question in my mind that can't be shaken off: what if I'm still dreaming? What if the dream never ended? I was so certain that the dream world was reality. Just like I have been so sure all of my life that the waking world is real. Now I really don't know. One thing is for sure: that was the most beautiful experience I can remember. Pick of the day:

Leo, after all the psychedelics do you still feel trapped in monkey mind during the day? A lot of what you said resonginated with my personal expeirences, however after serious inquiry while tripping last year there was a serious release of energy it felt like getting hit by lightening after that day I've felt pure nothingness inside my heart space and my mind is silent unless I engage it to do practical things. when I walk I can feel me consciousness as space like awareness, the body is just apparent if I push the awareness outward in everyday life I can not find myself as an object, Is this how it is for you? The thing I would say is wether you engage in material life or denounce it the one reality is still the same, it's a beautiful dynamic expression, our true self uses this body as a way of experiencing its self and realizing our selfs through forms is its highest joy. Thank-you for your time namaste.

I'm utterly overwhelmed by the nuances of all the different paths ,and I just want a direct experience before I get lost in concept. I already do a practice, but would just doubling down on self-inquiry be better to get me my first glimpse? I just want to know what's True so fucking badly, but I'm just totally lost. I self inquire, and I find nobody. I have no clue who I am. But I've got no experience of this abiding non-dual awareness/ Nothingness/ God/ no-self/True Self/ Ain Soph/ Brahman/ Absolute Infinity/Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

You can pursue things that are external. Just don't be attached to them. Do things you love and turn it into a life purpose. Your thoughts are coming from the nothingness - the oneness. It will tell you what you love to do when you do self-inquiry. Becoming a monk is not the only option. But, if that's what you want, go for it. If you tried being a temporary monk and don't like it, your life purpose is a backup, and not all monestaries are the same.

@Extreme Z7 This would help. He adresses the fear of nothingness. What you experienced is resistance from the ego. It's very normal. Just observe it, aknowledge it as being resistance and go forward. Fear is ok.

I used to be a massive video game addict and now I barely indulge in traditional entertainment bbut I still have other addiction though. But the main thing that got me to quit was two things. Life purpose and death Find something that just the mental image of achieving makes you cry, take Leo's life purpose course. Also realise the fact that your life is really short and there is literally barely any time left until it is ALL OVER. Complete nothingness in around 60 years... To me that's worrying so I make every second count, by doing the things that I ACTUALLY want to do. Leo had a video on this, but I'm on my phone so I can't link, just look up contemplating death and you might find it.

This might stem from a threatened ego, but I still need to do these readings for my school work (philosophy). It's hard for me to take or read about a really deep, profound concept, treat it objectively and work with it in my essays, like most academics do. Almost instantly I get emotionally triggered by the information and can't go on with it for a few minutes until I calm down. Concepts might include: the nature of the universe existence and nothingness itself the illusory nature of language etc. what is at the end of the universe Some readings sometimes throw me into mild psychosis or existential crises. Any tips? How do I treat all the information without emotional backlash? I try to treat the ideas as just ideas but it's very hard.

@Dan Arnautu Look at it this way Dan. When you play a song on your guitar, it's not only the audible notes that make the song, but the silence between the notes. And a silence put at the right moment can be very powerful in itself. Silence is like a canvas that you paint a picture on through music notes. Silence/stillness/nothingness is always around us. Nothing could exist without it, including a beautiful song.. BTW- I picked up a 3 string fretless cigar box. Tons of fun!

What I've always found interesting about Sam is that he understands the uncertainty principle, understands that the fabric of everything is also him and in this sense the ego is illusory, and he see's that this one thing is also him, but he does not connect that he is the uncertainty principle. If he did, it would, in turn, reveal his 'accurate understanding of the nothingness' to be a mere ignorance of his own collapsing.

@Leo Gura I'm making my way through your book list and read God Is Nothingness and Mastering The Core Teachings of the Buddha, currently on Enlightenment, the Damndest Thing, and one thing that is conflicting me is the difference between Enlightenment and spiritual insight you get from state experiences. On one hand, I can see how experience as a whole, even the mystical ones could be just a distraction from Truth, on the other hand, it sounds like they might be worth cultivating. Do you think developing high concentrations states like the eight Jhana or profound samadhis are worthwhile, or should I not worry about attaining those and put more emphasis on just insight practice? I'll keep going back and studying more carefully, but right now I don't know. Daniel Ingram seems to think it can be worthwhile but not necessary while I'm getting the impression Jed McKenna argues that all experience is just a distraction and mysticism may lead to delusion.

I guess emptiness ....just nothingness and the vastness of space and time.

@Simon Håkansson Enlightenment doesn't come upon motivating yourself. The ego needs motivation mainly. You need to learn to fully surrender and let go of the control you think you have. This denotes that you are trustworthy to The God within you, and only then the peaceful Love that you are in essence will shine bright within you. Enlightenment is Love. Can you force yourself to love me more, a stranger on the Internet, more than you love your mother? No. You need to let go of stories, personal justifications, egoic ambitions, in order to see the fully loving nothingness that you are. Once you're there, attend to your soul's core desires and wounds, as you'll begin the awakening of the heart. Good luck!

First, I tried to answer what is Nothingness?: 1. I can't because it is simply nothing. 2. Impossible because all thoughts and and answers are just labels and pointing to something-ness. 3. The question doesn't really make sense, because questions itself are just words created by thoughts. Second, I tried to answer who am I? then lot chit chats happening , rationalization that I am my body , my brain etc. But my question really pointing out to the 'sense of self', not really to the physically body so it just flash me back when Im trying to answer What is Nothingness? So the sense of self is totally an illusion, and what is called your True Self cannot be questions or answered because it is simply Nothingness. And the most interesting that came to me was that , for a second I can see my arms and legs moving by itself same thing when I see a table -there is no sense of self attached on it. It's freaky you know, but after a minute here I am back again. note:sorry for my English:)

@Annetta I have provided the link you can download it for free, you should know perspective of an enlightened master too. Excerpts from the Book : We enter on a rare pilgrimage. The Ten Bulls of Zen are something unique in the history of human consciousness. Truth has been expressed in many ways, and it has always been found that it remains unexpressed whatsoever you do. Howsoever you express it, it eludes, it is elusive. It simply escapes description. The words that you use for it cannot contain it. And the moment you have expressed, immediately you feel frustrated as if the essential has been left behind and only the nonessential has been expressed. The Ten Bulls of Zen have tried in a single effort to express the inexpressible. So first, something about the history of these ten bulls. Basically, there were eight pictures, not ten; and they were not Buddhist, they were Taoist. Their beginning is lost. Nobody knows how they started, who painted the first bulls. But in the twelfth century a Chinese Zen master, Kakuan, repainted them; and not only that, he added two more pictures, and eight became ten. The Taoist pictures were ending on the eighth; the eighth is emptiness, nothingness. But Kakuan added two new pictures. That is the very contribution of Zen to religious consciousness. When one moves on an inner journey one leaves the world, renounces all that hinders the path, renounces all that is nonessential so that the essential can be searched, sought. One tries to become unburdened so the journey can become easier, because the journey, this journey, is towards the height, the greatest height there is – the very pinnacle of human possibilities, the very climax. One leaves the world, one renounces the world; not only the world – one renounces the mind, because the mind is the cause of the whole world. The world of desires, the world of possessions, is just the outer part. The inner part is the mind: the desiring mind, the lustful mind, the jealous, competitive mind, the mind full of thoughts; that is the seed. One renounces the outer, one renounces the inner, one becomes empty – that’s what meditation is all about. One becomes totally empty. But is this the end? The Taoist pictures ended with nothingness. Kakuan says this is not the end – one comes back to the world, one comes back to the marketplace; only then is the circle complete. Of course, one comes totally new. One never comes with the old; the old is gone, gone forever. One comes totally renewed, resurrected, reborn – as if this man had never gone; as if this man is coming totally fresh and virgin. One comes back to the world and again one lives in the world yet lives beyond it. Again one becomes ordinary – chopping wood, carrying water from the well, walking, sitting, sleeping – one becomes absolutely ordinary. Deep inside, the emptiness remains uncorrupted. One lives in the world but the world is not in your mind, the world is not within you. One lives untouched, like a lotus flower.

I know there can be nothigness. Peter Ralston describes it here: "get that you could be a snail, right now, you could be a snail, so you have no eyes, no visual perception, nor any idea of such a thing. Create this idea for yourself. What that would that be like? You're a snail, see. So, I exist, but I have no eyes, no visual and no idea of such a thing. Create a world in which that's true for you in your experience. Ehi, now, how about a single cell organism that has no perceptive organs at all, be a single cell organism, has no perceptive organs at all. What's that like? Without perceptions or any memory of perception. Without language, without perceptions or any memory of perception and without language, can you think? Try. [...] Try harder. [...] You can't think? See now, that tells you something about thinking, does it? [...] ... close your eyes. Now, what you have in your experience? Darkness is vision, you have hearing, sounds, feelings, sensations, smell. Now remove all of these. It could be done. You know, we could destroy your smell, we could destroy your ears, we could destroy your eyes, we could destroy your nervous system [...] whatever. See, it could be done. So, go ahead and do that, remove all of these, even sensations. It's possible, so imagine doing it. So you remove sight and sound and sensations and smell and taste [...] remove perceptive faculties of any kind. Now where are you? What are you?" So, if you're saying that there is a nothingness that is the most fundamental "thing" and that precedes and follows every sensory experience and it's the essential "I", I could believe you, it makes sense. But that would just be another "experience" (I know that technically it's not an experience) in a series of experiences. It wouldn't be always there. When attention "arises" from that nothingness that nothingness disappear. But if you're suggesting that nothingness is always present, I don't follow you.

That's basicly what he said in the video that i posted ! ( I start to realize the importance of space between my body and a object. Nothingness which play the role of air is the energy that causes enlightement because air is by nature empty, it is but it is not ).

I'm making it complicated? You're the one making all those complicated distinctions and rules about right and wrong. My version is extremely simple: Absolute Infinite Nothingness. Total freedom. Anything goes. It couldn't be simpler or more beautiful.

@Dodo The glass of Nothingness is so full it's infinitely overflowing More than your heart can ever stand.