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For the majority (95%+) of cases I doubt that sober inquiry can do it. The "liftoff platform" for Enlightenment (the platform on which the accident of Enlightenment can happen) normally are awakened nondual and empty states. 95% is of course a rough estimation, but if asked and based on the contemprorary & historical cases I am aware of that would be my estimate. I don't agree on that. See Ken Wilber Pre- Trans-Confusion on the topic of babies. Animals are not enlightened, they are not even self-reflectively aware. Yet, these are beings that share the same Infinite Impersonal Consciousness that is the true essence of all of us. But anway, something has shifted for you, and that is wonderful. Enjoy it, and try to live from it. Selling Water by the River

Yes. That is what I can confirm, and that sequence one can also find in every spiritual tradition. The bold parts of your text are excellent. Welcome home to a home you never left. What was your practice/path? The normal sequence is: 1. Practice (or just Karma/"luck". But I would estimate from what I have seen that for 90% it was practice). Efficient way: Meditation + psychedelics + integration work + many other things. 2. Many Awakenings (some traditions already call these Enlightenments)/ into stabilizing awakened nondual and empty/impersonal Awareness states: Into all these aspects (some aspects of Absolute Reality show up, like emptiness or nondual unity, love, timelessness, Infinity, and so on... But the separate-self is STILL yet not fully seen through). The separate-self gets more and more transcended, ones identity more and more empty and more like Pure Awareness, and then it gets nondual/unity with the whole visual field/manifestation. These Awakenings (field getting nondual and ones identity more and more just empty awareness) are normally caused by the practice that makes accident-prone. And then comes the accident that is called Enlightenment (that can't be willed, since that would be a spearate-self wanting that which is already the case, and by doing that covering it), and for which practice makes accident-prone. Enlightenment tends to happen for most only in very specific Awakened States (nondual/unity AND impersonal/empty). For that, I have written elsewhere (Mahamudra stage 3 (Awakened states of nondual and empty) "One Taste-Yoga" to Mahamudra stage 4 (stabilizing these states without doing anything) "Yoga of Nonmeditation). Bliss: These awakened states are already very blissful without needing external experience for that. 3. (Full/Basis/Great) Enlightenment into the True Nature of Oneself: Infinite Reality = Infinite limitless Impersonal and totally Empty Consciousness CONTAINING Infinite Manifestation, in an infinite Unity/Totality. The essence of every appearance/manifestation is the same Suchness as Infinite Consciousness/Awareness. A deep identity level shift, away from a separate-self to being aware that "one" is and always was the Totality/Infinite Reality/Infinite Impersonal Consciousness. Phase 2 is gradual(!), Phase 3 (Shift of Full Enlightenment) is a sudden and complete understanding into the eternal and immortal nature/essence of all of Reality (limitless) and ones True Self (Awareness/Nothingness containing all manifestation). It can not be mistaken, is sure, doesn't need any external validation (understanding it by being it, and IT is infinite/all there is and can be). It is totally beyond "any further" and beyond any need for any confirmation. It is self-evident. This insight/understanding/realization is "more assured/ultimately assured" (beyond any chance for being shaken again) because anything else can only possibly just be more phenomenal arising (including any sensory-arising like visual arisings, but also including any other (I-)thoughts/concepts/I-feelings/n+1). Why? To quote Ralston: IT IS YOU. Infinite Consciousness containg any possible appearances. Limitless. Infinite. Any limit would appear in IT. Empty. Any arising (tree, thought, I-feeling, anything) appears IN IT. Impersonal (onself can be nothing specific or personal, since one contains it all). And its Pure Awareness (without any location, without any second) itself. Potentially unaware if nothing arises. But always right here, never can not not be here, independent of whatever happens/appears IN IT. It is waking up. Its essence is understanding that the separate-self as independent "anything" DOESN'T exist (just appears as illusion IN THAT), and never existed (was always an illusion), and can/will never exist (even if in another life illusions-arisings will occure again in ones True Being/Reality. The Awakenings (2) are insights/understandings into aspects/properties of the nature of Reality/True Self/Infinite Consciousness. That then evolves, towards nondual/unity awakened states. And THEN the final big shift of full Enligthenment can happen, in which the nature of Infinite Reality/Ones True Identity as Impersonal Infinite Consciousness/Infinite Reality is revealed. 4. Stabiling this Enlightenment, and letting it reorient the character top-down and back again towards love/openness/staying in nondual impersonal Suchness ("BEING the Totality"). Even then still, the separate-self character can still hijack the show (peak, plateau, permanent), but the separate-self-character and its associated suffering has lost its mirage-like seductive power. Its essence (Suchness/Infinite consciousness) is immediately seen when feeling into it. And that holds true for all building blocks of the separate self. So lapsing after Enlightenment is just a hang-over from a long time of illusion , and once noticed any emerging separate-self-arisings can be killed/transcended by just looking into it. Bliss: A lot and growing, since the awakened states now get even more stabilized and are always accessible. When True Nature is known, and if the separate-self-character "hijacks" again the show: Just look into these arisings and realize again their essence as manifestation IN the Infinite Reality/Consciousness that one really is, and return to what one really is. While after (only) Awakening(s) (stage 2), certain elements of the separate-self-character are not seen fully through, or are NOT understood. One of the last stages is a very nebulous empty separate-"something" that is already in nondual unity with everything manifesting. But there is still an "Understander" or "a not yet fully understander" or some "seeker" -arisings there.... Roger Thisdell stage 4 vs. stage 5. Stage 4: stage 5: Maybe that is helpful for some. Please don't beat me. Selling Water by the River

I agree in that there are much higher levels of consciousness which are unaccessable as long as you imagine living a human life. Luckily we are not a human. Why seclude awakening to there not being physical form? How can the ego die when it is just a fiction? To me awakening is to be conscious of the eternal presence of God and forever recognizing God is you and this does not contradict imagining yourself living a human life. You can live a human life fully aware that you are God playing a character. If there is a post awakening marked by the return of an ego it just means you had an awakening experience not awakening, and you are giving away your power to a ficticious self fabricated ego. Yes you limit yourself down. Doesn't mean you cannot be conscious that you are the One that created the game and that you are all the characters in the game and none of them. That is playing the game in awakened mode.

1. The ego is always focused on THEN WHAT. Mines is too so I understand your question...also I did mention that some people become more creative. There are spiritual gifts that are awakened as part of the process. For example..being able to taste the food of others without having to actually put it in your mouth is considered a psychic ability. So one change is you break the boundary of the individual and experience the collective consciousness. 2. When I tell you other people's bodies are your bodies you aren't getting it. When I tell you, you are talking to yourself you aren't getting it. Every conversation you have with another person has a different meaning depending on the perspective. There is subtle nuance you can gain access to at certain states. Again you can only understand this through Awakening. But I'll do my best to give an example. Somebody could tell you something and at one state of consciousness it could be hey go talk to that person maybe they can help you. At another level you realize...you are literally telling yourself that person you are telling yourself to go talk to....is the KEY TO EVERYTHING YOU ARE TRYING TO DO. THIS is what I mean....it literally changes your ability to read situations. You can also literally access the emotional, and bodily sensations of others, which means when they talk to you...you GET THEM. You truly understand them in that moment at a level you can only understand from their perspective....which is SECRETLY YOUR PERSPECTIVE. This is the bonkers level paradoxical aspect of reality you can only experience through awakening. Even telepathy is possible...because there is no location/destination/time, everything is always absolute wherever you go. When you watch a video on youtube....that video wasn't made months ago, YOU made that video....INSTANTLY and tell yourself a story. All of reality is separated through explanations/stories, sensations, so intelligently that you will only ever get to perceive what I am saying through a dedicated daily deconstruction and meditation to untangle these webs. But in truth, if you are doing awakening to obtain something....you aren't going to make it. You must want to awaken because you just want to know the truth of reality, what it is and why it is the way it is. You must desire to connect with it and awaken more than anything else. If you want to awaken to get more money, or improve your relationships...at some point that motivation will falter. Because awakening actually strains relationships....because it becomes harder to relate to others after you awaken. You see through all their egos, and egos....can be tiring because they are addicted to the future or the past. Egos don't care about NOW. The only time they ever care about NOW is when they are hungry, or bored. But once satisfied they immediately start planning to maintain that satisfaction out of fear of losing it. The ego never stops....always scheming, and planning for a better experience. Well guess what? Awakening trumps any experience you can buy. ANY. Because you escape the confines of time/space/ ....but not in a way for personal gain, but in a way where you experience the TRUTH of what you are. Example: Duality/Falsity/Illusion: You listen to music. Unity/Truth: YOU ARE MUSIC. This is an example of how an awakened person perceives reality. They listen to music....but are aware they ARE THE MUSIC. TOTALLY different experience than listening to it as if it is separate from you. Think of awakening as being able to turn the dial up, on the intensity of the experience. When you become music....every note is felt as if each note is your arm, your leg, etc. Like being an ocean of melody. Versus a person listening to the melody. But the beauty is....you couldn't understand the beauty of being the ocean of melody, without the contrast of being a person listening to the melody. So awakening isn't even valuable without the experience of being asleep.

1. Awakening is really just about waking up to your true nature. If you don't awaken during your life you will awaken at physical death. So all will eventually awaken. 2. Awakening does have some tangible benefits that differ depending on the person. Some become more creative, some get over past traumas, etc. Awakening can make you more loving in that you TRULY REALIZE you are only ever talking to yourself at all times. This discovery is more outrageous than you realize. I'm not kidding. I'll put it in easy to understand terms right here.....do this exercise right now. Close your eyes. Imagine a boy and girl sitting on a bench. Have the girl and boy talk to each other while you are watching. Now in this scene walk up and introduce yourself. ^^^^^THIS IS YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!^^^^ So your entire life is just you talking to yourself. Your trauma is with yourself. Your suffering is with yourself. For many they don't like this message. This is why awakening is about SELF-LOVE and one of the main components to awakening involves solitude. For many they don't want to know others are really them. They feel like they lose something in the process. But this is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. The water you drink is you, the air your breathe is you, everything is you. An intellectual understanding is not enough. Without an AWAKENING which is a DIRECT INTERFACE with all there is....you won't really understand. Do you know you can be so awakened that someone next to you could eat Pizza and you could taste every bite? Do you know that you could be so awakened that you can smell and feel every sensation in a supposed OTHER? That you could become so aware that they are you...that the boundary between you and them collapses so much that there is no privacy? You feel everything you normally feel in your own supposed individual body....you feel it in their body. Why? Because their body is really YOUR BODY!! This is how ridiculous awakening is. This isn't some normal thing. It completely eradicates all current scientific understanding about life....because IT IS JUST YOU DREAMING!!! Right now I currently can talk to TOTALITY, as I can imagine a duality between me and INFINITY and have a conversation. You can too....if you are willing to deconstruct everything......but it is not easy. You will feel like you are going INSANE. SHIT IS BONKERS!!! But how bad do you want TRUTH? Lastly here is the counter-intuitive nature of life. The most awakened people...would probably not even be recognized. You see one of the biggest barriers to awakening...is personal success. Money, fame, fortune, status, etc. make awakening REALLY TOUGH. As a result some of the most awakened beings....could literally be homeless beggars and you would never know.

Well, you're wrong about that. Truth is a very tricky thing. Which is why Awakening is required to understand it. No unawakened person knows what Truth is, nor do most so-called awakened people. In the end Truth is very simple, but your mind is so full of wrong ideas about it that you are all tangled up and confused. Just take a moment to look closely at your hand. That's Absolute Truth.

What are you doing then? This is what the work is about. A concept is a concept. You must know permanently, so to speak. This isn't a state, though. Perceptive abilities remain the same. Your experience of yourself, the world, others and emotions remains largely the same, except that now you are free from them. You can be bored and enlightened. It's clear to me you're holding some ideal about this. Monks experience despair, desire, jealousy, joy and pain. Awakened warriors throughout history killed people. Enlightened people aren't suddenly able to walk on water. If you cooked amazing omelets before enlightenment, after it you would still be able to do so. See? Solutions to what? What is self-serving might conflict with what's true.

Yeah the forum has definitely evolved. In the past, people were still talking about book like Think and Grow rich and how to be successful. And then, people move on to law of attraction. And then to non duality. And now so many people are on psychedelics and so many are claiming to be awakened.

Last week, I was just taking a walk outside and doing some self-inquiry. Suddenly, the feeling of me weakened considerably. My suffering and anxiety quickly dissipated, and the barrier between myself and the rest of reality has been blurred. I have my doubts since others who report this experience talk about completely merging with reality and knowing of this field of awareness. I, on the other hand, still have some identification with the ego, but at the same time feel like I am all of reality and feel the no-self. Also, the voice has quieted down more so than ever before, and my baseline level of happiness and peace of mind is greater than I can ever remember it. While there have been distinct moments where I have felt better, I can't recall this even-keeled, constant peace of mind, ever; it's like being a small child all over again, but maybe even better. Not only that, but people report quickly going back to the ego-self after their brief, amazing experience; I , rather, haven't reverted. Though I still have bad habits, anxieties, insecurities, etc. it is all much weaker, I can just let go of the automatic-negative-thoughts (ANTs) instead of ruminating, and that black-white boundary between me and everything else is distinctly weaker. The change seems subtle but significant, and it doesn't seem to subside at all--it always just is. Here's some of the differences in list form: - Suffering has gone down considerably. -Emotions are less distracting. - I can just let things go. - If the ego is hurting and I'm self-absorbed, I can shift focus to the higher self like zooming out of a picture, and see that I am everything. - I still have bad habits, but they don't feel nearly as rewarding to indulge, as guilt inducing afterwards, and their control is weakening. This seems not to be happening with just a specific behavior,but across the board. - My existential quandaries no longer trouble me. - Other people may still like other people, but they also feel like me, sort of. Also, when ever I hear/think of others' achievements, there is almost no jealously or self-shame-- they feel like my own. I also don't feel like any of that truly matters. -I don't feel a strong need for other people's validation, or even my own validation. - I don't feel like I need to search for something to be happy. - I find more authentic joy in my hobbies since my self-image is not related to them. - My work doesn't reflect who I am; it is simply a part of the infinite me. - Messing up doesn't make me feel bad about myself. I can just note that I want to modify a behavior and move on. - I don't feel better/worse/ or equal to others. I just am, and they just are. - I don't feel like there is good or evil, but I have no strong impulse to do things that are traditionally thought of as evil. I just feel more compassionate and loving not because it is meaningful or better-- it's just a reflection of my state of being. TL;DR: Everything is the same but better. PS: I just did a two hour Strong Determination Sitting today; I don't do those often and have only been doing them for about 30 minutes or so, so I didn't really work up to it at all. It was still difficult, but I didn't even feel resistance until after the first one hour. Only the last 30 minutes were hellish. Interestingly, I feel somewhat more identified with the ego- self after that intense sit, but I suspect that may just be temporary and a heighted awareness of the ego that was still "there". The intense physical sensations make awareness seem more localized in the body. Questions for you: What happened to me? Is this preliminary enlightenment? I didn't merge into reality completely, and this field of awareness/ emptiness is still alien to me, which makes me thing either that will happen in the later stages if this is awakening, or I am just experiencing something else entirely.

I’d like to introduce you to the foundational concept/“doctrine”/dhamma of Buddhism which distinguishes it from essentially all other forms of spirituality. This is the concept of dukkha (suffering, stress, dissatisfaction) and dukkha nirodha (the cessation, or end, of suffering, stress, dissatisfaction). This is by far the primary focus, teaching, and practice of Buddhism. You will find this simplified way of explaining the aim of Buddhism in a bit more complexity when looking at “The Four Noble Truths” which is also seen as a foundational aspect of Buddhism. I will use my own words for simplicity’s sake, but you can research the four noble truths in more depth on your own. 1. There is dukkha in existence/experience/life. 2. There is a cause for dukkha. This cause is a combination of clinging to what we think we truly want which will make us feel better AKA stop feeling dukkha in the moment, being aversive to what we do not want AKA what we believe causes dukkha for us, and the ignorance (avijjā) or lack of wisdom paññā AKA perception of a stable, real “self” which can be threatened or which must find peace for itself, failing to understand the nature of dukkha, and failing to see the transient nature of both pleasure and pain (anicca — impermanence). 3. There is a real and obtainable end to dukkha. There is a real and obtainable end to suffering which at least thousands of human beings have already realized. 4. There is a path to become a human being who has realized the end of suffering in their own life. There is a clear path, method, guide manual, and practice to ending suffering. This can be seen, at least in part, to be The Noble Eightfold Path which are eight steps or necessary requirements which acting in unison lead to the complete end of suffering if they are developed to the necessary degree. Hinduism talks about Liberation, and in many ways Liberation in Hinduism also means an ending of suffering. You can think of Buddhism as a later evolution of Hinduism which focuses primarily on this goal whereas Hinduism has a bit of a different approach and less clear or emphasized end goal when it relates to suffering. The whole idea of what it means to be fully awakened, or an Arahant, in the models of Theravada Buddhism (the original school based directly on the teachings of Guatama Buddha) is that you have freed yourself from the grips of suffering. The first important step is to see that this is an actually obtainable goal for us. You will likely not believe that this is possible whether consciously or in more hidden parts of your psyche until you reach an experience which clearly convinces you of this possibility being a reality for yourself. That moment is adequately called “stream entry” or the moment one has entered the stream which carries one to full awakening in the definition of the Theravada model. This is also the moment it is literally impossible to doubt the efficacy of the Buddha and the teachings he gave on eliminating suffering. Ending suffering is different from ending pain. Ending pain is not the goal of Buddhism. Pain is a reality of embodied life. Suffering is the amplification of pain into a much worse thing to bear. Suffering is mentally-created dissatisfaction and a lack of accepting the experience you are having. This can be eradicated. Freedom from suffering is in part about non-resistance, but true non-resistance has very little to do with allowing rape, allowing injustice, or perpetuating pain through a lack of action. True non-resistance is dissolving the false view of an actual self as an entity and arriving at the point in which you turn from a person who is alive to life itself. The human experience has built in preferences and in turn preferred modes of action. A lot of that is about reducing pain and increasing pleasure. There’s nothing at all wrong with that. The issue comes when you create a false view of an individual who can fight against LIFE IN THIS MOMENT AS IT WISHES TO BE EXPRESSED. Stop fighting, and allow life to live as it lives. There’s a hell of a journey in front of you to get there in a consistently experienced sense, but you will thank yourself immensely once that journey has been completed.

I like Snoopys perspective on these not so happy transitionings from this life to the next: ... and the end of suffering is possible, as stated by every spiritual tradition since millenia. Thousands of Realizers over the centuries stating that. And the recipe is transcending the illusion of the separate self-contraction, becoming the Nondual Totality/Reality, and then finding out what is aware of all of that... or the real You, Reality itself. And before talking about keeping that final Realization while being nailed at the cross, it is a good start maintaining some Awakening during everday life. There have been prominent cases who have had challenges with staying in the awakened perspective during these unfortunate transitions (Jesus on the cross “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me"). But since the Real Nature of every being has no moving parts or anything else objective/material that could be "damaged", apparently "IT" didn't get damaged while suffering that procedure. Or any other of the lovely mishaps you mention. But Nightmares are possible in the dream for sure. IT never changes, because it is empty pure Impersonal Awareness itself without any core, mechanism or objective/material anything. And it is also all of manifested/imagined Reality in a nondual way. Worst case you can have is a nightmare. Although a veery realistic one. That is why Karma is so important: Its all a dream, but one can have a nightmare, and Karma works with mathematical precission. So, anyways, just take up some hopefully efficient practice and see for yourself concerning the topic of the end of suffering. Selling Water by the River

I had no idea Russell Brand had such a high level of awareness until I saw this video. I wonder if he is very close to being enlightened or actually is enlightened. A lot of the things he says are the same exact things Leo has been sharing with us in his videos.

@UnbornTao That is the issue. You are putting labels on to the gurus and assuming they are Awake as a trophy. You think being Awake is having a certain experience that leaves you "Awakened" for ever. It does not work like that. You can only be Awake in the Now. You can not grasp, hold or "save" in a closet the Awakening and claiming that a person is Awake for life. Awakening is not an understanding that you come, or a conclusion. Is an opening in your energies, and activation, a boundless state. If you lose it, that's it. The end. You can't be cheating saying "Nahhhh I'm awake but I do have some addictions here and there, damn, let me go smoke some blues...but all is alright, I'm awake! I'm God and everything is a mind yada yada". ??? You guys just don't get that having an experience and building a conceptual knowledge around it can be done by anyone. That is certainly not being Awake. Unfortunately I suspect Leo's supposed "Awakening work", is built around this structure, seeing he kinda of thinks about this topic in the same way as most of you.

GPT-4 script about a movie of a dmt cult ChatGPT Title: The Elysium Experience Setting: A secluded compound deep within a lush, wild forest. The area is dotted with ornate tents and communal spaces. A large wooden temple stands at the center. Characters: Lea: A journalist seeking to expose the truth behind the mysterious cult. Elder Cyrus: The charismatic leader of the Elysium cult. Believes in unlocking higher dimensions of reality through DMT. Raven: A cult member who befriends Lea. She's torn between her loyalty to the cult and her budding relationship with Lea. Jonas: A skeptical ex-member on a mission to rescue his younger sister from the cult. Act I: Lea infiltrates the Elysium compound under the guise of a seeker. She's introduced to the rituals, mainly the DMT ceremonies led by Elder Cyrus. Lea experiences a DMT trip and it's unlike anything she's ever experienced, causing her to question her original mission. Raven befriends Lea, sharing her personal story and why she joined. Act II: Jonas sneaks into the compound, sharing with Lea the dark side of the cult – how they exploit members for money and how some members never return from their “trips”. Lea and Jonas discover that Elder Cyrus has been altering the DMT with other substances, making it more addictive and easier to control members. Raven confronts Elder Cyrus about the real intentions behind the DMT ceremonies after overhearing Jonas and Lea. Cyrus, feeling threatened, decides to accelerate his plan: a mass ceremony where everyone will ascend to a "higher dimension" together. Act III: Lea, Jonas, and Raven plot to prevent the mass ceremony. The climax of the movie is a dramatic confrontation between Elder Cyrus, armed with his enhanced DMT, and our trio. Raven, caught between her loyalty and her newly awakened skepticism, ultimately sides with Lea and Jonas. this cult is southeast asian in the Han Dynasty ChatGPT 2 / 2 Title: The Cult of the Mystic Orchid Setting: Southeast Asia during the Han Dynasty. A secret enclave in a hidden valley, lush with tropical vegetation and a striking, ethereal beauty. The central focus of the cult's compound is a massive temple made of stone, adorned with colorful orchids. Characters: Min: An adventurous and curious young Han official who has heard rumors of a mysterious cult. Shan: The mystical leader of the cult, who claims to have knowledge of the ancient arts and the ability to commune with higher realms through DMT. Zhen: A loyal cult member who befriends Min. He has a quiet skepticism and is more aware of Shan's manipulation than others. Lin: Min's elder sister, a renowned healer who uses natural herbs. She's concerned about Min's obsession with the cult. Act I: Min, intrigued by the tales of the cult, disguises himself as a local and infiltrates the enclave. He witnesses the mystical rituals, where members consume DMT extracted from local plants to induce visions and altered states of consciousness. Min experiences a DMT trip and is profoundly affected, believing he has glimpsed a different world. He becomes enamored with the cult's teachings. Zhen, wary of Min's rapid devotion, takes Min under his wing, showing him the daily life of the cult members. Act II: Lin arrives in the area, looking for Min. She discovers the cult and, pretending to be a seeker of knowledge, gains entry. Lin witnesses Min's increasing involvement and becomes concerned about his well-being. Zhen confides in Min and Lin about his growing doubts regarding Shan's intentions. Together, they uncover that Shan is exploiting the members for their labor and resources, enriching himself under the guise of spiritual enlightenment. Act III: Min, Zhen, and Lin confront Shan, demanding an explanation. Shan admits to his exploitation but defends his actions, claiming that he it's about a family, their daughter, and their relationship to the cult ChatGPT Title: Beneath the Blossoming Trees Setting: Southeast Asia during the Han Dynasty. A tranquil village on the edge of the majestic forest, which conceals the hidden valley where the Orchid Cult resides. Characters: Ling: A headstrong and curious young woman who becomes entranced by the Orchid Cult. Mao: Ling's protective father, a local blacksmith. Mei: Ling's mother, wise and intuitive. She has a deep connection to local folklore and traditional remedies. Shan: The mystical leader of the Orchid Cult. Zhen: An older member of the cult who becomes Ling's guide. Act I: The family leads a harmonious life in their village. Ling often listens to Mei's stories of spirits, other realms, and traditional legends. Ling encounters members of the Orchid Cult in the village market. Their tales of enlightenment and other realms captivate her. Against Mao and Mei’s wishes, Ling ventures into the forest to find the Orchid Cult. Act II: Ling is initiated into the cult, introduced to its rituals, including the consumption of DMT extracted from rare orchids. Mao and Mei discover Ling's absence and set out to retrieve her. Ling's experiences with the Orchid Cult make her question the values and lessons imparted by her family. She becomes more distant, drawing closer to Shan. Zhen, witnessing Ling's transformation, feels a bond with her, reminding him of his own daughter who he lost touch with after joining the cult. Act III: Mao and Mei infiltrate the Orchid Cult, disguising themselves as seekers of truth. Mei, tapping into her knowledge of folklore, quickly discerns the manipulations of Shan. Zhen, recognizing Mei’s wisdom, confides in her about his past, expressing regret and the wish to help Ling see the truth. Mao, Mei, and Zhen form a plan to show Ling the true nature of the Orchid Cult. Act IV: Mei challenges Shan in a public display of spiritual knowledge, drawing upon her vast understanding of local legends and traditions. As Mei’s wisdom unfolds, many cult members begin questioning Shan's teachings. Mao finds Ling and pleads with her to remember her roots and the love of her family. Ling, torn between the two worlds, has a profound vision during a final DMT ceremony. She sees her ancestors and the spirits Mei often spoke of. They remind her of the importance of family and the dangers of blind faith. Act V: Ling, with renewed clarity, decides to leave the Orchid Cult with her family. Zhen, inspired by the family’s bond and Mei’s wisdom, decides to leave as well, seeking to reconnect with his own family. The cult disbands as members, disillusioned with Shan, seek genuine spiritual paths. Shan, defeated, contemplates his future as the forest reclaims the hidden valley. Closing Scene: Back in their village, Mao, Mei, and Ling sit beneath a blossoming tree, a symbol of renewal. Mei tells a story, one that Ling has heard many times but now hears with new ears, about the strength of family bonds and the enduring spirit of ancestors. The scene fades as Ling places an orchid in her hair, symbolizing her journey and growth.

You're conflating consciousness with the way you live and with emotions, which are relative. Enlightenment doesn't change anything. Examples of awakened individuals doing silly (and human) things abound. Because they still have to act like a person. Nissargadatta smoked, zen warriors killed people, etc. You could be enlightened and stream games. And certainly get bored, angry, jealous, etc.

Where do you stand on your Life-Purpose? If you meet this 'ideal woman' tomorrow and she asks you 'What contribution have you made to the world that you're the most proud of?', what would your answer be? This is your problem right here. If you can't answer this question, the conscious women see you as a guy practicing 'new-age pop spirituality' and they don't take you seriously either. That's why you meet those kinds of women yourself! And, to give you an idea of how things could work with someone who's genuinely awakened and who genuinely has integrity, she will be interested in what your Life-Purpose is, she will see whether it aligns with her values or not and if it does, she will fully support it. An unconscious woman will hold you back from following your passion if it means that the profit goes down for a month. But, a conscious woman will not nag you when that happens and she will support you instead.

By the way, there is no such thing as be an awakened person, there is access to awakened states. if you are awake, you are awake, if you are asleep, you are asleep, now.

Let's see, @Javfly33 is right, awakening is the end of suffering, and whoever says no is not awake and has never been awake for a second. what happens is that it is extremely difficult to be awakened and you return to dream state, then you suffer. but that is not why you are going to say that awakening is not the end of suffering, it is, completely. mental suffering is like physical suffering, it pushes you to withdraw from a harmful situation. if you succeed, the suffering ceases. If you are awake, you are out of suffering, and whoever says no does not know what awakening is, equates it to knowing things, which is precisely the dream

@Sugarcoat I've watched a couple when I first found God and even then I was like these people are saying absolutely nothing they are just repeating the same phrase over and over again. I don't think they know what they are talking about or they are so awakened they have become drones of reality. I will see comments under the video saying stuff like 'wow this is really deep and eye opening' I can't beleive it.

I swear to god. I downloaded tik tok a few weeks back to see what’s up and have barely opened it since. Such social media can be nice tho if you closely curate exactly what you follow so you create this specific feed for yourself . And the Awakened subreddit has golden nuggets once in a while too but this place is something else

@Javfly33 don't burn yourself friend , Just expose your thing, there are those who appreciate and understand it, and others who don't. My opinion: you're right, when you're awake to a certain degree there is no boredom or suffering. but you can be awake now and not be awake in half an hour, when I come into your house to tell you that you will be impaled tomorrow, you will get into deep sleep with nightmares. I mean, It is not easy to maintain awakened states. we're on it, at least we get awake moments. for something one starts In general, I agree with a lot of what you have said.

she leads the awakened drones. they just ramble on saying the exact same thing over and over and over. They have 40 minute videos repeating the same sentence in different ways

This type of awakened person you’re describing probably wouldn’t write such a post so I don’t see the point of this on who’s behalf are you even speaking on

*I feel like I should put a trigger warning here. My intent is not to offend anyone. If you have been the victim of a sexual offense in the past, please consider carefully whether you want to read this.* I am not new to self-help, and am actually quite well-read (or I thought I was anyway). The truth is for many years I steered far away from anything that smelled of religion or spirituality, because as a young man I was a zealous overeager Jesus Freak. I was involved in a charasmatic church that held beliefs similar to those of the now infamous Westboro Baptist Church. In fact, in those days, if I had known about Westboro Baptist Church, I probably would have joined it. I was a very damaged young man. When I first joined the church, I was full of joy and happiness and I really felt like I was in touch with God. The forgiveness story of Jesus is powerful stuff for someone who feels they aren't good enough, and I never was, until I found Jesus. But slowly, the joyful message of a loving God became twisted as i listened to my youth pastor rave about the evils of premarital sex and lust, and how God despises that in a young man above all. And I bought it all. I felt God's eyes turning from me in shame every time I masturbated. I was truly psychotic with shame and guilt and confusion. And an opportunity arose in which I was watching three children of a friend of mine, and the children were "playing doctor" naked in the house, and it occurred to me that this was just play and it was okay to join them and I did, and then i was instantly crushed with shame. I never did anything like it again and I never will and if I could go back in time and change it, I would, but I can't, and the past doesn't exist anyway--except it does--what is the past? It's just story, right? Anyway, I confessed my crime, and I spent more years in prison than I should have because I continued to punish myself and sabotaged my chances for release. When I finally go out, I went to school and sabotaged myself, and got an amazing job and sabotaged myself, I went back to school and finished my degree. I started a business. I got married. I had a kid. I've sabotaged myself every time I got close to succeeding because I didn't think I deserved to succeed. I am 45 years old and own a small Internet business which is failing miserably for many reasons. But something is happening to me and I am breaking the cycle. It started when I discovered cannabis a few years ago, and was able to get some relief from my anxiety and agoraphobia, I began to go through a process of self-examination then. Then my father passed away and this January, my mother, and I went into a VERY dark place. I have been in a pitched battle for my soul since December. I don't know how else to put it. I was restless and anxious and searching and searching for answers, and I came here, and i felt like Leo was speaking directly to me. I had some health issues that were directly related to my stress, but I overcame them and now I am awake. It's my life. How can I be the part of the reality that is what i call me, or share my gifts with anyone if I am afraid people will hate and persecute me? But really it doesn't matter if they hate me, because I'm no one, I get that now, but my story is important. People should hear it, as a cautionary tale if nothing else. I don't need to tell it non-anonymously though, I think. It is not who I am anymore. It was 26 years ago. I need to find a job, but I am afraid people will do a background check and find out about my past. I have an accounting degree and a lot of business experience. I have been self-employed for the last 9 years and counting and know a little about online marketing and website building and wordpress and ecommerce and Kickstarter (I have had several successful Kickstarter campaigns). Without bragging, I may not know the cutting edge of business apps and technology, but I'm creative, insightful and I've been very successful at various times, but never able to continue the momentum because I was afraid if I got too big, people would find out about me somehow. Once I had money, people would try to blackmail me, I need a job or my wife is going to leave me. I'm going to exercise a little of a word I haven't thought about in a long time: faith. I'm posting this because I want to have faith that there is someone out there who is on the middle path, who could maybe use someone to team up with. Maybe you want to team up with my business or I could team up on your endeavor, or something, but I'd like to find someone else who is awake and actively pursuing enlightenment. Is it wrong of me to want to team up with another actualized person? I really need some help. I am experiencing brand new things. Like, this is seriously changing the way I live my life. I am almost sure it's just a trick or that I'm being duped, that it can be so easy to just live your life the way you want to and experience these thoughts and emotions as just another something that happens, like a headache, but you just feel it and let it go. There's nothing you can do about a headache other than taking a couple of pills and letting it pass. It doesn't do any good to get upset with the headache. It's the same way with these stupid emotions. It doesn't do anyone any good to get upset and ruffled by them. They are part of our experience. It doesn't do to blame our pasts for who we are. Our past is part of our story, but our story hasn't been written yet. This idea that I'm damaged because i suffered through all of this crap in my past is true, and it's true that there are an awful lot of people who would rather spit on me than accept me as a brother, but none of that matters. I can live my life in the moment and life is beautiful and I feel like I can actually FEEL my consciousness expanding, like my mind is swelling with new possibilities of new ways to experience life without letting my emotions control me. My wife and daughter think I have lost my mind but in a beautiful way. I have the best conversations with my daughter now. It was so hard for me to connect with her before, because I never really wanted a child. My wife really wanted a child, and I wanted my wife to be happy, but I was always filled with anxiety, not that I would ever do anything to hurt my child, but that someone would recognize me and think something awful of me. But that doesn't matter either now. In a way, the experience of having a child has forced me to confront these anxieties. I can't escape her. And i don't want to. She is amazing. She's super smart and she reads to me or I read to her every night and she's undoubtedly one of the best things in my life. I found myself editing and revising a lot of this after I wrote it as my ideas about what I am going through are kind of evolving. I can't really explain what is happening to me, but i don't want it to stop. I want to get better, and I don't want to just get better for a little while and fail again. I believe I can do that now, and I am very grateful for these videos. I also wouldn't mind a hand up if someone was interested in taking on an apprentice or partner or employee... I just want to be around people who are awake.

Thanks for describing your experience. I do agree with that, based on my own experience. And thousands of others in all cultures and centuries described it like you do. That is a very important element of the path. It probably sounds quite a bit nuts, boring and strange. At least I would have interpreted it like that a few years ago... But that is exactly how the Impersonal (Silent/Pure/Empty) Infinite Consciousness perceives all of its manifestation in certain awakened nondual states, watching itself, perceiving itself, being itself and the world, by itself, for itself. (1) That starts to happen when the self-contraction/separate-self is seen through, transcended and cut off either with high enough speed & proficiency, or with some more energetic state-change techniques. So the resulting flow of bliss makes it no longer possible for any grasping/contracting thought/feeling-arising to grip & contract the focus/attention (and cut the nondual field into two, or duality), and create bad emotions/stop the flow of bliss. And motivating the separate-self with that resulting suffering again for searching or avoiding certain experiences to eradicate the suffering, and relax the contraction again. That process you describe is the natural way that leads the transition to the deep identity level change to ones True Nature, the Infinite Silent and peaceful/blissful Abyss of Pure Consciousness without location or any kind of objective appearance... When not finding IT (or Consciousness, or oneself), at some point the localization of consciousness dissolves, making every appearance (thought, feeling, cloud, tree, the whole world including ones "small self") just an appearance arising in the Infinite, silent & empty and not-personal Eternal Reality of Ones True Being, Infinite Consciousness, or Reality itself. (2) And when it is seen that even the "Understander" of this Nondual and Awake Realization is nothing more than a bundle of "understanding"-thoughts arising WITHIN THAT, then Full Enlightenment is finally seeing that there never was a separate-self besides an illusion, and nobody (besides) an Illusion actually woke up. Pure Infinite Consciousness/Being was there throughout, undisturbed, just containing some illusion-arisings. And yet, that Realization or waking up of that perspective of Indras Net makes all the difference in the dream of that perspective, finally dissolving the self-contraction/separate-self illusion even of the "Understander" of all of that for good. Selling Water by the River PS: (1) are the stages of dissolving the separate-self into nonduality, and (2) is going from Nonduality/Unity towards even relaxing/dissolving the "Understander"-separate-self-illusion of that into Infinite Consciousness/Reality itself. More on that in this post: PS PS: For Infinite Reality to create a separate-self/self-contraction/ego and to maintain it, there are just two emotions needed that have to regularly occur in cycles (not permanently, that would also kill the separate-self) : 1) suffering (in the meaning of non-satisfied-ness, or "non-bliss" , and 2) boredom. That starts all of the projects for getting back again the bliss via certain experiences (whatever that may be varies a lot). A bliss that would be there if not the separate-self-contraction would stop its flow via contracting. Of course, that can only be seen after having touched the natural bliss of ones True Being, because if that would be seen earlier the whole process would be shut off immediately. But if there is no technique available to just cut off the contraction/suffering, one has to stick to grasping for certain experiences, because that is then all one has...