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You have more work to do. There is nobody to claim consciousness. Consciousness is sovereign, and you are speaking as a human being. "You" as javfly did not make a single thing. If you think your mind is real and everyone else is a figment of your mind, you're delusional, not awakened. Consciousness is impersonal—it created you as well as everything else. One wave does not make the entire ocean around it.

From what I understand, and I can be wrong... Leo's videos are wide and sprawling and cover a full 'spectrum' of personal development advice. With the internet today there is no reason as far as I can tell that a creative individual can't make a lot of money and free themselves from wage slavery by creating a lot of value in a field they are passionate about. I know many people who are doing this. For example my ex girlfriend does Kundalini and reiki work with people and she makes at least 6 figures if not 7. Be mindful of the distinctions you make. The higher spiritual values can be embodied by anyone. Hmm, for example if you look at the Susan C's ego developmental models you see that the ego goes through phases of maturity. The lower stages such as the achiever stages are really important I think. I don't think spirituality and massive success are at odds with each other. In fact, we need highly integrous and awakened leaders who are in business in all sectors.

@Giulio Bevilacqua I had pretty mild symptoms, the bliss was way better than any of the mild symptoms. Just don't drink too much coffeine or nicotine or anything that excites the nervous system. If you are on no-fap, you can try to release some energy. If you have physical symptoms, then go to a doctor. Kryias are not only a symptom from Kundalini, but also a sign of nervous system disease, so you should get that checked out. Relax, it will pass and enjoy the ride. I recommend the "Awakened kundalini support group" on facebook. They are truly gifted in telling you the right things you need to hear.

Awakened or not is thought activity, and awakening is not a product or a result of thought activity. If ever in question that is not ‘it’. Letting go of any questioning of it, can only be of it.

I assume your question is: "How can I know that (e.g.) a spiritual teacher is awakened?" I think, especially at the very beginning of your journey it's pure intuition and a good bullshit detector. Unfortunately the bullshit detector of many people will not work properly as it is blinded by the ego. Either they are paranoid "This person is after me and my money he/she, cannot be awakened". Or it's too trusting "This person is sooo fantastic he/she promises to materialize all my wishes in x amount of time". So at the end of the day my recommendation is to grow with the teachers you are following and always verify for yourself what they are communicating. Always assume (not in a paranoid way) that they could be completely wrong. I think it was the Buddha himself who told his disciples to not believe a word. Are you sure you haven't had an awakening when your parents told you, you acted out of character? From the "normal" mind's point of view awakening is, well, literally losing your mind.

I viewed many videos on consciousness. But how can anyone tell if they’ve awakened? I had an episode of what I thought was an “ah ha” moment, but actually I was sent to a psych ward for 2 weeks for bipolar psychosis back in March. Everything felt connected. Literally everything I perceived was connected to my inner train of thinking. I can’t really explain it. But at the time I thought I had an awakening. My family thought I was acting out of character and took me to the hospital. It took a week of meds in the ward to go back to my original way of thinking. Was it just information overload?

Keep in mind that my videos are about a lot more than awakening. There are insights my videos could provide even to an awakened person. There are many insights besides strict awakening.

@fopylo by experiencing it myself. There's also a little bit more to it. I think I was 30 days nofap when my K awakened. Also no sex in case you aren't abstinent, not sure about that though. Meditate with one pointedness of mind, wait for the stinging in your spine to come up, and then place your focus on it. It'll explode. @The0Self I have experienced piti, but it wasn't as intense as kundalini. A few years ago I was able to enter the first jhana for a few minutes every day. Kundalini is definitely forst jhana on steroids. However I didn't have a crown opening. What happens during the crown opening?

How does an awakened being experience decision making ? By appearing to.

If the duality of subject and object is just an appearance, does it mean that at the deeper levels of reality choice and decision making don't actually exist ? Is everything simply happening automatically ? Any interesting perspectives on this topic would be most welcome.

Thanks for the replies, to everyone. Well, I get what you are saying. The Self is the one who awakens inside the dream, and not the imaginary people (my ego is included of course). But what I mean is that an awakened "person" is capable of showing that they are realized. I was just wondering if other people, EVEN THOUGH they are conceptual and not actual, can show this sign of realization once you realize the True Self. I guess it's still a game of duality that my mind is playing. Nonetheless, I found it possible.

@Etherial Cat What I can point you towards is doing consciousness work that leads to realizing the fact that you've never been born. Only after realizing that you will be able to get it. What's gonna happen after you get awakened to this = realizing that Reality is conscious of you and it's happening in the same Awareness as the very 'thing' that's being aware of it. That's when you will see 'others' exactly as they are. Which is Consciousness taking different forms and interacting with You/itself. You're teaching yourself the way to yourself.

If reality is infinity and and we all are God, does that mean there are an infinite amount of Gods? (Before you get solipsistic on me and say there is only one God and I am him, if i was to burn you in gasoline it would be clear that there is a soul/consciousness that will feel that pain, You. Of course I imagine that to be. But it is undeniable that your consciousness is also conscious of the fact that the guy burning is conscious. If your more sure that you are God and the only thing that has ever existed over the fact that 'other' human beings aren't also conscious and aware in the same way you then your deluded and not awakened. Which one is more self evident from your perspective? As Leo said, consciousness can be conscious of itself to infinite degrees. If there are infinite amount of Gods, does that contradict the idea of one God? If Everything is infinity there must be infinite amount of Gods? But in one of Leos videos he said infinity is equal to zero. By that notion God will be Zero, not one. If anything infinity is equal to one. One is whole and infinity is whole. For instance 0.9 is not whole or complete if reality is one? The collapse between self and other creates one complete entity. Which is one thing. If there has only ever been one thing that was God, the idea of infinity can cant be be? This is complicated and language is of course limited when talking about infinity... I look forward to reading the way your consciousness interprets this...

In case anyone is wondering, this is a reference to the "seven factors of awakening". You should study these factors and make sure they are present and at balance in your life if you want to be awakened.

@Leo Gura So it does not matter how awake you are, you'll end up going back to sleep eventually? And this cycle will repeat forever? A while ago you said this: When Ramana Maharshi got cancer his followers tried to get doctors to come look at him to heal him. His response was something along the lines of: "Who cares? It's just a body." When you are that awake you literally don't give a fuck about anything. No condition of life is better than any other. An fully awakened person cannot die. He is conscious forever, regardless of what happens to his body. So losing the body makes no difference. -- How can he be conscious forever if God is eternally playing this game of dreaming and waking up?

As i got a glimpse of the effortless state of action (wu wei/spontaniety) i'm stuck in a horror loop since months now. If let go of control or just relax my body, it wants me to constantly whirl along my axis. The fact in it's self is not a problem. The point is that i can not do anything else, i feel that evrything i do i so focerced and in contrast within myself. When i decide to go for a walk or simply swimming the pull of whirling is comes in and creates conflict against my will power. I decided to let the movement express, and it was quite relaxing because it was releasing a lot of tensions. As i start to let go, the spinning becomes more more violent and fast till the point where i can not hold the speed so i have to stop. But it does not leave. I made some research and found Spontenous Qi Gong as a teqnique to express emotional tensions. Many says that this is a very dangerous state when you can not control anymore the need for the action. If you let express totally the movement after some time another comes in and another and another till you are dead or 70 years old. Obviously i can stop them, but it feels like repessing the need to go to the toilet. I can not continue in this state anymore. All that i do is distracting myself with food and excessive sleep. Waking up in the morning is like hell As my kundalini awakened 5 months ago, i'm working with a energy teacher. He always tells me that i'm control of my self and i am the creator of my life, but at this point it looks so stupid hearing this things, if i control the movement i inevitably supress it with ego. So i decided to take a kundalini yoga class with him just to see if the energy that is stuck can move foward. This post is just more to express my self, i know that nothing can help me anymore, also if a asked for some help from you. I do not know if i can come out of this shit.

@Etherial Cat It's not as simple as it sounds... There are various things to consider here that might explain why that desire can turn into action: This desire for variety is rarely talked about during the initial phases of a relationship. The woman usually assumes that the man will be loyal only to her without actually addressing his true authentic desires. The woman does not even want to admit that possibility to herself, let alone encouraging her partner to confess about it. What if polyamory was his true authentic desire? Does that mean the end of a potentially good relationship? Even worse, what if it he wasn't aware of his desire but she awakened him to it? Doesn't that sub-communicate a submission of some kind on her part? The man assumes that he will not need another woman next to the one he's committing to. He doesn't know himself fully yet. The average male is not conscious enough to know himself fully. Therefore, the desire for variety will manifest later after fulfilling the more basic desire for sex. Thanks to feminism, the norm nowadays is to have only one partner. This makes the discussion suggested above more awkward and less likely to happen. Even if that discussion takes place, the man won't likely be able to tell the truth (assuming he knows himself fully), because that'll hurt his chances with the current woman, and therefore take him from monogamy down to "no gamy" There are probably more points to consider, but that should be a good start for a discussion.

You as God become God - full stop. It is usually a series of glimpses followed by full on awakenings...Becoming conscious that you are God is the death of the idea or illusion that you are a human. That was just an idea and you as the ego are an idea being imagined by you - God or Infinity. So what dies or falls away is the idea that you were this character you currently believe you are. The Absolute cannot die. Now you will remain in human form until all attachments to this world are truly dropped. So the Awakened One is one who has awakened from the dream and has fallen back asleep but is now lucid. Yet they are still attached to this dream.

I’ve copied and pasted below some interesting comments from Osho regarding the Science of Idiotism. Osho on Gurdjieff's Science of Idiotism Gurdjieff certainly forced people to drink, but only the people who were against alcohol. He used to make toasts every night for all the kinds of idiots in the world. He had twenty-one categories of idiots. I don′t know to which category you would belong, but you must belong to some category. Unless you are awakened you are bound to belong to some category or other. An idiot is a person who is trying to find joy where joy does not exist at all, who is trying to search for something which he has never lost in the first place. The enlightened person is one who has looked into his being before searching for anything anywhere else. It is better to look in your own house. He has looked in and has found it there. Now his search has disappeared. The person who is interested in alcohol must be living in misery, in a kind of suffering. That′s why he wants somehow to forget it all. Alcohol is nothing but a chemical strategy to forget your miseries, anxieties, your problems, to forget yourself. My whole effort here is to help you to remember yourself - and you want to forget yourself. By forgetting yourself you will be creating more and more hell for yourself and for others. Remember, rather, remember yourself. My methods are different from George Gurdjieff′s. I am not in favor of any alcoholic beverages. I am not in favor of any psychedelic drugs either, because they all create illusory worlds for you and they all are distractions. They make you more and more oblivious of your own being, unaware of your own self. My work is based in awareness. The word ′awareness′ is the golden key here, the master key. You have to learn to be more aware. Howsoever painful it is in the beginning, be more aware, because it is by becoming more aware that one day you will become part of the celebration of the whole. Aes Dhammo Sanantano - this is the eternal inexhaustible law. taken from https://www.satrakshita.com/osho_on_the_science_of_idiotism.htm More here about the Science of Idiotism from the same website - https://www.satrakshita.com/the_science_of_idiotism.htm There are several discrepancies among those who are brave or foolish enough to offer ideas or facts about the Science of Idiotism. I’m still of the opinion that Bruno Martin’s book - The Realized Idiot - offers the most complete view of any one work.

@Girzo For some reason i never got into Tool until recently and oh shit now i understand the hype Thanks for the raccomandation i'm gonna check them out, even though only instrumental music usally what i listen to (but i might dig it!). Anyway, if you like my previous pick, then i can raccomand: Black metal too has some awakened folks but i don't know if you dig it And if you explore the more experimental(wierder too) side of metal you can finde stuff like this:

The freedom from the cycle of birth and death can be interpreted this way. If you become awakened and you become God in your direct experience, you as infinite love/God cannot be dead/alive. Thus you are free from the cycle of birth and death and have the choice to stay in non-existence for eternity, or until you, as God, want to experience existence again.

30 min meditation today as well. Just sitting. Well, maybe that is exactly what I'm doing these days. Suddenly my interest returned to 'Just sitting.' My practice has always been informed by Just sitting, but I tend to do a little bit more vipassana/investigation. But now I'm surrendering into just sitting. It is much more Zen, and a little bit less Theravada. In Just Sitting one is supposed to already exemplify the awakened state of mind. It has a bit of "fake it 'til you make it" in it. You are just sitting there. Nothing left to do, except just being. Beingness is its own reward. Beingness is meaning enough on its own. Nothing to add, or substract. Reality is as it is. Always here. Forever, always present.

Im writing this to get a deeper understanding of what "other" humans really are. Precisely how awakened people say they are imagining me, even though there is just one source of imagination. But let me explain. I became fully conscious of how im imagining my body, other humans, plants, animals and basically the whole universe in order to discover my true self again via creative doing/being. That means that there is just one infinite consciousness, who imagines all that through my direct experience. So right now in that moment im the only existing consciousness in the entire universe imagining you guys interacting with me. But what happens if we sit site by site and take some powerful psychedelic to experience infinite consciousness again? Who imagines who? Obviously its me imagining you, but you can tell me how you imagined me. Thats so paradoxical and twisted. Its the dog chasing its tail and i dont know what part of the dog is the truth.

358. Understanding Islam "Half of disbelief in Allah in the world is caused by people who make religion look ugly due to their bad conduct and ignorance." Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali The core of what Islam is is lost on 99.9% of people and lots of energy is wasted on the science and religion debate. We're not taught about this in school in West. Factors: Xenophobia, fear of foreigners, tribalist mentality going on in the West and Middle-East. Root: Not understanding the roots of religion and mysticism. Islam = submission in Arabic language. The total surrender of one's ego, sense of identity to Truth, Reality, or God. Other synonyms: obedience, peace, purity -> which follow submission of your ego to God. It's self-transcendence, the same as is the goal and objective of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Yoga, Zen, etc. Simply framed in the style of the middle-east, from their cultural point of view, based on their values, traditions, and history. Muslim = one who submits to God. Many Westerners don't understand that Islam is not a separate religion from Christianity or Judaism. Islam recognizes Christian and Jewish prophets like Jesus, Moses, David, Abraham, etc. It also recognizes the validity of Christian and Jewish sacred texts like the Torah and others, it builds on top of them. Islam is like the third incarnation of Judeo-Christianity. Judaism -> with Jesus comes the Christian incarnation -> with Muhammad, around 600 AD, the third. The additional extra little twist that Islam adds on top of the Judeo-Christian philosophy is that Muhammad was the final or the last prophet. Just like most religious traditions they try to get a monopoly over the Truth, which is completely antithetical to the Truth. There will never be such a thing as "the last prophet", everyone can become enlightened right now and be a prophet. There are hundreds of prophets alive that you can go speak to and visit and at the very least they're as equally spiritually enlightened as Muhammad was. Many Westerners also miss that Allah is just another name for the Christian God. There's a lot we can learn from studying the history of Islam, its origin story, the biography of Muhammad, and the developments of the tradition. We're not taught well about it in the West which is where the xenophobic reaction against it is coming from. There's something to gleaned from almost every mystical tradition and every religion if you know how to see the truth and ignore the corruption and minutiae. Corruption is a problem that runs rampant throughout every facet of human life. Not just in all the religious traditions, but even in science and academia. Jihad = struggle Not the struggle to kill your enemies, fight over oppression or evil. The struggle with yourself, your own ego, and the evil inside of you. Lesser jihad = external struggle, fighting enemies abroad, the infidels and enemies of Allah Greater jihad = spiritual inner journey to self-realization Inner and outer, lesser and greater are dualities which ultimately collapse and break down. Really there's only one Jihad, the struggle with the self. You fighting enemies out there somewhere is you really just fighting with yourself because there's nothing but Allah. Allah can be ignorant or Allah can be awake and stop fighting with himself. But when Allah is ignorant and stuck inside of Maya or illusion then he thinks that there's separation and boundaries, us-versus-them and believers as well as disbelievers who need to be punished and fought for threatening the believers. Fully awakened Allah is not frightened by anything and his faith is unshakable. It's not faith anymore but being/direct consciousness. Allah is Allah, you can't shake Allah when you realize that you are Allah. It's all about overcoming your own inner self-deceptions to ultimately transcend the ego and to realize the Self, the infinite Self, which is what Allah is. And this is self-actualization, Jihad is nothing other than what Actualized.org is about, the essence of every single spiritual path and self-help, personal development, and self-actualization. Actualized.org is a modern version of Jihad, framed in a culture and in a way that is suited to the 21st century, materialistic, rationalist, secular, Western mind. What else is Jihad? Zen, neo-Advaita, Vedanta, Yoga, self-help are all Jihad and Jed McKenna's work is an especially potent form of Jihad. The other spiritual traditions tend to emphasize the Jihad component less, trying to trick the ego into doing spiritual work. The ego will only understand what it really means to die after it's dead. The more you emphasize Jihad the smaller your spiritual audience will shrink and the less you emphasize Jihad the more people will be attracted to you because they want to have a spiritualized ego. The devil turns everything backward and inside-out so when you hear jihad in the news or in the mainstream culture you hear it as the exact opposite of what's being described here. Jihad is selfishness and people engaging in violence, warfare, hatred, condemnation of other groups, judging others, and waging jihad against them. The Mechanics Of Evil: https://youtu.be/rVcxIamwO5g The devil works through illusion and self-deception and so he takes the most Truth, the most potent forms of spirituality, and corrupts them inside out which is exactly what happens with Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and all the other isms out there. The greatest threat to the devil is the Truth so he has to take control over any mechanisms which might reveal the Truth too directly. When a spiritual teaching is too direct it gets corrupted and the more mainstream it gets it becomes the enemy of its own success. Allah = God = Absolute Infinity Not God as a bearded man in the clouds, but God as direct experience. What science calls reality is what Islam calls Allah. What the atheist calls the Big Bang, objective physical reality, is what the Muslim calls Allah. But the atheist and scientist aren't conscious of the full significance of what the word reality really is. (Absolute Infinity) In Islam there's "the 99 names of Allah," which are titles given to Allah describing the various properties and characteristics of Allah: The Beneficent/ All-Compassionate/ Most Gracious/ The Most Merciful/ Ever-Merciful/ Merciful/ Most Clement The King/ Lord/ Sovereign/ Dominion/ Master [also means "the God/ Lord, the One and Only", "Possessor of Supreme Power or Authority"] The Holy/ All-Holy/ All-Pure/ Sacred/ All-Sacred The Giver of Peace/ Peace/ All-Calm/ Ever-Tranquil The Granter of Security/ the Giver/ Faith/ Supreme Believer (of Belief)/ Giver of Belief/ All-Assurer The Controller/ Absolute Authority Over All/ Guardian Over All/ Absolute Master/ Eternal Dominating The Exalted in Might and Power/ Exalted/ Powerful/ Almighty/ Mighty The Omnipotent/ Supreme Power/ Possessor of Having All Power/ Strong The Possessor of Greatness/ Supreme/ Justly Proud The Creator/ Creator of the Universe/ Maker/ True Originator/ Absolute Author The Initiator/ Evolver/ Eternal Spirit Worshipped By All, Have Absolute Power Over All Matters, Nature and Events The Fashioner/ Shaper/ Designer/ Artist The Repeatedly Forgiving/ Absolute Forgiver/ Pardoner/ Condoner [He Who is Ready to Pardon and Forgive] The Subduer/ Overcomer/ Conqueror/ Absolute Vanquisher [Possessor of Who Subdues Evil and Oppression] The Absolute Bestower/ Giver/ Grantor/ Great Donor The Provider/ Sustainer/ Bestower of Sustenance/ All-Provider The Opener/ Opener of the Gates of Profits/ Reliever/ The Victory Giver The Knowing/ All-Knower/ Omniscient/ All-Knowledgeable/ Possessor of Knowing Much of Ever Thing/ All-Knowing The Restrainer/ Withholder/ Straightener/ Absolute Seizer The Extender/ Expander/ Generous Provider The Abaser/ Humiliator/ Downgrader [Possessor of Giving Comfort, Free from Pain Anxiety or Troubles] The Exalter/ Upgrader [of Ranks] The Giver of Honor/ Bestower of Honor/ Empowerer The Giver of Dishonor/ the Giver of Disgrace The Hearing/ All-Hearing/ Hearer of Invocation The All-Seeing/ All-Seer/ Ever-Clairvoyant/ Clear-Sighted/ Clear-Seeing The Judge/ Arbitrator/ Arbiter/ All-Decree/ Possessor of Authority of Decisions and Judgment The Just/ Authorized and Straightforward Judge of Dealing Justly The Gentle/ Benignant/ Subtly Kind/ All-Subtle The All-Aware/ Well-Acquainted/ Ever-Adept The Forbearing/ Indulgent/ Oft Forbearing/ All-Enduring The Most Great/ Ever-Magnificent/ Most Supreme/ Exalted/ Absolute Dignified The Ever-Forgiving/ Oft-Forgiving The Grateful/ Appreciative/ Multiplier of Rewards The Sublime/ Ever-Exalted/ Supreme/ Most High/ Most Lofty The Great/ Ever-Great/ Grand/ Most Great/ Greatly Abundant of Extent, Capacity and Importance The Preserver/ Ever-Preserving/ All-Watching/ Protector/ Guardian/ Oft-Conservator The Nourisher/ Feeder The Bringer of Judgment/ Ever-Reckoner [the One Who Takes Account of All Matters] The Majestic/ Exalted/ Oft-Important/ Splendid The Noble/ Bountiful/ Generous/ Precious/ Honored/ Benefactor The Watchful/ Observer/ Ever-Watchful/ Watcher The Responsive/ Answerer/ Supreme Answerer/ Accepter of Invocation The Vast/ All-Embracing/ Omnipresent/ Boundless/ All-Encompassing The Wise/ Ever-Wise/ Endowed with Sound Judgment The Affectionate/ Ever-Affectionate/ Loving One/ Loving/ the Lover/ the One Who Tenders and Warm Hearts The All-Glorious/ Majestic/ Ever-Illustrious [Oft-Brilliant in Dignity, Achievements or Actions] The Resurrector/ Awakener/ Arouser/ Dispatcher The Witness/ Testifier/ Ever-Witnessing The Truth/ Reality/ the Only One Certainly Sound and Genuine in Truth The Trustee, The Dependable, The Advocate The Strong The Firm, The Steadfast The Friend, Helper The All Praiseworthy The Accounter, The Numberer of All The Originator, The Producer, The Initiator The Restorer, The Reinstater Who Brings Back All The Giver of Life The Bringer of Death The Living The Subsisting, The Independent The Perceiver, The Finder, The Unfailing The Illustrious, The Magnificent, The Glorious The Unique, The Single The One, The Indivisible The Eternal, The Absolute, The Self-Sufficient The All-Powerful, He Who is able to do Everything The Determiner, The Dominant The Expediter, He Who Brings Forward The Delayer, He Who Puts Far Away The First, The Beginning-less The Last, The Endless The Manifest, The Evident, The Outer The Hidden, The Unmanifest, The Inner The Patron, The Protecting Friend, The Friendly Lord The Supremely Exalted, The Most High The Good, The Beneficent The Ever-Returning, Ever-Relenting The Avenger The Pardoner, The Effacer, The Forgiver The Kind, The Pitying The Owner of all Sovereignty The Owner, Lord of Majesty and Honour The Equitable, The Requiter The Gatherer, The Unifier The Rich, The Independent The Enricher, The Emancipator The Preventer, The Withholder, The Shielder, The Defender The Distressor, The Harmer, The Afflictor The Propitious, The Benefactor, The Source of Good The Light The Guide, The Way The Originator, The Incomparable, The Unattainable, The Beautiful The Immutable, The Infinite, The Everlasting The Heir, The Inheritor of All The Guide to the Right Path The Timeless, The Patient These are the properties of reality when you have direct consciousness of what reality is as a whole. Not just some fragment in the way that science for example studies it or the way that atheists understand it. When you directly experience your true nature as Allah you'll understand that all of these properties perfectly describe Allah. We're going into such detail is because we don't want to lose the core that's containing some deep truth besides all the corruption around it. In the West, we often just get to see the corruption and therefore can't understand why people aren't just giving it up. Now of course that truth is equally there in many other traditions through many other forms. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Yoga, Zen, Shamanism, psychedelics, contemplation, meditation, etc. Islam is certainly not the best way, not the only way. The 72 virgins: The Arabian prophets who experienced Allah came up with this metaphor because it was very appropriate for the culture, time and context. This metaphor of the 72 virgins is perfect for the context in which Allah was developed, in 600 AD Arabia. After you experience Allah directly for yourself you'll see this metaphor for the magnificence of Allah as very accurate. The mistake people make when thinking about religion, spiritual and mystical religions is they take them out of the historical and cultural context. We assume that just because the world is globalized we all understand each other globally. But we don't even understand 1% of the cultures existing today let alone the historical evolution of them. No depictions of Allah: The map is not the territory! The mind gets hooked on images and icons and then starts to worship those. Allah is not any particular image, icon, or form. Allah is the Formless, Nothingness, Infinity is Nothingness. So to maintain the purity of the teaching you don't want to corrupt the teaching by putting pictures of Allah everywhere, because people will start to worship that rather than seeing Allah as what's here right now. All the art that has been done around Christianity has actually done a great disservice to it. All symbols are not the Absolute. Islam does have geometric patterns as art and this is one way to depict Allah without anthropomorphizing Allah the way that Christians do. These fractal patterns align very well with what's seen on psychedelics. Forgetfulness: Praying five times a day. We fall back asleep so easily, the human mind falls back asleep into complacency and into materialism. You have to keep being mindful because you'll go from mindfulness to mindlessness. It's so that you don't get so wrapped up in your day doing practical and materialistic stuff the way that most Westerners do. Interrupting your day five times to focus on the more subtle and spiritual aspects of life. Reflecting on: death, the suffering of humanity, the pursuit of materialistic pleasures, true happiness. Muhammad: The prophet who channeled the Quran from a higher source. Was he enlightened? There are various degrees and facets of enlightenment so it's a question of degree. It seems like he had an understanding of the Absolute from direct experience since. He meditated by himself in a cave according to his origin story and it seems like he had mystical experiences throughout his whole life. He composed the Quran for around 30 years after his initial awakening. Supposed to have communicator channeled the angel Gabriel. It's illuminating to learn about the historical facts we know about Muhammad's origin story. Eye-opening to see the context and culture he was dealing with at the time. Don't get lost in the minutia of debating about little details about Islam. Go to the big picture, otherwise, you'll get lost in the minutia. Most of the Westerners who like to debate and criticize Islam do so without ever having a direct experience of Allah. (Bill Maher, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, etc) This doesn't invalidate all of their criticisms and some of them are totally valid. But corruption is not a problem exclusive to Islam it exists all around the world, especially in the U.S. government. It's a problem of ego, dogma, and fundamentalism. Why is Islam so corrupt and archaic? Every spiritual teaching has to be suited to the era, the culture, the geography from which it came about. This one is suited to 600 AD Arabia. If Islam was invented today it would look like Actualized.org and conversely if Actualized.org was invented in 600 AD Arabia for that era, culture, and geography it would look something like Islam. The problem is people cling to spiritual tradition and try to maintain and apply it to today. Society has evolved and these spiritual traditions also need to evolve. Spirituality is about the present moment, the Truth. The obstacles preventing you from connecting you to the Truth that exists today in 21st century America for example are very different. (Porn, YouTube, video games) The mind being ideological and not letting the tradition evolve as they need to is also present in Christianity, Judaism and even in science and atheism. They cling to their dogmas and paradigms just as much. 600 AD Arabia was very traditional, conservative, tribal, and combative, lacking a unifying element. Islam brought peace and stability to a region that otherwise was slitting each other's throats over family feud's going back hundreds of years. It taught that there's something larger that's connecting all of these tribes together. That was a huge technological innovation at the time! Today we think of technology as computers, the internet, and smartphones, but some of the biggest innovations in technology weren't machines but social, cultural, spiritual, and religious innovations. Now when you bring that technology into today without adjusting it and too literal and Orthodox about it you're going to bring that culture and the problems of 600 AD Arabia into today's world. The mind has a big problem with evolution because the whole point of the ego is to prevent evolution. The more you want to maintain your Orthodoxies the more it backfires. What's wiser is to understand the heart and core of it and throw away the dogma. The selfish mind is materialistic and wants to find authority figures that it can latch on to in order to get a sense of reality and stability. But to awaken is to realize that there is no stability at all and that Allah is infinitely groundless, with no beginning or end to it, and that there's no foundation to anything and therefore you're completely liberated. The devil has co-opted the teaching precisely so that it leads you in the exact opposite direction of awakening. That's why you see so much hypocrisy within religion. Not because the religion is false, but precisely because it's so true and the techniques are so powerful that they need to be corrupted. Is this a defense of Islamic fundamentalism? No, this is about developing a higher understanding. Understanding that all religions, traditions, and even secular foundations and organizations basically have one common goal. With that understanding, you soften with compassion and stop playing tribal and ideological games to snipe at the other side. West and the Middle East are both trying to realize truth but in different ways. Isn't Islam dangerous? Consider that actually the greatest danger to the world is the opposite, materialism. Rampant secularism, rationalism, corporate greed, nuclear war, global warming, artificial intelligence which are all fueled by those. We have record numbers of depressed people, suicidal people, PTSD, relationship and marriage problems, etc. All this is coming from materialism and a lack of self-actualization. This seems to only be getting worse because Western society is becoming more and more materialistic. In a sense, the Islamic radicals have a reason to be concerned. They fear this same thing taking over their region, village, city or country. Let alone all the ways in which the Western powers metal in Middle Eastern affairs, geopolitics or manipulating of elections, etc. Our superficial solutions and knee-jerk reactions to go bomb somebody, to attack or criticize somebody, could actually be backfiring on us and contributing to the problem. First, you need to understand at a very deep level why fundamentalism exists in the first place. It's a condition of the egoic mind. Materialist egoic minds are fundamentalist. We have a lot of fundamentalism here in the West it just takes a different style. The most prevalent form of it in the West is capitalism. The solution is to start to see that it's the ego-mind that's responsible and to start to see that it's all happening within yourself. You're not separate from it and are contributing to the problem. You as the American or European taxpayer. The ideas and opinions you hold, how you understand yourself and the world is all contributing. This corrupting force is within you, you are the source of the corruption, you are the source of the evil. And that is not going to stop no matter what you do externally until you take care of your ego which is what Islam is trying to get you to do. A lot of Western secular, rational, scientifically minded people think that they're immune to the problem of fundamentalism which makes them all the more susceptible. Because they're thinking fundamentally that they're immune and not fundamentalists. Regardless of content, the whole point of fundamentalism is denying that you're a fundamentalist. The West is committing the very same problem that the Middle East is committing, waging a lesser jihad. The U.S. is waging a lesser jihad against the jihadis in the Middle East and the jihadis in the Middle East are waging a lesser jihad against Western powers creating a family feud. The solution is to go meta and see the commonalities in the same way that Muhammad introduced Islam in 600 AD Arabia to elevate them to seeing commonality where before there was infighting and tribalism. The same thing now needs to happen between Islam in the Middle East and the West. All external fighting is really just a distraction from the greater jihad of turning inwards. The lesser jihads are precisely because these people do not engage in the greater jihad. The devil is inside of you, you are the devil, wake up to that and take control of the real problem. Homework recommendation: "Teaching Company" lecture series called "Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad". 40-hour long lecture series covering these four religious leaders. Start and focus on Muhammad first. It has 10 videos on his origin story and how he founded Islam and the trials and tribulations he had to go through.

Hello everyone! My name's Hannah and I decided to make this post to hopefully encourage a bit of inspiration today. A few years back, having been practicing daily meditation and dedicating myself to spiritual/personal development work, I am blessed to share that I have discovered my life purpose! And so I thought it may be worth sharing a part of my story. For those who read, thank you, I very much appreciate it. ❤️ So having grown into a musical family; both musician parents who met in the local band they were in, I naturally gravitated towards music pretty much right away. Since before I could enunciate complete sentences, I was singing and uttering melodies, and by the time I was 11, I was writing songs, playing guitar, and performing in local coffeehouses and open mics, eventually turning it into my part-time job. I mean I was that kid who did NOT want to go to school and would rather be at home singing and playing the guitar instead. I was very quiet, distant, and in my own world and rather than playing sports, or being involved in social activities as a child, I much preferred staying at home in my room just studying and mastering the guitar for hours on end; with literally almost no breaks. So that is what I did. One may say most of my childhood was squandered because of that, (not interacting with other kids socially in "normal" ways and taking life almost quite seriously), but I shall not say that because I was simply just following my passion, committing to it, and immersing myself into it everyday. And because I found that it gave me great joy, fulfillment, relief, and understanding, I considered it to be some kind of calling at an early age, and something to focus on for the rest of my life. I can't express enough how much those long hours spent alone on just learning my instrument as a kid has awakened me, relieved me, and ultimately healed me from my own personal traumas, wounds, and suffering I was dealing with at that time. Some of my most beautiful, cherished, and deepest moments in life were spent in solitude, just sitting in the dark playing the guitar/piano, headphones on, and with my eyes closed, just demystifying the notes, and experimenting with different sounds and with the art of improvisation, and that that has brought me to elevated states of consciousness and a place of overall inner peace which I am beyond grateful for. Being in that active flow, almost trance-like state when playing/writing music became part of my spiritual practice, my spiritual healing journey, and most thankfully, my personal salvation. Once I discovered Music Therapy was a thing, I basically knew in my heart right away that THIS is what I want to do. And aside from music being my deepest passion since childhood, my second greatest passion was always Psychology, especially Jungian Psychology, so it really made perfect sense to me to pursue this path. In addition, because I have dealt with a great deal of trauma throughout my life, and discovered for myself the healing power of music and the incredible therapeutic affect it can have on us, I realized that I want to spread this truth; this remedy, and really, really help others, particularly the youth, with their own pain and adversity through the use of music. As a high school walk-out who resented school, I never ever thought I'd be going to college! But once I noticed my requirements to get into this field, I without hesitation, yet mindfully, decided to commence this journey. I believe that it is most likely worth it so long as you are certain or clear about your path and are passionate about the subject. Now, at 23, I am proud to say I am pursuing a double major in Music and Psychology, heading towards my degree in Music Therapy! I am very curious if there are any fellow music therapists or music therapy enthusiasts on this forum? It's been quite a long time since I've been on here but I would love to interact with other fellow musicians and Actualized.org fans who are involved in this field! Thanks again for reading and thank you so much @Leo Gura for creating such profound content and sharing such evolved wisdom with us. After watching you for years, and following your advice, and actively committing to it, it has greatly transformed and impacted my life in so many positive ways. You are deeply appreciated. ❤️