Leo's Practical Guide To Enlightenment

[Guest username]

@Leo Gura I've had minor glimpses, and I know there's further to go, so I probably won't stay like this, but more recently, being has just been so satisfying that I've lost a lot of motivation I used to have. I don't really care that much about a lot of the stuff I'm in the habit or pursuing, like relationships, achievements, or even unleashing my creative ambition. So much of that stuff just feels like silly distraction from the real deal.

Regarding life purpose, should I just keep working along and letting the passion come back naturally from a place of higher consciousness? That's what feels right. In fact, part of me feels silly asking, my intuition tells me it's obviously right, just keep inquiring and working on LP; let everything fall into place based on that.

Though, for some reason that just seems too straightforward. I'm used to being much more confused and unsure of myself.

[Leo Gura]

@username A big part of this path is teaching yourself new ways to relate to ordinary life again. To struggle through the reconciliation of that is half the work.

Not caring about things may be a genuine purification, or a trap. You'll have to fumble around with that until it becomes clear to you which is which.

Now maybe you can start to understand why people have been turning and living as monks and ascetics for thousands of years.

First you become conscious, then you ask, "Okay, what do I really want out of life?" Until you're deeply conscious, asking what you want out of life is sketchy business. Your wants are corrupted through and through by ego and culture. You're not deeply conscious yet, you're just starting to taste it, so of course the transition will be rocky, and your answer to that question will not yet be rock solid.

You gotta learn how to chew gum and walk at the same time. You gotta learn how to pursue enlightenment but still function effectively within everyday life. It's not easy. It feels schizophrenic at times.

Or you choose to become a full-time monk.

[Forestluv]

@Leo Gura Since the traditional "you" is an illusion and does not exist, why use the traditional "you" while communicating on this forum as if that "you" does exist? Doesn't that give comfort and validation to the illusionary "you" that it really does exist?

Edited September 28, 2017 by Serotoninluv

[Joseph Maynor]

@Serotoninluv People laughed at me when I told them about all the notes I have about enlightenment filling up one of those red accordion folders (or buckets as they're often called).  People don't realize that the mind defaults a ton of beliefs and you gotta work a little bit every day to dislodge those beliefs, because the mind will seal them back up on you.  These beliefs are called default-positions.  Have you watched all of Leo's enlightenment videos yet?  I review my enlightenment notes a little bit everyday.  That's one of the ways I keep my awareness up -- otherwise the mind will fog the glass so I can't see.  So, you do need to get into the nuts and bolts of the theory with Enlightenment.  A few glossy generalized pointers is not gonna do it for you.  Where enlightenment becomes rich is when you spot all the ways that the mind interferes in reality in real time.  The mind is augmenting your reality all the time.  The enlightened person is aware of all of this -- not theoretically, but by actually noticing it.  The magician sees the fraud in all of his tricks though the crowd does not.  You need to see the fraud of the mind -- that's enlightenment a.k.a. maximum awareness.  It's true what Leo says that it takes something like 10,000 hours of work to become enlightened.  Whether that's literally true or not is neither here nor there.  What is true is you gotta strongly engage with the theory, meditation, psychedelics, and the self-observation work like an eager deep-diver looking for the Holy Grail of your life, because that's ultimately what you will find.  You need to be able to see through the mind: similar to the magician, who can see the lie in each of his tricks.  Once you gain that keen awareness, the mind can't fool you anymore, and all your delusions will simply die on the vine and fall away like autumn leaves.  

Here's a few relevant videos:

 

Edited September 29, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[Leo Gura]

7 hours ago, Serotoninluv said:

@Leo Gura Since the traditional "you" is an illusion and does not exist, why use the traditional "you" while communicating on this forum as if that "you" does exist? Doesn't that give comfort and validation to the illusionary "you" that it really does exist?

A) Because it's ingrained in our language. All language is inherently dualistic, so it can't really be avoided without talking like a robot.

B) Because you still think of yourself as a you. It does little good speaking to person stuck in duality from a nondual perspective. Whenever I speak, I like to speak as though I'm speaking directly to you, from your perspective.

C) Because you do exist, as The One True Self. Existence vs non-existence is yet another duality. So anything we say on this subject is always wrong. If you say you exist, you're wrong. If you say you don't exist, you're wrong. If you say you both exist and don't exist, you're wrong. If you say you neither exist nor don't exist, you're wrong. And of course, you're also right

[Forestluv]

21 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

A) Because it's ingrained in our language. All language is inherently dualistic, so it can't really be avoided without talking like a robot.

B) Because you still think of yourself as a you. It does little good speaking to person stuck in duality from a nondual perspective. Whenever I speak, I like to speak as though I'm speaking directly to you, from your perspective.

C) Because you do exist, as a the one True Self.

Thank you. For the past few months, there have been some glimpses of awareness that seem nondual. Would you recommend pursuing teachings on nonduality / teachings from a nondual perspective? Or, is it more effective to continue with duality teachings with an awareness that it's from a non-dual perspective?

Edited September 28, 2017 by Serotoninluv

[Thomas Razzeto]

@Serotoninluv My opinion is this: The traditional "you" is an illusion and that means that it does indeed exist, but it exists in a deceptive way. First of all, the reality of what you commonly think of as "you" is indeed a person. What is the deception? It is not an autonomous being even though it looks like it is. It is not who or what you truly are in the most fundamental way. What you are fundamentally is Source-Awareness. As you know, I talk about this in many of my essays.

By the way, I wrote the following essay two years ago but I recently rewrote it. Here is the link:

Why Do We Call It Nondual Wisdom?
https://infinitelymystical.com/essays/nonduality.html
4 pages

Some of my points in that essay might be of interest to you. Best regards. In truth, I honor your divine nature. - Thomas Razzeto
 

[Forestluv]

1 hour ago, Thomas Razzeto said:

@Serotoninluv My opinion is this: The traditional "you" is an illusion and that means that it does indeed exist, but it exists in a deceptive way. First of all, the reality of what you commonly think of as "you" is indeed a person. What is the deception? It is not an autonomous being even though it looks like it is. It is not who or what you truly are in the most fundamental way. What you are fundamentally is Source-Awareness. As you know, I talk about this in many of my essays.

By the way, I wrote the following essay two years ago but I recently rewrote it. Here is the link:

Why Do We Call It Nondual Wisdom?
https://infinitelymystical.com/essays/nonduality.html
4 pages

Some of my points in that essay might be of interest to you. Best regards. In truth, I honor your divine nature. - Thomas Razzeto
 

My mind has had some difficulty conceptualizing this point. In my head now is an analogy: That illusionary "you" is like a mirage in the desert. The mirage is an illusion and doesn't exist. Yet it still exists as an illusionary mirage. Awareness of this changes the perception of it.

(As a sidenote: my ego is patting itself on the back for coming up with this analogy, yet I'm sure countless others have already thought of it. . . )

[Thomas Razzeto]

@Serotoninluv 

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

That illusionary "you" is like a mirage in the desert. The mirage is an illusion and doesn't exist. Yet it still exists as an illusionary mirage. Awareness of this changes the perception of it.

Well, I get what you are saying. And yet I prefer to make the point that the idea that the illusion points to is simply a false idea. The illusion is real and yet the idea it points to is false. The mirage exists as a mirage. Otherwise we could not see it. So it is a real mirage just like a dream is real as a dream (otherwise we could not see the dream). But of course the mirage appears to be something that it is not. One dictionary I checked offered this definition of an illusion: a misleading image.

Some illusions are persistent. A mirage in the desert might disappear after a period of time due to changing temperature and other conditions but it will not disappear just because we recognize that it is a mirage, although when it disappears, we will certainly recognize that it was a mirage. (By the way, I like to use the word "recognize" rather than "become aware of" but that is strictly because I reserve the word "awareness" to point to the power of sentience. No biggie, though.)

One analogy that I use is this: the sun appears to move across the sky. Even after you recognize the truth of the situation, this persistent illusions will still seem to point to the idea that the sun is moving across the sky. The sun is certainly not going to stop in the sky just because you have a new understanding! It is the spinning of the earth that creates the apparent motion of the sun across the sky.

The illusion of the personal "self" is also persistent. It is what I like to call the person but it could be called the false "self." I also call it the functional identity because that is what it seems to be and this is very useful. I am a very practical guy. Anyway, when you recognize the truth of the person, it will still seem like it is who you are fundamentally. That is an experience. But this experience will soften a bit. Yet it won't disappear completely. It will always remain to some extent because it is useful. It provides functionality - functionality in the hands of God.

I like the metaphor of the actor and the character. God is the invisible actor who is arising as each and every visible character (person). The character (person) is not fundamentally who the Actor really is since the role of the character can be dropped. But still, the Actor is the character (person) in a nonfundamental (nonessential) way. The actor arises as the character through the process of pretending. God arises as all of creation and everyOne in it through the mystery of the miracle of creation. This will never be fully explained but it can be described to some extent. This wisdom is just a sliver of a description, it is not an explanation. The questions of why and how will be largely unaddressed. Yet you can spend some time with these ideas, these slivers of a description. They are not hard to understand but they are very different from the way we normally think. That is one reason it takes a while for this to click. - Thomas Razzeto

[Emerald]

20 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@username A big part of this path is teaching yourself new ways to relate to ordinary life again. To struggle through the reconciliation of that is half the work.

Not caring about things may be a genuine purification, or a trap. You'll have to fumble around with that until it becomes clear to you which is which.

Now maybe you can start to understand why people have been turning and living as monks and ascetics for thousands of years.

First you become conscious, then you ask, "Okay, what do I really want out of life?" Until you're deeply conscious, asking what you want out of life is sketchy business. Your wants are corrupted through and through by ego and culture. You're not deeply conscious yet, you're just starting to taste it, so of course the transition will be rocky, and your answer to that question will not yet be rock solid.

You gotta learn how to chew gum and walk at the same time. You gotta learn how to pursue enlightenment but still function effectively within everyday life. It's not easy. It feels schizophrenic at times.

Or you choose to become a full-time monk.

@username Since I had my experiences of ego transcendence without any expectation, knowledge, or interest in spirituality, this has been a huge difficulty for me over the course of the past eight years. I just wanted to try a psychedelic for fun and to add that experience to my identity. But I ended up temporarily transcending the ego and shattering my entire paradigm and falling down a rabbit hole. And since this happened when I was 20, it really fucked up my sense of direction in life. Prior to this time, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted and I had 100% trust in myself. So, life was very challenging back then but it was also very simple. I knew what I wanted and what I had to do to get there. Life was just a single-pointed success game about achieving goals.

Then, I saw that I had no clue about what I actually wanted in life and constantly lied to myself simply to cope with the suffering that had always been there. So, it left me in a really bad way after the ego took hold again because I was now pulling myself in two different directions while my worldview lay in piles of rubbish on the floor. I had no access to wisdom. And my demons that were kept at bay because of my worldview escaped from their prison and also began to reek havoc on me. And life sort of fell apart.

So, this has been my biggest challenge with really high stakes. It may COMPLETELY ruin my entire life, when all is said and done if I can't see my way through it and actually get some perspective on what I want and not just what I think I want. But it may lead to something so indescribably beautiful. I'm just so grateful to even have been able to live a handful of hours of my life truly free from the ego. Most people never get that. And it's given me a lot of perspective on all sorts of topics. But the problem now is that I know that I'm suffering and unconscious, and that there's a heaven here that I don't have access to. So, it's torture... like "Water water everywhere... but not a drop to drink."

I can function now and life is improved... but I'm still really not living. And I'm definitely not thriving on the worldly front, despite the fact that I know that I could be very successful very easily. Because my work ethic took the biggest tumble after those experiences, my willpower is still so repressed in me that I feel unable to make a strong commitment to what I think I want... because I know that I don't really know what I want. So, definitely don't make an enemy of your will-power and work ethic like I did. It was one of my biggest mistakes... if not my biggest mistake. You still need it. Just don't identify with it. Will-power is the best medicine when taken in moderate doses, but a poison when taken in large doses.

[Leo Gura]

7 hours ago, Serotoninluv said:

Thank you. For the past few months, there have been some glimpses of awareness that seem nondual. Would you recommend pursuing teachings on nonduality / teachings from a nondual perspective? Or, is it more effective to continue with duality teachings with an awareness that it's from a non-dual perspective?

Personally, I consume all kinds of teachings simultaneously, dual and nondual alike. The scope of life is so enormous that no one teaching, not even one category of teaching, can cover it.

But if you're really focused on enlightenment, it might be a good idea to only focus on nondual teachings for a while to build your momentum and reduce distractions.

[VadsterLobster]

How can I do this work effectively for a long period of time? My issue that my first sessions are effective. But when I do it 5 or more times I can't be concentrated on the work anymore.

Edited September 29, 2017 by VadsterLobster
spelling

[Leo Gura]

@VadsterLobster That is the nature of the beast.

This work requires enormous self-discipline and focus.

You can slowly build up momentum over time. For this reason, it really helps to do week-long full-time meditation retreats.

It's hard to have any breakthroughs with stop-and-go inquiry. You really need 100 hours straight sometimes.

But even so, a daily practice is essential. Aim to do at least 30-60 mins every day. AND then a few retreats per year.

[Joseph Maynor]

@Emerald Willpower is an illusion, a concept, a thought-story.  If you let go of the small self, your life would clean up automatically.  You do not control anything.  The mind has made it all up.  Once you fully let go and accept and maintain Awareness, your life will be nothing but constant peace and bliss.  Whatever happens is whatever happens, and you're cool with it because you realize there is no you controlling anything.  Paradoxically, you get "self-control" by letting go of your small self completely.  Trust that you will be fine.  You never had control in the first place!  The only thing that exists is Awareness.  The small self is a mental fiction that is picked up in Awareness, but has nothing to do with Awareness per se.  The small self is a sensation in Awareness we might say.  Free will is also a sensation in Awareness (as a thought).  Willpower is similarly a sensation in Awareness (as a thought).  Being = Awareness = You.  Everything else is mind games.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[MiracleMan]

On 9/29/2017 at 9:39 PM, Joseph Maynor said:

@Emerald Willpower is an illusion, a concept, a thought-story.  If you let go of the small self, your life would clean up automatically.  You do not control anything.  The mind has made it all up.  Once you fully let go and accept and maintain Awareness, your life will be nothing but constant peace and bliss.  Whatever happens is whatever happens, and you're cool with it because you realize there is no you controlling anything.  Paradoxically, you get "self-control" by letting go of your small self completely.  Trust that you will be fine.  You never had control in the first place!  The only thing that exists is Awareness.  The small self is a mental fiction that is picked up in Awareness, but has nothing to do with Awareness per se.  The small self is a sensation in Awareness we might say.  Free will is also a sensation in Awareness (as a thought).  Willpower is similarly a sensation in Awareness (as a thought).  Being = Awareness = You.  Everything else is mind games.

I like this.  I would add that if one truly believes they have willpower, become an addict.  You will know that willpower is an illusion, it requires something greater than the ego to overcome a parasite that the ego believes it can control.  We aren't controlling shit, and when we think we are controlling something we're becoming more and more embedded and invested in this thing called "I".

Edited October 2, 2017 by MiracleMan

[Forestluv]

@Leo Gura Thank you. Perhaps your words helped me stumble into it. Yesterday I had quite the shroom trip. Everything “is”. I couldn’t change it, stop it or escape it. Any thought, action, feeling, sight, sound. All “is”. I layed on the forest floor trying to regain my sanity. I thought “the trees are beautiful”. Yet that thought and the trees were “is”. An intense feeling of being trapped, more “is”. I wanted to contact and ask you for an easier way. Yet anything you say is “is”. As things settled down, relief is relief. Geese flying overhead is geese flying overhead. A yummy sandwich is a yummy sandwich.

[Leo Gura]

@Serotoninluv Indeed

[Key Elements]

I overheard an interesting conversation today between two people. I'll call the two people teacher and student. It went like this:

Student: I saw something on YouTube today. A dictator of country X increased the number of concentration camps for his people. One of his soldier decided to gather a group of around 100 soldiers to defeat the dictator by stabbing him in the stomach to kill him while the other soldiers backed him up. The lead soldier did not succeed but escaped into another country and was telling his experience on YouTube. He was like a Samurai. 

Teacher: No wrong! That soldier is NOT a Samurai. Do you even know what is a Samurai? When a Samurai goes on a mission like that, he either completes the mission successfully or he dies trying fearlessly. Anything other than this is disgraceful and he would not be considered a Samurai. He doesn't let his ego get in the way by escaping to some other country, live to tell the tale, and earn money through YouTube. If he doesn't succeed, he sacrifices his life.

More on Samurai

 

 

[Guest username]

[Removed]

Reason: Speculating about a teacher I'm only vaguely familiar with and know of mostly through second hand claims. 

Edited October 16, 2017 by username

[Leo Gura]

@username Ignore all such nonsense. Don't listen to any teacher who tries to monopolize the Truth.

The highest marker of mastery is deep  deep humility. Masters will not make grandoise claims about themselves.

And followers praising their master religiously just shows how little consciousness they have.