Leo's Practical Guide To Enlightenment

[Sevi]

@Leo Gura

Thank you very much for sharing the Mansur Al-Hallaj's story Leo! I had so wanted to share that when you released the 'What is God' episode, but I wasn't in the forum..

Because they are exactly the same examples, just in different centuries.. In Anatolia, it is a very well known story by everyone, but among Sufis it has a special place.That was pretty fascinating to see such an example on this side of the ocean:)

[Leo Gura]

@unknownworld Go do a past-life regression therapy and find out what it's about.

Spirituality is not a thing to speculate about. It's a thing to be empirically done.

If you want to know what an apple tastes like, you must go eat an apple.

Try taking 1000ug of LSD or 30g of mushrooms and see what happens. Then come back and report it to us.

You are an individual right now, so not sure why it doesn't make sense. If you've had some direct consciousness, it's only been skin-deep.

[Leo Gura]

@see_on_see I see too many folks here being epistemically cocky. Gotta humble them somehow.

There needs to be a complete submission to EVERYTHING I BELIEVED ABOUT REALITY WAS WRONG.

[cle103]

Hey there, I would really appreciate some feedback: 

to this day I have 2 mushroom trips and about 1.5 years of meditation under my belt (8 months of 1 hour self inquiry daily). Lately I'm really struggling with my enlightenment practise.
I get up early before work to meditate... groggy and tired I sit down and go into it (mostly Neti Neti). But my mind just comes up with excuses: After 30 minutes I go kind of deep  but I always have this sense of "Yeah so what you cannot find yourself... you knew that this would happen anyway... no surprises here."

And it goes on and on. Day by day. I just struggle with my motivation. I tried to switch up some questions... some perceived process (more wondering) and then stagnation again. 

I you have any suggestions I'd appreciate it deeply. 

Cheers. 

[Space]

@cle103 Why don't you try to do a more self-observation type self inquiry, like Leo talks about? From personal experience, i've found that its a constantly changing process. Whilst there is some continuity, each day i'm contemplating in a slightly different way - almost like looking at the same problem from slightly different perspectives. I find this subtle sense of development and progress helps keep me motivated. If I was just doing exactly the same thing day in day out then I would probably not still be doing it! 

Also why don't you do the self-inquiry after work, maybe when you're just relaxing in the evening? Putting less pressure on yourself to do it in the morning, and doing it when you really feel like doing it may help you get 'into it' more.

[Leo Gura]

@unknownworld Hence the need for radical openmindedness. The fact is you don't know. I don't know either.

There is no birth and death. And there is birth and death.

Reality is a tricky thing, and it can be talked about at various levels.

There is also much more to spirituality than enlightenment. You can see everything from devils to angels. Imagine spawning your own private devil.

[Leo Gura]

@cle103 Well... firstly, you should be doing this work when you're MOST ALERT, not groggy and half-asleep. You need to be CONSCIOUS! This cannot be done as a mechanical process. Every time you sit down to contemplate, you gotta start from scratch. Take nothing for granted. Pretend like every time is your first time and you know nothing of the past.

Also, be very careful about contemplating this stuff. You need to hit a state of genuine not-knowing. So stop pretending like you know what you are. You don't. Take your own inquiry seriously. If you can't find yourself, don't assume, "Oh, well, I already knew that." No you didn't! You have to create a possibility that there's something NEW to discover about this situation.

When you inquire, get very real with yourself. Cut all the stories, ideas, concepts, beliefs, assumptions. Cut all that crap and just get to the bottom of what's ACTUAL in your direct experience right now. ACTUAL! ACTUAL! What is ACTUAL right now? Where are you? What are you? Notice that you don't know. Which means, you could be a flying spaghetti monster and not know it. Take such considerations seriously. The doubt has to be real, not just an intellectual exercise. Get yourself to actually doubt that you are a human body, so much so that you detach from the body.

It's doable. After all, you're not that human body. All that attachment is, is an unquestioned belief.

Be patient and persistent. These beliefs are so deep they can take months or years of questioning to erode. Strong psychedelics can give you a quick peak at the truth and catalyze your inquiry. Getting that first glimpse is very important to keep you motivated in this work.

[cle103]

@Reality Thank you! I will give it a shot to inquire after work instead. And I will think about where I can fit in some self observation excercises. 

[cle103]

@Leo Gura Thanks alot. And well... fuck. Those beliefs (I'm something inside the body or the body itself) are so deep.

As I see it now I am pretty much spinning my wheels. Trying to figure stuff out and thinking I already know I am not the body. Whereas this is the assumption I have to undermine first. It seems like I cannot really get myself to doubt it deeply enough. 

Do you have any suggestions to really get into doubting and get that first glimpse? Maybe some higher dose mushrooms (last trip was 2.2g). 

[Leo Gura]

@cle103 You don't need to get fancy here. Just sit down and look at the issue in a very sober way:

What on Earth could possibly create an identification of you to body? How can one sensation own another? How can you sit there and deny, with a straight face, that all the sensations which are not the body, aren't you?! What the fuck else would they be? You blink your eyes, and the whole world disappears. Obviously it's YOU! Look! EVERYTHING IS YOU! Stop being so gullible and attached to that body. The body is just a zombie. Look at how it moves! Look at what it thinks! You're not doing any of it. You don't control a single damn thing it does.

This isn't rocket science. But you do have to look seriously. Stop dicking around with ideas and LOOK at what's right before your eyes.

REALITY IS RIGHT THERE! It's not anything to think about. IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE! You don't need Actualized.org. EVERY ANSWER IS RIGHT THERE!

[123456789]

My inquiry seems to be repetitive, is it supposed to be like this?

[Leo Gura]

@Lenny Of course. It should bore you to tears and homicidal rage.

[PureExp]

9 hours ago, Lenny said:

My inquiry seems to be repetitive, is it supposed to be like this?

 Question it !

What in you expects it to be non-repetitive, entertaining and fun?

[Guest username]

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@Lenny Of course. It should bore you to tears and homicidal rage.

Ah, I was a bit concerned about the homicidal thoughts.

[Leo Gura]

17 hours ago, username said:

Ah, I was a bit concerned about the homicidal thoughts.

All thoughts are meaningless.

Contemplate that until your mind implodes.

[bobbyward]

On 2/17/2017 at 1:50 PM, Lenny said:

My inquiry seems to be repetitive, is it supposed to be like this?

in my experience inquiry will be boring and repetitive until you have some kind of awakening, then everyday is a new adventure  

[cle103]

@Leo Gura Thank you!

[Leo Gura]

@Outer Of course the more you do it, the better. You can do it all day long and in your sleep. But it's emotionally grueling. Start small.

[Trond]

@Outer Yeah, it is very helpful when you make it a part of your daily activities. Be the witnessing. 

Step away from your character. Observe it. Be the "i" not the ego. As you practice that and it becomes more and more natural for you, you can step more and more away, question not only the character, but the I also. Like, "am I really a boy", "why do I believe I live in X(country)". 

Detaching from your identity becomes kinda your lifestyle. Combine that with your actual practice when you sit(if you do) and you'll be having a lot of "fun".  

[Echoes]

I have a question that keeps coming up from time to time:

Is there any difference between ordinary every day experience and full enlightenment? because it is one thing to see that there is no "me" and that all believes and thoughts are not real, and that the "outside" world is consciousness. But how is the realization of gods infinite being always available to us? Because it doesn't sound like 5-meo is like "oh,how couldn't I have seen this earlier? how obvious!" but more like a special twisted mindfuck.

The question occurs because of the different approach of teachers. The one side says that you are already enlightened and that there is nothing to do; that it is the most obvious thing and it's not hard. The other side says it's requires decades of deep and hard work and only then will a few sages reach the full realization. 

 

Edited February 22, 2017 by Echoes