Best method of awakening if one can't take psychedelics?

[sleep]

Hello. I'm currently undergoing psychiatric treatment which stops me from taking any psychedelics. What spiritual practice would you guys say is the most effective aside from psychedelics? Meditation? Kriya yoga? 

Im aware reaching god realization is going tl be hard without psychedelics, but perhaps a different type, more easy to achieve type of awakening like no-self is still achievable? Currently I'm more interested in alleviating my suffering and feeling good than reaching absolute truth.

[Nilsi]

Asking and contemplating deep questions about Life.

[CARDOZZO]

@sleep

To be honest, Peter Ralstos's method and Neti Neti Meditation.

I don't know if it is the most profound awakening that you'll have, but it is a beginning.

[Thought Art]

How about you focus on mental stability first. Build your foundation. 

[sleep]

@Thought Art Im trying, man. I've been interested in reaching enlightenment for a while though, and I get the feeling it might help with my mood issues too.

[Thought Art]

@sleep Maybe, or it can make it worse. You need a stable mind and foundation before you go super deep. It destabilizes stables minds to begin with. 
 

Your healing process can be a spiritual one, and maybe it should be. But, you don’t need the highest realizations right now I think. You have your whole life ahead of you. 

[Moksha]

@sleep Enlightenment is a realization, not an achievement. It is the absolute awakening to itself, within the dream. It happens when the absolute is ready for it to happen.

It's good that you are getting treatment on the relative level. As @Thought Art says, you need an intact mind before it is stable enough to withstand the cosmic forces of letting it go. Like making sure the kite has no holes, before setting it free into the wind.

In addition to your treatment, I recommend trying meditation and seeing if it helps. Even now, you can find some relief from suffering simply by letting your thoughts settle, and focusing on the inner light which is what you actually are.

[sleep]

Alright guys, what you say makes sense. Perhaps I should currently focus on stabilizing my mind. As for meditation, currently im trying to cultivate a habit followinf the book "The mind illuminated". Any particular methods you might recommend?

[aurum]

14 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

@sleep Maybe, or it can make it worse. You need a stable mind and foundation before you go super deep. It destabilizes stables minds to begin with. 
 

Your healing process can be a spiritual one, and maybe it should be. But, you don’t need the highest realizations right now I think. You have your whole life ahead of you. 

@sleep I'm going to second this.

Sure, spiritual work could help with your healing. There is a correlation there. But you don't need the deepest level of awakenings to get off psychiatric treatment. And in fact it could backfire badly on you.

Your mood issues are likely far more basic. Things like nutrition, mindfulness, bodywork, sauna, exercise, breathwork, sauna, cold showers, sunlight, friends + community, a meaningful career, etc.

If you want a spiritual practice, you could look into Vipassana meditation. But be careful about biting off more than you can chew. 

[Moksha]

48 minutes ago, sleep said:

Alright guys, what you say makes sense. Perhaps I should currently focus on stabilizing my mind. As for meditation, currently im trying to cultivate a habit followinf the book "The mind illuminated". Any particular methods you might recommend?

The Mind Illuminated is my meditation go-to. It is chock-full of techniques for developing a solid meditation practice.

As for the specific meditation object and process, experiment and see what works for your mind. Focusing on the breath is distracting for me, but focusing on the inner body is sublime. Some respond well to guided meditation, but I immerse myself in silence. There is no proper way for meditating, except what allows your thoughts to settle and focuses your attention on the spaciousness within. 

Avoid extreme practice, impatience, and self-judgment. Learn to enjoy the process. With time, the light of the absolute will seep past your blockages into that spaciousness, until eventually it fills you and flows through you.

[saif2]

I can relate to this, because I struggle with mental health issues. I notice in the spiritual communities there is a wariness towards psychiatric medicine. I can see where it is coming from, but in my experience they helped in stabilizing my mind, which allowed me to pursue spirituality in a more sustainable way. therapy such as psychanalysis might help you to show up to your daily responsibilities, and possibly creating a somewhat healthy structure. however from my point of view there is one issue with most of the psychiatric community, which is that they don't heal you completely, they try to heal you so that you are functional and that is it, the rest is up for you. 

 

regarding the spiritual practices, some spiritual practices destabilize the mind more that others, so you can experiment with that. finding the right dose of medication for me made all the difference, (although it might dull the perception) it gave me a stable mind, so for instance before finding the right dose, contemplation made me lose this stability, now I rely on it heavily.

 

hope this was helpful 

[NoSelfSelf]

Observing the present moment for 8 hours a day every day,until you get mystical experiences...usually happen late at night for some reason...

[Ayham]

Meditation + self-inquiry + kriya yoga + appropriate lifestyle (good material foundation, eating healthy, being grounded, etc.)

It is almost guaranteed if you do all of those, plus some retreats once or twice a year.

[Giulio Bevilacqua]

Shaktipat 

[Recursoinominado]

Develop STRONG concentration + Yoga that ends with pranayama + self-inquiry

[Hojo]

Listen to bashar do whatever most excites you at any given moment dosent matter what it is and keep doing it when something stop exciting you move onto the next most exciting thing you want to do. Could be anything

[OldManCorcoran]

Just forget it. It's not going to happen.

It's basically guaranteed that any insight you think you get from looking at your hands or meditating is delusional retard short bus shit. It will make you like the other "great genetics" people on here who have literally zero clue what they're talking about.

The fact is, your body is a perfectly engineered machine and the ego is one of its most important functions. You're not likely to stop that without drugs any more than you're likely to stop your kidneys working by just thinking about it really hard.

Apparently severe isolation can help. See how a lot of mystics in ancient times went and sat in caves for months alone, etc. You could try total seclusion for a few months.

[tuku747]

Well, intellectually, you already seem to know that You Are God.

So, simply meditate upon this Truth and the mind will expand and integrate.

I Am That. I Am Beyond That.

Edited April 9, 2023 by tuku747