Ralston Apprentice

[BlessedLion]

I’m considering doing the apprenticeship program with Ralston. My only hold back is that he doesn’t seem to teach anything about Love, and the school itself is lacking in that “energy.”

 

Its also extremely powerful and I’ve done many retreats there. 
 

any thoughts?

[Yimpa]

Seems like it’s working out for you, so why not? Perhaps you’ll discover Love without explicitly being taught it.

[Davino]

Yeah go ahead why not? You feel the calling

Learn from as many teachers as you can, contrast and expose yourself to a wide range of spiritual experiences and paths. Each one reveals a facet of the beloved One

[Javfly33]

You want to learn from him but at the same time you already have a conclusion that he has to teach about this 'Love' you talk about. See the nonsense thinking....

[Davino]

Think of it as Martial Arts. In boxing they don't teach you how to kick but it's useful. In taekwondo they teach you how to kick but not how to grapple. In judo they teach you how to grapple but not how to submit properly and so on.

In spirituality is the same, if you want to be a Mixed Martial Artist you will have to discover and train particularly each facet and then combine them all together. They all have value in a sense, some are better and some are worse but you should definetely learn to box if you wanna fight even though they don't teach you the other dimensions. In fact they may be better in that dimension than others that teach more dimensions at the same time but lack depth in that particular facet you are interested in. Therefore, you should consider carefully Ralston program even though he does not teach love, he may be good in other things, he is a genius in body consciousness for example.

[Osaid]

"Love" happens at the end, it is irrelevant for reaching enlightenment because you only have ideas of it prior. Thinking about love is not going to get you to enlightenment faster than self-inquiry. It is ultimately a distraction that your mind will spin ideas from when mentioned prior to enlightenment. You are already overly fixated on it.

12 minutes ago, Javfly33 said:

You want to learn from him but at the same time you already have a conclusion that he has to teach about this 'Love' you talk about. See the nonsense thinking....

Right.

"I want you to teach me how to be enlightened but make sure that your teaching is loving enough first."

If you want someone to talk to you about love, Leo has hour long videos about that which will satisfy you. If you want to become aware of it, go for enlightenment. Awareness has no such talking.

Edited January 2 by Osaid

[Thought Art]

What a wonderful opportunity. I don't see why not. His books are very good, very technical and boring. If I could afford to work with him or attend his workshops I would do it. 

He may not talk about love directly, but his teachings are love.

Edited January 2 by Thought Art

[gettoefl]

a teacher meets you where you're at or doesn't ... seeing them from afar may or may not work in deciding but their presence will

a teacher is good for one season and then will become a regular pilgrim like anyone else so beware of becoming too enamoured with someone

Edited January 3 by gettoefl

[BlessedLion]

14 hours ago, Davino said:

Think of it as Martial Arts. In boxing they don't teach you how to kick but it's useful. In taekwondo they teach you how to kick but not how to grapple. In judo they teach you how to grapple but not how to submit properly and so on.

In spirituality is the same, if you want to be a Mixed Martial Artist you will have to discover and train particularly each facet and then combine them all together. They all have value in a sense, some are better and some are worse but you should definetely learn to box if you wanna fight even though they don't teach you the other dimensions. In fact they may be better in that dimension than others that teach more dimensions at the same time but lack depth in that particular facet you are interested in. Therefore, you should consider carefully Ralston program even though he does not teach love, he may be good in other things, he is a genius in body consciousness for example.

This is a perfect analogy. Thank you so much 

[Salvijus]

His tai chi looks interesting to me. 

Are you interested in his Tai chi or self inquiry apprenticeship? 

[BlessedLion]

@Salvijus much more interested in the consciousness, enlightenment aspect of his work. However he’s infamous for the body being and boxing tai chi stuff too 

 

@Osaid Insightful. Thanks. 

 

I appreciate all your feedback and help with this big decision. 

however I also study at another school which is very direct about Love, similar to Leo and I find it’s helpful guide, not a distraction. 

Ralston seems to have the same perspective of Love being a distraction and commonly says “why call it that(love)?”

so it’s interesting 

 

Also, it’s not so much that I’m bothered they don’t teach it, but also seem to think it’s silly or something. They don’t talk about it and sometimes imply it’s new age spirituality or something. I don’t want to leave the apprenticeship thinking love and new age is silly belief systems. At the same time I see immense value in studying with a master like Ralston directly and this is his last apprenticeship so it’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve studied at their center for over 6 weeks total and read all his main books multiple times, so im no newbie to his work. 

 

[Leo Gura]

No one man can teach you everything.

[Yimpa]

No one can teach you everything.

You are free to learn from anything.

[Osaid]

9 hours ago, BlessedLion said:

however I also study at another school which is very direct about Love

Do you think anyone there is enlightened or on the level of Ralston? I doubt any enlightened teacher would use that to guide people towards enlightenment, unless they are talking about what their current experience of reality is like. However, that is trivial for someone who is seeking it, because those are just ideas being put in your mind about what your experience should be like. They are always going tell you to meditate in silence or go do self-inquiry or some such thing, not "go think about love." If you tell someone to go think about love they are going to come back with an entire romance novel planned out in their head.

Quote

I find it’s helpful guide, not a distraction. 

It is fine to be guided somewhere helpful. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're being guided towards enlightenment.

Could the idea of love cause you to question yourself at a deeper level? Maybe. But it is just an idea. It should be treated as fuel for contemplation. There are many who get enlightened without being taught such things.

Edited January 3 by Osaid

[Inliytened1]

On 1/2/2024 at 4:09 PM, BlessedLion said:

I’m considering doing the apprenticeship program with Ralston. My only hold back is that he doesn’t seem to teach anything about Love, and the school itself is lacking in that “energy.”

 

Its also extremely powerful and I’ve done many retreats there. 
 

any thoughts?

Do it.

[Inliytened1]

10 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

No one man can teach you everything.

All you need is awakening.   You don't need everything. 

[Leo Gura]

26 minutes ago, Inliytened1 said:

All you need is awakening.

As Ralston himself will tell you, there's much more to this work than awakening.

Edited January 4 by Leo Gura

[Juan]

3 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

As Ralston himself will tell you, there's much more to this work than awakening.

[Inliytened1]

14 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

As Ralston himself will tell you, there's much more to this work than awakening.

He's wrong. 

[Yimpa]

Ralston would Love to contemplate You.

Edited January 4 by Yimpa