- Introduction to the Neti Neti Method: Leo Gura introduces viewers to an in-depth enlightenment exercise using the neti neti (not this, not that) method from Advaita Vedanta. It is designed to promote direct experience of one's true nature and isn't primarily intended for beginners. A more powerful experience may even occur for those new to the concept, who have no preconceived ideas about enlightenment. The method can be practiced alone or with guidance and requires 30-40 minutes of uninterrupted time.
- The Concept of Self: Gura explains that the major barrier to enlightenment is our strong conviction about who we think we are. The idea of being something different seems almost impossible for most people to consider due to ingrained beliefs that one's self is the body and the mind. Enlightenment requires opening up to the possibility of being something radically different from these preconceptions.
- The Thought Experiment: A thought experiment is proposed to challenge the viewer's existing beliefs about their identity. Gura asks the audience to temporarily set aside firmly-held beliefs and open themselves up to the possibility that they might not be a body, mind, brain, or any other object or experience they envision themselves to be.
- Inquiry and Visualization: Once the audience is open to questioning their self-perception, Gura begins the guided visualization process to find out what exactly the viewer is and where they are located. The goal is not to confirm pre-existing beliefs but to explore and consider other possibilities about one's true nature. This exercise is the initial stage of 'inquiry' which is crucial for the enlightenment process.
- Guided Visualization Practice: In the practice, participants are encouraged to relax, be fully present, and focus on every word. Participants are guided to pay attention to their breathing and body sensations while keeping in mind the open-ended questions about their nature and their location. This practice can help individuals discover and experience their true selves beyond their previously held beliefs and perceptions.
- Questioning Existential Assumptions: Leo Gura stresses the importance of critical questioning of assumptions about self and existence. He calls viewers to be mindful and not take anything for granted, prompting them to examine what is literally true about themselves. He encourages a precise and exact observation of experience.
- Constant Change in Awareness: The video points out that everything in our human awareness changes. From the beginning of life onwards, all experiences such as sights, sounds, feelings, and thoughts are perpetually changing. Even physical facets, like the body and its cells, understandings, and beliefs have drastically changed over time.
- Six Components of Daily Experience: Gura proposes that the entire reality of life can be condensed into six basic components: sight, sound, taste, smell, outer touch, and thought. These components constantly shift and vary, making up the different channels of human experience.
- Investigating Existence within Channels of Experience - Sight: The video initiates a deep exploration of each channel, starting with sight. The hypothesis questions if we are just an amalgamation of visual experiences like colors and shapes. It further observes how visual experiences drastically change, indicating that we cannot essentially be identified with sight since it is too variable.
- Investigating Existence within Channels of Experience - Sound: The investigation continues with sound, and Gura comfortably dismisses the idea of being sound, as it continually changes and no constant sound marks our existence.
- Investigating Existence within Channels of Experience - Taste: Gura underlines that tastes, which continuously vary and are not universally essential, cannot define our identity.
- Investigating Existence within Channels of Experience - Smell: The video explores smell as a possibility, noting that smells change all the time, hence cannot be what we are.
- Investigating Existence within Channels of Experience - Outer Touch: Lastly, the idea of outer touch is entertained - the sensations experienced on the surface of the skin. Like the rest, these sensations are ever-changing, therefore further solidifying the notion that our understanding of our own existence can't be primarily reliant on changeable experiences.
- Exploration of Outer and Inner Sense of Touch: Leo Gura discusses the volatile nature of our sensations and feelings. He argues that these changing sensations, including feelings of heat, cold, pressure, or any outer touch, cannot be a part of our identity because of their inconsistency. These sensations, according to him, are transient experiences and are not the true self.
- Understanding the Nature of Internal Feelings: Gura explores the concept of inner feelings in the body, including physical sensations and emotions. He challenges the idea of identifying ourselves with these changing internal feelings. He points out that these feelings are usually not at the forefront of our consciousness, and their inconsistency also prevents them from being a defining part of our identity.
- Examination of Our Relationship with Thoughts: Gura dives into the examination of whether we are our thoughts or the observer of these thoughts. He questions the identification with our inner voice, pointing out its intermittent presence. Further, he explores the nature of visual thoughts, raising similar questions about the changing nature of internal images and their inconsistency.
- Scrutiny of the 'I thought': Gura challenges the notion of identifying oneself with what he calls the 'I thought', the internal affirmation of one's existence. He points out that this thought is also not constantly present and thus cannot define one's identity.
- Questioning the Identification with the Body and Intuitive Sense: Gura challenges the idea of identifying oneself with the physical body and intuitive sense. He argues that these identifications are either connected to our sensations or thoughts, which have already been established as inconsistent and transient. Therefore, being 'behind the scenes' or an 'intuitive thing' cannot define our existence.
- Existential Questioning of Self: Leo Gura encourages viewers to question their belief in their existence as perceivers of experiences, pushing for a deep existential inquiry. He suggests that the perception and interpretation of experiences are variable and ever-changing. Leo defines the perceiver, or what he terms the 'source self', as something that is not an experience itself but rather the observer of such experiences. This leads to the realization that one's existence is not based on solid, tangible reality but something less definable.
- Core Assumptions About Existence: Gura identifies three core assumptions people tend to hold about themselves: 1) the belief in their existence, 2) the belief that they are locatable, tangible objects, 3) the belief that they are situated in a physical space. He challenges these assumptions, arguing that they may not stand the test of deep existential investigation.
- Indoctrination since Birth: Leo highlights how upbringing and societal norms can shape our understanding of ourselves. From birth, people are often labeled as bodies, brains, and minds without being given the chance to truly explore and understand their existential nature. This ingrained ideology can limit our perspective on self and prevent a deep, existential understanding of our existence.
- Existence as Nothingness: Leo Gura points out that the 'source self' remains elusive, like trying to grasp onto air. He proposes an interesting perspective that the very failure to pinpoint and define oneself might actually be the discovery of the real self: an inherently self-aware nothingness. He suggests being open to the idea that we exist as intangible, undefinable nothingness despite our instinct to identify ourselves as something tangible.
- Self-aware Nothingness: Gura explains that this 'nothingness' is not an absence but an empty space that is real and self-aware. Leo encourages viewers to embrace this realization and accept this nothingness as their true identity. He emphasizes that this understanding shouldn't be overshadowed by pre-conceived images, opinions or ideas, but should be felt and experienced directly.
- Neti Neti Method and the Concept of 'Nothing': The term 'nothing' signifies an entity that isn't an object, doesn't have a color, shape, smell, taste, and doesn't exist within any particular space. It exists outside of time and space, which are mere conceptual constructs that take place within this nothingness. This 'nothing' is a self-aware infinite field where all experiences occur. This field forms the core of our being, a self-aware field that exists infinitely without an end, start, or boundary. It transcends physical or cognitive comprehension.
- Guided Visualization and Resulting Experiences: During the guided visualization, either the viewers had a direct experience of 'nothingness', or they didn't. It's emphasized that the absence of a direct experience during the initial attempts is ordinary. Most individuals may not experience it at first. However, this is not a reason for concern as it often requires multiple attempts and an open mind before one can experience 'nothingness'.
- Experiencing 'Nothingness': A direct encounter with 'nothingness' can be fundamentally transformative and frightening, as it contradicts long-held beliefs about individual existence. It feels like waking up for the first time in one's life, and though it might seem negative from the ego's point of view, it's actually a very positive experience.
- Questioning Our Identity: Individuals are urged to investigate why they perceive themselves to be physical objects located in space. This belief is largely influenced by our cultural and societal constructs, which may not always be correct. Leo encourages continuous self-inquiry and constant challenging of these assumptions.
- Practice and Persistence: Attaining a direct experience of 'nothingness' requires a radically open mind and unwavering persistence. This process is not based on belief but is an empirical discovery. It's also stressed that 'nothingness' should not be confused with bleak existential voids. It is instead self-aware and divine, described as the most miraculous discovery one can make in life.
- Self-actualization and Self-transcendence: Leo emphasizes the importance of continuous self-improvement and self-actualization, which ultimately leads to self-transcendence. The ultimate objective is to blend the mundane with the divine to lead a profound and 'extraordinary' life.
- Final Thoughts: Leo encourages viewers to keep questioning their identity, maintain radical open-mindedness, and persistently pursue self-discovery practices to achieve life-transforming breakthroughs. This method, rather than a religious dogma, is seen as a practical path to understanding one's existential nature and leading an extraordinary life.