- Definition of contemplation: Contemplation is openly pondering a question with focus and without bias to inquire into the nature or truth of that question. It involves setting aside time, selecting a question of genuine interest, pondering it from "ground zero", and maintaining focus on that subject for a minimum of five to 10 uninterrupted minutes.
- Sage's key contemplative question: The most significant question a sage can ask to understand the essence of reality is, "What is it?" This question can replace "it" with any object or thing the contemplator wants to inquire about.
- Range of topics for contemplation: Contemplation can be applied to a wide variety of domain - from personal life areas like career and relationships to existential questions about the nature of reality, philosophical, scientific, or artistic questions. The list of themes to consider is vast, ranging from society, life, color, love, anger, desire, science, mathematics, culture, freewill, spirituality, truth, economy, education, passion, atheism, intuition to information and more.
- Impact of contemplation: Contemplation can be transformative as it allows individuals to delve deeper and gain insights into varied aspects of life and existence. It encourages individuals to question and investigate matters they usually take for granted.
- Contemplation vs. Fantasy: It is important to distinguish real contemplation from fantasy or hearsay. True contemplation begins from ground zero, without preconceived notions, hopes, or biases, and not based on what one has read or been told.
- Spiritual and mystical aspect of contemplation: The more profound aspects of contemplation may tap into spiritual and mystical states of awareness. This transformational process goes beyond understanding at the intellectual level to deeper exploration of the essence of self, reality, love, God, and other existential matters.
- Creating a deeper understanding through contemplation: The detailed exploration of topics mentioned, either mundane or existential, through contemplation can provide a more profound understanding. For example, contemplating the nature, purpose, substance, and significance of "relationship" can lead to a more profound realization about ones interactions with others and how relationships work.
- Commitment to personal growth through contemplation: To embody a contemplative lifestyle, one should commit to the process of personal growth; not just theorize but apply and experience concepts. This includes removing distractions, investing time in contemplation, and employing practical contemplative methods like meditation and self-inquiry.
- Importance of open-mindedness and perseverance: To attain deep insights into existential truths, one must be intensely focused and radically open-minded in their contemplative practice. Though this requires years of contemplation and trial and error, it helps break existing paradigms restricting the mind's imagination and comprehension, paving the way for transcendental insights.
- Avoiding superficiality in contemplation: The contemplative process should avoid superficiality and quick, shallow answers. Initial answers often tend to be incomplete or wrong; thus continuous contemplation is key to deriving accurate answers.
- Contemplation as a means to combat ignorance: Ignorance is marked as the main problem in life, resulting in difficulties such as depression, anger, and relationship issues. Through contemplation, one can penetrate life's illusions to discover the truth, thus aligning oneself with it and improving their life overall.
- Contemplating deeply about art: One of the many areas for contemplation is art. By questioning the true nature, origin, purpose, elements, existence, significance, physicality, or conceptuality of art, and investigating different theories and assumptions about it, can enable a deeper understanding of art itself.
- Implementation of contemplative lifestyle: Incorporating contemplation as a daily routine or habit can significantly impact one's life trajectory. This includes activities like visual reminders to contemplate, setting aside certain periods in a day dedicated to contemplation, or weekly assignments to evaluate certain topics successfully.
- In-depth study of varied aspects in life: Encouragement is given to viewers to think deeply about different aspects of life such as art, science, relationships, emotions, the nature of things, and apply the understandings derived from contemplating these aspects to improve their lives.
- Building momentum in life: As individuals progress through contemplative practice, smaller desires may fade away or easily manifest, allowing them to aim for grander goals that are beyond their current perception. The most rewarding life experiences come with building momentum in life.
- Contemplation as an intellectual activity: Contemplation is an intellectual activity involving deep thinking and focus on a specific subject. It is different from meditation, which is relaxing the mind without a specific goal, and concentration, which involves focusing on subjects without an intellectual question.
- Potential dangers of contemplation: While contemplation can lead to insights and understanding, it can also lead to self-delusion, getting lost in stories, or ego-driven justifications. Therefore, contemplation requires self-honesty and awareness to avoid these pitfalls.
- Contemplation not limited to self-inquiry: While self-inquiry is a form of contemplation often used to attain enlightenment, contemplation isn't limited to just that. It also encompasses examining and pondering other existential matters and the essence of various subjects.
- Significance of contemplation often overlooked: Most people overlook the importance and significance of contemplation. They often stop contemplating questions shortly or seek quick answers online, leading to superficial understanding. Even subjects like science and society can be significantly understood on a deeper level by contemplating questions about their nature.
- Difference between speculation and contemplation: Speculation can lead to delusion and armchair philosophy. Contemplation differs since wisdom from rigorous and precise contemplation is not merely theoretical but is derived from lived experiences, unlike science or speculation.
- Basic contemplation can greatly benefit life: The basic contemplation of everyday concepts like anger, happiness, relationships, etc., can greatly benefit one's life. However, deep contemplation, which uncovers profound truths, requires strong focus and is often challenging in today's distracted world.
- Existing paradigms limit imagination and comprehension: Existing paradigms and superficial questioning limit imagination and prevent the mind from receiving transcendental insights. Deep contemplation and meditation increase concentration abilities and allow for deeper understanding and exploration of complex questions like the nature of art or science.
- Commitment to the contemplative process for life-long personal growth: A commitment to the process of personal growth through contemplation for the rest of one's life is stressed. Contemplation is transformative and essential for personal growth as it leads to genuine insights changing one's relationship with life and objects.
- Ignorance as the main problem in life: Ignorance is elaborated as the main problem in life, leading to issues such as depression, anger, and relationship problems. Contemplation is viewed as a tool to penetrate these illusions and discover the truth, improving one's alignment with reality.
- Addressing common misconceptions about contemplation: Many people mistakenly think they are contemplating when they are only rearranging their prejudices. To live a contemplative lifestyle requires significant changes, such as removing distractions and investing time in contemplative activities.
- Creating a contemplative lifestyle: Emphasizing the importance of creating a contemplative lifestyle, distractions are suggested to be eliminated and time specifically set aside for contemplation. Different techniques such as wearing a reminder for contemplation or contemplating specific questions for certain periods daily are suggested for a deeper understanding of life aspects.
- Embodying concepts discussed: To attain transformational results, it's emphasized to implement and embody the concepts discussed rather than just theorizing about them. Practical methods like meditation and self-inquiry are suggested to help make progress. While the process requires time and effort, dramatic transformations are assured.
- Taking teaching and explains to deeper levels: The content provided was intended to delve deeper into foundational, existential topics. Even if only half is watched and implemented, significant life transformations are guaranteed.
- Staying tuned for more valuable insights: Encouragement is given to continue exploring the process and stay tuned for more valuable insights and teachings to generate maximum benefits from the knowledge shared.
- Understanding the essence of various concepts: The video emphasizes the value of deeply contemplating various aspects of lifelike emotions, relationships, career fields, art, and scienceto understand their essence. This involves asking probing questions and going deeper into the nature of these topics, beyond surface-level understanding.
- Process of contemplation: Contemplation involves asking oneself deep, curious questions about a chosen subject over time. Approaching it from different perspectives and angles can help tease out its true nature, origin, substance, purpose, and significance. It's key not just to robotically ask questions but to genuinely care about and be motivated to understand the answers.
- Difference between contemplation, meditation, self-inquiry, and concentration: Contemplation is an intellectual activity where one deeply thinks about a specific subject. It can lead to a state of meditationtypically, a practice that involves emptying the mind and relaxingbut is distinct in its intellectual component and goal-oriented exploration. It also differs from self-inquiry, which focuses on existential self-reflection, like "who am I?" Concentration is simply focusing on one point or subject, rather than probing into its nature.
- Art as a subject for contemplation: As an example, Leo contemplates the nature of art, asking questions like: "What is art? What's its true nature? How did it come into being? What elements make it up? What allows it to exist at all? What's its purpose? Is art physical or conceptual/mental?"
- Contemplation timeframes: Depending on the subject's complexity, contemplation may take a few minutes to several hours, proving the importance of dedication and persistence.
- Contemplation and Meditation: Contemplation is different from meditation in that meditation involves using a technique to relax and quiet the mind. In contrast, contemplation when done well can be akin to meditation where the person goes "into the zone" with deep, focused concentration on a question.
- Self-inquiry and other forms of Contemplation: Self-inquiry is a specific form of contemplation focused on the questions "who am I" and "what am I?" While self-inquiry is often used to achieve enlightenment, it is important to note that there are many other subjects one can contemplate beyond self-inquiry, e.g. art, science, logic, life, and love, among others.
- Differences between Concentration and Contemplation: Concentration does not necessarily involve an intellectual question, for instance when one concentrates on a candle flame to build concentration skills. In contrast, contemplation involves having genuine curiosity about a question, making it a more philosophical endeavor.
- Different Levels of Contemplation: Contemplation can happen at a personal level, with questions about one's own life, or at an existential level, with questions about the nature of life or existence itself. Both personal and existential contemplations are important.
- Contemplation Insights and their Levels: Contemplation can yield insights at the level of thought or being. An insight at the level of being, though rare and requiring hundreds of hours of contemplation, is a spiritual and mystical experience where one transcends the intellect and the mind to merge with the subject of contemplation.
- Contemplation vs. Speculation and Theorizing: It's crucial not to mistake contemplation with speculation or theorizing, as the latter can lead to delusion and "armchair philosophy". Contemplation requires self-honesty and awareness and must not be a process of spinning stories based on the contemplator's ego, likes, dislikes, and desires. Contemplation should focus on uncovering the nature of the subject instead of projecting onto it.
- Importance of Beware Preconceived Notions in Contemplation: Contemplators must be aware of their preconceived notions and opinions when examining concepts, as these can create bias. The mind, being the trickiest element in nature, can be filled with traps that can hinder open-mindedness during contemplation.
- Value of Rigorous Contemplation: Genuine wisdom is derived from careful and rigorous contemplation, not science or theorizing. This process requires hundreds or thousands of hours of contemplation and can yield profound spiritual insights and truths.
- Contemplation of Everyday Concepts: Contemplation should not only cover abstract concepts, but also everyday aspects, such as anger, happiness, relationships, and self-discipline. Such contemplation can greatly benefit individuals' lives.
- Requirements for Deep Contemplation: Achieving deeper levels of contemplation requires strong focusing ability and radical open-mindedness. For most people, focusing for hours on contemplation is a challenge due to distractions. Breaking through to the "being level" of understanding requires a degree of open-mindedness that is often hard to fathom.
- Impediments to Deep Contemplation: Existing paradigms can often limit an individual's contemplation process. They confine the mind's imagination, inhibiting its ability to perceive highest transcendental insights. Overcoming these paradigms requires rigorous and deep contemplation.
- Deeper Level Exploration of Questions: Questions, such as "What is art?" can be contemplated for years, revealing more perspectives as you dig deeper. The process should not be stopped at getting the initial superficial answers; genuine contemplation leads to profound, often contradictory, understandings.
- Contemplation versus Looking Up Answers: Contemplation is an independent process and should not be confused with looking up answers. Similar to learning mathematics through solving problems rather than reading solutions, insights derived from personal contemplation are more valuable, leading to a better understanding and growth.
- Implications of Contemplation: Contemplation is a transformative process that changes an individual's relationship with life and its various aspects. It aids in cutting through the numerous illusions of life, leading to truth and eliminating ignorance, the root cause of many life problems such as depression, relationship issues, and more.
- Contemplation as Intellectual Research: Contemplation is likened to intellectual research based in self-derived mental faculties instead of relying on external sources like books or databases. Genuine contemplation reduces life issues, improves life quality and brings clarity on truth. Misunderstanding contemplation to merely rearranging existing biases and prejudices, like some philosophers do according to William James, can be detrimental.
- Contemplative Lifestyle: Advocates adopting a contemplative lifestyle, which might require drastic lifestyle modifications like reducing time spent on video games, avoiding addiction to porn, incorporating good dietary habits, and managing work-life balance. Also, emphasizes the importance of meditation, minimalism in lifestyle, and maintaining room for contemplation in daily life.
- Contemplation Assignment: Offers a practical assignment to grasp the power of contemplation as an intellectual research tool. The task involves contemplating 'What is relationship?' over a week using a loosely bound wristband as a reminder to think about the nature, substance, significance, and examples of various relationships, especially during interactions with others.
- Commitment: Encourages viewers to commit to personal growth for life. Stresses on the importance of implementing discussed concepts in life for transformation through a gradual and consistent process. Provides practical methods like meditation and self-inquiry assignments to help viewers in this process.
- Deeper Existential Topics: Promises to keep producing content that delves into foundational, existential topics. Ensures the viewers that even if they watch and heed 50% of his content, their lives will still witness significant transformation.
- Self-Improvement and Ignorance Weeding: Regards self-improvement as enjoyable and rewarding, although it might be challenging initially. Views the process of self-improvement as systematic weeding out of ignorance. Leo attributes his better life to self-contemplation and consistent self-improvement over the years.