Hi Alex,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply (as always)!

"What I gather from all this, is that despite D's 'awakened' status, the way he expresses himself doesn't really sound all that different from anyone"

First, I was having a more in depth conversation with him before I started to share (some of it more personal to him and I wanted to give him the ability to share if he liked). So, I am not suggesting he did or didn't say anything profound here, nor would I consider him or I "awakened". It is just a word that I find used often in philosophic discussion when one feels they are seeing more clearly than others.

What I was interested in showing is my thoughts on the matter. I wrote all my responses almost mindlessly as I was allowing myself to be distracted when I was working out (given the limited time window to discuss with him). So, I was really sharing my own insights that I gained writing with him.

I'm interested, have you ever tried any psychedelic, or mind altering plants?

"It's interesting that the word (verb) "pono" (πονώ) in Greek means "I'm in pain". Just thought to mention that!"

"You are some masochist you!"

haha, unlikely. The reason I say that is I have experimented, journeyed, and explored with many different plants and techniques (holotropic breath-work, and Shamanic Journeying ) that I will share with you in more detail later, as I'm sure you would find fascinating. My comment of was mainly the desire to seek a single powerful and life altering experience that temporarily opens you up to the infiniteness of our universe and permanently alters our perspectives (as with the two writers I adore and respect can attest, Terrence Mckenna and Aldous Huxley). That is all. Not all 'bad' trips are truly 'bad'. Whatever that word means ;)

Excellent, I didn't know that and that fits perfectly with the discipline. Discussing how any of our pains were brought into our lives specifically for us to heal them. It's a fascinating discipline and has really empowered me to actually deal with some issues that I have been experiencing (as mentioned above).

"Yeah this is what worries me. Bad trips!"

I believe there are at may different types of 'bad trips'. However, the ones that people seek are what he mentioned above. "Going to hell" in my understanding from people who have mentioned the experience is typically recounted as a very favorable experience (That is after the fact). I have seen people completely lose anxious tendencies in a week and others no longer fear death (which was preventing them from pursuing their passions)

You're on a roll! You're thoughts are so thought provoking that it continues to encourage me to write an entire article to best respond. (I am just finishing the last one I promised, I will tag you when I post it) Now, I will start a new one to better explain selfishness and my thoughts on this post :)