Surfingthewave

Yes I can relate to this success paradigm. I was chasing my own tail for 10 years, desperately seeking success in my career. I realise now I was resisting and avoiding my own insecurities and massive low self esteem. I wasn't able to express myself and who I was so I thought being a hot shot TV executive was the answer. I smile at this now. You mentioned you used to be poor. Why do you think the two are linked - success/relationship chasing and lack of abundance? You're doing exactly the right thing for you, raising your awareness, self inquiry etc. I also spent years in meditation, some counselling, coaching, law of attraction work, affirmations, yoga, but interestingly for me it was Reiki healing that became the tipping point because I found my voice. Good luck my friend, it's an amazing journey.

@The Don loving this thread. For me, Creativity is about intuition, the voice. Not the monkey mind, but being. I've found the more meditation I do the more creative I become. The more you quiet the mind the more the creativity unfolds. Creativity can also come from emotional turmoil, inner struggle and living life on the line. Almost as if you have nothing left, but this.

@hamedsf Good call. @Peo Describe your Do Nothing technique.

@Epiphany_Inspired There is absolutely a lot of deep rooted layers conditioning women have to contend with. Particularly when growing up from popular culture - the media, magazines, young adult fiction etc. Books studied at school - Macbeth, Hamlet, Frankenstein where the women are absolutely depicted as "damsel in distress" type women or just plain mad. In politics stong women are depicted as masculine or harassed and degraded for being over emotional or too much. Your points about self esteem and self efficacy, particularly influenced by groups of friends and sub texts is key. This develops at such a young age and continues into adulthood. Bullying, jealousy, negative self image created from these groups is damaging and long lasting. I also sigh deeply when female debates are *jokingly * pointed to periods by men or suggested there is a victimhood at the root. This is exactly the kind of conditioning we're up against. This means the inner work goes deep when it comes to gender and conditioning, more unravelling is needed, meditation, contemplation and really working on those triggers. In my experience freedom and liberation is obtainable however, its the freedom from our own thoughts and cultural conditioning which is the golden key and not about joining feminist groups or belittling men.

@Western Buddha Deeply consider your reaction to what happened. Perhaps you need to explore your thoughts on your own sexuality, gender and sexual identity. Also you mentioned in your thread you are 100 per cent "straight". Forgive me for saying but in 2019 this is quite a statement. Maybe contemplate why you feel the need to express yourself this way and keep doing the inner work.

We missed you @Solace great words

@Shaun I've been there my friend. It's not a great place to be but when you get to the next stage you'll feel a lot different. What goes down must come up. Journalling really helped me and there's some great advice here given to you about looking after yourself. Remember to continue to be aware and if it goes on for too long get professional help.

So every time I have a breakthrough, experience deep insights, awakenings or I'm getting really successful and in the flow with my life purpose breaking through plateaus etc, I get sick. I mean, probably flat out ill with a virus. Not directly straight after but sometime after. I then fall behind with meditation practice, yoga, life purpose work. This has happened several times in past six months. This ego is a total devil.

@Preetom Murder, violence, suicide and madness IS happening every day all over the world, and is getting worse. This is due to the rejection of the thing holding us all together you talk about and letting the mind rule. Our minds are getting more and more monkey like as our access to knowledge and information increases. Why do you think we need forums like this?

Interesting video @Leo Gura with these deeper levels of consciousness you claim no one may have ever reached, how does this impact on your day to day functioning? As in you still got to eat, pay bills, talk to people, sleep, have relationships etc. Do you think that you get to a point where your life turns in on itself? I get a sense (or I should say, I imagine that) that from your latest vid what was once your life, is no more.

@Shin I don't see any difference between your list and a list of what being a woman means. I recommend reading The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry, this will give you valuable insights into what he describes as the "Default White Male" and how society has been constructed by this. @Emerald Studying how modern feminism and misogyny co-exist today, particularly in relationships and the world of work is so important when deconstructing masculine and feminine traits. This is needed to needed to break down perceptions, and I'm constantly surprised on this forum. I like how you have done this, sounds like you've been quite a journey yourself.

Excellent questions to ponder. With these questions @electroBeam you've begun to unravel thousands of years of socio-political conditioning. The only way to begin answering these questions and making a difference is seeing these social constructs for what they truly are. I've come to realise, you've got to play the game. Yes you may feel like a cog in a wheel for time but if you play the game, you can use this to your advantage. The power is in the illusion, but that's all it is, an illusion.

Politics has screwed our (UK) young people's future opportunities. So yes this video is needed. Also I'm interested to hear that doing this video is also a distraction from your inner work, so why do it?

@Nahm Thank you I value writing and journalling so I will try this list. I've used affirmations before however not to state what I don't want. Do you mean, the dream is what the " I" really is, and what we all seek?

Wasn't sure whether to post this under meditation/consciousness or here. I've had some real insights recently into long term verbal abuse I suffered as a child, from a sibling. This has come up recently following lots of meditation practice and deep inner work. I kept getting stuck on ego backlashes and deep rooted behaviours such as avoidance, excessive spending, self sabotage and "giving up" when things were going well. Now this all makes sense, my ongoing difficulties with low self esteem, limited self beliefs, why I question myself all the time and in the past why I have suffered anxiety, insomnia, and depression. I have talked to my sibling about this years ago when I was going through some real anger issues but we just put it down to sibling rivalry and bullying. I have had counselling before but for something else. Anyway my question is, what next? Now I've realised the root cause is it about letting go and carrying on with the work?

@throw-22 Thanks for your honesty here. What do you think your story is giving you? As in, you mention being "stuck" in the story. Sounds like the medication keeps the wolf from the door (I'm no expert btw). The self MEDS (meditation, exercise, diet, sleep) keep us in check but problem is we need a whole lot of motivation to keep that up. A six week retreat/cleanse /healing will shed a lot of light on your story, most people don't have the time for this. I wish you luck.

@Nahm Yes, there is no next. But there IS infinite possibilities. Although I do feel what seems like fear perhap it s fear of the unknown, like I'm entering a new realm. Ps You really should write a book ? @ajasatya Thank you, I would love to be able to meditate 24 hours a day. That's the dream.

@Bill W @mandyjw I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed the male ego on this forum, doesn't stop me posting though. I think that male energy can't help but protect itself, perhaps that comes from the hunter part of the hunter/ gatherer which is innate in us all despite how aware we are, fight or flight type of thing. Women have been oppressed and silenced for thousands of years, so on a forum its no different. I can see why the guys whip themselves into a frenzy on here, some of Leo's earlier vids made me chuckle with the indirect sexist comments, now he is more god realised this has really improved. We're still followers on here. I'd like to think that we would get to a place when there is no duality between male and female energy, and we we see more of a merging of the two. We're beginning to see that more so in the LGBT+ world with sexuality, gender norms, work roles and family (here in the UK) however we still got a long way to go.

I'd like to discuss the role of feminine energy in society. I've met some incredibly talented female individuals through my work and life generally. In politics I think females still get a hard time and trusting women in power seems to be behind the times a bit. I think the main issue I come accross in feminine energy is lack of self esteem, confidence and women asking for what they want. Are men better at this? If so, why? In terms of self improvement on this forum male energy seems to consist of having a more competitive edge and wanting to out-do each other in terms of who is the most enlightened.

@Flatworld Crusades I love how your questions about female masturbation and balancing spirituality with sexuality has been met by a wall of silence!! That's because it IS a very able dominated forum let's face it. I don't hesitate to post, there's just sometimes too much male energy, male conflict and I sometimes to leave it to the boys to fight out

There are so many assumptions about gender in this thread my eyes nearly popped out my head. I'm not sure how relevant this is to self improvement really but looking at how this thread has gone down, maybe this needs to be explored more? If we are coming from a more non dual paradigm on this forum then reflecting on the assumptions we make (non just about gender) is much needed when voicing our opinions, but also about relationships & identity and how this all relates back to ego.

For me thoughts are events in the mind. Like body sensations there are times when these thoughts are more intense, more obsessive or more productive. Where did you here about entities?

Sorry I don't have any links but I just had 2 reiki sessions at a local massage & treatment centre from a trusted reiki practitioner.

In his latest video was that there is no "point" to life. As sincere seekers we like to think there is, but really, there isn't. Although Leo's list gives us pointers, meaning and purpose.

I agree with you @Tom T I had similar experiences myself. Reiki is very powerful and shifted lots of things for me.