EternalForest

3 ideas: I know it's the most mentioned but I'll mention it one more time...Joe Rogan! You guys would have amazing chemistry, Leo. Mark Passio - Probably one of the best people out there in terms of systems thinking and meta perspective Spirit Science - Discussing spirituality with him would be a blast. I'll watch whoever you end up doing a podcast with, however. Always a pleasure to see you speak with like minds.

@Origins Would you say being a filmmaker or showrunner isn't a "worthy" life purpose, then? Because from what it sounds like, experiencing the art they create is an "inferior option"? @Bodhitree I highly agree, great shows and movies are not the only material you should be consuming for self actualization but if you find value in great stories and want to study human perspectives, I still consider them important.

This is a bit of a response/discussion about this video uploaded back in 2014: (Leo may have changed this stance on this over the years though, sharing Love Death and Robots on his blog recently.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIIUg7WjGKA Similar to the creative ideas and inspiration Leo mentions that you can get from movies, mindfully watching high quality TV series show the process of self actualization from start to finish! In a sense, watching these series mindfully and asking yourself quality questions along the way can be the ultimate lesson on how to self-actualize your own dreams and passions. Watching these characters constantly challenge themselves on the Hero's Journey despite all their grand challenges gives the viewer that same sense of passion and thirst for adventure, even if most viewers are not conscious of it. For those going through struggles in life, a self help book may not always resonate, but watching dynamic and complex characters transcend their loneliness, drug addiction and dark pasts can inspire them in ways that non-fiction just can't achieve. Beyond the empty platitudes of the average self-help book on those subjects, it's that emotional connection, and that deeper resonance and empathy that will help them the most. If you watched a character you love self-actualize and overcome their vices, you feel like you can do it too. It's inspiring. TV series can be some of the most powerful tools for self development! You can get enormous growth from quality live action dramas, comedies, anime, cartoons, anthologies, etc. BUT (and this is the big caveat), you must watch them mindfully. Laying on the couch for 4 hours mindlessly watching TV will not give you any benefits. However, watching shows consciously can give you as many valuable insights and wisdom as any self help book could give you (sometimes even more). And what's more, the emotional connection you have with these stories and characters will allow the lessons to resonate even deeper. Personally, when I finish a series that teaches me a valuable insight about purpose, love, humanity or some greater truth, the course of my life is always altered for the better. If you haven't checked it out, I highly encourage you to mindfully watch and journal your experience with the shows on the IMDB Top 250 TV list. It's a great place to start. The insights you'll get may surprise you, and you'll be entertained along the way https://www.imdb.com/chart/toptv/ All in all, not only can these series change your life and inspire you to achieve greatness (when watched mindfully, of course), I believe that creating these deep types of series is a truly worthwhile and healthy life purpose! Thanks for reading. I'd love to get all of your thoughts on this.

@sholomar Do you think its also possible that the people that don't have all those things may actually need the messages of an insightful movie or show the most?

@NOTintoxicated Good and evil are subjective. Also, I take it that photo you posted was aimed towards me, correct? If so, it's clear that you currently have no intentions of having a respectful discussion. All I can say is I hope that one day you find more compassion and have less hatred in your heart. I think reading Conversations with God would help you. @Leo Gura I apologize if it sounded like I was defending Rush, let me explain: Growing up, listening to Rush Limbaugh was a way for me to connect with my Dad and my Grandpa. We didn't have much in common otherwise, but we could always bond over sitting and listening to the radio. Growing up with more conservative values instilled in me, one thing my family and I could agree on was that the Democrats were ruining America, and we needed to get back to old American values, and the way things used to be. It probably also contributed to why I'm such a nostalgic person too. I no longer consider myself Conservative/Republican, instead more of a Centrist/Independent, and over the past couple years I was beginning to see the toxicity of his grievance politics, but when Rush Limbaugh died, it stirred a more emotional reaction in me. Because I had a lot of sentimental memories with family attached to his radio show. Listening to him so consistently for so many years, it felt as if a good friend or family member had died. So perhaps I wasn't seeing things very clearly. After making my initial posts, I took some time off and thought things through, as well as doing more research on a lot of the stuff that Rush had said in the past, and now I'm somewhat ashamed for sticking up for him the way that I did. So many of his views are downright shameful. I used the Obama comparison because he was Rush's main topic of criticism for nearly a decade and I knew he was a figure that is seen as more conscious here, but now I regret doing so. I still think Obama could have been more conscious, considering the drone strikes, but since Bush, Obama and now Biden is doing them as well (even though he is at least limiting them), it's unfair to call Obama out for it specifically when it was done by every President in the past two decades. However, the only thing I still believe is that people like Rush should be allowed to have their views, not matter how toxic you and I may believe them to be. From their perspective, many of our views could be toxic as well. Even though I know that being Progressive is inherently more conscious than Conservatism, I still believe they should be allowed to have their own shows and have their own speakers ( whether they should be on public radio is another story)/ But they're people too. I used to be one of them. Heck, it took until the US Capitol being breached for me to totally disavow Trump for similar reasons to Rush. I had so many positive memories bonding with my family over Trump and the Republican world, when there was so little else for us to bond over. But when I saw a President show so little empathy and take so little responsibility for a breach that by proxy led to the death of an innocent police officer, among several others, it finally broke the conditioning and made me realize who the man really was at heart. And even for it take that long for me to see him for who he truly was makes me feel ashamed I was duped for so long and not conscious enough to see it. But at least I finally did see it after all. I just wanted to make this one final post to apologize for any hostility and explain why I had the reaction that I did, and also to let you know that I did give thought to what you had said. All the best.

@DocWatts Marcus Aurelius is one of the most self actualized people to ever walk the Earth. If he is the benchmark for healthy Blue, you're just being unreasonable. Even someone like Joel Osteen is a more reasonable person to use as a reference. @Leo Gura Yes, Rush Limbaugh was toxic. Every Stage Red and Blue person is toxic in many ways, doesn't mean they don't have good qualities. You're supposed to celebrate someone's good qualities upon their death, not how much of a piece of shit they were... Also, how is sharing a different perspective gaslighting? I don't care if you don't like the guy. But I find it honestly sickening how a forum that's supposed to be pushing love and high consciousness can be so downright cruel about the death of a talk show host, nearly celebrating his death as if some evil dictator just died. Have some respect for the dead. How would you feel if Obama died and the forum members started saying stuff like "Wow, the world's a better place without him in it!". The man never hurt anyone. You can call him ignorant, but to act like he was some plague to the world? That's beyond fucked up. I honestly expected better from you all.

Your video is disrespectful in the wake of his passing. He was no saint, but still a very healthy example of Stage Blue. Perhaps one of the healthiest in mainstream Conservatism. I'd much rather have him lead the right than some of the people over at Fox News. Rush at his best: RIP

In Leo's latest video "What is wisdom?" he said that to truly understand wisdom you must contemplate it for yourself, so before watching the video I contemplated what wisdom was (using a journal) for 1 hour and I thought some of you might be interested in reading what I came up with. Being a journal, it's all stream of consciousness and a bit scattered but I think the core messages I kept coming back to again and again are worth exploring more, and after watching the What is Wisdom? video I'm sure it'll help, but I think this was a good start, and it'll be interesting to compare and contrast my initial contemplation here with the video. Before reading, I highly encourage you to contemplate what wisdom is for yourself as well! ___________________________________________________ What is wisdom? Wisdom is information that helps you through your life that's acquired through experience You can gain wisdom from both good and bad experiences Wisdom shows you how to apply knowledge Old people tend to be wiser because of more life experience Wisdom must be acquired internally (and physically) Wisdom is universal and can be applied to anyone Wisdom is timeless. It can help you throughout the course of your entire life Wisdom is consistent. Wise men and women tend to agree on the same core values Wisdom is simple and elegant Wisdom could help you in the moment but often the person getting the wisdom isn't wise enough to see it In a sense you have to have a certain level of wisdom already to recognize wisdom But at the same time, the deeper universal wisdom will always resonate Wisdom is not only knowing what to do, it's knowing what not to do and being able to forsee why. (Wisdom is foresight) Wisdom gives you a deep understanding of life beyond knowledge Wise men understand wisdom is not everything Wisdom is individual knowledge (yet something that someone else says can trigger the recognizing of the wisdom already within you) You can acquire wisdom by learning from experiences Wisdom allows lessons or insights that guide you through your life Wisdom can only be learned through Experience There is a difference between being learned and being wise Being wise is almost like the ability to differentiate between what information is important Wisdom is experience Can a young person be wise too? Yes, because wisdom is not about the amount of experiences or how many experiences you have knowledge of but instead your appreciation of those experiences and your ability to learn from those experiences Wisdom is the maturity of knowledge You could replace wisdom with experience for every statement here All wisdom is experience, but not all experiences are wisdom Wisdom is deeper than knowledge There is wisdom that the wise man or woman may miss or not appreciate because they're so caught up in gathering wisdom The deepest wisdom is often rare Common wisdom is often overlooked Life is not really about wisdom and trying to seek wisdom for wisdom's sake is honestly a pointless and foolish pursuit Wisdom is ultimately unimportant Passion is important Everything else is more important than seeking wisdom Wisdom cannot be seeked, period Wisdom must be internally known If you know you know Self help is ultimately pointless The true wiseman would never claim to be wise Wisdom is Truth Wisdom is Universal Truth Wisdom is Absolute Truth Wisdom is unspeakable Wisdom is ultimately knowable only to the wise man or woman Wisdom is the essence of life Wisdom is unerasable Wisdom is eternal Wisdom lets you see between the lines The man who believes he is the wisest is often the least wise Wisdom is infinite Wisdom is high consciousness To recognize wisdom is to be wise Wisdom is that Hidden Gem, that treasure that's only the wise can recognize You would be wise to acquire more wisdom yet only the wise man desires to do so Wisdom is a paradox Knowledge is fleeting, wisdom is forever Wisdom is fascinating Wisdom never dies There is wisdom in being unwise Be unwise so you may gain the wisdom of unknowing Forget it all Start again This is life's greatest wisdom Wis-dumb

I'd like to believe that everything is love, but over time I've found it hard to reconcile with my natural human feelings of dislike. Sadly, I can't love everything and everyone. There are some things I just don't like, and certain experiences that I don't enjoy. Certain foods taste bad to me, certain music just doesn't sound good, certain people I just don't get along with, etc. And although dislike is a natural thing that I don't think I should be afraid of or ashamed of, the act of disliking something seems to be at odds with the goal of believing everything is love, feeling oneness and seeing the beauty in everything. When I focus on the people, places and things I love, I feel spiritual inside, but when I focus on what I dislike, I feel hollow inside. Yet I shouldn't feel bad when I dislike something, since there are thousands of things I love, right? Should I try and make myself like everything? I feel like forcing it isn't the answer either. Not sure if I'm overthinking this, but when I dislike something, it bothers me on a spiritual level and I'm looking for any advice/insights on how to reconcile that.

@Vibroverse What you're describing is the "what", which I understand. It's the "how" and "why" I'm lost on. @Moksha I love this! (no pun intended, of course) @lmfao I'm struggling to reconcile what I've heard in Leo's videos and in all the general spiritual material I've come across, and the honest feelings of dislike I have. Sorry if what I wrote came off the wrong way, but this post is not about repressed anger or anything like that.

@mandyjw I took your suggestion and went outside today with no coat and took a walk in the snow, just to feel the intensity of it. I think it helped me understand what you typed a bit better. @tsuki Exactly, spiritual statements like that aren't true for me in my direct experience, so it's honestly difficult for me to relate to what you're saying.

@mandyjw Interesting video, but I don't think I understand how you chose everything that happens to you. Did you choose your parents? @Carl-Richard If you believe love doesn't exist, is that still love? Edit: Or rather, if you hate the idea of love, is that still love?

For the top 20% of independent young adults, it might make sense, but for a lot of kids its just too soon, and it just baffles me how there's such a stigma around living at home. That's only an issue if you literally don't have any ambitions in life and just willingly want to sponge off others for your entire life, but I don't think most kids who are viewed as "Deadbeats sponging off Mommy and Daddy" are really like this. I don't understand parents who kick their kids out at this age. It just seems really uncompassionate to me. Parents that do this, would you tell your children when they're 12 years old "If you're not out of the house in 6 years, you need to give Daddy $300 rent money or you're going to be on the street." No? Then why thrust it upon them out of the blue when they're 18? Why not work together to help them realize their life purpose, or at least help them find a job in the meantime instead of leaving them out on the street making it that much harder for them to actualize it? It seems like a heartless move, and the antithesis of what a good parent should do.

@Leo Gura I was going to come back and offer more objections, but after watching parts 2 and 3, I've changed my mind. The middle of Pt. 2 and the ending of Pt. 3 in specific were truly challenging moments and paradigm shifts for me. Now that I see the big picture of what you were trying to communicate with the series, I think what you're doing is pretty noble and makes a lot of sense. You've gotten me even more excited about the future possibilities science holds once it begins studying the non-physical. I will run a few of your contradictions past my science major buddy and see what he has to say, but overall I came out the other side of this "black hole" with a very different perspective than I had going in!

I encourage you to have one. A day to relax and chill with yourself. For this one day, nothing else matters but what makes you happy. Give this a shot: save up about $50 and set a day where you can be off from work and out of the house. Don't focus on the clock. Bring your phone (mainly for emergencies), and a book you like or know you will like. Also, bring a mask and hand sanitizer to stay safe during COVID-19, and avoid crowds! Go for a drive by yourself and listen to some of your favorite songs. Or one of your favorite audiobooks, or just drive in silence and relax. Drive with no destination in mind for about an hour. If you don't have a car, just walk for an hour and relax your mind. After walking or driving for a while, go to a restaurant and order yourself a nice meal or a snack. Read your book or watch/read something on your phone that you enjoy. You can even give a friend a call and chat with them about ideas, positive topics, reminisce on great memories, talk about plans for your future etc. If you're concerned about the virus, just get the food to go and eat it outside or pack your own lunch ahead of time and eat it in your car/at the park, etc. After you leave the restaurant, try making a few more stops at some relaxing locations. Go to the forest and take a hike. Afterwards, just continue driving or walking for a while. After doing this for a while, you should start to get a very relaxed feeling, a lighter, higher feeling. By this time, the sun should be setting. Watch the sunset and meditate. You don't have to do everything I mentioned in this exact order. These are just ideas. The important thing is, do what makes you happy for one day, whatever that is. You can even have your own little movie marathon at home while everyone's gone, if you want. Whatever you choose to do on your personal day, I can promise you that you'll feel so good by the end of it that you'll be able to handle any of the stresses you face with an improved outlook.

@Mafortu I used to love the movie ending the most (and don't get me wrong, the movie is great too), but as I've gotten older I've come to see that there's more beauty and meaning for me in the original ending. It just resonates more for me now.

@Thestarguitarist14 You're correct, narcissists don't have self-love. They crave admiration and validation from everyone else around them. Someone with true, healthy self love is content with themselves.

@Strangeloop It's possible to find a girlfriend who'll be happy to go on date with you at the local park. Beautiful scenery, good exercise, and no money required

@Schnaby Sounds like he's being childish (I don't like using that word negatively, but it applies here), and controlling. This is going beyond music taste, it's a matter of personal respect. I don't know how seriously you want to take this relationship in the future, but if he won't even let you play a song in the car without having a temper tantrum, how will he compromise when more serious issues come along? I'd seriously re-evaluate the relationship. You two need to talk.

@mandyjw So true. George Washington was right; (excerpt from his Farewell Address) "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Neon Genesis Evangelion. The final episode was probably one of the most profound spiritual experiences I've ever had. I think about it almost every day.

Contemplation is always complex, that's the beauty of it. But as far as life itself being complicated, that depends on what kind of life you want to lead. If you choose to live in the forest with a small group of people and you all get along in harmony, then life becomes very simple indeed. But if you choose to be a lawyer in in the middle of Las Vegas, then yes, your life can become very complicated. But there's a huge trade off. If you choose to live in the forest, then most of your materialistic pleasures will be gone, but the trade off is a simpler, more natural lifestyle.

It was actually very similar to my own music tastes so I got a lot of quality recommendations from it. Plenty of the pop songs towards the end of the list were also some of my favorites and the ones I hadn't heard before were great too, although I think Leo should add some other recent spiritual pop songs from the past 5 years as well. All in all, great playlist!

Life is only unfair because we as a society collectively make it so. It's not inherently this way. Life is inherently beautiful. So instead of thinking "Life is unfair", you should say "Society is unfair".

You said it better than I could! One of my favorite seasons.