bejapuskas

„I just worked out in the gym and my muscles hurt“

@Joker_Theory I know what you mean, but you cannot grasp it intellectually from the ego mind I think. It is basically Wakeness trying to convince itself, that it isn't Wakeness and trusting itself blindly Think of it this way, the Universe is like a big living organism, that is constructed from small cells, aka humans, planets, galaxies... in the same way as this body is constructed from the heart, the brain, stomach etc... Is the stomach not a part of you? Can you say, that the brain is you and the stomach is not you at the same time? I think this could be a useful metaphor for you. Zen is practice, not a theory. You can study all these concepts, they can surely help you understand yourself a bit better, they can save you some time, warn you about certain traps, but they are not it. The teacher opens the door, you walk through it. You have to actually sit in zazen everyday. You can read a book as a supplement after your meditation, like Zen mind: beginner's mind by Shunryu Suzuki. 1 chapter everyday after your session, otherwise you won't understand a single word that is written in it

@flowboy Oh I see now Thanks.

@Vitamine Water Maybe talking about how you are keeping yourself away from watching porn and giving others advice about no-fap actually makes you relapse. I rarely talk about no-fap, because this always happens to me (as well).

@flowboy For me this happens naturally, I am not looking for anything, I just like to see people happy.

One of my friends really helped me in conversation skills by asking me „What do you mean?“ everytime he felt like I am not telling the whole truth or that I am not expressing myself concisely enough. This can really help a lot. Also as the other people say, go from trying to teach, trying to impress, to trying to be taught, trying to entertain.

@Aeris When Leo returns from his retreat, he might ban you for saying this, just saying.

@Joker_Theory Try to find something you fear, or something that is bothering you in your dreams. I sometimes have nightmares, that are caused by my mind trying to deceive me, but on the other hand, if I cut through all that bullshit, I can see for example like oh, I died in that dream, because my old self is affraid to die! Oh, I see what you did there, mind! And then you can face this fear, in this case contemplate your death for example, go straight to the root and cut it. I don't know if this is legit, scientific or proven, but it works for me at least, so why not try it, right? Maybe you are just confused from all the advice, because it is either contradictory to you, or you have too little direct experience, so you cannot really understand it.... Try digging deeper into this, think for yourself, nobody can solve your problems.

@Joker_Theory You absolutely don't get it Zen is a path to immediate awakening, not to awakening in the future. How can something, that doesn't even exist, block something, that does exist?

@Moreira How do you know?

@Joker_Theory Dude it's the exact opposite, *you* feel like it, but you don't get it.

Do you think that when you see the True Nature, there will appear a sign, where there is written something like: „Hello sir, looking sharp today. I would like to congratulate you, because you have just became worthy of the status Enlightened being. Oh, and this is God by the way. Enjoy your ride!“

@EnlightenmentBlog How is Nahm's post not practical?

@Nahm +1

@Joker_Theory God is prior to the mind. You trying to understand God is like trying to put a bag inside an apple, instead of an apple inside a bag. You are God now, you don't have to become anything else than you already are

Yeh, flowboy has some solid advice there. Don't be shy, just go to people and start talking. You can start with something simple, like „This music is really amazing.“, which can easily break the ice and then you can just ask questions about the other person, make jokes Practice listening and humbleness, let everyone be your teacher.

@Nervtine I think it is connected, because by relapsing, a lot of your creative energy is being wasted. And creative energy can be used for all sorts of things, it isn't just sexual thing. You most likely know that as an artist. My point is not to judge people when talking with them, let everyone be your master.

That's one of the most concise metaphors I've ever seen hahahhahahahaha. Thanks bro.

I know people who have achieved exactly this and regret it, because they are not working on themselves in this line of development, they are not expressing themselves through their work. Finding a life purpose is much more fullfilling than doing nothing for others. Enlightened being can still enjoy everyday stuff, actually, they enjoy it more. Look at 10 ox-herding pictures.

@Shin

Who told you that? You are free to design your lifestyle, if you live in a 1st world country... It is just a lot harder than being lazy. On the other hand, there are jobs, that you can do in many ways, for example teaching - there are good teachers and bad teachers, but they have the power to work on themselves, it depends on how you do it as well - Do you interact with colleagues? Do you try to innovate? etc... Also, do you think, that „being Enlightened“ gives you some sort of no working pass? Do you think that people will tolerate, if you just simply sit on the couch, without contributing? This is an ego trap, your ego wants to be superior by „becoming Enlightened“. Working can in fact boost your morals.

Are you on nofap? Also try going to social events and just talking to random people. That probably helps me the most, just joining someone at a table and asking them questions naturally. I know it's hard to find some time for that, but if you have the chance... Maybe you can even do it on the family meetings, like weddings, birthdays etc.. don't be so shy and chat up the people you've never met before, they aren't that boring What has also helped me a lot was listening to some good emotional music or watching quality movies/anime, you can just completely open up, even cry... I see... Just work on yourself I guess and then people will see, that you live a good life, that you are at peace all the time, that you are a good listener, very compassionate... They will ask for advice themselves Or just whenever someone shares their secret with you, maybe your fiancee, try to help them, question what they are saying, so that they can think about it more deeply themselves, don't build the conversation around you.

@Nervtine Oh yeh, I can also relate to Chokei hahahahha. Once me and my friend challenged ourselves (mostly myself though) to not talk about any intellectual topics for a week. I broke it after 17 hours accidentally hahahaha, couldn't even pay attention to it how hard it was, it's a serious addiction... Now it's better though If I may give you some advice, talking to the opposite sex a lot really helped me, because feminine brain is not so rational and analytical and you can learn how to listen to people better etc... I also like to break social barriers with people as quickly as possible, but sometimes it is kind of rude, so I need to kind of adapt a bit... Because when I don't adapt, then I end up telling people what to do, like: „Why the hell are you so fake?“. Maybe these people need to go all the way through this stage in their lives and you can just point gently to certain areas, where they can and are willing to improve, forceful conversations are rarely mutually beneficial from my experience.

@Joker_Theory Why play a video game for a year, when you can just cheat a little and finish it in one day?

@Joker_Theory It is not literal, you could also say that you cease to exist, vanish, disappear or whatever... You can come back.