nistake

Yup. Conscious breathing + body awareness go a long way.

Try to be as mindful as possible during the gaming session. Focus on your body and thoughts/emotions while playing. Notice when and why you get triggered and try to relax your body as much as you can. It takes some time to get used to this conscious way of playing but it's worth it.

Found a neat article. I know it's nothing new and this is not for the super-enlightened people here. Just a quick reminder: Do you ever dwell on past events, wishing you done things differently? Do you ever wish the weeks away, living only for weekends? Do you ever catch yourself daydreaming, wishing you were somewhere else? This is how many people spend their days, lost in thought, either projecting into the future or dwelling in the past. But life is now. Think about it. Is it ever not now? Is it ever not the present moment? When you recall an event from the past, you recall it in the now. It is a memory trace, which can only be experienced in the present moment. It might seem real, but can you touch it, feel it, or act on it? No, you cannot. It’s the same for future events. Can you touch, hear, or feel the future before it is now? Of course not. You can only imagine a probable future, which can only be done in the now. Nothing ever happens outside of the present moment. Everything you’ve ever experienced, or will experience, happens in the now. EVERYTHING. Problems don’t exist Problems are not real. They are simply projections of your mind. Does this statement piss you off? I wouldn’t be surprised, especially if life is giving you a hard time. If this is the case, ask yourself: what problems exist right now? Maybe you can’t afford the rent. Maybe you’re in a doomed relationship. You might even be physically unwell, or about to lose your job. These are challenging situations for sure, but they are not problems. They only become problems when your mind gets involved. So what’s the difference between a problem and a challenge? Your ability to act. Let’s say that you can’t afford to pay the rent. You might be worried about getting evicted, or finding somewhere else to live. But can you act on these problems? No, because they are not yet real. They are only probable futures, projected by your mind. Challenges are different. Challenges are grounded in the present moment, and these you can act upon. Let’s go back to the rent issue. What’s the challenge? What can you do now? Instead of worrying about getting evicted, you could apply for a part-time job, sell some belongings, or ask someone for a loan. It’s the same for a failing relationship. Instead of agonizing over a potential break-up, maybe you need to discuss a sticky topic, change your behaviour, or actually break up. You can do this with any perceived problem. Take a person who is suffering from ill health. This seems to qualify for a present moment problem. But it ’s not. The problems only arise when you start worrying about potential complications, or if you start fixating about your healthier old self. I’m not saying it’s easy. Coping with ill health is a huge challenge — I’ve had my own struggles — but for any illness or physical pain, acceptance is the best course of action. This is backed up by a large body of research, but more importantly, acceptance is a challenge you can act on now. Take away message Nothing ever happens outside of the now. Every feeling, every action, and everything you will ever experience happens in the present moment. Problems, on the other hand, are grounded in time. You might be sad about the past or worried about the future. But they cannot exist in the present moment, and as a result, cannot be acted upon. Challenges are different. Challenges are based in the now and can be acted upon. This is critical. Because it’s only by acting, which is always in the moment, that you can make meaningful changes in your life. https://medium.com/swlh/problems-dont-exist-in-the-present-645032cd1c5

You shouldn't inhibit yourself hobby-wise. Do what you feel like doing. Of course I'm not talking about a porn bender and watching TV shows for 10 hours straight. Personally, I quite like playing Overwatch, so if I have some spare time, I play a few matches. I try to be as mindful as possible while playing. It's much more fun that way.

@Preety_India Yup, I think it's all about managing your fears and anxieties in a healthy way. The more self-awareness you have, the more you are able to step back and evaluate the situation before acting. That's where the present moment shines. By the way, you won't be able to lose your primal/primordial flight or fight response and you don't need to. It's a perfect "tool" to navigate in this world, but if one lets it run amok unconsciously, then it can cause wreak havoc. Just a little side note: I'm speaking from experience, because I used to be a constant worrier. I worried about every little thing possible to the degree that it affected my well-being and body. If a problem arose, I immediately jumped to conlusions and I lived in imaginary future scenarios. If I didn't have any problem, I unconsciously created them just to get something to worry about. No wonder my mental health was a mess

@Preety_India Well, in my interpretation, this artictle doesn't say that forget all your problems since the present moment matters only and live happily ever after. It points out that problems should be resolved in a conscious way. If a problem arises, the mind tends to jump to conclusions and usually the unpredictable (and non-existent) future is heavily involved. Instead of worrying and giving more power to anxiety, one could just ask him/herself: "Okay, this just happened. Since I can only take action in the present moment, what can I do to solve this issue?" Obviously this is easier said than done, but striving for this shift in consciousness is a great way to deal with problems.

I know it's really tempting right now, but $5k is a shitload of money for a PC. I wouldn't do that.

The first days are the worst. After that, it'll get better. In my case, it took about 2-3 weeks total.

Mainly because of alertness. Posture doesn't really matter, but it's recommended to sit with your back straight because you can remain alert that way and alertness is really important during meditation. If you can remain alert 100% while lying down, then it's not necessary.

Wife material.

@traveler "You reek of personhood" Fuckin' A

Enlightenment in one picture:

That's what it's all about. Nice going!

That's quite a situation you've got going on. Did you tell your mom about you using psychedelics? How long are they gonna keep you in? About telling the truth, I'd be a bit more careful if I were you. They may lock you up for a much longer period, who knows?

@Hello from Russia Social media, music, random thoughts about what I'm gonna do after I finish my session mainly.

I want to make a career out of 3D modelling, graphics, drawing, arts in general. That's why I've been practising it every single day for almost a year now. I really like this stuff, it's a great creative outlet for me. However, I have a regular day job and other responsibilities, so usually I don't have much time to practise it. What I noticed is that I get distracted quite easily during my practise sessions. I really like working on projects, but I often experience some resistance and I can't really be immersed into the work, let alone experience some kind of flow state. I want to spend as much time as I can on this, but I don't want to be neurotic about it. Forcing it obviously won't work. What do you think? How could I increase my productivity?

I used to have the same issue. I wanted to get attention from friends, co-workers and from people in general. In retrospect, I was quite neurotic and needy therefore it caused lots of suffering for me. After a while I realized that this was not a great and sustainable strategy, so I decided I needed to let go of the need for attention from others. Slowly but surely. Ironically, nowadays I've been getting lots of attention (in a good way) even though I completely let go of the need. I'm not needy anymore, so if I don't get any attention, that's fine, and if I do, that's also fine. What I'm trying to say is that you can't really force this and you should avoid being needy. Work on your self-esteem issues (meditation, reading, journaling, you name it) and the rest will work out. There's a great quote from Eckhart Tolle, which is quite applicable in this situation: If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place.

Yup, pretty much this. If you want to leave, there's no need to make a thread about it and coming up with projections. Just log out and close the browser. Problem solved.

At first, it's uncomfortable, confusing and frustrating. As you progress later on, you'll realize that there's nothing to "do" actively, you just need to maintain a relaxed focus on awareness itself. For me, 20 minutes of mindfulness medtation before self-inquiry helps a ton. It settles my mind and I can focus much better.

Clear, easy-to-understand, straight to the point. Good stuff!

Oh wait

You've got some cool videos btw!

@Evil Raccoon If you feel the desire to do so, then go for it.

@Evil Raccoon As Leo has said several times, you don't need to become a hermit and live in a cave for the rest of your life to experience the Truth. Just do the work diligently, maintain a healthy balance between your material life and spiritual life and you'll be just fine.