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Check out the guy called 'Banksy' and his works, in case you don't know.

If a tree falls in the woods, and nobody is around to hear it, then it doesn't make a sound to 'nobody'. Consciousness pertains to the person who is conscious of something. Without the person, it doesn't exist for that person. Maybe the tree that fell heard the sound of itself, but to me/you that woods or tree doesn't exist in our consciousness and hence the falling sound doesn't either.

Around 10 seconds more or less. It starts getting really uncomfortable and painful further. Though it maybe a question of practice.

Guess I was 2 from what other people have revealed about the events date. Around 2 at night, though not sure how I know it was 2, because I did not know how to read clocks. My mom was crying in the terrace across the bedroom, and the muffled crying noise had just woken me up. I saw my dad asleep on one side of the bed. I climbed down, and walked up to where my mom was wondering what to say or do to soothe her. She ignored me. So I went back to my dad wondering whether to wake him up or not. And back to my mom. I asked her why was she crying. No reply. And I just stood there. And eventually my dad got up, came over to where my mom and I were standing and told us to go back to sleep. Somehow I remember what I was thinking in that moment very clearly. There are quite a few around this age. Mostly consisting of emotionally charged moments. It is interesting though I do not remember anyone's facial expressions. Only their clothes, because I was at the height to face their clothes and not their faces.

Yup. It depends though. I live in India and there is a tradition of gazillion types of fasts for various reasons which people don't really pay attention to. The salt fast is to be done in the month of 'chaitra' which falls around the Christian month of April when it is very hot. There are other grain/green leafy vegetable fasts during monsoons when the probability of spreading diseases is too much due to water content in the vegetables and hence dry/roasted/fried food is recommended. There are specific days though, depending on the season and your body type.

This is why. True meditation isn't sitting in one place and paying attention to nothing. It's real purpose is to make you pay attention to whatever is in front of you without your thoughts interrupting you.

First meal of the day is breakfast - at around 10 AM, I eat only fruits and dry fruits and nuts + green/black tea. Second and last meal of the day is cooked food - at around 1:30 to 2:00 PM. I'm not hard and fast on this, I do follow it with some more black tea and nuts or some roasted snack if I get hungry in the evening. But usually I don't. This wasn't a conscious habit, so I just went along the flow of how I felt after eating, and stopped eating in the evenings in a very organic progression. I've tried eating only fruits one day a week, but it usually causes me headaches and acidity, also drowsiness due to hunger. So I'm still experimenting. My family does a salt fast in the summer months when it is very hot and dry here, and I find it very easy and useful to do. Helps reduce body heat and keeps away lethargy caused from heat. Again, I don't do anything as a form of 'habit'.

Empathy, Honesty, Vulnerability, beginning with SELF LOVE.

@TDW1995 @TDW1995 Can you apply this awareness to your work and exercise? Perhaps you do not see value in it because of how you go about it? I find that I lose interest in things that are conflicting in my personal values. Example - when I see my work as a means to get ahead in life, as a means to get rich or famous, I have zero interest. When I look at it as a way to change the perspective of people I work with and help them become more authentic in their choices, I get interested. It's always a trial and error, cause you won't always find clients who are the right fit for you, especially when you are starting out. But over a period of time, you will find people who align with your own values. Same with exercise. Do you view exercise as a way to live longer or to look good? Perhaps it is a conflict of values then. Perhaps, you can start thinking that health is not the end goal. Health is a great tool to get what you want in life, in this case, clearly, your awareness work. Do you know how difficult it is to remain aware and present even if you have a simple cold or a headache? That's the purpose of health. As of now, your body is your vehicle. It may not be important in and itself, but it is the way you travel through your life, and maybe viewing exercise as a means to raise your awareness, may help resolve the resistance. Maybe you could try out different kinds of exercises to see what fits best. I dislike going to the gym so I go walking in the park or cycling or exercise at home, do some yoga and cleaning! Or you can take up dancing if that's what you like. Start seeing everything you need to do as a means to raise your awareness, and do what is necessary for it, irrespective of whether you are interested in it or not.

Either journalling through it, or by asking a simple question: "What part of me feels this pain? And what part of me wants to be free of this pain?" Or "What part of me is in pain, and what part of me is causing the suffering?" Sometimes you can pay intense attention to the quality of pain and write an essay on it. Like what is the shape or size of pain, what texture do you feel it has, what quality or type - like is it throbbing pain or piercing pain? etc. etc.

@SoonHei Ah okay. Thanks though!

I used to feel the same when I started becoming more aware of my own judgments. But after a while I realized that my thinking about other people's judgments IS ALSO A JUDGEMENT. The only difference was that they were verbalizing theirs and I wasn't. And in that they were more authentic than I was. It comes down to realizing that you cannot talk your way into helping others. You only have to 'live your way into helping others'. Save all your time and energy to let go your judgments of them and let them deal with theirs on their own, if they will.

Make a list of your current problems and struggles, including the not knowing what to do. Then look up people who have had the same problem and how they solved it or dissolved it. Read books on it, watch videos on it and do it. Your interest in a thing will grow as you learn it. You won't find the best teacher/mentor right away, you will find them as you go and grow. Remember The Hero's Journey.

Same. End of a long term toxic relationship got me thinking I needed to look into myself so I don't repeat it. Got into personal development and reading books about relationships and then psychology and spirituality and now well, I don't care. I do like the idea of being in an intimate relationship again, but I tend to start seeing how inauthentic people are and how I'm expected to be inauthentic from the very beginning and I lose all interest. I also live in a place where dating is not the norm and arranged marriage is not my jam. If I wish to get into a relationship, I'm supposed to, (yes there is such a thing now in 2019), make a biodata (like a resume) with my picture, date of birth, caste, family background and education. This type of resumes are traded between family members and if both like each other's resumes, they meet and talk. It sounds very transnational to me, especially some of my family members who would be involved in this whole process. I'm fine without it now. I'd rather meet someone organically with similar interests and values. I'm also beginning to think this might have some deeper unresolved issue I'm unwilling to see. People on here can shed some light, maybe.

Nuts and lentils. Been mostly a vegetarian all my life. Unless you're a serious athlete or your body needs recovering from some injury or surgery, you don't need meat proteins.

I have heard of many stories of enlightened people/gurus who have serious physical ailments including cancer, because their body is not able to handle the energy brought about by realization/s. This often happens when there is a sudden change on the level of mind but not in the physical body. Heard of people who have started meditating, calmed their minds down, but kept the same amount of food as before. Result = diabetes. If your thinking reduces, your need for food also reduces. And you need to be aware of such subtleties. As long as you are alive, your body and mind are a single system and to exercise one without exercising the other is often dangerous. I believe your meditation facilitators might have this in mind when they asked you to stop meditating.

Thanks for doing this. 1. Do you have any unanswered questions in your life anymore? 2. If you could say something that strangers would blindly believe and take it to be true so their path to enlightenment would be eased out, what would you say? 3. Did your daily life, things you did earlier remain the same or changed significantly, and how? 4. The state of enlightenment, is it a constant one, or does it have breaks in between when you tend to fall back into duality? (Pardon my lack of appropriate wording).

Thank God I'm not the only one. I thought something was terribly wrong with me. Lost interest in many things people my age group do. Now I'm understanding that anything I do can be a tool to realization, if I do it deliberately and consciously. So I am now focusing on regaining interest in it with a renewed intention- to just use my career to raise my awareness and those of whom I interact with through my work. This applies to everything I do, so I must make sure I cook the same way that I design buildings. Only the details and skill-sets differ. It's hard though!

I've watched many videos of Sadhguru over the past year or so. In many of them he states that people would come to him and say if they had met him 25 years ago, their lives would have changed completely. That is when he decided to very public and started going to colleges and universities so people can have an opportunity to know about whatever he is teaching at a young age. I doubt he cares about becoming famous or do it for views. He stated that he wants to raise people's consciousness and include as many people as possible in it. And that is why he started all the publicity. Imagine living in some rural town and not even have any idea about consciousness or enlightenment. Now with the internet, he is using it as a great tool to reach those people. As far as arguments and stuff go, I'm not sure, I find it is always someone else trying to argue and Sadhguru is usually calm and non-reactive. If you look up videos of Isha Foundation from 8-10 years ago, they are pretty deep and deal with very insightful topics as opposed to the ones he is doing in the interviews. The reason for this I think is that the format of his talks is usually a question-answer one and the questions coming from the audience are rather mediocre and standardized. Look for videos or interviews that Sadhguru gives to people who are already doing some form of personal/self/development and you will find it very different from the rest. I also find some channels on YouTube use click-bait titles to attract viewers in Sadhguru's name.

There's something called a 'Theory of 5 whys' that a lot of businesses use to brainstorm. I use it o brainstorm my emotions. Here's how: Ask why at least 5 times or until you get to the root of your emotion. And be completely honest about it. Example: I'm angry at my client. Why? (1) Because they expect me to be available at all times and everything is an urgency. Why (2) do they expect me to be available at all times and why is everything an urgency? Because I am always available to them and if they call me on a Sunday morning, I'd say I'd do whatever they ask me to do. Why (3) am I always available to them and why do I always do whatever they ask me to do? Because I want them to pay me and like me. Why(4) do I want them to pay me and like me? Because I need money and I'm afraid they'd not recommend me to others if I don't do as they say. Why (5) do I need money and why am I afraid of them not recommending me to others? Because I feel I won't have enough to survive and will have no support system in future and I do not think my work is good enough. RESULT: FEAR. The opposite would be LOVE. There are only two root emotions - all emotions lead either to fear or love.

I think 'personal development' comes from 'personality development' that used to be a trend in the 1900s. It taught people 'How to think and grow rich' and 'How to win friends', etc. etc. It focuses on the 'part of you' that you can train - be it your body or your mind. Self Actualization is the opposite. Instead of training something, you decide to lose all the training including the training you've received in your infancy that 'You're you.' So to put it simply, it could be the personal development is 'developing of the self' while self-actualization is the 'losing of the self'.

I don't usually use a wall. I do it as a form of Yoga-asana called Sarvangasana. I was unable to do it when I was slightly overweight, but once I started exercising, it has become really easy. The key to doing this is to flush your kidneys. The kidneys are shaped in such a way that the bottom part remains unflushed when we are standing or sitting or even sleeping. And that is where all the salts get deposited to form kidney stones. Once you raise your legs and lower back up, straight up, the gravity works to empty this part of any residue lying there. Feels really good on the back and neck too.

Reality is objective (wherein what is true for me, is true for everyone and everything). But our perception of reality is subjective. As long as see ourselves as a person, there's 'our' perspective, and everything outside that perspective is beyond our conscious experience, and hence doesn't exist for us. And as I understand, that is what all enlightenment is about - dissolving the idea of this 'person' which you think is 'you'. When the person goes, so does that person's perspectives and whatever is left is reality. (This being my perspective as of now, I have no experience of objective reality)

Because 'feeling good' and 'what feels natural' are often a result of doing something over and over again. That is how all habits are formed. As an extreme example: If you start eating a pizza every evening, after 2 years, you'd 'feel good' about it and it will even 'feel natural' to do so. I've been an introvert all my life and if I back to my childhood, it is not something I willingly chose. I can list thousands of incidents wherein people chimed in to speak on my behalf or got offended if I opened my mouth and that ultimately might have led me to think it is better to be shut up and be silent. I remember people praising me for sitting silently and minding my own business, unlike other kids who caused a lot of mayhem, and invariably I came to see it as something 'good' in me. Now this silence is very natural to me and people call me a very calm person. I've never so much as yelled to anyone in my life, nor do I feel like either. The point I'm making is, to not set yourself up to any system of being, whether other people's or your own. That is natural: to be completely aware in any moment and doing or not doing whatever is required/not required. Sure solitude is essential when you're learning meditation, but true meditation is when you're as aware in presence of a crowd as you're when you're alone. Being around people, or away from people, both are fine as long as you're not addicted to either. That is natural- no chasing, no avoiding: Just being.

I relate with what you said, I've lived most of my days in the solitary bliss of my room But but there's a catch. I realized that I 'need' to be alone for long periods of time after socializing. And that means that people are draining my energy. Why are they able to drain my energy? Because it is not in my control. I find superficial discussions on general life and politics very uninteresting and whenever someone starts discussing these topics, my mind wanders off into some other place, a.k.a. I lose my presence and awareness, which causes the loss of energy. If I can figure out a way to remain present equally in all scenarios, with or without people, company would be as blissful as solitude and better still, there wouldn't be much distinction between what I find interesting and what I don't find interesting. And I have a long way to go. (Do you notice how enlightened people have no need to be alone nor do they need to be around people all the time? They do whatever is necessary for whatever work they are doing.)