Bill W

Do you have any mental health issues you'd like to overcome? I have a shit load. Just wondered what you had in mind?

This

Love this post. Hit.Nail.On.Head there for me. To me, Leo is making suggestions. He is inviting people to share his beliefs. I don't think he gives a shit if we do or not. His wording might not seem like suggestions or invitations, but I believe it cannot be anything other than suggestions and invitations. One human out of over 7 billion humans on Earth. One persons view. One persons take. All be it, a highly clever fucker and seemingly has done a shit load of work to get where he is.

Yep, and this forum is a good training ground for that :-)

Not only is that really funny, I actually properly laughed, it's so true. I'm saving that and printing it, but not mostly for it's humour value, for it's actual true value, so thanks for this.

Can I first ask what a science truth is? It would help me work out if I have something to contribute here, cheers :-) And what do you mean by finger pointed?

Might matter to the other party like the pedestrian or other driver! :-) I actually try and meditate when driving. Radio and music off. Just focus on exactly what's in front of me. Present moment only. Helps conquer road rage as well. Well it does my end :-)

I appreciate you are just talking for yourself and not for everyone. I'm here for all those three C's. Actually I'd say I am mostly here for comfort and I have that comfort. My comfort levels didn't change when I kind of felt my first topic got blown out the water and I felt out my depth. Still felt comfortable as this is the internet. The forum won't impact on my comfort levels even if I don't quite fit in. So much wisdom on here. Just depends how you deal with stuff and how you take the rough with the smooth. It's all good man. It's all comfortable.

I break things down to either 10 or 20 or 30mins or even 5 mins if needed. What I mean is that I set an alarm on my phone and all I do for the allotted 10-30 mins is start the thing I am procrastinating on. Better still I try and do this 'task' or 'thing' mindfully. When it works it can mean not only have I started the task but I might even have managed to do mindfulness meditation at the same time. When the alarm goes off I am entitled to either stop the activity dead or carry on if I feel like it. Sometimes when I'm really bad on the procrastination I will set the alarm for just 5 mins. I keep a written record of how many minutes each day I have done something I would normally not do due to procrastination. It motivates me. I keep score. Even if I manage only 5 mins it could be considered a success some days. 5mins can lead to 30mins sometimes and 30mins can lead to half a day!

Yes thanks. I needed to hear that as well. Easy to forget.

Thanks for your post. Can I quickly butt in and ask you if there is anything specific that particularly draws you to Peter Ralston? I've not read any of his stuff or listened to him yet.

This is my first topic. I did a book review already but am not counting that really. This is the first time I've taken the plunge and worked up the courage to ask a question "in front of the class". I'm not expecting long answers from people. In the context of this ramble, how would you describe the possible benefits of nonduality philosophy to me Is it correct to call it a philosophy? I'm not looking for people to do my work for me. I'm not being lazy. I'm just stuck in my current level of understanding. I'm not sure if I should try and understand nonduality or just let that sleeping dog lie for now. I can't work out whether it's something I should have as a foundation (such as deciding if I buy into it or not), or whether it's something that I should consider later on. I really didn't want to ask this. I honestly have tried to read around and use the search function on here. I've read what Nahm has written (via his signature) but I do need to watch the video's in his link. However, from everything I've read online and listened to via YouTube I still can't ascertain what's the benefit to me of (a) understanding nonduality and then possibly (b) buying into it. I get like this with self-development. I can obsess a bit too much on things that might be small detail or not relevant to my needs. I fear if I don't try and understand something I am missing out somehow. Not sure if you need to know some basics about me, or whether it's irrelevant what my little plans and dreams are..... For the last few months I've been getting my feet wet with basic Buddhist teachings. I'm also finding parts of the Bible incredibly uplifting, and much more practical than I thought the Bible would be. I don't know what I think about God. I'm not sure who God is or how God works. I (think) I believe at the minimum there is some Higher Power relevant and active in my life. I feel like I am looked after and that I am supposed to follow a path. With the thoughts I am conscious of, my immediate and primary goal is to manage my general fear, insecurities, to be able to better handle uncertainty, to better manage resentments I hold against people, and to move away from my ego (as I understand my ego to be). To move away from animal instinct behaviour. I want to be cool, calm, and collected. Kind to others. Forget myself. Get outside my own head. My most cherished values at the moment seem to be around openmindedness and humility. If I can get these right I think other good stuff can manifest, such as compassion, forgiveness, gratitude and resilience. I have all these qualities to a degree, but I want more, and better still, I want these values to be better reflected in my behaviour.

I can kind of buy into numbers 6 and 10. Actually 10 is a good one. So at best I give this a usefulness rating of 20% But I respect your view. Your journey is different to mine.

I'm with Johnny Bravo on this one in terms of his seemingly pragmatic approach. I won't go so far as to say believing life is a dream is dangerous, because I don't know about that. I'm all for life being a dream if that's what you want to believe. If that helps you. I know if I ever call the Police, Paramedics or Fire Department I hope they don't start thinking life is a dream, well not until they have come to my rescue first at least. If I call 999 or 911 and they said "relax, life is but a dream", I'd be pretty pissed. I hope your not a Judge or a Lawyer.

Yep I'm trying not to run before I can walk as well.

Have you done mushrooms before? Are they what's included in the group called psychedelics? I don't know shit about that to be honest. I'm not criticising or preaching, but I don't see any of the advice here to include using these substances and three mod's have given an input. I don't know (maybe others can advise).... is it indicated to use these substances if you are in this mental black hole? Shaun has already informed us his mental state is not good and he has worries about what everything means etc. Could the mushrooms do any damage? I'm just putting it out there..... When someone says "I'm not in a good place" it rings alarm bells, especially in the context of the other posts Shaun has made. Or am I like a neurotic mother here? I have experience using substances but not these kind. EDIT: Okay, you said you will try them next month, that reassures me a bit that it's not an impulsive action!

It's a weird one, as I now am kind of inventing in my head "mind depression". I'm actually not taking the piss about your typo. It genuinely got me thinking!

Sorry to butt in but I've never heard the term "mind depression". Perhaps you just wrote that without it meaning anything specific. It just got me thinking about associating anxiety and depression with just the mind and not my whole being. Not sure if that makes any sense or that is what you meant as well.....

It sounds like you could do with some kind of mentor on here. I'm being serious. That's a horrific thought you are having. I was going to suggest laying off Leo's videos but that would be flippant of me and not addressing potential root causes of your anxieties. Do you have a history of catastrophising really badly or was it just triggered by these videos? I know anxiety well. But won't pretend to know your anxiety. I'm trying to answer this from a humane perspective rather than trying to sound like I should fit in with forum etiquette on these deep philosophical issues the video raises.

What about meditating whilst you are doing something? Washing up, in the bath as long as you don't risk drowning, out walking, cleaning the house, weight lifting, other cardio exercise.

Hi. I've not read the whole thread yet to be fair. Will do. My idea of addiction is to repeatedly and often with a sense of compulsion do something for a perceived reward despite current or likely negative health consequences as a result of the behaviour. Stopping the behaviour abruptly would bring discomfort. My definition of health is very broad. It could include financial loss, esteem loss, social loss etc. If there are no real problems or consequences with the behaviour is it an addiction? Thinking out aloud to myself really rather than nitpicking your definition or making out I disagree with you.

@winterknight Thank you. I will take a look.

Keep an open mind like we do in the same paragraph as you telling him he doesn't know what he is talking about but you and Joseph do. Hehe. I'm not attacking you. It just made me laugh that's all. Made me smile.

Hi, This might be a non-starter for you....... My question is; Should I knuckle down with one approach and type of teaching for now (just so I can start putting some real work in, and getting better habits?) or should I continue with 'information gathering phase' and 'research' for now? I'm not looking for you to name one teacher, or book, or system necessarily but feel free to. I know information gathering and research will be on-going process in a way to keep myself openminded and hungry, but I fear I will use this an excuse to not start the real work. In my mind, I feel I don't really care what Enlightenment is, or isn't. For me it's all relative. I want to be more enlightened than I am now. I know this might not fit with whatever the favoured enlightment 'model' is. I'm chasing improvement rather than perfection/bliss. Some context below. I get easily bogged down in reading as much as I can, and taking ideas from literature to practice in real life. However, I seem to be always in 'information gathering phase', convinced that the next book, or teaching will be "the one" and set me on my way. For the last few months I've been getting my feet wet with basic Buddhist teachings. I'm also finding parts of the Bible incredibly uplifting, and much more practical than I thought the Bible would be. I don't know what I think about God. I'm not sure who God is or how God works. I (think) I believe at the minimum there is some Higher Power relevant and active in my life. I feel like I am looked after and that I am supposed to follow a path. With the thoughts I am conscious of, my immediate and primary goal is to manage my general fear, insecurities, to be able to better handle uncertainty, to better management resentments I hold against people, and to move away from my ego (as I understand my ego to be). To move away from animal instinct behaviour. I want to be cool, calm, and collected. Kind to others. Forget myself. Get outside my own head. My most cherished values at the moment seem to be around openmindedness and humility. If I can get these right I think other good stuff can manifest, such as compassion, forgiveness, gratitude and resilience. I have all these qualities to a degree, but I want more, and better still, I want to reflect these more in my behaviour.

How do we determine if it's in good faith with honest intent when receiving criticism? I guess some criticism could be given not in good faith and with a manipulative intent. It could still be a valid criticism (I.e. true and relevant). Some criticism could be given in good faith with an honest intent and be absolute bullshit or nonsense. Don Miguel Ruiz has a saying about speech that perhaps I can use with specific reference to giving and receiving criticism. He says your speech to another (which of course also includes your written dialogue) should be (a) true (b) useful and (c) timely. I take timely to mean relevant and appropriate to the circumstances. I also know the term 'truth' is always up for debate. Don Miguel Ruiz also says that we should consider the following agreements 1. Be impeccable with your word 2. Don't take anything personally 3. Watch your assumptions (he says don't assume) 4. Always do your best 5. Be sceptical but also learn to listen