aurum

This is an interesting point because every area of success does still follow from certain spiritual principles. And yet if that's all you focused on you'd be fucked. For instance, let's say you were doing meditation with the intention to get better at game. It would definitely help. But if you're new to game, you'd be WAY better off just taking that hour and actually going out because game is a skillset. Imagine you're trying to learn guitar. Sure, meditation could help you get into flow states easier and release your creativity, but more important in the beginning is you just sit there and play for many hours. Plus, there's always a large element of strategic thinking in success. Guys who aren't doing game in a strategic way will spend hours and hours trying to do something that would be stupid simple with an effective system. So ideally, it's always a balance. I want to meditate, be authentic AND I want to systematize every detail to what seems like an obsessive degree where everything I'm doing is conscious and on purpose. Right brain, left brain.

That's definitely possible. Sometimes we get pushed into situations that we can't fully understand the larger picture of until later. I'd say just keep following your passion like you are and keep an open mind to it. There may be a unique way that this ends up helping you in the future.

"Assertive" is probably the word you're looking for. You have high enough self-esteem to go after what you want and stand up for yourself, but you're not looking to bring others down. So really it's a question of self-esteem. There's many ways to get self-esteem, but one of the easiest is to simply do what you want. When you do what you truly want, you reinforce the belief that you deserve to have whatever it is you're going after. Over time, that builds massive self-esteem. Conversely, when you have a need and you tell yourself "oh, it's okay, it's not really that important. That person is probably busy anyway, I'm just a nice guy who doesn't disturb anyone", you reinforce that your needs are not important and you don't deserve whatever it is. And if your needs are not important and you don't deserve it, that reinforces the belief that YOU are not important and not worthy. So just keep that in mind. It's not necessarily about the thing itself, it's that your needs matters.

@Lynnel Have you read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield? Sounds like you might be in a perfect place to check it out.

The first question is: why? If it's something you love so much that you'd spend hours of your time doing for free, why not also get paid? I'm not trying to convince you that you should. But this is definitely something I would spend some honest time introspecting on if you haven't already. Maybe ask some friends you trust to weigh in.

@onacloudynight First off, you don't need to find your exact life purpose to raise your consciousness. Reading a book could raise your consciousness. Being in the shower could raise your consciousness. Going out and getting drunk could raise your consciousness. Everything exists to raise your consciousness, so don't make the mistake of thinking you need to "wait". Second, I'd ask you why do you think people care about helping the world? It's a deep question. When you see a Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela or anyone who has been idolized as someone who "helped", what motivated them? Then ask yourself: how am I currently viewing the world that's different? What I generally find is that wanting to help the world is actually a byproduct of you raising your consciousness. When you're unconscious, you don't see or care how your actions affects others. You don't see that we're all essentially the same and all equally important. You don't see how purely egoic behavior is actually making you miserable. You don't see that your selfish behaviors are born out of unresolved fears. You don't see that your desire to simply take, take, take is actually the same reason why you don't get, get, get.

@Himanshu It's an interesting thought. Napolean Hill talked about it in Think and Grow Rich. Personally I'm not convinced. I've just seen too many counter examples of low-achieving guys that get laid all the time.

Go deeper. Basically I would say this every time I hit a obstacle in my goals. It was a reminder that the solution is out there and I have to just keep digging to find it.

@Electron What if you were lying to yourself? You don't seem that content being alone 24/7. You're seeking out strangers on the internet to get advice from.

@Kimasxi What's going to happen is you're going to keep crashing and burning until you let go of needing this. Neediness does not attract people. It repeals them. Once you let go, you'll probably start seeing a slow shift in the way you get along with people

Do some research on modern spiritual teachers, I'd think you'd be surprised how many are in a relationship. Eckhart Tolle is great example. I'd actually say that it's harder to date when you haven't done any sort of enlightenment work. If you haven't healing the wounds of the ego, your relationships will be needy, toxic, angry, drama-filled. If you're single, you'll be massively afraid of rejection, authentic connection and have limiting beliefs around what sort of woman you serve. I get what you're saying about the dating pool becoming smaller as you move up the ladder of consciousness. But not every girl you meet or date has to be long term relationship material. And when you do find that person who you really click with, you'll enjoy it even more because you know how rare it is.

@Joseph Maynor Definitely agree. There's really no nice way to say this: when you start making progress in personal development, the average person's problems look ridiculous af. The other day at the grocery store I saw this old woman freaking out at the cashier because he wouldn't accept her 10% off coupons. Why? Because that's all shes got. Think about it. She probably spends hours clipping those things out of her latest issue of Reader's Digest. It's the highlight of her day. But let's not even make it about judging other people. YOUR old problems should start to look ridiculous as well. That's how you know you're moving forward.

@sweater Social Circle Blueprint, Social Circle Blueprint, Social Circle Blueprint. It's by RSD Luke. Some may not be completely applicable if you're really that young but his stuff about the YouArmy and people collecting could definitely help you.

@OnceMore Yes, we all know that comparing yourself to others is a black hole because there's always someone better. And that even if you were to reach the top, your position is never secure and permanent. So it makes sense to things like therapy, meditation, journaling etc to work out these issues. But you what else helps? YOU actually going out and putting in your best effort to have whatever is it you're jealous of. The reason you're jealous that people are out there killing it is because you know you could be doing the same. So when you see others succeeding and chasing dreams, it eats at you. You're not living up to your potential and being who you want to be. A personal example of this in my own life was when I started turning around my sex life. I used to be angry at guys who got laid and at the girls that fucked them. But what it really was is that I just didn't feel like I could be a part of that. I was jealous. Once things flipped for me in that area, suddenly I could see that these people were perfectly fine the way they were. In fact, many of them were amazing people. I my vision was clouded by my own self-agenda to feel good about myself. In the end, everyone has to make a decision. Do you want to be a hater and rationalize the lack of results you're producing, or do you want to push your limits, actualize your potential and be a winner? The day you truly pick the second, everything changes.

Keep in mind I'm speaking from the perspective of a dude who DID quit his job. Basically, I've spent the last year and a half weaving through this maze of financial hell because of what I did. And while I don't regret it for a second, it has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. And I'm still not totally out, which is why I work like I've got a gun to my head. I do think in general being strategic about a decision like quitting your job is a good idea. I certainly could have strategized better, and maybe it would have saved me a ton of stress. Maybe I'd be more successful now if I had I just been a little bit more patient and saved some money. But here were the facts for me: 1) I could not stand doing what I was doing for one more second 2) I knew my life purpose was far more 3) I knew that if I didn't take the leap now, the fear-based rationalizations for not quitting would just get stronger and stronger. 4) I had a proven track record of being able to set a difficult goal and accomplish it In the end, you really have to know yourself on this one. What kind of life does @Lauritz want? How much risk and stress can he handle? What does that inner intuition say? From reading your post, it seems like you're leaning towards quit. So if that's the case, be as smart about it as possible because it's probably going to be 10x harder than you think either way.

@Mrkvn8 Wait till you feel on track with your life purpose. Your whole definition of "fun" changes. Aside from my work, here is the list of things I find "fun" at this point in my life: 1) Meditation, i.e doing nothing 2) Yoga, i.e doing nothing while on a mat 3) Eating Vegetables, i.e eating what tastes like nothing 4) Hot Saunas and cold showers 5) Watching documentaries 6) Attending self-actualization workshops 7) Answering people's questions on Leo's forum 8) Sex 9) Walking in nature 10) Swimming / surfing 11) Making music

@Sky There is no "best". There is only what is useful for you right now. Think of beliefs as tools to get you from point A to point B. That's all. If a teacher speaks a truth and it resonates with you, good. Follow it. If a teacher speaks a truth and it doesn't resonate with you, good. Don't follow it. Now you're probably wondering "but how do I know what is useful right now"? That requires you to go inside and feel out the answer. What does your intuition say? What you'll find is that many of these "contradictions" are not contradictions at all. You just didn't understand the full subtlety of what was being said and took things at face value. Other times you'll find that a certain belief just doesn't serve you at all anymore. Keep learning. Keep going inside and listening to yourself. Embrace ambiguity and confusion as best you can.

This is going to be some random thoughts I've had following Leo's "Why People Seem Crazy" video. The question I'll be tackling is: why isn't there "one correct path" that every spiritual seeker can follow? If you haven't verified it for yourself, let's assume there exists an Absolute Oneness / God / Spirit / Big Bad Divine No-thing. It is everything that exists, and this Oneness is seeking to experience itself by dividing itself into an infinite number of finite parts. This self-realization is the ultimate point of life and what we're all "doing here" so to speak. In order for this to happen, there must be an infinite number of individual paths back to Oneness. There is simply no other option that exists. Why? Simple. If there was a single optimal back to the Divine, then every individual would converge onto this single path. They would lose their individualness, rendering the whole process pointless. But if there are an infinite number of paths, then each entity can remain as an individual until they are reunited with the Divine. And then the process will simply repeat ad infinitum. Also, given that time is not actually finite and linear, there must be an infinite number of paths to the divine. Otherwise this process could not keep happening indefinitely. What does it mean to be the Same? It means indistinguishable. We must be different in order to realize we are the same. So what does this mean on a practical level? It means good luck finding someone exactly like you . Also, it means there's no "right way" to play this game. Relax. You have a unique path that is entirely your own. Not me, not Leo, not the Buddha can tell you what it is. Have the courage to listen inside. If we could tell you, the whole thing would be ruined. When you see someone committing a crime, that's part of their path. When you see someone doing something heroic, that's part of their path. When you see someone destroying the environment, that's part of their path. There is no way to be off the path in the first place! Does that mean you shouldn't work to grow yourself? Of course not. I just said the whole point of life is to grow and evolve. It also doesn't mean there aren't tried and true techniques that have worked for many, many people. Meditation is a great example. But if you think something like meditation "has" to be part of your path, that's when you've misjudged.

@Emre You're taking "go your own way" too literally. It doesn't mean you don't function in society or have influences. Actually, your influences essentially make up everything that you feel is you anyway. What it means is that you have a uniqueness. A purpose you came here to fulfill. The problem is that most people are not trying to find what that purpose is. They're simply doing what others tell them they "should" be doing. So it isn't about doing or not doing anything in particular. It's about doing it because it's authentic to you. That might require doing some unplugging from other people initially because you've been living this life of "I should be doing this" for so long. But once you know, you know. Then it doesn't really matter if people are influencing you because you're consciously choosing to let them influence you. In fact, you'll seek out certain influences because you know they're going to help you get what you want. Now you're consciously designing your own life. You've become a co-creator with some undefinable thing larger than yourself. That's when you're going your own way.

From the teachings I've received on the angels , dreams are definitely one of the places angels / spirit guides contact you. Your soul isn't contained to the body and can receive downloads it wouldn't normally be opened to. I'll be testing these ideas more in the future via astral projection. Keep us in the loop!

Anything in life can potentially be used for spiritual growth, given the right context and intention. I'm sure that if you seriously made the resolve that you were going to use weed to shake things up, get out of your normal state of consciousness and have some insights about yourself you wouldn't have, you could. The problem is that many people who smoke weed have no interest in doing that. They just want to numb themselves. Well, ask and you shall receive. Who cares if it "really" came from the subconscious? The subconscious mind is just another model. The question is: did this benefit @Afonso? Did he grow from this experience?

@Sophie Have you had your first enlightenment experience? if not, I would wait to see how your view of guides changes after that. My first nondual experience showed me that reality, while rendered from the brain, does not actually COME from the brain. The brain is IN consciousness, not the other way around. So the brain is really more like a transmitter. But transmitting from where??? It must be from outside all of this. And if I grant that physicality is an illusion and that non-physical is primary, is it that difficult to imagine non physical beings? Anyway, speculating about it on a forum won't do much. The rational mind doubts anything it can't understand or prove. So go get your proof. Go see a medium. Go pickup a book on how to channel. Go try astral projection. These things will all solve your question faster than anything I could say.

I can remember as a kid imagining what it would be like when death occurred. What was interesting was that no matter what belief I was given, I realized it had to involve infinite time. So I'd try to conceptualize infinite time...and basically it just made my head explode. Worse than infinity simply having no end, how can infinity ALSO not have a beginning? What does that even mean? And then I'd feel very tiny and insignificant and want to cry. So there really isn't much to say about infinity. You either become it or you just have bullshit ideas.

I see no reason you cannot do both. Yes, both require massive time and effort. But this black and white attitude of "I can either evolve spiritually OR pursue my physical life purpose" is just plain bullshit. People are failing to think synergistically / Win Win. They're not seeing how life purpose can contribute to spiritual growth and spiritual growth can in turn contribute to life purpose. Now, maybe your life purpose is to become a yogi living in the mountains who just contemplates all day. But maybe it isn't. There's room for every type of person. And everyone is evolving in their own way. You have to know you. You have to know what your role is. No one can decide that for you. Every second of every day, no matter what you're doing, you're faced with choices. They're illusions, but these choices exist for you to learn and evolve. Spiritual growth is not something you can just compartmentalize and say "oh, when I'm doing MEDITATION psychedelics, that's spiritual time. But when I'm doing all that boring "work stuff" or with my girlfriend, that has nothing to do with spirituality". So it's really just another choice of what you want. Do you want to engage with life and society, or do you want to just say fuck it? It's up to you.

Do you really not care about your dating life, or are you just avoiding having to put in effort? That's not a way to go through life.