LfcCharlie4

there's a HUGE difference between nothing matters as a Nihilistic way of being & Nothing matters absolutely speaking. One leads to this kind of behavior, the other is an inherent truth but leads to the understanding of love, and why 'relatively' everything matters

@WelcometoReality Yeah, agreed. I think naturally you turn towards what you need through intuition & fate to some degree. I think naturally for me, Personal Development is like that, as I like feeling good & progressing. The effortless effort. The only pushback I would give is with addictions & lasting bad habits, as they are almost wired into your psychology when they've been repeated for so long. I guess you could argue naturally the desire to change them is effortless, as is the whole process, as it is simply moving towards alignment. Words can over confuse it But, that's also why this teaching can be dangerous for certain people, as they are in such a dire state, that seeming effort is required. But, they just don't realize, all along it has been the absolute pushing the boat, and when this is truly realized, life becomes 1000x better, easier & you can work with the universe to materialize those desires, Kinda cool right For example- Gym / Health is an 'effort' at first, now I couldn't imagine life without it. I guess that's the process of aligning your life with the teaching, as if you aren't enjoying something, maybe its time to change something @Leo Gura I always just think of that shitty feeling you get when you 'behave bad' or know you done something shitty- Guilt, Shame etc compared to the opposite of that

@Leo Gura Yeah of course. But using the same analogy, that buzz after a workout never goes away, just like the joy & fulfillment of behaving well

I never truly resonated with the psychedelic stuff for whatever reason, maybe in the future I will! However, I stumbled across Leo's pure personal dev content and it is gold. I would highly recommend checking this out, as when caught in the whole understanding every aspect of reality bandwagon, we can often forget how important the Human Dimension is & why personal Dev is so important, especially since most of us are younger and do not have a lot of aspects of life taken care of! These are some I like: The subfields one I found very useful as it states the important of Self-Help & tackling the ones most relatable to yourself

@WelcometoReality 10000% You have to take the work seriously at points, but also know when its time to let yourself loose and simply enjoy life as you said 'Modern Awakening' is often chapter 1 of the book so to speak, and the book only ends for you when the body passes away

+1 I would say improving your behavior does actually make you happier if it goes into all realms of life, the cliche of 'Living from Love' is very true, but I guess you could say it becomes so natural you don't notice it. But, if you was to compare it to before you would realize how much 'better' life has become as a result. But, like you said, its very likely you had aspects of life you behaved 'rightly' and loved already, depends on the person I guess. @michaelcycle00 Happiness & Love- if you already have those, then you're there. Most people get into this precisely because they have a lack of both. But, in a sense you're right, its about enjoying life. However, for a lot of people its hard to enjoy life in their mental / life situation

Happiness basically But, its not easy & integration is foreverrrr, its like getting a brand new car but you still gotta learn to drive it properly & take care of it Also, you're still a Human right. So, we all have 'Human' issues (examples- obesity, substances, behavioral issues etc) don't expect awakening to take care of all of those, that's where, yes, integration comes in but also traditional Self-Help in overcoming these. Shinzen Young has a video somewhere explaining he had to go to Therapy for certain issues after decades of meditations & awakenings. I think a lot of people expect awakening to be some sort of magical pill to blissland, and a lot of the Literature can point to that. And, while yes, you're no happy & can enjoy life like never before, it doesn't mean the other side of the coin doesn't exist- You are still Human. Especially if you live a typical Western life & aren't meditating in a cave all day Awakening to the absolute in my opinion is simply the start of a new way of being, its then up to you to allow the teaching to percolate all realms of life. Nobody & no teacher is perfect simply because we are all living a Human life. However, I would add the best way to spot an integrated & true mature awakening is one's behavior & actions- the more aligned with truth, love, joy, happiness etc the more they have clearly integrated. 'Half-Baked' awakenings are what lead to a lot of the issues you see with Gurus, or, the denial of one's humanity, which Is very common in Eastern Traditions where sex & whatever else is shunned leading to in some cases horrific outcomes Best quote for a life following the teaching - 'Love and do whatever you want.' Really is that simple

I always come back to Ruperts / Francis' Absolute Happiness

@Something Funny Not my forte then, I'm focused on Hypertrophy & muscle gain. Best off following powerlifters for that kind of stuff

Are you training for hypertrophy or strength primarily?

@MrMog Sounds like you're lacking balance. Frame it in a more positive way- Eat / Live in a way to feel your absolute best & enjoy life simultaneously- Instead of avoiding disease or a negative framing. Find food you enjoy, exercise you enjoy etc If you want to enjoy the odd cheat meal or beer, its not the end of the world if it improves your life overall Weigh up the pros / cons- like for me I enjoy drinking with friends occasionally, is it 'healthy' of course not, but is it worth the fun? For me, it definitely is Tbh the stress you give yourself over it could be worse anyways haha

Love this, would even add an element of Positive Affirmations / Gratitude to it, as well as the contemplation Heard a great technique of 5/5/5 in terms of Gratitude phrased in the present. The kicker is 5 things from the past (e.g. a memory) 5 in the present you have & 5 things you want (e.g. financial abundance, perfect energy etc) but you phrase them all as if you have them now- essentially when put in the mix with things you have, subconscious sees no difference

Personally I think Rupert & Francis have the best answers / talks regarding purpose in relation to the teaching. Essentially, they say you can be & do anything that comes from a place of Joy, Love, Happiness. So, you aren't limited to just being a teacher say, but can bring the teaching itself into whatever your body / mind loves & is passionate about, as it will naturally flow through that. To me, this makes the most sense, as naturally as a result of the true teaching, harmful things will be off the table, and you are left with things that automatically help create a better society / world naturally. This could mean being a Gardener, Athlete, Musician, Artist, Engineer literally anything you're predisposed to and naturally as a result the teaching comes through you & into your work. These videos from Rupert helped me a lot on this topic- Of course, first and foremost the 'inner purpose' is awakening to your true nature & happiness. From there, its living from love. So, I wouldn't limit oneself to being 'useful' but doing whatever you love- that's the fun of life.

Agree with all the points except the last. I don't think we're ever meant to transcend but integrate spirituality into 'Self-Help' Personally don't believe meditating in the mountains is the height of existence (maybe for some personality types) Instead think the World needs more awakened / developed people in the thick of things & doing all of the bullets above I see that as the evolution of spirituality from being obscure to part of normal life (long way off)

Positive Affirmations / Hypnosis are awesome imo You literally have the power to reprogram your mind & change your sub-conscious beliefs into ones that truly serve you, support you & improve any area of your life Like if you have issues around food & exercise, using these in combination with exercise + diet has been shown to increase weight loss & adherence to the new habits because you're literally becoming that person who eats healthy & exercises. And, this can basically be applied to a LOT of issues we face That's likely why they're a big part of a lot of LOA teachings, I think the best LOA (law of attraction) teachings don't promise the world through the practices but actually show you how to transform yourself into someone who can create the life of their dreams, and that's exactly what affirmations / hypnosis help to do, of course without the action they are useless, but action becomes a lot more likely when your beliefs change