LfcCharlie4

+10000000000000000 This is literally it, there isn't one way to live life, post or pre awakening, and much of this will depend on your personality (I'll use the Enneagram as an example, like I always do) Ramana Maharshi & Eckhart Tolle are Enneagram 9's so they are very peaceful, passive and meditative by nature, they naturally default to the 'simple life' so to speak, I mean Tolle lived on a bench on and off for a few years. Not everyone is obviously a 9, as there is 9 Enneagram types. Nisargadatta Maharaj (also fully awake like Ramana) used to smoke Cigarettes, shout at his students and actually fucked a prostitute after his wife did, oh and had a family, he was an Enneagram 8 very bossy and full-on, hence the shouting, it doesn't diminish his realization at all. It will vary in Body/Mind to Body/Mind, personally I'm a 7 and it's unlikely I'll ever live in a cabin in the woods, but for many, it's their dream, while we are simply the Absolute, you are also a unique expression of this, and don't just become a whitewashed piece of cardboard lol, you actually become more You than ever before. Live how you want, not how some Guru does, that's their dream, not necessarily yours

Sorry to hear. if you live in a cold country I’d recommend taking vitamin D all year round, with higher doses in the winter ofc.

@actualizing25 Glimpse isn’t enough, what everyone is after is the permanent recognition of the truth of your own being. Inquire into the nature of I, until the truth of your own being is shown to you. Psyches can give great insights but I’m yet to see anyone who’s fully embodied awakenings and not just had “awakening experiences” from psyches alone, you will need to do more than just psyches imo.

Also, please remember Spirituality doesn't mean the end to life, in fact it's the opposite. Awakening is the true beginning of life. It doesn't mean you can't go out and ENJOY yourself, or go out and see friends and have FUN, of course you can! Life simply becomes a celebration and an expression of the happiness, love, joy and peace you feel inside! Meaning, yes you can have sex, yes you can have fun, yes you can live a 'normal' life and have a family and a career and listen to music you love and play games you love! The big difference is, you are no longer searching for happiness in ANYTHING, life simply becomes an expression of happiness. And, the actions are always coming from a place of LOVE. So, my overall advice is go enjoy yourself man, in your words and messages you sound quite angry and resentful about things, go give yourself a break and have a fucking fun weekend!

@Evil Raccoon Reading through all of this it seems like you're putting yourself under a lot of pressure regarding topics like this I used to do it too, so I know how you feel. The simplest answer is naturally work on your spirituality and your growth and then naturally you will find music you align more with and prefer listening to, if you still enjoy 'Chimp music' from time to time, so be it, some of the songs are really good and enjoyable to listen to. Well done on focusing on your own direct experience that is KING in this work! Sounds go cliché and spiritual, but simply follow your heart and give yourself a break, if you want to 'be a chimp' for a few years and integrate Orange there's nothing 'wrong ' with that, in fact suppressing it may make it express itself in even more negative ways. The more you reject the 'Chimp' way of life the more you create a shadow around that, instead you could simply live how you please, and organically outgrow that lifestyle and then instead of shaming these people, you could just say, yeah that's fun and I see the allure of that lifestyle, but it's not for me anymore and I want to do X instead. This way you don't create a shadow around it and can actually integrate healthy Orange and enjoy life! After all, to me at least, life is all about being happy and enjoying yourself. If you don't truly want in your heart to pursue spirituality, don't do it until you do, it really is as simple as that!

@dimitri Yes yes yes. Well said! You can combine Productivity, Business, Abundance etc with Spirituality and 'positive manifestation' , it's not as if awakening means that's it and you never take any action again, unless of course that's what you want

@WHO IS 1) You dont give up any of your individuality when you awaken, in fact you can express it even better than before, without your Ego getting in the way, you’ll be more you! 2) Have an awakening, a lot of your doubts will then be cleared. 3) Why grow? Because it’s fun, as everyone has said, you either enjoy this ride for what it is, or you resist enjoying it and create stories in your head that prevent that from happening, that’s your freedom to do so.

Yeah, dropping shoulds is great, It seems like you've allowed yourself to slip into things like Junkfood & excessive phone usage as some sort of trap. Almost like a Pseudo-Advaita excuse / spiritual bypassing in a way. @remember advice is great, building discipline becomes a lot easier when it becomes WANTs, I don't need discipline anymore to eat 95% clean, exercise everyday, take cold showers etc because I want to do these things as I know how amazing it feels compared to being unhealthy and not doing these things. However, if you're super lazy someone like David Goggins might kick you up your arse if that's what you need, then you at least have a foundation to work from and can build up the wants and come from a place of love, call it integrating healthy Stage Blue & Orange.

Yes, yes, yes. He also taught Rupert Spira & His wife I believe, he's just not great on the Social Media and didn't get an appearance on Opera so didn't blow up as much, I think this is the case with most teachers, they kinda just host small retreats or work 1-1 with students, I imagine when you're a spiritual celebrity like Tolle it's actually kinda hard to awaken people as you can't give them the attention, he is more of an introduction to this work it seems Rambled on there, but Francis is as legit as it gets. I also always recommend Ramaji and Ananda Devi (& getting RASA for those interested) but I'm HELLA biased towards them haha

@freeman194673 I know, I meant a one size fits all for everyone in the world. If you are addicted seek help and quit and change your life, I 100% sgree, but not everybody who uses porn is addicted, like not everyone who drinks alcohol is, that’s my point. I personally am quitting porn as it has no real benefit for me in life, and I would rather use that energy 1) in my work and exercise and 2) In real life, with real humans, not pixels on a screen. Each to their own though.

Happy for you man. But, you haven’t found peace, you are peace, and for years simply obscured that knowing, and now your true nature has been revealed to you!

Was reading an interview from Rupert Spira from 2008 and the interviewer asked about free will, his response was as perfect as I have ever seen. Q. Is there free will? Consciousness is freedom itself. The separate entity is non-existent. Therefore there is no entity present who could either have or not have free will. Experience is too intimate and immediate to admit of one who may stand back and orchestrate it like a conductor, willing, choosing, deciding, etc. There is no time present for such a one to exist in. The idea of free will is an inevitable side effect of the belief in a separate entity. If we believe there is a separate entity, we will by definition, whether we know it or not, believe there is free will. If, as this apparent entity, we then believe there is no free will, then that is simply a belief that we superimpose onto our much deeper conviction that we are a separate doer, chooser, decider etc. Once the separate entity is seen clearly to be non-existent, the idea of free will dissolves. All that is left is the freedom of Consciousness. I don’t think anymore needs to be said, I saw a Q on here the other day regarding this and I think Francis summed it up well, but on this occasion the student really did become the master!

@Enizeo Perfect example of testing and working out what is right for you, well done! Communities like No-Fap think there is one solution for everyone, it just isn't the case. For many, they almost need No-Fap as Porn becomes like a drug for them, just like an alcoholic can't drink Alcohol, whereas, the majority of people can without then thinking about it everyday. You also have to remember most of these communities are Green at best, so haven't ventured into Yellow and realized solutions aren't so one size fits all, but complex and nuanced for each individual. I will say, at the least No-Fap opened me up to how toxic the Porn industry can be, both to workers, and, similar to the gambling industry, getting addicts even more hooked, OnlyFans is the perfect example of this. $10-20 a month to sign up to a girls OnlyFans, so imagine someone is signed up to like 4-5 on an average salary, soon adds up!

Jaron Lanier is one of the pioneers of the Internet and VR, and has been involved in Silicon Valley for decades, and I just bought his book '10 Arguments for Quitting Social Media Now' personally, I won't be quitting, as well I don't want to. I acquire a lot of business clients through FaceBook, advertise on FB & soon to be YouTube and enjoy the good aspects of Social Media, however his arguments are great discussion points. I also actually enjoy being targeted with ads that will benefit me, rather than random billboard ads, but I can also see the glaring issues regarding data and big tech companies like FaceBook & Google etc, so of course something needs to be done. For example, I enjoy getting ads for a Pull Up bar if I've been researching Pull Up bars, but am not such a fan of Political ads or religious ads, so imagine how easily your typical person can be influenced by these. It's easy to see it all as Dystopian but online and Social media has done SO many great things for advertising & marketing, but also has fallen into the manipulation trap to maximize Big Tech's earnings, so somehow there needs to be a balance. Jaron proposes a more ethical way of doing things by 1) paying people for their data (up to $20k / year (better solution than UBI potentially?) 2) Making the collection more ethical, and then using it to create value in people's lives, not manipulate their behavior to suit agendas and what not. Here's the video- According to the comments, Andrew Yang was a politician who suggested something similar to this, I feel the business model will have to change long term, as more and more these Big Tech sites are being massively exposed for the unethical business practices, so it's about giving people Ads and Marketing that they actually want to see and that creates value, without constantly manipulating and adding toxicity to their lives, quite the task!

Just because Alex Becker is a minimalist and that’s HIS dream life, doesn’t mean you need to be. Design your own dream life and then go from there, everyone is VERY different! For example, Becker is trying to build a 500 million $ company, that takes extreme focus in the beginning and a lot of time, hence why he has put all his focus into it and nothing else. You don’t have to do that, unless you want to of course. Leos recent video “life advice for young people” will help you a lot, and then write down what you want from life and why! and, yes you can have it all!

For the joy of it. Because you love to. To express the understanding, happiness, love, beauty, truth etc. There are many “reasons” but it always comes back to, for the love and for the fun of it, because it’s amazing!

@Evil Raccoon Listen to music you want o in that moment, gradually you’ll gravitate towards your own preferences and that’s completely fine, just because they rap about fucking girls & popping pills it isn’t inherently “bad” it’s just where they’re out, and usually it sounds quite good lol. But, music goes far deeper, and the greatest musicians tend to go the deepest, true creativity comes from that place of stillness and beauty, many musicians say they have no idea where their inspiration comes from, it just arises and then enjoy musi for the wonderful creation that it is! Heres an example, I LOVED Juice WRLD (RIP) and he is your typical stage Orange kind of guy, but with a difference, his first album was about his break up and the struggles of that, some raw emotion, and that’s why I feel he attracted so many listeners, he also didn’t glorify the drugs, but knew he struggled with addiction and explained that in the music, which was also good. So you can even appreciate these artists as you become more conscious from a certain vantage point, and you can see the pain behind a lot of these songs, as well as the joy and love! Music is certaintly a beautiful art!

@Meta-Man Exactly, you gradually just start listening to music that resonates with you more, I wouldn’t force it all, it happens naturally. Sadly, mainstream club music is still very, well mainstream! If you haven’t, check out Drum and Bass artists like Mr Traumatik, not only is he hilarious, but MCs about Psychedelics, Corruption, Spirituality, be even has a song called Chakras lol. They’ll always be something about DnB that I’ll always love, maybe MDMA experiences really can effect you long term!

@Nahm

Just wanted to add, The Enneagram is an incredible tool for understanding people and developing your relationships, helps you understand what your partner, friends and family really want and are really like!

@zeroISinfinity Here's what to do: Go live your life. Do what you love as much as possible. Have fun. Enjoy life. Spread love and live from love. If I could choose I would awaken as early as possible because then life just becomes an effortless joy like it has been this year for me, even through my first break up and all the crying and sadness, there has still been the absolute sense of peace and happiness that never leaves. Awakening isn't the end of life. It's the beginning of a new, love filled, incredible adventure that is about truly living. Maybe @Nahm can help out here, he has a way with words that I don't possess! But in a nutshell- Go enjoy life, whatever that means for you!

@Evil Raccoon Yeah, again not a one size fits all, if you don't like it and you feel it effects you, then stop listening bro, and find a more 'conscious' artist or genre of music

@zeroISinfinity Of course, the secret is to die before you die. I never once said Vegan = Awakening, Just in my experience, I personally don’t want another living being to die for me, but it’s not like you have to be Vegan to be awake. Not had your morning coffee this morning? Usually, you’re not this cranky!

@Paul92 Yeah, don't worry about the belief behind it at all, that will just create a never ending war in your own head, trust me I tried it with many of the concepts lol. Investigate for yourself the truth of your own being! @zeroISinfinity You always make me laugh man, I would love to see what goes on inside your head lol. What happens if Spira and Co awaken these people, will they stop being cannibals and become vegetarians like him? I want to know what happens in chapter 2!

Listen to music depending on what you wanna feel in that moment, but of course Music influences you, but it doesn't mean you have to listen to new age music 24/7 lol, for example when you're feeling sad you may want to listen to sad music to express your emotions for a while, but after a while will fancy some upbeat music to pick yourself back up etc. As @Consept said there isn't any rules. Do whatever works best for you, and whatever you want to do!