r0ckyreed

@Leo Gura yeah. I’ve been mostly observing my hand and just being with my hand, along with contemplation about hand, visual field, actuality, concept, etc. Another practice I have been doing to quiet my mind is breath/sound awareness meditation (noticing breathing and sounds as they arise and dissipate). Another meditation I have done is to just stare into the darkness of my close eyes and watch the movies of my mind that play. I will try Do Nothing meditation.

This is me. I have been a contemplative for quite a long time. I questioned God and religion since I was like 4 or 5 years old after my dad told me that Jewish people don’t believe Christ was son of God, and some people don’t believe Christ existed. I have been contemplating for pretty much my whole life, but not on nearly as deep as I do after I studied philosophy. Meditation is something I learned 2 years ago when I took Eastern Philosophy. So it doesn’t quite come naturally. Also I do have ADHD so it is a challenge to sit in stillness, but I think it helps improve concentration. The longest I have ever meditated was one hour. True. I typically incorporate contemplation into my meditation. I use this analogy in that contemplation is asking God a question, but meditation is listening to God (or stillness) for the answer. I think one of the things that has held me back from doing a retreat is the belief that meditation is a waste of time, but I realized that all the times that I don’t meditate are waste of time. Thank you all!

Where do you all get your research information from? Where and how did Leo find out about spiral dynamics? How can I use google or other sources most effectively to help facilitate my research on personal growth? Any advice would be highly appreciated!

“If you wanna be an archaeologist, you need to get out of the library.” —- Indiana Jones

I agree Thanks. Very good. The only thing is that I don’t think he went into the details of research, but rather the mindset you should do research. I am talking about Google scholar peer review journal or something like that or PsychInfo or whatever engines. I recall that Leo said that he would make a video about how to work Google in an effective way, and this is kinda what I meant in research. So I get the theory of research, but the actuality is something else.

Nice! Thanks! Some of the gold mines I have found are Stefan James (Project Life Mastery), Jason Capital, David Lion, Dan Lok, Actualized.org of course, and Lee Wolak

Hello! I am considering being a life coach. Do any of you all have experience or know any useful information about life coaching. Right now, I am pursuing my masters in mental health counseling, but I realize that the field is so regulated. For instance, after I get my 2 year masters, I have to get extra supervision for many hours (I forgot, but it’s a lot), and even after I complete my degree, I will have to take a test and present background checks, and do a bunch of legal work to get approved by the state to become a counselor. If I decide to move to another state, I would have to go through same process! Is life coaching this tedious and demanding? Could anyone with knowledge explain to me a little bit more about the field of life coaching? I may want to choose this as an alternate career path. I plan on taking Life Purpose course over winter break after this semester in school.

@Leo Gura Oh wow!! thanks! I just found that you already have videos about this lol! Yeah, this is a common critique in our mental health counseling circles. Nice! I just watched your video! Is this the link where you got your training from: https://www.ipeccoaching.com? Thank you so much for your help! If you have any other information, please let me know You are such an inspiration! Thank you!

Awesome thank you so much!! I really appreciate it! What are the gold mines that you have come across besides Actualized.org and Real Social Dynamics? Have any tips on being a good skimmer? Thank you for your detailed response! Thank you! Personal/spiritual development.

Go to a cemetery. I find rock climbing helps me contemplate death, although, I am not contemplating, but rather being immersed into the present moment. You cannot be screwing around in your mind when you are hundreds of feet off the ground. One false move and you're done.

The biggest threat to our country is ourselves. This election just proved how divided we are. Biden is going to try to restore the soul of the nation so that we can spread our consciousness and love to other countries.

That’s unfortunate. So with that logic, if Hitler or Kim Un or Stalin or any narcissistic sociopath that knows what policies serve your ego, you would vote for them? The character determines their policy and their willingness to carry it out. A higher consciousness person will have higher consciousness policies. Trump says stuff to please your ego. He lies about many things. He only says what you wanna hear, but I guess that’s how you vote. If you were an employer and had an interviewee who is sociopathic (doesn’t care about others and uses others for their gain), has allegations of sexual assault, knows how to manipulate the law in their favor, would you really hire this person? If you would, that would ridiculous, but if you don’t, then why do you think Trump could be president if he cannot even work at a restaurant? Character is everything. As soon as you throw character out, that’s when crap hits the fan. Character is fundamental and policies are next. If someone is a sociopathic liar like Trump, why would you believe in any of his policies? So you liked the Muslim ban, the Trump Wall, the end of Paris agreement? Notice that character and policy are one. It is Trumps character that has brought out the crazies, violence, etc. it is his character that is making America look like a fool. There is no boundary between policy and character. If Trump were a good person, he would side with science and logic and wear a damn mask and tell his Trump supporters to stop their bull crap. Instead, he praises what happened to Biden campaign in Texas and praises people not wearing masks. The problem with Trump supporters is that they care so much about economy that they forget that health is wealth. Go into a hospital and ask a Covid patient “how well the economy is doing.” Ask the 234k people who died how well they think the economy is. Think. Think. Think. Don’t just believe in Fox News or Alex Jones Infowars or Qanon and even Trump himself, you have to really think and open your mind to the possibility that you are deluding yourself by following him. Plot twist: you are The Evil Demon and you are deluding yourself. We all are. Self-deception is at the root of reality, but that doesn’t mean we cannot evolve and be less full of crap.

Your head and brain are also imagination. Other minds and brains are also imagined. You break down your entire reality until you realize that Direct Experience is the only thing that exists. Any thoughts or beliefs about reality are false because reality itself is prior to all of that. Thoughts are just more waves in the water. When you connect with DE, you are able to see the reflection of the truth.

When are they going to call this election?

Yeah. Trump is done in White House, but not on the streets. I imagine that he will do something like Alex Jones and start his own platform for his 67 million followers. Hell, his whole presidency was his platform for his followers. One thing though is that I asked Trump supporters how long they would support Trump and they told me “until he dies.” Or “forever.” I wonder what kind of Devilry trump is going to be doing when he is no longer busy jerking around in the White House.

This thread is about the psychology of Donald Trump and most importantly, the psychology of his followers. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/peace-and-war/202007/social-psychology-sheds-light-the-troubles-trump-supporters%3famp https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201609/the-psychology-behind-donald-trumps-unwavering-support%3famp https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psypost.org/2020/03/new-study-identifies-a-psychological-factor-linked-to-trump-supporters-vindictiveness-56280/amp https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2017/08/xavier-becerra-on-the-california-resistance/538134/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-11-03/super-spreading-trump-rally-like-being-in-a-cult%3f_amp=true https://www.google.com/amp/s/gen.medium.com/amp/p/334c206a22f6 https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/cult-deprogrammer-trump-uses-mind-control-tactics-on-his-followers-561263b9aa9 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/think/amp/ncna1239828 https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/cult-trump-leading-cult-expert-explains-how-president-uses-mind-control All of this only barely scratched the surface Trump’s cult. Feel free to post as many studies you can find on this phenomenon because the Trump psyche is something that is going to be part of our lives whether we like it or not. Let’s try to get a bigger picture understanding of stage Red Trump supporters, as well as the psychology behind it. It is likely that these same self-deception workings in Trump supporters exist in all of us.

Yes of course. I am just trying to understand it on a meta-level. If we want any chance of solving this problem, we first have to understand the problem. We have to increase our consciousness about how the Trump supporter psyche works. If it happens with them, it is possible that we are also subject to this as well. Until we understand their psychology and our own psychology, the problem will only increase and this nation may become even more divided. The problem will not go away on its own. We cannot assume that it will. This whole Trump virus, I would argue is worse than the Covid virus because if our nation wasn’t so divided, and if we could agree to lock down for 2 weeks, wear a mask and social distance, we wouldn’t have Covid or the high death rates that we have from Covid. This Trump virus has led to the 230k Covid deaths. I can’t help imagining what our situation would be like if Hillary was in office instead of Trump. The fact that Trump gained 6 million followers over his 4 years of bullshit is concerning and is showing that the Trumpvirus isn’t going away. Even after Trump is out of office, the Trump voters remain. With Trumps popularity, he has the rest of his life to brainwash his followers. What would stop Trump from hosting a private group where he can spread misinformation like Alex Jones?

Trump psychology (This really need a thread on its own) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201609/the-psychology-behind-donald-trumps-unwavering-support%3famp https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/peace-and-war/202007/social-psychology-sheds-light-the-troubles-trump-supporters%3famp

@lie-corrector

lol! Trump did collude with Russia man. Have you read the transcript? The problem with most of you Trump supporters is that you all believe that “you are thinking for yourself and are not sheep.” But this is your self-deception. If you aren’t even willing to open your mind up to the possibility that Trump is a sociopathic, narssistic, cult leader, then I don’t know what to tell you.

It is unfortunate that so many Trump supporters have delusional disorder. A delusion is a strong belief in something despite all the evidence against it. I have been talking with Trump supporters online and they say CNN, ABC, NBC, and Fox News are fake news. i asked them where they get their information and they said “Trump, Sky News One American News, Infowars.” All of these are right wing biased news with conspiracy theories in them. imagine 67 million people watching Alex Jones and truly believing in everything he says. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/media/2020/nov/05/fox-news-sucks-trump-supporters

What source are you all using? I am just using CNN and Associated Press.

Trump is such a cult leader. This makes more sense into why Trump supporters still support him after all he’s done. All news against him is fake. All his for him is real. He is the cult leader of the Republican Party or the Trump Party. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/columns/rex-huppke/ct-trump-biden-election-maga-rallies-cult-huppke-20201030-3l36fasv3vcwfgh5npjluokm3e-story.html%3foutputType=amp

It looks like this all comes down to Nevada, Leo’s state . Biden won Wisconsin and it looks like he will win Michigan. Oh boy, Nevada is gonna be the deal breaker. It’s so close! Go Biden 2020!

Think about this. Everything you see around you began as a thought within someone's imagination. The computer you are on right now is imagination manifesting as actuality. Imagination is not just a fantasy like most people think, but it is reality. Politics, science, religion, philosophy, art, etc. are all imaginary, including our own self and personal identity. But imagination is much more deeper than this. Imagination is what connects us to our higher selves and spiritual realm. Hypnosis helps us delve deeper into our imaginations and unlock our subconscious minds! This allows us to go on psychedelic journeys and inner, mental journeys too. Imagination does not need a drug per se, but they can help. Connecting with Spirit Guides, Angels, Shadow, etc. is only done through imagination. The importance of imagination is underestimated. We have this powerful imagination as a young child, but we slowly lose this connection over time. As a child, we are so playful with our imaginations. There is no such thing as stress for children because of this playful aspect of imagination. Adults habituate to life, take it seriously, and start to cease seeing the magic of life itself. What is the power of imagination in your life? Imagination is so important, but so undervalued. How do you think Bill Gates created Microsoft, or how Gandhi became successful, etc.? They had imagination and vision for their lives. When you meditate, don't just focus on silencing your thoughts, but work on expanding your thoughts and visualizations! I think we have it backwards! We don't need to silence our thoughts to reach samadhi, but rather know how to think and expand on what we already naturally possess. Silencing the mind is good, but in my experience, its like not working out for a week. If you silence your mind too much, it may affect how you think because part of memory is imagination. In my own experience, whenever I had a memory in my meditation, I would suppress it, and overtime, I noticed that my memory wasn't as strong because I wasn't practicing my imagination. So here I offer you all a different paradigm. Instead of focusing on silencing the mind, focus on expanding your imagination to the point in which you can imagine Master Yoda right in front of you so vividly that you cannot separate imagination from reality. So practice expanding your imagination. Silencing the mind will help your imagination flourish, but don't just spend your whole time trying to suppress your imagination because that won't get you anywhere. What do you all think of this new paradigm that I thought about? I found that I was able to access higher levels of love and empathy whenever I would be in my imagination palace. I have gained access to higher levels of consciousness from my imagination than I have ever had in trying to quiet my mind. Imagination can be a good spiritual teacher if you know how to use it. What do you think astral projection is? A stilling of the mind? Or is it a utilization of the power of your imagination? Don't get me wrong, stilling the mind is still something you should try to do, but it shouldn't be the only thing. Still your mind to help you dive deeper within the depths of your imagination. I actually recommend you all to distinguish between Actuality vs Imagination first. Once you get in touch with Actuality, the present moment, then you can get in touch with your imagination and expand on that. Since our lives are both Actuality and Imagination, wouldn't it be good to exercise both of them rather than just focusing on Actuality? As you practice, you will notice that there really is no distinction between those two. All that you imagine right now is in actuality. I believe that imagination is very therapeutic and can help you connect deeper within yourself. You can explore your imagination into how you created yourself. Imagination is so powerful! As David Lion once said to me, "Imagination = I - Magi - Nation." What do you all think? I personally enjoy meditations that use imagination (such as chakra meditation).