Insightful27

No I love it man! It's great to share this journey with you guys! Let me know what you think about your first Jiu Jitsu classes and get ready to get smashed lol.

@Thought Art what do you think of some of his videos on YouTube? I really like Ralston but in some of those videos it looks like Akido bullshit

@Thought Art Nice man! Cool to find someone else who is into Jiu-Jitsu on here. I just finished reading Zen Body Being for the 2nd time. Have you read any of Ralston's books about effortless power?

I'm taking a really intense philosophy of mind class at college right now, and I got to thinking back when Leo has talked about academic philosophy and that it's a limited, pyramid scheme, etc. Obviously it is massively flawed and, (at least in the class I'm taking) is totally caught in the materialist paradigm. Nonetheless, has anyone here found any value in it? Do you think that it helps with complex reasoning skills that are important for understanding reality? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Today we learned more half-guard and I had some really productive sparring. Key takeaways: -When in half-guard keep your bottom hip on the floor (like when you are sleeping) that way if they pass the knee shield they don't pass your guard totally. -When you do an over-under pass make sure to keep your head up and use good posture that way you cause them more pain and they will give you the pass faster -When you shoot your leg and arm through from bottom half guard, if they get a wizzar, you can roll them. If the post with their arm then you can jump up and take their back. Also, if they get a wizzar, you can throw your leg as high up on their back as possible and shoot your leg through for a triangle -When doing triangles, you can leg go of their arm and use the free arm to hold their head as you cut the angle. Not really something that I learned but today in sparring I was able to do a duck under and take the back, do a toraondo pass, do an over under pass, and sumbit with a zipper choke from the back all in the same roll. It is really cool that I am retaining the things I am learning and that I can use them in a real roll.

Training Log #1: 1. When doing an over-under pass you need to use your bottom hand to grab their leg and use that to keep it in place as you step over. DO NOT just gabel grip the far side leg and hold on for dear life. This is something that I really want to add to my game as I think that I could get to it a lot by trying to knee slide and hoping they put up a high knee shield. \ 2. We are not allowed to do dangerous throws, but when you are going for a throw both of your feet should be facing the same direction as your partner.

I want to start this journal to document my journey on improving my brain and motivating myself to higher value activities. You could think about personal development as having 3 main levels, Neurological, Psychological and Philosophical (or Metaphysical). In order to do serious work in the proceeding level you need to have mastered the previous level, and that is what I will be focusing on. Main Goals - Leverage Dopamine to be motivated to do things that align with my Life Purpose and top 10 values - Cut out all the activities that give me dopamine that are actually not worth doing (i.e. bad habits) - Create a vision that is powerful enough to keep me on track

Where are you getting this statistic from? I like the effort you put into this post.

I'm a college student and I have been prescribed modafinil and Vyvanse for my ADD. So far I have used them extremely sparingly, and have worked on things like my diet, sleep, stress, etc. to better my health and focus. Recently though I have been asking myself why I shouldn't take them every day, or at least more consistently. There are potential side effects that aren't fully understood (and maybe couldn't be understood) that I am risking. But in a cost-benefit analysis, because the benefits are so great (Life Purpose progress, earning more money, productivity, better grades), what reason could you give for it not being worth the costs? My thinking is something along the lines of choosing to risk the costs of psychedelics because the spiritual benefits are so great. The only reason I can currently think of for not using modafinil consistently is that I don't want my ability to focus on a drug. But even so, I could use it in such a way as to not let that happen. For example, taking extended breaks and using modafinil as a way to be more productive in improving my health and earning more money to invest in my health. I wanted to come here and get some perspective, and see if there is anything I'm not thinking about or if I'm being biased in some way.

Have you had any withdrawal symtoms or side effects?

Recently, I've been interested in unwiring the need for socializing because I think that it is reducing my happiness and holding me back. Logistically, it is hard to find people who share the same values and interests as I do. In my mind, the ideal situation is that I would be totally content with myself at home working on my Life Purpose, but in reality, that very quickly leads to loneliness and boredom. I know people who have such a low tolerance for socializing that they can do exactly what I just described, and I am wondering if any of you have found a way to grow this ability and not be lonely while being alone. It is easier to be happy when you don't have desires and needs, like socializing. Even though this seems like a personality problem, I'm hoping there is a solution. A couple of caveats to get out of the way: -Yes, I understand that socializing is an important part of life, and I'm not talking about isolating myself or abandoning social life -The word "need" is significant; I want to relinquish the "need" for socializing in the same way one might relinquish the "need" for approval -I understand that we are social animals, but in all other aspects of our "animal" nature, we seem to be okay attempting to unwire those desires. Why can't we do the same for socialization?

The question is how do I find the places and people like me.... Have you had success doing this?

@Miguel1 Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I really resonated with a lot of what you said. I have been skeptical of myself not wanting to socialize because it is emotionally more comfortable.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/video/new-report-increased-magic-mushrooms-107054797 Clip from GMA about magic mushrooms. It sort of sounds like they have no idea what they are talking about. Saying that it can lead to "death" seems fairly irresponsible. However, they aren't outright demonizing them, so at least that is a start.

I just started my first year at Uni and I know nobody (I went out of state). I'm not sure how to go about building a large, fun social network that doesn't revolve around clubbing, partying, and alcohol. Finding a spiritual community would be great, but the vast majority of students aren't into serious spirituality. Any advice?

There is no need to feel anxious about having the ability to get excited to do a lot of things, and it really is a blessing. As for what I would practically do, try as many of those things as you can, even on a surface level. I am also full-time in college right now, and my goal is to build up as much life experience as I can while also doing well in school. Over time, you will naturally feel into what you would rather spend your time doing and the problem should fix itself, you just need to get more experience in all the things that you talked about.

What do you make of a conservative mind acting that way? This isn't true conservatism; he literally has face tats.

How much progress have you made towards your vision?

Thanks for sharing!

After watching Leo's video about exposing yourself to more life experience, I have decided to dedicate 2024 to gaining as much new life experience as I can. For context, I am an 18-year-old college student in the US. What kind of experience can I expose myself to that will grow me the most? Here is what I have started. - 10-day vipassana meditation retreat - Study abroad next spring - Solo backpacking trip Open to any and all suggestions, let em fly!

I would love to hear more about it. Gives me something to keep me motivated while I'm still starting out...

I got my first strip in Jiu Jitsu a couple of months ago! It has been such an amazing experience and I can't believe more people don't talk about it in self-improvement circles.

No those are things that I plan on doing, should've made that more clear.

Funny you say that, I just went through a toxic relationship and breakup a few months ago—definitely an opportunity for growth and self-reflection.

I have room for some classes that aren't related to my major (psychology). What are the classes that you liked during college? I've been thinking about taking some political science classes, I'm in a philosophy class right now and it's not great.