Osaid

Yes, the ego hates change. Its entire game is to prevent change. What your ego is doing right now is that it is imagining a story in your mind which is causing anxiety. "Fear" and "anxiety" is not present anywhere in your direct experience, until you begin to entertain the fantasies of your ego. Look for yourself. Try to find the object which is causing "fear" in your direct experience right now. You won't find it, because "fear" is in relation to the story your ego imagines. The ego will make something like an upcoming change seem "monstrous" and "scary", simply through the medium of imagination. Have you ever heard someone say "that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be"? It's good at highlighting how the ego makes things seem worse than they actually are, that is actually one of its main skills. Because of this dynamic between fear and imagination, grounding yourself in the present moment can be a very effective way of keeping the ego in check. Notice that the change is "upcoming", meaning it is not in your present experience. So, how are you scared of something which isn't even present? Because you are only scared of the thought of that thing, not the thing itself. No thing in reality truly emanates "fear", so keep your eye on reality and not imagination. Also, wherever there is change, there is growth. Uncomfortable situations are good. Actively seek out uncomfortable situations, they will teach you lessons and make you grow.

Most of the salt people consume comes from the processed foods they eat. It's fine to be generous with high quality salt when adding it to your own dishes. Too much salt can cause headaches, drink water to balance it out. Although, a headache from over-salting a dish seems like a strong reaction. Could be low potassium as @Opo pointed out.

Non-Player Character, it's a video game term referring to characters that are not controlled by players. If someone is calling you an NPC, they are basically saying that you are dumb and act like a robot.

These both sound like immersive or maladaptive daydreaming, I have it as well.

Comparing life to dreams will give you good insights. Their fundamental structure is very similar, if not the same. What you've done is you've taken certain parts of your mind and labelled them "physical" and "not a part of my mind". Sneaky ego.

Animals are simply more intuitive and less in the mind, like human babies. Their minds are significantly less sophisticated.

Yeah holy shit. I see this insight talked about all the time but I never really understood it fully till now. Your judging of others is the exact same criteria you judge yourself for. It's also the case that the more you love others the more you will love yourself, and vice versa. There seems to be this pattern of reciprocation in reality.

I have similar thoughts when going for a walk

lol no problem

lol he wants the answer to be within his own personal criteria of being 25 000 words and "scientific". That's funny. Also it has to be filtered through a group of "specialist judges" too haha

It happened to me by accident, I somehow managed to enter an experience of nothingness when I was waking up from sleep. I heard there are meditation techniques you can try. They call the state "turiya" in Hindu philosophy, if that helps. Like you said before, nothing = something. So something coming out of nothing is the same as nothing coming out of something. I think you've slightly misunderstood. The source of everything is not a state of nothingness, or turiya. The source of everything is actually itself, which is what is meant by "nothing is the source of everything". Things don't need a source. It's a strange loop. What is stopping consciousness from creating without a source? Nothing is, lol. It creates out of nothing, like magic. No method or mechanism needed. It just is itself. When you're eating a pizza, that pizza actually came from nowhere, you're just imagining that it came from some pizza place. The problem with looking for a "source" is that it turns into an infinite regression. What created that source? and what created the source that created that source? And so on forever.

I assume you're talking about the experience of pure consciousness (AKA turiya or nothingness as people like to call it) Yes, it is possible to experience nothing, as paradoxical as it sounds. The experience is a paradox because the finite mind cannot comprehend "experience" and "nothing" co-existing, since it has created a duality between the two. It is a state of consciousness where there is no object for the finite mind to grasp at, an absence of objects. It is completely impossible to imagine BTW, because your mind is finite and can only know finite things, whereas nothingness is infinite and without end. It's like trying to imagine what having no eyesight is like, it's just absent. There is the experience of it being absent. You don't see black, you don't see any colors, it's just completely gone. That's what nothingness is like, but your entire reality is gone along with your eyesight, and you just exist there. You are actually experiencing nothingness right now, to a certain degree, but you just don't realize it since you're so fixated on the finite portion of reality. Try to focus on the fact that you cannot see what is behind your head. You are having the experience of being unable to see what is behind your head. This is actually an experience of nothingness. You are experiencing the lack or non-existence of a certain sensation, which is sight. You can't see anything behind you. There is essentially nothing there until you turn around and look at it. Try to feel into that. This is probably the closest you can get to understanding nothingness without going into a full state of nothingness.

Haha yeah I was surprised too, just searching "Leo Gura" on Google brings up all types of slander. It makes sense though, no one likes having their paradigm torn apart.

What is it in your life that reflects the emotions you feel in that dream? Is there something in your life that makes you feel like you're being chased or that you have to escape from it? I used to have reoccurring dreams about angry bees being everywhere and then I would have to try and avoid them, but they would be everywhere that I would try to escape to. It made me feel very anxious and claustrophobic, perhaps reflective of my life situation at the time. This video is pretty good:

Cause you're imagining that it isn't Here is a meditation: Sit down and let everything be. Remove your desire to manipulate reality. Allow everything that happens to happen. Welcome it. Your job is to let reality be exactly as it is without changing it. And then bask in that.

I've always found it to be creepy/unsettling. It's like looking at yourself from a third person perspective, like in a video game. Your sense of self becomes less coherent.

"You" and "other" only exist as imagination. Ego is identifying with imagination. Even if another is experiencing it, the experience of another experiencing it will always be imaginary, because "other" is always imagination no matter what. If "other" wasn't imaginary it wouldn't be "other" anymore. Smart. God tends to dislike putting itself into dualistic categories.

That's a really good one

Yeah I feel the same way sometimes. It really humbles me seeing people who are really skilled in certain areas though. Like people who make art or music. You can't really call them dumb at that point when they've created something so interesting and beautiful. A lot of these people you'll find aren't really dumb, that's just something you're imagining about them. They will be really skilled and selfless in some areas. Not to mention, the same people you're thinking are dumb would probably be the first ones to help you if your life was in danger. I remember seeing a story about a guy who was trapped in a forest and someone heard him crying for help. He later said something along the lines of "I took people for granted." A lot of your life is dependent on these niche skills that these people provide. Like lets say you wanted to go out and eat pizza, you'd need a place with machinery for that and a person who is skilled at making it. Realizing this makes me feel more humble. If everyone on earth had the same skills and expertise as you, there wouldn't be much as much variety or functionality, so why would you expect that of other people? That would explain why I can relate to your problems so much lol

I would tell him I have a bf and that I'm not interested in a relationship, then just block if he continues Leading him on by saying you'll "talk later" and stuff was probably a mistake though. He's probably gonna be more angry and needy cause of that. You would assume he has enough awareness to see that you're not very interested though. Anyways, you're probably gonna forget this even happened a few months from now.

Stay on guard for rationalizations that sway you from what you want to do. Your ego's biggest weapon is rationalization. Stuff like "I can do this later" or "I'm too busy for this". Lets say you want to read a book. Your ego may come up and say "we can save that for later" or "I have plenty of time", thus successfully rationalizing itself into a position where it doesn't get any work done. But, while you are procrastinating, you can feel in your heart that you're putting something off. It's like a slight feeling of guilt. You know you want to do this thing, but you're not doing it. In this situation, you know for sure the thing you want to do is of your intuition, because the ego loves doing things that make it feel comfortable and are in alignment with its rationalizations. So why would it want to do something uncomfortable, like reading a self-help book? Because it isn't your ego, it's your intuition. Your ego wants to make it feel like it is going to get things done later, but in reality it is just going to give you endless rationalizations which perpetuate its existence. You can also try and ask yourself: "What would someone who loves themselves do?" I also like this quote from Bashar: "...this is very very simple, you're making it too complicated. When this conversation is over, when this event is over today, you will have a number of options available to you that you could do something about, that you can act on. You can take a walk. You could read a book. You can see a movie. You could have lunch. A number of things. All you have to do is look at all the options and just pick the one that's even just a little be more attractive that any other and act on it to the best of your ability, with no assumptions as to what the outcome will be. That's all you have to keep doing, that's it. It's that simple." Keep in mind, "attractive" in this quote refers to whatever pulls your intuition, not what is most comfortable.

IME, it seems that your body will actually tell you. If you abstain from sexual stimuli for a while, your body will randomly get horny at a certain point, out of nowhere. I ended up climaxing yesterday without even looking at porn. I just randomly got horny on my bed and decided "fuck it" and went and did it. I had a wet dream that same night, probably because I abstained for like a good 4 days prior to that. I also remember waking up certain days super horny. Like my mind was fixated on it. It really felt like my body wanted it. There are times when you get horny without any previous intention or planning to get horny, like the desire didn't even come from you. I think recognizing that is key. My theory is that this is your body's way of keeping itself healthy and active in that area. If you abstain for a while, your body will start to test itself through wet dreams and random bouts of horniness. This is a big mistake. It's better to just do it if you're having severe sexual desires. I don't think it's good to keep that energy in. I went on strict no-fap for a month while fighting severe sexual desires and it really messed up my libido and erections. I went from fapping pretty much daily straight to a whole month of not fapping. I don't buy that strict abstinence is always good. I think it is way more nuanced than that. Your body will eventually just start ejaculating in bed to combat it. You need some sort of balance, and you should not force it. If you can't abstain without edging or having severe sexual desires then it is better to just do it at that point. There is a healthy way to abstain, where you truly have no outstanding urges to masturbate during that period. Then there are the people who try to fake that level of development, and force themselves to abstain despite having intense sexual desires. I've felt great and shame-free every time I've fapped. I don't get people who say they feel "disgusted" or "depressed" after fapping, I really think that's a separate issue. I think sexual transmutation may also come into play here. If you are busy with your life and socially active I find that you can go a few days without fapping and you won't even notice it.

I think you might be experiencing what is called sleep paralysis. I have heard voices during it as well, and I almost always had it happen when my sleep schedule was at a disarray. Are you able to move during the experience? If so, then it might be some sort of astral projection instead of sleep paralysis.

He was on a break https://www.actualized.org/insights/back-from-2-month-break-updates

This is why I believe you can answer both "yes" and "no" to question 6. Same goes for question 5. Reality is infinite but it also includes finitudes, and certain infinities are made of these finitudes. For example, numbers can go on forever but a number itself is a finite superficial duality created by our minds. In a sense, the finitudes are part of infinity and so they really aren't finitudes, they are only finite when we superficially separate them from reality, which is what I believe you were alluding to in question 4. TLDR: both questions 5 and 6 depend on a duality between "God" and "human" and "infinite" and "finite", which is why I believe you can answer both "yes" and "no" to them. I think this is basically what @Forestluv is talking about in their post. Other than that, great questions to contemplate