WonderSeeker

@1liamo78 The free-will illusion is a classic hang-up; it's not easy to resolve it's implications, even when you've become conscious of it. My advice is to accept it and move on. This isn't the most practical truth, but the process of trying to understand it is what counts. Keep wondering.

Perhaps someone could make a mega-thread on this (if one doesn't already exist), but here I want to share a couple of different videos (aside from Leo's) on life purpose that have inspired me over the years. Feel free to add more to the thread. The more perspectives we get on purpose, the more we see the patterns and habits that we need to adopt to generate mastery, satisfaction, greatness, integrity, love, etc. Inspiration + listening to your inner voice = life purpose. Go get it!

For those who have used Holosync (binaural beats), how did you reconcile it with your traditional meditation technique? I've been meditating for almost one year (currently at 50-60 min per day, using mindfulness and concentration techniques). I'm thinking about purchasing Holosync and switching to a 45 min traditional sit in the morning and a 30 min binaural beats session in the evening. Thoughts? What's worked for you? Cheers!

@Tim R You're right. Better to go one at a time to understand which substance causes which effects. Analysis before synthesis! @mmKay Interesting.

Self esteem is still important, yes. Through trial and error you will learn how to raise and balance self-esteem and spiritual altitude simultaneously. My guess is eventually you will have enough self-esteem that it's no longer something you're "working on." Then, all of the attention can be laser-focused on self-transcendence. Good luck!

To update paradigms in my field, geology; I want to blend it with mysticism to make it whole. That's my highest vision. I don't fully know what it's going to amount to or how I'm going to do it (I'm basically at square-1, so it's a bit intimidating). But that's my desire. It stems from a deep-seated love and appreciation for the earth and how amazing and precious of a thing it is on so many levels. I want to show people how they take for granted their subsistence on such a beautiful, seamless, and mysterious lithospheric blue-marble, and how they may establish a more intimate heart-connection with the earth, by interacting with it in more mindful ways. As a funny side-note if any of my professors saw what I wrote above, they'd be scathing their heads wondering whether they should keep funding me, lol. But in all seriousness, I hope to improve the science by making it more holistic through psycho-spiritual development. Lofty and abstract? Perhaps! I've got a ton of inner work to do; I'm a scientist and philosopher at heart, and I want to be the best that I can be in those domains so that I can perhaps write books, make discoveries, etc. The earth is a beautiful thing and I want all to be in a mind-space where they can see it as such. Then they'd understand.

This is mostly a response to @Leo Gura in his latest blog post. At about 13:20 he was talking about how he used to brainstorm new Rubik's cube designs. I chuckled a bit because there's this one creator I used to follow. The puzzles he makes are utterly ridiculous and jaw-dropping. Oskar van Daventer:

@Lyubov Well said. By the way, weren't you the one that told me to dress like that guy in the size XXXL jeans on a related post? For me this is one of those areas where you have to experiment a bit to find your style. It's basically trial/error. Another trick is to make a distinction between "practical clothes" and "casual-but-stylish clothes". For example, I'm an avid hiker and outdoorsy guy, so I have some fleeces and hiking pants, which is good for those activities. But those clothes are not so good for a day out in the town (or anytime you want to be seen). It pays you back well to have both kinds of clothes and use them depending on the context!

I'm a university TA and I told my students that I meditate, and one of them told me that he goes to these monastery retreats every now and then and partakes in multi-hour chanting ceremonies. I've never heard of such a thing. Have any of you ever tried this? I watched a Sadhguru video on it and it sounds legit.

+ flax seeds (ground into flax meal) + dates + turmeric. Great suggestion! I make one every other day.

Know the feeling, haha. Give it time my friend!

As opposed to? An unhealthy dump?

Yes. Focus on your partner Breathe deeply and slowly

Here's a simple model that I designed by pairing some neat concepts in Daniel Ingram's book: Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. I don't claim that it's totally accurate, but it was a fun little project that I was inspired to pursue. Enjoy! Progress of Insight and 7 Factors.pdf

Living a 'good life' means making all sorts of counter-intuitive moves. Believe it or not, Truth will actually make your life better. But that's only IF you're ready to go for it. The reason that Leo's reply sounds scary is because it's only a thought to you right now. Truth doesn't mean your physical body dying. It's a more subtle death, if that makes sense. All percepts and sensations are still there. Since you wanna be healthy, a good start for you would be trying out plant-based/whole-food diet. Grade into it slowly. And lay off the Cola. It takes time, but in a few years you can have a diet that makes you feel amazing. And for relationships, read books and get as much experience as you can!

This is gonna be a sweet b-day gift

@vinc3nc On one hand, a lot of what you wrote is on point - good on you for being decisive and choosing to develop yourself! On the other hand, have you ever had a gf before? A lot of this sounds like it's coming from a place of inexperience. There are advantages and disadvantages to both being single and being in a relationship - one is not better than the other. How do you know that? Actually, having a supportive partner can make you MORE productive and effective when you are working on your projects.

@Javfly33 You'll know when to do it through intuition. Perhaps changing paradigms would help. Try fapping to feel into your body and learn about your own sexuality, rather than the old way of doing it to release tension. Thus, when the urge comes up, only do it if you genuinely want to. Mechanical fapping, "just to get it outta the way," was never fun for me personally. But when I tried doing it to learn about my body, it changed my whole view on it.

@Stefan Heuer Are you new to these teachings? Best to stick with the softer stuff at first. But then again, you seem very interested in "getting it," which makes me think spirituality will be your friend! The easiest way to "make sense" of it is to do lots of practices (meditation, shamanic breathing, psychedelics, etc.). A lot of people are going to want to sell you theories and models, which are neat, cool, and helpful, but ultimately are NOT "it." I only began to value the forum after doing some self-actualization, which made it easier to relate to what I was reading here.

Doing Neti Neti on mushrooms is effective.

@Leo Gura Write the damn book. Hell, shut down Actualized.org if that's what it takes!

@Edward mahairi Lol! "The mind is clever; the heart is wise." --Jad T Jones

And I'm not just talking about being a school teacher (although that's fine). How does one be an inspiring, moving, and effective teacher of any subject?

@levani All of those are insights. They're signs that mean you are on the path and are making progress. But they are not awakening. Awakening is a non-experience, or no-thing. It's quite simply a sudden realization that "everything is itself and 'I' am all of it."

@Mihajlo Toviovic I like to write my intentions in big letting on a whiteboard and refer back to it during the trip. Also it helps to have a blank journal to write your insights into.