mandyjw

Maybe not everyone grew up in the generation of incessant "your mom" and "your face" jokes? Hard to imagine.

While I love the direction this thread is going in and don't want to derail it, this was really good.

Peak experiences don't come from doing the right stuff to get them. They come from something like honest curiosity and exploration which isn't a doing. You have to be completely open when you're exploring to having some not so great experiences. If you're exploring music in hopes to find something new you really love, you're going to listen to a lot of music you don't enjoy. See what I mean? Fall in love with the adventure and the exploration itself. Check out Rupert Spira's yoga meditations, yoga, especially yin yoga, any kind of exercise or activity you feel inspired to do. Explore.

An author loves her care-actors very much. She doesn't even have to tell herself that they aren't real. She gave birth to them, heroes and villains, all one in the same. It helps to differentiate between thoughts that sneakily seek a type of purity and escape from suffering by trying to no longer "play" your character, (I quit, and won't play another round, boohoo, sore loser), thoughts that are unaligned with source, Love, or the author's intentions, and thoughts that appear to pertain to a specific character but are also aligned with that Love. A child's play is pretend but also one of the most honest authentic things out there, and so is watching someone who is a master at acting and loves doing it. It's only when we are aware of ourselves as an actor and feel spilt, awkward, out of place and inauthentic, that we are acting out.

Focusing on what you don't want and the not getting of them than on the things you have that you do want and the joy in wanting things in the future and the joy in taking steps toward them.

All creative work comes from the same source. Creator/created itself.

I used to think that too, but then ended up having some pretty weird experiences in this domain. I'm still going to follow my own intuition and feeling as final say over any advice someone writes in a book though, no matter what the "source". .

With no time, no past, nothing to own, and no one to own it really, it's just a wild crazy beautiful gift.

You are just a thought. A thought is a thought. A thought arises that says "I don't like my thoughts" but that is another thought. You can only ever acknowledge thoughts with more thoughts.

Very cool!

I've only had temporary chest pain issues, and it's been helpful. Yoga poses as a routine practice have been a huge help for chronic back and hip issues though.

Yes! If you're getting food cravings often, your diet isn't balanced enough. It's not a discipline problem in the moment, it's that you haven't stepped back and looked at the whole of your diet. Guilt just makes the vicious cycle more vicious. Less guilt, more curiosity. It also helps to accept that a lot of women get food cravings and even food aversions cyclically. If this happens to you, noticing it rather than jumping to the conclusion that you have no self control when you get cravings is helpful. If you find there are times when you are so hungry, you eat 3 times the food you do normally, and you don't judge yourself for it, going with it and accepting that sometimes our bodies need bigger bursts of calories can mean more weight loss than shaming yourself for it and repressing the craving until later. Your metabolism is a living dynamic thing. Another trick is realizing that cravings are sometimes a form of procrastination. So making lists of the things you want to work on, or want to do, including fun things just for yourself that you want to do but are too lazy and unfocused to begin can be really helpful. It can give you the sense of direction that the food cravings might be showing you that you need.

Thyroid levels check? Tried yoga to open up the chest?

I have since discovered that trick. Too late to save myself from some serious embarrassment and a good story though.

@Martin123 WEIRD synchronicity, I for real, used to think Nahm was a middle-aged lesbian because when I came to the forum I assumed he had to be female because he took so much time to help everyone including myself. I couldn't imagine a man being that giving to others. Then he mentioned his wife and instead of realizing he was male, I was like "Oh she's lesbian". But it was just a projection. I dunno, but I kinda think the universe is playing a big joke on us all. Too busy complaining about each other to laugh about it though.

Is that a nomination for Moderator?

Well that's simply not my perception of things. Like I said earlier, I have been very disappointed in some things I've read, but I think that the big picture is that everyone is here to grow, even the most "advanced" are here to learn from everyone else. If we assume that everyone must be perfect to interact then this place would either be full of pretenders or completely empty. I don't use the law of attraction to blame myself, I use it to focus. There are two sides inherent to every perspective, what is wanted and what isn't. If you don't like this place, spend you time somewhere you do like. Simple switch of focus and everyone is happy.

@Martin123 Isn't it inclusive when some guy in the military can talk openly about topics like psychedelics and mystical experiences without worrying about losing his means of providing for his family?

Write down the things you want in life, big and small and also make self care a priority. It's less about stability and more about being really inspired about where we're going, even though we aren't really sure how exactly it will unfold, we're so excited to be on the adventure that there's no where else we'd rather be.

@Martin123Facebook groups are by their nature much more superficial. There isn't much potential for archived resources, for long term discussions and relationships with people. They are usually more focused on a specific topic which makes them MUCH easier to moderate, but also much more limited. People have to be linked to their Facebook accounts which requires a real name. Don't overlook or underappreciate the freedom and depth that is here. The resources are on this forum are absolutely incredible. That can't exist on Facebook. Ultimately you are attracting the interactions you have. It's not the venue's fault or credit, or even the other person's.

@Martin123 This forum goes much deeper than simple Facebook groups. I started having mystical experiences not knowing what they were two years ago and really needed some guidance. I posted on an Eckhart Tolle Facebook page and my post was never even approved. So I came over here. Just because something appears inclusive on the surface doesn't mean it is. At all.

@Shunyata From a nondual perspective, yes of course I'm you. Yes, I live where there are cold long winters. I usually gain a few pounds in the winter and lose it in the summer again. I have hated this trend for years, but the inconvenient truth is that it really is easier to stay warm when you're a bit fluffier.

What do you mean, ordinary?

@Shunyata I'm a girl, also about 5'3. What works best for me is to focus on what I DO eat. I make sure I get enough protein, and I try to make sure I get a good amount of protein for breakfast. For me that significantly decreases my food cravings. I also make sure I eat a ton of veggies, I try for one every meal and I eat huge servings of them. You have to work up to it and find which you can digest easily and which you can't, but you will feel amazing. I also make sure I get exercise that I enjoy, preferably outside, almost every single day.