mandyjw

@now is forever I just read this from the Tao and thought it was perfect for this conversation. "Everybody says my way is great but improbable. All greatness is improbable. What’s probable is tedious and petty. I have three treasures. I keep and treasure them. The first, mercy, the second, moderation, the third, modesty. If you’re merciful you can be brave, if you’re moderate you can be generous, and if you don’t presume to lead you can lead the high and mighty. But to be brave without compassion, or generous without self-restraint, or to take the lead, is fatal. Compassion wins the battle and holds the fort; it is the bulwark set around those heaven helps"

@now is forever People have to play roles in life though. Sometimes you have to lead and sometime you have to submit.

@now is forever That's a true and fascinating point. Religion is a religion. Anti-religion is also a religion.

@now is forever It's all beautiful. The picking and choosing whether done by the religious or the person who is looking from the outside at the religious, is what makes the ugly.

I had a religious upbringing, I'm really thankful for it now. It made me much more keenly aware of the dangers of being so dogmatic. I don't think I would have had the same connection with the mystic at a young age AND an awareness of the suffering caused by making a "me and other" if I have been raised by atheist parents.

Telling lies drains your own power. Trying to alter someone's view of reality for your own purposes is always done because you don't understand that reality is God and the other person is also God. You don't have that power and you can't get away with it. It's a complete misunderstanding of your own power. Having said that, don't trust what anybody tells you, especially not the things that you tell yourself.

@Nahm That's so weird. I've been eating blueberries everyday but I thought I was doing it for my third eye chakra.

When children become adults they often go from people's compassion lists to their shit lists. At some point an abused child becomes an adult and if a miracle does not happen to them before that point, they often become an abuser. At that point we completely lose compassion for them. This is why abuse cycles and replicates itself. Not because abused kids grow up to be abusers but because the world stops loving them at some point. "The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" - African proverb

When you fully know and are able to see this, the world throws things at you that seem incredibly special to the egoic mind. But if you fall for the trap and call them special and begin to see other things that are of less importance again, you will create utter havoc and misery for yourself and others.

Oooofff. I could have written that. I know you don't want short responses but other people ARE yourself. I came here to help others and instead I ended up getting all kinds of help that I didn't think I needed. When I finally accepted it I felt the love and connection that I was looking for. I wish you the best. Lots of love. Don't cut yourself off from love. It's your essence and everything that binds together and makes up the world. Love really hurts sometimes, that's the side of love you are feeling. Don't you know the saying that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? Do you disagree?

@SoonHei

I had a really long hermit phase. It came from the desire to be whole which is a beautiful thing and progress in itself. I felt close to whole when I was alone but absolutely torn apart in the company of other people. Other people brought/bring out my ego. Instead of suspecting myself I blamed and avoided other people. It will make monkey mind worse but try to push yourself in this area. Having a still mind feels wonderful but when you chose to experience monkey mind purposefully it can lead you to great realizations. Have compassion for yourself and don't push too hard too fast. Self love is love for others, it's all you. You want to feel at home alone or around people. You want to experience yourself/everyone fully.

@Truth Addict The practical part is coming along. Thanks to you.

@Salvijus Also slightly different wording from the Tao, "Everybody on earth knowing that beauty is beautiful makes ugliness. Everybody knowing that goodness is good makes wickedness."

Life gives us gifts. But if we cling to them and try to use them to make us feel important they turn to dust in our hands. Life has continually cursed me with giving me everything I want. Things I never thought to dream of as a child. Things I thought were impossible. Eventually you learn to love it all and learn to recognize when you start to cling. I still get tripped up. Want to hear about the disaster that ensued when I tried to love my son over another child in his class?

@Paul92 I said the same thing last year to some Jehovah's Witness' and they weren't impressed "Don't you love your daughter?" Yes. It's all love. It's all God's love. I tell her I love her all the time. I was blessed with her, she's part of myself. But I know that as soon as I start clinging to the idea of loving just her that I'll begin to be paranoid and I won't let her explore in the woods. I won't let her go on her first date because I'll teach her that men are scary. I will teach her to assume that every mole she develops is skin cancer. I won't let her live her life. Like my mother did to me. OR I can love her as a special somebody and expect her to grow up to be a wonderful person who is skilled in the same areas that I am. And when she finds her calling in something else, I'll stop loving her and she'll never be fulfilled. She'll be torn between what I want from her and what he soul calls her to do. There's just now. Just this moment. Just whatever it calls for. Love. That is the only love that is pure.

@Paul92 That's the most beautiful thing. My kids, my house, my dog, my husband, my job are all myself. When I look outside myself or my present experience for fulfillment I feel imprisoned by those things. When I judge the snotty noses and spilled drinks and sticky floors as undesirable and the spontaneous hugs as wonderful I'm not there for my kids fully. They start to feel guilty, bad or unloved and they act up to show me my own delusion.

I had a similar experience yesterday, only a much more mild version. I decided to try to find the remains of an old gazebo and road from the 1800's without knowing if they even still existed. I had no idea of it would be thick woods, or if it would have any roads left. There were some roads but i couldn't trust them and didn't know where they would take me. There was a lot of snow left in places and I found myself going though places that had feet of it, sometimes I sunk through other times I could walk on top. I have a chest cold but it was the only nice day weather wise so I went anyway and I started getting really tired without water. I got mildly lost a couple of times and realized fully how long it would take for someone to find me if I did get in trouble. I usually don't take risks like that. Always tell someone where you are going. Bring your phone and send a photo of the start of the trail to your boyfriend or anyone. Get some sort of pack to take with you so you can bring your phone along. As for your question of whether you exaggerated a benign situation or survived a dangerous situation, those things are one and the same. Learning to still your mind and stay in that place of stillness and power is key for letting your own guidance and insight in. I keep thinking of the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter comes to him and also walks on water. But the winds start blowing and he forgets himself and is filled with fear. The same phenomenon happens to us. The more fear you let in the less you hear your own guidance and intuition. The more fear you feel the deeper your sink in the snow. Learning to stop the thoughts before they expand the situation, worrying about your hands and feet freezing for example, It's like if two people are witnessing a dog fight between their pets. One screams at the dogs and is terrified they will get hurt and they fuel the rage and fear and negative energy and make the fight worse. Someone else goes in with presence and knows exactly what air of authority to use with the dogs and when to fearlessly and swiftly intervene and break up the fight. Fear pretends to love us, to keep us safe to want to protect us. Instead fear is death. Practice always staying connected with your intuition. I love Abraham Hicks in addition to Leo's videos and teachings from others like Eckhart Tolle. It's all different ways of teaching that same skill.

Abraham Hicks really helped me to do this. You are rewiring your brain to be highly aware of your feelings as a guiding system. Focusing on your feelings helps you to appreciate both the carrot and sticks that life naturally throws in your path.

You're onto something. The reason that presence and living in the present moment is so important is because when these glimpses or bigger visions occur, understanding of past and time is forever changed. In order to stay sane and to keep having glimpses into the true nature of reality you must learn to still your mind. It's like leveling up, but now it's much harder but also more critical that you are able to clear your mind and surrender to life. Old basic things learned in personal development like self care also become critical. Studying the teachings that got you here and exploring more is now even more important. I don't practice magic, magic practices me. I am slowly learning that love and care for myself is also love and care for the greater whole.

If everything is God, God is always speaking to you.

I haven't read the new one yet but Joe Dominguez is the one who cowrote the original book with her. He had some pretty deep spiritual beliefs, so rare for someone who spoke about money so much. You can find some of his old lectures on youtube, they are wonderful.

Free will in an illusion. No free will is also an illusion.

I don't know why something so common in our culture is actually one of the most challenging things to pull off consciously. It kind of seems like a mean trick.

@now is forever OK, thanks.