fopylo

@Reciprocality I've read what you wrote a few times. Very brilliant. So basically the reason they are more mindful is because they literally have less thinking going on because they feel this sense of security in their mind, because they've already set in stone a constructed identity by how people perceive them? And on the other hand, I am aware of that, not set in stone but rather contemplating and having many questions that most people don't ask themselves - and because of that I have more thinking going on and that's why it's harder for me to be more mindful? While that might be true, could it be said that in the long term I'll catch up to the level of mindfulness I see regular people have, and beyond that, and still be the contemplative person? Leo seems to be fitting there

@SamC Lol, well said. To do what makes me feel good is a good way to see it. The thing is that even though I might approach meditation with fear (which doesn't happen that much), I then enjoy it in the moment and it feels good and I forget about the fear. I guess you're trying to say not to be attached to meditation as a way for me to escape, which is an escape in itself. However, I'm trying to build the habit, you see. And also I'm meditating not usually because I'm feeling a strong sense of fear in the moment, but because I know that if I take a lot of action of meditation then it will help me in the future deal with fear better, which is in itself a very light form of fear. But I mean, I need some kind of drive for the moment. I've been proven how powerful this method is for helping me deal with fear, and now, part of the reason why I do it is because I like it. But yeah, most of the times after finishing a mindfulness session I tend to expect for the results and to see how my life is changing and how I'm more mindful, but this is actually becoming self conscious and neurotic, the opposite of mindfulness lmao. So after I finished my mindfulness session today I just got up, got on my bike, and started riding back home as if nothing happened and was thinking about my schoolwork and about my finances.

@SamC Oh damn.. You actually have a point there now that I'm looking closer... It is true that I might do it to avoid fear... But at the same time, isn't it supposed to help dissolve the fear? In many of Leo's videos he talks about how raising your consciousness can literally cure you of all your suffering. More like - if I don't do this I won't be able to love myself and to feel whole within myself, which is a foundational position to be in if I want to truly create success. At the beginning I used to pursue awareness in order to solely peel off the fear and mental blockages. It is still true to some extent but there is also some part in me that got inspires from it because it just feels fricking good and I want to see how far it can take me. But yeah, I need to start somewhere even if it means avoiding fear, don't I? Basically you're saying I was doing ok as I was doing? lmao

@SamC It's bad to be fucked because I suffer from it. Raising my awareness helps me dissolve my neurosis - which then helps me to pursue practical success not out of a place of neurosis. I think this is what I was trying to get to with my words. I know that practical success won't cure my neurosis, and in fact, it will be hard for me to pursue success when I have all this neurosis going on

@SamC I mean, I am practicing self acceptance in order to unfuck myself. I do have a desire to raise my awareness.

@Nahm Please. I don't know what you mean by trolling but I can tell you I certainly didn't come here to troll. A usage of a different word other than "trolling" will better clarify what you mean.

@Michal__ hmm.. don't know if I'd necessarily go with the concentration and affirmation practices, but I'll try at the time that I'm not doing awareness practice to focus on material stuff. I just don't have exactly a road map and don't know myself too well

@Nahm What do you mean?

@Leo Gura But you yourself said that building the foundation is key, and from which I can master the basic skills. For example in your videos "How to deal with loneliness" and "How to accept yourself" you talk about how being mindful and basking in your own Being can really help you with your self help. My strategy is to practice mindfulness and self acceptance to the point where I can move, use my sense without so much resistance, and think clearly like a normal fricking human being. I want to build some flow and love within me so that I can function properly to pursue some general self help (not so much as to pursue enlightenment, but just a little bit so that I can function and move with more ease). Some people here are talking about Maslow's hierarchy and that pursuing the lower needs will give me the momentum and energy to that will help me a lot to pursue self actualization. However, I feel like even at the lower tiers you need to incorporate some spirituality, such as self acceptance and mindfulness like I mentioned before. So once I get this down my plan is to move to start investing in mutual funds through the bank (this is my beginning journey of investing, and while it won't permanently make me financially independent, it could be a start and I won't need to be concerned about it since I live in my parent's house for now). Once I get a job that makes me stable then I can start investing more into stocks, but there's still time for it. So in the time being I'll put my effort in the tier of love and belonging (friendship, family, intimate relationships and dating), while at the same time practicing self acceptance and mindfulness. I would like to know what you think about this short term strategy

@mandyjw I have seen the video on Maslow's Pyramid and really looked into all the comments and read more about it to get a bigger picture of this model. Although I still live in my parents house I would like to take care of my finances so I value this. Once I start investing a bit in mutual funds through the bank, then I have all the tier of love and belonging - which is the reason I practice self acceptace and mindfulness to build the foundation for it

But the more loving you are, you must have more awareness, no? I wasn't talking about my friends (in fact, I don't know if I really have friends) but in people in general, from my same age group.

@SamC You cracked me lmao. But from what I understand, our truest desires have to do with spirituality (feeling the magic of existence, being totally mindful,... Leo has a video on that). I am not saying I'm going to neglect it. I would like to think about it as though I am trying to build a foundation of self acceptance and mindfulness (just the amount that I need in order to function normally), and then it can propel me to take better action. I am kind of dismissing them, because I have the idea about them that they won't have the impact that I'm looking for on my life.

@Snader Thanks! I really needed to hear that part. As a continuation to the concern I raised, comes the fact that it is much harder for me to socialize since I see them all as "lower/less conscious" or something like that. I feel a bit disgusted and don't want to surround myself with those people. You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, and so I don't want to be influenced back into unconsciousness. This is part of the reason why I feel like a victim when it comes to relationships (I've watched recently Leo's video about how to stop being a victim)

@Bando I get what you're saying, but it's just that after watching some of Leo's videos and taking action on my part and assessing, I've realized that all I ultimately want in life will come from within me and I just need to work on myself, and that the happiness and fulfillment will come through raising my consciousness. I understand that money won't make me happy and so with dating. Do you mean it in the sense that those can help me stay stable in for the ultimate goal of pursuing awareness? I am relatively young, you might say, but I still feel that practicing self acceptance and mindfulness meditation really helps me feel more integrated and in touch with reality, which is such a great feeling. This is one of the only times I've truly understood what growth really means, and that I haven't really grown until then.

@Leo Gura Thanks for the reply Leo! It seems however that you're saying that they are living more happily and with flow and love because of their ignorance (if I understood correctly), while I am more stuck and have resistance because I am contemplating more (?) But it kind of goes against what you say, because if they are not so conscious then how are they living with more flow? Isn't it the case that the more conscious you are, the more loving and at flow you are? You also mentioned that they have practiced mindfulness, but it's hard for me to believe they've been meditating. I guess what you're trying to say is that I'm at a "learning curve" and I'm experiencing now kinda shit life but it will get better exponentially. In any case, as an update, I am starting to feel less in the territory of social anxiety and I feel I'm starting to move somewhere in the middle from shy to socially anxious. Which is great! It is totally amazing and I couldn't believe it! It might sound funny but it just proved to me that this a path that will lead to greatness! It really does feel different in a way hard to explain. Maybe, as a child could be a good explanation? Anyways your videos help a shit ton

@SamC Thanks man. But I didn't quite understand why should I put my focus on the material stuff. Like, I get it's nice, but why should I focus on it first and more than meditation. Isn't meditation the best thing to do since it builds the foundation?

@Michal__ Reading this felt a bit uncomfortable since it goes against what Leo talks about. I guess it could be nice to have those skills but I need to first build my foundation. This is why I've became interested in raising my consciousness. I've tried starting a business but quickly realized I have many mental blocks and it was too painful for me (such as having the pressure for choosing a niche and not knowing what to go with, doubting if this is even something I want to pursue...), and so I decided that I need to build a strong inner foundation. How? What does this even mean? Oh man, you have no idea. I've tried using affirmations for like a month (quite a while ago). It felt good for like a week at most. I've took it seriously and put emotion and imagination into it. Overtime it just became very overwhelming (because of the effort I put into repeating it with emotion) and I just had to let it go. I didn't see any improvements from it at the time being. But, I might be open to it again sometime

@Username I mean, they don't seem to having such a bad time. This wouldn't be the case since many groups of friends meet quite often and they don't seem to come to it from a neurotic approach. But since it seems they can interact with the outside world with more flow and love, I can imagine that they must be more mindful with less resistance. What do you mean by this?

@Seraphim How did the teacher help remove those fears?

@EddieEddie1995 Lol, could you explain more about how I am the music which I'm listening to? This is not exactly my type of music though

@Nahm You left me really confused

So I've been holding it for quite a long time already, thinking when is the right time to finally address this issue with myself and others. So for the past 2 years or so I've started my self improvement journey, and as we all know, as we keep growing we start seeing how many of the people are just f*cking (excuse my language) with their lives and falling through a downhill spiral and suffering. I've came across Leo's YouTube channel about 7 months ago, but only started really taking his content seriously like 3 months ago. So I've been learning and taking action here and there, and as I was continuing this journey it just pained me to see how my father and mother are really suffering with their lives. I've been seeing negative patterns all over their lives now that I understand human psychology better. They are filled with lots of fear, but I know they would never admit it to themselves. My parents tend to watch a lot of tv at night or when they don't have what to do, but don't realize it's an escape. Also, they tend to criticize a lot, gossip, and just say stupid claims which make no sense. They think they know it all already, how life works and how it needs to be. I have realized already that a lot of my social anxiety (that is starting to disappear) came from their bad social conditioning they gave me, all the criticism, the fact they ignore me, and are just wandering around clueless with all their shit they filled themselves up from society. It's really hard to say it, but there is some part in me that feels very sad for them and sometimes I can't take it anymore. I'm seeing how Leo's videos are changing my life, and just.. if just my parents could experience the same change and growth and not have to carry this suffering for the rest of their lives as well. My father turned 50 not long ago and my mother isn't far away. I know it will be very challenging for them to start this journey, but it's just hard seeing sometimes how they come back from work with a desperate expression, suppressing emotions. I still really don't like talking to them and try to block them from my life in many ways, trying to avoid conversations with them since I always feel that they hurt my growth without them even recognizing. I feel that this conflict can really slow my process. I just wish my parents could have started this process earlier... Now they'll never even open themselves to a "silly thing" such as meditation and self improvement because of their beliefs around them. By the way the conflict has been already for more than a year already and I never talked with my parents about self improvement, forbid self actualization (I fear they will have the power to put me down since I'm sensitive to their criticism). Bottom line is, what do I do? How can I help them improve their life? And how can I avoid being sunken by their low consciousness? I would prefer doing it with minimum contact with them.

@Nahm Yeah, when I'm stepping outside for a moment in order to recognize others are suffering which have nothing to do with my thoughts. I could even be happy and not even think about what they are facing, but they are still leading miserable lives

@Nahm So basically to try to sense my breath and then not sense it?

@Nahm I think I kinda lost you... Are you making an similarity between me and my parents, by how we both didn't change our suffering? If that's so then I guess you mean that I need to accept it. But I didn't understand the "and you witnessed an example of someone who was... and now you are"