kamwalker

Casual drinking is so accepted now that a lot of people aren’t even aware of what’s driving them to drink in this way in the first place. I have friends who want to drink everyday and will get completely trashed on the weekends. The need to do that goes away when you are content with your life. The alcohol is simply being used to mask anxieties and problems in your life. I have yet to meet a healthy, balanced person who drinks every day. Even one glass of wine EVERYDAY is a problem in my eyes. You have to confront what is bothering you on a deeper level, not ignore it.

Absolutely! It's a very rewarding pursuit that makes me feel fucking incredible at the end of a case that I nailed. Meditation has helped me immensely actually as presence is critical any time you're cutting on someone. No time for anything else in that moment. With that said it is obviously very stressful too.

I am a newly practicing surgeon. I started exploring spirituality and consciousness more over the last few years after gaining interest through various experiences in the years prior to that. As I have gone deeper into it and exploring this different path it inevitably got me to start questioning whether this type of pursuit would mesh well with the medicine lifestyle and whether the time I spent to get to this point was worth it as the sheer amount of hours you must dedicate to it strips away much of the time you can allocate to other endeavors. It has caused a fair amount of confusion within me and I have had to continually question it all and if it is possible to truly let go and awaken while still having to deal with healthcare bureaucracy and the stress of cutting someone open. Wondering if anyone here can relate to this on some level or has any insight.

I think so too. Something in me keeps telling me to go deeper into it despite the apprehension I feel about how it will conflict with my current job. Agreed! Despite the dilemma I don't regret going down this path. 1) I have definitely recognized how toxic the medicine system can be, particularly in residency where abuse is simply brushed off. You're correct about my ego having difficulty with the idea of dropping it all together because of the time and effort investment while not having an alternative course at the time. I don't think I'm ready to detach quite yet especially since I am newly minted, but it's something to consider. 2) Thanks for the reference, I absolutely will check out his stuff as I have had a very hard time finding colleagues who aren't caught up in the rat race. It is nice to know there's at least one other person out there who somehow made it work. I think that's more manageable for the time being. I will never blow off the spiritual pursuit now that I'm on it, but enlightenment just might not be in the books for now. That's a great way of putting it. Most of us have something going on that will seem to always get in the way of the journey, so waiting for the "perfect" time may not ever happen. The best we can do is stay present with whatever it is we're doing at the time even if the objective life situation doesn't seem ideal.

I bought a PS4 a few years ago. For the most part I don't touch it, but there have been a few games that did a very good job of pulling me in (The Last of Us series, God of War). I find there is just way too many other things I'd rather spend my time on that are more fulfilling than video games. I don't think doing only one thing could give me the type of life I'd enjoy.

Being present enough to appreciate the fuck out of nearly everything I encounter that day to the point I’m giddy. This usually happens when I get sufficient alone time with fewer distractions

Agreed. Some of my best psychedelic trips came about when I completely let go of expecting any sort of experience and resulted in feeling bliss and euphoria on levels that were so incredibly powerful in my body that it almost felt unfair. I like reading and watching videos about all of this stuff, but sometimes I find myself digging too much or even just trying to digest too much at a time and is no longer enjoyable. I get back to the basics once I notice that happening.

How did it really change your life though?

But why does this matter? Who cares if we are just consciousness imagining sleep, eating, fucking? Being conscious of the illusion does not feel impactful to the present moment to me.