OrangeOak

This was an amazing podcast on addiction, childhood trauma, society and spirituality. Russell Brand and Gabor Maté eloquently discuss child hood trauma and how it leads to selfish and addictive behavior later in life, and how these coping mechanisms are what cut us off us from our true, open and loving nature. They highlight with beautiful clarity and fluidity some of the key mechanics of collective ego, and how our world leaders, as well our prison population, are some of the most traumatized people in our society. Russell has many inspiring qualities, aside from his articulation and openness of mind expressed in this podcast. Gabor seems like a genuinely wise man, with incredible presence and conversational speed for someone his age! I love their ability to go on tangents, they don't care because they're both so in the flow of it, entirely present and connected. Russell is hilarious, of course: "I want god! Now! In my head!" And so is Gabor, in his own way. It was just a delight to watch and learn from their conversation. They shouldn't have been able to be so concise and cover so much within just an hour and a half! What do you think of Russell Brand? He is personally one of my favorites. And Gabor Maté? I would highly recommend Russell's Youtube channel if you're into social/societal stuff.

The Alchemist! By Paulo Coelho

You're right. If I get on the path, the universe will help me.

I just want to give a very brief overview of my recent life story up until this point, for the benefit of others who will undertake this journey, as well as quickly summarize my plan for the future. But please stick around until the end, because I could do with some advice on a few things. This is a public journal entry/me asking for advice. I am 21 years old. It has now been two years since I finished school. I have spent this time traveling around a lot, not really knowing what I was doing, but just trying to have fun and meet authentic people, to befriend them and have my mind and heart opened. I was just going where my intuition led me, and it's opened many doors for me, almost all of which are still mere open doors that I have yet to step through. I've dabbled in some of them, but I've come to realize that I need to be in one place if I am to make real progress, and not just drifting around anymore. There is a time for coasting, but now I'm ready to sail. So I've chosen my hometown, because that's where all my family are. Especially after 3 years in total away from home, (I spent my last year of high school abroad) I have a strong urge to reconnect and deepen my relationships with them, as the man I now am. The last 2 years have been very challenging at times, lots of uncertainty, loss of friends and old aspects of myself, a difficult romantic relationship which is now coming to an end, family struggles, addiction and mental illness. This is why I think it important that I am around family now for considerable length of time, so that I have a support structure, and so that I can work on my relationships with them, and resolve issues from the past that weigh on my mind often. I have cultivated very clear short and longterm plans now for the first time in my life, and I'd like to share them here. My first goal is to find a way that will pay the bills, that I enjoy somewhat. For this, I have decided to become a self employed landscape gardener. I love plants, being outside and in my body, hard, whole-body labour and creating outdoor spaces, so I know I'll enjoy it. Also, I'll be my own boss, which will be amazing. It will take a few months to achieve, but once I've got the ball rolling it will be a relatively stress free way to pay the bills while I focus on other things. A simultaneous goal to this is to find my own place to live, where I am only responsible for myself. Once I have these two things sorted, then I will have the freedom and facilities to delve deeply into things such as spirituality and my life purpose. Eventually, I want to buy a small patch of land where I can live if I want, and where I can grow my own food and plants for medicinal purposes , and that I can also use as a space to construct a mobile tiny home, which I will use for more traveling. I can also use the land as a place where I can go if I need to do an undisturbed solo retreat. I arrive back home in a month. I am confident in my plan, and my ability to execute it, but there are some things which I think could be hindrances to me being able to get the results I want. Firstly, I have been a moderate vaper and smoker for a total of 14 months on and off over the last 2 years, but I have now quit. My concern is that the high levels of nicotine, and all of the subsequent chemicals and heavy metals I may have exposed myself to from smoking and vaping, have thrown off my brain chemistry in some permanent way. This, along with a moderate amount of cannabis use. I have big plans for my health and fitness when I get settled into my routine: cold water exposure, running, yoga, meditation, Whole Foods etc. but I am unsure if my attempts to make progress will be sabotaged in some way by my past bad habits. So I suppose I want to know, is this a valid concern? Has anyone on here reached high levels of consciousness after quitting smoking or vaping? Do you think chelation is necessary? What else might help? Edit: Also, I sometimes notice that some of my vertebrae in my neck feel out of alignment when I run my hand along them. This probably from bad posture and just being tall. Could this make spiritual progress difficult? What kind of problems could arise from this that I might be unaware of? These are intuitive concerns I've had for a while, so I thought it would be wise to try and dress them before properly beginning my journey. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the advice, I guess having healthy practices is the best way forward. Yoga will address my spine as I enjoy all the other benefits it offers. I do intuit that getting your spine in good shape is one of the best things you can do for your health, as that's a major channel of chi/life force. I have plans to do various detoxing processes in the future anyways, which will surely be beneficial.