Key Elements

Take any object. Let's use a piece of paper. What do you want to do with it? Do something with it. Turn it into something. Ask yourself, "how can this be marketable?"

We tend to remember the toxic environment we were in. When we are not in the toxic environment anymore, we still remember what happened. If you find yourself in your room working on something, try to find ways to let go of toxic thoughts. Ask yourself, how can I find ways to do more things that I love? How can I find ways to interact with others so that I attract the "right" ppl?

@Serotoninluv "The birds are my DJs." -Ralph Smart, Infinite Waters I agree with the quote. Even their mating songs sound better than pop stars or any singers in the world. I could listen to them all day. Listening to birds could be a technique to help in reducing stress or not being so attached to music or social media. Too bad it's copying a chainsaw.

@Serotoninluv yup.

"The way you overcome your ego is simply to realize that you're a channel or an instrument...you recognize that someone has given to you, and someone has given to that person...you've become an instrument for the greatest powers of the world." -Jay Shetty (This explains why we're one and interconnected in a practical sense.)

@StardewValley When you learn about a new insight, like Spiral Dynamics or whatever it is, it could even be entrepreneurship; the mind tends to think about it a lot. That's ok. Just keep developing yourself along with these new insights. That's all anyone can do. Btw, life purpose is the way to go to put all these things together. You could choose to write your thoughts in a journal and reread and organize them later.

@Pilgrim Good things in life such as a deep connection don't come easily. Even if you do meet a great friend, you got to respect his/her time and space and allow the person to work on himself/herself. It's called detachment. It's the same for you. Love yourself first and find the time to develop yourself. If you're talking about enlightenment or spirituality, the reality is, not even 1% of ppl in the world will understand what you're talking about. If the other person don't agree with you or understand you, you got to respect that. We're all on different paths at different levels. Find ways to express your deep insights; eg. express it in your life purpose so that those who are ready to hear it will hear it.

I mean to be "admired" like that, not necessarily "worshipped." Some monks/gurus/spiritual ppl are famous and ppl like them, but they're not "admired" or "worshipped." Ppl don't seem to be obsessed with them, which imo is a good thing. I guess there is a phase where you're really into someone, and later you're not. Some ppl go through this phase when they learned something profound from the "spiritual" person.

I agree. It is amazing. I'm not quite sure if Leo wants to be known this way, you know? Would you like to go down in history this way? j/k This makes me wonder if the way I'm approaching my LP is ok if it's going to include spirituality.

Yes, you're right. You are young and have a long way ahead. My recommendation is just focus on the now and also on your interests and develop these into a career/life purpose eventually. Take Maslow's diagram into consideration. It's a great guide. I find it accurate. Whatever you hear that's wonderful, take that into consideration, but try not to be obsessed with it. Of course, let go of the negatives too.

@bejapuskas You're young. Go for it. Why not? I've always been discouraged by someone in learning another language and listened. That was to my disadvantage. I knew someone who was working in Hyderabad, India, and he was from the US. He wanted to do a business (startup) and wanted to invest $ in it but couldn't afford to. He learned the local language, Telugu, in 6 months by reading, practicing, and speaking to others. What he did as a side job was charge tourists 2000-3000 rs per day to take them around the city in an auto (mini cab), teach them basic Telugu, and find an apartment if they are to stay there. I was impressed. He's bold and talented. You don't have to learn a language in 6 months. It's your choice, but knowing another language is to your advantage.

Sure you can learn Hindi. It's declared the official language of India. 50-80 % of ppl in major cities speak it, along with their native local language. It's marketable. If you learn it fully, you could use it as a career or a skill. Hindi came from Sanskrit, a very beautiful original language, not really in use anymore. You can use these languages in your life purpose, if you choose to do it that way. Of course, you could also better understand the wisdom coming from India. The meaning does change when it's translated into English by someone else. If you truly want to know the original profound meaning, go for it! The sky is the limit. It's your choice.

I doubt that a person has to fit this profile to become fully enlightened in life.

Here's the thing about talking about other ppl's spiritual paths. We actually don't know what the other person went through. I'm not sure why we're always talking about thoughts, but to be a human being in its ego is to have thoughts. That's life. The only thing is, are you able to let go of your thoughts, esp negative ones, and move on? Yes, in the absolute sense, all thoughts are illusion.

The thing I noticed is, it's very hard to tell where someone is at on their spiritual path, whether or not they're enlightened. Does it really matter to you? Why would it? It's a very personal journey. It probably takes a fully enlightened, articulate Zen Master who understands and is not biased at all to give you good insights into where you're at, if you tell him or her the full details. It probably takes time to earn the trust of someone like that because why would he/she want to unnecessary go into debate or over questioning with you? That doesn't help in the learning process and path.

This one? It's in that video.

Very good question...and a very hard one to answer. So far, I would like to know what I don't know. How can there be an answer to this if I don't know what it is, right? I came here because Leo presented spiritual enlightenment and nothingness in an excellent way, which led me to looking at Shinzen Young's clips. I think I would like to read a book on, "Top 10 Unknown/Profound Things to Humankind." Well, these type of spiritual books are already written. But, the question is, how can I apply it to my own life? An answer to this question is going through a process of self-discovery. While we are living in our egos (body/embodiment), we are here to learn stuff and make life better. Yes, for the better is the goal because by nature no one wants to suffer or see others suffer.

Very nice saying. There's no point in starting a disagreement or debate. It's best to find ways to show by example.

How is your journey so far? Were you able to find that kind of love from the nothingness delivered to you from you by you via singularity? Were you able to apply it in this life in some way? Yes, if you are totally satisfied, that is fine. That's what it is. We all have different paths. It's not anyone's job to coerce someone else to walk their spiritual path. If something doesn't make sense to you, forget it. Maybe it's not your time to understand whatever the other person said. It's not meant to be. Each info presented in the world is only meant to be a pointer. Shinzen Young said it beautifully. He's very articulate.

You know what, if her situation is that bad, she has to find a way to move out of it, even if it means it will break her heart. Being heartbroken is only temporary. I noticed that it's not so easy to change mindsets in order to solve a problem. Not just relationship problems but with any type of problems in our lives.

@emind You still have to care about what others think even if you live in a monestary because you still live with others and under monastic rules. You can't just meditate whenever you feel like it. They have a strict schedule. Even if you live with nature all by yourself, you're under nature's survival rules.

If you actually become the absolute, and it's over, and you're back into your ego (body/embodiment), and then, you're obsessed with it. Sure, it becomes a paradigm. (The absolute itself is not.) You'll be back to chopping wood and carrying water, whether you like it or not. However, are you able to apply that wisdom in your life in some way: that we are all one? If so, then it gets different.

@zoey101 I love painting. Do you paint? This is one way that I convert challenges into opportunities. I love visiting the local Michael's store--all those paint brushes and canvas boards and materials in between that could go along with your masterpiece. Yes, it could be part of a life purpose as well as the enjoyment of visiting the store for window shopping and actually buying. How would this look if it's painted on canvas instead of it being a photograph?