Raphael

I currently feel overwhelmed. A lot of things are starting to happen in my life and I have difficulties handling them. I'm getting new opportunities, people are contacting me. I see the big picture, I know what to integrate, what to fix, what to do, and I'm starting to do all that. I know where I'm going. Some results are even starting to materialize. But I feel so overblown. Oh god, this is so difficult to handle. That's a lot of change simultaneously.

Hey there, I'm trying to improve my brain power. I recently started to eat a bit less, I notably reduced my quantity of rice and I noticed that it cleared my mind a lot. I also did some work to release past traumas and it reduced many of my negative thoughts. I would just like to know if you guys have advices to improve my mind and my ability to focus and have clear thoughts. I'm not only looking for healthy food but anything that has an impact on the mind: food, traumas, kind of physical activity, the external environment, etc. I personally currently eat mostly healthy, exercise a bit every day, and try to sleep well (when my mind isn't too crazy). By the way here is how I'm planning to eat for the next month: Breakfast: a smoothie consisting of half an avocado, blueberries, and a date. I will also add some oats 10:00 AM Break: a small mix of fruits (apple and oranges) with some almonds and cashew nuts Lunch: average portion of rice + Eggs or Fish + 2 vegetables + Kiwi 04:00 PM Break: : a small mix of fruits (apple and oranges) with some almonds and cashew nuts Dinner: a small portion of rice + Some Grains (peas, chickpeas, lentils) + 2 vegetables + black chocolate Cheers.

There's a lot of things to learn about ourselves on this forum by observing the people that we come across. They are our shadows, they are reflections of who we are and display: Qualities that we have or want Issues that we have and/or trying to fix Things that we reject and can't accept

Read a section deeply, then check it again, underline the essential things, add some comments if you need too, then put your notes in a note taking app.

@Etherial Cat Maybe not immediately because I'm thinking through things.

@LastThursday @soos_mite_ah I had similar thoughts ~2 months ago about taking responsibility vs. recognizing systemic issues. The conclusion that I came with is that there is no difference between blaming ourselves and blaming the environment: we are the environment, the environment is us, the environment creates us, we create our environment. Thinking that way remove the blame and we don't entirely feel like being the victim of the environment or the victim of ourselves (in a sense), but we recognize what is happening and what needs to be changed and therefore feel more peaceful. However, by doing this it's possible to fall into the trap of not making enough distinctions which create some blur. My conclusion was that there is nothing to blame, but making distinctions and balancing between an internal/external locus is necessary to solve issues.

My masculine/feminine balance is a bit weird: When I'm with a hypermasculine guy, I feel oppressed and don't want to do anything When I'm around women I become a bit too masculine and want to do too much shit

27 October 2021 Wake Up Time: 05:50 AM (objective 5:30 AM - 6:00 AM) In Bed Time: 10:05 PM (objective 09:30 PM - 10:00 PM) ✅ Stretching after waking up ❌ Cold shower after waking up ✅ 1 hour of meditation in the morning ❌ No distractions until 7 PM ✅ 1 hour of journaling or doing nothing before going to bed

06 September 2021 Wake Up Time: 08:37 AM (objective 6:30 AM - 7:00 AM) In Bed Time: 11:41 PM (objective 10:30 PM - 11:00 PM) ✅ Stretching after waking up ✅ Cold shower after waking up ✅ 30 minutes of meditation in the morning ✅ No distractions until 8 PM ✅ 1 hour 15 minutes of random journaling before going to bed

Like this:

Sigh...

Weak for shutting up.

Weak for having difficulties giving emotional support.

Weak for having difficulties processing my emotions and emotionally opening up.

I feel weak. Weak for not being able to make a decision, weak for not being able to assert myself, weak for being afraid, weak for being weak.

I currently feel conflicted. I'm not sure what to do nor what to think about. I thought about writing an answer on this forum, then shit happened and thought about creating a post in the Dating & Relationship subforum. I just don't know what to do. I feel exasperated, paralyzed. I cannot make a decision right now. I either want to write an answer, ask some questions or do nothing. I think that I'm just going to stay with myself and do nothing. I'm going to appreciate my own company.

Yeah, I experienced that too. I have been doing web development regularly for at least 5 years now and I'm a bit bored with it. I have difficulties finding my balance because one aspect of my personality is also very artistic and chaotic: sometimes I'm too much analytical, sometimes I'm too much artistic. I'm again blown away with how much I resonate with this. I fall into this trap of being too much independent and wanting to do everything by myself in the past and I threw myself into situations that were too difficult for me to handle only to prove myself to the world. It was caused mostly by bad conditioning and a few experiences where I found myself being the responsible person where others wouldn't care. Leo's views also had an influence on me and contributed to that years ago.

Self-Reflection so that someone's is aware what is going on and develop the wisdom to make appropriate decisions.

What I currently feel that I want the most is to build a few deep, authentic, and genuine relationships with people that I appreciate.

26 October 2021 Wake Up Time: 06:21 AM (objective 5:30 AM - 6:00 AM) In Bed Time: 10:10 PM (objective 09:30 PM - 10:00 PM) ✅ Stretching after waking up ✅ Cold shower after waking up ✅ 1 hour of meditation in the morning ❌ No distractions until 7 PM ✅ 1 hour of journaling or doing nothing before going to bed

I'm currently getting back into solidifying my core after being a bit lost most of this year, so I'm focusing on basic things: self-esteem, confidence, money, healing, relationships. What I want after having a solid foundation is to get a lot of knowledge and experience on how the world works and interconnects by studying many different fields like: politics, history, geography, ecology, ecosystems, psychology, philosophy, spirituality, etc. I want to help solve world problems and raise human development. I also currently resonate with your need of wanting to be more artistic. Maybe it's a phase, I'm not sure. I'm thinking through a lot of things.

I'm 24 and I'm currently blown away with how well I resonate with what you wrote here. Your thoughts are helping me to self-reflect. I'm currently taking actions to move out of the tech world and get into something more authentic.

I gave some hugs to my sister today. This is far better compared to how emotionally closed I was when I was 18.

Genetics + a shy nature Toxic masculinity: men should be tough, men shouldn't cry, men should take actions first without caring about emotions, etc. An oppressive, hyper-dominant, hyper-masculine dad who didn't let me room for proper self-expression A limited environment Unusual thoughts that aren't commonly accepted Awareness of people suffering while at the same time experiencing the impossibility to help them because they are suffering too much (but this might be a limiting belief) Difficult previous experiences at school and in work environments where I felt oppressed and couldn't healthily express myself Fear of judgments and criticisms because I have been highly criticized while growing up Traumas

Why is it so much difficult for us men to emotionally open up? And why is it so much difficult for me to open up and share my vulnerabilities?