UnbornTao

Clarify what you want out of life - create a deliberate purpose for encompassing certain activities aligned to it Commit to it Develop a vision of the necessary steps required to accomplish the results you want. Create an image of what you want in your physical environment, relationships, career, depending on the purpose

Sounds like you might be operating from the assumption that purpose is found, and this may be what is causing your suffering in the first place. A way to solve this dilemma is to question what purpose is. Is purpose found in objective reality in the same way that you find a grey stone or a tree in the forest? Where is purpose found? Purpose is the reason why an action or course of action is undertaken. Make it up! Why am I doing the dishes? Simply, to get them clean, or to practice mindfulness, say. Purpose is generated by you, not by external factors! This is a reason to be hopeful. It also means that you must take responsibility and face the openness necessary to create purpose for yourself out of nothing. Expecting purpose to "arrive" by itself at some point is based on flawed presumptions. Now, people think that, since purpose is something that they make up, that it therefore isn't the "real deal". This is mistaken. Either they're creating superficially, merely in an intellectual fashion, or they're still missing the nature of purpose. Here we're looking to generate purpose intentionally, whereas before it had been done unconsciously. In short, clarify what you want and construct a conscious purpose for your life. Ask yourself: Am I willing to commit to whatever purpose I set up for myself? What do I want to master and devote my life to? To me, What is worthwhile doing?

nice.

Enjoyed reading Fragments by Heraclitus.

"When Dr. Michael Greger, founder of NutritionFacts.org, dove into the top peer-reviewed anti-aging medical research, he realized that diet could regulate every one of the most promising strategies for combating the effects of aging. We don’t need Big Pharma to keep us feeling young―we already have the tools. In How Not to Age, the internationally renowned physician and nutritionist breaks down the science of aging and chronic illness and explains how to help avoid the diseases most commonly encountered in our journeys through life. Physicians have long treated aging as a malady, but getting older does not have to mean getting sicker. There are eleven pathways for aging in our bodies’ cells and we can disrupt each of them. Processes like autophagy, the upcycling of unusable junk, can be boosted with spermidine, a compound found in tempeh, mushrooms, and wheat germ. Senescent “zombie” cells that spew inflammation and are linked to many age-related diseases may be cleared in part with quercetin-rich foods like onions, apples, and kale. And we can combat effects of aging without breaking the bank. Why spend a small fortune on vitamin C and nicotinamide facial serums when you can make your own for up to 2,000 times cheaper? Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of centenarians and residents of “blue zone” regions where people live the longest, Dr. Greger presents simple, accessible, and evidence-based methods to preserve the body functions that keep you feeling youthful, both physically and mentally. Brimming with expertise and actionable takeaways, How Not to Age lays out practical strategies for achieving ultimate longevity." --- Let's make our conclusions after we've read the book. What specifically makes you say that? Have you actually looked into his work? He might be partial to plant-based, whole foods diet, however that doesn't invalidate the research backing up such lifestyle choice. To me he also tries to present accurate info and studies about what he's claiming. In any case I find his work very useful and inspiring. I find nutrition to be a fascinating research subject.

@Sidra khan the book is releasing on December 5th.

Nothing external will do it. You need to get to know yourself as a character and personality. What makes you tick? Find that out and get clear on that. Explore and experiment. After trying out stuff, stick with what you like. Purpose isn't found but created. Start the process of discovering/ creating your life purpose by doing research. About the issue of motivation: you can act without feeling motivated. No need for that. Start by adopting empowering attitudes and dispositions instead of waiting around for inspiration to strike. Consider that everyone takes a shower, goes to work, etc. everyday regardless of how they feel. It's about doing it, not about being motivated or not. Again, this is something you must do, no one else will do it for you.

James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Change your disposition. If you approach skill-building as a learning process, as something you like to do, it becomes easier to do. You're focusing on the result instead of on the whole process.

Okay. In any case I'd be very careful about making claims of being X% enlightened. It's likely that you're fooling yourself, even after genuine enlightenment experiences it can be possible. Keep up the good work.

I know the theory. People confuse fluency in a "spiritual" language with having had the experienced that led to the creation of the words in the first place. You could have become conscious of something but it's also clear there's a lot of fantastical thinking in your reply. You're coming from belief systems and are confusing intellectual understanding with direct consciousness. There is "work" as in sustained contemplation as "enlightenment" is unlikely to fall on your ass without your conscious intention and questioning. Awareness is a function of mind whereas consciousness is prior to and the basis of, both. It might be the simplest thing and yet we're ignorant of it. So let's open up, be honest and keep contemplating.

It's enough to become conscious, as that is called an enlightenment. From what I've heard, they can vary in "degrees", but a shallow enlightenment is still an enlightenment. Usually one becomes conscious partially, and not completely, say, about who you are. This doesn't mean you're conscious of the nature of now, space, what you are, existence, and "other absolutes". This may be paradoxical. In other words, realizing who and what you are means you're clear on what those are but confusion and ignorance can still be present since there's more stuff to become conscious of -- now, space, etc., which are also "absolute". It's entertaining to speculate and have these debates, but we're talking out of our ass. Until we ourselves grasp everything, there's more work to do.

Nah, virtually nobody is okay with it. Ramana Maharshi was, though. Not minding death is extremely rare and would require being deeply conscious of what you are.

sorry for the late reply, I was joking.

Contemplate. Ask questions. Wonder about it.

Becoming deeply conscious of an absolute aspect of existence, such as you, Now, and space.

Can't transcend what you're not conscious of. Start with that.

Moneyyy!

You seem to hold yourself as the effect of your drive and so unable to be held accountable for it. You think that it overpowers you, and that you have no control nor responsibility in the matter. This isn't true. Consider that adult humans are by nature sex-craving apes. And yet individuals in our culture mostly control their drive, either by masturbating, engaging in healthy sex, exercising, channeling their attention and energy on a life purpose, being entertained, etc. And again, be more honest and rigorous with yourself: do you really love women, or do you love the fact that they can potentially provide you with sex? I don't think you're afraid of being overwhelmed by love. Just stop overthinking and relax. I think that when someone is horny and needy, he should get his needs met in a healthy, conscious way. Watch Leo's episode called Burning Through Your Karma. That may help.

You sound neurotic. Calm down, no need to beat oneself up. I think it's useful to start with self-honesty. What are you really saying? It sounds to me like you're simply expressing a desire for sex, and you think that that is a bad thing, and are perhaps afraid of the consequences of letting that drive loose and unchecked. Get at the root of the assumption and recognize it as what it is -- a belief. If it's a disempowering idea, you can drop it -- that is, you stop operating from the assumption, you're free from it, you stop thinking that it's "true."

How is your fixation on the outcome making you blind to the process that precedes it--as if the outcome were anything other than the unfolding of the process? Everything occurs as a process. Our attention, though, tends to be placed on the immediate circumstance and on the desired outcome. This approach is quite limited and ineffective in the end. Rather, focus on the process as a whole. What is it composed of and what is it trying to accomplish? Seeing the result as another component of the process is more functional than thinking of it as an element that is separate or isolated from the process. For example, we think of things as if they were fixed - a punch, a pass, a fight, an emotion, a relationship. Yet these are not objects but activities. A "punch" doesn't exist except as a notion and label. In your experience, you don't find a "punch" but an arm moving a certain direction, with certain strength, coming from another body. And we call that whole event a punch.

@Carl-Richard I'm talking about looking into how addiction comes to exist in the first place. Addiction refers to an action you take. If you want to stop smoking, say, stop the action -- taking out a cigarette, putting it in your mouth, lighting it. You don't have to smoke. Now, don't conflate the action with the motivation to act. Stop it, and suffer the consequences. After this, the impulse to act is going to intensify and yet you still refrain from indulging it, until eventually the motivation subsides. This may take some screaming, crying, and other withdrawal symptoms depending on the habit. For example, I was addicted to coffee and wanted to quit for a few days. I was tempted to make up all kinds of excuses and stories as to why I should keep doing the habit, but after some struggle I carried on nevertheless. Refraining from the motivating behavior and going through a few withdrawal symptoms were what it took to overcome it. No stories needed. The motivation was there and yet I didn't act on it. This is the secret of secrets to overcome addiction: stop it.

ideal: conceived as perfect; existing only in idea It seems to me that this domain of ideals can be relatively easy to recognize. Realize what you're doing --idealizing--, then drop it. You can get rid of fantasies without the need for a long and excruciating process. This would save unnecessary suffering down the line. In this context, pride is unnecessary -- as well as ideals. That doesn't mean lacking life goals, being irresponsible and complacent, etc.; it just means being free of the conceptual activity that is fantasizing. I imagine that doing this would allow for increased effectiveness as you'd be operating from a grounded standpoint, not fantasy.

First of all, clarify your purpose. Why are you undertaking that particular endeavor? What do you want to get out of it? Based on that, you can generate objectives and devise a strategy to accomplish them. Of course, without a field or activity to ground the strategy on, not much advise can be given since an strategy is dependent on a particular field. Without some context, strategy can't be applied. Your purpose may be "achieving a strong, agile body by mastering a sport I'm passionate about." Your field or activity could be soccer. An objective may be winning the league's title with your team. An strategy would require devising a plan according to the objective. Say the objective requires winning 75% percent of the matches your team plays. An individual strategy could be: training for longer periods practicing moves and tactics you're not very skillful at improving your technique learning to be confident with the ball shooting ten penalties each training session improving your diet and sleep Then, you (and your team) will have different specific goals on any given day, like winning a match. Another set of strategies would be required here. Maybe playing with a defensive formation for the last minutes of the game, as your team may be winning by two goals, etc. This would be the coach's job, though. Rather simplistic but hopefully it's a bit clearer.