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3 options. 1 - Discuss the issues with your manager and/or other people at work. A professional work environment should not be a place where you feel physically threatened by other people. It's completely unacceptable. 2 - Leave the job and find a different one. 3 - If the previous two are not possible, do your best to completely ignore the bullying. People bully or threaten other people to get a response from them and to make themselves feel more powerfull/superior etc. If you don't respond in any way, and I mean any way at all, then they have no reason to continue. Easier said than done of course, but it works.

@Sukhpaal Personally i'd avoid doing mushrooms when there's a chance that you might be disturbed or seen by other people. You want to be able to forget about everything and just focus on the trip. I once tripped at home when my parents were out but they were coming back very late that evening. Just knowing that they might have come back early and found me tripping balls sent me into a spiral of paranoia and anxiety. I dread to think how it would have been if my parents had been in the house the whole time!! Up to you though of course. Maybe wait till you've got the house to yourself?

@username I read the article. Very interesting stuff. But i'm slightly confused. Is he saying that there is some sort of 'true' reality and that because of self-survival we just can't perceive it, or we only perceive part of? He says, "Evolution has shaped us with perceptions that allow us to survive. They guide adaptive behaviours. But part of that involves hiding from us the stuff we don’t need to know. And that’s pretty much all of reality, whatever reality might be." So what is all this stuff that we don't need to know? What is the "file itself or anything in the computer" in his desktop blue icon metaphor?

@Visionary I've also been diving into those videos over the past few days. I haven't watched them all though. I thought the discussion with Michael Shermer was interesting, but of course neither him or Graham were even remotely willing to be open to the others ideas and comments. I thought the heated arguments were surprising seeing as, despite the evidence, Graham's ideas are all still quite speculative. I mean, who really knows what happened? Very interesting stuff though. Did you hear that Graham had a massive stroke shortly after the JRE 961 with Michael Shermer? Apparently he had a barrage of hate in the comments section which he says had a big effect on him.

@SuperLuigi Depends very much on the quality of the meditation. Someone doing 15 minutes of really focused, clear and intentional meditation may grow more than someone who does an hour of sloppy meditation. It also depends on just how good you are at meditating. If you're not the strongest meditator, more time may be required. Some people do well on just an hour or even 30 minutes a day, other people require more (2-3+ hours). It varies from person to person so you have to kinda' figure it out for yourself.

@Pure Imagination I think Awakening is much more possible to achieve than you or other people actually believe. The reason the 'numbers' might seem so low is that most people on the spiritual path aren't trying hard enough, nor, as Leo said, do they want it bad enough. Most people that meditate in the West are not trying to wake up. So awakening or enlightenment gets talked about as some far off unattainable goal. But who says that's true?? If you've got a solid daily practise, and are attending retreats etc, you've got just as much chance.

@key I'd say four things are key to implementing a meditation habit: 1) Start now and commit to never miss a day. Easier said than done of course, but very important. Missing a day here and there isn't really going to affect your meditation in any way, but unless you're really committed to it skipping even once will then give you a reason to be able to skip another day and another day etc. So do it every day, even if its just 15 minutes. 2) Weave it into your daily routine. Routine is key! Like most people, i'm sure you have a fairly standard daily routine. So commit to doing your meditation at a particular time of the day, every day. Eventually it becomes part of your routine and there's a lot less resistance. I would generally advise to do it in the morning because you're more alert/fresh, there's less distractions and you're less likely to procrastinate etc. You can also motivate yourself more by saying "I can't or won't do X and Y until i've meditated this morning". So then you're more likely to just get it done. But do it whenever you want. 3) Interest and desire to become more conscious and aware. Cultivate a genuine interest in spirituality and discovering yourself. 4) Finally, as other people have commented, you've just got to do it. This is where the rubber meets the road. You've got to push through the resistance. No one's gonna do it for you.

@ThirdEyeSees You should go to one of Jan Esmann's Shaktipat retreats (http://lovebliss.eu/index.html). That'll really get your Kundalini going! Also, if you have a reeeally open-mind, seeing as your Kundalini is active, you should try his Shaktipat video Transmission. As crazy as it sounds, I have met people who said this works.

Thought i'd share this great little video clip of Shinzen. He sums up his 'note all' mindfulness technique, the process of self-inquiry, and how they compliment each other in such a concise and clear way. It's only a short video, but thought it was worth posting. Enjoy!

@Xonnas Do whatever works and feels right. There are no strict rules. You could stay on one object for the whole mediation if you wanted.

@Lauritz 2 weeks on your own in complete darkness and silence?! Sounds terrifying. I'm sure it'll be a very powerfull retreat though. Good luck!

@Serazer It's quite simple really. 'Evil' is just a concept that you have created. It's a thought, an idea. It's not inherent in the 'external' world in any way. Think about it, would there be any evil if no humans existed? Nothing is inherently evil, or good, or anything for that matter. 'Good' and 'evil' are just concepts created for your self-survival. But, this obviously doesn't mean that it's ok to just go and murder or rape someone. These 'rules' still apply of course, and always will. But from the bigger perspective, murder and rape have no value or meaning, they are neither bad nor good.

@caelanb If you're trying to recover from an eating disorder I wouldn't worry too much about sticking to a plant based diet. Your focus should just be to eat good quality whole foods (fruits, vegetables, nuts) and good quality, organic meats and fish. And of course cut out as much junk food as possible. However it's important to realise that plant-based diets are not a fad, and there's plenty of extremely fit and healthy people who eat plant-based (See Rich Roll on Youtube for example). I mean, plant-based diets have been shown to cure serious health issues and diseases! There's a lot of very interesting research.

@How to be wise As i'm sure you understand, true not knowing is rare and not easy to become conscious of. It simply just takes a lot of deep, very honest contemplation and inquiry. Not much else to it.

No there's always some mind wandering. But i'd say i'm concentrated around 85% of the time in a 30 minute sitting. Not really sure what I could be doing wrong. I guess i'll just keep working on it. Appreciate the advice.

Nice one! Usually 2 hours a day in four 30 minute blocks. Concentrating on the sensations of the breath at the nose. For the most part I count the breaths until concentration breaks. I would class access concentration as being fully absorbed with the breath and that next to no effort is required to hold concentration. Thoughts arise but don't have any effect on the concentration. I've had this state twice, but not recently. Any advice?

@onacloudynight @How to be wise Yes concentration meditation is the best way to access the Samatha jhanas. However i've been practising concentration exclusively for a few months now and have yet to reach access concentration. Maybe some people are naturally gifted at concentrating but I would certainly say it takes longer than a few weeks, unless you're on jhana retreat of course.

@Psyche_92 I'm the same age as you and also experienced quite a lot of bullying when I was in school. I don't feel like it has affected me as much as it seems to have done for you, but I may just be suppressing it somehow. Who knows what real affect it had. Anyway, I don't have a lot of advice but if I were to say anything it would be just to let the thoughts be. Don't try to get rid of them, don't try to force them out of your mind, don't resist at all as this will most likely just make it worse. Instead, try to be as mindful as possible, and just observe the thoughts objectively. See them as thoughts and not the content. Have a friendly attitude towards them and just be ok with the fact that they will arise without your conscious effort. Eventually, just by being ok with the 'negative' thoughts, they will subside and gradually disappear. The mind needs time to purge. It may feel chaotic, but in time they will go. But you must not resist, just let them come and go.

@AdamDiC DO IT!

@How to be wise As Leo said, just sit down and think for a moment about the fact that it is very likely that you don't know what you are. Think about the implications of that and just soak into it. Through deep questioning you develop a sense of doubt about your identification with the body and thoughts. It's likely that the deeper this doubt goes, the more curious you become about what you really are.

@How to be wise Try doing Leo's self-observation. Whilst i'm sure it is an effective technique, Neti-neti can be a little too rigid at times. Also try cutting your session down to 20 minutes. 20 minutes is easily doable. The key is to get the habit in place. So you've gotta do it for long enough that sitting down just becomes part of your normal daily routine. Also very doable.

@Costa7 I briefly researched it a while back. Potentially legitimate technique, although i'd say the risk of damaging your eyes is not worth the benefits (if any). I can't say for certain though. It could really be very beneficial, who knows. If you want real changes to the body and 'person', there any many other much more powerful techniques you could be doing that don't come with any potential risk.

@Shiva I'm pretty sure that's not how you're meant to go about it. Those are all just concepts and beliefs. Maybe a better approach would be... “...when you look at an object, you immediately know what it is. But beyond this information, what is it? What is it really, as itself, for itself, without having any use or meaning for you?”

@Dantas What kind of meditation practise have you been doing?

@Ilya Just read it. It's possibly the best book on Leo's list. And do all of the exercises!