Loreena

I just gave a hypothetical example in the context of my post. I don't know what a pastor will do or not do. How can every pastor be same lol. I said it and I am saying again that he is dissatisfied with his life. But it has got nothing to do with his work and objective. I am saying and discussing objectives from a practical perspective. Nothing to do with enlightenment here. Everything in life is not about enlightenment. There are a lot of other things. And he could have very well done all wrong things inspite of having enjoyed every moment. This site is not just about meditation alone but also about personal development. So some people may just not be interested in knowing how meditators live. For some folks meditation may not work. That doesn't mean they cannot live healthier lives. There is no one size fits all solution to everything. There are meditators who live in harsh conditions and yet remain healthy but there are meditators who have health problems as well. I am not denying meditation has health benefits here, just trying to imply that meditation is not the only thing in the world that provides solutions to all health problems. People have to try other things as well. Anyway we could go on and on with this.

@Captain Flint I actually did mean abstract life objectives. Mastery in your field is a really good one. Thank you for your input

He is already dissatisfied with his life. But he has an objective in mind that he works towards nevertheless. I respect your insight but you are viewing it from a completely different paradigm. It's sort of philosophical but I'm saying from a very practical point of view - person needs to work towards improving his health especially if he is having specific health issues. It's not like an obese man will sit on the couch all day long just enjoying the present moment but not actually doing anything to address his weight problem. If a person has a goal to improve his health, he is being very responsible in his approach to life. If he is already healthy enough, he may not need to do anything specifically for his health. He is completely normal in setting essential goals. It's not that he is dissatisfied but he needs to bring positive change or improvement in himself and around himself. This is real practical ground work, not just simply sitting and looking at the world and oneself and not doing anything to bring real change. Are you invalidating the hard work that people put in everyday to improve their lives and the lives of others by mocking them and calling them neurotic. How can taking good care of oneself be neurotic,lol. Your whole approach is very misleading.

Yooohooo. You see sometimes it's not just answers, but even questions that help. I am glaaaaaad it helped u buddy

@Prabhaker some people may not have happiness as their sole objective. However happiness could be one of their life objectives that they might be looking forward to. For example let s say a pastor's objective in life could be to spread faith, hope and God's word in this world. He may be deeply unhappy with his life or deeply dissatisfied yet he may be actively working towards the attainment of his ultimate objective(s), not for his own fulfillment but out of a sense of obligation/duty. However people can have an objective like happiness or a list of things(not like goals such as losing weight, learning guitar etc) ,something that will eventually set the direction of their whole life(all aspects included). another example can be : a person may only wish to focus entirely on health. So his sole objective can be - full focus on health. Now that can be neatly broken down into a set of goals like fitness, diet, losing weight, nutrition, disease management etc. But the ultimate objective is/was good health.

@Nahm how do you define happiness right now ?

On the basis of the above incident, it can be safely assumed that the team sent to Mars in 1972 consumed soup accidentally laced with LSD.

I don't see the contradiction here. What's the contradiction here. Both are essential. I say 3 things are important. Knowledge, wisdom and experience. Knowledge without wisdom is like a ship without a compass Wisdom without knowledge is like a surgeon without tools. knowledge or wisdom without experience is like a beautiful palace made of glass!

Wow fantastic. Thanks for sharing. If I am feeling something, I will put a circle on the relevant emotion square on the chart. That will help.

Wow this is the best topic . Upvote for this one.

What is this 'Dark night of the Soul'? How does one feel while going through it ?

@Markus Yeah, good for Waking Up!

And not just eyes, I find that whenever I am stressed out or scared/tensed, I get less sleep and the dreams are scary, scattered and blurred like mysterious and creepy and I wake up in sweat. So having a positive state of mind before going to bed helps.

Mine - if yesterday was a bad day then today would be same. If someone gets angry and blames me it is somehow my fault. @gj28210 You're welcome sir

@AlldayLoop @Anna1 @I_Like_Thing Unbelievable isn't it! Why not. You can get enlightened without the use of psychedelics. You can stay away from it if you like. You can always create your own path.

I @Visionary I like your point.it makes sense. Whatever we experience in this moment is through the realm of thought and experience. How else can we know anything. We may try hard but we may not be able to lose the true nature of our selves. I mean I understand there has to be something going on at the back of our minds. Whatever realizations we have they are ultimately the product our thought process and experience. It's all experiential. If there is absolutely nothing behind the scenes, even existence becomes purposeless. I get the idea that there can be nothingness. But we don't live in that paradigm. Then how can it apply to us. We live in the consciousness that makes us who we are. To be aligned to an alternative consciousness will be like committing a blunder. How can we blind ourselves from that which is real and essential. So in my opinion there is something going on behind the scenes and in fleeting moments we get to experience some tidbits of that consciousness that we are rarely aware of.

listening skills (good for marriage situations) The Disarming Technique: Seek and find some truth in what the other person is saying, even if it seems totally unreasonable or unfair to you. 2. Empathy: Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and try to see the world through his/her eyes. a. Feeling empathy – Acknowledge how he/she is probably feeling. For example, (husband speaking), "So then the clerk told me to go to the end of the line and that was about all I could take." (wife speaking) "It sounds like that must have made you really angry." b. Thought empathy – Paraphrase the other person’s words. For example, (wife speaking), "I have fourteen things to do that all have to get done by noon today, so I would love to have some help with some of this!" (husband speaking) "You have a lot of things to do today, and you could use my help right now. Is that right?" 3. Inquiry: Ask gentle, probing questions to learn more about what the other person is thinking and feeling. self-expression skills 4. "I Feel" Statements: Use "I feel" statements, such as "I feel upset," rather that "you" statements, such as "You’re wrong!", or "You’re making me furious!" 5. Stroking: Find something genuinely positive to say to the other person, even in the heat of battle. Doing so conveys an attitude of respect, even though you may feel very angry with the other person at the moment.

@Prabhaker @see_on_see @Nahm @Bodhi123 Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions, tips,perspectives, ideas and input. Appreciate it.

? ? ? Physical energy is the fundamental source of fuel in life. ? ? ? 1. Go to bed early and wake up early. 2. Go to sleep and wake up consistently at the same times. 3. Eat 5 to 6 small meals daily. 4. Eat breakfast every day. 5. Eat a balanced, healthy diet. 6. Minimize simple sugars. 7. Drink 48 to 64 ounces of water daily. 8. Take breaks every 90 minutes during work. 9. Get some physical activity daily. 10. Do at least two cardiovascular interval workouts and two strength training workouts a week.

@Wilm Maybe you could try exploring a bit. See what you are really passionate about. For some people they take up something for a while and they are deeply passionate about it but this passion doesn't last very long. they are like a butterfly hopping from one flower to another. It's just their nature because they have varied interests and not something very specific/particular. But that's fine too as long as your life is interesting, fulfilling and wholesome. I suggest you travel a lot, Or wait for the right time for something interesting to come up on its own.

@Wilm Maybe your Lp can be just living a good life. I kinda find it strange that you already have everything you want, but you are still looking for something. But maybe it's a matter of time for you, maybe with time you might find out your Lp, have you ever wondered that you could be having a purpose you are already pursuing or working towards but not feeling content or satisfied with.

@Prabhaker does this mean that we should not find solutions to suffering ?

Enlightenment and consciousness work will surely help you in realizing how your ego fools you into believing and grasping the illusory nature of things. It will make you self-aware and increase your tendency to perceive things with greater awareness and insight. So it does help in reducing the suffering caused be the delusions of the ego. It also shuts down the monkey mind a bit, relieving you from the cycle of incessant negative and ruminating thoughts. However suffering in a more general sense, such as world suffering, is very complex and difficult to solve. In my opinion, it can be lessened by spreading more love, compassion, spirituality, positivity, truth and wisdom and by eliminating evil, ignorance, hypocrisy and falsehood.

Oh great, Congratulations and Celebrations...let them have some treats and sweets made by Papa himself ! Have a great time...