Loreena

I guess judging comes through deep seated insecurities, fears, deprivation, lack of positivity and cynicism. Judging is very bad especially when it's false and unfair. Can you imagine you're being judged at your workplace and you're fired because of some false rumors floating around. When you project on others, you are doing exactly what you don't want others to do to you. Most judgments are anyway groundless because they're based on personal projections and perceptions. Half of the time, people don't have a clue about the person's situation whom they're judging. And in the process of judging people unfairly, you're pushing them away, and what if those people are exactly opposite of what you thought, then you're the one who is losing the good ones with your cynical judgment. But it's important to distinguish between judgment and prudence. If you have all the evidence or knowledge and if your judgment can be backed by factual information then it's not an unfair projection but a wise assessment. So one needs to be careful to draw the line between the two.

Mine is Adyashanti Who is yours ? You can name more than one as well.

Do you think that everyone else is a chimp

Your journey towards enlightenment increases your chances of attaining a high conscious state. people with high consciousness have better abilities in handling relationships as they are at peace with themselves and more self-assertive. They are more or less free from the neurosis that you witness in society. They will not have issues like depression, short temper, anger issues, addictions and a host of other things that are commonly found in the general populace. When you're trying to get spiritual, you obviously become sober and calmer and that helps you to make wiser choices in relationships.

Only Your heart, Soul and Spirit is true. Rest everything in this world is just Mindfuck.

Most people who believe in ghosts do so because of some personal experience...they grew up in a home where the existence of (friendly) spirits was taken for granted, for example, or they had some unnerving experience on a ghost tour or local haunt. However, many people believe that support for the existence of ghosts can be found in something like modern physics. Albert Einstein suggested a scientific basis for the reality of ghosts, based on the First Law of Thermodynamics: if energy cannot be created or destroyed but only change form, what happens to our body's energy when we die? Could that somehow be manifested as a ghost? Just a speculation. I find quantum entanglement to be very mysterious and fascinating. Imagine you are a photon like a packet of light. You are a tiny blip of energy, hurtling through the universe on your own. But you have a twin, another photon to whom you have been intimately connected since the day you were born. No matter what distance separates you be it the width of a lab bench or the breadth of the universe yyou mirror each other. Whatever happens to your twin instantaneously affects you, and vice versa. You are like the mouse siblings in “An American Tail” wrenched apart by fate but feeling the same feelings and singing the same song hehe .. This is quantum entanglement. To non-physicists it sounds about as fantastical as singing mice and indeed plenty of physicists have problems with it. Luckily for quantum physicists you don't always need to explain a phenomenon in order to use it. Ancient humans didn't know about friction before inventing the wheel doctors in medieval China didn't know about antibodies when they began inoculating people against smallpox like 600 years ago. Then therer's a physicist from China Jian Pan who along with his colleagues were able to produce entangled photons on a satellite above the planet It is the first time anyone has ever generated entangled particles in space. Ain't that spooky enough ??

@Ry4n Thanks

Curiosity is a good thing. Its only when you explore you learn and you grow. Anything that hinders growth is not productive in the long run. Our mind always needs growth or else it turns deviant.

Why would you think that contemplation is a bad thing. Why what's wrong with it ?

I don't think I will ever be able to do that. That's an impossibility for me. That's my daily bread..

So next week I'm planning to start with my shadow work. But I need in depth and extensive material on it and the exact processes, techniques, methods, data and interpretation of that data, previous case studies and research papers. I tried searching the internet but got limited information which is not very varied, the same thing being repeated everywhere. Also I have a book on it but it doesn't contain details. So I would be highly obliged if anybody could post many links, books, videos, data, and study material on here. Also if you have the general outline of various techniques, please do post. Thanks in advance.

You're right about honesty. The ego is malformed without honesty. I have been looking into this for a while. It's a little tough in the beginning but all the effort in trying to be authentic is worth it. Took some time for this realization to sink in.

Thank you. Its very resourceful.

Maybe you are growing in a good direction. Its a good step. Judgement is bad. Because we tend to misunderstand a lot. Its your projection of someone's behavior.They may not be that way.

So where is the place for contemplation in eastern traditions. How do eastern meditators contemplate ? What practices they use for contemplation and what are these practices called ?

Which means one has to get rid of the habitual patterns of the mind through jhana meditation. But does this mean no contemplation at all. Where is contemplation involved in this.

Infinity included in awareness .

Animals are highly aware creatures. Not to forget that we're animals too. . Animals sense feelings and even possess intuition or psychic abilities, example your pets. The only thing is that we can't effectively communicate with them. We can't communicate with them as well as we would like to but they do communicate very effectively within the same species. Intra species communication is very well developed through evolutionary mechanisms but there's a problem with interspecies communication. However this gets compensated by an effective signalling system that all species have developed to escape the predators. Are animals aware of their own presence ? Difficult to know. We can only speculate. There is no solid proof to show whether they are aware/unaware of their presence and consciousness. And it differs from one species to another.

@Henrik_Sahlen Courage and bravery are two great spiritual qualities admirable in an individual. You should and you must speak up and stand against injustice. It's all well and good when people like us, when we're popular, and we get along. It's a no-brainer, really, when things are going well, that courage is fairly irrelevant. It's when people don't like you, or judge you in a negative sense, that the choice of courage and cowardice can be a pivotal moment in your development, and the foundation of your self-esteem. So what does that mean, especially when applied to a tense and uncomfortable situation where people in some way disapprove of who you are? Emotional cowardice would dictate that we either break under the pressure and conform, or lash out at our perceived tormentors in rebellious and anti-social behavior. Emotional courage is the stepping foundation of a strong self-esteem. Not only it is healthy, but it is born out of empathy and compassion for others.

This seems closer to victim mentality. I am not sure though. I thought it was weaving stories out of nothing, assuming stuff and making something else up, spreading gossip and rumours, making mountain out of a molehill, being extra dramatic and overreacting to things out of deep seated emotional triggers. I am not sure how right I am in my assessment but that's what it feels like.

@Henrik_Sahlen Journaling your emotions in a book is a great way of releasing frustration. Do karate and brazilian jiu jitsu Go on hiking trips and sweat it out.. I guess for young guys it's important to spend their physical energy in some way to feel strong and sexual. Just speculating, I don't have much info on how a boy thinks. Going on long drives. I guess guys like it ! Don't be afraid to confront situations head on. Take them as a challenge. Read a lot. Helps men to get efficient. Cut down tv and videogames. Over stimulation can drain your energies. Keep your body in good shape. Huge plus point. Some guys think having a long or short beard is more masculine, but I disagree. I prefer a clean shaven look. Imo thats looks really masculine. Be competitive with other guys. But not aggressive. Aggression is a minus. Try not to feel insecure around other guys. Know that you are just as capable as them, if not more, so don't feel hyper aggressive or panicky nervous or shut around other men. Those tendencies reflect a malformed masculinity. An emotionally healthy Man with a good dose of masculinity doesn't feel charged around other men. In fact he feels super relaxed, calm, cool and comfortable knowing fully well that he can handle anything with grace and toughness. Don't get overly possessive, needy, attached. Big downer. Although being vulnerable is not a bad thing, you could express it in healthier ways like writing poems, playing guitar. This is actually the most difficult thing for men to do. They feel scared to express themselves freely, fearing someone would catch them in their weak moments. But at the same time, bottling up emotions is not healthy. So a guy needs to find his own sacred private space to open up without the fear or danger of scrutiny. It has to be a private journal, hobby, a separate space in your house only for you where nobody can bother you. Some boys can feel incomplete without their women. Its nice to be lovey dovey to your gf but deep down it reflects insecurity and fear. Know that you're always important and you are more than enough to feel complete. You don't need validation from a girl just like a girl doesn't need validation from a guy. Take care of your health. For any guy this should be their utmost priority given the circumstances in which men have to work and how over expectations from society can get them drained, fatigued and washed out. In the effort to try to prove their ability and masculinity and to stand up to society's challenges, a lot of men forget to care of themselves. They just lose their feminine caring side and turn into intensive workaholic robots. Understand that this is unfair for you as a man, its more about social pressures than masculinity and therefore learn to keep a balance between health and work. Be just as caring to yourself as you would like to be to your girlfriend. Be respectful to everyone even to those who are rude, contrary to popular belief that sometimes perceives kindness as a sign of weakness, respectful kind behavior is actually a sign of confidence and strength because it implies that you are not easily triggered or provoked. Which means a strong mind ! Right now I onlyy know so much. . If I have some more points I will add later.

@jimrichi. thanks

What are you implying ? Do you mean to say that one should just accept the current state of their ego ? And not do anything. What benefit does it have for the self ?

I think you made a mistake. Maybe you meant to say- If your ego is not strong, it is manageable , still you can drop , but it is more difficult than dropping a subtle ego. That's what you told me before.

@Seeker_of_truth https://www.actualized.org/forum/topic/12391-what-constitutes-a-healthy-ego/ The following posts from my recent thread were found to be useful with respect to your post.