Waves

Thanks for sharing, I definitely relate to your situation. Integrating Orange and the Achiever is essential. In the last couple of years I found myself getting lured into Yellow and above by Leo's teachings, but in all honesty it's not serving me as well as it could if I had solid foundations: it's contributing to spreading myself to thin and that's how my hierarchy got molded into a Swiss cheese as well I've also realized that being so involved with self-help made me too one-dimensional, too on the "How-to" side, whereas I'd like to be more well-rounded, like a renaissance man, exploring various domains of life and developing passions. Go make it happen, good luck!

I think they're a good stepping stone towards reducing meat consumption, especially when taking large fast food chains into account. Pretty unhealthy, but if you consider the meat quality served in most fast food restaurants, I think it's a step further. A major factor is that they need fewer resources to be produced, they have lower emissions and they don't involve animal farming. Overall, a positive for society, imo. I personally treat them as junk food, exceptions for social events like BBQs, and not something that I would cook at home by myself.

I'm not aware of any software doing that, but why not use B rolls or simple moving imagery like fractals? (although it can be less entertaining and heavier on the editing) Alternative: go shop for some costumes

I recently stumbled upon an old fascinating post of a forum member on EFT (tapping). Still have to try it myself, but I'll link it here, as an additional option

The only one I'm aware of is under the category Emotional Mastery, just search "stoic" with ctrl+F.

In short, Leo is a human. It seems like you're expecting him to be perfect, and I fell into the same trap when I started following his work, and it was my projection because I expected myself to be perfect (maybe it rings something for you). Don't idolize him, don't put him on a pedestal, don't see him as a holy figure or whatever. He's just a dude (his avatar at least ) delivering some gold nuggets of wisdom. It is obvious he's really fucking good at doing that, and unique in what he teaches and how he teaches it. I can see how the embodiment of teachings is important and determines the quality of a teacher, but your job is to focus on what he's pointing to and to experience it yourself, not to look at the finger. You don't have to agree/approve of everything he says or does, drop your expectations and projections towards him and you'll be better off. Also, learn from many other teachers.

The Natural Lifestyles are pretty damn good and holistic

Love it! I'm sure that you and Aubrey Marcus would have a Tier 2 mind-blowing conversation

Haha somebody has been watching a lot of Tom Merrick's videos here I stretch everyday in the morning as soon as I wake up (I'm stiff like a rock, especially the upper back). It just feels like the natural thing to do and it's so good when you've washed out the tension. I do pretty much the whole body, depending on where I feel the most rigid. I also stretch before going to sleep, same stuff. It's a very good way to wind down form the day, let my mind get calmer, get into body sensations and breath. It's also a nice set up for meditation. I still have to make specific flexibility goals though. Right now my main motivation is to feel looser and release tension. I'd like to open the hips more, it seems it's time to look into those splits as well

I personally don't like it because you need to pay attention to traffic, people, etc. but since you're going early in the morning I can see how it may even be pleasant. It's also a good strategy to make a quick tour of a new place you're visiting. But hey, it is surely better than not working out. I think you're already doing the best you can. I just found out that a large study on air pollution in European Cities was published a couple of days ago, if you want to check it out: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30272-2/fulltext Here you can look up your city ranking: https://isglobalranking.org/

@fridjonk Yeah it's so important to control scapular movement and keep the whole joint well balanced. Sometimes the only way to realize it is to get injured. Thanks for the resource, I'll check it out! If you haven't heard of him, there is also Tom Merrick that makes videos on calisthenics and flexibility.

I'm working to getting back to training seriously after a shoulder injury that I yet have to understand and properly treat. I was inactive for almost a year after a couple of years training in the gym. I want to try something more "natural", that I can do anywhere, that combines play, strength training, flexibility, skill development, maybe even grace & balance (like dance). That's what I find most rewarding. Calisthenics certainly ticks a lot of these boxes. Hill sprinting sounds fun too. I'm also getting involved with hatha yoga, and would like to learn a martial art in the future as well, like muay thai. I'm trying to figure out a way to practice various disciplines that I enjoy and that work together in harmony to make me more complete kinesthetically. I'll need to find a balance between breadth and depth, it's going to be tricky. Just wanted to share my athletic goals.

There is a book with some good exercises on Leo's booklist that helps you develop charisma. Apart from that, you could watch videos, especially interviews, of people you think are charismatic (or that have any other quality that you would like to improve in yourself) and observe carefully how they move, what their face and body language is, how they speak (tonality, cadence, breaks,...) and what they say.

It seems like a good opportunity to see for yourself, instead of hearing or fantasizing about, what doing actual empirical research looks like. Treat it like an experiment (heh) for yourself, observe (and journal about) how you feel about it as you help doing research. I'm guessing it won't be long term, and you'll be able to take a step back if you see it's not for you. You'll scratch that itch and will be able to move on.

I re-discovered jogging last spring, when because of an injury and the lockdown I stopped exercising and I was slowly becoming crazy. I started slowly, jogging once every few days and short distances, so that my leg muscles could gradually wake up. Calves hurt for a couple of weeks though. This summer I was going 30 minutes 3 times a week and I loved it, especially because I could go shirtless, which feels more natural and allows you to get that vitamin D in Almost every time I was brought in a new space mentally: I would think about my desires and plans for the future. Worries and problems I had were re-contextualized. It's just a really good way to let off steam and get the junk out of your system. I don't listen to anything, I want to feel as free as possible and be with my thoughts, notice my self-talk as I struggle. Damn I should pick it back up, the cold stopped me.

I was wondering how introspection looks like in practice, and how I could make a habit of it, or how I could remind myself to turn inwards and feel during the day. Now it’s “easy” to remember, since it’s fresh content, but I’ll forget for sure about the commitment. Mindfulness and some forms of mediation are basically observation of our internal state, thoughts, feelings, emotions without reacting to them. How are they different from introspection? Is it that when you do these practices, you deliberately allocate some time and observe what comes up, whereas with introspection you assume a general attitude towards life of turning inwards in particular occasions (what Leo listed in the first 90 minutes)? One basic thing that we could do to create more space for introspection is going for walks, reducing distractions, like avoid looking at our phone in idle time or while commuting, and so on, which are all good steps to take, but isn’t it ultimately through meditation that we are trained to get grounded in the present moment and just feel? And since there needs to be a genuine desire to turn inwards, does it mean we can’t force introspection? Should it be allowed to come up organically and naturally from our authentic desire to get in touch with what’s true? I’m curious to hear your experiences.

Oh that's a great idea, thank you, I'll look for one that has introspection vibes

I know it's a basic skill, nonetheless I think it's important from time to time to re-examine how we approach the study of self-actualization material. I find that I tend to periodically come back to this question, because I'm not satisfied with it. So a couple of days ago I contemplated "how can I instill important insights and principles from books and videos in my mind?" to get a bit deeper into it, and more questions came up, such as: There is always the next book or video to study; at which point do I accept to move on from the one I've just studied? When do I accept something as assimilated? What makes the insights actually stick? Is it the elaboration of the material through thinking, and then contemplating from scratch that do the job? How can this process of reviewing insights be made habitual, systematic, but at the same time organic? How can I cultivate my curiosity? Currently my "routine" is the following: Read, highlight insights. Write them in the commonplace book. Highlight the core insights in my notes, such that it's easier to review. Forget about them, often moving on to the next thing before even recording important insights. What I'd like to improve is the reviewing process. Since things move on I rapidly lose interest for the book I just finished, because my approach to reading has still some "shoulds" and it's goal-oriented: after a while into a book, I want to finish it to get it out of the way, so to speak. I still need to develop a consistent intrinsic motivation to read, that I sometimes felt. And for that I think a strong curiosity and desire to learn are needed. Do you also have a similar problem? How do you go about consolidating insights? What is your approach to studying this material? Any input is appreciated.

I used this when I was studying biology or physiology, it works like a charm if you need to memorize stuff, but I'm not so sure about using it for self-help books/videos. Something that came to mind would be like asking yourself "what are the most important insights/lessons from this book/video?" and then trying to recall what they were for you personally, but it's such an open question that you can't actually check the answer, it's too overwhelming. I agree, it really boils down to how involved you are with the topic, how curious you are about it. The more curious, the more you'll tend to explore it and think about it. Right, but I imagine you start somewhere to get the information. What do you do with self-help books, like a classic one from Leo's list, for example?

I notice this happens to me when I'm not really interested in what I'm about to read but I read it to get somewhere, like finishing the book, or because "reading" is on my to do list. It's also a problem that comes with too much stimulation from other things. A very good way to retain things is reading stuff you're actually curious about, instead of "good to know" information. Being engaged with what you read makes you more focused during the activity. Your mind will elaborate and reflect more on what you read, making it stick more easily.

@Rasheed People at stage green and above should have integrated orange, meaning they're still able to produce material success, but they're not holding it as their ultimate goal. Their values changed and evolved, their perspective expanded, as did their definition of success. For example, stage green people would see being successful as being of help in their community, connecting with others, doing the best they can to live in a environmentally sustainable way,...

I'm starting to feel a bit saturated with all the information I get from books, videos, and podcasts. I love learning and being exposed to different perspectives, but I feel I'm off balance, especially after these months: I take too much in and process/implement it too little. I want to integrate and squeeze more out of experiences and external sources. I want to get a more solid, independent understanding, have more original insights. Thinking about this led me to the conclusion that I need to start contemplating more regularly, and shift the balance towards more practice, although at the same time I don't want to abandon books/podcasts. So I'm curious to know: How do you integrate external insights and make them your own? Do you deliberately stop and think/journal about what you've come across? Are you contemplating habitually and rigorously with a journal? How do you find yourself naturally contemplating? How do you choose what to contemplate?

@Javfly33 It takes some time to adapt to the fibers that come with legumes, and you don't have to cook them from scratch every time, I buy them canned even though they add salt, just rinse them well. Lentil soup and chickpea curry are the shit for me. I used to get around 130g of protein at around 3000 kcal on a plant-based diet, it's feasible. Considered that you're not an athlete, you don't need much (around 0.8 g/kg body weight), but the incorporation of legumes into your diet goes well beyond your protein intake, they're just amazing (check out the site @Wyatt linked). You could also eat more nuts, and nut butters like peanut butter, drink soy milk. Just aim for seasonal stuff as much as possible and for variety of grains and legumes.

Great initiative man! You're going hardcore with 2 weeks haha. I'll follow your example for tomorrow. Just reading, journaling, walking in nature and reflecting. Good luck!

Yes! I love this topic. Leo covered some of it in the video about building your existential vocabulary. It is so important to know what words exactly mean to articulate clear thoughts and understanding, especially for people who are not native English speakers. This skill refines and tests your understanding, cuts through bullshit and obviously makes you a great communicator and teacher. I'm also keen to learn more about this. I remember my literature teacher once said that if you can't say something, you don't understand it (I don't know whether it's valid for transcendental stuff though haha).