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@Slade Do what you want to do

@smd Enlightened folk aren't speaking from a belief system when they say all of reality is an illusion, or that it's a dream. They're speaking from experience. Sure, if the unenlightened folk intellectualize this point, it's simply buying into a belief system. However, this argument is like Leo saying personal development works, and as a newbie for example, you're writing it off as a belief system, and therefore it shouldn't even be considered as a pursuit in your life. There are a number of enlightened folk on this forum who became enlightened in much less than 20-40 years of 'work'. Some realized liberation as young as 16, and others began and realized it only in their 20's. I can't agree with this all-or-nothing perspective: Either LP and fulfillment or no LP and no fulfillment. Many enlightened folks themselves don't even a solid direction of where their lives are headed in the next month, let alone 10 years from now, because they are utterly immersed in the present moment. Yet, simultaneously, they do what they desire at each moment, and paradoxically, their actions culminate/add to a life purpose as perceived from the 'outside' over time. Eckhart Tolle and other spiritual teachers are doing just that. To ignore the facts of our reality (i.e. that you don't exist), which you can prove to yourself, and wisdom of wise others, has the potential to lead to delusion and further suffering. The reality is, that there is no one who is pursuing a life purpose, or not pursuing one. However, it doesn't hurt if the body is fulfilling upon its highest desires at each and every moment. In this way, I think @Nahm's general advice is good: do what you want. You can still live a life purpose by doing what you desire in each and every moment, even having never taken an LP course. If you desire to master a skill for its own sake, great! Do that. Follow your bliss, and don't take things so seriously In this way, chopping wood and carrying water today is still chopping wood and carrying water tomorrow. I just think it's more nuanced than this harsh attitude of all or nothing, while I do understand that perspective because I was there too. I'd love to hear feedback on these thoughts. Cheers.

@Slade Follow your bliss

@Charlotte From my perspective, relative to SAD, A+ with regards to cleaning your diet in terms of no dairy, organic vegetables, nut milks, herbal tea (although which kinds?), and minimizing toxic exposure from cleaning products. Great job! I am puzzled by a few points, however: Most people who habitually drink coffee begin because they feel they’re baseline energy levels are too low already. This a top indicator that the adrenal glands are hypo-functioning... In other words, what are you compensating from? You describe fish as brain food. Why do you think this? While fish is known to be potent in anti-inflammatory Omega-3’s, what is the cost? Heavy-metal (e.g. Mercury, a neurotoxin) toxicity? This is a recipe for nervous breakdown, and an increase with the associated symptoms (e.g. depression and paranoia). A possible treatment which may benefit you is organic licorice tea, which is well known for strengthening hypo-functioning adrenal glands. Loose-leaf options are available online and it can be safely made for consumption each morning. That is only a treatment however. How do we address the root cause? I’d be happy to share that if you’re still interested Cheers.

@Nahm Do you have an lp? After reading reports of enlightened folk, and their absolute immersion in the present moment (i.e., no more longterm planning or goal setting), I really question if pursuing an lp even makes any sense. It seems that those that are completely connected to the divine so to speak (i.e. enlightened), aren't even clear on what direction their lives are to go in the future, let alone in the present moment. So why assume the unenlightened folk need to search within for some kind of direction if the enlightened don't even know themselves? There is no purpose to life, and attaching meaning to anything only adds to the suffering of the individual. In this sense, I agree with your statement before the shared poem.

@art Has it helped you? I'm still trying to figure this out for myself...

It's two years old, so it needs to be updated, but here's what I have now I also got it printed professionally on some nice photo-glossy paper--it's pretty big. I have it hanged up, and also got a second one as backup.

@Star Net A favorite recipe: Raw Vegan Zoodle Pasta YES. It tastes like real pasta To my friends and I at least Base: 2-3 Spiralized Zucchinis* 1-2 Chopped Sprigs of Cilantro* (place on top of pasta at end) Sauce: 1 Ripe Hass Avocado (don't include pit and skin of course) Lime Juice from 1 Juiced Lime 2-3 Sprigs of of Cilantro* (to taste) Italian Herbs Spice* (to taste) Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (optional, to taste) Preparation: Spiralize Zucchinis into bowl. Blend Sauce ingredients in a blender. Pour blended sauce into bowl. Mix Sauce with Spiralized Zucchinis until uniform. Place 1-2 Chopped Sprigs of Cilantro On Top + Sprinkle more Italian Herbs if desired Enjoy! You can easily swap out ingredients, for example basil for cilantro. Cheers. * Designates Bio/Organic. Do the best you can and go for fresh ingredients, all organic is ideal of course. Result:

@Charlotte Perhaps your inner turmoil isn't 100% thought / ego based. Have you ever considered that it may be physically based too? For example, individuals with low-functioning adrenal glands can suffer chronically from anxiety and some kinds of depression... I am helping a close friend with similar 'challenges' () (e.g. anxiety, low self-esteem, fatigue, and paranoia) by steadily transitioning his diet to a cleaner one. He's already seeing good results and it hasn't even been a month yet--his energy levels are up dramatically and his anxiety/paranoia is steadily decreasing. Cheers. 31, 46, 53, 63; https://grapegate.com/testimonials/

@Aquarius Let's take a look at the facts: All carnivores have the anatomy for a carnivorous diet, i.e., a digestive tract that is 1.5-3x the length of their torso, with a bowel transit time of approximately 2-4 hours, and no fiber required for peristalsis, no exceptions. All omnivores have a digestive tract that is 3x the length of their torso, with a bowel transit time of approximately 6-10 hours, and no fiber required for peristalsis, no exceptions. All herbivores have a digestive tract that is 20x the length of their torso, with a bowel transit time of approximately 24-48 hours, and fiber IS required for peristalsis, no exceptions. All frugivores (eat primarily raw fruits, nuts/seeds, and raw vegetables) have a digestive tract that is 9-10x the length of their torso, with a bowel transit time of approximately 12-18 hours, and fiber IS required for peristalsis, no exceptions. All humans have a digestive tract that is 9-10x the length of their torso, with a bowel transit time of approximately 12-18 hours, and fiber IS required for peristalsis, no exceptions. So, if we take meat, and let a carnivore consume it (meat has ZERO fiber), it will digest and be eliminated quickly because: 1) the digestive tract is short and 2) no fiber is required to stimulate peristalsis (involuntary muscular wave-like movement of intestines to move digested food stuffs along the tract) in the first place in a carnivore system. However, if we take the same meat, and let a human being consume it alone, it will be a digestive problem for two reasons: 1) our digestive tract is 3x longer than a carnivore/omnivore, and 2) since no fiber is present in the meat alone, no peristalsis will be stimulated. This means that that the meat will not only stagnate, but putrefy during its lengthy bowel transit (can take 24 hours now!). I think we can both agree that having a back-up toilet/sewer system for 24 hours is a problem. Am I saying that humans can’t survive on meat? Of course not. If humans never ate meat, perhaps we’d never be here due to food supply shortages. That said, is meat optimal for humans, especially considering we have a choice more so today than ever before to eat raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts/seeds over meat? No. Meat is NOT optimal for the human being because our anatomy is simply not designed for it. That’s like putting regular gasoline into a car that is designed for premium-grade gasoline. It’ll work, but for how long, is the question? The same metaphor applies to eating cooked versus raw food. I'm glad to see Leo is finally catching on with the concept of eating as much raw, living food as possible. If you need to cook a dead food to eat it (e.g. grains, rice, beans, meat, etc.), then it's probably not optimal for you to eat that food. After all, I don't see natural heat stoves existing in nature for humans to use to cook their foods... Can you survive on cooked foods? Sure. Is it optimal? Probably not, because it breaks down the fiber and destroys some nutrients in the process (yes, I know, in some very isolated cases cooking can in fact increase bio-availability of some specific nutrients, but at what cost to keeping the fiber and other nutrients in tact?). This is so easy to prove to yourself: eat cooked vegan for 1 week, and raw vegan for 1 week. The two don't even compare in the ease and frequency of bowel movements on a Raw Vegan diet. Again, it's like putting regular gasoline into a car that is designed for premium-grade gasoline. It’ll work, but for how long, is the question? And Doctors wonder where autoimmune dis-eases (the body's intelligent effort to remove weak cells) comes from... Cheers!

@Quanty You're liberated?

@Saumaya Did you seek guidance to realize liberation outside of books (e.g. a guru or master)? Were you able to get a sense when you were close to liberation? How so? Sorry for all the questions haha. It just blows my mind you began seeking at age 14, whether you knew at the time what you were doing or not.

@Saumaya Interesting. I was also skeptical that enlightenment contained degrees, as many enlightened folk I’ve come across consistently state that enlightenment/liberation is a one shot deal: either you are, or you’re not. So just to clarify, in the past two years of acclimating to your liberation, your liberation hasn’t deepened in any way, nor do you foresee the possibility of it becoming any deeper in the future? Maybe a better phrase is can your level of awareness about your true nature go any deeper than it already has? I know this sounds so vague... lol

@Joseph Maynor Saumaya IS enlightened/liberated.

@Saumaya Last three questions 1) what does law of attraction mean to you post-enlightenment/liberation? Does it still function in your experience, despite the significant reduction in thoughts? Do you feel pleasant experiences naturally flow to you more often now? 2) Are there levels of enlightenment/liberation in your experience? 3) Can you give us an example/snapshot of what your self-inquiry process looked like? What questions were you asking? Any tips?

@Saumaya Woah. I'm trying to piece this timeline based on what I've read thus far in this thread: you're 18, and you've been acclimating to enlightenment for two years now... So you were liberated by age 16?? Wow. I do want to say, thank you for taking the time to write this post, and patiently replying to everyone’s questions. This thread certainly has helped myself. SO, I do have a few questions... 1) Do you feel any strong sense of purpose or desire in “life,” such as becoming a spiritual teacher? In other words, do you have any longterm goals or desires you wish to fulfill before the body dies? 2) Do you regard "other" people in your experience as merely projections of the mind? 3) How important do you think your nutrition / bodily health was in liberating yourself? 4) Do other people get the sense that you’re “different,” i.e., that you’re truthfully dead inside? Do they ask you about it? 5) Did you see past lives when you were liberated? Thank You in advance and cheers!

@Nahm Haha, touché!

It's not obvious to me. Please enlighten me?

@Nahm Yeah this perspective is scary. Perhaps you're so conscious, that for you, everything is acknowledged as truly a product of the mind. That said--why are you so sure?

@Vingger Health/Yoga*: The Detox Miracle Sourcebook: Raw Foods and Herbs for Complete Cellular Regeneration by Robert S. Morse N.D How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger M.D. The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way by Daniel Reid (Author)* (Yoga How-To Exercises Included) Business/Life-Purpose: All of Seth Godin's Work. Cheers!

@Amadeusz With regards to the spiral dynamics model: I think this is an easy trap, which I myself have fallen in to at times as well: "Before leaving this discussion of change, here is a final cautionary note. In trying to understand change in someone or a company, always ask, 'In what way does the person operate in respect to this issue?' Ask not, 'At what level is this person and how do the rules indicate I should be?' Graves always instructed that the latter approach is looking for simplicity that is not there. People are not types; they think about things in their lives in different ways." Page 102 from Spiral Dynamics by Don Edward Beck & Christopher C. Cowan Perhaps its the ego's work to over-simplify reality and force-fit itself into one structure of thinking. You are more complicated than a color. So the question I have for you is: With regards to what issue do you wish to change?

@Slade Same brother

@Slade Doesn't change the fact that he's Vegan, AND a World Record Holder for his class in Drug-Free Dead-Lifting.

Also, @Michael569, fair post. I like that you presented the cons first, as you were honest and up-front about the realities of eating clean. Cheers brother!

@Slade Thought-provoking? What about the extreme examples of SAD diet? Obesity? Heart dis-eases and heart bypass surgeries? Auto-immune dis-eases... Etc.? It's okay I'm not interested in debating. Life is learning curve. If we were all perfection, then there simply would be no room for expansion, and therefore no reason to being here. We need to be ready for the light, otherwise it is too much too fast. But... Seriously? Malnourished? Dr. Nun S. Amen Ra - VEGAN Dead-Lift WORLD RECORD HOLDER: Yes... I know, I'm playing the game too. I just couldn't resist