DocHoliday

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  1. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday
    Reason for Edit: Grammar

    This thread will be somewhat explicit in its content but I'm going to tell you about it anyways, since that's what "I " have experienced.
    So, last night I had this dream where I was in a hotel room with an old (female) friend of mine from 10th grade. It somehow developed to the point where we were laying in bed, naked, and had sex. So far so good, but the crazy part about it was that I actually had all the sensations of touch throughout the dream even though "In real life" I've never even really touched her the whole time we were in school together, let alone ever seeing her naked, which also occurred in the dream.

    I obviously didn't have active control over anything as it was "just a dream" and I was somehow just the spectator of everything but her behaviour and my behaviour were exactly the same as they were/are "in real life", as far as I can remember hers and how she was back then. I've had these types of dreams a couple times before and in some it even felt like I was actually self-conscious and knew that I was dreaming inside the dream. I know that this is defined as lucid dreaming I think, but everytime I have dreams like that it really wakes you up again, so to say, that all of this, all that we like to call "reality" and "real life" is also nothing but a dream essentially, only that it feels more "persistent", "solid" and "true".

    I'd be very curious to hear from you guys about similar experiences you've had in this regard.

  4. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    I understand where you're coming from with your question, but come on...there's really not a whole lot to it. Even posting this thread has taken time that you could have spent researching. The whole point of research is to reach out into the dark to feel what reaches back, so to say. You simply go and discover with keeping distractions to the absolute minimum. It goes without saying that this forum can be veeeery distracting as many often like to escape here or lose themselves in countless various threads and whatnot...but true research has to be done solo. The trick is to obviously be very mindful about it and to connect the dots between the many things you find and come up with. Doing it effectively will drive you deeper into your research and you will be able to draw from it non-stop.

    So, I'd say stop screwing around, stop wasting time and get going;) Life can't be experienced by theorising about experiences, just as research can't be done by theorising about doing research. 

  5. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    @Hermes Trismegistus To clear this issue up, I know where you’re coming from. Leo’s answers indeed come from another perspective upon life that doesn’t exactly relate to yours anymore. The reason why Leo and others say that death is illusory and basically false based on the discovery that there never was anyone to die in the first place, is because this answer is given with the true self in mind, which is absolute consciousness. As consciuosness you cannot die because you were never born - that’s what’s hiding behind that paradox. You on the other hand still refer to death as “physical death” or the death of your body which is perfectly fine and valid. So, yes, your body will die at some point, that’s absolutely certain and therefore you will never live again, granted you’re identified with your body, because the real you is not your body. Your body is merely a medium through which consciousness is experienced in a limited/finite form. When Leo talks about dying, he means that that you will die who believes that he is either the observer and/or the experiencer of reality - this you will cease to exist and you will see clearly who you really are.

    I hope this was somehow helpful to you and clarified things a bit.

    EDIT: I appologise for saying that Leo wasn't quite able to relate to your issue, as that is probably wrong and a misinterpreted conclusion as well, but, I still think he could have explained himself a little bit better, since not everybody ultimately understands enlightenment and non-duality and what is behind all the bold statements that are being put forth by enlightened people at times. 

  6. Posted

    That’s true, it would have had its place in the self-actualisation thread. But other than that, I think it’s a really great method for introverted or shy people to come out of themselves, since it’s a technique that revolves around self-confrontation which is filled with a lot of essential extroverted characteristics and traits. I’m currently facing this myself to some degree because I’ve always been kinda uncomfortable listening to my own voice, so I decided to record myself singing and getting better at singing because it really puts me in touch with hearing my own voice and getting comfortable with it. 

  7. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    6 minutes ago, mohdanas said:

    This is pretty much it :) 

    You are confused between choosing value or desires, and the truth is both are part of you. 

    You can follow your desires and will feel "guilt" because you are not living on your values. Or, you can follow your values and feel "hollowness" beause your desires are not fullfilled. 

    The thing is, you can to work on your desires, and figure out rlly "why" do you want what you want, what does it make you feel like? 

    Its funny, how healthy food will make you feel way great than what non healthy food make you feel right now. And you will be like, fuck I do not want to keep eating, its shite. 

    You need to learn alot now, do you follow leo videos or read self help? 

    Yes, the question of "Why?" is really important. You need to get your motivations and the source of your desires straight. That's what is commonly referred to as Shadow Work - you're diving in to your subconscious to find out just why you do say or do certain things among other things. Can be difficult but it's worth it - saves you money and a lot of wasted time down the line. 

  8. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    @Dino D Yeah, those are good examples. Now we would get into "Higher" and "Lower" self and how desire works. As you stated it very descriptive you have these various desires in you and don't know what to do - the one desire would always come from your higher self (what is meant by that is the version of yourself with all the higher and more virtuous values and whatnot) and the other from your lower self (this means your egoic drives and your desire to fulfill yourself and to find unity by always acquiring new external acquisitions and "trophies" which obviously won't fulfill you in the end because there will always be something new to desire and crave for).

    So, it would be authentic to go either way because you'd express yourself honestly and sincerely, since you're going after what you really want. But, now you have to look at what's really fulfilling to you. Sure, you can give in to your egoic desires from time to time, there's nothing wrong with that but just be aware of the fact that you will never find true satisfaction in them. As long as this is clear to you and you do not search for anything that you think will "complete you" like a missing piece to a puzzle, you're fine to do whatever you want. But sure, there's a cost and a consequence for everything in life. To choose one thing always means leaving out the other. 

  9. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    @mohdanas Wouldn't we actually consider it to be more authentic when we admit that we are afraid or that we feel harmed by the judgement of others? Fearlessness and being unaffected by judgement aren't essentially attached to authenticity, they are character-traits to strive for, or you could also call them "values", whatever... Being authentic means that you simply accept things as they are without hiding them or covering them up. When you feel happy, you admit that you're happy - when you're sad/afraid you admit that you're sad and afraid. The same goes for everything else (likes/dislikes/desires/cravings...)

  10. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    When you say that there is no authentic "me" or "self" than that would mean that it's inauthentic (?). Of course when you want to get down to the real, true self no dualistic description will apply - but when we talk about the relative you, that which includes your constructed personality etc., dualities become relevant again (for mere description-purposes of course).

    So, yes, when someone goes after what he really wants and desires, without creating self-deception around it and is not performing mind-gymnastics to twist and turn various justifications for one's actions and behaviour, then that's what we'd describe as authentic. Inauthenticity could then be defined as the opposite when we hide our true intentions in order to preserve some kind of image or facade. 

    EDIT: Authenticity and inauthenticty always work together. They are tools to manipulate reality and to (obviously) present a certain picture. You can never not present some form of a picture or facade for others to look at and evalaute. It's impossible to be either 100% authentic or inauthentic all the time. Try it out if you don't believe itxD But, that's how it goes. 

  11. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    I don’t think he’s intentionally half-assing enlightenment, it’s just that he found self-realisation as pure consciousness but didn’t go any further in terms of contemplation and implementation of it. I think that if he’d find someone who he could relate to and who shows him more about it, he’d surely go deeper into it.

    EDIT: But it’s always hard to tell from short excerpts like this one. Maybe there’s a lot more he’d have to tell about enlightenment and non-duality if he felt like it’d be received properly by people. So I wouldn’t judge him about that too quickly.

  14. Posted

    @Arman Of course it all depends on your subjective interpretation on what's exactly "better" or "worse" but I think when you have someone who's engaging in self-destructive behaviour or whatever the case may be, I think it's safe to say that the mindset of a more aware and conscious person would be the more preferential one to adopt if you could choose between them, if you ask me. 

  16. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    Normally we assume that our neuroses manifest in everything we think is bad or negative about ourselves. But, think again.
    It's really not the case because many things we say or do which we'd classify as good, helping or beneficial can actually be harming and/or cause the opposite effect of what we intended to achieve.

    For example, in the past I tried multiple times to introduce people around me to self-actualisation, in particular to Leo's videos but I had to realise that it didn't exactly play out as I thought it would. In other words: I tried to somehow superimpose my perspective and my ways of thinking onto others, not realising that we can be, and are very different from each other, even though my intentions were good and I wanted to help people.

    This is obviously just one example of many many others that there could be, but essentially, realise that everybody has his/her own perspective on life and approaches things very differently in some cases. Therefore, you might want to try to observe more and absorb more instead of imposing yourself on others and trying to "convert" them to your own perspective, even when yours is actually better or more beneficial - people aren't always ready for what they're presented with and won't always pick it up in the way you inteded it. 

    That's why empathy and the ability to put oneself in the position of others is so important. Whenever you do so, you counteract your neurotic tendencies and you will practically everytime come up with better or more impactful and persuasive things to say or take action on than if you'd have persisted to enforce your very own perspective. 

    EDIT: But as always, look for the right balance.

  19. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday
    Reason for Edit: Grammar

    Besides the purpose of mere entertainment this video gave me a new and shocking revelation about a couple of things:
    - it's just utterly incredible how persuadable and influenceable people truly are
    - new-age is not only misleading in general but very harmful to the overall reputation of spirituality 
    - it's insanely crushing and striking when you think about the fact that you could actually be one of those people
    - through stuff like this it becomes very understandable how people decide to stay away from spirituality entirely,
      are repelled by it or develop a hostile disposition towards it
    - it (hopefully) makes you reflect on how you're (still) deceiving yourself in many situations (in general)
      and also with other pseudo-spiritual stories and make-believe

    I just kind of felt like sharing this with you guys, be sure to let me and others know what your thoughts on this are.

  20. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday
    Reason for Edit: Grammar

    That kid is so Italian, it's scary... and he also needs a haircut.xD
    But his words are full of wisdom, true and profound.
    His behaviour and the way he talks is so striking, it's really quite indicative of his "enlightenment",
    even though he surely doesn't know anything about it on a conceptual level which is actually kind of beneficial to be honest.
    The only thing that he is concerned about is how to live a good life and frankly, in the end that's all that matters.

    I gotta say, I really like this kid.
    By the way, for those of you who have read my post "Beware of Spiritual Pussification", that's the kind of level of authenticity and intensity I'm talking about, boys. He's so careless and authentic that it's almost intimidating if you're not on the same level as he is. Truly remarkable, thanks a lot for posting this!

  22. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday

    @Samuel Garcia

    Extroverts stereotypically think less and act more. One could go as far as to say that they're naturally more in a flow-like state from which they don't premeditate or plan everything they say or do. They are more spontaneous and immediately in touch with the ongoing process of life. Of course balance is once again the key-concept, which is why it may be hard for extroverts to become still and internally grounded. What introverts sometimes have too much of, the extrovert needs to develop and vice versa. It's the middle way, always. It's Yin and Yang, with everything. The two extremes in perfect harmony. 

  24. Posted · Edited by DocHoliday
    Reason for Edit: Formation

    This one is about the balance of the external and internal in regards to applying changes in one's life. Sometimes it's very obvious to only fix the external and sometimes it's just as obvious that you need to work on your internal [psychology]. But sometimes you're left with a choice which way to go about fixing a problem. This is where this insight would come in:
    The overall quality of one’s external changes executed is determined in direct proportion to the degree of inner development.
    Therefore, if you’re lacking the internal, it will always manifest in the ways you’re going about applying external fixes and changes.

    So, there you go, that's why proper balance is so important and necessary.