how to prevent backsliding

[Viking]

can one backslide if hes meditating daily?

what should one do in order not to backslide?

i see leo has a vid on this but its fairly old, will watch it though.

[Epiphany_Inspired]

@Ilya Yes, it is possible... I didn't believe Leo that it would happen to me...but it did....twice now....that doesn't guarantee it would happen to you....but it's something to watch out for...my backsliding happens if I get too overwhelmed and want to shut my brain down/ escape into fiction-land...revert to T.V. numbing...It's been since June or July I've stopped again, but I had gone over a year the first time without...All I can suggest is watching for triggers...for me it's overwhelm & abuse/ violence...for you it may be something else...the stronger your positive habits are, the harder it is to slide back into the negative ones...the stronger your gratitude, mindfulness, and optimism are, the harder it is to backslide too...wishing you the best!

[Joseph Maynor]

Where do you think you’re backsliding?  Give me a paragraph description.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[Faceless]

To see that the you backsliding hasnt seen the limits of the limit of thought. Therefore don’t know when one has gone beyond or not.

If one was to backslide this would imply one was still slave to thought “Psychological time”

Edited December 26, 2017 by Faceless

[Viking]

@Joseph Maynor *prevent* I didnt yet

[Faceless]

Can the “center” prevent relapse? 

Doesn’t relaps imply there was a temporary, limited, false sense of improvement? 

Doesn’t any attempt by the “center” or “the me” to improve become a contraction? 

[Viking]

@Faceless I didnt understand what you were trying to say, sorry.

[Faceless]

@Ilya ??Investigate 

If you inquire you will see. 

 

Inquire into...

“Center” 

“ego” 

“thought” 

 

[Omni]

33 minutes ago, Faceless said:

Can the “center” prevent relapse? 

Doesn’t relaps imply there was a temporary, limited, false sense of improvement? 

Doesn’t any attempt by the “center” or “the me” to improve become a contraction? 

@Faceless - You're free to do what you do, But I'd advise not just simply throwing half-assed riddles towards people truly looking for more direct-approached answers in this field. Relapse is simply a backslide, or a RETURNING of lesser-state. Not implying a false sense of anything - improvement is in action as long as you are aware and persistently working towards your life's fulfillment.

This only leads to more confusion and frustration, be direct, and articulate yourself. Leo does this in his videos purposefully

@Ilya - I'm not sure if you can't NOT backslide. It may just be inherent with this kind of work.

It's like pulling a heavy-duty rubber band to it's threshold and releasing, the backfire is dramatic. But the next time pull it again, it becomes that much easier because you're more acquainted to the resistance - and because you were previously on a path, you now just have to realign yourself with that path once again. Giving you some sort of framework to go by the next time - this time you should know and have contemplated the error/situation that caused the backslide and will avoid that trap next time.

Expect the backslides and expect the worst - but bare in mind that if you've gone so many steps back, that means you know which steps you must take to get back to the same position you had slid from - and once you get to that point again you will KNOW you can push further than you did the last time.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Omni

[Faceless]

@Omni Knowone can answer such questions for another. 

This has to be approached by ones own inquiry. Pointing one in a direction is all we can do. 

And this isn’t work. Self inquiry is to live. 

Anyone that accepts another’s authority will ultimately get know where. This has been the case since early man. Plus some people might appreciate the journey going it alone. 

 

[Omni]

Just now, Faceless said:

@Omni Knowone can answer such questions for another. 

This has to be approached by ones own inquiry. Pointing one in a direction is all we can do. 

And this isn’t work. Self inquiry is to live. 

Anyone that accepts another’s authority will ultimately get know where. This has been the case since early man. Plus some people might appreciate the journey going it alone. 

 

You're completely right; no one can answer these types of questions for another being. - However that's exactly what you did in your own form of doing so. You're speaking with too much conviction and vagaries and playing it off as 'higher-self talk'. When in reality these things you speak of you don't realize how ignorant you are to them (probably just as much as Ilya or I, or even could be a worse case)- but are willing to go off and spew these things to promote your ego while missing this as a fundamental concept.

This IS work, and life IS work - There is nothing else. You must work your ass off to survive (well, not anymore.), you must work your ass off to thrive, you must work your ass off to become more aware and conscious or even self inquiry for that matter. This is all WORK - whatever term you'd like to apply to it, when it comes down to the realities of the situation, it's HARD WORK at that.

Lastly, no one is accepting or projecting authority - This was an open ended question that which was to receive advice/tips on a specific part of self actualization, seemingly nothing more.

[Faceless]

@Omni

Good luck ??

[Omni]

3 minutes ago, Faceless said:

@Omni

Good luck ??

Same to you, though you'd like to admit to yourself you're further than where you are at in this WORK- I'd like to let you know you're still down here with the rest of us. No high horse needed, brother.

[Faceless]

@Omni

There is absolutely no division between us??

[Joseph Maynor]

3 hours ago, Ilya said:

@Joseph Maynor *prevent* I didnt yet

Why are you worried about backsliding before you are backsliding?  Don’t you see that the Mind is just finding all these traps to keep you from taking action!  Oh — I can’t take actions until I get this piece of knowledge first, and on and on and on.  The Mind is sneaky with these kinds of traps.  You need to start to become aware of these traps!  The best way the Mind can sabotage your Higher-Self is to make you believe you need something before you can take action — in your case an answer to a hypothetical issue you aren’t even facing!  You are distracting yourself, and I want you to see that this is a way for the Mind to block your actions — it’s a pattern of self-sabotage that you need to be able to spot with more acuity.

What are your top 5 goals right now?  Give me a list.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[Nahm]

@Ilya what is your meaning for backsliding?

[Viking]

@Joseph Maynor

• succeed in my studies
• find a life purpose by finishing the LP course and reading books
• increasing my consciousness and suffer less by meditating everyday and trying to be more mindful
• to develop self discipline by being mindful of when I have a resistance to do something and doing it. (included in the first 3)

these are the only things I work for currently in my life. so basically 3 goals. The first goal is the one that takes the most amount of time, when I have free time I squeeze in the second one, while on weekends I have a lot more time, and the third one I do daily and going to a sangha once a week.

@Nahm For example when my meditation and everyday life becomes more filled with unconsciousness than before, when more spontaneous anxiety without any reason arises while previously I was able to see through the anxiety, accept it and it would dissipate.

4 hours ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Where do you think you’re backsliding?  Give me a paragraph description.

wow, im so sloppy lately, I actually did (kind of) backslide, but the question was more about how to prevent it.

im sorry if I dont make sense, my mind is overloaded with stuff and I have to organize things and didnt think yet when to clear things up.

Edit- forgot another goal of mine is to keep a healthy body, which I accomplish by gradually improving my diet and exercising a few times a week.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Ilya

[Joseph Maynor]

12 minutes ago, Ilya said:

@Joseph Maynor

• succeed in my studies
• find a life purpose by finishing the LP course and reading books
• increasing my consciousness and suffer less by meditating everyday and trying to be more mindful
• to develop self discipline by being mindful of when I have a resistance to do something and doing it. (included in the first 3)

these are the only things I work for currently in my life. so basically 3 goals. The first goal is the one that takes the most amount of time, when I have free time I squeeze in the second one, while on weekends I have a lot more time, and the third one I do daily and going to a sangha once a week.

@Nahm For example when my meditation and everyday life becomes more filled with unconsciousness than before, when more spontaneous anxiety without any reason arises while previously I was able to see through the anxiety, accept it and it would dissipate.

wow, im so sloppy lately, I actually did (kind of) backslide, but the question was more about how to prevent it.

im sorry if I dont make sense, my mind is overloaded with stuff and I have to organize things and didnt think yet when to clear things up.

Good.  Do this for me.  For each one of those goals — give me a couple of sentences saying what you plan to do to achieve each of them.  So — What is the price you will pay to achieve each one of those goals?

Edited December 26, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[Nahm]

@Ilya don’t trick yourself with the “without any reason” & “spontaneous anxiety”  script. Write what you want on paper and tape it to the wall.  Your “life” is far from being “filled with unconsciousness”. That’s an idea of you you’re talking about, not your circumstances or “life”. Your actual circumstances are that everything you’re experiencing “around you” is your own consciousness and it’s infinite. There’s certainly no shortage, only an idea of shortage based in a misperception of self. You keep tricking yourself into seeing through lack & shortage. Chronically, that is anxiety. Let your past go with meditation. Let your “realistic view of reality”, the “reality” where anxiety is spontaneous, let that go in meditation. Through the days, breath from your stomach, and be aware of the subtle contractions in your body which seam to respond to your thinking and the situations of your day. Relax your whole body every time you notice a contraction. Let what’s happening flow. Choose thoughts that align with your ‘wanted path’, your stuff on the wall.

[Viking]

@Joseph Maynor

• to never be passive in my life, in other words to actively fully engage in every activity, in case I notice I dont do that (i've made this a commitment to myself), to push through resistances to studying and not to halfass anything. the price I will pay is emotional labor required to not be passive.
• to create free time for myself where I will watch the LP course videos and contemplate them if I feel like there is something to integrate. in most of my left free time instead of entertaining myself with TV or youtube, to read a book about life purpose. the price I will pay is not watching tv shows or youtube entertainment.
• To meditate every single day 30 minutes and 30 minutes self inquiry (self inquiry starting tomorrow), to try to always be aware of the breath and to go to a sangha. the price I will pay is the emotional labor required to do this every single day in the morning.

@Nahm so basically to see life through abundance? is that achieved by being mindful of the mind when it thinks about shortage and being greatful? like journal what happened today that im greatful for? i feel really not honest when I do that (being greatful)

those contractions are never more than 2-3 seconds, or maybe i misunderstand what contraction means.