Amir

Lately I have been trying to find out how self-inquiry works. I could not find a good 'tutorial' or step by step technique to do self-inquiry work. Please, if you find out/know how it works tell me in the comments.

Hi everyone, Lately I have been getting into changing habits. I have many bad habits that I want to change. I can't make any big changes in my life yet since I am 16 years old. Bad habits: - Watching entertaining videos on YouTube. Such as gaming videos. - Being lazy. Generally just procrastinating and not doing what I should be doing. Good habits (That I want to do): - Exercising I want to do 100 push ups and 100 sit ups every day, I also want to run. - Meditation I want to meditate 20 minutes a day, every day. Preferably mindfulness. - Eating healthy This I wont be able to do easily, since I live with my parents. There are two problems I am facing: - I keep slacking off. Only when I am really motivated to the work I do it. - I keep looking for more information, but don't really implement it. I love to learn new things that blow my mind, but I never really do anything with it. Question: How do I solve these problems? Leave behind a list of your habits as well, I would love to see yours.

Hey I am back again with something I 'discovered'. For quite a while it felt like I was focusing on things myself. Now I found that I do not really control what happens to my focus (it feels like that anyways). Correct me if I am wrong here, maybe I am sidetracking . It more feels like I am experiencing the focus, instead of being the one that is focusing.

@Phrae, I haven't thought about that yet. I think meditation should be a lifelong practice. I also feel like meditation should not have to replace anything, unless the things you're doing are destructive to yourself.

Thank you, @Donald! Right now I am focusing on meditation and self-inquiry. Thank you for the reply. @Phrae, thank you for the reply. I am not skeptical about meditation. I am sure it will have a great effect on the amount of satisfaction I will have in my life (I am aware there are many other benefits to meditation). Oh and I have watched that video already. Thanks though!

Hey I am back again! Sorry for not updating this journal of mine! I told you I keep slacking off! I want to tell you about the things I have been doing recently. 1. Meditation Meditation is a habit which I have been trying to develop again and again. I kept failing to make it a habit and probably will keep doing the same. 2. Self-Inquiry Although I might not understand how to do it exactly, I have been trying to do it. Sometimes while I am meditating I ask myself "Who am I" and I try to look for myself. 3. Found interesting guru called "Mooji" I highly recommend you search for him on YouTube if you're interested in enlightenment. On YouTube he is called "Moojiji". Questions: What tips do you have for making a habit stick? How do you effectively do self-inquiry work?

@Lorenzo Engel , it could have been astral projection.

Hey So, last time I meditated for a longer period of time than I normally do. I had a lot of pain in my back, because of the postition I was sitting in and I just observed the pain for most of the time. When I was almost done I stopped observing for a while and noticed that I felt bigger or 'more open', like there was more space in me.. I don't know how else to describe it. What is this exactly? Has anyone else experienced this as well? Thanks

What made you cry?

@Corte, What do you mean with the "I'm waiting" one?

What is it exactly?

You shouldn't feel concerned. Just drink some water, and continue meditating.

I don't fully understand, what do you mean by seeing, seeing who you really are? And if so, how would you do this? Also, is this proces slow, or does it come all at once?

Thank you, I couldn't understand from Leo's explanation.

How do you use it? I didn't really get it, when Leo told about it.

What is it used for?

Are you referring to the experiment where there are several children that would get more marshmallows if they waited?

I am not quite sure, but make sure to go see a therapist

Many times after I meditate, I feel like I need to do more for it to be effective at all. The problem is though, while meditating I feel good in the beginning, and after a while I keep wanting to stop because it takes a long time. What should I do, meditate longer and sit through the thoughts of wanting to stop, or meditate less?

So I learned about someone called Douglas Harding. He seemed to be talking about something called having no head. There are many experiments that he has showed, which you can do yourself as well. Is this 'having no head' related to enlightenment? Douglas Harding has made me so curious..

Hey Gustav, I am 16 years old..

ROAD TO A BETTER LIFE – Self-Help Journal Hello, welcome to my journal. Here I will write whatever I experience while doing self-help/self-improvement. Let’s start off by telling a bit about myself, and then go on with telling what I am doing now to change my life for the better, I will also be talking about the problems I am facing while doing this. My name is Amir, I am 16 years old and I live in the Netherlands. I grew up with both of my parents, but they got divorced when I was little, so I did not get to experience the divorce. I live with my mother most of the time, and have a few brothers and sisters. My father is open-minded most of the time and is open to most of the ideas I have gotten in this field. Nobody that I know is this into self-improvement, although I do get inspired by my father sometimes. Right now I am working on getting better at programming, which I do learn at school. I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to in the beginning, now that I know how it works a bit. Okay, now that I have that out of the way, let’s talk about what I am busy doing now. My plans for the future: Right now I am working on changing my habits in a positive way. Here are the habits I am trying/wanting to get. Trying: Bold text Wanting: Bold text with line underneath - Meditation (mindfulness) Right now I am working on meditating every day, starting with ten minutes in the beginning and doing it longer later on (I am using guided meditations most of the time). - Getting better sleep Normally I would sleep very late and wake up early, now I am trying get a better sleep cycle and it is working out quite good for me. - Exercise (Probably at home) I want to become healthier, more muscular and feel better overall. - Eating healthier (Won’t be able to do this a lot, since I still live with my mother) - Read more books I would love to read more books. I would be really grateful if you’d leave some suggestions/tips for me! Things I am doing as well: - Taking cold showers (to get more discipline and get out of my ‘comfort zone’ more) - Working on getting better with relationships. (I am in a relationship right now) - Being more mindful throughout the day Problems I have faced: - Procrastination - Depression (Fully recovered ) Problems I am facing now: - Being honest with myself - Over-thinking - Lack of focus on school - Being mindful of me becoming angry, but still feeling like crap

Hey thank you for the reply! Because of you I started doing this, learned a bit about self-deception and it is way harder then I thought it would be. I keep on contradicting myself and I forget being conscious of the lies I tell myself a lot as well.

Hey everyone! I was wondering if somebody else gets this as well. After watching some of the video's of Leo, my mind goes crazy (I keep contradicting myself in my mind). A few minutes ago I watched "How you lie". I think I did notice some lies I was telling myself, but it is hard to notice the moment it is actually happening (self-deception). Am I the only one that has this? (probably not)

He is already quite active on the forum, and he makes video's a lot. You could watch those video's as a "how to".