Dan502

It's true that self-actualizing could be something that a person might try and get into in order to support their ego, either consciously or unconsciously. With the marathon analogy, I was trying to explain that if a person wants to grow and develop, they generally have to put in some work. And that work is self-actualization. I suppose if a person tried to run a marathon and failed for whatever reason, or succeeded but didn't feel fulfilled, or was feeling philosophical, or arrived at some profound insight, then they might conclude that the experience was in some sense bullshit. @Nahm that's a lovely message you just posted by the way.

In the world right now, there are thousands of people who have the goal of running a marathon. Is marathon training bullshit? Have you seen Leo's video "Mankind is the bulshitting animal"?

Absence of human connection was the thing that stood out for me most in your story. I like what @Truth Addict wrote: "Ultimately, I think you will have to find a job that doesn't bore you, probably start with a job that is easy and simple, and from there on, you let life guide you."

Really really difficult. Really difficult. - Sometimes focus on the work not the people although when focusing on the people, try to understand why they are the way they are - Form strategic alliances if possible - Plan your escape - Get clear on how you got there - When working with an angry person, if you bring awareness to the interaction itself, it's possible to develop the ability to catch lightening bolts like Yoda does when he fights Dooku (metaphorically speaking).

When it comes to giving advice, I suppose one way would be to take a more therapeutic or coaching style approach and to ask questions or offer up suggestions rather than giving actual advice. This is just a suggestion! I'm probably coming at this from quite a green angle. I've just realised the question was mainly about language. I think it's a good point. Hard to completely eradicate. I guess forum users and mods can look out for it. And gently check what sort of answer people are looking for.

Really glad you're sharing these summaries

You tell her that's a good question can I answer it directly with you after the talk? With an added wink for charm

Have you ever taken an autism spectrum test? You can find them online for free. I'm not saying you might be autistic, I'm just wondering what you'd score. I could be way off with this comment, it was just my initial reaction. Or maybe try a personality test. I'll assume your IQ is fine since, for one thing, you write well. Also are you tired a lot or anything like that? Any lethargy, apathy, trauma, stress? I'd be interested to hear what other people think about this.

1) That I'm the most important thing in the world 2) That I will probably suffer horribly and die one day 3) That my life is unfair in some ways 4) That I'm, potentially irrepairably, inadequate in some ways, even by my own standards and that I have an uncompromising dark side 5) That the pursuit of certain comforts and pleasures are desirable/necessary/worth it. 6) That some of the pleasures I pursue bring too much shame and judgement to be mentioned in public. 7) That I'm happier these days than I've ever been 8) That sometimes I can help people 9) That physical things exist 10) That I prefer cats to dogs in general 11) That I don't know what colour is

When a child is five, the parent might say "this is how to tie a shoe" and show the child an easy knot. When the child is seven, the parent might say "this is how to tie a shoe" and show the child a harder knot. Was the parent lying to the five year old? In a way, yes and no but it's the wrong question. The right question is whether they were telling the right kind of truth at the right time, which is whatever is most loving and helpful.

Hi Yahya I'm sorry to hear your parents aren't supporting your interest in this area. That must be hard. Personal development comes in many forms. From reading, to exercising, to how you interact with other people or doing some meditation or breathing exercises while you're sitting on the train for example. In fact, some of the best opportunities to practice wise teachings can take place in very ordinary situations. Maybe you could hand-pick a few of Leo's videos, watch them once at school or the library or something and make notes and then spend more time implementing the teachings than watching more videos. Watching the videos isn't really doing the work anyway. Family, friends and work colleagues for the most part don't necessarily need to know about every self-help book that you read or video that you watch or that you meditate and they also wouldn't necessarily understand the awareness that goes into responding to certain situations in particular ways. So it can be a personal thing. It's usually easier to forge and pursue your own path when you're a bit older and more independent. But in the meantime, I wish you well with finding ways to navigate this situation. Ultimately, I hope you are able to follow your heart, without being overly disuaded by what other people think. Even your parents. Although I also hope you don't fall out with anyone over this. Relationships are important. You might need some patience or to lay low in some ways over the next few years. These are just my thoughts on the matter.

Very admirable the lengths we're going to here to answer the original question

I love this topic.

Hi Sausagehead (I'm not name-calling, that's his name :)) Should you take interest in something you're not interested in just because you feel like you should? Hmm... I don't know. 1) Maybe you could make a pros and cons list of why you should vote or not vote and then see which side is more meaningful to you. 2) Or, if a part of you feels like you should take an interest in politics but you don't feel like voting or reading newspapers and such, you could try to find something that does interest you and then see how that thing is regulated or what policies exist around it. Say you're into skateboarding. There are bound to be laws that affect where you can or can't skate, laws that create environments suitable for skating and safety requirements for manufacturing etc. 3) Also, you don't have to throw yourself into national politics. Maybe start by taking an interest in your town. 4) Or speak to people who have personalities that resonate with you and find out what kinds of parties they support. Political preferences are sometimes driven by personality. If you find out what most of your friends' or colleagues' views are (and some are bound to have some strong ones) it might seem a bit more interesting. I'm being a bit simplistic here but am trying to share the perspectives more than anything. I get the feeling that you posted the question because a part of you does feel like you should take some kind of interest in some kind of politics but you're not sure exactly how. So what I'm trying to do above is to be open-minded about what form that interest could potentially start to take. There will be way, way more options than the four that I've suggested but I just wanted to get the ball rolling. Also take your time with this thought. Politics is huge and actually affects many other things. You don't need to become interested in all of politics over night, you could just stay aware that it's an option and if over the coming weeks or months, you see an article about something political or a book about another subject but which has some politics in it, that does interest you, you could take a look at it. I could be wrong, of course and I'm not suggesting that I necessarily think you should or should not try to get interested in politics if it's just not your thing. It could equally be that you need to find a way of becoming more comfortable with not being interested in politics. Without completely knowing you (or myself, or politics, or life :)), it's hard to tell.

You are old enough I tend to think of "Truth" not as some far-off thing that a person has to reach or decide to pursue but as something far more familiar, which we probably already know intimately but might have lost touch with during the process of socialisation which typically occurs up to and during our emergence as adults. Having said that, there is a wide range of ways in which a person can learn, practise and have insights in order to become more self-aware, happy and mature. The desire and, realistically, the need, for a young person to take care of other things first like getting a steady job and living independently before they even find out or start on this kind of extra-curricular personal development work is understandable. By the way I think it's really cool that you're curious about this kind of stuff. I'd recommend trying a few things. Some of OSHO and Sadhguru's vids, some TED talks, Dan Dennett's work, The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck. The Brothers Karamazov, Jordan Peterson. Tony Robbins. Gary Vaynerchuk. Psychoanalysis. Spiral Dynamics. The Matrix

I loved the video too.

If the question had been purely politics, I don't think it'd be appropriate. As it's asked in terms of spiral evolution, it seems OK. Theresa May's leaving comments show inauthenticity. She doesn't actually agree with Brexit yet her primary focus was to deliver it. Why? For the power of being PM? Maybe. To save face for the party? Maybe. These are quite egoic reasons. The vote itself was a political bluff which backfired. The politicians only respect the public when it suits them. Maybe there are flavours of red here as Leo observed about Trump. I guess most remainers have the basic orange mindset that we don't need that economic uncertainty when we're due a recession, especially given London's role as a global financial services centre.

Leo can shove as much 5meo up his ass as he likes. We all love him for who he is anyway. We don't care if he's enlightened or not enlightened or God or a guy in an apartment in Las Vegas. Actualized.org is my number one favourite YouTube channel. There's nothing else like it and I can't imagine anyone could do a better job of it than Leo. If he wants to leave it behind or change it that's OK too. I can't wait to see what he does. My hope is that he is happy, healthy and balanced and if I can continue watching and trying to learn from him, then I feel very lucky.

I love how Sadhguru is chill and gives guru-like answers to questions. He's a cool dude alright. Especially when he dons the shades. By the way, on Friday, Sadhguru appeared on London Real, which has the same number of subscribers as Actualized.org. I made a daft comment recently about how I wasn't sure if Leo was famous enough to go on Joe Rogan. I take that back. Having actually checked the views his videos get, I'd say he's easily famous enough. I'd love to see Leo talking to Sadhguru or Joe Rogan.

I feel like Cypher eating the steak in the Matrix. You know when he says that he knows the steak's not real but then he eats it anyway and says ignorance is bliss. I feel like that about time.

From a sort of human concepts standpoint, I suppose we created the idea of time to make and share distinctions relating to things that benefited and threatened us. Because the parts of us that feel threatened are the parts of the infinite universe that happen to be concerned with their own survival. Because within infinity exists every finitude. And occasionally a sandcastle becomes particularly conscious of itself as sand rather than as a sandcastle. And then someone replies that there isn't any sand.

@Shadowraix Thank you!

It appears to me that talking openly about depression and working to treat it can sometimes help to do just that. I suspect keeping such an unpleasant experience a secret or pretending it doesn't exist could make it worse. Admittedly my experience of depression is limited.

Hi Shaun Do you have much time outside of work that you could use for research? There are books on career changes, life coaches etc. Have you taken a personality test for example?

Acknowledged.