ZZZZ

So I've recently started a high-stress career that I've been training for years to begin. I generally handle high stress situations well, and I never would've considered myself an anxious person, but I'm now realizing the effect that anxiety is having on my overall wellbeing. It's not necessarily affecting my work performance, but I am taking work home with me (mentally) when I have any sort of uncertainty or negative outcomes on the job. Coworkers are also occasionally describing me as anxious (which is the first time in my life), and my interactions with others are also being negatively impacted by my demeanor when I start to get overwhelmed. That being said, I've had several significant people in my life who have changed their lives for the better by starting anti-anxiety medications, and they've recently suggested that I try the same. I would also consider their anxiety levels to be much higher than mine, with panic attacks being one of the major symptoms that I tend not to battle with. I personally do not take any medications right now, and I know the benefits that a good diet, meditation, exercise, etc. can have on mental health. If I'm being honest, my meditation practice has been the only area where I really feel like I've been lacking lately... I tried to start ashwaganda to see if I would get any benefits from that, but I would describe the effects as mild-placebo at best. I guess I'm just looking for a different perspective on the situation, and would like to hear what others in this community think about the situation. Something tells me doubling or tripling my meditation time (from a measly 10 minutes a day) with higher consistency would really help, but at the same time, the physical effects of my anxiety haven't been very fun to deal with either. I'm of the opinion that I just need to be a bit more disciplined with my mental health, but I've also been a bit in denial about the whole thing for a while too, so I'm not really sure what to think.

@Nahm It's definitely a frame of mind and labeling issue at its core, which I understand when I am calm and unattached. However, in the moment, I get overwhelmed and buried so deep in my own mind that I cannot help but repeat the same thoughts and worries, further attaching myself to them, and robbing myself of the present moment. But I will work on embracing uncertainty... Perhaps I just need to regularly remind myself of this until it becomes easier to maintain.

I actually can't hold that for long without some tightness/pain in the front ankle, which makes something as simple as childs pose kind of uncomfortable for me. Definitely something I need to work on. Definitely agree... The other day was my first lift with the shoes, but I'll be working on that mobility the next couple of months. Based on my research there could be some degree of bony impingement at play, which is kind of annoying in terms of correcting it with a resistance band etc. but I definitely don't want to stay dysfunctional long-term.

I haven't been on the forum lately, but figured I would drop this quick suggestion to anyone that might benefit: I've been barbell squatting at least 2-3x/week for a while now, and have seen massive benefits in terms of strength and physique. I probably have ~2-3 years or so squatting consistently, but just recently realized a huge deficiency in my form that was causing me all sorts of issues like back pain, knee pain, etc. that was limiting the amount that I could safely lift. The issue was my ankle mobility. I recently bought some squatting shoes, which are basically just shoes with a hard bottom and a raised heel (0.5-1 inch of lift). These allow you to squat to depth without excessively widening your stance or increasing your toe angle (which I was doing to the extreme). I felt so much more stable today and could handle much more weight with ideal form. It was truly a gamechanger. Of course the long term solution is to work on my ankle mobility, which I've started to do, but in the meantime, these shoes have been working wonders. If you've been noticing similar issues when you attempt to squat, give some shoes with a raised heel a try. I bought the Adidas Powerlift 4's, which I would recommend. The lift on the heel is 0.6 inches I believe, which is on the lower side, but I can't imagine I would need much more.

@Hugo Oliveira Thanks for the perspective, I agree. I am definitely lacking that sense of community ever since my work environment has become more volatile and toxic. I've considered starting brazillian jiu jitsu recently, but I've been worried about how the physical strain would further throw off my routine and stress my body.

Leo's latest video has helped me connect some dots, and I'm finally understanding the nothing-infinity paradox a lot better. I've also been integrating concepts such as Ralston's "not-knowing," and it appears as though the act of not-knowing is what reveals the nothingness of everything. Is this off base, or am I onto something here? I have also struggled to experience the interconnectedness of all things in the past, and I am wondering if it is this nothingness that equates all "things." And where does "consciousness" tie into this? My concept of consciousness disappears when I am not-knowing.

That makes sense, thank you. @Leo Gura interesting. And so the journey continues.

For me the state of non-symbolic consciousness is when all duality is removed, and the only proper descriptor for everything becomes nothing. Is a state of Being a prerequisite for experiencing nothingness? All of these different concepts I've learned have suddenly intertwined.

you're right, that's what I was remembering (and have edited to reflect that), but 22 does address "love" directly. I think it was Ralston's worst explanation if I remember correctly (and he admits that himself).

They didn't seem to be on the same page on this subject as far back as 2016-2017. This was the most awkward part of the interview (see part 27* on youtube if it does not link properly): See part 22 for discussions about "love," which also seems to be a central difference between the two. In the newsletter it seems like he indirectly references taking LSD. Leo also refers to teachers who were "too scared" to take 5-MEO, and I'm assuming this is one of them based on his outward aversion to drugs.

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess these were things I had already explored to some degree in the past. I'll nudge her towards a meditation practice a bit more. I just loaned her the book and wasn't sure if it was worth the read... Now that I think about it, there are other books that I think she would like too.

Hi, I bought the Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin and stopped 72 pages in. I can't remember exactly why I stopped, but the book just didn't seem beneficial/worthwhile for me at the time. My girlfriend has been struggling with anxiety and looking for ways to improve her emotional mastery. Has anyone gotten a little farther in the book and found it beneficial in their own life? If not, do you have any other affordable solutions until counseling etc. is more accessible again? She has been struggling with anxiety primarily, with some associated depression from what I can tell. She keeps citing the same self-imposed narrative that is quite negatively biased whenever she does open up about it.

I think 20 is perfectly fine. I may have actually been 19 or 20 during my first experience. Set and setting are most important. Make sure you have a safe and pleasant place to trip, and if you're tripping with someone else, make sure they have similar intentions as you. If you're tripping alone, it could be beneficial to have someone sober nearby, or at least aware of what you're doing for peace of mind. Contemplation about anxiety while tripping would be a good start, or later when you're more experienced with how psychedelics make you feel, you could use them in public or small social settings to help you work through the mental aspects. I wouldn't recommend that for your first time or two though, and probably at lower doses.

Humans have their biases and their capacity to love is finite. These limited "points" compose infinity. What's the harm in relishing in this finitude and living in the illusion, when infinity will prevail regardless? Que Sera Sera.

Funny, I felt the same urge to let him know that he is loved after getting through that one.

@montecristo were you dehydrated? Both sneakily dehydrate me constantly

Well, the way I look at it, we only ever experience consciousness in each and every present moment, so without a direct experience of something, it only exsists as a concept in our minds. I'm not really upset about it now, it just triggered some emotions for me at the time. With the dissolution of the self, the other attachments no longer hold any weight.

So I was just watching Leo's "Top 30 enlightenment insights" video, and I just had this very poignant re-realization that every person and every thing not in my direct experience didn't exist, and I felt this odd feeling of sadness wash over me as the ramifications of that sunk in. My Mom, Dad, Brother, Girlfriend... I just lost my imaginary friends. No one exists, and it's lonely.

Are you looking at women and admiring their form, or imagining what you would do to them (and masturbating)?

I am taking an extended break from cannabis in a couple of days, which has been my most consistent habit by far. I want to take this opportunity to establish a couple of healthy habits, and possibly clean up/alter my diet. I've been piling on every calorie that I can in the hopes of gaining weigh/muscle mass, but this has always been very difficult for me. All of a sudden I am finding myself getting fatigued with this, and I kind of want to move in more of a mobility/flexibility/general wellness direction instead of focusing on strictly on strength and size. Diet wise, I'd like to cut out overly processed foods and maybe limit red meats, but I'm not really convinced I should follow any of the more restrictive diets. Any helpful nutrition suggestions or resources to evaluate? I have a pretty strong basic nutrition background, but I'd like to do a little more than just "wing it." I was considering just following a Mediterranean diet for a month or something, but I feel like it would be cumbersome to evaluate every possible option. A couple habits I'd like to work on are: Establish a daily mobility/flexibility routine. meditate daily (20 mins instead of 10), lift weights routinely (and incorporate cardio somehow), stop smoking completely, maybe stop drinking for the first month to see how that goes? Stop or reduce video game/TV usage and replace with reading books, maybe limit or delete social media. I have already been making progress towards most of these habits, I'd just like to get more consistent with them and take things a step further. I've just tried to make too much change at once, and I know that can make everything that much more difficult to implement. I just want to seize this opportunity and choose to make positive lifestyle changes. Do you have any suggestions?

Various methods. I would vaporize more if it were more readily accessible in my area. Its become too habitual for me, basically partaking in the evenings because "why not?" I thought about adding drinking short term because I haven't been fully sober for an extended period of time for several years now, and it would be easier to avoid replacing one habit with another. The side effects of drinking keep me from partaking as often as I smoke. As for the diet advice above, I'm going to have to look into the details of whats been suggested. I know intermittent fasting is a solid method for keeping calorie consumption low or moderate, but it would only make consuming a surplus more challenging. I also do not have many qualms about putting on fat, as my body fat % is quite low, and I would have an easier time with muscle recomposition if I were able to keep on any weight whatsoever.

This sounds almost impossible for me because I can only eat about 400-500 calories within a few hours of waking up, and even cant eat certain dairy products that I can otherwise eat without issue. If I exceed this or eating products like yogurt, I start dry heaving for ~30 minutes to the point of almost throwing up. It's very odd and I don't know why. Seems like my digestive system just doesn't want to work early.

You're too worried about this. You still have an eternity to live and discover.

How is it that a thought can be overlaid in consciousness and there seems to be a distinct difference VS being "aware" of the present moment with no thoughts? Consciousness is still ever-present, the attention is just focused differently (or absent). I guess the attention itself is just a different display within consciousness. Is it possible to stop projecting the feeling or aspect of attentive awareness into consciousness, or is that just another sneaky thought? Seems like it might be, but I am still struggling to see how anything is inherently different when we are conscious of being conscious, or wrapped up in thought. Maybe there really isn't a difference, and the elimination of an "observer" makes them perfectly equivalent finite slices of an infinite consciousness. (Not sure if I am making sense here, but felt like I should spit out this question while it is intriguing me. Just smoked some MJ and feeling thoughtful.)

I have not seen the video yet, but I do recall @Leo Gura mentioning this concept several times. I am also curious what his response to that would be. I guess in a way you could consider your decision to help or not help people as "the natural order of things." One could make the decision to do so for a variety of reasons.