Surfingthewave

@Preetom Murder, violence, suicide and madness IS happening every day all over the world, and is getting worse. This is due to the rejection of the thing holding us all together you talk about and letting the mind rule. Our minds are getting more and more monkey like as our access to knowledge and information increases. Why do you think we need forums like this?

Interesting video @Leo Gura with these deeper levels of consciousness you claim no one may have ever reached, how does this impact on your day to day functioning? As in you still got to eat, pay bills, talk to people, sleep, have relationships etc. Do you think that you get to a point where your life turns in on itself? I get a sense (or I should say, I imagine that) that from your latest vid what was once your life, is no more.

@Shin I don't see any difference between your list and a list of what being a woman means. I recommend reading The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry, this will give you valuable insights into what he describes as the "Default White Male" and how society has been constructed by this. @Emerald Studying how modern feminism and misogyny co-exist today, particularly in relationships and the world of work is so important when deconstructing masculine and feminine traits. This is needed to needed to break down perceptions, and I'm constantly surprised on this forum. I like how you have done this, sounds like you've been quite a journey yourself.

Excellent questions to ponder. With these questions @electroBeam you've begun to unravel thousands of years of socio-political conditioning. The only way to begin answering these questions and making a difference is seeing these social constructs for what they truly are. I've come to realise, you've got to play the game. Yes you may feel like a cog in a wheel for time but if you play the game, you can use this to your advantage. The power is in the illusion, but that's all it is, an illusion.

Politics has screwed our (UK) young people's future opportunities. So yes this video is needed. Also I'm interested to hear that doing this video is also a distraction from your inner work, so why do it?

@Nahm Thank you I value writing and journalling so I will try this list. I've used affirmations before however not to state what I don't want. Do you mean, the dream is what the " I" really is, and what we all seek?

Wasn't sure whether to post this under meditation/consciousness or here. I've had some real insights recently into long term verbal abuse I suffered as a child, from a sibling. This has come up recently following lots of meditation practice and deep inner work. I kept getting stuck on ego backlashes and deep rooted behaviours such as avoidance, excessive spending, self sabotage and "giving up" when things were going well. Now this all makes sense, my ongoing difficulties with low self esteem, limited self beliefs, why I question myself all the time and in the past why I have suffered anxiety, insomnia, and depression. I have talked to my sibling about this years ago when I was going through some real anger issues but we just put it down to sibling rivalry and bullying. I have had counselling before but for something else. Anyway my question is, what next? Now I've realised the root cause is it about letting go and carrying on with the work?

@throw-22 Thanks for your honesty here. What do you think your story is giving you? As in, you mention being "stuck" in the story. Sounds like the medication keeps the wolf from the door (I'm no expert btw). The self MEDS (meditation, exercise, diet, sleep) keep us in check but problem is we need a whole lot of motivation to keep that up. A six week retreat/cleanse /healing will shed a lot of light on your story, most people don't have the time for this. I wish you luck.

@Nahm Yes, there is no next. But there IS infinite possibilities. Although I do feel what seems like fear perhap it s fear of the unknown, like I'm entering a new realm. Ps You really should write a book ? @ajasatya Thank you, I would love to be able to meditate 24 hours a day. That's the dream.

@Bill W @mandyjw I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed the male ego on this forum, doesn't stop me posting though. I think that male energy can't help but protect itself, perhaps that comes from the hunter part of the hunter/ gatherer which is innate in us all despite how aware we are, fight or flight type of thing. Women have been oppressed and silenced for thousands of years, so on a forum its no different. I can see why the guys whip themselves into a frenzy on here, some of Leo's earlier vids made me chuckle with the indirect sexist comments, now he is more god realised this has really improved. We're still followers on here. I'd like to think that we would get to a place when there is no duality between male and female energy, and we we see more of a merging of the two. We're beginning to see that more so in the LGBT+ world with sexuality, gender norms, work roles and family (here in the UK) however we still got a long way to go.

I'd like to discuss the role of feminine energy in society. I've met some incredibly talented female individuals through my work and life generally. In politics I think females still get a hard time and trusting women in power seems to be behind the times a bit. I think the main issue I come accross in feminine energy is lack of self esteem, confidence and women asking for what they want. Are men better at this? If so, why? In terms of self improvement on this forum male energy seems to consist of having a more competitive edge and wanting to out-do each other in terms of who is the most enlightened.

@Flatworld Crusades I love how your questions about female masturbation and balancing spirituality with sexuality has been met by a wall of silence!! That's because it IS a very able dominated forum let's face it. I don't hesitate to post, there's just sometimes too much male energy, male conflict and I sometimes to leave it to the boys to fight out

There are so many assumptions about gender in this thread my eyes nearly popped out my head. I'm not sure how relevant this is to self improvement really but looking at how this thread has gone down, maybe this needs to be explored more? If we are coming from a more non dual paradigm on this forum then reflecting on the assumptions we make (non just about gender) is much needed when voicing our opinions, but also about relationships & identity and how this all relates back to ego.

For me thoughts are events in the mind. Like body sensations there are times when these thoughts are more intense, more obsessive or more productive. Where did you here about entities?

Sorry I don't have any links but I just had 2 reiki sessions at a local massage & treatment centre from a trusted reiki practitioner.

In his latest video was that there is no "point" to life. As sincere seekers we like to think there is, but really, there isn't. Although Leo's list gives us pointers, meaning and purpose.

I agree with you @Tom T I had similar experiences myself. Reiki is very powerful and shifted lots of things for me.

Fill in the blank. For me it is highs and lows, and gaps where I'm falling off. Motivation, commitment and perseverance seem to be difficult. Anyone got any good tips for seeing through all the crap and staying on the path? I'm training to be an artist

From skulls to suffering to ego, love and discipline, this path ain't an easy one. Before shoveling through all that shit to freedom didn't Andy Defresne spend 20 years perfecting the craft of diligence, patience, discipline, and knowledge acquisition in an oppressive environment of suffering and torture? Sounds a bit like life pre enlightenment.

Something in Leo's last video resonated with quite a bit (no shit). He talked about suffering with physical health problems and how he feels he needs to take a break. Just got me thinking our bodies tell us what we need, so in terms of awareness practices do we focus too much on letting go of our thoughts rather than our bodies' feelings ? Eckhart talks about the body/mind link but what really is gut feeling? Isn't it what we feel even before we are aware?

The biggest threshold guardian for me on this journey is avoidance. Avoidance of those daily habits that are needed to meet those goals, avoidance of those big challenges to help get over plateaus, avoidance of doing the things we need to do reach the top. This is the part of self help which is like the dog chasing its own tail. (I'm also aware of the NO self part of the journey). So how do we make ourselves accountable? I've done the thinking about your own death bit, goal setting, recognising ego backlash, considered coaching etc.

@Flatworld Crusades Good tip, thanks! I like the white board idea. Something about seeing things written down out of your head objectifys them. I've just spent today going over my goals and why I'm doing the things I do. Massive trigger for me, leading to avoidance is fear of sucess!! I relate to a lot of those concepts you mentioned especially self indulgance and no perseverance. Sounds like you have benefitted from this approach.

I love the list of words @Sahil Pandit and yes getting up early is such a good practice.

@studentofthegame Yes I think it has been key for me that it has been the one constant I have stuck to over the years. I struggle a lot with motivation which could be linked to fear in some ways and I've found meditation has cut through all that. I also think its not one thing alone so like you so also use other things including yoga, walking in nature, contemplating, self help books nutrition and exercise. I recently had amazing results from reiki massages so I'll continue with that.

@studentofthegame I can relate to you when you talk of your anxiety, I used to struggle to get out of bed in the morning due to crippling fear. The most effective thing which has helped has been meditation. Try just 10 mins a day, Leo has a good guided one on here about letting go. Seems like you could benefit from letting go of thoughts, by doing so this relinquishes any power these thoughts have and over time you'll begin to see the benefits. We can sometimes use rigid routines to control our anxiety or fear but this stops us experiencing from one of the greatest things in life, living in the moment and being spontaneous. Also exercise can really help with sleep this can also help with energy levels even when you haven't slept. Sounds like you are beginning to turn a corner, credit to you.