Christian

@Max_V When you are contemplating fear, you want to get to the essence of what fear is. That can require that you ask certain underlying questions, but the purpose of these is to uncover certain parts of the answer to this main question of "what is fear"? You could ask: what is fear made of? What different types of fear exist? What is fear dependent upon? So in conclusion: you can ask underlying questions to the main question if it supports you in answering the main question. Not otherwise.

I think the point of contemplation is to derive profound and deep answers to questions that you ask. Obviously, that requires concentrating on one question for an extended period of time. Also, it seems to me that it is more emotionally difficult to focus on one question compared to asking lots of different questions in a contemplation session. If you sit ask ten questions when contemplating assuposed to one, you will likely give superficial answers and rush through the questions which defeats the whole purpose.

@kieranperez The books you should be reading should be in alignment with your top 10 values and the context you find yourself in in life . Your values and life circumstances can certainly change and that means what you read is also subject to change. I also reccomend that you create a strong vision for your life and find your life purpose. You already state that you have a bunch of high quality books, but you never quite seem to finish them. Well, try somedaily meditation practice. Meditation is a key stone habit which means it affects other areas of your life. Including your ability to focus. Meditation also increases your will-power which means it will be easier for you to build healthy habits in the future. I will end by saying that the key to all success in life is learning. If you learn the right things and you learn them early, that will set an extremely strong foundation for your life. What are some things you should be learning about? Psychology, self-help, philosophy, meditation and enlightenment, nutrition and fitness, business and marketing, relationships, sexuality and biographies. Strategize on which topics you should spend more or less time studying. Maybe enlightenment is not the main priority for you right now. Fine, then maybe it will be in 5 years when you have mastered business and marketing regarding your life purpose.

@faith Self consciousness is a sort of meta-awareness over what you identify as you. In other words, self consciousness is basically self observation. Imagine you are just simply whatever you identify yourself with and there is this hawk always looking over you, watching your every move and is aware of it. You are like that hawk when you are aware of yourself in a sense. It is like the observer, you, is percieving the percieved you. It feels to me like I'm sometimes looking at myself through a camera lense when I'm self conscious. Self consciousness rests on the assumption that you exist. That you are a perciever and an object percieved at the same time. This assumption is utterly groundless and there is value to gain from questioning your own existence. This is where enlightenment work comes in.

@Joseph Maynor I think it is neither trivial or easy to think positively if you practice for a long time -- months and years. It can have an impact on your psyche, but it takes a lot of time, patience, consistency and practice. And it requires that you get very clear on what you want first before you can manifest it. The more specific, the better. More money, a nice relationship, good friends are examples of vague desires and the law of attraction says you can't manifest these things by being wishy-washy. Clarity of intent is a foundational principle. You need to be clear. It is better to say "I have 5000 dollars in my bank account" rather than "I want more money". The first statement is stated in the present and tangible, the second is not. You also need a consistent daily practice -- it could be visualizations or positive affirmations regarding a specific goal. At least 60-90 days straight. If you do these things, that makes positive thinking neither trivial or easy. It makes it difficult yet powerful. To complete these 60-90 days of consistent practice requires 100% commitment from you. But sure, just thinking positively one day, that is trivial and easy.

@Joseph Maynor Just no... This is in no way advanced work at all. Anybody can think positively and it rarely works or has any lasting impact on people's lives because people are lazy, inconsistent and expect too much too soon. Reprogramming your mind is tricky and positive thinking is not enough by itself. By the way, be very skeptical about anything you claim to be a "hack". There are no hacks or magic pill solutions. Personal development techniques work when you practice them for years, not days or months.

@Jordan wang In my opinion, the best thing you can do is to create a system that allows you to take action and apply the concepts. That system in itself demands an approach where you balance theory and practice. Too much theory is bad. Too much practice is bad. Balance is the key. But it is all about dynamic balance. That means sometimes more theory, sometimes more practice. Not necessarily 50/50. If you say "I will just take action when I know the theory", that is a trap. The extend to which you can understand theory depends mostly on the action you take in the field you are learning about. Example: Let's say you want to learn about relationships. So you study some RSD, but you have approach anxiety and take no action at all. That is the wrong approach because the theory will not be placed in any real-life context and therefore it is meaningless. Instead, the better approach is to go out and do game in field, listen to theory, go out again, analyze, and eventually you become very skilled at pickup. Hope this helped you in some way

Firstly, the problem with being a nihilist is that you add negative meaning to the fact life has no meaning. In reality, the fact that life has no meaning is in itself meaningless. Reality is deeply, profoundly meaningless and there is nothing "bad" about it. Secondly, the other issue is that you are quite unaware of how your thinking affects ordinary physical reality. David Bohm who was a brilliant physicist talks about how important it is to have proprioception of thought. That means awareness of thought itself when it is taking place so you don't suffer the consequences of thinking without being aware that you are thinking. When you think that reality has no meaning and add negative emotions/meaning to that thought (and are unaware of it 99% of the time), reality becomes meaningless, dark and depressing and you get all these effects as you described. Become aware of the systemic, mechanical nature of thought and its relationship to perception of physical reality and you can stop this pattern. Highly recommend reading the book "thought as a system" by David Bohm. You can find it in Leo's booklist in the category epistemology.

@Jordan wang There are many approaches to retaining Leo's videos. But I think in essence what it is about is understanding the big picture. To understand the big picture, you should try to connect the dots between core concepts he talks about. The best method for doing that, in my opinion, is taking notes. Sometimes, Leo also has a worksheet at the end of a video which is beneficial to fill out mindfully. If all you hear in a video is abstract theory, try to bridge the gap between your practical every day life and the abstract theory. This requires deep understanding and attention to detail with regards to the theory. Ask yourself at the end of the video: What are the main points? How are these connected? How can I apply what I've learned? In the beginning, it might be difficult for you to give accurate and meaningful answers to these questions. That's okay. It is a proces and you do not need to be perfect. This is difficult so be patient and follow the proces.

@Scholar This is not just an issue of family roles. I see a deeper problem here. It seems to me that you are actually the one creating the problem! Notice that. You are the one who takes on these roles when you are around different family members. Now, you have probably been programmed to do take on these roles, but you are still activaly playing the roles and you can decide whether to continue or not. There are certain underlying benefits which motivate you to play these roles that you need to become aware of to solve your problem. Yet, before you take responsibility, this issue cannot be solved. After taking responsibility, try to investigate your own beliefs. Why am I playing these roles? What is the benefit of playing these roles? Identify the reason why you play roles and remove the source. Maybe you are afraid of experiencing being authentic because people have traumatized you in the past when being yourself. It seems you are definetly running away from something. That something might be hurt or fear. Investigate what that feeling is. Try to become really conscious of its prescence and shine your light of awareness on it every day. Eventually it will pass and your problem will be permanently solved. It might take months, but likely years so be patient! Recomnended list of tools and techniques: meditation, do nothing, self inquiry, contemplation, mindfulness with labeling, psychedelics.

The ego is like a shark in water; always moving, always distracting you from the divine. Yes, the ego can get nastier when external reality is in alignment with its wants or expectations. Nastier in the sense that the ego now favors certain experiences over others and becomes more protective of the things that validate its existence. When you are more protective, you feel more anxious, suspicious and that leads to suffering. One way to break out of the trap of materialism is noticing that it will never fulfill you. Noticing the suffering it brings and the constant struggle for happiness which seems just around the corner, but never arrives. Grasping this at a deep emotional level is the gateway to liberation from materialism. Doing some regular meditation and contemplation is important for this insight occur

Despite sex, partying and slacking off are part of the human condition, they are distractions from self actualizing. Your higher self knows what is right to do in this case, but just because you know what is right does not mean that you can undermine your low consciousness desires through sheer willpower. They exist as part of the human condition. As Leo has already discussed, you have certain needs which goes back to a foundational concept: Maslow's hierachy of needs. If you are at the bottom of the hierachy, it is likely you will have to go through stages and transcend them until you can fully commit to self actualization for real. It is rare that an individual skips all stages and goes to self transcendence directly. Most people can't handle it. Especially with the way we live our life in modern western culture. Maybe you are not ready yet to live a life fully commited to spiritual development and real self actualization work. So don't let it consume all your time; balance things out and be social, have hobbies, party occassionally. Good luck sir

There is no fundamental book for everyone. Believing that there is is just delusional. Even the likelyhood that someone will ask you why you are interested in personal development is highly unlikely. And for them to be open minded to your advice, well... you need to really be lucky to find such an individual. But if you do, start asking them questions about their life. What do you want? What area of your life do you want to improve? Help them reveal answer such questions for themselves. Then you can subtlely mention a book or source that maybe helped one of your friends to make it seem more casual. It's better than saying it helped you because it just creates a more casual dynamic in the interaction and they are probably more likely to listen to your advice. But in general, people are lazy, stubborn and closed-minded. Save yourself and do not worry too much about other people. Let them wonder how you get such amazing results in your life and only offer advice if they seek it

You are not supposed to save every point in a book; look for ONLY the information you can apply in your real life. The KEY points that really ressonate with you. Even when you have written something down in your notes, you are not likely to remember it in the long term if you do not study what you have learned repeatedly over time. Learning takes time. You need to commit to drilling your notes into the subconscious mind. Like reading out affirmations. You want your subconscious to be on board with the brilliant ideas in the book. This takes commitment and frequent repetition. Study your notes actively; don't just read over them once after finishing a book. That way, you will never remember what you learned. Trust me, I've been there

What you can do: Read books and take notes. Work within a time frame without any distractions and take short breaks in between work sessions. Develop a concentration practice. For instance: choose an object, maybe a lamp, and focus on it for 5 minutes straight. If you lose focus, don't beat yourself up; simply refocus your attention on the object. Do that everyday until you feel comfortable, then increases the time. Eat healthy What you should not do: Multitask Use social media Communicate with toxic people Eat junkfood/drink alcohol Sleep too little. Aim for 7-8 hours per night. Listen to the news Gossip Remember there are probably 100's of ways you can build concentration; if any of my techniques do not ressonate with you, be creative and keep searching for techniques that work for you. But once you find one that really works, stick with it and develop habits.

@whenastrangercalls It could be hunger or jealousy, but it is more likely egoism and selfishness. When you first meet someone new, it is difficult to trust them; you don't really know who they are as a person. If you meet someone for the first time, you would probably hesitate to share your life story because it is uncomfortable to open yourself up to rejection. Protecting ones ego and being selfish is completely natural in these new situations. But if it is a recurring pattern in your life, maybe it is a sign that people do not trust you enough. Maybe you should be more patient and accept that people lie and are selfish for selfish reasons. That is how reality works when you are in relationships. Be compassionate and love people for who they are -- even when they lie to you. Love and compassion builds trust whereas judgement builds fear and distrust. If you want to minimize the lying that is going on in your relationships, commit to someone. Dishonesty in relationships often comes from a fear of rejection or the consequences of being honest. Often these fears point to the fact that you have not spent nearly enough time with that person to develop strong trust in the first place.

Well, first of all, I have engaged in a lot of activities like partying, relationships, dating, sports, playing video games, etc. While those things are exciting in the short term, they do not bring me that deep satisfaction fulfillment that learning does. Learning about how life works is one of the higher consciousness pleasures in life; sure it is not as exciting as playing a video game, but it is a lot more fulfilling once you connect to the richness of studying. And for me personally, I would rather experience long term fulfillment and learn about life than the short boost of excitement of playing a video game or engaging in some other low-consciousness activity.

@Preetom In your comment, you state that you like to fantasize about how great you are. You are a day-dreamer essentially and you imagine that people are applauding you for how great you are. But in the end, obviously that does not improve your life in any way. All this day-dreaming just gets you out of touch with reality. Reality might be hell for you at the moment, but eventually, you are going to have to confront it. The hard truths you are trying to avoid will always persist. The best thing I can advice you to do is to find your life purpose and find a job. Maybe start working at a grocery store, a flower store or something where you can make some sort of contribution. When you make a contribution, you will realize that you do matter and it will give you greater confidence when entering the job market. You want to have some experience working. The reason why you fear entering the job market is because you fear what contribution you can make. That probably ties in with the fact that you have not been contributing enough so you simply don't know what you are capable of. Maybe also low self esteem, feelings of not being enough. To rebuild your self esteem, read "six pillars of self esteem" by Nathaniel Branden. In regards to your life purpose, find something that you love doing so much that you feel like time just flyes by and you are not even thinking about working. If you want to be great at something, be engaged, but not attached to outcome. To find your life purpose is tricky and nuanced; that is why Leo created the life purpose course. Maybe you should get on board with that and start to do some soul searching.

The problem is your position in the status dynamic that arises when your friend and his mom offers to buy you food. It is as though they are above you in a sense when you agree to have them buy you food. It also maybe creates a sort of attachment to them where maybe you now believe that because they offered to pay for your food, now you believe you have to return the favor in some other way. Furthermore, you probably feel inferior to them and you strongly value independence so when they offer to pay, you feel guilt and shame because you believe you are supposed to take care of yourself. It probably goes to the core of your masculine identity. I think that this issue suggests you value independence and are living out of integrity with it to some extend. If you don't want them to buy food, simply say no and explain why they should not buy you food. Let them know that it makes you feel uncomfortable and tell them that you want to be independent.

If you are in an argument with an undeveloped person and you know they get triggered, don't even engage. When someone's mind is closed off to being wrong, that individual is so locked in their perspective that they can't comprehend what you say. Their mind plays the false skeptic and you both lose in the end. The situation is left unresolved. If you communicate with undeveloped people at all, just be nice and empathetic. Don't try to change them! But ideally, focus on yourself the most. How am I undeveloped? Where can I do better in my life objectively? Focus inward instead. "If there is no enemy within, the enemy without can do us no harm".

@Ziggy Answers to your questions: 1) Yes and no. No in the sense that you should not work on all the things you want to change at once. If you want to build new habits, start with 1 habit for 3 months and build on that. 2) Depends on what you want. What you want the most needs to be #1 priority. 3) Use an app or a journal. I use momentum to keep track of my progress. Feel free to use whatever works for you! 4) 1-2 months should be good. 5) If you have worked on something for multiple years and have made no progress, it is best to accept it. A person who is highly dyslexic should accept that he might never become a writer. If something in your life is a dead end, make peace with it. Leverage your strengths instead of focusing too much on your weaknesses.

Take responsibility for your education. If your teacher is not doing the spoon-feeding for you in a way you like, tough luck. Do not waste your time on things you cannot control. You have nothing to say in the realm of how your teachers educate you. If they are boring -- which most teachers are by the way -- then that is reality. Accept it and find other ressources that resonate more with you. Find teachers online or teach yourself. Self-education is very important also in the long term because that translates into your adult life. Learning things on your own is more difficult, but the upside is that you become independent and build a strong foundation for the learning you will do later on in life. If your teachers just tell to memorize some formula, realize that they don't have very high standards regarding your education. But you have got to have higher standards than them because this is your education and it is important.

@Paradigm I don't think there are any magic keys in life that lead to fast growth. Maybe psychedelics, but can't speak from personal experience. However, I know if you keep building positive habits, you will see some growth in the end for your efforts. They come as a natural consequence, but it takes months and years before you notice a difference. Keep meditating, that is a great habit to have established. Build some habits that are related to your life purpose once you find it and keep working your way up Maslow's hierachy of needs. Handle the basics first as they are critical to sustain your development. My best advice to do this effectively would be to focus on the proces and be detached from outcome. Realize this is difficult to do in practice, but that means it is a valueable skill to acquire. Nothing worth having ever comes easy my friend

Start small. Maybe just study for 5 minutes and take a 5 minute break and repeat this cycle until you're finished. Work yourself up from there, but make sure that you concentrate during those 5 minutes and in general when you study. On a scale of 1-10, let your concentration be within the range of 8-10 when studying. I really like this formula from the book "How to be a straight A student" by Cal Newport: Work accomplished=time spent*intensity of focus If your focus is at a 10, and you work for 5 min, you will more work done than if you work for 45 min with a concentration of 3. See the importance of focus? Other points: -Remove distractions -Clean your room -Create a space to study - Have water and healthy snacks within hands reach Good luck

@Tendani I agree with a lot of the things you say here. Firstly, in order to achieve any goal, one needs to first have an idea of what you want to achieve. It can't be a vague idea like I just want to lose weight. It has to be a measurable, concrete goal because then you can more easily make course corrections along the way. Also, when you have your vision, it helps to visualize having achieved the goal in the present moment. But action still needs to be the main priority because no one can ever achieve anything without hard work and sacrifice which you also said. Just visualizing a goal without having an executable plan is more like having a dream. It's nice to have aspirations, but that in itself is a cult. The distinction between a goal and a dream is a goal -- if it is a real goal -- is backed up with an executable plan for how to get from A to B. Essentially how to realize the goal/manifest it