nistake

Personally, I find it funny how triggered this guy is Though, the interview invitation was a pretty cool move from him, I'll give him that.

What exactly is the point of these kind of topics? I mean, nonduality is nice and all, but what are you trying to achieve? To teach others? To show how enlightened you are? Spiritual circlejerk? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to provoke you, I'm just interested.

Do you practise Kriya? If not, I suggest you should start. A proper Kriya routine stills your mind real good and afterwards you'll be so focused that self-inquiry becomes a lot easier and more 'fluid'.

@Hansu Great answer!

Obligatory 2014 - How To Make A Girl Squirt 2019 - Becoming God comment.

Basically the same thing happened to me as well. I went into spirituality with full focus, but forget to deal with other (basic) aspects of my life. I was also confused and pissed off, but finally I've managed to admit this to myself. Now I'm taking babysteps to overcome my mild social anxiety and I want to get experiences with girls as well. Also, I don't think you should put a hold on every spiritual practises. Spending 30-60 minutes a day doing Kriya/meditation/etc is totally acceptable. It won't interfere with your cold approaches. In fact, it'll complement them. Personally, I've been experimenting with trying to stay as aware as possible in social situations. A lot harder than it seems

Man, this thread is heavy. I really wonder what happened to OP but probably he went through it.

He had a hair transplant surgery after his retreat.

I've just recently came to the realization that I cannot skip the pickup phase. Thing is, I've got like virtually zero experience with girls and when I got into the self-development stuff, I was really reluctant to make the emotionally difficult decisions. Basically, I convinced myself that I didn't need to deal with girls, I could be happy alone and I didn't need this whole pickup thing (which is true but I think only at higher levels of consciousness). So I stayed in my convenient comfort zone, where nothing exciting happens, and went for the enlightenment stuff. Filled myself with theory and started practising meditation, self-inquiry, etc. It was like straight-up spiritual bypass. After a while, it bit me in the ass and it was painful (still is). It feels like I've got a huge hole in me and I can't fill it no matter how much I meditate and practise spiritual stuff. Before that can happen, I need to solve my basic self-esteem and confidence issues. This may sound selfish, but I also want to get some experience with girls because that has always been missing in my life.

I feel like the ability of proper storytelling is such a huge (yet somehow underrated) asset in the social game. I've got friends and colleagues who are great at it, and I've always sort of admired these people. Usually, everyone listens to them and everybody enjoys their stories even if that particular story is not that intriguing or funny. Not to mention, it's also really useful when it comes to attracting to girls. I tried to learn it at some point but gave up rather quickly. I don't really have social anxiety or anything like that, but I've been always the shy and quiet one in the group. Sometimes when I've got a great story, I tell them and I watch their reactions. Usually, no one really laughs and they change the topic almost instantly. On the other hand if one of my friends, who are great at storytelling, tells an ordinary story with a witty punchline, everybody pays attention and laughs and even asks questions afterward. I figured it was time for me to improve my storytelling skills, but I don't really know how. Do you guys have any experiences, pratical guides, tips, videos, books on this subject?

Holy shit, I straight-up laughed for like a minute

Great posts guys, it looks like I've got a few more things to work on (which I sort of knew already) besides storytelling itself. Thanks for the recommendation, I think I'm gonna buy this one!

Excellent post!

I don't think you should lie. You don't even need to go into specifics when you're talking about spirituality. At least, that's what I do. When my family and friends ask about it, I usually just say that I meditate on a daily basis and I do yoga. In most cases, that's enough for them. If somebody asks for specifics, I gladly go into details, of course.

Either you don't talk about it or they'll think you're deluded. You can't force this topic on them, because if you do, it'll trigger their egos even more. Unfortunately, that's the case.

Perfection

I also need to work on my self-esteem and I'm reading this book right now and I'm at the exercises chapter. Excited!

Try cold shower first thing in the morning. It's gonna suck, but after you're done, you'll feel a lot more energized. I do Kriya in the morning and I couldn't do it (properly) without the cold shower first.

Maybe you could do some preparatory excercises beforehand. For example, Kriya is excellent for calming your mind so that you can focus on the actual proper inquiry and you don't chase random thoughts and sensations.

I too worked at home a few years ago. It was great in the beginning but after a while it got pretty bad due to isolation. I spent most of my time at home (even after work) and when I needed to go somewhere, I felt weird and anxious. The only solution for me was changing job even if it meant less salary. At the moment I work in an office and my office mates are at the same age (sort of) and we got along nicely so it's pretty cool. Maybe you could try to find a class that you enjoy and you get to meet new people (hatha yoga, dance, etc). I did that too and sometimes I met some people that I could hang out with after class for a beer.

Good stuff! I really need to remind myself to have some fun during the self-actualization path. Sometimes I'm way too serious about the practises I do.

I've been doing cold showers for a few months now. I'm glad I switched. It gives me a nice energy boost in the mornings, my beard is much softer and manageable and it's nice to face your fear and move out your comfort zone every single time you take a shower. And as for the topic, unfortunately you have to bite the bullet because the cold water sucks every single time but after you're done, you can feel the benefits immediately.

@Shin Pretty much what I'm talking about

There's a fine line between showing gratitude to your master/guru/whatever and bowing and kissing him. I'm just saying it may not be a good idea to follow a guru blindly.