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@TheExplorer Sounds like you have an imprinted trauma from the time you were just born. I believe Somatic therapy could address what you're talking about.

Addiction is not about the substance but what the substance cover in you when you consume it. I think a lot of people use it to escape from something, instead of looking into why they have something that they need to escape from, and do something about it. By saying that you have ADHD, you're giving yourself an excuse to fail, and fooling yourself that you need something to accommodate. Have you thought about why and how long you've been hearing this excuse in your mind? That's the question I think you should ask yourself.

Before relying on an external substance, realize that you'd be relying on an "external substance" to balance what's out of balance. How long do you think this will last? Don't look for shortcuts, and as gains and results will only be temporary. Even a psychedelic experience would not get you anywhere if you don't take the time and do the heavy work of integration. Instead, figure out what emotions that you're avoiding, and face them one by one. This will change your beliefs that cause you to have self-esteem issues. There's no magic pill, and you'll save yourself a valuable time if you look inward instead of outwards. I'd recommend David R. Hawkins' book "Letting Go". Read it slowly; apply it religiously. You'll be good to go. Or work with an experienced healer for a couple of sessions.

Hey @TheExplorer, based on what you're describing, it sounds like an abandonment related subconscious thoughts are preventing you to open up your heart to others. When you say "Social settings and people tend to make me uneasy, nervous and anxious", can you notice your thoughts while they're rising, or this is something you realize afterwards? When you notice that the same thing arises, try to apply a present moment awareness to take notice of repetitive voices in your head. You might also notice certain emotions with the thoughts. Then when you have a free time, mediate and visualize that moment you experienced and get in touch with those thoughts and emotions you noticed. And then ask yourself this question: "when did I feel this way for the first time in my life" and continue your meditation with this focus. You'll begin to see some childhood memories appearing in your mind. Let them pop up and if you get a good connection to the same feeling, keep your focus on that memory. Try to go back as much as possible. You probably had a previous experience that lead you to your isolation when you're 11. Try to re-contextualize the events as just facts and feel the emotions. Once you have a good understanding of the events, take your child-self in front of you and explain what's going on. This is going to help you to open up a communication with your subconscious mind. And during this experiment, let the child to talk back to you and listen to what he's saying and continue to your conversation. After this experience, I highly recommend writing a letter to this child. Don't think much what to say, but just write whatever you want to say to him. Once this is over, also write a letter to the people who caused that trauma and express whatever the emotion you felt to them with no intention of sending this letter. Lastly, I highly recommend the book called "Reinventing Your Life: The Breakthrough Program to End Negative Behavior and Feel Great Again". You might find other related limiting beliefs and work on them at your own pace. Good luck!

Hey bud, sorry to hear about what you’ve been through. But one good news is that this emotion is going to push you for the change that you’ll need. You being here, and asking this question is an example of you’ve already taking action for it. It sounds like the emotional release during retreat was bit stronger, which could be a potential signal for a second mind to guide you. It’s good that you’re getting a psychotherapist’s help. But, the work is mostly on your end, I highly recommend this book if you want to get serious about it. Just dive in and see where it takes you. Reinventing Your Life: The Breakthrough Program to End Negative Behavior and Feel Great Again https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452272041/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_EPF7CbAE0MAT6

@apparentlynoself meditation is a different way of perceiving. The change in your perception slowly cements, and over time, you'll be able to operate, evaluate and focus much more effectively. It literally improves everything (else) in your life. It increases the thickness of your corpus callosum, which means, the amount of neural connections between your left and right brain increases over time, proven by scientific studies and supported by MRI scans. I highly recommend taking a minute or two and comprehend what this means. You'll also see why if someone is talking about it or not changes nothing.

Great question! I highly recommend contemplating on this. Trust me, you'll find the answer. If not, please DM me.

No. It makes you an “expert” or some others might say a “preacher”. And that still lives in duality. Ego is a tricky thing, but I enjoy reading your insights.

@sgn Perhaps remembering that thought is another sense in the body, like sight or smell would be helpful while talking about meditation. Just like how your ears never stop hearing, your mind never stops thinking. But we identify with our thoughts not with our hearing. That’s the whole problem of the human kind. Meditation is all about having this perspective – and being the observer. That’s why meditation is not a doing but it’s a meta-skill – it’s the skill of being. Improving this skill, improves everything else in your life. This is also the reason why your question is invalid. There is no happiness where there is no being.

You are an expert on the topic of enlightenment. But then, what does that make you?

The question is invalid. Why are you assuming that meditation is something to do? Have you considered that it might just be the opposite?

“There are guides who can show you the way. Use them. But they will not satisfy your longing” — Rumi Religion and science rise from philosophy with a no distinct line between them. Nice argument, thank you @Preetom

@SQAAD , Are you asking how to tune in to intuition? It’s more like a skill that you can develop. The most helpful for me is to meditate and wait a memory, a color, an image to pop up. Once it does, just tune in and ask for more clarity — Not with thoughts or logical reasoning. Observe and collect whatever comes up. That’s your intuition talking to you in fragments, never in sentences.

@LastThursday hahaha. I really liked your breakdown.

Thanks for asking this question. I think Allegory of Plato’s Cave touches on this the best among the things I stumbled upon. I feel that the need to wake up others is somewhat related to the deep need of staying inside the cave. It could be fear of the unknown setting in, or lack of foreseeing that there’s an outside. Ego is still involved. Instead, going outside and connecting with the ones who are already broken their chains has been a much joyful experience for me.

Most people would describe it as an experience, but it might be more helpful to think of it as an experience of tuning in to intuition - highest level of knowledge that’s accessible to all of us. If you’re using analytical logic, words or thoughts in this process, you’re not accessing intuition. Einstein said it well: The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. People who talk about enlightenment experience are talking about experiencing this “state of being” for a brief amount of time. But this doesn’t mean that someone is enlightened. There is no trophy to win. Once you know what it’s like, you know that it’s a paradigm shift. I know from experience that analytical mind still needs to be convinced (typical us, huh?), so for that, my only recommendation is to set aside an hour or two per week, and do this: Stop watching YouTube (Sorry Leo) Be relax and be comfortable Meditate for a short while Ask a question Listen to the answers. Contemplate (using a journal first) Cycle through 4. to 7. Answers will come to you in as symbols, images, sounds, memories but NOT as words, thoughts, sentences, logical explanations or judgements. I think I heard Alan Watts saying this: There is no path to enlightenment, but only a fool doesn't walk it. When this sentence makes a perfect sense to you, then you know. You’ll also know why it didn’t make much sense in the past. Much love. PS: For 4. and 5., Leo has some good videos, it might be helpful to jump start your technique.

Why “should” and “we” @Enlightened? Much love brother.

The concept of god is still a concept, it’s theory on essence. But we’re stuck with words, don’t we? Thank you @Inliytened1, I enjoy reading your posts. For others who’re reading this thread, hear this from Rumi: “There are guides who can show you the way. Use them. But they will not satisfy your longing. Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through, and be silent.”

@Drake140 I think it’s fine to think of it as a feeling, but I’d avoid assigning a name all together, because that’s the sneaky logic labeling things I’d like to think of logical mind is as being a servant. It’s a translator (one might argue it’s also a tool for conscious reflection, reasoning, etc. I got no objection there). If you accept my argument, perhaps, it’s helpful to sleep on the question of “what is it translating?”. Is it just feelings as you said, or a little more than that? Have you contemplated on “how do we feel?” It was very insightful for me.

@Drake140 There is nothing wrong with the logic, but logic is not the highest form of knowledge. I’m talking about knowing without knowing how you know. That’s a paradigm shift for the logical thinker. I think logic is extremely useful in finding good questions like — “what is intuition?”

Milos, I saw this thread randomly and thought how great your question was. You might not be looking for an answer to this anymore, but I thought I’d share my thoughts if still valuable. I think, you might be aiming to find answers through conscious reflection by analyzing – using your left brain. In this work, only use your left brain to ask questions, and then you must turn it off. Meaning that just listen for the symbols, images that pop up and feelings that rise from old memories. Don’t dismiss them. Just watch and ask for clarity for where that feels interesting to you (you can ask: what’s the meaning of this symbol?, etc.) and turn off your left brain again. It takes time to get used to it but you’ll find the answer. Great question to ask in your situation could be: “How can I love the people that surrounds me?”. And bring the picture of a person whom you’re trying to love more and let all things come up. Remember, if you’re receiving the answer in a sentence, that means you haven’t turned off your left brain, yet. Good luck.