Gadasaa

I'm on spiritual path. However, I'm finding it to be very conflicting to purse enlightenment while still having desires to succeed and experience the world to the fullest. If the ultimate aim of spirituality is to eliminate the ego and exist as one with everything else, then it's tremendously hard to function and succeed in this world which necessitates an ego. I've plans for the future. Most of them, require me to elevate my ego to certain degree, to make them happen. I notice that every time, i become humble and less selfish, others impose their ego and unconsciousness on me which causes me to bring out my own ego and it's a never ending vicious cycle. How can i reconcile spirituality with life of competition and desire?

As i was watching Leo's video"How Your Mind Distorts Reality," I'm slowly realizing that everything is thought. Everything that I've been experiencing my whole life, has been thoughts, labels, judgements, emotions that my mind has projected to what's real, which doesn't have any meanings, purpose, relationships and names. Weird and at the same time, liberating. When I was a kid, life was magical and mysterious. Why? Because as kids, we perceived everything as they are which Maslow is referring to as B-cognition and which Eckart Tolle is referring to as presence, stillness, and pure consciousness. As we get older, the ego emerges out of thought, and we develop the ability to think, and eventually get addicted to it and lose ourselves in concepts, ideas and thoughts which have lesser reality. Now, as result, everything loses its aliveness and here we're, stuck with our minds that's totally lost in itself.

@FoxFoxFox lol, got that. By the way, what's your progress towards enlightenment?

@FoxFoxFox Yea, I've realized that. So, which leaves me as nameless perception that's conscious.

Do you guys agree that the ultimate purpose of human life, is "Happiness" as Aristotle put it? But of course, in the unenlightened state. Aristotle wanted to find the ultimate purpose of human life two thousand years ago, and he reasoned that it must be the final outcome that every person on Earth, strives for. So, he did a thought experiment to find the answer. A baby is born, and he goes to school, why? to get a basic knowledge about life and get a good grades, but why? to get accepted into one of the top universities, why? To get a quality education and land at a good paying job, but why? Not to worry about money and fully support his family, why? So, that he and his family can be happy, but why does he want to be happy? Because he wants to be happy. See, that the end of the chain. It is wanted for itself, and everything else is wanted for the sake of it. See? So, he reasoned it must be the ultimate purpose for humans. If you think about it carefully, every thing in human society is established for it (happiness) such as law, government, democracy, and capitalism, etc. if you trace everything in society to its root, they were built to establish a friendly environment where one can be happy.

@Aaron p

Hey Leo, i've been watching all of your videos lately and i'm just blown away by how beautifully and precisely you are explaining the unexplainable and speaking the unspeakable to us. As Eckart Tolle put it, the mind is "the greatest obstacle to God," Yet, you used your mind masterfully, to investigate and understand the Absolute on a level that very few in the past was able to and helping other young minds to grasp it too. What a paradox! ? if it wasn't for great teachers like you and Eckart Tolle and the rest, even if i tried my hardest, i would have been totally lost. So, i just wanted to express my gratitude to your wisdom, man.

@Aakash when you say this forum is talking to itself, you're being dualistic which is making you think you're only talking to yourself and as result freaks you out. Other people are you and at the same time not you. Both are true, that's the totality.

@Serotoninluv agree!

@kieranperez yes, I agree with some of things you are saying. But, i'm referring to majority of the population who values good education and high paying job.

@Salvijus Well, enlightenment is not the ultimate life purpose for 99% of the people. Majority of ordinary people are working towards improving their lives by working, studying and pursuing a career, which they believe make them happy in the end.

@Leo Gura hmm, i'll contemplate on that.

@Leo Gura Can you elaborate on this one little bit more please? I know i've not awoken, so it's impossible for me to understand this yet. But, I really want to get a general idea of what you meant here in these two sentences. Are you saying I'm imagining being unconscious before my birth?

@Leo Gura This is what's giving me the most trouble. If i try to remember what i was before i was born, it's just nothingness, no memory, no consciousness, just blank which is same as death. And how can you say this is godhead? This life is only thing I've ever known, nothing else.

That was good one!

Really appreciate your response guys!

@loopy My understanding is that in reality, everything is one. Only one thing exists and that's it. But, that one thing can shape shift itself into any form such as humans, animals, insects, planets, galaxies and etc.. And, that thing is formless and all powerful beyond our wildest imagination as Leo says, and has existed forever and will exist for eternity. But only from the perspective of the human mind, in reality there's no time, there is only now which means that thing just is. Here we got our first example, because human mind can't understand now, it divides it into past, now, and future, which is making it into a different parts which is duality. Time only comes into existence or becomes relevant if something has form that's subject to change, death, and destruction. As i said earlier that thing that only exists, be in many different forms and the human mind can't see it holistically, so it divides it up and puts into bits and pieces and focuses only one aspect of it. For example, happiness and suffering is a same thing in a sense, if you can see it holistically. The only thing that's separating them is time. You may be rich and happy now, but after a decade you make some bad business decisions and you go bankrupt and as result, suffer. You see, your happiness turned into suffering which means they're one thing just like water can be in a solid, liquid and gas form depending on the temperature. I hope you see the point.

I've tried therapy but i can tell you that most psychologist and therapists have no idea what you're going through. But if you want to try, you can go ahead and get some therapy but you'll soon realize these people have no idea about your condition.

@studentofthegame Man, i've been suffering from anxiety almost my whole life. It all started when i was thirteen and now, I'm 30. The biggest reason why my anxiety has persisted for so long, is that i was trying to stop my anxious mind using thoughts, which will never work. It's like you're trying to heal a broken leg by running more and more. Something very traumatic triggers the anxiety in the first place and the anxiety begins to feed the mind with anxious thoughts, and that's the birth of the vicious cycle that so many people are unaware and become unable to get out of. The main thing you can do to relieve your anxiety is, to take away all of your attention from thinking and focus it on something else, it can be a noise, an object, feeling or space and keep focusing at it, even if it start to feel very uncomfortable and irritating. After a while, you'll suddenly start to feel different in good way because, now your mind had a little bit of rest from thinking and no longer thinking as much. I think you have to do it thousands and thousands of times before you're completely free of anxiety.

@bejapuskas Thanks for sharing your experience. I really like the idea of being more real about yourself and honest. So, that way one can clearly see what needs to be improved. If I'm dishonest, then I'm just deceiving deceiving myself.

Hi, My name is Al and i'm new to this forum. Recently, i've been feeling like that i'm doing worse than those people who don't do self development at all. About a month ago, i was let go from my job. Now, i'm pursuing a new business opportunity which i'm not certain that it will work out. Friends and people i know in general, that don't do self development seem to be doing a lot better than me and I'm wondering why that's the case. I'm not trying to boost my ego but honestly, I feel like i understand about the nature of things a lot more than most of them and yet, doing same or worse in general. What am i missing? What would you suggest that i do differently to be more successful? Thank,

@Truth Addict @studentofthegame Really appreciate your responses, guys. Yes, I really want to succeed to show that entrepreneurship is better path to financial freedom and personal happiness. I think that the two things that's holding me back the most, is fear (anxiety) and procrastination. I also totally agree that observation is one of the best ways to learn and grow.

@Leo Gura All right Leo, I really appreciate your response! I'll definitely take a look at that video of yours you mentioned.

That totally makes sense, progress is surely non-linear as i experienced before and i should stop comparing myself to others.