Gili Trawangan

@Mikael89 It doesn't sound like you're in a position to be picky. But hey, more power to you.

Wonderful!

@Mikael89 All that a man (by human you obviously mean men specifically, women can get sex whenever they want) needs to get sex is resourcefulness. And I think animals need that too, except for them resourcefulness is instinctual. I'll give you an example: some men have trouble attracting women where they currently are. If they are resourceful, they will think of their options and act accordingly: they can learn seduction, they can go to the gym and improve their looks, they can travel to another country where they are naturally seen as more attractive (an overlooked option by many that can solve your dating issues overnight), etc. There is not much difference.

Would love to do psychoanalysis, but where I am it is incredibly expensive, no way I can afford it. Plus, there's always a trust issue that arises for me, what if the therapist isn't good to begin with? How can I know?

@Shakazulu I do it just like described in the Stevens book. I've just learned it myself, don't even know if I'm doing it right. I do feel a lot of energy in the chakras but it's similar to what I get from Om Japa. Do you have the book?

@Neorez Thanks a lot for the explanation!

@Neorez Thanks, will try. But what is the wim hof method? I can't really use google now, but I'll check it out later!

@Psyche_92 I was afraid someone might say that

Thanks for this thread, I actually tried having a cold shower today Hasn't helped with soothing the mind, I'm still feeling a lot of resistance against doing my spiritual practices...

I still follow some of Mooji's guided meditations because his phrasing and pointings are helpful sometimes. But I cringe when watching the relationship between him and his so called disciples. I'm absolutely convinced that there is truth to the sex stories, he has a huge shadow there, I can sense it. It takes one to know one, I have it too and that's how I can spot it. I have no knowledge of any details, it's just intuition.

@Cuddy5269 Well, there are benefits to spiritual practices even if enlightenment doesn't happen. More peace and acceptance, better health, etc. But you have to trust that your understanding will grow... and it will.

@Inliytened1 Thanks a lot

@Robi Steel Yeah that makes sense to me. @zeroISinfinity I don't know, I need to ponder on what you wrote; it sounds bleak, that's my first reaction...

Also, I've had plenty of suffering, that's what led me to spirituality in the first place

@Inliytened1 I've been meditating for five years but only started to do it seriously less than a year ago. I did concentration for a while (focusing on the breath), Vipassana (stopped it after a while) and then just went for relaxing attention and just letting go. These days that's mostly what I do, just try to get to a state of no mind by relaxing attention. I also do self-inquiry which, if I'm not mistaken, brings you to the same place as the meditation I described, a state of just awareness with no identity.

@zeroISinfinity Do you feel no need at all for what people usually refer to as "human connection"? I'm genuinely interested, seeing that I also seem to have no interest in talking with people, but am still conflicted about it. Like I should want to.

@Inliytened1 If you don't mind me asking, how did you arrive to this realization? I really want to get there but it's not working so far...

This is precisely his problem. He's been a materialist very publicly for a long time and would lose his reputation if he went against that now. I'm only speculating that he has had experiences that have shown him otherwise. I agree that if we only look at what he says publicly it makes no sense.

Haha, here we go. @Jkris Just don't get married, man. People know the deal when they go into it. Or at least they should...

@Leo Gura I think Sam Harris understands more than he lets on... I've heard him say that consciousness is the only thing that we can be sure of. He has spoken of experiences of merging with reality. But he has been against religion so publicly for so long that he is afraid of losing his reputation. I think he has unwittingly put himself in a very difficult position.

Today during Navi kriya I chanted Om at the crown chakra (don't usually do that). I immediately started seeing colors - with eyes closed: green, blue and purple interchanging. It's also quite rare that I see colors, and I had never seen them like that before. Is there any relevance to this? Does it mean anything?

This is tricky, but the way to go is full on abstinence. Don't masturbate. After a period of experiencing withdrawal symptoms the desire will diminish. If your needs are strong it will be difficult. If you mix abstinence with yoga and meditation you can do it

It seems like you need professional help. If I were you I would go to a therapist. Just my two cents.

Notice how you want to stop seeking approval in order to get more approval. It's still seeking approval.

Realize that it doesn't matter. Whatever you do is fine, there is only the present moment anyway.