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@John Iverson Funny I just made a video about that book. It was the first real Non-Dual book I ever read and it blew my mind. Basically jump started my meditation habit. I still read it from time to time to bring me back into presence.

@Joseph Maynor Of course. It's infuriating to the linear mind with it's limited perspective. But looking back I can see that even my brakes have served me. I wasn't as ready as I thought.

@Jayden Birch I'd focus less on whether you're going to be a "sage" and just follow your curiosity. Sage is just a label. No one can give you a definitive answer on this. In general, college is good if you need some sort of technical knowledge or a degree. They're training employees. There's also your financial situation to consider. You'll save a lot of cash not going to college, cash you could be using towards your life purpose. Meditate on it. Ask for guidance. And then just make a call.

@h inandout Sounds like you're talking about running seminars or workshops. That's a proven business model, provided you really do your homework on marketing. I'd study people in the personal developement field who are great at running seminars. Tony Robbins or T Harv Eker come to mind. I'd also start attending a lot of seminars and / or get a job with a company that hosts them. That will be great training for you.

@-Rowan I'd suggest his latest one on motivation. That will inspire you to really take action on the course.

@Geromekevin I liked Sam Harris a lot too in the past. Coming from the scientific, rational paradigm of the world, he was kind of like my "bridge" into spiritual topics because I respected his opinion as a scientist. But I don't read or listen to Sam anymore. One of the bizarre things that Jed McKenna pointed out about this journey is that you sometimes quickly find yourself "surpassing" your teachers. I consider them more like vehicles that got me from point A to B than gurus who got it all figured out.

@Elton That's true, people do that. They've done it to me, so I empathize. Can you think of a time when you've tried to change someone?

How would you treat a little kid? To me, it's just about understanding that whatever I am or whatever I'm doing, it's perfect. It's a meta-level form of acceptance. Made a mistake? Perfect. Succeeded? Perfect. Angry? Perfect. Happy? Perfect. Nothing is not "allowed" or "wrong". You could start with this video from Leo. I know people on the forum really love this one: A lot of it is also about becoming conscious of why you don't accept yourself completely already. Ever think about that? As a kid, you didn't need to learn how to accept yourself fully. You just did. So what changed? What belief systems were you imparted with that brought you away from how you should naturally see yourself? Final tip, I'd also look into Energy Work. A lot of these emotional hangups can be due to stuck energy, and you can clear them with just one energetic practice.

How would you respond to someone who acted this way to you?

@smd Is that actually what you believe? Not being sarcastic.

@Mount Bananas The clouds parted for a little bit. Keep meditating and they'll keep parting more and more.

@John Iverson What do you want us to do? It's a sad story, but you're the only one here that can fix these problems. Go meditate. Things will become clearer.

I'd really question the assumption that the UN knows what it's doing. Don't fall victim to the authority bias. Anyway, if something on that list strikes you as important, fine. Start moving in that direction. Your life purpose is about narrowing the infinite potential list of things you COULD DO into that small niche of a thing you ACTUALLY want to do. So if you're just getting started, it's okay to go broad. You'll get more specific over time as you learn and development more self-awareness as to what you truly value. Just start moving.

@Ross You've got a long road ahead of you man. But it seems like you're open to changing, so I'll leave this here: General gist is this is gonna take a lot of work. You're going to have to find ways to practice socializing, improve your inner confidence and much more. But it can be done. If going out and socializing is too hard right now, you might have to take a step back and just work on you for a while. Start a meditation habit. Study what women are attracted to. Get some exercise into your daily routine. And then build from there.

@Spiral I like nudes if it's a girl I'm already having sex with. It's fun if you're both horny but can't physically get to each other at the moment because you're at work or something. You can use it to build the tension for when you finally see each other. It's like foreplay. Also, getting nudes from a real girl is way better than some random nudes on the internet. There's a connection with her and you know you get to fuck her later But some random girl I've just met? Nah, not my style.

@Hardkill I never understood how much slut shaming girls went through until I started doing cold approach pickup. What you quickly realize is that a lot of Game is not even being this super confident, alpha guy. It's creating a situation where the girl feels totally comfortable and that she is not being judged. Whatever that means for her. I've seen girls flip from cold to receptive in just a few seconds by alleviating that concern. I've seen girls flip from receptive to cold once they feel judgment. Then you start having sex and you realize how many girls are sexually repressed. They sometimes have these bizarre rules that have nothing to do with you, like she can only have anal sex or do it in certain positions. She can't let go. This is why something like Vegas is so popular. It's like a free pass for casual sex because Vegas "doesn't count". What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Also, a lot of slut shaming is subconscious. Maybe people aren't running around going "don't be a slut!". But it's implied. It's in their subtle actions, not necessarily their words. It's really no different than how you get conditioned into all sorts of subconscious beliefs. Then you have to go on this whole personal development process to uncover it and rewire it.

@Hafiz I'd try exercise and a hot sauna. Also, get some sunlight. It's not a perfect solution but it will help with the day to day.

@Siim Land It's tough to accept this because everyone is so attached to their thoughts being "real" and "theirs". But if you can just accept this, then it becomes the ultimate advantage. Because you realize can consciously program yourself to think any damn thing you want. Want to have gratitude for every moment? You can train yourself to think that. Want to have total confidence in your abilities? You can train yourself to think that. So really the hardest part is just the letting go. Letting go of your old identity and comfort zone. From there, you're free.

That's a lie. Of course she does, that's what is in her best interest. Would you want your supply of free money to run away? I'd break it off asap. Find yourself a girl that is at least self-sufficient.

@rorghee I'll second what @AleksM said about doing it first thing every morning. That has worked beautifully for me. However, you may not be energetically in a place where you can handle a daily meditation practice of 30 minutes. Try just 20 minutes and build from there over time.

@Jedd Try some Kundalini yoga. There's a girl on YouTube named Kimilla who is fantastic: Also, there's a book on Leo's booklist about awakening your Kundalini. You might want to check that out.

@Colin Nice shares. A technique for reprogramming I don't hear talked about often is what Tony Robbins calls incantations. They're like affirmations on steroids, because instead of just repeating your affirmation over and over, you're going to make some sort of physical move at the same time. Makes it sink in deeper. Here's an example of him having people do it at his seminar:

@Mohamad Tahmas Yes this works really well. Speculation, but I'd guess part of it is because when you take on the role of the teacher, your subconscious mind assumes you must know the material.

@kieranperez Of course you find examples of people who rose from poverty with no formal studying of personal development. Your life is ultimately in your hands, and so if that is what you chose to do you could do it. Plus, some people from poverty might have more emotional leverage to actually take action on improving their life. But that doesn't dismiss that YOU should be doing personal development. Why wouldn't you use every advantage you have? Do you think people pulled themselves from poverty by ignoring the opportunities they got? Formal personal development is a huge advantage. You don't HAVE to do it...but you don't have to do anything. Also, consider that personal development is far more than material success. Maybe these people pulled themselves from poverty. But what are their relationships like? Their health? Their spiritual connection? Their life purpose? Their happiness? I find it extremely rare that people nail all of these. Notice that everything your friends and family advocated ultimately ends with you living a mediocre life, doing something for work just to get by. Your friends and family are not going to understand doing personal development. They have their own limitations and will put them on you.

Don’t worry, I think I threw them off the trail for now! Yes, yes, there is no mod conspiracy. Just go back to your regularly scheduled posting. Nothing to see here.