WonderSeeker

How do you ask good questions? Perhaps even more fundamental: What is a good question? My thoughts: Good questions are "big-picture"-focused, Good questions open new doors; they aim to raise consciousness, Good questions are relative to one's own needs, and Good questions are foundational (like the italicized/bold question above). Of course, what counts as a "good question" is entangled with our socially-constructed world. What this forum considers to be a good question won't be by mainstream culture. Does the ability to ask genuinely good questions rest on awareness itself? Can only "I" or "you" decide for ourselves what is or isn't a good question? I have no fucking idea yet, but this is a start. Please share your thoughts~

I hope to have one and only one in my future. There's just something beautiful about reproduction - it's literally a miracle. Also, I love the curiosity and playful joy that kids have: something about that sparks joy in me. Being a parent is something I've always fantasized about, and NOT because society wants me to have kids. But if you're asking why I'd conceive over adopting, that I cannot answer

I think to actually understand Godhead you'd have to experience that for yourself. It one of those ineffable states, if you will. Like @lmfao said, Wilber's work may be good to check out, because it expands on spiral dynamics (also the term "Godhead" is used to describe a meditative state). Again, best advice is for you to go to the higher stages and experience them for yourself. (Then tell us what you did to get there when you get back! )

@fridjonk Ever try cacao nibs? They make an amazing topping for smoothie bowls!

I think the worksheet is meant to guide beginners using the method. Once you've done the worksheet a few times, you can start to apply Katie's principles in all situations. Just memorize the questions. Every time you feel your ego creeping up (i.e., you having a negative thought), be aware of that and just start asking the questions to yourself on the spot. Three hours is too much time to spend on this. I recommend doing the work in ordinary life instead, using real examples on the fly. Good luck!

If you don't want to go the psychedelic route, Daniel Ingram's MCTB book gives the Dark Knight a solid treatment. He gives you some resolutions and practical advice for navigating the territory. Just another option.

@Rasheed Huge props to you for taking life seriously. I respect your drive. In my own experience, a guiding principle I learned early is patience. Like you, I want to be a creator. But it will take time. Your love is for basketball and Law of Attraction; mine is geology and epistemology/consciousness. In my case, I'm using all of my free time (which is very little as a graduate student) to read, research, and plan. Reading, writing, drawing, reading, writing, drawing,...and contemplating! If you block out say 1-2 hours each day of reading/writing for the next 4 years, you'll go a long way. Cheers!

A few thoughts: Any ideas on the source of the ego backlash? Why do you think you need to focus on materialistic values? Do you study meditation theory? It sure makes a difference. Perhaps do some serious questioning before making any firm decisions yet. Cheers!

This is a BIG step! I wonder if other states will begin to follow suit in the coming years.

That's a very interesting scheme^^ Thanks for sharing! As of now, I think Pennsylvania is going to be very high-leverage for either side. Trump currently has a huge lead state-wide, but if you look at county data, the counties containing three big cities (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown) are strongly for Biden, with only ~25% reporting. And they stopped counting for the night. Wouldn't be surprised if Trump's current 12-point lead goes *poof* when they count the remaining votes in these densely populated, Biden-leaning places. There's still many "early"/mail-in votes that need to be counted in other northern U.S. states as well. It will be razor sharp overall, but I think Biden can pull through.

After 8 months of daily meditation, I've noticed that I'm experiencing deeply buried old memories; stuff from childhood that hasn't come to my attention in years. It's nothing short of mind-blowing and most of it causes deep joy when recalled. My question to you is have you tried any techniques for intentionally channeling memories vividly? With the Cause-Effect nature of reality as a given, I'm trying to understand what can trigger these things so I can relive them more. I think there's insightful stuff to gleam from one's history. Cheers!

There's no need to close off yourself from resources that are "out there" for learning. From the way I see it, you still need to go within to first to realize that as Doug, you need to help yourself by seeking professional help with that molly addiction. Then if you manage to clear that up, then you can go within again and find the next step. However, you're also partially right. You also probably need a roadmap to do these things. But taking deliberate action will show you how important going within is if you've tried it. They kind of play into each other. In short, you need to have your bases covered (kind of like how Maslow puts it) before you can go within to solve deeper metaphysical deficiencies and so on. Perhaps someone else has a more nuanced answer; this is just my take. Cheers~

Perfect, I understand now!

@justfortoday Neat technique, thank you for sharing. Also, solid illustrations! Just for clarification, when you say "you," do you mean just the body, or are you using "you" a more nuanced way. Otherwise, and please forgive me for sounding arrogant, but everything is relative so are both the world moving around you and you moving through the world? I don't see how you can just say one over the other. Thanks again!

First of all I'm sorry to hear that you've experienced such fear, it sounds pretty frightening. It seems to me that you are a thinker type, and from that you generate some solid insights. But integrating those insights into the dream can be problematic and triggers some unwanted thoughts and the thoughts can translate into the body. Maybe try doing Byron Katie's The Work. If you have her book, Loving What Is, she has a chapter (11) which talks about doing The Work on the body. "The Work" is just a series of introspective questions that you impose on thoughts to see that they cause self-deception. For example: Is that true? Can you absolutely know that's true? How do you react to the thought? Who would you be without that thought? After reading that book and doing the exercise I feel like a different person. That's my perspective on working with difficult stuff. Hope this helps! Be well~

So far... 1. Loving What Is, by: Katie Byron 2. The Big Leap, by: Gay Hendricks 3. Food Of The Gods, by: Terrence McKenna 4. The Structure Of Scientific Revolutions, by: Thomas Kuhn 5. Mastery, by: George Leonard

Long story short, it sounds like you're going through an inner transformation which will manifest outwardly sooner or later. I'm in a similar boat right now as I am in graduate school and feeling highly dissatisfied with it. I'd say pick up some "Emotional Mastery" books on Leo's book list and work through them. Especially Loving What Is, by Byron Katie. What you'll come to realize is that you are perfectly okay where you are and things will fall into place. Trust your highest intuition. Strategize. Do some contemplating and introspecting and you'll start getting answers. As @Origins said, it's your decision. Best of luck!

What does your experience tell you about the difficulty of self-actualization work? Say you've been at this for five years now. Was year one the hardest? Did you underestimate the time-commitment? The emotional labor? Does the difficulty stay the same and you just become used to it? Or does it get harder/easier? I'm closing in on one year since committing to this work. It has already been very rewarding. On the same token, it has been an emotional roller-coaster. I now truly appreciate why most people would rather just live life blindly. Cheers!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that. You are principled, and you are aware of cultural programming. Good. It's going to feel weird and scary walking a different path than others around you. Understand and love others for who they are, but live your life the way you want. It may take a few years just to put your life on track to begin more rapid, serious growth. That's where I am right now. I've come to grips with the fact that I need to take 3-5 years to rearrange things and pay-off debts. What you have to do is begin self-actualizing. Don't just follow the work. Take action. It will cause more suffering in the beginning, but pay-off in the long run. Good luck!

I take it you have negative experience with school? The way school is administered today is certainly conducive to suffering. I'm in grad school right now; I understand. Best of luck to you! That's the spirit!

Nice topic! I would say that I've been in the green-yellow transition zone for the past year or so. Similar to your own and UDT's experience, I've been deliberately exploring systems and the theories of how they work. After a while, you realize that you-yourself are a part of many different systems. You feel a need to care for each system, because you know that what you do "out there" can come back to bite you in the ass if you act selfishly. You simply become a lot more careful about how you act in the world, owing to higher levels of responsibility-taking. I've noticed that in the transition. Above all, this transition has been nothing short of wonderful, but also emotionally laboring. Let me tell you, the emotional baggage that you need to carry with you as you transition gets heavy. But of course, as someone learning the yellow values, you can see that you are doing this intentionally because you have long time-horizons in mind, and you know that the baggage will be worth it!

This speech alone is why Bernie should be the leader of the Democratic Party. He laid out accurate, highly principled viewpoints. His vision is superb, and on top of that, his framework for how to approach the election, including all of the possible scenarios that could occur, will be key for strategizing and understanding!

Children doing childish things. The sad thing is they wouldn't have designed the ad this way if conservatives weren't into this crap.

Physical violence and specifically domestic terrorism will continue to increase. I'd imagine there will be loads of intimidation to "fall in line" from his most passionate supporters in a mob-like fashion. It will be utter madness if he's reelected.

@Leo Gura, What inspires you?