Gesundheit

So that you can feel confused and post these questions, and so that you receive my answer and other answers from other people.

OCD is a malignant form of high consciousness that results from repressing and denying low consciousness.

@Someone here Care to take a look at what other philosophers have said about the topic of epistemology? Perhaps Kant in particular.

To me it seems like the problem is on multiple levels: Judgement. You judge yourself for being who you are and thinking what you think and wanting what you want and doing what you do. This is problematic because judgement is literally nothing but a thought and you're giving too much value to it. Maybe work on seeing through the judgements you make about yourself through meditation, and practice self-love in order to heal. Biased judgement. So, you do certain things and some them seem fine to me but not to you. However, you lump everything together and demonize them all. For example, for me, being inconsistent with exercise doesn't mean that you're necessarily slacking off. Maybe you don't need to exercise every day. Don't force things in a neurotic or a mechanical manner, especially fun activities like exercise. You should aim for the joy that's within them. Really, if you're not exercising for fun, then what's the point? Health? You can already see how the way you're going about health is being counter-productive. Your psychological health is very important and if you're not feeling well, then there's something wrong. On the other hand, I agree that gambling and porn addiction are bad for you. This can be overcome with more awareness because addiction is nothing but lack of awareness. The patterns your mind is used to, to derive joy, are not the best patterns and you know it. They're just loops of dopamine seeking. If you want to break the cycle, you will have to increase your awareness by all means. And you should also expect pain and setbacks and perhaps even backlashes and regression at first. But the important thing to keep in mind is the ultimate goal of freedom, i.e. to be able to do whatever you want whenever you like and be able to stop yourself whenever you want to. This should motivate you to want to get rid of addiction. Fear. Which is understandable and seems reasonable, yet at the same time being resisted and blocked by thoughts. Examine in your direct experience what you fear exactly and dive in the feeling until you're no longer affected by it. The fear will still be there but you will become more detached from it and it won't have this much impact over your life. Responsibility. How you feel is your responsibility, completely, and 100%. Life and circumstances don't make you feel good or bad unless you allow them to do so. You can shift the responsibility to your own hands and make it your devotion to take care of yourself and master your emotional state. I know it may sound like a lot of work, but it's really worth it. Because the better you feel, the more potential you will have, and then exponential growth will start to happen. And of course, the sooner you start, the better. Start small and be gentle with yourself. And if you forget, remind yourself to love yourself. Feel free to discuss anything if you have to. I'll try my best to be of help. And finally don't worry, a lot of people have been exactly there, and it only gets better.

Because higher consciousness is built upon lower consciousness. You cannot go very high if you deny the lower consciousness. The counter-intuitive approach is to apply awareness on the low consciousness activities. So, instead of judging gossip as bad, try to understand it, why it exists, how it works, why people do it, what are its effects both positive and negative on you and on others, etc... Be as creative as possible. This is one of the most powerful things you can develop in your age.

Yeah, notice how you're judging them as "low-consciousness". Can you let go of that judgement? This is key if you can. Because the ultimate goal is to integrate low consciousness into your life instead of denying it. The more you deny something, the more shadows it leaves behind.

The moment you talk about it you lose it.

??

Solipsism is just a student misinterpreting the pointers offered by his guru. The guru says: Stop thinking about the world and concerning yourself with it. There is nothing out there, or here, but you. You are imagining the whole world. The students, unfortunately, was born with a triangular head, and you know the rest.

Socialize, especially with people that know nothing about enlightenment.

@Hawkins This is a common problem and you are not alone. Your mind wasn't actually blank. It was busy and failed to perform. On a scale from 1 to 10 how would you rate your relationship with your emotions? If it's low, then chances are what I said above is true and you need to get in touch with your emotions. For that purpose, I would recommend a retreat or a vacation where you can take a break from life and focus more inwards, and perhaps treat yourself a little bit better. I did exactly that a few weeks ago, and I tend to be more of an introvert. Miracles started to happen! On the way back home, I started chatting up with random people in the bus and on the streets. I talked with one guy for about two hours and with another for about 30 minutes. All of it was completely effortless. I hope my experience inspires you, and I'll be happy to see your reaction. This retreat was the first one I have ever done (10 days; 5 of them were vacation with friends, and 5 others were me alone doing inner work). It was one of the best things I have ever done.

@Shiva99 I don't know your life situation, but since you said you tend to slack off without negative motivation, I have to assume that your basic needs are met, because if they weren't, you would have to be authentically motivated to fulfill them, because there's no stronger motivation than the fear of death. So, if you let go and nothing happens, doesn't that mean that you don't actually want anything to happen? Don't you think that it's a message from your authentic self that it doesn't really have desires? If you slack off and do nothing, what exactly will happen? How exactly your life will change? And most importantly, will you feel good or bad?

Confidence is the feeling that you have before you understand the situation lol. Jokes aside, the type of confidence you're talking about is derived from ego. If you identify as ego, it's very easy for you to lose confidence once the external circumstances change. However, if you identify as the Self, you will be confident as you are without the need for external acquirements.

@Shiva99 Don't feel bad for who you are or what you want or do. Everytime you feel bad, ask yourself: why am I feeling so? Notice that it's probably a judgement about yourself that is causing you to think negative thoughts and feel negative emotions. However, recognize that these feelings are the feul that is allowing you to make all this progress. Think of it as a pendulum, the worse you feel about yourself, the more progress you will be able to make. That's negative motivation, which is fear-based. However, there is another form of motivation, which is love-based. Read more here: www.lifehack.org/829873/positive-motivation In my opinion and experience, if you want to be completely authentic and at peace with life, you will have to drop both forms of motivation and learn how to be present in the moment, which requires high levels of awareness. So, if you really want to solve the problem once and for all, raise your level of consciousness. Meditate more, contemplate more, do whatever you feel is required for you and feels natural and most importantly right for you. Ask yourself: in this particular moment right now, what do I really want? Maybe it's a certain food or a drink or a talk with a friend or anything else. This will be your emotional compass that will help you understand your thoughts, feelings, and desires, and ultimately yourself, which will lead you to the ultimate peace of mind.

Are you saying the epistemic problems of science would not resurface in spirituality? Cuz I already see them and they're gross.

Ego survival.

Trying to go meta on existence by dissecting it into thought and perception, and whatever else it could be.

I agree. Although I would argue that you won't necessarily be cast out if you don't conform. Since you exist and have value and things to offer, people will have to conform to you. The more valuable you are, the more authentic you will be able to express, the more influential you will be. Your place within your social circle will change depending on the value you provide for others. However, value is relative and arbitrary. Some people will like you for your insecurities because of their sympathy, and others will run a miles away from you. Some people will like you for your passion, and others will despise you for it and be jealous. Some people will like you because of your conformity, and others will bully you for it. Etc... There's no science to social interactions. And probabilities don't apply here. You can have the best maps in the world, and still be unlucky and suck, and fall into the first pit on your way. All you're left with at the end of the day is yourself. After all, if you don't love and value yourself, what does it matter if everyone else does? And if you do love and value yourself, what does it matter if everyone else doesn't? Sounds about right. Maybe it's stages that everyone has to go through. Then again, "Alpha" people seem to have it naturally. For that reason, I think it's possible to copy their strategies without necessarily having to go through all the stages. Their strategies are simple (although unconscious): confidence and self-love.

Else.

I will, of course, that's my devotion. Nothing shall escape my microscope. So now we're talking facts? Okay, but how about you stick to your facts and I stick to mine? You don't see me so I don't exist. I don't see you but I believe you exist. To talk to someone you don't believe exists is asinine. No? Being true to your facts should make you almost paralyzed. Although, to me, it doesn't seem to be the case at all. Maybe it's not me who wants to believe in a second layer. Maybe it's you who's denying anything your current paradigm. You're undermining thought as if carries no truth whatsoever, and yet you're using thought to tell me what's true and what's not. You will say: but I'm pointing you to your direct experience. Discard the pointer and look at what it's pointing to. And my reply will be: yeah, but that would require a leap of faith on my part to trust your pointer and give it value. After all, what if you're deluded? What if you pointing me to my direct experience is nothing but a delusion? You see, I don't take these things for granted anymore. You're assuming that perception is the ground layer of reality, or raw reality. Is this assumption true or false? Yeah, poor me.

And what if after discovering that there is no me, years later I discovered that there is me? What if "me" is an idea only from a perception standpoint? Wouldn't that make it a relative fact to that particular standpoint? After all, I am here. I exist. How can I say that I don't? Just because I can't (currently) perceive something (myself) does not necessarily mean it doesn't exist. Maybe I will be able to perceive myself in the future. Maybe I'll discover some other tool than perception and thought. Right.

Insightful response, as always. I thought about it. There would be no difference to me. But that doesn't make my subjective perspective the absolute truth, only a tiny part of it.