meta_male

@ZenAlex You got this, man. Btw, some therapists do online sessions, might be worth looking into as well.

@bebotalk Ok, thanks.

When you read someone's emotional state it's cognitive empathy, when you feel their emotional state it's emotional empathy. I'm not annoyed, but I know it can seem like it...mirror, mirror...

@bebotalk Watch your narcissism...

Big red flag. Ideas like starseeds, twin flames, soul mates, empaths and all these other new age spiritual terms only create more separation and rabbit holes for the minds of those involved. People want to feel special and different from others so they go looking for concepts that make them feel good. This is not based on truth, it's a distortion.

@ZenAlex That's good! I don't meditate in the classic way either due to past trauma. Funny enough my therapist also recommended Eckhart Tolle. I used to feel ashamed for "bad" emotions and thoughts and felt a lot of pressure to get rid of them instead of just watching.

This ^ Also way underrated, this:

@MellowEd What's originally referred to by hell is either death or a dump hole outside the walls of Jerusalem – Gehenna. Eternal torment is mostly fantasy, although you could say people experience a state of hell when they suffer as their growth becomes stuck.

@ZenAlex Congratulations for being aware of your inner family I'm assuming you haven't done IFS before? It can definitely be done on oneself, although I doubt it's effective when starting off on your own. But apparently there's courses online, be sure to check those out. I feel your pain, bro. Watch mental images, emotions, thoughts, sensations that come up, just allow them to appear. And then just watch, watch, watch. This takes time.

I've never heard or experienced anything related to this concept offline.

Mirror, mirror...

How could a woman enslave you?

@bebotalk You'd be surprised. No such thing as an empath.

I'm surprised you didn't get murdered for that

There's no benefit for someone to be pushed to smile if they don't feel like it. There are people who are simply happy – they usually smile. If you're in a bad mood then you can get triggered by these people, even if they're not needy and leave you be. These people are wise because they are happy for the sake of being happy and because it makes them feel good, but they understand not everyone is feeling the same way inside. Then there's insecure people who really get on your nerves and need to pour their happiness onto you, more so to feel superior. They mean well but are socially uncalibrated. They can ask dumb questions like ArE yOu hAppY? WhAt HaPPeNeD tO yOu? WhY dOn'T YoU sMiLe MoReeeeee?

There's so much space, why wouldn't they move over?

@mmKay OP needs a BMW-awakening *flash flash*

What's the energy one feels when people are holding others up?

I often feel bad, but when I feel extra bad then I scream, kick or punch something, insanely repeating "it's all fine :)" in my head. If I'm aware I'm feeling bad then I'm doing IFS, visit the part I'm feeling the most intense and try to find out what it's trying to tell me.

@mr_engineer This is a real solid post, man!

That's not being yourself. Most people haven't learned what it means to be yourself.

This ^

My problem is I have zero interest in forgiving them because not doing so is not causing me much stress anymore, more than anything it has helped me grow (weird I know). Maybe I'm just not conscious enough or something. I guess it did make me a little bitter at times, but there's bigger fish to fry, it's not all about the outer world Let us know of any new insights on this after your retreat btw.

Yeah similar, although I was never very close to them, this family member looked after me as a kid. For me it felt as if they've died and I caused their death by cutting them off so to speak. The whole thing caused a big drama in my family. There was quite a bit of grieving involved, which was mostly just overshadowed by hatred for the way this person treated me. I can't see myself forgiving them in the near future unfortunately, maybe one day.

@trenton Forget life purpose and grinding when you're feeling depressed. Sometimes it's important to do the counter intuitive thing and slow down. Step back and get into the present moment. From there you're more creative and will find ways to get to where you try to work towards or find alternatives that are even more aligned with your values. Just give it enough time.