SaynotoKlaus

Some of my old hobbies that i do to relax sometimes, are pretty bad for my awareness. They seem to have the opposite effect that meditation has: the more i do them, the more unaware i become. These things would be for me video games, music and watching (too many) videos/movies. I want to replace them with some activities that would rather increase my consciousness. The only one i know is drawing what you see, this is really good, sometimes it feels like meditation. But this type of drawing requires considerable mental effort, so i can't always do it. I was wondering if you guys know any other hobbies that increase your awareness, or at least they don't ruin it.

If the pain keeps getting worse and you feel like your losing your mind, i recommend that you stop all practices and just do this.

The standard eastern spiritual advice on how to enlightened and solve you psychological problems is to watch your thoughts and your emotions. This never worked for me, every time i do it what happens is that i get tormented by my thoughts more and more until the emotional pain is excruciating and i feel like i lost my mind. In the beginning it feels like it's working, making me calmer and more focused, but eventually it gets more and more painful until i feel like doing acts of violence and/or killing myself just to get away from the pain. It's incredible how such an apparently harmless thing can do this to someone. Every time i do these meditation exercises i get the same result. Eventually i realize the source of my pain, stop and instantly get relieved. But on my spiritual quest i often fall in this trap and i keep tormenting myself. Yesterday i started reading "It's not about the money", where the author suggests that you should watch your thoughts so you can see how they make you crave for various things. I did this and just earlier i found myself in such deep pain that i felt like i'm literally in hell. It's funny how i don't even realize that i am doing to this to myself with this habit until i stop. From my experience watching your thoughts is the worst thing you can ever do. I don't even feel any improvements in my awareness, it's just pure pain. The way i increase my awareness and master my emotions is by doing mindfulness meditation (the one taught by Leo) and by focusing on the world around me rather than my emotions and thoughts. So basically what i have to do is the opposite of this buddhist advice. I also saw on this forum multiple threads with people that describe the same experience. There is something wrong with this type of spiritual practice, and a big lack of knowledge in this field. I'm posting this to see if i can get some answers. Why does this happen? Don't you think this practice is dangerous to teach, because it might get someone to keep insisting with it thinking that if they face the pain they will get enlightened, and eventually they end up killing themselves?

Are the effects of enlightenment better than those of daily meditation? Spiritual people talk about enlightenment as if it's the best thing you can ever achieve, and some enlightened guy (Thich Nhat Hanh) said that most enlightened people would rather live one day enlightened, than a lifetime unenlightened. If this is true, then why should you meditate at all? Isn't it better to do only self-inquiry, since you daily free time is limited, and you want to get the best out of life? My logic says that there is no point in meditating, only after you get enlightened. But who knows, maybe meditating hardcore for a decade, lets say, is actually better than being enlightened.

I want to try yoga out, but there are no yoga classes in my city. Can you share some resources where i can learn it? Maybe some that focus more on the practical side, and don't fill your head with too much nonsense?

This video confirms the idea that whatever you do in life, you'll be miserable. Kind of disappointing to realize, but at least i won't be deluded by false expectations when it comes to meditation.

@BeginnerActualizer Leo never mentioned that meditating cross-legged is important in any of his videos, so i guess it doesn't matter that much. If i remember correctly, when he had his first enlightenment experience, he was sitting on a bench. Personally, i noticed that in the cross-legged position you have a better back posture, but the leg pain pretty much ruins your meditation sessions if you are not flexible.

White rice is supposed to be a rather unhealthy food , because it lacks nutritional value and it increases the chances of getting diabetes. But this makes me think of asian people. They are notorious for eating white rice all the time , and (from what i know) they have overall better health than westerners. So how come they are doing just fine with this, while our nutritionists tell us to stay away from white rice? Maybe the studies are wrong?

I suggest you do the mindfulness meditation instead of "do nothing" , it gets you better results and it's not as uncomfortable. And don't sit cross-legged, it's too painful, just sit on a chair, lol.

Does this mean i can reach enlightenment by playing TES?

I think a factor in your "insanity" might be that you got caught up in all this what's-the-meaning-of-life-and-the-truth stuff , which is a big mindfuck , if you think about it. Maybe you would be better off if you would just stop caring about this. I for one don't care about this stuff anymore, and it feels nice. Also you chasing the good feels definitely ruins your mental stability , i know this for sure because this is exactly my main problem. I often feel like you , that i'm crazy and have no self control when i keep trying to feel good all the time. This article might help

Does reading in dim light damage your sight? Someone told me this is the case.

Please recommend me the best books you read that teach you how to think like a rich man and create abundance in your life. I know some popular titles , like "Think and grow rich" , "Rich dad poor dad" , "The secret" etc , but i have the impression that these kind of books are just well marketed products who tell people what they want to hear , and the only ones who got rich because of them are the authors. I have been relatively poor all my life , i would like to study something that helps me to change my mentality , so i can never worry about money again.

Everyone in the self improvement field says that you should never give up on your dreams , and persist no matter how hard it is. But what if you are never getting anywhere with that dream? When/how do you know this? People say that you can achieve anything if you are perseverant , but that's not true. Life has it's limitations. What if working on your dream it's just a constant struggle? And every time you make a step forwards , you inevitably step back where you started from? What if you have this subtle feeling that you just suck at it , and your goal is forever out of your reach? Shouldn't you rather settle down with something you're good at , rather that keep struggling with something you want so bad to be real?

Science has proved that our minds are much more vulnerable that we like to think. Constantly exposing yourself to a certain environment and language will definitely affect you in a way or another. You seem to think that the christian doctrine might be true because it fits with the buddhist one. But are you really sure that the buddhist stories are true in the first place? I mean you also exposed yourself a lot to the buddhist doctrine too ( i know this because i'm a wizard). Also just because some things the preacher says seem true , don't forget to also take into account all the bullshit which you know it's not true. People are prone to judging something as 100% true once they see a couple of pieces of evidence that might prove this is the case , even though before they saw 8 that disproved it. Did you notice how religious texts (both christian and buddhist) , even though they claim to tell the ultimate truth , they are pretty abstract and open to loose interpretation ? I mean you might think the words mean a certain thing , which you kinda want it to be true , while the persons next to you hear whatever they want. My suggestion is to do your research on christianity from a neutral perspective , if you really want the truth. As long as you keep going to the church you are not neutral. Maybe you could do this if you also go as often to atheist meetings.