odefinierad

Hello there, Before I start, I would like to emphasize I am fully aware that might be a highly controversial topic and let me declare upfront that is not a trolling attempt at all. Though I fully accept if the moderators eventually decide to remove this topic -- but please, read it with a good intent in mind and respond accordingly. My motivation for posting this is to share a naive discovery that made me doubt, but in definitely a positive sense. So, a few days ago, as part of my self-inquiry study (motivated by real-life experiences), I was reading the Wikipedia entry on Psychopathy and the list of the observable characteristics started to make me really think, namely the following ones: Boldness or impudence: "Low fear including stress-tolerance, toleration of unfamiliarity and danger, and high self-confidence and social assertiveness." Meanness: "Lacking [..] close attachments with others, [..], exploitative tendencies, defiance of authority, and [..] excitement seeking." Narcissism: "In the mind of a narcissist, there is no boundary between self and other." "Psychopaths could switch empathy on at will". Let us now walk through the points again: Boldness: If somebody learns how to handle stress, accepts fear, often contemplates and therefore also accepts death, he or she will definitely become more tolerant to unfamiliarity and danger. A more self-actualized life also comes with more self-confidence and needs a lot of social assertiveness, otherwise we would just get stuck in our average everyday life. Meanness: Being closely attached to others is not the way of the superior men: if a woman comes to his life, that is fine; if the woman leaves, that is also fine, so as with friends. Self-actualized people often find ourselves to be a bit like Machiavellians, which involves exploitative tendencies or defiance of authority, if needed. Excitement seeking is also part of an extraordinary life, since that is one of their goals. Narcissism: When oneness with the universe is fully embraced, the differences between the self and others dissolve, everybody becomes equal. People living in harmony like and enjoy themselves as they are, because they accepted themselves as they are. Switching empathy on at will: When one learns how to master one's emotions, switching empathy on or off at will becomes a consequence. Hence I have the vague feeling that average people may often see self-actualized ones not only as freaks but potential psychopaths, i.e. dangerous persons. What do you think? Is it crazy to think that?

Hey, Thanks for the reply. In retrospective, your answer ("yes and no") is quite straightforward: of course, I should have known that :-) I only started to play the drums about a year ago, some time before my 33rd birthday. Although I have to confess I had previous attempts to do music, like I learned to play the (electric) guitar without a teacher and even composed songs of on my own when I was around 23, and I have been listening to music a lot since the age of 14. I am a bit sorry that I let myself gave up on playing music back then, but c'est la vie. Now, I started the drumming business in a school, and as far as I experienced, my progress is above average. I believe that is due to the mindfulness I practice in the exercises, in exactly the same way as George Lenard's book suggests. So, after digesting your answer, I might even say that the situation is actually the other way around: good performance in arts or sports may be only the by-product of mindfulness or being on the road that leads to enlightenment. That said, I think it is perfectly reasonable that professional athletes or musicians do their job better than me, a humble but mindful amateur -- though I often see that they become spiritually depleted by the process that leads to uncontrolled consumption of drugs, beating themselves up for bad results, and such, for example. So, on a second thought, being a rock star or winning the Olympics will not necessarily buy you harmony, but being in harmony gives you a much more persistent, intensive feeling.

Hi there, I have been watching Leo's videos for a couple of months now. Each week when I listen to the talk, a recurring question comes to my mind: is it possible to meditate or reach enlightenment via practicing music or sports? Last year, I decided to submit to a long-standing inner urge of mine and started to learn playing the drums. I am still doing it and enjoying it as much as when I first took drumsticks in my hands: the various coordination exercises and the opportunity to play the drum track for a song charge me completely every day (while I do not even own a drum set, I just do the practicing on speed pads -- quite enough). Though, I often feel that they require a certain calm pace, combined with a very focused attention and letting all the thoughts in the mind go away, otherwise it immediately becomes audible. The same feeling approaches me when I swim, where the correct pace and coordination will give you the fantastic sense of smoothly gliding right on the surface of the water -- or you will just sink or catch some water in your mouth that makes you cough and stop. In one of his videos, Leo mentions George Leonard's book called "Mastery" that I also read. There the author uses examples for the mastery process from sports (tennis, aikido) and music (jazz piano). So I am pretty inclined to naively believe that they might be also a tool for enlightenment. The only doubt in me is that Leo has never mentioned them. Perhaps because he does not do music or sports on that level (or at all). Well, if he does, I would definitely recommend him to use them as examples as well.