Caoimhin

I challenge anyone to study the saints, read devotional books, and the Bible and not become a Christian. For me, I was stuck in new age and new thought for years, however I realized that I grew more and more enslaved to spiritual practices that wouldn't give me long term peace. I grew neurotic, spiritually arrogant and profoundly self centered. If I'm God, then it's what I want and what I manifest that determines reality. It is prideful and arrogant and narcissistic. I selfishly used people and tried to manipulate reality to get what I want and what's worse is I thought I was being "loving". However, returning to Christianity, I realized that it was the only religion of true humility. All other religions are about you saving yourself through works and practices. However in Christianity the idea is total surrender to the will of God. The foundational piece that got me is this: you can't do good unless God does good through you. I recommend studying the Christian mystics and reading the Bible with awareness that it's all about Christ's sacrifice, even the old testament refers to Christ. Ex: The ram stuck in the thorn bush that took Isaac's place as a sacrifice, Jonah being thrown into the ocean to calm God's wrath, Job's trials of faith and surrender, the Passover lamb and the manna in the desert, etc. do it as an experiment, I know a lot of you have read a lot of spiritual books, however, the Bible is one that most people don't give a fighting chance. You consider the Bhagavat Gita and the Tao Te Jing as having truth but discount the truth in scripture. Read books like "the Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence, "Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence", and "the Imitation of Christ" For an added challenge pray and ask God to guide you to truth and to soften your heart... see where it takes you and after a month you can drop it if it doesn't speak to you. At least you gave it a true chance before disregarding it. I believe that if you give Christianity a genuine chance you might come to appreciate the nuance and mystery of Faith or even be on the path to sainthood yourself. I recommend the Catholic or Orthodox traditions and talking to a theologian, because they have the most connection to mysticism and true communion with Christ, not just backyard Bible study. may God bless us and have mercy on us and let His will be done through us. Fell free to reach out if you have questions or just want to chat.

@Jodistrict well put. Christianity is a heart posture and a path to the total surrender to the will of God. Through God's grace, Christ's sacrifice, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can be made perfect.

@Santiago Ram beautiful analysis of the sermon on the mount brother.

@Santiago Ram This is very true... Honestly, though I no longer believe psychedelics are useful on the Christian path and only open your mind to corruption and demonic forces(like aliens and "angels"). I would like to see @Leo Gura actually explore wiping the slate clean and accepting Christianity on a trip or attempt to disprove it by actually studying it and praying on it. I know he won't, but If by God's grace he does, that would be an epic conversion and Leo would make a great Orthodox Saint.

@enchanted interesting connection. the issue with making this leap is that the trinity(Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is always referring to Christian theological claims. It's not a metaphor or pointing to something outside of definitive Christian theology. Therefore, the Son is always Jesus and not reffering to anything else. To take it out of context would be disregarding the source material and make a metaphor that sounds nice but is baseless and ill applied. In Platonism there is a similar philosophical idea(the Good, The Intellect, the World Soul), that is a different idea and aligns more with the "trinity" you refer to. The trinity is a complex thing to grasp. I heard an Orthodox priest explain it as, the Father is all Love, the Son is all Sacrifice(we could also say God's Will manifested through Christ's perfect obedience), and the Holy Spirit is all Wisdom through which God's Will moves through His creation.

@meta_male I'm sorry you had that experience. It's difficult to have faith when there is silence. I struggle with that too, a lot. However, it's in the silence that we are called to have trust in God the most. When I struggle I read about Divine Providence, or the truth that everything happens for a reason and for our soul's greatest good. I would challenge that there is no fear in love claim, even Leo points to the intense fear of absolute love... Fear in love in is the fear of being separate from God, whom we love so much and Who loves us so much that He allows us to deny Him and to chose separation from Him. Even without belief in the Christian God, I hope that you still find value in praying for truth and guidance and are open to whatever you might be lead to. If Jesus is the truth He will make that known eventually and in divine providence. If He isn't then, you lost nothing in trying and found truth in that. "God, guide me to truth." "Lord, if you are the true, guide me to you." "God, give me the strength and courage to trust you." are a few simple prayers I said every night before falling asleep. If God can hear it and you are genuine, then He won't deny you it. If not, it was worth a shot and on judgement day you can say you gave it an honest go, and there is peace in that(assuming Christianity was true). feel free to message me.

@Princess Arabia "I challenge anyone to study the saints," is not an assumption, it's an invitation to a challenge... like in my marathon example, if i said, "I challenge anyone to train for a marathon," it's pretty open and people who have trained for a marathon are not offended because they know that the target audience are people who have not.... the second one is an assumption that people here have read spiritual books. Yes, that's an assumption. Should I not assume that people on this forum are well read? The carveout is that most people don't read the entire Bible, even most Christians haven't read the whole Bible, I know that I haven't finished it yet. Again, if i said most people haven't given running a marathon a chance, you wouldn't call this an assumption. now, there is an assumption that we are typing in the same language or if the other person exists.... so if you are going to just call everything i say an assumption, in the most general sense, I'm assuming everything. now, since you are challenging my "assumption" you can stick it to me by saying that you've read the entire Bible and studied the saints. Or you can fall into the category of people that haven't and to whom I'm addressing.

@Aaron p never read it, but nonduality is pretty simple bro.

@Princess Arabia you're assuming that I made that assumption. If someone did give Christianity 100% effort and a genuine chance then i'm not actually talking to that person. If i offered a challenge to train for a marathon for a month to see if you like it, would a person who ran a marathon and didn't like it think i was making that assumption, or would they realize that i was talking to a different audience?

@Sempiternity if your claim is true then nothing is dangerous outside your own opinions and standards. So there is no harm in being Christian for a month or a year then dropping it... also, your own belief is a snake eating it's tail because knowing and not knowing are the same. be skeptical of your own truth claims.

@Leo Gura so surrendering your will for the unknown will of God is arrogance? It is a truth claim so it is "arrogant" in that sense. But we are talking about the implications of that truth claim. The main assumption is that God loves us Perfectly through Christ. Christian mysticism is based on trusting in the unknowing of divine providence. I'm sure you've contemplated what God's love would look like if God was separate and higher than us, it would be Christ. Put the same rigor into studying Christianity and Christian mysticism as a steelman. If you can make a valid steelman argument disproving it, I invite it. I've already did for myself. Truth can't be threatened. If your right than believing anything has not consequences, so believing in anything is pointless, however we will believe in something so it might as well benefit us during this life. if Christianity is right then there is a consequence.

@Ishanga thank you for your response Ishanga. This perspective is helping a lot.

So I've gotten to a point where I'm questioning everything. I'm also considering everything. I'm not sure what is true and I guess I'm waiting for the dust to settle... How do you guys ground yourselves when reality seems groundless? I've subscribed to many things, but most signification influences have been LOA, New Thought, and certain aspects of Christianity, but everything is being considered and questioned and some things are terrifying me with the implications. All that said, I'm mentally stable and functional, I've just been having moments of intense not knowing and questioning reality...

@LoseYourvelf I think what he is pointing to is acceptance

@Ishanga yeah, i need to move more into being rather than be thinking, let that be my guide

@Someone here like a groundless ground

@Yimpa that's a good perspective

Just wanted to share a book that has radically changed how I think and has massively impacted my life in one year. This book always grounds me and reminds me of my own power. The best thing is that it is 85 pages of no BS. you could easily read in an afternoon, but if you are the thinking type and need to digest, it will take you a week or so. For me, Every sentence and every paragraph are deeply insightful and worth meditating on. Here is the link to buy the book on amazon: https://a.co/d/4hZrXJ5 (it's $3.75) here is the audio book version:

for me, because I have and ADHD story, my favorite is Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate. others are Self Therapy by Jay Earley(it's an intro book into Internal Family Systems)

Hey Guys, I went back to Leo's video on the 9 stages by Susan Cook-Greuter, but the link to the pdf didn't work. Does any one have that pdf available to share? I would like to reread it. Best

***Before you comment, give irrelevant advice, or make assumptions about my lifestyle: I work out twice a day, eat a very clean keto diet(maximized for high T, circulation, libido, and optimal brain function), haven't watched porn or masturbated in 2 years, and had sex earlier that day with no issues (and can typically have sex multiple times a day)... this is not physiological at all... The point of this post is to address subconscious and energetic blocks to sex and to remove stigma and social expectations placed on guys when it comes to ED and sex. I've entered a new paradigm and understanding of conscious sex and relationships, I don't care about "not getting the lay". Please read the post before commenting, I expect more from this community. This not about fixing ED but about understanding the wisdom behind ED(when there are no physiological reasons), hence the name of the post.*** Soooo, the worst thing a man can experience happened to me last night... That's right... A smoking hot woman, butt naked on my bed, wet and ready, and the little guy doesn't want to work...ED.. I haven't had this problem in a long time and I thought that I was over this issue, but of course, insecurities come rushing back. To be fair to myself and give myself credit, I handled it well and immediately gave myself grace and forgiveness, and I assured her that it wasn't her fault. We talked and messed around a bit more but the little guy wouldn't move so I just decided it wouldn't happen, tossed her her underwear, and accepted defeat. The rest of the night, although slightly off, wasn't completely awkward and I rolled with the punches. I probably won't see this girl again and I'm fine with it. There isn't really coming back from that. And I've learned not to force things that aren't working. As I reflected on what happened, I realized that there are a few reasons why this happened and I'm coming to terms with it. Reasons ED happened: 1. I wasn't ready: That same day I broke things off with a girl I've been seeing for 4 months. I know it sounds short, but those 4 months we had been through a lot and grew a lot together. I'm also the type of guy who does get very sentimental and attached. It was a difficult break. The reason the break up happened was because we weren't exclusive (more like friends with benefits or a pseudo-relationship) and she saw me with another girl and it broke her heart... I respect her for confronting me about it and respecting herself enough to leave... This was a good girl. I felt like an asshole... I was selfish when she was so good to me(bought me things, ran errands for me, cooked for me, did my dishes, gave me massages, drove me around)... It was a hard break up and hard truth to face. 2. I'm out of integrity: Recently, I've been considering celibacy. After the break up I knew that this next phase was going to be celibacy or committed monogamy(leaning more towards celibacy). Unfortunately, I already had plans with this other girl for that night, I thought it might be a good distraction and I didn't see it going anywhere... Surprisingly, the date went really well(it's funny how when you don't want a girl to like you and you don't want to have sex, you become very charming and she likes you more). When she asked to come back to my place, I should have said no. But again, I didn't think much of it. Once we got in the uber, I started to feel bad. I was afraid that my ex would see us somehow and that, that would hurt her again. I knew I was not being honest. I should have said no... but old habits die hard. When it got to sex, I was reluctant but went through the motions. It all went down hill when I went to grab a condom and I realized that I had limp dick; 100% flaccid. My body was telling me, " bro, we decided to go celibate, wtf?" and "what about the girl you just broke up with, she did so much for you, she cried over you, you're really going to do this to her the same day?" Damn. I felt like a piece of shit... I was a piece of shit... 3. Energetic and sexual mismatch: Some of us think that we need to be studs all the time and fuck every hot girl if we can... But some of these girls are just bad for us and the body knows this... Initially, I thought this girl was going to be the committed relationship I was looking for, she seemed like a relationship type... But as we were talking, lots of red flags were coming up(and ofc I have my own shit too). She had a shy, timid front but was a trouble maker deep down... She talked a lot about how she had trust issues, but she mentioned how loyal she was... She mentioned her dysfunctional family; mom was a cheater and, father was a cheater. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW A GIRL LOOK AT HER FAMILY LIFE...She mentioned on the first date that her last relationship was a 2 year relationship and that they lived together. I assumed the break up was a while ago because she said she was ready to date, but when I asked her how long ago it was since the break up, she said it was a month ago and that she slept with her ex less than a week ago(around the time we had our first date)... Energetically, I could tell something was off with her, and my body knew as well. ALWAYS READ BODY LANGUAGE. The eyes tell the whole story. I noticed that her eyes were very shifty and shaky when holding eye contact... This means she is not being honest or that something is off. This girl was hot but totally a mismatch... We try to overlook these things because the girl is hot, but it's important to not overlook these things, especially when they are super hot... Her communication was also very blunt and very forward. At first, it was refreshing, but it quickly became off putting. We got along well, but there was very little sexual chemistry. She was cold physically most of the night, until she expressed interest in hooking up. At first I put her in the relationship bucket, but she wanted to be in the one night stand bucket and that was disappointing for me... Right now I'm done with serial, casual sex and "situationships", I wanted something more stable, healthy, and long term... This girl just got out of a relationship and wanted to have causal hook ups.. I just ended my FWB relationships and wanted something stable... we met exactly at the wrong time LOL. Two weeks ago, I would have been on the same page... When it came to sex, my penis said, "we aren't going in there, this girl is bad for you, celibacy is good for you, and we don't want part of this". Your body knows best. If the little guys isn't working. It's probably because you're out of integrity, out of alignment, and/or the girl is not good for you... Before writing this, I was still in my head feeling bad... now as I review what I wrote, I'm grateful that my dick tapped out... my body was protecting me. This is not a good girl for me right now. I'm glad that I learned all these lessons and that I totally dodged a train with this one. Erectile dysfunction was a blessing. Woman have defense against unwanted sex, they don't open up if they don't trust or feel comfortable with a guy, they avoid guys that are sketchy. We assume that only woman have a defense against having unwanted sex... But men have that same response too; they don't get hard.... I ultimately didn't trust her and didn't feel comfortable having sex. My body protected me, even if I wasn't directly conscious of it. She never viewed me as a serious option. I was revenge sex to get back at her ex. I was a distraction and male attention while she figured out how to get back at her ex... I was a place holder and a desperate rebound... I'm probably thinking too much into it. but now I know how woman feel when guys just want to use them for sex and an ego boost. Funny how karma works... Lessons learned: Be clear with yourself what you are looking for and what you want. Stand firm on that. **vet her immediately and don't let anything slide** Ask about family relationships, if there are toxic patterns, ask them what they are doing to heal. Ask how long ago their last relationship was, if it was healthy, if they feel ready to move on, and what they are looking for.(do not take their word, but observe their body language) Ask if they are still talking to their ex(if yes, it's a red flag and should not be taken lightly). Study and observe their body language, especially the eyes, they can lie but their body can't. If they mention trust issues this is a direct red flag (their subconscious will warn you to stay away, trust the warning!). Trust your intuition and trust your body** Ultimately, take red flags seriously... trust intuition, and if you experience ED, consider that your body is tell you that something is off... Don't take it personally, and don't be hard on yourself(pun intended). Examine the situation and thank your body for its wisdom!! When it happened, I told her, "my body is saying to take it slow and that I can't force these things..." Self acceptance is critical in these potentially sexually scaring moments. I'm proud of how I handled the situation and I demonstrated to myself a level of growth, maturity and self-love I didn't know I possessed. I learned a lot and I developed a deep trust with my body and intuition. ED is a brutal teacher. Bonus reframe: When men experience ED, and most if not all men experience it at least once, we immediately think, "I'm not a man/I'm not man enough". The funny thing is that only men can experience ED, making it a very "manly" condition, literally. If you never experience ED, chances are you are a woman and don't have a penis to begin with... HAHA

ED from what I've noticed is 9/10 mental.... i haven't masturbated or watched porn in 2 years, i could definitely improve my sleep schedule though.

absolutely, I had my ex on my mind and how much this would hurt her if she knew... eventually I'll be back to normal function but I do need time to heal and process the break up in a healthy way and not just jump to the next warm body. Thank you for your vulnerability and perspective, totally a mental thing.

Thanks brother! I appreciate that

Exactly, yes, there is a lot of social conditioning and expectations that men are always supposed to be ready to have sex with attractive woman... or that ED is a purely physiological condition that needs to be corrected(for most people, ED is totally psychological and even spiritual when we consider blocks in sexual energy, even for fat people, it's really just insecurities and not a lack of blood flow). As we can see there was even a bit of shaming from the comments. A lots of assumptions about my lifestyle(I work out twice a day, eat a very clean keto diet, and haven't watched porn or masturbated in 2 years lol). And advice about how I should have been more sexually creative to make her orgasm even when I wasn't into it and how I should take supplements or take boner pills to ignore my body's signals... essentially raping myself just for the sake of "masculine" pride instead of honoring my divine masculine's boundaries and deep inner wisdom. Thank you for your added perspective. It really is something that most woman don't shame men for and are totally understanding of, and in most cases they blame themselves and take it personally (which is something I'm aware of and made sure to comfort her as much as myself)... It's similar to the penis size shaming that is feed to most men. Woman don't care much about size and that's something men obsess and mutilate themselves over. It's very upsetting how much we reject ourselves and our bodies, and shame others for ego... Even if she is judging me or talking badly about me, I rest easy knowing that I respected myself and listened to my body... something most people don't know how to do.