ChimpBrain

She's far too woo-woo (or "airy-fairy" as Leo would say) for my taste, but I'm glad you get something positive from her work.

You can simultaneously accept/love who you are and have a desire to improve who you are. It's not all that much of a paradox when you think about it.

Thanks! I have listened to some stuff from the guy who does philosopher's notes, going to check out fight mediocrity now.

I think he summed it up quite nicely.

How old is your body & How exactly would you describe your present consciousness? 34. Compared to the people I'm surrounded by IRL, well above average. Compared to the people on this forum, well below average. -What did you overcome to get here? I can't say I've necessarily overcome anything, just grown. -What was absolutely instrumental in your progress? Leo. He started the whole thing for me. I'd been exposed to self improvement before but with Leo I was finally able to buy into because he was so pragmatic and such a realist. -What's next? Keep spending all of my free time and energy trying to improve myself in every aspect of life until I'm no longer alive to do so. Maybe by the time I'm 70 I'll be satisfied, but I doubt it.

Can't believe this hasn't already been mentioned... http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/0195374614

I use the audio book versions. I've knocked out three 6-11hr books this week already ,not sure what that'd amount to in pages. I listen while driving, sitting at my computer, washing dishes, cooking, eating, or just sitting on my couch winding down before bed. Download the audible app and get the books on your phone so you can take them anywhere. Multitasking

I've tried different times of day, different chairs, different methods (do nothing, mindfulness), eyes open and eyes closed, and no matter what I do at about the 5min mark I start dozing off and the remainder of the session is spent fighting sleep. I have a very regular sleep schedule going to bed and waking at the same time every day and I generally feel well rested upon waking. The only thing I haven't tried is standing while meditating, the reason being, I work at a stand-up desk for 10+ hours a day and my feet could do without any more use. Anyone else struggle with this? Any ideas?

Sometimes the best thing for us in the long run is to take the hard path, not the easy one. I don't have any advice for you on how to fill your time because I'm not familiar with you're environment. I only know that if I had just started my journey of self improvement, and realized that all of my "friends" were going to hamper my progress in that regard, that I would spend less and less time with them as I got further along the path.

If they don't add positively to your life then spend less (or no) time with them. You hear about monks reaching enlightenment by living in solitude in a cave for a decade, not by spending their lives in the company of dumb, annoying, angry people who drag them down to their level. I'm in the same boat to some extent, although I'm guessing I have it a little better than you based on your description of your situation.

Read the book Psycho Cybernetics. It's great and explains the subconscious in detail.

I meditate post-workout some days. Seems to work fine for me. I'm a pro at exercising and a noob at meditating though so take this for what it's worth.

I'm new to this whole thing too, but reading about stoicism has helped me in this regard. Specifically Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and A Guide to the Good Life- the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. Both are books recommended by Leo.

Facebook was one of the first things I realized I had to cut out. Within like a week of starting to watch Leo's videos and meditating I realized exactly what you said, I just bounced from envy to self judgment to regret to judging others, etc. on there. Obviously it'd be best if I could correct the core issues within myself that cause these negative thoughts rather than just avoid the source, but until I get a better grip on it I thought it best to cut it off altogether.

Have you already watched "paradoxes of personal development"?

I noticed within the first few days of beginning meditation that I was naturally waking up about an hour before my alarm feeling completely rested. Currently I'm still sleeping less than I used to pre-meditation but instead of waking earlier I'm going to bed later. I'm just one person and my experience is subjective obviously but take it for what it's worth.

You might enjoy Leo's video The Paradoxes of personal development if you haven't already watched it. I think it'd help clear some of this up for you. Although I admittedly catch myself beating up on my "lower self" for undesirable thoughts or actions even though I've seen it. I think that's OK though tbh. Too much self acceptance can lead to complacency. I'd rather err on the side of being overly self critical and driven to improve than I would complete self acceptance and content with a version of me that's less than what I know I'm capable of. Maybe I'm creating a false dichotomy here though. It's very possible.

@henri for such an openminded site you're expressing an extremely closed minded point of view. Cultures worldwide have been using various psychedelics as tools to attain higher states of consciousness for thousands of years. It's "well known" that more people are harmed by the dark side of psychedelics than are helped by them? Are you just making things up now lol? We're all "so ignorant"? You're sounding awfully dogmatic, man. In the end, the goal is to reach the goal, not so suffer as much as possible on the path. We should all be free to experiment with any tool that can help us break through plateaus or speed up the process and decide for ourselves if they're helpful or not. They have been for a great number of people after all.

@DreamSpirit that's a huge question because I started using them at such a young age and I was so sheltered at the time. I could list 10 things they did for me that wouldn't apply to you at all because you're not a 15yr old living in pre-internet 1995 lol. For instance I immediately realized that religion was bullshit. Having been raised in a conservative Christian household in rural Oklahoma this was a complete mind bender for me. A side effect of this particular realization was that my parents and grandparents don't really know everything like I had previously believed, they're just people. Their belief system was passed down to them from people who were less educated than they are, who got it from even less educated people, and on and on. Something I gained that would apply to you but I could never do justice with my piss poor writing skills is this over arching sense of oneness with the planet and environment. And even beyond our planet to the entire cosmos. My ability to be introspective is also dramatically increased by psychedelics. Even as an adult who actively attempts to be introspective during meditation it comes nowhere close to the kind of crystal clear realizations I've had on moderate doses of LSD. Nowadays I never take a full dose. I'm sure you're aware of the microdosing movement. That's where the real benefits are at IMO. I mean everyone should have a few mind melting full dose experiences in their life, but really after a handful of those you've gotten all the good out of it. Microdosing on the other hand....

I'm a long time psychedelic user. I know Leo is not big on them but I feel they've improved me as a person in countless ways over the years. You just have to use them responsibly and with a purpose in mind, not just to get wasted. I had my first LSD experience about 20yrs ago when I was 15 and the next morning when I woke up I knew I'd never look at the world and my place in it the same again. I definitely don't think you can become permanently enlightened through psychedelics alone, but they can serve to show you what other states of consciousness are possible and help to convince you that there's something out there that's worth working towards.