quantumspiral

@Keryo Koffa Interesting analysis, perhaps! Not sure I understand enough about meta-psychological counterbalance and cognitive dissonance at the moment to say. I'm really trying to come up with a model for acting effectively in the world- one which produces a high level of performance and results, while minimizing emotional friction. The model I have right now is to focus intently on the process itself (rather than the results) while maintaining a heightened level of present moment awareness which can both be used to immerse yourself more fully in the process and 'metabolize' negative emotions that come up along the way. Most people act in completely the opposite way- obsessing about the result and resisting everything every single step of the way. This leads both to poor performance and emotional burnout.

@Rafael Thundercat lol very colorful illustration haha. Pleasure and pain are certainly fundamental to the whole thing- I guess I'm just trying to get my internal mental framework sorted out for the 'resistance' that is encountered when doing various activities. I think this resistance can come in 2 different flavours: 1. Negative emotion- This is any kind of emotion that naturally arises that tries to oppose action. It could be fear, physical pain, fatigue, doubt etc. These could be described as resistance, as they do 'resist' the action- but it's confusing to label them as such. It's better just to label them as negative emotion. The best way to greet these emotions is with acceptance and not resistance- then they tend to lose their power over you and dissolve. But the resistance to these negative emotions is a more meta level of resistance within a person 2. Resistance to the task itself- this is a more primary form of resistance. You're resisting the doing of the task itself, rather than the emotions it evokes. You can't accept your present reality of engaging in this particular activity. This usually comes from excessive focus on the results of the task- which can then lead to avoidance, either in the form of daydreaming / fantasizing about the result or trying to white knuckle through the task to get to the result. The best way to dissolve this kind of resistance to focus on the process intently with present focus and acceptance. Merge with the process if you will. In essence, I do think these 2 categories broadly define what could be described as 'resistance' when doing any task. I think it's important to clarify this as unconscious 'resistance' is what stops people doing what they want actually want to do in life. Instead they act out their compulsions- which are just the reverse- unconscious positive emotion driving them towards it and unconscious negative emotion driving them away from something towards it. I've explained this very poorly I think- I'll come back again to it when I'm better slept.

@Keryo Koffa Interesting- thanks for sharing. I can't say I've noticed these qualities

@Romer02 I'm pretty sure Leo has episodes specifically for contemplation. Maybe watch those? It's just contemplation applied to the activities of a single day.

@Lyubov Awesome- I've gotta visit sometime. I'm just not sure how much work I could get done living in such a chaotic place however. But I'm speaking out of my ass as I've not been. Have you visited Fortaleza? Seems a bit more chill but still great weather. Btw- the book I mentioned above has a great account of the origins Comando Vermelho in the prison on Ilha Grande. Great read if you're interested in that sorta thing.

@Recursoinominado My practice sucks- I need something much more rigorous and structured. I often just try to maintain a state of mindful awareness throughout the day. Useful- but unlikely to improve my skill. Truthfully, I'm still a novice in meditation. Most of these benefits are only just blossoming- I'd like to cultivate them as much as possible

Nice, wanna link the doc? I've watched quite a few on Bukele. Those who criticize him for human rights violations probably have no idea about even a single one of the many insane prison riots throughout the continent. Only just last year there was a riot in a women's prison in Honduras where 46 died. Central America is a particularly interesting region, as those countries (along with it's Caribbean neighbours) have consistently being ranked as the world's most murderous countries for a long time now. There is a lot of value in seeing how gnarly life can get. City of God and Elite Squad are good films for seeing the brutality of gang violence in Rio de Janeiro For a comprehensive overview of crime in Latin America, I'd recommend Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America by Ioan Grillo.

I'm kind of baffled how some people can sink so many hours into games and remain excited for upcoming releases, year after year. While I enjoy games, something about sitting there playing them intuitively feels wrong and I end up uninstalling everything. Most likely the feeling I'm wasting my life. I'm trying to pinpoint the psychological reason that drives people towards hardcore gaming. If you think they do lack maturity, what exactly about their psychology is it that makes them so?

Seems like the biggest trap going bros. 50 pct divorce rate. Of those couples who don't get divorce, how many are happily married? The success rate for marriage is astoundingly low. I cringe every time I hear someone get married and everyone celebrates when I know the stats

@eTorro With the right perspective, everything can be interesting. Understanding the other person's psychology, the social dynamics of the situation, enjoying the social vibe Consider you may be focussing too narrowly on the content of your conversations, and missing everything else

@Princess Arabia It seems you're not familiar with the definition of a trap. Marriage fits the definition perfectly in many ways, although I do think marriage can be beautiful in other cases.

This attitude is ideal for performance and productivity I'd say. Life is a silly game with serious rules. Leo says to take things 'seriously'. I think you should absolutely take your daily performance, overall strategy and progress very seriously- but infuse it with an existential humour and equanimity towards all. Screwing up your face like Goggins and huffing and puffing is mostly energy wasted spent overcoming our own self generated resistance anyway.

@Butters I don't remember him mentioning it in the recent video on traps- although it certainly could be there.

@Heaven These are all fair examples of traps. My guess is that you're religious and offended by the advice not to get married

An interesting question is how much of that behaviour is nurture vs nature.

@Unlimited beautiful little guy- RIP. I'm sure they lived a great life thanks to you. Dogs really are little angels.

I believe that being mindful / present in our day to day lives slows down the perception of time considerably. In particular, mindfulness combined with deep engagement with whatever task we're working on presently. I think this is one of the more practical benefits of mindfulness in general life satisfaction. The more resistance we have to the present moment, the more we tend towards escaping the present moment, checking out mentally and numbness. In this level of awareness, time oozes by without us realizing. Not ground-breaking, but wanted to put this here to discuss in case anybody has thoughts on this

You should ask yourself why you need one guru / philosophy / teacher to idolize above all others.

The truth is as an FOB Indian dude in the west, it's most likely gonna be tough if online dating stats are anything to go by. I see quite a few Indians frauding as Latinos as a way to dispense with the negative stereotypes / meme status Indians have attained over the past decade or so. It could be a good option for some. Indian dude who got tats, moved to Colombia and could probably pass as some kind of Latino now:

@Ramanujan

@mmKay It's energizing for a psyche that is deep in apathy and numbness. Many people are like this and that's why Goggins is so popular. It's far from optimal in terms of life satisfaction and even performance however. Much of the resistance people are overcoming with this boneheaded approach of white knuckling & bulldozing through all your problems is self induced. Being aware of the deep suffering that exists is also very valuable as it can bring you into acceptance and gratitude for your own situation. This is part of the reason why I like keeping track of cartel activity in Mexico. The insane shit they are doing gives you perspective and gratitude. We spend too much time on social media looking at people who appear to (superficially) have everything.

Here's a quote I like from Jonathan Faber (author of Life as Sport): In order to get them into a game mentally and to help them let go of the outcome, I encourage my clients to adopt the mentality of an ancient warrior. We succeed when we can act freely, when we do not allow fear to rule our actions, judgment, or our state of mind. The ancient Japanese warriors, the Samurai, went into battle with a complete acceptance of the possibility of dying. Their demise was of no concern; their focus was singular: to give their all in battle, to live in that moment. Neither victory nor defeat had any meaning, only the performance of one’s duty to the best of one’s ability

Sports / performance psychology is very useful to study here. Some books I'd recommend are: The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life - Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process Life as Sport: What Top Athletes Can Teach You about How to Win in Life If you can develop this process / present orientation towards your entire life, it will be transformative. In my opinion, this is very tangible & practical benefit of meditation that isn't brought up enough. For those who are just handling their fundamentals, it will serve them much more purpose than enlightenment or even just consciously trying to move up the spiral.

It may sound cliché, but you need to focus on the process and stay in the present moment. All you can do is study the material- keep your focus on this and you'll find your resistance melts away naturally. Your attachment to a particular kind of result in your exam (and in particular, your belief you won't pass it) is the source of the resistance. Detach from the outcome as much as you can muster.

The Transcendental Fuck Boy