Key Elements

@Shin This is one of my favourite quotes. It relates to life purpose, esp when you are able to incorporate non-duality in it. It really completes the person. Here is another one:

@AlwaysBeNice I love the Hero song too - love the lyrics!

@Leo Gura You were very, very bold to cover the topic of psychedelics. It's a tool/medicine but not for everyone. It's not just about letting go of the ego on a trip, but the reasons for not taking them are also very, very personal, valid, and requires radical open-mindedness. Anyway, sorry to hear this about John. No one can guarantee becoming a billionaire. Money is a phenomenon - doesn't exist. Just want to say that John was going into topics of parapsychology and psychic abilities, which are also very nuanced topics and requires radical open-mindedness to understand. I was trying to explain this to John (and not the first time too) but looks like he broke forum rules.

I love life purpose. It's my first stepping stone. Things start falling into place once you discover and create this path. I got the job that I love because of the life purpose path, not the other way around. I did not write a resume (CV). I went networking and found a mentor and work for his school as a bilingual teacher. He needed such a teacher for his school. I also love art and music a lot - love playing the piano. I'm donating five of my paintings to my mentor's school - still working on two of them. Here are two of them: (I signed it with my website but sorry, I covered it with hearts - not ready to show it.) I also plan to incorporate non-duality / spirituality in my life purpose - with any two languages, you could be a guide / pointer.

@Leo Gura I just got through watching Day 9 of your solo retreat. Basically, you were saying that there is no end goal - that you're not going to find happiness when you retire or when you're rushing through work toward some goal - the moment of happiness is in the here and now - in the meditative / contemplative state in whatever you're doing. This is the best time to do self-inquiry too - when your thoughts are coming from the nothingness and not distracted from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This increases the creativeness within. So, my question for you is, are you able to apply what you learned here in your everyday life - at least some of it?

Although this clip has nothing to do with being fat, for me, it's a reminder to stay healthy, research and eat a well balanced diet and exercise, and get a blood test and other tests every year to make sure everything is in balance. For some, it's a rude awakening when they forget to do this, esp when they're older. I agree with Leo on his most recent clip, How to Get Started with Self-Actualization, that Life Purpose is #1. Once you discover your Life's Calling, everything starts falling into place. However, sometimes we forget to pay attention to our health in the process. So, health has to be alongside or in front of (sometimes) what you're doing.

Cat Enlightenment: When cats process their enlightenment experiences into their everyday lives, how they behave, with more awareness: Ok...Some of them are Zen devil cats.

You can pursue things that are external. Just don't be attached to them. Do things you love and turn it into a life purpose. Your thoughts are coming from the nothingness - the oneness. It will tell you what you love to do when you do self-inquiry. Becoming a monk is not the only option. But, if that's what you want, go for it. If you tried being a temporary monk and don't like it, your life purpose is a backup, and not all monestaries are the same.

@Loreena Question for ya: What is Melania's life purpose? Everyone is unique and have different paths, ok, but how does Melania compliment your path - your life purpose? I noticed if a famous person doesn't compliment my path anymore, I don't look at that person anymore. I used to look at Robert Kiyosaki a lot - Trump's friend. (I don't know if they're still friends - now that Trump is president.) I was learning about startups / passive income through Kiyosaki. However, a life purpose goes profound. It doesn't just remain as a startup / business. It could reach non-duality / spirituality. Kiyosaki couldn't offer that in his work. So, I don't look at him anymore. He's only a startup - a foundational stepping stone.

Wow, are you asking Leo to start an university? [ You know, I mentioned this before. Sai Baba (Guru) started hospitals and universities. ] Is there such thing as B.A. in Life's Calling? It may not be a very easy major. I heard that U.C. Berkeley in California offered a PhD in Peace Studies, which is based on Buddhism.

Pretty!!! You know, I think there are other dimensions of life (love) other than the Absolute Truth (aka Absolute Love). Anything is possible because there are infinite possibilities. Although, nirvana is said to be the complete end of suffering because you're one with all.

It's easier to pass the fundamental phase; isn't it? Rationalism is too transparent. Let's say society is the water and you're the fish in the water. Someone asks you, "Hey, Mr. Fish, how's the water today?" You say, "What water?????" The fish doesn't see how the water impacts him.

This clip is inspiring - just wanted to share: I was just thinking that if this family added extra rooms to their house and rent it out that will provide extra income. If you know of any alternative living, please feel free to share.

"A Guru is not someone you meet or shake hands with. It is not someone you bow down to or beg for this or that. A Guru is a certain space or energy. The difference between a teacher or a scholar and a Guru is, a teacher is someone who holds a torch to something and shows it to you. Because of them you might have seen something. A Guru doesn’t hold a torch. He is the torch. He burns. Either you burn with him or you don’t.” – Sadhguru Wow, what a quote! So, basically, a guru mastered this life. It's the end of suffering for him. He learned to apply his "enlightenment experience" in real life (Maya). He doesn't identify with anything in the Maya - not the monkey mind to not identifying with the body - because "he is the 'pain'" - he can literally burn himself up like a torch (Eg. Like the monk who burned himself up in protest against the Vietnam War). Or, to a lesser degree, he mastered a skill, like yoga, and you are doing yoga with him.

This is one of my favourite quotes.

@Prabhaker John was saying that you can judge yourself since your insides are available to you only.

Oh, I'm not worried. It doesn’t matter if the news is fake or not. Become a NRI of the US and you will know what I'm talking about. Watch the reaction of the mainstream. It may be different for you because you're a guy and native, but I'm not.

You are probably giving others the wrong impression of India when you say such things. I could understand if you say India is at stage orange. Remember the movie, Slum Dog Millionaire? That was too much. Just because a minority of ppl does rape festival, doesn’t mean the whole of India does this. A person really do have to travel and have lived for years at a place up to the present to actually understand the place.

Ok, I've been going through this thread. Looks like we're talking about morals and enlightenment and if there is a correlation. Here's what I noticed: most of us hold the moral of (I like to call it: core value): we enter into a relationship (bf/gf), if it doesn't work out, we break up. We enter into another relationship, and if it doesn't work out, we break up -- and so on and so on. Most of us accept this moral as truth. Anything outside of this moral is a taboo. So we apply our own morals on others and think that something is "wrong" with the others. Here are the other more "shocking" morals of our world: both man and woman have to be virgins in order to marry; I will not marry a non-virgin; polygamy; arranged marriages; marrying within relations (ie, cousin marriages, uncle marrying niece); (Leo's favourite, j/k!) rape marriage (it's already explained in this thread); or just plain rape for enjoyment. Ok. You get the point. Just go think about it. I know that Leo is not asking anyone here to follow anyone else's morals (core values). The problem comes when one person has a certain moral and applies it on someone else with a different moral. Talking about it is one thing. If it's played out in real life, it's another. It could boil down to: I'll respect your morals if you respect mine. Enlightenment doesn’t require any morals. Enlightenment is just is. It's just peace. You could be detached from all these morals, including your own. In an actual relationship, you're not always moralizing. You could be detached from it and doing something else - like working on your career or life purpose. ---------------------------------------------- Yes, enlightenment can play a heavy role in relationships. Ask yourself, does your moral lead to the best relationship? Or, does it lead to this? If it does, what could be missing? Detachment? Detachment is an enlightenment feature. When a person is in his/her "enlightenment experience," he/she is detached from everything. Leo talks about detachment:

@Alii There is a difference between having an "enlightenment experience" and actually being enlightened. A person gets to see everything being one during an "enlightenment experience." Now, if the person could live his/her life knowing that everything is one, then you have an enlightened person. An enlightened person shows, not tells.

You mean...

I rather we just *bling* past each other and not eat at all.

Believe it or not, I thought the same way. One of these day, we will wake up into a world where we don't have to eat each other anymore.