Elisabeth

This is a very comprehensive video (I've seen it before), convincing in a lot of matters, and making Teal's motivations quite understandable. However, I don't feel she does justice to the plagiarism issue. (1:12:09) Here's someone who did some research on the similarities with Michael Brown https://amoraobscura.wordpress.com/2016/09/11/tealandthepresenceprocess/ ... it could still be mostly fashion/coincidence (after all, the completion process isn't really special in the aspect of being present), but it does seem massively inspired. Here are entire paragraphs from other webpages and people's blogs https://tealswanblog.wordpress.com/plagiarism/ (I haven't verified.)It's quite understandable that Teal would take information about Kambo or endometriosis from websites on Kambo and endometriosis. (The Steve Pavlina paragraph is quite worrisome though.) It's also clear a lot of her psychological insights are not hers, but main-stream therapy knowledge. Every teacher always builds on the shoulders of others. However, Teal NEVER cites her sources -- which is imho a real problem. After all, admitting that some idea is the work of someone else just points people to another good source. And if you're taking a whole paragraph... damn, it's just unfair to the original author not to mention her. (btw. I posted my comment under that video, I'm curious if they're gonna delete it)

... and is open about these motivations. @Emerald do you believe in her "extrasensory abilities"?

@LoveandPurpose I agree. If you dare, being personal and authentic could really do the trick. Why and how did YOU get into spirituality? Tell them. Do you have a favourite meditation technique? Give it 5 minutes. Don't go blatantly against the rationalist's paradigm, just take their attention to their sensual and emotional experience. I think "how am I feeling in this moment" is way more relatable then "what is reality". You don't have to take them all the way up to talking about enlightenment ... or do you wont to do that? You 'just' need to spark their curiosity, have them talk to you later one on one, maybe check out a teacher. Regardless of the result, I think you are being very brave.

Be very slow and gentle with them. It's more important that you can listen than give advice. Some forms of depression are really a form of loneliness. They contain a very specific unconscious form of despair: "I can never try hard enough to be loved / seen / considered worthy." If you can make them feel heard and seen without any pressure on change, that is often what creates real hope. Mark Manson writes about why self-help sometimes doesn't help (see the first point) https://markmanson.net/self-help .

It's true she dares to address the most difficult topics. I BET THIS VIDEO HAS SAVED LIVES. You won't find much brave work like that. Frankly, in that light? If she's fabricated 3/4 of her abuse story? I don't care too much. I think she's like Osho - controversial on purpose.

I'm also really conflicted now. I must admit that, I liked her A LOT in the past year or two years. She has really changed my view about a lot of stuff, I think her material has widened my ability at empathising, self-compassion and shadow work significantly. She's helped me understand several emotions also has some good insight into relationship dynamics. I think this material of her's is a compilation of traditional psychotherapeutic approaches + some of her own twist added, and it's really great. I'm trying to be careful about "limits of applicability", which are never stated - but this is the case with almost every spiritual teaching I never bought into the Law of attraction talk, am super careful about her "alternative healing" methods etc. I think she might be either self-deluded or saying what her audience wants to hear there. So mostly I managed to get value and discard the rest, I think. However, I bought her books, and there is a lot of content which is word for word in her video's too. So a little disappointed there And, I did believe her abuse story. The website(s) accusing her of lying and being fake generally seem to pull stuff out of context a lot. However, the video (from https://www.actualized.org/forum/topic/31380-teal-swan-and-her-teaching/?do=findComment&comment=366786 ) did highlight some interesting discrepancies. So now, I wonder if I should. She may well be a scam in a lot of what she's saying. At the same time she's surely someone with a firm grasp on psychology. The way she works with people one on one is just totally adorable. I don't think her tribe would meet your technical definition of a cult. This could mean nothing more than that she's somewhat anxious. Huh, I can relate to that.

Compassion, and a grasp of humans' social needs. Be careful about her metaphysics and basically every "fact" she presents though.

A therapist doesn't have much education about drugs usually. Take it as a recommendation to get a psychiatry checkup. However, it's really you & the psychiatrist who have to decide (preferably working together) if a drug would be helpful to you or not. Did you get a good feel overall from this therapist? Is he someone who could help you on your journey, or do you feel he was rather clueless? (You can't always tell after one session, however, sometimes you do know.)

@WhatIsLifeneway Sounds complicated I can only reiterate that western psychotherapy is meant to give support in these kinds of confusing situations. It won't "save" you or tell you what to do, but you do get to talk it out in total privacy, get relief from pressure and new perspectives. I'm sure you can deal without as well, but having a good therapist goes a long way in reclaiming your life quickly.

@WhatIsLifeneway It seems like the spark is gone for you then. After 18 years ... within a year ... did something specific happen? Is there unresolved pain from somethig you can't forgive? Or did you change fast? (I'm just curious, but also I think this is a good thing to become conscious of if you can. I have no idea, my longest relationship is 5years.)

I'm afraid there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will tell you if you should leave or work on the relationship. Couples counselling can help sometimes. As a suggestion, I wonder if it would be possible for you to get more independent and happier without breaking up altogether. I remember an article aimed at couples who want to open up their relationship which gave a 1-2-3 formula for doing that. (I quote from https://medium.com/@PolyamorySchool/the-most-skipped-step-when-opening-a-relationship-f1f67abbbd49 . This is not a nudge to "open up", just a little wisdom from a non-monogamous person, that might be inspiring to you.)

You don't have to be excellent to create. The instrumental song is mine with me playing cello https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOXTsbBVsbw&t=3660s love it

Yes, something is very wrong, but it need not have to do anything with @LaucherJunge. If her ex is truly a narcissist - well, leaving an abusive dynamics is known to be very hard. Multiple failed attempts are rather the norm than an exception. @LaucherJunge Study abuse dynamics to see the pitfalls. But, I wouldn't blame you if you don't want to deal with this anymore. Also, look deep within yourself as to why you're attracted to a girl with so much trouble.

I think this is a very American belief. To the very least, this is strongly influenced by culture. In Prague... I'm almost never being approached by random strangers. (And if I am, they are usually American, Italian or Turkish ... and I hate it). People usually date someone they met through their extended social circle (well, nowadays dating apps also work). Sure, the guy is still expected to make the "first move", but it's usually only after both people have had a chance to get to know each other a little, and some nonverbal signals of mutual liking have been exchanged.

Thank you for that post. All my relationships started out as friendships, or at least acquaintances form common hobbies. I first had to observe the guy in a social setting, sometimes for quite some time before I started to like him, then he could ask me out. If he was to ask me out after the first 10min conversation, I'd be like "eh, that's weird". I'm not saying approaching can never work, but it's certainly not the only way.

Oh my god. Let me just -once again- express gratitude for the country I live in. YES, the price of housing is still going up in an unsustainable way in the capital, but it's nowhere near this bad.

Thank you for the thank you I haven't started a blog, but I started a group. So I share stuff with friends both in person and online, and it's really cool.

Brian Josephson is a Nobel prize winning physicist (the Josephson effect is cool stuff: current flowing across a gap in superconductors, without any votage applied.) Turnes out, in the 70's he got into (the cult of?) transcendental meditation and from the viewpoint of mainstream science "went crazy". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Josephson Currently, he's running something called Mind-matter unification project http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bdj10/ I haven't explored the content of the site yet (I will). It seems there has been other serious research by quantum physicists into the nature of paranormal phenomena. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Fysiks_Group It doesn't seem though that any "paranormal" phenomena were confirmed, except for the (quite esotheric, but known ;)) quantum entanglement effects in the microscopic world, which lead to the current studies of quantum computing stuff. I would love to learn about the successes and failures of serious physicists investigating non-duality and/or paranormal phenomena. It seems to have been a thing for at least half a century now, with a peak in the 70's leading... nowhere? somewhere? Are there any comprehensive reviews of the field, or reviews of its history from people who understand both science and nonduality?

Anyway, the fear of being homeless is still a real one. It suffices to a) not have family support, and b) being ill, so that you're unable to work. This also pertains to mental illness (or spiritual awakenings, for that matter ;)), so it's a very real question on this forum. The best available preventative measure everyone should do when they first start making money is to save enough financial reserve to live off on your own at least for a few months until whatever crisis there is gets resolved. There are loads of situations where you'll need it, like illness, burn out, breakups and abuse: https://www.thebillfold.com/2016/01/a-story-of-a-fuck-off-fund/ The second best preventative measure is to have good enough social connections so that your family isn't the only go-to place. Mark Manson lived on people's couches for a few months before he could make his business work. You can do that. Another good piece of mindset is probably to strive for a higher living standard than just bare survival. If you live on people's couches for too long, eventually, they will kick you out. The real problem is long-term disability. I'm not sure anyone can realistically prepare for that. Sure, having property, good relationships with your family, and a stable committed relationship may help. But it's not guaranteed to. You can't realistically expect your loved ones to be able to take life-long care of you in today's society. (I can see that with my family - we're luckily able to pay for a good eldercare facility for grandma, but totally UNable to have her home since she's sinking into dementia.) So if you're not able to take care of yourself and haven't set up passive income, which very few people can do, you are at mercy of the government and charity, which means your living standard is gonna be poor. Still, in Europe, society probably isn't going to drop you on the street, if you're visibly disabled. The borderline cases of mental illness and social incompetence where you're not really able to hold a job and have a good social network, but it's not clear from the outside why this is the case, are the most dangerous.

I don't really understand. He has a job as a driver, he has had jobs in bars. Why can't he afford a room in a shared flat? Is the gap between housing and low-paying jobs in American cities so bad?

Clarify your question. What's the problem? It's not clear. Would you like to do sports in a non-resistant way again? Are you afraid you missed out on your true purpose? Or?

This. How would they get girls to have sex WITH, if girls were not attracted. Anyway, confidence is a factor, meaning it is a upwards/downwards spiral. If you do badly and despair, that will lower your chances further, if you do well and are confident in your attractiveness, that will help you further. (Like in many other areas of your life.) So... you already had two girlfriends. That means some girls are interested in you, right? No reason for desperation there.

I hope you've seen a doctor by now, tinnitus has many causes, and with some of them, they can help better if it's fresh. The second thing I recommend is to get your neck spine in order. My tinitus started after I performed exercises such as headstand. Bad idea. It hasn't gone completely for me, but it's not very loud these days. You do get used to it.

I think TRYING is fine ... so do it at another time of the day, and just start slow? I don't have much experience with either practice (I've kinda dabbled into both), but I think there's a chance that they are in the same direction.

Is that rather new to you? Is it possible that music is the new and shiny form of art you haven't done much yet, and not a long-lasting pursuit already? Here's for your amusement something we've created, with my own instrumental song starting at 1:02:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRugH6cxB7w&feature=youtu.be For me, music is nowhere close to life purpose, but my artistic side gets happy with contributing to this giant project