UnbornTao

Emotion is implied to be caused by external circumstances, therefore we can only be at their effect. Emotions are activities done by us. If we assume that, then a logical conclusion could be then that the only solution is to manipulate the emotions' influence. Question them as they arise. In your experience, observe as you engage in the process of creating emotion. I wanted to put out the possibility of a more direct approach: "What is this experience?" "What is this emotion doing"? "What are its components"? What you have sounds like it works for you so that's good.

Belief is a thought you have about what's true. Tons of beliefs can be dropped. When it comes to living, it's not so much about discarding beliefs altogether but about establishing a different relationship towards them. Useful beliefs can be kept as long as they're recognized as beliefs, and as long as we don't confuse them with an experience of what's true. You'd need to learn to tolerate the space or uncertainty that that would have on your experience.

Everybody has a body and is the vehicle through which you experience life. There's a lot of intelligence involved in mastering sports and and the body in general.

Frame the inquiry openly. What is anger? What is its purpose? What is it made out of? Anger is based on a sense of hurt. When angry, what a person is saying is "I feel hurt." Anger is a manipulation on your part to manage that hurt by covering it up. A more honest approach would be allowing yourself to feel the hurt without eliciting anger for the pain to be ignored. Enlightenment doesn't change your experience. Emotions are still what they are after it.

First we should look into how to live properly (consciously). A deep and authentic individual I like and recommend is Ramana Maharshi. First becoming deeply conscious of his nature, and then at the end of his life dying gracefully.

Nice, thanks for the value, guys.

Suffering is pervasive and common, it doesn't necessarily have to take the form of an excruciating event. It's subtle and deep. Do nothing for one hour. You'll see how quickly boredom, hence loneliness, might come up. Another example is not getting what you want. This domain is huge. Not having ice cream when you want it can be a form of suffering. What do you mean?

Good news, everyone! There's no reason to be happy! Happiness isn't found in any condition. It is simply the state of being that you are. The only requirement for happiness is this: be happy. This will take some contemplation as we usually conflate self-survival with happiness. What we mean by "happiness" is relief, a distraction from pain that is accompanied by an underlying sense of fear or anxiety, since that is a temporary condition. Happiness doesn't depend on circumstances but on you.

Have you been taking drugs?

Creating the possibility and vision of a hopeful future, and holding the future that way, eliminates the root of depression.

Get into the state or ground where purpose can be created in your experience. Work on creating purpose, not superficially or intellectually but actually, experientially. Notice that purpose is created; notice that you make it up! Now, create an empowering purpose for yourself that is worthwhile to you. This will encompass your life activities and give you a sense of direction and achievement, will increase your self-confidence, etc. After having gotten in touch with that "place" where genuine creation can occur, various questions can be asked in regards to any activity and undertaking: What do I want to commit myself to? What is the purpose for this activity? Why am I doing it? Why am I engaging in it in the first place? That helps you realize which assumptions are taken for granted relative to what you're doing. From that, clarity increases.

A student posed a problem to Kant which he couldn't solve so he decided to isolate himself for eleven years in order to solve it. If anything, he was a committed guy! Besides, apparently his IQ was very high. Who has grasped what he was intending to get across in Critique of Pure Reason? Probably a couple of people.

It might or not be the case, you have to personally become conscious of whatever's true even if it contradicts your assumptions. Otherwise you're left with hearsay and what might be second-hand knowledge from authentic teachers. Hey, maybe it turns out that nothing is your imagination. Work on having several enlightenments.

I prefer to remain grounded. My stance is that they can be beneficial for relative stuff -- having insights, opening up one's mind, getting at the core of an emotional disposition, transcending patterns of behavior, etc. -- but can't and won't ever produce enlightenment for you, because only you can. Many "spiritual" people who take them are likely fooling themselves about what they experience while on them, confusing changes in their perceptive-field with "enlightenment." What they probably mean by those types of descriptions is a change in state. The gist of the matter is that, no matter how beneficial, dramatic, fascinating, unusual or grandiose an experience is, it can't ever be awakening. Awakening isn't relative.

An invention doesn't have to be true for it to work.

Motivation isn't needed. Work on changing your relationship towards it so that rather than hating it you embrace it and take it on as a fun adventure with its corresponding challenges. It's an opportunity for learning not only about the course but about yourself, starting with this resistance that you're generating. Basically, change your relationship towards it by dropping your ineffective disposition and commit to it, or keep struggling doing something that has to be done. Establishing a negative relationship towards something you want and have to do is idiotic. So yeah, basically: learn to enjoy it. Rather than resisting it, embrace your experience.

what do you mean?

He revolutionized philosophical thought at the time. I think he may even have had enlightenment experiences that allowed him to make those breakthroughs.

Do you want to stop winning, or are you rather asking about how to learn to recognize and enjoy any given process and its result/effect? First recognize there's a process preceding any accomplishment, be it a long or instant one.

Yes, wanting to know.

Yes, you might be talking about a sense of meaninglessness. Grasp that purpose and meaning are created by you. See this as a liberating fact. You're free to create the purpose of your life! Wow, what an opportunity. It could be said that reality transcends meaning, which allows freedom to enjoy life as desired, with or without meaning. Holding the future as a positive thing is also incredibly useful. Take small actions towards your goals. That in itself makes one hopeful for the future. This is an opportunity to realize how each of us can consciously make a constructive purpose for our own individual lives.

If not in the United States, where else?

Ok, my bad. I must admit your post was a useful contribution imv.

Peter has mastered martial arts and contemplation so it'd be wise to listen to him.