Elena

So, that happened maybe a year and a half ago, I had been on a yoga retreat a few weeks prior and while I wasnt meditating daily I went to an one hour group meditation every week without fail. So, I had some experience and I wasnt a total meditation newbie that can easily get deluded. I smoked weed at the time and had a pretty high weed tolerance, and before the meditation my friend and I shared a blunt. The weed in it was not so much as to have any significant effects on me in a normal situation. The moment I sat down meditating I felt like I was pulled underwater, my meditative state was much deeper than it usually was. Nearing the end of the meditation I had this weird sensation where I was asking questions (but I wasnt at the same time, I knew that it was me who asked the questions but they came out of nowhere and I was just observing it) and getting answers (again I answered) The other `mes` told me that I should be really nice to my mom and then they started discussing a painting I had seen only once when i was visiting a friend some years ago. The conversation went like that -I dont know why she is keeping it, it has bad energy. the person who drew it is bad. -No, not bad, just confused. However when you look at his actions there is no difference. -If I were her I would throw it in the trash. -No, not in the trash, in the river. I felt weird about it and decided to call her to ask her if everything is ok and a bit ashamed that she would decide I was crazy I told her the story. She was really creeped out because it turned out her friend who drew the painting for her had turned crazy and stalkerish in the last few months, the week before she threw the painting away and she was in the process of getting a restriction order as he had threatened to kill her boyfriend. I didnt know any of that and I have been only once in her apartment and I havent thought at all about that painting since then. Weird. But true. After that experience I never felt the way I felt before about weed, I still got lazy and hungry when I smoked but the pleasure, laughing euphoric part of the experience was gone and I went from smoking every other day to cold turkey for a couple of months without any difficulty.

Do you buy it off the dark net? I can't imagine how I could find it in my country .

Those are good examples ... if you are feeling repressed in some way.The examples you gave- for me- are not of women succeeding a 100% because they succeeded the way men do. Frankly I am not in the bandwagon of western feminism, perhaps growing up in an ex socialist country I have never had the feeling that women are lesser than men, or that we had equal rights problems. However I do acknowledge that we never historically had the chance to have a `one income household`as people in America had and perhaps that is connected to our feeling that men are equal to women. As a foreigner, the American concept of feminism is sooo annoying, I think its just an excuse for people who want to take part in some sort of charity or `make the world a better place` without putting real effort or trying to really tackle real problems. As a woman I have had soo many bonuses in my life that men dont, men most of the time have to prove their worth to get respect, while I can just dress nicely and get peoples attention, be offered help with projects and get away with doing stupid stuff. I find her speech far more noteworthy than Madonnas

I am stuck in the Ultimate life purpose and I cant pinpoint three people that inspire me - at least not a 100%.I really admire Marcus Aurelius, Stephen King and Richard Bransonand I feel that they are great role models but they are more masculine and as a woman I have a hard time relating to them in all aspects. I feel that I cant follow their example because they are successful as men in a mens world, so to speak. A part of me wants to be a good professional but an equally big part wants to be a great wife and future mother and I just dont see many examples of that. Who are some people that inspire you? Who are women that inspire you? And do you have any examples of people who are changing the world `gently`- without all the glamour of success, just being a valuable part of society?

@Darrick his works are pretty amazing If you havent - read Watchmen Im sure youll enjoy it

I think that kids can be a hindrance only if you treat them as such - one example is Alan Moore who left his job while his wife was pregnant to follow his dream of becoming a comic book writer. Check out his bio I think it can inspire you

I feel you! I had always had a nagging feeling that art - the thing that I thought was my real passion as a teen is meaningless and doing stuff just for arts sake is well not as inspiring. I had to choose between becoming an art major or a dentist and frankly I never regreted my decision- I feel that the things I draw are just for fun and the fact that I dont have to make money off of it makes it more sincere. Having a stable job and money is great for an aspiring artist who is more the `down to earth` type. If you want to check if art is right for you sign up for an hard art class and see if drawing fucking fruits every single day for hours is what you really want. It might turn up that you only like the fun parts of it- freehand drawing and character creation which is very different than what your work will be

A version of my vision board I feel that stuff are missing but Ill add them when I come across them

There is an app for android that makes visionboards

Nail biting is common in children and it is a big problem in dentistry because it leads to orthodontic problems. Bitter and chilly invisible nail polish is sold and you can use it. That won't change the core issue but it would help with the habit.

Im a bit ashamed but -- 6 months to live? lol Ill travel in asia and try all the drugs Oh and I would get a really good life insurance so my family gets money when I die

Im currently in the Values Assessment part of The life purpose course (Great stuff by the way!) and family is a definite negative value for me (35%+ 65%-) . I love my family, I feel guilty when I dont spend enough time with them and I miss them, however when I do its just, well, work. It doesn't give me satisfaction or happiness the way my other values on the list do. Frankly I dont see how I could make, for example, my weekly interactions with my grandma super exciting when we are going through the same four topics every time. I discussed this issue with several friends and they shared similar experiences. I dont have traumatic events regarding my family we just dont have enough common interests to have a meaningful interaction. I am stuck in that part and wondering - should I just leave this value be the way it is and not try to make it a 10 out of 10 or should I try to dig deeper ? I think that the tricky thing about this value is that it involves more people. If you have issues with love and intimacy you can try to change yourself and find a suitable partner, however with family you cant pick and choose. Also @Leo Gura could you consider changing the format of the forum to something like reddit? It makes it soo much easier to find quality posts and you can check the best posts for the last year, month , week, day etc. Thanks.

Veganism and vegetarianism are great but they are not for everybody. If you are living in a very cold country wich doesnt produce a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits its really hard to be a "good" vegan

When was the epilepsy diagnosed? That is a great series on the topic, if you want to find more about epilepsy Just please, please please do not try to take a `holistic` approach to taking medications because epilepsy untreatetd can and will be life threathening. Thanks to modern medicine grand mals are pretty rare.

Interesting question- I have the same problem. Its cool thinking about all the awesome stuff I could hypotheticly do if I train hard consistently but the truth is that sometimes the only thing that makes me go to the guym is v\fatpeoplehate