The White Belt

@Prabhaker Are you enlightened?

@Michael569 I personally go in cycles, between low interest in sex, to high. Surprisingly, I quite often get an erection during meditation, yet, I think this is due to the frustration of sitting still for extended periods manifesting itself.

When I go to do my thing, singing and acting, at home, I feel super self-conscious. When singing I can't get over that somebody in the house is listening to me. When they are out I can't stop thinking about the neighbors listening, so I hold back. I can't practice these things. People have told me I'm a lousy singer a few times, where as some have told me i'm good. The criticism was sometimes harsh, but how am I gonna' develop this skill if I can't even practice anywhere without holding back. Suggestions?

@Loreena thank you, thank you! @AlwaysBeNice I have always been drawn to creative pursuits. Singing just seems to be a great way to express oneself. I am barely into to be honest. I love willow smith, not common for a 23 year old man, but I want to do her kind of music!

@Leo Gura Thank you.

@The Universe Thank you! And a great quote. I don't like when people say 'life is an illusion', 'life is a lie'. That's a way to look at it but it's a belief. If existentially what you are is awareness, you are still an awareness observing this beautiful, strange, nuanced, mysterious and creative life. MWAH

Another thing. Don't delay your happiness until 'Enlightenment'. Be happy and alive in each and every moment. Treat every moment as a blessing.

@egoeimai :-(

To be honest this video through me off a bit. His face when shaking the blender was funny, but his enthusiasm was low, he was sighing a little and looked unhappy. You alright man? *HUG*

@Prabhaker Thanks! @Arman Thank you also. Will check out the site!

I really like Sadhguru. He talks about Yoga so highly that I am inspired to begin. He however talks about modern yoga being like a child's version of real yoga. So can somebody please recommend a proper 'spiritual' yoga programme, book, dvd series, etc. I can begin with. Also can somebody take a look at this book for me and tell me if it's a good place to begin? Light on Yoga: The Definitive Guide to Yoga Practice https://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Yoga-Definitive-Guide-Practice/dp/0007107005/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1491740942&sr=8-7&keywords=HATHA+YOGA It looks good but I don't want to end up with the wrong kind of practice. Thanks! <3

@Prabhaker Does it atleast cross over to a meditative form? @Arkandeus Sadhguru's words not mine. I'm just looking for the best way to come at it, but yes I see what you're saying it. If I do it from the heart, it will be perfect.

@Prabhaker Health and happiness.

@Peace and Love can you add me please? what do you need? My name?

@The_spanish_guy Just stick with it a bit. Do the exercises with as much enthusiasm as you can stomach. The issue with meditation is that it stirs the mind to begin with, at least for a few months it will possibly worsen things before you get some peace. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. Don't put me on a pedestal. It was pretty bad, the violent thoughts were so unbearable that I considered calling the police on myself and telling them I'm about to do something terrible, but it just sort of faded a way the less I took it seriously. It wasn't a battle. It's when I stopped battling that it began to go. Stand back and laugh at it a little bit. When you get through it, and you will, your appreciation for life will be so much deeper that you'll probably actually be glad you went through all of it, because you had so many realisations about life as a result. Good luck my man!!

I had strong OCD so I feel like I can help you. It nearly drove me to suicide as well. Firstly be kind to yourself, you're doing an amazing job. Remind yourself of that. I mean look, people with totally stable mental health can't even shift their ass to workout, meditate, eat and sleep well. Incredible. Okay with meditation a few times a week is not enough to see result, unfortunately it has to be every single day, 10 mins is enough to start with. It's hard but do it. One of the most important habits that helped me with OCD. Also, CBT is great for OCD. Don't let spirituality confuse your life too much at the start. Put it in a box in your head labelled 'spirituality' and the 'normal' types of therapy, habits, etc, in a box called 'life'. Remember it's all based on love. Also you're a badass for running these mental marathons each day. Most couldn't handle that. You're going to have so much strength and wisdom because of this. You probably already do. LOVE YOURSELF

Sup everybody. We know that happy people, self-actualized people, and enlightened people have a great handle on fear. Fear can debilitate us. Hold us in place. Stop us from reaching our full potential, no matter what it is to each individual. By constantly attacking fearful situations, and overcoming them, we can; thrive, grow wisdom, grow bravery, and become heroes of our lives. Help me by giving me some challenges, that I will complete, and I will log about here as I can complete them. They can be daily challenges, weekly, month or yearly. It can be one small suggestion, or many. It's up to you. I will compile everybody's answer into a programme of sorts, that anybody on the forum can use. Let's desensitize from fear, and stop holding ourselves back, together. Thanks for your help!

@Leo Gura Huge, huge, huge issue. Make a video on that.

@Toby Thanks for your elaboration.

Oh my god man. You have a community reputation of 'expert' on this forum, so you know what god's will is. @retardedhorse1, sorry about this stuff man. This forum can be a really messy place. Spiritual answers for practical issues, all the time. A load of kids hiding behind 'oh don't worry it's all an illusion, and there is no you!', so they don't have to do anything. It really p*sses me off.

There isn't such a thing as fearlessness. Yet counterphobia isn't the same as fear at all. It's a fear busting strategy, when used properly. It is of interest to note that studies have concluded that individuals with counterphobia have higher IQs, are fiercely independent, self-assured and emotionally stable.

@Arkandeus Like it.

@Toby Nice one Toby. Thanks for the help.

When I have pursued my life purpose in the past, I get really neurotically guilty, when I finish a practice of something, whether it was short session or a longer one; I feel bad that it isn't enough. How can I appreciate baby steps? Buddha's quote comes to mind 'A jug fills drop by drop', yet I put in my drop, then proceed to try and pour it all in quickly, it overflows, I burn out, feel bad, self-sabotage, and jump ship. Heelp meeeeeeeeee! ;-)

'I'm going to the gym 3 times a week because I want to get more sex.' If I spouted this here, I would guess that the kinds of responses I would get would be; 'That's superficial', 'How low-conscious?!', 'You need deeper motivations than that' etc. I'm not saying this is my goal or motivation, but I have some motivation issues at times and something struck me about this kind of motivation. Through science we know that our brains have evolved over millions of years as basically animals. We are carrying around these animalistic brains, that have few modes, such as reproduction, survival, hunting, and what not. Well mostly it's just survival. This is where most of our resistance comes from. I'm not sure, but i'm guessing we have qualms about things like standing up and talking to people, because back in the day, if we look stupid or embarrass ourselves, we fear being kicked out of the tribe, meaning we're all alone and unlikely to survive. We fear rejection from the other sex because deep down, it's an opportunity to pass on our genes, there's a lot at stake. My theory is that when we exercise our brain goes FUCK YEAH and releases all those positive endorphins because our caveman ancestors were so used to constant exercise. Of course we've developed this new, human brain over thousands of years, that is rapidly expanding, but if we don't please the animal brain to some extent, we're just going to be depressed and go mad. So negotiating this seemingly shallow motivation, is surely a great tool. Maybe it's much deeper than we thing. It sounds stupid to say I want muscles to have more sex, but that's a motivation developed over SUCH a long time. The strongest man (talking as a male) got the most chances to reproduce, and the women were more likely to survive with them. My question; Is it good to tap into the 'superficial', 'animalistic' motivations, for success in what it is you want to achieve?