Natasha

@jes Do the 'grey rock' move I was telling you about. Next time he calls and starts rambling blah blah blah (it's all lies anyways), listen to him for 2 mins and then say nonchalantly, "You are right. Sorry, dad, but I got to run now... busy schedule today" and hang up on him. Don't wait for him to ask you questions or keep yelling at you, just hang up. Those 'you are right' words are very powerful against a narc, because the whole reason they say and do what they say/ do is to get a negative reaction out of you, and by seemingly agreeing with him you don't give them that satisfaction/ supply he needs to feed on. Do this technique a few times and watch his rage start to diminish toward you. Hugs

You're welcome Knowledge is power.

'Keeping up with the Jones' cultural syndrome comes to mind.

Do you know if stay at their guest house for that week is included in the price of the retreat?

9/24 - 10/1 is a retreat date at the Zendo?

Thought you guys went there for a retreat. I live in Florida and could fly over to NY for a 1-2 week retreat. Abra said he'd let me know when/ if they hold one. Would be fun to see you guys there

@Mal Oh the paradoxes of self-actualization.. got to love them

This might be YOUR reality, but it's not THE reality. It's like saying Mickey Mouse cartoon is reality. You are what's watching the cartoon, not the illusory character in it. Hugs

Yes, the problem is you refusing to say NO to your abusers. Why are you hanging around those people and feeding them your 'supply' anyway? They're only getting stronger as you're getting weaker. Go No Contact on them even if that means for you to live temporarily in a homeless shelter. Hugs

@BHL_20

There are many good YT channels about narcissism, made by both men and women. It's a very good skill/ tool to have to be able to identify and counter-act a toxic person. Those who are not equipped to do that, will invariably and unnecessarily suffer. Knowledge is power

@jes I take 500 mg of Glutathione daily, it's a potent anti-oxidant that counter-acts free radical damage (including from excess sun exposure) and helps skin stay even toned. Best value I've found and purchase is L-Glutathione by Earth Natural Supplements, Amazon, around $30 for 200 capsules.

Not mine, but she has good info on narcissism and is quirky to watch

Enlightenment is the end of the energy of seeking. It suddenly can vanish, suddenly be there no more. And what is left when the seeker collapses is completely unknowable and can't be described. But you could say in words that all that left when the seeking ends is which is already free-flowing unboundness

"The ego is not a thing, but a subtle effort, and you cannot use effort to get rid of effort - you end up with two efforts instead of one. The ego itself is a perfect manifestation of the Divine, and it is best handled by resting in Freedom, not by trying to get rid of the ego, which simply increases the effort of ego itself." "The very desire to seek enlightenment is in fact nothing, but the grasping tendency of the ego itself, and thus the very search for enlightenment prevents it. The perfect practice is therefore not to search for enlightenment , but to inquire into the motive for seeking itself. You obviously seek in order to avoid the present, and yet the present alone holds the answer: to seek forever is to miss the point forever. You always already are enlightened Spirit, and therefore to seek Spirit is simply to deny Spirit." "As Hubert Benoit said, it is not the identification with the ego that is the problem, but the exclusive nature of the identification. When our self-identity expands beyond the ego, into the deeper psychic, then even into the Unborn and One Taste, the ego is simply taken up and subsumed in a grander identity. But the ego itself remains as the functional self in the gross realm, and it might even appropriately be intensified and made more powerful , simply because it's now plugged into the entire Kosmos." - Ken Wilber

@Water Ken Wilber's integral school of knowledge recommend to work on developing your ego first in order to be able to transcend it. From that perspective, what you're doing makes perfect sense and could potentially get you ahead

@jes If you have to be around a narcissist, you need to learn a technique called 'grey rock'. I use it at work and in life in general, and it works great. Here's how: P.S. And no, you won't become a narcissist by doing these techniques.

Yes, but the body/ mind structure (ego) called 'I' will be gone for good. And that's what Tony Parsons was referring to.

I've been actually wanting to translate your material for some time, but didn't know how to go about it . Sounds like a fun project. Thanks for the opportunity

I'll look at it tomorrow. Is there any video in particular you'd like me to work on first or it's totally up to me?

I can help with translating into Russian. Just need to figure out how to do it first

@Cesar Peace of mind = being happy with what is

I actually looked at those images using Leo's 'thought flattening technique' and didn't experienced any phobia/ disgust. Nice skill to have

Most of those images are computer generated fake stuff, something you'd see at a special effects movie set

@AbhishekDarak @Canadian "Death is the end of the illusion that there was someone." - Tony Parsons