Juan Cruz Giusto

Hello guys! The other day I sat down and wrote this short essay. Let me know what you think : "The understanding of Happiness in Western culture can be described as the feeling that occurs when life goes our way. At a first glance, it seems there is nothing wrong with this definition. When we win, we are happy, we when lose we are not. But let’s look at it a bit more careful. If happiness is a feeling that OCCURS when life goes our way, it means that our well-being is dependent on circumstances. In other words, we are at mercy of them and we don’t have a saying about it – which renders us helpless. Based on our understanding of happiness, whether is cultural or personal, we are bound to keep striving for more, to keep accomplishing, to keep life going our way, believing that once we get everything we want, we will finally make it. If this sounds like mouse on the wheel metaphor, it’s because it is. Yet, Western culture doesn’t leave us with much of a choice either. Two and a half millennia ago the Buddha told us that the only way to find true happiness, is to renunciate all desire. Yet when the time comes, few of us are willing to take such an extreme path. Maybe the solution is not to keep running the mouse wheel or to shave our heads and become full time monks. Perhaps the solution finds itself when we reformulate what happiness is to us. If happiness is defined as an inner experience of well-being, independent from circumstances, and that can be worked upon – there would be a shift in the way we behave and even the way we feel. This would mean it doesn’t matter whether we achieve something or not, our happiness would not be affected. And instead of saying that happiness is dependent of circumstances, we can say that it is something we generate.Since it is something that can be worked upon, practices like meditation and mindfulness would be more prevalent. And all of this just by changing how we understand a single word. When our happiness does not depend on us achieving our goals. When we are happy whether our dreams get accomplished or not. When we learn to enjoy the process even though we are not sure we will make it. When we are free from as well as free to pursue or goals and dreams, it’s when we have found true happiness. And I’m along for the ride."

@okulele The best way to resolve this is to check different Enlightened Masters. Look at Buddha or Jesus, supposedly very enlightened but huge revolutionaries. Look at Sadhguru, Peter Ralston or Ken Wilber. Actually, an article Wilber wrote says the following: "But 'egoless' does not mean 'less than personal'; it means 'more than personal.' Not personal minus, but personal plus - all the normal personal qualities, plus some transpersonal ones. Think of the great yogis, saints and sages - from Moses to Christ to Padmasambhava. They were not feeble-mannered milquetoasts, but fierce movers and shakers - from bullwhips in the Temple to subduing entire countries. They rattled the world on its own terms, not in some pie-in-the-sky piety; many of them instigated massive social revolutions that have continued for thousands of years. And they did so, not because they avoided the physical, emotional and mental dimensions of humanness, and the ego that is their vehicle, but because they engaged them with a drive and intensity that shook the world to its very foundations. No doubt, they were also plugged into the soul (deeper psychic) and spirit (formless Self) - the ultimate source of their power - but they expressed that power and gave it concrete results, precisely because they dramatically engaged the lower dimensions through which that power could speak in terms that could be heard by all." You can read the whole article here: https://www.lionsroar.com/egoless-means-more/

@traveler No, because I'm not enlightened. But I can suspect that because the person the person needs some personal work to do. Enlightenment is just knowing what you are, absolutely. It seems that people that are enlightened suffer less, so taking drugs might be an uncommon phenomenon for awakened people. Anyways, Osho was addicted, Nisargadatta was a smoker, Alan Watts was an alcoholic.

I would suggest becoming enlightened and then see what happens - don't put the cart before the horse. Also, becoming conscious of what you are is not the same as becoming conscious of what suffering is. The former is an absolute insight, the second one is relative. It seems one can be enlightened and still suffer - but that's a problem for the enlightened you But you are suffering anyways so why not give it a shot

That's something you have to decide. It's definitely more conscious and better for life and the environment to stop eating meat. If your goal is to reduce meat intake in the world, you'll have to decide which is the best way to accomplish that. A protest? Perhaps... Think about how we can make people more conscious of the consequences of eating meat and if there's a better way to do that. Watch the movie MILK. It will show you the power of protesting!

it's natural that some people don't resonate with you. If they want to talk about stuff you are interested in - GREAT! If they are not... guess what? - GREAT! Just look for people that are interested in the same topics you are interested in. Join a meditation group, start yoga classes, or what have you. You'll need to get creative here. You don't have to establish a profound relationship with everyone. 70% of my friends I have fun with - and that''s okay - I need to relax here and there. But then there is that 30% that I love having profound conversations with... but I would kill myself if I had to do it 100% of the time. Give yourself some time, if you move in the right places, you'll find people that are similar to you! Good luck with that!

@Arhattobe not sure if you are enlightened or not, i really don't care... But i agree with you... I've been following Leo for years now but it seems that people cannot have a different opinion because him or his followers come back with things like "you are a devil", "health and sickness are a duality and illusion" or something along those lines. I've been smelling this from some time now but it's becoming more and more obvious... Still, there are some good people here. Wish the best for the community and I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. It just seems that everything involving these type of conversations often derail to ideology, personal attacks and nonsense. Thank you and @Serotoninluv for your contributions on this thread

I've been fascinated with a book called Enlightenment Now! By Steven Pinker (no, it's not the enlightenment you think it is). He clearly shows that the world is has been getting better for the past decades and the best part is, he uses tons of data to support his case. Hope you enjoy it!

@electroBeam How can you have non-physical matter?

Tons of books to help you on this topic! Do some research, buy the books, study them and implement what you learned!

There're tons! Basically, a business that takes into account all shareholders: investors, customers, employees, etc - and all dimensions of them: interior, exterior, social, cultural. As Leo says, McDonalds it's not since they are not taking into account their customer's health, only their money. Some examples might be Udemy, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's.

Watch some RSD videos on YouTube. Take care not to get to trapped into their way of seeing women and relationships since it's quite dysfunctional. A great book about this is Models from Mark Mason - 10/10 recommend it.

@Harikrishnan Do both, sexting and sex. If you like doing it, do it. Sex is way better though

Great self-reflection! Now that you are single, it's time to work on yourself and become the man that women desire. As to your heartache, give yourself time. In a couple of weeks or months you are not going to feel bad anymore. I recommend going out too and meeting other women, you'll learn that there's plenty of fish. And dude, you are 24. You have PLENTY OF TIME, ENJOY THE RIDE.

lol, thanks for clarifying that this was Stage Yellow thinking... I was about to post some Orange or Green stuff in here. There's a couple of things I do which might be consider biohacking: - Cold Showers - No wheat, sugar, sodas, etc. - Maca Powder - Reduction of meat intake Not sure what you are trying to accomplish or what you feel you can improve though.

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.” Ludwig Wittgenstein Start looking up definitions in the dictionary and keep a log of the words you encountered. Look for multiple definitions of the same word in different dictionaries. Contemplate the definitions. The words you know influence how you think, and how you think influences the rest of your life and reality. People say they don’t care about metaphysics, but the truth is that even though you don’t do philosophy, you stay with the default philosophy and metaphysics! And that then runs your life. Language is limited! Notice that many people have sloppy vocabulary. We talk about things and we really don’t know what we are referring to. They never bothered to think what these concepts are. Science doesn’t have a good handle in all of these topics. You can know things in two ways: explicitly and implicitly. When you know them implicitly, you kind of know them but you cannot articulate it in a coherent way. You can have a strong grasp or loose grasp of a word. Keep your communications very clear and simple. The concepts you need to study are: · Reality · Existence · Being · Hallucination · Magic · Time · Energy · Matter · Reason · Perspective · Truth · God · Emotion · Concept · Psyche · Science · Religion · Delusion · Illusion · Consciousness · Absolute · Relative · Wisdom · Spirit · Ecology · Insight · Creativity · Paranormal · Psychology · Philosophy · Mind · Integrity · Profound · Basic · Evil · Virtue · Confusion · Logic · Theory · Knowledge · Awareness · Experience · Belief · Universe · Epiphany · Enlightenment · Depression · Love · Self · Meditation · Contemplation · Thought · Perception · Essence · Substance · Intelligence · Evolution · Suffering · Karma · Mysticism · Cult · Be · I · Is · Love · Relationships · Money · Sadness · Happiness Also, look up the etymology of the word and the Latin and Greek origins

@Ingit No matter what people tell you, you need to grasp for yourself what is perception and what is awareness! You tell us

“Experience life in all possible ways -- good-bad, bitter-sweet, dark-light, summer-winter. Experience all the dualities. Don't be afraid of experience, because the more experience you have, the more mature you become.” ― Osho Here is some courage for you!

There are different views. Some teachers tell you that once you get it, you get it. Some others like Leo say that you can have glimpses of it, lose it and get it back again. The best way to confirm is to experience it yourself. Then you can come back to the forum and tell us.

I have read 12 Rules of Life and to be honest, it is good advice. It is shallow but good advice nevertheless. The problem with his teaching is that will take you so far. It is full of dogma, anger, and resentment. I would take it with a grain of salt.

Indeed! That is the point of difficult books. Remember that these philosophers spent their entire lives developing these ideas. Do you think you are going to grasp them with only one read? Enjoy the process of reading difficult books. They are worth the effort. With time, you will get better.

Which type of products? What do you mean by "revolutionize the world?" You can revolutionize education, architecture, energy, physics, the food industry, etc. I would be more clear about which industry you are interested in and which is the impact you want to have in the world. Try to hone it more and more. Be more specific. Being an entrepreneur is hard work. You need to learn management, marketing, design, finance, human resources, systems thinking, storytelling, etc. Read some biographies and see how other successful people made it. Read some entrepreneur related books - there are tons of them. Use Google It is a very personal decision. Each one of us experiences different conditions. Don't expect an answer like this on an internet forum. The good thing about college is that it gives you time to think and figure out what you want to do with your life. The bad thing is that it is expensive and you are probably better off spending the money elsewhere. Do your research and figure it out for yourself my friend. Best of luck in the journey!

- Eat less meat and carbs. - Go to sleep at regular hours - Stop watching TV or electronic devices 2 hours before going to sleep - Pitch black room - Avoid a heavy dinner and eat 2 hours prior to going to bed - Use your bed just to sleep

Orange is something to be integrated, not repressed! Want to see a fully developed and mature Orange? Look at Sadhguru! The amount of work this guy's been doing is insane - comparable to Elon Musk, Bill Gates or what have you. Or look at Peter Ralston. This guy is the best at Martial Arts probably in history. And he is enlightened as fuck! Not because you pursue spirituality means that you have to stop striving. The difference is that your happiness doesn't depend on your achievements. What's even better, is that you'll probably be much more effective than before.

LOL to this thread! Can I participate even though I am a wage slave? Pleaseeee. Money basically is a representation of value. If you give value to the world, you are going to get paid. Does that make you a wage slave? Not necessarily. Being a "wage slave" is when you work for something or someone that you don't believe is generating an impact. Is that bad or wrong? It is not - it is the way it has been for centuries. Better than being an actual slave for sure.