Anakin

Hell yeah! Please come to the Bay Area!!

@Leo Gura What is your MBTI type? People are split between INTP & INTJ, but I think you're much more like an INTP. Is that right?

Great post! To add, I started taping my mouth shut during sleep after seeing this post: Now, I wake up everyday feeling so much more rested than before. According to the OP this is the "maybe the single easiest yet most beneficial thing you can do for your health". And i completely agree.

@Raphael Ah, I only just saw your later post. Glad to hear that you've made the call! Actually, my current boss's boss (who i worked a lot with previously) is quite like that. I had managed to get less effected emotionally with time, after seeing through all the negative motivations (esp. fear) that was driving him, and the fact that he's just trying to use the same on others. I could tell that he is suffering a lot internally from many negative emotions, and he really just doesn't know better — he's just a victim of an aggrandized low consciousness ego. With the understanding i was able to come into peace.

@Raphael I respectfully disagree — to take 100% responsibility for your life means that you're also 100% responsible for choosing your environment (which imo is one of the most important choices anyways). Next time, be more selective with your boss (and if they're not your boss, just ignore their manipulations). A relevant video from Leo:

My wife hates what i'm doing nowadays: meditation, self inquiry, and even (especially) watching leo's videos. She thinks i'm into some kind of cult. I've been trying quite patiently to get her to be more open about it, but i think at this point she completely refuse to hear anymore. A main reason why she hates it so much is because she thinks i'm turning into some kind of emotion-less robot, which is true to a degree because i generally feel more peaceful and hardly ever get angry or too emotional these days (not sure if this is completely normal), and i have generally lost interest in many things which i previously cared much about: food, games, certain friends. She threatens to divorce if i don't agree to permanently drop all this. I love my wife, but consciousness work is just too important for me to not pursue in my entire lifetime. i basically see 2 options: 1) Divorce. 2) Fake agreeing to drop it, and focus more on family for the time being (i have a very young kid). Then coming back to it in a few years, hoping that my family is more stable then and my wife might change her mind about it. (1) will make me very sad, but on the other hand i fear that i could cause my family more pain if i choose (2). Is there a 3rd way? What should I do?

@Captain Flint Haha. Yup, will work on it @Elisabeth Yeah sounds good, will do! Thank you again for the great tips!

@Elisabeth It's going well! Thanks for asking! After working with her, understanding and addressing what she felt was missing — like more more attention, love, and security exactly as you and others have suggested — she is much happier now. We've also started a 1-month vacation (previously planned) which is also helping I've learned the lesson that i need to invest more time into ensuring my wife's emotional needs are satisfied. Let's hope it last!

Thanks so much, guys! All are super helpful answers!! @Elisabeth @Mad Max I think both of you are spot on in that she might not be mad for consciousness work per se, but something else. With some reflection, i do think i have placed family at lower priority and had at time neglected their needs. @SFRL You're absolutely right about that. i think i'm giving my wife very little emotional stimulations, which is exactly what she had complained about. @Serotoninluv Thanks for sharing your story! That's part of my fear too — i'm destined to want to go on some retreat at some later point, and there will be no way for me to hide it. So if consciousness work itself is the friction point, i don't know if we'll be able to work it out... i think my overall conclusion is that i will first work harder to find out and address my wife's (emotional) needs in a more loving fashion, while being very open about my pursuit, and see where it leads us... Thanks again guys!

i've been following Actualized.org for about 2 years now, and i'm increasingly interested in (and also practicing) everything Actualized.org is about. My question is: How do i find and connect with similar-minded people—i.e. other Actualized.org followers—near where i live? (btw i'm new to the forum, so sorry if this is already long-solved. But I've done some quick search and wasn't able to find anything.) A random idea might be to create a new sub-forum for posting requests to connect with local actualized.org followers? Potentially via email (direct or mailing list), fb group, or chat at first, and follow up with offline meet-ups? Thanks in advance

@Elisabeth This is tremendously helpful! Thank you! And i will definitely start trying out those which you've mentioned And yeah i have also recently realized that openness is really important, so i have started sharing things on my social media and such, but no luck yet. i'll keep trying

Yeah i'd like to. But no one in my circle is really into personal development, not to mention consciousness work. i was hoping to find them on actualized.org

@Joseph Maynor Thank you for sharing your perspective! i totally agree that personal development is a personal journey and the hard work has to be done by me and no others. Though, i was doing Leo's life purpose course and discovered that i value "connection" quite highly but i found myself quite lonely on this journey. So i thought, maybe it doesn't have to be this way? Some extra bit of motivation and fun wouldn't hurt, would it?

@Joseph Maynor This is awesome! Thank you for sharing your perspectives!

The new Distraction video got me thinking: If i have to choose only ONE between consciousness work and life purpose, which should i choose? i understand that they're not necessarily mutually exclusive (especially if my life purpose was related to consciousness), but i'm concerned that if i follow the path of life purpose, the risk is that i'll be distracted away from awakening. Since the Distraction video clearly puts consciousness work at #1 priority, is the answer obvious, or is it still individualized? If awakening is indeed my #1 priority in life, should i drop my pursuit on life purpose to focus? Or how can i balance between both? Thanks

@DoubleYou This is inspiring to hear! Thank you!

San Jose, California! Excited to connect with folks in the South Bay! Please IM me!

@K VIL Do you mind sharing it?

@Leo Gura Thank you! This is so comforting to hear In that case, i see 2 pretty paths in front of me: first pursue my life purpose for 10-15 years -> shift my focus to consciousness work and get enlightened in 5 years -> ... shift into hardcore consciousness work mode and get enlightened in 5 years -> maybe getting into higher stages of enlightenment? > ... If i follow (2), would i "miss out" on the richness of pursuing my life purpose? Or if i follow (1), would i realize later that i've "wasted" 10-15 years which i could have spent on pursing even higher stage of consciousness? Obviously, i "understand" that both are "meaningless", so i'm mostly concerned with having more richness, fun, and fulfillment in my life. Anyways, i know that i can't go wrong with either. So thank you, Leo EDIT: @Leo Gura I watched the video and i see that (1) is what you've recommended. I think i'll start with that

@jwkspeck This is super insightful and helpful! Thank you! i absolutely agree. And as I think more about it, I'd choose consciousness work without a doubt. But i think i'm really just curious about the feasibility and a possible strategy for pursuing both goals (without being too greedy and unrealistic).

@Marinus i hear this ALL THE TIME. Originally only during meditations, but now throughout my day. And the volume depends on my level of focus. i always thought this is the "stillness" which Eckhart Tolle frequently talks about (like here). Is it not?

@Girzo Thank you so much for the answer! I'll start from there