PetarKa

@ajasatya 30-40g? That sounds too low... Maybe I've just never heard of it. Most people usually recomend up to 100-150g per day. I was quite surprised when I read your post.

How can you prove that something is impossible?

Thanks guys for the advice! I will keep in mind what you said, but I have switched to mindfulness meditation. I feel like I need to change things up as I've been doing Do Nothing for several months now. After some time I'll most likely switch back.

I take notes and I find it incredibly helpful -- you can revise and remind yourself about the ideas. Yeah, it might seem tidious and time-consuming while you're writing them, but when you think about it, if you're gonna watch 1 video per week and with the amount and depth of content, it's not really practical to try to keep it all inside your head. It's just too much information and rewatching videos is rather time-consuming.

@Joseph Maynor What would you say the particular benefits are from Do Nothing as opposed to other techniques? You say that the others increase tour awareness. Then what effect does Do Nothing have?

@Leo Gura What would you say to someone who hesitates to "improve the quality of one's consciousness" and can't decide between comfort amd growth? How would you explain that to someone (me in this case)? What about the pain of growth? Is growth really painful? Is it worth it? Why is it worth it? I know this isn't a personal question, though I think this is a question of substance. Thanks ?

Your beliefs play a huge role in what you want, or, better said, what you think you want.

I've had an insight and I want to see what you guys think about it: There is no greater reason for doing something than the emotional reward you'll get from it (e.g. happiness, joy, bliss, strength, passion, etc.) or because you believe so strongly in what you are doing (when someone believes in trust, kindness, honor, beauty, etc.). Does it resonate with you guys? Please share your thoughts as this is a most interesting topic to ponder and discuss. Some other related questions: Is there another reason for doing something? Do you need a reason for doing something? Can you want something and take practical action-steps towards it without knowing that you want it (unconsciously)? What other models about the WHY of life do you find accurate and practical?

I wonder... is happiness all there is? Do you also regard other emotions such as passion, love, excitement, fulfillment, comfort, self-worth, etc. as "happiness" or are there many FORMS of happiness? Is happiness the everyone's ultimate goal? Leo has mentioned this several times though I don't quite agree with this. For example, someone might be religious and devote himself completely to such traditions JUST BECAUSE they BELIEVE they should obey and that DISBELIEVING such things is a "sin".

Video has quite a bit of gems of insight, though there are some cheesy and cliché elements. Only 7 min long. Enjoy :

Wait now just a moment! Is Sam Harris enlightened? I got that kind of impression. Though this thread doesn't give me that impression...

I'm confused about 2 of Leo's videos. Namely, "Becoming A Sage" and "Low vs High Quality Consciousness". Is becoming a sage just another way of increasing the quality of consciousness. Is becoming a sage a smaller subcomponent of increasing the quality of consciousness or are the dynamics of these two a bit more nuanced? This post is mainly directed towards @Leo Gura, though I would certainly love to hear you guys' opinions as well.

@Leo Gura About your diet: Where do you get carbohydrates from? Are all forms of carbs bad e.g. rice, oatmeal, corn, etc.? Just curious. I eat a lot of carbs, I'm quite skinny. If I don't eat carbs as much I simply will not have enough energy for the day.

Maybe I've been thinking too much, but I not see the world as pointless. I say to myself "We'll die anyway and it won't matter whether I lived a great or awful life (whatever "great" and "awful" mean). What's the point?" This causes depressing, disempowering thoughts and emotions in me. I even think sometimes "Why not end it all?" I'm affraid. I don't know how to cope with this... Please post any possible things I could do (book recommendations, methods, ideas, techniques, etc.). Thank you in advance.

These are my top SIX strengths: Judgement, Critical Thinking, Open-Mindedness: Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind. Curiosity, Interest in The World: You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery. Self-Control, Self-Regulation: You self-consciously regulate what you feel and what you do. You are a disciplined person. You are the master of your appetites and your emotions, not vice versa. Caution, Prudence, Discretion: You are a careful person and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say things that you might later regret. Forgiveness, Mercy: You forgive those who have done you wrong. You always give people a second chance. Your guiding principle is mercy and not revenge. Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience. I feel like they're all really authentic, but are they one-too-many? What's better - to go with all of them or to just cut the bull and narrow it down to my top 5? The last 3 (#4, #5, #6) are in no particular order.

Robinson Crusoe -- Expanded my awareness with regards to human survival. Also it made me think deeply about life and the world in general.

I'm confused about this. As human beings, are the things that will make us happy / fulfilled / passionate / etc. the same for everyone? Or is it a highly personal thing? Leo talks about happiness all over the place and I see mixed ideas about this? What do you think?

Is it OK if we have 6 strengths (knowing that all 6 are very authentic, or are 6 too many? Are 4 signature strengths too many? I have 4 and am kind of mind blown by this. Are these good questions to ask or am I just being too nit-picky?

Bump The value Forgiveness, Mercy (#5) to me feels like a weakness. I've struggled with being a "nice" guy in the past and many people abused that in me. I've overcome a lot of that "nice"-guy stuff though. Is this a strength or a weakness?

Is there a way for a teenager to save up money, create a debit card by himself, and buy the book list. Any other way would be helpful if you can think of. I want to purchase the book list but my parents won't allow it. They think it's extremely stupid to BUY a LIST of books. What can I do?

Would you? In the coming years / decades it might be possible because of this. If there were no side-effects whatsoever, would you do it? Do you think it would create any psychological problems down the road? I mean no human being has ever lived more than 150 years AFAIK. I personally don't know whether I'd do it. Would have to think it through quite thoroughly.

Thank guys for the awesome feedback! BTW, the ammount of money is not the issue. I can save up 35$ or so. My issue is: How can I convert what I'd saved up in cash into credit-card-value. (I can't buy the book list with cash.)

These two go hand in hand: The Matrix (all 3) Inception They REALLY opened up my mind. From these movies (and before I knew about Actualized.org) I came to the concept of "ABSOLUTE 100% certainty and ABSOLUTE 0% certainty does not exist." It can be 99.99999999999%, but the 0.00000000001% is still there and no matter how small, it is still a POSSIBILITY.

Here's one insight on this issue: Not once have I (or any other student for that matter) been told WHY I am studying what I'm studying in the first place. I'm in high school and this goes for each and every subject I have - regsrdeless of whether or not the subject / topic is genuinely important to know and understand, I have never been told WHY to study: Physics Chemistry English Mother tongue Sociology ICT History Geography Math Biology It feels like not even the teachers (most of them) fully know why they are teaching these subjcets. It's like they are there (the subjects) because they were in the past or the government thinks they're necessary. But if the later is the case, they forgot to TELL US why the curicilum is the way it is...