ZX_man

Take the rule less seriously. Is there any physical force stopping you from betting? Probably not. Accept this is something you wish to change in your behavior and work on improving yourself.

@sleeperstakes I would say 40% of western culture feels this way. You're case might be more extreme. Both previous advice are good, I would add stretch your comfort zone. Start practicing openness to people over the internet, and eventually adapt those skills to real life. Peace and Love friend. Edit: I want to add, if you're old enough and have the resources and this is crippling enough, to move locations. I can almost gaurentee this will help you.

LSD and mushrooms are the two of the most common and most available psychedellic substances.

@Nahm I've heard very successful people living off 4-5 hours a night. Is this just a myth and should not be practiced for health reasons?

@Nahm what's "enough sleep" in your eyes?

I would say that your unconsciousness is driving your "conversations" so to speak, while your consciousness resides in shameful feelings. Try meditation, contemplation, or other self-discovery tools to get more in tune with your awareness/consciousness. Then you will have more control over what you are focusing on during these times.

@Ilya Alan Watts once said that meditation is the ultimate waste of time. The technique you choose ultimately doesn't matter. So work on finding a simple one which resonates with you and stick with it.

@Aimblack Your loving presence is what gives things the space they need to let go. At a certain level of consciousness you begin to accept the innocence within all things. This includes your ego. Every action that has ever happened in this world happened because it was believed to be the right action at the time. Once you see this, and love and accept everything exactly how it is, does things like the ego finally begin let go. Forgiveness is the root of all healing.

Alan watts said something relevant to this topic let's see if I can recall it: If you were given the power to do whatever you wanted what would you do? Maybe you would start out by fulfilling all of your craziest dreams and deepest pleasures. But eventually that would get stale, so you start acting out little dramas like crime shows where there's a conflict but it's okay because you're always safe in the end. As time goes on, the dramas get more and more involved with more complicated plots. But again, you were always safe in the end when the curtains were finally drawn. After enough time in this cycle you end up with, well, sorta the kind of life you're living now.

@pluto Will definitely save this read for later. Thank you

Hey all. Just had my first acid trip (solo) and today is reflection day. Here's what I drew. Note: I do not normally consider myself a creative person.

Hey guys, I have a question for you that hopefully will start some sort of dialogue. That or maybe I'm just missing the point :). Throughout our unconscious lives (growing up in society) we have resisted and repressed a huge assortment of emotions. This energy ends up getting bottled up inside of us (located in the stomach or something) and is continuously neglected. My questions is: How much of Enlightenment/consciousness work is actually the release of this energy? Or is more the focus to build some sort of existential awareness or self identification? Is there a balance to be achieved? I'm curious to hear what you guys think (:

I've begun to notice a pretty strong fear of sucide in my life. I wouldn't even consider myself sucidal; I never contemplate suicide or anything. Recently I've been suffering from minor depression for the first time in my life, and, while I continue my spiritual path, it's almost like I fear letting go so much that it will eventually lead me to path which ends in my suicide. I also noice I project this fear onto others quite often, imagining that they're hanging on by a thread and I need to watch my behavior around them so I don't push them over the edge. Any thoughts/tips? Anyone experience this before? Thanks for the feedback! I've been meditating for about a year.

@Richard Alpert I literally just stumbled upon & watched these two videos yesterday. They completely incapsulated me- I could not recommend them more. I am also in the middle of reading Hawkins book on surrender. His demeanor during lecture kinda reminded me of Alan Watts, I loved it. Just so much unconditional joy it's really inspiring.

Love this quote, thanks for bringing it to my awareness And yes, I meditate once a day, usually 20-30 minutes.

Am I being a Victim? What do I mean "Get better"? What is there to get better from? Do I have the ability to just snap my fingers and have it all be over? Am I a victim for suffering? Do I feel guilty for suffering? Do I feel inferior for suffering? Shouldn't I not be suffering? I believe I am suffering all the time. Am I missing a belief about suffering? Should I focus on getting rid of suffering or living with it? Or should I just continue watching it. Is that me being lazy? Will life "work itself out" if I continue watching it? Is there some action I'm missing?

Hey guys. Is surrender a valid method of dealing with depression? Will simple acceptance of the fact that I am depressed accelerate the process? Will it release some sort of depressed energy or something? Thanks.

@Salaam Thanks for the lengthy response. The depression I experience is pretty minor relatively speaking. I would say its more of a spiritually-induced depression where I'm starting to see that there is nowhere to go in life besides there here and now. It doesn't impact my work or school life and I still enjoy things in my free time. It comes on sometimes (usually daily, and usually paired with slight anxiety) so I'm wondering if surrendering to it and feeling it fully is the right strategy.

Hi all. I've heard Alan Watts talk about what he likes to call the "superconscious." Generally speaking this is how we are able to do all our bodily functions without thinking about it. He goes on to say how we don't actually control what we think we do, and that things just happen instead of us doing them. My question is, how do we differentiate between "superconsciousness" and acting mechanical? If we go on living without our active mind where is the line drawn between the two? I understand that acting mechanical is a bad thing. Thanks for your input.

Hey all. I'm 19 years old and have been on the spiritual path for about a year now including consistent meditation recently more than ever (up to 30 min sessions) . I've begun to notice feelings of depersonalization. The world seems to be in an almost haze, and nothing seems anywhere near as real or significant as it was throughout my previous years. Is this a common thing to encounter on this journey? Should I be worried and/or consider professional counseling? Thanks

@Leo Gura Thanks for the response Leo <3 It helps a lot

@Joel3102 Is DP a temporary thing? I do have slight anxiety.

@Leo Gura Like I said, reality seems hazy. It's causing a lack in motivation for everything (though I continue to maintain my meditation practice). I don't feel love for others or for myself really. I don't feel connected to any other people. I don't really see the reason to keep living (though I don't contemplate suicide). I guess I look at enlightenment as the only way for me to get fulfillment again. But from what I understand enlightenment shouldn't be something you actively strive for.

Eckhart Tolle