Sage_Elias

I'm a work in progress

5 minutes of saying "I am completely independent of the good or bad opinions of others"

See if this helps you stay comitted Med- Meditation Con- Concentration Self- self affirmation

You should tell us more about this

Try doing some self affirmations...while at the same time doing what these good people mentioned above

"Don't get me wrong, Jim Carey is an amazing character and I'm glad to have gotten the part...but I don't think of that as me anymore" ~ Jim Carey

"Who is it that is aware that I'm thinking ?" ~ Jim Carey

@Ilya start meditating and give the confusion time to resolve itself

Have you ever fried a ripe banana before eating it ? Probably not...the thought of it is absurd because they are just so tasty and nutritious straight from the tree. Then why do we fry ripe plaintains ? Think about it...both are almost exactly alike when ripe. As similar as you are to a chimp? However we eat ripe bananas as they are but we dip plaintains in unhealthy oils and kill its beneficial enzymes over the flame. Why ?? It may be a matter of how we were cultured. So whats the point ? Plaintains are tasty and nutritious when eaten naturally Test it out and see...enjoy !

Insight from Sadhguru : the more we rest the body by peacefully sitting still( in your case meditating ), the less sleep the body will need at nights. Maybe there are different factors at play here...look into your diet and exercise, which both play a role in the amount of rest the body needs and the quality of the sleep you get.

@Edvard someone once asked the Buddha a similar question. Imagine that you are walking in the jungle, then suddenly out of nowhere, an arrow struck you in your back. Its wise to remove the arrow first, then when you are healed, you can investigate where it came from...otherwise you will walk around searching for its source until you bleed to death. Same with the ego. Where did it come from we ask ? Remove the ego first, then we can investigate where it came from.

Lettuce, cucumber pieces, tomato, avocado slices, pumpkin seeds ( or any of your favorite nuts or seeds), carrot sticks You can add a banana if you wish or any other fruit.

As you might know, taking a short nap before meditation is a good way to get your mind refreshed and focussed. Instead of falling into unconscious sleep, try doing some conscious breathing, laying on your back, while listening to binaural beats. It gets you rested but also builds your conscoiusness at the same time. Ps. Also do this each night before going to bed See if it works for you !

@Blue is the sea 1. Sadhguru's youtube videos 2. Ask a Monk ( Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu's teachings on Buddhism) 3. Eckhart Tolle's youtube channel 4. Books by Paramahansa Yogananda

@Mario When you are new and eager about self actualization...I think its common for you to go through a phase where you are addicted to the videos. In time...when you start practicing the content of the videos, you will gradually lose this addiction and become more engrossed in the practice

Are unhealthy environments ( eg. those that are noisy, cut off from nature and surrounded with neurotic people) good for consciousness work or will they hamper you ?

How exactly does it work ?

@everythingisnothing what the fuck...you sat for 6 hours straight ?

Check out Paramahansa Yogananda...read his autobiigraphy

Feel free to share your own...enjoy !

@Leo Gura what are your thoughts on Kriya yoga?

This has happened on two occasions now. I fell asleep doing conscious brrathing on my back while listening to binaural beats and the next day when I woke up I can remember ( although a little vaguely ) that I left my body. Can we dream that we are astral projecting? If so, what is that ?

Awsome...tell us about the experience when you do

While meditating a few weeks ago, I had an insight that I should host my own meditation retreat at home...so thats what I did. I certainly did not have enough money to rent a cabin in the woods so this was the next best thing. I will tell you exactly how I did it and all the challenges faced and insights gained. Enjoy! Background Information: I live in a house with my mom and dad. My dad leaves for work each morning and returns in the evening. Mom stays at home and she is mostly quiet. I have been meditating for 9 months now and my parents know that they should keep it down while I'm meditating. I don't have cable or internet at home so it was not a concern that I would distract myself with this. I am a student doing exams at school right now. I only go to school these days to do my exams so I have a lot of free time. Food items bought: Oatmeal Bulgar wheat Almond Milk Bananas Mixed nuts Lettuce and tomatoes The meditation retreat lasted from Monday to Friday and on Sunday night, I made a big pot of Bulgar and Oats porridge. All I had to do was to heat up a portion of it each morning. Very easy. There is a link of the recipe at the end of this post. ________________________________________ Each morning I got up at 6am to start my day. This is what the typical day looked like: Do-Nothing 40mins Concentration 20, 20 mins Mindful Breathing 40mins Mindful labelling 40mins Mindful Dish washing 30mins Do-Nothing 40mins Mindful Breathing 40mins Concentration 10mins Mindful labelling 40mins Do-Nothing 40mins Do-Nothing 40mins Total: 7 hours By 10:00pm I was off to bed. Practical Insights gained: Get earplugs!! Your mom might turn on the TV or your neighbor might turn on their stereo. Have some insect repellant with you. Mosquitoes might do what they do best. Take short breaks between each seasion. Drink lost of water during breaks, it helps with your concentration. Deeper Insights gained: I had the insight that I should have another retreat...this time with Magic Mushrooms Neurotic people cannot be pleased. No matter how hard you try, they will always find faults in you; you could be the Buddha himself, your peacefulness would annoy them. Everything is soooo beautiful. I almost cried while looking at the beauty of a leaf. I could and should be meditating a lot more than I am right now. ________________________________________ Challenges faced: The main challenge I faced came on day three. I got some really horrible news that made me angry. I was in full blown rage. This caused my mind to go into a frenzy and the monkey mind was non-stop. Despite this...I did a few sessions of 'Do-Nothing' and I just sat there and became aware of all the anger. After some time I felt the anger slowly fade away and I was now more peaceful than ever. It felt like a purging of my anger. I can tell that I had made a major leap forward in regards to emotional mastery. The need for stimulation was also a challenge. Many times I was tempted to jerk off...but somehow I resisted. On the final day I was so tired of meditating that I half-assed it. I slacked off and only did 4 hours of meditation. I hope this will be of help to you if you decide to host your own retreat at home ________________________________________ Bulgar Porridge recipe: https://youtu.be/N3GGsB6o5hM

The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle