Mondsee

@Sharpadox have you watched Leo's early videos? I can't recall exactly in which one it is, but there is one, (I believe the topic is life purpose, or at least is very closely related to that) where he shares his story finding the career path he wanted to follow. I'm not saying he did "the right thing" nor am I suggesting that you copy what he did, but since he started as a game designer and actually succeeded at it before he founded actualized.org, you might feel identified and it might give you a little perspective I'd recommend to you to look for it, maybe someone here can remember better and help you find it!

@SLICKHAWK Thank you for the idea! I usually keep my goals in to-do lists and don't focus on a single one, which might be indeed very helpful. Here I was looking for opinions on a slight different matter tough, but apparently not many people familiar with Mission Statements have come across this post. The idea is, you write a document with some characteristics and goals of yourself, among others, very general and permanent ones, that are supposed to apply during your entire life. Those big ideals and motivations you have that will probably never change. Also some feelings that you want to feel and what your strengths are, etc. That document you review and slightly edit every single day, preferably as part of your morning routine, that way you'll be in line with all that during your day. I wanted to hear from someone if reviewing a Mission Statement every day been helpful in their daily lives. In any case I take away your focus-on-one goal idea

Hey! does someone here has a Mission Statement? Do you use it regularly? Has it helped you? Do you recommend it? Any tips are welcome!

Hey @Nahm thank you for your answer! I'm specifically referring to a document where you write down several aspects and aims of yourself and review it every day. Leo has a video where he explains the concept and shares his mission statement back then. I did one long ago, but then forgot to review it every day. As I am considering to update it and start reviewing it I'd like to hear experiences from others. Did it help you? didn't it? which format did you use? etc.

I've tried many things, I've committed many times, and I haven't managed to make it a permanent habit. Not looking for a magic pill, but maybe some strategies that have helped you or others. Thank you!

True, I was educated in a traditional culture where everyone deny sex before marriage although everyone does have sex before marriage. The church is still a very very central institution over here, so I do believe all that nonsense might have had an impact on me, and much more back then when I was a girl that wanted to do things "right", whatever that might have meant. But all that story I'm just telling to let you know how I came up with that idea. And the plane idea simply is that if someone never has had sex, becomes enlightened and then has sex for the first time, he or she won't be able to compare it to sex before enlightenment. I agree with this but... ...listening to my emotions, is listening to my thoughts, just in an unconscious way. In the end, emotions are the product of our thoughts! Therefore, Thoughts lie, and emotions follow them. But yes, I also agree many questions can find its true answer by practicing introspection.

@Empty Maybe, maybe... But that's not what I'm about here. I'm referring to the fact that better or worst, if he hadn't had sex before he became enlightened, he wouldn't have been able to state he enjoyed it more after enlightened, because he wouldn't have been able to compare it.

@clytaemnestra oh! she's very very often surrounded by her family. Most of her closest family members are almost neighbors.

My Granny is an 87 year old woman, she was super active her entire life and a great example for me. Right now tough, every time I go to visit her, she only tells me about all her worries. She worries for my grandpa (91 y/o in a declining state of health), worries that their savings are quickly declining because they spend so much in medicine, worries that my mother (her daughter) will have so much to arrange when they die, worries to die before my grandpa because without her he won't be able to manage anything, worries too that he dies first because what is she going to do all alone... etc. She seems to get anxious very easily for any little detail. Although all this reasons might seem legit, it's all just a bunch of useless worrying about the future. As of today, she has enough delicious food to eat every day on the table, she has all the medicines she needs, and my grandpa too, she has us, her family, and also a nurse to take care of them, she has a nice house, she is even pretty healthy! ...and I could really continue to make the list longer. How can I make her see that?? I don't want her to spend the last period of her life being miserable worrying about everything. First I thought I should listen to everything she had to tell me, because sometimes you just need to speak out, but I'm now realizing it's actually only getting worst. Every time I'm there she has some new worry to tell me about. I want her to notice that for today she can be happy and feel grateful, and if some obstacle comes up in the future, we'll figure it out together. Don't think I haven't told her this already, I have, but... she needs to move into the present! She keeps her mind in an obscure and terrifying imaginary future. Any ideas? Thank you so much!

@Deep In theory you could have a point, but I'm afraid that recommendation is hard to put in practice because:

Hmmm yeah... I'll go with her to get some ice cream or something...

...in any case, the book doesn't care!

This is exactly the reason why I was thinking maybe it'd be worthy to experience sex before enlightenment. My point is: because what has been seen cannot be unseen (it might sound as obvious as it gets, but...) once enlightened you'll never be able to know how "unenlightened sex" was. I'm not saying this is good, I'm not saying this is bad, it's simply what would happen. In that case, also, you wouldn't be able to compare how it was before and after; again, not good, not bad, just a fact. Another clarification: I might have expressed myself somewhat unclear in this regard, but I didn't want to say sex after enlightenment is going to be "better", just that every experience after enlightenment is going to be... I don't know... different, superior if you want to put it in those terms. The thing is: it's not going to be the same as it used to before. So this is all about the fact that if someone has never had sex, and does for the first time after having found the Truth, it won't be possible to compare it and cherish that difference as if otherwise.

Haha I'd be much more worried for your anger towards a book than for the content of it!

OK, maybe I need to clarify what I meant. I don't mean sex after enlightenment will be a super amazing explosive experience, but rather that enlightenment itself changes our relation to life and all what happens in it, that the experience will be different... More specifically, because I've heard a couple enlightened individuals say there is no thing like finding the Truth, I was thinking ok, maybe if you get enlightened, and have good sex for the first time afterwards, it kinda might be like: "meh! not bad, but enlightenment is so much better than this". Instead if you have good sex first you can be like: "wow this is so amazing!", then you get enlightened and go like: "holy sh*t! and I thought sex was the best thing ever!! little did I know..."

Please elaborate.

Hahahaha yeah! ...but then again, you wouldn't care, because you simply "are", right? Right, I mean in the end both are things that are not so easy to schedule on a calendar. We cannot tell when it's going to be the right time for good sex, it'll come, or not, and same applies for enlightenment. If we're lucky and focus on it, it might surprise us some day at any time!

@Ramu Do you mean your ego had to throw the book across the room?? haha juuust kidding, I get your point

@Ramu sometimes I also wonder if we should write and talk using the third person, because it's not "us" who is talking, but the ego.

Yeah! haha exactly! That's the more realistic scenario and the reason why I'm actually not shutting off my effort of following the enlightenment path just 'cause I haven't had sex My question is a rather theoretical one... or simply the thought that it might also be very pleasant to live the unenlightened life fully, and then realize when enlightened there was something even better out there. Agree, but it was more about the opposite: should we deny spiritual growth because waiting for experiencing sex first? Again: all of this is just a theoretical idea, and not a decision I'm going to take actively, I'll just keep living as I do, accepting what comes, in whatever order it does!

Just a lil reminder over here that "those who are serious about the path" may include but are not limited to those who can pay for it. I bet there are a couple more members who are students highly interested in this material, but also destining their entire economic means to finance their studies. Nothing against the products for sale as the life purpose course or the book-list, because that is like an extra complementary information you can add to the regular content published. It'd be sad tough leaving the high-quality regular content only for those who can afford it. Until now I have been so thankful that @Leo Gura shares so much for free, I know if it hadn't been this way, my life would be very different right now.

@PureExp OMG this is so true... crazy how we're used to do that during our entire lives without being aware how much of an action that is. @Callum A Thank you so much for those beautiful and encouraging words! Although often confusing, and always hard to grasp, I do have a gigantic desire to know the Truth! I'll definitely check out your recommendations @Reality Great!! Thanks a lot for sharing!! I'm checking it out ...and just for the record, doing nothing today felt much less like daydreaming and much more like "dafuq do I have in my mind!?" haha

Today I tried the "Do Nothing Technique" for the first time... and I discovered it didn't feel any different from the daydream happening when I don't want to stand up, and just stay lying down in my bed wandering about random stuff. None of the weird crazy thoughts came up (at least yet), just normal stuff like what I should wear in the party I'm invited to, or what I would say if I'd meet that one person. Is it maybe that I'm not letting the "monkey" really free from its cage? I feel like I'm controlling my thoughts and I don't really know where to start to let go of control. Thankful for advice from more experimented users of this technique!

@Callum A Thank you for the recommendation. I don't think I've watched that one. Also, I'll check out Peter Ralston. I am a total newbie on enlightenment, although not on self-actualization, but I already got the sense that there is an entire universe behind that concept, and right now I'm indeed just dipping the toe in the water... But Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

@Leo Gura All right, I'll try it out! Thank you!