RandomPaul

Mooji music, so good! I really like the one that goes, "i've fallen through a hole in the universe" at 15.00 cheers!

@rrodriguez111 @Vigi , what a coincidence, i'm also dealing with deconcentration due to saliva these days. I recently started to practice zen meditation, zazen, after the techings of master taisen deshimaru, and i also attend a zen dojo. Thing is, it's a lot about the position, and in the zazen position i cannot swallow without moving my head / neck and loosing the correct position. Also, in the dojo i become aware of how loud i swallow and i get a feeling that i'm disturbing the people there silently meditationg. is there any tip or hack to get this under control, o should it just be observed and let go of, over and over again

My warm recommendation is "The school of life" (on youtube). It's educational on so many levels (form relationships and economy to philosophy and zen and all in between, and more :)) ) The clips ar between 2 and 20 mins and very well made, with cartoon ilustrations that really sink in with the message. It's wisdom at the tip of our fingertips, enjoy

you better check yo' self before you wreck yo' self - Sri Ice Cube

Hey! I've had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago, but my situation is a little different, i'm fresh out of college so i don't really have any obligations but to fend for myself. Anyways, it was kind of the best thing that could've happened, thing is i started the adult work life last year and it really hit me, felt kind of destabilized. At the same timen i got a little more into self actualization and meditation. With time i realized that what i belived to be my dream career wasn't even close to what i needed or wanted so it naturally led to me and the company where i worked part ways. When told that the gig i had was gonna end i sent my resume in loads of places and met lots of people and really wanted to land in a place where i wouldn't have any internal reservation. I went to the interviews really excited and happy to understand the people i was talking to and how they view their business, and my enthusiasm was noticed because i got multiple offers. On friday it's gonna be my first day and i can say that this is one of my personal best stories of failing forward @failforward when the dust settles and you figure things out let us know! we're rooting for u over here! cheers!

does anyone here like tricky? how about the ropes? i find the lyrics here amazing

Hi! There seems to be a thin line between diminishing the ego and creating a spiritual ego that thinks it's on a path towards enlightenement and is actually self absorbed, proud, and feels superior to others, unaware that even if there are benefits to acting spiritual, true spirituality is way out of reach at that point. I think at one point someone told me about their walking meditation and I told them in a douchey kind of manner that my sitting meditation is way more strong and their meditation can be a waste of time - poor judgement on my behalf, I know. So my question is, how can one tell? are there signs? has anyone reflected on the matter? did anybody fall in this trap in your experience? thank you! have a great day

@Cuzzo , i get the same feeling. I only start conversatoins like this with friends only to realize it was a mistake and stop asap. Nowadays if anybody asks me about my meditation experience or what is it that i am looking for i only talk to them about a tip of the tip of the iceberg, if they want more they will ask more or look for themselves; convincing?! ain't nobody got time for that :))

This is great insight, thank you all. From all this I think that one can also understand that maintaining a true state of not-knowing can help prevent the other persona. I think that on my path I made or will make many mistakes, but as long as in the end you see through them they become just another step forward

- meditation (slowly and harmoniously developing the practice) - morning ritual - less / no TV - healthy diet - cold showers (only) - compassion and mindfulness - keeping a pin-board with objectives related to external manifestations and internal purposes - being less dramatic

@TomKay love the energy in your post, i'm so trying this! if i have some insight about it gonna post it. Thanks for the idea, long live the forum :))

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I think that sometimes, if you have an answer to someone's question based on what you found through actualized and you know Leo formulated really clear in a video or you have a quote that gives the essence of what you wanna say it's alright. That's where it should stop, in my opinion. Just put a disclaimer stating that you don't have the absolute truth if you're not sure about you're answer

Hey, if you have trouble keeping your mind on work or focusing, I discovered this idea according to which you should set a goal for your work-day and then do 25 mins of intense work, 5 mins break, repeat 3 times, take a 30-45 min break, and then repeat the whole process until you feel you.ve done enough. It.s called the pomodoro technique, you should check it out. I tried it for a week or so, did an experiment, and it helped so far, so you can also look into it if you think it can help, cheers

Hi! I'm not enlightened, not even close, in fact, I don't even know if I saw the footprints of the ox. Yesterday something I never experienced happened, it filled me with up joy (it actually hurt a bit and numbed my head, and brought tears in my eyes, all of a sudden), I can't talk about it yet cause I didn't really digest it but I hope I'm gonna make the courage soon. Here's how I see the pursuit of enlightenment and please point out if you think it's a wrong view. I look at it like this: in sports, as a kid, you're thought to make the moves mechanicaly, you don't really get it, you just practice and then, after lots of work it comes naturally and the coach allows you to make the team (I did volleyball). I go about spiritual awakening the same, I'm just doing the stuff mechanically for now, meditating how I see fit, practicing awareness with every chance and thinking about it a lot (keeping eyes and mind open). I feel that in the end I'm going to do it less and less mechanically and more and more naturally (who knows, maybe I'm really gonna wake up). And if I ask myself, what if I can't reach a perfect state, doesn't matter, there are also real tangible benfits (health / psgychological) so you can't go wrong. Simply have no expectations and enjoy whatever there is to enjoy no need to obsess over what enlightenment might be or what benefits it contains. (sorry if sloppy english, not a native speaker)

@Leo Gura "Enlightenment doesn't make you perfect." So I think I got it a bit wrong, I assumed that reaching enlightenment is also equivalent to acting within the formal / socially aclaimed moral values. BUT now I feel like since there shouldn't be any right or wrong, any behavior, as a manifestation of reality should be accepted as there is no need or point in fighting it. So is there a danger in unconciously assuming that enlightenment si supposed to make you some sort of being with optimal social values when it comes to interacting with the rest of the world? (I ask this from the perspective of the sleeping human, since the interacting with the rest of the world makes no sense to the enlightened)

@Ayla I do feel that to be true :Dm thing is I get really excited to get there and for them to see, but that makes me want it a lot, and should leave the wanting and excitement out of it in order to stay on a right path. I guess time will help us all, both me, and my friends

Cool! love the songs posted so far! Here's a chill mix I found jsut recently, in fact it was after one of Leo's videos on youtube :)) , I also recommend Groove aramada - at the river, it's down below

Man, that "Talking about or debating enlightenment with friends/family" is a real pain in the but for me! I'm the definition of a begninner and I know I shouldn't do it, but sometimes I just can't help it. Thik it's because I want my friends to pursue real happiness, but I can't make them.

Hi! so I have been meaning to ask this for a while, but I was a bit afraid I might offend someone, but this is the perfect place for this question. I think Alan Watts was amazing and I have mad respect for him, the way he presented the world was so harmonious and decisive at the same time. However I saw that his end envolved some alcohol abuse which might have caused a heart condition. Now, I got this from the internet, don't know how true it is, but if it is, does anyone know how such an enlightenment being fell in such an egotistical vice? thank you, and peace

I find this thread awesome because i'm interested in seeing how people form this community, even if we aim do develop inwards and outwards, tend to manifest in interaction with the rest of the world, so: Name: Paul Banzea Age: 23 Gender: Male Location: Bucharest, Romania Occupation: Junior Lawyer Marital Status: Dating Kids: No Hobbies: meditation, personal development, chess, sport, reading... pizza doesn't count. I can't really say there is a moment when I got into personal development, I was just really motivated to develop myself, and on the road it became self actualization. I think I formed the reflex for this because I started playing a team sport in my early adolescence (voley-ball). This made me wanna be good, and also allowed me to see others that wer good/great and that would inspire me to follow and perhaps surpass them. During college I really used those motivational videos and maintaned a healthy lifestyle which allowed me to be efficient, and when results came I loved the feeling of control, satisfaction and even a bit of power over the notions which I studied (but that wasn't very constructive). Meanwhile I gained some life experience (relationships, studying abroad which really took me out of my comfort-zone, understanding different types of people, etc.). When I finished law school and passed the bar exam a job was already waiting for me at a top law firm in Bucharest, I was feeling untoucheble. After I started working I started a slow descent towards depression, and this augmented my wish to better undestand myself and see the real values in my life which led me to meditation, pursuing enlightenment. I'm not even close to enlightenment, but hey, you're life changes for the better from the moment u decide that this is the path u wanna take, so I'm really enjoying the process and I feel that I'm gaining more and more momentum. Personal challenges I've overcome: Confidence was boosted No fear in interacting with other Advanced on my road towards my dream career Made me understand that self development is a neverending journey What I'm working on now: enlightenment, health & diet, becoming a real pro in what I do, also being more authentic in relating to others, other things that don't come to mind right now best regards!

Mine is Muse - Survival. It's about extreme determination, and even if it can get u in a bit of trouble if u're not careful, this is so inspiring when u're down. I really recommend it! And I also think it's the most awesome olympic games theme ever peace!

While you meditate you observe, accept and let go of any and all foreign thoughts. In the same way I feel that I should let go of any impulse to overthink or fear the process of descovering the true self. Maybe it's the ego that pushes me to obsess over the methods and overlook the purpose! I'm not gonna panic about it anymore! Thank you for your insight!

hi! I really need some guidance in this area. My main concern is that I can't maintain a position for more than 5 minutes (regardless of the position - my muscles become really tense, even if I try to stay relaxed). Does that ruin my whole meditation session, if I slightly change my position after 5 minutes? Do you know any exercises for this? My other concern is that I can barely get into half lotus, and with loads of joint pain. I am trying to do some exercises for felxibility but the process is really slow and I can't say I really know which are the best exercises for this type of flexibilty; Does anyone have the same problems or have you ever encountered them? Thanks! cheers

@Algebro I also wondered if activities like listening to music, reading (in this case literature), and other forms of art largely available to the masses such as movies and even museum art (and other stuff I guess) play a role in ones personal development, can block you or simply make no difference. Personally I can identify music that resonates 100% with my ego (the kind of music in ads and presentations that make you wanna buy the product, go to the festival, feel the adrenaline and think you want something beacause of social brainwash, etc.) - so, bad; and there is also music that calms me down, fills me with joy and encourages me to look for deeper meaning and beauty in life - which is good. This brings another question: Does all music have the same effect of should we "look" at music differently depending on the type (type as in what it makes you feel, not the genre, which is subjective); really think this deserves some thought have a pleasant evening!