Joseph Maynor

This is something that I've worked a lot on this year. Being Assertive is making sure that you keep you in consideration in all circumstances. And this doesn't have to be a selfish thing. This is an honest thing. Because the things that you wanna get involved with are things that resonate with your passion. And that's on you to monitor that for yourself. Nobody's gonna look after your own best interests better than you, see. You've gotta become a designer, a creator of your own life.

Shyness can be a fear of social interaction. In addition, shyness can also be you don't have anything in common with anybody nor want to. Or a combination of those two. Shyness is caused by you being socially insecure on some level. And what you want to find is the reason for that social insecurity. Social insecurity isn't always bad, but you need to investigate that thoroughly in your case and see what's going on there. Take hold of that problem and don't let it go until you've gotten to the root of it. Put it in your project binder and never take it out even if you think you're gotten it managed well.

The key is to drop the theory. You actually keep the theory you just don't put as much value in it. Once you figure out what you need to do, all this theory stuff becomes much less important. You'll still be Enlightened, but you're gonna be focused on completing projects instead of theory.

I kind of agree with Elon. The thing you're passionate about you're kinda always working on. You're always working on it because you're passionate about it. It's fun to work on it! It's what you wanna be doing. This is why finding your passion is so important and starting to move everything your work on in your life to be in alignment with that passion. When I was learning how to play jazz, that was real passion. I would work on jazz all day long. I would read books on music theory. I would practice my instrument at least 4 to 5 hours per day. I would practice all these skills that jazz musicians practice. I would spend all day working on jazz, and none of it seemed like I was punching a clock at a job. That's when your work is aligned with your passion.

@Leo Gura Yep. When your work is aligned with your passion it doesn't seem like work.

What about the future? You don't talk about the future. You need past, present, and future. They function together. See, Vision has to do with future. Future has to be treated properly in Personal Development Work. This is something that is hard to keep in proper perspective because in Enlightenment Work we focus so much on the present.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/oxherding.html "As the ninth picture shows, when self and reality (as constructs) are left behind, then things are revealed to be just what they are in themselves; streams meander on of themselves and red flowers naturally bloom red. In the ordinary events of life are found the most profound truths. Only by seeking the ox as a separate ultimate reality could the oxherd discover that there is no separate reality; that the ultimate is to be found in the ordinary." This sounds like Stage Coral. Early Stage Coral.

It seems to be a paradox. On the one hand Ego looks like a game from the perspective of being. But on the other hand we've been living with the illusion of Ego all our lives too. And Ego definitely does not think of life as a game. Ego thinks of life as serious of f*ck.

I wouldn't say so. Has your life ever felt like a game? Like is a little bit more serious than a game. That's not to say that we can't think of life as a game. But that's a different thing.

That's for you to find! You've got to find the ox for yourself. Nobody can do that work for you or tell you what that is. That's why Enlightenment is a very personal journey. People can point things out to you in Enlightenment Work, but nobody can really help you discover the ox. You gotta jump in there and do it yourself.

I don't think so.

On weekends I'm free. But on Mon thru Fri I have a schedule. This is my schedule for Mon thru Fri First 8 -- Devoted to making money Second 8 -- Devoted to the following: MEDITATION () WASH DISHES () LYON STEPS () CODING () WORK ON WRITING PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BOOK () EXERCISE BIKE () DO PUSHUPS/ SITUPS () SHOWER () COLD SHOWER () BRUSH TEETH PM () EVENING STOMACH MEDICINE () MAKE TOMORROW’S SCHEDULE () PRINT AND SIGN AGREEMENT TO COMPLY WITH NEXT DAY'S DAILY ROUTINE/SCHEDULE () Third 8 -- Devoted to sleep

Yeah! Fill it in. That's you doing the work.

Humor has a way of getting people to trust and like you. It's really weird. A lot of humor is chasing pleasure, chasing dopamine.

It makes you feel like you're gonna have your suffering reduced in the future in some way. It's kind of a short-term delusion.

Did you write that? I assume those are your words. If so, good job! I think your intuition is pointed in the right direction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_(album) Album Cover:

@Preetom Thanks. I will look at it myself and see if I can shed any insight on it as well.

Oh yeah. I've experienced them all my life. Playing jazz on a real bandstand in front of an audience is a very mystical experience. But just listening to music can be a very mystical experience.

Hey. If that story works for you, I’m happy. I’m not gonna debate you. Pick your poison and drink it. At the end of the day, the only relevant question is are you growing and improving, and only you can answer that. We’re all on a solo mission in Personal Development work. That’s why it’s called “personal” development work.

Who do you think is surrendering? See? That's the Egoic self thinking it's surrendering. You've egoically surrendered Ego. A lot of people don't see that trap. The illusion of Ego is part of Experience, it's not something to try to surrender. You don't want to identify with Ego, but that's a different thing than trying to surrender Ego.

Ok. I'll take your word for it.

The Illusion of Ego has free will or at least thinks it has free will. We live with the illusion of free will. So, it's only half of the story that there's no free will. There both is and is not free will. In fact, it's best to work both ends of the paradox between free will vs. no free will.

Yep. And the only relevant question is what's best for you to do with your life.