PukkaDanks

Hi all, I don't know what it is but I just can't get along with generic non-fiction self help books, especially when it comes to the topic of higher conciousness. I'm currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert, it's a science fiction novel, but basically the main protagonist goes through a huge conciousness shift, and the book is litered with references to enlightnement and higher states of awareness. I was wondering if any of you have ready any similiar fiction books that deal with the topics of enlightnment A quote from dune: “Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part upon the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a man.” Tia

Hey guys, After watching leo's nootropic video I've built up a stack of sorts that I think really helps be improves the quality of my meditation (without caffiene) I've seen nootropics advertised online for sleep, workouts etc. but none that I can find that specifically market to the niche of meditation. Obviously there are a hell of a lot of nootropic stacks out there and probably something that would be v similar if not identical to my blend, but I feel with these things the marketing in 90% of the business. What do you think? My thoughts are it would give lazy people who cba to build their own stack a slight boost in their mindfulness practicse. But maybe its a terrbiel idea.....

@PurpleTree Yeah good point, I was thinking it ccould be called 'gung-ho monk' and you could also sell to yoga enthusiasts, perhaps even direct to yoga studios etc

Recently did a 4 day water fast and documented my journey here, probably will be doing this again for spiritual purposes, its quite a cool exericse. Have any of you fasted before, what was your experience?

Hey all, Recently I've been thinking about how I interact with the news. I listened again to leo's concious politics series, as I've basically shunned interacting with politics in anyway as I considered it to be a 'distraction' from either my entrepreneurial or spiritual work. I think its not politics, but the news that I find so unhelpful. With it's constantly pulling you in with increasingly triggering or extreme headlines. I've also generally found the news to be quite unhelpful in developing anything resembling a holistic understanding of the world. Recently, I've started to try and break down news stories into some of the fundamental truths that govern them, and then seek out books which explore such topics in detail for example: Coronovirus Pandemic 1. Understanding exponential growth - read up on statistics 2. Understand psychology to risk - read black swan to understand why governments will never be prepared for the 'worst case' 3. Understand what you can do - read stoic teachings. Perhaps this a simplistic view of how to make sense of current affairs, I'd be curious to understand what your approaches are. I also made a video where I attempt to critique the news and offer my solution, check it out if you are curious.

@Itsokimok completely agree, important stuff will find a way to your ear. How do you go around making sense of stuff like politics? Do you read specific books for example?

Hey guys, The world is getting ever more digital and sterile. I think this is one of the contributing factors to how uptight everyone is nowadays. Everything has to be 'pixel perfect' there's no room for embracing the imperfectly perfect nature of life. I came across a theory called attention restoration theory which postulates that in order to fully restore our energy we need time in a phase called 'soft fascination' Soft fascination is basically focusing on something to the extent you can get out of your head, but not so much it becomes a source of distraction, it's basically mindfulness. Interestingly one of the best proven ways to get soft fascination is to be out in nature. I think we can imiatate nature in our homes etc. by surrounding ourselves with wabi-sabi items, unfinished woods, stones etc. Perhaps if we can do this we can better restore our energy, and live happier, healthier lives. In this video I attempt to draw all these dots of attention restoration theory <> soft fascination <> wabi-sabi aesthetic and give some practical advice of how we can get a bit more wabi-sabi in our lives. For example, by talking frequent trips to the country, and consuming digital media that may imitate nature. Interested to hear your thoughts, Tom

You will never be able to truly advance past stage orange unless you are financially indepenent. Financial independence means: Not a wage slave Have at least enough cash to support you for the next 5 or so years without requiring you to work Any cash that you do make is a by-product of living out your purpose, you never need to work for money Other thoughts Realistically this is 0.01% of the population (at least those under 30) Generally people try to move through orange too quickly, not grasping the significance of true financial freedom, and not playing the stage orange game Discuss

Recently, I've found mental models to be a fascinating way to start looking at the world. I think in Leos videos he touches on mental models by challenging the way we think or deeply explaining concepts. Each quarter I pick a mental model to try and focus on, and make sure to journal about how I've used it in a day, a few examples I've used - Extreme ownership (from Jocko Wilink) the idea you should own everything in life - First principles thinking (Leo is great at this) basically breaking down each problem or question into its fundamental truths - Signal v Noise - understanding the theory that their are a lot high noise media types out their (i.e the news) and we need to look for the signal to understand things. One of the most powerful mental models in my 'stage orange' journey has been understanding exponential risk. In my opinion Leo fully understands this which is why he spend a whole year or whatever it was developing his oblivion add on, or why he started his own business or even this group on people. I made a video on this risk type if you guys are interested Interested to hear if there any mental models which have worked for you particularly well over the years?

Interesting thoughts, perhaps you are correct that the limitations can be realised far before complete financial freedom is obtained.

Hey guys, I will summarise my argument here, but I also made a video if you want to check it out, People read self help in order to change their behavior Changing behaviour is a really hard thing to do In order to change your behaviour your brain need to be receptive to ideas – generally brains are receptive to stories, and relatable characters, not facts figures and stats. Self help books are often written by academics, and do a poor job in constructing a narrative - they just bombard you with figures and a poor, formulaic story that is usually on the lines of 'I was a fool, I learned this method, now I kill life, here's my method' I'd argue that what you want to do is read books that have a central character who has the traits that you want to embody In the video I use the idea of 'Grit' by Angela Duckworth. You would be much better off reading a biography on Michelangelo to understand what grit really looks like, and if it's even something you want in your life (true grit requires immense sacrifice that most people simply won't want). Love to know your thoughts on my argument, to me most self help books are of limited use, and you'd be better off reading compelling fiction or biographies!

@kag101 tbh I do read self help but usually very much skim read them, if you watch the video I argue most of the content is given in the first few chapters, so once I've got the message ill move onto a novel that I think will help me embody the traits

@Thought Art It's an interesting take - 3. Books will not create habits, and behaviour change is more complex than simply reading the book I think this is the key, I think there's definitely categories of self help books, and the technical ones that focus on actual skills such as marketing, coding etc. are a league above the ones that try to change fundamental behaviours (i.e work ethic, empathy etc.)

I think everyone needs a purpose. Spirtuality isn't a purpose in my opinion. So no you 'living in the moment' is not a goal you should be looking for imo, this is a side effect of living toward a purpose. My purpose (from doing Leo's life purpose course – which you should take) is 'To lead teams, creating products that simplify lives' It's so ingrained in me now its even the header of my personal website - https://tomlittler.tech/

The gratitude component is a real benefit, I'd be interested if someone did like a 20 day fast and what that effect was on spirituality.

Maybe its not such a bad thing. I'd rather be someone who's over concious about this kind of thing that not care at all. Maybe trying to change yourself is part of the issue!

Hi guys, I've been working on my journaling practice quite a lot recently, I think it can be quite a powerful in self improvement for a couple of reasons: 1 - Helps you align your day with what you actually want to do 2 - Encourages self-reflection The thing is I find it pretty difficult to make the habit stick, I made this video to cement my knowledge, but would be great to hear your insights!

Hey all, Roughly 6 years ago I watched Leo's no bullshit guide to meditation. I thought the video was incredible and from that point on I've meditated every day for at least 20 minutes, as well as doing a few retreats for 3-7 days. I made a video to share my experiences as - as I think currently the benefits of mediation have become a bit overblown, it's a power tool sure, but is it life transforming? Perhaps not. I argue that one of the greatest benefits of meditation is it actually lends itself really well to habit stacking. Once I implemented a meditation habit, I found it way easier to start building other positive habits on top of it. I'd really love to hear your thoughts on whether your journeys have been comparable to mine, I feel like mediation must affect different people in such massively different ways! Thanks, Tom

@JosephKnecht Thanks Joseph, awakened experiences is something it's difficult to 'touch on' without it having its own video but I get your point I would have liked to know more about which books, literature, learning methods you used to start your meditation journey. Sometimes it is nice to do a good "literature study" before you embark on a long journey that would last for years. <- This is great advice - thanks!

As an aside, anyone who watched the video do you have any feedback I am trying to work on my communication and feel my voice and general energy is quite boring and monotone

@Leo Gura But when people cite meditation as life transforming, they are usually saying in the western mindset of 20-60 mins a day. In the video I do address that you need to set, especially your spiritual expectations very low. I say do you really think 20 minutes of meditation a day is going to offset the hours distraction / multi tasking / non awareness that is so prevalent in modern life. For the average joe working in middle management spending 3 hours a day on emails, meditation will have much more limited spiritual use than monks etc. I've found far more spiritual 'success' through holotropic breathwork, and of course the shrooms

Thanks for the opinions guys, I may as well try the hour, because I don't have much to lose @dimitri its a good point, I guess its how you classify life transforming!

@Shiva99 Interesting, I've found 20 minutes work with my 'schedule' quite well. Obviously, I could meditate for an hour but it would perhaps be to the detriment of other en devours I consider important. I will take your advice though and try an hour though. When do you think I'd start to see the difference, would I need to commit to trying an hour for say 6 months? Regarding my consitency, clearly I have missed days, whether travelling or sick etc. but I'd say generally I'd only miss max 3-5 days a year

Nice post, I never heard of MBTI, astrology is clearly a load of bullshit, but thanks for bringing this to my radar so I can check it out

For me I love biographies on great lives such as Einstien, Da vinci etc. I just read a book on Michelangelo, and actually ended up making a video of the lessons I learned it was so powerful!