Philip

@d1ajax I guess you're talking about moral idealism and not philosophical idealism. Which makes your question really interesting. As I said, I can't find something true enough to be classified as Metaphysical Truth. I actually gave up any attempt at describing what the world really is, except for enlightenment work. Consequently, I know I'm kind of spitting out bullshit all day, and I'm fine with that. All I ever say is only Practical Truth. Therefore all I say is highly uncertain and debatable. Even this very sentence. That being said, Idealism is one of the truest things I can think of. The possibility of honoring extremely high standards of behavior is very real to me. I never saw someone who reached the level I aspire to, though. Leo may be one of the best examples I know, but I can still aim a lot higher than that. The expectations I have for my life are at the verge of megalomania and fantasy. I literally want to become an Immortal Nano-Robotic God within a few decades. And twice a month, I put some money aside to achieve exactly this goal. So let's just say Idealism is a VERY Practical Truth in my mind.

@sjonesartist @asgard94 @d1ajax @Markus Including definitions of each value, like you did, is actually a great idea ! It makes your list clearer, more concrete, more precise and it also prevents contradiction or overlapping. So here's my new list : Consciousness : To concretely understand important truths about reaching happiness. Contribution : To significantly increase the overall happiness of conscious beings. Peace Of Mind : To remain calm, content and accepting towards any situation. Connection : To deeply listen and be deeply listened to, with compassion, understanding and openness. Ambition : To honestly aim for the most grandiose and incredible vision I can come up with. Creativity : To continually blend other people's ideas or creation together so I can generate original ones for myself. Personal Growth : To always search for ways to get out of my comfort zone. Excellence : To fully reach the level of quality I've set for my creations. Honesty : To say what's compatible with, and representative of, what I believe. Independence : To make my decisions unaffected by other people or by life circumstances.

@Emerald Wilkins When I saw your comment, I actually started a topic on exactly this. I think about this a lot. I mainly see two levels of truth : Practical Truths Metaphysical Truths Here's a link to it : It looks like DizIzMikey is trying to apply the Metaphysical Truth of enlightenment, in order to weasel his way out of a Practical problem. He should go with Practical Truths instead. For example, cheating on his girlfriend without telling her is a sign of disrespect and lack of integrity.

@DizIzMikey First of all, let's be honest. You're clearly using spiritual claims inaccurately in order to justify your lack of commitment and/or honesty towards your partner. That being said, I don't have anything against cheating. But if you're not willing to come up to her the next morning and directly tell her how much fun you just had with another girl, then your relationship is based on lie and deception. And probably several other aspects of your life too. So whatever you do, please align it with truth. Please let people see who you are, what you do or what you feel. Don't try to please, manipulate or charm people. Try to communicate unfiltered information with her. That's my only advice here... Except : have fun with your harem, bro

@FindingPeaceThe metaphors we could drift on are quite interesting. Having a dream that becomes lucid is like going from a movie to a video game. You thought you had to watch the whole thing unfold without too much control. But when you realize it's just a dream, then you see the game controller sitting in your hands. Then you see all the control you have over the events in your dream. Then you get to play the game of your dream, instead of watching it like a movie. Becoming enlightened somehow looks like the opposite. You spend your whole life rushing on the controller, pressing buttons neurotically. You're struggling to change what you don't like on the screen. You try to take control of your life, of who you are, of what you do. But one day, you finally realize the controller wasn't even plugged in from the start. And actually, you can't ever plug it. Because it's a DVD, not a game console. You're not playing the game of life. You're watching the movie of life. So get your popcorn ready, sit back and enjoy the show once and for all, god damn !

@FindingPeace You could say that my mind is analogous to a bomb, because you just blew it up.

A few years ago, I was probably depressed. For years I guess. I don't really know what I was feeling, though. I was so efficient at repressing any kind of emotion that I just felt like a broken personal development robot. Every emotion was denied, except shame and pride, but I always felt more shame than pride, to be honest. Then, one day, I was thinking about my childhood traumas, and even though I didn't feel like a traumatized person at all, I wanted to find out for real. Was I traumatized, without being able to perceive it ? The best way to know was to see an expert. I went there for 10 sessions. And it changed my life. I learned about my subconscious traumas, the way to deal with them. I learned about the importance of self esteem. I went from a nervous and silent weirdo to a more comfortable, extroverted and charming person. I started getting really interested in personal development after this. Because it really is a process similar to therapy with similar goals. It's about self-awareness. It's about emotional purge. It's about growth. Don't hesitate to see an expert. As it often is the best way to become an expert yourself...

@30secs Yes, I experienced it too. It's called lucid dreaming. And you just made me realize it does have a correlation with mindfulness. Nowadays, each time something strange happens, I look at my fingers to see if they're real or if it's a dream. I guess it's a sign of some kind of mindfulness. But if YOU want to take full advantage of the worlds you create each night, there's tricks, you know ? 1) Journal about your dreams 2) Develop a habit of checking out if you're in a dream or not. Even when you're clearly not dreaming. 3) Before falling asleep, repeat to yourself that you're going to enter the dream and be aware that you're in a dream. 4) Have lots of fun each night. Do a lot of diverse, weird and creative stuff. Do all the drugs you want. Have all the sex you want. Use the technology you want. Create the stories you want. Become the person you want. Who knows, it might even help you become enlightened...

I'm at four hours, and I found other more recent talks. With better image and sound quality

@Natasha It's fine, don't worry. It's a course, not a rant.

@Rasmus I'm a transhumanist, so the answer is : Never. But if I happened to die before modern medecine can cure death, then yes I have a wish for my death. I wish I could die and be calm about it. Either because I achieved what I had to achieve in life, or because I developed sufficient acceptance and equanimity to just not care. Anyway is good, as long as I don't regret anything I've ever done with my life.

@A way to Actualize I'm not close to enlightenment at all, but I have done many hours of mindfulness work and meditation, sometimes focused on observing the self. My conclusion : Equanimity feels good. And what you have sounds more like emotional repression or a subtle depressive state. You sound like you're losing equanimity instead of gaining some. Your post itself seems to contradict the fact that you're advancing on the spiritual path. But maybe the path is more rocky than I thought it was. Maybe your concerns come from the tension in a part of your ego that's about to break off. But personally, at this point, I would be strategically revisiting my method of enlightenment work, just in case.

@Leo Gura Please add a section where we can give out each other's coordinates to arrange self-actualization meet up groups...

@Leo Gura OMG Leo's a transhumanist ! He just admitted it ! That means in a few years, after his yogi trip, he'll start making videos about how we can become immortal nano-robotic gods ! ;) I knew it...

@Isle of View @Edkens @Nomad I'm not telling anyone what to do here. But let's just all agree on the facts. The human brain works like a sponge. And if you hang out with more actualized people, this will probably help your self-actualization as well. While I totally agree with embracing people around you as they are, I don't think you have to keep them around you, though. I think cutting off relationships can be a really healthy practice in some cases. As long as it's made without hate, blame or judgement.

@Murtaza I've read The Power Of Now and have watched about a hundred of his videos. And as of 2016, Leo seems to have covered pretty much the essential of Tolle's teachings. They both describe what the false and true self look like, in similar but nuanced ways. They both prescribe a similar method of investigation to find the true self. And they both encourage meditation. They both present the consequences of low consciousness on society and human happiness. Why do I talk about Leo ? It's because every speaker looks chaotic and unclear compared to Leo. So I suggest you watch some of Leo's videos. And then you won't get too confused by Tolle's enigmatic vocabulary. First of all, watch Leo's videos on enlightenment. Then watch the one on mindfulness meditation. Then the one about the enlightened self. After all the concepts are in order inside your head, then go ahead and listen to Tolle's teaching for hours. You'll see. Even if you're not too focused on what he says, he'll be able to bring you closer to the present moment. I think it has to do with his voice or something. He's just awesome

@Edkens I get what you mean... You're not alone. I'm always trying to elevate the intelligence and the significance of conversations around me. But everyone's too busy talking shit about each other and crowing about those stupid Marvel movies... you know ? And even then, I've been passionate about truth, consciousness and personal development for so long that my old social circle became quite intelligent, open-minded and curious about the mysteries of life. Compared to the norm. But I'm still feeling like an alien, even though I built the kind of social circle you probably dream of And not only do they try to bring you down to their level. They also try to bring you back to your past shitty self. Have you noticed this ? People don't want you to change. They've put you in a box, and they're too lazy to be drawing a different box for you every two months. One of the solutions : Finding better people to hang out with. People who really want to investigate the important questions about happiness, truth and the future of humanity. People who encourage each other's growth. People like you and me !

No, wait... 2) Could something both be and not be ? 2.1) Could 2) both be true and false ? 2.2) Could 2) neither be true nor false ? 3) Could something neither be nor not be ? 3.1) Could 3) both be true and false ? 3.2) Could 3) neither be true nor false ? I think I just found an infinite source of not-knowing right there. Mind = Imploded

Ok let's give it a try : 1) Something is. 1.1) What is something ? 1.1.1) Something is what is. 1.2) What is being ? 1.2.1) Being is what something does. 1.3) How do I know something is ? 1.3.1) It feels like it... Well that was quick... Mind = Blown

@Jay Brown Normally I would tell you to take the most authentic pencil you can find and simply draw the damn point yourself... But it's a boring answer Instead, let's use science ! Life has a point. And by "life", I mean evolving and self-replicating organisms. Their point is to increase the amount of order in themselves and in the universe. They want to find patterns in the chaos around, and then make those patterns more ordered. But what disorder can you fight in your life ? Emotional disorder Intellectual disorder Cultural disorder Economic disorder Environmental disorder Physical disorder Metaphysical disorder Epistemological disorder Perceptual disorder You should make your life about working on some of those problems. And actually, you're biologically obliged to do so. So it really is a will and not a should.

@Murtaza Put a timer for 20 minutes and remove any alarm, notification or distraction around. Sit down comfortably with your eyes closed and don't open them until the timer runs out. Don't move either, except for breathing. If you fail, then try again ! There's no shortcut or magic formula to this stuff. At first I couldn't even do 15 minutes. Eventually I started to find it quite easy and enjoyable. Then I tried for a complete hour, which made me go crazy each time. I wanted to pull my hair off instead of sitting there another damn second. But eventually it became quite easy. Now I can do 2 hours straight without really moving more than 2 or 3 times. And it doesn't feel so painful anymore either. Definitely worth the investment !

By the way, in Canada, it cost me 341$. Not to say that my personal development is worth more than yours, but you know... Now I didn't complete the course yet, but at least I can say the theoretic part and the first exercises are incredible. They're just so on point. It's Leo at his best, but even better. I don't know... I feel like his focus towards the audience is different. He goes deeper, and raises the bar higher. He trusts that you're invested in this, so he doesn't spend half the time correcting every criticism you could have. It's just great. It feels premium. And there's none of the usual "HEEEEY this is Leo" stuff which might convince some people to buy it...

@Henri Yeah I'm not a fan of bringing the illusoriness of existence into any random conversation either. But at least, the answer "It's all an illusion" brings a new perspective on the subject. But karma doesn't have anything to do with interests, quite frankly. Karma has to do with what you offer the world, and what the world will offer back. Interests are about what you like. No one is "lucky" because they like chess instead of sports. So I see three possibilities here. 1) You just felt like writing about karma and you didn't really give a fuck about the original question. 2) You are confused about the meaning of the question, of your own answer, or of both. And now you act like it's not the case. 3) There is an obvious link between karma and interests and I'm the oblivious one who makes irrelevant comments. You seem to agree to the third possibility, so I'd really like you to explain the link between karma and interests, which you haven't. At all. Ever. That's actually all I'm waiting for. Such a point would be interesting to hear

@Abhijeeth The course is amazing. And what's nice is that you can take your time. Right now I paused the course for a little while, because I feel like I still have some thinking to do before proceeding to the next exercise. So I'm glad I bought it, because my search for my authentic self is already far more focused and clear than it could have ever been without the course. And the thinking I'm going through is some of the most insightful and deep in all my life before.