Forestluv

You asked "how do you accept/love yourself fully". A cure needs a disease. A solution needs a problem. A right needs a wrong. Awareness reveals the nature of both that which is criticized and that which criticizes. Then, understanding of the relationship arises. For me, the greatest insights were revealed with shamanic breathing. It involves both mind and body.

Thank you. Your idea also widened my view. It revealed a window with a new view

There is awareness which is detached and disidentified. A selfless awareness observes the underlying psychological dynamic as it is revealed. Trying to solve, tackle and change self criticism is a form of self criticism within the underlying psychological dynamic. It may provide relief and reduce the intensity of impact to one's mind-body, yet it won't deconstruct and dissolve the underlying dynamic.

I’d like to change “man” to “being” to also include our plant and animal friends. ? ? ? What do you think?

@LoveandPurpose I found bringing awareness to self criticism to be helpful. It was a psychological dynamic conditioned into me.

@Paul92 Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We had some interesting convos. I wish you well with whatever arises ♥️ ?

@Enlightenment Thank you. He has some interesting ideas about what enlightenment is. I like reading about different theories of enlightenment. It's fascinating stuff.

Which enlightenment handbook are you using? There seem to be a lot of versions floating around.

To me it's really nuanced and not that simple. What's arising in me now: I get the sense that your mind is playing a recurring "ego" story filled with abstractions, ambiguities and uncertainties. Do you really know what a "me" is? Or an "ego" or "enlightenment"? I don't. Those terms are thrown around in all sorts of different contexts. If one is not in touch with their own dynamics, then everything turns into an amorphous soup. For example, if one isn't clear on their own egoic dynamics, what does "ego death" even mean? It's just some abstraction one can't put their finger on and it can cause all sorts of inner turmoil. I'm still observing "egoic" dynamics arise within my mind. Others may call it the "psychological self", others call in "a movement of thoughts through time". For me, it's more helpful to just observe my own experience with curiosity. What thoughts arise in my mind? Where do they come from? Then observe. Observe those thoughts and the source. Within you, are thoughts linked to feelings? Are "bad" thoughts associated with "bad feelings"? Without the bad thoughts, are the bad feelings still there? What are those bad feelings trying to tell you? Could thoughts be misinterpreting those feelings? For example, I may have a bad feeling and a thought arises "I'm not good enough. Nobody likes me". Is that true? Is that really what the bad feeling is trying to communicate? Maybe the feeling is actually trying to communicate that the mind-body feels disconnected and wants to start forming human connections. . . I would spend less time swirling around in other people's theory. To me, it seems like your body is saying "Listen to me!! Please listen to me!!". Super. That may help relax the mind-body and allow a breather from all the intensity.

@breathe582 You’ve been telling us that you’ve been trying to break up with this toxic boyfriend for a while - yet are unable to do so. With each attempt, he tries to win you back and returns to being toxic. He has told you he will break up with you if you don’t move in with him. I would take him up on his offer. Imo, this is your best shot at successfully breaking up with him. He said he will leave and you have the support of your family. If you move in with him, the dependency will increase, he will have leverage on you and it will be much harder to break up with him.

@Flatworld Crusades I’m mostly curious about which areas you resonate with and how much overlap we have and what might be explored. I’ve met a lot of highly conscious spiritual people highly developed on cognitive and emotional lines, yet very few that are highly developed along the empathic and intuitive lines.

Yes. Yet it is only a thread. I’ve been trying to explain these higher empathic abilities and connect with others on this forum for six months. I knew immediately as I read your first post that you get it. You are the first. That was clear. There also a few things I get a a general sense of and some unknown things of curiosity. It’s your writing, yet also your avatar as well.

Most of my adult life was an an untrained empath that got tossed around by other people. Most of my life was spent with energy vampires, BPD, and narcissist. It was only a year ago I became fully aware of this. After a few of work, my orientation shifted. I became completely turned off by these groups. Yet as you mentioned, there are many people with more mild issues and dynamics that I need to be more mindful of. The incentive to jump in someone is a good one. It’s only bee about 9 months in which I’ve been liberated to explore possibilities of abilities in this area. So far the only desires I’ve had are to jump into some of my students at the college, so I can figure out their inner blocks so they can perform better in the course. Yet what started happening was emotions started coming up in them and I received information. Mostly related to anxiety and previous trauma. It was like a part of me was experiencing it with them. Now that I think about it, I’m actually not that into this. I think this is residue from my life conditioning. That I am supposed to help people get through their problems and issues and always be supportive to them. My achilles heel. What’s rising up is that I don’t really want to pursue the psychology stuff at all. Much more appealing to me is using this ability as a sixth sense in experiencing my environment. A few weeks ago, I was in the energy vortexes of Sedona, AZ and had never experienced nature like this before. I was communicating with trees, earth and sky. I would love to develop that. . . . As well, sensing houses and buildings as I travel through cities. I image walking into a greenhouse and experiencing the energetics, the vibe, aura - in addition to the sites and sounds.And with animals to. I’ve had some glimpses with dogs. I’m actually not that into humans. The only thing would be to connect with a partner as a form of intimacy - if we had good energy together.

@Nahm Thanks I’m getting it ? I’e had the realization that there is only now - so the term now is unnecessary since there is only now. Yet I often use terms like “present moment” out of habit,

@Flatworld Crusades Yes, that’s what I was thinking in regards to asking outright. It would sound weird to most people. What about things like body mannerisms and their energy itself? Sometimes it seems like the other person is inviting me in - yet if I ask at a conscious level, it would sound weird. On occasion, I can pickup virtually anyone’s energy - like in a restaurant. Ot can be overwhelming. Yet generally it’s only about 10% of people and it seems to have a lot to do with with their receptivity. I can briefly gaze at someone in the eyes and open up a channel and they usually won’t take it - and they have no idea what just happened. Other times it’s more like an essence that I can’t localize to any body parts - it’s just kinda out there. When you say to protect your energy, are you referring to so-called “energy vampires”? Do you think they are consciously aware they are taking and distorting energy? One other question: I’m much more familiar with empathic energy than auras. I’ve thought of auras as something very different - like seeing colors radiating off people (which I don’t see). Yet you seem to be using energy and aura very similarly. Do you think these are two distinct phenomena and abilities? Or are they related and overlap?

@Nahm Ok, so let’s say I have a thought that I enjoyed my lunch yesterday with a coworker and decide to send her a thank you text. So the thought about our lunch references another time (yesterday), yet I assume yesterday is real and I’m unaware it is just a thought? If so, what if I was aware if thoughts as they arise? What if the thought of our lunch arose and there was awareness “this is a thought in the present moment” and there was no association with past and present. The memories and thoughts were observed as occurring in the moment, just like bird chirps occur in the moment. Some thoughts happen to be about the past.

@Flatworld Crusades Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your insights. I can relate to asking for permission. I’m still new at this level and I’ve learned the importance if this. To me, it sorta felt like reading their diary without asking for permission. . . . I would also add that if one is not deep enough subconsciously and is just below the conscious level, the other person can pick up consciously that something is happening and get really upset. Even though they are unaware of what’s going on - they still have a sense they have been violated. I unintentionally did this to someone one time and felt really bad. One question I have for you. When you say get permission - do you mean on the conscious level by asking them and telling them what’s going on? Or do you get subconscious permission empathically? I’ve received subconscious “NOs” before and backed off. Yet I’m not sure what a subconscious “Yes” would be like and if it would count as permission.

♥️ ?

I’ve been through similar experiences with people I admired in certain ways. If you continue evolving and growing you will come to discover exactly what’s off and easily put your finger on it. It’s an amazing process of discovery.

@tecladocasio ?? I think what you describe is a high level. Many people study the theory/concepts of others. Perhaps their whole lifetime. It can involve immense study. Yet they don’t build observation skills. Those skills needed to represent their own observations and experience into their own theories/concepts and integrate those theories/concepts into previous theories/concepts of others. This gets into higher levels of mastery ime and imo.

@Nahm I can handle the tea cup. Yet time seems to open up a can of worms for me. Lately I’ve been trying to observe the movement of thoughts through time. I’m amazed by how many thoughts are based in time. It seems nearly the entire self construct is time-based. Take away the construct of time and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. . .

Hmmm. . . I like your idea. . . is it ok if I add “observation” to experience? The idea appearing in my mind is now: Concept-theory is based on observation and experience. So if a Botanist only learns concepts-theory, he will have a shallow understanding because he is limited to a subset of previous Botanists’ observations and experience. Deep insights from his own observations and experience will not arise. How does that sound to you?

Ime, this is generally true - yet there can also be a dynamic in which one person is authentic and naive - and the other person takes advantage of that. I’ve been in a couple relationships in which I was authentic, yet I was also naive and a sucker. Even today, there are certain areas I have difficulty spotting authenticity because I have a filter that wants to see the best in others. There are other areas in which I was an insincere bullshitter - and later worked through it to become authentic. In these areas, it’s completely obvious when people have inauthentic underlying dynamics. At times the old saying “you can’t bullshit a bullshitter” rings true.

@Nahm I’m curious. . .Is what you’re saying along these lines?. . . let’s say a botanist’s mind is completely immersed in theory, concepts and knowledge about botany. This mind may be “lost” in theory and not observing actual botany right in front of him. He may “miss” a lot. For example, by simply observing botany around him with an empty mind, new insights my arise. . . Is that about right?

I don’t know. We would each need to observe for ourselves.