RickyFitts

Hehehe, cheers bro, and you're welcome! <3

Be interesting to see how Nahm deals with this situation, seems like it could actually be an acid test of just how spiritually advanced he actually is. I've got to say, I'm personally not disappointed to hear about this latest development, his input on the forum just seemed like spiritual egotism a lot of the time quite frankly, and it was really getting under my skin, particularly as I couldn't put him on ignore as he was a moderator.

@Gregory1 It's like John Lennon said, my friend: 'Life is what happens when you're making other plans'. Life often doesn't go to plan, but that's all right, that's just how it goes sometimes - there's always another chance to make things right, you don't have to be perfect.

I can't add a whole lot to that ?

Humility, I'd say. Hugely important that people on the spiritual path learn the value of that, it seems to me.

I love this, I think there's so much wisdom in this. Edit: I think @flume's post is spot on too, those emotional issues really are so important to resolve.

@Natasha Comforting to know ?

I was thinking of that quote just yesterday, funnily enough, don't know why.

Excellent, glad you liked it!

@Gianna That makes sense, thanks for elaborating I struggle with surrender, too - takes a leap of faith, I think

Here's one I posted elsewhere on the forum recently that might be worth a shot, I thought it was very good:

Would you mind expanding on this a little?

I love this

I personally prefer to meditate with my eyes closed - my meditation practice is all about turning attention inwards, and objects in my field of vision are liable to be a distraction.

I second this request, I think it's a hugely important topic in the context of spirituality. I'd be very interested to hear Leo's thoughts on the subject.

I was suffering with severe, debilitating anxiety for most of 2017, and meditation was instrumental in helping me to overcome that. It's also helping me to dissolve energetic blockages and release a variety of emotions, so it's been hugely, hugely beneficial for me personally, yeah. How you go about it is obviously crucial, I'd been meditating (or attempting to meditate, at least) for four years prior to that with rather limited results - I like Adyashanti's simple instruction to 'allow everything to be as it is', I think people often go into it attempting to control their experience in some way (by actively trying to silence their mind, for example) but approaching it in that way is to misunderstand the whole point of meditation, it seems to me. What worked for me personally was to approach it more as a body-oriented practice rather than a mental activity, with a simple emphasis on allowing my body to relax and breathe; it's in the body, after all, that our unresolved emotions and energetic blockages are stored, and this emphasis on physical relaxation helps the body to gradually release those things. I think a big part of it is just being willing to allow the arising of discomfort and pain when you do feel it, and persevering with the practice even when you're feeling frustrated/bored/restless, etc. You truly do get out of it what you put into it.