The Don

Then who's gonna keep what's good in the world? I'm talking about good things like human progress, technology, human rights and so forth; these require human labor. Those things require smart minds. They are needed. Not to be disrespectful, but I'm sure you wouldn't imagine your life without technology and YouTube. Your life as it is right now would not have been possible without the means that society has offered you. We know what happened with the Roman empire and all the other civilizations that destroyed themselves from within, as Dr. Benjamin Carson explains in the video. We often underestimate, underappreciate and take everything for granted. ALL OF US! We think we know how to appreciate everything that's good in the world. It just doesn't work that way. It's just not enough to say that I'm grateful for what I have. Action is also necessary for the fact that a family is extremely important for human progress. Families are the cornerstone of societies and human progress as I've said before. We don't live forever. Humans come and go. That's why we need to reproduce ourselves to keep everything that's good in the world GOING. We live in the real world buddy. There are objective rules to life weather you like it or not. If our parents, for example, decided that kids are not worth it, we wouldn't be around. We overlook so many of these important facts.

I'm giving up.

I'm showing you something important: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZPTaV-RcQ

Really? Well, take a look here my friend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZPTaV-RcQ

With that being said, we need to reproduce ourselves to keep society and human progress going.

Although I was raised in a family without conservative values, I have a lot of respect for conservatives and conservativism. I'm listening to you, @Leo Gura. I understand your intentions and solutions when it comes to having better societies. What I would like you to do is to listen to conservative opinions. Here are a few examples that explain why Western Civilization (a.k.a conservativism) had the most profound impact on humanity. 1. Freedom of speech. Trump is protecting the constitution; that's why he appointed highly respected conservative justices on the court. 2. The family value. It is a concept and a value promoted in the bible; it's the cornerstone of human progress in the Western world. Trump is protecting this value; he really does that. 3. Human rights. Only the Western world gave us human rights. It's a good thing that we have those rights; thanks to Western Civilization. "All those conservative people Trump alike" are doing great things for humanity. They are not Nazis. They are not marching the Jews to the death camps. You walk among them and they smile and say "Hi!" to you. For those who despise the Western world, I have a message. It's okay to have your own world view as long as your intentions are good, but don't fail to see the goodness of the Western world. We should keep and preserve everything that's good for mankind which clearly stems from the Western world. Don't live with the impression that only you know what's good for the world just because you've studied a topic and now you think you have more wisdom than others. Everything good you see around you wasn't built in 80 years; it has much more wisdom (and years) behind it than your false wisdom impression that you believe you have.

Hello. As I'm becoming better at meditation, I experience lots of negative emotions. Lots of mood swings. It's normal. It is part of the course. A few days ago I was extremely depressed; it felt like being in a state of desperation. It's that feeling of despair. Now I'm OK. Those feelings are gone. They may come back from time to time just like visitors and as long as I'm okay with that, everything is fine. I'm not elaborating on this topic to discourage you. I just wanna tell my story because I'm connecting the dots and I'm starting to see what I've never been able to see before. In part, thanks to meditation. I finally understand why I'm experiencing these mood swings and negative emotions. I grew up in a dysfunctional family. My mother was extremely cold, which is called lack of parental love. She never hugged me. She never encouraged me. My father grew up without a father and he had problems with anger. He was a heavy drinker. Beatings, anger, rage, punishment and so forth... As a child I started to develop mechanisms to cope with what I've been going through. I was suppressing my negative emotions. I've been doing that all my life. And now, those negative feelings come up again as I'm meditating on a daily basis. It makes sense. For those people who went through difficult times and are experiencing mood swings on this path, I wanna encourage you to connect the dots and find out the source of your negative emotions as they come up. Be mindful of the process. The good news is that you can change your brain chemistry for happiness if you learn how to deal with whatever bubbles up from your subconscious mind. It takes time but it is worth it. Connect the dots.

Hello. A lot of you guys know me and what I've been going through lately. It's called The Dark Night of the Soul. "The Dark Night of the Soul" represents darkness, sorrow, and despair. Some people associate it with a meaningless life. When you meditate for longer periods of time, The Dark Night of the Soul (depression, sorrow, sadness, meaninglessness and so forth) may strike you but don't worry; it's not a bad thing. It will go away gradually if you keep yourself mindful and conscious of the whole process. It will go away if you let it be without resistance and just observe the sensations in your body, your feelings, and your thoughts. It's important not to take it seriously in the sense that you don't have to identify yourself with being depressed or sad. The trick is to be mindful all the time, even when nothing seems clear. This article can be helpful to people who meditate: https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/purification-dreams-aches-turbulence-and-other-signs-of-progress/ This one as well: https://jackkornfield.com/purification-the-gateway-to-higher-states/ On the other hand, my consciousness has shifted. It's a beautiful thing and it's a lot to handle but in a good way. There are lots of benefits that come when you raise your consciousness with (a) meditation practice: - reading without being distracted; - having clear thoughts; - having NO brain fog; - writing without being distracted; - watching a video without your mind wandering all the time; - your inner resistance to study disappear; - you feel better in your own body; And a lot more. I'll stop here. When you go through difficult times, come back to this topic and read it again, again and again. Peace and well being to all of you.

Okay @Leo Gura. If you have some time, please take a look at this video: Eckhart Tolle is telling exactly what you're telling us in your YouTube videos. But how the hack does he know? How? How? How?

On the other hand, your emotions are telling you something. Just be conscious of what they're trying to tell you. Don't react against them. Don't suppress them. Let them come; let them go. Be just a spectator. Don't identify yourself with your emotions. Just let them have their course. Let your emotions manifest as they like while you're just a spectator. At some point, they will pass...

Human emotions have the potential to influence your perception of reality. In fact, they do. Human emotions come and go. They are like entities in existence, wanting to survive. They are like visitors, they come and go. When you are depressed, remind yourself that it's temporarily. Your depression will go away. Now, take into consideration the fact that it's very hard to perceive reality objectively when you're depressed. It feels like "your depression" will never go away. You are so discouraged... You don't know what to do. Some emotions like sadness, gloominess, and despair are associated with depression and they tell you that life is meaningless. When they bubble up, your reality is very dark. You need to be conscious of that so they won't influence you too much. When those kinds of emotions go, reality becomes bright and beautiful.

Life is magical. Everything seems a miracle. Reality is beyond me. Reality is beyond my comprehension. Reality is beyond psychedelics. There is more to reality than consciousness; consciousness is just a limited aspect of reality.

Yeah. I'm not afraid of depression anymore. Nothing scares me anymore. I have the ability to understand and observe any negative emotion that influences how we perceive reality. When you have a bad day, it's not because of you; it's because of a negative emotion. That's a powerful insight. Anyway, as I was reading an article, I stumbled upon this quote from the Buddha: Who is your enemy? Mind is your enemy. No one can harm you more than a mind untrained. Who is your friend? Mind is your friend. Nothing can help you more that a trained mind, not even your loving parents. —Buddha It tells you everything you need to know about the mind.

You are welcome! It's great when you can help unhappy people become happy.

Hello. I find myself in a strange position because I don't feel the need to have a relationship; not anymore. And I'm 26 years old. Since I started my self-actualization journey, I pretty much enjoy being alone. I like spending time in my own company. The so-called "wish" to be in a relationship just vanished after a year of daily meditation. I think about the future and the fact that probably I'll end up alone and that won't be so great... Not having a family and kids. Although I'm trying every day to get my desire for relationships back, it seems that it won't work. Doing something forcefully will not work. On the other hand, many of my friends don't have relationships either. So many people are single and will remain like that for the rest of their lives; no family, no kids. What happens when people stop engaging in relationships and stop having kids? Will that lead to a promising future? My thinking becomes systematic - it's affecting me on a personal level. In this case, for example, take a look at the fact that the US fertility rate is below the level needed to replace the population. What are we doing? Why did we get here?

@Leo Gura, give us some examples of higher use.

Hello. In the past months, I've been raising my capacity to meditate and stay in the present moment for longer periods of time. I was forcing myself to be in the present moment even when it was unpleasant; even when it was extremely hard. My meditation technique is about being conscious. I'm not focusing on my breath but only focusing on being conscious of my existence and the reality around me. After a while, progress came. For example, I was working (in a restaurant) and I stayed present for hours without distractions, although it's a pretty randy place. Another example of progress is the fact that I can read without having my mind wandering all the time. I can stay focused & when I say focused, I mean really focused. For a while it was great. I've been motivated to keep going. It felt really good. I felt like I was on cloud nine. I was thinking about my future. But something happened. My enthusiasm and motivations for my clear visioned life purpose (escaping wage slavery, learning about psychology, practicing meditation, improving my communication skills, dating, helping others and being a good value provider to people in need) collapsed. Then I was hit by a shockwave of depression. I didn't know what the heck is going on. Then my deep depression started to go away but not entirely. I'm still having episodes of depression but they aren't as strong as they were before. Right now I'm pretty fine (although I'm not) but something doesn't feel right. I no longer have that kind of motivation for my clear visioned life purpose that I had. I go through meaninglessness. I'm having thoughts of meaninglessness. I was watching @Leo Gura's video, The Dark Side of Meditation which is helping me going through these difficult times but when these negative emotions are bubbling up, I'm losing faith in the process. It's getting darker and I don't know what to do. I keep reminding myself that it's going to be OK but I still remain in sorrow. I didn't have a happy childhood. I was raised in a dysfunctional family. My father was a heavy drinker. I was so discouraged when I was a kid. I was stressed. I went through tough and difficult times when I was a kid. I felt hopelessness many many times. It was horrible. I can't describe what I was going through because it's shocking. I guess you understand what I mean. So, am I having all these feelings (sorrow, depression, hopelessness and so forth) because of my dysfunctional life and childhood as a result of the cleansing process of meditation? All I need and wish for is to be motivated to work on my clear visioned life purpose and feel OK. I understand that happiness comes from inside but I can't do much when I'm going through the dark side of meditation. How long is it going to last the dark side of meditation? I don't wanna be stuck in this state as long as I'm living. It would be a living hell.

Hello. Okay. I saw the video. I get it now. I fully understand that 'suffering' and 'emotional labor' are part of the course when it comes to spirituality. I understand the fact that I need to be vigilant about this work. I understand that at some point I'll need a break to keep myself in shape. I totally accept these facts and I'm surrendering to them. To be honest, I don't want to give up on my daily meditation habit because it is making me more conscious; it develops my ability to concentrate and be focused on a specific thing (reading, writing, speaking and listening). There are a lot of benefits involved with meditation which I definitely need. Another thing that motivates me to meditate is the fact that meditation purifies you of your past trauma, negative thoughts, and negative emotions. Last night I was reading this article which was very helpful to me and it can be extremely helpful to you as you need to find answers to the dark side of meditation; please give it a chance. @Leo Gura should make another video, a much better one. I'm saying this because the experiences of other people are important. I had a feeling that his video was not complete. Not to be mean, but that's what I'm thinking. On the other hand, I want to pursue my life goals and still have a daily meditation habit in place. Would that be OK? I need your perspective on this.

When I was on my way to the bathroom, I was still thinking about the meaning of life. I was searching for objective meaning in life. An idea came up to me and it was this: "Even when you can't find objective meaning to life, there are some people who objectively love and embrace life as it is. Your objective meaning in life is to live for these people; to develop yourself in order to be able to help them." Problem solved.

No. I don't take any medication for depression. Somehow I managed to get out of depression; all by myself and without any medication. It may come back but I'm not scared anymore. Wanna know why? Because I don't identify myself with "my depression". Any awful state of depression is not you. Right now I'm just observing my mind, my thoughts and nonetheless, what is happening to me. I know I'll overcome anything bad. I am much stronger than I thought I was. Faith and hope are necessary. Lays of Ancient Rome is a collection of narrative poems or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods.

Thank you!

Okay, @Leo Gura. I'll do that. I'll take a break. Should I keep my daily meditation habit and continue with personal development and self-actualization? Or should I stop my daily meditation habit and pursue only personal development and self-actualization?

Anyway, on Wednesday I was working. I work at the best restaurant in my town; it's an amazing experience. Not to brag but it's true. We have the best quality food you can eat. So as I was working, this girl came to me. I have a beautiful female colleague who is much taller than me. I can see clearly that she is starting to chase me. As she came to me, she asked me what am I doing here alone all the time. She couldn't see the fact that I was sad and depressed because I don't look depressed even when I am depressed. I know how to keep a smiley face. But she asked me because she noticed that I'm not like other people. I observe the fact that she's developing an eye for me. It's amazing! What intrigues me and what I can't understand at the same time is how can a beautiful girl like her (who is much taller than me) walk up to me and offer help. When a girl likes you, she chases you. She offers help even when the help is not needed, just to start up a conversation. Nothing bad with that. I love it. But how a girl taller than you can like you? I thought taller girls like taller men. Anyway, what I want to say is this: as I was depressed and as she came up to me, it was like a bight light getting me out of depression. It was amaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. Moments like this are necessary. Moments like this can help you get over an awful depression.

I don't understand why is it necessary to have this tragic view on life as meaningless. Why is it helpful? What's good about it? Nihilism and lack of meaning lead to depression and despair. I'm studying lots of topics. I'm reading. I'm meditating. I eat good food to nourish myself, meaning 'healthy foods'; no sugar. I work and sometimes I play video games. I also go outside and run; jogging.

That's true. Actualized.org and @Leo Gura should consider your statement.