exhale

@Emerald Many great points. One that I'd personally like acknowledge Our kids are awesome little people. Not only do I love them more than anything, I really like them, and like spending time with them.

Reactivity: how to transcend, not suppress

@Sashaj My goal is to meditate for 20 minutes a day. Factually, I accomplish this on 50-60% of days.

@Pelin I have two wonderful children, aged 3y and 9m. My wife was 28 and I was 31 when we had our first. I would echo what Dr. Chopra said, my children are by far the best things in my life. Not only that, they also have provided me with the greatest challenge and opportunity for personal growth. You will quickly realize that you are not only responsible for the basics: food, water, shelter, etc. but equally important you will recognize that you now have a little shadow that emulates everything you do. Recognizing this has provided unparalleled motivation to work on myself to be the best parent, leader, role-model that I can be for my children. Everything you said is true, the amount of time you have to work on yourself will be limited, but it is not impossible. You will also recognize that tremendous growth not only occurs during quiet-reflecting, meditation, etc, but can also be attained in your daily life: mindfulness while preparing meals for your family, recognizing and addressing the unhealthy habits (tv, junk food, social media) you may have and correcting them to set your kids on a good path, identifying how you talk about others and yourself (when one of your kids repeats what you say, you recognize very quickly that you need to change your behaviors), setting an example for your kids by meditating/reading/quiet time in front of them (they may not do it, but it sets an example for what you deem important), you learn to become more selfless and compassionate, you have to practice self-acceptance as you will not do everything perfectly and will make many mistakes--and this is okay, and provides you with the opportunity to become more humble--and both loving and forgiving of yourself... So many things. For me, in a counter-intuitive way, having kids has been one of the most powerful ways I have achieved personal growth. Not sure if having kids is right for you--that is your call. But do not think that personal growth takes a back-burner... It ramps up! It might just manifest different than what you might envision without a child.

One can not live perfectly and any perspective can be critiqued and "debunked". Though, I think there is something beautiful about someone trying to live their life with the essence that they are reducing harm, stress, pain towards other beings.

A video integrating personal development with how to successfully work within a group would be very valuable, applicable, and practical. Thanks Leo.

High standards is one thing, expecting a perfect human is quite another.

Some things are easy to identify as ideologies: rationalism, catholicism, atheism, veganism, etc. But what about the things we believe are the absolute truth, such as non-duality. Is that not an ideology in itself? If we subscribe to that "truth" based on our knowledge and personal experience, is that ideology limiting our ability to self-inquire further?

Thanks for the interesting discussion

B_Naz, I guess this could go on forever, I feel like my 3-year old asking "why?, why?, why?", but I have to ask the question: Is "All is infinite" not an ideology?

Cody, Just wanted to clarify, and make sure that you do not think of wheat-based foods as the only carbs. I would encourage you to eat tons of fruits and vegetables, rice, quinoa, steel-cut oats, etc. If you are concerned about caloric intake, increase your nut/seed intake, or consider protein shakes. Wheat is a polarized topic, some think it is absolute poison (particularly the gluten) and is the common etiology of many diseases, and the other camp thinks that it is healthful. The truth regarding wheat is probably in the middle--as most things are. As Leo said, it is basically empty calories, and is not healthful. It (gluten) likely is associated with some of the health conditions aforementioned for some individuals, and probably not "poison" for others. What is clear is that bread is not an essential component of the diet, regardless of the justification. You should experiment, and ask for your families support, even if you do not have all the answers. Nobody has died from a bread/pasta deficiency.

That's deep... Let me chew on that for a bit.

Okay thanks, I was hesitant about posting this because I had not finished the video. It usually takes me a week to get through the video's in piece meal, and didn't want to wait to discuss this thought. Thank you though.

Thanks for your perspective B_Naz, I appreciate and understand what you are saying. If I could ask you a relevant follow-up question: What would you say if a person of the catholic belief had a vision/experience and experienced god in the form of a bearded man in the clouds, or an angel... and in their experience, that was the absolute truth to them. Why do "we" have the right (or arrogance) to say that "no, what that person is experiencing, the bearded man, is not the absolute truth. This over here (non-duality) is the absolute truth. That person (catholic) is just deluded in ideology that prevents them from seeing the truth. ". But on some level, if we subscribe to non-duality is a component of the absolute truth, can we not say that non-duality itself is not an ideology that is deluding us? How can we reconcile that "our" truth is the actual truth?

I am only half way through Leo's ideology video. Hopefully, he does not address this in the latter half of the video making this discussion moot.

Killer quote. I had never heard/read it before today. I love how it emphasizes personal responsibility and accountability in a very subtle empowering way.

2 Points to consider: - Consider your peer group, surround yourself with positive, passionate, successful-minded individuals. - There is some weight the the statement: "Fake it until you make it".

Sari, I imagine my opinion will be in the minority; nevertheless, consider it with as much thought as the alternative recommendations. Engineering may, or may not be aligned with your life purpose. Saying that, you also provided information that you are responsible for your own finances etc. You need to recognize that the vast majority of careers that focus on helping others in their personal development journey are very difficult to make a comfortable living on. Saying that, I wouldn't recommend that you dismiss this notion of focusing on personal development, because that would probably be disingenuous. What about the idea of finishing your engineering degree, so you can have the financial capabilities to focus on your personal development, and creating a personal development career on the side. Or even better yet, how could you integrate the concepts of personal development and engineering? Perhaps you could develop a niche of being a wellness advocate within the engineering field--I know in my profession, every major conference has someone speaking on meditation, yoga, stress reduction, wellness, etc. You would have mega credibility given you are one of them, and you are there to help them. Or, you could create a mentorship program for young engineers to implement wellness into their lifestyle; this would be a legit business model! Some would say that an enlightened person can find great satisfaction in whatever they are doing, no matter how basic, or uninteresting. What about reconnecting with the components of your career-choice that you loved. Reignite your passion in learning, building, growing social networks. Do not give up on your career so easily--you may be able to rekindle your love for it, or at minimum, you can learn to be satisfied with it, and use it strategically to get where you want to go. A satisfied professional that is helping others improve their life holds A TON MORE WATER than a dissatisfied non-professional that is helping others improve their lives. Although I understand the logic of "not having a back-up plan" and "diving with both feet into the pool" into being a life coach, etc. But, I personally (and maybe this is a limiting belief of mine) feel that many people are not being strategic, nor pragmatic about their career decisions.

Forget about the threat of AI, why do you want to be a surgeon Nagma?

Forks over knives

Lets be careful to not devolve this thread from the posters question from "why am I so mad at meat-eaters" to pushing our own personal agendas of "is it acceptable or not to eat animals, or are animals sentient, etc".

I think that there is tremendous value in life coaches that have a successful career (not just being a life coach), love their professions, genuinely enjoy their life, and want to help others through life coaching to improve their lives. I would consider paying someone like this for their services/guidance/mentorship. I have reservations about the majority of individuals who designate "life coach" as their sole career. I would likely not consider paying someone like this for their services/guidance/mentorship. Not sure if this is relevant for you, but this is how I look at it.

I think that every vegan/animal-rights advocate goes through the stage of being overly-critical of others; I know I did. Saying that, some vegans/animal-rights advocates entrench themselves in that mindset, and others transcend it with time. This can be described through spiral dynamics, in ascending from stage green to stage yellow. A (very counterintuitive) facet that I think is important to recognize is that the most effective and impactful vegan/animal-rights advocacy comes through accepting/respecting/loving of others (and their choices) and focus on living a great life yourself; you can do this, and promote a vegan lifestyle without being critical of others. This should not be done in a strategic or manipulative way, there is tremendous value in getting to a place of love and acceptance for others to make their own decisions. Not only is this form of advocacy more effective for the vegan/animal-right movement, it allows you to approach your life, the people around you, and that causes you care about with more humility, love, compassion, and frankly less stress. It is important to not take yourself too seriously. You will also experience less fractured relationships due to your hard-line advocacy stance. It will seem that if you "care-less" and are not consistently pointing out the problems with animal consumption/factory farming, that you will not be doing anything for the movement. Rather, you will soon see that if you genuinely change your approach (and intensity) in which you approach this lifestyle choice, you will influence more people to make positive changes in their life. There is a ton of weight to the phrase: "you will catch more bees with honey than spice". If you are looking for an example, people like Rich Roll has single-handedly influenced more people on planet earth to go plant-based by using a mature, respectful, systematic (stage yellow) safe landing place for people than all of the previous militant vegans over the past 30 years that have been throwing paint or condemning friends and family over dinner tables. (this is completely anecdotal) Consider lightening and maturing your approach to not only have a more pleasant life and relationships, but to also be a more effective advocate for the animals.

On several occasions I have experienced the following "sensation": During my meditation session, my perception of my back was altered. Specifically, instead of perceiving that my back was straight, I perceived that my back was completely bent 45-90' to the side--feeling like I was almost falling over to the side. Though, I would open my eyes and my back would be perfectly straight (vertical). Now, my hypothesis is these are potentially very early stages of dissolving the distinction between self and other, as my sensations/perceptions of myself were being altered. Thoughts?

Interesting insight, Yes, I have experienced this 3-times in the past 3 years (so, quite infrequently). I am a novice meditator (10 minutes a day, probably 60% of days). For me, the sensation does not go away, even when I open my eyes (to ensure I am not going to fall over). It only goes away once I stand up and move on with my day. Interestingly, I have only experienced this when meditating while sitting on a bench, I have not experienced this while sitting on the ground; probably because there are less distractions for me to sit on a bench (it is more effortless for me).