okulele

Why be present? "I want to be present to witness the show. I want to be present to see the high and low. I want to be present to serve the world. I want to be present for love to take hold. I want to be present to feel your pain. I want to be present to change the game. Worry no longer, beings of light! I see you. I hear you. I feel your heart."

Throw yourself fully into the feeling of nostalgia and discover what it is that you are REALLY missing.

@Timothy I get what you are saying. I am also at a place in life where facing pain is what I must do. However I thought that the op could benefit from a bit of Abraham Hicks approach at this moment.

I agree with @Joseph Maynor . Turn your attention away from your fears and worries. Turn your attention toward what your heart deeply desires. Check out Abraham Hicks. She's all about becoming positively motivated and making your dreams come true.

When I eat like that, it is to run from difficult emotions. I replace emotional eating with directing the emotions towards bhakti/devotion/love for God.

Love it! Thanks for sharing.

God in form, formless God I just posted this quote in another thread. I really like it and think it is worth putting it here. I think it is very important to understand that although we may pursue God in our own way, a different way all together might be very well legit also.

@Outer I am sorry for projecting my stuff onto you, friend. And thank you for being the instrument that helped me to see my own ignorance.

Well ain't you a know-it-all.

I am glad you found your way @egoless . Thanks for sharing with me the video, I am always open to challenge my views.

https://www.amazon.com/Monk-Who-Sold-His-Ferrari/dp/0062515675 The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma A very cool book explaining basic concepts of personal development. Simple. Written like a story, but is brutally practical. The points it focuses on: Thinking in positive terms Following your purpose Continuous self improvement Discipline Time management Selfless service Mindfulness A practice presented on improving willpower, which I loved: Daily repeating of mantra: "I am more than I appear to be, the world's strength and power resides in me." Daily visualizing yourself as a strong-willed person (e.g. Ghandi, Mother Teresa) This is a book I would give to a total newbie to self-actualization. This is a book for a teenager that wants to see a change in his/her life. This is a book for a person in stage orange (spiral dynamics) who is fed up with career obsessed life.

@egoless As I understand the video, the man advocates worshiping God in his formed aspect as opposed to his formless aspect. Both seem legit to me. If you look around religions around the world, some focus on the form, some on the formless, some even on both! From what I hear, all of these methods ultimately lead to the same place. Ramakrishna's words on the matter:

Nice! Keep the insight coming, enjoy it and don't cling to it That's all I have to say.

Amazing!

I don't get it. If I stop trying to make something happen for a while, how is that a self hypnosis?

here is the first topic:

I'd say ground yourself. Take a walk in nature. Exercise. Forget about the whole spirituality thing and go have a burger with friends.

The zen master's message He says: "You can be happy in the-here-and-the-now. " What an incredible message! Do you realize what it means? After all, it is always the-here-and-the-now!

It's not really about needing other people around. It's about realizing that I am here to serve others. And now that I know my purpose, I must fulfill it. There is no other way.

What a life! This amazing journey brought me to a very wise soul, who fortunately set me a little straighter. This wonderful master showed me very clearly how I was running away from life for a long time and my desire to retreat far away was just another attempt to escape. After almost 3 years of wandering the world I am going back home, determined to be there - real, vulnerable and loving - for my family and community, however scary that might be. I am posting this for others like me. Some of you might have a real calling for the monastic life, but maybe some seek refuge in meditation, only because outside is too tough to handle. Are you sure you are not deceiving yourself, wannabe monk? Just like I was?

Thank you for the suggestion, I read the book and it was one of the most inspiring reads in a while. I just finished attending classes discussing Bhagavat Gita. It's a book full of wisdom worth studying over and over. Thank you for the suggestion.

Nice

I am reading "The Yoga of Consciousness" by SsntataGamana at the moment and it has some very good explanations of what ego is and how it works.

The way I deal with the focus point in Kriya Supreme Fire is this: I focus on my navel and gather energy there, then I breathe in from the perineum to the heart and stay at the heart for the entire duration of the retention. As Gamana advices, I hold the locks and keep the attantion on the heart trying to be like that for 90 seconds, relaxed. I am discovering that as I am getting better at this, i t gets veeery powerful.