Depression

[Nathan]

I feel as though I've been struggling to find contentment for a few months now. Any tips on renewing the luster in life? 

[zoey101]

Just take things moment by moment and breath it all in. You are not alone in feeling this way!

Life is hard and unfair sometimes, we can't control what others chose to do, even if they chose to hurt us. But we can chose to let it effect us. Every second of our day is a choice. We can choose to let every thing get to us, and shut ourselves down from the world and just let ourselves go deeper and deeper into the hole we've dug for ourselves, OR we can choose to just take it day-by-day, moment-by-moment.

Choose to be whatever it is you want, and in those moments that you fail, take it in, learn from it, and let it go.  That moment only continues to exist and effect your life if you choose to let it.

It won't be easy, but nothing worth fighting for is. You can do this!

[Gabriel Antonio]

If you want good advice, you have to be specific.

[Nathan]

@zoey101  Thank you

 

@Gabriel Antonio  you're right, I'd have trouble responding to what I put, it's as vague as vague gets. I'll try to dig into what's bothering me.

I've been half-heartedly engaged with non-duality for about two years now. During the first year there was a major breakdown in percieved meaning in life which led to a lot apathy and a kinda void where a sense of purpose used to be.

Eventually I managed to get over that slump and managed to appreciate the beauty in life without assigning arbitrary values to things/activities. I was able to take things one day at a time and relished life for life's sake without feeling the need to get anywhere/ do anything in particular to feel fulfilled. 

Recently though life's lost it's sheen, I'm numb to the gratification I once got from appreciating all kinds of little aspects in life. I know I'm taking my whole experience for-granted but I'm not quite sure how to not do that. 

This still feels vague, it doesn't feel like anything is bringing me down, but nothing is filling me up either. There are no high points or low points to my days. 

[zoey101]

@Nathan Have you traveled any?  I personally haven't had the chance to do it just yet, but I think in order to really "live life to the fullest" and to really "appreciate" every aspect of it, you need to expose yourself to new things. The world is such a big place. No one has seen every inch of it. 

It's not a fix all solution, but I truly think the exposure to new things, people and cultures can really allow someone to appreciate life more  especially if you do some sort of Mission work or International Relief (Peace Corps), where you are exposed, daily, to a lifestyle of suffering and poverty. But even with that going on, these people are still able to smile and praise God. for what they do have, despite all the basic things they are without.

A lot to learn and discover about yourself by looking through their eyes  

[Gabriel Antonio]

@Nathan Do you have real friends? That is, someone who you can be authentic with? 

Edited June 6, 2018 by Gabriel Antonio

[Jamie Universe]

Well first get your life working, I've been trying to understand what makes someone happy for a while. And fyi this isn't confirmed or 100% true advice just as a warning.

Basically how I see it its context. There's you, and there's the stuff about you, the stuff that happens to you. As I see it apart of your context right now is 

7 hours ago, Nathan said:

I've been half-heartedly engaged with non-duality for about two years now. During the first year there was a major breakdown in percieved meaning in life which led to a lot apathy and a kinda void where a sense of purpose used to be.

Eventually I managed to get over that slump and managed to appreciate the beauty in life without assigning arbitrary values to things/activities. I was able to take things one day at a time and relished life for life's sake without feeling the need to get anywhere/ do anything in particular to feel fulfilled. 

Recently though life's lost it's sheen, I'm numb to the gratification I once got from appreciating all kinds of little aspects in life. I know I'm taking my whole experience for-granted but I'm not quite sure how to not do that. 

Those sound like problems, and problems are bound to cause you to feel bad or like..

7 hours ago, Nathan said:

This still feels vague, it doesn't feel like anything is bringing me down, but nothing is filling me up either. There are no high points or low points to my days. 

And I can't exactly tell you what your problems are specifically, if I had to guess, it sounds like you don't feel so committed on this path and that you feel like your failing your purpose or goal. 

If your cup is empty, recognize that nothing is filling it up, or maybe something is feeling it up but there's a hole in the bottom. (if that made any sense). But my advice would be to start an investigation in your own mind and your life about why your cup is empty, then once you know your problem, report back here for more advice on that problem.

 

 

[Nathan]

@zoey101  I have travelled a lot, but not in the past two years due to time and financial constraints. I did always feel like travel was a major break from day to day monotomy, it really reinvigorates the sense of wonder in life cause it's almost like being a kid again..everything is entirely new, some parts of the world are so different to where I live that it's almost like experiencing an alternate reality or something.

I do feel like engaging in mission work in deprived parts of the world would make me massively appreciate my fortunate position in the west and tug on my empathy giving me a sense of desire to make a difference again. I visited some of the slum-towns in India a few years ago and it kinda opened my eyes to how raw poverty can be and how disconnected I am to peoples needs.. It's terrible how quickly I became jaded and unempathetic again. 

@Gabriel Antonio   Sort of, I've been meeting with the same group of friends on a regular basis for nearly a decade now, mainly to get drunk or do drugs though we've kinda gravitated away from that now. We're all close and don't feel the need to erect some kind if social 'front' in order to fit in with one another or anything. That being said I wouldn't say I was 100% open with them, not about my concerns at least, somewhat but not 100%. I do spend a good portion of my time at work navigating that enviroment with a kind of professional social front and conversation at work is pretty unfulfilling. 

@Jamie Universe  I'm definitely not commited to the path, occasionally my interest will spark and I'll listen to/read a lot of content for a while, maybe even have a profound experience.. but eventually my interest wanes as time passes. 

I do feel like I need to commit more to self-enquiry, it sounds majorly effective at honing in on the specific reasons why I feel the way I do rather than blindly searching for some kinda external experience to give me a hit of gratification and distract me for a time. I'm gonna start an investigative journal-diary thing :3. 

 

 

[Gabriel Antonio]

What has helped me the most is to have fulfilling conversations with friends who are also walking the path. 

[Jamie Universe]

15 hours ago, Nathan said:

@Jamie Universe  I'm definitely not commited to the path, occasionally my interest will spark and I'll listen to/read a lot of content for a while, maybe even have a profound experience.. but eventually my interest wanes as time passes. 

I do feel like I need to commit more to self-enquiry, it sounds majorly effective at honing in on the specific reasons why I feel the way I do rather than blindly searching for some kinda external experience to give me a hit of gratification and distract me for a time. I'm gonna start an investigative journal-diary thing :3. 

Kewl, Yea I mean I can't exactly call myself commited. I meditate 25 minutes a day and have been doing that for around 150 days, but it was super easy to just meditate after I contemplated why it was so important, and why it was so hard. I mean its definetly not a cure-all, but your not going to be meditating that much by sheer willpower most likely.