How do you balance life purpose and consciousness/ non duality work?

[BestSelf]

So i've been kind of struggling with these two things lately. I developed this whole vision surrounding my life purpose and the kind of life I want to lead and person I want to be. I wrote it all out, and have been reading and visualizing it twice a day for a good while now. During this time I really started turning my life around and have made a lot of strides towards my different goals  and have had more hope for the future than ever. However, as I have gotten more into this personal development work and specifically consciousness/ non duality type work, my mind has started to go all over the place and struggles with comprehending the two together. After learning about non duality and what increasing ones consciousness is supposed to ultimately lead to, it makes me question whether this life purpose and vision I have set out on is truly the right path for me. I'm wondering if this self concept tied into my purpose and vision would hamper the consciousness work and finding who I truly am at the core as well as seeing reality for what it really is. I don't want to give up this vision though as I feel like if I do I have no idea where I am going or who I am trying to be and get lost in negative thoughts. emotions and over analysis. My mind is just kind of all jumbled with information overload and what I should really be focusing on here. Does anyone have any advice on how one can go about balancing the two?

Edited September 6, 2018 by BestSelf

[Mu_]

4 hours ago, BestSelf said:

So i've been kind of struggling with these two things lately. I developed this whole vision surrounding my life purpose and the kind of life I want to lead and person I want to be. I wrote it all out, and have been reading and visualizing it twice a day for a good while now. During this time I really started turning my life around and have made a lot of strides towards my different goals  and have had more hope for the future than ever. However, as I have gotten more into this personal development work and specifically consciousness/ non duality type work, my mind has started to go all over the place and struggles with comprehending the two together. After learning about non duality and what increasing ones consciousness is supposed to ultimately lead to, it makes me question whether this life purpose and vision I have set out on is truly the right path for me. I'm wondering if this self concept tied into my purpose and vision would hamper the consciousness work and finding who I truly am at the core as well as seeing reality for what it really is. I don't want to give up this vision though as I feel like if I do I have no idea where I am going or who I am trying to be and get lost in negative thoughts. emotions and over analysis. My mind is just kind of all jumbled with information overload and what I should really be focusing on here. Does anyone have any advice on how one can go about balancing the two?

Don't worry your not the only one struggling with this question, its been in the hearts and minds of many a student and teacher for centuries.  There's two camps of thinking on this matter (and infinite variations in between). 

On the one side you have a multifold path like Buddhism in which you cultivate the mind and body with meditation, practical work/duties, mantra's, scriptures (although they call it something different), silent retreats (that can sometimes last for years) all the while keeping in mind that this is a life time work and not to get to frustrated and bullheaded that you need to do it as fast as you can, all now, cause the world is going to burn down if you don't.

Then on the farther end of spectrum you have traditions that speak to the silliness of trying anything to recognize whats already your true nature.   Any spiritual seeking is a new story clouding the already present truth of your true self, already full, already true.

By the sounds of what your doing to improve your life, I'd stick with that.  If your all over the place and confused with non-duality/consciousness, just drop the dialogue at that time and don't put yourself through the mental mind fucking.  I can tell you first hand its not going to get you any closer, and if your honest with yourself and let in the nature of what non-duality is potentially pointing to, panicky dialogue in your head is not the route, right?

Working with someone on these matters can be really helpful sometimes as well, especially with these particular topics, who knows the terrain, the trappings and the usefulness of certain practices.

I can't say I'm that person, but I do have 20 years exposure to this path. 

Let me ask you what do you mean by ". After learning about non duality and what increasing ones consciousness is supposed to ultimately lead to, it makes me question whether this life purpose and vision I have set out on is truly the right path for me. I'm wondering if this self concept tied into my purpose and vision would hamper the consciousness work and finding who I truly am at the core as well as seeing reality for what it really is. "

What is your purpose and vision first of all?

What did you learn/read about non-duality and consciousness (are these two separate things in your current understanding) and why do you feel it might be the wrong path for you?

What do you mean by self concept tied into your purpose and vision?

 

[BestSelf]

@Mu_ My purpose/ vision is essentially being the best version of myself and helping others improve their lives. That is the broad sense of it, but it includes many different things. I am a personal trainer, athlete, and affiliate marketer for some different personal development products. I want to help, educate,  and inspire people to reach their unique fitness goals, be the best athlete I can be, spread information that can help others improve their lives, and live up to different attitudes and ways of being that I see my "ideal self" as. I basically had a whole story I wrote out incorporating all of this and more that I would read and visualize every day. 

Since I started diving into the non duality side of things this whole concept of my "ideal self" and other aspirations now just seems like things of the ego. It seems like by striving to be a certain way and do certain things I am just trying to cement my ego into a certain mold instead of seeing reality and my true nature for what they really are. So since learning this I have not been near as passionate about this vision and have lost some faith in it. Where as before even though I wasn't there yet with a lot of things I was excited at the process of striving towards those ideals. Now however, I feel like it might be false egoic ideals and this huge vision I was so excited and passionate about seems to have lost its oomp. I started trying to do away with the whole ideal self concept side of things I hard for myself, but I find it very hard to let it go as it makes me feel lost and not really sure how to go about things. Just been going through a bit of mindfuckery trying to figure out how to proceed forward.

 

[Mu_]

11 hours ago, BestSelf said:

@Mu_ My purpose/ vision is essentially being the best version of myself and helping others improve their lives. That is the broad sense of it, but it includes many different things. I am a personal trainer, athlete, and affiliate marketer for some different personal development products. I want to help, educate,  and inspire people to reach their unique fitness goals, be the best athlete I can be, spread information that can help others improve their lives, and live up to different attitudes and ways of being that I see my "ideal self" as. I basically had a whole story I wrote out incorporating all of this and more that I would read and visualize every day. 

Since I started diving into the non duality side of things this whole concept of my "ideal self" and other aspirations now just seems like things of the ego. It seems like by striving to be a certain way and do certain things I am just trying to cement my ego into a certain mold instead of seeing reality and my true nature for what they really are. So since learning this I have not been near as passionate about this vision and have lost some faith in it. Where as before even though I wasn't there yet with a lot of things I was excited at the process of striving towards those ideals. Now however, I feel like it might be false egoic ideals and this huge vision I was so excited and passionate about seems to have lost its oomp. I started trying to do away with the whole ideal self concept side of things I hard for myself, but I find it very hard to let it go as it makes me feel lost and not really sure how to go about things. Just been going through a bit of mindfuckery trying to figure out how to proceed forward.

 

Why did you delve into the non-duality side of things if you felt good about your first goal?  I don't see them as mutually exclusive honestly.  Strive to be the best version of yourself Help others, keep an open mind and heart along the way.  For now look at non-duality or oneness as a opportunity to get in touch with new layers and dimensions of the totality that you currently think you are, just do what you were doing before you read about it, not try and subtract what you read about will lead you to non-duality.   I mean in general terms isn't what you read about non-duality supposedly already happenning 100% right now as you as you are right now with all of your current intentions, body, mind, beliefs?  So dont even  bother trying to figure out how to get there by a process of any sort, like the thinking your doing about what it would require you to do to realize the already true state or how some concept of an "ego" is some how keeping You away from yourself.  Your trying to put yourself on a path of some spiritual idea you've concocted and read about that will bring you to some truth You've conceived.  Really man just drop it and go with your passion.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Mu_

[BestSelf]

@Mu_ I got into it because I love learning about the whole realm of personal development and wanted to learn more about the spiritual side of things. So you think it is fine to strive toward being a certain ideal version of yourself? I cam do that while also expanding my awareness through things like meditation whiteout the need to actively try to "kill the ego" and not identify with a certain set of characteristics?

[Mu_]

21 minutes ago, BestSelf said:

@Mu_ I got into it because I love learning about the whole realm of personal development and wanted to learn more about the spiritual side of things. So you think it is fine to strive toward being a certain ideal version of yourself? I cam do that while also expanding my awareness through things like meditation whiteout the need to actively try to "kill the ego" and not identify with a certain set of characteristics?

Definitely, the less you get wrapped in yourself the more inspiration, joy and helpfulness you can bring to the table.  Forget the whole idea of killing your ego, any active thing you think your doing to a thing called a ego in your minds eye is not going to get you anywhere.  Meditation is great overall, go for it.

[BestSelf]

@Mu_ Thanks for all of the insight man, I greatly appreciate it! Starting to feel a lot better about the whole thing now

[Mu_]

2 hours ago, BestSelf said:

@Mu_ Thanks for all of the insight man, I greatly appreciate it! Starting to feel a lot better about the whole thing now

Awesome man, enjoy your life.

[Forestluv]

This is an awesome thread, This is how we do it. Nice work.

[Saumaya]

@BestSelf i don't recommend you do them together. Unless you have a lot of free time even after work. Still it's not recommended from my standpoint. Your work might suffer if you do too much spiritual work.