I don't want to put off spirituality to handle financial freedom

[Enizeo]

Hey Actualizers,

The following topic is something I've been contemplating for a while now and I want some of your thoughts and advice on, as I think that it is relevant for many of us.

After doing the LP course multiple times, the two themes that appear almost exclusively are music and spirituality. Going the path of deepest spiritual wisdom (becoming a sage and stuff) seems to be inevitable, and I'm sure that I can reconcile that with artistic endeavours, probably even as a source of income.
However, time is scarce. Focus and prioritization are the solutions, and that leaves me with a choice between pursuing financial independence, creative achievement or consciousness first.

A few days ago I had a key insight. While contemplating how I could learn to write some ridiculously awesome music, I realized that "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" is a far less abstract question than I had thought. I realized that music, just as everything else, follows principles which I can find and master to achieve excellence. And while it will take extraordinary amounts of work and dedication, in the end, success is inevitable. This insight left me in a void of unlimited possibilities. If I really can not fail, but the workload is huge, would music really be the one thing to focus on first? If I am honest: probably not.
The number one thing, without any trace of doubt, would be Truth and consciousness.

Now being grounded in absolute certainty, taking into account what Leo said towards the end of the chapters & phases video, I have the following question:

Is it possible/reasonable, to focus completely on consciousness, before having handled life purpose/financial freedom?

This just seems hard to answer from my level of experience. However, it just does not feel right to put off working towards Truth any further.
Have any of you had success with doing it in that order?
Can you pursue consciousness while working a 9-5 job?
What methods and strategies can you recommend if I'm dedicated to making this work?

I am currently a student and will be for at least another year. It does eat up quite some time, but to be honest, prioritization will create lots of space (also, there are breaks between semesters that sometimes last 2.5 months lol). 
 

Thank you for your help!

[Nahm]

You have more than enough time for all of it. 

[Inliytened1]

It really depends on the person and what they can kinda handle.

You were lucky enough to learn about spirituality early in life so it's even nice to have this "problem" so to speak.

But yeah i would say work on getting the basics down as a priority - life purpose/financial freedom.

Then focus on the deeper stuff.  That will bring you the most fulfillment, but you need to the foundation built first.

You seem like a well grounded person where you can pursue both in a conscious way.

The problem is where some people think that enlightenment is going to solve all their problems and then when they don't achieve it right away they feel hopeless, then they get lost in this and can't get their basics down.

[Forestluv]

@Enizeo Music and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. It's not like you have to decide between becoming an olympic weightlifter or a horse jockey. Music and spirituality are highly inter-connected. Music and art is one of the best tools to explore consciousness. Ofc there will be time spent negotiating gigs and contracts, some time spent trying to figure out how to pay the bills etc. Yet along the path, there will be plenty of time to explore the overlap of music/spirituality/consciousness. For example, playing music is one of the best ways to enter flow states of consciousness - a form of meditation and nonduality. There is the exploration of the language of music as symbols and emotional expression. There is the collective consciousness with players in the band and the band with audience. Some of the most deeply conscious people I've met were musicians. Music is a natural form of expression for mystics. The musicians at an Ayahuasca retreat I did were off the chart talented in music and deeply conscious. Music and spirituality is a match made in heaven.

It's like saying "I wish I had time to get into great physical shape, yet unfortunately I want to pursue a career as a professional athlete. . . "

[Nahm]

@Serotoninluv Nice!

 

[Key Elements]

Why not do both? When you get an inspiration (spirituality), write/make some music. Sometimes you could make music "without" spirituality. It doesn't matter. Does it? Everything around is spiritual. If you have a spiritual motivation, your music will be spiritual.

Sometimes, when you go with the flow, the action itself is the biggest prayer. Your wish will eventually be answered automatically.

[Inliytened1]

@Key Elements Yes - Balance is everything.

[Leo Gura]

There is not one strategy, there are many

You could focus on gaining financial security first and then go hog-wild on spirituality.

Or you could do just the opposite.

It really depends on what your heart wants and what you can handle. It can be very painful to force yourself to work on mundane financial stuff when you are itching to be creative or spiritual.

Then again, if your financial situation collapses, that might force you into slave labor and out of your spiritual quest. Again, depending on who you are.

The most spiritually gifted people will never be stopped by financial concerns. But that's not most people. You have to be realistic about what you're gonna be able to handle.

If you want the most direct path to the highest human life, drop everything and go balls deep into spirituality. But that's very hardcore and too difficult for most people to pull off. Most people won't be able to handle it. Hence there are more gradual approaches.

Personally, I focused on locking in financial freedom first. But it was pretty painful, to be honest. I would not wish that kind of pain on anyone. But it sure beats being a wage slave.

[Sempiternity]

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Personally, I focused on locking in financial freedom first. But it was pretty painful, to be honest. I would not wish that kind of pain on anyone. But it sure beats being a wage slave.

@Leo Gura  There are more than only these two choices. Another is for one to live off grid. Give up everything. Give up what one thinks is comfort. Give up friends and family. Give up dating and sex. Give up TV and internet. Give up what one thinks makes you happy. Find a place in the mountains, away from Man. Either have a bus home conversion, or build a makeshift home. Grow your own food. Be with just yourself. With nothing to do but go "hog-wild on spirituality". Focusing on financial freedom, is still slavery. You're still playing the game. Only way out of the game is to not play. 

[Ponder]

I didn't read the whole thing, but to me it seems as if you should pursue material success before focussing on the inner work. The reason for this is (as some enlightened masters say), you have to develop a strong ego before you can transcend the ego. That being said, everyone has their own unique path. The paths are infinite (as there are infinite manifest possibilities in the universe and beyond). 

[XYZ]

I'm going on the extreme and uncertain path of doing consciousness work before developing a strong ego or addressing long term survival concerns. I was never able to lock those down, they didn't seem possible to get handled. Worrying about that stuff led me to depressive thinking, the scarcity mindset and worsening addictions to things I used to escape it, like porn, junk food and internet games. Petty money and ego bullshit, I don't care, makes me numb thinking about that stuff, boring drudgery. It's accessing higher consciousness and contemplating the absolute the brings me to tears, that is the place from which I want to live out the rest of my human experience. To hell with wage slavery, live free or die, as they say in New Hampshire.

The whole process of building a personal identity, choosing a life purpose, and slaving away for a few years to escape money-slavery felt beyond my reach, too late for me, and also not worth my limited time and energy every day. I'm a unique case though, cause most people, and particularly men seem to need purpose and a grounded sense of self to function as a human, and others don't have the luxury of not working while having food and housing provided. My master plan would be to merge my personal development (including but not limited to spirituality) with a strategy for escaping scarcity once my unsustainable living situation runs out. I am seeing myself as like the bamboo tree, which spends years gradually sprouting roots, not looking like it's making any progress, while by the time it is ready to grow it shoots up several metres a week. Facing actual poverty and/or early death are real possibilities though, but I choose to face life without fear of that.

 

 

 

[Inliytened1]

@XYZ i was gonna ask you i mean you don't wanna be 45 and living in mom's basement even if you are deeply enlightened.  Hence the balance.  Most people  may have to bear thru the shallow stuff of the basics first or while.

 

[Hellspeed]

Don't!

Use visualization and the law of attraction to bring situations and people.

[Enizeo]

Thank you for all your answers!

To clarify: I definitely think that both need to be handled at some point, the question is about the order of focus. Starting a career in music will require 100% focus for a certain amount of time, leaving little room for spiritual development.

 

@Serotoninluv Beautifully said, really touched me! In the end, both will be inevitable to craft the most badass life possible! \m/

@Leo Gura Prioritizing spirituality, I would just accept being a semi-wage-slave, maybe working parttime in a job that is at least not completely soul-draining. I worked 9 to 5 for half a year and with proper nutrition, sleep and prioritization, my energy levels and time were not too bad.

I guess the only way to find out is to actually try. You guys really encouraged me by giving me the sense that it's at least not entirely impossible. Quitting after a year or two of being a slave is always possible and I'll take my consciousness and insights with me.

No matter how we turn it, this path is difficult and takes commitment and dedication (LP as well as consciousness). Also, the second one you tackle is always going to profit from past experiences and be easier. In 20 years I'm gonna be a badass Sage, not matter what order I choose.

 

Thank you! I'll share my progress and major insights as all this unfolds.

[joeyi99]

21 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

There is not one strategy, there are many

You could focus on gaining financial security first and then go hog-wild on spirituality.

Or you could do just the opposite.

It really depends on what your heart wants and what you can handle. It can be very painful to force yourself to work on mundane financial stuff when you are itching to be creative or spiritual.

Then again, if your financial situation collapses, that might force you into slave labor and out of your spiritual quest. Again, depending on who you are.

The most spiritually gifted people will never be stopped by financial concerns. But that's not most people. You have to be realistic about what you're gonna be able to handle.

If you want the most direct path to the highest human life, drop everything and go balls deep into spirituality. But that's very hardcore and too difficult for most people to pull off. Most people won't be able to handle it. Hence there are more gradual approaches.

Personally, I focused on locking in financial freedom first. But it was pretty painful, to be honest. I would not wish that kind of pain on anyone. But it sure beats being a wage slave.

I'm working on gaining Finacial Freedom currently. What made it so painful for you?