How Does 'normal' Self-improvement Fit Into Consciousness Work?

[Whereisit]

Hey,

maybe I'm just a bit confused but I'm really struggling with the following at the moment.

I just feel like it makes no sense to work on myself - since the self is an illusion why should I change anything about it?

What I mean by 'normal' self-improvement (examples):

• improving one's self confidence (Isn't it harder to discover one's true self when the ego is really confident with itself?)
• changing one's self image
• gaining more knowledge (isn't this one just creating even more beliefs of how reality works?)
• learning how to deal with people and mastering social situations - couldn't this lead to inauthenticity? ( if you act upon what you read in a book - not from your true self)

Isn't it often just the ego wanting to be complete/happy? 

 

I hope you understand what I mean by this and I hope you can help me

 

[Frogfucius]

It fits in for people who are at different stages with personal development. Check Leo's video on the stages: 

Me personally, I was on the ego-feeding personal level of self-development. It was fine and dandy for a little bit, but it made me more neurotic and depressed in the long run. From there, I was able to transcend into the more spiritual stage, and allieve my neurotic tendencies and depression.

[Leo Gura]

It fits in precisely as follows:

Once it's realized that you are not the body/mind (enlightenment), the structures of the ego-mind will still largely remain intact. Your job then, for the rest of your life, is to become more and more conscious of the ego-mind structures and disassemble them one by one. That is the bulk of spiritual work, and that is the deepest form of personal development that exists.

So for example, if you still have confidence issues after enlightenment, you would penetrate with your awareness the structures of the ego-mind that are fueling this dynamic, and thereby eliminate them.

So personal development is the process of shedding every last vestige of self, until there is no longer anything that you are attached to as yourself, including your life, your body, your work, your possessions, your relationships, and your ideas.

If you do all that, you will be unimaginably happy and your life will be complete.

[Guest Kingkong123]

On 8/9/2016 at 0:59 PM, Leo Gura said:

It fits in precisely as follows:

Once it's realized that you are not the body/mind (enlightenment), the structures of the ego-mind will still largely remain intact. Your job then, for the rest of your life, is to become more and more conscious of the ego-mind structures and disassemble them one by one. That is the bulk of spiritual work, and that is the deepest form of personal development that exists.

So for example, if you still have confidence issues after enlightenment, you would penetrate with your awareness the structures of the ego-mind that are fueling this dynamic, and thereby eliminate them.

So personal development is the process of shedding every last vestige of self, until there is no longer anything that you are attached to as yourself, including your life, your body, your work, your possessions, your relationships, and your ideas.

If you do all that, you will be unimaginably happy and your life will be complete.

So enlightenment is like a powerful flashlight in a dark cave. Your job is to use it to examine every aspect of this cave and thereby "map it out" mentally. Would this be correct?

[cetus]

38 minutes ago, Ilikeelmo said:

So enlightenment is like a powerful flashlight in a dark cave. Your job is to use it to examine every aspect of this cave and thereby "map it out" mentally. Would this be correct?

Mapping out every aspect with a bright flashlight, emm. Enlightenment would be outside of all "mental" processes as in knowing.  There would be just what is and nothing more. The embodiment of pure awareness. Total transcendence of self through every aspect of life. That takes years of practice and devotion to reach that level. Try just having a transcendent experience from time to time. Just for a minute or two. It's wonderful. Experience what you really are behind the self as an identity.  Behind all the "stuff" that is "you".  Ahhh-sweet!