Just Watched The Life Purpose Course Advertisement. Now I'm Sad.

[alyra]

I've been in a bad situation myself. it took me about 2 and a half years to get myself out of my hole - to where I am now - and I still need to go out and find employment lol, but I'm gonna make strides in that direction in the near future. I know it now - but 2 years ago? I had no hope

 

generally speaking... it was, well, small steps. I know that in the beginning I found those words infuriating. but they were kinda true - and I admitted that, silently, to myself. eventually, I noticed how I was a little healthier overall than a month before - and I'd note specific examples of improvement. 

one thing that made a huge difference - was when I realized a successful day was nothing more than surviving it. so I noted down: "to achieve a successful day: 1) brush teeth 2) bathe 3) eat enough 4) tidy up for 15 minutes or so" and after a month I had made it a habit that I did those four things every day - it was almost easy at that point - and this meant that I was now starting to add in a little one day or another - such as going downstairs and talking with ma - or going shopping for food without panicking - or washing laundry AND dishes AND it wasn't 4 days late. hehe!

 

another thing that made a big difference - was realizing, that what was hurting me the most in any moment - was my own thoughts, my own self-bullying. even when someone said something mean to me - I would then repeat it to myself over and over and over until I was depressed - yet they only said it once, and it was me who fell for their lies and believed them - so while I'm not saying that they were fine to be mean - I was simply noticing how I was spending so much effort making sure their insult struck home. and the important thing here is - I've endured my whole life with my own self, so it really isn't any different to endure any situation - I've already been doing it my whole life by bearing through my own self-abuse, so going out to dinner or shopping or bearing through cleaning was just the same as lying in bed feeling glum - the only difference was that when I was shopping I had an excuse to say, "wow look at what I can do" and that was motivation enough. I'd wait for the opportune time to go shopping - and over time that opportunity could be more often accomplished. 

 

another thing that was very important - was all the tiems I'd think, "woah, wait, I had less anxiety this week than any week last month" or "woah, I accomplished more this past monday than any day last month" and I would know then, that I was better. even if I was "still in the same shitty situation" it was clear, that I was improving. 

 

 

it's impossible for me to sit here and note all the growth I made - I barely even notice some of the things because they are habit now, I barely remember some of the things b ecause they only matter in very specific situations. but I assure you, that you can make this growth too - and it will take some time, but do not worry - because if it takes 5 years, it is worth it. and you will continue to grow your whole life - we all do. you can find a way out. I wish I had some easy answer to give you - but the reality is, the easy answers are the stupid ones like "small steps" and "get over it" the shitty answers which make us mad. they are the abstract answers really - because the real answer is, a thousand small insignificant things, which if you look for you will find on your own - and in a year you'll forget what they all were yet at the same time they'll be a regular part of your life. and when you look back all you can figure to say is - it took one step at a time. it was something in my past I got through. hehe, the irony!

 

Someone once said to me - I asked her, "what is easy" and she said, "easy is anything you make it through" and I giggled. I said, "oh! so everything is easy then!" and now I know. if I can figure out how to endure it, then clearly it is an easy thing! hehehe. 

[Leo Gura]

On 11/15/2016 at 11:33 AM, Bizarre said:

Let's analyze this for a moment. 

Where did you get this notion of "potential"?

Do you think you might just have bought into it, like people have bought into commercialism and materialism?

Another industry selling you things you don't need?

The reason you long for achievement is because you believe in "potential".

Can you see the double bind you put yourself in here with this personal development stuff?

This is not helpful to someone who is stuck in a rut or is a chronic underachiever.

There are times in life when you need to surrender to just being.

But NOT when you're stuck in a lazy rut.

When you're stuck in a rut, when you've been a victim for YEARS, when you haven't done any serious work on yourself or your career, getting mobilized is very important. Doing is very important. Action is very important.

The practical reality is that most people have enormous potential which goes 99% untapped.

Telling such people to "just be", "just relax", "you are already perfect", "success is fool's gold" -- that is only going to confuse them, because that's advice you give to someone who's a neurotic overachiever, not a neurotic underachiever.

The life purpose course is not designed to enlighten people. It's designed to get them moving towards tapping into their enormous potential on this mortal plane and handle their career. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is important to keep in mind. People find it really hard to follow advanced spiritual advice when they can't even achieve the basics of successful living. It goes over their head and they use the advice to justify further inaction.

One needs to find a balance between doing and being. And even at the most advanced spiritual levels, being is never done at the expense of necessary doing.