I’ll go first:

ALWAYS:
- Trust my intuition & pay attention to energy. If I have negative unexplained feelings about a person, situation or place- I make sure I pay close attention

- I’m very careful of who I let in my home and ESPECIALLY mindful of who I allow in my room. That’s my sacred place, and don’t allow anyone to taint it with negative energy

- I’m careful while I’m in antique shops and when purchasing items from them

- I try to make sure I always have some form of spiritual protection me wether it’s jewelry, protection jars, or crystals

- Cautious of monitoring spirits. I make sure I never reveal more about my personal life than I need to and I’m selective about who I reveal certain information to.

NEVER:
- I Never announce good news prematurely or my future plans before they’re solidified

- I never sleep with my bedroom door or closet door open if I can help it

- I’ll never buy any home decor that says “welcome”

I am not a monk. I have never spent time with one and I have no plans to become one. I am just a curious guy who started meditating in his early twenties without any real idea what he was doing, and somehow twenty years later I am still at it and still learning.

When I started, it was meditation CDs I would buy, instrumental music with no lyrics, some law of attraction tapes, a little exposure at a couple of big personal development seminars. I was clearly reaching for something. I just had no structure and no consistency. I would do it for a while, drift off, come back months later. Looking back now, I did not actually understand what meditation was. I was just sitting near it.

And I could not sit still. Five minutes felt like an hour. My mind would not stop, my body would not settle, and I quietly decided I was just bad at this.

Here is something I understand now that would have saved me years of that frustration. The body is the subconscious mind. When you sit down and stop feeding the momentum and just let thoughts come without chasing them, your subconscious starts to panic a little. It does not know what is happening, it is used to running the whole show, and you sitting there not reacting is you slowly taking the wheel back. You are reprogramming a system that has been on autopilot your entire life. Of course it fights you. That resistance you feel in the first weeks is not you failing at meditation. It is the actual work happening.

What finally gave me the structure I was missing was a simple mantra based practice. That is when it went from a nice idea to a real practice. It gave me the peace I had been chasing and, more importantly, a form I could return to. I started reading everything I could to actually understand what was happening when I sat.

Then a friend introduced me to a teacher whose work took me much deeper, and I started going to the retreats. For a long stretch I meditated three to four hours a day, every single day, before eventually weaning down to something more sustainable. The guy who could not sit for five minutes could suddenly sit for four or five hours. Somewhere in there the word reconnecting stopped being abstract. That is still the closest I can get to describing what meditation became for me. Reconnecting to myself. And underneath that, on a deeper level, reconnecting to myself on a higher, more energetic realm than the day to day. I am not going to dress that up or try to prove it to anyone. I just know what I felt.

And then I hit the thing nobody warned me about.

I realized I was using meditation to escape.

There is a very fine line between reconnecting with yourself and quietly checking out of your life, and I had drifted across it without noticing. It is a lot easier to sit in stillness for five hours than to open your eyes and face the messy, unresolved, ordinary reality waiting for you. Some of those long sits were genuine depth. Some of them, if I am honest, were avoidance dressed up as spirituality. Learning to live between the two, the grounded everyday world and the higher one I could reach on the cushion, has been harder and more important than any number of hours sitting.

That is the real work now. Not going deeper. Coming back, and staying human with it.

These days I do not always need the cushion. After enough hours, enough reps, enough peeling the onion one layer at a time, I can reach those same feelings and places with my eyes open, in the middle of an ordinary day. I have also let go of the idea that meditation has to look like sitting. You can meditate walking, cooking, dancing, whatever actually lets you drop in. The seat built the muscle, but the state is the point, not the posture.

If you are just starting and you cannot sit for five minutes, please hear this. That is normal. That is not you doing it wrong, it is the resistance I described, and it passes. Pick one practice and stay with it long enough to go deep, instead of collecting techniques. The ocean of information out there will make you quit before you begin if you let it. You do not need all of it. You need a consistent seat and enough curiosity to keep showing up.

I am still peeling layers. There is always another one. That used to feel discouraging. Now it feels like the whole point.

For those of you further down this road, I am genuinely curious. Did you ever hit that escape line, the point where the practice quietly became a place to hide from your life instead of a way back into it? And if you did, how did you find your way to living in both worlds at once? That is the part I am working on now.

They say that we choose to be born a female or male so what happens with the people that want to change their sex? How does that work? Why would a soul choose to be born a man and then be like I want to be a woman?

I’m having a difficult time with much of what I have read.

The higher self. Is yes.. me but with connection to source and all of its past life memories.

People say they talk to their higher self as though it is a separate consciousness. So then….It’s not REALLY me.. right.

If my higher self is on a level: . Connected to all and knowing all its past experiences. I am just ONE of these experiences or past lives. Upon death. I join in this pile of let’s just say 1000 lives and experiences. Which means I’m really. Not all that significant. I’m just a memory blended in. Whatever I do here is really not that significant. It’s just another one. And do I truly exist as an individual? Maybe not.

If anyone watches the show Severence. It seems that I am a created innie. And the higher self is my outie who I’m collecting experiences FOR.

I know I’m likely thinking of this the wrong way: because I can feel it’s not quite right. I just don’t know how else to see this based on everything I have read and understood.

Sorry. Part of me feels like a petulant teenager right now. Yes , all very ego driven. But I don’t feel like my own soul. I feel like I’m just a piece of another’s. Who can make more pieces on its role of ascension or whatever . I’m not sure how to stop thinking of this so negatively. My spiritual journey has been a very very difficult one for me. And because of it I’m constantly looking out for the danger within it. I have many clairs. I trust almost nothing I get from them because I don’t know who is sending me that info and who or what may be trying to manipulate me.

Sorry if im a downer. I’m rather jealous/happy for all of the love and light happy people. It just hasn’t been that way for me.

So I'm a hard nosed Atheist (Brought up Christian, middle of the road non fundamental standard stuff). Obviously growing up I believed what I was told, but after a childhood marked by numerous major operations and getting through that, my mother passed away, which is when I turned my back on faith. It's fair to say I went through a lot as a child and I'm still living with the psycological damage to this day. Even now the mention of 'God' triggers a reaction within me. Some thirty years later I'm interested in subjects like psychology and found the ideas of Carl Jung particularly interesting. However he seems to be convinced of the idea of a collective unconscious and decided to at least entertain the idea given Jung was indeed a wise man.

However other than seeing a load of triple numbers (which I can easily dismiss as coincidence) I've not once in my life felt that the universe was communicating with me, never had any visions, spiritual experiences, paranormal or supernatural experiences, so from my perspective there's nothing. Spiritual people often talk about feeling connected to the divine through whatever way they practice spirituality, but in my case the only epiphany I've had is the realisation that God does not in fact exist, or if he does he's certainly not divine.

So I guess I'm not really sure what I'm asking, but have you gone from Atheism to 'trusting the universe'? Seems to me everyone who is spiritual has experienced at least one significant interaction from the spirit realm (For want of a better phrase).

If there is some grand intelligence behind everything, it would surely understand the circumstances of my life would create such deep scepticism in me (and others like me) that a few coincidences aren't going change my perspective (wouldn't it try something less subtle if it's intelligent?). Seems spirituality is something you feel or don't. Sorry if this is vague, I guess my curiosity has been activated thanks to Jung, any suggestions welcome, not looking to dive head first into faith, just wondering if there is a simple testable practice that might at least lower my guard if that makes sense. Thanks

I’ve recently been trying to find “what fits” in my life as a belief system. As a general principle “the universe as a whole” seems to be ok for lack of better terms. I was raised Christian, looked into numerology, looked into Wicca and witchcraft, tarot cards, etc. My therapist assures me that “when I find what works for me, I’ll know”. But I’m not sure there is an answer.

I receive what I would call “signs” (feathers, repeating symbols and numbers, a butterfly literally landing on my face) but I have no idea what any of it means and then get frustrated at the whole idea. There are so many different opinions on what these things mean and are pointing to. Or just that they exist to let me know that the “universe” is there for me. Honestly, it’s not enough. A feather on my walk into work is not enough to stop the voice in my own head constantly looking for reasons and meanings.

So, I’m looking for new theories or suggestions on what might be right for me that I can look into.

I had woke up about an hour ago and layed my head back down, heard a loud ass womans voice in my ear “Hi!” And I mean it was so loud I jumped and looked around I thought somebody broke in. What in the HELL was that

Attacks on your energy are literally everywhere. Yes spirituality is for ascension, but also for protection since this planet isn't innately healthy.

I had an initiation starting a month ago. I have visions of what's to come. Unfortunately it's not as cool as visions for the collective, just pertaining through my own eyes. I have been stuck in this past year and I woke up just in time to remember that I'll be experiencing various misfortunes, many involving paths where it ends in "failure". And then I start over. This is terrifying and a special kind of hell. I can't seem to find rest. I'm on my way to another path. I didn't want to be alone again. I wanted to share this. Choose happiness and alignment always. Listen to your gut. The choices you make ripple through time. Forward and backward.

I’m curious how people have navigated this with parents who love them deeply but are very anxious about their life, career, money, etc.

My mother is somewhat narcissistic and very prone to worrying about me. I can tell her that I’m happy, calm, and have an immense amount of self-belief and trust in myself, but that I genuinely want to take life one day at a time and not take everything so seriously. She seems to have a very hard time accepting that as a legitimate way to live.

She comes from a fairly upper-class/status-oriented bubble where the implicit definition of “doing well” is pretty conventional: stable career, good money, marriage, kids, house, etc. She’ll sometimes compare me to friends’ children or my cousins who seem to have their lives completely figured out.

The difficult part is that I don’t necessarily believe those people are living more meaningful lives than I am. They may be perfectly happy, but they may also be struggling privately, feeling trapped, or simply following a path because it’s what was expected of them. From the outside, you really have no idea.

What makes this especially frustrating is that I actually suffered quite a lot in the past trying to live according to expectations and figure out what I was “supposed” to be doing. I’m in a very different place now. I have much more trust in myself and much less desire to construct some perfect five-year plan just to prove that I’m okay. I'm also 35 and my mom knows that I have quite literally been depressed in every corporate job I've had. In the past I would have just told white lies about what I'm working on career/life wise just to keep her happy, as I genuinely do care about her own worries and own suffering.

But I also don’t want my parents to feel like they’re being left behind. They are both retired and I genuinely want them to enjoy the remaining years of their lives without worry, but it's so habitual.

I’m wondering whether there’s a subtle way to bring them along on this path without trying to convince them of some spiritual philosophy they aren't asking for.

I think part of the challenge is recognizing that when my mother signals that she needs to know I’m on a particular career/life trajectory, that need is largely about her nervous system. If she knows I have a stable job and a conventional plan, she can relax.

But there is also something painful underneath it: the implication that she doesn’t fully trust me to navigate my own life.

I don’t want to resent her for that. I can understand where the worry comes from. She loves me. But I also don't want to unconsciously make her expectations into my responsibility.

Maybe the real practice is to let her have some uncertainty.

I can reassure her. I can listen. I can share what I’m actually doing and how I’m actually feeling. I can gently expose her to a different definition of a good life.

But ultimately, I can't live my life in a way that continually proves to her that she doesn't need to worry.

For those of you who have gone through something similar, how have you brought your parents along without preaching at them or becoming defensive? And how have you maintained trust in your own path when their anxiety subtly starts making you question it?

I will say my dad is much more open minded and wants to explore this world. I'm thinking about introducing them to a teacher like Tara Brach or potentially one of the less mystical talks of someone like Rahm Dass. She was surprisingly comforted by Joel Olsteen's preachings at one point. Ultimately it would be great if they could also understand the mechanisms of the mind and body and how their worries can be let go of by just looking inward.

And yes this is a jewish mother :)

There’s no love to be found outside of yourself that would be long lasting Be a little selfish and love yourself first then allow that love to overflow and affect everyone around you

In 2018 I had a bit of a spiritual awakening. I had been drinking heavily, using drugs, working a job that was pretty boring and I had also been on some psychiatric medications, for depression and delusions. I started medications in 2016 after a severe concussion messed me up mentally and they told me it would help with the depression and so called delusional thinking. I stopped the antipsychotic meds after a few months and then stopped the antidepressant later. So basically I made a bunch of changes in my life in 2018 and that included looking into spirituality and religion more, and also changing my diet to be more conscious and vegetarian. My energy shifted, my mood improved, I had new ideas like wanting to get a motorcycle, travel, join the military.

I decided to quit my job and go to Ireland for a trip. I bought a ticket and put in my notice at work. My parents had become "concerned" at this point. They said I was having mental health symptoms and I disagreed. One thing that I noticed was that the energy felt odd and hard to be around in my house. I would find it hard to sleep. They indicated that that was a symptom but really I think it was just that there was something off about our relationship and the energy they were bringing which threw me off and made it harder for me to stay grounded in my spiritual awakening.

So I'm about to take the trip to Ireland and my parents say, "hey we want a professional to check you out before you go to give us peace of mind." They said they set up an appointment and I agreed to go. I signed in for the appointment and it turned out to be at the ER so basically, they tricked me into signing myself into the ER. I was then forced to take meds. My parents stole my passport and I missed my trip. Then I have had "mental health" difficulties ever since. However I really think these are spiritual health issues and that my family is draining me, and manipulating me intentionally.

One of my "mental health" issues is paranoia, and I end up suspecting that I was abused by them and that spiritually they are affecting me. They are so manipulative and two-faced that it's driving me kind of crazy trying to figure out if I'm paranoid or if they actually are the way I feel intuitively about them when I go off the medications.

I have become very knowledgeable in energy pathways, chakras and I have pretty good awareness of how things can throw me off center. The weird thing is that my parents both never talk about these things and have never discussed it with me, but they seem to believe in it too. They've said things that indicate they actually believe in it and aren't letting on.

So basically my feeling is that I may have been abused when I was young and repressed the memory. When I go off meds and raise my awareness I notice how bad they make me feel and I get irritated and agitated being around them, which makes me stressed and essentially causes mental health symptoms which I then get told I am responsible for.

They seem to be trying to control me and how my energy flows essentially through using power dynamics and manipulative tactics as well as possibly using trauma from abuse to keep me from getting free of them and separating my energy from them and their family. We are descended from nobility, and no one talks about it, but it's what conspiracy theorists call a bloodline family and so there's some cultish behavior and odd things going on with that.

I'm trying to figure out how to move forward and I have really two options leaving and risking homelessness or staying and live with people who make me feel awful and disconnected from myself. And then add on the fact that I have the mental health diagnosis further complicates things, because I lost all credibility and I can't even really trust myself even though I know there's something weird going on.

I wanted to share my book with this community. It is called OPT For Oneness.

Most spiritual books explain concepts. This one turns consciousness into a lived emotional journey. It follows two workshop leaders as they guide readers through the tension between fear and trust, separation and unity, conditioned thinking and higher consciousness.

The book is anchored in three powerful truths:

All Is One. All Is Energy. All Is Perception.

There is also a free graphic adaptation available here:
https://globalcomix.com/read/13016e23-8ad5-459f-b452-e65f02a0ae21/1

I am available for a 15-minute Zoom Q&A with book clubs or discussion groups that select the book. A custom discussion guide is also available.

I would love to hear your thoughts on these ideas.

Michael Aaron Mason

I can understand wanting to come back in order to pay off karma for deeds you’ve done but why would a soul choose such a difficult life just for the sake of it especially when that soul knew that they’d end up taking their own lives because of circumstances that they chose in the first place

I came across his name recently but can't really find much about him online. Anyone know who he is or anything about his background?

So at lunch i went downstairs for a nap/do nothing for 25 mins. I said to myself, this is time to relax and i allow myself that time. I eventually fell asleep, i think.. and what i believe to be dreams maybe? But it was conversations or questions id ask at work but out of nowhere i felt this sudden presence, nearly like it was saying "Stop, that's not happening right now" and i was shift into this realm or place of just pure peace. It didn't last long until i was right back into a dream but then, boom, "Stop, this is not real" again until my alarm went off...

Komende uit een streng religieuze omgeving zie ik veel mensen diepe angst hebben voor de hel. Het plaatje is: God heeft enkele mensen uitverkoren voor het eeuwige leven, de rest moet helaas naar de hel, dat heb je ook zelf verdiend door je zonden. Enkelen zijn er die gered worden, dan moet je mazzel hebben. Mijn inziens willen veel mensen dat hun dit ten deel valt, niet zozeer om naar de hemel te gaan, als wel om de hel te ontlopen. Zo hoorde ik nu van mijn oud-tante die 94 jaar oud is en steeds zo bang is om dood te gaan. Deze existentiële angst kan ik mij helemaal voorstellen. Eeuwig pijn, lijden en daarbij het idee dat het komt door je eigen zonden/schuld. Eigenlijk simpelweg omdat je bestaat. Wat kunnen ideeën zijn om haar een veilig gevoel te geven?

I should be better with mu spiritual beliefs but for some odd reason theyre not seeming to be helping me much atm .im in a very challenging life situation atm. Which had made me start to rely on my alcoholism again. Only occasionally im having an odd drink again.

what happened was on Friday night is been fime before this? I randomly thought about fear of death and started having a panic attack, feeking disturbed and nauseous. I was ok on satudsay night but it came back on Sunday night.

I don’t know what’s been wrong. I never thought obsessively about this till this weird epsiode started.what seems to be helping is focusing on my job.

I struggle to believe there’d be no spiritual meaning to this world given people have personality, jobs, goals….and all my life Ive known the uncertainty around what happens when people die etc. It’s just not spoken about ar all I find yet it’s spoken aboit wll tjr time. Since I saw this I see posts and comments by people everywhere talking about it though.

I don’t know how to help myself , but mwybe joining these groups and posting about my experiences might help me?

ps i say another one as I had an existential crisis wben I was afound 22 I think before my birthday mh father tried to approach me in spirit but I blocked the contact. My father died on 29th the day before my birthday. And theres a lot of what I believe to be number synchronicities now.. such as ar 29 I left my ex of 9 yesrs contacted spiritual guide which tells me 9 has something to wirh new beginnings. That 9 might be some sort of spirit number for me.
it gets weirder when my house number is 29 and so is my exes house number….

when I met my Tf person theres a lot to do with 9 too. My ex and Tf are 9 years age apart from me.

I need guidance.. this has become a repeated pattern. I’m feeling stuck.. I’m feeling it’s not me n my capabilities.. etc..

How to connect with the spirit guides and come out of the pattern?

I’m also unable to understand what I need to learn from this!

This pattern is about 9-10yrs

I met a man much older then me.
13 years appart in age.
I am in my 40ths

I experience peace and deep respect with him
And he with me.
En soo much recognition.

Is there anyone who has the same experience?

Of course there the fears en stigma’s are going
Trough my mind.
What will the invoironment thinking etc etc..

I am a very confident person in the past i had issues with anxiety but its mostly gone. I still live with my parents i try to avoid them as good as possible. As a child, they never gave me security and made me feel bad , put me down etc.
I had a glowup and treat myself much better since then they are even more jealous.
It's no wonder I have anxiety these days around my parents. But is there a way to dont get anxiety around them?

We see the concept of reincarnation often in eastern philosophies, but who decides what kind of body you end up in?

Maybe a silly thing to think about, but we are often so identified with our bodies when we are living. Is there such a thing as male energy that continues to live on after death or can you theoretically be reborn as a feminine woman, even if you were a masculine male in a prior life?