Personal Growth Lessons Journal

I wish to share what I learn at times, so I thought I would just open a journal instead of opening hundreds of threads throughout the forum.
Today I will talk about addictions.
Lately, I've been struggling most with seperation from others. I tend to fall in love way too easily and forget about myself. I usually don't think about myself anyway, but think about other people. I soak up other people's feelings like a sponge (most of you know what I'm talking about) but I'm trying not tp do that anymore.

You can get addicted to anything- from the internet, to drugs, to love.
Being addicted to another person is really an easy thing to do, if you're not a whole person, yourself. But who is, really? I'm hoping to be one, someday. In the meantime, I find myself addicted to another person's words, another person's feelings, compliments, and even texts. I find my self worth depends on them. If I'm happy or sad. If feel like they have to like me and not getbored with me. And if they will- it's probably because there's something wrong with me. That's really, really bad. And nothing will come out of this. I find that there's a lesson here. And I'm here, on this planet earth, to learn. The lesson will repeat itself until I learn the deal. With other people, with other voices, with other texts. But those different people will represent the same lesson. And, as you might have guessed- I really don't want the lesson to repeat itself. I never want to put my happiness in other people's hands- you're giving them way too much power, power that they don't deserve. But of course, I would rather get hurt by another person than hurt another.

So why do we get addicted to anything? because there's something lacking in our own soul. I think it's because we don't get enough love from ourselves. We do the thing that takes us away from that reality for a little while. Everything's ok again. But then again- it's only a temporary solution. You will get that drug or whatever it is (BTW, IMO falling in love is also "a drug"- since you're addicted to the way you feel when you think about the person or whatever- the hormones) and you get away for a little while- but every little thing in life has the end, eventually. And then you get back to reality, and the hole inside your soul is still there. This is why you took the drug in the first place. And after awhile, you would want to do that again and again. But the answer to your problem is NOT the drug, or anything outside of you. The answer within yourself, in that dark place where you don't open the windows.

My solution for now is to try and use mindfulness. Look at my own thoughts from the side- I don't have to accept them that way, it's easier.

Quote:
"The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it is not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of the other person - without possessing the other, becoming dependant on the other or addicted to the other. They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. their happiness cannot be taken by the other because it is not given by the other." Osho, being in love.


BTW- I don't do drugs, just used it as an easy example. Mod, if it's wrong, you can tell me and I'll just think of another example to replace it with (or you can delete the post). Thanks!

Imagination: use your mind.
Do you use imagination in your day to day life? and I don't mean vilualization for attracting what you want. For me- imagination is expansion.
I like using imagination as a way to liberate my spirit. The time when I use imagination is the time when I feel the most free. Free your spirit, free your soul. Liberate it from the ordinary day to day life and see the world as you wish.
As I walk the streets, I sometimes like to use my imagination so that the sidewalks will make no sense at all. The world will become crazier than Alice In Wonderland. Over the cars, there will be people flying on flying carpets. On the fluffy clouds in the sky, you will find odd creatures hiding from humanity and making a civillization of their own, without our knowledge or approval. There will be (tastefully!) colorful musical notes on the side walk, and when you walk on top of them, they will make a beautiful sound. Millionaires would be out in the streets, feeding the homeless and their first priority will be to take care of them and give them a place to sleep. The air will be filled with beautiful singing voices, and the scent of your favourite flowers. Trust me when I say that when you will search for the color green, you will find it- there will be beautiful trees all around- tall and small and bushes with holes in which cats can fall. For them, it's tall! it's like that, when you're small.
You could use your mind to move objects, and children will be making telekinesis contests in the middle of the street. There will sometimes be people hovering in the middle of the street, but flying too high will be considered impolite and a safety hazard (there will be long, red trains flying in that course, after all). There will also be "teleporting stations" in every town where you can go in a see through closet, wait a few seconds and when you turn around and open the door- you could be anywhere, including Greenland, India, or deep in the ocean (the people who will invent it will be that generation's Steve Jobs).

Really enjoyed writing this! have a nice day, full of imagination!
xx

PS- found this translation of the emarald tablets on wiki, thought it might be helpful for some!

Favourite things I found/ remembered this week (or before) & maybe you could try:
-Color therapy (this seems like a cool link), I know some people say color meditation is really great.
-Ho'oponopono (I tried it before though, and it wasn't right for me. But some people say it's helpful). "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you"
-Actually doing visualization sessions (lol, maybe I should visulaize myself visualizing, so it would give me motivation).
-Trying to practice being nice to yourself for at least 5 minutes a day every morning. Don't judge yourself. Be kinder to yourself. It is like a muscle in your brain- eventually you will get better at this.
-Try to love and appreciate more.
-Live in the moment.

Quotes that are close to my heart:
"If you can feed 100 people, then feed just one"
~

Mother Teresa

"The real question is not whether life exists after death. The real question is whether you are alive before death".
~Osho
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
~Marcel Proust


Genius.

Lessons in gratitude time! (beautiful quotes):
“My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
—Oliver Sacks
“It is the fate of every human being,” Sacks writes, “to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death.”

"Gratitude is a feeling that spontaneously emerges from within. However, it is not simply an emotional response; it is also a choice we make."
~Marianne Williamson (Living in gratitude)
"Magic is a Gift not all can see, but for those who can BLESSED are we" ..
"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a matter of traveling".~Margaret Lee
"No matter what the situation is...close your eyes and think of all the things you could be grateful for in your life right now." — Deepak Chopra

“Rarely do we realize that if we simply take time to marvel at life’s gifts and give thanks for them, we activate stunning opportunities to increase their influence in our lives.”
― Ángeles Arrien

More by BY ANGELES ARRIEN:

"When people in great numbers choose to practice, integrate, and embody gratitude, the cumulative force that is generated can help create the kind of world we all hope for and desire, for ourselves and for future generations".

There are four portals—or entryways—to the experience of gratitude. Recognizing these portals at the time when they appear in our lives is key to developing the capacity to cultivate gratitude. Blessings are the primary, cross-cultural portal through which we experience gratitude. Learnings, mercies,and protections are three other portals attributed with fostering gratitude in various worldwide cultures.


10 Things for you to be grateful for:
1. You're alive
2. You can see these words with your beautiful human eyes (and so many people in the world can't read)
3. You can use your legs to walk from place to place (and that's really the body's function: to be useful).
4. You know like minded people on astral dynamics ;)
5. You have food on your plate.
6. You have a roof over your head.
7. You have shoes on your feet (or not on your feet right now, but generally, lol)
8. You can talk
9. Beautiful things in your life that are about to happen. They're just around the corner!
10. Your spiritual development

Keanu Reeves shares pieces of wisdom. Recommended! :-)

PS-
Note to self: repetitive thought patterns= repetitive life patterns.

I thoght some of the people here may like this one- how emotions show up in your bodies. I can't add the whole picture, because it's too large. But it looks really cool.
http://www.emoturismo.com/wp-content...sEmociones.jpg
~PS: shame looks like spiderman? :lmao:

It seems anxiety and fear are almost identical, except for the upper torso involvement. Seems accurate as to how I feel some of those.
And yes, I thought shame looks like spidey.