Going all spiritual midlife crisis stuff…
Discussion
Anyone else find themselves getting more spiritual ?
For me it started by giving up booze and drugs at age 53 then reading ‘the power of now’, getting into meditation and mindfulness and trying to live more in the present moment .
Anyone else going down this route?
Changing their mindset ?
I’d love this thread to develop into a discussion of living presently, discussing Eckhart Tolle and sharing how our lives and outlooks have changed. I know a lot of people aren’t into this so I ask them to respectfully observe from distance.
Am I alone on PH ?
For me it started by giving up booze and drugs at age 53 then reading ‘the power of now’, getting into meditation and mindfulness and trying to live more in the present moment .
Anyone else going down this route?
Changing their mindset ?
I’d love this thread to develop into a discussion of living presently, discussing Eckhart Tolle and sharing how our lives and outlooks have changed. I know a lot of people aren’t into this so I ask them to respectfully observe from distance.
Am I alone on PH ?
No you aren’t alone at all, I’m 40 and I’m thinking more and more about this, I think it’s the realisation that sometime you must ask your self in the mirror, who are you, and why do you lie to yourself so much.
Really think about that, we all lie so much that we aren’t actually in the here and now, not present with ourselves and who we truly are, warts and all!
I don’t really know where to start but I do follow a guy on twitter, followed him because he trades a lot in crypto and is very aware of all this stuff. @tim_4444
Really think about that, we all lie so much that we aren’t actually in the here and now, not present with ourselves and who we truly are, warts and all!
I don’t really know where to start but I do follow a guy on twitter, followed him because he trades a lot in crypto and is very aware of all this stuff. @tim_4444
It's the reason the "unfollow" button exists on social media exists.
I find it's the usual crowd, first they bin off the drink and drugs when the sprogs come along, then it's all wainwright walks and "fitness goals".
Then they either get divorced or the kids start to ignore them and suddenly they're experts in spirituality and what not, presumably forced on by a bit of realising that a few of those around them have croaked.
I think the short version is they don't have enough going on in their lives and with todays "always on" state of mind they always just go looking for the next thing. There's definitely a correlation with addictive personalities, most of the ones I hear about were all serious wreck heads in our youth, then it's substituted by health and fitness and then well being.
To be honest, I'd rather they're flooding my feed with Iron Man progress reports and some new age quotes on social media than hitting the beak in their mid fifties.
I find it's the usual crowd, first they bin off the drink and drugs when the sprogs come along, then it's all wainwright walks and "fitness goals".
Then they either get divorced or the kids start to ignore them and suddenly they're experts in spirituality and what not, presumably forced on by a bit of realising that a few of those around them have croaked.
I think the short version is they don't have enough going on in their lives and with todays "always on" state of mind they always just go looking for the next thing. There's definitely a correlation with addictive personalities, most of the ones I hear about were all serious wreck heads in our youth, then it's substituted by health and fitness and then well being.
To be honest, I'd rather they're flooding my feed with Iron Man progress reports and some new age quotes on social media than hitting the beak in their mid fifties.
The closer to the grave I get, the more pragmatic and brutalist I become.
I regard life as a bunch of chemical and electrical processes that eventually cease.
Taking that attitude may ultimately lead to similar conclusions to someone who files down their chosen rabbithole, but probably quicker -
Don't waste time, don't give energy to relationships with no value, evaluate and appreciate your own worth, know that you always have a choice, don't be disgusting, value what is good in your life and inform those who add to it.
I regard life as a bunch of chemical and electrical processes that eventually cease.
Taking that attitude may ultimately lead to similar conclusions to someone who files down their chosen rabbithole, but probably quicker -
Don't waste time, don't give energy to relationships with no value, evaluate and appreciate your own worth, know that you always have a choice, don't be disgusting, value what is good in your life and inform those who add to it.
Edited by bloomen on Tuesday 31st December 21:05
bloomen said:
The closer to the grave I get, the more pragmatic and brutalist I become.
I regard life as a bunch of chemical and electrical processes that eventually cease.
Taking that attitude may ultimately lead to similar conclusions to someone who files down their chosen rabbithole, but probably quicker -
Don't waste time, don't give energy to relationships with no value, evaluate and appreciate your own worth, know that you are the one who chooses every moment of your life and its consequences, don't be disgusting, value what is good in your life and inform those who add to it.
Wise words, but not so easy to execute well for me that is!I regard life as a bunch of chemical and electrical processes that eventually cease.
Taking that attitude may ultimately lead to similar conclusions to someone who files down their chosen rabbithole, but probably quicker -
Don't waste time, don't give energy to relationships with no value, evaluate and appreciate your own worth, know that you are the one who chooses every moment of your life and its consequences, don't be disgusting, value what is good in your life and inform those who add to it.
stevemiller said:
Wise words, but not so easy to execute well for me that is!
Definitely often easier said than done, but once applied better things started to happen and crappier things stopped. Perhaps the most important thing is realising you have agency. An awful lot of people don't seem to figure that out for themselves and burn an awful lot of their life either having the agency of others imposed on them, or not making use of their own even when it's what others might want and benefit from too.
Edited by bloomen on Tuesday 31st December 21:12
swanseaboydan said:
I try to live in the moment but I find it hard, anyone else trying to do that ?
Yes I started doing this after a severe bout of anxiety 4yrs ago, I started to do lots of walking, when you walk the pace of life slows down, you can really appreciate things in all their minute detail, i now have learnt that being present in the here and now and appreciating your surroundings and the people you love is the most important thing.bristolracer said:
I’d love to find some meaning in it all.
It’s all bit pointless otherwise
You arrived through no fault of your own. You'll live your bit of life, then you'll be gone again. The universe won't blink. It’s all bit pointless otherwise
You may as well enjoy it, however floats your boat. There isn't a next time where you can use up all those life lessons learned.
Forester1965 said:
bristolracer said:
I’d love to find some meaning in it all.
It’s all bit pointless otherwise
You arrived through no fault of your own. You'll live your bit of life, then you'll be gone again. The universe won't blink. It’s all bit pointless otherwise
You may as well enjoy it, however floats your boat. There isn't a next time where you can use up all those life lessons learned.
100% this. Being born and having a life is like winning the Euromillions triple rollover. It's a terrible shame that so many people, in the hope of an afterlife, don't take advantage of this life, so obsessed are they with the next. Like not spending your lotto win, because one lotto win is just pointless, and you're focusing your efforts trying to win it again.
bristolracer said:
I’d love to find some meaning in it all.
It’s all bit pointless otherwise
I think existence itself can be meaning enough. It’s all bit pointless otherwise
We could've been a speck of solar dust that whisks around one particular Astronomical Unit for a few billion years.
Instead we can do a huge guff, watch a Freddie Starr video or smack a RC car into as many sunseekers as possible on Margate beach before being arrested.
Any entity who can pull all that off is surely the envy of the galaxy.
I went through a very rough patch approx. 8 years ago and started on the self help journey approximately 5/6 years ago. I read a load of books about trauma, with this framework and that framework etc. It wasn't until a friend of mine noticed my over thinking and recommended I explored the 3 principles that really gave me a shift in mindset and calm.
From a brief read, the work of Tolle overlaps with that of Sydney Banks.
Whether right or wrong, I'm a firm believer that whatever technique or framework helps people live in the present and calmness in their mind is valid
From a brief read, the work of Tolle overlaps with that of Sydney Banks.
Whether right or wrong, I'm a firm believer that whatever technique or framework helps people live in the present and calmness in their mind is valid
I’ll have to try Sydney banks - thanks
The books that changed my mindset are:
The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
The Untethered Soul - Michael A Singer
All about appreciating what you have and the present moment rather than lusting after things you don’t need and living in the past or catastrophising about the future.
Some days I can do this, some days not.
For example, I try to live simply, not upset people etc etc but at the same time I do want a fast car to pose around in.
A long way from being a Buddhist !
The books that changed my mindset are:
The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
The Untethered Soul - Michael A Singer
All about appreciating what you have and the present moment rather than lusting after things you don’t need and living in the past or catastrophising about the future.
Some days I can do this, some days not.
For example, I try to live simply, not upset people etc etc but at the same time I do want a fast car to pose around in.
A long way from being a Buddhist !
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