Feel like a slave to my own brain.

[zorkchop]

Strangerthanfiction . . .

You are indeed correct. We are all in bondage to our mental patterns. These have been given to us, dictated to us and demanded of us . . . many times under penalty of death . . . mental or otherwise. I suspect in your Google explorations . . . you have been gathering psychic / mental knowledge and VERY little actual spiritual knowledge. The psychic levels of existence deal with the mind / emotions / body. None of these . . . or any combination thereof . . . is Soul Itself. Soul has direct command over all of them . . . but has very little effect or power over any of them until a long ways down the proverbial Path.

Most people don’t even want to consider this dilemma. They continue to feed themselves various mental techniques in their pursuit. The mental habits grow stronger. This is by design . . . we find out what we are . . . by first finding out what we are NOT.

Welcome to the game.

Letting go of everything is more often than not . . . NOT the answer. Tell that to your boss, your mate, your kids, your friends, the police and court systems as you break cultural law after cultural law because you have let go of everything . . . even moral and ethical values. Good luck.

As in any pattern . . . any deeply ingrained habit . . . they do not give up their commanding power easily . . . and giving up substance abuses is easy compared to giving up mental habits. That’s why the vast, VAST majority of people will find ANY “new” belief that will keep them in the mental ballpark.

If you wish to get beyond all of this . . . if you wish to “get beyond” the dogma’s of the organized philosophies and religions . . . you must do what everyone else does NOT do. That is NOT easy . . . and people do not like you doing that. There is “safety” in mental slavery. There is little the mind enjoys more than to bicker . . . endlessly . . . over anything and everything . . . and to even make it up if there is a need to simply find an opposing view or another tantalizing “new way” of perception.

Unseeking Seeker gave you some fabulous advice. One of the first lines of growth . . . is the old adage of “Know Thyself.” His statement about those beliefs that expand or contract the consciousness is a tremendous “place” to start. It is a slow, slow process . . . and the old patterns do NOT give up easily.

All of this becomes an actual way of life . . . and NOT just a giving up of a mental pattern. One bit of advice . . . the mind hates to simply give up a belief . . . or let go of a pattern . . . so one of the best ways is too have a “better” or more beneficial pattern to replace the old. If one wishes to give up anger or apprehension . . . then the focus should be on contentment and courage . . . etc. The “replacement can often be the greater part of the game. To just “give the pattern up” . . . leaves a vacuum . . . and mind will fill that vacuum with just about anything that sounds intriguing. If there is a pattern of YOUR choice that you wish to use to replace . . . whatever . . . you are far ahead of the game. Constant refinement is the name of the game at this point.

Yet again . . . it is a one-step-at-a-time process. One day at a time . . . and often . . . one minute at a time. There will be losses . . . but as the old saying goes . . . if the mind strays 1000 times . . . you back into focus 1001 . . . often with fist-clenching determination and discipline. Finally they become habitual and the effort eases a bit.

As Unseeking Seeker suggested . . . having a support group can be a tremendous help. Choose wisely. When an alcoholic wishes to give up booze . . . the old friends often come out of the woodwork to bring him back into the fold. It an be an agonizing battle.

But . . . take heart. There IS a way beyond . . . and the Path beyond the mental areas is VERY real. This entire system of existence was NOT designed to give “no way out.”

Most people just do not with to put in the time and effort to do so . . . and do not know where to begin in the first place. An incredibly small percentage of those in existence have even begun to consider these steps . . . let alone to begin to design new approaches. Yet there is only one way to do so . . . and that’s to do it.

Eternity is your timeline. You WILL . . . win.

[Tuesday]

When you let go of everything, instead of leaving you with nothing it grants you with love, compassion, knowledge... If you let go of everything you will not head to a bath of a murderer or something else because you have endless compassion and patience. No greed or desire whatsoever that makes you want murder or steal.
If you change the belief to something that suits you better, that might be good for your overall life but it's not a spiritual practice. It's just changing beliefs.
I think the issue op is having is just too much focusing on "spiritual" belief systems.... Not enough focusing on the real life and what it has to offer. Looking at a sunshine might be more beneficial when it comes to spirituality than gathering knowledge from whichever source you can.

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Look in the mirror.
What can't you let go of?
What are you fighting and what are the reasons?
What does letting go mean to you, personally? What are you trying to let go of?
You are he answer looking for the question. You talk of "Spiritual knowledge" but what is that exactly? Ideologies, theologies, beliefs?

“The temple of the most high begins with the body which houses our life, the essence of our existence. Africans are in bondage today because they approach spirituality through religion provided by foreign invaders and conquerors. We must stop confusing religion and spirituality. Religion is a set of rules, regulations and rituals created by humans, which was suppose to help people grow spiritually. Due to human imperfection religion has become corrupt, political, divisive and a tool for power struggle. Spirituality is not theology or ideology. It is simply a way of life, pure and original as was given by the Most High of Creation. Spirituality is a network linking us to the Most High, the universe, and each other…”
Haile Selassie

Spirituality is an inward Journey, it's the Journey to Self if you prefer something more poetic. At the moment your existential experience is being at odds with yourself and being disconnected from yourself - you're trying to find the truth but it's you that decides what you believe to be the truth. You're fighting against yourself but do you really understand who you are, what you are? You are the creator of the reality you have now. You think yourself as being a failure because you haven't succeeded, but do you know what you're trying to achieve, really? What is your definition of Spirituality? Because it's your definitions (or the definitions that you adopt) that defines your reality.

Right here right now, what do you understand of yourself other than the surface layer you've expressed here? What are the reasons you simply can't accept yourself as you are, because that would be the Spiritual thing to do. Don't you like yourself very much, and if not what are the reasons?

I'm stuck in my mind. I feel attached to spiritual beliefs. I want to have opinions on spiritual topics. That's my problem. Because when i don't get the answers i want to find on google then i get obsessed to continue searching endlessly.

I read a lot of channeled material and watch spiritual youtube channels.

Thanks zorkchop and tuesday aswell as everyone else who answered. I checked out Neville Goddard too.

What i just wish is internal peace. I don't want this ocd like behavior anymore... yet then comes the time when i get happy and want to continue searching again. So this cycle is like a reincarnation cycle of desires going back and forth. I'm the perfect example of what Buddha tried to help.

I gotta leave my computer. I'm too depressed. I don't want this mental torture. I will probably continue doing the same thing over and over again. I talk to people in my surrounding about this issue very often. I've talked with mental health experts too but no one can help me. The extreme attachment to wanting to form opinions on different spiritual matters will continue... this probably make me sound weak writing all of this but that's what i feel like, weak.

[Little Creek77]

Turn down the mind chatter and you will be free.

[Tuesday]

Sounds like an addiction.
Do what needs to be done with addictions.Talk to a health care professional and go from there. You said you had already talked to a couple, but usually addictions take several tries and several years to be freed from.

Originally Posted by Strangerthanfiction

I'm stuck in my mind. I feel attached to spiritual beliefs. I want to have opinions on spiritual topics. That's my problem. Because when i don't get the answers i want to find on google then i get obsessed to continue searching endlessly.

I read a lot of channeled material and watch spiritual youtube channels.

Edit:: I was going to suggest you talk to as professional but it seems you've already tried that.

"When we lose our minds we come to our senses."
Alan Watts

It's possible to 'step above' your mind but but takes some courage and a paradigm shift of perspective. Most people - you included it seems - see the Universe through the eyes of their minds but there is another 'layer' of consciousness above and separate from the mind. Consciousness can come in 'layers' and at the moment your consciousness and what you are conscious of are one and the same. When you realise that there is consciousness and what you are conscious of - the 'contents' of your consciousness if you like - you can shift up to the level of consciousness itself rather than what you are conscious of. That also steps 'above' the mind and while the mind is churning away away, you become an observer of your own mind rather than existing AS or FROM your mind.

There is also something called neuroplasticity and, through habit, you can literally retrain your brain. When you take control of your thinking process - which is what you don't have it seems - you can slow down if not halt your obsessions and with enough time your circuits will be rewired. The trick is to work with the brain and not fight against it, because what we resist persists. The other thing to try alongside that is to question your mind when you feel it kicking in and 'talk' to your mind as if it's a person. So when you find yourself hitting Google, think to yourself (out loud is better, if nobody is listening) "What the hell do you think you're doing?" or words to that effect.

If you're brave enough you'll most likely find that there are other factors at work here, and that your obsession with knowing is maybe a symptom of something far deeper., probably in your Shadow Self.

[John32241]

Hello,

Originally Posted by Strangerthanfiction

Spiritual Knowledge: I've absorbed a lot of information from the internet about spirituality but the question is am i doing self harm to me when i dwell constantly on existential questions and try to find the answers to different spiritual questions i have? I want to understand it all. I'm googling and trying to put all pieces together so that i get even more knowledge. However it affects my health negatively because i think so much. I've somehow come to believe that getting spiritual knowledge is important on earth for soul growth. But could spiritual knowledge in the case of soul growth be more about knowledge on how to develop spiritually? Because the answers to spiritual existential questions isn't always easy to find out the truth about and in my honest opinion hasn't made me grow much spiritually.

So is spiritual knowledge more about understanding spiritual techniques, spiritual practices, how to manage them and how to help others? Instead of knowing the supposed truth about spiritual questions which doesn't even make much sense why i should spend my time on. I don't regret having googled spiritual questions but is this what my life is about? Is my life about finding out the answers to spiritual questions? i hope it isn't.

Understanding spiritual principals will happen with practice. It is not an intellectual exercise. Trying to comprehend love does not work. It needs to be applied.

Soul growth is love growth. What is love? That can be a very hard answer to find with the intellect. Some call love compassion for self and others.

There is at least one spiritual training group which exclude men from their classes because their understanding is that men are so locked into intellectual reasoning that they can not learn anything spiritual.

May be you would make a great case study for that belief, or not.

John

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by Strangerthanfiction

Hi everyone. How are you all doing? Hope you have a great day.

I will try to not make to many threads but i feel like i'm at the point in life where i really question what should i do with my life? How should i behave to best express love to my surrounding and heal the world aswell as myself?

Here's a thing i deeply wish to get advice on so that i can continue my journey:

1. Spiritual Knowledge: I've absorbed a lot of information from the internet about spirituality but the question is am i doing self harm to me when i dwell constantly on existential questions and try to find the answers to different spiritual questions i have? I want to understand it all. I'm googling and trying to put all pieces together so that i get even more knowledge. However it affects my health negatively because i think so much. I've somehow come to believe that getting spiritual knowledge is important on earth for soul growth. But could spiritual knowledge in the case of soul growth be more about knowledge on how to develop spiritually? Because the answers to spiritual existential questions isn't always easy to find out the truth about and in my honest opinion hasn't made me grow much spiritually.

So is spiritual knowledge more about understanding spiritual techniques, spiritual practices, how to manage them and how to help others? Instead of knowing the supposed truth about spiritual questions which doesn't even make much sense why i should spend my time on. I don't regret having googled spiritual questions but is this what my life is about? Is my life about finding out the answers to spiritual questions? i hope it isn't.

I want to grow spiritually. I want to be happy. But i'm in a prison in my own mind. I've enslaved myself.

Anyone has an opinion or advice on this matter? Please help. This has been going on for so long. Can someone give an advice? Any intuitive answer?

PS: Really feel ashamed that i write this thread because it feels like all i do is ask questions and complain about my life.

You shouldn't be feeling ashamed to open yourself up to Self-Inquiry, but tell me honestly...has any of that knowledge you have thus far accumulated answered any of those existential questions you have or has it just created even more questions?

I feel as if I can help you out here because I am a veteran of being a slave to my own mind...it is a curse.

We have been conditioned since birth to place much emphasis on gaining knowledge because we tend to associate our sense of identity with how much we know and then tend to follow Rene Descartes "I think, therefore I am" but to be more than what we believe ourselves to already be, means thinking more...until we start thinking about our thoughts...then we start thinking about the fact we are thinking about our thoughts...and so, we distract ourselves by learning more, so that our minds have more fodder to chew when we get bored of knowing what it is we only think we already know...yeah, it is painful.

We learn trigonometry in school...has any of us ever used trigonometry in our day to day lives? What was the point of learning it only to say "I know trigonometry"...or "I can speak Latin"? so beam me back to the Middle Ages so I can speak to others in Latin...but I digress.

There is only one way out for those of us who are a slave to their brains.... meditation!

You have all the answers within you....answers to questions you haven't even asked yet and it is only through having no thoughts that you can find them...but it isn't easy and takes about 3 months of daily practice... resisting the temptation to read up on the latest advancements in Neuroscience or Quantum Field Theory, learning what the best solfeggio frequency is to auto tune the throat chakra or wondering if celery juice has any real health benefits. The internet can give you anything you ask for...often in many contradictory ways, so after reading a few articles on any particular subject, you are none the wiser anyway and end up just believing what resonates best...with you but still fails to answer your initial questions or deeply satisfy in any way.

Just sit and focus on your breath or on a candle and let the thoughts arise and pass by themselves...just watch them but try not to get hung up on any particular thought...of course that is bound to happen, so then just bring your awareness back to your breath or a candle whenever you notice you are thinking about your thoughts and start over again.

You can picture yourself sitting in a movie theater...observing your thoughts like projections on the screen of your mind...frame by frame.

Over time you will notice that your thoughts aren't a continuous stream...there is a pause between each thought...ever so brief and fleeting...try to let your awareness rest within this pause...it isn't easy and it takes practice.

After a while, your mind becomes the slave of consciousness itself...it is like taming a disobedient puppy.

Good luck with it.