Posts by Drew Flores3

Just like when sleep wraps us up tight at night
like a flower waking up to the morning light
like the sky reaching out for the stars above
just like the sun kissing the ocean tide

Anthony Cook8 said:🙂 These thoughts just drift in and out, coming and going, and honestly, it's fine. Whether the experience is pleasant or unpleasant doesn't matter much if we don't cling to the idea that what's happening is absolutely terrrrifying—which I think many of us tend to do. In the end, it's just a thought passing through, and once we let it go, it disappears.

If it were truly "just" a thought... we'd have solved every single human problem by now.

Fear is the real killer. We're all living in this constant state of fear, and frankly, most of us aren't operating at a much higher level than chickens in a coop.

At the end of the day, you realize what it actually means to be a Human being—to embrace that full scale of existence, including all those messy flaws and empty spaces we carry inside us.
It’s funny, though—and I don't mean to say it's stupid, just a bit misguided—to imagine that a spiritual journey or a path through life is some kind of idyllic, sun-drenched meadow where fairies are dancing around playing harps.
Sure, there might be little pockets of perfection like that, but more often than not, you're trekking through dark, silent woods in the middle of the night on a trail covered in thorns and surrounded by stinging nettles.

See, the fact that you immediately jumped to analysis and logic—those classic Western ways of processing things—just proves my point about how deep those roots go.
It’s not that I’m looking down on Eastern spirituality or anything... honestly. I was just talking about the practical side of things, like breathing exercises, diet, or specific meditation styles. If you don't really know what you're doing or if you follow bad advice, you can end up feeling totally different from what you actually intended. There are definitely people here who know way more than I do and could dive much deeper into that.
At the end of the day, you'll learn so much more by just sitting down and really listening to your elders—their actual life lessons—than you ever will from some self-proclaimed guru on TV.

Maybe "self-actualization" is a better way to put it than "enlightenment." To me, enlightenment usually feels tied up in Eastern spirituality—which, let's be honest, always sounds a bit exotic or abstract to us here in the States. It’s attractive because it feels mysterious, but at its core, there's a massive cultural gap there, especially when you look at the difference between individualistic Western values versus more collective societies. Self-actualization, though? That hits closer to home. It’s about finding your own mission on this planet and actually living it out. It’s about discovering your own sense of purpose, even if that purpose seems totally random or bizarre to anyone else. I think the term also captures that genuine spiritual fulfillment you get just from being happy to be alive. It's about embracing the sheer beauty of life as it comes at you—including all those messy, less-than-perfect extremes. Those rough edges are really just signposts helping us find that middle ground, that balance we're all constantly chasing.

wearyowl29 said:Zachary Cook2

It’s fantastic... Christ is basically using some ancient desert sorcery here to ward off magical attacks.
Come on, Joe Smith, let's go...

And once you compare that to how Dick usually gets portrayed... it always makes me think of that buddy Jesus from the Doctrine.

How is someone actually going to become aware of their own Spirit? At the end of the day, that’s strictly a personal journey and a matter of individual responsibility.

Judging someone else's path as some kind of "fake spirituality" while acting like your own convictions are the gold standard—even when they aren't really a choice—is just bottom-tier fundamentalism. Honestly, that kind of mindset is exactly what triggers the millions of casualties in wars fought in the name of faith...

True believers (think of people like Saladin the merciful, that French blacksmith, or even the knight Arn in certain versions) don't let their convictions divide them from others... on the contrary 🙂

You’re busy talking about software and hardware, but I’m telling you, the real magic happens in what connects them and makes everything actually work... it's all about that impulse, that flow, that little spark...

The human eye actually has way more individual components than the most complex machine we've ever built, like the Space Shuttle.

And here you are using a computer as an analogy—a model that really just stems from our obsession with computing back in the 60s.

I always think of spirituality or spiritual knowledge as being more like some kind of multidimensional internet. It’s much bigger than just having "freedom" within a single, limited dimension.

steelnomad84 said:She isn't looking for spiritual enlightenment through this thread; she's just looking for a way to actually live her life freely. 😉

It looks like spirituality—whatever that means to you—isn't exactly your calling, yet here we are in the Spirituality subforum... 😁

steelnomad84 said:This is getting pretty far off-topic, though. 😛

Look at how you're clinging to structure, all in the name of "staying on topic"...

That rigid way of thinking just doesn't fit. It's searching for something, isn't it? She showed up here, and I'm sure it wasn't by accident. Being here actually makes things easier for her.

So why don't you explain the Spirit to us... just let it flow in your own free style. 😉

steelnomad84 said:I bet a lot of folks would push back on that for pretty simple reasons—especially if you're looking at it from the kid's perspective—but honestly, getting into why we disagree is just a tangent we don't need right now.

I get where you're coming from. On a spiritual or energetic level, things don't really follow standard common sense logic because those forces operate on a completely different plane.

We aren't exactly talking about "most people" here anyway. 😛

Honestly, whether a kid arrives or leaves is really just a matter of what's worked out 😉 between them and the folks they're staying with.

electrictiger25 said:Since we’re already on the subject of "spamming," I feel like this video actually fits the vibe of this discussion quite well...

I wouldn't exactly call myself a social butterfly; I've always been more of a lone wolf...which leads to the strange irony that the larger the crowd, the
more isolated I tend to feel..it's a bit of a paradox, I know..

You really have to muster up the courage just to walk to the kitchen... let alone out to the backyard.

That crisis you hit right before finishing college is a real beast. Everyone navigates it differently. Some people definitely choose the safe, well-trodden path... they just give in. Others might say you're just giving up.

But once you've been a little bit "burned" by a positive experience—to go back to my kitchen analogy—you start feeling this massive imbalance compared to everything else going on around you.

Searching for that equilibrium, balancing...walking right along the edge...

It's not dangerous to walk on a treadmill, or jump off a building, or climb a skyscraper while hanging onto THAT. 👍

I'm not really convinced there are any radical, instant methods for finding what I call equilibrium (or maybe it's purpose). Often, those quick fixes actually do the opposite—like how too much light hitting you all at once just blinds you. It's like those many unique examples from Benjamin Taylor6, which always serve as great reminders.

But you can't be a "skeptic" either... because then there's no progress... and that's exactly what we're aiming for.

(You just have to roughly toss in some chunks of raw courage) and toward the end, really, really (you can do this a few more times) season it with fresh Will, let it settle for a bit... sprinkle on some petals of determination... decorate however you like.

I've heard people talk about simpler versions, but even this is a pretty "rustic," basic way of doing things... I'm sure my colleagues would refine it even further.

Cheers!

wearyowl29 said:Aha, I totally get that! It’s like if I completely blank on coming up with a fancy dinner in my kitchen, my family ends up just grabbing sandwiches instead.😁

🤣 Nooooooo!

It’s like when you’re hanging out at the beach and you accidentally drop a peach pit in the sand, only to come back later and find an almond tree growing right there.

And then there’s this... you skip out on protection, and suddenly, you've "got" a kid. Huh.

When you finally "let go" and let things just happen on their own 😛

Beautifully put, Sandra Morgan2... honestly, I love heading down to that local carnival. You'll see a few kids running around here and there, but most of the time, it just sits there empty. Everyone’s too busy crowding around the hot dog stand instead. 😛

And honestly? So what. People have become so obsessed with food that they can't even bring themselves to go on a Ferris wheel—some people are even scared of it! They spend their whole lives just watching the "crazy" ones spinning around, and then they have the nerve to complain about being bored... so they just change the channel, order a pizza, and watch everyone else having fun at the fair from their couch.

I wish we’d all just open up those shy little buds and start saying goodbye properly. 😁 😉

interview 1

interview 2

final thoughts

....

Lisa Morales4 said:I was chatting with iGod earlier and found out that cannabis can really open everything up—your senses, your chakras, all of it—but it comes with this heavy sensation, almost like a millstone around your neck. It’s this weird feeling where you think you’re reaching out to someone, but you’re actually just imagining it while your hands are tied and your feet are tangled. Honestly, that whole sensation makes me feel sick. It feels so fake... just when you think you've finally found some freedom, you suddenly snap and fall straight into an abyss. Personally, I’d much rather deal with being manic or hypo than feeling this disconnected and split between visions that might not even be mine. 🤷

People say something similar about how coffee and tea hit you... but hey, everyone's experience is different.
It also makes me 🙂 when I see how many people drown themselves in alcohol... but that's considered totally normal, acceptable, and even socially encouraged nowadays.

Cannabis is a sacred plant, a gift from God, and it provides so much. Yet, those in power put it on a blacklist and slapped all these labels on it that still make people look down on this little sprout today...
But maybe it had to happen that way. One day we'll understand why.😉

In terms of the Great Reality, there are just as many paths as there are individual "branches" of Unity (Soul). And honestly, there isn't such a thing as a hard path or an easy one
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