The Secret To Overcoming Self-Doubt in 8 Short Paragraphs

When it comes to self doubt, the heart should always be your guide. I went through some extreme spiritual investigation to learn that. And it took me partaking in Ayahuascan ceremonies to understand how some of the answers can be found in Christian symbolism.

There are many great truths hidden in Christianity, despite how many allegedly "Christian" movements were held responsible lots of terrible events. Regardless, remember that doubt comes from the emotions and from the mind.

Once you realize emotions are actually... a kind of illusion, an ignorance in a way; that "sinning" is not doing things you should beg for "forgiveness" later on ; and that sin is actually any time you forget the reality of your soul, of your divine presence; of the existence of your heart as a vehicle for the divine to unfold and manifest here on Earth.

And that "forgivness" is but choosing consciously to reunite with the divine, with the power of Love; you begin to hear your heart better and better.

And doubt doesn't exist anymore. For any action that is motivated by the heart is holy, complete and truthful in its own.

Remember, the knowledge of Good and Evil was the first illusion, the first curse to strike human kind. Such duality does not exist. Only love is true. And all actions motivated by the divine love that is always attempting to flow through your heart are certain and rightful.

So set all your insecurities aside, and trust your heart. Love is the only true law, and if your will is placed hand-to-hand with love, your heart will show you the way.

It's funny that the word "love" has been misused so often, and has been used to justify all sorts of evil deeds. Unfortunately, our language is limited; and words can be violent. They can be twisted and used to further many illusions..

Nonetheless, Love is the word that I have chosen to represent the divine force that makes real magic happen.

Truths Every Addict Should Know

Some people are ready. Some people think they're ready. Some others are just going with it. And a bunch are just waiting around, stuck in the same loop. That cycle that, you know, distracts you from getting to the root of the problem, but does a damn good job at keeping you repeating the same god damned patterns.

I suppose most people who struggle with substance abuse haven't really decided to dig deep enough and make a true commitment to healing their addiction. The nature of addiction is something far too complex, no wonder; but there are some key things that should give you enough of a pointer to where to truly work your shit out. I recommend a strong dose of humility, because to digest what you are about to read might require a huge dose of being humble and brutally honest with your own self. But feel free to grow defensive and react. Just understand that that might exactly be part of the truth being shared here.

There's the classic notion that addiction is but a lack of self-love. Of course, if you're doing something that is repeatedly harming yourself for an awesome load of pleasure, the reality is that you are still damaging yourself. And if you loved yourself, you wouldn't do that.

We have to go deeper in the rabbit hole.

The dynamic of addiction is actually a desperate call from your own higher self. If you don't believe that stuff, just call it your "better self", that natural drive that we all have for evolving. It is a motion that has one goal: to drive you as far as you have to go to face your own shadows. The darkest pit. That hollowness that you're just so distracted from, given that your mind is just so overloaded with endless thought streams; you can't even ground just about enough to take a good look at the core of your being and evaluate what is actually going on.

So first, you need to acknowledge that you are GOOD; you've become a PRO at thinking and minding just about every possible thing, except the truth that is patiently awaiting within your heart to be expressed.

If that doesn't make sense to you, then let me know just how much you have payed attention to yourself. How much have you figured yourself out? Enough to end the repetitive cycles of torment you inevitably set yourself to over and over? Perhaps not. I haven't myself.

"So David, if I've became so good at keeping myself busy from my own self; why the hell would I do that, if being in touch with myself sounds like the ideal thing to do?"

You might have heard somewhere that our society is sick. You might not like hearing that, thinking that is just a stupid excuse not to make yourself responsible for your own deeds. Well, both of these things are true. But this is because we are actually extremely intelligent. In fact, at a very young age, you were intelligent enough to develop an entire behavioral agenda to better deal with whatever life situation you were living. And although this is very subjective for every individual, we have all shared something in common: at some point, we learned to feel pleasure in suffering.

Say what?!

Think about it. Would you do these things you do, be it procrastinate or shoot up or drink yourself to death; if they didn't provide any kind of pleasure at an unconscious level? Things like guilt and shame and most often, our very inability to handle the painful reality of a traumatic event; they all give us no other choice other than program ourselves to like pain. By understanding the ways you seek pain, the way you put yourself in the same vulnerable or helpless situation, you will start noticing that you have programmed yourself, in some level, to seek that pain, to enjoy that pain.

Funny enough, we often times bring about the same painful situation into our lives over and over again. We end up with the same kind of partner. We experience the same social drama. Why do we do that?

Well, you have programmed yourself to behave like that. That should be already enough a reason. That is the "safe" way to handle things; the way where you know you will be more "able to take it". 

There is one reason, however, that I like better. 

We repeat the same patterns enough times to, one day - HOPEFULLY - break the spell. With enough repetition and enough driving yourself to misery, you are bound to finally have some a-ha moment where you finally start putting the pieces together. And this is how true, profound change, may start to happen.

If only people could acknowledge the importance of self-investigation, life would be much easier for all of us. But the drive to self-investigate must come up naturally. You must want it. And most people only get there by living their share of pain. 

Sometimes, the spell is far too strong

Not only are we attached to the pain that a certain pattern provides us, it is very common for us to become enchanted by our own life story. Your "life situation", the circumstances you won't shut up about every time you vent out with your close friends or your therapist; you are fascinated by it. You are so very attached to it. It's so special to you. So dear to you. It took you so much work to live through it all, and get the whole story ready to share with others. And there are so many emotions involved that it's hard not to feel attached to it. See, this is why so many spiritual trends talk about "living in the now". It's because that truly is where you can make something happen. Is where real change happens, where you can truly get to know who you really are, take a good look at your life and quit all the limiting behavioral patterns that have brought you all the frustration you've ever experienced. 

Every life story is different. Some people have more defense mechanisms than others. Some people are more "dense" than others. Some have more limiting creeds; and others are more open and ready to process all the change that needs to happen in order for life to guide you towards true fulfillment. To develop just enough of an "opening" to start a true healing process, one needs to work with a therapist. And/or make a serious commitment towards self-investigation.

Regardless of your life story, these three concepts are extremely important to finally start understanding the nature of your addictive behavior, and/or the way you end up bringing about the same unpleasant situations to your life:

• Difficult experiences made you damn good at escaping from what is really going on deep inside your heart
• You have been conditioned to seek, enjoy and repeat unpleasant and painful patterns
• Understanding how enchanted you are by your own life story and letting go of it is key to finding the truth that lurks deep within your emotional reality

I do hope that was anyhow helpful to any of you. I am no exception to any of the motions I listed here. We are all in the same "school"; this one where we get to be human and go through all this stuff. Cheers.

Shedding shells: letting go of everything that's not you

We are so afraid of being nothing.

Throughout our lives, we've created an extensive number of layers that protect our most vulnerable self. The core reason behind all the negativity we experience is the distance we (unconsciously) placed between who we think we are and our true selves. If you feel anxiety, fear, insecurity, jealousy, anger, rage, and especially, the pride that often times even keeps us from acknowledging the flaws we have, this might be a result of a disconnecting from your true self.

Much has been said about a higher self. A better self. A better person. But it so easy to seek an idea of "better" that is promoted by what we see around us. Many cultural aspects, and I'm not going to blame just the media; but the people we coexist with also makes us constantly wonder how inferior we are, and how much room for improvement there is.

We may work throughout our lives on achieving the things we believe will make us become better people. The real problem, however, is when these convictions come not from our hearts, but from our minds.

They may come from a wounded heart. There is so much pain in this world. We are constantly dealing with a stream of what feels like endless being, be it our own or of those ones around us. These negative feelings pass through us. They will always affect us.

When you seek to get in touch with who you really are, you will notice you have done a damn good job at creating a series of mechanisms to ascertain what you believed was the best way to survive. To stay alive. To experience pleasure.

My proposal: practice brutally honest self-investigation. Take advantage of your active mind to increase your focus on self-analysis. Start wondering why you do the things you do. Pay a lot of attention to why you react the way you react. Don't settle for "just because". That is surrendering to the bliss of ignorance. It will keep you further away from the light that is trying to come through you. There's a certain "feeling" every time you get to a true answer, to all the questions regarding your behavior and your reality. Seek that feeling. There are answers. Answers that will solve all the burden that keeps you from experiencing ever lasting joy. I know that sounds impossible, and I admit I haven't gotten there myself. But I can already get the feeling that it is true, it is possible, and one must keep with this investigative process in order to achieve it.

5 Steps to Start WANTING TO DO THINGS Again!

Sometimes, it feels like wanting something is good enough an accomplishment already. We feel so distressed, busy, and disconnected from what really feels meaningful to us; that wanting something is already one hell of a feeling. I feel that most of us have just of sort of "gone along with it" - and we're applying this "carry-on" attitude to just about... everything!

TL;DR (Too Long, Didn't Read) version: How To Want Again

1 - Think about how much of all you've ever wanted... really came from YOU.  Too often our wants are rather unauthentic. It's common to be unaware of how others have influenced us. No matter how cooperative human nature can be, self-fulfillment is key to motivation.

2 -  Seek a self-empowering attitude and take complete responsibility over yourself.

3 - Understand why life can be challenging.

4 - Acknowledge that it's perfectly O.K to be ambitious!

5 - Achieve freedom by growing detached from your physical reality.  Start seeking experiences rather than specific material goals. The material reality is too temporary and unpredictable to rely on. Seek the experience of working at a wonderful job rather than working specifically as a lawyer at ABC Inc. which is the most desired and awesome and recognized company to work for on Earth. Specificity is the ego's way to strengthen itself. When we seek something specific, the ego can become identified with that. You don't want to manifest mental, symbolic idealizations in your life. You want to manifest LIVING experiences that can be felt and lived through.

Of course, we all have these ordinary wants. "I want to eat Ben and Jerry Cookie Dough ice cream today!", "I want a new hair cut", "I want to find a new job"! And these wants are alright, they actually do help in making our lives more dynamic. But anyone who's ever dealt with depression knows that even this level of wanting can be hard to attain. You become... just totally indifferent to all aspects of your life.

But this is not an article only for those who have experienced or are dealing with depression right now. Even people who have never been diagnosed with depression (which are a little hard to find nowadays) can benefit from thinking about this even if for just a moment. How clearly do we know what we want? How much do we want what we really want? And most importantly: why do we want the things we want?

Here's a good way to start your inquiry on "wanting" again: think about how much of your longings are truly yours. How much of the things you wanted were, in fact, attempts to please someone else? Or ways to get validation? A means to be approved by someone? Or to get back at someone?

I know this is very challenging since it is a battle against our own pride to admit we've wanted something because of our parents or some other heavily important, influential figure in our lives. But this is a common human tendency. This can be beneficial. There are people who go into carreer paths that their parents practiclly shoved them into, but who thanks to that have the stability needed to, now, do whatever they'd like. And it can be healthy to want to do good for your loved ones.  But sometimes, carrying out a life full of deeds done unauthentically can be very unfulfilling.

You must remember what things you liked to do because they made you happy. Some reflection on this is extremely important in maintaining your sanity. I'm talking everything from simple pleasures to the carreer goals and aspirations you've always had, no matter how fantasious they may sound today.

This is where you need to get real: how much have you limited yourself from doing the things you truly wanted to do? Are you the one limiting yourself, or is it your "life situation" the one at fault?

Once this level of self-transparency and honesty with yourself has been attained, you may come to understand that you were the only one who kept you from doing those things your heart has always longed for. You may get stuck on blaming someone - your parents, your life circumstances, your background, the lack of money you've always had your entire life or the lack of time - and if that's the case, it is time you seek a more self-empowering attitude. That comes with the price of taking up responsibility for all aspects of your life.

Yes, I know that it might sound insane to pretend that we are not victims of circumstance. Some scenarios, such as the way you were raised, among many other examples, are things you just had never had any "control" over. But now you have the chance to become aware of all of your tendencies. You have the chance to be in charge of what happens in your life, as long as you are cultivating awareness. You cannot explain why certain things happen the way they do. But you can begin to acknowledge the personal power that you have in dictating the things you wish to manifest in your life. This is already a big step. It is no guarantee that you'll attract any of it. But it is a must in developing the attitude that is required to make things happen. To want things, and go after them. To work on your wants.

Take yourself seriously enough to make life worth living! Most spiritual teachers will disagree, preaching that we must acknowledge that life is already a worthy living experience as it is, and that finding meaning in life is but a matter of consciouness and awareness; that it takes but a shift in perception. I do agree with them, but commitment and seriousness are necessary to do your life's true work. Things will only feel like they're natural and fluid and manifesting magically in your life once you've decided to commit yourself to the doing the work that fulfills your heart. The work that resonates with your being. Living is tough, but once you accept how difficult life is, it becomes easy.

It's a weird contradiction. My theory is that we are supposed to live in order to evolve in many ways. When we are determined to endure life's challenges, that allows for an until unknown inner strength to arise. Once this personal power is manifested, most things become a piece of cake. All thanks to this newfound strength!

So, do you want to grow? For that, you will have to live. And what good is life if you don't have any longings? It's okay to be ambitious! It's okay to strive for improvement! Some masters defend that wanting is what keeps us from experiencing inner peace. That detachment is key to enlightenment. In our quest, one must be careful not to damn himself over perfectionism and greed.This is partially true. But I believe the only way to truly carry your heart's truest desire is by being aligned and in touch with your heart. The only way to be in touch with yourself is by being "present". And this state of presence naturally brings a sense of freedom.

Freedom is true detachment. It is not the abdication of all material belongings or professional ambitions. It is the ability to understand that life has plenty of symbols and material experiences which we have to deal with in order to channel into this world our heart's desires. They are means through which we can fulfill our spiritual mission. You can be an atheist as far as I care. Everyone has a "call", something (sometimes, a lot of things) that gets them going. If you can stay connected to that, the pursuit of truly fulfilling goals and their completion will be passionately sought after. 

Everything in the material reality is temporary. But experience lasts. To truly experience life is to make it worth living. For the spiritually inclined, that can have a much deeper meaning. To the skeptic atheist, experience, purpose and meaning should be the very things that won't make life a complete waste of time. People, jobs, relationships, goods, these can all change in an instant.

But purpose lasts. And the quest for self-fulfillment is an ongoing thing.  It is not time bound. It's experiential. Time to get off the limbo and achieve real bliss!

3 Unconventional Reasons Why People Find Spirituality So Awesome

TL; DR (Too Long, Didn't Read) Version:

1) Spirituality makes us less frustrated, because it helps us see how there's a deeper purpose behind everything (that includes those awful, awful awkward situations at work with some of your colleagues that you just wish you didn't have to deal with in the first place)

2) By engaging in self-awareness (which is a common spiritual practice), we become conscious of our heart's truest desires - and acknowledge how important it is that we do what it takes to go after that!

3) Reintegrating all aspects of ourself makes us whole again, and more powerful to make our life truly worth living. All thanks to a greater understanding of why we work the way we do.

The reason why people become so annoying about any spiritual craze is simple. Engaging in some kind of spiritual practice changed them for good. Now they're dying to share that goodness with you. They want you to live the same levels of self-realization they experienced. And the reason why this change happened in the first place, is because spirituality helps us put things into perspective. You see, ever since we became adults it's almost as if we were obliged to shut up and swallow whatever it is that dissatisfies us. There are things we dislike, and that too often we are incapable of changing these very things. Spirituality helps us understand that there is a deeper purpose behind every unpleasant experience. Once you come to learn there is no such thing as misfortune, but only disguised blessings; your life will become a lot less frustrating.

So, once life regains its purpose, and hindrances turn into keys into unlocking a deeper understanding of life's mechanics; this provides us with enough room to see what we are really meant to do more clearly. You might interpret this as some kind of calling, or some kind of mission - but it's nothing other than getting in touch with what really gets you going, and committing yourself to it. It's about reconnecting with your heart and being able to listen and feel what is it you are truly passionate about. And let that passion guide you. You don't feel overwhelmed by all the limitations placed by your current life situation. The awesomeness of being in touch with yourself is enough to keep you motivated, see clearly through all the obstacles in your way, and peacefully work your way towards transmuting the elements that are part of your life into your heart's greatest fulfillment.

Becoming aware of your true mission is what makes life interesting again. The reason why we haven't bothered to care about the spiritual, the deep, the philosophical or the psychological, is because we have grown so accustomed to staying at a "safe" but superficial lifestyle, that anything that could provide us with greater experiences sounds unpleasant, boring and uncomfortable. Perhaps this could be why people go a long way living life as workaholics or party goers, sooner or later giving the shrink (or the psychiatrist) a visit or two. 

Let's wrap this up with that classic "re-encounter with your inner child" thing. This is a big thing in the self-development community. And willing or not, as tacky as the whole idea of that may sound, to strengthen yourself you must embrace all parts of yourself. And often times, we have neglected something that was part of who we were when we were children. One personal example: on meditation, I became aware of a tendency I had when I was very little. I used to watch kids I found interesting playing and doing fun things, but I never had the initiative to go up to them, to socialize and take part in the fun. I always expected to be invited by them. Eventually, I grew proud and even stopped caring about showing that I was "available" - but I'd still secretly long to be a part of the group. I became able to trace this behavior from my childhood and watch how it developed into how I behave socially today. It was a very insightful experience!

Of course, there may be plenty of other quite personal - some obvious, some perhaps extraordinary - reasons why spirituality is something so sweet. Care to share? Post in the comments below!