My thoughts about Steve

[Bene]

I am 23/ M and I am discovering myself. I've been thru a very rough patch from when I was 16. I read steve's articles now and then... not regularly.

And for awhile now I've been immersed in spirituality. I've noticed Steve writing more and more on Spiritual topics. It brings a fresh perspective to my mind. Steve brings to the table for me practicality + spirituality and that is a great combination for me.

I like when you wrote about groundedness vs. connectedness. That was neat.

I think we all here agreed to rendevous here in the physical, from the non-physical. So hi again man . I am sure I'll be using this site alot more in the years to come.

I already have alot of other self-help and spiritual material in my life... but I hope to use this site more often and for fresh ideas.

thanks,
bene

[helgi]

I guess it depends on how you define it, but from my point of view Steve's blog goes way beyond personal development. Or maybe stretching the boundaries of PD and redefining it.

Looking through the archives, it's a very similar trajectory to Wayne Dyer's teachings (although over a much shorter period of time), going from personal development to "personal development and beyond."

And another way of looking at the archives is through David Hawkins' map of consciousness; the articles have definitely been climbing on the consciousness-o-meter over the years.

[Bing Wu]

I find that Steve was very focused on PD earlier during his blogging career, then this past summer he shifted towards consciousness/spirituality, things that are perhaps more abstract from most people. At the time, I found his writing really hard to follow and I gravitated towards reading more PD books on my own. But now, I seem to want Steve to write more about the topics he touched upon during the summer. I'm finding that my consciousness and spirituality have everything to do with my PD, as much as time management, goals, discipline, etc.

I hope Steve isn't discouraged by the many people who say they want him to write on more practical matters, and that he continues to stick to his deepest beliefs and write about the things that really matter, even if only people at a certain level of consciouisness or higher can really appreciate it.

[John Wesley]

I don't really go in for PD. I've never read a PD book and don't plan to. I keep reading this site because I like Steve's writing. He makes very good points with a clear style and draws from his personal experience very well. At times I perceive him to be a bit arrogant, but I have problems myself in that area so who's to judge.

[Angela]

John Wesley -- huh?! Your blog is all about PD!

[John Wesley]

Well I guess you could say that, but the source of my writing is not PD books and I don't write on typical PD themes i.e. L of A or I-M. When I made that comment I was referring to PD as a specific genre. Mainly I write about my personal experiences and things I have learned that have improved my life.

To me self improvement means expanding your perspective and understanding as much as possible, something you can't do if you stick to books categorized as PD. I really have never read a PD book.

I don't want my site pigeon-holed into the PD genre because I think it deals with a lot more. But, if you consider improving your life through self education and reflection to be PD, then I guess my site actually is PD.

[Angela]

Well, I think personal development includes anything that develops you as a person. (she said, profoundly.) You certainly seem interested in that, from your forum posts and your blog. Who isn't, really.

[John Wesley]

Yes, in that respect you are certainly correct.

[John Wesley]

It just struck me what my site is about: living intelligently. You could call this personal development, but for me at least, personal development has the connotation of 12 step programs and other systems that claim to solve your problems. I don't believe there is any perfect system and I think that a lot of people go astray by searching for something to follow without thinking for themselves.

[Bing Wu]

John, I'm totally with you on disliking the whole idea of "Personal Development". I've never been for dangling carrots in front of my face hoping that like some desperate, primordial creature, I run after it with burning desire. In fact, it just doesn't work. Planners, time management, all those things don't tend to work very well for me, yet when I keep myself fed with a steady dose of so called PD material, I do better at life. I agree with you that it is the mentality, the opening of your mind to the possibilities, the raising of your consciousness which is truly worthwhile, not the corny motivational slogans you can past on your wall.

[helgi]

I think the key is to see PD as only relatively important, and also as a valuable stepping stone towards going beyond the personal altogether.

Relatively important, but something to be honored fully none the less. Taking on challenges and living life from the 'life as a game' perspective is very enjoyable, and when you see it as relative you do it only because you can, not because you need to; you play with it.

The trap of personal development and spiritual development etc., is the idea of adding something to yourself, becoming something or reaching some ideal place, in the future. When personal development is all about getting somewhere or becoming something, it's pointless except perhaps as a transitory stage to pull yourself out of apathy.

But when personal development is about the joy of the process, then it's beautiful and worthwhile. And in that way, having goals for the future is always about how it benefits your experience in the present moment. Which is something the rah-rah motivational gurus have a vested interest in keeping a secret, if they themselves even realize it.

[beautyscientist]

I am a very rational person and I find Steve's spiritual side to be very challenging. I find it hard to take all the ESP and subjective reality bit and to be quite frank I don't believe a word of it. BUT..... it has to be said that there is a lot to be said for trying to understand viewpoints you don't share yourself. And this is especially true for someone like myself who has a very "conventional" frame of mind. I can find people who share my world view very easily. I have to seek out people who are genuinely different. That's why I'm here.

[Greg Butler]

If the consciousness is in the gutter, no amount of PD is going to be of help. AA is a good example. When they alcoholic is able to connect with his higher power, then he is able to do personal development without self-sabotage. Consciousness precedes form, not only in evolution but in the mental forms we create for ourselves. The concept of Attractor Energy Patterns that David Hawkins discusses in Power vs. Force shows this very clearly as well. Where our vibrational energy level is determines what we attract into our life.
Getting free from our limited past is crucial in making progress in anything.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Understand that Steve isn't in this for anyhthing but helping you ascend to a higher consciousness and understand how important spiritual development is to personal development. If you have a goal and you reach it, why did you choose that goal and not another? It depends on your context, which is your set of beliefs about reality. It doesn't make sense to go for a goal that's not in alignment with your views on reality. It just won't work.

For example, if you believe that all rich people are evil, then it wouldn't make sense if you set a goal to be rich, even if you believed you'd become rich, because if you don't want to be evil, then you couldn't become rich. This is something I have been struggling with recently, as I see most people who are rich are greedy, like most corporations, who focus more on their need for money and less on the consumer's need as well.

If you are making money actually helping people in an honest manner, I see no problem with you becoming rich. I have to keep it in mind that it's not the money that makes someone evil, but their consciousness, or consciousness itself. If I intend for people to be evil who have money, I'll see more and more of it. But if I relax that belief and say that people are who they are, with or without money, then I can feel good about becoming rich.

It is all about your fundamental beliefs here that impact your personal growth. If you intend to grow, you should have a reason for doing so. If your goal is to wake up early, there had better be a reason. You don't just do things to do them. They should coincide with some sort of context. So now, if you make a goal to make millions of dollars, you should have some sort of feeling about how that would affect you in every facet: emotional, physical, spiritual. You can't just do PD just to see what happens. There has to be some kind of logic behind it, or you'll be like a rat on a treadmill, spinning your wheels for no apparent reason.

Once you realize that your spiritual beliefs and personal growth materials can be considered one, the same, you will start to grow at an accelerated pace into glory and wonder. Just look at things with gratitiude and wonder. Eventually, you'll see what I mean. That is, if you intend to.

[The David]

Originally Posted by Alex Wu

I find that Steve was very focused on PD earlier during his blogging career, then this past summer he shifted towards consciousness/spirituality, things that are perhaps more abstract from most people.

I had never really noticed that until I read this post. He's written quite a few articles this past week or so, though, and they're heavily PD centered.

I would like to read more articles about fitness/nutrition, but mostly just because that's the area I'm currently trying to improve. Lucid dreaming is always an interesting topic, but Erin has quite a few articles on it.

[Jack-b]

Steve's curiosity and interest in understanding the reality which appears to his mind is inspiring. Challenging one's own reality is extremely necessary and in fact vital for any sense of happiness to appear to our mind, appear in our world.

So just wanted to say, thanks Steve, i look forward to challenging all your ideas when i get chance. Although i don't entirely agree with some of the things you have said, i do however respect your enthusiasm and will enjoy posting here.

Create whomever you wish to appear to your mind.

[SeriousKidding.com]

Steve, I find it hard to argue or find any criticisms or downside with your total honesty, sincerity, and just plain outstanding suggestions. You are taking us down your path with you. I've never read a more straight-ahead account of someone's road to happiness and prosperity with a willingness to invite everyone else along for their own personal ride. Kudos, brother!--grant

[rush23]

Like a lot of people coming to this blog, I like Steve's style of writing as well as expressing his ideas. He is clear and concise about what he is saying and is not afraid to tell it as he sees it even if it does make others uncomfortable to entertain such ideas example subjective reality. That is clearly a topic that would be dismissed as 'way out there' by most people.

Although I definitely don't agree with everything he says, I must say he is an innovator and a trendsetter when it comes to PD. In a way, I feel that could learn a lot from reading his blog and explore my own potential without becoming a disciple of his.

For now, I'm just having fun reading his articles.

[elai]

One good metaphor I find for this "subjective reality" thing people are hinting about that I read in some sci-fi book I forgot the title of. It had some sort of 3D/4D cross shaped thing involved with it that bended space time or something like that. They got the schematics for the device from some SETI radio transmission observatory or something similar.

Think of the whole of reality as a big ball and people, things, and what not are small, thin spikes protruding from the ball. Covering the entire ball is a veil held taught across the entire ball. You cannot perceive beyond the veil and thus, all the spikes _you_ can perceive are separate, while its really the same object, a spiky ball.