How do you guys do it?!?!?!?!

[AЯAB]

I had a great opportunity to become an electrician but it wasn't something I could do forever. I had lost myself in the job, my whole life revolved around work doing 12 hour shifts a day coming home to just sleep. I quickly got myself out of that after 9 months. I have been jobless for 3 weeks now and my parents keep hitting me in the head(not literally). I just went back to highschool to see if I can upgrade my courses but they said I must stay back for a year and half in order to take grade 12 university courses. I don't even know what I would do if I go to university, I would just be there to make my parents happy. Right now as I typed that my father walked in telling me I F***** my life up and I have to go work for $10 an hour for the rest of my life and all this bullshit. They want me to be at a high leval so people recognize me but I don't care about that. I just want to live a simple life but to them that isn't good enough. I don't know what to do, what the heck am I supposed to do? How do you guys do it, cultivating the way but at the same time living in this system. I'm only 18, I'm guessing you're all over 20 so please tell me how you do it I need to know. This goes against everything I've learned to ask others for something only I would know but I don't know! I don't know what my interests are, what I will be doing for the rest of my life I am stumped. This is all giving me a headache and my father wont stop rambling.

[deci belle]

Simple is not easy! There are cultural rights of passage. You bit off the technical skill thing. You even got lost in it. Now get the education thing set up and do that. You live in North America. Don't take the opportunity for granted. If you don't know what to do or why, then just dive in and see what happens. What a luxury to consider completing an academic program as something you don't want to do. Don't resist it any longer. Work hard!

[AЯAB]

Simple is not easy! There are cultural rights of passage. You bit off the technical skill thing. You even got lost in it. Now get the education thing set up and do that. You live in North America. Don't take the opportunity for granted. If you don't know what to do or why, then just dive in and see what happens. What a luxury to consider completing an academic program as something you don't want to do. Don't resist it any longer. Work hard!

 

Thank you Deci Belle for replying. It's not that I don't want to go back to school, I honestly do. I went into school today fighting to take the university courses but the guidance counsler insisted that I can't do such a thing and she threw a bunch of college books at me. If I want to go to university I must stay back a year and half in highschool and to my father that is too much time. I already tried the whole dive in see what happens with electrical and yes I learned a lot of skills, I don't regret it but that didn't work out. My mother says to just choose something and go even if you don't like it but that's what I did before and it didn't work. I don't know Deci, thank you for taking time to reply.

[Ambrose_Bierce]

I had a great opportunity to become an electrician but it wasn't something I could do forever. I had lost myself in the job, my whole life revolved around work doing 12 hour shifts a day coming home to just sleep. I quickly got myself out of that after 9 months. I have been jobless for 3 weeks now and my parents keep hitting me in the head(not literally). I just went back to highschool to see if I can upgrade my courses but they said I must stay back for a year and half in order to take grade 12 university courses. I don't even know what I would do if I go to university, I would just be there to make my parents happy. Right now as I typed that my father walked in telling me I F***** my life up and I have to go work for $10 an hour for the rest of my life and all this bullshit. They want me to be at a high leval so people recognize me but I don't care about that. I just want to live a simple life but to them that isn't good enough. I don't know what to do, what the heck am I supposed to do? How do you guys do it, cultivating the way but at the same time living in this system. I'm only 18, I'm guessing you're all over 20 so please tell me how you do it I need to know. This goes against everything I've learned to ask others for something only I would know but I don't know! I don't know what my interests are, what I will be doing for the rest of my life I am stumped. This is all giving me a headache and my father wont stop rambling.

 

I sense that your father fears for you. Either that or thats a brain deduction.

 

Your father is right however. If you want to go through severe muscle pain and become decrepit early in life you will have to work manual labor.

 

Contrary to popular belief manual is not a person.

Sounds bad lol. Yet it is a running gag here... What? I dont see no Manual!

 

If you do have the skill or are aware of your own potential try different things or take some kind of class to find out what field of work suits you the most.

 

That should give you a good direction. If you easily learn things I recommend that you will not be happy with anything just simple. It may be less stress, yet thats just a sign to learn some better coping skills.

 

Searching the forum or google will render a surplus of destressing methods.

 

When your father starts rambling go for a walk or avoid him for a while.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Ambrose_Bierce

[Green Tiger]

I can't presume to know what's best for you, but, from what you've written I think you could use one reminder: You must taste bitter before sweet.

 

Whatever you decide to go after, you can't assume that just because it doesn't start off the way you wanted or expected, that it means it is a bad path for you. On the contrary, some of the best journeys I've embarked on have started out TERRIBLY, only to surprise me later on.

 

Additionally, (and although it may not be the thing for you) if I could do it all over again, I would get into the medical field. I've heard a lot of talk lately about an upcoming 'health care crisis' and people in the medical field should have a lot of opportunity. That is an area that interests me though, maybe not for you.

 

Best of luck.

[Birch]

Well at least you know what you don't want:-)

My two cts, go to uni but unless you're going for something vocational like medecine, I wouldn't spend too much cash on an undergrad.

The paperwork is for the other people, not you.

If i had to re-do, I'd take rhetoric and stats, maybe business so you can start up your own thing.

I don't know what to do about parents except leave the house. As long as you're counting on their approval it's tough IME.

I didn't listen to mine about life direction because i only had to look at them to know that i wouldn't follow their advice.

Find people who are doing things you are interested in and ask them how they went about it.

[Sloppy Zhang]

I'm 21 years old, and a senior in college.

 

Truth be told, I don't practice nearly as often as I could or as I want to.

 

I cut my practices short once they reach around the hour and a half mark. Sure, I could feel as if I could keep going for another hour and a half. But I can't do that when I need to get back and do homework, or go back to my job. I've already picked my practice over my course of study- I chose something that I liked and was relatively easy for me to accomplish, as opposed to the thing that I had an interest in but which would have been incredibly hard for me to accomplish, simply because I wanted to allow myself more time to practice.

 

Who knows how that's going to wind up playing out in the future.

 

I also went to college mainly for my parents. I thought about taking a year off after high school, or taking some classes in a community college to see what I liked. My parents wanted me to "stay on track" since I got into a good university right out of high school. At big (liberal arts, in this case) universities, you have to take a shit ton of courses to be "well rounded"- these are mostly pointless courses that everyone tries to find the easiest ones so they can save their GPA. It is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen. To graduate, one must have 120. I added it up, and I realized out of those 120, I will have spent roughly 35 in classes that I actually enjoyed and classes in which I can honestly say I got something out of it. Total waste of time, and total waste of money.

 

The thing is that the "prestige" of the university is almost (more?) important than the content. When I start applying for real jobs next semester (instead of just internships and stuff) we'll see how that works.

 

When you say "grade 12 university courses", I'm assuming you mean something like advanced placement (AP) courses. You need to fight to get in those. I'm going to assume you're going to a public school, and that you're in America. Public school administration is lazy and stupid, full of excess (like most school administration.....) They have cushy jobs- they roll in at 9, take a lunch break at 12:30, get back at 2, and then leave at 2:30. Not even joking, that was the schedule for the academic services at my high school (and the university schedule ain't that different). They are averse to doing work.

 

So here's what you do: you have to make it so that doing "less" work means them putting you in the class that you want. You have to fight their inertia. Right now, it is easier for them to tell you "no" and watch you walk away. You need to make it easier to tell them "yes". That means start asking them "why", start telling them your situation, tell them you don't have a year to waste, tell them you want to go to college and study engineering (lie to them, engineering is what smart people do, show them you have a goal, or they won't take you seriously). If they won't do what you want, get your father to give them a call.

 

Seriously.

 

A huge portion of Asians went to my high school. The whole "asian parent" stereotype is true. Those parents will drive down to the school and yell at anyone they come across until their kid gets put in the hardest, smartest, most rigorous class. That's because Asian parents know that school administrators are lazy and have overpaid, cushy jobs. They don't want to rock the boat. Adding kids to class rocks the boat. Having parents yell at you threatening to call the city council or whatever rocks the boat more. So they add you to the class. It happened all the time in my high school. There is no reason why it wouldn't happen for you.

 

Also realize that advanced placement tests (AP tests) are administered by the college board. NOT by the high schools. You have to pay a fee and show up to a testing site to take the test, usually outside of normal school hours (sometimes during the middle of the weekday, sometimes on Saturday). Since a lot of high schools offer AP (to attract smart, college bound students), a lot of high schools make it easy so you can pay through the school. But don't get confused: your school is NOT in control of the examinations.

 

And ultimately, it's your score on the AP exam which determines how much (if any) college credit you get. What score you need on what exam depends on what college. Some colleges won't give you credit unless you score a five (highest). Some will give you credit if you score a three or above (three, four, or five- middle to highest).

 

The grades you get in the "AP class" in high school depend on your teacher in high school (a lot of things "depend on your teacher"- it's a fact of modern life- get a bad teacher, and you can seriously get screwed). So if you have a teacher who gives lots of assignments, and who has an anal grading policy, you may have lower grades in the class, but may score well on the AP exam at the end.

 

Furthermore, some schools have rules about having a minimum grade in the class before taking an exam- this is bullshit, and it's a rule there to protect the school's reputation, because it looks bad if they have 200 kids taking the AP exams, and the average score they get is a 2 (1 being the lowest). So you need to understand this, and if they try to bar you from taking the AP exam, give them a hearty "fuck you" (in your mind, because if you say it out loud, you'll get in trouble), and take the exam anyway.

 

That said..... AP exams, and AP classes in general, are hard. Don't take them unless you're sure you want to take them. Okay, nevermind, fuck that. If you want to take them, take them, and if you do poorly (C or D), you'll still get a better education than you would in the stupid classes (just don't fail them). C's in AP exams look better than B's in regular classes, and sometimes even better than A's in regular classes. Colleges know what is important in administrations.

 

 

Now, when it comes to colleges. Seriously do not overlook community colleges, or small state colleges. As I said earlier, if you go to a big university you have to put up with a lot of bullshit classes. If you want to study engineering or computers, you have to wait until you're a junior or even a senior to get your hands on some materials and actually start doing stuff. Freshman, sophomore, and sometimes even your junior year, you'll be taking bullshit courses to "round you out"- English, writing, blah blah blah blah blah. If you're an English major, you have to take extra sciences, math, blah blah blah. Again- you'll be doing a lot of things you don't want to do, and you won't be able to get a gauge of what you actually want. Plus, you'll be spending money on that shit. Unless you have a scholarship, in which case it's still a waste of time/money. Not your money, but your time. And you can't get time back.

 

However, if you go to a community or a small state college, you can get right into the classes that you WANT to take. So if engineering/computers really isn't your thing, you find out your FIRST semester freshman year, rather than your fourth semester (second semester sophomore year), when you finally get to take your intro to engineering, and find out it sucks and you hate it, but are pushed by the academic advising people to declare a major (again, this isn't for your sake, it's for theirs- they look bad if they have a bunch of students who take 5 years to graduate, and it's a waste of their resources if they have people sticking around).

 

Community colleges/small state schools get you in the door fast, have a no-nonsense approach, and typically cater to people who didn't do well in high school anyway- minorities, dropouts, people who didn't go to college but who lost their job/failed at their career and want a second go, but don't have the funds for a big college.

 

You can finish your degree there, in some instances, in 2 years. Not to mention that you can transfer to a bigger university, and have your credit transfer over- so you'll pay less to get your bullshit credits out of the way, and go right into doing the stuff you want to do (which you discovered at your small school) at the big university. Bigger universities like to keep a certain transfer rate, because it creates the illusion that they are helping people "move up" in their education. So there's an instance in which you can exploit something that is for their benefit and not yours, but you can use it to your own benefit.

 

 

 

Sorry for the super long post. I really hate the education system. Most of it is a pointless waste of time. "Red tape", to get you into places that actually do stuff. Big universities get funding for science research projects- sometimes they have professional quality labs, and if you're a student with the right credentials, you can get access to that. Which is a big plus. But if you are doing pretty much anything that doesn't require a particle accelerator, universities are pretty much just a "name" that you can have on your resume.

 

And let's not forget personal contacts and recommendations. Network and get to know people. They will get you in the door and move your resume up to the top of the pile with a little gold star that says "I think you should strongly consider this candidate". You'll get wind about jobs you didn't even know existed, and things that just don't turn up on google or any of those job hunting websites. Universities are great places to make those contacts- go to seminars and talks and stuff, and get talking to your professors and teachers. Even if they aren't your own, find out what research people are doing, and go find stuff that interests you.

 

Even if your interests are spiritual, find an Asian religious studies person and talk to them about meditation across cultures or whatever. That shit gets people saying "hey, that person has some ideas", and they'll think of you whenever new positions open up.

 

Teachers usually have some relevant experience in the field that they are teaching. They generally know people who know people, and know what's what. Find some that you like, become friends with them, get them to know your name and be able to associate a face with that name, as well as interests. Get them talking, talk to them, and drop hints that you're looking for something along the lines of a job/career. They "just might have the thing for you".

 

 

And basically, along the way, you're going to have to put cultivation on the back burner. Pay attention to school, set yourself up, get a job that can earn you some steady income. Along the way, do what you can. If it comes down to meditating vs homework, the safe money is on homework- you're more likely to get a job to sustain you than you are to suddenly reach enlightenment to sustain you.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Sloppy Zhang

[thelerner]

I can't presume to know what's best for you, but, from what you've written I think you could use one reminder: You must taste bitter before sweet.

 

Whatever you decide to go after, you can't assume that just because it doesn't start off the way you wanted or expected, that it means it is a bad path for you. On the contrary, some of the best journeys I've embarked on have started out TERRIBLY, only to surprise me later on.

 

Best of luck.

 

I think Green Tiger is onto something. I was just giving my young kids 14 & 11 the speech about going through hard times. When school is done, life will be harder. Long hours, low pay, scraping buy. Be smart and it ends after a few years, be stupid and you're indentured servant the rest of your life.

 

Seems like you've got some valuable skills in electronics. That puts you a few pegs above the rest of the population. Maybe you can find a way to use those skills in a setting that isn't 12 hours a day. There may be possibilities, some hard to find, that your missing.

 

Where are the electronic jobs? Start hitting them, big..small, not even for a job, just look in, see if you can talk to someone, see what they're doing, where the money is. Look at them like an investigative reporter getting the facts.

 

Don't give up, or in to despair. Look at the big picture, big creative and willing to eat bitter for a while.

[Sloppy Zhang]

I think Green Tiger is onto something. I was just giving my young kids 14 & 11 the speech about going through hard times. When school is done, life will be harder. Long hours, low pay, scraping buy. Be smart and it ends after a few years, be stupid and you're indentured servant the rest of your life.

 

Seems like you've got some valuable skills in electronics. That puts you a few pegs above the rest of the population. Maybe you can find a way to use those skills in a setting that isn't 12 hours a day. There may be possibilities, some hard to find, that your missing.

 

Where are the electronic jobs? Start hitting them, big..small, not even for a job, just look in, see if you can talk to someone, see what they're doing, where the money is. Look at them like an investigative reporter getting the facts.

 

Don't give up, or in to despair. Look at the big picture, big creative and willing to eat bitter for a while.

 

Yes, definitely. Do not overlook your 9 months of job experience. And really, for 18 years old, that's valuable experience that other people, who may just be working part time or not at all, don't have.

 

You can leverage that for a lot, and can turn it into something beneficial.

 

So you can say that you're more of a "doer" than a passive learner, so you wanted some experience away from school and in work. The work was hard, but it's something that you are glad you went through (never complain). You realized that education was important just as well as experience, so you decided to go back to school and get your education finished, and you have a better perspective than you did before.

 

^Maturity and perspective are huge bonus points, and colleges like that, as opposed to the 18 year old who's happy to leave home so they can drink and fuck as much as they want.

[gendao]

Ya, balancing Heaven and Earth can always be a tough act, lol..

 

Things are also changing alot with college lately. Only a decade or 2 ago, simply having ANY college degree guaranteed you a decent job upon graduation.

 

But nowadays, that may only be true for select "employable" majors in more "functional" (not merely academic) fields like science, medicine, CS, law, etc. Meanwhile, universities can cost like $10K-$50K per year now. So, you really have to look at it as a HUGE investment in time & money now. Personally, I would only go to college for an "employable" major now. Forget all the fluffy liberal farts crap - unless you can just afford to blow $100K for stuff you could learn yourself for free on the internet, lol!

 

And look, let's face it. The Baby Boomers overspent all your inheritance and so you are now coming in at the bottom level of their pyramid scheme. So, don't expect too much help from the Feds or other public assistance in the future. We are entering the age of self-help, self-inquiry & self-reliance!

Edited September 12, 2011 by vortex

[Sloppy Zhang]

Personally, I would only go to college for an "employable" major now. Forget all the fluffy liberal farts crap - unless you can just afford to blow $100K for stuff you could learn yourself for free on the internet, lol!

 

Pretty much. Unless you planned to work in academia, or look for research opportunities through a university.

 

If it's a skill that you can learn on the internet for free, as a general rule, don't be spending money to learn it at a college/university.

 

If it's something that requires resources that you can't provide for yourself, then go to school for it.

[ion]

I had a great opportunity to become an electrician but it wasn't something I could do forever. I had lost myself in the job, my whole life revolved around work doing 12 hour shifts a day coming home to just sleep. I quickly got myself out of that after 9 months. I have been jobless for 3 weeks now and my parents keep hitting me in the head(not literally). I just went back to highschool to see if I can upgrade my courses but they said I must stay back for a year and half in order to take grade 12 university courses. I don't even know what I would do if I go to university, I would just be there to make my parents happy. Right now as I typed that my father walked in telling me I F***** my life up and I have to go work for $10 an hour for the rest of my life and all this bullshit. They want me to be at a high leval so people recognize me but I don't care about that. I just want to live a simple life but to them that isn't good enough. I don't know what to do, what the heck am I supposed to do? How do you guys do it, cultivating the way but at the same time living in this system. I'm only 18, I'm guessing you're all over 20 so please tell me how you do it I need to know. This goes against everything I've learned to ask others for something only I would know but I don't know! I don't know what my interests are, what I will be doing for the rest of my life I am stumped. This is all giving me a headache and my father wont stop rambling.

 

 

I'm 36 years old. You can be a spiritualist and live in the world, but you can't be on the path and live in the world. The path will lead you away from the world. But if you are religious and "worship" a deity you can live in the world, because religion is stationary.

 

It is difficult, but the fact that your interest aren't in the world and you dont care about status in the heirarchy should make it easier for you, because that very thing will in no way advance you in the world.

 

Capitolism/consumerism require that you aspire for status and wealth, if everybody didnt, the system would cease to be the moment they all stopped desiring.

 

It requires all the people at the bottom desire a position at the top, or believe that through hardwork that they can advance upward...the high needs the low for a foundation.

 

This is the Tao of the system.

 

The top needs the bottom as its foundation- both physical and spiritual/mental. There needs to be an exploitable mass in competition for the lowest position so that there is a collective force sustaining the corner stone of the system, (there are millions of people praying for the cornerstone of the strata to be there by desiring the job, they live in poverty yet justify its causation by desiring its fruits).

 

The people that have aquired the lowest positions have to desire a position at, or approaching the top,(they call it ambition) of the stratafied system, and by doing so there collective attention of that ideal is another layer in the foundation of the top of the system, and so is their works behaviour and what they pay homage to.

 

They have to believe that the work they are doing will advance them upward, and thus they rationalize the work they are doing, and justify the lowest positions with there own thoughts and mind. So the top has a solid, unshakable foundation, the prayers and desires of the bottom.

 

The system that is, requires that you desire materiel things and positions of power, that is its foundation. That we all think we need a car and a house, and that we believe that the earth requires 40 hours of work a week for basic survival purposes, and that all the delights of life are only found in places that buy & sell things.

 

You cannot believe that to constantly fullfill your desires is better then the cessation of desire...Your boss will fire you and no one else will hire you.

 

The only reason there is such a thing as a boss is because other people want to be one. So if one goes away another one will surely take its place. Yet if noone cared to give orders no one would take them either so if the bottom is content the top will cease to exist.

 

When ever you take part in something you give your energy to it and it cultivates you. If you are in the world/system then you are supporting and maintaining the system and it is cultivating/culturing you.

 

 

The principles that support the current system, the concepts and ideals that you must hold in order to give your self to the system are contrary to Tao, yet like all things, the system utilizes tao, and exploits the Tao in humanity for its survival.

 

I would suggest that we all give up on the world for the sake of humanity.

Edited September 12, 2011 by ion

[Harmonious Emptiness]

If you want to practice The Way, 8fold path, meditation in action, right vocation/action/attention/concentration/meditation: an electrician is one of the best opportunities.

 

You can be generous in your work and in what you do with the extra $$$$

 

No matter what you do, it's how you live/do it..

[mYTHmAKER]

There is the Johnson O'Conner Research Foundation

They are very good at helping one determine what they would be good at and what they would enjoy doing.

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=johnson+oconner+foundaton&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[zanshin]

Does your "simple life" involve living in your parents house? Try to see it from your dad's perspective instead of grumbling about the guy. You actually can work 12 hour shifst when you're 18. A plan to work less than 12 hour shifts by the time you're 28 and then have simple life while supporting yourself would be reasonable and fair to everyone. Since you have been home with minimal responsibilities the past three weeks hopefully the house is now sparking clean, all laundry and yard work done and all your parents electronics running perfectly.

[ion]

I'm 36 years old. You can be a spiritualist and live in the world, but you can't be on the path and live in the world. The path will lead you away from the world. But if you are religious and "worship" a deity you can live in the world, because religion is stationary.

 

It is difficult, but the fact that your interest aren't in the world and you dont care about status in the heirarchy should make it easier for you, because that very thing will in no way advance you in the world.

 

Capitolism/consumerism require that you aspire for status and wealth, if everybody didnt, the system would cease to be the moment they all stopped desiring.

 

It requires all the people at the bottom desire a position at the top, or believe that through hardwork that they can advance upward...the high needs the low for a foundation.

 

This is the Tao of the system.

 

The top needs the bottom as its foundation- both physical and spiritual/mental. There needs to be an exploitable mass in competition for the lowest position so that there is a collective force sustaining the corner stone of the system, (there are millions of people praying for the cornerstone of the strata to be there by desiring the job, they live in poverty yet justify its causation by desiring its fruits).

 

The people that have aquired the lowest positions have to desire a position at, or approaching the top,(they call it ambition) of the stratafied system, and by doing so there collective attention of that ideal is another layer in the foundation of the top of the system, and so is their works behaviour and what they pay homage to.

 

They have to believe that the work they are doing will advance them upward, and thus they rationalize the work they are doing, and justify the lowest positions with there own thoughts and mind. So the top has a solid, unshakable foundation, the prayers and desires of the bottom.

 

The system that is, requires that you desire materiel things and positions of power, that is its foundation. That we all think we need a car and a house, and that we believe that the earth requires 40 hours of work a week for basic survival purposes, and that all the delights of life are only found in places that buy & sell things.

 

You cannot believe that to constantly fullfill your desires is better then the cessation of desire...Your boss will fire you and no one else will hire you.

 

The only reason there is such a thing as a boss is because other people want to be one. So if one goes away another one will surely take its place. Yet if noone cared to give orders no one would take them either so if the bottom is content the top will cease to exist.

 

When ever you take part in something you give your energy to it and it cultivates you. If you are in the world/system then you are supporting and maintaining the system and it is cultivating/culturing you.

 

 

The principles that support the current system, the concepts and ideals that you must hold in order to give your self to the system are contrary to Tao, yet like all things, the system utilizes tao, and exploits the Tao in humanity for its survival.

 

I would suggest that we all give up on the world for the sake of humanity.

 

 

I was just reading another thread in this forum and came across a quote from the diamond sutra(budhism). I thought I'd use it here to validate my point about srious mind cultivation only being possable up to a point...

"This is why the Tathagata always says, 'Ye Bhiksus, know that the teaching that I expound is like a raft. Even the Dharma must be cast aside; how much more so no-Dharma.'"

 

Even the teachings of a teacher of liberation are only a gudelines to help you along the path and are eventualy to be renounced/surpassed or whatever. Even the dharma itself(the path)is to be cast aside, how much more so no-dharma(the world).

 

If your goal is to undo the fetters of the mind you will at some point have unfettered the things that tie you to household life and a wordly existence period. You will have over come the fears and worries that tie you into the world economy.

 

The more you pursue things like an education and school, the more engulfed in the system you'll become and more psychologicaly and egotisticly in support of it, because it will be a huge part of your identity.

[ralis]

IMO education is very important and that does not necessarily mean a university education. Given the chaotic state of the economy, many college graduates are finding work in their chosen profession difficult and many times impossible.

 

I think the most important skill anyone can master is critical thinking which will give one the ability to sort through confusing disinformation, whether it be family, political, education and in your case career choices. Given your age, it is much too early to pressure yourself for life long career decisions. If I were you, I would pack my bags and travel for a few years and use that time to really get to know yourself and perhaps interact with other cultures. In that process, you could learn a new language, meet interesting people and have a great time.

 

I would also recommend the Silva programs, which have been of immense benefit to me in overcoming BS that was rooted deep in my psyche. I would recommend Laura Silva's programs which are more up to date than what her father taught.

 

I have several papers on critical thinking and would be glad to forward via email to you.

Edited September 12, 2011 by ralis

[ralis]

I forgot to mention that I have 7 years of college with a degree. In spite of all the course work, what I value most, was learning how to think well.

[AЯAB]

It said I had posted too many quotes so I deleted the quotes and just left the names of those I replied to. Sorry if it's difficult to read XD.

 

I know everything my father says is right. He has been telling me the manual labour thing for years now XD. Simple things are good as long as it's not repeating the same thing over and over and over and over, maybe repitition is good but my last job was all repition. 90% thinking 10% work, a lot can fit into 10%. Thank you for replying (:

 

Thank you my friend. I understand about it being hard at first, I am willing to suffer for a couple years 100% but I took some hard thought into making the decision of quiting. The electrical field seems as if it is blooming with money and it is such a great field (it is) but there is no suffering at first than tasting the nectar later. It is suffering till the end looking for drops of nectar. Yes eventually I would have gotten paid more but even if they did pay $1000/h it is simply not worth the time that is lost in my life and the physical strain I have put onto my body. I don't know about the medical field, it's not something I ever had interest in. Now TCM would be pretty cool but I don't know if that has a future. Anyways thank you for replying (:

 

Yes you seemed to find the good in this situation, now I now what I don't want XD. Yeah I'm not going for anything medical, I wanted to become an electrical engineer but that was just a little fib I hid behind. Given the circumstances I probably won't even end up going to university. Thank you K for repling (:

 

Thank you sloppy zhang for that long reply I greatly appreciate it. You however did lose me at all that AP stuff. I'm not familiar with the education system in the US as I'm from Canada. I get what you are saying about the whole asian parent running down the school. I have seen it happen and I know my father will be willing to do that anytime of the day XD. I don't know though about putting stuff on the back burner. Life is short, I'm only 18 I don't want to spend all my life studying when in the end it's just a false identity I've created for myself which is only feeding this ego I am so dearly trying to rid myself of. I did a lot of that networking stuff when I was working electrical. I can get back into it anytime I want with several people willing to hire me but I know deeply that it is not something that is for me. For know I don't know dude, it seems as if things are going good for you I'm gonna give this college thing a shot. Thanks for replying man (:

 

My skills in electrical are no where valuable. Sure I learned many things, I can wire a whole house by my self, work with pipe, trouble shoot small problems, but the work was more manual labour anyone could do it. My job wasn't in electronics it was electrical construction and maintenance. So my primary job was doing the electrical for residential and commercial jobs. I don't know anything about electronics XD. Right now since I am just an apprentice and not licensed it is illegal for me to do sidejobs and what not so I can't make any money unless I'm working for a company. Eating bitter in the electrical field means eating bitter till I retire. Thank you for taking time to reply (:

 

 

I feel you. Yeah I have no where close to 100K. I understand your views on college but right now that seems like the only answer, when I find a program. Thank you for the reply (:

 

 

When I first started working I could relate a lot to the tao. Things such as if you approach everything as a difficulty than nothing is difficult. Or when I was given a job such as doing the rough in for electrical of a 3 story house I would take everything step by step instead of looking at the whole job and being overwhelmed. Those feelings towards the job however did not last. Thank you for replying (:

 

They are only in the states, thanks though. My father however phoned one of his friends and he told me he can help me with my studies and if I don't know what to do he said he has a test he can give me to see what I am interested in, similar to the link you sent me. Thank you for replying (:

 

No my simple life doesn't involve living in my parents house forever XD that would be the lazy life. I know where my father is coming from, he wants me to be better than he was and he only does it for the love he has for me. Of course I can work 12 hour shifts when I'm 18, do I want to? No. We had people working for the company who were in there 50's doing the same shifts I was doing and they were fulled licensed and had there masters. The first week at home I left to go camping in the backcountry alone so no chores were done XD. However I have been helping around the house, I have to. Thank you for repling (:

 

Wow. Than what am I supposed to persue, that is the question which has stumped me. I know somewhat about the whole ego and identity stuff, I know that anything I do is going to be feeding my ego. Electrical Apprentice was a title I had given myself. That title is now gone but in fact it never existed because it was an illusion to begin with. I don't know, thanks for replying though (:

 

Packing my bags and travelling is probably everyones dream at my age. I would do it in a heartbeat I have the money, but it would be so selfish of me which is why I can't. I did however try to get a taste by going backpacking alone in the backcountry for a couple days, I saw some pretty amazing sights, meditated like never before, and realized some pretty cool things. A couple days however wasn't enough, but it was nice. I would like to read some those papers you're talking about. I'll figuire out a way to give you my email I don't know how to use this site to the full extent yet. Thanks for replying dude (:

[AЯAB]

wow I just realized what that all looked like, what a mess. Ummm....yeah sorry about that XD

[ChiDragon]

wow I just realized what that all looked like, what a mess. Ummm....yeah sorry about that XD

Sorry to say, buddy, you have to fight this one on your own. Nobody can help you but yourself. I guess we all had to go through it one way or the other when we are teenagers. Let fate take care of this one or follow the natural path with Tao.

Edited September 12, 2011 by ChiDragon

[zanshin]

Sorry, I sounded like a grumpy old lady, perhaps I am.

 

oh, old people have things they want to do too, your dad probably has a few dreams and things he'd like to do when kids raised and retirement etc., that's what I meant by his perspective. Life is short, but if we're lucky it's long too. So if you were your dad's age, what would you want your life to be like? What would make you satisfied that you lived well?

[ion]

Chi dragon is right, no one can tell you "what to do".

 

We can tell you what we've done or would do and that can be a point of reference but we each have our own path that unfolds.

 

After I fist consciously was walking the path I drifted homeless for a while. I did work trade at farms for places to stay, camped in the wood, slept on the beach.

 

I ended up living in a 3rd world style plywood shack in the forest andd it was perfect. I gardened and worked on projects and self cultivation.

 

Now I am hoping to manifest something similar, a care taker position or something where I can live a simple life outside of the world where I can still offer my "services" to humanity in a natural, organic way rather then a rigid systemized way of being and acting. A place for being creative, and a venue to control my own initiative energy instead of signing it over to a system.

 

When ones faith in the path begins to awaken and one walks away from the world and does not rely on its systems for sustenance or culture, then one must learn to be content with little and control desire. You will learn to have faith instead of wondering what to wear tommorow or wondering what you will eat.

 

You give yourself over to the universal continuim and gain your sustenance from the path. You'll learn that things and oportunities arise with out your contriving them into your possesion because to be content is to also have patients and to be unassertive in the aquisitions of your lifes necessities.

 

Peace-

Edited September 12, 2011 by ion

[oat1239]

Hi AЯAB. I am sure you have thought a lot of this through already, but here's some more thoughts. Doing electrician work is actually a very good trade if you can get used to the work. You can make very good money at it once you have a few years solid experience at it. Depending on the company you work for, you don't necessarily have to work long hours. For example, commercial/industrial electricians may work set shifts. Also, don't kid yourself. An electrician is definitely a skilled trade. Once you get certified you would be in demand (unless the economy completely tanks, but even that is usually temporary). Anyway you quit so it sounds like you don't like that sort of work.

 

Another option you mentioned is to upgrade or finish your high school courses. A year and a half to finish or upgrade high school courses is not that long at all when you are only 18, and you can probably still get enrolled now. It will go by in a relative flash. If you finish high school you could decide your options for college or university. If you don't like heavy math stay away from engineering. Computer programming can pay very well if a person gets a degree and likes that sort of thing. If you aren't the techie type then you can think about whether you are more interested in things like business or arts or things like a physio-therapist or chiropractor or TCM specialist, etc. Lots of options when you are still young.

Edited September 12, 2011 by oat1239

[Sloppy Zhang]

Life is short, I'm only 18 I don't want to spend all my life studying when in the end it's just a false identity I've created for myself which is only feeding this ego I am so dearly trying to rid myself of.

 

I do understand your concern. Unfortunately, the way modern society is set up, you're sort of between a rock and a hard place- to get successful enough so you can "get out", you have to play the game for a little bit. Otherwise you wind up being a wage slave, living from paycheck to paycheck, or are borderline homeless. More_Pie_Guy had a neat idea where he'd save up enough money for a camper and a small plot of land, and live off that, working part time for about half of a year, then living minimally for the other half to cultivate away from society.

 

But if you want to set yourself up in, say, a house, have a car, etc etc, bills are going to pile up and you're going to have food costs and stuff, which is going to require money from the system you're trying to escape from.

 

I did a lot of that networking stuff when I was working electrical. I can get back into it anytime I want with several people willing to hire me but I know deeply that it is not something that is for me. For know I don't know dude, it seems as if things are going good for you I'm gonna give this college thing a shot. Thanks for replying man (:

 

No problem. And look, it ain't just about getting back into that same field, but if those people can provide good references and can attest to the fact that you're a solid guy with a good work ethic, that's good stuff too.