"You have to understand how people see the world..." Yes! Yes, Tom! You're wide awake and very enlightened. I really enjoyed hearing a bit of your personal journey. Wonderful video, mate.
Jesus loves you Tom He is all you need. I have been a Christian since Father's day last year and in that time I transformed and born again. Everything in my life is going well, hundreds of things I can't explain in words. I pray everyday and life has never- ever been better. Every day I wake up is better than the previous. So thankful. God is good and the Bible is an important part of my life.
Haha this is interesting - I actually started out without any spiritual upbringing when I was younger and became a Christian at about 19, so like, the opposite of your story! Religion kills, but a relationship with God brings life. As a Christian I've seen and experienced supernatural things you could never explain in the natural... But I never stop learning or being inquisitive towards this topic - always trying to understand why other people believe different things (even if you don't have to agree with it!).
LiquidWords Same, Ive been a Christian since Father's day last year and in that time I transformed and born again. Everything in my life is going well, hundreds of things I can't explain. I pray everyday and life has never- ever been better. Every day I wake up is better than the previous. So thankful. God is good and the Bible is an important part of my life.
I was so fascinated with religion and spirituality for such a long time. It started with a breaking out of church - atheism phase at age 12. It was also inspired by Dawkins. My mom then said: "If you want to leave christianity, you need to go to church at least three times." I agreed to her terms and went to church three times. I actually found myself enthralled by spirituality, but not christianity. It then lead to a spiritual awakening phase around 12-15, as I learnt about auras, eastern philosophy, buddhism and reiki. I then abandoned those beliefs and those expressions and moved towards an agnostic atheism and general disbelief towards all spiritual practices. Still, I had this strange pull towards it: whenever I met a religious person, I would talk to them for hours.. I was always in marvel hearing them explain their thoughts and ideas. Then later on I started moving towards practical spirituality. I began to see spirituality as a tool towards discovering truth but not truth itself. I saw spirituality as a shadow teaching, that taught about the process to gaining truth, but was not truth itself. I used buddhism and spiritual practices to try to reach enlightenment, peace, and a heightened understanding. That's where I am today, nowhere near enlightened, but open to and embracing spiritual practices and ideas as they enhance my ability to entertain multiple perspectives and to gain greater truth. :)
Hi Erik, yeah that sounds similar to my journey, I feel like I've had enough of chasing spiritual practices or wanting to be enlightened, for now at least. I'm more interested in down to Earth human issues, which by solving ironically align people to spiritual values by their own virtue.
Your experience reminds me a lot of the time I woke up from a medical operation; you forget everything, the labels, the worries etc. Even time and space mean nothing, the space around you is infinite and when you wake up only to your primary instincts. It's true that when you wake up from this kind of experience, you do see 'real life' as a video game you're just playing in and reality has a new definition.
INTJ here - I read The Power of Now for the first time a few months ago. Completely changed my perspective of life. Pleasantly surprised to hear you talking about it!
Currently I am reading and participating in daily exercises of A Course in Miracles with the same goal that I hope to find a universal understanding among science, spirituality, philosophy, and religion. I've been going through a hard time lately, getting extremely depressed over questioning the existence of my own reality and experiencing existential crises, which sounds ridiculous to people around me (and feels ridiculous to me as well at times) but videos like this help me realize I'm not alone in my quest for the truth, especially with ones like these that align so closely with sort of the goal I'm trying to reach. Thanks for sharing Tom. It helps more than you know.
Hi Tom, I am a recently discovered INFJ through the Myers-Briggs personality test who has just become a subscriber to your enlightening posts on your experience that’s helped bring understanding to the depth of thoughts, feelings and intense perception of life around us that can be overwhelming and confusing at times for the INFJ. Like you I was forced into Catholicism and the Catholic Church of which I didn’t fully embrace but in my deep need to searching and understanding I continued to follow to give me a sense of belonging knowing in my heart and observable evidence in my studies of all the natural sciences that there is something greater and bigger than us in this vast complexity of nature and cosmos reflecting intelligent design around us. I am 66 years old, and in my life quest in trying to bring back peace and harmony that was lost in this fallen world we live in through our fallen nature with our creator God, I have come to discover a personal relationship within me, a loving God through Jesus Christ that has given me a sense of peace, clarity. joy and purpose in my life. I hope and pray in your journey through spiritualism that you will discover the very truth of our existence and a path that leads to eternal life through Jesus Christ. Christ promised that he will restore this fallen world if we choose to follow him who will restore a new heaven and new earth dwelling with him forever.
It’s very interesting to hear your experience. You have inspired me to research this topic of spirituality more. I have grown in my Christian faith in the past few years and experienced that same sense of eternal peace that you described. It continues to astound me that INFJs can have these sorts of similar moments of intuition. And “high definition”-yes!! I would encourage you to explore Christianity again because I think you’ll find that God is more than hard wooden church pews-he “leads me beside still waters.” As my favorite proverb goes, still waters run deep.
You did such a good job of it, I think you should and you deserve more confidence about it. It's something I'm looking to discuss in my channel however I am still really rediscovering who I am before I launch into it.
Yeah! Just spit it out! :) What is there to be afraid of? Being judged by strangers on youtube? Majority of which are here because your experiences mirror theirs or ones that are curious and want an explanation how we function if I might add... You should have learned that lesson by now! I know it does not make it easier but hell.. Im writing this as an encouragement and reassurance that you are on the right path in sharing and pouring out.. Cant wait to hear more on your views and experiences on this topic.. I know we all have our perceptions and might not always agree, but when you keep coming across people that speak same things you gone or going through, there has to be something to glean from for sure! Keep it up!
When I was going through my "mid-life crisis" many years ago, I had many "why me" questions. My early life was very difficult; I was unable to complete my education due to illness, had many issues related to emotional trauma in my youth, and early adulthood. I didn't feel at home anywhere, not even in my own skin. Then I had a heart attack which resulted in a need to be resuscitated. I experienced death, but was able to return. While I was not allowed to remember every part of my experience on the other side, I did see my timeline and that those specific trials in my life were chosen by me before being born here, just like one chooses one's classes when entering school. Our existence here is simply a school and our difficult challenges are our advanced classes. I learned that I chose my challenges for a reason, which reasons I now understand after more than 20 years. My goal for my life was to learn to relate to people with understanding and unconditional love regardless of differences. I was instructed to always remember that "Love is the Key". It also helps me understand why I have the INF personality; it is part of the program. By the way, I have had many experiences that let me know that we are not alone here; that we have help from "beyond". There are no coincidences or accidents. I discovered your video "by accident" talking about your life as an INFJ, which I could really relate to, and now this video. I can see why some of us are wired to be "healers" or helpers for others.
Thanks for this video.. very thought provoking! I'm an INFJ from Scotland and became a Christian not so long ago. I did this after researching the historicity of the different religions and found the widely agreed historical facts of the origins and spread of Christianity to be utterly mindblowing. I've had first hand experience of paranormal activity and although i do get frequent doubts about God's existence and whether the several answers to prayer in my life have been my mind playing tricks on me/confirmation bias, I still always reach what I believe to be a rational and Christian conclusion. I'd love to talk to you in greater depth regarding spirituality, but realise you're probably a busy man. Get in touch if you feel like it, if not then I'll still continue watching your great videos :-)
Great video! I feel as if all INFJ/old soul types are truly waking up. It's quite something to be a part of. In my journey of self growth I read two amazing books, 'A journey of souls' and 'A destiny of souls' written by Dr. Michael Newton (a hypnotherapist) who used past life regression techniques to uncover people's pain, or sources of fears etc and in the process he uncovered some incredible things about life and Spirit. These books completely altered my life in the most positive way. 10/10 would recommend.
Right. There's a saying in France that goes like "respect the differences (of males and females)" I think that concept should apply to everyone. Humans are all different, needs, wants, some people need the liberty to express wild ideas as much as another would rather stability of traditional practice. You (as in all of us) cant change people, so what does it matter to you how someone expresses themselves and feels comfortable living like.
My insights as an INFJ: Truth accompanies childlike joy and levity which cannot be faked and do not deceive; “truth” and “peace” alone, often are faked and often deceive. Also, we humans run from the truth in our attempt to find it. It’s like the man who hears about a great bright jewel that gives life, and he begins digging in the earth to find it. He sweats and toils in the dark mines. Finally, exhausted, he returns to the open air, to find the sun shinning above, brighter than ever to his dark acclimated eyes, and realizes it is the jewel, the most obvious thing to his eyes. The truth isn’t that difficult to find if we would get out of our own way with our pride and be like children again, playing in the sun’s rays, knowing there is no question so obvious as the answer itself.
It’s crazy how much I relate to you, I’m a male INFJ and grew up going to church with family and believed in god only because I was told to believe until I got to middle school and started doubting a higher power and eventually decided to not go to church and became atheist. One particular experience in high school where I got brought home from the cops basically changed me and I started watching conspiracy videos and was so fascinated with receiving information because I knew it was the truth. Once I started watching videos about god and bohemian he created this place we call earth I got that tingling feeling up my spine (my kundalini was awakening) and from that point on I knew there was a higher power. Eventually my third eye opened and I found meditation and now view life totally different, this all happened last year when I was only 16, i’m now 17 and I value things much different than before and am now figuring out my path and what my purpose is on this Earth. Thanks for all your videos I relate to them so much! 🙏🏼
Loved this video! I've had a similar experience, except for the whole smoking salvia without knowing about it's nightmare qualities :P I completely agree though, I think something that differentiates us is our ability for compassion and love
Dear brother, Islam is your answer.. I'm an infj and I relate to a lot of your videos and I believe you're becoming closer to the truth.. Allah loves those who question things so you're on the right track.. Hope to see you doing more videos soon and glad to find your channel.. Maybe it's meant for a reason..
Hi Tom, been a fan of your videos for a while. I really relate to you on this and am going on a similar journey myself in that I have always been a self identified atheist. Through listening to Sam Harris' podcasts I have started exploring consciousness and found that I am becoming more and more open to spirituality and learning a lot about myself in the process. Please keep making your videos as I get lots of value from them.
I'm so happy that you have shared this. Your experience has been similar to mine. I grew up in a Christian church. I enjoyed the people who ran the services, other kids, the caring atmosphere, etc., but by 11 or 12, I really realized that none of it added up. I deemed, and still do, deem myself as an agnostic atheist. Began reading Dawkins and a few other scientific authors. I used to enjoy having conversations with my Christian friends, but became aware that them stating the same arguments that I had already debunked in my head made me enjoy it for selfish reasons to secure my own beliefs and to feel intellectually above them in that sort of way. But I have had experiences that I can't explain. Ones that I have tried to rationalize, but can't. I have always been interested in aspects of eastern religion as well. I also became very interested in psychology, and am now majoring in it in hopes of becoming a professor. Nonetheless, now at 20 years old, I want to play around with spirituality. There is a part of me that, self ashamedly, is afraid of devoting so much time into something that may either get me nowhere, or make me become more irrational. I admire your passion to being objective but also open to what can't be measured and tested outside of oneself.
I love that I came across your page a few years ago because of your INFJ videos, then check back randomly today and you're echoing a lot of what's been going on in my life! By the way, The Power of Now as an audio book read by Tolle is amazing to listen to!
One of things that worked with me as INFJ when it comes for the deep need of understanding, is to accept that no one person will fully understand you. That you should seek for partial understanding from many different people. Someone will understand a certain part of you, another person will understand another part of you, and so on. Don’t look down upon other personalities traits and strength points. There are personalities who can understand the weird side of you, who can understand the analytical side of you, who undrstand the sympathetic side of you, who can understand the imaginative and creative side of you, and so on. Seek for partial understanding from different people, and when you gather it all you would get a full understanding obtained from all people . Hope it helps. Please let me know your opinion
This was awesome. I definitely identify with a lot of this, and I think most of it is motivated by this inner conflict that's similar to your experiences. I was raised as an atheist, and feel the reverse sentiment... I found I was still longing for answers outside of "there's no god no nothing", but definitely not with organized religion (which other family members tried to get me into). There's this spiritual instinct I can't shake- the need to meditate and connect the universe as a whole and to understand it at a higher level and break from my self-centered mindset as often as possible. I tried a few drugs trying to get there, but was never as successful as you. It's not because I'm religious, but at the same time these questions don't seem to have logical, scientific answers (yet). So where does that leave us? I don't want to be blind- I want to find that universal truth, but how can you be sure that you've found it? We can't prove this high space exists, but we feel it, we understand it... Hence the conflict. The only thing that I can really grasp right now is wisdom within my own lens of experience, because these states of higher understanding I sometimes reach are fleeting and overwhelming. But more doable are practices in my own current life, ways of treating my body, myself, and others that feel spiritual and right? Like they're pursuant to that truth, though I still don't know what it is. Hopefully that made sense. This discussion has really brought up a lot of old thoughts!
I recently had an awakening exactly identical as the one mentioned here. I am still on that feeling and cannot get it out to anyone and everyone looks at me as Patch Adams or something lol. I never married because I had no clue of the INFJ reflection that was needed in developmental years. But my frequencies shifted or something, like an eye opening. this has me kind of baffled, but its a high that no drug can replicate, so by rational thinking that only leave the conclusion that it is the "undefinable" personal relation to the higher power.! That is why I personally feel that we have to do the "work" that most spiritual practices require to be able to get in the muck. I really never understood why I saw beyond things to the deeper meaning and had a hard time socially but with this data I feel validated. and with the spiritual awakening I am at a loss for words for my desire to live and love... that's about it lol. I don't really seek much more in life but the grateful opportunities to serve others. The detachment of the ego is the most evolved and liberating feeling, just sucks we cannot share it, because I know others want to as well if they are INFJ. THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS FORUMS AND VIDEOS OF INFJ. It has been profound to say the least. I pray that I can provide this additional insight to the psychological team at the VAMC, because I have been in therapy for YEARS lol. Along side being highly proficient of course (blush, kinda lol). However, this has gotten to be some what fascinating how I can see so clearly and appreciate everything. now I am off benzos lol. only been on em a short time but the affect was so relieving that I do not need anything really. Please keep the insight coming ... never thought Id be proud to say I am probably a little nerdy
I've been wondering if the rarity of infj' s had to do with being starseeds but no one was mentio ining spirituality or ascension except in a jesting way...so I thought with the western modality of psychology being so predominant, that the subject of spirituality and ascension, (or the raising of the vibrational frequency of the planet and hence the spiritual awakening of humanity en masse) would never be seriously brought up. So happy to see someone touch on spirituality.
Hi Tom, thank you very much for sharing your experiences as an INFJ. I felt quite identified with your "spiritual awakening". As an INFJ born and raised in a very catholic country, I had contact with religion almost before my birth!, but luckily, my mom's family was going through a Hippie phase. In that sense, I've grown less tied to catholic's thinking patterns. Later on life when I was a teenager I just got to the realization that there is something much more subtle (call it God if you want) and eternal inside everyone, but until that moment was a very vague feeling. Of course those days I had a super high dose of introspection due to self image problems and identity problems. As son as I started University in a different city, I fell in love for someone. That didn't end well, so my heart was so broken! with physical pain included!. After that I started to question a little more the meaning of my suffering and loneliness. By casuality or synchronicity, and because I had that feeling of otherwordliness (When you mentioned it, I almost exploded!) with me very too often, I got to know about "The Power of the Now". This book changed dramatically the way I see life, It helped me to understand better myself and to keep questioning about what is this life for? What is the core of humanity? How can I keep in touch with the shapeless me? among many other questions. I'm very aware that it is a long road to go. A road that shall be done accepting all our contradictions, our dark sides as well as our own light.At this point I realized that maybe no one will read this long #$% #$%& comment, but self expresión in INFJ is urgent!. Again Tom, thank you very much, I love your videos because I understand emotionally your speech, (I found myself speechless and fascinated) I also love the intimacy of the video itself, just like if your were right in front of me. Bye!.PD: Sorry about odd words, sentences, etc.
the truth of GOD... can be found in the works of William Blake, he speaks in allegory but I firmly believe William Blake understood way more than anyone else did about this theme.... I'd recommend the viewing of nature as an aspect of self is important too.
Thank you for sharing on this complex and personal subject. I like the concept that what seems to be opposing spiritual or religious beliefs may well share common purpose and needs. I was spiritual when growing up, but also disliked any time having to attend church services. I went thru about a 6 yr period as a youth both enthusiastically watching every Monty Python film (new and old) and then attending a Pentecostal church for several years; two sides of the same coin? A long period of disillusionment - via hypocrisy, rejection in relationship, with myself, and then dealing with death - led me to a period of being agnostic. I try (and for an INFJ my key word is 'try') to no longer understand why things in life happen. This musing just leads me into that INFJ depression cycle. I refute institutional Christianity which really kicked in in the Dark Ages and still dominates. I ran across more & more about the early christian church which is the opposite in most ways. These understandings became both beneficial and liberating for myself, and nonjudgmental of others. I do not self label as a Christian, but relate to the way the early church responded to scriptures showing how Jesus lived his life and treated people. This could be used as philosophy. Though no beliefs can be proven, after a conversation clarifying all the religious jargon (which the length of this comment reflects), would be ok saying I have christian faith, which has been the case for the last 10-15 years and I am now 50. This is different from saying I have THE answer, even for myself. Thank you Tom for openly discussing a lot of personal and also heavy topics in your videos. They have helped me a lot, especially since I do not personally know any INFJs in my close relational circle, which is not statistically uncommon for an INFJ I would think.
i have found in Edgar Cayce and Emmanuel Swedenborg, whole new worlds to explore. Sensing that there is this great connectivity and beauty to it all, how our present personality/name/numerology is our (present) GPS co-ordinate but we are explorers through many dimensions. Richard Dawkins was my favourite writer in my late teens, but then i found a fundamentalism (and hence blinkered perspective) in his purely-material worldview - and saw how aggressive he could be in imposing that view. For me, Cayce especially, all the way back in the 1920's and 1930's brings holism, that the 'bigger' world is one of vibration, frequency and light - that the quantum world brings science and spirituality together, complementarily. One love, expressing and growing through the immense diversity of all experiences...to be part of the whole, whilst bringing each of our uniqueness to light, is awesome beyond words. For me, NDE's also give us a glimpse of the bigger picture of our lives, and Tolle, fantastic too, so calm and he articulates so well - yesssss
I had a similar experience with spirituality. My drift from Christianity and religion altogether stemmed from feeling rejected due to my sexuality. As a result, I gravitated towards science and theoretical physics in particular. It helped me categorize Christian beliefs as a fairytale and in turn that helped me rebuild self-love and acceptance. One day I tried salvia solely with the intention of having a funny trip like I'd seen others have on RU-vid. It was indeed a trip filled with laughter but it was an extremely spiritual one where I came to the realization that I was an eternal being and that my experience on earth was just a blip in the grand scheme. I was surrounded by beings that I felt like I'd known for a very long time. It seemed as though they were old friends and I felt unconditional love. I was still aware of myself as a human entity, so I don't know if my ego was completely removed from the experience. Long story short, that salvia experience as well as a couple others that were pretty much identical led me down a path of spirituality and thinking of the cosmos in a spiritual manner. I've picked up practices such as reiki and meditation, but I still have a long way to go to tap into that higher consciousness. Even though it exists now and is accessible now, the ego is a pesky thing to strip away. Sometimes it seems the more you try to resist it the stronger it gets. Hopefully one day we the human race will recognize that we're all parts of one whole experiencing an illusion of separateness.
Omg can so relate to this. I once fell asleep listening to Alan Watts video "the real you" and then had a dream about my own death. I had death related dreams before but usually I would wake up before I died. However, that time I died, I watched myself die and the dream went on and I was nothing and everything at the same time. Impossible to describe.
I have been blessed to live in country with multi religions and races.. and it had been peaceful.. my answer to you is this.. human is destined to have a very specific task.. that is to manage the world we can perceive.. everything existed should be named and at this age most of them are.. but one of those is the facade.. it appears differently than what we perceived.. it creates problem.. it also can create a false solution.. And try to get the bottom of that can become a devotion..
Brought up atheist, became lutheran but had an experience where I realised that I believed in god but not the church nor really specifically a Christian god but a source. Still frame many things lutheran but I’ve also realised there is a bigger thing which If I look at my life I seem to remember.
I have had a similar experience also, I find religion to be narrow minded and very judgmental, I was interested in spirituality from a young age, astrology, science, psychology, all had far greater meaning, I have also had spirits show themselves to me as well as physically hurt me, so religion was like a joke. Religion for me was a constraint a shaming form of mind control, that I never felt comfortable with, as everything I knew as proven and experienced was bad not important or something that must be stopped. I read tarot, I look at astrology, psychology, and from experience I have my epiphanies. I work with people who have physical mental and psychological disabilities and have done so for years, I find being an INFJ gives me great insight into those who are in my care. Great videos Tom thank you for sharing.
Great video Tom, thanks for sharing your experience. I think mine has been pretty similar, though even the spiritual path can become something that is pushed by the ego at times. I see so many people getting into spirituality and doing everything to reach the state of enlightenment, whereas I think that this process goes naturally and that if you believe in spirituality, the universe will lead you through experiences that will take you to the place where you belong. It is just like Eckhart says: it's about silencing the mind. Letting life take you where it wants you to go, going with the waves. I''m curious about what will happen to humanity, I feel like more and more people are waking up
Oh gosh yeah spiritual egotism is a very real thing, I've fallen for it many times, never reached the stage where I stared walking around with mandala beads however ; ) I also believe it's something that can't be forced, it just happens when your ready for it or maybe when your forced to surrender. That's why I don't necessarily agree that telling people to go and 'open their third eye' or whatever is always helpful, learn to be a human being first, then go from there.
Yes exactly. If you go through it yourself you realize wisdom or lessons cannot be forced, often things need to be experienced. It is hard, living from the heart. I think in this society we gravitate more towards rationality, which can be fine. But it is not all there is. Guess it is what keeps a lot of INFJ's stuck in their Ni - Ti loop. Any way, it is amazing what insights you have :)
Also Tom, I wanted to add this: a lot of INFJ's get lost into some kind of ideology, whether it be spirituality, religion, philosophy, etc. It is very hard to develop a balanced perspective, since we tend to gravitate towards extremes or groups, it just makes sense in our minds. I'm in awe of the fact that you can balance it all so well, that you are so open and understanding. Not a lot of people can do it
im so excited to find someone who understands me.. im going through a really similar journey and have thought many of the same things you have, i am an jnfj as well
I like your shirt Tom, its one of my favourite colours. You are a great speaker and I admire you for voicing some truth nuggets to us humans. Choice stuff bro! Do you have a favourite colour?
You are literally telling my life story. Started in church, then when old enough stopped going. I was board with it but I started to get into the stars, planets and the universe and started educating myself to where I understood and respect and am in tune with the universe and I started to question what kind of God wud place ppl in a place like hell. How cud I go to hell....INFJ/empath and I don’t get it. So with that I went back to college and took every Psychology class the campus offered. With all this......Im feeling like you. This explains so much to me.
Really enjoying your videos. Discovered I was an INFJ a few weeks ago after being a student of the Enneagram for many years. I'm sensing you're a 4/5w (me too!)---many INFJs are. It may help you add another layer to your level of understanding if you determine your Enneagram type. Also, a book I would recommend is The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings. Be well...
What your referencing is called divine revelation which we are incapable of doing out of our own power.for me and my being a INFJ personality when I was called out an was spiritually transforming into the person that I was created to be , interpretation of divine scriptural doctrine was not that difficult for me ,I could already see words and not know how I knew but knew that I was right in my theological doctrinal dipiction of scripture.an in public forums was at times challenged not that they thought I was in error but I think because they never have been spirituality enlighten to sovergn truth and wanted to know more an how I came into a knowing of such deep understanding of many things.my answer to that was I didn't know till he gave me the understanding to know...not just to know something but to articulate the application of it so to have the maximum affectuall meaning knowledge and apostolic application to ones personal spiritual maturity on the individual an for those who are watching them.so to say for witnessing capabilities 😎
I think that spirituality is a wonderful thing. In my learning of it the thing I found was that I honestly believe and disbelieve in all of it. I see all the points of how it can be true and all the points of why it is not. I believe there is something there, but no one can really say what. Though I have had weird experiences were the world became more vivid and real and times where I could see hues of colors around people and objects. People define these things and try to connect them to one single religion, but people made these religions. So I just like to think that it's everything and nothing acting in a way to show that what ever it is. Is actually there. Sorry if this is hard to understand I know how I feel, but the words are hard to explain what I feel.
Bonjour Thomas! GREAT story! Is there a "Part 2" in the works? I would really like the opportunity to hear about your journey since making this video... and, to share insights with you!
There is a sufi teaching about ego. Its also called nafs. Please consider reading about sufism and controlling your nafs. It signifies your carnal desires and animalistic side. Sufism is islamic mysticism. If you liks see Sheikh Nazim Adil Haqqani's teachings. ....he has passed away but was a real life mystic/ saint. they also teach about gnostic christianity and saints.these mystics are aware, God realised souls.
Hi Tom, have you read the Celestine prophesy’s? Especially the 4th book, where what you talked about bringing science and spirituality together is developed, I think you may find some answers to the questions you speak, especially about the universal truth, not to go into to much detail but in the book they bring truths from each religion that hold strong and put them together to combine one true path. If you haven’t read them already I highly suggest you do, they really helped me to not only understand the experiences and beliefs I was having but to better talk about them.
Tom, Dear INFJ-tribe-mate, I am so happy for you & thrilled to hear about your experience. First, I’d like to ask you: Are you familiar with the book “Be Here Now”? (a.co/hNmbNdF). It was a hugely influential book in the spiritual awakening that took place globally in the 1970s. It’s basically a spiritual memoir written a Harvard psychology professor named Richard Alpert. Richard and his research partner Timothy Leary were *extremely* interested in the exact experience you describe in this video, for the exact same reasons. They began conducting experiments at Harvard in the 1960s with taking various dosages of psilocybin to try to understand what was happening. They were especially interested in whether the experience you had could be maintained for longer periods of time for deeper investigation. Alpert & Leary eventually got into a great deal of trouble, after giving psilocybin too their grad student researchers. Ultimately, they were both summarily fired by Harvard. “Be Here Now” begins right after Alpert was fired. He had heard of extraordinary master gurus in India, and decided to continue his research there. He went to India and brought psilocybin with him. (He was curious to see how it might affect a highly trained/evolved master.). He ended up meeting an extraordinary Hindu guru/mystic named Neem Karoli Baba (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_Karoli_Baba). Neem Karoli Baba taught Alpert meditation techniques and hatha yoga, and took him on as a disciple. Alpert would have an awakening experience into an entirely new realm. Alpert would be given a new name by his teacher: Baba Ram Dass. This book marked a profound turning point for Steve Jobs when he discovered it in 1972 at the age of 17. Steve had been experimenting himself with LSD. (Many years later, Steve would say that “LSD was one of the three most important experiences of his life.). He and his best friend Dan Kottke become profoundly immersed in the question of “what is enlightenment”? Because of “Be Here Now,” Steve would eventually drop out of college and begin to seek out spiritual teachers. Steve got his very first job working for Atari, troubleshooting video games. Atari became his ticket to India. He saved money from the job and got an assignment in Germany. From there, he took a leave to go to India. Steve’s sole mission in going to India was to meet Neem Karoli Baba, as Ram Dass had. But by the time Steve got there, NKB had died. The story of Steve Jobs (INTJ 😉) and his journey from LSD to the becoming a spiritual seeker is epic. By the time he was 17, Steve already knew that he was going to die prematurely and was “living on borrowed time.” This have him a profound sense of urgency to answer the most primal of all questions: Why am I alive in this life? Steve Jobs had been my idol & role model when I was a teenager. Though I would have dreamed that I would actually meet my hero in person, a mysterious and seemingly inexplicable set of circumstances came together. When I was 18 and Steve was 26, I didn’t just meet him. I was spent 10 hours with him, that ended with his flying me to California to spend time together. Steve introduced me to meditation and Buddhism, and started me on the spiritual path that you, Tom, are now discovering. The day after Steve died in 2011, I started writing down some of the extraordinary experiences I had with my own spiritual guru, the founder of Apple! I eventually realized that I wanted to create a book, which I’ve been working on for nearly six years: www.jonathanrotenberg.com/writing I also have a talk a few years ago at my high school about Steve Jobs’ spiritual, and what I have uncovered from years of research. I think you might quite this quite interesting, vis-a-vis what you have been experiencing: vimeo.com/jrotenberg/commonwealth Let me know what you think! And many blessings to you on your own spiritual path 🙏🙏😊✨
I grew up as a Jehovah's Witness and it has always made sense to me and satisfied my spiritual needs. If I only looked on the surface I would lump it in with the rest - you have to really study the information bottom line, investigate what its all about and examine the 'evidence'. Everyone has a need for a belief system that answers life's big questions. My beliefs give me those answers, and most importantly, hope and a better world to look forward to. I think INFJ's are more prone to feel disillusioned and explore one concept after another because they seek authenticity - and there is a lack of authenticity, ulterior motive and shallowness in the vast majority of religions, and even to a large extent science. There's always that niggling question of can we trust this information? The vast majority of religious and scientific beliefs about the origin of life, our purpose for existing, why we grow old and die, why the problems in the world are too complicated to make positive change etc don't stand up to scrutiny
Hello. Nice to meet you. I completely agree, that various “ways” of reaching the “knowing” , you speak of, are needed and hard to grasp. My own struggle to absorb, process, accept, condense, and then attempt to share, seem to magnify as I get older. Damn it. I hoped age would bring peaceful understanding. Trying to share bits and drops with my children, over time. But I am not anywhere near capable of choosing or pointing the “right “ direction. Only that this current culture, is ..... frighteningly, shallow. Personally, I read books. The older, the better. Some I seek, are now being removed from access. Is there an answer, to your proposition? Maybe .....Thank You.
OMFG you're explaining the feeling! :D "the feeling"(or "the now" as you called it) is what i called it when i tried to explain this to a friend of mine. i know exactly what you mean. i got the feeling first time when a friend of mine talked alot, i actually got abit scared of it in the first place, and it blew my mind. the light got kinda more yellower, right? if you can refer to this, we're talking about the same thing. i've only watched 7 mins of the video, but i kinda know where this is going from now. haha. - fellow infj
Yes everything becomes more 'real' whilst you simultaneously become aware of your own existence being connected to what your experiencing all without having to think about it. In Zen Buddhism I think it's refereed to as 'Kensho', an insight of reality as-it-is.
hi Tom I'm Musslim (religion of peace) while watching your interesting video I could relate to my religion, if you want to know more about spirituality and ego.. I highly recommend that you search spirituality in Isslam PS: I always enjoy your videos and you encouraged me to quit Facebook and I'm really grateful for that, thnx, peace 😄
You said "Universal Truth", Tom. The Church of Jesus Christ is called the Universal Church because of how it was given by him to every man, woman and child without discrimination. I didn't hold much value to my faith when I was struggling at my job a year ago, but it was only when I had to quit- and accept the feeling of being a failure- that I truly saw how God directs our lives in the most unfathomable ways, and how his church truly does teach the truth about very aspect of our lives. I learned that one can never fail as long as God is still watching him. And that gave me cause to live again! Cheers and Merry Christmas!
I think the world would look very different if religion wouldn’t have had monopoly on the subjective mind for so long. Finally people are starting to merge psychological, religious and scientific ideas, concepts and models and understand that there isn’t just one truth which is objective and measurable. Things are definitely moving in the right direction.
Hi Dave😊 After watching part 1, Don't really care about the infj label but this guy really understands depression. After part 2, Subscribed. Nothing has had a bigger impact on my life as Salvia had. A strong salvia experience will mess you up on a very deep level and these symptoms are often misunderstood/diagnosed
so you basically have the same goal as me...uncovering the relationship between spirituality and neuroscience. ive had similar experiences but with no drugs, but i do have them more often now that i am seeing a sufi master
The Source is the same for all humans. Only prople are born muslims, hindus, jains, jews christians, zoroastrians, buddhists. But the message is the same even though the cultures are different. These ascended masters were born into different cultures but the message is One.
This universe is but a spec of existence. The universe is a creation. Sciences and natural rules are creations. Man is a creature, man's free-will is also a creation. Creation implies a creator. A creation this synchronized implies a single creator, a creator that is all-knowing and all-powerful but also beautiful and forgiving. There is no way life is meaningless. It's very short but it isn't meaningless. "And on the Day when He will gather them, [it will be] as if they had not remained [in the world] but an hour of the day." The meaning of life, having realized the existence of the creator, is to work towards meeting him having been good and done good in your temporary mortal life. Only then will you find crisp truth, you'll know all you could only intuit before is indeed true. Only then will you find eternal peace and bliss. I love your videos. I hope you find peace. - Your fellow INFJ.
I’ve had some interesting experiences, even some when I was very young, others very recent... I’m a 35 year old ENFP. It’d be cool to have a conversation about my experiences & hear more about yours. ☕️📱
I used to be very religious until I came across the theory of determination that basically states that there's no such a thing as a "free will". At first I rejected the idea because it just doesn't feel like we never had a choice in our lives. However, the more I read about it, the more logic and consistent it seemed to me. If there's no free will, there's no such thing as sins or a judging God. But also the principle of revenge has no meaning anymore since it is built upon the belief that someone purposely acted out of his "bad soul". So in contrary to what many opponents of determination claim, the world would probably become a kinder place to live in rather than an area of complete anarchy if people started to see that there has never been a choice for anyone. Still I don't think that we have reached the point of enlightenment (and probably never will) and so I'm still keen to hear about NDE or other spiritual experiences. However I'm very convinced that the word spiritual does not have to mean that something has no reason or premisses, it just addresses an experience that isn't perceivable for most of the people for most of the time. And I guess that's kinda what you said, too. I enjoyed this video very much and would love to hear more about it from you!
This is the big problem with Religion, concepts like sins and a judging God are huge misrepresentations of what spiritually actually is, which is something that exists beyond human cognitive comprehension and can only be pointed towards by those who have had direct experience. Your correct we have a very, very long way to go as a race before getting anywhere near a global enlightened state of consciousness, which is fine, you don't run before you can walk. If you want to challenge your thinking surrounding the subject of 'free will' try reading the 'Philosophy of Freedom' by Rudolf Steiner. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nz0aWo4zzNI.html
Yep that's the one, I wouldn't recommend it unless your prepared to have your reality turned upside down and inside out. You can read people's experiences of it here erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Salvia_divinorum.shtml
Thank you for your concern Tom. Personally, I would be a bit afraid to try it ;) I just shared detailed info about this plant you’ve mentioned for other viewers curiosity. Ps- I’m sorry my English, I dare you try to write Portuguese hehe. Kind regards.
7:30 so far this is my life. So fucking accurate. Ram Dass and eventually Tolhe. Everything is happening right here, right now... Always laugh at this cosmic joke.
INFJs will experience more fulfillment the moment we decide what our pinpoint vision to service humanity will be. This will vary for each individual, but knowing our type it will most likely be something of creative/scientific syncretism. We can sit here and theorize and plan allll we want for the changes we want to offer the world but this won’t happen for ppl like us until we decide upon a delivery mechanism, take action, so that these hopes actually have a chance of materializing/manifesting in physical form. Unfortunately, this also means working more with our inferior function Se lol. Incorporating collaborations are ideal as well! Logically speaking our opportunities to “reach enlightenment” really aren’t going anywhere...and i mean if we die beforehand then it’s the same shit anyway hahaha. sorry, insensitive ahem. after i had my soul “wake-up call”, i was grateful that my spiritual expansion allowed me to navigate my life with higher clarity via 5D consciousness. woohoo. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us! 💚♾🌎
I like your way of speaking a lot. There's a depth that goes beyond what you say. I wonder if you're still into the Meyers-Briggs-thing. Being on a spiritual journey myself these kinds of typologies eventually became sort of irrelevant to me. They made sense while I was still trying to figure out why I was so different from most people I knew and why things were so difficult for me. It was a relief to think "I'm not insane, my cognitive functions are just different." But now I actually think most people in our society are kind of insane (and the NFs are less). Most people are disconnected from their feelings and their intuition, they're using extrovert or introvert roles to hide behind, they think and plan everything over instead of going with the flow. My impression is that in the course of a spiritual awakening process one automatically gets closer to being some sort of an INFP but not as a constraint, more as a preference or a home base. As Krishnamurti said: "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
Well I have a theory relating to MBTI types and the evolution of souls in terms of the life they came here to experience. Not that one is better than the other, as we all go through the process. If the world was only comprised of one 'idealised type' things would quickly fall apart.
I like your humbleness and non-arrogance. :-) But for me being on a spiritual path means to learn to cultivate the art of “judging without judging”. To be able to say “they are insane” without disconnecting from love, without feeling superior and without wanting to change anybody. (Adyashanti’s childhood story is a good example for this, maybe you know him.) Also I don’t think if everybody was deeply healed on a soul level, connected to their feelings and intuition, they would fit any kind of idealized type. On the contrary this would permit their individuality to blossom, but outside of types and categories. I totally see the validity of systems like MBTI, the Enneagram, astrological signs or also concepts about soul age (I myself have read a very interesting book by Varda Hasselmann called “Archetypes of the soul”). All these systems have been very useful for me in terms of self acceptance and self knowledge. But as I progressed on my spiritual path I started to see the limitations of these categories too. There seems to be the paradox that coming closer to your true nature makes you expand in all directions, it makes you more introverted and extroverted, more of a feeler and more of a thinker. You develop your intuition and your senses, you tend to go more with the flow but your judgement might get more consistent too. So these labels tend to become less useful. In my opinion, there’s also some kind of limitation in the concept of soul age. I don’t believe the kind of healing and reconnection I described to be a privilege of some “old souls”. All children are born deeply connected to their true nature regardless of how old their soul might be. It’s the violence and pain deeply rooted in our collective subconscious that makes most children numb their feelings from a very early age. It’s obviously the best thing their soul can do in order not to get hurt, so there’s no need to look down on anybody. But for me that doesn’t mean I can’t look at them with compassion and see that their level of disconnection isn’t healthy, not for themselves and not for the planet.
From what I know Humanity is on a steady path of guided spiritual evolution, and that 'man' as an organism will one day attain 'Christ Consciousnesses' within the Human form. This is going to take a very long time however and there are forces pulling this evolution in a different direction, the most powerful at this time being technology. Within all this an individual soul has the freedom to work on their own evolution if they so wish, the more who do, the faster the collective consciousness heals. I would say the term 'old soul' equates to somebody who has become aware of this and is thus taking steps to speed things on a little. Even though eventually you would still get there as the flow of existence will make sure, after all you got this far. Real individual freedom consists of Human beings achieving mastery over their own 'karma' or 'cause and effect.' Yet even then, if you are still not the one controlling the breath entering your lungs or blood flowing through your veins, your still being animated by some unseen force. Maybe true freedom only comes from surrender and usually the only thing that leads someone to surrender is suffering. So maybe all those who are currently 'disconnected' are exactly where they need to be, for now at least.
Dear Tom, I overall agree with what you say. Actually I don’t really see a contradiction with what I said. What I’d like to add is that I think we as a culture are very much in the left-brained “fix-it”-mode. We would love to have a theory that would permit us to “fix” the world (and people are often even willing to die for these theories). I guess as an older soul (in your understanding of the world) you realize that this is leading nowhere. As “fixing the world” turns out to be impossible, at least we like to “fix our desire to fix the world”. We fix it by developing theories where we have little boxes we fit everybody in or models about some kind of world evolution. I don’t say these theories are wrong or useless. But there’s still an element of controlling your pain by holding on to left-brained conceptions about the world, an element of tightness. For me spirituality means to try to let go of this tightness, trying to just feel into your own pain and into all the suffering and chaos in the world with an open heart, without conceptional filters, without trying to make any sense of it. In my experience this is just a subtle shift of perspective but it makes a difference. It’s like some kind of inner softening, like an opening of the palm. And then through the pain and beneath it eventually a space opens up in which peace can be felt. Peace that has always been there but that you couldn’t feel before because you were busy in trying to manage your pain. This peace kind of softens all conceptions or makes them get “thinner” in a way. There’s a kind of surprising bliss that opens you up for the possibility that everything might be surprisingly different from what you thought you had figured out or might ever figure out about the world. I find this difficult to explain and I’m often enough still far from experiencing this peace and openness. For me listening to the voice of someone like Adyashanti explains more about it than my words probably will.
Tom Davison Frank Tipler of Tufts University has published a book, "The Physics of Immortality" about the "omega point concept" where he entertains the idea that far in the future computational ability and knowledge will have advanced to such a ginormous degree and speed that Man will be able to experience "everything" in just a microsecond (we will live forever). Then there's Yuval Noah Harari's "Homo Deus," a look into the future of mankind post-"Sapiens," what intelligence, consciousness, humanism and technology and dataism will have evolved to.
Yip The same thing happened to me whilst reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Funny thing l found that book in my dads book collection and it had been there for many years. It was all dusty and worn out. The words in the book however were the exact opposite to its physical appearance. Uhmm on the part where you left your body ... Could it perhaps be that you became one with "pure consciousness" an "energy" and/or rather a "pure energy" that exist within all and every single entity in the universe? ...l don't know Universal truth? I don't think there will ever truly be something like a universal truth but sadly only mine and your truth constantly forming some type of harmony and destruction to create a new type of truth that last no more than a mere second. Similar to a dance and like the steam that comes out of a hot kettle after it has finished boiling over. Watch it circulate in a dance and not too long disappears shortly... . I don't know Bridging the gap will be suuuuper hard man But not impossible(fingers crossed) Thanks for sharing :)
Tom - Have you got any specific books you would recommend to an INFJ? I'm currently reading 'The Four Agreements'. I'm going to buy 'Type Talk' which is about Myers-Briggs as I feel I need to broaden my understanding. Cheers bud!
Hey man I've had a few people ask me this so I'm going dig out what I've enjoyed and make a video about it. As for broadening your understanding of INFJ & mbti then just google 'Stellar Maze' it is by far the best resource and incredibly well written.
Hey Tom, I'd first like to say, I'm much looking forward to another video. I watched this a while back and was hesitant to comment. However, I've finally decided on the right words. As for my INFJ self, explanations can be difficult. I would highly encourage you to dift around, and learn about different things. As a Christian, (and really just a human) I would encourage you to look back into Christianity (and other religions), but look into different forms of the religion because there are always things members of a religion or spirituality will disagree on. As you described your experience with church, you may want to look out for a more modern church that allows what you seek. Even as a christian, I did not particularly like long sit down services as a child. I hope I did not come off as one of those people who is trying to start something on the internet. I would just encourage you to look into "Modern Christianity" instead of what you experienced at church as a child. I personally find it much more appealing
Tom, your journey is so similar to mine. I love Eckhart Tolle and meditation too. I've read and watched everything that Dawkins and Hitches have said or written. I'm INFJ 4w5 too BTW. If you haven't already, please visit www.pathworklectures.com and tell me what you think. I hope you'll find it as interesting as I do.
hi tom! atheist here (hate the term, but it describes me best) in complete agreement with whay you say. a lot of what we do in life is to prop up our ego, and for many people, atheism is no different. it's easy to examine our reasons for believing something, but difficult to apply the same level of scrutiny to our personal motives for doing so. im wondering if you have thoughts on sam harris and what he has to say about mindfulness and spirituality? thanks.
God loves you and wants you to KNOW Him, through His Word(Jesus), and His Breath(Holy Spirit). Jesus paid a price to restore relationship between mankind and God, not bring religion. Religion is what crucified Him.
It is funny talking about growing up with aspects of religion and not getting it. I think because it is too analytical and yet doesn't explain itself in accordance to it teachings and so as an INFJ it is easy to see through it :) There is more.... And it is metaphysical, easy to understand and grasp, yeah :) The whole universe/ethereal world is just natural to tap into and is seems like is always there yet hard to put into words. But fun to wander in the imagination world that goes beyond beyond beyond in nature
