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Resource Recommendations please - for the "Why am I here?" question

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MarciaB:
I retired about a year ago and am feeling adrift and in need of some help with direction.

What I am wanting is any recommendation you might have on resources (blogs, books, websites, courses, authors, coaches, philosophies, etc.) to help me "find my purpose" (or at least my next super meaningful project). I can spend time thinking about this all by my lonesome, but would appreciate some guidance from a third-party source.

The Mad Fientist just put out a blog post along these lines (which I'm sure many of you have already seen) and the timing on it was perfect for me. (https://www.madfientist.com/hierarchy-of-financial-needs/). I especially liked where he said that long-term travel wasn't really for him after trying it out (and coincidentally that's what I'm doing at this point).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Mmm_Donuts:
I have found a LOT of inspiring meaning-of-life posts and other resources on Brainpickings:

https://www.brainpickings.org

The author (Maria Popova) has great taste in books!

markbike528CBX:
The Power of Now -Eckhart  Tolle   -guidance for living in the now, which increases happiness by setting aside regrets ( past) and worries (future).

Dr Kidstache:
I've been wandering through this same dark night of finding purpose since becoming suddenly disabled/retired a couple of years ago. Here are my 2 favorite resources that I've found very helpful (both very directive and pragmatic):

- A mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) course. They are offered in many cities and academic medical centers. If there's not one near you, there's a free online self-guided course available that I've done at https://palousemindfulness.com/

- The Foundations of Well-Being online course. I wish I could gift this to everyone I know! Even going through a small portion of this course = instant improvement in life. https://www.thefoundationsofwellbeing.com/

A perk of both of these courses is that they include a sampler of of ideas, authors, experiences, etc that you can pursue to find more resources that speak to you. In my personal experience, learning how to listen to myself has been a big part of discovering what brings me meaning.


 

infromsea:
I am working through this process as well.

I'd suggest anything by/about the stoic way of life. I also use daily meditation.

I'm also looking for someone to talk these things out with, I try to be stoic and am studying Buddhism but I think this could be a slippery slope if not guided. For example, stoics say to control your response to things but some days are MUCH harder than others, I think it's due to hormones/quality of sleep/quality of diet etc. When I have a "tough day" (get mad at the dog easier than normal) then I feel as if I've failed to live up to the stoic ideas, this can lead to a "mind lock" of negative thoughts/emotions.

Secondly, the Buddhist mentality is to give up all craving since it's the source of all suffering... OK, then I feel bad for craving security for my family (and I know security is an illusion, you can't truly be 100% secure) so I go into another "mind lock" of thoughts bouncing around.....

In short, I'm looking for someone for guidance etc. My wife doesn't have the patience to tackle these topics with me, she can only take so much of conversations like this before throwing in the towel, not that I blame her, I can be pretty intense with these subjects and I'm sure it's a lot to deal with, especially since she's religious and I'm agnostic.

Good luck on your journey!

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