Hello humans, I'm Lyle. I came here to find a new online community of diverse, intelligent people and their views on the world. I had a major spiritual awakening not 2 months ago, completely sober, while working for a tax company as a sign waver. But first, I'll tell you a little about myself as a frame of reference. I am a skiing, skating, fire-spinning music man, good with computers and on the path to become a music therapist, tutor and potential business owner. I have a very broad taste in music, spanning from jam bands like good ol' Grateful Dead and Phish to alt rock and electronic music of all kinds. I play flute and sax as my mains, and also dick around on guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing people dance their hearts out to the beat of my own creation. It's a truly fulfilling career choice, and although I might never "make it" into a comfortable living playing gigs alone, I still like to spread love as directly as I know how. Before I had my awakening, I was insecure, somewhat rude and very skeptical about the idea of a divine source. Beflore I got on a proper medication regimen for my mental illness (bipolar), I was always in the clouds and could never seem to find a way to go with the flow, especially when it came to socializing. That's all been changed with a new outlook that could only come to me through direct experience and what I believe to be a fair share of suffering for my age (22). Now then. The first stage of my enlightenment was not a profound realization, but instead a new outlook coming out of depression on a great regimen of medicine that made me come out of my shell and look past myself to see the feelings of others and the ripple effect of my words and actions. I quit my band on the grounds of a perceived persecution and resistance to my bisexuality, manifesting itself in light-hearted homophobic remarks that I took too seriously. Even then, they wouldn't allow me to paint my nails on stage, which shouldn't have been a big deal, but it cemented in my mind that I wasn't wearing my "uniform" to play in the band and maintain a certain "image." I am still glad to have quit, as I never felt quite right being around them, but I couldn't get away from the resulting loneliness. Fast forward a month or so later. My enlightenment came to me in a Lady Liberty suit while I was dancing around with a sign to try to get people to come into the shop and do their taxes before it's too late. Most people enjoyed my enthusiasm, including my boss, but I had a small problem while I was singing along to a song. It went "Whatever it means to you", and I added on "To do your taxes!", and caught the worried expression of a Hispanic woman in a beat-up minivan. I went up to her quickly and made peace, ending on smiles, and she drove away and I went back to work. A few minutes later, with my ego a bit deflated, I was struck with a divine revelation. I realized the interconnectedness of everything, hearing the grass grow, the clock tower ring, the wind blowing, and everything else in my environment interacting with each other, including myself. I broke down in tears and laughed and cried for everything and everyone at the same time. Dead sober! I was able to finish the day with an incredible euphoria and finally felt AND understood that I am at one with the universe for the first time in my life. The next day I was fired for being late, since I decided to bring my instruments and work harder than ever to get people into the shop to do taxes. Since then, my learning has soared and I am learning so much about people and their unique takes on the world, and how I can connect with them on a deeper level. It may never have happened without the series of events that brought me to that moment in space and time, and I am so glad to have gone through the suffering that I believe is necessary to attain this level of enlightenment. There is no longer any doubt in my mind about a divine source guiding us to do good in the world by helping others and finding our sets of specialties to do so. Thanks for reading. I am a peaceful guy and can't wait to dive deeply into this community. I love you!
