Leo Gura

Don't forget the Actualized Clips channel. Lots of newbie-friendly clips there.

Don't kid yourself. Meditation is super important in this work. Hardcore meditation, not the 1hr kind. Meditation is critical for deconstructing the mind and ego. A Buddhist rat is still superior to a normal rat. Outwitting a Buddhist is no easy feat

@Breathe Of course if your health doesn't allow it that's another matter.

Yeah, but if you were serious and focused you could help 1000 people improve their lives by the time Trump leaves office. Or you can sit around worrying about what Trump will do. Trump is a distraction. Go build a business, create art, help people. You could in fact build a business that will help more people than Trump hurts in the next 4 years. But your mind is distracted with lower priorities and no vision. That is the trap here.

At least RationalWiki got one thing right.

@carterfelder Don't defend Shapiro's obvious Zionist nonsense. Shapiro is diabolically biased and his politics are incoherent cringe.

I have explained enough. Read what I wrote and question your own paradigm.

You are misunderstanding what I'm saying.

What Is Actualized.org? is designed for newbies as an intro.

Every which way bro.

This is incorrect. Majority of people are fine. 1% of people will be screwed. Don't forget that a majority voted for this. Majority hated Biden, so let them have a taste of Trump.

It's hard to say how bad it will get. We maybe overestimating it or underestimating it. But sitting there worrying about it is useless at this point. Go build your life.

The simplest, smallest crack pipe is good enough.

@Misato Katsuragi Could you tell us more details about how DPDR feels for you and what exactly makes you feel negative about reality? I want to know what kind of negative thoughts are arising for you. Thanks.

All it takes is one.

Licking me costs extra.

Don't forget to watch the episode on Balance

@Misato Katsuragi Thanks for sharing. I suggest that you ground yourself in everyday human life activities. And I suggest that you do some work on recognizing the beauty, magic, and love of Consciousness. The Consciousness you see all around you in everyday life. The colors, the music, the trees, the birds. In the end this work is about discovering the Beauty of Consciousness. As the ego breaks apart that can be scary, but don't forget the Beauty of Consciousness that's all around and needs no ego to be seen or appreciated. This work is not about no-self. It's about Beauty. Try not to get hung up on the no-self part. Keep us updated with how that goes. Don't forget how Beautiful you are.

Meditation rewires the brain/mind in ways that psychedelics cannot. Hardcore meditation sharpens perception in important ways. Psychedelics also sharpen perception but in ways that just don't last long enough. Meditation also forces the mind to confront difficult emotional labor that is different from psychedelics. Meditation forces you to confront boredom and addictions in a very serious way that psychedelics cannot. If you haven't done a 200hr retreat you really should. It will be hell, but you'll also learn a lot.

Again, be careful conflating what's happening today with the fascism of the 1930s. Today's fascism is very lite by comparison. Trump is not ideological enough to be a proper fascist. Remember, we've been through 4 years of Trump already. This 2nd time will be much worse, but it is not the fascism you're imagining.

The Ouroboros, The Cosmic Tortellini

The game everyone is playing is avoiding just sitting down under a tree for 200hrs of non-stop meditation. If you look at every human being: academics, scientists, politicians, CEOs, New Agers, right-wingers, progressives, influencers, celebrities, etc -- all they're doing is just a clever strategy of avoiding sitting under that tree. They will do anything, say anything, they will riot -- all just to avoiding sitting under that tree. That's what it all boils down to. Because sitting under that tree is the death of all their bullshit.

Yes, stuff like that will certainly happen. There is always the chance that you will end up as collateral damage in society. That chance has increased under Trump. You may catch a stray bullet in a protest.

Yes, of course. But this thread was asking why I personally haven't run away. Every government policy hurts someone because there are 350M people. Obama deported a lot of illegals. Just because tens of thousands are hurt doesn't mean America is unlivable or even that anything major has changed. People ARE exaggerating the effects of politics on everyday life in general. This is true while it is also true that tens of thousands are hurt. For American life to really change, tens of millions would need to be hurt. That's not even so easy to accomplish. Even if Trump wanted to, he doesn't have the manpower to deport 10 million illegals. There are pragmatic limits to how much damage can be done how quickly. Which is not to say he can't do some very dangerous things like start a war. But aside from a war or serious market crash, most Americans will not feel anything. This is not me being callous, this is just how society works. Don't forget that even during war, most people feel nothing. In Russia, most people are still living their lives business as usual. Even with 1M Russia losses. That's still only <1% of the population. What you guys are missing is how robust society is. Even if 20% of Americans died tomorrow, life would go on. Sounds harsh but that's the reality. And yes, the rich are always insulated from the worst of it. Who do you think is dying in Russia? Not the rich. So it has always been and so it will always be. The whole point of being rich is that survival is easier. This isn't an error. Those who work harder and smarter have more resources to shelter the winter. If you live alone in the wilderness and work twice as hard and twice as smart, your chances of surviving the winter are 4 times greater. I have been very vocal about the dangers of Trump. But it's important to also keep that in realistic proportion.