sholomar

Religion is just another way for a group of people to try to gain power over others. The vast majority of our species just want to be left alone, but are insecure and impressionable, looking for a group to "fit in" with... that's all it takes for those who are strong, or desire power, to gain a foothold. They can then create rules which the leadership gets to break, because that's human nature... a way to flaunt one's status and exercise one's evolutionary drives.. and yes the drive to procreate with girls right as they hit puberty is wired into our genetic makeup, while being culturally suppressed. We can all agree trafficking of individuals is wrong, as is slavery, murder, rape, etc... but from the laws of natural selection, these things are just par for the course. In most animal species these things are a regular occurrence. Do we force the Lion to stop killing the Gazelle and make it vegan? So what is morality? A human construct? Regardless, free your mind from what you think... question everything. Don't let yourself be put into a box, defined by society. The whole point of spiritual enlightenment is to see the silliness in the entire game, taking it all so seriously. Should we try to make the game more fair, compassionate, moral? I suppose we should. Just be careful with "righteous causes" and developing too big a "spiritual ego" in your pursuits of what you think is "right" and how you think society "should" be. That said, if you want behavior changes, you need to provide negative stimuli to what you perceive to be "bad behavior" to discourage future incidents which in the case of child traffickers, would be execution, in my opinion. Sound cruel? Those are the laws of nature. You want real change? Tough love.

The problem is not wheat, it's hot pockets, french fries, fried chicken, pizza, potato chips, crackers, donuts, twinkies, soda, ice cream, and other calorie dense, dopamine stimulating foods. Basically processed foods. They are calorie dense and cause people to pack on pounds when they go out drinking which is another source of calories. We have more pizza places in my town than any other business. Second place for some reason is always auto parts stores, followed by subways. Average foot long sub has 1200 calories. I can make 3 eggs on 4 pieces of bread with low carb jelly and it's around 450 calories for that meal. Calories in, calories out, day after day. 3500 calories equals one pound of fat.

Trap bar deadlifts, dumbbell bench presses, and pull ups (weighted) ... same form, same number of sets, very controlled lifting. Eventually I may integrate more stuff but I do all this at home and want to keep it simple or I will quit. What matters more is progressive overload (more reps or weights over time) logging what you do, and making it repeatable so you can track your progress. That, and focusing on basic compound movements rather than isolation exercises, and then of course your diet. Modest calorie surplus, ample protein intake, and anti-aging compounds to counteract the protein, namely glycine or collagen... 10 grams of glycine per day, or half a bag of aldi brand pork rinds. Time between sets does not matter by the way. You should rest as long as needed to allow nervous system recovery. Given I do this at home and meditate or stretch between sets, the most important thing is getting the required number of sets done. Best advice to young lifters... use proper form, don't push for glory and destroy your joints because you want to show off to gym bros. Your only competition is yourself. The essentric part of the rep is important. Jason is right. You don't need "muscle confusion" ... that just complicates things because now it's harder to log your progress to see if you are achieving progressive overload.

There's nothing really wrong with gluten unless you have actual celiac disease. In fact, whole wheat is an important source of Betaine, which is a component similar to Choline, which is found in egg yolks. If you were to be a gluten free vegan who didn't eat eggs or wheat (and also no quinoa which is a rich source) that's not really the best for the body, and could result in the buildup of visceral fat inside the body. Excessive carbohydrates tend to be unhealthy especially when combined with fats in the diet. Fats and carbs should be separated into their own meals to a degree, for no other reason than the combination is so addictive and makes people overeat. I wouldn't live off bananas or watermelons though. Too much fructose is bad for the liver. Similar to alcohol, only the liver can process fructose. It's all about moderation and common sense. I find the NOVOSLAB diet to be closest to optimal... just don't buy his supplements. Buy a big bag of glycine and some taurine and NAC off amazon for cheaper and use that for anti-aging. https://novoslabs.com/what-is-the-best-diet-for-longevity/ I still eat Aldi brand wheat bran flakes, for the Betaine. Mixed with Orgain protein powder, costco frozen blueberries, glycine, creatine, taurine, ceylon cinnamon, and liquid sucralose. Also Aldi brand 45 calorie high fiber bread (basically the sara lee 45 calorie equivalent for less than half the price) Also keep potassium salt on hand along with 50/50 salt to avoid excess sodium intake. Dr Greger pushes more plant based entirely, which is fine I guess, if that works for you. I like this clip in his recent video on coffee particularly his snarky rip on starbucks that all coffee snobs would tend to agree with.

Listening to any "thought stories" or "narratives" about how reality is and should be, for that matter, including the stuff I peddle. Thinking in general makes a person neurotic, as opposed to being. Getting distracted by all this "stuff" in society is part of the game, but must be done in moderation. Take everyone's perspective with a grain of salt. Find your own truth.

My condolences to Jordan Peterson. Cancer is simply genetic defects that crop up as a result of imperfections in DNA that come along with the evolutionary process. All animal species today are a result of genetic changes over hundreds of millions to billions of years. Preying to "God" is done because humans are wired to want to submit to an "alpha male" type figure that is benevolent and yet all powerful. Few humans are like that, so religion was created as a tool to attempt to control our nature and give someone a mystical figure and a set of commandments to live by to help us feel better and help civilization move forward... to tame the animal within us. I've heard it said that Christianity was the "woke movement" of the Roman era. Even "love" and "affection" are evolutionary adaptations that benefited the species who have them. Every single evolutionary adaptation including Autistic tendencies came about for a reason, because it benefited our species in some way. Nature is incredibly diverse, and that diversity creates a strong balance. As far as what this reality is? I don't believe this universe was created through random chance. All the scientific laws that govern everything are just too perfect. I believe this entire universe was an intelligent construction of some sort. Beyond that, I'm limited by my culture, environment, and perspective of my current situation. There's no possible way to know what this ultimate reality actually is, and there's a good chance the people who do know keep that information compartmentalized and need to know as a tool of control. If we are souls incarnating over and over like Michael Newton would suggest, the point seems to be because oneness is boring, and this reality is more akin to a video game, with just enough hardship and demanding rules to keep us engaged and playing the game. It would make sense that the entire universe is consciousness, split off into basically infinite pieces. Is our observable universe even the edge of it? It would make more sense if the universe was basically infinite. Even then, did it ever have a beginning? Why would it even exist? Who created energy, atoms, subatomic particles, and how did all these laws come about? When did awareness first become self aware? 174 trillion years ago? All fun questions to ponder.

I'll be honest I didn't know what criminal conversion was until just now. I find psychopaths fascinating especially in contrast to super emotional people or people who have a bunch of "should statements" they apply to life, like the left/right cult tend to have. There are no rules to this game. There are consequences to actions, but strict rules? Don't drink gasoline. Don't jump from a plane without a parachute. Don't murder someone and get caught. Rules governed by the laws that run this simulation and ethics humans try to impose on our DNA driven behavior. Beyond that, it's all just mindset, stories, fantasy. Even "science" is a narrative, but one backed up by experiments that can be repeated to produce a conclusion. That's about as close to "objective reality" as you will get inside this simulation/matrix/reality/universe.

Meanwhile, Hamas is hiding a lot of their weapons in civilian facilities such as schools. Textbook military strategy (or the strategy of terrorists) ... they did this back in 2014 also. https://www.vox.com/2014/7/17/5912189/yes-gaza-militants-hide-rockets-in-schools-but-israel-doesnt-have-to Again, I'm neutral on this conflict. I see war as human nature... DNA playing itself out on the global stage as the sheeple take their "sides" and defend their "positions" for some "cause" their mind invents or swallows from state sanctioned or cultural propaganda while none of it really matters in the grand scheme of things outside of raising the global spiral dynamics level. Getting the two sides to come to a peace agreement rather than saying that some group has some ancient claim to a piece of land would be the best solution here. Do you sit by while the other side keeps bombing you? Who actually started the conflict? Who is going to finish it? There's no simple answer here when the desire for "revenge" is wired into our genetic makeup. Leftists often romanticize nature saying it's peaceful and innocent and we humans are the savages. Bullshit. All of nature is survival of the fittest. We are no different than any other animal species... perhaps more compassionate. We are at the top of the food chain so of course we have more influence over our environment. This idea that "we should know better" than to act this way, is also philosophical and idealistic bullshit. Our animalistic drives and insticts run our behavior when we are under stress. The level of "free will" gets greatly diminished. We become creatures of programmed responses to stimuli, which is basically what we are. Who is "right" and who is "wrong" in this conflict does it really matter? Take your sides.

I've narrowed down the most important supplements to take as basically similar to what this guy promotes, but this is just one idiot's (my) perspective though. Still, I've spent enough time among the internet health quacks/nuts and spent enough time as one to where I believe I can give you the best "bang for the buck" supplements so you aren't taking 60 of them. Glycine... everyone over age 25 would benefit from taking 10 grams per day for life for anti-aging, or eat pork rinds. NAC... take if you are over 45... 600mg-1200mg/day for life Taurine ... 1-2 grams a day for life for everyone would be beneficial. Super cheap to supplement. Don't get your taurine from Red Bulls. Magnesium (Citrate, Glycinate, Malate) .... 400 mg/day for life, unless you are getting loose stools or eat lots of high magnesium foods, then cut back. Creatine ... especially important if you are physically active, but more research is coming out about it's positive effects. 4 grams per day is fine. Basic multivitamin .. our soils are nutrient deficient. It doesn't need to be anything fancy or expensive. I use the costco brand. Men should avoid multivitamins with added iron unless you are vegetarian. Choline/Betaine... found mostly in egg yolks and whole wheat, these items are good methyl donors and help keep fat out of your liver. I would ignore the studies that talk about TMAO production by gut bacteria. This is mostly relevant for people with kidney disease who can have levels build up in their body. I would NOT want to be a gluten free vegan. You are going to be lacking these two nutrients and that's not good. Eat eggs, wheat, or quinoa in your diet. Do not take a "choline bitartate" supplement. He mentions omega 3... you can't go wrong with milled flaxseed in your cereal or yogurt, or fresh farmed salmon and trout for EPA and DHA content. Saltwater fish spike up TMAO levels in the body if you believe in that narrative, much more than eggs. I wouldn't supplement with pills (but I currently do for now) Most important is a healthy ventral vagal nervous system. Laughter, friendship, positivity. Good habits... stay off drugs, screens in excess, and keep a good sheep schedule. Have a sense of purpose. Listen to Leo's video on the happiness spectrum and implement the higher forms of happiness.

There's anti-zionists on the right also. I still want to see a bunch of aging David Duke supporters have a conversation with a bunch of young left wing Palestinian supporters. I think that would be amusing. lol. In any case, I personally think the left's portrayal of Trump as some Nazi dictator is silly. Trump had some decent policies, despite his immaturity. He kept the border crossings in check and kept the world peaceful as he was able to deal with nations at their spiral dynamics level instead of trying to force democracy on them. He was portrayed as a loose cannon who might do who knows what to you so nobody challenged him. Biden enters office and what happens... 2 major wars start because he's portrayed as somebody you can walk all over. People flood the border and nobody stops them. I don't really know who to support in 2024. I don't really like supporting either of these "cults" as I see them full of indoctrinated (and corrupt, career) individuals fighting for their "causes" and trying to force their belief systems on the other side. I think that's why most people don't like following politics. The average socially well adjusted person is in ventral vagal mode living their lives, not fighting for causes. This means they are subject to those who are trying to control the game, but such as the nature of reality. Honestly I think Trump could end these two wars, and no other candidate would. They'd just keep throwing money at the problem. Most of the "swamp" just want an excuse to keep printing money from my perspective. In any case, the left on this forum think voting blue will solve all the world's problems, while the right thinks voting red will restore some version of this country that likely never even existed in reality but only in their minds, so both sides continue to live in their delusions.

Human beings are hypocrites as a species. We are motivated largely by self gain and will always tend to have a self bias no matter what culture we are in, not to mention a group bias to whatever "tribe" we identify with. To answer your question the west is lenient towards Israel because jews have a lot of power and have had a lot of power within the west for the entirety of the industrial and technological revolution. They were the money changers, the bankers, the usurers. It's easy to criticize the people in charge and use them as a scapegoat, but those in charge will sometimes have biases themselves. It's human nature. Our entire culture in the US has been around "judeo-christian" values so there's a cultural component. Most people see Israel as a "democracy" and neighboring countries as "autocratic" and less developed and to a degree they are correct, but there's that bias... that there's one "right" way to live. Israel is at a higher spiral dynamics stage than it's neighbors. Obviously they still have some work to do though. I mean, they're only human. When our fight or flight (sympathetic) response is triggered, our spiral dynamics level tends to revert back to our more base animal drives. It's easy to be a saint when your tummy is full and you feel safe and secure. Not so much when bombs are going off around you. Not everyone is a submissive snowflake who hides in a corner hoping for peace when things get violent. Many of us have a killer instinct wired into our genetic makeup, and war gives an excuse to exercise it, for the good of whatever cause is being peddled by those in charge at the time. I don't support either side, though I admit in my 20's I used to be one of those right wing, David Duke type anti-zionists, so for me this whole situation of watching leftists oppose Israel fascinates me. I saw the jewish power back then. I still see it, but life is more complicated than simply blaming an entire group of people for all of the problems in society. This idea that any culture of people has some "ancient claim" to a piece of land to me is equally silly. North America doesn't belong to the Indians just because they were supposedly here first. Who was here before they were? Does Israel belong to Palestinians because they were there first? Research the "balfour declaration." Nature is savage. Survival of the fittest and strong, the intelligent and the cunning. Land belongs to whoever can take it and defend it. Killer bees and fire ants will displace native populations of different species through brutal force as they spread through a continent. Muzzles will deprive lakes and rivers of nutrients starving native fish species. Those are the basic laws of this universe. Compassion is a human construct and has a genetic component. The lion doesn't get punished for eating the gazelle. We as humans don't try to turn lions into vegans. That would be futile. May the strongest side win.

See Leo's "Happiness Spectrum" video... basically lower forms of pleasure leave you feeling empty inside because they don't give you a sense of pride of accomplishment ... it's so "easy" to sit around, smoke pot, play video games. If you can truly be at peace with these activities, great, but our genetic makeup tends to make us feel at our best when we achieve a goal that takes some level of difficulty to achieve.

It can tell you some interesting things such as whether you have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. There's definitely a genetic component to some diseases and the more time goes on the more we'll be able to narrow down just about everything that's programmed into our species by analyzing the computer code known as DNA. It doesn't do any harm to get it done. It's all about whether you want to spend the money.

This forum has an obsessive anti-caffeine bias, that said I don't recommend using it, but both my parents do with no issue. Coffee is one of the largest sources of anti-oxidants in most people's diets which is why I generally promote it, that and I love the smell of roasting it myself, the taste of a freshly roasted and ground light roast coffee that's been brewed in a clever dripper at optimal temperature and grind. I roast decaf beans, because I don't want the caffeine, and it's nice because there's no chaff. By the way, the compound that supposedly increases risks of heart problems in coffee gets totally removed with a paper filter. It's really only an issue if you use some method that uses a course or metal filter such as french press. Bottom line, you can find articles telling you that just about every food in existence is going to kill you. I'm not going to live off vegetables and water so I can live to 100. That's what the glycine, magnesium, NAC, bodybuilding, exercise, and antioxidants are for. It's about quality of life, and I have that part down.

Ditch the "should statements" .... there are no rules to this simulation outside those created by the basic laws of nature. The lion eats the gazelle. Do we shame the lion and make it turn vegan? That's what a lot of spiritual types try to do... rewrite the rules of the game, and thus they end up with a lot of depression and dislike over how people behave, because they have these ideals they strive for, ideals that are never going to be achieved in this simulation with it's rules. Who's to say how somebody should live their lives? Most people would be better off dealing with their own karma and trying to achieve their own peace of mind versus worrying about what everyone else is doing. The whole goal of spiritual enlightenment is radical acceptance of what is. Total being, in the moment. Open Focus. Any sort of resistance, thought stories, emotional reactivity towards perceived slights, and you are back into the world of ego, back into this simulation and all it's drama, it's stories, the hamster wheel of existence. Honestly I think spiritual self help is a coping mechanism for people who just don't fit in with society's normies, and that includes me.