sholomar

It helps to be a well adjusted person in order to advance up the spiral dynamics stages. If you are wired to be an introvert that doesn't want to socialize and even has an aversion towards people or negative feelings towards them, that comes from childhood, so "faking" it in this manner will wire your own brain to crave socializing more, and thus over time can make you a happier, more well adjusted person. Learning to socialize is like learning any new skill... it takes time and repetition to wire it into your subconscious mind and make it come natural to you. I always think of that line from the movie "Avatar" when I want to learn a new skill, where he talks about "it's like field stripping a weapon, repetition." A person must get over their negativity towards people if they want to grow, period. There's no quick fix around that. That phrase "fake it until you make it" has some merit. You don't necessarily have to be an extrovert, but if you have any hangup towards people whatsoever it must be addressed in some manner. The concept of "being yourself" ... well personality is actually a very impersonal aspect of one's being... I prefer to think of it as something I can hack and change to suit my goals....

"How Not to Die" by the aforementioned Dr. Michael Greger but be careful about swallowing any particular philosophy as though it's the only right one. He has things in there about cancer viruses in chicken... don't let that scare you away from eating chicken once in a while if you enjoy it, especially the canned chicken you can get at costco which won't have any live viruses in it. Handling raw chicken or undercooking it would be more of a concern (wash your hands) Also be careful about eating too much fructose. His book promotes a lot of high sugar items like dates and date syrup and the like... too much fructose in the diet is detrimental. These supposedly "healthy" forms of sugar like honey are not really much different from corn syrup.. it's just molecules of glucose, fructose, sucrose. Still the book has lots of great advice that will extend your lifespan, particularly when it comes to consuming anti-oxidant rich items like cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, and also cold milled flaxseed is a superfood of sorts that is really inexpensive. Consider getting a "vitamix" blender and you can make some great healthy smoothies with berries and flaxseed and this blender will pulverize the ingredients good. In my opinion the best diet would be his diet, scaling back on the sugar and adding some lean meats and fish, so the Mediterranean diet. Also pretty much eliminate all addictive processed american junk food (hot pockets, pizza, and crackers loaded with MSG which makes them too addictive) except for once a week, your treat or splurge day which would coincide with a weight lifting or heavy cardio day if you exercise. Of course if you read David Hawkin's books on non-duality he'll tell you that once you reach a certain point in your development it doesn't matter what you eat, but that doesn't mean I'd go and drink gasoline or anything. Fact of the matter is plenty of people live well into their 80's on a standard american diet, so it's up to you. I love this diet and the spices that americans tend not to use in their foods though that give them so much more flavor, so it works for me...

I'm reading "Disappearance of the Universe" right now along with the book written by his wife about healing which is pretty good. I also bought some of Ken Wapnick's books on kindle. I find the Course itself to be so complicated in the way it's written that it doesn't resonate with me. Another hangup of sorts is I have all this scientific knowledge in my brain about evolution, psychology, how the human brain works (the older limbic brain comprises most of our emotions) and also ponder things like "what about animals?" ... do they practice forgiveness? Do they have souls? They mostly operate on instinct minus consciousness, so more limbic brain and less prefrontal cortex... and what about other planets in the universe? Are we all just trying to get back to the source? Part of me wonders if "enlightenment" isn't simply a chemical release of oxytocin in the brain and if pure evolution isn't the ultimate truth. Never having had an enlightenment experience, out of body experience, near death experience, or any sort of psychic encounter, I guess I should perhaps get ahold of some psychedelics so I can experience for myself, or go to a haunted house, something so I can get some concrete proof of this "afterlife" for starters which will make all this enlightenment stuff stick more to my scientifically minded brain. In the meantime I understand all this spiritual work is meant to strengthen the parasympathetic nervous system, reduce sympathetic activation, and thus calm us down and make us more at peace. I understand the amygdala and other related structures create the emotions we know of as fear, anger, stress, anxiety, combined with our thoughts and some instincts our DNA comes pre-wired with. If anybody has read any books that merge spirituality (specifically enlightenment) and science (focusing in particular on evolution and human psychology) if you could post them that'd be great. Thanks! In the meantime browsing these forums more might get me some more insights. One of my new rules is to only browse forums that promote laughter, playfulness, or growth, and not anger, hatred, divisiveness (godlikeproductions, lunaticoutpost, and city-data politics forums were my favorites in that catagory)

Replacing almond milk with cashew milk or better yet soy milk would also be water friendly. Almonds take lots of water to grow, and in a part of the country (California) that doesn't have reliable precipitation. I have cut back on meat just because of the book "How Not to Die" .. I just feel better when I only eat it once or twice a week. There's so many multi-grain products and plant based proteins along with spices like cinnamon, ginger, cocoa, etc. that can make eating plant based really delicious. A vitamix is also a great tool for the plant based eater.

The smell of a fart and a piece of cheesecake.

Buy as much AAPL stock as you can. Hold it forever. Have father do it too. My stage orange advice to my 15 year old self.

Study your history and listen to more of Leo's videos. Life back then was stage red/blue. Modern life is stage orange/green. There's still a lot of disadvantages to today's system but in general if you get injured on the job and have to take time off they won't just see you as useless and kill you like might happen back then. You have the freedom to choose your friends, your job, where to live, your passions, etc. Back then a lot of these things were chosen for you. There were less/no social protections. The list goes on. My stage orange thinking at work here... I do think technology will solve the world's problems.. especially when we get free energy and complete automation where we no longer need humans to do things like slave away at an amazon warehouse all day with their every task timed and every move monitored... at least as long as the robots don't gain consciousness and turn on their masters. A lot of humans still do really crappy, hard work for low wages in many countries around the world... even US factories can feel like prisons... but we are making progress. I've listened to a number of videos that have opened my eyes while driving on my trip the last few days.. the debunking libertarianism video, democracy video, and the spiral dynamics stage blue/orange and part of the green video, so I'm thrilled my perspective on the world is opening up more.. I can feel it...

I think we've made excellent progress the last 20 years. Things aren't perfect but we are humans...we have these string limbic animal drives within us.... Knowledge is power.

We should keep the wind energy tax credit in place. As someone who lives in the great plains I can tell you that there is more than enough land to place windmills to power the entire country and nobody is going to care about them visibly messing up the landscape. Try driving through south dakota using state highway 34....it's empty, vast, large, and very optimal for wind towers. The great plains states due to their elevation, lack of trees, and chinook winds are optimal. https://windexchange.energy.gov/maps-data/319

Trump will be gone in 4.5 years tops and the next guy will take over. The beauty of checks and balances is it keeps a president from having too much power. Personally I'd strip them of their executive order power and make everything go through congress. Make them put in a full days work year round. The big problem has always been money...corporations having too much influence over politics.

It's just like slave owners having slaves 200 years ago...it's just how things were. People aren't really capable of thinking outside the societal Norms of their tribe. It's silly to attack them for cultural norms of the past really. Learn from their mistakes. I did not know about his women beating tendencies. I think everyone has a dark side when nobody is looking. Maybe I'm projecting.

By definition there are a larger than normal number yes, though they are a much more polite, less hostile version than the ones you find on platforms like reddit. I try to have no bias at all and like to be the contrarian that pokes against the establishment viewpoint to get people to question the nature of their reality (masks for example) but it doesn't really do much because neither extreme will change their views, coming across opposition only makes them redouble their emotional attachment to their views, like a rebellious teenager doing the opposite of what their parents want. Honestly since I haven't spent enough time with you guys I'm not going to judge either way. I'm trying to extract myself off of screens anyways.. I don't want to be on them much more than an hour a day.

I find anyone with extreme political positions tends to be pretty neurotic. There are plenty of neurotic people on both extremes of the political parties in the US. I have nothing in particular against gun ownership, but I'm not really the type who feels the need to take away everyone's freedom to protect everyone from each other either. I'd rather have more freedom and risk dying early than be protected from cradle to grave by an overprotective nanny state, but I'm not super opinionated about the matter either way, as long as I'm not living in a police state like China. Like Leo says, are you on forums debating people over stuff? That's neurotic. It's why I don't really visit here that much and am trying to get off places like reddit and city-data. It's just a place to feed neuroticism at least that's what I find in myself although I've found a lot of great self help material on reddit. Looking forward to going out to my mother's place and putting 100 rounds through my 9MM after an hour of meditation.

Frankly this happens with a lot of self help authors... their best work is their first books or they hit a plateau in the middle after which they start to decline a bit. There's no shame in this. Think about a sports athlete that hits their prime and then starts to get older but still loves the game and still wants to play. They might not be as good but they are still around. To be frank Leo provides more free content than any other self help author out there so I don't see the issue. If you don't like the video, listen to a different one. I have a few favorites, such as "65 principles for leading a good life" , "happiness spectrum" and "40 signs you are neurotic"

A person can hack their dopamine levels... more like we re-sensitize the dopamine receptors.. they become resistant because we are a society that has a sensory addiction. This overstimulation causes brain fog and makes people feel like zombies. There are numerous posts about it on reddit in places like "nofap" .. you deprive yourself of stimulation... no screens, bland foods, no masturbation or porn... Leo doesn't specifically mention dopamine in any of the videos I've watched but the science behind it is fairly easy to understand. Self mastery... to sit with a craving or impulse but not act on it.. the affects are powerful... sensations are nothing more than different versions of emotions.. leo has that video on how to deal with strong negative emotions, that you just sit there and feel them.. that's basically the premise to boost a deflated dopamine level. Deprive oneself of stimulation and the body will go into withdraw.. you'll feel like a smoker craving a cigarette. Having to sit with these sensations is very uncomfortable, but all sorts of positive benefits result such as zest for life returning.

I always tell people on reddit to make sure they are being paid a fair wage in a low COL area. If you have to be working you may as well be compensated well for your behavior. In our current system the top and bottom suck from the middle, so if you are stuck in a factory and not making $20/hour, given the way they push for productivity these days, it's no way to live. I feel grateful for the job I have. It's fairly easy, pays well, and in a low COL area with no state income tax, and it's depression-proof. It gives me time outside of work to pursue personal development. The ying and the yang are important... balance. Once you get into full time working and start to get older, the time just flies by...

For me this virus has been a good exercise in cultivating non-resistance... a lot of resistances have been brought up in me during this that I've been working through. Is it selfish to use world events like this to help free myself? I've gone back and forth on whether we are over-reacting to the virus. Part of me wonders if the people just going out there living their lives, not over-reacting, in a common sense manner of course, are actually the more enlightened ones compared to the people panicking and scolding others and ratting them out.. to me they seem like the neurotic ones... full of fear, resisting what is. Do we really need to be obsessed with saving every last life? Everyone dies. Food for thought. It's the elderly and people who are overweight and not taking care of themselves that are the most affected. I'm not sure how it will go over here compared to other forums but just thought I'd throw it out there. For what it's worth I've met several 80+ year olds that have lived good lives, and are out there living life during this virus... their attitude is "if it gets me, it gets me." ... to me that sort of acceptance is wise, but I can see how being compassionate towards others who don't share that viewpoint and want to take precautions is also wise, so I've taken a middle ground approach. If they open it back up, fine. If they don't, I'm fine with that also. I will say I could use a haircut!

Part of it is how you define success. Everyone has a different definition. For most people where I work success is raising their family which typically requires working 60 hours a week. For me I live minimalist because I like to spend more time learning my electric guitar, or going out in nature being mindful, or admittedly wasting more time in front of a screen than I should be, but I'm working on that. haha. For success in the world, I would agree that people skills and social connections are the single most important skill to have. It also helps to have some level of self mastery, meaning the ability to delay gratification and pick long term sources of pleasure over short term sources of pleasure. I like to use Leo's video on the "happiness spectrum" as a good guide here. Self mastery itself is hard... cultivating new habits takes work. The body naturally wants to take the path of least resistance.

True that, but anti-gravity would mean bases on the moon and other planets, a whole tourist industry set up in traveling the solar system. We wouldn't be talking about Elon Musk trying to get to Mars in months or years using rockets... he'd be there in a few hours or days. I'm convinced if we had the tech it would have been exploited by now, given how much money the top 1% has access too... virtually limitless. The oil industry doesn't have the political power it used too in the past. Yes it's still a big industry, but I don't believe they could actively suppress anti-gravity tech.

I used to believe back in the x-files days when I was a teen that the government had anti-gravity tech already... clearly they don't because it would be too profitable to not have been mass marketed by now. I always "wanted to believe" precisely because I thought the earth is boring, and most things people do and talk about in their day to day lives is boring, but of course personal development has undone a lot of this.. being able to step off the hamster wheel most people live their lives in (and yet being able to accept them and not judge them) and just being able to "be" has done a lot to improve my satisfaction here. Just going out for a hike somewhere, immersed in being, observing the rock formations and animals, the feeling of the breeze, the sensation of the sun's rays, the sounds... how complex and yet simple everything is... quite satisfying. It takes up thought space because as far as ego interests go, science is high on my list. I find the natural world fascinating, and going even deeper, the concept of a soul, reincarnation, other dimensions, astral beings, and all those other distractions.

Don't be a blind follower. Live your life the way you want. You don't have to sit around all day and meditate. I suggest reading David Hawkin's book "Letting Go" ... the important thing is to slowly undo more and more ego programming as you go, by being more and more playful, at peace with yourself and the world, relaxed, accepting of things as they are, and less judgmental, hateful, and resisting of "what is" in life. Do what you do but change the way you react to negative situations as they happen... learn to roll with the punches as you go, and you'll be headed the right direction. This isn't a cult. You don't have to do everything lock and step with the way he says.. he is one man. He himself will tell you to read 100 different books by 100 different authors and don't listen to only what he says.

Seems to me you have to dig through your own bullshit. There are different paths that lead to the same destination. Don't worry about how others take their path... worry about your path... once you evolve enough, there shouldn't be any bullshit for you to even have to "tolerate" in theory. There's a thread on here right now about "people who eat animal products cannot be enlightened" .. I'd say it's topics like that which can throw people off course.... this person is entitled to their opinion but missing the whole point, in my opinion. This can throw other people into thinking matters "of the world" matter, and that "fighting for causes" matters more than fixing one's own bullshit.... it keeps one stuck in the world, worried about the trees, instead of seeing the forest.... it creates more bullshit... basically it fuels and empowers the ego and righteous morality. It is the opposite of what enlightenment is about...

As somebody who has felt suicidal it's driven by the biologically wired emotions and instincts we evolved as animals to want to fit in and be part of the pack, to feel accepted. It's really a cry for attention or the final result when we don't get attention, feel outcasted, and feel powerless to do anything about it. For most men the cause is no woman in their life or the love of their life betraying them.. most men really need that emotional connection, more than women realize, but women are biologically wired to want dominance and want the man all other women are chasing... the dominant bad boy alpha type. Combined with surplus of men from no wars killing off the surplus males leading to a surplus of men and many of these men being weak or lacking a personality and it leads to a lot of frustrated men. Nature is harsh, boys. It's the limbic brain (our mammalian brain and all it's emotional drives) and the thoughts of the prefrontal cortex (consciousness and thought) mixing in a toxic brew is really what it is. Once you get into a habitual thought pattern it can be hard to see any other perspective. It happens more to people who isolate themselves because an outside perspective is the best way to break free of that record groove of habitual negative thinking, combined with our strong genetic urge to want to be part of something. I've found Leo's audio combined with "theredpill" subreddit to be some of the most useful information in my life, along with information on how the limbic brain works, the dopamine reward system, and evolutionary psychology.

I find it's a balancing act between self discipline and letting go and just being... like the ying and the yang. Leo talks about needing to accept yourself as you are, and this is the part a lot of development junkies forget because they are always striving to be something different than what they are. This ironically will get the sympathetic nervous system fired up and can lead to burnout and anxious behaviors. It's a paradox that you just have to finally say "fuck it" and accept your monkey mind before you can hope to achieve change. For me it's all about building new habits and the best way to do this is to print out a list of what I'm going to do so then it automates the process and I spend less time debating, ruminating, and trying to resist cravings.. here's what the list says, so this is what I'm doing. Rewiring the limbic brain is about repetition.. taking a new activity and repeating it until it's a habit.

I was late to the personal development game and finally after years of anxiety I'm managing to wire my nervous system and limbic brain to relax, cultivate my sense of humor by exposing myself to humor, and grow myself, but for me it's always been about being part Aspie and not good with women, not having "game" or any of the attributes in that video Leo has about 5 things women want, which is 100% true by the way. I do have enough money I could quit my job now and move to the Philippines and take a mid 20's wife and have 4 kids, but I still have a few years of earning power and self improvement yet before I'll go that route. I'm growing and bettering myself by the day, but like that Pink Floyd song says, I missed the starting gate. I do have 9 nieces and nephews so it's not like my genepool is going to die, not that it really matters anyways... we are largely genetically identical and 99.9% of us will be forgotten in 100 years.