ivory

Riots are a terrible way of dealing with tragedies like the George Floyd incident. Looting and rioting will only further divide the nation. Nothing says, "We are a bunch of thugs," like rioting and looting. Fire will be met with fire. A lot of protesters know this and there are a lot of peaceful demonstrations. As for the actual rioters and looters I think they are taking advantage of a situation where society and store owners are in a vulnerable position. They know they can get away with it so they do it. They are acting out of selfishness, rather than promoting equality. I'm glad that people are coming together and protesting, it's time for change and the protests are illuminating the problem and drawing lots of attention. Good will come of the situation but there will be those whose hatred grows as they see violent and reactive behavior. It is time to come together and unite, not divide and destroy trust.

But think about what the rest of the world will think of the US. The US is the laughing stock right now and I'm not sure they understand how unpopular Trump is with the American people. It's going to take us a long time to undo the damage he has done and gain at least a little respect on the political stage. I sincerely hope that the American people show up at the polls this time. That is our only hope of beating Trump.

Aw man, I read this book a few years ago. Gonna have to give this a listen.

Sounds like he really needs to work on self-acceptance. IMO, it's one of the most challenging aspects of self-development. Judgements seem real. I personally did therapy for a couple of years. I have no idea how I would have accomplished what I have on my own. I was riddled with self-judgement but my therapist was constantly reassuring me that nothing was wrong with me. In the end I came to see my true self-worth. I am a huge proponent of therapy, especially when one starts down this path.

@Orchid I don't think you need a lofty response. I'd keep it short and sweet. Let others know you're not going to get sucked into an argument and that you're not going to let them shame you. While I do believe that people "should" have some political views or some knowledge of what's going on I also realize that everyone has a different set of values. What I mean is that you decide what's important to you and no-one else can tell you what you should or should not be doing. I used to have no interest in politics so I can empathize with what you are saying. I have two favorite lines I use when people give me lip. "I'm not going to argue with you," and "I don't need your judgement." End of story.

I've had similar thoughts. But after thinking about it a while I realized that protests raise awareness. You can bet that people aren't going to be forgetting about George Floyd anytime soon and I'm willing to bet that cops are going to be more cautious. Like you said, it's not getting to the root of the problem but changes do take place.

@EntheogenTruthSeeker Good on you for recognizing your limitations. Be strong and keep fighting the good fight.

@EntheogenTruthSeeker Just curious, how well do you take care of your health and how easy is it for you to tell when a mania is coming on? I too am bipolar and can understand the frustration of manias and taking meds. However, I am able to take psychedelics without too much harm being done. I recently learned, though, that I can't do them that often. It triggers some pretty nasty stuff. I have found that LSD is much kinder than mushrooms. Mushrooms affect my mind in a way that LSD does not. The other thing I learned is to start tripping in the morning so I can get a good night's rest at the end of the day.

@IJB063 I don't normally write long posts but this question is true to my heart. The important thing to know is that almost all of this stuff comes as you progress though life with awareness and diligent (but gentle) practice. All of these things are life long endeavors. You will always be improving whether you realize it or not. You will always have something to work on. But also realize that change is a slow process. Be patient, but be consistent. The other important point I want to make is that external circumstances are always changing. You don't always get to choose what you want to work on. There are times when you will be alone and you'll have to exercise independence of thought, there are times where your job will demand all of your time and focus, there are times where you will be in love with another, there are times where where you'll be surrounded by people you don't like and have to practice acceptance and open-mindedness. Growth is not linear. The last point I want to make is to use your time wisely. Don't waste it. Follow your passions and keep developing yourself. Your free time should be valued more than gold. Now to address some of the ares of growth you mentioned... Creativity Creativity starts to flow the more you take care of your health and expose yourself to new things and places. Exercise, meditate, travel, explore, hang out with interesting people. Stay away from too much TV, surfing the web, and other junk entertainment. That shit will kill your creativity. Love Love comes with time. Be aware of your judgements and try not to entertain them so much. You are on your own unique path, and so are others. Once you come to realize that change in yourself comes slowly and gradually you aren't so quick to judge others because you understand the same is true for them. Understanding spiral dynamics at least on a basic level will help you out here. Independence of Thought Make your own decisions, take calculated risks, and give yourself the freedom to make mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and failures and don't be hard on yourself. Clarity of Thought Meditate, exercise, eat healthy, and get plenty of rest. Life Long Learning Always have a book on hand and surround yourself with intelligent people. Get help when you need it whether it be a spiritual teacher or a therapist. Authenticity Don't try so hard for the acceptance of others. Figure out who you are and surround yourself with like minded people. Not everyone will like you, nor will you like everyone else. You need to be the selector, decide who you want to have in your life. Speak your mind and be yourself unapologetically. Radical Open-mindedness This comes with time and a true spiritual practice. If you are really on the ball, you are questioning your thoughts, beliefs, and world views. Over time you come to realize that everything you think you know was programmed into your brain and almost none of it is verifiable. The reality is that you know very little for certain. Nor does anyone else. The more you realize how little you know the more open minded you become. In short, opinions and judgements are garbage. None of that shit is true, you know nothing. Fearlessness This is a life-long endeavor. You will always have fear and many fears may never go away. The important thing is that you really, really know yourself. Know all of your fears and start opening up to them as challenges are presented to you. Don't be in such a hurry to get rid of fear, courage is a life-long practice. Introspection Keep doing what you're doing. Over time introspection becomes a part of who you are. Initially, though, you will go through periods of confusion and doubt, wondering if you're doing this right. Sometimes you will be, and sometimes you'll be way off course. But, if you're starting at 20, by the time you are 30 you will be wise beyond your years. The mantra is "JUST KEEP GOING" Questioning Introspection and questioning are sort of the same thing. Just remain curious and you can't go wrong.

Pretty much what the title says. My spiritual practice has gone to shit and I just don't feel motivated to practice. I notice sometimes that when I read a story about awakening my level of inspiration goes up. Then I'll practice diligently for a while and then drop off again. Can anyone recommend some newer books on non-duality that you feel are inspiring?

Where do you get these numbers from? Right now I do 1.5 hours a day. Oh yeah, I do psychedelics quite regularly. At least every 2 weeks.

@Identity Maybe you don't need to trip. If you don't want to do it, then don't. If you do, then to it. Learn to trust your higher guidance.

@Rilles I do things that bring me joy. Where I struggle, though, is taking care of my health. I feel good when I do it but I have a tendency to get lazy. Sometimes I forget that.

Man, I've been practicing for quite a while. And what I've learned is that if you do it long enough, you end up hitting dry spots where your motivation runs dry. It's just something that happens. Part of the work is to just keep going. If you're paying attention to life, you notice that the same thing happens in other areas. Oh yeah, but like all things, bliss doesn't last. I welcome it, but don't strive for it. Thanks! I agree. Then again, life is ups and downs. I don't think we are meant to be joyous all the time. Good stuff man.

Oh you are getting your degree? Good stuff man, enjoy. To this day, algorithms and data structures are my weakest link.

@Rilles I used to hate the term "practice". It sounded like a dead end. After a while, though, you realize you have to make it a practice.

@Rilles How is that a problem? @Aaron p Thanks

I'm a software engineer. Right now I do iOS software development with Swift but I learned C, C++, and Java in college and a few other programming languages while on the Job (C#, Ruby, VB). Once you learn one language it's pretty easy to pick up another. However, like the others said here, I'd recommend learning one very well. C++ is good to get started because you can get low level just as you can with C but you also get object oriented programming. I will tell you this, you really, really have to want to learn and you have to be willing to work hard. I would not recommend this path for anyone that is not good at or interested in math. To be successful you have to be both creative and love problem solving. If that sounds like you then you are on the right path. The last thing I'll say is that it is very hard to get a software job unless you have a college degree. It can be done, I know two people that have done it, which is not a lot. But both were very smart, loved to learn, and worked very hard for a couple of years just to get their foot in the door.

I think that everyone's path is going to be different. I really struggled with self-esteem so I went into therapy. I do not think I would have been able to pull it off without it. The thing to remember is that it takes a lot of time to know yourself. When you really, really know yourself self-acceptance comes as a byproduct. I was lucky because my therapist really hammered the concept of self-acceptance into me. No matter what I did or said he'd have some way of showing me that there was nothing wrong. But, to answer your question, I don't know what you should do. The fact that you are asking says that you don't either. If you don't know what to do then how do you know it's going to work. Anytime I meet someone that asks for help I suggest they get professional help. It is fucking worth it.

The more you realize how little control you have over your journey the more you realize your innocence. Allow yourself to be imperfect and be patient with progress. Change happens very, very slowly. Learn to accept yourself by realizing that you can be no different. When self-judgement arises just note those thoughts, don't give them any power. Over time they cease to bother you. Going forward there is something you can do, take care of yourself and act with authenticity.

The easiest way to know what to say is to find like minded people. Figure out what matters to you and find people with the same values.

These teachers you speak of are full of shit. This is all wishful thinking. Charlatans.

I should have been more clear. There's just not enough evidence to prove that aliens or UFOs exist. When I saw Bob on Rogan's podcast I was immediately fascinated. I took a good deal of time to research alien and UFO sightings. I wanted to gather as much evidence as I could, and I was really hoping to find some truth. What I discovered was a lot of untrustworthy sources and contradictory information. At some point, while watching Unidentified I realized that there was just no way of knowing anything for certain. I do think that some people are being honest about what they've seen in the sky, but the question is, what the hell are they seeing? Are they seeing objects from space, or is it government aircraft?

Bob Lazar is extremely convincing. My observations, some of which we share, is that the information that he shared was very detailed and his body language is tight. He's articulate, consistent, and highly intelligent. He doesn't seem to care whether or not people believe him and is not an attention seeker. I find it hard not to believe him, however, there's just not enough information to back up his claims.

Also notice that the people who are always convinced they are the right are the most unpleasant to be around.