Espaim

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Posts posted by Espaim


  1. Disclaimer: I want to clarify that although I refer to my experience as a 'psychedelic journey,' I am not implying that it is complete or definitive. It may sound very new-agey and it maybe is lol.


    Hello, fellow actualizers,

    I want to share with you my journey with psychedelics and meditation. About two years ago, I intentionally paused my psychedelic use and meditation practice. I was only 20 at the time, and I needed to focus on my life purpose. I have tried various psychedelics, including weed, mushrooms, LSD, DMT, MDMA, and some more that I don't remember. Among them, DMT and LSD were the ones I used the most. I tripped on these psychedelics around 80 times, all in just one year. Although I would like to have access to 5-Meo-DMT, it's an enormous challenge in my country.

    Leo has inspired me to use psychedelics, and I thank him for that. I used them responsibly, following harm reduction guidelines, and doing serious inquiry during most of my trips. Although some of them were just for fun, I still prioritized safety. Since then, I've been investing in my life purpose, which involves the study of pharmaceuticals and drugs on the brain, from the perspective of psychology. Although I don't really like medicine or pharmacy enough to study those substances from those perspectives, psychology is my preferred choice.

    Psychedelics aggressively expanded my mind in terms of open-mindedness. Although I don't consider myself enlightened or anything, I do believe that psychedelic and spiritual experiences helped me become a more well-rounded person and understand other perspectives. Some of my psychedelic experiences felt like years of therapy in hours. However, I felt like it was time to develop myself further, which is why I paused my psychedelic use. I felt somewhat ungrounded after going through all of those psychedelic trips.

    During my psychedelic journey, I faced traumas and had existential questions answered, such as unconditional love, no self, the absolute, death, god realization, and many more. As a result, I noticed an increase in motivation in my personal life. Although I might not have reached the level of enlightenment that Leo claims is possible, I still found benefits from my psychedelic experiences.  Throughout my psychedelic experiences, I gained a valuable insight that has provided me with emotional stability - the idea of 'not-knowing.' While it's difficult to articulate, this has helped me tremendously, pragmatically speaking.

    Before my psychedelic journey, I used to be a very disagreeable and sometimes aggressive person. Although I'm still disagreeable, I am way nicer now. It may sound contradictory to be socially anxious and aggressive, but I just wanted people not to interact with me. After using psychedelics and resolving most of my problems with social anxiety, I learned how to socialize properly, which made me more assertive. Moreover, I feel more authentic, which is very liberating.

    I hope my journey with psychedelics can be useful for at least someone here. If you have any questions or want to share your experiences, feel free to do so. Thank you for reading!


  2. Hello! We could help you out, but to provide you with the best possible answers, we would appreciate it if you could give us some more information about your current situation. What are your interests and goals? What is your current financial situation like? Is there anything else that you think we should know about?

    By providing us with more details about your circumstances, we can offer you more tailored and specific advice.


  3. 6 hours ago, Sucuk Ekmek said:

    S.D. is a great model but I just can't cope up with it.

    I appreciate your perspective overall, and while you may not personally agree with the Spiral Dynamics model, my main goal is to ensure that my point comes across clearly to readers of this specific forum.:)

    8 hours ago, Basman said:

    Its something you're more likely to spend time thinking about than actually dealing with it in your life unless you actually spend time with individuals where it would supposedly be apropiate to use gender neutral terms.

    I have regular interactions with individuals who prefer to be referred to using gender-neutral language. So this is relevant for me to some point.

    8 hours ago, Basman said:

    It is quiet drastic to expect others to change their language to conform to a small minority of the population.

    In my opinion, significant social changes usually take time, but it's essential to people going towards progress. Although I may not identify as an "active activist" of anything, I believe that we should strive to accommodate minority groups to the extent that is reasonable, at least in my personal life. History has shown that many social changes have been based on achieving equality and uplifting marginalized communities. For example, the civil rights movement fought for equal rights for African Americans, and the LGBTQ+ movement has made significant strides towards acceptance and inclusion. These movements have paved the way for a more just and equitable society. It's worth noting that I don't think we have an equitable society nowadays.

    This connects to the representation I mentioned earlier, particularly in regards to women.

    7 hours ago, Hugo Oliveira said:

    First, language was made for communication, it is a tool and has a function. Real inclusion can never be made through language, it can only be made through ethics. Think about art, architecture, fashion, and transport. Those things only adapt when really necessary (to help people with disabilities for example), otherwise, it is not reasonable to request changes in these areas, because it is not their purpose.  

    While this may not be the primary concern, addressing this issue could potentially aid in advocating for greater inclusivity. Nonetheless, I must acknowledge that you have raised a valid point.


  4. 21 hours ago, Sucuk Ekmek said:

    Regardless of S.D. stages who is benefiting or benefiting the most from this phenomenon? This would be my first perspective.

    I brought up Spiral Dynamics because I believe it can provide a clearer understanding for readers. As many of the participants here are likely to be Americans or people from English speaking countries, they may not be familiar with the intricacies of Latin American conservatism. However, I am aware that this theory should be taken with a grain of salt, as it may not necessarily apply to every situation or culture strictly.

    Moving on, I believe that individuals who do not identify as any particular gender may benefit greatly from this discussion. Additionally, women who are used to being represented by masculine language when reffering to large groups may feel more included if gender-neutral terms are used.

    @Danioover9000 

    In my university, we study structural racism and white privilege, and I recognize that these concepts can be difficult for many people to fully grasp. I don't mean to condemn anyone who struggles to understand them. However, when I encounter instances of racial discrimination, I do my best to address them and educate people on the issue. Unfortunately, that's often an wasted effort.

    The challenge with gender-neutral language is that it's even more abstract and unfamiliar to the average person than concepts like structural racism and white privilege. This is not to say that people are unintelligent, but rather that our education system often fails to adequately address issues related to gender identity and language.


    Logically speaking, it would seem reasonable to have gender-neutral language options available. However, it's not entirely clear for me how this could be practically implemented.

    Portuguese can be considered to be a relatively inflexible language, which may make it more resistant to changes in its structure or usage. Other Latin or Romance languages may also face similar challenges but I'm not certain on this point.


  5. As a psychology undergraduate living in Brazil, I've been witnessing numerous debates about pronouns and gender in Portuguese. This issue is distinct from English because our language has only two genders, which are applied to most nouns and adjectives. Typically, the masculine gender is considered the default. For instance, the words "gato" (masculine) and "gata" (feminine) are used for "cat."

    Recently, many stage green academics (teachers and students) have been advocating for the use of gender-neutral language. In Portuguese, this would mean using "gate" instead of "gato" or "gata" to avoid gender-specific nouns. However, our language has yet to adopt such linguistic flexibility, making it challenging to write in a gender-neutral way. While I appreciate the idea of inclusion, Brazil has a predominantly Spiral Dynamics Blue value-dominant population, with only some cities, such as mine, leaning toward Orange and Green values.

    As a result, this change has started to gain traction, but I'm unsure of where I stand on the matter. I would like to hear perspectives from those who are not directly involved in the situation.

    Thanks!


  6. It's poisonous. Don't drink, preferably.

    But I'm a hypocrite. I drink occasionally but when I do it's a lot; I stay just below the line of blackout. I only drink beers so I can track my alcohol intake precisely when drunk.

    I mostly utilize it to bond with people I already know. I rarely drink outside my house or at parties. The interactions I have or "friends" I make while drunk seem very fake afterwards and I can't shake that feeling off. I like being authentic when socializing and I don't feel like that's the case when I drink with people I don't know.

    Adding to that, I'm one of the rare people that have the "hangover effect", where you feel better the day afterwards. So it's cool.


  7. At university I am around so much stage green extremists I just gave up discussing whenever they start talking about any political issue, despite being a leftist myself. Open-mindedness is preached everywhere but it's hard to find someone who isn't blind by ideological rage.

    They have open "debates" but any slightly different ideas that go against their values are heavily repressed, ironically.

    I do empathize with them though


  8. I was very into leftist movements and causes and even went to some protests between ages of 18 to 21. This was during university. I'm still at university, but I'm questioning the effectiveness of those actions.

    I volunteered at some green organizations but they don't seem to have a great impact in the big picture imo.

    There's lots of pointless, anger-filled discussion, left extremism and loose and poorly-planned actions in my POV. They are not pointed at the core issue but go tangential to the actual (systemic) problems that could be addressed.

    I can understand and empathize with the pov of those people though.

    So, that being said, what is your approach to these topics? I admit I haven't studied enough to have a nuanced opinion yet, but I plan to do that.


  9. 41 minutes ago, Ulax said:

    @Espaim Ye sort of asking about triggering. Or like how you react emotionally when you feel people overstep your boundaries.

    Situations like these are rare. I treat people kindly mostly and act non-judgmental, but I'm not a doormat. More like assertiveness. I am rarely passive-aggressive.

    I have had several times were I told people right away I didn't like what happened and try to solve it as fast as possible so both parties don't hold grudges. I also read the non-violent communication book and it's on the back of my mind to solve these kinds of situations. Nevertheless, experience is king.

    On the internet I couldn't care less though. Too many toxic people to bother with wasting energy to be kind so I just ignore or block them. No personal attacks


  10. 1 hour ago, Ulax said:

    @Espaim Do you find your emotional state aligns with your yellow intellectual beliefs?

     

    Sorry. I didn't get the meaning of what you asked. Are you asking if I get triggered easily? Offended often? If I have anger towards "enemies" and "evil"?

    I'm emotionally stable most of the time. And I had several people tell me I'm very calm and patient.


  11. 5 hours ago, Epikur said:

    You might be judged and cancelled if you are cool with it you are tier 2

    The first time it happened it bothered me cause I was heavily moralized by Green people, but now I'm fine with it. Looking back, it was funny cause they didn't know exactly what to criticize(cause I already integrated many Green values).

    As I said, I understand why they do it, so now I just shrug it off.