Apparition of Jack

Not all discussion is equal. If that was the case, your loud-mouthed uncle who loves ranting about politics and sports after a few cans of beer would be enlightened in no time, and yet we know for a fact that his hilarious rants often cement his delusion and ignorance, not draw him out of it. You have to be way more discriminating with the words you're putting out into the universe.

I hear you man. Up until just this week I was always dismissive of the idea that aliens had visited our world, but now thanks to Leo's blog post and me questioning my own existential assumptions I'm beginning to see that may not be the case. Still, this brings up even more questions than it answers. God certainly makes things interesting for itself.

Hey everyone, So I'm something of an empath/shaman, in the sense that I'm able to feel very strongly and even "bond" with the thoughts and feelings of those around me. This presents a problem for me though, since the people around me tend to be very logic-centric survival-based materialists (philosophically speaking), which then causes me to act like a logic-centric survival-based materialist. However, such a way of living/being is totally unnatural to me and I find my soul being crushed pretty much every day because of it. The problem is then compounded by the fact I have a hard time explaining myself to those around me without feeling fear and anger arise, which then only makes the problem worse, leaving me feeling even more trapped. Basically what I'm asking is, how can I find a way to explain to the people around me what I'm experiencing / what I go through / what are my spiritual needs without coming across as sounding crazy (to them) or "irrational"? What can I say or do that may help them to listen to what I'm saying in a way they can understand, but also ensures I get the space and support I need from them? Thank you for any replies

Interesting time for this thread, in all honesty. Perhaps a little tangential to your point, but if I may ask, how do the people around you feel about the US's current aggression towards your country? I'll be praying that you and your country stay safe throughout all this.

Nice to meet you, Miss G.

Being open-minded doesn't make you a pushover that rolls over to whoever wants to stubbornly push whatever narrative they're selling. I quote Leo here from just a few days ago: "Notice that visionary leadership is not meek or neutral. It is bold and decisive. It is not afraid to challenge cultural norms and call out devilry." Leo and the mods have a very specific vision for this place, and low-quality and troll-tier threads are not part of that. You can accept that and join in the discussion, not accept it and move onto the countless echo chambers that will reinforce your worldview, or not accept it and get banned for not following the rules. It's not rocket science.

History happens in stages and phases. For every two steps forward of progress and evolution, there's always one step back of regression and fear. This was and always will be the case; wisdom comes in knowing which step of the process you're in and knowing what to do to navigate your world to the other side.

Grah to-omlaan om-creiazay. Un-erelaan jux-omlaan creia-yu?

Here's Matthew Fox, someone I consider embodying a healthy yellow approach to the Christian theological perspective

I like Sadhguru's take on this topic. He says both theists and atheists make claims about things they don't know about. Once you investigate reality and know (rather than just believe or theorize about) the true essence of reality for yourself, then the question of "atheist vs theist?" becomes meaningless.

Who says sitting in a temple doing nothing but meditating all day isn't implementing visions and garnering respect?

The motherfucking AZTEC NON-DUALITY one was an absolute masterpiece! I don't know why, but something about the combination of the aweomse Aztec metaphysics and Leo's teaching method/spin on them really resonated deeply with me. It also helps that it came at a crucial point in my life, too.

I'm not sure real sure what this has to do with stage green. In all honesty, it kinda sounds like you just had your ego hurt and wanted to come here to vent.

I would bring back devotion and public displays of the sacred. Things like leaving offerings to deities, people praying / chanting / doing yoga in public, communal festivals honouring certain figures or ideas, and so on. In such a secular, post-religious world I don't know what this would effectively look like nor do I know how to get people on board with such a movement, but it's something my heart longs to see nonetheless. Our left-brained, rationalist urban environments could do with a healthy dose of spiritualification, if you ask me.

I can't answer any of these questions in depth, since I'm still figuring them out myself. One thing I've found that helps a lot is to have an attitude of courage and gutso, however. A lot of us are socialised (by the media, by our peers, by civilisation at large) to essentially be passive desperates always hoping for a magical "big break" (no matter whether that's the the perfect partner, the perfect job, sudden social acceptance, etc.) This isn't going to come, and if it does, its only because you manifested it yourself. You need to take risks, stand up for yourself and say provocative things if you're going to get anywhere or change anything in this life, especially in a society as corrupt and complex as our own. Of course, I'm not saying you need to be reckless and needlessly endanger yourself and others, and there's a time and place to keep things quiet too, but on the whole, developing character and gravitas by challenging yourself and others is something you should be aiming to achieve. People love someone who's sure of themselves and has the experience to back it up - even people who are opposed to your ideas will begrudgingly respect you if you demonstrate you have both a good heart and a good mind. Now of course, developing these things is a skill like any other, and starting out it will be quite hard, especially if you're just first waking up to the gravity of the predicament us modern people find ourselves in. Compassion exercises help well (metta meditation, for instance) as a way to ground your motivation and ideas in love for all (INCLUDING and ESPECIALLY love for yourself), and act as a safeguard against your own / other's egoic impulses. Finding the right people to challenge you and support you can go along way too. And finally, an attitude of carrying with you the heart of the warrior, being a champion of light and truth, someone willing to let go for the sake of others, can be an incredible narrative tool to give you the energy / inner security you need to say and do the things that need to be said and done at the times they need to be said and done. I hope all of this makes sense. Again, this is not advice to be foolhardy and self-destructive, but rather brave and pro-active. If you want to do anything truly great in this world, you will need allow yourself to be vulnerable and spontaneous when the times call for it.

Turquoise wisdom from an enlightened tortoise

You have turned money into a false idol and put all of your faith in it out of a misplaced impression it will help you rise above your survival-based fears. It will not, and in fact your faith in it as a false god will only enslave you to them. Only radical compassion, insight, open-mindedness and an ability and willingness to face the confusion, contorting, confronting truths about reality and society can do that.

That's the one! Thanks Leo

It was something along the same train of thought as a Leibniz's "monad", in the sense that it referred to the basic "substances" of reality, but unlike monads (which refer to "one-in-one") it instead meant "two-in-one" or "both two-and-one." I really forgot what the word was, but I think it was something like "hologad" or something sounding like that. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? EDIT: Pre-emptive thank you for any replies!

It honestly sounds like you're just salty that you're not part of this "mafia" that you speak of. "The lady doth protest too much" and all that.

Taxes are utterly necessary if you enjoy not being stabbed for whatever modicum of food you have in your house. Every single human lives within a collective (with ever-changing and complex needs,) and it is the responsibility of each individual to ensure that collective is healthy and functioning, less it fall into violence, hatred and anarchy. Taxes are one of the most straight-forward, efficient and responsible ways to reach that end. It's not taxes you should be afraid of, it's the people who tell you you don't need them.

I have sent you a PM since this conversation is getting too long for the public forum.

I guarantee you I have faced truths much darker than whatever you can throw at me. Try me.

I can handle whichever truth you throw at me.

They really don't want to know what? You need to be clearer here.