TheAlchemist

The progressives reactions to Project 2025 remind me a lot of the conservatives reactions to the WEF "Great Reset" thing. Both the Great Reset idea and the Project 2025 idea are seen by some as a fundamental change in existing governance structures and day to day life. Of course, it seems there are more well founded epistemic reasons to see the "Project 2025" as a legitimate issue, compared to the Great Reset idea, which remained extremely vague and full of assumptions. I think it is a good exercise to think about why exactly something like a the WEF Great Reset hype looked like something silly to you (which I believe it mostly was), whereas this looks like a real issue. I think we can identify some of the epistemic practices that happen on either side. What is required for a progressive to take on a potential danger in the future seriously, and what is required for a conservative? (Generally speaking ofc)

I sometimes catch myself thinking that maybe I haven't suffered "enough" yet, maybe I haven't been deep enough into hell yet for me to live out some story of coming stronger and wiser through it to the other side. But then sometimes I wonder, how much is enough? I have this idea in my mind that I have to explore and understand the depths to become whole but maybe there are some distorted ideas mixed in. The perspective you shared helped me shine a light on this pattern of thinking, also helped me recognize that it is coming from cultural conditioning. It surely connects to these cultural ideas we have about human worth, achievement and who deserves what. Here's an exercise for me: Imagine this kid has a more holistic, nuanced, wise and overall deeper insight into some fundamental aspect of reality than any guru figure, philosopher or teacher you ever looked up to. The kid had a nice and chill life and just got all the answers, figured his life out without much suffering. What then? What kind of resistance comes up?

This video is indeed a great intro to NVC

Brothers and sisters, we dreaming

I have been trying to track down the original creator of this image Edit: Finally found the original source of this image. The artists name is Rozzi Roomian and her instagram is @rozzidreams https://www.instagram.com/rozzidreams?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Came across this quote from Anhony DeMello that I thought went along quite nicely with this episode “I'm going to write a book someday and the title will be I'm an Ass, You're an Ass. That's the most liberating, wonderful thing in the world, when you openly admit you're an ass. It's wonderful. When people tell me, "You're wrong." I say, "What can you expect of an ass?"

Is the implication here that there could exist a reality that is pure horror, torture and absolute suffering for a seemingly eternal amount of time? Also, not just could, but MUST every kind of reality also exist in true infinity? Are there any sorts of functions that in any way direct how reality can be? For example, it seems to me that certain aspects of reality need to be convincing enough to an experiencer so that certain qualities/functions are possible. For example being lucid in a dream basically stops the possibility of horror dreams or nightmares, since the dream is recognized as a dream and certain aspects of it cease to be convincing. But maybe also a reality could exist where it is impossible to become "lucid" or to awaken from the dream. Is awakening or lucidity or "seeing through" the dream (recognizing the dream as a dream) always in some way possible, no matter which reality is being imagined?

Sounds similiar to the headless way perspective Douglas Harding and Richard Lang talk about. Douglas Harding has a short book on this view where he goes into various challenges people experience with this way of seeing the world. You can find the pdf online. Hope it helps

Weed is not in itself a psychedelic or non-psychedelic. It has the potential of acting as a psychedelic, a stimulant or a depressant. The method of consumption, the set and setting, frequency of use, personal history and intention all have a major effect on what potentials in the plant come forward. Take an edible in a beautiful place in nature without any distractions, after a tolerance break, with no phone and set a real intention as you would with a psychedelic and you're likely gonna have a totally different experience than sitting at home hitting the bong eating pizza for the 5th time this week.

Many of the existing Trump followers will likely double down in their defense of Trump after this, since now in their eyes the whole judicial system is completely corrupt. So I think we might see an even more extremist version of the MAGA movement. Probably this verdict will have a real effect on the part of the population that doesn't really follow politics and are not super passionate about it, and those Trump supporters who are not idolizing him but just supporting him because of some shared values. Also, it isn't easy to convince half the population of a conspiracy theory, a lot of people still have a respect for the judicial system. I think it's likely Trumps rhetoric will get even more extreme in demonizing the left and Biden, but he is running out of moves here. Biden just needs to keep it cool and stable, funnily enough being that "law and order" character which is usually associated with conservatism.

My instagram feed is also getting flooded with AI generated videos with Alan Watts' voice talking things that he never actually spoke. And these videos are getting massive amounts of views and people seem to think it's actually Alan Watts speaking. Or maybe the comments are also AI generated 🤷‍♂️

@Leo Gura some years ago you mentioned in some other context how crucial it is to truly respect another persons agency. That point stuck with me and it has been very helpful in many contexts. Whether it is relating to an addict or a discussion about vaccines or talking to a fundamentalist Christian, I just keep realizing how important of a foundation it is to truly respect a persons need for agency, independence and self-determination when discussing any of these things. For example, I am pro-vax, but I started to see how the so called anti-vaxxers were just often super anxious and frustrated because they sensed their agency was being breached. Kind of like if some authority figure orders you to take out the trash. If it is expressed in a way that doesn't leave open the possibility of saying no, it might feel like a self-betrayal to force oneself to do it, even though it practically isn't a big deal. All the theories and conspiracies are secondary effects of people who felt their sense of agency was being breached and the strong emotions connected with that. I started to feel more at peace with the anti-vaxxers when I saw what the underlying need was, I was able to connect to that experience of lacking a sense of agency in some way, because I had also felt that in another situation. Trying to see and connect to the underlying emotion and needs can be like an antidote to dehumanization and an engine for empathy.

This is indeed huge news. Interesting to see how this will play out. Will there be 3rd party investigators on the ground to verify information that might spring up with potential accusations that this was a deliberate attack?

In regard to documentaries, I highly recommend some of Adam Curtis' work. In relation to politics/ideology "Can't get you out of my head" is very eye opening. He compiles archival footage in fascinating ways to narrate the rise and fall of various ideologies and worldviews at a wide-scale societal level, exploring how we got to where we are and also a tiny bit about how we might move forward. Quite fun to watch yet also highly thought-provoking and insightful. Another lovely series of his is "The Trap" which goes along nicely with Leo's latest release

I can't recommend anything but I can share a method for finding some great books in any field. Go to reddit and a specific subreddit for lets say sociology, geopolitics, critical theory, psychoanalysis, philosophy etc. and do a search within that subreddit for book recommendations in a specific topic. This wya you can often find some of those more specific and rigorous books in any topic instead of the more popular science, often less nuanced books that a more general audience might be familiar with in that field.

Good exercise, really stimulated some thinking/wondering. I'm sure Leo did cover some of these already in his video, I didn't fully watch the episode yet. I also noticed that with some of these, the "opposite" can be just as much of a trap. 1. Upgrading your lifestyle right after making more money, getting a nicer car, a bigger house, fancy food etc - it is much more difficult to give up gained luxuries. You become dependent on that new standard of living and will suffer if you lose any of it. 2. Supplements/nootropics - even if you find the perfect supplement that solves all your problems, you now are dependent and can't live without it. (Exceptions exist) 3. Categorically avoiding people who you don't "resonate" with. (Not actually abusive people or trauma inducing situations) 4. Diving into social media bubbles that confirm the existing worldview, and avoiding exposure to alternative or "opposing" perspectives. 5. Any kind of scapegoating of the "other". "Othering" in general. 6. Putting any teacher or speaker on a pedastal, thinking they have all the answers and are somehow fundamentally above you. 7. Confusing strategies to meet needs with actual underlying needs. 8. Confusing assumptions/judgements with underlying feelings. 9. Trying to change people or pressure them to think like you. This only backfires since it's like interacting with a salesman, people sense there's always an underlying agenda, and it doesn't respect an individuals agency. 10. Game theory type thinking - assuming people are always rationally and selfishly calculating maximum benefit for themselves at the expense of others and operating based on that. HUGE trap. 11. Utopistic thinking - believing that if we just remove the "bad stuff" only the "good stuff" will remain and our utopia will be realized. 12. Cynical dystopic thinking - thinking that all collectivism and envisioning of a better future is bad and dangerous. 13. Revenge and punishment towards others or oneself 14. Shaming people and shame in general (vs. guilt) 15. Attempting to get and also actually getting the world to conform to your desires 16. Wanting power over others and/or having significant power over others 17. Conforming to peer pressure 18. Attempting to get everyones approval 19. Inflexibly chasing "goals" 20. Taking ones individual life too seriously

The "devil" is in your mind and will catch you, one way or another. Even the bliss of the dualistic heaven itself is fuelled by the screams of pain in hell. So unless you enter an ignorant state in heaven, you will still be aware of the duality that sustains your bliss and the devil will still be there haunting the back of your mind. By resisting it you are only denying the other half of reality. To succeed in your "goodness" you ultimately end up sacrificing most of mankind to Satan himself, through the belief that they burn in hell and somehow deserve it. So once again, in the name of the ultimate "good", (which in the fundamentalist Christian sense means denial of evil), you end up committing the greatest evil, which is sacrifice of almost all mankind to the devil. Reality needs both sides to function my friend, the devil feeds off of resistance and denialn. We don't need to love the devil, but just understand it is a representation that is just another side of the same coin that all the "purity" and "goodness" is. The devil isn't ultimately real, only God is, but the Devil is an aspect of God. The Absolute must include and transcend both. And what we call the devil can be integrated and "tamed" in healthy way through art and spiritual and philosophical insight. Until then, as long as the insistence on one-sidedness of reality and God continues, the ancient war machine maintains its momentum.

You didn't choose to be born in Ukraine (or wherever), so why should you be forced to give your life to it? It is only through coercion (often social) and an identity that is regidly tied to a nationality that wars can still go on at the scale that they do. World wars don't happen through the masses voluntarily going to kill people, the whole war machine needs the national identity, demonization of the other, social stigma etc. at scale (which you have faced) to function. Ultimately, it is a question of your own conscience and staying in integrity with it. If you are clear with yourself that going to war is madness and won't help the world move towards a better place, then it is much better to refuse, assuming you are ready to face the consequences of potentially being shamed or at the most extreme being physically forced or even killed for not complying. Don't let anyone convince you to go just through shaming you or pressuring you, but if you truly can find a good argument that convinces you in a way that you can maintain self-integrity and peace with yourself and the world, then by all means go. Just don't let potential shame or threats be the reason.

The most beautiful performance of the night: Surely would have been a winner if this forum were voting 😁 Also Ukraine was great, and Lithuania

@Girzo From what I understand, the pharmaceuticals are mostly irreversible MAOI's where as harmalas are reversible MAOI's (RIMA's). RIMA's still require some care with avoiding tyramine rich foods, but it is even more important with the classical irreversible MAOI's.

If you mean pharmaceutical grade MAOI's (not harmala extracts/syrian rue etc.) then you gotta be super careful with the diet.

Ganja/Charas, so Cannabis/Hash. I heard local people actually donate it to them, and these sadhus often like to share too