TheAlchemist

I found this documentary quite fascinating and mind-expanding. Obviously the classic hippie fantasy of "I will go in the forest and mother nature will take care of me and give me everything I need" is mostly naive and would get you killed very quickly. This documentary shows quite a mature perspective on how hard the hunter-gatherer lifestyle is, you have to dedicate everything you got to do it. It's possible to survive in nature long term, but you have to develop serious mastery in dozens if not hundreds of different skills. Also, it's pretty much just impossible without depending on other humans; your tribe.

I genuinely empathize with how horrifying and traumatic that kind of hellish experience must have been. A raw and direct confrontation with a demonic entity and the reality of hell. What could be more horrifying? It sounds like you actually have quite a robust psyche to able to face something like that without totally losing and breaking your mind into pieces, to the point of significant dysfunction. At the same time however, I wonder if this is what happens if a shit ton of the shadow or unconscious material is confronted all at once. If it is a case of too much too soon, in a way that completely overwhelms the system of anyone that confronts such things, even resulting in significant trauma or PTSD. As I'm sure you know, this is one of the real dangers of psychedelics. There is no filter or defenses when you go deep enough, anything could appear. I'm also curious if you see these "demons" and hell realms as literal, separated metaphysical realms/entities that exist independently and have a power of their own. Or are they something like representations or symbols that embody and express the darkest aspects of reality in your view? I'm sure you can relate to the experience of facing something that initially causes terror and intense fear, but overtime through increased understanding and integration, you feel less intimidated by it. Do you think this could be the case with these demon and hell experiences? Or is it completely beyond any possibility of understanding or integration? I'm curious because I have had some similiar experiences, probably not to the level you describe, but still. I'm genuinely slightly open to the possibility that there are some things like hell realms and demons that cannot be faced and integrated/understood through reflection/contemplation and study but at the moment I find that possibility unlikely. It's also hard for me to believe that the cultural elements and influence from a a fundamentalist religious narrative when growing up wouldn't have an influence on how the mind interprets experiences like that. If I recall correctly from some messages we exchanged, we both have fundamentalist style Christianity influencing us from childhood.

@Sincerity sounds to me like the marketing is sinking in 😁

Betfair betting exchange (peer to peer) is currently settled on odds of 1.72 (58%) for a Trump win and only 9.6 (10.4%) for a Biden win, which is absolutely crazy. Kamala Harris currently has higher odds than Biden (7.0/14.3%). https://www.betfair.com/exchange/politics/event/30186572/multi-market?marketIds=1.176878927 Odds for someone other than Biden being the Democrat candidate seem to now be around 30-60% on a few sites. https://polymarket.com/event/will-biden-drop-out-of-presidential-race?tid=1720036056296

Good point, it's just baffling how this doesn't register as an actual issue for so many people. Even though there is 100x more historical, sociological, geopolitical reason to be seriously concerned about this than some "Great Reset" hype. It's just fascinating (and scary) what kind of stuff gets masses of people panicked and concerned (Great Reset, WEF, conspiracy theories), and how when actual shit goes down it just doesn't seem to click.

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.