Roy

Do not give in! Be strong, like Sir Galahad!

The fact you're able to resist having sex with someone who is questionably/considerably underage for you because it feels wrong makes you a rare man, because 9/10 guys would fuck her. So just don't do it, find someone else.

Guys lets keep conversation on the topic instead of getting into it about each others person lives. Remember we are here to develop, not bicker.

Congratulations, you just moved yourself up into the 99th percentile of all men on the planet

I will go to the grave not truly grasping why anyone would want to drink decaf coffee. I can understand decaf soda... but decaf coffee? Really lol?

Something like this, the magnitude of it just makes me tear up. Especially in the context of why it was made. From the 2016 climate change documentary, "Before The Flood".

How would you even know? I feel like even when people try to do studies, participants would just lie and scew the data, or in friendships and in private relationships people will lie because they don't want to be judged. I don't really trust any statistics I read, it's kinda left to our best guesses based on the individual. And even the studies that do get published usually don't take into account the generational differences. The invention of smartphones/dating apps and overall increasing materialism/shallowing of western culture probably increased the average number of partners for everyone now compared to idk 40-50 years ago?

Sounds like she's got a lot of healing to do and should probably talk to a sex therapist or psychologist. Should also get off the LSD too.

This place is for self-improvement. Not a place you get to dump garbage doomer thinking, and stir in resentment. I had to lock this thread because it's clear it's utterly useless and unproductive. In fact let this locking serve as a PSA to everyone on this sub-forum, men and women alike. Y'all need to step up your game. I see way too many arguments and clashing here between the genders, and general unwillingness to understand each other, and it's really affecting the quality of this place. We are all human and two sides of the same coin, so use this place to open your mind and take the opportunity to learn, instead of behaving like elementary school kids. And for OP and anyone who think like that;

All of this stuff is not gospel, it's just ideas. Find out what is real through your OWN direct experience, and trust that. If something feels wrong or off, then go learn about what you're missing and only use those ideas to inform your experiences, not taking them as a set of instructions. Your personal experience > anything you read here.

What do you mean by this?

Don't beat yourself up too much @Javfly33. The ego is a hard thing to tangle with. It's always a work in progress and you're going to have downturns, relapses, and rough patches. It's all apart of the development process. What is important is maintaining that constant fire to keep GOING! Progress, not perfection, as they say. I'm in a pretty good spot now, but if I told you or this forum what I did in the months of April/May you'd probably all completely revise any opinions and perceptions you had of me You are not alone.

Had the exact same problem with my last long term partner. But I burned that insecurity out very quickly > It's culturally conditioned patriarchal selfishness is what it is. Recognize that within yourself so you can let go and move on. It will take a bit of time but eventually you won't care anymore, because she will be yours (at least for the duration of the relationship). Realize you cannot change their past or who they are, so all that's left is to love and accept them as they are now (or not). Also stop talking about it and asking questions if you aren't getting anything out of it. Some things are better left unsaid and just because you're in a partnership with someone doesn't mean you need to know every single little detail or secret in their life.

@StarStruck Most girls won't want to go on dates if they know literally next to nothing about you. Subconsciously safety is always in the back of their mind, as it should be. Give them some time to vet you. You want to ask for a date somewhat quickly yes, but don't just crack a joke or two and then say hey let's meet! Treat them like human beings and show some interest. Ask what they do for a living, hobbies, where they came from etc. and share a bit about yourself so they know you aren't a psychopath lol. It's a fine balance. You are talking to a LOT of women though and getting a shitload of practice, so you'll figure it out

I've only ever taken Salvia once. 18 years old wet behind the ears. Was a fun experience becoming a literal couch and a TV for 5 minutes lol. Basically confirmed my suspicions at that age that there is radically different potential states of being compared to just regular sober consciousness. There was no profound insights or spiritual epiphanies on Salvia for me. It was basically just a complete raping of my visual field and motor function/sense of physicality (disappearing) .

Is it wise? Maybe. Will it backfire? Perhaps. Is it necessary? Absolutely. This is going to be divisive, but I don't care and I'm going to say it anyways - Sometimes stupid people need to be coerced not only for their own good, but for the greater good. It's like Sadhguru said about smoking, "It's not that smoking is bad or wrong. It's just that it's simply a stupid thing to do." Not getting a vaccine against a rampaging contagion is simply a stupid thing to do, sorry.

@Nos7algiK All very good things to contemplate! I'd lean more on the enjoyment side of things personally. I think the relativity/interpretative levels in this domain are really high and most time should be spent "playing" with it.

As @Waken said above it's simply a lot about how you view yourself. It's not rational to be angry or resentful or anything about something that's out of your control (unless you opt for expensive surgical modifications, but I wouldn't recommend that). The answers to healing your emotions and finding peace around this in your life is grounding yourself in what you CAN control. Why would you focus on anything else ? - Exercise and physical health are great, keep taking care of that because it spills over generally into how "nice" a body looks (no other way to put that). - Constant reminders and affirmations to have more positive thoughts about yourself affect your mentality/perspective on it. If you work at it enough through sheer repetition it's entirely possible to "hack" your mind to view things completely different to how you view them now, and not be worried about or reflecting any "feedback" from the world so to say... Also to note here I think you've just made a strategic error. Online dating is almost utterly reliant on looks and the medium in general doesn't have a lot of "human" elements to it because they are being traded off for convenience. Interactions (and some of the people too) tend to be kind of shallower because physical appearance and whatever you mention on your profile is all the information they have to judge you off of. Ghosting is kind of a social epidemic because of technology right now, so I'd keep reminding yourself not to take it too personally. I get ghosted constantly lol. I'd recommend switching to a better playing field for you. Meet people in real life so you can truly express who you are. You can display your personality and show your body language which is nearly impossible online. These are all just Xs and Os though. What you need before doing any of it is to truly BELIEVE that you can attract someone and get the relationship you want. None of the actual work will feel impactful and worth doing if you don't have that belief in place. Lucky for you, you can cultivate that belief. It's not about either "having" it or not, like it seems on the surface.

This is data from my fitbit the past week. The timestamps at the start and the end of each sleep are extremely accurate, as it senses your movements and spikes in heart rate. Red marks indicates "awake" time, and the slivers are basically just tossing and turning in sleep. I take zero naps in my life unless I am physically ill. My sleep will become even more deprived and fucked up as I get more involved with firefighting lol. It's not ideal but I can get by on this and can operate machinery and drive most of my days fine. Just eating right and coffee compensates most minor fatigue I have.

Just joke with her that you're a feminist and believe in equality, which includes equality of the bill LOL. Seems to work well for me. She'll forget all about being hungry when you're arguing with each other! But yea that's a bit of a red flag anyways. A healthy independent woman would just pay for their own if they wanted something extra..... not try to push things and act pissy or awkward when they don't get what they want. In that case you are dating a girl, not a woman. Also I know you're still learning but you need to not get stuck in getting overzealous that "nice guy" is synonymous with "bad". You can still be genuinely nice, and have a calm peaceful demeanor and garner respect. It's done by being tactful and smart about which boundaries need to be set, and when. Have a piercing sharpness about your decisions that is so clear they can feel it.

I've felt where you're at before @diamondpenguin, but you don't gotta lash out at others. They are only trying to help. Remember this entire enterprise is based around what level Leo is at and what he wants to teach. Don't feel obligated to "keep up". If you aren't there right now, you aren't there, it's that simple. I don't even watch his video anymore personally. Absolutely go focus on what's more immediate for your own life. Spirituality is important but you have to have your base first, otherwise you won't be able to appreciate, utilize, or embody it fully. It will always be there for when you're ready to come back

Look, we gotta stop expecting Leo to be God (pun intended ). Of course he isn't going to be completely holistic in every take he has, and is going to have blind spots and certain biases about things. You have to remember he is just another person that is coming at things from his own life experience, and his perspective will be undoubtedly intertwined with that to some level. If you're familiar with his story he was sort of a nerd/incel, and then did a huge amount of work and compensation to get himself out of that and grow a bunch (kudos btw). The sort of requirements for that accomplishment are going to lean quite heavily towards a male agenda, it's just the nature of things. It's a fair criticism but remember, this work isn't really about him.

Eh I wouldn't pick on women too much in this regard. Most people in general don't really know what they want, or are confused about it. What everyone wants deep down is to be loved and accepted (after all the universe is a love simulation), but depending on who they are/their experiences/their wisdom/their knowledge/culture influence they might not understand how to go about that in the best way. Commonly the Ego takes the wheel telling it will get them there, when in reality it's just going for a selfish pleasure cruise.

I could have sworn I had it last year in April, but I tested negative for it. Not sure what it was or if maybe the testing methods weren't as accurate that early on in the pandemic? It was an entire MONTH of weakened lungs. Started with a wet, wheezing, deep cough. With lots of phlegm. Then halfway switched to a dry, persistent, slightly painful cough, before finally going away. There were also a handful of days where I was very fatigued despite not being busy at all. I was sleeping 12-14 hours at times. I can't say with 100% certainty it was Covid, but it certainly sucked. I was a 27 year old male is his prime with great health, I eat right, and I was skateboarding 2-4 hours every day at that time.

I see these kinds of statements wayyy too much and they are part of the problem, not the solution. Anytime the topic comes up in the public sphere now it seems this is all people want to say. While it may be technically right that large corporations need to desperately change their practices, through social pressure and regulation from the government - It will take a cultural shift that needs to be spring boarded by individuals that believe change is even possible, which starts at the smallest level of personal choices (what you buy, what you use, etc.) I think a lot of people just buy into and repeat the narrative because it provides an unconscious gratification that they are factually right (stage orange), and it also conveniently lets them off the hook from making any changes THEMSELVES, by divulging responsibility to government, businesses, and other big polluters............ Not to forget to mention that those colossal collectives are simply made up of people, who are ran by people, and depend on people for their revenue. If enough people stopped purchasing their products they would collapse, period. There is some kind of fallacy or spell that plagues the conversation, that they are somehow "disconnected" from society and can't be influenced by anything other than democracy (which sucks, is undependable, slow, and corrupted by capitalism btw). Nothing could be further from the truth. I'd argue if we are going to have ANY chance it'll be from grass roots activism pushing cultural change, and unfortunately (but probably necessarily) eco-terrorism/violent revolution. From the "little guy" realizing exactly how much power they have. We can't get there though if people keep acting dispelling of hope and pretending that it's only going to be "someone else" who is going to save us, or some magic technology we're going to pull out of our ass at the last moment, even though it's technology that got us into this mess..... I'm just a little sick of people bitching and moaning that there is nothing we can do, or that it's pointless. You have to ask what right do you have to complain if YOU aren't doing anything or giving an effort? The only way real change will be made in the world, large or small, is by leading by example and being a source of inspiration to others. Nobody is going to realize they have any power by listening to a hypocrite. Not targeting you specifically btw @Philipp idk you or what your lifestyle is like, but rather reacting to the context of your statement in the cultural zeitgeist. And in the end if everything goes to shit and our efforts didn't change the big picture? Well that's too bad, but at least your corner and community of the Earth is a little greener.