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@Hansu I agree, the character de Nero played was bullying. Not sure I'd call him a "bully" though. When I do that I feel like I'm making a bit of a conceptual prison for myself.

No, but orange is at least holding down a job. I'm not sure what you're seeing if you think that there are people at stage orange who can't hold down a job holding a poster in the street ?

Orange isn't just holding down a job, orange is creating the jobs. ?

I never blamed the joker. I'm only trying to tell you what I saw in the film. I just don't see some highly developed person who's making a political statement about societies problems It's just not there

You don't think Arthur is an infant? I saw a big infant when he was on the television set misinterpreting Robert de Nero's behaviour.

@Hansu Ok, but liberation isn't liberation from societies norms and rules. It's liberation from the ego that is in constant resistance to everything that is. That's why I can't put Arthur in any category except maybe beige. At least orange would be finding some fulfilment in being a consumer and blue looking for salvation through an external god figure. Red would be happy trying to escape norms and rules tho, but red can look after itself pretty well even if it can't hold down a job, red generates an income via other means. I don't know much about purple. I only know beige can be found in mentally ill people on the streets

That little dance on the stairs wasn't liberation. It was pleasure at revenge, feeling superior for a moment in time. Quite disturbing and made me so aware of how little happiness Arthur had in his life that he mistook that moment for happiness. It was really disturbing to watch him try to attain any kind of feeling. I don't really know what stage it was, it's just a guess, but beige is supposed to be a person who's running out of options and getting desperate. Arthur is basically unemployable, which sounds like beige to red, as there aren't many reds who are able to hold down a ft job.

Ok, I'll increase my prices ?

@Alex All shadow works purpose is to get you to stay in the now (the "shadow" is what pulls you out of the now). But you don't need to do anything to be present, you just have to understand the process of identification and learn to rest in the now more consistently. I agree that aggressive shadow work could be useful for some people, but ultimately it's not necessary. It just seems like a whole lot of misery for nothing when really all you have to do is practice learning disidentification. Take this from someone who did ten years of shadow work to find that it's more or less unnecessary

@DrewNows ??

Thank you. But that's not quite what I'm saying. I'm saying all fear is an illusion because of not noticing the minds tendancy to project itself into an imagined future, and the identification with that process. Breaking the identification with the process and being present is enough for fear to disappear

Try experimenting one day when you're alone and not busy. Maybe on the bus home? Just become present and you will learn how to become present while doing your tasks.

You're already whole. The "shadow" is your thinking. That's all it really is. The ego needs this to be more complicated than it is, but I assure you that your wholeness is not something you need to work for.

@Aggelos Doulgerakis Become present and see for yourself that your anxiety is not real, but something you are creating. Ironically you creating a post about your anxiety only fuels the anxiety. Just become present. There is nothing to do apart from that. Then you will see

@Tom T Consciousness is not something you do, but something that is developed naturally as you just do what you do. Trying to force things doesn't work, but just non judgementally observing your normal day to day behaviours will eventually have the effect of you deciding to just quit the need for "entertainment" and just be. Then you may join a forum and dedicate some of your time attempting to help others in their journey ?

Not really. You have them already. It's your natural state

@Forrest Adkins There is a lot of mixed information out there about nutrition. Some people say eggs and cheese are bad, and others say the opposite. Saying that, I saw one guy who managed to get his cholesterol down by eating a lot of eggs. So, it's confusing. The way I approach this is to eat healthy foods (natural whole foods) and keep junk/processed foods down to once per week while getting regular blood work done. You want to look at your blood cholesterol levels, specifically HDL to triglyceride ratio and total cholesterol for heart health. If it remains within a healthy range then continue to do what you're doing until it changes. Your body will change at some point and one diet won't work for you anymore, you will need to tweak it or cut back on the junk more as you get older. Just keep on top of your blood work and keep communicating with your doctor. But don't take any meds from them, meds are sometimes not necessary if you're willing to make the lifestyle changes. Lifestyle is more important than any med.

The moral of the story is that you should probably avoid things like Reddit and Twitter. Is it really worth getting drowned in the flavour of the month? I avoid popular culture because it's nowhere near as interesting as basking in my own bliss ?

@Schahin A lot of the things you mentioned here are actually harmless , but sometimes they are taken to extremes and become handful. It's helpful to start to see how you yourself are shaping these things, in the respect that you seem to be suffering by clinging to things to tightly, taking things too seriously A lot of what you describe is down to unconscious identification with thought. But it's better to see the identification in yourself rather than continue to focus on it in others . That way you can get a more realistic perspective and learn to make peace with what's going on Ultimately none of this should affect you when you're aware of your wholeness. That's why enlightenment is liberation, it not just liberation from your own mind, but liberation from being affected by what's going on in the world. I wouldn't say it's "perfect". The only thing that's perfect is your natural state when you cease seeking anything.

Sadly, no. His dancing on the steps was pure beige delusion and pathos . Very very disturbing and sad

@Aeris The movie is incredibly emotional. It had me glued to the screen for the whole two hours. Very entertaining and very disturbing at points, even to the point of pathetic in the sense that Arthur's only happiness was actually a very miserable state of trying to create an illusion of feeling powerful to compensate for his pathological unmet need for attention. I don't think there is anything more to the film than its a depiction of how a mentally ill person might interpret themselves and the world. The way Arthur saw reality and others was very skewed, and for me thats why the film was so sad. However, As much as I love the song, I don't think they should have used Gary Glitters "Rock N Roll 2" in the film. That was absolutely politically incorrect.

@7thLetter I take a multi vitamin because I don't know if I'm getting enough of what I need in my diet. So I take one as an insurance policy against developing a deficiency. For example I have no way of knowing if there are any vitamins or minerals in the food I'm buying. There are some, but levels are decreasing and it's variable. I also take a magnesium supplement because magnesium is the most important mineral for the body. I also take vitamin d3 in the winter months (you dont need it in the summer). And I take ascorbic acid to bowel tollerance (which varies depending on how much inflammation I have). I never get sick. Here is a good article written by a PhD who has challenged the NIH and their work regarding vitamin c recommendations. https://wholefoodsmagazine.com/columns/vitamin-connection/the-science-of-vitamin-c-research-on-optimizing-blood-and-cellular-levels/

Become acutely aware of the present moment right now. Listen to the sounds in the room. Feel the chair you are sitting on. Feel your breath moving in and out. Get very still. Watch your thoughts. Are you present in the moment or are you day dreaming? Be honest with yourself. Notice that every thought of something, whether it be a good thought or a bad thought is only a trick that is designed by your mind in order to keep you from experiencing life. Just admit to yourself that this is true. That you can see how every thought is only keeping you from understanding something profound. Don't think about it. Just make the connection between a thought of the past (your relationship) and feelings of need and want. If you can continue to observe your mind and what it's actual purpose is you will then start to feel very relaxed and happy in your body. Content. At peace. One. Fulfilled. Whole. That is the truth which your mind keeps you from recognizing . The truth is you don't, ever have, or ever will need anyone, any thing, or any special condition in your life to make you happy. If you can truly become present and understand that you alone are enough and that you alone are all you have really been looking for, then you can truly let go of whatever you have been holding onto. Once you do this you will have weakened the bind this old realationship has on you. Every time you just allow yourself to rest as whole and complete perfection in the present moment you weaken this bond even further until one day you notice that it's completely gone. You don't have to do anything except be there as the observer of your mind.

In your opinion.

Social hierarchy games are actually really intoxicating when you don't question it. Climbing your way to the top is a fun sport because of the pleasurable anticipation and pseudo high people get when they achieve something they wanted. It takes a lot of narcissism to not understand that by winning you're also creating losers. People generally are conditioned to not look at the harm they cause by being part of a capitalist society. Most people haven't really developed a conscience because conscience can create negative feelings and show you the futility of that game.