Jodistrict

As an enthusiastic yogin, I can verify that. And yoga has huge health benefits you don’t get standing in a nightclub developing tinnitus. I think John Anthony is great exposing all his fellow grifters. Why would anyone be against this? The more the better. Here is a link were is going to explain his departure from youtube. https://rumble.com/v71h4e0-i-got-banned-on-youtube...heres-why..html?e9s=src_v1_cw&playlist_id=watch-history

Trump is enthusiastically destroying what modest social safety net is left to the people. In the meantime, Musk is destined to become the first trillionaire. Honestly, the only hope for the return of some sanity that I see is Newsom. But that still doesn’t fix the problem of big money in politics. The politicians serve the interests of money, not the people. I am starting to take Shahid Bolsen seriously when he says that the American decline is irreversible, and Islam has the only solution for a sustainable economic system that serves the people.

What I see on forums dominated by men is mostly intellectual head tripping. The mistaken notion that awakening is an intellectual achievement that makes you smarter than the rest of the class. I don’t see much discussion of suffering or heart. Trying to come up with a definition is just what you would expect from the head.

Not being attractive is an important part of their marketing. Because the average guy says "well if he can do it the so can I", and then buys the course. They also tend to have a gift for gab to make up for looks.

It is approaching the truth from a particular lens, in this case Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda. You can do initiation with a Swami and he will give you one of their mantras for your spiritual practice. All the Swamis of the Vedanta society can trace back their lineage to disciples of Ramakrishna.

There is a sort of "religion" based on Ramakrishna. I attend his puja on Saturdays at the Vedanta Society. There is also a gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. https://chennaimath.org/

When he talks about spiritual pillaging, Bolsen is talking about theosophy, citing it as example of colonialism. He is correct about theosophy, but I don’t think theosophy has had any great influence on Western thought.

If you go into a tribal Muslim community, the rich have religious and social obligations toward the poor. Charity is one of the four pillars of Islam. A Muslim community is not an every monkey for himself libertarian society. Shahid Bolsen does use the word socialist, but I think he is using it more as a rhetorical way to emphasize that the Islamic system is anti-exploitation (no usury), pro economic justice and pro community. Islam does allow private property, but so does Sweden.

I hope he includes a section on honesty. "In 2006 Pinker provided to Alan Dershowitz, a personal friend of Pinker's who was Jeffrey Epstein's defense attorney, Pinker's own interpretation of the wording of a federal law pertaining to the enticement of minors into illegal sex acts via the internet. Dershowitz included Pinker's opinion in a letter to the court during proceedings that resulted in a plea deal in which all federal sex trafficking charges against Epstein were dropped" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pinker#:~:text=Pinker argued that language depends,to manipulate symbols for grammar.

I asked ChatGPT "Great question — and yes, the idea of using substitutional quantification to avoid ontological commitments and sidestep paradoxes has been considered extensively. But the situation is subtle. Let’s walk through it carefully and clearly." I won't bore you with the details.

That is classical Marxism which comes out of Europe. Socialism is a more broad concept. Also, that quote is frequently taken out of context, in the sense the Marx actually didn't consider religion that relevant, either for or against.

Shahid Bolsen disagrees. He says that Islam has a form of socialism that aligns with fitra (human nature).

I have lately been getting interested in the philosopher Alfred Whitehead. Even though he was a mathematical genius, he was very aware of the limitations of abstraction and reasoning. Here are some quotes: The real is always richer than the rational “Pure rationalism is a disease of the intellect.” — Process and Reality (paraphrased more literally as: “Rationalism is an abstraction, and when taken in isolation, it is a disease.”) A science which hesitates to challenge its own foundations is lost.” — Science and the Modern World “We are in the world, not as thinkers looking at it, but as actors in its drama.” — Symbolism: Its Meaning and Effect “Science is rooted in the faith that the order of nature can be rationally traced.” — Science and the Modern World “There is no such thing as a merely scientific method of apprehending reality. Science is the study of what is repeatable; but life is full of **unique events.” — Process and Reality

There is no magic pill and exciting narratives with colors does not constitute truth. If it were, you could just go to a movie. I hate the getting on the bandwagon talk. It's good to keep it real.

Being a debbie downer is a dead end.