Vrubel

Many if not most worldviews and political ideologies box Israel into a certain pre-made narrative. For example, a communist is anti-Israel and points out the wrongdoing and injustice. A capitalist will do the opposite and admire Israel for its scientific achievements and overall success. Protestants tend to support Israel while Catholics less so. And the list goes on: (western) conservatives vs liberals, stage blue vs stage orange vs stage green, and of course Jews vs Muslims. Can you see how that tiny piece of land triggers all those worldviews and inflames the passions of literally billions of people? Much more so than the conflict in Yemen which is by all objective standards much more horrific but it just does not trigger people the same. Yeah, ideology breeds hypocrisy: literally, a few evictions in Jerusalem will trigger protests all over the world. to be clear I am not implying that it is just but people are not doing the same for a whole people group in Western China being forcefully converted. In the middle ages, people thought Jerusalem to be the center of the world, in many ways it still is.

So? what makes you think she isn't or doesn't have a baby? Yeah, women have an instinct of compassion and nurturing for seemingly helpless and harmless animals, humans, and in this case even a robot. for most women being a mother or owning a cute pet is the greatest source of satisfaction in life because it is basically what she is programmed for by biological evolution.

Here is an example of a woman called Pero who secretly breastfed her imprisoned father Cimon who was starving to death in prison. The selfless devotion of Pero to nourish his father Cimon at her own breast is called “Roman Charity”. It is history’s most altruistic story of honoring one’s parent. And in my opinion a great example of feminine compassion. Here is a painting from Pieter van Mol

@freejoy That is your choice but you'll be still a potential danger for elderly people who did not take the shots because of legitimate health reasons. And just wait till your country will start to open up but only for the vaccinated people using the green-passport system. Will you still refuse the shots then?

@freejoy I have yet to find the person that enjoys needles, yet most people understand why vaccinating is the wise thing to do. That does not sound like a legitimate reason to me. @Leo Gura Kudos to America for vaccinating so fast, my immune-compromised mother is still nowhere near an invitation for her first shot ):

I have just watched the latest video on integrity and something that made me think was the fact that I conceal my spiritual life/pursuits/interest/knowledge from other people. In a sense, I am hiding it and even lying about it. I only let it surface in interactions with other people to the degree they are open-minded to it, which is not very. No one in my direct surroundings has any idea how seriously I take spirituality and how truly "crazy" my worldview is compared to theirs. The most I can do is to talk about the positive and healing aspects of psychedelics when the conversation is already on that topic, but not much more than that. To my parents, I have never admitted that I have used it, even when casually asked. I think I will eventually tell my brother and sister. My brother is somewhat open-minded but still deeply materialistic in his worldview. My sister is not so materialistic so she might be more open to it, though she is still kinda young. I have a vision that somewhere in the future when the time is ripe, I will show them my stash and explain about it. In the meantime, Do you think I am being out of integrity for being in the "spiritual closet"?

Very inspiring, it takes courage to resist/grow out of religious conformity if you are born in such a situation. The only thing that I can say is that you still need to respect and appreciate your mum. Because first of all, she is your mom, and second: It could be a lot worse. In some religious societies or families, people ostracise or do violence against people who leave the religion. So be grateful for the love and relative liberality of your mother. I have an uncle with psychosis, He is mentally ill. He had a very tough and traumatizing childhood. As I understood he is a somewhat bohemian spiritual person and did a lot of psychedelics and now he is in prison because of some of the stupid and senseless things he has done. My father had a similar childhood to his but he came out as a functioning human being, traumatized but functioning nonetheless. He has never done psychedelics and partially blames them for the insanity of his brother. He also really fears that I end up like him. I would like to think that I have the spiritual drive of my uncle but the mental strength of my father. But maybe I am just being silly.

Thank you for the kind words. This definitely resonates I used to be very closed off, but looking back it was mostly because of fear of being judged and "ostracized". Now that I am more mature and independent I care less about these things and I am gradually revealing myself. (Though I still have a long way to go.) Becoming more open feels like really claiming my place in the world and freeing myself from the illusionary social and societal shackles. I always admired and was jealous of people who could be so open as nothing to hide. I thought that I could never be so open because my interests and personality are so out of whack with societal norms. To me, honesty, openness and integrity go hand in hand and are the same thing really. It takes courage to choose openness over being closed, but ultimately this courage will cut through a lot of bullshit and people will respect you more. I have a nice little example of true integrity as manifested by an old study mate of mine. During some silly drinking game, he was asked the question of whether he ever felt sexually attracted to his mother. He answered: "Maybe" (of course implying that he did, otherwise he would just say no). Instead of ridiculing him my respect and everyone else's respect for him skyrocketed. There literally was a silent pause of respect. His honesty awestruck us.

What are you waiting for? Please share. If you die on one of your fasts or insane trips, the world will never know(;

Rupert Spira has said a cup of tea is more exotic than enlightenment. S:

In a healthy democratic society, people must be allowed to express themselves within their integrity. The principle of free speech was virtually non-existent throughout human history so don't take it for granted. It's literally a product of thousands of years of societal evolution. Keep in mind that freedom of speech (within legal limits) only works as a principle when each and every citizen has it. American democracy has survived Trump so it will be just fine with Carlson don't be so keen on your impulse to shut down dissenting voices, that's ego in its purest form.

Maybe a stupid question, but can't you take a smaller dose to experience the colossal pleasure without it being frightening and nearly suicidal? Don't you dare die on us(;

@Aaron p @zikzak The come-up phase of 5-meo is never supposed to be gentle or easy. So never expect that. The come-up is where the rubber meets the road and the bulk of the spiritual purification happens. So if you care about lasting spiritual purification, the slowness that comes with plugging is definitely a plus. As for the nausea. In Dutch we have a word for puking called "overgeven" which literally means surrender. If you are feeling nauseous during a trip you must surrender to the idea that you might puke all over the floor. Before a trip, I always clear away the carpet from under my bed so if I puke on the floor it will be easier for me to clean. (I have actually puked up some stomach acid during one trip, it is not that big of a deal as your mind makes it up to be.) Having said that, I have no idea about the effects that 5-meo has on you personally. Maybe plugging is not the best option for you. I can only speak from my own experience.

@Forestluv I will stop my discussion right here. I feel your projection and confirmation bias is so thick, you don't even have the ability anymore to interpret my words in the way I mean them. Never did I say that 90% is my bar for homophobia to be problematic. If you are not putting in the effort to be fair to me and to even see my points. Why should I continue on?

@Forestluv I meant accepting the staggering data off course.

@Forestluv I will look into your Robert E. Lee arguments and hopefully I will be able to reply or even start a new thread tomorrow. Going to bed now(;

What!? are you even reading what I write? Please stop this projection.

@Forestluv I agree with most of your points and respect your worldview. A few things though: This is what I said: "I see the South as America’s battered slow learning rebel kid that has historically embodied much of America’s darkest aspects. From slavery, decimation after the civil war, race relations, and consistent abject poverty. All of these abuses combined with the humanity, good and musicality of the people, give the land a certain character and poetry." I encompass it all and deny nothing. I was open from the beginning: If for example there is proof that 90% of southerners are homophobic, I have no problem with accepting that and seeing it as problematic. Though my larger point of understanding and not dehumanizing still stands. Confederate Generals were not slave traders. Robert E. Lee was famously against slavery.

I am not minimizing or apologizing in any way, don't project this onto me. I am emphasizing other aspects of the South that often goes ignored in the media. I want people to avoid caricaturization and disdain for a whole section of the population. Like: in the political arena, you can give them hell. But people please, don't dehumanize and don't get overly frustrated. I am not saying you are wrong here. The widespread lost cause myth which states that the civil war was because of taxes and not because of slavery is false and very problematic. Also, confederate symbols are routinely used by hate groups. Nonetheless, I will still plea for understanding of what the civil war and its direct aftermath meant for the collective-consciousness of white southerners. (before I get demonized and projected upon for stating the aforementioned, I want to preempt: I am talking about understanding, not agreeing-with. The same way you can understand why Germans voted for Hitler. Well, pardon me for seeing beauty. You are being royally unfair here. I was not romanticizing the Antebellum South, Jim Crow, or the good old white-utopia South. Please have some nuance. It is abundantly clear that I called out all the hardships and evils. In my view, blacks form an integral and inseparable part of the unfolding story called The South.

I would love to go road tripping throughout the south, and see with my own eyes. Because the media will often focus in on the extreme, outrageous and sensational. Is that fair? I don’t know. I am sure they are not lying but they also are not giving the full picture. for example I heard that the state of Mississippi removed a confederate emblem off it’s flag. So there is also undeniable progress going on. I see the South as America’s battered slow learning rebel kid that has historically embodied much of America’s darkest aspects. From slavery, decimation after the civil war, race relations and consistent abject poverty. All of these abuses combined with the humanity, good and musicality of the people, give the land a certain character and poetry.

Do you have some serious data backing this up? One district as an example is not a proper indication for boxing-in all rural people across America. I am genuinely interested in how widespread these outlandish conspiracies are amongst rural Americans. In my opinion, it's kinda overblown because this extreme group seems so loud and harbors a lot of media attention, like for example Muslim extremists. But I am open to being proven wrong.

Haha, that's one lovable southerner. Yeah, finally some nuance: not all rural people are the same, and most of them don't care about crazy conspiracies. Johnny Cash is a rural American, are we gonna hate on him(;

I never blamed the left. Thats just ridiculous of you to say. I pointed out a commen feature on the left which is not very helpful. And in my opinion even quite toxic. I made a plea for compassion and self reflection. Because yeah, the “left” is supposed to be the more mature one. And I have a bias towards questiong the common attitudes and beliefs of a group for the purpose of generating more sophistication and personal growth. In my opinion that’s the real purpose of debate. Leo, I see you as a teacher and respect you but your attitude here is just something I can not go on board with.

I am not gaslighting at all. Reasonable nuanced progressives see that demonizing rural Americans is not the way to go, and can get toxic very quickly. Don't box me in, I am not a right-wing conservative. You are kinda proofing my point here. The masses of People are always ignorant, especially when life is a real struggle, so what? You can’t start a civil war like in the olden days to force progressive policy. Besides rural people are very diverse and not all MAGA. I understand your frustration with the ignorance, but ridiculing and demonizing is not a very loving thing to do. Kinda setting a bad example in my opinion. It’s likr being frustrated at muslims that they have backward beliefs and in the process ridiculing and cavalierly dismissing muslims as people.

On this forum, I heard multiple times people say including @Leo Gura that psychedelics are not an effective tool for lifting up your baseline consciousness and that other spiritual practices will fill in that function better. But on the other hand, I also read reports where people say they have experienced very solid shifts from psychedelics. For me personally, I feel I belong to the second category because whenever I come out of a trip I really feel as if a part of me has died and that there is now less of me. Especially after going through the backlash, the heightened base-line solidifies more. For example, a few months ago I did a trip that actually wasn't that deep, but it has nonetheless heightened my baseline consciousness to a degree where I am still getting used to it because it still feels kinda "foreign", for a lack of a better word. Often times I hear that psychedelics are a catalyzer and that's true, most of the heavy lifting for permanent change comes from consciously going-through and surrendering in the backlash. But still, that process happens kinda organically, I don't feel like I need to hardcore disciple myself to do hours-long meditation sits or some esoteric yoga because I find psychedelics and their backlashes already powerful enough for going through this journey. Am I wrong in taking this attitude? When does your base-line shift the most?