Jayson G

That does seem like a life that is more real .. its a bit different for me as my highest priority is philosophy, even if I do have these other pursuits, but I can definitely see the profound lesson here to make life much more about this other real stuff.

@Leo Gura and does it take a lot of this theorizing that can feel like BS at times, to reach occassional moments of genuine insight and deep understanding? Is this theorizing the path? kind of like scouring a large pile of shit for golden nuggets?

Highest Truth, yeah thats something I struggle with ... I have this fear of it, so I partly go for it, yet I do seek truth I guess, maybe lowercase truth, or as much truth as I can stomache .. but good point, I also think prioritizing truth is key

@Leo Gura "However, proper contemplation and study can produce serious and valuable insight and understanding into the nature of reality and any systems within it. Do not discount the importance of high quality sensemaking and serious understanding that's grounded in direct experience and genuine insight rather than speculation, belief, and fantasy. The real work is in seeing past the fantasies to see how nature really works." - What's the difference though, between valuable insight and deep understanding vs. all the other bullshit? Like at one point, after watching your video "valuable things require development over time", after like 40 times watching it, the 40th time or something, it hit me that this is a video on "investing", and that there's a whole field on investing, and so Ive been digging deep on investing, opportunity cost, intangible assets with time, etc. and so I got into that rabbit hole. That time it hit me that there's a whole field on investing, felt like a genuine insight I had, but even all that still feels like mental masturbation. Investing principles has practical value that I apply in real life, but I mean even that just seems metaphorical? Am I making the mistake in thinking that metaphorical is bullshit? Or is it that "valuable insight and understanding" goes beyond metaphor? "A healthy life is something like 80% action and practical affairs and only 20% pure philosophy. If you get this ratio backwards you will run into problems." In terms of living a good life, wow I didn't even think about this. I can definitely see myself being a LOT happier and on-top of life if I restructured life to be in this just 20% philosophy path. I pretty much think all day, and now Im becoming conscious of how much that holds me back.

This has been on my mind for a while. To start off, like many of you, I love philosophy. In fact, it's, as of my understanding, my #1 deepest passion. I can't see anything more meaningful than philosophy, to understand the world, reality, life, myself, others. It's both meaningful and fun. But as I pursue this passion, a few key concerns come up, serious ones, that keep persisting, and have overlaps: Is it 90% to 100% metaphorical? intellectual? Idea-based? If so, is it even real? Or is it just creating stories and fantasies in my head? I'm talking something as simple as understanding science or investing for example, or engaging with ChatGPT for hours on any topic, spiritual or non-spiritual. I know it has immense practical value, as I've experienced it in my own life. But in the end 95% feels like mental masturbation, bullshit, time-waste, unnecessary thinking, stories, fantasies, nice ideas, etc. I also remember Leo's post about Hayao Miyazaki, and that really inspired me, because there's this part of me that really loves art. But I try pursuing art and although I feel more myself, feel alive, feel this sense of magic when I do art, philosophy is more meaningful to me because of the impact I will have as well as meaningful for my own personal life. So how do you deal with this, if art is something you're deeply passionate about as well, or even more passionate about in some ways? There are philosophical components to art, so that's nice, but often it feels better to pursue philosophy directly, it feels more real, and less disillusioning with life. Is all this intellectualizing healthy? Is it healthy for the mind and body? Is it disillusioning me with life instead of the opposite? Are these problems a natural consequence of doing philosophy, and should be accepted or is this a matter of doing something wrong? Maybe there's a way of doing philosophy that doesn't incur such problems? I'm saying all this while also pursuing as much direct experience as possible, new novel experiences as well, etc. but the amount of experience I gain is no where close to the amount of philosophy I do. So does that just become armchair at that point? Any books or sources that can help do philosophy right, without incurring such problems? @Leo Gura how have you approached this in your life, solved these problems or dealt with them? are these to be accepted or is it a matter of doing better philosophy? I've been struggling with this for years, and as I go deeper this seems to be a bigger problem. Anyone else solve some of these problems?

cultivating that level of discipline and commitment to long-term habits is all I want

I shit you not, I listened to his "valuable things require development over time" at least 60 times, and just the last time I watched it, some of the biggest realizations of life came out of that.

Thats littt af .. dont forget us mortals who arent so deep in spirituality and could use more practical stuff, but of course you do you man

@Yimpa lol dude you quoted ChatGPT in your signature ... thats funny af and damn who would have thought, its good you approached her then .. I think the lesson definitely is that its always good to approach a girl no matter what situation shes in

ahh good point

@Leo Gura isnt it a time waste to approach girls with a boyfriend or husband? or do you just do it for the reference experience, or to train your mind to approach everyone? Tyler also has a strategy that has worked wonders for me, to approach everyone, guy or girl, old or young, anyone, to just train to be highly social .. do you see value in that as a top strategy

@Leo Gura before we even get to such a sentencing for trump, we have to first acknowledge the extent of what he's done. I know a lot of people, smart friends of mine tbh, they work in good careers, good companies, some millionaires, good familys, healthy minded, they support trump, think he did nothing wrong, I dont get it ... feels like theres a massive denial in america

@Leo Gura I noticed that lol .. I always wondered why you started a forum? Don't you enjoy your solitude more? and also it's a lot of work, and there's a lot of human bullshit to deal with whereas with your videos you can just focus on intelligence and philosophy? No hate, I get a lot of value from the forum, but I have wondered this for a while

From this entire thread, I've realized some things: 1) It's probably better for a guy to prioritize a) becoming a high value attractive man than being a good PUA (even if that involves PUA), I think that's better for the world, healthier and higher potential for a man, and better for women. 2) It's also clear from this thread that men and women have conflicting agendas, and one's agenda can step on another's agenda, but maybe there is no reality without such a war. In the end both men and women need each other to thrive to their highest potential, whatever that means for someone. This is tricky stuff I see. I can totally understand how women don't like the PUA agenda. And if I were to be real, and I had a daughter, I don't know how I feel about her being gamed by a guy lol .. I do think as a society also we need to get a lot of these cravings out of the way, I can see it perverting society in various ways.

Yeah pickup isn't for everyone, and I do admit it can feel dirty and messy sometimes, but so does all my other pursuits in life: overcoming fears, writing mastery, building a business, etc.