Natasha Tori Maru

No way, properly celebrating something like this is a beautiful chance to unify positivity with others - even with us! I will become a Molecular Biologist or a scientist in the field of Biotechnology. - Fixed this for you There is no want, that implies there is a lack, or you don't have something. But you have proven results, and all the skills, via your degree, that show you got the chops for this!

I can never understand your experience, and all of its nuances, in totality. But something in how you are expressing yourself in this thread feels as if it echoes similar things I have experienced. Do you feel you know who you are? Your likes, dislikes, what you will or won't tolerate? What motivates you to choose to take action, when you could simply witness? Leave well alone? Do you know what you want? Do you have a spiritual practice (I assume so! ), and how have you grown within this process? Do you feel you have experienced moments of peace? Some of these questions are ever changing as we evolve, this is to get a snapshot of your current being... Pending your answers I might have something to add <3

A well done and informative video on PFAS chemicals and their history - horrifying. https://youtu.be/SC2eSujzrUY?si=7gTt_zdWlu0IqQe6

@Emerald 'And I don't buy for a second that the current youth generation is less equipped than previous generations to learn or handle adult challenges... with the exception of building in-person social relationships' I think maybe the greater point that isn't undermining this statement: We as a previous generation are not handling the challenges. We are addicted to technology, suckling at its teat. Man instinctively reaches for technology with zero hesitation. This goes up to the boomers and gen X also. I don't know many of my own generation who aren't addicted to the internet, as an example. I include myself in this lot. Smartphone addiction is an issue most of us have or will struggle with - so I view the adults being unable to moderate use, filtering down to younger generations also. Smartphones represent a gateway to the internet. You can see it on the streets - people walking smartphone in hand. We aren't handling it at all. And it has become an adult challenge ingrained in modern society. I really admire that the younger generations are coming into this world more aware - there are movements that are emphasizing technology abstinence/moderation. If your statement above was only relating to literacy forgive me, as my point is a sidetrack for sure. I do have one question - has the standard level of proficiency been altered at all, or has this been the same through all data history?

@Emotionalmosquito I might suggest a trade in the services industry - fire, electrical, mechanical, plumbing. Not too late at all. I love the services subcontractors I work with, and they aren't the sharpest lot. But you don't have to be. As long as you can read a plan and install the fixtures 'sprinkler here, smoke detector there' you can make great money. In part because you are being compensated for physical work.

@Puer Aeternus Straight to the heart of the problem with a glass knife - great advice! The inner voice is an echo chamber of misery, no companion there to speak out against it

I hope GPR makes improvements - we use it on construction sites. X-ray would be SICK, but you need to be able to have a second source underneath the slab/what you are scanning to map it. Then we use spraypaint to mark out services/rebar. They should have used spraypaint to mark the ground, mapping out the cavity/metal. Would have made a better visualization. If there was any concrete/formwork there to make up any sort of underground structure they would be picking up rebar. It wouldn't be to code or structurally sound without it. If its concrete - it cracks. Sounds like a confluence much like skinwalker ranch - weird juju. Smart lady taking her dogs out - my pup alerts me to things I could never pick up. As an aside Ross is a good orator on camera - he sounds more aussie in real life.

@UnbornTao We are in agreement. I feel like manipulation - and indeed I use the term with no negative connotations - is one of the lessons we are to learn. 'Handle skillfully' is a beautiful and much more positive reframe. Machiavellian behavior that is purely self-serving would be the negative form. Those who would manipulate for their own gain, at the detriment of the system at large and other people. I notice there is a value judgement of my own baked into this. You are a great conversationalist to bounce ideas off - you come across as very objective. It makes hashing out concepts a pleasure!

I think it is a symptom of a greater problem arising - technology is advancing faster than our ability to manage & utilize it for growth. These newer generations of kids are the product of Millennials - of which I myself am one. Unmoderated use of phones/technology as entertainment devices has sledgehammered our attention span. This is a new technology, and newer generations haven't had anyone to assist them in knowing how/what/when these tools should be used, and when they are becoming a corrupting force. The effects are subtle, but accumulate until you are malfunctioning. And I use that word, as we are at this point in time, cyborgs. Our phones are extensions of ourselves. It is the current generations raising children that need to lead the charge moderating phone/tech use - their own, and their kids. There aren't guidelines out there illustrating how to titrate technology into children's lives. There is no wisdom being passed down. My sister has this very issue with her own child - she is so entrenched in her phone/media she cannot moderate herself. And so, her son is a product of this. Severe issues. Unrestricted screens. Some parents do it right, for sure, but from my sister in laws anecdotes (she is a primary school teacher) its uncommon.

Congratulations - a great achievement to be proud of. Long term gratification! Why the hell would you be hesitant to post?! What sector of engineering do you hope to work in? Particularly enjoy your comment regarding reframing failure - I personally like to tell people 'I am a master of failing, because I can quickly figure out how to prevent the same issue and give it another crack with no negative self talk' Bouncing back instantly has been the reason I have lasted in construction - which is really high pressure, high stakes.

Be sure they are profound because of a genuine reason, discovery or learning. And not profound because it is sucking your dick. Because my chat GPT is on its knees at my arse with its programmed desire to please and positively reinforce. I find it mostly reframes things or brings new knowledge. It cannot assist with transcendence. That comes from within.

Well said! Hear hear! Modern feminism has really pushed a lot of women into competitive hierarchies. Competition was always present, but there used to be much more solidarity between sisters. My grandmother is a member of the silent generation - she is 98 years old. It was very different then. Women had each others backs much more. We are more divided. It is my hope higher consciousness & spirituality in women will mean they embrace their sisterly bonds, and not at the expense of vilifying or causing division by lambasting men! As an aside - would you believe that before contraception in my grandmother's generation, when men wanted to 'burn sexual karma' they would have sex with other men? It was quite common to avoid unwanted pregnancy. You didn't get to go home and just bang your wife. There were negotiations between men and women, and most men wanted to avoid unwanted pregnancy and childbirth just as much as women. My late grandfather confirmed this, but he said it was very unspeakable.

Absolutely - it has reinforced my appreciation for the humanity in humans Ai abuse has the risk of training us out of empathy in general interaction. Loss of curtesy in greeting. Thanking one other. Mutual recognition etc I think of how often I hurtle questions with wanton abandon at ChatGPT for work. Imagine that as your training for communication! We, as a society collectively, definitely need to learn to moderate and use this tool with mindfulness. We need to teach the younger generations this. This is not to even begin to mention the cost of power and water to cool the technology behind it. There are hidden costs on all fronts

It may not come soon, but mark my words, it will come: the day people realise you aren't speaking to humans anymore, you are living in the pure banality of sterile grey-washed ai mind. You will beg and crave for a real person to speak to. I hope people realise that ai they so adore was programmed and populated by human minds. Inherent with deceit, subversion, duplicity, corruption I will take conversation with a human consciousness over ai scripts any day. And this is coming from someone who uses ai at work every day. You can't short circuit your way to transcendence.

Yes boss, I promise to try be a good girl now

In the end everything is a manipulation, isn't it? You could take it to any level. It comes down to where you place judgements on behaviour. Your individual emotional reactions to your behaviour give rise to your moral system.

3 Part whistle-blower series - I dislike Jeremy Corbell, but mostly because he has this fanatical fervour that is rather caustic to me. WARNING: no evidence here once again, just more insider stuff. Interested to hear others thoughts. Give me a warning if you want but my theory is there is a elite cabal (Switzerland, Davos) . They have tech/medical tech that would change society due to agreements with NHI. But they remain secret to control and suck the life out of normal humans - financially, spiritually. We are not free, we are stuck in indentured servitude. Our real abilities are hidden from us. Consciousness and God are real and are the keys to this truth behind humanity. SUCK EGGS MY BODY IS READY FOR WARNINGS - ASSHOLE IS PUCKERED

I am with you here. I think this is touching on outlining what a conscious relationship would be

This. I manipulate others all the time. I am very subtle about it. Most of the time I am attempting to engage someone emotionally on a few levels to attempt to persuade them to do what I need, willingly. So they enjoy the process and I instil in them a sense of intrinsic motivation to a shared goal. I do this in my construction work to push others to adhere to programs, ensure quality control etc. In my personal life I attempt to steer people to a direction I believe will facilitate growth. Even on the forums, you will get a sense I draw you in with the pace and type of language I use. I don't deny this at all >.> My own internal moral system means I review my behaviour & actions against a checks and balances system. Its important to remember in this process - ultimately you have zero control. If you manipulate with any negative goal or without an overall 'good' aim? I can assure you, you will not enjoy your inner world at all. You have thoughts that act like running programs that will eat you alive in the background. Like a corrupt system chip driver polluting the entire operating system and all its running programs. Its just sad that there are those of us who are so self serving, they delude themselves into the belief all their manipulations are 'good'... in their limited perspective. Often with these individuals, as they grow older and become more aware, they realise the error of their ways. It always comes back to eat you alive...

The bolded above... THE ENDLESS QUESTION. The question is less present and has less imperative if kids are out of the equation. I myself have never had the inclination. I do have a large family though, so I am socialised to an extent I do not see so much these days (in modern gentrified society). I have had hands in assisting my family in child rearing of all ages. I have found, with regard to 'bypassing', there are issues you will unravel within yourself that can ONLY be realised in the friction of a romantic partnership. Perhaps you will reach a phase where you want this, as you have exhausted your ability to explore yourself, with only yourself All this is very contingent on age - your wants are certain to change!!! Change is the only constant

Definitely. Women fall prey to this more commonly in my experience

Absolutely, I agree! I listened to the entire conversation. He had many ways to illustrate spiritual growth & progression in ways I had not thought of. I particularly give Cory respect for how vulnerable he was willing to be regarding his trepidations regarding marriage and his relationship. Most especially as it is a frequent topic on these forums for men (and women) who do not see the value/point/intention behind marriage. I myself fall prey to many of these thoughts regarding relationships. Romantic partnerships have a way of really showing you your S H I T - right to your face! The one aspect of romantic partnerships that always has me turning to them in favour? Genuinely wanting to share and contrast my experience with another soul. Physical, mental, spiritual. Very very difficult to find another who meets you eye to eye in a multifaced way. Not to mention I personally find conflict and mediation a great avenue for growth. I do not shy away from it, rather, I turn into the storm head on

Hmm, do we think 'experience' is embedded in the story we attribute to it? There is raw perception as a part 100%. Is our internal reaction part of the experience? Because each individual, for sure, will extract a different 'experience' from the same perception event. This tells me our inner narration is an integral part.

HAHAHA oh my gosh! But isn't this just so true and applicable in this little corner of the internet? Some forum members are GUILTY This is a great interview touching on the subject in great depth - a confluence that I listened to this, and then came across your post