Elevated

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Posts posted by Elevated

  2. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    If you go on the Integral Stage's youtube channel they have a playlist called, "Integral Sexuality," you can find some high quality people who work in sexuality.

    As for Goop, I honestly haven't watched any of the Goop related series so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, I've heard a lot of really negative things about it, including warnings of the dangers inherent to their, "pseudoscience." Again, I'm certainly not qualified to be able to give an educated opinion on them, but just be careful about it. 

  5. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    16 minutes ago, NOTintoxicated said:

    We've found the Trump supporter.

    Wouldn't be surprised if this dude's a Derek Chauvin supporter.
     

    This is exactly the response I was trying to provoke. Yes, for hating hatred, I am equally hateful. That's some major league inbred energy, and I'm embarrassed that people think like you do.

    I try not to define myself by typical Right/Left ideologies. I highly recommend reading, "The Listening Society," by Hanzi Freinacht. It gives a really cool political analysis via a developmental lens that is very reminiscent of Spiral Dynamics, which he mentions. He gives a great analysis of Anarchism and Communism, and talks about where they fit in the coming future of civilization, especially in the sequel, "Nordic Ideology," which I also recommend. 

    Either way, I believe that your anger at these people is justified. My issue is that you can be angry at these people and desire to change their beliefs, while still acting from a place of love. I think it's a mistake to think that you cannot be against these political ideologies, actively work against them, or, in the most extreme circumstances, even kill, without it coming from a place of love. As you strike the face of a Nazi with his boot on the face of a homosexual person, can you love that Nazi? Can you empathize with how his belief system is only true for him insofar as his upbringing and influences allowed? Personally, I believe that the future of political discourse is to transcend our anger for one another, and act from a place of love, even if that means we must engage in violence against those who would engage in violence against us. 

  6. Posted

    8 minutes ago, NOTintoxicated said:

    Amazing video. The people who take issue with his video (and his new satan shoes) are christian conservatives, a group of people who I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. We need more stuff like this just to piss off the loathsome right wing cretins. Rotten pieces of shit.

    And in that statement you make it clear that you are on the same level as they are. However reprehensible their views, they are still people and still members of our society. Stop justifying the dehumanization of people you disagree with, that is part of the problem. 

  8. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    32 minutes ago, fopylo said:

    @Elevated

    I mean, there is literally no other way to see the object. There is literally no seeing without light, so we can forget about this sense altogether without light.
    You could also go further and ask - well, maybe everything here is not real since it's an interpretation of the mind (sounds, visuals, touch)? Maybe those things don't even exist but our mind makes it look like it does? (it is hard for me to believe that). But then you can also ask "what if our minds are actually projecting to ourselves what is in fact real, and not just a mere interpretation? (and to take this question seriously).
    Even if the conversion is imperfect, how does it help? I mean, how can you experience what might be the real deal behind what the mind is capable of delivering? (We do it through the mind though).

     

    I get what you say about having cognitive biases which prevent you from opening your mind to understand things deeper, or to see the bigger picture. So if it will never be perfectly accurate, then what's the point in even talking about it? It's sounds kinda sad lol

    I think at this point any more discussion will just make you more confused. I don't mean that as an insult, but these are just very big topics that you're just learning to grapple with. Trust me, I've been there, and still find myself getting stuck. As does everyone.

    I highly recommend the book, "The Listening Society," by Hanzi Freinacht. It's about what a Stage Yellow society would look like, he even talks about Spiral Dynamics. He talks about several dimensions of development that I think will really help you begin making the fine distinctions you need to piece apart these paradoxes. I cannot recommend it enough, it's probably one of the best books I've read in the past 5 years. 

  9. Posted

    6 hours ago, Lyubov said:

    This is pretty big. First time I can think of a black hip hop artist openly displaying and embracing their sexuality as a young gay man. The song isn't really my taste but I support his endeavor.

    He has been getting a ton of hate from right wingers on twitter 

    A friend told me about a tweet he made where he said something along the lines of, "you think this a sign of the end times as if the holocaust and slavery never happened." I'd send it myself, but I block twitter haha. 

  10. Posted

    1 hour ago, fopylo said:

    @Elevated

    I understand what you said about Paris, but I can't really apply this metaphor to reality. From what I understood you say that all what I'm experiencing is not everything I can actually experience now?

    What I'm saying is that you cannot experience all that there is to experience. Think about it. When light from a lightbulb hits the surface of something, that light bounces off the object and then goes to your eye. You are never actually seeing the object. You are only seeing the light reflected from the object. Your interface with visual reality is based on light bouncing off objects, rather than objects themselves. You have never seen any of the things you currently see around you. You are only ever seeing the light reflected from them. How can you really say that you know what you look like, your parents look like, or your friends? You've never actually seen them. You've only ever seen the light that is reflected from them.

    Your brain generates an image for you based on how it processes that light. 

    You are operating within a world simulation and assuming that this world simulation accurately reflects the world around you. It does well enough to survive, but how accurately do you really think that it reflects reality?

    This is not only true for vision, but for all the senses. All the senses operate on physical laws whereby the brain generates a simulation based on the physical properties occurring around us that are then interpreted by sense organs and converted into "mind stuff" by mechanisms in the brain. These mechanisms are very good, but not perfect. 

    Now what about our thoughts? Our brain interprets the information, both sensory and linguistic, that we receive from the outside world. The mechanisms that we use to interpret that information are imperfect. We have cognitive biases, we have a cap on our intelligence, we have a cap on the knowledge that we can know about the things in the world, etc. Our brain is generating an understanding about reality with several deficits. That understanding can be useful, but it will never be perfectly accurate. Never. You do not know anything you think you know half as much as you think you know it. 

     

    1 hour ago, fopylo said:

    I was reading that like "ok I see, to dive into stage orange without giving it a meaning that I'm better than it, ok" and then you hit with the "while knowing it's all bullshit" haha, this is exactly the problem. It's hard for me to start a business or something like that because I feel like I understand higher things and that "I'm better". I know you can say to take only the important elements of stage orange, but I feel that in general I don't have so much passion for creating a business (in fact, a book publishing business - That's because I've lost passion to publish books on "low stage orange topics" forgive this way of saying but I'm trying to be honest). Don't you get also this weird feeling of diving into something you believe you've outgrown already?

    What was the point of publishing books? For yourself to read? Or for others to read? If it's for yourself to read, then yeah okay I understand that you only want to read books above Stage Orange. If it's for others though? Why not create a publishing company that contains books all along the Spiral? If someone is Stage Orange, your publishing company could release Stage Orange books, build some trust and credibility with this person. As they read the books you publish, you can advertise Stage Green books in those Stage Orange books. Then, maybe a few of them decide to buy those books. This would expose these Stage Orange people to Stage Green ideas. You've just triggered their evolution into Stage Green. But it doesn't stop there, you also advertise Stage Yellow books in Stage Green books, and Stage Turquoise books in Stage Yellow books.

    You are helping people move up the Spiral. Each stage is important and each person must go through all the stages. By owning a publishing company you can help people ascend the Spiral, merely by exposing the right people to the right next stage. 

  11. Posted

    An absolutely groundbreaking video. The depiction of homosexuality, non-gender conforming style, having sex with the devil, and the climax of the video is the protagonist taking Hell's throne. I'm sure there is more that I missed. I don't follow pop culture very closely, but I would say this was a huge, huge step forward. Whether or not society is ready for it is another thing entirely. 

  12. Posted

    13 hours ago, fopylo said:

    How can I have practices to focus on while knowing that it is all bullshit? lol

    Remember, there is a difference between useful and Truth. Useful is that it will help you accomplish your goals. It's okay to want to have goals or to have experiences, that's part of Growing Up and part of enjoying your time here. Many people will focus solely on "Waking Up," and say that having any goals or any desires whatsoever is anti-spiritual. I feel like that mentality can be a little anti-spiritual, although if someone wants to live in a monastery and focus only on Waking Up that's totally fine for them to do.

    However, many spiritual teachers have "returned to the masses" and taught what they learned. To teach spirituality to a modern audience, you need to understand how they think, and so that means having the proper map of reality to understand them. That means learning how to speak to Stage Orange, learning how to speak to Stage Green, Yellow, etc.

    Take Leo for example. He has gone through the stages, but he has also had many awakenings. His awakenings have shown him the "Truth," but going through the stages has taught him how to communicate it to people. Going through Stage Orange self-improvement was what allowed him to make his channel in the first place and to amass enough wealth that he could focus solely on the higher stages. It was incredibly useful and part of his process. 

    We know these maps are ultimately not the territory but they allow us to achieve high consciousness goals and to communicate with the people at those stages. 

     

    13 hours ago, fopylo said:

    But what do you mean by "the map is not the territory"? I mean, we kind of use maps to navigate through life if I understood what you're meaning by maps.

    By "map" I mean any understanding that humans have about the territory or reality. No matter what you do you are only ever working with a map. Think about it. If you have an imperfect mind, which we all do, and you are understanding all of your experience with that imperfect mind, that means you will always have an imperfect map. As such, you will never actually "know" the territory, or reality, exactly as it is. The map is not the territory. Your understanding of a thing is not the thing itself.

    Like I said earlier, your entire experience of reality is like exploring Paris with your head buried in a map. You go see everything, you see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and all the other sites of Paris. However, you never actually lift your eyes from your map. You think, "wow Paris was so amazing, I saw and experienced so much!" And yet, you never actually saw anything besides the map you have of Paris. Given the imperfect human mind, the cognitive biases we have, the self-deception, the imperfect sense organs (we only see a fraction of the total light spectrum), etc., how could it possibly be any other way? We are walking around Paris with our head buried in our map, believing that the map is Paris, when in reality it is not even a very good map of Paris! 

    That is what I mean by the map is not the territory. You never actually see reality. You only have see your map of it. 

     

    13 hours ago, fopylo said:

    Also, the main issue I was bringing up is about the integration of all other stages since some of them contradict each other. There are many paradoxes, and the more I learn, the more paradoxical it seems. Not gonna lie, it scares me a bit, yet I know there's no way back so I feel stronger. But still I feel the need to resolve paradoxes because it really creates barriers for me to continue with my life

    Yepp that's self-improvement haha, welcome to the club. This why many people here, including myself, are not yet at Stage Yellow. Stage Yellow is where you really begin to make sense of the paradoxes, because you begin to see the paradoxes in the context of each stage. What is true for one stage might not be true for another stage, but it is still useful at that stage. And, of course, you have to go through all the stages. You cannot truly understand Stage Green until you've gone through and integrated Stage Orange. It's like building a house with a missing floor. It doesn't matter how pristine and beautiful all your other floors are, if you're missing one of the floors your building is going to collapse.

    Keep educating yourself, keep taking action, and keep moving forward. Things will make more and more sense the more you understand the theory, and you'll really understand the theory when you've practiced it in your life by taking massive action. If you're at Stage Orange, focus on Stage Orange. Do self-improvement programs, make some money so you can follow your passion, get better social skills so you can have the type of people you want in your life, get a better body, etc. Go through that process, while knowing at the highest level, that it's all bullshit and it's all just part of a larger process. 

  14. Posted

    Just leave it. Let him come to you. Maybe he's busy, or there could be a multitude of other reasons. Double texting him will just make you look like you want him more than he wants you. If he still hasn't text you back in a couple days, maybe consider giving him a text like a meme or something like that. Something that just offers value, "here check out this cool thing," rather than, "hi...please talk to me..." If he still doesn't reply at that point, just move on. 

  15. Posted

    1 hour ago, Matt23 said:

    Yup.  Though, for some reason I do feel some trepidation about it.  Perhaps since it's a new vaccine with little research and I dunno if it's all roses n sunshine.  I suppose the social factor is a reason why I'm doing it.  To get it over with and just do it.  Even though other parts of me perhaps don't feel so secure doing it. 

    Apparently there has been a significant amount of research. According to the John Hopkin's website there was good reason for why they could accelerate the creation and approval of the vaccines. There were new technologies, huge sample sizes, and an enormous amount of funding, among other reasons. 

    I do think a little anxiety is perfectly normal though. 

  16. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    There really doesn't seem to be any major risk with any of the vaccines Canada currently allows, including AstraZeneca. I've read the John Hopkins website as well as Canada's information page and a few other source to figure out their safety. We need upwards of 80% of people vaccinated to achieve population immunity, so I am getting vaccinated as soon as possible. The provincial government says they should be able to have everyone vaccinated with a first dose by June 24th, so hopefully sometime before that. 

  17. Posted

    I think the biggest thing we have to accept is that we may never know if we're being ideological or not. No matter what we do or what we know, we are always operating with a fake framework. If you notice yourself becoming too wrapped up in your beliefs, take a step back and remind yourself that it's all fake and you don't really know. Obviously not to the point of paralyzed inaction, we have to make decisions eventually, but with the knowledge that it's all fake anyway. 

  19. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    25 minutes ago, IAmReallyImportant said:

    You don't understand. What you understand under a value system is a distinction between polarities like good and bad. Which is nothing more than a set of beliefes. I meant just a feeling about what I want and what not. Not everybody wants the same things. If this would be the case, there would be no dual creation. As I told you, I don't care about who you fuck. I don't judge it, why should I? I have better things to do.

    You are stuck in this self-improvement cycle, because you think that you are not complete.

    This is another great example of how we are using the same words but talking about something different. It seems to me that you are perceiving my use of the phrase, "value system," as if it were a Stage Blue conception of value systems. I am not using value systems in that way. I have a value system that informs how I act in the world. For example, it prioritizes eating healthy food over junk food. This does not mean that I believe that eating junk food is "bad" as in "evil," or "sinful." I see the consequences of eating junk food on my health, my brain, and my body, and my value system informs me that this isn't conducive to living the lifestyle that I want. Updating my value system would change how I act in this regard, and likely how I felt about junk food. 

    I am fully aware though, that my value system is relative. I know that my value system is a construct that exists only within my mind. However, I cannot escape the fact that I have a value system. Qualitative judgements are an inescapable feature of being human. Knowing that I cannot escape them, and knowing that my value system is relative to my own mind, I know that I should not impose my value system on another without the utmost necessity (imprisoning a murderer is imposing my value system on them). I do not view anyone else's value system as good or bad (in my best moments, which happen with increasing frequency and upwardness, as happens with self-improvement). 

    I am not saying that you are judging my actions. I am saying that it doesn't appear to me that you understand how my value system allows me to navigate my sexuality the way that I do. As you said, you do not buy it. I'm explaining to you that my value system and other maps of reality that I possess, as relative and constructed as they are, allows me to navigate my sexual reality in ways that are conducive to the lifestyle I want to live.

    You have a different value system, which informs your lifestyle and your emotions which in turn feed back into your value system. You are entitled to it and that's awesome. 

    As for your comments about self-improvement. I do not see the changes that I believe that I must make as a reflection of my inherent inadequacy, more or less as I am not a perfectly enlightened being. The changes I make are only necessary insofar as they increase my ability to navigate the lifestyle that I seek to have. When I self-improve it is not to fix a problem within me, it is to help me navigate reality better. If you believe that wanting to get better at navigating reality means that I hate myself, I disagree. I have certain goals that I would like to achieve in my life, certain experiences that I would like to have, and so I am doing what I need to do to make those things happen. That doesn't mean I hate who I currently am. In fact, it is partly because I accept who I currently am that I see that I currently am not what I need to be to actualize those goals and experiences.

    If I were to change who I am, to change this construct that believes itself to be me, is that an act of self-hatred? Or an act of self-love? I see a better future for myself and so I seek to go toward it. Fulfilling my desires is not an act of self-hatred, nor is it a betrayal of self-acceptance. I am as accepting as I currently am and I actively practice self-love for who I currently am. That doesn't mean that I cannot change so that I have a better map that allows me to better navigate the reality I wish to inhabit. 

  20. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    6 minutes ago, IAmReallyImportant said:

    Again, there is a difference between emotional reaction and feeling discord with some truth.

    I just don't buy the whole picture you want to draw here, maybe someone else does. No offense, wish you the best :-)

    I never said there wasn't, I was just explaining how it was true for me. As I've said multiple times. 

    You don't buy it because you aren't removing yourself from your own value system. You only see my actions and beliefs through your own value system rather than realizing that my actions and beliefs emerge from my value system. This is why I repeatedly say I'm not trying to convince you of anything, because I understand that your views on sexuality emerge from your own value system and you have every right to that value system. Either is better or worse only insofar as they allow one to actualize the lifestyle that one desires. In this sense, we both have better value systems because we both have different lifestyles and the value systems that go with them. 

    I wish you the best too. 

  21. Posted

    38 minutes ago, intotheblack said:

    This is why it’s very hard to work in modern times. You could have seen it in tribe days, where everyone was supporting eachother and everyone shared love openly. Casual sex wasn’t a thing then, casual sex developed because of people being incapable of intimacy.  And it’s nobody’s fault, it’s not good or bad, this is just the times we are living in and the way people cope because of upbringing etc. 
    in tribe times there was more of a natural instinct to be polyamorous.  It was more based on emotions and loving the people in your community. The women could have their emotional needs met by more than 1 man and the man could have his sexual needs met by more than 1 woman.   But now it’s expected that the man can have many woman, but the woman has to make do with only 1 man.  The woman’s needs are ignored or suppressed. 

    Society and parenting over time has a toxic effect on what was once a healthy natural thing..  now it comes out in forms of cheating, or fear of intimacy, avoidant behaviour, jealousy etc. throw social media into the mix and self esteem issues are higher than ever.  

    In modern times, the thought of your woman having her emotional needs aka emotional cheating, met with another man may drive a man crazy.  Or vice versa. It’s sometimes seen as worse than having sex.  Cheating with Sex can be more easily forgiven in a relationship because it can be done unconsciously. This just shows how big a part emotions and intimacy play in relationships.  
    Today what you see is open relationships, mostly this only works if both partners are able to put feelings aside and only have sex... this is of course easier for a man to do.  There has to be somewhat of an emotional wall up between them, and they can ignore the fact that they are having sex with others, turn a blind eye to it.... but in reality if they knew the whole detail of what was going on they would feel jealous or hurt.   Therefore most people are suppressing their innermost needs and getting by on sex alone. 

    Probably the closest form of polyamory would be ‘swinging’ usually when a couple already has a strong relationship and have deep intimacy with eachother, they may both want to explore and swing with other couples after some time.  This would be more open, each person knows the details inside and out, everything is out on the table and both want this.  There is no keeping things from the other. 
     

    This is why I love looking at the stages of Spiral Dynamics as maps of reality.

    In tribal society the life conditions were such that unplanned pregnancy wasn't a huge issue. You had the entire tribe to raise the child. It wasn't until the issue of inheritance private property and power became an issue that people began to need a more rigid map for the sexual reality. You couldn't have wanton sex because you needed to prove that your rightful heir deserved your wealth and possessions. Having illegitimate heirs would mess that up. So, an institution like marriage needed to come into being to ensure that the inheritance went to the right person. 

    With the pill and the subsequent sexual revolution, we were in need of a new map to navigate this more complex sexual reality. It takes a developed person along the Spiral, who has integrated the previous stages adequately, to have an adequate map to explore this reality. It took me a long time to get to where I am and I still have a lot of progress to make, but moving into Stage Green has really helped me with it. 

  22. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    30 minutes ago, IAmReallyImportant said:

    I told you about feelings or emotions. Feelings or emotions can never be constructs. And it is more like a guidance, less then interpretation-based decision making. Emotions are no constructs. The thought about emotion is a construct.

     I'm not sure that's necessarily true. If your value system informs you that homosexuality is sinful, and seeing two gay men together makes you angry, that emotion would be constructed from your value system. Perhaps we're using different definitions. Either way, I think my reasoning still stands. Your emotions are often times a product of your value system. Changing your value system can change your emotional reaction to things. In addition, changing a homophobe's value system would likely be very painful, especially if it necessitated giving up a person's rigid religious beliefs. I think we can both agree this would be a good thing for them to put themselves through though. 

     

    30 minutes ago, IAmReallyImportant said:

    Doesn't sound like a polygamous person.

    I don't know what you mean by this. How does that not sound like a polygamous person?

  23. Posted

    I can't speak for Leo or the OP, but I interpret this to meant that you have to learn to find your own answers. You have to learn to identify your most pressing issue, and then go out into the world and figuring how to solve that problem for yourself. Yes, by reading books or watching videos, even Leo's videos, but you are doing it to consciously solve a specific problem or find a specific perspective in your own development. 

  24. Posted · Edited by Elevated

    28 minutes ago, IAmReallyImportant said:

    Value system for me sounds like constructs.

    When I feel an emotional disagreement with something, I just know that I believe something about myself that is not true. For example, that I have to be a certain way. I don't have to be polygamous just because otherwise other people come to me and say I'm dogmatic and not open-minded. I just know myself. Not everyone is polygamous and those who are usually don't feel bad about it from the beginning related to not being loved by the other person. I don't care with whom you fuck or if you fuck with dogs, donkeys, trees etc.

    I'm only writing this because I tried to be polygamous in terms of "you're not a real man if you don't have sex with frequent partners all the time". However, it felt superficial and like a waste of time. Because jerking off requires less effort and time with regard to conversations, manipulation etc. . And I find my time valuable.

    Value systems are constructs, as are interpretations of emotions and the interaction between value systems and the interpretations of emotions. Some would even argue emotions themselves are constructs. 

    I'm not telling you to be polygamous and I apologize if I come across as if I'm trying to convince you of something. I am perfectly content with you living the lifestyle that you want to live. I am not trying to impose my value system on yours by claiming that you are dogmatic or close-minded for not accepting my value system. So please, don't take this as an imposition on you or your personhood. I'm merely expressing my own life style because you've expressed interest and are making statements about it that I don't necessarily agree accurately reflect my own experience. 

    In my experience, I felt bad at the beginning about something I wanted. I made the decision to help myself become the type of person who could have something I wanted. That's what self-improvement is all about.

    Being polygamous because you are trying to prove something is not helpful, and it's definitely a trap that I've fallen into in the past. I've gone through the Stage Orange pickup lifestyle, and I appreciate what it taught me a lot. However, as you develop as a human you begin to have better motivations and better relationships with yourself and others.

    I was raised in an environment where sex was something a man takes from a woman. Women don't want to have sex as much as men. In that kind of system, any attempt to sleep with a woman is inherently manipulative and deceitful because you are trying to get something from her. To take something from her that she wouldn't otherwise give up or desire for herself. This also meant that I had to get it from whoever would give it. It was a scarce resource and so there wasn't a lot of discernment in who I should try to take it from. When I first got into pickup it was very much motivated by that belief system. I wanted to learn the manipulation tactics I needed to convince a woman to give up her sex. 

    Over time, I shed my negative beliefs about sex. I learned that women enjoyed sex just as much as men, they just had different social and biological pressures on them that have shaped how they view sex. I learned that by connecting with women as two human beings who enjoy sex and enjoy each other we could share the sexual experience. Now sex wasn't something to be taken from a woman, but something to be shared with a woman who I authentically enjoyed being around and felt connected to. And, because I didn't need anything from her, I was okay if that connection was broken afterward and we went our separate ways. It's the memory of that connection that I will cherish. The full experience itself was the thing to be enjoyed rather than the need for the connection to be maintained. 

    This is a Stage Green conception of sex. It is not a status symbol, it is not a reproductive act, it is an emotional, fun experience shared with another human being. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with it, and it opens up the door for people to get hurt, but if you have the adequate map to navigate the complexities of this reality then you also open the door to having a really great time with some really cool people. 

    Again, I'm not trying to convince you to adopt my worldview. You can be who you want to be and I'm all for it. That is just how I approach sexuality. 

  25. Posted

    @IAmReallyImportant And personally I believe the distinction is what the pain is for. Is the pain involved in running away from something or from facing it head on to deal with it? Is the pain from getting past obstacles on the way to something beautiful? That's something that you have to decide for yourself. 

    Your views on sex are based on your value system and that's fine, but realize that different people have different value systems than you do. When you and I say sex, we are saying something entirely different because embedded in that word is our entire value system, our emotional health, our past experiences, and more. 

    For me, meeting people is pleasurable, having sex is pleasurable. It's something I enjoy doing and that's really all it comes down to for me. There is no neediness there. I don't need anything from the other person. I am sharing something with them. It is a collaboration, not a taking. This because I've done a lot of work on myself and I can give myself the love and intimacy that I need. I enjoy sharing that love and intimacy with other people. My girlfriend, my casual partners, and my friends and family (obviously to different extents and in different ways). I have more than I need so I can give it freely to those I believe deserve it. Deserving is a deeper topic, and one that can be analyzed at many levels, but in this sense it simply means those people who I connect with and enjoy being around.