Elisabeth

Sorry about my sarcasm. I'm being emotional because I just recently got an ultimatum, and it made me not want to have anything in common with the people issuing the ultimatum. I don't doubt it's possible to rehabilitate a murderer. Easier for some, harder for others, depending on many factors. My point #1 is, it can't be proven. It's completely up to society to believe a murderer's personality change, or not. How is it ethical or helpful to their development to have them live in fear of a lethal injection for X years, completely at the mercy of the judge deciding if their life has become "useful" and "loving" enough? If you wanna give them a chance, have them complete a punishment, give them the resources to rehab themselves, and trust they can do it. You're putting society in some danger, but so are you if you give them the ultimatum. You can still kill them if they do more crime, but don't make it a Damocles' sword ready to fall at an artificial 10year mark, just make it a new trial for that new transgression.

Yeah, because It makes sense to love and obey the norms of a society that threatens you death unless you prove something that cannot be proven

@Javfly33 It's a core part of identity/ego, I give you that. Why would a LGBTQ person get triggered when people say they are sick/sinnful/traumatized? ...... You have a point though, gotta work on some more shame.

I hear your experience and refuse to generalize it. My bdsm preference isn't a symptom of self-hate and harmful beliefs. I am NOT inclined to do bdsm when I hate myself. There might be some early-on attachment trauma going on, I seem to have that, but I didn't make any direct link to my kinks yet. I refuse to look at something that has given me genuine happiness as an indicator of "being broken". IF ever my bdsm preferences disappear completely as a result of shadow work, then I'll be able to say they stemmed from trauma. Until then, it's better to treat them as human variation. Some people like sports, although it gives them physical pain, or exactly because it causes the body to cope with that stress through endorphines. Some people meditate through incredible suffering. Neither is considered a result of trauma, it's considered healthy. Why is someone who enjoys working through suffering and reaching an endorphin high through spanking or rope, while also enjoying intimacy with their partner, seen as more traumatized than the average population? Think about it. It makes no sense. So I'd say bdsm prefereces and submission fantasies certainly CAN indicate trauma, but they don't necessarily need to. Enjoy your exploration!

What literature. How ignorant. From my tantric education (admittedly limited, though I've had a year of weekly training), tantra values saying yes to experience, including consciously living through desires. From my (much broader) bdsm experience, if you're into it, bdsm touches the very core of your being, your sexual energy and your will to live through challenges. There's no contradiction. Do bdsm desires fall away as you walk the spiritual or the tantric path? Personally, I think that besides psychological conditioning, there's a deep bodily-spiritual component that's hard-wired into the layer where personal identity meats biology, so as long as you're in a body and have a personality to come back to, some bdsm preference may stay. So you may as well be ok with having them and include them in your spiritual living as a part of your body's wishes instead of labeling them dark and trying to transcend them as fast as possible.

Jump on board, it's day one. Free talks to understand trauma, society, and collective healing for the next week or so. Green/Turqoise. collectivetraumasummit.com

Sorry about your bloodpressure trouble. Obviously, consider all medical treatment offered. Also, psychedelics make you more emotionally sensitive, and bring up unconscious stuff. So I wonder. Could it be an emotion that is accessed more easily after your last trip and makes your heart agitated?

Thanks!

Are you an evil person, or a person who has done one bad deed? Can you see why you did what you did And find compassion? Be kind to yourself and patient with the grieving process

Also, this might be interesting to some - the Finder's course by Jeffery Martin may be a scam. (Didn't take it, but I was compelled to at some point.) https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/comments/98e7gd/practice_my_review_of_finders_course_exposing_the/

Recently I gave my credit card details to a con website. Happened, because I was trying to download a game late at night, down and tired, and didn't pay attention to the warning signs. When it didn't work, I checked the reviews and blocked my card

@Late Boomer I've read an article recently (it wasn't English) which argued that it's natural to only turn to the ego-dissolving kind of spirituality in the second half of one's life. Being interested in it earlier usually comes with a price... so don't worry. You may be in the best spot in your entire life to do the work just now.

@uriel You say almost nothing about the relationship. That's unusual for a "I'm considering breakup" post. Just saying. Take a vacation alone. See if you miss her.

You're probably a bit sensitive, but yeah, 100 is more than enough for the first time. You don't describe visuals. Either you're a person that doesn't get them, or the dose wasn't all that high.

@melodydanielluna Reading what Yarco and other users have written .... trust your own judgement, it'll know best

Thanks, well worded.

I certainly went too far, too fast over here I thought I could actually learn the technique properly at the retreat, but there was little tuition except on the "proper postures" used by this particular group. I forced myself to do long hours of meditation in a way that didn't suit me. Was in conflict with myself. Got an actual emotionally triggered asthma attack. Left after two days. Took me two years until the memory lost a "trauma" flavor to it. I've got a mostly regular meditation practice now, even a bit of self-inquiry has started to be interesting to me, but I don't go hardcore.

@StarStruck Check out this book https://www.amazon.com/Therapy-Substance-Psycholytic-Psychotherapy-Twenty-first/dp/1908995122

That would be an amazing improvement!

It's not the same as if you actually try and fail.

It may be ok to have more than one day gap between your trip and the therapy. Depends if you already want to conceptualize so soon.

Thanks. Actually, it wasn't my point to suggest Leo should share more of himself on youtube, that could backfire, and it's his right to share as much as he feels up to. My point was, I hope Leo does have both close personal relationships (for the joy they bring - I'm coming from a place of care) and constructive critique/collaboration on the political topics he speaks about (for the quality of his content). But I also enjoy relatable personal stories. Like the intro to the old "Ultimate model of human knowledge" video. It's a good video, one that I recommend a lot if I want to introduce someone to Leo's work.

This is super interesting and captivating, lots of valuable comments in this thread. I'm deeply sorry for the family of the deceased! Also, sending Leo some basic human compassion - he seems to be handling the fallout and evaluating responsibility just fine, but I imagine it must be emotionally difficult too. I'm one of the people coming into spirituality from a place of depression (though not suicidal level) and anxiety, my core interests in personal development have been emotions, relationships, trauma healing. I'm greatful to Leo for introducing me to some philosophy and spirituality too . My progress is slow, I've been following since forever (2016), and awakening is still over my head. It would never occur to me to take Leo's teachings as promoting suicide. For me, they are fascinating! But I understand that spiritual concepts and experience can lead to confusion in some people. I've never personally experienced much of it just from listening - ideas on their own aren't very threatening to me. Experience is a different thing and can be deeply unsettling. In terms of dealing with the dangers of spiritual teachings, I'm happy and grateful to have people around me who have been part of i.e. the holotropic breathwork community. They are my guide as much as Leo is, and they help me balance some of Leo's bias. As for grievances, I've expressed my opinion on several topics in the past - the old relationship videos, the pick-up line of the forum, the repeated bashing of science and religion (which I'm sick and tired off) and other unnecessary repetition, the political commentary. Some videos on Leo's side-interests or newly developing interests just don't have the quality of his core spiritual and philosophical content. (On the other hand, from my area of expertise, I very much appreciate the quantum mechanics series! ) I've also recently expressed concern whether Leo has enough feedback from (or rather, shared investigation with) high-quality intellectuals in the social/politics domain, and I've been called insane Leo, this may be a false impression, but it often seems from your videos like you don't talk about your insights and your journey to anyone at all. I'm just always so happy to hear you mention being at a retreat and talking to the teacher, or similar. We may be all imaginary or all one (I don't know what I'm talking about here), but in the relative domain, people need to relate to people as close to their level as possible. I don't think the forum is enough feedback for you. If there was some distinction between content for newbies and content for long-time viewers in the future, I would appreciate it. Lastly, I'm organizing a students' personal development group at my faculty. I've struggled with my conscience on whether I can recommend actualized.org as a source of advice. So far I decided I can't. I'm not actually sure it would have a net positive effect on the students' lives if they started to dive into spirituality and psychedelics. It's a hard decision though, between authenticity and caution (coupled with fear).

@Leo Gura Well do you have ANY people to discuss your ideas with before you make them public? JP may not be a good one. Yet everyone needs a quality discussion now and then. And, since you're going political now, you can't avoid strawmen unless you actually check in with the other person. Anyway, I liked the integrity video a lot. The gender video is not a bad attempt at going popular either. Haven't finished watching the JP video yet.

I also think you should talk to JP about the SD model your critiques, Leo. Not necessarily publicly. You are also a well-known intellectual, would he decline a debate?