Emerald

The Dao as a symbol (aka the Yin/Yang) is a representation of the inherent perfection and wholeness of all that is. The circular shape of the Dao represents absolute wholeness this inherently perfect and contains (yet transcends) all opposites. And then within the wholeness of the circle... there is a duality of positive and negative. And on the level of duality there is the concept of perfection and imperfection... infinite and finite... light and darkness... and all other dichotomies of the dualistic world. It is like the archetypal representation of the Sun and Moon... where the circle represents the Sun which is the Masculine and spiritual component of the Dao where all things are inherently perfect as they are. Then, the Moon has a dark and light side like the Dao... and this represents the more Feminine and Earthly components of the Dao where nothing is ideal and there is a world of contrasts and opposites where we have preference for "this thing" over "that thing". So the Dao is a representation of the relative duality that exists within (and as) the absolute non-duality of existence... It is similar to how both the relative finite and relative infinite are dichotomous component of the absolute infinite... and both the relative imperfection and relative perfection are components of the absolute perfection... and the relative separation and relative oneness are components of the absolute oneness. And with enough consciousness and a deep enough connection to truth and love, all dualities of the Dao collapse into an absolute perfection that transcends all dichotomous conceptualizations of "good and bad". And the light side of the Dao is only a meager reflection of infinite brightness of the Dao as a whole... just as the light side of the moon is a meager reflection of the intense brightness of the sun. This is how much dimmer the human conceptualizations of goodness are in comparison to the absolute goodness that includes all things... the good, the bad, and the ugly. So, if we are attached to conceptualizations and identities of relative goodness (in opposition to relative badness), then we cannot connect to the absolute goodness that transcends these relativistic dualities. This is why the Dao provides an excellent explanation of what's needed in Shadow Work. When we only look at ourselves and reality from the perspective of duality without respect to the non-dual... it seems like we live in a world of good and bad. And from that conclusion the name of the game is to condemn and annihilate the bad so that good may triumph. But this only leads to the dualistic conception of goodness in the relative (which is an incomplete goodness). And it often leads to all sorts of terrible things. For a complete goodness, you must embrace the whole and the positive and negative with it. This is what we do with Shadow Work. We embrace the absolute wholeness and recognize the perfection of our Self (and all things in reality) as an extension of the Dao (which is one and the same to the Self). And we avoid polarizing into incomplete identities of relative goodness and excluding the parts of ourselves that we perceive as bad. It is only then that we can undo the schisms within personalities to reveal the absolute perfection and radiance of the Self that transcends all dualistic conceptualizations of identity.

On one hand, it seems like it's possible that your mom doesn't respect your boundaries or your things... or it could be some attempt to control. On the other hand, I have a question just to get clarity on the situation. Do you have a tendency to hold onto things of sentimental value or perceived practical value that most people would get rid of? And do you have a strong attachment to things to the degree that you struggle to let go of anything and they clutter your space? If not, the issue probably is because of some attempt to control on the part of your mom. If the latter is the case, it could be that she's trying to help you let go of things that you struggle to let go of... but going about it in ways that are hurtful and counter-productive. Like if someone has issues with hoarding, the mind attaches a lot of meaning to objects (even things like paper towels, empty containers, miscellaneous knick knacks, etc.) to the degree where losing those objects can feel like losing a loved one. And this leads to hoarding everything and never wanting to let go of anything. And often times, family members will throw away or donate things that the person who hoards is attached to in an attempt to help them. And this creates a lot of grief and can make the hoarding worse. So, my first thought is that your mom is trying to control you through these behaviors or is just being inconsiderate. But my second thought (given that you still feel grief about it after quite some time) is that, if you have a tendency to hoard things or to assign a lot of meaning to objects, that she might be trying to help you break out of it in counter-productive ways. Though this is a shot in the dark. So take it with a grain of salt.

That's usually the case. Most people who are casually to overtly racist just see themselves as people who see the truth while others are blind to it or to afraid to say it. Many just see themselves as brave truth tellers simply telling it like it is in the face of the lies of political correctness.

The benefits is wholeness and a realization of Self. Because everyone has both Masculine and Feminine traits, resisting the embodiment of either of these 'energies' will lead to repression and a splitting of wholeness.

I have a paradoxical perspective on this... On one hand, psychedelics (and other intense processes) can really mess someone up if they aren't ready. So, I'm reticent to talk too much about them on my channel out of concern that people will face with experiences that they don't know how to integrate or cope with. And I'm more apt to caveat the use of entheogens to death. On the other hand. I took Ayahuasca experimentally at age 20. And I was not prepared. And along with a variety of other traumas in my life, these experiences were awakening experiences that turned my entire worldview on its ear. And it created years of struggle for me afterwards. But now, nearly 15 years later, I recognize that these experiences and the chaotic times after these experiences were a key element of my life's journey and that "biting off more than I can chew" was necessary for me to demolish the identity and worldview from before in order to transform into the form I'm approaching now. So... don't seek out unearned wisdom... unless you really need to struggle with unearned wisdom to transform and grow.

Are you awake to who you are?

@Danioover9000 One thing that I would say about this is that these types of organizations are quite common for getting work for both illegal immigrants and immigrants who come over by applying for a student visa (who don't actually intend to be students). Places like hotels want and need the cheap labor from immigrants to run. But they don't want to shoulder the risks of hiring illegal immigrants and unauthorized workers directly. So, instead of hiring immigrants, the hotels (and other work places) rent the workers from these types of companies who shoulder all the legal risks for a price. That way, the hotel can get their risk-free cheap labor and the unauthorized workers get to work. And the going rate tends to be that they charge $1-$2 per hour off of the top of the unauthorized workers' wages as payment. So, giving that he was only charging 25 cents an hour is actually a really good rate. Typically, these immigrant labor rental organizations also go to the countries in question (I know of this happening in Eastern Europe)... and they see if there's anyone looking to immigrate. And they help those people get set up with student visas and a job in the states... and this gives people more opportunities to seek a better life for themselves. (And this may even be considered human trafficking in a court of law, even though it's voluntary.) I know this because I know a lot of immigrants who came here as unauthorized workers (student visas) but most of them currently have their green cards or citizenship now. And I even used to be acquainted with one guy who runs this type of business. I see what he does as quite important as many of my friends/acquaintances have been helped by what he does and that his business has functioned as a stepping stone for them into their lives as they are now. And I recognize that (even though it's against the law) the system requires it to actually run functionally... as the system requires cheap immigrant labor to run. So, I'm quite forgiving of the actual organization and his participation in it. But of course, any type of exploitation (beyond the fees due to the company for the service they provide to workplaces and immigrants) is a terrible thing. And it's disappointing because I like Beau's personality and content. That said, I could forgive it eventually if I feel like the person truly learned their lesson and wouldn't do it again. And I don't know Beau personally, so I can't attest to any of that. But he does seem like someone who cares a great deal about a lot of important causes.

Hi @Danioover9000! Thank you for the welcome back. Now, I was responding to this question... "So is there really a systemic racism in America, or is the Black culture its own greatest enemy?" And clearly, my view is that there is systemic racism in America... and I provided my reasoning with some concrete examples of how a system could be racist without individuals in the system needing to be. So, I don't really see why you'd answer to my reply to your question with questions about my takes on immigration issues since you were talking about racism... and specifically racism in relation to black people. And if it is the case that immigration issues are impacting white American's job prospects... would that not also impact black American's job prospects? So, the existence of immigration issues doesn't negate the existence of systemic racism. Now, these immigration issues exist specifically because the economy is designed to run off of the cheap labor of immigrants. So, there's no mistakes happening with immigration as it is by design. The U.S empire creates all sorts of issues for smaller nations so they can exploit them for resources and cheap foreign and domestic labor. They often will either topple governments and install their own puppet dictator to keep the people of smaller less powerful nations oppressed, poor, and desperate. Or they'll pass laws, treaties, trade deals, sanctions, tariffs, etc. that lead to economic problems for less powerful nations. And when people flee from these nations for a better life in America, America will exploit them for cheap (nearly free labor) which in turn leaves fewer jobs for poor Americans (who are also a cheap labor force that's intentionally kept poorer by the powers that be). So, what must be understood is that the Immigration problem is really just a symptom of a much deeper root cause that more powerful imperialistic nations cause. Then, these immigrants can be made into scapegoats by the powers that be so that the revolutionary energy of poor, working, and middle class Americans can be directed towards immigrants instead of to the powers that be. And it's a whole automated system to get poor Americans to oppress themselves by getting them to waste their anger reacting to the symptoms of oppression that other groups of people are facing. So, anyone who gets really upset about immigration and immigrants is being suckered into re-inforcing the chains that bind them. The main point is here that... yes, there is systemic racism. And yes, there is systemic xenophobia. (And systemic sexism, transphobia, etc.) And these systems are maintained by the powers that be because it serves their power. That way there's cheap labor forces to exploit in the form of immigrants. And it causes American citizens to have to accept lower pay for the same jobs because they are competing with immigrants who are working for a few dollars per hour. And then, poor angry (mostly) white people get a powerless scapegoat to blame instead of enacting real change by targeting the powers that set up the system that screws them over... so that the powers that be can maintain the working class white people as their place as yet another cheap labor force to exploit (though making a penny or two more than the immigrants). And this white anger towards minority groups then leads to an enforcement of both bigotry and systemic racism... which further enforces the oppression of those minority groups... which becomes part of the glue that holds the mutual oppression of poor white people and poor non-white people together. So, don't get suckered into the game! Of course there is systemic racism. And it's all very conveniently enforcing the power of the powers that be. And to the degree that we're unconscious to these systemic issues (and instead operate from a place of ignorance and blame of the affected groups) is the degree to which we can be manipulated and weaponized to enforce these power structures.

Thank you!

I've been Vegan for almost 8 years with absolutely no meat... but I did sometimes falter in discipline and spend a few months here and there eating mostly Vegan with some Vegetarian foods. So, of this 8 years... I probably spent 6 years of it purely Vegan and 2 year of it mostly Vegan but with some Vegetarian foods. And I don't usually take many supplements. Just B12... which I typically get through enriched foods like nutritional yeast. Some supplements can be linked to adverse effect... like vitamin D and Calcium supplements. So, I try to get most of my nutrients through food.

As someone who grew up in a small Southern town, I can tell you that about a quarter of the people there range on a scale from casually racist to obsessively racist. It's anywhere from casually stereotyping certain races and occasionally the odd racial slur... all the way up to an intense obsession with people of other races and expressing a desire to cleanse America of all non-white people. So, yes... racism is still an issue. And that's not even taking into account the impersonal systems perspective on racism... or unconscious biases. And once you become conscious of that, you realize how pervasive it is. And even if there were somehow suddenly no out-an-out racist people, there would still be negative impacts on non-white people because of how certain systems were set up in the past that still trickle into how it is today. For example, public schools in America are mostly funded from property taxes. And because of past practices like segregation and redlining, it's the case that previously red-lined neighborhoods are poor areas where mostly non-white people live. And it has led to a disparity in wealthy that still impacts people to this day. This leads to poorer schools that get less funding... and the (mostly non-white) kids that go there don't get as good of an education compared to the wealthier (mostly white) schools. This then trickles into fewer educational prospects for non-white students... which trickles into fewer career prospects. And there have been studies done where they'd send in identical resumés... but have one be a black-sounding name and one be a white-sounding name. And the person with the black-sounding name was chosen significantly less for call-backs throughout this experiment despite having the same resumé. So, yes. Racism is alive and well unfortunately.

I am Vegan for ethical reasons. But there's also a lot of evidence to suggest that a whole food Vegan diet is the best diet for longevity as it is (in a variety of meta-analyses) associated with a longer life-expectancy (based on all-cause mortality). It is particularly associated with lower incidences of heart disease. I recommend checking out this creator on YouTube who is a scientist who has her PhD and shares the direct results of studies and meta-analyses... especially ones that relate to whole food plant-based eating vs other diets. Here's a fairly recent video from her channel...

Thank you! I'll keep that book in mind.

Thank you! Good to see you!

Thank you! I'm glad you like my posts! The Dao as a symbol has so much in it.

As we move through life, we experience different traumas and unmet needs... and we construct different identities and worldviews. And to cope with all of this, we create different coping mechanisms and protections. All of this accumulates over time... like dirt accumulates on the windshield of a well-driven car. Then, the image we see through the windshield is dull and blurry and vague. And you remember back to childhood when the windshield was cleaner... and say "Didn't the world used to be far more brilliant than this dull world in front of me now?" And maybe before, you were in the cow field and could see the brilliance of the cow field through the windshield. And now, you're near a beautiful castle made of pearls... but it all looks so dull.

@James123 What compels you to create this thread?

Are you an entrepreneur or do you work a 9-5? If it's the former, are you avoiding more opportunities for success? Or is it something else? If it's the latter and you have a fairly fixed income, have you gone through your budget to see if there's any expense you can cut? And just in general... is your issue that you have a block with making money? Or keeping money?

Here's a list... 1. Doesn't immediately express attraction and orients to me platonically 2. Is kind and warm 3. Expresses a broad range of emotions 4. Can intuitively pick up on and attune to others' emotions 5. Is respectful of others 6. Goes out of his way to make sure that he's not making me feel uncomfortable or unsafe 7. Good humored (can laugh at himself) 8. Stays emotionally regulated 9. Can pick up on subtle emotional shifts and calibrate to them 10. Isn't worried about coming across as weak or 'unmanly' for expressing feelings 11. Isn't hung up on me to the point where he puts too much meaning and intensity into the interaction (though a little nervousness and jitters is okay and normal and I can find that endearing because it means that he probably doesn't approach many women)

@StarStruck It really just depends on if you're a good fit for what the coach can offer and what kind of results a particular coach can help you get.... and if those results are worth the money to you. I'm a coach, and many of my clients have told me that I've totally changed their lives. Lots of times this is intangible stuff... like getting rid of anxiety or letting go of certain hang-ups or shifting paradigms. But I've had more tangible results too... including one client who transformed his business into a multi-million dollar business after I helped him face the core reasons why he was self-sabotaging his success. And I've (as a coaching client) taken business coaching courses that have made me back SIGNIFICANTLY more than what I've paid. For example, I paid $3k for one business coaching course... which I've turned around to make around $70k (and counting) from. And I recently completed a coaching course that I paid a little over a grand for, and upon completing it, I was able to make about twice that much immediately upon implementing it. So, it's already paid for itself. I've also attended Somatic Healing group coaching events (which weren't too expensive) that have created a lot of inner transformation for me in terms of feeling and understanding my feelings... and having insights come to the surface that I was previously unaware of. And that was priceless.

My question is... Is it a hard boundary for you that you are against celebrating special dates where you wouldn't feel comfortable because it goes against your values? Or is it just not something you're used to doing? If it's the first one... this is an incompatibility. And either you or she will have to compromise something to make the relationship work... or you'll have to change the nature of the relationship to something else. If it's the second one, my advice is to put in the effort to come to appreciate why she values special dates and what the means to her. And if it's all the same to you, to learn to value and appreciate it... and at least to humor her and not expect her to sacrifice something that means a lot to her for something that's indifferent to you. For example, celebrating holidays a particular way is important to me. And one of those holiday traditions is to get my kids quite a few gifts for Christmas to put under the Christmas tree. My husband grew up without a lot of money, so there was never a lot of gifts and he had expressed confusion as to why it's important to get a bunch of gifts. But he wasn't there when I was a kid experiencing the magical expectation of Santa coming to deliver all those gifts... and how important those memories are to me. And how important it is and has been for me to give my kids the same magic that I enjoyed... and how I never wanted them to miss out. Luckily, he was fine with it. But I know he doesn't perfectly understand. He just humors me and it has now become a tradition that he also values for other reasons. So, he was indifferent to it and he compromised to accommodate what was a strong preference for me. And I recommend, in relationships, to compromise if it's not that big of a deal to you. But if it is a big deal for both of you in your respective positions that neither of you can compromise without feeling like you're betraying yourself and your values, it could just be an incompatibility that will lead to a lot of unresolvable ongoing conflict.

@StarStruck I didn't watch the video, but I read through the thread. Here's my perspective... When it comes to pornography, there is often some element of exploitation there because many people choose that path out of a sense of financial duress. So, it can be argued that it isn't truly consent for many of the people who are involved. And of course, you can find very predatory dynamics in the industry in situations that are particularly shady. This of course is not true across the board for everyone. Some people just really like sex and enjoy the exhibitionism of performing on camera. For these concerns, finding amateur porn from independent creators can be a means of finding more ethically sourced porn. Now... more importantly for self-actualization and conscious development practices is to take a middle path perspective on things like sex and porn that is neither based in grasping nor aversion. And often, when someone is VERY against porn.... there can be a polarization into aversion because too much meaning is being applied to sex and there is too much attachment to it. So, I would venture to guess that your aversion to porn might extend beyond simply not wanting to engage with it because you don't enjoy its results and see it as unhealthy. The reason why I say this is because there are other less healthy common behaviors that you likely wouldn't have as strong of a reaction to. And what that indicates to me is that you may have some hangups and shame about sex and sexual desire in general. And these would be very important to work through. There is nothing wrong with sex and sexual desire. And as long as porn is used in moderation, it's okay (for those who are capable of moderation). Like I don't put any prohibitions on myself when it comes to things like drugs, alcohol, or porn. But I'm sober probably 363+ days out of the year and I maybe watch porn like once every couple of months. I understand that I'm a woman, so it might be easier for me to use porn in moderation. But I can say, as someone who is capable of moderation with it, I am much more indifferent and detached from porn compared to someone who has a strong aversion to it. The existence of porn neither excites me nor disgusts me. I'm just not that big of a fan of it and I don't prefer it because my imagination is better. And I sense that that's a much more effective strategy for orienting to the existence of porn in a conscious way. Too much aversion leads to just as much attachment as being obsessed with it.

I wanted to share an insight that I got about why there is a gender between (mostly heterosexual) men and women.... thought it impacts everyone in actuality in some form or another. This is a generalization that only describes the broad stroked understandings of this dynamic. The insight is that (generally) men's core collective wound in shame... and women's core collective wound is powerlessness. It first begins with society expecting men to be Masculine... and to get rid of their Femininity and anything perceived as weak or limited. This is impossible since (on an archetypal and energetic level) everything of the Earth that is made of matter is Feminine by its nature. We are all a part of Mother Nature. And this fundamental expectation to be Masculine as an Earthy limited material being, creates a feeling of shame towards their Feminine side (which then gets pushed into the Shadow... which creates Anima issues in Jungian terms). So, the man feels shame for having a Feminine side and not being Masculine enough (the Masculine is infinite and Godlike energetically and archetypally). And this desire to embody only the Masculine and push away the Feminine produces feelings of obsession towards women... which represent the parts of himself that he's pushed away that he desperately wants to reintegrate with. This is why so many men tend to be obsessed with women and sex beyond what's "normal". But his Feminine side is then projected out onto women (as a whole group and as an idea) as the powerful rejecter as it mirrors his own rejection and mistrust of his Feminine side. And he begins to feel powerless in the eyes of women... and he feels more and more powerless to women the more that he pushes away his Feminine side. So, it creates something you can see a lot in the Red Pill, MGTOW, and Incel guys where there is simultaneously an obsession with women coupled with an intense dislike and mistrust of women and all things Feminine that totally rules their lives. And even though these are extreme cases, most men (and women too) have some level of resistance to the Feminine. And the common thread that's woven through these Manosphere groups is shame and feelings of invalidity for not being "man enough"... which then puts women in the role of judge of who is or is not "man enough"... which translates to "worthy enough" These groups exist as a means of men getting together with other men who are dealing with the same shame/vulnerability. But instead of addressing the wound like a true support group would, it becomes a place where men can aggravate their shame wounds together. And in these groups, women become a scapegoat figure that the men in the groups collectively demonize and project hatred at... in hopes of defeating the source of their shame once and for all. But women are not the source of their shame, so it becomes like any other hate group that names a scapegoat and tongues and aggravates their wounds by shadow boxing with the image of "the hated ones." And they collectively run through the archetypal shame story with other men... while imagining a scenario where they "snatch back the power" from women. And I'm using scare quotes because men's perceived feeling of shame and unworthiness in the eyes of women creates the illusion that women are much more powerful than they actually are. So, many men end up feeling totally at the mercy of women... like women are shame-free Goddesses up on a pedestal judging whether a given man is worthy or unworthy of love and existence. This then creates the feeling of being the vulnerable man fighting against the powerful callous domineering women. And they seek to then pull women down from their perceived position of power. And in most of human history, women have been on the receiving end of this pull down from the pedestal. And for millennia there have been a variety of laws and folkways and social patterns to ensure that women don't connect to their own power... and to ensure that no one (men or women) connects to the Feminine power. And this has produced a collective trauma of powerlessness in women in relation to men... where the only perceived (and often actual) route to power is to fit into the narrow ideal image of the beautiful woman on the pedestal that men are most apt to project onto. But with one difference... a declawed version of the pedestaled woman who will not aggravate the male shame wound. This then creates wounds and fears in women around being made powerless by men... which in turn makes them envious of men's greater levels of social and physical power and in turn unaware of male vulnerability and callous to the wound of male shame... which then produces confirmation bias of this archetypal male shame story in the eyes of men as women then can come across as callous (partially as a means of protection). Then, that leads out into more male shame... which leads to more men trying to drag women down from the perceived position of power over men (that women don't actually have). Which then leads to more callousness in women towards male vulnerability and the male shame wound as she views him as powerful and not vulnerable because of the power he objectively wields over her. Then this callousness to male vulnerability leads to more male shame... which leads to more attempts to rob women of their power... which leads to more callousness to male vulnerability and leads to more male shame... which leads to more oppression towards women... which leads to more callousness to male vulnerability and more male shame... which leads to more oppression towards women... etc. It's important to recognize these wounds in ourselves and to not proliferate them and to exercise compassion towards these vulnerabilities in ourselves and others. Otherwise... men will keep envying women because they perceive women to be more worthy and lovable than they are... and women will keep envying men because they recognize that men are more powerful (in a variety of ways) than they are and will not be cognizant of the shame many men are dealing with, which starts the whole cycle over again. But the origin point of this whole dynamic is men feeling pressured to be Masculine and rid themselves of that which is Feminine... archetypally, energetically, and culturally.

It's very unfortunate