sholomar

Trump will be gone in 4.5 years tops and the next guy will take over. The beauty of checks and balances is it keeps a president from having too much power. Personally I'd strip them of their executive order power and make everything go through congress. Make them put in a full days work year round. The big problem has always been money...corporations having too much influence over politics.

It's just like slave owners having slaves 200 years ago...it's just how things were. People aren't really capable of thinking outside the societal Norms of their tribe. It's silly to attack them for cultural norms of the past really. Learn from their mistakes. I did not know about his women beating tendencies. I think everyone has a dark side when nobody is looking. Maybe I'm projecting.

By definition there are a larger than normal number yes, though they are a much more polite, less hostile version than the ones you find on platforms like reddit. I try to have no bias at all and like to be the contrarian that pokes against the establishment viewpoint to get people to question the nature of their reality (masks for example) but it doesn't really do much because neither extreme will change their views, coming across opposition only makes them redouble their emotional attachment to their views, like a rebellious teenager doing the opposite of what their parents want. Honestly since I haven't spent enough time with you guys I'm not going to judge either way. I'm trying to extract myself off of screens anyways.. I don't want to be on them much more than an hour a day.

I find anyone with extreme political positions tends to be pretty neurotic. There are plenty of neurotic people on both extremes of the political parties in the US. I have nothing in particular against gun ownership, but I'm not really the type who feels the need to take away everyone's freedom to protect everyone from each other either. I'd rather have more freedom and risk dying early than be protected from cradle to grave by an overprotective nanny state, but I'm not super opinionated about the matter either way, as long as I'm not living in a police state like China. Like Leo says, are you on forums debating people over stuff? That's neurotic. It's why I don't really visit here that much and am trying to get off places like reddit and city-data. It's just a place to feed neuroticism at least that's what I find in myself although I've found a lot of great self help material on reddit. Looking forward to going out to my mother's place and putting 100 rounds through my 9MM after an hour of meditation.

Frankly this happens with a lot of self help authors... their best work is their first books or they hit a plateau in the middle after which they start to decline a bit. There's no shame in this. Think about a sports athlete that hits their prime and then starts to get older but still loves the game and still wants to play. They might not be as good but they are still around. To be frank Leo provides more free content than any other self help author out there so I don't see the issue. If you don't like the video, listen to a different one. I have a few favorites, such as "65 principles for leading a good life" , "happiness spectrum" and "40 signs you are neurotic"

A person can hack their dopamine levels... more like we re-sensitize the dopamine receptors.. they become resistant because we are a society that has a sensory addiction. This overstimulation causes brain fog and makes people feel like zombies. There are numerous posts about it on reddit in places like "nofap" .. you deprive yourself of stimulation... no screens, bland foods, no masturbation or porn... Leo doesn't specifically mention dopamine in any of the videos I've watched but the science behind it is fairly easy to understand. Self mastery... to sit with a craving or impulse but not act on it.. the affects are powerful... sensations are nothing more than different versions of emotions.. leo has that video on how to deal with strong negative emotions, that you just sit there and feel them.. that's basically the premise to boost a deflated dopamine level. Deprive oneself of stimulation and the body will go into withdraw.. you'll feel like a smoker craving a cigarette. Having to sit with these sensations is very uncomfortable, but all sorts of positive benefits result such as zest for life returning.

I always tell people on reddit to make sure they are being paid a fair wage in a low COL area. If you have to be working you may as well be compensated well for your behavior. In our current system the top and bottom suck from the middle, so if you are stuck in a factory and not making $20/hour, given the way they push for productivity these days, it's no way to live. I feel grateful for the job I have. It's fairly easy, pays well, and in a low COL area with no state income tax, and it's depression-proof. It gives me time outside of work to pursue personal development. The ying and the yang are important... balance. Once you get into full time working and start to get older, the time just flies by...

For me this virus has been a good exercise in cultivating non-resistance... a lot of resistances have been brought up in me during this that I've been working through. Is it selfish to use world events like this to help free myself? I've gone back and forth on whether we are over-reacting to the virus. Part of me wonders if the people just going out there living their lives, not over-reacting, in a common sense manner of course, are actually the more enlightened ones compared to the people panicking and scolding others and ratting them out.. to me they seem like the neurotic ones... full of fear, resisting what is. Do we really need to be obsessed with saving every last life? Everyone dies. Food for thought. It's the elderly and people who are overweight and not taking care of themselves that are the most affected. I'm not sure how it will go over here compared to other forums but just thought I'd throw it out there. For what it's worth I've met several 80+ year olds that have lived good lives, and are out there living life during this virus... their attitude is "if it gets me, it gets me." ... to me that sort of acceptance is wise, but I can see how being compassionate towards others who don't share that viewpoint and want to take precautions is also wise, so I've taken a middle ground approach. If they open it back up, fine. If they don't, I'm fine with that also. I will say I could use a haircut!

Part of it is how you define success. Everyone has a different definition. For most people where I work success is raising their family which typically requires working 60 hours a week. For me I live minimalist because I like to spend more time learning my electric guitar, or going out in nature being mindful, or admittedly wasting more time in front of a screen than I should be, but I'm working on that. haha. For success in the world, I would agree that people skills and social connections are the single most important skill to have. It also helps to have some level of self mastery, meaning the ability to delay gratification and pick long term sources of pleasure over short term sources of pleasure. I like to use Leo's video on the "happiness spectrum" as a good guide here. Self mastery itself is hard... cultivating new habits takes work. The body naturally wants to take the path of least resistance.

True that, but anti-gravity would mean bases on the moon and other planets, a whole tourist industry set up in traveling the solar system. We wouldn't be talking about Elon Musk trying to get to Mars in months or years using rockets... he'd be there in a few hours or days. I'm convinced if we had the tech it would have been exploited by now, given how much money the top 1% has access too... virtually limitless. The oil industry doesn't have the political power it used too in the past. Yes it's still a big industry, but I don't believe they could actively suppress anti-gravity tech.

I used to believe back in the x-files days when I was a teen that the government had anti-gravity tech already... clearly they don't because it would be too profitable to not have been mass marketed by now. I always "wanted to believe" precisely because I thought the earth is boring, and most things people do and talk about in their day to day lives is boring, but of course personal development has undone a lot of this.. being able to step off the hamster wheel most people live their lives in (and yet being able to accept them and not judge them) and just being able to "be" has done a lot to improve my satisfaction here. Just going out for a hike somewhere, immersed in being, observing the rock formations and animals, the feeling of the breeze, the sensation of the sun's rays, the sounds... how complex and yet simple everything is... quite satisfying. It takes up thought space because as far as ego interests go, science is high on my list. I find the natural world fascinating, and going even deeper, the concept of a soul, reincarnation, other dimensions, astral beings, and all those other distractions.

Don't be a blind follower. Live your life the way you want. You don't have to sit around all day and meditate. I suggest reading David Hawkin's book "Letting Go" ... the important thing is to slowly undo more and more ego programming as you go, by being more and more playful, at peace with yourself and the world, relaxed, accepting of things as they are, and less judgmental, hateful, and resisting of "what is" in life. Do what you do but change the way you react to negative situations as they happen... learn to roll with the punches as you go, and you'll be headed the right direction. This isn't a cult. You don't have to do everything lock and step with the way he says.. he is one man. He himself will tell you to read 100 different books by 100 different authors and don't listen to only what he says.

Seems to me you have to dig through your own bullshit. There are different paths that lead to the same destination. Don't worry about how others take their path... worry about your path... once you evolve enough, there shouldn't be any bullshit for you to even have to "tolerate" in theory. There's a thread on here right now about "people who eat animal products cannot be enlightened" .. I'd say it's topics like that which can throw people off course.... this person is entitled to their opinion but missing the whole point, in my opinion. This can throw other people into thinking matters "of the world" matter, and that "fighting for causes" matters more than fixing one's own bullshit.... it keeps one stuck in the world, worried about the trees, instead of seeing the forest.... it creates more bullshit... basically it fuels and empowers the ego and righteous morality. It is the opposite of what enlightenment is about...

As somebody who has felt suicidal it's driven by the biologically wired emotions and instincts we evolved as animals to want to fit in and be part of the pack, to feel accepted. It's really a cry for attention or the final result when we don't get attention, feel outcasted, and feel powerless to do anything about it. For most men the cause is no woman in their life or the love of their life betraying them.. most men really need that emotional connection, more than women realize, but women are biologically wired to want dominance and want the man all other women are chasing... the dominant bad boy alpha type. Combined with surplus of men from no wars killing off the surplus males leading to a surplus of men and many of these men being weak or lacking a personality and it leads to a lot of frustrated men. Nature is harsh, boys. It's the limbic brain (our mammalian brain and all it's emotional drives) and the thoughts of the prefrontal cortex (consciousness and thought) mixing in a toxic brew is really what it is. Once you get into a habitual thought pattern it can be hard to see any other perspective. It happens more to people who isolate themselves because an outside perspective is the best way to break free of that record groove of habitual negative thinking, combined with our strong genetic urge to want to be part of something. I've found Leo's audio combined with "theredpill" subreddit to be some of the most useful information in my life, along with information on how the limbic brain works, the dopamine reward system, and evolutionary psychology.

I find it's a balancing act between self discipline and letting go and just being... like the ying and the yang. Leo talks about needing to accept yourself as you are, and this is the part a lot of development junkies forget because they are always striving to be something different than what they are. This ironically will get the sympathetic nervous system fired up and can lead to burnout and anxious behaviors. It's a paradox that you just have to finally say "fuck it" and accept your monkey mind before you can hope to achieve change. For me it's all about building new habits and the best way to do this is to print out a list of what I'm going to do so then it automates the process and I spend less time debating, ruminating, and trying to resist cravings.. here's what the list says, so this is what I'm doing. Rewiring the limbic brain is about repetition.. taking a new activity and repeating it until it's a habit.

I was late to the personal development game and finally after years of anxiety I'm managing to wire my nervous system and limbic brain to relax, cultivate my sense of humor by exposing myself to humor, and grow myself, but for me it's always been about being part Aspie and not good with women, not having "game" or any of the attributes in that video Leo has about 5 things women want, which is 100% true by the way. I do have enough money I could quit my job now and move to the Philippines and take a mid 20's wife and have 4 kids, but I still have a few years of earning power and self improvement yet before I'll go that route. I'm growing and bettering myself by the day, but like that Pink Floyd song says, I missed the starting gate. I do have 9 nieces and nephews so it's not like my genepool is going to die, not that it really matters anyways... we are largely genetically identical and 99.9% of us will be forgotten in 100 years.

Interesting. I've been meaning to plan to attend one. I appreciate your input. Also I just realized something as I sit here making my first posts... trying to give people advice is a trap.. it's my ego trying to get juice out of giving advice.. I made a rule I was going to stay off reddit and other forums because they are time wasters. Though this forum is arguably the most useful one I've ever visited, spending too much time posting when I have such a long way to go in my own journey is just a trap.. so I've instituted a no forums rule to include this forum for now. I'll be back when I've accomplished some of my goals. Take care!

That is interesting. I admit to not having researched hyperventilation breathing and will look into it out of sheer curiosity. I always look to expand my knowledge base. I would say that people should work on the core material first though before they try looking into things like this or psychedelics. The mental work.. mindfulness, visualization, acceptance, affirmations, thought monitoring.. these are the core things that produce results and should come first.. if you feel like you've reached a point in your life where you've nailed all these things down, then perhaps expand outward and try other avenues. Honestly I have a goal this year of listening to every single video Leo has made so naturally this video would be included. I'm starting at the oldest first though so it will take awhile to get to this one.

Everything the OP said is accurate.. breathing exercises don't accomplish anything particularly useful in most people.. the body regulates pH by breathing, you want a certain level of CO2 in the blood because without CO2 oxygen levels paradoxically go down. Likewise alkaline diets are mostly bunk because you don't alkalize your body through diet... if anything the diet is healthy because it gets rid of refined carbs and processed garbage like frozen pizza and Hot Pockets. The body keeps it's pH in check by breathing... like how when CO2 escapes soda it's pH rises, the body regulates pH through CO2 levels. There are some people who could possibly suffer from chronic hyperventilation syndrome, however. It would effect a pretty small percentage of the population. However, having your body oxygen levels drop a bit is not the end of the world. Mine will drop into the low 90% range while I sit around watching TV. People with sleep apnea will drop down to the 50% range at night in spurts. If anything buy a monitor that will log your oxygen levels while you sleep. Some people have sleep apnea they don't know they have that can negatively effect their life.

Whatever clicks with the way you are wired to think and gets you results. My first glimmer of personal development was David Hawkins and a Course in Miracles, Gary Renard's book, and more enlightenment focused books, but I found I preferred a more science minded approach which hacks the human brain and explains why we act the way we do by analyzing the brain structures and human evolution, which I found with Leo and a few other sources. I don't necessarily believe in spiritual enlightenment aside from it simply being a state of mind you can achieve with the right inputs (or lack of inputs as the case might be) I've found the book "your survival instinct is killing you" to be quite informative, but really Leo's work is more than adequate for my goals. He took all the best content and did a lot of the sifting through it for me, which is why I did throw 50 bucks his way in a donation and got the nice little picture that I saved kittens from a cauldron of boiling acid Even with these books, videos, gurus, etc, without the discipline to get rid of the hedonism in your life and set goals designed to rewire your subconscious mind with better habits, all the knowledge in the world will be useless because intellectual knowledge doesn't translate into a better state of being unless you apply it in a way the limbic system can understand, which is actions and experiences. If I watch one of Leo's videos and then get stoned and play video games, not much progress is achieved versus watching his video and going and lifting weights or having a more productive hobby that gets me out of the house. I'm not the type to worship any guru as some sort of "special" figure anyways.. people are people and nobody is really more "special" than anyone else. They might be more advanced spiritually, but if they are they'd be the first to agree with me on this point.

Neurotic behavior is basically behavior driven by our monkey mind, the limbic system, or behavior driven by our emotions when we let emotions control us. Fixing neurotic behavior? Read the book "Your Survival Instinct is Killing You" and listen to Leo's videos.. everything you need is there. The best things to fix neurotic behavior are things like mindfulness, acceptance, and visualization. What you focus your attention on and repeat over and over will eventually create new neural connections in the brain.. new habits. Keep in mind the old habits will still be there so it will take some level of work/effort to maintain your new habits and state of being once you achieve them. Leo's video on the Happiness Spectrum will give you a good idea of what kinds of goals to focus on... basically avoid hedonism and short term gratification, things you think will make you happy but really just leave you feeling more empty after you're done. Nofap, a clean diet, and lifting are things a man can do that create long term goals that leave you with a sort of satisfaction you can't really "buy" .. the satisfaction that comes with goal setting and the work it takes to achieve those goals. These are just three examples.. there are others. Listen to Leo's happiness spectrum video. Along with this mindfulness allows you to accept your emotional ebbs and flows without letting them control you. Your emotions are basically habits formed through time by repetition.. say you get irritated at a long stoplight or other drivers.. this is an easy one a lot of people have.. mindfulness lets you observe your reaction without judgment and from acceptance you can come to make a change to your behavior.. modify your thoughts so over time you no longer get upset when driving. Again just one example... other examples would be encountering resistance when you try to make a new habit.. say you don't really "feel" like working out but you observe this feeling and do it anyways.. or you have a craving for a bad food, and you observe the craving without acting on it.... by not giving into cravings and temptations but mindfully accepting they are there, over time you will form new habits and reap the rewards of your personal development work.