Brittany

This is very helpful. I understand this "First off, when I say Masculine... I don't mean things primarily pertaining to gender. Masculine and Feminine are two polar energies that exist in all living and non-living systems. It's more like Yin and Yang than Woman-like-ness and Man-like-ness. And the issue with being unaware of which energies and archetypes are at play in a given dynamic is that we can have a bias against one of the energies/archetypes without realizing we have a bias. the Masculine and Feminine exist in all living and non-living systems. Anyone can have positive Masculine or Feminine qualities." I think what confuses me is when we start bringing up Real Life women or men, in these discussions. And we say "These men are in their Toxic Masculine. We need men to be in their Healthy Masculine." Or when a woman says "I was not in my Feminine" When I hear this, my mind automatically goes into "Men must be X and Women must be Y", which causes resistance in me. But I understand that is not what is being said. Then, it also gets confusing when: Women who have a "Feminine performance" but who are in their Toxic Masculine. and Men who have a "Masculine performance" but who are in their Toxic Feminine. Some people put on a performance of femininity and masculinity, but their actual energies are something else. And this is very confusing. And then sometimes, with certain behaviors, I wish we could just say layman terms like "This person is a bully" or "They are unkind" instead of giving it more flowery language like "They are in their toxic masculine". But I get it. You are creating a map of the psyche. It is going to sound metaphorical. I need to stay more open minded and patient. There is still a lot for me to learn and explore about this topic. I just need to stop rolling my eyes around the topic and calling it "Woo", and begin to do the work. haha

I think we need to be careful with these New Age/Jungian classifications of the "Masculine". You have classified being: - foolish - dishonest - heartless - repulsive - froth people into a rage and direct that rage towards more vulnerable groups of people - tyranny - picking on the weaker - making career power moves at the expense of other and society at large - wanting to be more successful than others - competitive As "Shadow Masculine" traits But if there is one thing, that I think Christianity does well, is that it doesn't classify "Sin", for a lack of a better word, into Masculine and Feminine. The qualities you listed are not Masculine..... they are just "Sin" or Vices. Vices that both genders fall into. Some of these rigid classifications of the Masculine and Feminine in the New Age/Jungian world, are binding and lock people in an unnecessary box. And it can also make you very unprepared when you meet Right Wing women, who can be very Feminine, wear makeup and dresses, are stay at home moms, don't hold typical Stage Orange careers, etc. ............ but who still harbor the same exact attributes as tyranny, picking on the weaker, wanting to be more successful than others, competitive, heartless, dishonest , rage toward vulnerable people, etc ..... as the Right Wing men. You listed traits of people who value "maintaining hierarchy" above all else. And Right Wing Women, even if they are unemployed and are Stay at Home Moms, really care about "maintaining hierarchy". These are not Masculine traits. These are traits of a person with questionable moral character.

I agree with this. Social conservatives are also a God amongst themselves. They are their own God. Their agenda just uses the terms "Christian" or "Bible" as a mask to get into the room. This is why even Atheists are puzzled right now at what is happening. As many Atheists read and study the Bible thoroughly for debates....they realize "Wait, this is even beyond the Bible. This is a different agenda altogether." The Bible itself does not support this rigid Patriarchal White Supremacy type of society. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28 "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17 I have a couple of books on my wishlist written by Christians authors, themselves, who are pushing against the social conservative agenda: Christian Books against Patriarchy: The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel -Beth Allison Barr How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy - by Terran Williams The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood: How God's Word Consistently Affirms Gender Equality - Philip Barton Payne Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women - Sarah Bessey Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose - Aimee Byrd Christian Books against White Supremacy/Christian Nationalism: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism - Tim Alberta The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith - Jim Wallis White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America - Anthea D. Butler America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America - Jim Wallis When God Became White: Dismantling Whiteness for a More Just Christianity - Grace Ji-Sun Kim The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith - Michael O. Emerson

The problem with Christian politicians is that they often go against the teachings of the Bible. They ignore a lot of what Jesus says, and do the complete opposite. This makes them very unpredictable. If they are already ignoring what Jesus says, then exactly, what would this "Christian democracy" be based on? The Bible warns about a group of people called the Pharisees. Basically, a group of people who used God's name and even have the Bible memorized, but were dead inside like a rotting corpse. The issue with Christian politicians and Christian nationalists are that they often resemble the Pharisees............ which the Bible warns about. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. - Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. - Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. - Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. - Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. - Matthew 23:27

I agree with this. I always step back a bit when I hear this "return to your humanity, be in the human experience, return to your vulnerable humanity" in Enlightenment/Transcendence spaces. Especially after I just had a full week of work in the office, socializing with friends and family, watching Netflix, going to Therapy, reading fiction books, going for walks in the busy city, etc. It's like return to being a human??? haha I am so confused right now. So yeah, unless a person is spiritual bypassing, trying to replace Enlightenment with Therapy/trauma work/shadow work or is like a monk that lives in a Cave avoiding society.....then a lot of the "be in the human experience" rhetoric seems like an imaginary problem.

Well, Social justice activism and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are part of the backbone of the United States. The effects of these, are everywhere, even if you don't notice them. Without these, the United States won't be the United States anymore. Social justice activism = If a certain group of people are being treated like crap, we need to do something about it. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) = People from all backgrounds, ways of believing/thinking, different desires, different goals, different dreams and walks of life ..... all belong in the United States Even companies that don't have an official DEI program, are often still very diverse. Just because a conservative employer doesn't shove DEI programs down your face, doesn't mean they are prejudiced. And a conservative employer may still be hiring people of all different backgrounds if they are qualified for the job. The issue with the "woke agenda" is everything else you added on the list. Woke People are preachy and expect immediate obedience. And if you don't immediately comply with them, they call you a "bigot, racist, sexist, homophobic, ageist, ableist, etc." It's like a "Obey me now!! Otherwise you are a bigot, racist, sexist, homophobic, ageist, ableist, etc." They also don't leave room for people to have 1 foot in something more conservative, and 1 foot in liberalism. For example, even if someone is Liberal in everything besides for Abortion, they push them out. Or even if someone is Liberal in everything besides for Gender Pronouns, they push them out. They don't allow any middle ground. Any disagreement at all, and you are kicked out. This is a very ineffective strategy long term. It is prevalent in major cities in "Hipster" areas. haha If you google "most hipster cities in the U.S.", that's where you will find these people. Woke and Hipster are not the same thing. But you will find many woke people, amongst hipsters.

I really like the work that Sam Harris and Alex O'Connor have been doing in the Political sphere's lately.

I think Stage Green is losing influence. Partially because many of the leaders of Stage Green, are shifting to Stage Blue. Since the pandemic, a lot of people who were Stage Green, are moving more towards conservatism and right wing teachings. I think the whole "get a vaccine or you can't enter this building" and "get a vaccine or we will fire you" terrified a lot of the Stage Green people. Hippies and New Agers don't like vaccines. So, they are now following Stage Blue people, thinking they are "rebelling against the system". But by following Stage Blue people, they are going to become even more obedient to the system. Stage Blue leaders have no interest in your freedom. They are just pretending like they care about freedom. And many Stage Green people are falling into the trap.

You can eventually get to a place where you master the self concepts, imagination and mental stories, so thoroughly, that you can generate your own oxytocin and dopamine at will. Once you can generate your own "Happy Dream", without the external world helping you, the game is almost over. Eventually, you will see the structure of the ego so thoroughly, that the whole thing starts to collapse before your eyes. And sure, you can keep rebuilding it. Like you said, you can't get rid of the ego and "the only way to destroy ego is to die". That's true. It will keep rebuilding itself, whether you like it or not. But it eventually gets to a place, where it keeps collapsing over and over and over again before your eyes. And you see the blocks that it is made of. This makes the whole game of ego very boring to play. Even when you can generate oxytocin/dopamine whenever you want, it can get boing. Even the pleasurable states of the ego can get boring, once you see it very clearly. Ego is a mechanism that wants to survive. I am not sure if you want to call that selfish or something else. When you say "Ego is just you, as human, this what you built your entire life, nothing more.": Ego is not that solid. It's not like a solid object. But it "appears" like a solid object. But eventually you can see what the bricks are made of, that are building the house.

This is all true. But then eventually "Design your desired ego and create your desired reality." gets very very boring. Especially, when you are successful in creating your desired reality and get everything you wanted. If it hasn't gotten boring yet or if you are still struggling to create your dream reality, then keep at it. A lot of people are at the "I already created my dream reality, now what?".

Well, this is sometimes where the "there is no evil" , "there is no bad", "nothing is wrong" , "everything is holy', "all is good", "Everything is God" train of thought will lead you. It can lead to stuff like this. haha

I think this is what is happening. People often find Transcendence as more "fun", and so they will ramble about it for hours. Integration is very important, but not always as "fun" to talk about for hours. So what is missing in the spiritual space, is the people who DO find Integration as fun and are passionate about it, should start rambling about it for hours. haha People who are frustrated at others for teaching too much about Enlightenment/Transcendence, probably just have a calling or gift to be teachers of Integration. Sometimes our gifts and calling for something, will make us frustrated with others, who are not pursuing it. I see this a lot in the Fiction Book spaces. Where for example, a Black or Asian person is frustrated that White authors are not writing about the Black/Asian experience. But some of that frustration is that we need more Black and Asian authors. And some of that frustration is because they are called to become Authors themselves.

The Manifesting/Law of Assumption/Neville Goddard version of "You are God" is different from the Non-Duality version of "You are God". Manifesting definitely works but it has a lot of flaws and can make you think that "getting what you want" is the end of spiritual growth. "Manifesting what you want" is not the end of the road. It is a fun metaphysical place to play around in, and it is good to explore it and be familiar with it, but it's not the end. I haven't watched this video in a while, but I think Leo made a video about this:

The love that we have for our family, in general, is often filled with corruption. Because they are an extension of our ego. And we often sacrifice the OTHER, to protect our ego. We are often loving and corrupt at the same time, when it comes to our family. haha Anything we place next to MY ______________ becomes attached to our ego. My friends My family My car My body My kids My spouse My house And whatever people/things we view as OTHER......... we are willing to hurt, devalue, exploit......in order to protect whatever we place after MY_________________ And we often view ourselves as a good person while doing so. Jealousy and Envy is wanting something that isn't yours. Not necessarily Greed. You can be greedy towards things that belong to you. For example, eating the entire box of cookies in your cabinet. They are your cookies, but you are still being greedy. Greed, Envy and Jealousy may all lead to theft and stealing. This all gets very confusing.......... because Stealing, Envy, Jealousy, and Greed are all based on an assumption of Human Ownership. When we use the words "Stealing, Envy, Jealousy, and Greed", there is a built in assumption that Human Ownership is a real thing. But we first have to start with "What is ownership?" Can a human being even own anything? And "who deserves to have what?" or "how should resources be distributed amongst people?" Human Ownership is a rabbit hole, in and of itself. But regardless of if/how Human Ownership exists or not, Greed can be very harmful. For example, regardless of if you own the 3 boxes of Pizza on the table, if you consume the 3 boxes of Pizza in one sitting, it will harm your body. I agree.

I am glad that this resonated! You are right. Using a phrase like the "stop spiritual bypassing community" is not helpful. And maybe I should stop framing it that way. Because this community does not actually exist. It's not a real identity/group. It's a pattern of thought that I was trying to capture. I agree with this. But I also think that, there needs to be a division between: Group#1 - "People who are interested in spirituality/philosophy/enlightenment to heal trauma, suffering, emotional dysregulation, depression etc." and Group#2 - "People who are interested in spirituality/philosophy/enlightenment for the mere joy of exploring the human mind" Trying to mesh both groups together is confusing, as they have different missions. When I hear things like "To lean into humanity is powerful and ultimately as a human being is what we are here to do": You are addressing Group#1 and not Group#2. For Group#2, "Leaning into their humanity" is to play around with philosophy/transcendence/enlightenment/non-human states of consciousness. Because philosophy is their hobby. It's what they do for fun. It's their passion. And for some, it's their life purpose and part of their calling to play around with philosophy. And so, if philosophy is your passion and life calling, then doing philosophy is " embracing your humanness". I agree. Even creating a list of external books or an external referral list could help sometimes, if the teacher doesn't have the capacity themselves.