EternalForest

Your video is disrespectful in the wake of his passing. He was no saint, but still a very healthy example of Stage Blue. Perhaps one of the healthiest in mainstream Conservatism. I'd much rather have him lead the right than some of the people over at Fox News. Rush at his best: RIP

In Leo's latest video "What is wisdom?" he said that to truly understand wisdom you must contemplate it for yourself, so before watching the video I contemplated what wisdom was (using a journal) for 1 hour and I thought some of you might be interested in reading what I came up with. Being a journal, it's all stream of consciousness and a bit scattered but I think the core messages I kept coming back to again and again are worth exploring more, and after watching the What is Wisdom? video I'm sure it'll help, but I think this was a good start, and it'll be interesting to compare and contrast my initial contemplation here with the video. Before reading, I highly encourage you to contemplate what wisdom is for yourself as well! ___________________________________________________ What is wisdom? Wisdom is information that helps you through your life that's acquired through experience You can gain wisdom from both good and bad experiences Wisdom shows you how to apply knowledge Old people tend to be wiser because of more life experience Wisdom must be acquired internally (and physically) Wisdom is universal and can be applied to anyone Wisdom is timeless. It can help you throughout the course of your entire life Wisdom is consistent. Wise men and women tend to agree on the same core values Wisdom is simple and elegant Wisdom could help you in the moment but often the person getting the wisdom isn't wise enough to see it In a sense you have to have a certain level of wisdom already to recognize wisdom But at the same time, the deeper universal wisdom will always resonate Wisdom is not only knowing what to do, it's knowing what not to do and being able to forsee why. (Wisdom is foresight) Wisdom gives you a deep understanding of life beyond knowledge Wise men understand wisdom is not everything Wisdom is individual knowledge (yet something that someone else says can trigger the recognizing of the wisdom already within you) You can acquire wisdom by learning from experiences Wisdom allows lessons or insights that guide you through your life Wisdom can only be learned through Experience There is a difference between being learned and being wise Being wise is almost like the ability to differentiate between what information is important Wisdom is experience Can a young person be wise too? Yes, because wisdom is not about the amount of experiences or how many experiences you have knowledge of but instead your appreciation of those experiences and your ability to learn from those experiences Wisdom is the maturity of knowledge You could replace wisdom with experience for every statement here All wisdom is experience, but not all experiences are wisdom Wisdom is deeper than knowledge There is wisdom that the wise man or woman may miss or not appreciate because they're so caught up in gathering wisdom The deepest wisdom is often rare Common wisdom is often overlooked Life is not really about wisdom and trying to seek wisdom for wisdom's sake is honestly a pointless and foolish pursuit Wisdom is ultimately unimportant Passion is important Everything else is more important than seeking wisdom Wisdom cannot be seeked, period Wisdom must be internally known If you know you know Self help is ultimately pointless The true wiseman would never claim to be wise Wisdom is Truth Wisdom is Universal Truth Wisdom is Absolute Truth Wisdom is unspeakable Wisdom is ultimately knowable only to the wise man or woman Wisdom is the essence of life Wisdom is unerasable Wisdom is eternal Wisdom lets you see between the lines The man who believes he is the wisest is often the least wise Wisdom is infinite Wisdom is high consciousness To recognize wisdom is to be wise Wisdom is that Hidden Gem, that treasure that's only the wise can recognize You would be wise to acquire more wisdom yet only the wise man desires to do so Wisdom is a paradox Knowledge is fleeting, wisdom is forever Wisdom is fascinating Wisdom never dies There is wisdom in being unwise Be unwise so you may gain the wisdom of unknowing Forget it all Start again This is life's greatest wisdom Wis-dumb

I'd like to believe that everything is love, but over time I've found it hard to reconcile with my natural human feelings of dislike. Sadly, I can't love everything and everyone. There are some things I just don't like, and certain experiences that I don't enjoy. Certain foods taste bad to me, certain music just doesn't sound good, certain people I just don't get along with, etc. And although dislike is a natural thing that I don't think I should be afraid of or ashamed of, the act of disliking something seems to be at odds with the goal of believing everything is love, feeling oneness and seeing the beauty in everything. When I focus on the people, places and things I love, I feel spiritual inside, but when I focus on what I dislike, I feel hollow inside. Yet I shouldn't feel bad when I dislike something, since there are thousands of things I love, right? Should I try and make myself like everything? I feel like forcing it isn't the answer either. Not sure if I'm overthinking this, but when I dislike something, it bothers me on a spiritual level and I'm looking for any advice/insights on how to reconcile that.

@Vibroverse What you're describing is the "what", which I understand. It's the "how" and "why" I'm lost on. @Moksha I love this! (no pun intended, of course) @lmfao I'm struggling to reconcile what I've heard in Leo's videos and in all the general spiritual material I've come across, and the honest feelings of dislike I have. Sorry if what I wrote came off the wrong way, but this post is not about repressed anger or anything like that.

@mandyjw I took your suggestion and went outside today with no coat and took a walk in the snow, just to feel the intensity of it. I think it helped me understand what you typed a bit better. @tsuki Exactly, spiritual statements like that aren't true for me in my direct experience, so it's honestly difficult for me to relate to what you're saying.

@mandyjw Interesting video, but I don't think I understand how you chose everything that happens to you. Did you choose your parents? @Carl-Richard If you believe love doesn't exist, is that still love? Edit: Or rather, if you hate the idea of love, is that still love?

For the top 20% of independent young adults, it might make sense, but for a lot of kids its just too soon, and it just baffles me how there's such a stigma around living at home. That's only an issue if you literally don't have any ambitions in life and just willingly want to sponge off others for your entire life, but I don't think most kids who are viewed as "Deadbeats sponging off Mommy and Daddy" are really like this. I don't understand parents who kick their kids out at this age. It just seems really uncompassionate to me. Parents that do this, would you tell your children when they're 12 years old "If you're not out of the house in 6 years, you need to give Daddy $300 rent money or you're going to be on the street." No? Then why thrust it upon them out of the blue when they're 18? Why not work together to help them realize their life purpose, or at least help them find a job in the meantime instead of leaving them out on the street making it that much harder for them to actualize it? It seems like a heartless move, and the antithesis of what a good parent should do.

@Leo Gura I was going to come back and offer more objections, but after watching parts 2 and 3, I've changed my mind. The middle of Pt. 2 and the ending of Pt. 3 in specific were truly challenging moments and paradigm shifts for me. Now that I see the big picture of what you were trying to communicate with the series, I think what you're doing is pretty noble and makes a lot of sense. You've gotten me even more excited about the future possibilities science holds once it begins studying the non-physical. I will run a few of your contradictions past my science major buddy and see what he has to say, but overall I came out the other side of this "black hole" with a very different perspective than I had going in!

I encourage you to have one. A day to relax and chill with yourself. For this one day, nothing else matters but what makes you happy. Give this a shot: save up about $50 and set a day where you can be off from work and out of the house. Don't focus on the clock. Bring your phone (mainly for emergencies), and a book you like or know you will like. Also, bring a mask and hand sanitizer to stay safe during COVID-19, and avoid crowds! Go for a drive by yourself and listen to some of your favorite songs. Or one of your favorite audiobooks, or just drive in silence and relax. Drive with no destination in mind for about an hour. If you don't have a car, just walk for an hour and relax your mind. After walking or driving for a while, go to a restaurant and order yourself a nice meal or a snack. Read your book or watch/read something on your phone that you enjoy. You can even give a friend a call and chat with them about ideas, positive topics, reminisce on great memories, talk about plans for your future etc. If you're concerned about the virus, just get the food to go and eat it outside or pack your own lunch ahead of time and eat it in your car/at the park, etc. After you leave the restaurant, try making a few more stops at some relaxing locations. Go to the forest and take a hike. Afterwards, just continue driving or walking for a while. After doing this for a while, you should start to get a very relaxed feeling, a lighter, higher feeling. By this time, the sun should be setting. Watch the sunset and meditate. You don't have to do everything I mentioned in this exact order. These are just ideas. The important thing is, do what makes you happy for one day, whatever that is. You can even have your own little movie marathon at home while everyone's gone, if you want. Whatever you choose to do on your personal day, I can promise you that you'll feel so good by the end of it that you'll be able to handle any of the stresses you face with an improved outlook.

@Mafortu I used to love the movie ending the most (and don't get me wrong, the movie is great too), but as I've gotten older I've come to see that there's more beauty and meaning for me in the original ending. It just resonates more for me now.

@Thestarguitarist14 You're correct, narcissists don't have self-love. They crave admiration and validation from everyone else around them. Someone with true, healthy self love is content with themselves.

@Strangeloop It's possible to find a girlfriend who'll be happy to go on date with you at the local park. Beautiful scenery, good exercise, and no money required

@Schnaby Sounds like he's being childish (I don't like using that word negatively, but it applies here), and controlling. This is going beyond music taste, it's a matter of personal respect. I don't know how seriously you want to take this relationship in the future, but if he won't even let you play a song in the car without having a temper tantrum, how will he compromise when more serious issues come along? I'd seriously re-evaluate the relationship. You two need to talk.

@mandyjw So true. George Washington was right; (excerpt from his Farewell Address) "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Neon Genesis Evangelion. The final episode was probably one of the most profound spiritual experiences I've ever had. I think about it almost every day.

Contemplation is always complex, that's the beauty of it. But as far as life itself being complicated, that depends on what kind of life you want to lead. If you choose to live in the forest with a small group of people and you all get along in harmony, then life becomes very simple indeed. But if you choose to be a lawyer in in the middle of Las Vegas, then yes, your life can become very complicated. But there's a huge trade off. If you choose to live in the forest, then most of your materialistic pleasures will be gone, but the trade off is a simpler, more natural lifestyle.

It was actually very similar to my own music tastes so I got a lot of quality recommendations from it. Plenty of the pop songs towards the end of the list were also some of my favorites and the ones I hadn't heard before were great too, although I think Leo should add some other recent spiritual pop songs from the past 5 years as well. All in all, great playlist!

Life is only unfair because we as a society collectively make it so. It's not inherently this way. Life is inherently beautiful. So instead of thinking "Life is unfair", you should say "Society is unfair".

You said it better than I could! One of my favorite seasons.

Do what's best for you at this very moment. In some moments, what's best for you could be to play video games or go somewhere fun. In other moments, what's best for you could be to meditate or have a deep conversation with a friend. You just need to get better at figuring out what's best for you. And it can be counter intuitive, because although something like reading or strong determination sitting may be more beneficial in theory than just going for a walk, going for that walk may actually be what you need more in this moment. Don't worry if you're off sometimes! All that matters is that you did the best thing you could think of doing for yourself at that moment. Good luck.

Leo has talked in the past about artificial values and obligations that, if you don't value or participate in, will make you viewed as a bit selfish by the rest of society. In the same token, people equate unusually high levels of self love with selfishness. What most don't realize is that selfishness is actually more selfless than selflessness. You're correct, you can't make anyone else happy unless you're happy first. You can't feed anyone else unless you're fed first. You can't be in a healthy relationship with another unless you're in a healthy relationship with yourself first.

Sure, there's time for entertainment and there's time for education, and there's nothing wrong with doing either one with proper balance. But what I'm suggesting is that education can be entertainment and entertainment can be educating and vice versa. There can be a fusion. @aurum Would you put a 30 minute time limit in place for watching documentaries or educational materials? If not, why put one in place for a life-changing series like Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I honestly gained more wisdom and spiritual experiences from than 95% of books I've read? (fiction or non-fiction) @Epiphany_Inspired These shows only become that if you want them to be. It sounds like you've been misusing TV. I'd suggest that you face your fear and watch an episode of TV a day to realize it won't make you some brainwashed zombie...

To the contrary! You can learn just as much from fiction as you can from non-fiction, if you read mindfully. The lessons and insights gained from great works of literature are priceless.

@Leo Gura I'll hold my peace until the next episode, and ponder what you said in the meantime. Thanks for responding.

@Carl-Richard You're right, true scientists are pretty rare. @commie I genuinely don't know what you're getting at. @Leo Gura I watched your video twice before writing what I wrote. Validity isn't some relative notion. Truth is truth, and it can verified one point at a time. Why does all of science need to be dragged into it? And if one individual fact does call the rest of science into question, it's the responsibility of the scientist to account for that and correct for that. A true scientist, as you call them, would definitely do that. We also don't need 100% certainty in the current scientific method we use. Because I agree with you, absolute certainty in any given method isn't possible. But again, we need some working method to continue to do science. And I know you used the priest example, and I agree if corruption is found it should be extinguished, but I'm not aware of any concrete examples of corruption within science that you pointed out. I'm interested in hearing about them, either here or in the next video(s).