ivory

They are not your friend. Period.

I say that because you don't seem to realize yet that the core of our government is exploitation of it's citizens. In the US, the government is being gutted. All services that protect and serve the American people are being wiped out. Why? Because this is what pleases corporate share holders. The government is here to serve corporate interests.

You would not be able to keep your healthcare lol. They'd want private companies to be able to profit off of you. Feel free to invite it in, you would not benefit from it at all.

Holy shit. So this is in motion? Supported by the trump administration?

People here are more concerned with illegal immigrants even though all they take is kitchen, landscaping, farmhands, and construction jobs. What do you do for work. But yeah, I work in tech so there are a lot of people that come here with H1B visas in my field. Mainly from China and India. Both countries put a lot of emphasis on math where here we are more concerned with defunding educational programs. Would it be hard for an American to immigrate to a European country as a software engineer? I should probably start looking into this. One of my tech friends has been out of work for two years, another finally got a job after one year of unemployment. It is super hard to get a tech job right now. @Rafael Thundercat Thanks, I'll take a look

@OBEler Is 10mg a breakthrough for you? For everyone else, what is a breakthrough dose for you all?

Isolation is extremely unhealthy. We need love and connection to be whole. We need the challenge that comes from relationship in order to fully grow. Relationships are challenging which is why many people avoid them. But without challenge, life becomes dull and meaningless. We get to help and be helped, we are offered opportunities that we wouldn't otherwise have, we get to play, love, learn, and exchange ideas. Depression, anxiety, and addiction are all symptoms of loneliness and isolation. I spent years isolated because I didn't fit in. This happened at various stages in my life. I suffered from all of the symptoms I mentioned above. In my most recent stint, pre 2020, that I reconnected with people and came to realize the importance first hand. It took years of therapy to heal from those times. I have come to realize that relationships are the most important thing one can really have in life. In sickness, you can lose everything. The only thing that will be there for you in hard times are the people you invested time and energy into. Cultivating healthy, meaningful relationships is well worth the time and effort. I don't buy into all this nonsense that we can navigate life or get through hard times on our own. We need others to both survive and thrive.

Economically, the things that make me angry are low wages, lack of affordable healthcare, low quality early education and unaffordable colleges and universities. Americans are getting dumber, more unhealthy, and poorer. We have no safety net, so making a life mistake can yield life long consequences. It can be very unforgiving and difficult to dig yourself out of a shitty life situation. I am so over the levels of corruption and government influence by corporations. Share holder run this country. We are essentially an oligarchy. And with the new administration it's all just out in the open. They're not even trying to hide corruption now because Americans are too dumb to realize what is happening.

I didn't even think to ask about that. I'm not sure what Europeans think but most people don't even see or hear gun shots. I've lived all over the US and never heard a gun shot. I've even lived in some really impoverished areas. It really makes waves in the media though. I hear that if you live in Texas you'll see people carrying, I've never once seen someone carrying. That said, there are gangster type carriers and there are country boy gun fanatics. I never worry about being around the country boys, they aren't the ones shooting people up all day. For them gun ownership is almost like a life style. Hunting, target practice, etc. Do you live in an urban area or more rural? Yes, I've been hearing that isolationism and fascism is on the rise in Europe. Is there just a shit ton of propaganda over there also? It's mind boggling that the American people are so dumb and easily manipulated. Fox news and other right wing media outlets brainwash their subscribers. My mom is a Trump supporter and all she can talk about is trans men in women bathrooms and how immigrants are taking our jobs. My mom has never seen a trans person. I live in a very trans friendly city and have never heard of people complaining about this.

What is the typical breakthrough dose on MALT when plugging? Also, when you do, say, 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 milligrams, how do the effects differ for you all personally?

I just wanted to hear from some Europeans on this forum. How would you compare health care, crime levels, cost of living, wages, consumer protections, and education to the USA? Right now, I think all of these things are crazy in the US. It seems like we're getting dumber, cost of living is out of control, health is no longer valued, and companies can do whatever the fuck they want. I'm not sure about crime rates here, but in the US Incarceration is a business because private companies run the prison system. People say that want to live here, but WTF? Would love to hear your thoughts

Interesting. So plugging vs snorting has a different effect? I'm going to try MALT soon and was curious about this.

There are a lot of trappings in Buddhism. That's why Zen came into the picture... to simplify the teachings. If you are seeking Truth Buddhism can be seen as pure nonsense. But eventually you get into the "reduction of suffering" aspect of spiritual practice and Buddhism makes more sense and becomes more valuable. If you are looking for a spiritual community, good luck. There are very few truth seekers. Most get lost in the trappings or develop really annoying spiritual identities. However, you're not going to find much better anywhere else. That said, if you really want to extract the core teachings of Buddhism, familiarize yourself with the Three Characteristics and develop a breath practice of some sort.

Oh and check out some of the work by John Welwood: http://www.johnwelwood.com/articles/TRIC_interview_uncut.pdf See if that resonates

@TheAvatarState Hey dude. Just to clarify, true dark night occurs when you become deeply aware of the Three Characteristics: Not-self, impermanence (nothing lasts), and unsatisfactoriness (all of life is suffering, unsatisfactory, unpleasant). If you find yourself obsessing over these truths, then you are likely in dark night. The way out is acceptance. You really need to explore these concepts and accept them on a deep level to get through dark night. It's also important to cut out the highs and do what you can to minimize suffering. Equanimity is what you are after. A lot of people claim they are in dark night but are just experiencing depression, and depression can have many causes: low self-esteem (negative self talk), addiction, trauma, low quality of life, isolation, lack of job satisfaction, laziness/complacency, idealism. It is crucial to acknowledge that the apparent individual does in fact have needs and responsibilities. A good therapist can help with this stuff and there's no shame in getting help even if you believe yourself to be an advanced spiritual practitioner. Just don't tell them you don't exist I posit that many spiritual seekers get stuck because some combination of the above. You really need to have a healthy ego to navigate some of the more challenging spiritual terrain. Lastly, make sure you get clear on what's causing your suffering so you know to treat it. Make it a practice to get clear on the thoughts that arise in your mind. You need to make that shit conscious. A noting practice of a free-form of journaling is really helpful here.