ItsNick

I really want to know. Through Leo's latest blog posts especially it has really broken through to me that most people really do not value truth (or not as much). And I understand from a survival perspective why but that's not the point of me asking this. And for the people who claim here that truth is their highest value another question is: Why do you value truth over other values? (like more buddhist-goals of peace, cessation of suffering, healing, enlightenment, as are common on the spiritual path). Personally, I am falling more and more in love with truth and the pursuit of realizing it, with understanding, simply by realizing more of it. Not always, I often run back into safer falsehoods, but with time and surrender there came a realization that reality is perfect. Why resist what is if you realize it is already perfect? In the beginning it destroyed my christian worldview but with time and surrender I fell more in love with truth. And because it feels to me to be the most important thing. What could be more important than understanding reality itself? But that importance might not be self-evident until you realize it. I have thought about this a lot recently and I would like to think truth is my highest value but have to admit I do not know this for sure.

I am curious, what do you use AI for the most? Referring of course to large language models like ChatGPT or Claude or DeepSeek. What I use it for the most: Enhance my creative process Just one example of many: I have too many ideas every day. I write them down in my journal but also ask ChatGPT to consider perspectives I didn't (about what's realistic, time frames for projects, practical first steps to take to start a project, if other people or businesses already did something similar, etc.) Help me contemplate An example: Sometimes I share insights I have with ChatGPT and ask for other perspectives. I often ask it to ask me more questions too so I can think about those. Technical Troubleshooting I found it great for this too. If I have a problem on my PC or some software or with coding something it's nice. Often faster than searching the internet and forums myself.

Bird of Purpose (poetic song about Life Purpose) https://suno.com/song/d9a71ba3-af1a-46d3-8def-6cb8956c81a0?sh=tljhDV7eohqeEsbz Is this Success? https://suno.com/song/9631e04c-2052-45d8-88b9-27dc3b4b5025?sh=DKaZZomKL3Ilf1zy

Bird of Purpose (poetic song about Life Purpose) https://suno.com/song/d9a71ba3-af1a-46d3-8def-6cb8956c81a0?sh=tljhDV7eohqeEsbz (Verse 1) I looked up into golden skies, Chasing wings I couldn’t find. The faster I moved, the further you flew, A shadow in the morning light. (Chorus) But when I stopped, when I stood still, The sky grew quiet, the world stood still. You seldom seek what you will find — It comes with peace, not chasing time. No cage, no net, no need to claim, The bird of purpose knew my name. (Verse 2) I listened close, the forest breathed, A silence spoke what I believed. Not in the chase, but in the stay, The bird came near and did not stray. (Bridge) Bird of purpose, you've taught me well, No louder song than the quiet spell. You're more than feathers gliding free, You're the voice that's always been in me. (Final Chorus) And when I stopped, when I stood still, The sky grew wide, the air grew still. You seldom seek what you will find — It lives inside, not far behind. No cage, no net, no need to claim, The bird of purpose bears my name. (Outro / Transformation) And now I dream, and now I rise, I am the bird that fills the skies. I choose the path, I shape the flame, My wings are thought, my soul the frame. Imagination lifts me high — No longer seeking — I now fly. Created with some help of AI. Could not generate anything I was really satisfied with but it's still neat. I just wanted to express in some way the experience I had. I often place an image or work of art at the top of my journal entries and noticed something interesting. When I first bought the Life Purpose Course at the beginning of the Covid Pandemic I used this image in my journal entry: I felt it nicely symbolized me trying to find and chase after my "Life Purpose." Today I was writing in my journal about the projects I was working on and again reflecting on my Life Purpose. I named the entry "Becoming" and looked for a fitting piece of art for the word. I found this: And then I realized it was very similar to the other image. Except now in the artwork there isn't the element of "chasing" and more "observing" and "listening" and "playing with." Just a funny coincidence but I thought it was nice to vibe with the symbolism for a bit and this then inspired me to write this song "Bird of Purpose."

I'm happy I sold all my stocks the moment Trump got elected

Awakening and development are the high hanging fruits. You can choose that you value these things enough to suffer for them, or you don't. It's just the hero's journey. They teach you stuff this in children's movies if you paid attention. This is from a lesser known spiritually-themed children's movie: (got reminded of this song because a friend recently mentioned this was his favorite childhood movie)

On Actualized Quotes #132, The very first time I did a full trip on a psychedelic (MDMA) and reached the peak of the trip my entire state of consciousness became "Everything is perfect." It was not just about me feeling good, I was actually struggling with long-term physical illness at the time. I went into the trip hoping to heal the trauma and emotional struggle that came with being sick. But in this state the "present moment" was realized to be Absolute; or rather, there was just a sense of this is it. As if waking up to existence and consciousness. But it was more like a remembrance. Consciousness is absolute and it is perfection itself. In the end that trip did not do much to heal me physically or even the emotional struggle that came with it. But I am still deeply grateful for that first trip and what I became conscious of.

Another one I love:

Seems to be happening almost everywhere, not just the US, this visible corruption. But basically this: Devils destroy themselves, eventually. Sadly this goes with a lot of suffering and most people will not mature or learn a thing but thank God there are people willing to do the non-flashy, often ungrateful and unseen work to keep building towards a better future for everyone. And I think for most of us here it's important to remember that even though there is now chaos and hell to come in the outside world, we keep doing the work of creating peace and beauty in ourselves, our hearts and our own lives.

I personally listen to the mixes of Blume a lot. I often enjoy it when doing work or when being creative.

@Greatnestwithin I just saw one of the timeline stamps, titled: "Trump is highly conscientious and compassionate."

I started this topic because I wanted to share some book recommendations relating to systems thinking and complex systems science. Share your own books or resources if you want. 1. RESILIENCE thinking by Brian Walker and David Salt (https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Brian-Walker/dp/1597260932) I highly recommend this book to learn about resilience thinking. You can read this page on the seven principles of resilience thinking: https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-02-19-applying-resilience-thinking.html 2. Complexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell (https://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitchell/dp/0199798109) This is a nice and broad introductory book on the science of complex systems.

I stole the title of this topic from this video: I think it should be obvious why (online) gambling is a problem but I have recently learned more about how big this problem is in our society (worldwide). One of the big problems today is influencers on streaming platforms profiting off the losses of their audience who sign up through them. This goes together with a lack of regulation and increased normalization and gamification of gambling. If you're interested in some statistics showing how much money goes around in this industry you can take a look here: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/online-gambling/worldwide and find that "Revenue in the Online Gambling market is projected to reach US$97.15bn in 2024." and that the industry is projected to keep growing. And then I haven't even talked about the massive amount of money laundering taking place in this industry, especially in these crypto casino's. From a personal development point of view I see (online) gambling as the ultimate get rich quick trap. Most alluring to those who feel powerless in relation to money.

I was watching a video about how Google is training its AI on YouTube videos: And then I got curious about what YouTube channels they have been training on. And well, to be exact, Google's AI used 5 of Leo's videos to train itself. For now. Source: https://www.proofnews.org/youtube-ai-search/

@NoSelfSelf I am decent. Best advise is to find a part-time job as a bartender or volunteer as one. Helps if you have a friend who is a bartender to help you.

Plenty. One useful piece of advise if you intellectualize about personal development too much: Thinking is no substitute for experience. 2 years of going out to bars every week and bartending myself has helped me develop socially and sexually more than any book ever could help me with.

Geert Wilder's his far-right party PVV has won the Dutch national elections by far: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/nov/22/netherlands-dutch-general-election-vote-result-exit-poll-prime-minister-government-live-latest-result I had not expected this to happen here. In my entire life living in the Netherlands far-right has never won this big.

Long-term decisions like that are made in the long-term. Not in any one state...

Is even awakening an illusion then? Is it not just a different state or dream of consciousness? Albeit one where there is greater understanding and awareness.

AI-Generated

Try other psychedelics. I know someone who had similar experiences to you and tripped balls on just a little bit of weed.

I recently learned that Adyshanti is retiring. I also learned that apparently he has been struggling with chronic pain and PTSD. I think it's very humbling to admit that, as long as you are human, you are not immune to the suffering of the human realm. Here's a quote from the letter in which is talks about his retirement and his suffering: Here's the entire letter: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Retirement-Announcement.html?soid=1126600191855&aid=2-xCMqh-t-s

He doesn't really want to go into detail about it. He talks about suffering from "nerve pain" for 18 years and after resolving it facing a "tsunami of trauma" because of how horrible the pain had been on his body-mind. He is also admits taking medication to help with his anxiety but doesn't specify what he uses. There's an hour-long talk where he talks more about it all here: https://adyashanti.opengatesangha.org/store/downloads-file?dky=Cd5ost38&admv=1