Breathe

Depends on what you mean by liberal policies. I think it's going to be at least 8 years before dems win office again and that's being generous. Conservatives are going to pump disinformation and propaganda into the public on levels we've never seen before. People don't know their ass from the sky right now and this is only going to get worse. The rich will get even richer and the poor will get poorer but the conservative lower/middle class be too focused on religion and 2nd amendment rights. "Gimme guns, gimme Jesus" because that's what matters more than real issues. Other tactics will include blame on the Biden's administration for economic issues which will buy conservatives more time in the Whitehouse. Elon publicly said that economically things are going to be rough for a while. I would not be surprised if the conservative base is told to "hang in there and be patriots" or some shit until things get better. Of course, this will not likely happen. I'm concerned about the media. Who knows what kind of censorship we are going to see. We may seem changes to the constitution. If not, the supreme court will interpret it in ways that only benefit the Republican Party. New voter suppression tactics will guarantee republican wins for some time. I suspect at some point the economy will be so disastrous that it can no longer be ignored. Dems are going to have to go back to the drawing board, drop everything, and focus solely on the economy to get votes. Anything even remotely perceived as "radical" or "far left" will prevent dems from taking office again. And, when dems do finally take office, it's going to be an absolute nightmare to undo the shitstorm of a mess that the repblican party made. Brace for impact. Anyways, that's my prediction.

I'd combine what @Leo Gura and @Joshe said. Read decent journalism for current events. As you read you will come across terms you do not understand. Use that as leverage to take a deeper dive into those concepts. At first you won't understand much of what you read. But over time the gaps will fill in and shit will start to click. Initially, you will have to push through the challenge of learning something new. But over time you start to enjoy it and become more curious. As time progresses you will have deeper insight into the human psyche and societies at large. This is when the learning becomes very rewarding. There is no end to the depth of knowledge.

Some have said that the war was about protecting democracy, and some say that it was about sending a message to the Putin and others that we aren't going to let them bully Europe. None of this is adding up.

This is a newer video, but Graham has been a proponent of backing Ukraine because of their minerals for a while. I heard this a while back so I always suspected this was the case. What I don't understand is, if we knew about the minerals, who the fuck is backing Ukraine explicitly for their minerals? Republicans? Democrats? What is Trump's stance? Republicans have been very outspoken about ending aide for Ukraine, and Trump is stuck on fondling Putin's nuts, so I just don't understand WTF is going on here.

Take each case as it comes. Some people you can talk to about politics, some you can't. I have very delusional family members who I refuse to discuss politics with. Politics can tear down relationships so you have to decide which is more important to you. Being right, or the relationship. Some people are open to hearing and considering facts. For others, facts don't matter at all. I personally no longer feel like I have to convince anyone of anything now that I understand that peoples' minds don't change easily. I show this video to a lot of people to back up what I am currently saying in this thread. It is literally called "Facts don't win fights." What I find is that the facts in this video fall on deaf ears and people will deny these facts despite the research that has been done on the subject. Enjoy

I'm familiar with Barry. What did he have to say about Zen not being healthy? The quote you posted seems more like an existential koan that alludes to the fact that we have no control. Thy will, not my will be done.

Have you considered therapy? To be quite honest, if things are as dark as you say they are, getting advice from an online forum isn't the best idea. Therapy rocks.

Did you read the spiral dynamics book?

A perfect circle is my favorite band! Nice post.

Sorry to hear you are going through so much. I struggled with the same dilemma. I'm now a huge proponent of meds. Take them and continue to work on yourself. Meds aren't meant to be taken forever, just long enough until you stabilize and no longer need them.

You are generalizing. There are plenty of people on this forum that do more than post and browse here.

Yellow doesn't mean you're intelligent or experienced in all lines of development. Depending on external circumstances, someone at a certain stage on the spiral may be more effective than another in certain areas. People on the forum are not useless, they just play a different role. Everything is interconnected, and everyone has an impact on the world in some way, shape, or form. Some just have more reach and visibility. A spiritual teacher may do a terrible job in public office, while a president is likely to make a shitty spiritual teacher. One is not better than the other, they just play different roles. That's not to say that one can't learn to play a new role, there would, however, be a learning curve, and some people have a predisposition to play certain roles more-so than others. It's impossible to be developed in all areas, nor is it important. Too many factors come into play to judge one's actual level of development.

I agree with @Serotoninluv. Understand your own direct experience. Dive right in, post questions when you feel like you've hit a snag somewhere.

I went through a pretty severe bout of depression and anxiety after doing a butt-load of self-inquiry. I realized that nothing lasts, and no matter what I did there'd be something I didn't like about it. My zest for life died because I realized nothing really mattered. Meaninglessness was my state of existence for about five years. What helped me was psychotherapy, journaling, hanging out with people, and light meditation. You could be going through dark night of the soul. Or you could simply be depressed. It's hard to say, but nihilism is often faced when on the spiritual path. Don't assume this is a spiritual sickness it could just be garden variety depression. I would recommend journaling and finding a therapist. Whatever you do, both tools can help. Don't wait until it's too late. And for fuck's sake, don't listen to Hellspeed.

Isolation can make life feel meaningless. However, so can self-actualization work. Often times meaninglessness is a sign of progress. The truth is that life has no meaning. At some point or another, if you're really on the path, you are going to go through a nihilistic phase. However, depression relating to isolation is a serious problem. Being around people is absolutely necessary for mental health. Do not mistake the two. Same thing happened to me. IMO, this is a serious problem as well and the reason I'm going to go back to an office job. It is impossible to grow in relationships in living in solitude.