Potato People King

Nothing can prepare you for the horrors of public speaking except for the public! :-D But seriously, you can practice before a mirror. Work on your rhetoric, build up positive attitude towards public speaking. Practice with smaller groups first.

Well, maybe they did not discover their life purposes in the first place, just did what worked out for them? Even if you do discover your life purpose, if you do not know how to handle your thoughts and emotions or have serious psychological condition like bipolar disorder, you can get depressed anyway.

I like the idea which Alesteir Crowley put in Liber ABA, which is that if you think about what Jesus Christ, Muhammed and Buddha got in common, it is that they went into solitude, and there obtained certain gnosis, basically through spiritual practice. After that, they spread it into the world. I also like the concept of "secret" knowledge, which you have to attain step by step, because of the symbolism involved and necessity of personal validation through experience and ritual.

Hi there, I wish you all the best and great luck! I just have to add one practical and down to earth advice: Undergo a paternity test. Since you have had a kind od "open" relationship and since you have been living far from each other, it is not impossible that the child is not yours. It might be a hard pill to swallow because you obviously trust her in this (and she might be trully convinced that you are the father), but it definitely can be the truth. Especially after you mentioned you have never had unprotected sex with her and that she always came up with something to make you not want to break up with her... I know it is very unromantic to say, but you are a good company, a young man from western Europe, probably financially secured with stable family. So, undergo a paternity test. She might want to talk you out of it, but persist and go for it. If you are really the father, congratulations man!!!, and take the responsibility. If you find out that you are not the father, give her some amount of money you can spare as a gift for the baby expenses, say goodbye and don't look back. Yes and my final advice, since you are 22, dont go for vasectomy! Sounds super stupid to me... Why the hell would you want to do that? Better to control yourself more. Also to impregnate a woman is not usually so easy, many couples try hard for a long time to get pregnant! "Most couples (about 84 out of every 100) will get pregnant within a year if they have regular sex and don't use contraception." https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/pregnancy/how-long-does-it-usually-take-to-get-pregnant/ So basically, a broken condom here and there is possible to impregnate a girl, but improbable.

I think most of people in general are not interested in practicing occult or magick, because it's just too obscure for them to follow and there are rationally more appealing ways (buddhism, yoga). If you work with the mystic/magick dichotomy, I would say most people take the mystic part (if they are interested in spirituallity at all, of course).

What comes to my mind are these points: 1) can you give a more detailed description of the situation that triggered you? By analyzing that situation, maybe I can get a bigger picture and see, if you are overacting (wanted to write overreacting, but it's kind of fitting too) from my point of view, as your friend remarked. 2) from a modern psychology point of view, what is desirable is the so called assertive behavior. Which basically means you should be able to express yourself fully with a consideration of the other persons. Passive, aggresive and manipulative behaviors are to be avoided. Maybe you are way too passive (various reasons for that, including anxiety, low self-esteem etc.) in your communication, so when you are confronted with aggressive communication style (sarcastic, commanding, not taking your perspective into account) you are not able to project your natural feelings properly (repress anger), which leads to aforementioned problems. You mentioned you visit psychotherapist, maybe talk with her/him about your assertiveness. 3) you decide what is tolerable and which is not from your point of view and set your own borders. Your views can also change during time. 4) sometimes people just don't go well together (very different personalities, extremely opposite values and worldviews etc.). Then it's probably the best thing to go seperate ways, since handling that relationship dynamic will create a lot of unnecessary tension and take a lot of energy. I hope I helped and provided some food for thought and introspection. Have a nice day.

Well theoretically, from hermetic standpoint for example, there is definitely a danger and you could mess up seriously if you don't follow certain safety procedures and correct techniques. I have a book on ceremonial magic which has a whole chapter dedicated just to troubleshooting various accidents which can occur during magical work and how to prevent them. Have you seen any of the horror movies or paranormal documentaries where people played with ouija boards and such and then get haunted for life? But from the brighter side of life, if you mess up and bring some demon into your house, you can cash on it later (make Ghost Hunters episode there or open up a museum). Jokes aside, the thing with ceremonial magic in particular for me is that it looks like a lots of work and at the same time pretty dangerous if done incorrectly. But there are many approaches to magic in general, some of them look like more easygoing, so if you are interested, try look up some well known authors in the field and start out with that. Alesteir Crowley, Franz Bardon, Israel Regardie, D. Kraig, or more general wicca, celtic magic, thelema, medieval grimoaires, ancient egyptian and greek magic... There are complete rituals for summoning entities which you can find up and follow with all the steps described. Personally, I studied some of them for entertaining/educational purposes but would not undertake them. As I said, looks to me like a lot of dangerous and demanding work. You also typically have to do a preparational work before trying to invoke entities for the operation to be succesfull. Sure there can be many approaches and views on that subject, I am sure Matt88 had a big topic on occult work here and from reading what he described magic and spirit communication felt much more approachable and beneficial than I have described above. But I could be a bit overthinking guy. And I've seen a lot of horror movies too... Matt advocated Damien Echols and Jason Miller as far as I remember. So be careful, study proper sources, and always check on your motives. Better safe than sorry and better pursuing tranquill mind than messing up with supernatural entities for fun.

Do you have an idea why are you like that? I mean, have you tried to think really hard about what could be the cause of your laziness?

From my personal experience, the gym is the place to work out. You have got all the equipment there, and people around. You can talk with them, get some advice and you will try to do the best, because you know, somebody may be watching you while you exercise :-) Also, when I am at home, it is really demanding for me to maintain a regular training schedule. You know, when you are finally there (in a gym), you are just gonna go for it. At home, there are a lot of distractions everywhere. I have had the best experience when I was going to a gym with my friend. But you can definitely work out from home. It´s cheaper and can be more convient (you don´t have to go anywhere). In fact, I am trying to work out from home right now. Basically, if you dont half ass it, I think you can get great benefits from both forms of training. Just figure out balanced work out program for different muscle groups (you can google it). When I was going to a gym: It will help me get in better physical shape. - I agree, it definitely did. It will improve my mental health. - Yes. Will make you feel good. Simple as that :-) It will make me more productive because I'll have more energy throughout the day. I went after school and pumped hard, so I felt a bit tired afterwards. But there is certain energetic rush nevertheless.

You will eventually get bored with this attitude and start doing something. Or maybe you will end up as the Dude from Big Lebowski... But seriously, since you are questioning this attitude of yours, don´t you have any goal or passion to follow? Maybe start out with that.

Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy I find it a very calming and positive book. Some great jokes included :-)

I do not have a clue, but I would prefer to apply non drug related methods first.

@Zec Try to look for online reviews or ask people who visit one. Ask your general practitioner. But until you visit one, I guess it is hard to tell. Also what is good therapy for someone don't have to be good for someone else. Could be about personal taste, since threre is a lot of psychoterapeutic techniques - gestalt, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral just to name few. Do you have a particular problem?

What would happen is that you would probably get a relief (since you would fulfill the ocd circle with a compulsion). The real problem with this is that your problem is not about touching somebody or not, but with the fact that you suffer from ocd and basically are not able to control your mind. Which means that even if you ease this particular obsession, most probably another one is going to take its place sooner or later and you will be in the same situation. So my advice is try to tackle the ocd itself. Depending on its severity (are you able to socialy function?), try vipassana meditation, relaxation techniques (at home), or licensed psychoterapy. If you feel like a "hardcore case" for a long time and cannot function socially (particularly if you are unable to work or maintain relationships because of the ocd), visit a psychiatrist.

@Galyna Hi Galyna! What you describe could be signs of bipolar disorder. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355955

I think you should not dump the meds at your own discretion. Now you feel good, but could have a problem later. Contact your physician/psychiatrist first and consult it with him. All the best!

I used to eat dürüm kebab every day for a lunch for about half a year and I felt good I did not analyze the food components too much, but it seemed good at first sight: some meat, relatively a lot of vegetables, sauce and flatbread. Good, simple times... I don't know if I've ever had döner kebab. Probably also depends on quality of the ingredients.

I read "The Power of Now" during one day, I just could not put it aside. His personal story was what fascinated me the most and what I (kind of) remember till this day and I also consider it authentic. Regarding the teaching from the book, I just vaguely remember it being about rooting yourself in the present moment and generally realizing your owns mindgames and all the problems that thoughts can create. Which is something I have no problem with. I don't think he is fake, but his way of live presentation is too slow and dry for my liking and makes me loose interest quickly. As I have not followed him extensively and basically only read one book by him long time ago, take it with a grain of salt Maybe I will explore him in the future, but right now don't have any incliniation to do that. So thus ends my little ramble about encountering Eckhart Tolle.

To answer you precisely, I'd say Zizek is both - good guy to listen to and very neurotic at the same time. I would not say that he thinks that communism is a fix to everything - he is very critical and somewhat sceptical about society overall, including communism. He is definitely not fond of earlier communist regimes which he generally see as disasters. Maybe he has got Stalin's pictures in his Ljubljana apartment, but that is for scaring his visitors off (if we could believe him on that). He continously defines and talk about what he sees as the biggest problems that human race face and since he is Hegelian and Lacanian, he also makes use of Marxist philosophy, terminology and concepts along with said Lacanian perspective. Simply put, he is good to listen to mainly for these reasons: exciting presentation, a lot of crazy jokes which illustrate his points, he makes you think and make you see things from other perspective; he definitely does not shy away from controversial subjects. But keep in mind he is very proud of being a philosopher; he loves to pose difficult questions and reveal controversial lines of thoughts without proposing final answers. And if you will ever read some of his books, you will see for yourself what it means to be eclectic. Start with his videos, there is a lot of of them on youtube; he oftens repeat certain themes so you will see, if he is your cup of tea

Ramana Maharshi said that peace of mind without surrender is impossible. There is a very nice (and short) story related to it on a web page dedicated to him under section Gems (also downloadable in different section). https://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/teachings/gems/ Maybe take a look at that (it is the very first story), I suppose that he was generally seen as a very peaceful man, so his advice could help you out or make you investigate this subject matter more.

He adressed this issue in the past, since it is a common perception about him on youtube, that he must be on some kind of drugs. From what I remember, these rapid movements, touching of his nose etc. are basically nervous ticks. Anyway, what I particularly love about him is his ultra energetic and enthusiastic approach. He always totally draws me in. When he is debating, he is always dominating the debate, looks like he just can't stop talking. He prefers the style of Plato's later discourses and steals the stage all the time. It's in the way he presents his ideas, that you just have to keep listening to him. By the way, he does not smoke or drink alcohol, does not sing or dance and also has served in the Yugoslav army, which had dissapointed him, because he had found it not organised enough.

@Maarten To me it seems (simply put) that Leo just does not take Zzenn seriously, does not like his approach to spirituality and is not interested in trying to interpret him or debate his views. And Leo uses his terminology (like materialistic devil) and generally the way he present himself to express this. Smells like dialectical thinking… I think Hegel would have something to say about this line of reasoning... Well, after reding your post, what is there left to say (rhetoricall question :-))? Maybe that a real debate is possible only when there are at least two wiling participants, who agree to certain rules of logical reasoning (since you should use arguments in a debate). Otherwise there is no debate possible. For example, I would be very interested in seeing Leo debating (or just talking with) various people from "spiritual community" on various topics (for example like Zzenn did with Joseph Maynor - I saw all the Joseph's vids with him by the way), but this seems a little bit impossible precisely due to Leo's approach right now (and in the past also if I am not mistaken). To be clear - I do not see it as a problem or a some kind of Leo's flaw - that is just the way how I see Leo is and is presenting himself. By the way, I think that Leo Gura - Sadhguru debate could be totally possible and doable (Sadhguru did interviews with London Real or Tom Bilyeu for example), but again, I highly doubt Leo would be interested (not sure abou money involved, that could possibly be the issue). But hey, from PR point of view, it would make totally sense, because their audiences definitely overlap in some ways! :-) Can you imagine Leo asking Sadhguru about psychedelics? I think that would be the bing bang happening right there :-D Also, it would be totally super interesting to see how would Leo and Sadhguru interact, where they both claim they have accessed dimensions of counciousness which are out of ordinary people's experience. I am just excited thinking about it! Winterknight would be also a good pick for Leo's discussion video.

@themovement Hi man! Surely nobody denies that good looks is one of the characteristics that will make you attractive to women and that it's largely based on genetics (but also the way you keep yourself etc.). But it's not definitely the only one important factor (like @Etherial Cat said, but that is quite obvious in my opinion). Marriage to me is a certain symbolic (maybe you could even say magickal) ritualized consensus with rather important social and legal consequences, which you can attend at your own free will (I assume you live in a society which encourages free marriages). Or a big formal party - it depends! It seems to me like you are stuck between some kind of a specific movement and spiritual work system and you cannot choose which one to follow because you feel the only real "truth" is either the former or the latter. Well what about following spirituality and keeping yourself fit, and working on your personal development while working on your career and balancing your life properly? I don't think you need to think "it is all genetics and unfair - screw spirituality and personal work" or "spiritual work is the only thing out there important, does not matter if I am unkept and physically week I will attract women anyway by the sheer power of my developed counsciousness ". I have not researched much about incels or "pills" movements, but I strongly assume that the basics of their group dynamics is frustration caused by unsuccesful relations with women combined with repressed desires for such relations. And a lot of rationalization.

Maybe it would be beter if we have more precisely defined some of the terms you used in your question beforehand, but anyway - let's kick it! If I follow your question correctly, my immediate answer is yes: construction requires decontruction. For example: you want to change or create new taxation system in a country. Then you definitely need to deconstruct (or think about) the current one: what is missing in the current one, why you need or want to change it, questions like what values should the system represent etc. That is the case in any thought operation of this type. You need to analyze what is the current position you want to change or "construct" into a new one and the characteristics of the new one also. I see it as a very logical operation. I am not sure what exactly you implicate by traditionalism or modernity mentioned in the title, as the thought process itself, by which you try to achieve certain purpose (to construct and or deconstruct) should be - at its core - the same.

He definitely comes out as extremely violent teacher (in secret). Since this thread sparked interest in me regarding this guru, I've done some research on him. I also watched about 2.5 hours of videos which contained testimonial from Mareechi about her unfortunate fate in Bomjon's ashram in 2011 and 2012. Her life story before the incident and what brought her to Nepal was very interesting btw. I have no reason to disbelieve her with all the proofs she provides. The torture was extreme and she must be really strong person to endure all of that and even talk about it in unnerving detail (as she said, she was accomplished yogini before meeting Bomjon. Must have helped her). What kind of fascinated me was 1) that nobody did anything, basically because Bomjon said she was witch 2) Bomjon seemed like he did or instructed all the torture with a precise purpose, like extremely wicked teaching. I could not find any recent news about him. But I would discourage everybody from beeing his devotee or coming to his ashram. The ashram dynamics shown in Mareechi's videos were interesting to hear also.