Apparition of Jack

@Jed Vassallo Trump lost the Senate by a huge margin in 2018, has officially been impeached and was acquitted by only two votes (TWO), has had some of his most egregious policies shot down or reversed, and continues to operate a revolving door administration of lackeys-turned-enemies. This is nothing to say of the American people themselves, who are far too conscious and humanistic to let a military crackdown fly in their country. Yes, Trump has a lot of ardent supporters, I'm not denying that, but they're in the minority, and their strength is a short-term schizophrenic rage against changing realities. Trump will try to harness this energy to maintain power, but the odds are stacked against him. Spending too much time on the media can make it seem like an authoritarian takeover is coming any day now, but you have to be careful that you're not just being sold alarmism either. Without wanting to downplay the risk that Trump or his supporters currently represent, they are still in many ways paper tigers.

@Jed Vassallo Maybe in fantasy land they do, but in the real world the government doesn't work like that. Separation of Powers is one of the fundamental principles of the US government, and exists precisely to stop the sort of scenario you're describing from coming to pass. Remember: the US military is loyal to the constitution, not the president. If anything if Trump tried to pull something like that he'd be more likely toppled by the military than listened to by them.

Why would the military listen to him? Or the judges? Or the rest of the non-executive US government? There are many people in the Pentagon who have no great love for Trump, not to mention the brazen illegality of such actions. What's Trump going to do to get them to obey? Sick Ben Shapiro on them?

@DLH This is ridiculous. This is like saying we shouldn't have fought the Nazis because they needed to grow and develop in their own time, and trying to force an overthrow of the Nazis on the German people would've caused a backlash. Yeah, try telling that to the innocent citizens of France, Denmark, Russia, not to mention the millions of Jews of Europe who were killed mercilessly under the Nazi war machine. If reactionaries are so threatened by the developing code Green society that Bernie is helping to manifest that they're unwilling to accept it without resorting to violence and hate, that's their problem, not ours. At this point, a degree of unhealthy Blue backlash against Trump's defeat is inevitable. It's not a matter of will it happen, but rather how big it will be when it does. In fact, letting Trumpism fester for another four years will almost certainly make the situation worse, not better. It's like a cancer that needs to be ripped out before growing too large.

@Scholar Tankies are weird

@Ibn Sina Keep in mind these apps are more or less designed to promote the most jealousy-invoking images to the top, since it helps both keep you addicted and keeps the people posting these pictures interested in posting more, since it creates a feedback loop of addiction to the "likes"/comments/offers to advertise from companies and so on. Instagram, facebook etc can be tools for growth used correctly, but you have to be careful with them because it's very easy to get caught in unconscious patterns of seeking the next "high" from seeing a friend's "amazing trip" or finding out "what's hot" with people around you and so on.

@Husseinisdoingfine That's not so much a problem of Social Democracy but rather just financial imperialism, which exists regardless of whether a Social Democratic party is in power in any wealthy country. You could argue all day that Social Democracy upholds this imperialism, but I'd argue that such a take is too unnuanced and doesn't take into account the very real cultural shifts that Social Democracy facilitates that then gives wealthy governments the willpower to cut down on unequal financial agreements between wealthy and poor countries. I understand that the very existence of financial imperialism causes a lot of heartbreak for code Green people, and I truly understand why, but blanket, Tier-1 solutions of something like "we need a communist revolution to end global inequality" just aren't the solution, unfortunately.

@Jed Vassallo It could be Blue/Green, but honestly that just sounds like more Green using imagery that is more traditionally associated with Blue. There's no reason why a cathedral can't be home to Code Green yoga lessons and LGBT meetings, other than a lack of popular imagination linking the two.

I've spent a little bit of time in New Agey circles lately, and one thing I've noticed is that a lot of people mostly use the flowery language of "soul journey", "living your truth" and so on as a way to cope with the stresses of late capitalist society but without wanting to really dig too deep into solving the root causes of their distress or doing some deep epistemological investigation. I suppose I had set myself up with too high expectations so I was a little disappointed when the experience wasn't what I was hoping it to be, but there I was going to these places hoping to have dense discussions on Neoplatonism and the need for integral politics to solve the climate crisis and instead I got a few hours of feel-good music in a language I couldn't understand Still, I don't want to disparage these movements too much. As far as living in the modern west goes, New Age hippies with unexposed Blue/Orange shadows are still way more developed than most of the rest of the population, and honestly I encourage people to expose themselves more to this style of being. I've actually met some truly inspiring people who have helped me along my own journey with their openness and vulnerability, so clearly there is truth to these movements. They're just not... the be all and end all of self-development / actualisation / hardcore spiritual enlightenment. Just my random ramble.

I wonder if he was influenced by the 2016 Justice League movie... Media can have a weird effect on people

Just to give some context, Leo is banning people who say stuff like "Actualized.org is a Satanic cult and only Jesus can lead to God" repeatedly without budging, not people who say stuff like "You all suck I've done the techniques but it doesn't work", but who then begins to open up when exposed to compassion and some new tools to get them to assess their situation differently. One is coming from a place of single-minded ideology with no desire to improve, the other is coming from a place of hurt and lack of insight but a desire to improve.

@Kristy W What do you mean "other people?"

@randomguy123 Keep in mind that chaos isn't necessarily a bad thing though. The only reason you exist (in the relative sense) is because your father and mother met chaotically (i.e. unplanned, unexpectedly, randomly) and the two had kids together. At no point did your father say "I will plan to meet randomguy123's mum at exactly 2.43pm on 28/05/1990 whom I will fall in love with and have kids with", he just met your mother chaotically one day and the connection that led to you was born. Chaos is one of the most fundamental principles required for the universe to function. The problem is just that the ego-mind tends to skew towards craving order (predictability, routine, stasis, etc.) and so the idea of chaos gets demonised and shunned by a lot of people, without them realising just how much of their own existence (as well as the rest of existence) is reliant upon it.

I'm trying to think of any spiritual teachers I know that teach something like this, and I can't come up with any. Just about everyone I've come across that uses the terminology of Divine Masculine/Feminine always emphasises their interdependence and reliance on one another. To embrace masculinity you need to embrace femininity / vice versa and all that. I'm trying to be respectful here, but this honestly sounds like more of your own projection more than anything else.

@Parththakkar12 Well then what standard do you measure the Divine Masculine by? What does the Divine Masculine mean to you?

Why is that?

Politics doesn't just have to be about the world "out there." It's not like "politics" only exists inside Washington, the UN and Wall Street (although obviously these things have a big influence.) Every little thing can (and dare I say is) political, from the food we eat, to the music we listen to, to the way we think about the world, and so on. If you want to start thinking about politics and what it means for our lives, you could start by just investigating your own life - what sort of things are you engaged in that have political outcomes or that politics can affect? Some examples might be: - Do you have any disabled relatives who need welfare from the government? - Do you have any friends struggling with mental health / sexuality / racism / identity issues? - Do you feel inspired every time you see someone driving a Tesla instead of a fossil fuel car? - Do you want people to take self-actualisation and spirituality more seriously? - Do you take issue with some of the messages being put out by music or movies? - Do you think we should be eating less meat? Or more meat? Maybe better meat? - Do you like exposing yourself to art/music/ideas from different cultures? - Do you find yourself being stressed out from too much work (or perhaps feeling disengaged by too little or too meaningless work?) All of these plus countless others are deeply political issues, and they all relate intimately to your own life. When you read a news article that makes you think "gosh this is all so tiresome", just remember that these events are only the most radical manifestations of countless little mundane experiences that everyone, including you, goes through every single day. When a union group pushes for a raise in the minimum wage, that's not just some "politically-minded people with some ideas doing politics", it's the logical result of thousands upon thousands of minimum wage workers who struggle to feed their kids, pay rent, pay for medical costs etc., all realising in their own lives that "Hang on, maybe my life doesn't have to be the way it is. Maybe there's an avenue to change this that could directly benefit me, and those around me." What are the things in your own life that could be improved and changed for the better? What things are you passionate about that you feel other people would benefit from? And don't think that politics necessarily has to be "nasty" or "cynical" either. In fact I would almost say that if done well, politics should be inspiring, creative, wholesome and unifying. And lastly, there's no one "correct" way to do politics and to be engaged. I personally keep engaged just through reading the news and sharing my opinion with those around me / people online, but you could be engaged by starting an art therapy course, or teaching kids mindfulness, or even just reaching out to a friend dealing with some issues and lending support. The key thing to keep in mind in any of these though is that you understand that your actions have political impacts (good impacts, mind you) and that you're doing these things consciously with the goal of bettering humanity, not just your own personal enjoyment. The sky's the limit.

Zzen seems to be mired in stage Orange rationality at the expense of Green/Turquoise post-rationality. Orange rationality can serve a person well up to a certain point, but if one is serious about realising existential Truth and really unraveling the mysteries of reality it very quickly develops some serious limitations. Still, I wish this Zzen fellow good luck in his journeys.

I'm looking for a video Leo released relatively recently (last ~6 months or so) in which he gets people to stop and saying something like "I am a devil, I am the cause of all the corruption in the world" and so on. I might be the "How Corruption Works" one but I'm not sure exactly. I ask instead of try and find it myself because I don't want to sit through 20+ hours of his videos just to find the one that I'm looking for. Anyone know the one?

Something I had never consciously considered, but now makes sense that I’m aware of it. Thanks for the advice. My heart goes out to Kobe, his daughter, his family and everyone else affected. A sad time for everyone

@Dylan Page I made this graph to illustrate why voting is important: Out of all the scenarios, the only one where not voting still benefits you is when they win regardless of your disengagement, but even that still has political ramifications as you can see. In all scenarios voting provides more advantages than not voting. Even voting when your candidate loses is still preferable to not voting when your candidate loses.

@tenta Some elections are won by about 50 or 60 votes. And these aren't just minor local elections, these can be state elections or even federal elections where a few states that are won by 50 or 60 votes are enough to flip the outcome. Voting 100% matters. There has never been a time in a democratic system where voting doesn't matter. Besides, you declaring your intention to vote to friends and family will inspire some of them to vote too, which might inspire more to vote, and so on. Think bigger picture. Think more conscious. Think more self-less. Voting matters.

This is an interesting thread because it sort of applies to something I've been thinking about in my own life. As I've been questioning the male/female distinction, I've been doing things like imagining myself as a woman, imagining what it's like to have sex as a woman, etc and the results have been surprising. I've found that just by contemplating what it's like to be female, I've become more ingrained into and accepting of my male dimension. I kind of get the impression that a problem that a lot of young guys have - especially guys of the incel, MGTOW, alt-right etc. variety - are dealing with an inability to accept the feminine dimension of life (vulnerability, expressiveness, creativity, etc.), which is what causes them to become so frustrated and confused about how to handle life. If you're told that the solution to your problems is entirely masculine solutions - more work, more strength, more knowledge - whilst ignoring the feminine solutions - doing art, being open and vulnerable with others, being OK with uncertainty - then the problems those feminine solutions could solve don't get solved, and instead you end up dealing with all sorts of psychological haywire. I truly feel that being open to and embracing the feminine dimension of life is something all men could benefit from, especially in Western societies that downplay the need for the feminine.

@ginger28 Interesting video. Blue is a necessary part of the Spiral.

@Bno I'm trying to be as respectful as I can, but I still feel the need to point that it feels like you're too attached to the idea that Russian interference in the US elections means that the Russians were hoping that the new president would do everything 100% in Russia's favour, which really isn't what their goal was. To be fair, it can be easy to think this when everyone acts like Putin is some sort of "4D chess mastermind" who is pulling the strings in a hundred different ways, but I really think this is giving him too much credit. Putin is an unhealthy stage Red dictator, which is still a rather unconscious level of being to be at, and unconscious levels of being lead to unconscious outcomes. When Putin orders his government to create chaos in other nations through things like election manipulation, he's not thinking about the long-term wellbeing of a conscious, prosperous Russian society. Instead he's thinking about "protecting Russia at all costs" against real or, more likely, imagined threats, using very underhanded and very unconscious tactics to do so, so it's no surprise if these tactics came back to bite him in the ass down the road. Russia meddling with the US election in order to sow division within the US isn't mutually exclusive with the US taking actions that hurt Russian interests. You have to get more nuanced about these things and view them from a SD perspective. Besides, having a weak, divided America - even one that is threatening war with Iran and refusing to lift sanctions - still benefits Russia in other areas, because they can use that domestic chaos to distract the US from putting up any resistance against aggressive Russian moves elsewhere, which is what the Russian government has been doing. Have you noticed how US criticism of Russia's involvement in the Ukraine has all but gone silent since Trump got elected? Another thing I've noticed in your worldview is that it seems to rely on some very strong assumptions, which you would probably do well to explore and question. Some of these assumptions are things like: - "Neoliberalism is morally evil and everyone who engages in neoliberal policies cannot promote healthy policies elsewhere" - "Hillary Clinton is irredeemably corrupt" - "Impeaching Trump is mutually exclusive with supporting Trump's war bills" And so on. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of neoliberalism in the slightest, nor do I personally like Hillary Clinton, but the point is that these are the assumptions you are operating under, and ones that break down once you bring more nuance to your analysis. Obama was a standard "Third Way" neoliberal Democrat, and yet he pulled US troops out of Iraq and passed the first guaranteed-coverage healthcare bill in US history. Bill Clinton was likewise, and yet he invested heavily in education, helped Israel and Palestine sign the Oslo accords, created the first maternity leave style policy in the US and did much to protect American national parks. The point is - while the neoliberal establishment might be corrupt in its structure, that doesn't prevent individual politicians who operate under this framework for passing actual good legislation, despite their problematic policies elsewhere. In the age of constant internet outrage it can be very easy to forget the fact that politics is, still, the art of compromise (a lesson I have had to learn personally), so taking totalising stances like "a neoliberal politician can never pass conscious legislation" is counter-productive and unhelpful. And finally, of course I am not saying this to defend neoliberalism or intervernionism or anything like that. Neoliberalism still has to go, and in the new Green political system that is emerging with Bernie's movement neoliberal ideas are going to come under increasing scrutiny in the coming years. But that doesn't prevent us from approaching the existing conditions critically and with nuance, and seeing what are the best tools we have available today - which may have emerged from the neoliberal paradigm itself - to help dismantle this power structure and put a more conscious, holistic one in its place.