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I’m not sure what your point is? I’m not saying I’m above the effects of celeb worship. I fall into it sometimes. My point is just that the more conscious you become, the less that halo effect will be noticeable.

@Justin Michael It's because of the perceived value that a celebrity has. It basically plays into every cognitive bias there is (social proof, scarcity, authority). Subconsciously it feels like they are different from other people. Of course this is not true. A celebrity is just a person, and often that perceived value is totally manufactured. But for a mind with a low level of consciousness, you'll place them above others. I've found that the more you do spiritual work, the less you get caught up in celebrity worship.

It can be tricky. The difference can be subtle at times. But keep in mind, it's not like your angels won't communicate to you with thoughts. I've just found that it has a bit of a different feel to it.

@StudentOfLeove 30 hours is not that long to go without asleep. So it sounds like your visuals were more for a different reason than lack of sleep per say.

@Hello from Russia Yup. Cause and effect is impossible to really determine. We just chunk down infinite connectedness to make sense of the world.

I don't have many people I know who are that religious. But usually a nodding head and a "uh huh, sounds great" works well . I personally interpret it as awakening. The Christ consciousness of Oneness returning to the world.

Yeah that's the biggest hurdle people have to get over. Especially if you're used to questioning everything like most of us on this forum. I just talk to them. There is no formal process. I speak out loud or just in my head, they hear you either way. It helps if you've learn to quiet the mind.

Of course it will. Silence the mind and let God speak.

@StateOfMind Yes I talk with my guides all the time. I even know one of their names. No, they're not "living up there" in any sort of physical sense. They're not physical. But yes, the angels and guides are as real as anything else. Everyone has them, everyone can speak to them if they choose.

Everyone has some form of psychic abilities. Most are just blocked in people because of the dominance of the analytic mind. I'd recommend researching the different clairs if you haven't already (clairvoyance, clairsentience, claircognizance, clairaudience) and see how you relate. How can you "prove" it? Well, you kinda can't. Psychic abilities are intuitive and work through "direct knowing". You can test your abilities and get confirmation, but in my experience you'll never be able to prove it beyond any doubt the mind can come up with. The mind can always come up with reasons why it's not possible.

@Mysterious Stranger No one can really tell you what you should master. That's the whole point of mastery; it comes from beyond just other people's opinions. So the question is what do you want to do? You've got this life and you're not going anywhere for a while. So what do you feel like doing? Not expecting you to have a complete answer right now. Just keep asking yourself that.

I do coincidentally click the link below in my signature. Really everything Leo talks about on the Actualized.org YT channel is about waking up. So if you're familiar with his content then you should have an idea. It's all an awakening that's what we're doing here.

@JayySur Good ol' Donny, leaving the same way he came in. Lying his face off. Someone like him really makes me question my beliefs about how do we view people. I believe that when we see the best in people we simultaneously call that forward. But where do you draw the line with someone like Donald? He's been a great, ugly mirror for four years.

It seems to be a multi-layered question. Lots of people have shared their perspective on this so I'll add something I haven't seen. If you perceive yourself as separate and superior to the natural world, it's not surprising that something so primal like sexuality gets repressed. Sex takes people back to being animals, which is what we have been trying to overcome through civilization. To civilize our self out those primitive things. Also, sex if done properly can dissolve the ego. So in order for the illusion of ego to continue, it has to demonize and distort that tool.

Sounds appealing but ultimately it won't work. The is a problem of consciousness. You can't just overthrow that with a revolt. There is no "bad guy" to overthrow per say. We're talking about systems. There is a revolution to be had, but it's going to look very different than the ones in the past.

It's no problem. I appreciate your curiosity. My thinking comes from various degrowth and ecological economists. People like Herman Daly, Jason Hickel, Charles Eisenstein etc. Here is perhaps the most simplified version from Kate Raworth, economist at Oxford / Cambridge: 1) The massive ecological damage that has already been done by industrial society. The damage there is almost too great to list, from the destruction of old-growth forests, apex predator disappearance, ocean acidification, growing landfills, coral reef die off, etc etc. Even if you remove climate change from the equation, that is really only a small part of the damage that has been done. And may in fact be more of a symptom of other forms of ecological destruction. When you clear cut forests, you don't just lose the benefit of carbon sequestration, you destroy entire ecosystems. Ecosystems are complex, interconnected systems that require a holistic way of thinking to handle. In essence, the planet can't support what we're currently doing. 2) Already your entire life has become a commodity. Things that would have been common sense for people to do directly on their own, like procure their food or raise their children, have become services on the market that we pay for. The result of this is a destruction of community and relationships, as commodities only require that a transaction take place, not deep relationships. The human spirit can't take much more. 3) The influx of debt and rise in wealth inequality. If we could continue to grow, it's likely that these metrics would not be as devastating as they already are. Yes, most of the gains go to the top. But generally speaking, in the past everyone tends to be better off with economic growth. People are employed and the middle class is alive. I'd argue that's a false misconception. There has been a shift to service or knowledge based businesses. But it's a myth that these are necessarily less costly in terms of resources. For instance, even a single consultant with just a website relies on a massive amount of infrastructure in order to function. They don't exist in a vacuum. Research paper on this topic: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334453443_Decoupling_Debunked_Evidence_and_arguments_against_green_growth_as_a_sole_strategy_for_sustainability_A_study_edited_by_the_European_Environment_Bureau_EEB These companies require massive amounts of resources to exist for reasons mentioned above. And they've not made sustainability their top priority, their top priority is of course profit. And profit does not equate to real ecological health. I also don't blame them. They are acting according to the incentives laid out by our economic system. Those companies that prioritize profit will out compete and swallow companies that do not. So while individuals at these companies may have good intentions, they exist within a system that often does not support those intentions. That's the world I want to live in too. Everyone can prosper. And it is possible, but again, not with our current paradigms and system. Of course outsourcing cheap is a requirement. Labor is any business' biggest expense. No way you will be nearly as profitable if you don't do that, which means other businesses that do will eat you. It's a zero-sum game. And of course it's not just outsourcing labor. Western countries also externalize many of their environmental and social costs onto poor countries. Then you also have corrupt deals with the IMF and World Bank which keep these countries in debt. It goes on and on. And that's good. But when fair conditions aren't incentivized systemically, you've got a problem. Undoubtedly. Our economic system doesn't care who is on top and it doesn't care about destruction of the environment or relationships. It's essentially sociopathic. If we want an economic system that actually works for people and is in harmony with the environment, then it has to be created. Well that's up for debate. Lots of people have different ideas about what a post-growth or degrowth society would look like. Some ideas: - Instead of money being created by private banks with interest-bearing debt, money would be created publicly at zero or even negative interest - Universal Basic Income or Universal Basic Services - Local currencies, time banking, Local Exchange Trade Systems - Gift economy, strong local economies and communities - More self-sufficiency / direct living (as opposed to consumerism and commodities) - Resource based economics (currency backed by Nature instead of fiat currency). - Maximum wage - Maximum wealth tax These are all just ideas. They're different strategies to incentivize a simple truth; we need to share. And we need to recognize what are actual needs are instead of fake needs created via the artificial scarcity of our economic system.

You're right that tech is currently holding up much of what we consider economic growth. But it's impossible for any economy to grow forever. And we've been hitting those limits as a society for several decades now. Increased economic growth means increased resource extraction from the Earth and increased commodification of human relationships. Neither of which is possible at this point for any healthy society. The good news is that we don't need economic growth as long as we restructure our systems and institutions to adjust to a Steady-State or Degrowth economy. Again, you're right that much of the supposed gain from economic growth is captured at the top. Really what we call prosperity for "developed" countries could be called exploitation of "undeveloped" countries. The two good hand in hand. But it's also not that simple. The reason every politician and every economist talks about the need for economic growth is because the stability of our systems depend on it. We are growth-addicts, unable to quit without tanking the entire economy. For instance, it's been well shown that when economic growth slows down, unemployment, inequality and other social issues rise. This is what is called a "recession" or "depression", and everyone knows that's very bad. The solution is not to keep forever trying to stimulate more economic growth. This is a temporary fix at best and cannot really solve our problems. The solution, as I mentioned before, is to do away with the growth paradigm all together. And to transition our systems and institutions accordingly.

@Tiny Nietzsche It's tricky. See, relationships don't just cause happiness. It's not that simple. Really, what happens is someone has a level consciousness which then creates relationships that reinforce and reflect that level of consciousness. If your level of consciousness is low, your relationships will reflect that. If your level of consciousness is high, your relationships will reflect that. For example, currently in our society we are at a low level of consciousness. And our relationships perfectly reflect that. They tend to be either codependent or have toxic independence. So don't just think "oh, I'll get a relationship and then I'll be happy". That's a low level of consciousness thought. A higher level of consciousness thought would be to find happiness and then watch as your relationships begin to reflect and reinforce that.

@LostStudent You're waking up. It's not a pretty process, but this is what it looks like. Especially in the early stages. No, you've just lived your life for others. It's a normal thing. We all crave love from those around us growing up. And our society isn't exactly setup in a healthy way for you to meet that need. So this is the result. Now that you're an adult, you're starting to break that pattern as it no longer serves you. This is you wanting to awaken. You're seeking the peace that comes with spiritual growth. You've come to the right place . If you don't have a spiritual practice already, I'd look into starting one.

@SamC Amazing what happens when we start to overcome our own trauma and biases .

There's not much else to do once you've realized you're dreaming but to just enjoy it

@Swarnim There's not some separate truth you need to become conscious of. Become conscious of yourself as God and you'll have your answer.

Can't imagine where you'd find such a place Not at all. Either humanity will evolve its consciousness or it will destroy itself. Those are really the only two options. But either way, it's not sustainable. The good news is that there seems to be more awareness of the fact that things aren't sustainable. Which leads me to believe that we are heading for evolving our consciousness and rebuilding these systems. The worse things get, the more shadows get exposed.

Yes, our ability to meet real needs like community, connection and belonging have been destroyed by our own systems. These people are hurting and most of them don't have the slightest clue why. Goes to show that meeting real needs is not just some trivial thing. People will meet their needs one way or the other, even if that means believing someone like Trump.

@Lindsay Never read it but I can guess what it’s about. The middle class is being hallowed out, with increasing trends towards wealth and lifestyle inequality. It’s a serious concern. Large levels of wealth inequality are not stable for a society. But it is inevitable given that economic growth has come to an end. This is why we need systemic change.