TheAlchemist

@Girzo From what I understand, the pharmaceuticals are mostly irreversible MAOI's where as harmalas are reversible MAOI's (RIMA's). RIMA's still require some care with avoiding tyramine rich foods, but it is even more important with the classical irreversible MAOI's.

If you mean pharmaceutical grade MAOI's (not harmala extracts/syrian rue etc.) then you gotta be super careful with the diet.

Ganja/Charas, so Cannabis/Hash. I heard local people actually donate it to them, and these sadhus often like to share too

The demon is a representation that emerges to get relief from the state of anxiety caused by not knowing. In the same way that in the middle-ages in europe, the oceans on maps had all kinds of crazy monsters on them, we tend to "fill in the blanks" of something we don't understand, and usually fill it with something dark and evil. It is like a canvas for the imagination to create all sorts of explanations to relieve the tension caused by not knowing if there is a threat in the "darkness". This effect tends to be especially strong in us with a Christian upbringing, since we have been taught that there is an all-good and all-loving God that has consciously planned and created the universe. In our minds this causes us to feel conflicted, since there still is all kinds of evil and suffering in the world. How can absolute evil come from something that is absolutely good? This leaves a powerful void of not knowing around evil and suffering in the world, and all sorts of attempts are made to get relief from this anxious state. This void is often filled with the character of a demon, or even ultimately Satan himself as that which must be the source of all evil, and must be behind everything that is bad in the world. But ultimately there is no Satan as an entirely independent identity, Satan is a scapegoat, a projection canvas that has been collectively imagined to bring coherence and relief from this cloud of not knowing. It is still experienced by people because the belief is at such a fundamental level in the mind, so it is not entirely imaginary like what we call a delusion, since many people do experience it and report similiar things. But this mostly springs from a shared worldview that tends to generate the same representation in multiple peoples minds. Basically it is the same phenomenon that happens when we fear darkness or the unknown in general, we imagine all sorts of monsters and dangers lurking in the shadows. It is not that they are necessarily there, yet we don't want to turn on the lights because we think the monsters (which we have imagined) will be there, see us and destroy us completely. Again, they do have a sort of "reality", since it is a collectively shared representation/imagination or "weakly objective". So in a world of demons and monsters, in a world with a lot of unknown, we tend to find solace in the representations that present themselves as opposing forces to the darkness. We find true relief through Jesus or whoever, yet we also simultaneously accept that the monsters really are real and that we must resist them since they want to destroy us. So, it seems to me the leap into the arms of God or Jesus (as representations that oppose dark/evil) brings true and deep relief, at least temporarily, but ultimately it still keeps the war going, it evades a fully lucid confrontation with the Absurd. Through facing the Absurd, (the seeming contradiction of good/evil ) I believe there lies an opportunity for understanding, for wholeness and for true peace. Reminds me of a few quotes: "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." -------------------------------- "Recognition of the reality of evil necessarily relativizes the good, and the evil likewise, converting both into halves of a paradoxical whole." -------------------------------- "It is a bewildering thing in human life that the things that cause the greatest fear is the source of the greatest wisdom." -Carl Jung

Without progressive taxation of the rich you end up with increasing economic inequality in society, which has many downstream harmful effects, for example reduction in social cohesion and social mobility and an increase in polarization. You might get economic growth in the short term by pleasing the rich, but in the long run the stability and resilience of the society suffers, and ultimately the economy suffers too.

Maybe he doesn't want to be a guru, but he sure doesn't mind sitting on a literal throne

99% of the 300 missiles/drones were shot down by Israeli air-defence, and obviously Iran would have known this before the attack. It would actually make sense for Iran to shoot empty shells towards Israel, knowing that they will get shot down. Iran mass produces one of the world's cheapest and versatile drones, so it's not a big investment to appease parts of the population that demanded a counter-attack. Interesting to see how Israel will react. In a way they got their "win" already with their air defence systems being so robust, so there is no humiliation or real shock element here that would rile up support for a strong counter attack in the population. Although with the current government you never know what might happen.. Curious to hear from any Israeli people on the forum, how is this attack being perceived among your friends/families and in the media? Is it perceived as a win because of the air defence being so successful, or is there a sense of anger or desire for retaliation because it sure was quite a large scale attack in many ways?

I appreciate the reply, and I think there is a lot of truth in it. Yet at the same time I am left wondering, what is the value of "being human" (if any) from that perception? I wonder if what you say could be interpreted by someone as a devaluation of the experience of being human. If I am God, I am not human. If I am nothing, I am also not human, (since we generally define human as something distinct and seperate from the rest of the world). While I am not being nothing and I am not being God, I am being human at this moment as a matter of appearance at the very least. How do we take this perspective and affirm and rejoice the limited human experience in all its absurdity, instead of it being taken on as something that reduces our sense of agency or valuing of our condition? The qualitative, subjective experience of being human (even if it is only appearance), what value do you see in it? Is it a mistake? A misperception? In any way "lesser" than some other way or state of being? Is there something novel, something fresh, something unique in the experience of being a limited human? Something to celebrate here in limitation? How do you see it?

The modern spiritual, self-help and business gurus and celebrities are just new forms of the old Gods. People think these gurus and celebrities have all the answers and understand it all, and get upset when they find out they were flawed and fall short just like any other human. An image is projected onto these figures, that of a savior, a great leader, even a messenger of the "higher realms". Then when these people don't live up to the image, it often causes immense pain and frustration, and these figures are attacked as having "deceived" them. When really it was the deception that was truly desired by the follower, to bring coherence and relief in a world of unaswered questions. It's just the illusion of the guru that was shattered, which was in itself originally constructed by the follower to get relief. This loss obviously causes great pain and confusion, since so much hope was invested. People who have gone through a western education often are puzzled by how people could believe in silly things like Gods and angels and demons. But really that hasn't gone anywhere, those ideas have just taken on new forms. Forms that are taken as supremely real and that are adequately convincing in this time. In the world of the ancient greeks, the idea of Zeus or Afrodite playing around with humans was interely reasonable and rational. The stories were built around what made sense at the time. For us the equivalent might be the "self-made" billionaire character, the spiritual or the self-help guru, the celebrity singer or any person that is put on a pedastal and idealized. It doesn't seem that silly to us now, but I imagine future humans will look at such notions of these ideal human beings as equally silly as we see the notion of big evil monsters lurking in the oceans. This is not to say that we can't learn from spiritual teachers, religions, philosophers, self-help teachers or even musicians and celebrities; just that if we want to escape the cycle of excitement and disappointment, we must stop putting any of these people on a pedastal as characters. People will always fall short of that ideal, and maybe there is no perfect teacher. Maybe even God itself doesn't fully know what's going on. This perspective, far from being depressing can truly put us back on the drivers seat and can empower us to be active agents in the world, not throigh chasing some ideals or running away from hell, but from a place of not-knowing why it's all happening and embracing that. Maybe even God doesn't know what the heck is going on, maybe he needs the human consciousness to figure this shit out somehow.

Sounds very interesting. I'm in Finland and many of those alt-cannabinoids are basically legal since they aren't explicitly banned. But I guess nobody is having the balls to sell them here, at least yet. This sounds very much like something worth exploring, there are some strains of cannabis that activate and open the floodgates of insight like that for me, but it is often overshadowed by other more powerful effects. So, it sounds entirely plausible to me that there exist cannabinoids that really dial in some specific quality like that.

Decriminalizing also doesn't really solve the problem of the black market, the substances continue to be sourced from the black market which funds organized crime. There is no regulation on the purity of the drugs, so overdoses and impure (and maximally addictive) substances continue to flood the markets, because that is what is most profitable. You also need a good social security system to help those who are struggling with addiction so that they have a safe place to sleep, access to food and water and basic healthcare, without which there ends up being even more problems and costs down the line for society as a whole. That's what they did in Portugal, they funneled all the money they spent on imprisoning and prosecuting the users towards rehabilitation, housing and healtcare for the addicts. Eventually we also need to ask why is our society producing so many addicts? Most people don't get addicted despite trying hard drugs, but the proportion of people that do get addicted is much higher in certain environments and circumstances than others. Decriminalization solves part of the problem but a strictly regulated and controlled market through legalization is what will eventually be needed to handle the problem along with a realistic plan for how to prevent escalation of problems tied to addictions. It's not any different than with alcohol. I think we have actually gone too liberal on alcohol, the marketing of it should be more strictly regulated and controlled, just like with drugs. A regulated and controlled market with bans on all drug marketing and strict quality control seems like a reasonable solution.

Those are some really solid questions. Somehow, I think this all ties to aversion to insecurity. The idea of the world as infinitely complex and ever changing conflicts with our desire for a solid and secure identity, and these models and simplifications of the world provide relief. The idea of the world as an infinitely complex functioning whole which we are an expression of challenges other core assumptions we hold about the duality of man/nature and even the rigid distinction we make between self/other. This is exposing the "operating system" which is mostly invisible to us, just like any ideology is from the pov of those living in/as it. This feeds insecurity and a drive towards overcompensation through simplifying the world and desperately clinging to some past identity and idea about our place in the world. So thinking about the "how", the way forward probably needs to be something that addresses this core insecurity, some way of feeling secure despite constant change and despite a lack of concrete, "true" identity. Or a kind of identity based on paradox.

One of the major challenges is that this conversation can't really be constructively had in the current political climate, the identity of both left and right is contructed largely on being an antithesis to the other. So if you start bringing up the excesses of the left (rightfully so) it is vacuumed up and weaponized by the narratives on the right. Neither side has a clear and compelling vision for the future, the movements are largely fuelled by resistance to the other, so downplaying the resistance of one side feeds the other, as of course the resistance itself does too. This is a very difficult predicament to break out of. We have to find some kind of synthesis that takes into account the underlying core needs that drive both the left and the right. The solution isn't some compromise or either side "winning", it is some (still invisible) path that will emerge and provide a compelling vision forward. Not something that somehow magically unites the left and right into some one big happy hippy human family but just trancends and includes these sides enough through a more positive and meaningful vision for the future that it gains more attraction than the drive towards engaging in the culture war. I think that us getting tired of the polarization itself as a phenomenon is a subtle signal of what is coming.

@DefinitelyNotARobot gold

Honestly I don't know, pain can be so intense and invasive, it can throw out all the fancy spiritual ideas we like to talk about. They don't feel relevant in the midst of it. Pain is so raw and direct, and utterly undeniable, it throws any conceptual games in the trash. I don't know if my compassion is of any help, but I really feel for you and truly wish I could somehow ease the pain and take it away. You're right, it doesn't make sense and I'm sure it's utterly unbearable at times. It's a testament to the power in you that you have made it to this moment through all these hellish states. All I can say is I really think you are an absolute hero for every minute you endure it. I see you as a brave explorer in the deep dark caves of reality where meaning is nowhere to be found and absurd levels of pain test every fibre of your being. You didn't choose to go to this place but maybe only you were up for this task, only you could explore these dark senseless caverns of consciousness. Anyways I hope you find some solace and relief, whether it be through spiritual approaches/perspectives or through strong painkillers (as instructed by a medical professional) if necessary.

The greatest bullshit is thinking you have transcended the bullshit into some higher realm. Bullshit is an inherent feature of our collective human engagement, it's not something that can be eradicated. The most dangerous forms of bullshit claim that they are "post-bullshit". But it's not all bad, once we recognize our bullshit it can humble us in a healthy way, and we can make some cool bullshit cakes and fine pastries

Cringiest post I saw all week

Pretty much, although I wouldn't use the term slavery for our condition in western liberal democracies but I totally see your point here. I think we should also put focus on the actual physical slavery that goes on to sustain the western consumerist lifestyle. Instead of the slave labour happening in our own countries where it can't be denied or hidden, it has been neatly tucked away on the other side of the planet. To my knowledge there is not a single mass produced product that you can buy where the whole production chain from raw material to end product is transparent. Mostly, not even a little bit of the process is transparent. This is super convenient for preventing the cognitive dissonance and pain that would arise if we knew and fully acknowledged the conditions where all the minerals were mined, the plastic for our toys was melted or where that cool shirt I found in H&M was made. If we knew the realities of the whole production chain and acknowledged it with full clarity, I think the typical response might range anywhere from crying to anger to puking. This is not to deny the benefits of living in such a system, there are plenty for plenty of people. But I do think we should be shocked away from our trance like state where we believe that our current system is without some dark dark shadows.

@Princess Arabia very interesting perspective there. So the mans sexual attraction is based on a more direct desire for the woman, whereas the womans sexual attraction is based on the mans desire for her, the tension that exists between the man and herself? The desiring itself being a kind of intangible, ethereal "object" So the man is "turned on" by the beauty and existence of the woman and is identified fully as his body. The woman is turned on by the man being "turned on due to her. So she is in some sense looking at the whole interaction from a kind of meta perspective, and experiencing the excitement from the tension between the man and the woman, perhaps not totally identifying with the woman part, but seeing the interaction between the two as a whole, and then channeling/experiencing that excitment through her body. Lmk if I'm interpreting your point here correctly, there's some interesting parallels in psychoanalytic theory to support these views too.. Also, clearly it's the case that not every man that is turned on by the woman will sexually excite the woman. So there needs to be some level of pre-existing attraction towards the man so that this sexual attraction can be unleashed. Is this what you would call attraction as opposed to sexual excitement? If there exist a certain level of attraction (non-sexual) towards the man, then the mans expression/display of excitement toward the woman can unleash the womans excitement too?

From a materialist perspective it would probably be something like fainting, you lose awareness of what is happening and enter a timeless and spaceless nothingness, similiar to how it was before your birth. The atoms that made "you" up slowly disintegrate and merge back into the rest of the world. From an idealist perpective with consciousness as primary it would probably also be an experience similiar to fainting. A shift into a timeless and spaceless "realm", but not because your essential subjectivity disappears, but because you are released from the frame of who you thought you were, a specific person in a specific place and a specific time. Consciousness doesn't in and of itself have these qualities when it is not being filtered through the lens of "human". So that would be something totally inconceivable, something that can't possibly be captured in human language constructs. I think we lose all sense of human identity regardless of what happens, since it is very deeply connected to identification with the body. I see no reason to think consciousness is a product of the body itself, the other way around makes more sense to me as crazy as it might sound. Nothing changes from the pov of consciousness, all the apparent change happens within the contents of consciousness.

Are you open to other psychological/spiritual perspectives on this demon you experience? Or do you 100% insist that this is all explainable by the Christian framework and it is a literal bible style demon?

Why?

Are you a Christian?

Nazis and fascists cling to the past, but not any real version of it. They cling to a specific fantasy of the past that comforts and in some ways deeply inspires them. This "past" of course needs to be constructed, maintained and polished through symbols and images that strike certain deep emotions in people at scale.

One way to identify what is likely a social construction and what is not is through memory. Imagine your memory was wiped clean today, you lose everything you learned in your life but you still keep your verbal and thinking skills etc. Would you still be afraid of hell? No. The only reason you fear hell is because it is a powerful idea that was installed in you, that plays into your human psychology and biases, attaching itself like a parasite, feeding the belief in the dogma, spreading it and keeping the construction alive. It has been implanted into your mind from a young age and is connected to a large web of beliefs, perhaps about how you are inherently evil, how punishment is justice, how you deserve to suffer and ideas about how God is this all seeing eye that is watching you every second, every minute and passing judgement to you and everyone you love. Consider for a moment that none of that might be true, it might all be a construction. How would that feel? Consider that maybe all that is like a psychological virus that intelligently plays the human mind like a flute to spread itself. These beliefs are not an essential part of you, they are just deeply conditioned constructions. And it's possible to live without these specific beliefs. So, when those thought come up realize "oh here comes the program again", it's not you, it's not based on anything real that you see, it's a story layered, a filter on top of reality which you have been trained to look through. And it can be hard at first to even realize you're wearing those glasses, even harder to eventually take them off for good. Also, if you don't have another set of glasses to put on then the ones you grew up with might always feel the most attractive in times of crisis for example. So start building a worldview as your personal project which somehow integrates but transcends all these beliefs you hold. Or you can also go the deconstruction/atheist route at first to get some healthy distance from those belief systems, but I think ultimately the anti-christian atheism should not be the end point, but that's for you to decide. Look into the history and development of the concept of hell and heaven, contemplate the idea of hell and if it really makes any sense for you. Eventually this web of beliefs will start unraveling and you will get a kind of meta perspective on these belief systems and how they operate at the mind level, playing into various fears and biases that most of us as humans have. It might also be completely healthy and valid to take serious distance from any engagement with those toxic idea, just looking at it all as a pure constrution, a fantasy. And all those reasonable and kind people you know in the church, they aren't stupid or bad people now, they were just looking for answers in this life and this rather intelligent belief system managed to hijack their mind, but that doesn't make them bad people, just makes them human. Good luck!