King Merk

In Leo’s most recent video on Jordan Peterson he uses the term “straw man” and even “steel man” quite frequently. I’ve done a little digging into the meaning behind these phrases but am still a bit confused. Would anyone mind giving an in-detail explanation as to what exactly a straw/steel man is? A few examples would also be appreciated.

Thanks for the value post. Do you perform the breathing method first and then the cold shower? Or the other way around? Do you time your daily cold showers? If so for how long?

@WaltJ I’m a big fan of Leo (obviously since I’m on the forum) and have been following Paul Chek for the last 8 years or so. I think they would make an amazing podcast episode together. @Leo Gura please look into Paul Chek and consider doing his podcast

@Consept thank you for actually giving a definition lol. Would love to hear some more examples from whoever feels like sharing.

@Regan first enlightenment, then the laundry. I imagine you’re right though. There likely would still be people passionate about these jobs. Imagine how much more pleasant the world would be if all our our plumbers, electricians, dentists, janitors, etc were all enlightened.

I haven’t studied him in too much depth but based off his music I would say predominantly orange/green

Well for starters, what exactly is a society operating at its highest potential? Lol. A bit of a loaded question but to give an answer, fighting isn’t going anywhere. As long as there are people who appreciate and want to see the great feats of athleticism that professional MMA fighters perform then there will be a place for it in our society. Trying to “transcend” our desire to fight/dominate each other is about as futile as trying to transcend our desires to have sex and eat. It’s too primal. We exist as flesh suits. If mankind learns to transcend the primal desires of this flesh suit then perhaps we’ll transcend physically combating each other but then again, will we even be “mankind” at that point?

I’ve been on the fence about the vaccine for the last few months now. I’m a young and extremely healthy individual so I chose to wait things out and analyze other people’s reactions to the vaccines first. 100 million + doses in and the vaccine route seems to far outweigh the contracting covid route. With this information combined with the information presented here in this forum, I’ve chosen to get my vaccine. Do I need it personally? No, not really. On a strictly individualistic level I have little to no fear of contracting the rona. That said, when I look at things through a collective lense it become a no brainer to get the vaccine. My first Pfizer shot will be tomorrow. (I literally just scheduled the appointment online on my phone as I sit butt ass naked in my bath tub scrolling though the forum. My shot is in about 14 hours from now. Crazy that I have such quick & easy access. Pros of being an American) Thanks for contributing to the conversation everyone!(:

Let’s see, face my own death or sit around on YouTube all day listening to my favorite gurus... wonder which most people would pick?

I’ve recently come to a stark realization... I’m arrogant as fuck. My story starts off as many of ours did. I was a video game nerd with extreme social anxiety. I used to pay my friends to go get me food in school because I was too scared to even talk to a cashier. I lived on the whims of my emotions and had very little control over how I responded to situations. I lived a very destructive and devilish life. Safe to say I had a weak and underdeveloped ego. Roughly 10 years of personal development later, I now think I’m the hottest shit to walk planet Earth. I’ve been meditating consistently for the last 5 years. I’ve gotten into fasting. I’m an avid psychonaught. I’m very healthy physically & have a ripped physique. I have great relationships with my friends/family and have even actualization my life purpose. Some of my clients would even call me a expert in my field. I’m conscious enough to act humble to others on the outside and I have a certain level of awareness of my self deceptions & devilish ways. However, in my minds eye it’s still the wild wild West of shit talking and tomfoolery. I poo poo over every motherfucker that ain’t me. I break people down on a systems levels and see all the traps they’re falling into. I judge my elevated level of conscious as superior to those peasants who walk along in life asleep like the fat, lazy, devil sheep they are. Until it hit me.... Holy shit. I’ve closed off. I’ve become dogmatic. I’ve become the very thing I’m trying so hard to transcend. A DEVIL!!! This is obviously causing issues in my life. My intimate partner and I are having quarles over it. It’s hindering my growth in my professional field and it’s restricting my ability to move towards unconditional love. So dear reader... Please help. How do you avoid this pitfal of self centerdness? How do you escape the trapping of thinking the entire universe revolves around you? How do you remain humble while building the self up in the manner that we personal development junkies do? I’m frustrated with where I’m at and any advice, resources or other wisdom nuggets would be greatly appreciated.

@EddieEddie1995 I think focusing on more authenticity is a great place to start. Thanks bro(: ❤️

Great questions. I can definitely see my getting stuck in self concepts with all this... And thank you to everyone else for contributing to the conversation. Although now I’m even more confused... Should I be arrogant? Should I be self-centered? Should I be humble? Should I be self-less? Who is this “I” that is doing all this shoulding? Should I should? What the hell is going on. LOL. Fuck if I know.

@Snader thanks for the reply. I think the big issue is my lack of compassion. I’ve studied spiral dynamics and other developmental models. That’s actually one of the ways I “prove” my superiority to others to myself. By placing myself above them on the spiral. Which logically I know is a mistake but I do it nonetheless. I also appreciate the reminder not to be too harsh on myself. If I’m being real with you, my lack of compassion for others is probably a reflection of my lack of compassion for myself.

That spongebob pic cracked me up hahaha. Definitely been there. It’s a normal stage that you’re going through. Eventually you’ll care more about your authentic self expression than you care about fitting in or being “normal”. Journal about what it means to be “weird” vs to be “cool/normal”. Also, you might just be surprised how many other people are into “weird” shit once you speak openly & honestly about it

Do you identify as a psychopomp, shaman or the archetypal magician? To give a brief introduction to these three roles... “In Jungian psychology, the psychopomp is a mediator between the unconscious and conscious realms.” ”The Shaman is said to be walking with one foot in the every day world and with the other in the spirit world.” “All knowledge that takes special training to acquire is the province of the Magician energy. Whether you are an apprentice training to become a master electrician and unraveling the mysteries of high voltage; or a medical student, grinding away night and day, studying the secrets of the human body and using available technologies to help your patients; or a would-be stockbroker or a student of high finance; or a trainee in one of the psychoanalytic schools, you are in exactly the same position as the apprentice shaman or witch doctor in tribal societies.” Personally, I identify with all three of these roles and my suspicion is many of you do as well. A very intuitive and professional astrologer friend of mine brought up a very interesting point to me the other day. She said... “You’re a psychopomp. It’s who you are. You travel back and forth between the land of the living and the dead. You travel into the depths of the unconscious to bring back knowledge to the conscious world... you memory is poor isn’t it?” Shocked, I said “It is... it’s quite poor actually. I’ll often forget what I’m doing in the middle of a task. I’ll forget complete hour long conversations I’ve had with people. I can’t remember my mom’s birthday or age for the life of me. Hell, the other day I even forgot my address and had to look it up on Google maps.” So my question for you dear read is... how is your memory? Is this a common thing amongst us “seekers?” I’m sure I’m not the only one who identifies as a shaman, magician or psychopomp. So, for those other inquisitive souls whom swim through the murky depths of the subconscious... how is your memory? Do you struggle with this too? And what do you do to manage or even relieve said issue? Thanks for reading!(:

I had such bad social anxiety that I used to pay my friends to go buy me food because I was too scared to talk to a cashier. My story is that of the typical introverted video game nerd who rarely left his room growing up. You simply need more exposure. Start to look people in the eyes. Once you’re comfortable there then start to smile at people. Next, ask strangers how they’re doing. Continue progressing until you develop your social skill to your desired level. Today, I literally work with people for 8+ hours a day. I’m still an introvert and this can be a bit draining and even anxiety provoking at times but it’s about 1% of what it used to be. I’m quite confident approaching stranger and striking up a conversation with new people now. It’s just putting the reps in bro. You got this. Side Note: some of my favorite books that helped with this field are... How to win friends & influence people (Dale Carnegie) The way of the superior man (David Dieda) Cant hurt me (David Goggins) Social (Matthew Lieberman) That said, books won’t do shit for you if you don’t go out and talk to people on a regular basis. Go figure.

@EddieEddie1995 what nootropics would you suggest for better memory? I’ve also been playing with the idea of some of my memory issues being heavy metal poisoning. Specifically Mercury as I ate a ton of fish back when I was into bodybuilding hardcore. I only forget my address like 1/10 times but when I do it’s frustrating as fuck?

What a beautiful place to come from. Thank you for sharing

I learned there’s more important things in life than your dominating social dynamics, having financial abundance and having more sexual partners than others. I learned to stop comparing myself as better/worse than others and rather to be more compassionate, loving and forgiving to those around me. I say these things not in the cliche “there’s more to life than money maaaan” way but in the very visceral or experiential way. I moved up the spiral by embracing the feminine. (I’m naturally a very masculine and alpha type) I learned how to cry and express my emotions. (I was very blocked here and actually didn’t cry for years) I learned how to dance, sing, smile and enjoy the sensual aspects of life. I started caring about more than conquering the world and achieving all my goals. (Although these things are certainly still important to me) I use all the same values that stage orange has but from a tier two perspective. After years of consciousness work I self identify as heavily yellow and have been able to revisit all the value system of the tier one stages but from a more conscious and wholistic perspective. Put simply, if you want to move from orange to green... you need to learn to open your heart and feel.

Dope

Yes. No. Yes and no. Neither no nor yes. (:

Thanks for making this thread. Been following Leo & Frank for many years now and I’ve wondered similar things. Is “enlightenment” a permanent shift? What even is permanence? Are there really infinite degrees to awakening? Does it get more infinite than infinite? fuck if I know. Trying my best to kill these Buddhas and find out for myself tho

I do both. My daily journaling is done by hand but my studies and notes I log into my commonplace book are all digital.

I can’t tell a difference from LSD-25 and can confirmed I’ve had nothing but good experiences with it. I have no tried microdosing and am curious as to anyone’s experience/protocol for microdosing with 1cP

Describing what psychedelics are like to someone who’s never done them is like trying to describe what sex is like to a virgin. You’ve just gotta experience it for yourself. Go get your dick wet buddy.