WonderSeeker

I recommend watching this interview of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed running for US Senate. He's young, charismatic, and a great male role-model. He's intelligent, IQ-wise, and displays empathy for those in his community, both through his words and track-record. He is solid green and I'd dare to say has rays of yellow piercing through in the way he thinks about issues and problem-solving. While he still frames things in terms of corporations vs people (which is mostly accurate green framing on the topic of wealth concentration), it's worth noting he also goes into how he's derived his values and how many of them are principle-based. Plus he campaigns like a fuckin bull and when he wins his Senate seat, he will have earned it. The part I think many are missing though is he's not just running to be in Congress. If you pay attention to the way he's campaigning and what he's actually talking about, you can see 1) he's thought deeply about America and her problems, 2) he's painting a new, uniting philosophy that regrounds us in the Constitutional Framers' vision, but from our current vantage point, and 3) he actually knows how to market his vision to make it click into voters' realities (which has been a big downfall for 99% of democrats and progressives, post-Obama). In this very interview he talks about trying not to be ideological itself. Not that he's as good as a mystic at doing it, but it's a breath of fresh air to see a political candidate thinking more in the direction of truth while strongly rejecting corruption and bullshit every chance he gets. He's got a strong brand and an excellent vision behind it. Plus, he's got real swag. Like, REAL, alpha swag. You cant change a whole country with one person, much less do it overnight. But with Abdul I see something different. He goes meta and outside of the box in his thinking.

We don't want Schumer / Jefferies for Senate / House leadership, we want people who represent the values of the blue wave we just had (Sanders or Khana for Senate Majority Leader, for example). This is step 1 because if you get the wrong leadership you're fucked from the start. Everything will get watered down and nothing will get done. Corporate democrats are the minority now and that MUST be reflected in government.

And you know all of this how? My point is grounded in direct experience. How about yours? If yoga doesn't work for you, then just agree to disagree dude.

I approached 130 in Miami in 1 week on an SMC (formerly RSD) bootcamp in 2023. Also Scottsdale/Tempe, AZ (where I lived a solid 2 years). The rest were here and there, in small towns and big, at airports and mining camps. Lol. It doesn't always matter where as much as what excuses you give yourself. I personally don't approach anymore as I found it ineffective and it didn't agree with my personality. I go to social events now. What city are you moving to? Any city with a pop over 400,000 is probably fine. Even Saratoga, NY is a pop 100,000 city and there were tons of cool people there.

A risk is decisive action toward a personal desire in the face of incomplete understanding. —Yours Truly I'm 28. After having spent the last 4 years taking tons of risks far beyond my comfort zone, I can say the following. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. BUT... It's much easier to take risks in your 20s than in your 30s. And it's easier to do so in your 30s than in your 40s. And 40s than 50s. And so on. I know this from having chatted with dozens of men and women in their late 30s and beyond, when I was into pickup and when I was an Uber driver. Having children, settling in one location, aging parents, and other responsibilities all potentially make it challenging to take risks. Also, as you age you gain experience, regardless of whether you attempt to consciously accelerate your results at a young age so you can make room for self-actualization and spiritual realization. Therefore, the same risk for a 20-year old isn't as "risky" for a 30-year old in theory. The 30-year old should choose something he/she is more worthy of. ----- For me personally, I've moved cities 5 times and moved countries twice in the past 4 years. I've tried 8 different jobs, including commission based sales and my own online business. I've also approached over 400 women in a 2-year span, and spoken to 7,000+ people in general in a 4-year span. The businesses failed and I lost thousands of dollars (while already 60k in college debt). The first couple cities I moved to I absolutely hated. The women I dated were terrible matches that I should have known weren't right. But from that expansion and exploration I learned invaluable things about myself and the world. I was damned because I DID. And yet I would not dare go back and change any of it. ----- But... Here's the thing I don't get: How do you tell a wise risk from a fool's risk? I am done taking fool's risks because I am older and wise enough to see there's a difference. Yet, I don't know what that line actually is. I presume it's outcome-based, or probability based. Or maybe even gut-feeling based. (To be honest I'm speculating). Right now in my life I'm making steady progress. My income is solid and allowing me to pay off debts faster than ever. I'm creating increasingly honest relationships and friendships. And finally after moving around ever 6-12 months, I am living somewhere I could see myself for the next 3-5 years. All with more ease than the grinding risks I took before. Relative to the short-but-explosive progress I had in years past, this is more slow and stable. It feels more right and honest. But it is slow, and a part of me wants to take more risks — albeit intelligent ones — as I'm still very young and determined. How do you know the difference and is it best to build slow and steady safely rather than quick bursts? Relative to what I had before it's better. But slow too.

Much better, I appreciate this take. I'm gonna be transparent: I'm a New Yorker currently living in China. So, I watched this election from the outside. I don't consider myself a "fan" of Abdul because I hate the idea of treating politics like sports and politicians like celebrities. I think that's a childish way to orient oneself to this very serious sphere of reality. The reason I consider Abdul a role-model however, is because I'm currently working on my own character. There are things about my way of relating to society and people I'm not proud of, and so I'm looking to people who face society constantly and seeing which ones I resonate with the most. (I got this idea from Teal Swan in an interview she did on Instagram; she said to pick a male role model and to reverse engineer the principles of what make them great). For me my main role models are Peter Ralston, Abraham Lincoln, and Abdul (I deliberately chose him because he's young, brave, intelligent, well-spoken, strong, and has been a servant in his community. I want to emulate some of those qualities myself). Furthermore, I think he's a great role model in general relative to the MAGA 'comedian' hacks, podcast bros, and people like JD Vance. The right got an overwhelming majority of the vote from young men in 2024; for me young men are looking for answers in a messy world where social contracts are breaking down, and Abdul represents a better vision than what we got before. On the issue of cultural integration, that's something I haven't thought about all that much. Is that what Abdul talked about on the campaign trail? Just because the senator is Muslim doesn't mean he's gonna enact Muslim laws or make the culture Muslim (that was the fear-mongering we got from the opposing campaign, which I think I pure nonsense). You can tell me if I'm missing something but that's not what the campaign was about on paper. I know Europe is having trouble as they are receiving the brunt of Middle Eastern immigration with little integration. I'm not too familiar with the issue in it's full context but I will say too much a foreign populous in a new place too fast does spell trouble. But again, is Abdul calling for a migration to Michigan or putting Arabic all over the place? I want to know what you mean by your point. (For context, I'm a descendant of 1910s Middle East immigration fleeing genocide; had the U.S. not been an open society I wouldn't be typing this). As far as I know the issues he's mainly looking to deliver on are healthcare, ending the wars, and increasing wages. The question is will he channel his efforts into that. And who'll the congress be robust enough to get papers on the President's desk. And will those papers translate into new laws and systems that benefit people? Again, we will see. But this looks like a much better way forward than before. Even relative to previous democratic congresses (looking at the bigger picture: e.g., 2008, 2020). Once again, good response and I'm willing to continue and learn from this discussion in this fashion.

Upvote. I am like this as well. I spend a lot of time solo as a deep introvert but the truth is I want a solid group of like-minded people. How have you worked on this @mmKay? Personally I've moved to better cities with more like-minded people and create events to connect with each other in mutually beneficial ways. Upvote. People with relatively smooth childhoods are simply blind to the shadow aspect. They mostly know it as a concept, not a lived experience and a thing to work with. It's a real bias. But I don't know if Leo can realistically address it as authentically as he'd like. He has put out some videos on emotional mastery and a couple of deeper shadow work videos. I didn't find them as helpful as CPTSD books or letting-go courses; having that DEEP direct experience with it makes all the difference.

His Art of Seduction book was gold. Need to go back and start applying some of it more deeply as the part about a seduction being a long arc with different phases resonated with me (now I'm actually seeing one play-out in real time which I didn't expect). This new book sounds like it ought to be a hit. I'm more interested in going deeper with Conversations with God, Books 2-4 and Whereof One Cannot Speak by Peter Ralston over the coming months/years. As far as "spiritual" books go I'm quite picky and lean towards authors who frame it as Consciousness/God/Awakening.

Clearly you did not watch the interview. Here it is again. If you actually watched and listened closely to how he talked about his faith — from 16:24 to 16:50 — here's what you'd find. He spoke about it in trans-blue terms. Uplifting message. Nothing fundamentalist about it. It's also amusing and interesting that you cherry-picked the faith part when he didn't talk about it for 99.9% of his campaign. Really interesting. I'm not going to respond to you again after this because these aren't serious critiques. Spiral Dynamics works in a transcend/include fashion. Once you go beyond blue it doesn't mean you can never talk about faith again any more than going beyond the first grade means you will never do 2+2 again.

Is this a joke? Blue?? Also, I said he was green.

What you said in bold was word for word what some Fox host said (3:03-3:09). Not saying you're wrong though. In the last debate I felt he was a bit over-aggressive. What actually matters is deliverence. What will he do in the Senate? Can he be a good strategist and accomplish things?

I've had some great experiences with western yoga. What's it overrated relative to? When you do it with friends, focus on body-awareness and the breath, and it's a quality studio with skilled instructors it can produce all kinds of benefits.

Great post. In the US we need another FDR-type guy. Hopefully there doesn't need to be a crisis to get one, but knowing human nature there might need to be.

The more conscious I become the harder it is to read up on tips and tricks. My mind/brain doesn't really work that way anymore. The present moment and different life experiences are teaching me a lot more about what I need to know. So I take it back. For some, perhaps learning habit setting is fantastic. I went through that phase 6 years ago. Now, it's all about slicing through reality to get to the truth. Book Of Not-Knowing is one of the top 5 sharpest knives I've found so far. His book Pursuing Consciousness is also a gem. But yeah, you're on the right track with the way you think about it. I'd say my natural inclination is to go for the mystical and use LOA to fire up the grill of desire and let the strategy play out naturally from the practice I've had from previous years of personal development training. If you catch my drift Lord~

Ladies and gentlemen: You love to see it.

Amen. Somehow raging about Repubs became more popular than generating momentum with good Dems, even in this forum. Drama is clickbait. It's a distraction. The real gold is recognizing we are seeing a generational talent and throwing everything behind him instead of worrying about the orange clown talking about men's asses at his rallies.

This was the one Leo posted though

You literally have a dog in your profile picture... I thought this was your dog! Imo pets are like having children. Growing up my parents always had cats. So, we had cats in the house and it was always a joy. However, being more conscious now I would have spent less time picking them up and playing rough games with them. Animals are sacred and need to be treated with care and respect just as you would your beloved. When you get one, try to understand the world from their paws. The animal will sense you are doing this and open up to you in the most beautiful ways. I experienced this with my parents cats when I'd come home from college for vacation after having done some meditation or psychedelic work. The animals would be so open and natural (versus treating them as property).

Personally, when I look at the most mainstream self-help books, I always say "gee, that might make a good doorstop!" Why read this when I could have read just a quarter of the Book of Not-Knowing? I'd be wasting my time. After reading over 100 books, I will take a higher book every time, not something that's loaded with BS tips and tricks that flood the mid with shit

Letting go is so next-level. If you actually follow the right protocol with the right guidence, you'll think it's almost as good as psychedelics. Not in the crazy, insightful mind-blowing kind of way. But in the self-kniwing, the self-loving, and in the breaking down with tears and forgiveness kid of way, for example. All of which notice, you can get on psychedelics too. Personally I've used Julian Blanc's program which is based on David Hawkin's Letting Go book and consultations with Teal Swan (and possibly others). The program and it's meditations kicked some ass for me and I still use it over a year later. Letting Go helps clean up your shadow so you can develop with less friction and internal demons getting in the way. You let go of your commitment to fighting the demons and become one with them so you can all run together like a speed-trwin to ever-higher consciousness. Without letting go my progress in spirituality would be tainted with shit stains upon shit stains. Ken Wilber said shadow work is mandatory. To float up to the next level you gotta lose dead-weight and letting go does that for you. I digress...

My parents nearly got me tested for autism as a child. Years ago I asked my mom why she never did it. She told me "it just didn't feel right, I didn't believe you needed it." I'm not autistic, but I am introverted as fuck. Which is why I moved to an introverted society after developing my extroversion skills for 3 years straight in America. Now I can be an introvert and still have social results without doing jack. This test made me laugh several times because as I was taking it I knew which answers implied which side (autism vs non-) and I had to make myself still answer truthfully. My ability to read people down to their moment-by-moment emotions probably saved me. 15 years ago I couldn't make eye contact, but that was due to trauma. Autism is supposed to be more a built-in thing. Never assume you have it unless you get tested and put yourself out there if you're an introvert and never have. We all need some baseline loving, physical touch, etc., etc.

Last time I checked this is happening in October. Curious to hear from the attendees on what it's like post-retreat.

The other night I had a dream that I got flushed down a toilet. Visually, I saw myself flowing through these shiny, meandering chrome pipes. Feeling-wise it was extremely intense, like the pressure of the Mariana trench, right in the plumbing of your toilet. I could literally hear the sound of the water and me pushing against the insides of the pipes like the whole system was getting ready to burst. The process all happened in an instant. Yet somehow, it felt like it lasted forever. The second I woke up, millions of atmospheres of pressure evaporated and I felt amazing relief in my body. If you ever wanted to know how the journey of a human shit in modern toilets feels, you have your answer. The message this dream is sending is that life today can feel like a lot of pressure. Therefore it's important to create space and time to deliberately take that pressure off, like a bad outfit.

I would love a mature/conscious girlfriend like you @Miguel1, but it's a lot to ask from people. You'd probably have to approach 1 million women to find 1 that's doing this stuff, because that's how rare this journey is. I'm kind of in between. I mainly just want a girlfriend who is real enough and is willing to put up with some of the compromises the spiritual mission I'm on requires from her. She won't necessarily come with me on the soul journey, but she can come with me physically, and we can enjoy human companionship. I think it makes no sense to throw out dating 100% because that's an important thing to keep as you progress through life (transcend and include the human).

You may be a masochist. Now there's an idea!