BlueOak

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Everything posted by BlueOak

  1. Before I was vegan I barely had any conscious thoughts of animals. I was shoving fast food down my gut every week. For me at least it created a profound shift in awareness. It brought one of the biggest jumps in enlightenment i've had. Both towards my body awareness, diet and animals right down to insects. @PurpleTree Grain + vegetables can be delicious when cooked well with the right sauces. Your cravings come from what you are used to eating. Its a biological reaction that changes.
  2. Now on to Sri Lanka and 'ports' or moving into Africa more broadly. https://theconversation.com/why-china-is-seeking-greater-presence-in-africa-the-strategy-behind-its-financial-deals-238468 or https://nationalinterest.org/feature/takeover-trap-why-imperialist-china-invading-africa-66421 This is perhaps where I have the most problem with everyone say Imperialism, 'what'? Ports and airbases allowing access into Africa and the Middle East is exactly how imperialism is conducted. It's how a trading empire is formed. The replacement of the dollar by a currency BRICS control is the same s*** different day. You think these people are somehow more enlightened and not driven by the exact same 6 human needs we all are? Someone threatens those ports or the resulting resources, and we have a war over it. That's EXACTLY WHAT THE US or EUROPE DOES. They don't go to war because they just feel like it one day. Is it because China has a better image? And isn't as bad as the other guys, because they've only genocided a couple of cultures in the last century? To All: Stop gaslighting and just own it. *I didn't even touch on Myanmar and how when that has a coup with a significant Chinese population, nobody bats an eye. If that were anywhere near a western power every accusation under the sun would be flying.
  3. As you asked, try to broaden the discussion a bit beyond: 'America bad'. Because yes America bad. @Bobby_2021 Chinese Imperialism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_imperialism East Turkestan or Xinjiang Conflict: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_conflict Which then followed the genocide of the local population: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Uyghurs_in_China Including the use of Xinjiang internment camps Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Tibet_by_the_People's_Republic_of_China Which has led to the erosion of Tibetan culture. https://www.dw.com/en/exiled-leader-says-china-is-erasing-tibetan-culture/a-67659867 or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinicization_of_Tibet This is how China slowly moves its borders outward and then wants more until it hits another power stopping it. Belt and Road initiative: Belt and Road Initiative § Accusations of neocolonialism and Debt-trap diplomacy Jeffrey Reeves argues that since 2012, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping has demonstrated "a concerted imperialist policy" towards its developing neighbor states to the south and west, especially Mongolia,[ Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. This is associated with criticism of debt trap diplomacy. East China Sea disputes Further information: East China Sea EEZ disputes With the 1978 Chinese economic reform launched by Deng Xiaoping, China has increased its political stance, its influence and its power abroad. China has increased its influence, while using military and economic wealth and claims to island territories that have caused anxiety in neighbors to the east, such as the Philippines and Japan. South China Sea disputes Further information: Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Nine-dash line The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims of China and the claims of several neighboring sovereign states in the region, namely Brunei, the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The disputes are over islands, reefs, banks, and other features in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin, and the waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands. The main point of criticism is that the PRC is building artificial islands to extend its claims into other nations' territorial waters and militarizing the islands. Chinese salami-slicing strategy and cabbage tactics describe the way the PRC has used small provocations to increase its strategic position.
  4. Love Egos. Love is a lower state of consciousness. Someone said it simply. You are everything, including these things. Including everything out there you've ever labelled bad or negative.
  5. There is a radical shift psychologically toward a subject when something is food or not.
  6. @zazen When you talk about all sides worried about their security having reasons to fight or invade 'defensively' (this term is an oxymoron), you are in essence talking about a broader or continuous war in the future. I could agree with your premise but then I am blindly following that course. Because borders will shift, they are not static, so the problem cycles back around. In my view you are also saying its fine to fight these wars with anyone when they are viewed through the lens of preserving the status quo of the state. Anyone can use this justification for almost anything. Yes, lots of people you hate and I also resisted said the exact same thing. I wish I could shake some people in this thread but I can't. I have to watch intelligent, often caring people, twist themselves in knots to 1) Recreate the definition of imperialism or ignore its aspects, like Wagner or any mercenary group in Africa or funding arms, that don't fit neatly into the current world dynamic. 2) Don't factor in spheres of influence; shifting never ends, so they are arguing for perpetual war. 3) Will react negatively when another country does what Russia is doing but justifies it for them. - That's almost everyone here, even leo. Unless we are going to say all three bordering powers in Syria are fine just carving it up. I have and will always criticise the use of force on a state level as a justification for invading another country. Buffer zones seem to be accepted now as the norm, okay well when Russia's western or eastern oblasts rebel I'll just respond with that also. Its so short-sighted when applied universally.
  7. Its also interesting that people forget Russia has spent as much time fighting in Africa and arming regimes this last century as anyone. Their biggest loss in Syria was the airfield and ports to project that power overseas. The Middle east have been something they've influenced for a hundred years, and now China's getting involved in Sri Lanka or building a trading empire in Uruguay. If that's not imperialism then I don't know what is. I also feel every time a democratic coup happens people point fingers, but nobody does it in reverse. It's amusing the hypocrisy I read every day.
  8. @zazen While I agree clarification is helpful, imperialism only needs clarification because its problematic for the current direction the world is moving in, and so people want more room to manoeuvre their latest justifications for violence. In previous centuries when other powers were judged, that definition was fit for purpose. Do you think 1,000 years from now people won't be looking back at it all as barbaric just the same? You are disconnecting things that are naturally connected. Survival leads to security, which leads to wealth and eventually power. Its all one and the same. There is nothing keeping that power in check but other powers. No moral structure which cannot be bent, twisted, or ignored in the pursuit of it. Because all it takes is any one of millions of decisions, from millions of people enacted in policy at the expense of another country or local cultures, building up over time to create that imbalance. Russia frequently takes from its poorer minorities and gives to the Muscovite regions as an example, or just takes over their land ownership. As well as providing security or a buffer, the Ukranian regions are rich in food, ports and resources; where Turkey sits, it becomes the center of the world in a non-globalised reality, and Russia wants direct access or eventually control over much of it. It also wants manpower, because it lacks it and shorter more defensible borders to guard along the coasts and mountain ranges. A war is a war. Defence can be argued to be anything and is frequently argued by those you hate to be why they do what they do. Its been used as the justification for most wars for millennia. So if Europe go to war with Russia over them meddling in Poland and Romania I’ll turn around to you and say Europe is defending its eastern flank from Russia overthrowing their governments. Then people will argue whose sphere it is in. If Russia owns Ukraine you or someone with your view will argue its on their doorstep, and thus justified. Over any length of time where borders or spheres shift, it's all nonsensical, and I really wish that could be agreed upon, but we're still having to go over this, with you or others threading needles to tell me violence on any large scale has any justification whatsoever. People the world over need to handle their own insecurities and resource or security challenges via cooperation and not force. - That means every country. No ifs buts or why nots. It means everyone reading this eats their hatred of the other and does what they can to stop it. China keep expanding their borders, BTW, eradicating problematic cultures or absorbing them. I think it was you who asked me for a list of Chinese wars or atrocities last time? I can list them here if that helps. They have African ambitions for resources, and in the South China Sea, they want to replace the dollar in a trading empire. It’s the same pattern that any power wants to emulate until they meet a force or resistance to it.
  9. That's all anyone ever does. Extend their sphere of influence outward until they can't anymore. All you are saying to me is the proximity makes it less imperialist. Russia is an empire of cultures and provinces, and its trying to extend it. Thus the problem will always be 'close' to hand and never ending. I think England invading ireland or scotland for example was extremely imperialist, and that distance is closer than what we are talking about. It makes little odds where in the world someone is fighting to conquer, only that they are doing it for the people involved. Once Russia gets X country they will push for Y just like everyone else does, its what they've been doing since the 90s and centuries before that. So let's be generous and say 20 years go by, Russia absorbs another culture just like @Scholar says, then considers the land 'Russian' and keeps going again. I think the problem I have with Han and Muscovite cultures specifically is they like to absorb other cultures into themselves (or eradicate 'problematic' cultures in the latter case), thus creating a never-ending problem. The Definition of Imperialism might help: Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism focuses on establishing or maintaining hegemony and a more or less formal empire.[3][4][5] While related to the concept of colonialism, imperialism is a distinct concept that can apply to other forms of expansion and many forms of government.[6]
  10. 1) Without replying USA to me. How can you say Russia isn't imperialist when it has fought 8 wars to rebuild and reconquer former USSR territories? 2) Your mind believes that wars with neighbours over land or influencing spheres are more morally justified than wars over oil or trade. Why? @zazen
  11. @Nilsi I'll drop you a pm as this can take between a couple of sentences or several days to get across to someone, and so not to spam the forum, if any coders want to get in contact feel free to reach out.
  12. Is Freelancer, Upwork, Linkedin, Jobber, networking, Consultants and Cold Calling really the only way to find business-to-business contracts? Its mindboggling to me. I almost registered for https://www.b2bquotetenders.co.uk/ till I realised, no, its just another public contract portal. There has to be a better way. I'm looking for marketing, sales, customer service, surveys, lead generation, complaints, debt recovery etc. Anything over the phone or related to it. Preferably with access to reverse bid on them, that is to offer them a price/service for what they need.
  13. Its about numbers. If you walk around in a city you see more women. If you work in customer service you meet more women. If you work outside or travel around more in your job you meet more women. All it usually is about is meeting plenty of women and talking to them. In a rural area this means you meet less people. I have direct experience of both types of locations as well as working in customer service vs a factory or small office for example. I don't buy that anyone in life can't find a woman, its just meeting enough of them.
  14. Some people live in the middle of nowhere. Its is objectively harder to meet women in person in a rural area, especially where transport is limited. I know, i've done it. i remember as a kid, when a single girl moved into our village she usually got swarmed with teenage boys and had a boyfriend by the end of the week. Its also why most of my relationships were distance. Meeting women in a city is easy by comparison of my time in them.
  15. I'll see if this lands a synchronicity. Are any coders interested in partnering with us to make a contracts portal for a percentage? I have some hobbyist knowledge, but honestly, I was just going to save up and drop some money on this, because I don't understand coding databases well enough to pull it off. My business partner is sales focused and nobody else I am looking at recruiting to the team is good at the technical side.
  16. @Nilsi Well put. That will definitely come, I can talk to anyone, but developing the skills to do it effectively as you do takes work and time. Its time I can dedicate a certain amount of and will week to week. Talking about gatekeepers, I am not asking for any specifics just a yes or no to this: Do you have access to gated portals where actual B2B contracts are bought and sold. Because I was told they exist, but so far I haven't found a trace other than vague Chat GPT references to places that don't exist anymore, and companies folded or not running the same service.
  17. @Leo Gura Understood, I'll keep that in mind in my posts and apologise for any flak i've sent your way in previous posts. Now I just need that for yellow lol :D, some way to get off models, patterns, and out of my head more.
  18. Fair point. On an individual level. On a collectively level though: Am I misguided to think not everyone is capable of this? And so to some, this is exactly where they are meant to be for this lifetime, or with the right conditions can anyone progress past green? If people cannot, then the energy they have would be better integrated and put to purpose rather than resisted and pushed into opposition. I understand some of that purpose is to highlight it as simplistic, while the rest is a collective drive for the change to occur. I am well aware of all the problems with relying on a moral compass that is imaginary, and how far into fantasy it can take us. I don't even need to see another tyt video to understand that's half of the message.
  19. Deep but not hard to understand. Let's do a few of them which cross most cultures existing today: 1) Instant Gratification. I want I take. Is a primary reason the world is as bad as it is. While it is natural to meet someone's needs, the speed at which this is demanded does fuel development, at the cost of pressure and stress on the global system. Its certainly going to get worse with gen z. While they are less money-focused, they have even weaker attention spans or resistance to instant gratification. I have seen some signs this is improving, but not much. 2) Different is resisted. Again it is natural to resist something outside of conscious reality, but the level of division is higher now. Contrast and uncertainty are feared more than at other periods in my lifetime, and by more people. This is somewhat influenced by diet and the resulting anxiety of chemical imbalances like sugar and poorer health generally affecting the body/mind. It is also the changing global circumstances, and saturation of media for money needing sensationalism (also reduced attention spans). 3) The Rich are hated more when things are hard. This is a theme throughout history. The more someone's survival is threatened, the less someone with 8 houses, 8 cars and a 500-pound boat is tolerated. The Rich are also able to sit on passive income streams once again in feudal top-down internet domains, making them more isolated; this is one of the biggest non-talked-about points in the inheritance debate. Wealth staying in websites, for example, means the rich kid never even needs to leave his home to see the working man or the real world, creating friction, disconnect, and frankly stupid choices on the part of the elites. See Hollywood for many great examples or almost all large corporations these days, whose workers loathe them. Finally a note on progressives. That's their place leo. Their place is to push against the wall to move it an inch. Your constant denigration of that shows a lack of understanding on your part of their place in the collective. Sure people can be more effective in changing something, if they are capable of it, not everyone is. To constantly put down the populist left is to push it all to the right, but you and most others still haven't learned it.
  20. You are taking slightly more control over your reality by relaxing a rigid structure of understanding, and letting yourself form different conclusions about your life. 1, You are deciding to feel depressed when something is bad 2, You are deciding what is bad. 3, You are deciding what madness is. 4, You are deciding madness would result from an action The real world is spiritual. Physical/Spiritual. It's all the same thing.
  21. Summary of the below: Personally I would see it as a cause for growth and move out. I would remain open to talking to my family and if I lived in a particularly religious community I would keep up with advanced metaphysical studies on religious texts, and use that as a vehicle for my own development but also to meet any questions or queries with something that will open up their own minds, while preserving my own standing in that community. Let's look at this from a few perspectives. 1, Why do you consider religion to be a lie? Its no more a lie than me looking at a tree and saying tree, or your avatar and saying Sandhu. Sure the way religion is taught in your average church is somewhat limited but it can create a code of conduct to live a life by and harmonise a community if that community is able to be harmonised. If you want to consider religion beneficial for a moment, you could flip this and look at its communal aspect. If you want to take it as a vessel for enlightenment, there are scholars of the bible for example that have delved quite far into its metaphysical aspects, I haven't looked into it much but I assume for your family's religion the same exists. 2, Another perspective would be, to move out now and things are usually easier with distance. 3, You are experiencing a contrast, and to achieve what you seem to want, to stay living with your family, while pursuing some conscious development, this is what that contrast feels like. 4, You could alter the belief around the word lie. I indicated this a bit above. Recently, i've had to relax my own definition of the word lie, to allow for people to manoeuvre a bit more freely in their interactions with me. 5, Consider that you are not the only one that visits a place of worship and doesn't go for anything else but appearances and for other reasons (such as community/family), this may make doing so easier.
  22. A very long time ago I said to a Tony Robbins coach, if you are so sure your program works, I'll take it, give it my all, and give you a (small) percentage of my new business rather than the fee. They laughed. There are no guarantees but yourself, your ability to strategize, adapt and your own work ethic. If you are very lucky a good team along the way. If you have a mind that can listen for at least 30 mins a time, and Spotify premium, try this: https://open.spotify.com/album/3hJgMDAwSyAODOhsP2kvUg
  23. Always and forever you. It would depend on your own evolution and what you could do with, connect with, empathize with or work with. How people had reinforced that within the collective and what biases you'd picked up along the way. I've said this about religion and stage blue often, religion can be tribal or it could be enlightened depending on the observer, individual subjects are more collectively fixed in the model than individually designated. (Hence the collective bias within the model and people's individuality kicking back) Nevertheless, it's much easier for me to tell you that the sour one is sour and the sweet one is sweet.
  24. I am 44. I agree you can slowly make the workspace, those you interact with, and your mind more stable. There are a lot of pros to getting older, you are more used to and comfortable with how you work, and your mind has expanded if you've taken the time to do so and kept it open. I notice a lot of anxiety in those younger than me or at least more uncertainty within themselves, if you've worked through that it no longer plagues you nearly as much. You can learn things like failure is just a teacher, etc rather than a jailor. For me, it's the other variables we pick up along the way. Injuries that harm exercise or create a lack of exercise take you out of peak performance. Right now I am skipping running today because I got 4 hours sleep. Dietary issues cause other body issues, or just general illnesses and considerations you pick up along the way. Sleeping difficulties are more prominent. I've realised how many people have them after dealing with insomnia again for another two months. Mounting stress due to things like family issues, deaths, illness, kids, and heavier workloads. More financial obligations often make changing course in thinking or life more difficult. Greater contrast between your reality and the younger global collective. Loss of people that help frame reality in the way you are accustomed to operating in. Yes, you can always just watch or interact with the next person, but there is a certain random chance at finding another connection irl or even online that fills that void, and of course grief or reflection on what was. To name a few, I am tired again, so the brain isn't working at full capacity, but that's my point. Unless you contemplate the difference, you can accept the reality you are currently in as being as fast as you were when you were 20, but it is not. I talk too quickly for most people, but I realise I am operating in a dull mental space again due to fatigue. I also realise I resist a lot of new patterns that I am not accustomed to, but I catch this and take a day to think about them.