Spiritual Warfare

As a citizen of a liberal democracy, I believe we should strive to accommodate all perspectives. The persecution, segregation, isolation, and abuse of those who are different is wrong. However, only the persecution, segregation, isolation, and abuse of those who are benevolently or neutrally different is wrong. It is not bigotry to apply these measures to those who are malignantly different, such as psychopaths or rapists. Therefore, I believe that we can only accommodate LGBT people to a certain extent. In the past, LGBT people have been systemically oppressed, but I think we are beginning to see the end of this de jure oppression. I believe that for some, their LGBT difference is viewed as an entitlement to special treatment. Being a liberal democracy means treating everyone equally, which means that the LGBT community does not deserve special treatment. This is partly why I generally don’t support gay pride events in areas that aren’t strongly against the LGBT community. Because of this, I believe that regarding the restroom controversy, no changes are necessary. We do not need to create new restrooms for transgender or homosexual individuals solely because they may feel uncomfortable. First, the cost of creating these bathrooms would be enormous. Second, if we allow transgender individuals to enter the bathroom of the opposite sex, what we gain in apparent equality for gender and sexual identity, we lose in terms of public safety. Public safety is more important. A man could pretend to be transgender, enter a women’s restroom, and commit assault. Therefore, I believe that ignoring the public safety risks of assault and rape in favor of gender and sexual orientation equality specifically treats LGBT people with undue preference, granting them more attention than necessary. Will some people feel uncomfortable using a restroom that does not align with their gender identity? Yes. Is this discomfort a necessary trade-off to help prevent assault? Yes. If any change needs to be made, it should involve the labeling of restrooms. Instead of labeling them as men’s and women’s rooms, they could be labeled as male and female rooms, as gender is not identical to sex.

How can psychedelic experiences lead to ego death? People who have physically died have never returned to their human form, so why do some consider ego death to be a ‘real’ form of death?

We live in a parasitic world governed by a predator-prey dynamic, where every living being must take the life of another conscious being to survive. This reality seems inherently designed for misery and suffering, often referred to as “LOOSH.” What kind of mind would intentionally create a reality like this?

Imagine living your current life in exactly the same way, but without experiencing any pleasure. Would that life still be worth living? I’ve been reflecting deeply on this question lately, as the way I choose to answer it seems to either affirm or deny whether I am a hedonist. To answer no would mean accepting that the only thing making my life worth living is the (admittedly rare) pleasure I experience. It would imply that things like relationships, significance or meaning (whatever that entails), and abstract values like justice or truth are worthless without the good feelings that accompany them. It would suggest that loving relationships with family, for example, only hold value insofar as they provide me with personal pleasure. To answer yes would deny the truth of hedonism and affirm that something other than pleasure gives my life value. I find it hard to identify what that “something” might be. And herein lies the problem. I honestly cannot think of anything valuable in this world apart from pleasure or positive experiences. I’m starting to believe that pleasure is the sole source of value in life. This realization depresses me somewhat. Pleasure, in the grand scheme of things, feels insignificant and fleeting. You’re born, you experience some pleasure, and then you die. So what? You can’t hold onto pleasure or take it anywhere with you. Most “pleasurable” experiences are overshadowed or at least tinged by suffering. Take an amazing sunset, for example. While it may fill you with awe, there’s always the awareness that it will end soon or that you might be hungry, uncomfortable, or dealing with some other unmet need. Suffering seems to be ever-present in the background or even the foreground of most experiences. If pleasure is truly the only thing that makes life worth living, then life starts to feel less significant or meaningful. Why endure nearly constant suffering for the sake of a few fleeting moments of pleasure? Once those moments are felt, they’re gone. So, where does this leave me? I think the solution lies in one of two approaches. The first is to discover something in this world that holds value beyond pleasure or positive sensations. The second is to fully embrace the pursuit of pleasure, learning to find genuine excitement in the potential to experience it. This would mean wholeheartedly adopting a hedonistic mindset, becoming passionate about seeking out and planning for pleasurable experiences, and living in constant pursuit of the next positive sensation. But I’m unsure which path to take. What is actually valuable in life? Why live at all? And if my life were stripped of pleasure, would it still feel worth living? How I answer this question reveals so much about my values. Am I a hedonist after all?

I hope that day never comes.

Right, so when you hit a milestone, it’s all divine intervention, but when you stub your toe on the coffee table, that’s God’s way of keeping you humble? Seems like the ‘plan’ involves a lot of clumsiness.

Leo does an amazing job of explaining things. Logic is a fantastic tool when you know how to use it effectively and share it with others in a way that resonates with them.

Gender is not the same as sex. A person can be male, female, hermaphroditic, or asexual. Sex is an important distinguishing factor for many occupations since a five foot one hundred pound female cannot be expected to be a Navy SEAL or provide adequate CPR, for example. I do believe that in terms of employment flexibility males have an advantage as they can simply do more with their size and strength. But rather than getting worked up over who is what and what is legitimate, we should just eliminate gender entirely. Enough of all this “gender-fluidity” nonsense. If you want to identify as a man, a woman, transgender, or even a tree, then go ahead and identify as whatever you want. No one should care that much and we shouldn’t try to label everyone. Gender has become a symptom of “special snowflake syndrome” so just eliminate it altogether and call yourself a human being who has certain genitalia. I feel this would reduce confusion and drama, leading to a much more open society in which no one is assigned roles or uses labels as reactionary devices.

🌟

Good, I can’t wait to come home.

I love being skeptical.

Existence

Help me

I have actually lost hope in humanity. I want to see change, but unfortunately, I can’t envision it, even though I wish I could.

Hmmmmmm…

Do you think that selfishness can ever completely cease, or is it just a fantasy that will never come to fruition? If it were to happen, it would be impressive, as we humans have so many flaws, but it is still worth considering that possibility.

👍

What if there could be a way for life to expand and evolve without needing to take from others? Maybe there’s a different kind of growth that isn’t based on a cycle of predation, something that allows for both expansion and harmony.

I can’t help but wonder if this cycle of consumption and suffering is the only way life has to work. Is it possible for life to exist without coming at the expense of other life? Perhaps we’ve been conditioned to see the world this way, but is there a possibility of a different form of existence that doesn’t rely on this constant predator-prey dynamic? What I’m getting at is whether it’s possible for human prosperity or any form of life to evolve beyond this pattern. If so, what would that look like? Could it mean a new kind of harmony, where everything can exist without the need to sacrifice something else?

Interesting one. It makes me wonder though, is it possible for life to exist in harmony without the need for consumption and sacrifice? Could there be a way to experience true fulfillment and growth without the cycle of predation? What if grace and joy could flow without the need for something to always be consumed?

Amen

I get what you’re saying about opposites creating each other, like hot and cold or light and dark. But I still wonder if that’s the only way reality works, or if it’s just how we’ve learned to see things. Maybe we’ve been conditioned to believe that one thing has to exist because of its opposite. What if joy, peace, and fulfillment could just exist on their own, without needing suffering to balance them out? Maybe we’re limiting ourselves by assuming that opposites are necessary for things to make sense. Do you think it’s possible that there could be another kind of balance, one where extremes aren’t required?

it’s hard to imagine how we would create “epic wonderment” without first understanding why we’re caught in a system like this. Do you have any examples of how one might begin to let go of the ego’s grip and move towards that state?

Why does reality have to rely on this constant push and pull between opposites? Isn’t it possible to imagine a world where joy, peace, and fulfillment exist on their own without needing suffering as a contrast? The idea that suffering is necessary for pleasure feels more like a way of justifying something we’ve been conditioned to accept rather than a truth that couldn’t be different.

But my question is about something far deeper than just the language we use. Suffering doesn’t vanish simply because we refuse to acknowledge it. It’s still there, woven into the very fabric of life between predator and prey, in human relationships, and even within our own minds. What I’m questioning is the very nature of this design. Why does this system exist? What kind of consciousness would create a reality so deeply rooted in pain and predation? For me, this isn’t a question that can be solved by silence or avoiding certain words. It’s about searching for meaning in something that often feels senseless.