PetarKa

Why is it obligatory? If you teach a person who is new to these ideas that it is obligatory, I find that the person will fall into a trap - a trap of moralization and Stage Blue thinking. I can confirm this from my own experience - when I started watching Actualized.org I felt forced to do this and ended up doing the practices in superficial way. I wanted just to put a check-mark on them and failed to grasp the depth of the practices. I can understand saying that this process is healthy / deep / profound / satisfying. But that it is mandatory - I strongly disagree. Some people will refuse (fully consciously) this path altogether and go about their way of life. Whether they'll be satisfied afterward is another question. I agree. They are just labels. But they are also labels which are the whole foundation of this whole endeavor, labels which are used constantly as part of this process. For me it has been helpful to re-frame the concepts. Perhaps they resonate with me more. For others it might be no big deal. Though my hope is that some people will be inspired to adapt the model according to their own experience in a more helpful way. It's also good to ask questions like this and not blindly adopt a model. Maslow himself wrote that his hope is for other people to further develop this model into a more rich, holistic one.

From the start I have found the term 'self-actualization' and the 'upward pyramid of needs' deficient. Let me explain. Both terms indicate that this process of 'actualization' is obligatory. It is what you NEED to be doing with your life. It is competitive - the 'best stuff' is at the TOP of the pyramid. Like climbing a mountain. These terms (at least for me) create a pressure to reach the top - otherwise you won't be happy or satisfied. Furthermore, the 'self' in 'self-actualization' implies focusing on the self only, which creates a dualism of life from the start. In the later stages of the model it becomes irrelevant whether you are actualizing 'the self' or 'the life'. I suggest an alternative term: "expansion / exploration of life-depth" (not the best name, if someone has an alternative, please share it) and instead of an upward pyramid a "downward pyramid of needs". The most superficial needs will be at the top and everyone is familiar with them. Like a lake where anyone can see the surface, but as you look down, it becomes more difficult to discern what's at the bottom. It is a process of exploration, rather than a process of achievement. It also accurately describes the basic needs as more shallow and the more developed needs as deeper and richer. Hope to hear your ideas.

This book for has been amazing! It challenges all of the assumptions in the self-help circles about career advice - namely the advice "You must hyper-specialize. You must start practicing in ONE THING as early as possible." After reading this book it's actually hard to believe this advice anymore. The book has MANY examples, studies, anecdotal stories which support the author's claims. I loved that this book is very nuanced. It's not even very long, yet the message is clear. Honestly, I think this book is Stage Yellow GOLD. Very satisfied! Here's my review on Goodreads about this book: Here's the amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=range&qid=1595110369&sr=8-1

@Mr Being What I most enjoyed from this video were the meta-lessons and the way to approach the problem. The fact that he's even asking the question about creating a new political model is in itself progress. I also think his model is still a very limited model, though it has some valuable insights. @Jacobsrw I also disliked his use of materialism in this case. Though I think the main point he was trying to put across was "People will have those political ideologies which will support their existence, their survival, and more importantly the survival and success of their class". I found this to be illuminating.

It's good to go meta

The points I outlined were my personal issues and difficulties with Leo's material. I should clear up that I really appreciate this content and it has dramatically changed my trajectory in life. However there will always be things to improve upon, and my hope with this post was to bootstrap this process of improvement and to give feedback to the creator (Leo) and also to point out the traps I have fallen into while following this channel so that others can use what I've learned for themselves. Because this type of community and this type of content are very rare, the way they are structured and formatted right now is still in it's infancy. I find that this type of feedback and critical conversations are essential for progressing the community and the channel. I encourage others to also share their views and how Actualized.org and this community can improve. P.S. I'm sorry if I couldn't respond to everyone, but that would make my post too long.

*Posted this on Leo's video "Cult Psychology - Part 1 - How Cults Work"* Criticism on Actualized.org: 1. Actualized.org's content is structured in a way which makes it so that you NEED to watch every video to understand the later topics. To a point I get that this is necessary - you build on previous ideas so that you don't have to repeat yourself. But there is also a problem with this which needs to be acknowledged and that is the this: You are forced to accept Leo's model as a whole PACKAGE, which makes it difficult to be analytical and pick & choose the good apples as opposed to the bad / mediocre / not-appropriate-for-the-specific-person apples. I know that you encourage people to be open-minded and use many different perspectives and our own experience to get the most out of this type of work. If this is a principle you value, I believe you should emphasize in your videos that this is an issue we should be aware of and you should even give ways and suggestions to the viewers on how to mitigate this issue. 2. The INSPIRING SPEECH you give at the end of each video has problems. I can speak for myself mainly, but these speeches were useful for me at the beginning for reeling me in - but they also made me dogmatic and over-emotional about this whole field of work (self-actualization). This has resulted in emotional turmoil within me and for a while I abandoned Actualized.org mainly because of this. Now I always skip that speech at the end because I think I would do myself more harm than good if I get sucked into the "fairy tale" represented (in a way that's what is really is). It speaks to the childish unwise and hasty side in you and this is a problem in the long run. I don't have a concrete suggestion about how to fix this, but a more mature way of "inspiration" is needed. Though I'm not sure if it's really needed at all. If these issues are solved, Actualized.org will become that much more non-cult-like. I hope this criticism is useful.

An excerpt from my insight journal: "The Placebo Effect" is terribly misunderstood and carries a lot of limiting baggage with it. It's astounding how Stage Orange abuses the term. Much important subtlety and profundity is simply stripped away - what you're left with is a toy version of the original..." Explanation: Most people today think of the placebo effect as "an illusion" people do using their psyche, like a mental "trick". I've come to the insight that this is not a mere "trick / illusion". Your mind creates a new reality which can be seen through your subjectivity. Your subjectivity is not "an illusion". Your subjectivity is your truth. When you begin to appreciate this, you can go deeper with this phenomenon. You will in some cases be able to influence "the real stuff". The placebo will go further. Thoughts?

[I WILL COMPLETE MY POST IN THE NEAR FUTURE. I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO WRITE A DETAILED POST CURRENTLY. BUT I WANTED TO START THIS POST SO THAT YOU MAY NOW WRITE. I THINK EVERYONE CAN USE THIS APPROACH AND OVER TIME DEVELOP THEIR POST WITH MORE AND MORE DEPTH] Seeing as there are people on this forum from all over the world, I hope we could make a mega-thread where everyone can share their culture so that we can learn about new ways of living (good and bad). I'll kick-start this by talking about my home country - Macedonia (currently North Macedonia). I'll make at as concentrated as I can: It's a small country - about 2 million people. Half of the people live in the capital Skopje The people range from Stage Red to Stage Green. In the capital Skopje I think the average is Blue / Orange, while in the smaller towns the people are mostly Red / Blue. Economic opportunity: <...> Education system: <...> Religion: <...> To be continued...

I don't know if someone has posted this already. If so, an entertaining reminder.

That statement to me is simply stupid. First, it creates so much pressure on yourself that often it only worsens the situation. Second, why are you pressuring yourself to reach some "ultimate destination" by some arbitrary deadline. The only question you could ask yourself is "Given my situation and abilities, how do I want to spend the years that remain?"

To add to my point: I've recently started to appreciate more the actual depth of what Wim Hof is saying and what his techniques are really all about. I used to think they were about being healthy, but in a Stage Orange sort of limited way. Very materialistic - the hormones do this, the blood does this, etc. = viola! you are healthy now. And to a point it is like that. To a point you can do that (not just with his techniques, with practically everything) and you will actually see tangible results. But I'm starting to see that it can go deeper (whatever 'deeper' means). When you see these techniques in a different way (e.g. from Stage Green) you start to discover new subtleties you never knew existed, but which were right under your nose. Using your 'mind' (I'm not sure what else to call it) enables to do the technique in a different (and probably deeper) way. I think these insights come from me transitioning from Stage Orange thinking to something new. I don't know if this new stage is Green (perhaps Turquoise). I have no idea. It might even be something totally different, unrelated to Spiral Dynamics. But either way it's something beyond the 'logical/rational/materialistic bias' of Stage Orange. Honestly this excites me. Has anyone experienced something similar? However, I'm still just starting out with this method. We will see if it leads anywhere...

Started breathing exercises and doing long cold showers (I don't have a tub for ice baths) I've done cold water before, but it was a bitch - more accurately, I was a bitch. Used to think the cold is bad. After a year or two, having changed progressively parts of my mindsets and beliefs, things are different. Now the cold is good. I don't know how you will interpret what I said, but I did the best I could to be short and sweet.