Tony19

I was watching the movie "The Killing Fields" the other day about the Cambodian genocide. It gives a great insight to Pol Pots ideology. "Year Zero" they called it. A forceful rejection of thought, intellect, and thus rationality. Like a twisted, ideological form of authoritarian Buddhism forced upon the population. Basically, the collective mind has a tendency to reset itself to 'first learned behavior' if it feels under threat or feels that something is very wrong. (in this case probably US bombing and spread of Vietnam War into its lands) This reset, and subsequent genocide is an attempt to 'cleanse' itself of the 'wrongness'. It got me thinking of how it applies to us now. Trump is basically the collective's reset button. To the voter the best, most attractive thing about Trump, I believe, is that nothing about him makes any sense, least of all, how he's able to make it this far without offering any material benefit to the electorate. He's the antithesis to rationality that our logic worshipping society subconsciously craves, but doesn't know how to get anywhere else.

Kubrick and the film 2001 In your stage yellow video you describe what a "yellow" person might be like and that closely resembles Stanley Kubrick - He is an individualist, preferring to have total control over his work, sometimes not getting along with others - He never seeks attention and never appears in public - His films (especially ones in his mid to late career) have very ambiguous messages, with no obvious ideology - He is very mechanical in the way he directs: others may say he is "cold" or "mechanical" - He would research extensively, reading many books when working on a film - He isn't afraid to be a bit manipulative and rational if necessary - But he isn't a misanthrope or a nihilist at all (btw: screenprism is amazing for researching deeper meanings in movies: every one of their videos is quality) I realize this film may have a lot of "turquoise", but two reasons why I think it qualifies for "yellow" - we are made aware that science and technology is just a phase in human evolution: unless we evolve into the next stage, all the technological advancement in the world won't change the fact that we are just more evolved versions of the chimps at the start of the film - it uses the concept of eternal recurrence: i think there are several infinite loops in the film, but the most significant one is Dave's regression into old age and death and then rebirth into something more evolved. As mentioned in the video, after destroying what man had created himself, we will be forced into a period of self reflection before we can be reborn into a more intelligent form.

You have to start somewhere. I find that the problem with viewing all this content at the same time is that it puts too much pressure, making it too easy to feel like quitting. Just pick something that you really want work on and build some momentum. Forget about the other things for now. Even mastering some of these concepts and getting results would build a lot of confidence and encourage us to learn and do more.

Thanks Leo. I have realized that I needed to change my mentality to "I have to master everything or else I will fail" to "This is an opportunity for me to improve myself, one area at a time"

Personal Development is a very long term and complex endeavor. There is just so much that could be done to change and improve our lifestyle, which is great. However, I've been getting a bit overwhelmed by all the concepts, always having the urge to fit something into a model. I don't want to be sitting all day making models and not actually doing anything productive, but I also feel like with so much information available, that I can develop a really effective strategy to digest all this material efficiently. Any suggestions on how to approach this without constantly feeling overwhelmed? Thanks in advance.

You've listed alot of things that all seem to have the same root: low self esteem. I've been dealing with low-self esteem as well and I've been meditating for a few months and it has really helped, so you could do that. What I do is vipassana meditation based on Shinzen young's book. I would focus on any emotion (fear, anxiety, embarrassment, depression) and try to stay mindful of the fact that it is just a physical sensation instead taking it seriously. The key is not to resist the feelings, but accept it, and eventually it will lose its power over you. And in general, just be aware of it when you are trying to please others, or procrastinating on something stressful. Allow yourself to do that but stay aware.

Yes, it would certainly help if you hang out with high achievers and learn from them. There is no purpose in wasting time with people who are not getting you towards your ultimate goals.