Joseph Maynor

To me, you're scared to reveal yourself.

But nobody knows if you're a real person. This is the problem with the Internet. You agree but who?

I always say if you're in doubt, ban yourself first.

I feel like all of them are good. When I was on here way back it was much more of a free for all. This was years ago.

I feel like this forum has good moderators.

To me the ego is just the finite perspective one is identified with. This just means that aspect of the self that is showing up in space and time.

Correct. From my experience. I'm not here to persuade anyone.

Direct experience with people who have claimed this.

To assume you have no ego and are unconditioned in my long experience is a red flag.

I feel like a lot of spiritual people could benefit from going back and doing more practical self-help work to be honest. It just depends on the person. It depends on what you want.

Sure — here’s how I see the interdependence in practice: 1. Practical self-help like improving health, finances, and relationships builds stability and reduces stress, which makes deeper reflection and inquiry possible. 2. Accountability and structure cultivate self-awareness and agency rather than avoidance or drift. 3. Work on purpose, career direction, and leadership naturally raises existential questions about meaning, values, and identity. 4. Adult development and self-leadership involve examining assumptions, motivations, and worldview — which is philosophical work expressed through life decisions. So practical growth and truth-seeking aren’t separate tracks in lived development.

Agreed in part. I’m not equating pop self-help with spirituality. I’m pointing to forms of development where improving one’s life and examining what’s true are interdependent.

Fair point. I meant the general moral orientation, not excluding protective force when harm is present.

If Absolute Solipsism is Real and True, could there be more than one God?

This is a great example of how to create justice in a power mix.

This is kind of an unusual insight and a half-truth but a good person generally puts people and other beings at ease and causes others to identify with the peaceful/non-threatening side of life, the opposite of defensive relation.

I've seen all forms of this play out. Sometimes it's a masculine type at the so called helm supported by feminine types that all share power. That one is very common.

Individual power vs./and relation power. Definitely. I've seen both forms of this power used, oven combined, but sometimes not. I can tell when social manipulation power is really high. This is the scapegoating power.

Can't there only be one God? This is in reference to Blog Post #427

I find sometimes ethics is not fully spelled out. Being a good person is ethics: but there is a personal and interpersonal side. The personal side is how ought I to act regarding myself and my own life. The interpersonal side is how ought I act toward others. This can include other humans, other animals, the environment, etc. Usually when we think of morality we're thinking interpersonal ethics only. Thus, morality is only a subset of ethics. // And there's a third category of ethics which is group ethics -- how ought we as a group or organization act regarding other individuals or groups.

I don't see a dichotomy between self help and spiritual enlightenment. I see them as two sides of one coin.

Emmanuel Levinas

I feel like Truth is not about needing to know more than anyone. It's a spiritual groundedness that makes Love (and furthermore Beauty) possible because you're not insecure spiritually. Truth is a spiritual pillar. Knowing more than anyone butts up against Love, which is not full integration of Love.

This one helped me a lot when I first got into self help. "Success Is a Choice: Ten Steps to Overachieving in Business and Life" by Rick Pitino