Emerald

Right wing pundits often misuse post-modern relativism to muddy the waters and create confusion... so that they can convince the average non-political person to shift further right. Post-modern relativism gives them the veneer of a balanced view of "just sharing a perspective... and who's to say who's right or wrong". Jordan Peterson tends to do this a lot... especially in the past when he was playing the part of the intellectual who's just "considering all the perspectives." But this is just them using that element of Stage Green as a tool. They're typically using this Stage Green tool as a way to re-normalize and resurrect old values (usually traditional or ethnocentric blue values) that society now deems as taboo. So, it's the post-modern "let's look at the myriad of different perspectives because that's the balanced thing to do."... and once people fall for it enough to normalize those perspectives, it turns into "This is actually the ONLY correct way to think about the world. If you disagree, there's something wrong with you or evil about you. And we want to codify this paradigm into law and punish anyone who challenges it."

I used to think he was doing satire on new age hippie types from a place of genuine appreciation and loving critique of spiritual community mores. And it was quite surprising when he started doing these critiques from a mean-spirited place. But then, there was the realization that he was always mean-spirited. And the problem is... you can't really be funny if you come from a place of genuine hate for something. It just becomes bitterness and hatred disguised as jokes, but that aren't really jokes. That's also why political cartoons aren't really funny. So, he went from having the veneer of a light-hearted new age satire channel to just plain petty bitter partisan mean-spiritedness. I feel similarly to this lefty YouTuber who has the first name Steve (though I can't recall his full name)... though he isn't as blatant as JP. He'll do little comedy skits about the right wing in politics from time to time... and I feel validated in many of my feelings and opinions. But I don't find it funny... because it's coming from a place of bitter grievance.

If I were in that position, I'd probably want to keep 90%+ of it in the market in a stable long-term diversified investment fund. Bear in mind that the longer you keep that money invested, the more you get compound interest on it. And if you keep that money in there until you're at retirement age, you will have a nice comfortable old age. And that's important to prioritize. But, if I were in that same position where my investments are great, in the future, I would also make sure that I'm putting away money every month just for personal enrichment. I might also take out 10% of what I put into the market to have as a liquid asset to use for personal enrichment... education, travel, experiences, fun, etc.

It's probably similar to why Mormon's aren't supposed to drink coffee. You'd think the prohibition on drinking coffee is because of the caffeine content... which is what I always assumed. I thought it was similar to prohibiting alcohol because caffeine is also a psychoactive substance. But the actual reason why Mormon's aren't supposed to drink coffee is because Joseph Smith (the founder of Mormonism) was reading some random article back in the 1800s that said that hot drinks were unhealthy for the body. And he believed that. Then, he told his followers that they should stop drinking coffee because he thought the article had sound advice. Though from what I understand, he also wasn't super strict about that himself. So, while I'm almost positive that the prohibition on eating pork originally came from health concerns... the continued adherence to it is just because that's what the rules are that the leadership of the religion set up. And people have just put a lot of stock into those that set up the religion.

It seems that there's an incompatibility between you and her in terms of your values and lifestyle preferences. You have to decide whether or not that's a deal-breaker to you. Some people would be okay with sacrificing psychedelic use for a relationship because it isn't that big of a deal for them. But others would not feel okay with making that sacrifice. For me, I don't use psychedelics often. I do an Ayahuasca ceremony once per year, and that's it. And I'm probably not going to do it again for a good long while because the Ayahuasca church that I usually attend closed up. But even I still wouldn't be okay if I had a partner whose values didn't match my own who gave me an ultimatum that I can't do an Ayahuasca ceremony... not because that person is wrong for having those boundaries themselves, but because it just wouldn't be a good fit. I'd definitely break up with them because they wouldn't be understanding why I do the ceremony... and they'd just be on a totally different wavelength. And I'd definitely say that sex is not a good reason to stay in a relationship. And that you would stay in for sex indicates to me that you have some scarcity thinking around sexual/romantic connection. This may be what's led you into an incompatible relationship in the first place. So, you have to question whether these value incompatibilities are a deal-breaker for you... or if you're willing to make the sacrifices she needs to feel comfortable in the relationship. Those are really the only two options.

@aurum It seems you're correct about Stage Green within the model itself. But I suppose, I disagree with that characterization within the model. What seems quite evident to me is that each level of development forms a unique and sustained societal structure... from Purple to Orange. But Green never gets seen as a sustained collective societal structure. And in order for a Stage Green culture to truly coalesce into the mainstream (beyond just random political or hippie circles)... as all other stages have done, you have to have an ordering principle. And the more individualist stages of human development require deconstruction and chaos where individualism is the highest value. But in more collective societal structures, you actually have to have a structure. So, I think the model is a bit faulty in that way because they are making conjectures about Green without ever witnessing a Stage Green society in the way that they have witnessed or have historical records of societies from Stage Purple to Stage Orange. That's why I don't perfectly agree with the Spiral Dynamics framework in this regard to the quote you mentioned... as it's framing Stage Green and hyper-individualistic and deconstructive, when re-coalescing collectivist phases of human development require convergence and limitation. Otherwise, Stage Green would be the only phase of human development that isn't possible to reach in a sustainable way. And that doesn't make any sense why we'd just have to skip that one as a collective.

I think you're misunderstanding both Stage Green and conservatism. Stage Orange is where the deconstructive process happens... but Stage Green is about recoalescence and re-ordering. I notice that people often misunderstand what Stage Green is... and think about the current state of left politics as that is the closest thing to Green that is currently on offer. But we live in a Stage Orange society. And current-day leftists are mostly Stage Orange with a smattering of Green. And that's because Green is merely a future vision at this point. But because a Green society hasn't been fully lived or fathomed of on the world-stage, even the most Stage Green people amongst us are seeing Green through the individualistic lens of Stage Orange. But Stage Green proper is fundamentally about re-coalescing back into community... and that requires a resurgence of collective ordering structures and the limitation of the individual. So, you cannot move forward to Stage Green without integrating healthy conservatism. But when most people think about Green, they think of lefty politics... as that is what Green is from the perspective of Orange. But Green is actually about the re-coalescing of community that was present in Stage Blue... only with greater levels of human sovereignty realized and with greater skills with understanding how to come together as a community without sovereignty being squelched. Purple, Blue, and Green all have that same community coalescence dynamic... but on levels that have a wider circle of concern as you go up the Spiral... and that have greater space for human potential to come forth. And you can't have collectivism without containers and ordering structures.

I wouldn't necessarily call it sense-making... as that suggests something that's more about active intellectual rigor and reconciling multi-varied perspectives to produce a more holistic understanding of a given situation or the world at large. To talk about it in Spiral Dynamics terms... that's a more Stage Yellow kind of perspective on things. In contrast, these medicine experiences that I mentioned are more in Turquoise... if I'm to characterize them through the SD model. And it's not so intellect-heavy, nor is it a state of active sense-making. And you cannot 'get there' through sense-making or anything that's too mind-heavy It's more of an embodiment of Christ consciousness and being able to feel the unity and oneness... and from there deeper holistic intuitions arise that emotionally lay bare truths that were previously clouded and obscured by judgment and ignorance. And the root causes of macrocosmic collective issues are effortlessly seen with crystal clarity without needing to figure them out because the understanding is already etched in the human heart... and then the solutions become obvious. So, I'd call it more as unconditional compassion or Christ consciousness... which entails being in the wisdom-receptive state and depth of understanding and alignment that unconditional compassion enables you to be in. And it doesn't really require intellectual rigor per se... nor sense making. It's more of a subtractive process of the removal of the judgments and ignorances that cloud the heart wisdom from our conscious awareness and prevents us from dropping into the embodiment of Christ Consciousness. And while Stage Yellow is useful, you can't really get there from Yellow. But someone could drop into Christ Consciousness, understand the root causes and then use that understanding to choose a problem to solve on the deeper root level. But I agree that healthy conservatism must be found and integrated. Right now, what's on offer is dangerous and degenerative. I suspect we will find healthy conservatism in the rise of the intentional communities of Stage Green.

@integral This one seems promising... Targeting Microclots & Blood Flow – There is evidence COVID causes microvascular damage. One user in an Mt. Sinai trial found he had microclots impairing penile blood flow (Long haulers with Erectile Dysfunction : r/covidlonghaulers). His doctor put him on anticoagulants (Eliquis + aspirin) for nearly a year, until labs normalized (Long haulers with Erectile Dysfunction : r/covidlonghaulers). He also took fibrinolytic enzymes to dissolve clots and did hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) – together these brought him “essentially to baseline” and ultimately cured his ED (Long haulers with Erectile Dysfunction : r/covidlonghaulers) (Long haulers with Erectile Dysfunction : r/covidlonghaulers). Numbness in the groin was attributed to small-fiber neuropathy from poor circulation, which improved with these treatments (Long haulers with Erectile Dysfunction : r/covidlonghaulers). This suggests that addressing microcirculation issues (under medical supervision) can restore erectile function in long COVID.

One thing that could be important to take into account is that your dad likely repressed his own guilt and his own conscience to enable him to continue doing these crimes. And there is a saying that goes something like "The biggest burden to the child is the unlived life of the parent." So, you may even be taking on the burdens of your father's guilt... and taking it on as your own. There's also dynamics where people who are in powerless or very low power situations, can tend to internalize blame and shame themselves in order to give the illusion of power. These are just some other dynamics that I've seen a couple clients of mine (who have criminal parents) go through. But the reality is that you were not to blame for anything that was going on. And expecting yourself to turn him in, is almost like expecting yourself to cut your own limb off... as children are wired to bond with their parents out of a deep survival need.

I looked around at the different suggestions, and most of them seem king of boiler-plate responses to increase sexual function for someone who's dealing with ED that isn't Covid-originated. The best advice that I saw seems to be around getting a scan to see what the root cause issue is... and also looking up information on Long Covid ED. Now, I do have a suggestion that's from a slightly different angle to look at this from... because it's not about fixing or changing the situation. But I find it useful and empowering when I find myself in deeply unwanted situations without clarity on how to change the situation, or even if the situation can be changed. What I do is ask myself the following, "If I am the pure consciousness that creates reality and all of my experiences... and I assume that that consciousness is 100% trustworthy and benevolent... and that it is always working in the best interests of a greater trajectory of my/its' personal expansion, even in deeply unwanted situations... what is the function for this unwanted situation showing up in my life?" It won't change the situation. But it will often provide deeper levels of understanding and new leverage points for personal expansion.

I certainly am a progressive in terms of my political views with regard to the possibilities currently on offer and the issues that face contemporary people. There's no doubt about that. And while I do see the value in the actual holistic conservative values, I really don't see much in the way of constructive or healthy conservatism in the government nor in the populace at present. Growing up in a conservative redneck town AND observing the current state of politics, I can tell you it's usually just all just the most socially degenerative human impulses disguising themselves under the labels conservative, patriotic, and pious. And it's not wise to "both sides" it or seek balance as long as the conservative forces at play are taking this lower form that will cause tremendous amounts of suffering. We must ACTUALLY preserve our system the best we can by interrupting and pushing back against these eroding forces. So, I don't make any bones about it. I'm definitely on the left, with regard to the current state of politics... though my visions for the future of society would vary wildly from leftists and liberals. But there is a lot of overlap with liberals and leftists in terms of what causes we would ally around. And most liberals and leftists may see people as fundamentally good to some degree... but will define goodness very differently (from each other and from how I define it). And most do still somewhat believe in a fundamental evil to some degree. But I've been in each one of those paradigm frames at different points in my life, and I can tell you that neither the liberal nor the leftist viewpoint remotely scratches the surface of understanding how to exercise deep levels of unconditional compassion... nor how deep that fundamental goodness goes. And they don't understand the nature of goodness well enough to know what alignment looks like. And in terms of solutions, both liberals and leftists tend to focus more on the system itself as the root cause of social issues and to suggest reform and revolution (respectively) as a means to improve the state of humanity. And while I see both reform and revolution (as well as preservation and re-integration) as part of human evolution... I don't see the geo-political systems and institutions (like government/society/etc.) as being a root cause of problems. For example, leftists often say "Capitalism is the root cause of ____." And they will see getting rid of Capitalism as a solution. But I say that, while leftists are correct that there are some fundamental corruptions in Capitalism that are irremovable... you cannot improve the situation solely by getting rid of Capitalism, as Capitalism (and its level of irremovable corruption) is just a natural outgrowth of the current level of technological and ideological development... and level of alignment/dis-alignment to the deep fundamental goodness that humanity is currently in. Capitalism is itself a symptom. But leftists make the mistake of seeing it as a root cause. And if you try to get rid of Capitalism prior to us fully transcending it, you will just get another system with similar levels of corruption (which is the problem of cutting the head off the Hydra), until that which keeps us misaligned to the fundamental goodness is resolved. And you can't even effectively move a society past Capitalism prior to lots of inner and outer work without destabilizing humanity for a while. But I'd argue that conservatism (in it high form) does preserve... but moreso than that, creates limitations so that people can be socially grounded in the context of collective meaning.

I'm saying that I'm observing you doing victim's mentality in your previous posts with precisely the words you're saying. So, it's not a personal attack... just an observation about your behavior in those particular posts. And I was drawing your attention to the fact that you had slipped into victim's mentality. It would be wise to question why you jumped to vaguely gesturing at non-descript problems in society and blaming women for those vaguely gestured at problems, when I was just talking about collective male shame dynamics and never engaged in blaming men for these dynamics. There was clearly something you found offensive about what I said... and that caused you to jump to projecting some generic internet-Feminist perspective onto what I was saying. And you jumped right into victim's mentality and scapegoating women for generalized societal problems. You seem to perceive me to be firing shots at you... so you tried to fire them back at women as a general group by proxy of referring to me as "your gender". But I'm not interested in getting on gender teams and being like "Yeah well... men this..." and "Oh yeah. Women that..." The male shame dynamic I mentioned is just important to draw attention to, as it is often misdiagnosed in more surface-level ways.

My first two medicine experiences were with Mimosa Hostilis and Syrian Rue... used as an Ayahuasca analogue. That was 15 years ago, though. And you could order it online. And they had it in head shops.

@NewKidOnTheBlock You don't even recognize that you're in victim's mentality right now. And you're not even taking personal responsibility for your own victim's mentality... and prefer to blame women for your own victim's mentality. You're itching to scapegoat women for something just so you can continue to complain and wallow in victimhood.