Forestluv

I think it depends on the job and the degree of emotional breakdown. Some professions can handle emotional instability better than others. For a UFC fighter, emotional instability could actually be a good thing. It can be entertaining for fans and sell more tickets. Yet for a neurosurgeon, emotional instability is bad. We want neurosurgeons to be stable while performing surgery on people’s brains. I also think there is a certain amount of “keeping it together” that we all need to do to do our job. People go through breakups, divorces, have car accidents, pets die, loved ones in the hospital etc. and need to go to work. Everyone has some degree of difficulty in life we need to deal with as we continue working. While working, they need to try to set it aside the distress for a bit. Yet there are also times in which people need extra some relief time. Last week, one of my colleagues lost her husband to Covid. That is a extreme hardship. If she needs some time off to emotionally recover, she should get it. Yet if she lost her cat, she probably wouldn’t be given time off. Policing is a particularly difficult job. It’s not like they are a car mechanic. The stakes are much higher with policing. I would place “mental fitness” for a job in a separate category than emotional episodes. I write a lot of evaluation letters for pre-med students. One of the sections involves mental fitness. If a student is highly anti-social, manipulative, emotionally hyper-sensitive, prone to anger outbursts etc., they will not score well in this section. It doesn’t matter if they have a 4.0 gpa. There comes a point in which the person is not mentally fit enough to do the job well.

Some do, yet I don’t know exactly how it works. I’ve heard after a number of years without repeat offense some get masked from employers. And I don’t know if employers have access to all crimes - like if a DUI would show up. I’ve know people with minor infractions that were able to pass employer background checks. At my institution, ever person hired has to go through a background check performed by an independent party. We don’t know how far it goes back, what they have access to or what is in the report. I think only a couple people high up in my institution see it. We are only told that the person passed the check and are now a new employee.

I had a friend who was a pilot in the US coast guard. At one point, she went through a really hard breakup, which included stalking, and a bunch of childhood abuse issues came up. The coast guard “grounded” her from flying her plane. Yet not as punishment. She just wasn’t fit to fly her plane. They switched her to an office job and she got therapy. To me, it seemed like a supportive environment and she was able to fly again after a year. I think they key in this situation was they didn’t shame, stigmatize or marginalize her. Similar to a soldier with ptsd, shame, stigmatization and ostracization make matters worse. A police officer’s job is also highly stressful. They should be getting breaks and free counseling to help prevent nervous breakdowns and burnout. And perhaps they can rotate between relatively high stress and low stress duties. Yet culture is a important to. A cop that sees a counselor shouldn’t be shameD or stigmatized for being weak. It should be seen as a normal thing. I’ve noticed that in many areas of the U.S. there is a shame and minor stigmatization for seeing a psychologist. Seeing a “life coach” is fine. Yet a lot of people think seeing a psychologist means “there is something wrong with you”, especially for men. I know a lot of people that keep it a secret. Regarding interrogations in which police officers unskillfully tried to impose their will and get a suspect to talk. They try to badger the person and break them down. Yet a different approach is with some sociopaths and mentally ill - it would be better for a detective or psychologist with training in criminal minds to do the interrogation. A good example is the interrogation with the guy who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart. The guy likely had some derangement, yet he also knew what was going on and was playing with the cops. The police interrogators were being being reasonable and trying to force the guy to have a reasonable conversation and the guy kept playing them. After about an hour,, the cop became frustrated and started screaming at him. I think a detective or psychologist trained In criminal minds could have had more success in playing this game.

There could some type of policy that people that have committed crimes need to go through some type of clearance with psychologists and social workers before their crime is masked from employers. As well, it would only be masked from employers. Law enforcement and the judicial system would have access. Also, there could be exemptions for repeat offenders. For example, if someone got caught shoplifting and went through the rehabilitation process, no employer sees it. Yet if someone was caught three consecutive times for shoplifting, then an employer can see a mark. In general, I think a good start would be to give people a clean second chance if they do the time and rehabilitation. Yet perhaps not a clean fourth or fifth chance. I think this would be much easier to sell to Blue/Orange. Most people think we should give people a second chance.

In terms of politics. . . two words. . . Hillary Clinton. Green progressives are no fan of Hilary Clinton. Green also has major issues with neoliberalism and corporate Democrats. Blue often lumps corporate democrats (orange) with progressives (green). My parents are Blue and we have a lot of overlap criticizing Orange. This can open a lot of doors. For example, they will go off on how corrupt the Clinton’s charity was. Rather than defending the Clinton’s and saying “Well, wuttabout Trump’s charities?”, I’m like “Yup, the Clinton’s charity was corrupt”. When they go off on how Democrats are hypocrites and paid off by lobbyists, I don’t respond by defending corporate Democrats and saying “wuttabout Republicans”. I’m like “Yup, politicians that are bought off by lobbyists suck”. I can even pile on with lots of corrupt corporate democrats. And this opens the door to someone like Bernie Sanders. I can be like “I totally agree with you there, that’s why I like politicians like Bernie Sanders. He doesn’t take any money from lobbyists or corporations. He is free to speak his mind and fight for people, rather than powerful billionaires and CEOs”. (Blue isn’t tied to billionaires and corporate CEOs like orange is). . . Generally my blue parents concede that Bernie seems like a good guy, yet he’s a socialist and his proposals are too expensive”. Then I could mention something like M4A and how the U.S. is the only developed country without M4A and that it would actually be cheaper than our current system. . . However, there are lots of traps I need to avoid. For example, when discussing M4A I would need to be careful about how to handle “why should I pay for the health care of lazy unemployed people?” and if undocumented people should get M4A. Stronger resonance would be things like “Billionaire health care CEOs are making billions in profits from copays and deductibles we pay”, “Pharmaceuticals CEOs are making billions off of over charging us. Prescription drug prices are outrageous”. Blue is not tied to corporations making millions. I also mention how the pharmaceutical companies created the Opioid crisis to profit and how my employer has leverage over me because they own my health care. I can’t leave my job to freelance because I would lose my healthcare. This kind of stuff generally resonates with blue.

The state I live in legalized cannabis a couple years ago. There has been a debate about wether those imprisoned for cannabis possession should be released and whether all records of cannabis possession should be expunged. I say expunge all the records for possession, yet a lot of conservatives say that “it was a crime back when they got arrested for possession and the records should stay”. This is an example of why evolution can proceed slowly. GenZ and Millennials are like “It’s totally stupid for anyone to have cannabis possession as a criminal record”. Yet most of Gen X and all the Boomers were conditioned with “The War on Drugs”, “This is you brain on drugs”, “Just say no”,”Pot growers are dangerous criminals”, “Cannabis is a gateway drug”, etc. And Gen X and Boomers have more power to write the rules than GenZ and Millennials - yet that will change as we move along. . .

I’ve noticed some Orange being “concerned” about people being harmed, yet are motivated by their Orange desires. For example, I didn’t think Roger Goodell was genuine as he acknowledged blm issues and that the NFL was wrong about players kneeling during the anthem. He knows public sentiment is changing and he wants the NFL to continue being profitable (Orange motivation). Similarly, MSNBC executives could have realized that public sentiment is changing and told their commentators to shift their tone so their station appeared to be sympathetic and continue being profitable. . . . Yet Joe seems sincere to me here. He goes above and beyond simply pandering to Green about how “concerned” he is for those being harmed. It looks like he’s had a genuine realization and it’s upsetting to him. Also, notice how he called out Zuckerberg for pandering to Green - Joe calls Zuckerberg out for being disingenuously “concerned” for people being harmed, while he profits off of those harms. If Joe was simply orange pandering concern for profits, he wouldn’t have called out Orange that is pandering concern for profits. As well, from the perspective of Green, Joe’s realization is so obvious. To Joe, this is a HUGE realization that he wants to shout about - as if nobody else knew this was happening. Yet to Greens like Bernie and AOC, it’s like “Hellooooooo. . . Are you just realizing this now? We’ve been saying this for years!!”. . . . Yellow can see that Joe is evolving through a developmental stage, like a child realizing that other people also have feelings like their own. @Amit Notice the difference in what motivates Orange or Green to work. Orange is motivated to work for things like recognition, self-promotion and profits. Green is more motivated to work to express their creativity and toward community wellness. Orange often doesn’t perceive green as working hard, because Green is not working toward Orange values. . . . In an Orange-centered society, such as the U.S., Orange will have the most influence over framing what counts as “Work”. For example, to Orange a businessman selling products or a construction man building a house is “work”. However, an artist who paints natural landscapes or a yoga teacher wouldn’t be seen as “real work” because it’s not something they value. From the perspective of Orange, a yoga teacher just sits around and gets paid to do a few stretches. That isn’t a “real job”. Orange doesn’t value or understand the work involved. A yoga teacher puts plenty of work in developing their craft, their yoga studio, yoga retreats etc. Yet to orange, it doesn’t have much value.

Is an ocean hedonistic because I enjoy swimming in it?

I underwent root canal surgery yesterday. Before the surgery, I got a bit anxious - mostly due to the unknown. The endondontist picked up on this a put in extra effort to make me comfortable before and during the surgery. After the numbing agents where injected into my jaw, the doctor put a bridge into the opposite side of my mouth to keep my mouth open. Before doing so, he framed it perfectly. He said that the bridge would allow me to *rest*. He also said that most people like it, yet if I don’t like it, he can remove it yet it will make things a bit harder for him and the process will take longer. For those with anxiety, the frames are “it will allow you to rest”, “most people like it”, “we can remove it if you want”. Thus, this mouth bridge is beneficial for me and I have the power to make it go away. I am not trapped with it. This is huge for people with anxiety disorders. As the surgery started, there was an initial appearance of anxiety such as “It doesn’t hurt now, but it might soon.” and “My mouth is forced open”. The next key ingredient is trust. He told me if I experience pain at any time to lift my arm. This served as a “safe word” and allows a mind to work through anxiety. This is the equivalent of someone carrying a benzo during a trip. If things get too hairy, they have an exit. . . . As well, my mind shifted that my mouth wasn’t forced open, yet rather I could relax. . . The only unknown issue was that I felt strong impulse to swallow and I didn’t know if it was ok to swallow. It wasn’t so much that I *needed* to swallow, it was that I didn’t know if I could swallow IF I needed to swallow. This caused some anxiety. Yet, I did a test and gently did a swallow contraction in the the back of mouth, trying to keep the rest still. He didn’t say anything and I don’t thing he even noticed. This was the last hurdle, and then I was able to let go. And let go I did. I have experience letting go in all sorts of anxiety inducing situations: psychedelics, sensory deprivation tanks, crowded areas, enclosed spaces etc. . . Here I was able to let go and it was quite an experience. I went into semi-lucid dream states, I had an out-of-body experience and I became as relaxed as I do in yin yoga, a massage or in nature. At one point, my body felt as if I was in a coma, yet there was awareness floating around in the room. At another point, I was flying in a space ship and all the noises and grinding was simply noises of the spacecraft. . . . I actually wanted the exploration to continue and when he said that he was finishing up, a feeling of disappointment arose. It was like being immersed in a movie and realizing there is only ten minutes left in the movie - and when the movie ends, you’ve got to return to “regular life”. . . Afterwards, I looked at the clock and realized that over 90 minutes had past. I lost track of time and couldn’t estimate how long it was, yet it certainly seemed much shorter than 90 minutes. One other point of interest. Before the surgery, he put on a cheesy TV program on fishing. The commercials were awful. Ads for automobile accident attorneys, how to lose and easy 50 libs with the new smoothie diet etc. This was not the type of background I wanted and asked him if it’s ok to turn it off. He said that he likes it as “white noise”, so he doesn’t get distracted by things like the phone ringing in the entry office. Obviously, I want the endodontist to “get in the zone”, so I agree it stays on. My mind could have locked on to the TV, yet it didn’t. I didn’t even remember the TV. Afterwards, I was like “was the TV on the whole time?”. Today, I reflected on the experience and places I ‘could have gone’. One of them would have been to enter a space of masochism. I could have gotten direct experience with that dynamic and an understanding. That space had never entered for me to explore, yet I certainly could have entered it. During the surgery, there was a period in which I was actually enjoying it. Yet the enjoyment was associated with the relaxation and lucidity. However, with a slight tweak I could have maintained that sense of enjoyment and changed the context to someone drilling into me. Things just didn’t go in that direction, yet during the surgery there was the option of going in the direction and I didn’t. . . Yet now, I can much better imagine the dynamic of masochism and get a sense of what it is like, if I wanted to. It’s just not appealing or practical to do so at this time. Taken together, it’s so fascinating to observe the inner workings of the mind.

I can eat a whole container of peanuts and be in bliss. Others eat a few peanuts and it’s life threatening.

@Onemanwolfpac Individualism and culture are only two components within a much more complex system. If you want to expand and deepen your understanding, you will need hold your views looser and be open to learning. Yet this can be challenging to do. The mind has incentives to maintain and protect it’s paradigm to which it is attached/identified. This is perceived as beneficial to the self, yet this orientation is a major block to expanding and deepening understanding, especially when subconscious anathema is mixed in. It will keep a mind locked in a myopic mindset.

@ArchangelG What is the LP of a river? We could say that it provides a home for aquatic plants and fish. It also provides water and food for trees and animals. It provides humans tranquil scenery for relaxation. It provides entertainment for people in rafts. That’s a lot of responsibility for the river. And at times, people dump waste in the river. Beavers build damns in the river. Sometimes there is a drought and the river is a low trickle. Other times there are storms and the river is raging. And through it all, the river flows. . .

@NorthNow Imagine a person is telling you a story in Chinese. What is your relationship with the story? What is his relationship with the story?

Sometimes I sit in a cafe / restaurant and just listen to the chatter. Lots of people telling stories. We are all familiar with a “table story”. This is the story being told at an individual table. And all the table stories merge to create a cafe story, a chatter story. All the table stories get mixed together to create a song. Just like how the sounds of musical instruments get mixed to create a song. In the collective chatter story, there are no words because all the words get mixed together. There is no longer any linguistic sense. Traditional language diffuses and a new language arises. The chatter story is more than the sounds. There is an energy and essence with it. All the individual stories blend together into the chatter story. Happy stories, frustration stories, love stories, scary stories, vacation stories - all merge into a single chatter story. And no two story chatters are the same. I’ve sat in cafes and listened to chatter stories in over 20 foreign countries - from ritzy cafes in Sweden to poor village cafes in Belize to ski lodges in Canada. They all have chatter stories. Each have their own flavor. Just like we do with music, I’m aware of unique subtleties in each chatter story song. There is the cadence. The crescendos. The ebb and flow of calmness and intensity. There are percussion components and splashes of laughter. Occasionally, I’m with someone and mention this. Usually the have no interest. It’s just ‘background noise’ to them. They are not in tune with it and cannot see or appreciate the unique elements within the ‘background noise’. Some people perceive me doing this as ‘weird’. Yet those who hear not the music think the dancers mad. My parents love to visit cafes and restaurants. They are in their 70s and have been to hundreds of cafes and restaurants around the world. Yet they’ve never heard the chatter music before. Last year I was in a restaurant and mentioned this. There was a lull in the conversation and I directed their attention to the chatter story, the chatter song being played by all the people in the restaurant. My father is very immersed in table stories, usually his personal story. He had no interest in the chatter story. To him it is background noise that is distractive to the table story. Yet my mom heard the chatter story for the first time. She heard the chatter song and said “Omigosh! I’ve never noticed that before“. She took a moment to listen and asked “Does it sound the similar everywhere?”. Yet my dad became impatient and directed attention back to our table story as he began to tell a new personal story. Once I heard the chatter story in cafes, I started to hear chatter stories in nature. Chatter stories have no words or linguistic meaning, including human chatter stories. Human chatter stories in cafes and nonhuman chatter stories in nature are similar in that both are nonverbal and lack linguistic meaning. @Zigzag Idiot ? ?

I support that strategy. I’d like to see demilitarization of both government and citizens. For example, ban assault weapons and start shifting toward having tasers for personal protection.

@Nak Khid I’ve noticed you are tightly holding onto ideas about how bad pedophilia and murder is. I’m not saying you are right or wrong. However. . . If you experienced a pedophile’s and murder’s experience, your whole paradigm of ‘good and bad’ would come crashing down. I’m not talking about actually doing it or intellectually thinking about moral relativism, I’m talking about “Omigod. . . . So that’s what it’s like”. The transcendence of your self construct reveals “no-self” and that you are all selfs. That includes “good selfs” like doctors and nurses. It also includes “bad selfs” like pedophiles and murderers. This isn’t an intellectual thing. It is an awakening. It can be blissful and liberating, yet it can also be extremely uncomfortable. Once this is revealed, you will never judge a pedophile or murderer again like you do now, because you would be judging yourself.

Phenibut also quiets anxiety, yet it can become habit forming - so one needs to be responsible with it. Also, just carrying a benzo can help reduce anxiety. A big part of my anxiety was the sense of uncertainty during loss of control and the sense that I can’t make this stop. Just having a benzo handy helped soooo much. I knew I could kill the trip if I wanted to, that allowed me to ease up and go further without getting traumatized. And I never took the benzo. It was just having it available. For all I know, it was a sugar pill. I’d also be mindful of over-doing it on quieting anxiety. We don’t want to traumatize the mind and body, yet the mind and body can recover from quite a bit of intensity. Anxiety can be a component of facing certain things and realizing certain things. Some of my post powerful trips have had a strong anxiety component. If someone tries to artificially create only blissful trips filled with butterflies and rainbows, they will miss out on a lot.

Yea, from the perspective of the robbers they want an easy target and would likely move on. Yet it sounds like if you gotta fire, you fire to hit. Rather than a warning shot.

Same here. In school, we had to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag everyday in school. It starts so early for children that it seems normal to us. Even in High School, we recited the Pledge everyday in home room. It’s was something we had to do and I didn’t really take it serious. Almost like saying “grace” before a meal. It’s just whatever. Yet I never realized how it’s insane indoctrination of nationalism. I was in my 30s and one day I say a video clip of children saying pledge to their flag. Perhaps North Korea. I was like “Whoa, that’s messed up. I’m glad we don’t do that in America. . . Omigod!! We do that here too!!”.

Yea, lovely from a distance. They are chewing apart the wires and wooden beams in my house. This creates an electrical fire hazard and can cause a structural collapse. My Green mojo turns to Red and I would taze them without hesitation.

They have wised up to my traps. I’ve caught about 30 squirrels in my attic with Havaharts over the last couple years. . . Part of the problem is there is a huge tree near my house that drops nuts. But the tree is mostly in my neighbors property and it is an absolutely beautiful tree. I don’t want to cut it down.

@Leo Gura Ok, so I’m considering getting the taser for the lil’ ole lady down the street ? How quickly can you get shots off? Let’s say an intruder enters and I miss. . . Or two intruders enter. . .

@Leo Gura Could I use it against the damn squirrels gnawing away at my house?