Forestluv

Yes, it didn't take much work for you and the police did the heavy work. Yet at the same time, they would all be dead if you didn't make that call. So as you watch all the families celebrate in joy that they have been rescued, would you feel good that you helped them?

Imagine the police stopped the bomber. You are watching the news of the rescued people. They are so relieved and happy. Yet, you get no credit or reward. Would you feel good knowing that you saved them and seeing the joy in their families?

Let's say you called the police anonymously and they stopped the bomber. You don't receive any recognition or reward. Would you feel good and satisfied just knowing that you saved 100 lives?

What if it was a neighborhood in a different state? Say, 500 miles away. You know he will kill 100 people. Yet, it won't affect your life at all. You are the only one who knows about the plan and the only person who could stop him. Would you call the police to stop it?

Why try to stop him? Shouldn't people be allowed to do what they want if they are willing to face the consequences?

Would you intervene if someone was about to harm others? Let's say a person wanted to blow up a movie theater and was willing to face the adverse consequences. Would you try to stop him?

@TheAvatarState I think this would makes a good Black Mirror episode. A witch that planted viruses in people’s minds.

Here is a simple experiment you can do in your direct experience to answer this question. The only condition for the experiment is no analysis. It’s a counter-intuitive experiment. Try to escape what is happening right now. Don’t think about it. Escape what’s happening now. Just do it right now. You may run and hide. Nope, that’s happening now. Try again. You may scream for what’s happening to stop. Nope, that’s what’s happening. Try again. You may phone a friend for help. Nope, that’s happening now. You may think there are possibilities of escape. Nope, that thinking is happening now. You may think this is a stupid exercise and a waste of time. Nope, that’s happening right now. There is no escape from Now. It can be both terrifying and liberating.

@TheAvatarState Interesting idea. The witch essentially plants a virus in someone's mind and demands money to remove the virus. Similar to computer hackers that put a virus onto someone's computer and tries to get them to pay for it's removal.

@CreamCat You say to ignore criticism and just do what you want to do. I'm curious where you would draw the line between doing what one wants and harming others. For example, I never got married or had children. Over my life, I got a lot of criticism from my family. I essentially ignored this criticism and did what I wanted. Since I didn't harm anyone by not having children, I think most would agree that doing what you want is a good thing in this case. If I did what others wanted, I would not have been happy and it would have been a mess. On the other extreme, what if a guy wants sex and rapes a woman to get what he wants. I think most would agree that the harm to the woman is too much and the man should not do what he wants in this case. These are extreme examples, yet we could think of many cases in a grey area. For example, what if someone wanted to get drunk and be an ass at a party? Is that cool? Or what if a guy wants to have an affair? I often hear people say "You should do what you want, as long as it doesn't harm others". I'm curious if you would agree with that statement. If so, where is your threshold for what counts as "harming others"? For me, it can be a tricky to balance my own wants with how my actions may impact others. Over my life, what counts as "harm to others" has changed. When I was younger, I did things that I wouldn't do today because what I consider harm to others has changed.

@pluto I’ve had similar experiences. One time someone was asking to see my ID. At first I didn’t understand, then there was a vague notion of a concept about an ID. Then I snapped back into it. It can be bizarre. Like trying to remember the name of an old high school acquaintance. “My ID? What’s an ID? Wait, the word ID sounds familiar. An ID has something to do with a story. But a story about what?” . . . When I figured it out and took out my ID, I started giggling. Egos actually make little cards with their picture on it. It seemed so ridiculously absurd.

Why didn’t the gregorian monk get ordained? He never got the chance / chants.

@SQAAD I’ve felt resonance with “supernatural” realms. For example a hyper awareness of the mind dynamics and the power of editing and rewiring my brain. As well, hyper connectivity with certain people and the ability to control energy flows. Yet, it’s not “me”. It’s more like apperances. From a genetics perspective, traumatic experiences cause epigenetic alterations that change gene expression. These changes are widespread and can last years / decades. So, I would not be surprised at all if someone became so in tune with their mind that they epigenetically changed gene expression in their brain. Altering gene expression via mutation would be a much more difficult and inefficient endeavor. It’s not the mechanism of how neurons change their behavior.

@Average Investor Depending on where you travel, there might be Youth Hostels. I’ve met super cool people in Hostels and they are cheap. I tripped the back half of a shroom trip in a hostel. Fun times. Uuummm, I mean the back half of a spiritual experience. . . ??

The sweeter the better. . .

@LordFall I was in a similiar relationship and know how frustrating it is. I’ve also been on the flip side with someone who had a much higher sex drive. There is an imbalance in the relationship and I don’t think trying to raise her sex drive will help the dynamic. That would mean you see her as having the problem that needs fixing. Rather, this is a coupled dynamic of both of you. Things like giving her a massage or cooking her dinner with an underlying agenda and expectation of sex cones across as disingenuous in the long run. If you like this gal as a person, I would focus on appreciating spending time with her. I would start seeing her as both friend and lover and focus more on deepening the friend dynamic. Learn more about her, share more of yourself. Appreciate laughing together, sharing deeper parts of yourself together, growing together. I’d also share your emotions anout this with her, yet not with the intention to try to get her to give more sex to meet your desires. During sex, I would shift the focus on giving her pleasure and less on receiving pleasure. I would do my best to bring her to orgasm before intercourse. Afterwards, I would get in tune with whether she is physically and emotionally content. I ask sometimes. I would place her pleasure and satisfaction over my own. Giving her pleasure can become a real turn on, at least for me. This assumes you like her a lot outside of sex and your sex drives are in the same ballpark. If you are at a 9/10 level and she is 2/10, it’s a really big gap. Yet, if you are like 8/10 and she is 4/10 she would likely meet you at 5/10.

That’s totally what it feels like sometimes. It’s wonderfully bizarre.

Because it’s the juciest fruit on the tree.

It sounds like you have established a basic foundation and are motivated to take it to the next level. Go for it. Regarding a meditation center, I would recommend visiting, if possible, before diving into a retreat. Many meditation centers have orientation for begginners. If that’s not possible, I would visit their web page and fb page if they have one. Read about their mission, read comments from participants and get a feel for the place. Some centers may have informal meditation, yoga, discussion. Others may be more formal and structured. As well, if you write or talk to the contact person, you can get a sense of whether they resonate with you. Regarding psychedelics, don’t combine them with a meditation center. Most centers prohibit it and psychedelic energy can throw off sober meditation energy. I’d also be clear on your intentions. Using psychedelics the first time could alter the whole tone of your trip. If that intrigues you and you get curious, go for it. I would trip on a light dose in nature. 50ug LSD is well over threshold and offer you a new experience of reality. Yet, it’s low enough that you will still be in control and able to calm yourself down if needed. Outside of psychedelics, I would hike, sit and run through nature. Climb trees. Get away from technology, traffic and business. I’d get back in touch with our source in nature. I also like to stop for some culture in small cities to get a feel of the vibe. I particularly like art galleries and live music of local artists. I also like getting a feel for the audience, meeting people and learning about their lives. When I travel, I receive insights from both nature and people. The people are not strangers, they mirror me and reveal truth within. Yet, you’ve got to pick a place that will have really cool people. For me, I like eccentric people. Especially odd artists and intellectuals that have traveled the world and have a breadth of experience. I wouldn’t go to a McDonalds or a club looking for them. They hang out in artsy and spiritual places.

@Nahm The mad scientist in his basement ? ? ?

@Inliytened1 I notice similiar: an evolution of science toward immaterial. For example, the fields of quantum chemistry and quantum biology are emerging.

@Nahm Nice ?

@TheAvatarState I hope you are right. I would love to help evolve science into mystic levels.

@Leo Gura Thank you ? My sense is that it's been reduced significantly over the years. Yet, you are correct that there is still plenty of work to be done and I now have a bit more clarity.

Wouldn't that be true of nearly all fields and careers? In my current baseline consciousness level it's all a game of relativity. I don't sense strong attachment to any concepts or knowledge as being true.