Criticism on Actualized.org

[PetarKa]

*Posted this on Leo's video "Cult Psychology - Part 1 - How Cults Work"*

Criticism on Actualized.org:

1. Actualized.org's content is structured in a way which makes it so that you NEED to watch every video to understand the later topics. To a point I get that this is necessary - you build on previous ideas so that you don't have to repeat yourself. But there is also a problem with this which needs to be acknowledged and that is the this: You are forced to accept Leo's model as a whole PACKAGE, which makes it difficult to be analytical and pick & choose the good apples as opposed to the bad / mediocre / not-appropriate-for-the-specific-person apples. I know that you encourage people to be open-minded and use many different perspectives and our own experience to get the most out of this type of work. If this is a principle you value, I believe you should emphasize in your videos that this is an issue we should be aware of and you should even give ways and suggestions to the viewers on how to mitigate this issue.

2. The INSPIRING SPEECH you give at the end of each video has problems. I can speak for myself mainly, but these speeches were useful for me at the beginning for reeling me in - but they also made me dogmatic and over-emotional about this whole field of work (self-actualization). This has resulted in emotional turmoil within me and for a while I abandoned Actualized.org mainly because of this. Now I always skip that speech at the end because I think I would do myself more harm than good if I get sucked into the "fairy tale" represented (in a way that's what is really is). It speaks to the childish unwise and hasty side in you and this is a problem in the long run. I don't have a concrete suggestion about how to fix this, but a more mature way of "inspiration" is needed. Though I'm not sure if it's really needed at all.

If these issues are solved, Actualized.org will become that much more non-cult-like. I hope this criticism is useful.

[Blacksmith]

5 hours ago, PetarKa said:

If these issues are solved, Actualized.org will become that much more non-cult-like. I hope this criticism is useful.

I noticed that as well listening to that video

It was like okay check, yep, yep, sounds like this actualized, yep. I was highly suspect at first. I'm not going to change your view but here's my thoughts on this:

One of the annoying things about trying to change people is that sometime you have to get under their skin. Most people are driven emotionally so you have to try to trigger them in people.

I personally always had trouble with this growing up. I felt that everyone was entitled to feel how they did and I didn't want to interfere or "step on anyone's toes". Of course I manipulated like every child does but needless to say I definitely didn't get laid in high school  

But my personal way to wrassle with this is to go for a sort of equal parts them and me, ideally something that works out even better for both of us than if we were only worried about ourselves. So essentially if you're trying to help them accomplish their goals and trying to accomplish your own goals and meet in the middle somewhere, that's when it's fair game to play with other people's emotions. Like sending a birthday card. You're trying to "manipulate" happiness into someone's life.

I feel like this is what Leo is trying to do. It's fucking difficult to change people so he's got to get a little dirty in order to shake you up a bit. In the end, it's just a YouTube channel and you can pull the plug at anytime. And sometimes people can get mislead, or get stuck watching all these videos over and over, and that sucks but I don't think that is Leo's intention. That being said they genuinely can be addicting, at least I find it so sometimes as well.

But I try to remind myself that they are just a tool to get the results I want. If that tool isn't working I'm going to find one that does. If these videos aren't making anything change in real life, its time for less videos and time for more of something else. It's kind of up to you to recognize what's healthy or not for yourself.

Even if you try something and only get a little success odds are you can derive some kind of wisdom for yourself.

This isn't all necessarily true, I could be wrong but it's how I've come to see things.

[Epikur]

@PetarKa

Adult teaching costs more. Joke aside yes are not robots we need emotions to learn. I guess it is very hard to find the sweet spot for everybody. 

He says himself you have to check other sources as well. So you don't have to get obsessed with that stuff. You don't have to get deep with it. You can use a different angle I guess.

[JessiChell]

@PetarKa

 

 

2

 Advanced issues found

▲

 

 

5 hours ago, PetarKa said:

you NEED to watch every video to understand the later topics.

I've found the opposite. Each episode, I take away a tool or technique to use or apply. We are taught a piece to a whole, yes. But no one understands the whole. It's endless learning. We will never understand the whole. Even if you were to watch and take in every video, every book ever written by anyone, I still think, you would never understand the whole. Maybe we should accept not knowing? 
 

 

 

1

 Advanced issue found

▲

 

 

5 hours ago, PetarKa said:

"I believe you should"

Why do you believe?

5 hours ago, PetarKa said:

"they also made me"

Who made you?

5 hours ago, PetarKa said:

"emotional turmoil"

Who's responsible for this?

5 hours ago, PetarKa said:

"It speaks"

 

[Nahm]

@PetarKa

This is a fairytale though. That’s the miraculous astounding feeling it’s all made of. 

[zeroISinfinity]

Yeah real fantasy. 

Jed and his vacation. But there is no vacation before you die. So paradoxical. 

For vacation you don't pay money you give your 'self' and everything that goes with it. 

Kinda losing half of total package deal. 

Because of this ❤️ thing I laugh all the God damn time. It really was a set up. But why it was hidden. Why it never allowed me to feel like this? Also caused me suffering because I didn't know anything or what exactly I am looking for in life. Bloody hell. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by zeroISinfinity

[Someone here]

9 hours ago, JessiChell said:

Even if you were to watch and take in every video, every book ever written by anyone, I still think, you would never understand the whole. Maybe we should accept not knowing? 

The whole can't be "understood" or "known" by defintion. Because knowing and understanding are parts  from the whole. The whole can only be the whole. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Someone here

[hamedsf]

you made the main point and it goes to show you to be fully independent!

simply everything that puts you inside a box, destroy that box! 

any teaching that you receive is just a guidance for you to take a unique path of your unique "self-knowledge".

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by hamedsf

[JosephKnecht]

17 hours ago, PetarKa said:

that you NEED to watch every video to understand the later topics. T

You have to know algebra to understand calculus. If you don't understand algebra, you will never understand calculus.

There are certain prerequisites to knowledge. If Leo doesn't cover them he would lose most of the people in the advanced topics. 

17 hours ago, PetarKa said:

but they also made me dogmatic and over-emotional about this whole field of work (self-actualization).

The main purpose of his videos is to inspire you. 

If it makes you emotional, you are attaching too much value to his words. Don't do that. 

You can assume that everything Leo has ever said is wrong. Try to think for yourself to prove yourself right. Only then you will have less Dogma and more Truth. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by JosephKnecht

[universe]

1.

I mean come on. There are so many foundational videos on his channel he made over the last years. If I would have only recently became aware of his videos, the first thing I would do is watch all his previous videos. Asking him to repeat the same over and over is like telling an artist to only draw the same flower or make the same music. There are not so many people I know of that have earned their privilege to talk about these topics as much as Leo did.

This is all answered in his video

I get your point that this could be a disclaimer in every video but it would take time away from the new videos. Also there are like 30-40 videos he made that have an equal right to be shown as a disclaimer on new videos. It would be inconvenient to go over it time and time again...

 

2.

When the fairy tale becomes real you know all this work has finally paid off. Also there is this saying "shooting for the moon" and so on.

[supremeyingyang]

58 minutes ago, hamedsf said:

simply everything that puts you inside a box, destroy that box!

Or destroy what put you in that Box. Not necessary Exoteric but Esoteric, from the creative Destruction will something new receive Nourishment.

It's hard to decide if one should go with the flow or destruct it. The Box is not always bad, but one is likely to outgrow the Box.

@PetarKa

I wrote before that I see the development of a 'Culture' in this Forum which is a double-edged sword.

[SgtPepper]

With these criteria, you could argue that university has cult elements. 

I just don't see these factors as cult-like. In my mind, I do not put the responsibility on Leo for how other's are interpreting and applying the material in their lives. It is always up to you to think for yourself, question authority, and verify for yourself. All of these challenges you came up against are great opportunities to self-reflect and learn about yourself, it's not about Leo.

It's as if the people who are so easily caught up in cults are lazy critical thinkers and lack self-esteem; then get upset when they make their teachers more than what they are.

Watching Leo's videos is like having a chat with a very smart friend/brother. Even If I did not agree with everything Leo says because of lack of experience and evidence, it is an opportunity to go, "huh, there is more that I need to discover".

[Thewritersunion]

Elon Musk is not a monopolist. He is a visionary with a humanitarian identity.

Do not mix him up with Jeff Bezos. Jeff started Amazon to make a shit ton of profit because his Wall Street job wasn’t enough while Elon asked himself “what does humanity need?”

That it very different. 
 

Other than that I’d say Elon’s mainly a yellow guy in private but orange in public. 

[PetarKa]

The points I outlined were my personal issues and difficulties with Leo's material. I should clear up that I really appreciate this content and it has dramatically changed my trajectory in life. However there will always be things to improve upon, and my hope with this post was to bootstrap this process of improvement and to give feedback to the creator (Leo) and also to point out the traps I have fallen into while following this channel so that others can use what I've learned for themselves.

Because this type of community and this type of content are very rare, the way they are structured and formatted right now is still in it's infancy. I find that this type of feedback and critical conversations are essential for progressing the community and the channel. I encourage others to also share their views and how Actualized.org and this community can improve.

P.S. I'm sorry if I couldn't respond to everyone, but that would make my post too long.