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Posts by David Vaughn75

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Will there ever be peace? in Spirituality ·
Sam Martinez9 said:Responsibility is an individual matter.

Someone holding a smartphone shouldn't be held accountable for the actions of a soldier, regardless of whether that soldier belongs to their own nation or a foreign one.

The responsibility lies with the soldier. The soldier is the one holding the rifle, operating the tank, or firing the mortar...

We aren't omnipotent; we can only do what is within our power. That is where our true responsibility lies—asking ourselves if we have done everything possible. Take yourself, for instance. Suppose you despise certain officials in Washington. Can you personally do anything to remove a Secretary you disagree with? And even if you could, how would you ensure someone just as bad doesn't simply slide into that seat under a different name?

Perhaps young people have simply realized that they are powerless to change the system.

That said, the burden of taking action arguably falls more heavily on the older generation. Older citizens understand the levers of power and know they have the agency to pull them. The youth are still just learning the ropes and trying to find their footing in society.

It's like a massive river flowing by—what does my tiny little drop even matter in all that water?
But hey, if you cast your vote against a government that's busy picking fights and spreading violence, you've done your part.

If you sat on the fence and didn't vote for anyone at all, you still carry a bit of the blame—it might not be huge, but it's there.
Even doing nothing... yeah, you're responsible for that too.
Will there ever be peace? in Spirituality ·
Sarah Nguyen96 said:Only the corrupt officials sitting in their offices benefit from politics. Regular people are expected to just adapt to whatever they decide. I'm glad we young people aren't interested. There's no point in getting involved anyway.

That kind of apathy is exactly what lets those guys stay comfortable in their offices forever.
Will there ever be peace? in Spirituality ·
Sam Martinez9 said:I find myself in complete agreement here. This whole "selfie civilization" we’ve drifted into is deeply unsettling. It breeds a pervasive sense of superficiality and a blatant disregard for genuine connection. Everything is becoming a performance rather than an experience.

Look, at the end of the day, I’d much rather see them staring at their smartphone screens than swinging machetes. It’s a simple trade-off: I'll take a generation obsessed with taking selfies over one that’s busy decapitating people any day of the week.

But that’s exactly where we hit the wall.

See, while he's sitting there scrolling through his phone, the soldiers from his own country are out there doing the dirty work—fighting wars and killing people—and he couldn't care less. It doesn't even register.

You talk about needing "awareness," like if people actually gave a damn, they'd use their votes to kick out the warmongers and the agitators at the ballot box. But that? That just isn't happening. If anything, it's the opposite. Young people today are becoming more and more disconnected from politics. It’s all about chasing a paycheck and finding a date—that's pretty much the entire extent of their worldview.
Will there ever be peace? in Spirituality ·
Sam Martinez9 said:Of course they will.

But when?

Only once human consciousness evolves to a certain point.

First, we have to realize that war inflicts irreparable damage on everyone involved—and I use the term *winners* loosely here, because there are no winners in a conflict; the only true victors are death and destruction itself.

Once we reach that stage of development, people stop fighting out of pure selfishness. They restrain themselves from violence and opt for peaceful resolutions simply to avoid hurting their own interests.

The next level of evolution is understanding that there isn't actually anyone to fight against. There are no "enemies." There are just different people—people who speak different languages, think differently, or perhaps even think incorrectly.

But honestly, it’s better to let people be wrong than to try and force them toward "correctness" through warfare and bloodshed. If you kill a man's child, you can bet he won't be thinking "rationally" anymore; the sheer agony of that loss leaves no room for logic.

At the end of the day, all wars are driven by material motives; essentially, every war is just a glorified form of robbery.

Everyone loses in a war, both in ways we can measure and ways we cannot (for instance, the immeasurable loss of a child whose potential might have led to a breakthrough benefiting all of humanity).

There is enough for everyone on this planet. People who obsessively hoard material goods fail to realize they are wasting their limited time on trivialities. You can only sleep in one bed at a time, sit in one chair... having a surplus of stuff doesn't enrich a person; quite the opposite, the possessions end up owning the person. Stuff owns you.

Yeah, well—that’s not happening anytime soon.

We’ve basically turned into this massive, shallow selfie-obsessed civilization that spends all day liking photos of random cats on Facebook while completely ignoring the fact that people's entire lives are being torn apart halfway across the globe—sometimes even because of their own country. Someone out there is losing their home, their family, everything they own, and we just sit here scrolling, totally unbothered, as long as the chaos isn't knocking on our own front door.
Pros and cons of spiritual practices in Spirituality ·
copperpanther27 said:The whole thing about spirituality is basically a trade-off where the perks of being spiritual are just the downsides of materialism, and the flaws of spirituality are actually the strengths of materialism...

Look, I don't think it's an "either-or" situation—spirituality and materialism aren't actually at war with each other. It's more like spirituality sits on a higher plane than the material stuff.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
Noah Garcia4 said:Well, things haven't exactly been smooth sailing for me either, so what else could it be if not that?

Screw the past, man. We’re living here in the US right now, in the here and now, so we gotta focus on what's coming next and how we actually move forward.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
Robin Lopez2 said:My private therapist mentioned to me that while many people have a genetic predisposition toward schizophrenia, they never actually develop it because they live relatively stable, comfortable lives.

What's your take on that?

Could be true.

Back when life was cruising along smooth for me, I felt totally fine—but once all the real bullshit started hitting the fan, that's when everything finally broke.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
Robin Lopez2 said:Does anyone actually know what that factor is?

Look, nobody’s nailed down the exact cause yet—but we do know that any kind of life frustration just acts like gasoline on a fire when it comes to fueling psychosis.

So, if you think about it, the best "cure" for psychosis is basically just living a decent, high-quality life.
The problem is, half the people out there don't even have a clue what a "quality life" actually looks like, which is why they end up sitting on a therapist's couch in the first place. Take a woman stuck in an abusive marriage, for example—she isn't just going to pack her bags and bolt immediately. You've got to dig into those deeper, messy psychological triggers that keep us paralyzed and stuck in place before anything actually changes.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
Robin Lopez2 said:Maybe the topic shifted because people living with schizophrenia are staying quiet about their struggles. Lately, we’ve seen here that this illness is truly a matter of life and death. No one is suggesting calling the cops as a first resort; rather, we suggest seeking professional psychiatric help. For us, nothing works except medication—psychotherapy and talking don't cut it.

The real question is whether this thread can actually help anyone. Can those of us dealing with this really speak openly about our burdens when, during a psychotic episode, nothing seems to matter because we feel like we own the universe?

Take you, for example. You left this discussion saying you were taking 1mg of Risperdal, that you landed a job, and that everything was great. Then you vanished for a long stretch, only to resurface now with the shocking news that you attempted suicide.

I was genuinely happy and proud of you for doing well and finding the right meds. I assumed your absence from the forum meant you simply had nothing left to report because life was finally good.

At the very least, check in once a week. Even just a single sentence or a happy or sad smiley face would suffice.

Look, some people take their meds and actually manage to pull themselves together to live a normal life, while others just sink deeper into the pit and go totally south, even when they're being strictly compliant with the prescription.

Pills handle the symptoms—it’s like if you’re bleeding out and you need to stop the flow—but you still have to address the actual root cause driving the psychosis in the first place.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
Noah Garcia4 said:Yeah, yeah, go ahead and roast me—I'm clearly the favorite target here. 👏
Even a Teddy loses their cool once in a while. 🕺

So, here’s my message to anyone out there contemplating suicide—I am seriously grateful to God that my own attempt didn't work out, because honestly, recovery is actually possible if you stick with it.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
I’ve been through hell—literally tried to slit my wrists once—but I guess luck was on my side because I sliced the wrong side of my arm instead.
Pros and cons of spiritual practices in Spirituality ·
Michael Gonzalez77 said:The spiritual isn't the "opposite" of the material. You've got to look at it a bit more deeply than that.

God, in His fundamental state, has no rival, no antipode, no opposite, and there isn't some parallel existence out there to compare Him to.

If we say an ant and the entire cosmos share a certain alignment—in terms of what we call the will of the creator—well, even then, there is absolutely nothing in existence that compares to that will.

It's like comparing a single dot to a cat. 🙂

So, you're basically just backing up everything I said—no cap.

Look, God is pure spirit, right? And because of that, there isn't an antipode—there’s no dark mirror version to balance Him out. My soul works the same way; it's purely spiritual, which means there’s just no counterweight to what David Vaughn75 is putting out there. It's a non-issue. But everything else in the physical world? Everything tangible? That stuff is trapped in a constant tug-of-war with its own reflection. You see it everywhere. You've got magnetic poles pushing and pulling, positive versus negative charges, gravity fighting against expansion, pressure clashing with a vacuum... it's all there. Even when you step up to the more subtle levels, it's the same old story: good vs. evil, smart vs. stupid, masculine vs. feminine. It’s like everything in this material existence is stuck inside its own little eggshell, forever locked in that duality.
Pros and cons of spiritual practices in Spirituality ·
Maria Parker77 said:Hold up, we really need to tweak that definition. The material isn't the enemy of the spiritual; it’s actually just one aspect of it. They aren't opposites at all.
If you go around defining "material" as the direct opposite of "spiritual," you end up trapped in this endless cycle of good versus evil... a loop that keeps spinning forever. Sure, the struggle might exist, but why stay stuck there? We actually have the chance right now to rise above this whole duality thing and find some actual balance. Imagine living without all that unnecessary resentment, envy, fighting, or fear. Once you hit that point, what used to be an eternal struggle turns into something else entirely. It becomes a game. The eternal game...😁

🎉 🎉 🎉

Even the spiritual realm follows the rules of cause and effect.

Look, energy—the spirit stuff—it follows determinism, sure, but spirituality in terms of the soul? Not necessarily.

The soul has to, as you put it, transcend the duality of energy.
Pros and cons of spiritual practices in Spirituality ·
Look, if you really dig into the definition, spirituality is basically just the antithesis of the material world—we're talking about stuff that doesn't play by the rules of cause and effect or that whole deterministic grind we're stuck in. All those pros and cons people obsess over? Those are just different sides of the same coin in this physical, material mess we live in.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
She’s finally back from the dead 👋 👋 👋 🙂 🙂 👍
Can meditation actually help me? in Spirituality ·
Benjamin Taylor6 said:So, what was the verdict from the doctors? Did they actually pin down a specific diagnosis?

And do they buy into the whole idea that this is all just kundalini 😲😁😲
?

Look, there’s nothing to "agree" or "disagree" about when you realize that neurology and psychiatry are still basically playing catch-up with how the brain and nervous system actually function.

Science hasn't even got a clue what actually triggers psychosis in the first place.
Schizophrenia - General Discussion in Psychology & Therapy ·
silentpilot97 said:Side note: I’ve been managing a schizophrenia diagnosis for four years now.
I was at an appointment at the local VA hospital for outpatient services the other day, and after talking with the doctor for about an hour, she mentioned she thinks I actually have Bipolar Disorder.
My dad had even pulled me aside a few months back to tell me he thought that was my actual diagnosis.
I’m 24, and honestly, alongside a massive stack of psychiatric records, I’ve got an even bigger pile of paperwork for physical health issues—blood clotting problems, nerve damage in my right arm... the whole works.
Last year, I was actually being proactive. I had a steady job, hit the gym three times a week, and picked up side gigs whenever I could. By June, my doctor told me I wouldn't need antipsychotics anymore because my schizophrenia seemed to have cleared up after three years. I actually argued with him, telling him I’d rather just taper off halfway because I knew from experience how badly I react when I quit them cold turkey. Then, in November, I made the stupid mistake of stopping my meds on my own, which completely destabilized me for the next six months. Once that happened, everything just "snapped" into focus, and I found myself looking back at all the idiocy of my past. After seeing all the mistakes I've made, I just lost any drive to keep going. I retreated into my own little bubble, shut the world out, and that was it.
Now, here I am at 24, feeling more like an old man than a young guy, both physically and mentally.
I just don't see anything left worth fighting for.
So far, Bob has saved me twice, for reasons known only to Him.
Once from a pulmonary embolism, and once from a brain hemorrhage.
I don't understand His plans; I really don't know why I'm still breathing.
People my age usually have something that gives them a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I don't have that.
Just a meaningless existence...

It's possible we're looking at post-schizophrenic depression here.

I went through my own little depressive funk for maybe two or three months once, and you know how I kicked it? By getting active in every single area of my life. I’m a huge believer in behavioral psychology—I truly believe that our mental state doesn't dictate what we do; rather, our actions are what actually shape our mental state.
Can meditation actually help me? in Spirituality ·
I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate seeing this kind of nonsense pop up on my feed—it’s like every single day there’s some new flavor of absolute madness being pushed by people who clearly haven't spent five minutes looking at the actual reality of things. It’s exhausting, honestly. You sit down, hoping for a little bit of sanity, and instead, you get hit with this wave of complete and utter delusion. I mean, seriously? Is anyone actually buying this stuff anymore? It reminds me of this one time back when I was working that dead-end gig in Chicago—you know, the one where the manager thought he could solve every single logistical nightmare just by shouting louder? That was exactly the vibe here. Just loud, empty noise masquerading as "insight." It’s all just theater, man. Pure, unadulterated theater designed to make people feel like they’ve stumbled onto some grand secret when, in reality, they’re just being played like a cheap fiddle. I'm so over it. Everything feels increasingly hollow, like we're all just circling the drain while everyone pretends everything is perfectly fine. It’s enough to make you want to just unplug the whole damn machine and walk away. kaže:
I honestly don't get the logic here—like, if someone actually managed to tap into some kind of real power or spiritual breakthrough, why on earth would they automatically end up in Hell? It’s such a weird contradiction. It feels like the whole system is rigged to say you have to be totally broken, miserable, and pathetic just to catch a glimpse of Heaven. But honestly? If you ask me, living a life of pure misery and self-pity is probably the fastest, most surefire way to land straight in the fire.

Look, regarding that whole bhakti thing you mentioned—I’m totally with you. I honestly think bhakti is the easiest path out of all of them, but here’s my take: I don't really view God as some "person" sitting up there like one of us mortals. To me, God is more like the fundamental essence, the actual source of everything within every single one of us. I see bhakti as this deep, unshakable sense of trust—it's about finally letting go and just being free from all that constant, nagging fear.

People say Kundalini is this purely feminine principle—and honestly? I believe it. Because let’s be real, when it comes to women, there is absolutely zero room for playing around. They don't mess around.

Look, let’s get one thing straight—hell isn't about whether you were a saint or a sinner, or if you died with a fat bank account or nothing to your name. That whole "good vs. evil" or "rich vs. poor" narrative? It’s total nonsense. People love to project their own earthly drama onto the afterlife, thinking there’s some cosmic scorecard based on how much they donated to charity or how many zeros were in their checking account at Chase, but that's just not how it works. It doesn't care about your status or your moral high ground. It’s something else entirely.
Look, if you’re the kind of person who thinks you can just go rogue—just coast through life relying solely on your own ego without ever needing anyone else—then honestly? You're heading straight to hell. I mean it. There's this massive delusion that you can just sit in some lonely corner of the world, try to reach "enlightenment" or whatever, without actually interacting with other souls. It’s impossible. If you try to find truth while cutting yourself off from everyone else, you’re just going to end up with some twisted, warped version of reality. And once you start operating on that fake, misguided understanding? That's when things get ugly. Wrong perception leads directly to shitty actions, plain and simple. You can't skip the human element and expect to come out clean on the other side.

So, I’ve got this one little story that pretty much sums up how the whole world works—you know, that messy, chaotic reality we’re all stuck in. Picture this: God decides to set up this weird little social experiment in a single room. He gathers a bunch of angels and demons together, but here’s the kicker—He ties their hands behind their backs. And what does He tie to their hands? A single spoon, about six feet long. Just a massive, ridiculous utensil. In the dead center of the room, there’s a huge pile of food. It looks incredible, right? Everything you could ever want. Now, watch how it plays out. The demons—bless their chaotic little hearts—start doing these insane, frantic acrobatics, twisting and turning, trying every desperate trick in the book just to get a tiny bit of food from the end of that long spoon into their own mouths. It’s pure madness, total self-destruction just to grab a bite. But the angels? They aren't even breaking a sweat. They just use the spoon to feed one another. Simple, elegant, and actually gets the job done. It’s kind of a cynical way to look at things, I guess—seeing everyone scrambling and tearing themselves apart while others just... cooperate—but man, sometimes it feels like that’s exactly what we’re watching on the news every single night. 😉

Look, you’re out here calling me a personalist like it’s some big revelation—but honestly? You clearly haven't got a clue what you're talking about. 😁
Look, if you actually lived by the principles of Advaita, there's no way on earth you'd be clinging to that nationalist, socialist nonsense. It just doesn't compute. ☕

bluemason3 said:It’s usually the people who haven't been through much that claim this. They think a little spinal jumping and some ecstatic kundalini visions are all it takes.

Back then, things were different. People dealt with a whole set of traditional boundaries and social hurdles that just didn't exist anymore.

I’d suggest checking out some books by Gopa Krisne, or maybe Goel if you're interested. 😁

Of course, I won't pretend to be objective about an experience like that. It’s hard to say where the line is drawn between a genuine spiritual breakthrough and what some might call a mental health crisis—though, if you look at it from a certain perspective, you could make that argument about spirituality itself.

Krcanin’s apologetic nonsense is just plain senseless. Kundalini—or tantra, if you prefer—isn't tied to any one specific doctrine or set of spiritual goals. You can find it everywhere: among the Mayavadins, the dualists, the Shaivas, the Vaishnavas, the Smarthas, and the Shaktas. At the end of the day, yoga is its own distinct philosophical system, most closely resembling a simplified, theistic version of Samkhya.

This whole debate over personal versus impersonal is just religious circular reasoning. It’s the same old trick where someone invents a mythological framework out of thin air and then uses it to "prove" their own point without ever actually validating the premise. You see this kind of thing in certain Pure Land Buddhist sects too. They rely entirely on their own internal logic and specific authorities to make it work. There isn't any objective evidence from observing different traditions or practices—no historical, philosophical, or logical basis for it whatsoever. It's ultimately an empty argument.

It’s the same old story with the whole idea of the Kali Yuga. It’s basically just Puranic mythological fantasy—which people love to mislabel as "Vedic" even though it isn't actually found in the Vedas. To me, it's just pseudohistorical nonsense that completely falls apart when you look at actual, concrete material data.

These religious arguments are honestly a joke. You’ve got people like Krcanin and Muslims going back and forth, claiming they have all the answers. One person says Jesus is the ultimate truth. No, they say Muhammad brought the final truth. No, it's Jesus and that's that. No, it's Muhammad and nothing else. It's neither Jesus nor Muhammad. Lalalalala. Honestly, it's just Jesus. I swear, I'm about to lose my mind with you non-believers. 😈

People are constantly bickering over whose unbelievable, baseless fairy tale is more 🤣

Yeah, we definitely caught on that you're an atheist.🙄

Look, this isn't the place where we sit around explaining to each other why every single religion is wrong just because they lack scientific proof. If you want to start a thread like that, fine, then we can debate *why* people believe in anything, or you can just go hit your head against a wall if you're just here to troll.😁 ☕
Can meditation actually help me? in Spirituality ·
Tyler Williams80 said:I can see that messing around with kundalini is no joke—honestly, the idea of diving deep into all that meditation stuff scares me a little bit 😁 Even though this whole "self-discovery" thing sounds right up my alley, I’m pretty convinced my chakras or whatever energy pathways are in play just aren't clean enough yet—not that I’d say I’m 100% sold on the existence of God or chakras, per se. For the first few months, I think I'll just stick to something basic, maybe just sitting quietly with my eyes closed, to give my thoughts more room to wander and see where the road leads. Thanks for all the input. That part about triggering mental health issues really hit a nerve—definitely doesn't sound like a fun time—though I do deal with low ego issues, which I don't really view as some huge "curse." I also have episodes of OCPa attacks, which I honestly feel have shaped me into the person I am today. It makes me wonder, though—could mental health struggles actually be our way of perceiving energy that we just aren't prepared for? Or is it just hardwired into us? I'm not talking about medical stuff like genetics here, but come on, aren't we supposed to be the masters of our own bodies?

Listen, kundalini yoga and meditation are two totally different beasts. You don't need to freak out thinking you're gonna accidentally trigger your kundalini by mistake—you actually have to know exactly what you're doing and follow professional guidance to make that happen.
Can meditation actually help me? in Spirituality ·
mistygull16 said:But what does it actually boil down to? I mean, reading about these intense experiences... it’s kind of confusing. People talk about this massive power shift, but then you wonder if there's anything left afterward—like, does it leave you with some kind of clarity, or just being totally free from fear and sadness? It's hard to wrap my head around when I read these accounts. 🤔

Some folks say you don't even need to wake up your Kundalini to hit enlightenment, while others swear it's the only way. Then you've got the crowd saying it's tied to siddhis, which might actually get in the way of your spiritual progress, not to mention all the warnings about it being dangerous... 🤷

The skeptics call it Mayavada stuff—just materialists or power-hungry types—but honestly? If you try that route without ending up in hell, your odds are basically one in a million. ☕
To stay on a strictly impersonal track, you’d need an insane amount of knowledge, and let's face it, we're living in the Kali Yuga—that kind of wisdom just isn't lying around anymore. That’s why the personal path, the path of serving a divine Person, is much more practical and, frankly, easier.

Everyone—including you—keeps harping on about "enlightenment," but that's missing the whole point. The real goal here is getting to know a divine Person. If you want to actually earn the favor of God, you have to understand who He is and how to show Him devotion. 😉