Posts by Sam Wright21

mistybison said:As a rule, I don't participate in subforums dealing with "life" topics. I might write a post once every six months, but it's extremely rare. Usually, I only chime in if a headline catches my eye on the main page. The discussions in those sections are incredibly strange. Someone will come in presenting a dilemma or seeking advice, only to be attacked and torn apart by other users until the victim ends up being blamed for everything—as if they were the worst person on earth. Or, people construct bizarre scenarios about their lives that leave the individual feeling insecure, terrified, disillusioned, or foolish. Ultimately, the author certainly feels ten times worse after posting than they did before.

I believe this happens because there is a dominant forum philosophy that suggests an author needs to be "slapped with the truth." There used to be a certain level of witty benevolence in those interactions, but as the direct and good-natured users disappeared, all that remained was the "brutal slap." Not every thread is like this, but many are. The only life-related topics that aren't quite so harsh are found in the psychology section, which is the only subforum I occasionally visit (though less frequently than before). I don't even read the others. When I first returned to the forum two years ago, I would start reading one of those threads and find it so aggravating and unsettling that I eventually gave up the habit altogether.

That was exceptionally well put. Honestly, it’s probably for the best that you decided to step away from those kinds of topics altogether.

hiddenpuma75 said:Anyway, here is a quick little take on vampirism and this particular book

https://www.amazon.com/books/vampire-romance-classic

So, we finally arrive at this point. It seems the pieces have finally fallen into place, much like the inevitable conclusion of a slow-moving legal drama on a Tuesday night. One can almost hear the quiet click of the final gear turning.

I know exactly what’s going on here; I haven't actually sat down to watch or read any of it, despite how much buzz it seems to be generating.

It boils down to a symbiotic relationship, doesn't it? I still haven't quite figured out why I have such a weakness for those third-tier vampires—the ones who act like needy, clingy toddlers. I suppose I get something out of it, but what? Maybe just a fleeting sense of hope? 🤔

That said, if you find yourself being blindsided by a vampire, calling it a "symbiotic relationship" feels like a bit of a stretch. But then again, that's just how they play it in the movies. In real life, you can always fight your way out.

Blah blah blah

That’s about all I managed to get through before losing interest🤔

hiddenpuma75, rather than draining my spirit, you actually managed to give me a laugh 😬

If you start airing all those grievances over at the Psychocouch, maybe you'll finally find some way to save a buck 😬

Even if you persist with those endless ramblings about Dr. Mark, I won't be particularly moved. Nor will I sit here rehashing the works of Serena Alba—I'm hearing about her for the very first time

PS All my insights regarding those specific types of vampires come from nothing more than my own direct observations.

I find myself in complete agreement with you.

feralranger said:True enough, though I would venture to suggest that active engagement is significantly more intense; the experience itself feels exponentially more profound—though, of course, one can never truly grasp someone else's perspective, as these subjective realities likely vary wildly from person to person...

You're absolutely right, but let's be honest: not everyone possesses that kind of capacity.

A-ha. That little pack of zealots won't run from anything 😬

The forum acts as their sanctuary, a digital fortress where they feel untouchable. You don't even need to invite them into your home; you just have to step inside "theirs."

It serves as a remedy even for the most casual consumer...

neonmarlin39 said:If the old legends are right, the only way to deal with vampires is a wooden stake through the heart or just taking their head off—probably easiest to do while they're sleeping. Garlic isn't even the real deal; it's more like a mild deterrent than actual protection...

Art can be quite healing, much like a good sense of humor. That’s precisely why I brought up *What We Do in the Shadows*.

mistybison said:Maybe we should all just add a laurel wreath to our avatars, just to be safe, if only to protect ourselves from these forum vampires. 🤔

Could you elaborate on what you mean by that?

Exactly.

It makes one wonder why we subconsciously decide who fits into our inner circle and who doesn't—why we extend an invitation to one person while instinctively keeping another at arm's length, or perhaps refusing to let them through the front door even when they feel familiar.

bluemason3 said:Do I need to worry about intellectual property rights here? 😳

How would the dictionary entry actually look?

bullshitter - a person who rambles incessantly without any solid foundation; a pseudo-philosopher, a fake spiritualist, an alternative type.
synonyms: windbag, blowhard, loudmouth, phony, empty suit
Antithesis: STEM expert, scientist, productive citizen

🧐 😁

That gave me a good laugh! 😁

Jesse Davis said:How many times have you dealt with someone being just plain malicious toward you—you know, people who seem to have this desperate need to belittle you or provoke a reaction through lies and fabrications? To be honest, it happens to me quite frequently...
Sometimes I’ll admit, I get genuinely angry at those injustices, especially if the person acting that way ends up getting ahead while I'm left behind.
But then again, most of the time I just find myself laughing at them—it’s because I know exactly who I am and what my worth is—though, like anyone else, I still have those days where certain things just hit a little harder than they should...
What I really want to say is that if someone feels the need to tear you down, insult you, or play dirty just to reach a goal, it's usually because they are deeply unhappy with themselves and their own lives. It's particularly true for those types who try so hard to be "perfect" and please everyone; at the end of the day, they still have to go home and face their true selves, and all that hypocrisy eventually catches up to them.
What are your thoughts on all this??

I experienced this exact phenomenon right here on the ZUD forums, where I was essentially ganged up on by a mob,😬

In my view, what we are witnessing is a classic case of emotional vampirism; they are simply looking to drain your vitality. There are essentially three distinct archetypes of emotional or energetic vampires, and the question is which kind you happen to encounter.

For instance, the type I encountered on the ZUD forums—who largely operate through pack mentality because they are nothing more than mediocrities—is impossible to avoid, as they rely on crude, low-brow humor to mock others.

A subcategory of this would be the "geniuses," figures like Carlos Castaneda or Pablo Picasso; they tend to strike individually, possessing enough intellectual weight to employ methods far more cruel and sophisticated than the average mediocre crowd.

Your post specifically addresses that first group.

Then, you have the vampires who attempt to kill you through sheer logorrhea—endless, tedious monologues—much like our colleague hiddenpuma75.

Finally, there is the third type, which I personally find the most exhausting: the eternal complainers, the perpetual mourners, the endless victims. Those are the ones I prefer to avoid at all costs.

There is a great movie called What We Do in the Shadows about vampires, and it was later adapted into a series. In that context, there is a modern twist involving an emotional vampire of a different sort. He spends time with a female vampire of the third type, but their relationship inevitably collapses because they are too evenly matched; neither can satisfy their parasitic need to drain energy from the other.

Thomas Nelson25 said:Spot on—it's all about that dark side or the ID stuff.

But honestly, what does it even mean to be a good person?

For starters, it means not being an emotional vampire...

hiddenpuma75 said:Well, what you said above is just keeping things obvious—it’s a thought that costs absolutely nothing, neither effort nor money.
The real issue is that such a banal sentiment actually has to be proven through action.
In other words, someone needs to possess enough love for the truth to actually write a book about Carlos Castaneda, much like Amy Wallace did. Then, someone like hiddenpuma75 has to be willing to buy it, read it, and have the passion to write something back.

Do you actually have the drive to sit down and read a book by Amy Wallace?

If you say no, or that you simply don't care, then I'd ask you to please start a (spiritual) thread about some (spiritual) book you *have* read and share those insights with us.

Love is about selfless giving. 🧐

Love isn't just typing out obvious, 150-character text messages that require zero financial investment or actual effort.

To be honest, I haven't even had the energy to tackle Carlos Castaneda... ☕

I really intended to address the original post properly and stay on topic, but life is calling me away right now. 😬

hiddenpuma75 said:Well, this whole thing is such a mess that we might as well start with him.

It wasn't some peer like Sisyphus or hiddenpuma75 who exposed Castaned; rather, it was his own famous lover and student, Amy Wallace, who pulled the rug out from under him.

Since Amy came across as vulnerable, pathetic, and even "foolish" in that devastating testimony, it actually makes me feel—as someone acting as a juror here—that what she said was the truth.

Amy essentially sacrificed her own dignity just to pass along the truth and serve as a warning about a truly repulsive individual and his bizarre, dangerous cult of followers.

So, all I did was do my part: I bought the book, read it, 🙂 and then shared the ugly, dirty, foul, and slimy reality regarding Carlos Castaneda’s private life, his lies, his cruelty, and his eccentricities with the dreamers back in the States.

The bottom line? Castaneda is a literary genius when it comes to fiction and psychology, but he clearly learned absolutely nothing from his own books because, at his core, he remained a terrible human being.

At the end of the day, real-life practice and lived experience matter far more than theory and fiction, don't you think? 😉

Being a brilliant artist doesn't automatically make someone a decent human being.

hiddenpuma75 said:I can't quite recall what that was about. Do you have a link, or could you elaborate a bit? 🤔

I’d suggest looking into a PDF on the subject. It's all just part of the usual American political theater.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Look, I don't care about gender—I'll call out anyone, regardless of sex, if they deserve it.
Take my colleague, for example.

Personally, I couldn't care less about the Markic situation.
Though, I know some people won't see eye to eye with me on this:

🙏🙏🙏🤣🤣🤣

Absolutely brilliant; I can't stop laughing at this!

Morgan Peterson6 said:I remember reading this story ages ago about a guy who actually died and was clinically dead for three days. Apparently, there’s even medical records to back it up—he was dealing with cancer and made this one final request to his caregiver: don't bury him or report him dead for three whole days. I can't recall his name, but he was a staunch atheist while he was alive.
Once he passed, he merged into this massive cosmic consciousness. He described it as a state of pure, unconditional love—honestly, it sounds like it would be deeper and more intense than anything we could ever dream up. He saw this incredible mandala formed by human souls, and he saw souls passing through, guided by figures like Buddha or Jesus... basically, whatever you believed in during your life is what meets you on the other side. Since he was an atheist, he just merged into that mandala without any specific figure waiting for him. He wrote so much about it—just beautiful descriptions of this "heaven." Mostly it was about love, oneness, and the realization that we're all just one single soul...
I've also read Anita Moorjani, and she writes about that exact same thing—that feeling of merging with unconditional love.

But then there's this other stuff... honestly, it's the scariest thing I've ever read.
It makes your blood run cold.
And seriously, if you're someone who's easily influenced, reading this might leave you living in fear for the rest of your life.
Because once you mess up here, the devils come dragging you down.

This whole thing is just a tedious, unbelievable load of garbage🤦

I skimmed through it diagonally.

Paradise according to the vision of a Jehovah's Witness (an illustration provided by Unknown)