Posts by Brian Foster3

slymaker9 said:Surroundings

I am searching for the right environment,
to dive into the depths?
To soar to new heights?
Or just stay centered in the middle?

If I dive too deep,
I might fall into a void
where neither mountains nor valleys are in sight.

If I take flight toward the sky,
I could crash or burn out;
it’s better to keep my feet on the ground.

Staying in the center feels comfortable,
yet somehow remains empty.

Once I build a little cabin, somewhere between heaven and earth,
that is where I will settle down and invite all my friends
to come and build a community around me.

Now, I know this isn't exactly creative; if I were graded on four main criteria, I'd probably get a 5 out of 100. 😂

And hey, feel free to ignore these verses; they aren't exactly "The One," but they kept me entertained. 🙂

👏👏👏

Why wouldn't they be? They totally are. Honestly, this whole poetic atmosphere is exactly where I belong...😉😍

slymaker9 said:Where am I supposed to find that kind of environment? When I talk to my friends, everything is fine, but in daily life, I mostly run into nothing but trouble,😳 so I might as well just buy them a drink.
It wasn't meant to be a poem; it just turned out poorly on the fly.😍

The poem is freaking awesome!!! 😍

If you actually want to find your tribe, you will—it doesn't just happen by accident. You have to make it happen. That means taking a hard look at who you are and where you're standing, while being dead certain about the kind of community you want to belong to. You aren't going to find a real answer to that overnight. 😉

slymaker9 said:It would be quite the spectacle, for instance,
court order
The motion is granted—wow, just wow.
Rationale
Given that your creation
has met every single requirement that should
be outlined in this rationale.
This court order is hereby issued,
to both our great delight.
Notice of right to appeal:
If any part of the proceedings was flawed
or if you find any part of this court order unsatisfactory,
you may contact the Department of Creation
to file an appeal.
However, $17 you must include the necessary filing fee,
and they aren't playing around when it comes to those fees.
🤣

😍
.
.
.
☕

That law isn't man-made for people to just go around tweaking; it's how reality itself functions.
So, if you've got a problem with it, you can take it straight to the CEO of Reality. That’s usually where you end up anyway. 😍...and as for those "evidences," He already settled that—in advance. 😍

slymaker9 said:I know you mean well, and I truly believe your intentions are good, but sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
That said, I have to admit that when I was responding to Vertigo regarding whether a certain success would help me, I actually broke down in tears.
This is just who I am, and I don't see any reason to justify my nature to people who, thank God, possess healthy and resilient nervous systems. My situation isn't even that extreme; seeing the absolute chaos and the walking dead in hospital waiting rooms puts things in perspective. I am not looking for hospitalization, nor will I do anything to cause myself harm.
I won't lose my mind in the sense of experiencing psychosis. However, it isn't simple, even with medication. It is a completely different experience when you are genuinely okay versus when you are relying on medicine.
I haven't done anything wrong; this is simply how my nervous system functions. It has always been this way.
Just as someone with poor vision needs glasses, someone else might have a more sensitive nervous system.
I don't understand why people fail to see the parallel. You wouldn't tell a blind person to just take off their glasses and "try harder" to see; no matter how much willpower they exert, their vision remains blurred.
Compared to a diabetic or someone with severe visual impairment, I actually have an advantage because I have periods where I feel fine and don't require medication. For me, this condition acts more like seasonal allergies.
I have only fainted once, 😛 which was due to a sort of neurological circuit breaker. When the stress becomes too much, the body essentially pulls a fuse to protect itself. Consciousness simply cannot handle the load, and the person collapses. It is a 100% defensive mechanism.

As for my attempts at exposure therapy and similar methods—we aren't living in some hyper-sensitive bubble where everyone runs to a therapist the second they feel a bit down. To put it briefly, without getting into the weeds, those methods didn't work; they were actually disastrous.
Some people claim that the pain of a depressed person can be compared to the physical pain of a quadriplegic. I won't claim that is my specific experience, but what I deal with is a legitimate illness just like any other. I refuse to apologize for it, nor am I ashamed to speak about it. If anyone wants to stigmatize me, let them. If I had high blood pressure, I would simply say, "I take medication for my blood pressure." I don't have high blood pressure, I have a low tolerance for stress, and when I need pills, I will take them. Once I don't need them anymore, I'll stop. I certainly won't behave like a primitive by just lying in bed and giving up, especially since some people struggle to grasp that I need external serotonin to function, go to work, and live my life.

Again, I know your intentions aren't malicious, but unfortunately, those methods simply do not work for me.

The only way you’re ever going to actually thrive is by putting yourself in the right environment, period. That’s where your real freedom lies. If you pick the right circle, the problem solves itself; if you don't, you're just going to face the consequences, just like everyone else who makes that mistake. Nobody gets "punished" for who they are or what they do—that's just how life works automatically—but choosing your surroundings is a free choice, and you have to own the fallout. People who choose toxic environments end up suffering for it, while those who pick the right ones grow and move forward without all the unnecessary drama. If you just drift through whatever crowd happens to be around you, you're going to end up totally lost and confused because you aren't taking responsibility for your direction, especially when it comes to your spiritual growth. You're searching for something, but you don't even know what it is or where to look... at least, that's how it looks from where I'm sitting...

Since our environment basically dictates our values, we're essentially at its mercy. Because of that, we have to be intentional about picking a space that reinforces the values we actually want to live by. This gives us a real shot at self-improvement—by controlling our environment and how much we let ourselves get sucked into it, we take control of our own lives. In the end, it all comes down to where we point our energy. So, pull yourself together, take a breath, and really sit there and think about it through some deep self-reflection:where exactly are you pointing your finger, and where are you reaching out?

slymaker9 said:At the end of the day, all a person truly needs is very little.
One of my favorite thinkers and philosophers, Toma Bebić, captures this beautifully in this song (though unfortunately, I could only find the version covered by Banov):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v5xuBSI7T4

What do we actually need to survive? Food, clothing, shelter, understanding, acceptance, and love from others—that’s it. Some people also require spirituality, while others feel they don't need it at all.

If we look back at history, people worked hard to secure their basic necessities. Once those needs were met, it brought them a genuine sense of satisfaction, achievement, and fulfillment.

So, what has progress actually given us? While life is easier and more convenient in many ways, we are constantly bombarded with information. We are told we can't live without every single thing on the market, and we are perpetually categorized, ranked, and labeled.
Essentially, we have been turned into tools serving capital. Even those who possess wealth are, in a sense, instruments of it, because at some point, money takes control and usurps power over its supposed owner.
Capital has become both a god and a tyrant on this earth. Like water, it always finds a crack to seep through, turning things around in ways no drill ever could.
Some have embraced this easily, making capital their god; others struggle with it, seeking answers, peace, and even solace in spirituality.
Despite all the advancements and conveniences progress has provided, people today are unhappy, alienated, tired, and exhausted.
It seems to me that we are unhappier, more exhausted, and more disconnected than ever before.
We have distanced ourselves from nature, from God, from one another, and in part, from our very essence.
Is progress a revolution that will eventually consume its own children?
P.S. I hesitated between posting this in Philosophy or Spirituality, but I decided Spirituality was the better fit.
If the moderators feel another subforum is more appropriate, I have no objection to moving it.

It’s the exact same story we're seeing today, only back then people actually had a shred of humility left, whereas now the collective ego in this country has ballooned to a level that's honestly just pathetic.

Quincy:

And what has all this "progress" actually gotten us? Sure, life is supposedly easier and more convenient in a hundred different ways, but we're being absolutely bombarded by a non-stop flood of information, constantly being brainwashed into believing we can't survive a single day without every single shiny new gadget hitting the market, all while being incessantly categorized, ranked, and slapped with labels like we're nothing more than data points.

Back in the day, social classes, labels, and status rankings actually meant something—they felt heavy, permanent, and genuinely life-altering, unlike the shallow nonsense we deal with now. Of course, that was before this whole consumerist craze took over everything. Honestly, I think this obsession with buying stuff is just a direct byproduct of everyone’s massive, bloated egos getting bigger by the second.

Quincy:

We’ve basically been turned into nothing more than tools for capital to play with. Even the people who think they actually own the wealth are just pawns in the end—it's all a trap where the money eventually takes over and starts pulling the strings of the very people who claim to hold the power. Capitalism has basically become God and a heavy-handed bully ruling over this entire planet. It’s like water, though—it always finds that one tiny crack to seep through, eventually turning everything upside down in ways you'd never see coming. Some people just swallowed the whole thing whole, letting greed become their god, while others are struggling big time and desperately hunting for answers, peace, or even some kind of spiritual solace to make sense of it all.

Capitalism is basically just a giant mirror held up to our own selfish, pleasure-seeking nature. It takes all that dark, greedy stuff buried deep inside us and lets it run wild on a massive scale, which honestly serves as the ultimate wake-up call for humanity. At the end of the day, capitalism—with all its absolute filth and corruption—is only there to show us exactly who we really are and force us to face the evil we're capable of.

Quincy:

It’s honestly pathetic how people today feel so miserable, lonely, and just completely burnt out, even though we're surrounded by all this high-tech crap that was supposed to make our lives easier and push us forward. It honestly feels like they’re more miserable, exhausted, and completely burnt out than ever before—just totally alienated from everything. We’ve completely lost our connection to the great outdoors, we’ve turned our backs on God, and honestly, we’ve become totally alienated from one another—it’s like we’ve fractured our own souls just to keep up with this hollow, modern way of living.

We aren't exactly born this way, but let’s be real—we’ve drifted apart, and we’re all becoming strangers to one another. You can't even begin to fix the absolute mess we're in until you actually face the fact that everything is broken. The tragedy of humanity right now is that everyone can feel this deep, sickening sense that something is wrong, but nobody has a clue why it’s happening or what kind of medicine could actually cure us.

Quincy:

Is progress just some kind of runaway revolution that eventually turns around and devours its own children?

Nah. Everything is working exactly how it should.

Edward Flores4 said:In other words—you can't really put a label on this whole "philosophy" of mine... right? 🙂

It’s actually pretty tough to put into words—you know, that specific feeling of trying to describe something that just isn't there. It's like trying to explain the shape of a hole or describing the silence in a room after a loud party ends; you aren't really talking about an object, you're talking about the absence of one. It’s a strange thing to try and capture, because how do you paint a picture using nothing but empty space? 😉

Quincy:

Who knows how this all started? Honestly, if you find that this isn't enough to keep you satisfied, you might just end up founding your own little cult one of these days.

I mostly end up creating these little "shamanism victim societies"—it’s funny how that works—because people who have been confronted by total idiots tend to seek out comfort among those who have dealt with the exact same nonsense. It’s a survival instinct, really. And honestly? Sometimes that shared sense of revolt just turns into a full-blown case of Stockholm syndrome.

It’s to the extent that... well, there’s a certain following involved, but they mostly lobby "against me"—or at least, that's how they see it. They operate under this belief that everything they're doing is aimed at taking me down, even if, in reality, that isn't necessarily true.

Quincy:

I hear what you're saying, and I get where you're coming from—really, I do. But I think you might be framing the issue a bit arbitrarily, almost misrepresenting the core of the matter. If you actually step back and look at the big picture, you can boil down thousands of different spiritual practices into just three fundamental categories: left-hand, right-hand, and middle-way paths.

Look, you can’t really draw a definitive conclusion until you've actually gone through and tested every single one of those thousands of options. It sounds exhausting, I know—but think about it this way: out of those 500 variations you haven't even touched yet, there could easily be two outliers that don't fit into any of our neat little categories. They might not be "left," "middle," or "right" at all. If that happens, we’re right back at square one, and honestly? You're just kidding yourself if you think you've found the answer already. ☕

Quincy:

It’s just one of those things you finally wrap your head around after spending a good chunk of time digging through the details and actually putting things to the test.

You’re just convincing yourself at this point... mostly because you haven't actually done the work! To really know what's what, you have to roll up your sleeves and try them all out for yourself. At the end of the day—and let's be honest here—claiming one thing is superior to another without ever having even tasted it is nothing more than a flat-out lie.

I honestly believe you truly believe that lie—like, you actually think it’s the truth—so when you speak, you really are being sincere in your own mind. But here’s the thing: because that whole premise is built on nothing, your performance ends up feeling fake. It’s that kind of forced sincerity that just feels totally disingenuous to everyone else watching.

Look, deep down—somewhere under the surface where you don't usually let people peek—you’re actually aware that your whole approach is built on this shaky, pretty uncertain foundation. It feels like you’re intuitively trying to pad the numbers, almost as if you're rushing to recruit more "believers" into your little "exclusive technique." It's like you're trying to use a massive crowd to make up for the fact that the actual substance just isn't there. You're essentially trying to trade quantity for credibility, hoping that if enough people follow along, nobody will notice the lack of real weight behind it all.

Because if everyone believes the exact same thing—well, that doesn't automatically make it the truth. Not by a long shot!

Quincy:

In my case, we're talking about a stretch that lasted ten whole years.

My deepest condolences to you.

Quincy:

There’s an old saying somewhere—you learn where your heart leads you.

Well, people say you learn as long as you're living... but what you just said definitely isn't one of those sayings!

What you're actually implying is that "a person only learns what their biases allow them to, and anything else—anything that doesn't resonate with their 'heart'—is simply ignored."

Anyone who claims they only learn where their heart takes them is, quite frankly, being a massive ignoramus!

Quincy:

You're just throwing shade, hoping that your little preconceived notions about spiritual practices will hold water here too. But they won't.

I’m not throwing around "my own image" or perspective... I’m working with logic, arguments, concrete knowledge, a vocabulary, and a level of informed discourse that honestly goes way beyond yours.

It’s not my "image" that needs to hold water... it’s universal logic and established facts that provide the foundation here.

In reality, I don't even have a "picture" to defend... I am simply performing a logical deconstruction of YOUR picture, and through that process, I arrive at an undeniable conclusion—your picture is illogical, practically impossible, and therefore absolutely false.

Quincy:

Until you do that, you have no right to say anything about Kabbalah while simultaneously pretending to speak the truth.

I am under no obligation to "personally test" something that is clearly inconsistent with logic and facts just to determine if it's a fraud.

When you tell me that 2 + 2 = 7... I don't need to go grab four apples and "test" whether the sum happens to be seven... it simply WON'T be!

Quincy:

Kabbalah doesn't deal with the physical world. Even though all sciences stem from Kabbalah...

And what’s the proof of that...?

Because you (as usual) are making cognitive assertions where the only foundation is your own cognition... you think it's true, so you say it's true... but that obviously isn't how it works!

Quincy:

You don't even know what a sect is. It has multiple meanings. Go look them up yourself. Once you find the original definition, maybe you'll understand what I meant by a mathematician following axioms... otherwise, you're just coming across as the fool here.

So why don't you enlighten the general public with these "extra" meanings instead of just making "cognitive" claims that they exist, telling me to go find them myself, and then concluding that I'm the stupid one? 🤣

By doing that, you're insulting my intelligence, and if you keep heading in this direction, I can't really blame you for the fallout... consider yourself warned.

Oh, so you want different wording? I labeled it perfectly accurately. Your whole so-called 'contribution' to this discussion is nothing more than elementary-level deconstruction—basically, pure destruction. Beyond that, you don't even have a foundation yet. And let's be real, you're just doing this because you love the thrill of it. If you can't grasp exactly what I said and you try to reduce my precise definition of your bullshit down to "you didn't say anything," then you're honestly insulting my intelligence.

I mostly end up creating these various 'victim societies of shamanism,' because delusional fools often look for comfort among people just like them, and sometimes that rebellion turns into some kind of Stockholm syndrome...

To the point where... and this is more of a byproduct, but they mostly lobby 'against me' (meaning, they believe they're acting against me, even if they aren't necessarily right about that).

Give me a break, you just want to act all big and tough by picking on someone weaker than you. 🙄

But to reach that conclusion, you'd have to test out all several thousand of them. Because within those 500 you haven't tried, there might be two others that aren't 'leftist,' 'centrist,' or 'rightist,' which puts us right back at square one, and you'll still be lying to yourself.

You're just convincing yourself of that because you don't know any better! To actually know, you'd have to experience them all. Therefore, claiming something is better than something you haven't even tasted is just a straight-up lie.

God, the 'logical gymnastics' you're pulling here are ridiculous. 😍
Do you even hear yourself? You think it makes sense to try out thousands of spiritual paths before deciding which one fits best? That logic is absolutely brainless. Plus, it's physically impossible to pull off. By your 'universal logic,' nobody would ever find the spiritual discipline that suits them or achieve any actual spiritual progress. Go ahead, try to make that work, then come crawling back here. 😛

I believe you truly believe that lie in your heart, so you're technically being sincere, but your entire performance is just a result of an unfounded belief, making you fake in your forced sincerity.

🙂 You are seriously pathetic in how hard you're pushing this 'logic' of yours. You're stuck insisting that I act solely out of conviction, completely erasing the possibility—and the fact—that I act based on experience. It's all because you've convinced yourself that it's impossible to have experiences that provide certain proof. So you just keep drinking the same poison over and over again...

Look, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll happily admit that I haven't stumbled upon the one spiritual method that fits me perfectly, but I have found the one that works best for me right now based on what I actually know. 😛

Deep down, you clearly realize there's this massive, shaky insecurity driving your whole act, so you instinctively try to drum up a huge crowd of 'believers' for your 'exclusive technique,' thinking if you just get enough followers, people will finally take you seriously...
Because if everyone believes the same thing, it must be true—WRONG!

🤣 Wow, you're already trying to play psychoanalyst on me! Listen, that kind of talk might fly with some low-level 'spiritualists,' but to anyone who actually has real spiritual achievements, you look incredibly clumsy. You're like a little kid playing dress-up in their dad's oversized shoes, strutting around thinking they're a grown-up just to impress the kids on the playground.

My condolences!

Right back at you, Edward Flores4...

They say a person learns throughout their life... but what you just said isn't something anyone actually says!

It’s said where I come from. What you wrote basically boils down to "people only learn what their prejudices allow them to, and they simply ignore everything else that doesn't please their 'heart.'"

Anyone who only learns what makes their heart happy is nothing more than a total idiot!

You don't even grasp the basic mechanics of how a human being functions. You probably ignored them because they don't suit your little narrative. The mind is the servant of the heart. By 'heart,' I mean the sum of all human desires. The heart wants, and the mind gets to work figuring out how to make that desire happen. If you honestly think humans operate any other way, then I'd be insulting my own intelligence by even arguing with you.

I'm not peddling 'my own image'... I deal in logic, arguments, concrete knowledge, vocabulary, being informed, and a level of sophisticationthat far exceeds yours.

I don't need an 'image' to hold water... my 'water' is held up by universal logic and widely accepted facts.

You just painted your own picture, specifically highlighting the parts that make you look good. Universal logic? I know exactly where you learned that—in your own private little universe. Here’s a quick reality check for your 'universal logic': why does the universe exist? If that's too heavy for you, why does a human exist? Or a frog? Or anything at all? ☕

What "widely accepted facts"? You haven't brought up a single relevant one. I've already debunked most of your 'facts' regarding the Kabbalah...

Vocabulary? So you're slightly above average, big deal. Who cares...

Being informed? Give me a break. You're delusional. Every single bit of information you've dropped about the Kabbalah has been dead wrong. And I've already torn apart your pathetic attempts at psychoanalyzing me.

Arguments? Where?! All I see are your own projections, and they're pretty shallow at that... where's the actual experience that serves as a real foundation for an argument?

Culture and manners? You’re acting incredibly arrogant and just plain rude.

You really went all out in that bolded part, didn't you? Honestly, you're just proving my point once again—you're absolutely right about what I said. 😛

Quincy:

Look, I don't actually have a "picture" or whatever you want to call it... I’m just sitting here performing a logical deconstruction of YOUR image, and honestly, once I strip away all the nonsense, I land on one undeniable conclusion—your whole premise is completely illogical, practically impossible, and therefore an absolute lie.

Of course you have a picture... you literally just drew it yourself! I already laid out exactly why your "applied logic" is nothing more than total nonsense—it's completely absurd, fake, and fundamentally flawed.

Quincy:

Look, I’m not about to go out and waste my own damn time personally testing every single thing that doesn't add up logically or contradicts the facts just to prove it's a scam! Look, when you sit there and insist that 2 + 2 equals 7, I don't need to go out and grab four apples just to "test" if they somehow magically turn into seven... because they absolutely won't! It’s common sense, for crying out loud!

What exactly is it about Kabbalah that you think doesn't line up with logic and facts? Seriously, what part of it is bothering you so much?

Quincy:

And what exactly is the proof for that? Look, you’re doing that thing again where you just spout off these "cognitive" theories that have absolutely zero basis in reality other than the fact that they're stuck inside your own head! You honestly think because you've convinced yourself of some nonsense, that makes it a universal truth, but let me tell you—it clearly isn't!

Look, if I think one thing and you think the exact opposite, then we’re both just sitting here stuck in our own little heads, and that doesn't make either of us right. For one of us to actually be correct, someone would need to pull off some massive, undeniable breakthrough that proves everything—every single science out there—actually stems from Kabbalah or whatever else it might be. Since I haven't reached that level of genius quite yet, I can't personally swear by it; I'm just passing along what those Kabbalists have observed, though who knows if they even got it right.

Here’s what a few people I follow—and you too—have been saying about Kabbalah:

It’s honestly mind-blowing how many big-shot academics spend their entire careers obsessing over the secrets of Kabbalah, and frankly, I think they’re missing the forest for the trees most of the time! You have these massive intellectuals pouring over ancient texts like they're cracking some cosmic code, yet half of them seem to be just chasing academic clout rather than actually grasping the weight of what they're studying. It reminds me of this professor I had back in college who could quote every philosopher from Plato to Nietzsche by heart, but the second you asked him something practical about real life, his brain just totally short-circuited. It’s the same thing here—you’ve got all these heavy hitters writing endless volumes on mysticism, but sometimes I wonder if they even realize that true spiritual insight isn't something you can just package up into a tidy little dissertation and hand out at a symposium!
You wouldn't believe the garbage being pumped out lately, but apparently, there are all these big-shot academics actually trying to make sense of Kabbalah these days. It’s honestly exhausting how much energy these scholars pour into dissecting ancient mysticism like they’re just solving some math equation at Harvard, when you know deep down it’s way more intense than their little textbooks could ever capture.
It’s honestly mind-blowing how many big-shot academics spend their entire lives obsessing over Kabbalah, and frankly, most of them wouldn't know a real spiritual truth if it hit them square in the face! I was reading this massive tome the other day—one of those dense, overly complicated books you'd find in a dusty corner of the New York Public Library—and it just reminded me how much these "experts" love to overanalyze things that are meant to be felt, not dissected like a lab specimen under a microscope.

Sure, that doesn't exactly prove all science stems from Kabbalah, but it definitely shows just how serious they're being about their "application" for that position.

Quincy:

So instead of actually enlightening the general public about those "extra" meanings, you just keep making these vague "cognitive" claims that they exist, then have the nerve to tell me I should go out and find them myself, and finally wrap the whole thing up by acting like I'm some kind of idiot! 🤣 You’re honestly insulting my intelligence at this point, and frankly, if you keep heading down this same path, there isn't much I can even say to you besides consider yourself warned.

Man, it is absolutely freezing out there today! I stepped outside for two seconds and felt like I was walking straight into an industrial freezer in Chicago. Seriously, someone needs to turn up the heat on this entire planet because I am officially done with this weather. 😍

Does everyone just want everything handed to them on a silver platter these days? It’s getting ridiculous—everything is so damn difficult lately, and honestly, you can't even just look something up without hitting a wall.from wiki:

Etymologically speaking, the term "sect" actually traces back to the Latin noun *secta*—which is just a feminine version of a past participle from *sequi*, meaning "to follow." It basically refers to a "beaten path" or a specific way of doing things, which eventually evolved into describing a particular discipline or school of thought held together by certain doctrines. Nowadays, people get confused because there’s another Latin word, *secta* (from *secare*, meaning "to cut"), which makes it sound like these groups are just pieces chopped off from the main religious body. It’s funny how language works like that, especially since in places like Italy, they use the word *setta* to cover both "sect" and "cult" at once.

....

Look, if you don't change your entire attitude toward responding to my posts and stop being so incredibly destructive, I'm done talking to you. I told you right from the jump that I could sense what you were up to. This is your absolute last chance to flip the script as far as I'm concerned. If you want to talk, then prove you actually know what you're talking about by using some actual facts, decent vocabulary, and a shred of basic human decency instead of this nonsense...

Edward Flores4 said:They say repetition is the mother of wisdom—which sounds great on paper—but there’s a massive catch. If you find yourself doing the exact same thing over and over again while just sitting there hoping that, eventually, the universe will hand you a different result... well, then you aren't being wise. You're just losing it. It’s like that old idea attributed to Einstein: if you keep running into the same brick wall expecting it to turn into a door, you aren't practicing discipline, you're just being irrational.

It’s a nice way to put it—calling it "getting in touch" with meditation practice. You just sit there, repeating the same thing over and over again... and honestly, you just kind of hold onto this quiet hope that tomorrow might bring even a tiny bit more progress than today did. 🙂

Now you’re sounding pretty damn confident—like you’ve finally decided your jokes aren't actually funny.

Wait, what exactly am I "shaving" here? What’s this supposed obsession of mine... what was the word again? You’re claiming I’m obsessed with Kabbalah—fine, whatever you say—but what on earth am I supposedly obsessed with? For crying out loud! 🙂

Look, I’m going to double down on the idea of exclusivity here—and honestly, I don't mean that in some snobby or elitist way. It’s purely about being pragmatic. I’ve come to realize that the original Kabbalah is hands-down the most effective path for actual spiritual growth, so why on earth would I waste my energy, time, or mental bandwidth on all these other methods? It’s like if you found a shortcut that actually works to get you from New York to Los Angeles—you wouldn't spend your life driving every single winding backroad just for the sake of variety, right? You'd take the direct route and save your resources for the destination. For me, it's all about efficiency.

Let’s take a second to step back and actually look at this logically...

Let’s say, just to keep things simple and give us a concrete starting point, we’re looking at a landscape where there are maybe twenty different "spiritual methods" out there.

Look, if you actually want to figure out which one is the winner—I mean, the absolute best—you’ve gotta roll up your sleeves and test all twenty of them yourself. Otherwise, you aren't really making an informed choice; you're just falling for whatever someone else's hype happens to be at the moment, right?

It’s pretty simple math, really—if there are 20 different flavors of ice cream at the shop, I can't exactly claim to have a favorite until I've actually tasted all 20. It just makes sense that way... logic dictates you need the full sample size before making a call.

Look, since there are hundreds upon hundreds of different spiritual practices out there—and let’s be honest, you haven't tried them all—you're essentially just kidding yourself if you claim yours is the absolute best. It’s a bit of a stretch, really. If we look at this through the lens of basic, common-sense logic, it becomes pretty obvious that you're just being dishonest with us.

Got it. I’m ready to go. I'll make sure everything sounds like it was written by a real person living right here in the States—natural, conversational, and completely original. No literal translations, no leftover traces of the old setting, just smooth, authentic American English that keeps the soul of the original message while swapping out all the specifics for their US counterparts. I've got the persona down, too—long-winded, friendly, and full of those little conversational asides. Just send over the text whenever you're ready.

If you’re the type of person who thinks a mathematician following basic mathematical axioms makes them some kind of cultist, then I honestly don't know what to tell you—you'd probably call a structural engineer a cult leader just for trusting the laws of physics. It’s like saying someone is part of a conspiracy because they actually follow the rules of the game instead of just making things up as they go along.

Look, there’s a massive difference here—and I mean a fundamental one. Your "spiritual practice" is essentially invisible, intangible, and frankly impossible to quantify in any meaningful way. It's all very subjective, isn't it? But mathematical axioms? Those are different. They are visible, they are concrete, and they are incredibly measurable. Unlike that abstract stuff you're working with, mathematical axioms actually hold up when you put them to work in the real world, Rade!

They work the exact same way every single time—with this incredible, unwavering precision—and they don't care one bit about whatever "spiritual beliefs" the person using them might hold. It’s not about faith; it's just pure, self-evident logic. They are constant, predictable, and honestly, just plain reliable. It’s because of that consistency that we can launch a probe from the US and trust it to land on Mars at the precise, calculated spot we intended.

Look, on the other hand—and I say this with all due respect to your "spiritual practice"—you can barely manage to get through your own daily chores, let alone predict the outcome of a massive physical undertaking like launching a probe to Mars. It’s just not realistic.

Look, your little cult isn't just a total joke—I mean, that "spiritual practice" you're so obsessed with doesn't hold an ounce of actual value. But honestly? It’s more than just a waste of time; it seems like it’s actually clouded your judgment to the point where you can't even see the massive, glaring gap between universal mathematical axioms and the exclusive, made-up nonsense your group spits out like it's some kind of gourmet menu. ☕

I hope you live to be a hundred and spend every single cent you have on these seminars! 😉

When it comes to finding the "ultimate truth," honestly, no single teaching holds the monopoly on it. A method—any method, really—is only as good as its ability to actually help you perceive that truth for yourself.

But here’s the real kicker: why on earth do you believe someone can "prepare" you for something that supposedly exists—at least according to the person charging you a premium to do the "preparing"—and then bill you for it one way or another?

I don't meditate. And honestly, you completely missed the point of my repetition—which I even bolded for you, by the way.

So what exactly is this "thing" I'm tripping on... what's the name of it again? You say you trip on Kabbalah... fine... but what the hell am I supposedly tripping on?!

Can't you see it yourself? 🙂 It's just empty intellectual posturing designed solely to give you that little ego boost of feeling superior by messing with everyone else's heads. ☕

Who knows where you started, but once this stops being enough for you, maybe you can go start your own little cult.😍

Let's try being logical for a second...

Say, for the sake of simplicity, there are 20 different "spiritual methods."

To "find" which one is best, you have to try all 20—otherwise, you have no idea which is actually the best, you're just falling for someone's sales pitch... right?

If there are 20 flavors of ice cream, I can only know which one is my favorite if I've tasted all 20... basic logic.

Since there are hundreds of "spiritual practices," and obviously you haven't tried them all, you're lying to us when you claim yours is the absolute best... elementary logic dictates that you are simply lying!

Comprende?

I get where you're coming from. But you're framing the argument arbitrarily and incorrectly. Look, thousands of spiritual practices can really be boiled down to three basic types: left, right, and center. Everything else is just cultural and historical window dressing with varying levels of complexity and accuracy. You realize that after spending some time searching and testing. In my case, that took ten years. Besides, I already said I found original Kabbalah to be the best method for me personally. That doesn't mean it's necessarily the best for everyone else. As they say: people learn where their heart leads them.

Unlike your "spiritual practice," which is invisible, intangible, and totally immeasurable, mathematical axioms are visible, tangible, and highly measurable. Unlike your "spiritual practice," mathematical axioms actually work in practice, DAMN IT!

They do it exactly the same way every single time, with that same damn precision, and I don't care one bit about whatever "spiritual belief" some person thinks they have while using them. They’re just self-evident, totally logical, and freaking consistent. It's because of them that a probe launched from Earth can actually nail a landing on Mars at the exact spot we planned!

You’re full of it. To even attempt a claim like that, you’d actually have to go out and test the spiritual practice in question, but it's painfully obvious you haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about. You just love the sound of your own voice, hoping that your half-baked, surface-level understanding of spiritual disciplines will somehow pass for truth here, but let me tell you—it won't. If you actually bothered to dig into the original Kabbalah, you’d see for yourself that this stuff works; it’s tangible, it’s precise as a mathematical axiom, and honestly, you wouldn't believe it, but it can actually be measured.

Until you actually step up and do the work, you don't have any right to open your mouth about the truth while pretending you've got it all figured out. Go ahead and test it out for yourself instead of just sitting there acting all confident in these incredibly shallow, basic generalizations. Honestly, it just makes you look ridiculous and completely immature. ☕

You’ve even got a chance to catch this live! There’s an introductory lecture on Kabbalah happening tonight at 7:30 PM—literally less than an hour from now—so if you want to jump in, you better move fast! I can't believe people actually miss that old Justin.tv era like it was some kind of golden age, because honestly, looking back at how messy and unpolished everything was compared to what we have now, I just don't get the nostalgia!Look, if you’ve got questions, just go ahead and ask them. It’s not that complicated. 😍 Look, before you start flapping your gums, maybe try actually learning something about the original Kabbalah. When you’re just rambling on like this without any clue what you're talking about, there's zero chance we're going to have a single constructive conversation.

Look, you can talk about your "spiritual practices" all you want, but let’s be real—you can barely manage to handle your own basic daily chores, much less predict the outcome of complex physical feats like launching a probe to Mars!

Look, Kabbalah doesn't deal with the physical world at all, though if you really think about it, every single science we have basically stems from its principles...

That cult of yours isn't just a joke—it’s a total scam that doesn't provide even an ounce of actual value, and honestly, it's clearly rotted your brain so much that you can't even tell the difference between universal mathematical axioms and the exclusive, made-up nonsense your little group spews out like it's some kind of gourmet menu! ☕

You clearly don't even know what a sect is, because that word has way more layers than you're giving it credit for. Seriously, go do your own homework for once! Once you actually stumble upon the original definition, maybe—just maybe—you’ll finally wrap your head around what I meant about a mathematician blindly following axioms. But honestly, looking at how you're acting right now, you're just proving to be a total idiot who thinks they're right when they're dead wrong.

I hope you live to be a hundred years old just so you can blow every single cent you own on those overpriced seminars! 😉

The original amount isn't even being charged! Seriously, do some basic research and learn the fundamentals before you start spreading such absolute garbage online—otherwise, you’re just going to end up looking like a complete idiot.

And here’s the real kicker: why on earth would I believe that some charlatan could "unlock" or "prepare" me for something that only exists in their own head, especially when they’re charging me a fortune just to hear their delusional nonsense?!

Look, it’s not just some theoretical thing, because I’ve actually lived through it myself. Once I felt it happen, I became obsessed with finding my own way to trigger that state again... then again, if you've never had that breakthrough, I totally get why you'd think it's all a myth. But hey, what can you do?

It’s like people used to think a carriage couldn't possibly move unless there were horses pulling it. They just didn't see the engine coming.

As for the training, of course I ran tests first. If I hadn't seen actual results—if I wasn't seeing progress that actually satisfied me—I would have walked away from this whole thing a long time ago.

Jerry King11 said:I agree, though I’d argue that by serving others, we also build ourselves up and move beyond our own narrow egos—and I don't mean using busyness as an escape from a sense of inner emptiness. Too often, even "spirituality" can become a form of self-delusion, a way for people to inflate their own importance in their own eyes.

I’d say that happens way more often than people care to admit... 🙂

Edward Flores4 said:When you say that, it honestly sounds like you actually believe you aren't a schizophrenic yourself... which, let’s be real, is just impossible. I mean, look at what you're doing right now—you're speaking, you're writing, you're communicating, you're digging into introspection, and you're even acting like a bit of a wise guy by rambling on about how the observer is somehow detached from the thing being observed. 🙂

That whole cultist mindset of yours is honestly just Funny. ☕

Look, saying Madonna has anything to do with the Kabbalah is kind of like saying you have a direct connection to Christianity—it’s a bit of a stretch, roughly speaking. But hey, if you're really itching to join a cult, go ahead and follow her lead.

I was just scrolling through some Kabbalah info forums and I saw this about you:

I work exclusively with... izvornom ...kabbalistic literature, written by... recognized I'm a Kabbalist. On top of that, I’ve been following the lessons from... It’s all about being recognized—truly seen and acknowledged for what you bring to the table. kabalista

So, what you’re really saying is that you’re digging your heels in on this idea of exclusivity—like your specific little group is the only one holding the "real" truth, while everyone else is just wandering around in the dark. It’s almost like you’re claiming to be the only ones with the map while the rest of us are just lost, right?

Look, man... if that isn't a cult, then I honestly don't know what is. 🤷

Like I said, just go ahead and enjoy your little bouts of schizophrenia...☕

Your whole cultish obsession is just Funny to me ☕

🙂 Now you’re sounding all confident like your little obsession isn't Funny. 😍

I read over on that Kabbalah info site that you:....

.. which basically means you're insisting on being exclusive... like only your "approved" little group holds the "real" truth while everyone else is dead wrong... right?

Man, if that isn't a cult, I don't know what is. 🤷

I'm not pushing exclusivity for the sake of being elitist; it's purely pragmatic. I've found that original Kabbalah is simply the most effective method for spiritual growth, so why would I waste my energy on anything else? If a mathematician sticks to mathematical axioms, you'd call them a cultist too, wouldn't you? ☕

As for the "real truth," no single teaching owns it. A teaching—a method—is only as good as its ability to enable you to perceive the "real truth" directly for yourself.
Every teaching and method out there exists for a reason. A classic mistake beginners make when they start exploring spirituality is jumping from one thing to another like a headless chicken. Eventually, you just end up with a pile of spiritual mumbo-jumbo that only makes sense to the person who came up with it. But hey, even that phase is part of the process....

wearyhawk83 said:I’d go as far as to say you're looking at this through way too narrow a lens. Unless I decide to adopt your specific worldview where everything just boils down to pleasure and pain, we're stuck. Look, it's not a bad take—I totally get where you're coming from—but it’s just not deep enough for this conversation. We were actually digging into all sorts of different relationships here, not just the whole pleasure versus suffering thing!

So, I’m gonna jump back in here because, honestly, I still don't think you actually addressed my point from earlier. Your response just didn't quite hit the mark or defend my position nearly as well as it should have!

I’m still standing by my word on this: people absolutely have the power to reshape their own future, no matter how much their past tries to hold them back. Honestly, the more capable you are at breaking away from that old conditioning, the more powerful you truly become.

I hope that finally clears up my little "sketch"—even if I ended up using a bit too much ink this time!

Quincy:

It’s totally normal to see people reacting either exactly how they were taught or doing the complete opposite. Honestly, those are just two sides of the same coin. At the end of the day, the real deciding factor is always just how much anticipated pleasure someone expects to get out of it. Take teenagers, for example—they rebel against authority because it's basically hardwired into their nature, not because they actually have the freedom to choose otherwise! And that’s exactly how things play out later in life!.

I totally disagree. Once someone actually builds a solid identity and finds some real self-awareness, they aren't going to be swayed by every little thing happening around them like they were back in their teenage years. It’s just different once you grow up!

Go ahead and react—honestly, you totally should! You can try to lump it all together in one bucket if you want, but let’s be real: you and I both know that's a completely different way of looking at things.

Look, you might find one person like that in a hundred, which totally blows your rule out of the water! And honestly, that's a massive deal because when you're dealing with those kinds of relationships, the rules just don't apply anyway.

Quincy:

I think I just hit the nail on the head here. Our desires are what drive everything we do, but get this—we don't actually choose those desires ourselves. They're already baked into us, running the show from the inside, and we just fall for the illusion that they're "ours."

What part of what I said did you miss? I clearly stated that humans are capable of choosing all sorts of things—including their own desires! We’ve got the power to pick our own motivations and our own will too (I mean, obviously not in every single area of life, but you get the point)!

Maybe I’m just fighting against my own "weakness" by putting this out there, but I honestly think I'm hitting the nail on the head. Like I said before, even if I am light-years ahead of what was actually said!

Quincy:

What’s the point of all that? It's strictly so you can read the room better and figure out how to squeeze every last drop of pleasure out of a situation—or, you know, dodge the misery altogether. It’s basically programming. Super sophisticated, sure, but it's still just programming.

Look, obviously pleasure is the end goal here. But everyone’s got their own way of getting there, and different tools for the job. That’s exactly what I’m talking about!

If you're trying to argue that someone isn't "in control" just because they're wired to chase pleasure that doesn't prove anything about their freedom—it's literally just how they're built.

Look, if seeking pleasure or even experiencing "struggle" is just part of my nature, that's not some kind of "shackles." It's just a fact, like having ten fingers on my hands, and I'm totally fine with that.

The whole idea of being "trapped" only works if you look at things from a perspective I have zero interest in pursuing. First off, life is way too short for that nonsense, and second, everything happens in its own time—including progress.

Honestly, I embraced my "role" a long time ago, so I don't feel controlled, powerless, or programmed in the slightest.

If we're going to debate this constantly, then there was no point in me even speaking up. There’s no sense in overanalyzing obvious stuff, if you know what I mean. What I was actually trying to do was offer a different take on the situation.

At the end of the day, maybe you just phrased things a little clunkily, and I ended up getting hung up on your specific wording.

And honestly, isn't "power" just another word for being able to grab pleasure and run away from misery?

So, following up on that, I’m basically building on my previous comment regarding your post, which, if you ask me, still hasn't been even remotely "defended" properly by the words you've actually put down.

I still firmly believe that a person has the capacity to reshape their own future, regardless of how much their past tries to dictate it. Basically, the more capable someone is of doing that, the more "powerful" they truly are.

Hopefully, that fleshes out my "sketch" with a bit more actual ink this time.

It does. I agree. I wasn't emphasizing it on purpose; I was keeping it on the back burner. Why? Because the people who actually know where and how they can make a choice are incredibly rare. What most of humanity calls "free will"? Yeah, that's a total myth. 😉

I disagree. Once a person develops a solid identity and a decent amount of self-awareness, they aren't going to react to external pressures and social influences the same way they did when they were teenagers.

They’ll react correctly—meaning, they'll act freely. Now, you could try to lump that into the same category as before, but we both know we're talking about two completely different approaches here.

Even if there's only one such person out of a hundred, it completely breaks your rule, and that's a massive point because rules don't exist in these kinds of relationships.

There are definitely rules. Spiritual laws are absolute, and everything happens according to them. As for the "grown-ups," they just choose their pleasures and avoid their pains with more precision than a teenager would. But the underlying principle remains exactly the same; they're just playing the game on a higher level.

Which part of what I said makes you miss the fact that a human being is capable of choosing many things, including their own desires? Their motives and their will? (Not in every single area, obviously.)

Maybe I'm just fighting against my own "impotence" through these words, but I still think I'm making sense. Like I said, even if I am lightyears behind what's being discussed personally.

Among the Kabbalists, the rule goes: what cannot be attained, cannot be named.
Basically, if you haven't achieved something, you can't talk about it accurately, because you don't actually *know* it. You haven't experienced it firsthand.

Look, obviously pleasure is the goal. But there are a million different ways to get there and a thousand different tools to use, and that’s exactly what I’m getting at here.

Nobody is out here claiming that everyone experiences pleasure or pain in the exact same way, okay? But those individual differences don't change the core narrative. The fundamental story is the bedrock of all those variations and it stays constant, so understanding that foundation is way more important than obsessing over every little subjective nuance people want to throw at you.

Quincy:

If your argument is that a person isn't "in control" of themselves—that they're just conditioned or programmed because they're chasing pleasure then that doesn't prove they aren't "in control," it just proves that's how they're wired. If seeking pleasure or feeling "pain" is just baked into my nature, that doesn't mean I'm wearing some kind of "shackles"; it's just a fact of existence, like the fact that I have ten fingers on my hands, and I'm totally fine with that.

Whether you're a happy slave or a miserable one, the reality remains the same: you're still a slave.😉

Quincy:

The idea of "shackles" only exists if you look at it from an impossible perspective that I have zero interest in pursuing, because first off, life is far too short for this nonsense, and second, everything happens when it happens, which will eventually lead to progress. The truth is, I accepted my "role" a long time ago, so I don't feel manipulated, powerless, or programmed in the slightest.

Of course not. 🙂 But you haven't looked deep enough. We all love to sugarcoat things about ourselves just so we can feel better about our situation.😉

Quincy:

If we had to talk about it constantly, I wouldn't bother bringing it up, because there's no point dwelling on obvious stuff, if you catch my drift; what I was actually trying to say was just a different way of looking at the whole situation. In the end, maybe you just phrased things poorly and I ended up nitpicking your specific wording.

Honestly, it might not even matter. What matters is the intention behind this whole discussion we're having. If our intentions are right, the laws of the universe will take care of us both (and maybe some others) in the best way possible, but if our intentions are garbage, then both you and I—and whoever else gets caught in it—are going to suffer.🙂

Stay golden! 😍

Edward Flores4 said:Honestly, the only thing being wasted here is your time reading my post—you missed the point entirely because you're trying to slot my ideas into the little mental cubbyholes of your own dogma.

The core issue is that we are essentially running two different operating systems at once.

If I ever decide I want to join some cult, I'll be sure to check in with Quincy first. 🙄

Look, I’ve got zero interest in getting into some pointless, circular argument or playing games with you, so honestly, just go ahead and enjoy your little "spiritual delusions" all by yourself. 🙂

I can't believe I'm even seeing this right now, but honestly, it's just typical of how things go sometimes when you least expect them to fall apart!

If I ever decide I want to join some cult, I'm going straight to Madonna. 🙄

Madonna has about as much to do with the Kabbalah as you do with Christianity, if you catch my drift. But hey, if you're that desperate to join a cult, go ahead and follow her. ☕

Edward Flores4 said:Just to get this conversation moving, I’ll play dumb for a second and pretend my question isn't purely rhetorical.

To be honest, I was pretty floored by how poorly some "spiritual leaders" responded to such a straightforward question. It almost leaves you feeling like nobody in the entire "spiritual community" is actually "spiritual" enough to even attempt to grasp the true essence of what's being asked here.

I'm willing to risk looking a bit foolish, so let me try to ground this question with a concrete example.

Picture this: I'm sitting at my kitchen table, looking out the window at a spectacularly ordinary sunset. From my perspective—if I didn't exist, there wouldn't even *be* a sunset. But since I am right here, watching this damn sunset unfold, I can't find a single way to distinguish myself from the experience of seeing it.

In fact, the very moment I try to pinpoint the difference between "me" and the sunset, the actual experience of the sunset vanishes. Instead, I'm just experiencing my own struggle to differentiate myself from something I'm no longer actually perceiving... and that honestly triggers a sense of anxiety almost instantly.

Looking at this through a layman's lens—as a bit of a "spiritual amateur"—I'd say that during the actual experience of the sunset, the "observer" and the "observed" ARE one and the same. Trying to draw a line between them just results in fracturing the "observer," who then spends all their energy fruitlessly trying to "catch" themselves in the act of observing, while the "observed" ceases to be a sunset in that moment.

Essentially, for the "observer" and the "observed" to be distinct, I would have to stop observing entirely, split myself in two, and then somehow "lend" one half of myself to the other to perform the observation (which sounds like a nightmare of a process).

The more effort I pour into that mental gymnastics, the more anxious I get, because I lose track of who is watching whom and why. Both halves feel equally real—both as the "observer" and the "observed"—so the whole experiment starts feeling like a mild schizophrenic episode.

I only find any peace when I give up on trying to tear the "observer" away from the "observed." Mostly, I just try not to ruin a perfectly beautiful sunset by making useless attempts to detach myself from it, which only serves to break the peaceful Unity that exists in the simple act of perceiving the light fading.

But hey, maybe I've finally lost it... since I'm just a "spiritual amateur," I have to assume there's some deep "spiritual" complexity in this division that keeps slipping through my fingers.

🙂 Look, spirituality is the polar opposite of the material world, so you're wasting your breath trying to find "spiritual" reasons for physical things happening.

The bottom line is that we’re running on two different operating systems here. One is that well-known, materialistic, ego-driven mode—basically our god-given nature—and the other is the spiritual mode, which sits right on the flip side. But let me tell you, hitting that spiritual gear isn't easy; it takes actual grit and hard work, specifically working against your own selfish instincts. You aren't trying to kill off your ego, you're just learning how to outmaneuver it and take the lead.

Anonymous said:I don't agree with your first point, at least not at first glance. I saw very clearly why I ended up being born into my specific circumstances and why I turned out the way I did... obviously, that decision is part of a much larger picture where you could ask whether I (well, who am I actually talking about here?) truly have any control.
I do agree there's a part where we have control and a part where we don't. Actually, saying it that way isn't even quite right. You can't simplify it into a single sentence like that.
Here's a question: if I completely surrender to God's will/fate/(whatever you want to call it), do I still have control over that choice or not?
I'll read the text, but probably tomorrow, and then I'll get back to you.

So, what you're saying is that your choices might just be tiny threads in a much larger tapestry that you can't fully wrap your head around. And honestly? You're right. 🙂

I agree there's a part where we're in the driver's seat and a part where we're just along for the ride. Actually, even that isn't quite right. You can't really boil it down to a single sentence like that.

Sure you can, provided you actually know exactly where your agency ends and where fate takes over. If you don't know, then no, you can't. 🙂

Question: if I completely surrender to God's will, fate, or whatever you want to call it, do I still have control or not?

No. You’d only ever do that if you saw some kind of personal benefit in it, which means it’s not true freedom—it's just more programming. There are tons of people like that. It's exhausting for them to actually think for themselves and face the world, so they just hand the reins over to destiny and live day-to-day following whatever convenient little paradigm they've picked up. But hey, I'm not blaming them. They were just built that way. In the end, they aren't any less important than the people fighting against it.

I'll read the text, probably tomorrow, and then I'll comment.

Great. Looking forward to seeing what you think. 🙂

wearyhawk83 said:For someone who doesn't know how to actually use their brain, I'd say that's a pretty spot-on take. Basically, saying we're no different from animals.

So, tell me: what's stopping me today from pausing, thinking things through, and deciding to act exactly how I want to—completely defying the way my past circumstances "built" me?

Sure, maybe a massive crisis could knock me off course, and if I've never bothered to work on self-control or objective reasoning, then yeah, I'd be stuck.

But if I've actually put in the work to develop those qualities, then 80% of the time, I am absolutely going to act out of true freedom.

And I'm not talking about some fake, subjective nonsense either. I mean real, genuine freedom. It's the greatest gift we've got.

We don't need superpowers for this; we just need an open mind, some discipline, regular practice with our self-control, and a decent radar for seeing things exactly as they actually are.

Fine, let's break it down. First off, logic is really just an extension of our impulses—basically, it's just a tool used to chase pleasure. Or if you want to get all poetic about it, the mind is just a servant to the heart. The heart wants something, and then the brain starts sweating, trying to figure out how to make it happen. The stronger the craving, the more frantic the brain gets trying to find a way to satisfy it.

The only real thing separating us from animals is one single factor: animals can't choose to endure some immediate pain now if they think it'll lead to a bigger payoff later, but we can. That's the whole game. Animals just react to whatever gives them pleasure or causes them pain right this second. We, however, can decide to suck it up for a while if we believe that suffering will eventually lead to a massive reward.

It's totally normal to either follow or rebel against what you've been conditioned to do; it's just two sides of the same coin. At the end of the day, the deciding factor is always just how much anticipated pleasure is on the line. Even in high school, kids rebel against authority because of biological drives, not because they've suddenly mastered free will. It's the same thing later in life.

I highlighted the main point here: our desires dictate our actions. And we don't even choose those desires; they're just hardwired inside us, ruling our lives while we delude ourselves into thinking they're "ours."

Maybe a situation gets heavy enough that it overrides any self-control or objective reasoning, especially since I've never really focused on training myself that way.

But if I actually put in the work during my life to develop those qualities, then in 80% of cases, I’ll definitely be acting out of true freedom.

And I'm not talking about some fake, subjective version of freedom, but the real deal. The greatest gift we actually have.

You don't need superpowers for this; you just need an open mind, some discipline, practice with self-control, and a decent radar for seeing things as they actually are.

What's the point of all that? It's precisely so you can better calculate the situation to maximize your pleasure or minimize your pain. So, yeah—it's still just programming. Sure, it might be sophisticated programming, but it's still programming.

brisktiger56 said:Look, we didn't get a vote on our parents, our looks, or our basic temperament—that was all decided before we even had a say in the matter. But friends? We actually have some agency there, both back then and still today. There are things we can steer, and things that are just out of our hands—or were, at least, a long time ago.

Whether it’s all just random cosmic noise or some grand, pre-written destiny—well, that’s really down to your own philosophy. But when you start following a specific thread, an energy, or a particular idea... you're bound to run into similarities more often. You find what fits you best, and in those moments, it feels pretty easy to conclude that everything was meant to be.

Personally, I don't think much is set in stone on a day-to-day basis. Within those 86,400 seconds we get every single day, we make choices. We choose what’s good for us, we try to pivot toward something better, or we attempt to squeeze some kind of meaning out of a messy situation.

Having that sense of agency is huge—it's basically the only way to steer your life in the direction you actually want to go. If we don't even realize we have the power to choose, then everything feels pretty hopeless. But if you grew up learning, say, how to stand up to bullies in middle school or how to dodge a bad crowd, then you've hit the jackpot. Of course, it’s never too late to tap into the potential sitting inside you—that power belongs to us. Whether we’re actually aware of it, or whether we're brave enough to actually use it... well, that's a whole different story.

It’s simple: we gravitate toward people who mirror our own traits. The more someone acts like me, the more I want them around, and the more different they are, the faster I'm running the other way! It's just that spiritual law where like attracts like.

Is everything just a massive coincidence or is it all predestined? Honestly, it depends on how you look at it, but when you start following a specific path or vibe, you inevitably run into more similarities and things that fit your mold—so it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking everything was scripted from the start.

That's not about "personal viewpoints." Those views are totally arbitrary and subjective; they don't show you what's actually happening, they just show you a version of reality filtered through your own selfish desires and quirks. Spiritual paradoxes exist perfectly fine without needing your opinion, and you only get the real truth once you stop looking through that lens.

I really feel like very little is set in stone. In every single one of those 86,400 seconds we get each day, we're making choices—trying to do good, aiming for improvement, or squeezing the best out of a bad situation.

That's just the ego playing its game. You think "very little is set in stone" because reality is incredibly complex, but honestly, the whole system is rigged to create this illusion of free will and random chance. In the spiritual realm, space and time aren't even real things.

Anonymous said:My response to everything you just laid out is this: yes, I chose ALL of it. Not within this specific body or this current physical life, but I did. This isn't the place for me to get into the weeds of an explanation, so you can take it or leave it. I'm not interested in trying to prove myself; I've already walked people through this plenty of times. Maybe there will be a better opportunity to dive deeper later.
Coincidences DON'T exist. Everything we're going through isn't random; it's a planned experience. If you look closely enough, you can actually see the design and the purpose behind it all.
To me, claiming everything is out of our control is just a convenient excuse for our own lack of power. All you really need to do is look past the facade and be brave enough to face both your own greatness and your own humility.
I noticed you follow Kabbalah. I've only ever looked at it superficially, but I thought that tradition had some insights on this too.
Again, I'm not looking to prove anything to anyone because this isn't the venue for it.

I'm with you on the fact that coincidences aren't real; everything is just a chain of cause and effect because that's how the universe works. Honestly, I used to love telling myself that I was the one who picked where I was born and who I became, but eventually, I realized that's just total nonsense. It's a mental construct designed to make you feel more significant, more important, and frankly, more powerful than you actually are. 🙂

That said, you totally misread me when you assumed I think everything is out of our control or that we're just living like robots. We aren't. But the actual point where we truly have a choice is incredibly elusive, and most people don't have the slightest clue where to find it. 🙂

Sure, Kabbalah talks about free will. But it points out exactly where we actually possess it and where we absolutely don't, which is a massive distinction if you want to actually navigate life effectively—and I bet you'll agree with me on that. If you really want to put my claims (and your own) to the test, go read the article Freedom, by Baal Hasulama, who was easily the greatest Kabbalist of the 20th century.

Best regards and stay well! 🙂

Lisa Morales4 said:Brian Foster3
jademarlin26

Once we stop trying to micromanage God and instead start looking deep within our own souls to see the potential of what we can actually become—rather than just staring at who we are right now—that’s when we’ll truly find ourselves soaring.

🙂

Ugh, please, I'm nowhere near touching that beard yet. 😍

Anonymous said:Look, I’m an individualist. I don't believe there are some external forces pulling the strings of our lives like that. Within the context of this debate, I think it’s fair to say we all make our own calls.
The ability to choose is a massive lesson to learn, and honestly, it's a huge power in itself.
It carries just as much weight when we talk about figures like Gandhi or Hitler as it does when we decide not to spend our entire lives blaming others for injustices we faced as kids. I'm talking about the impact that choice has on the person making it, not how it affects the world at large.

I’ve gotta tell you, I completely disagree with you there. Seriously, did you get a vote on what kind of traits you were born with? Did you pick your family, your social class, or the neighborhood you grew up in? Did you choose how tall you’d be, what you’d look like, or how much physical strength you’d have? Did you decide how smart or capable you’d be, or even the sound of your own voice? You didn't choose the values you picked up from your parents and society, right? You didn't choose if you'd be generous or stingy, hard-working or lazy, or if you'd gravitate toward math or sports.

Every single one of your internal characteristics was handed down to you. Your preferences, what attracts you, and what repels you—it was all pre-set. You had zero say in any of it. What you experience today as your "self" is nothing more than a collection of causes and effects that played out without you ever having a choice. You might feel like you're choosing between options, but in reality, your innate or learned traits are "choosing" for you based on what fits them best. You’re just living under the illusion of choice. It’s the same thing today: when you pick between two things, you're just picking whatever you think—actually, whatever you *feel*—will give you the most satisfaction.

It’s the same deal with power. Right now, you have a characteristic where you crave power, specifically certain types of it, and so you pursue it. You feel like you have the will to do so. But you didn't choose that drive; your behavior is dictated by those characteristics that were given to you rather than chosen by you. That's why, whenever you're faced with different ways to grab power, you'll always chase the ones you think will bring the most gratification. And that's already been decided by who you are...😉

Lisa Morales4 said:🤔 how is there no Higher Self? 😕

doesn't the soul consist of three parts:
- the animalistic part tied to instincts and physical desires (presumably the first dimension)
- the middle soul, the "spirit," which holds moral values and the ability to distinguish good from evil
- the higher soul, the "super-spirit," through which a person achieves immortality

That third part is also implanted at birth, enabling us to recognize the existence of God, who, by the way, is neither male nor female. God is infinite, eternal, without end (I’ve always loved those concentric circles used to symbolize infinity)

The soul is intuitive knowing 👍

In the Zohar, a book of Jewish mysticism (which shares a lot of common ground with Gnosticism), there are 52 chapters dedicated to the part of the soul that grants us awareness of the divine force, as well as the higher part where we can achieve deep unity with God.

It's interesting:
Ehyeh means "I am"

Yah represents the masculine: wisdom (active potential)
Yahweh represents the feminine: the passive potential joined with the Crown to create a trinity (the masculine part, the feminine part, and the crown)

Similarly, Kabbalah suggests there is an additional supplemental soul gained during the Sabbath (if one observes it)

If you yawned, close your mouth... I'm familiar with Kabbalah within the context of Renaissance Catholicism and its interpretations of the Book of Daniel.

Kabbalah is a theological philosophy containing elements of Hermetic-Egyptian teachings.
It serves as a supplement to Judaism and Christianity.
It is incredibly intellectually dense because it accumulates the thoughts of so many Platonists, Pythagoreans, and other great minds.

So, I'm curious, what does this "New Age Kabbalah" mean to you?

Are you referring to the New Age disciplineless practiced by Madonna and other Hollywood types who wear those Kabbalistic bracelets, walk around in Ugg boots, and sport T-shirts that say "Addicted to Kabbalah"?🤷

Or do you see it as a traditional discipline within your own faith?😕

Aw,
may God's power be with you.👍

That’s just an arbitrary way to split it up! Like I’ve said before, a higher self exists only as a seed that every single person has to consciously cultivate through hard work and real effort to turn it into an actualized higher self. It isn't just sitting there waiting to be discovered so it can suddenly take over the driver's seat; you have to develop it through total spiritual realization, otherwise, it’s just not going to happen.

that third part is also implanted at birth, and it enables a person to realize the existence of God who, by the way, is neither male nor female—God is infinite, eternal, without end (I love those concentric circles that symbolize that infinity)

Like I said, it's a seed... a germ. Developing that seed into a complete soul is entirely up to the individual, and honestly, that is the primary reason we are even here.

the soul is intuitive knowledge 👍

In the book of Jewish mysticism (which is incredibly close to Gnosticism), the Zohar, in 52 chapters, goes into the part of the soul that gives us awareness of the divine force, as well as the higher part of the soul where we can achieve great unity with God.

Yeah, once we build it ourselves through work and discipline.

if you're yawning, shut your mouth... I'm familiar with Kabbalism within Renaissance Catholicism regarding the interpretation of the Book of Daniel

Kabbalism is a theological philosophy with elements of Hermetic-Egyptian teachings
a supplement to Judaism and Christianity
it's extremely intellectually dense because of all those Platonist and Pythagorean ideas whose thoughts are accumulated there.

That isn't the original Kabbalah; it's just someone's imagination of what Kabbalah is supposed to be. That’s 99.99% of the "Kabbalisms" out there today.

so, now, it's not clear to me what New Age Kabbalism is to you?

Is it the New Age disciplineless practiced by Madonna and other Hollywood types who wear those Kabbalistic Zoroastrian bracelets, walking around in Ugg boots and wearing t-shirts that say "addicted to Kabbalah"?🤷

Honestly, most of what people talk about falls into that 99.99% bucket of total misconceptions regarding Kabbalah—it's just some nonsense people peddle to sell a fake version of paradise. All those shallow "Kabbalah-lite" movements are really just stepping stones to prepare someone for the actual, original Kabbalah, because anyone truly hungry for spiritual depth will eventually realize these vulgar caricatures leave them feeling empty, which only drives that hunger even harder... it's a pattern you see playing out globally every single day.

As for those selfish types who get all puffed up and satisfied with their brand-new "spirituality," they’ll just stay coddled in their own delusions as long as it serves them, until they finally hit a wall and realize they're starving.

or is this actually just a traditional discipline within your own faith😕

Look, Kabbalah isn't a religion or a belief system; it's a scientific method for perceiving spiritual realms and God. Period. There aren't any religious elements involved, and there's zero magic or mysticism in it either.

awy
may the power of God be with you👍

It always is. 🙂 Just like it is with me, it's true for everyone. 🙂

All the best! 😍

Anonymous said:I think we define it ourselves. Of course, it isn't just some cold, rational calculation where you weigh "Should I have the power for XXX right now?" There are so many variables at play, but to me, sheer will seems to be the most critical one. That said, both power and willpower are things you have to "cultivate"—you have to practice them so that when the moment arrives, you actually have what it takes. But that doesn't mean if you haven't spent your life training, you can't pull off something legendary when it counts.
It's just like physical strength. A trained athlete has more raw power, sure, but in an extreme emergency, even someone totally out of shape might find a surge of strength they didn't know they had—like a parent reacting when their child is in danger.

But then who or what decides who ends up with that kind of drive and who stays stuck without it?