Posts by bluemason3

The payout window is at least two weeks for us, so I assume there's some legal timeframe they have to hit once a claim is closed. (I can't double-check right now, honestly). As for this whole account opening thing, I'll admit I haven't heard that one before. My colleague mentioned—and since I don't work in sales, I’m a bit out of the loop—that they've actually started doing this recently, probably due to some deal they struck with the bank. I'm skeptical about whether they can just force that on people; half of these "requirements" are usually just smoke and mirrors. For instance, we've seen plenty of cases with bank obligations, like leasing, where they try to mandate insurance through a specific provider, but our clients often dig their heels in and refuse. It would be smarter to run this by a lawyer, though, because Liberty Mutual generally tends to drag its feet on payouts. They prefer pushing for settlements—which works for smaller amounts—rather than paying out actual invoices, even though that's rarely the best move for most people unless they're operating under the table. Regardless, don't just sit there. Give them a call, ask about the status of the claim, and find out why the money hasn't moved yet.

Kimberly Nguyen said:Don't even bother wasting everyone's time with posts like this if you aren't going to back up your claims with actual facts and logic.

I think enough has already been said. I’ve worked for several insurance companies—not specifically Aetna—and they were almost always at the bottom when it came to industry reputation. I know high-quality agents who get approached by all sorts of firms looking to poach them, yet these same professionals refused to work with State Farm or Allstate regardless of the incentives offered. There’s just too much shadiness: under-the-table deals, unnecessary legal battles over payouts, and bizarre workplace dynamics. I once saw a manager literally pull cash out of his wallet to pay an agent because a reimbursement was late. It's a mess of broken laws and old-school cronyism, especially back in the day when they had political connections that made them untouchable. They essentially wrecked the whole system by starting this trend of handing out baseless bonuses. In short, it’s just a bunch of shady, semi-legal maneuvering.

Ryan Patel11 said:I don't get how they could brainwash you if you aren't even interested. I meditate regularly and I feel fine. They can only push their philosophy on you if you actually show up to the meetings—and nobody is forcing you to attend those. If meditation works for you, just do it solo at home and call it a day. The philosophy is for the people who are actually looking for it. And honestly, there's no religion involved; I've been to those sessions before, and everything always boiled down to philosophy and science, which is basically what started this whole thread.

Sorry, but that's just a facade. Mahatma Gandhi intentionally shifted the terminology to sound less Hindu. Their "scientific research" was mostly just them grading their own homework; it lacks any real objectivity, especially when they start talking about fields or that "one percent root" theory. It's all unproven nonsense. When you compare their claims (like crime rates dropping because of group meditation) against actual independent FBI statistics, the math just doesn't add up.

Regarding religion, during initiation, you're offered guidance, you receive a mantra, and you effectively adopt a specific spiritual heritage. That’s the worst part—the "hidden" aspect. An instructor will claim it’s just "their thing." It’s like a priest telling you baptism is just his personal preference, and then you end up reciting the Rosary just for "health reasons."😁

In court, they were even classified as a religion when they were trying to avoid that exact label (I can't recall why) 😁

I'm not a fan of these gimmicks and behind-the-scenes maneuvers.😛

What actually sparked this topic for me?

I was reading a book by one of the most renowned hypnotherapists out there. To be clear, I’m not talking about some charlatan; this guy spent his entire career training medical professionals—psychiatrists and others—and collaborating with them. To make a long story short, both he and another person, independently of one another, discovered something fascinating in their fifties that was later backed up by research.

Essentially, in certain patients treated for postoperative depression or, in some cases, phantom limb pain where no physical cause could be found, regression therapy revealed that the root issue lay in what was being said or happening during surgery while the patient was under anesthesia. To confirm this, they performed regressions on a large number of people who had undergone procedures under general anesthesia, and it consistently showed that memories could be retrieved, allowing patients to describe the surgical procedures with startling precision.

So, it seems that even during seemingly unconscious states, a part of the mind subconsciously records everything happening around it.

A specific example involved patients suffering from phantom pain in the area where they had surgery. Through regression, they found the cause was a surgeon commenting during the procedure, "Look at this, she’ll never be the same again." He meant it in a positive sense, perhaps, but it stuck in her mind as a negative suggestion of being permanently broken. Once the true cause was identified, the pain stopped.

Even though this was documented back in the fifties and confirmed in many subsequent cases, it feels to me like people still don't pay enough attention to how they speak in those critical moments...

Then there's the day-to-day interaction with patients. A doctor is usually an authority figure, especially when dealing with serious illnesses. A sick person is incredibly suggestible in that contact, so it should be vital for doctors to understand how to navigate those situations—how to phrase things to leave the most positive impact possible. Honestly, it doesn't feel like that's always the case.

Here's another situation I ran into recently. It isn't directly related, but the principle is identical. I was just reading Jack on the importance—and potential harm—of diet regarding cancer development, and I've seen similar things elsewhere. Yet, I still hear oncologists tell patients that diet doesn't matter and they should just keep eating exactly as they have been.

These factors—psychological state, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle habits—are crucial for prevention, treatment, and making life manageable during serious illness. And yet, they seem to be systematically ignored. It would be like taking a car to a mechanic who fixes a breakdown caused by neglect, but fails to mention that the oil hasn't been changed in a decade, the wrong fuel is being used, the tires are bald, and the belts are shot.

Aaron Morris56 said:I really only needed that first sentence to get the point. I didn't bother reading the rest. Maybe I missed something or misread it, but you explicitly said you could mentally break someone. If I'm lost, let me know.😁

It sounds like you're lost in the woods and projecting a bit of an ego here. 😁

What I meant was that even I could do it if I lacked a conscience and had the stomach for it. In other words, breaking someone down isn't some impossible, far-off feat—provided you don't have a moral compass or any empathy. I'm emphasizing the "if." Since I actually have a conscience and emotions, it's purely hypothetical. I was just pointing out how easy it technically is, not claiming to be some kind of psychological predator. I'm not that guy, I couldn't be that guy, and I certainly wouldn't brag about it.😁

Aaron Morris56 said:I don't know why people act so high and mighty. You aren't even in my league when it comes to this stuff.

Acting like I'm important? By doing what? 🤷The fact is, people can break mentally... I don't see how that has anything to do with me or acting superior. 🤷What field are we even talking about here, and how am I supposed to be an expert in it?🤷

Aaron Morris56 said:Honestly, the whole concept of "boundaries" gets on my nerves. What do you mean by breaking? Are we talking about people who are just emotionally unstable?

No, I mean mentally normal people. If they’re unstable, they’re already broken by default. 🤣

I’d bet there isn't a single person out there—even someone like me—that I couldn't mentally dismantle, provided there was no conscience involved and a willingness to use any means necessary (like in wartime or similar high-stakes scenarios where you don't hold back). People are either non-existent or too rare to matter in that regard. I once read about a top-tier CIA agent being captured by "enemies." When his trainers were asked how much information he could be expected to give up, they said that despite all his skill and elite training, everyone eventually cracks under that kind of pressure. It's inevitable. I also know someone who worked for a Western military unit dealing with interrogations—using a mix of hypnosis, torture, deprivation, psychological pressure, drugs, and so on. He said that, in the end, the person is left as a complete mental husk.

Sure, those are extreme cases, but extreme situations can wreck your life just as easily. No one is immune. There is no such thing as a person who can't be mentally broken after a certain amount of pressure. Honestly, the people telling fairy tales about mental toughness are usually the ones who have never actually been faced with something stronger than themselves. That works out fine for them, but it doesn't help the people who actually went through it. In fact, it makes it harder. Those who have suffered won't take "fluffy" advice seriously when they see the person talking clearly has no idea what they've endured. You can't empathize with someone who doesn't understand. Offering simple solutions learned from weekend seminars or New York newspaper articles won't do much for someone facing true trauma—though it might work for people who imagine problems more than they actually have. That's quite common in the West. When your existence is secure and you have plenty of time to philosophize, you tend to develop unnecessary "problems," unlike people fighting for survival every day. Generally speaking, the wealthier the society, the more depressed its people become. 😁 Dudley thinks the climate plays a significant role in that, too. 🤔

slypuma17 said:No.
If I didn't have desire, I’d find myself missing something profoundly. It wouldn't just be a minor absence; it would be an ache. I’d feel hollow—like an empty cardboard box sitting on a porch in the middle of nowhere. 😁

To be honest, I find it nearly impossible to envision a life devoid of desire. It seems baked into the very architecture of the human psyche—as soon as one longing is satisfied, a new one inevitably takes its place. There doesn't seem to be anyone who exists entirely without want, someone who simply sits back and finds total contentment in whatever they currently possess, regardless of what that might be. Of course, there might be outliers. Perhaps those who have stared down death itself, or individuals who have clawed their way through truly harrowing ordeals, might find that kind of stillness. But for the rest of us? The hunger is constant.

I know people who go around claiming to be that way, but let’s be honest—that’s a different story entirely. If they actually embodied those traits, they wouldn't feel such a desperate need to constantly repeat themselves or try so hard to convince everyone around them that it's true. 😁

I tend to steer clear of those grand, megalomaniacal ambitions—the kind of lofty, unreachable goals that do nothing but breed frustration. It feels much more rewarding to aim for something modest, something actually within my grasp. I’d much rather chase small wins that I can actually secure; it means I get to enjoy those little bursts of genuine happiness a lot more often. 😁

Whenever a new desire takes hold of me, I find myself sitting down to dissect it. I go through the motions of interrogation: Why do I actually want this? What would the fallout be? How would it shift my reality? Usually, the whole thing just fizzles out under the weight of my own scrutiny. I often come to this realization: if I actually managed to pull it off, I’d be incredibly happy for exactly one day. By the next morning, that feeling would already be starting to ebb away. And then, predictably, a different craving would take its place. Or worse—that hollow, stagnant void sets in. That state where you have no desires left because everything you ever wanted has been checked off the list. It leads to this strange, unsettling loop where you might actually find yourself regretting having fulfilled a wish in the first place, simply because the satisfaction vanished so quickly.

Every wish we actually get granted turns out to be just a smaller version of the original illusion—a diminished hope, a faded dream. It’s like the light starts to dim the moment you reach for it. As Camus once put it, "in a world without illusions, man is a stranger," which is really just a poetic way of saying he's miserable.

There is a certain beauty in unfulfilled desires. In fact, they might be at their most potent when they remain out of reach—that's when they possess the capacity to become a true sense of purpose. 😍

That’s pretty culturally conditioned, though. There are parts of the world where the mindset is completely different. That's why Western culture pushes success so aggressively, even though that constant, unchecked ambition makes it one of the most mentally taxing environments out there. In other places, assertiveness or ambition isn't valued—it's seen as crude or arrogant. People there tend toward a more "educated," balanced lifestyle, without all the frantic running after everything and everyone or the constant need to compete.

Aaron Morris56 said:And you're definitely

True. Not everyone has the same breaking point, but everyone has one. If you haven't hit yours yet, it just means you haven't been pushed far enough. 🙂

humble Enchi 😁

Aaron Morris56 said:Basically, we're talking about that deep ache of wanting a kid you can't have, and what happens after that. Clear enough now?

No, I still have no idea what you're getting at.🙂

Aaron Morris56 said:The whole thing about planning for a baby, being an intentional parent, and everything else you've put together... So, what's your take now?

I don't really get the question. 🤔

Aaron Morris56 said:I'm not into USA yet. And you're really overthinking this.

On the contrary, it couldn't be simpler. If you drink beer, you get drunk and end up in trouble. If you don't want to be drunk and in trouble, don't drink beer. It's the most straightforward logic there is. When you chase things and tie your happiness to getting what you want from the outside world, you're bound to be disappointed. The world isn't going to bend itself to satisfy your whims. Once you stop doing that, the disappointment disappears. 😁 Just basic common sense. 😁

That said, most of us would probably choose giving up peace of mind over giving up our ambitions any day.😁

Aaron Morris56 said:So what, a kid shouldn't even have desires?

You want a kid, you don't get one. You get the kind of kid you didn't expect, or a partner who isn't what you hoped for. Then your priorities shift once they actually arrive, or your finances take a hit and suddenly you can't make ends meet. Who knows... things change. Basically—don't get ahead of yourself. 🤣Though if you aren't into USA, you won't have any issues. 😁😁😁

desire -> unfulfilled desire -> frustration -> dissatisfaction -> disappointment -> suffering

therefore

no desire = no suffering

per Buddhism

🤣

😬

🙏

Jeremy Flores10 said:I really don't get people who respond to posts like this by saying "just go play sports," or "don't be selfish," or "life is beautiful"...
I fell into a deep depression purely because of mistakes I made myself. I can't see any possible way out of this mess. The worst part is the thought that my actions might hurt the people closest to me. Honestly, I'd rather just end this miserable life than let my screw-ups affect them, but that isn't an answer because it would only cause them even more pain. For some reason they still love me, even though I've done something terrible.
Right now, I'm not financially independent, so I can't even leave to give them a break—to stop them from having to look at my stupid face every day and spend their already tight budget on me, even just for basic groceries.
I'm pathetic (in my music, first of all), weak, and foolish...
Life isn't always black and white, and believe me, sports definitely won't pull me out of this hole.

I wouldn't say that's necessarily bad advice, though every situation is unique. If I had to take a guess, self-harm is likely acting as a sort of "pressure valve." You could assume there are uncomfortable emotions that aren't being expressed or released—maybe fueled by social pressure, or certain people or authority figures you can't stand up to, or just events we can't quite process. It makes sense to assume the core issue is an inability to handle negative feelings, which then get "vented" that way. Some people might turn to outward aggression, others toward psychological struggles, but some form of internal release seems like the most logical assumption, right? 🤷

Of course, age plays a role too. As you get older, there's usually less pressure on you, so these types of "coping mechanisms" tend to fade. Once the whole phase passes, it starts to feel pointless. Personally, I was pretty much fine until I hit eighteen, and then everything shifted almost overnight. I doubt any psychiatrist could do more than what life itself does—changing your environment and eventually shifting your behavioral patterns. You never really know when things will turn around and suddenly become okay. 😍 👍
I'm sure professional help can make navigating these transitions a lot smoother and easier, certainly.

In any case, I think sports can actually be a healthier way to "release" things. On one hand, you get those endorphins that create a sense of well-being (like during a long run), and the physical exertion itself can be cathartic. You wear yourself out enough to empty your head, and you're getting some fresh air and sunlight. Sure, starting is the hard part, and when you're feeling low, it takes extra effort to get moving, but once you're into it, I think it's purely beneficial. 🙂

Dana Morales64 said:Here I am again. Lately, I’ve been completely on edge—just totally losing my cool. It feels like I'm constantly on a short fuse, snapping at the smallest, most insignificant things. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if there’s some kind of personality disorder at play here. Most of this stems from my job; I feel constantly targeted or undermined at work, facing these constant little provocations. It’s bleeding into my personal life, too. I can't function normally anymore—just flashes of aggression, constant nerves, the whole bit.
I’m curious what you all think: is it worth sticking it out, or should I just start looking for an exit strategy? The only reason I haven't walked out yet is the money. I have a specific plan in motion, which is the only thing keeping me going, but I don't know how much longer I can take it. To be clear, I’m not talking about some massive, systemic psychological abuse—it’s not quite at that level. It’s more like a series of small, annoying situations that just systematically ruin your day. Sure, some days are fine, but most days there’s at least one little thing that pushes me over the edge.
Looking around, it seems like everyone else is just as high-strung and aggressive as I am. Even in traffic, it's a mess. Is this just some new cultural trend, or are we all just slowly sliding into total chaos?

It’s not always easy to hand out advice since everyone's situation is different, but if my experience can help someone in a similar boat, here it is:😁

My situation was pretty much the same. A job I didn't like (but I'm stuck there for certain reasons, so I won't go into detail), constant pressure, and eventually just hitting a breaking point.

In the end, the solution was actually quite simple. If I couldn't change the job, I could change plenty of other things. Turn off the TV, shut down the computer, spend at least two hours outside every day (and by outside, I mean nature, not sitting at a coffee shop). Instead of watching TV after work, I started doing an hour of relaxation exercises. Stop eating junk food, go to bed at a decent hour—ideally by 10 PM, maybe 9 or 11, as long as I get enough sleep. Generally, sleeping before midnight is better for actual rest than staying up late. When I look at the big picture, a good portion of the stress was self-inflicted through an unhealthy, undisciplined lifestyle and having unrealistic expectations—trying to do a hundred things when there's only time for ten.

Again, every case is unique, but you have to look at the whole picture: your lifestyle and your overall mindset. That gap between what you want to do and what you actually can do naturally leads to frustration and tension. I don't believe a single factor, like a job, is enough to cause a total meltdown on its own.

Life must be incredibly complicated when you're a woman 😁

let's not get carried away😁

I was talking about monastic communities—essentially, focusing on self-improvement rather than charity work. Contemplative orders are established to help people engage in spiritual practice through an institution that provides the ideal environment. This means access to teachings and texts (which used to be incredibly hard to find), physical space (usually quiet, nestled in nature, and tucked away from the social noise), and basic necessities like food and shelter so a person can devote themselves entirely to a contemplative life.

Even within the religious hierarchy, the humanitarian work you mentioned isn't the primary mission. Sure, individual priests might do great work, which is commendable, but the core function of the institution is religious and liturgical—conveying specific spiritual principles. Humanitarian efforts are more of a byproduct.

And how else do you think all those nonprofits and foundations exist without being formal legal entities? Nonprofits and foundations *are* legal entities; they have their own structures, hierarchies, revenues, and expenses.

Look, the Church isn't a charity; it's primarily a religious institution. I'm not defending it—let’s be clear, there is plenty about it that I dislike—but the existence of an institution isn't inherently a problem. Foolishness is bound to happen in any organized group. The real issue usually arises when it merges with secular power. For its own spiritual good, the fundamental principle should be staying out of politics... though, the Church is a bit of a special case. Other religions have strong monastic institutions, but they rarely have such powerful, hierarchical lay leadership. That probably changes the whole approach. 🤷

I wouldn't say there is that little good left. It's just that someone like Kacunko will get billions of times more media coverage than an entire monastery full of humble monks. Those guys aren't doing anything "interesting" for the public; they just focus on their spiritual practice and manual labor day after day for decades, hoping nobody ever hears about them. Performers are always more interesting to us and the media, so it ends up looking like there are more of them. They just make more noise. 😁