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Jerry Martinez5 said:The choice to end it is entirely yours—you realize that, right?
No, I'm not pushing you to break it off. I mean, a connection like this can be beautiful. Personally, I ended both of mine once I realized the pain of the relationship not being "realized" was becoming greater than the actual joy of spending time together. I simply wanted more, and I walked away when it became clear that I wasn't going to get it anymore. It took me a couple of years to get there, though. Looking back, I'm glad I went through it. 🙂
Ultimately, you're the one deciding. She's already made her stance clear by having a boyfriend. You mean a lot to her, I'm certain of that, because these kinds of connections are incredibly intense. But she doesn't care enough to leave her boyfriend for you. While you might be able to handle this, you two will likely just stay stuck in this exact kind of dynamic.
Maybe look at it as a privilege: platonic relationships are often much more emotionally intimate. You experience things you probably wouldn't be able to in a "standard" relationship right now. Of course, you don't get the perks of a full relationship (and by "full," I mean sexually realized; your connection is perfectly real even without the sex).
You’ve essentially recounted my entire life story here. The most profound connection I have ever experienced was purely platonic, and it was devastatingly intense for both of us, lasting for years.
Could you please elaborate a bit more on how the family dynamic plays into this?
granitemason8 said:Is this some universal craving for dominance, or is it just specifically targeted at a particular victim? Like, when a predator actually corners someone, why is the goal to exert that absolute control over *that* specific person instead of, say, someone they just passed on the sidewalk fifteen minutes earlier? What is it that makes a potential target stand out in their twisted mind?
I honestly believe it’s entirely subjective, and while some predators might be driven by a specific obsession, others are likely just acting out whatever dark mood they happen to be in at the moment.
Control and power... those patterns were decoded by psychologists and tribal leaders ages ago.
I was wondering if anyone here knows more about this electrochemical therapy experiment they've been running at the Mayo Clinic. I caught a segment on ABC News earlier today regarding how they supposedly use electrical probes to deliver medication directly into cancer cells, which allegedly makes the treatment 300 to 700 times more effective than anything else we have. They mentioned that out of four volunteers, three were completely cured.
It’s an established historical fact that he existed, and even the Quran makes mention of Jesus. It’s much like the Great Flood, which stands as a historically relevant phenomenon cited in various foundational works of civilization, not just within the Bible.
Of course, I’m not sure how realistic it is to claim that Jesus was literally God's son, but it is abundantly clear that he was a revolutionary who gained followers and shook the establishment enough to warrant his execution.
All those later biblical narratives, the gospels, and Christian traditions should really be viewed as allegories rather than things taken at face value.
As for the Church as an institution, it essentially thrives on the widespread lack of education among its own congregation, most of whom have likely never even encountered the concepts of allegory or metaphor. That explains the blind devotion to Christian mythology found in the Bible—this literalist obsession with the Virgin Birth, the story of Adam and Eve, the serpent, heaven, and hell—instead of actually contemplating symbols and the broader context.
So, if Jesus did indeed claim to be God's son, the real question is how much he actually believed it versus how much he was simply a master motivator for the masses.
After all, haven't almost all great leaders throughout history presented themselves as some sort of divinity, a pattern we still see playing out today?
In the context of psychosis, I find Joan of Arc to be a far more fascinating and fanatic figure.
Yeah, it’s pretty obvious they practically sold their soul just to land that moderator gig..😲
I am personally not a fan of that option, sorry.