Posts by Anthony Perez9

Sandra Morgan2 said:I agree that Jiddu Krishnamurti doesn't fit that mold. In fact, he dismantled the very organization that was built around his persona. For reasons explained in one of his jokes, of course. But Jeff? He fits.

Why shouldn't he share his experiences? And why stay silent? Of course, he’ll charge for them just to cover expenses. If he clings to authority, or allows himself to be turned into a guru, then he’d be wrong—falling right into the trap of religious merchants and gurus, tapping into that general human laziness and craving for security in authority. I don't think he falls into that.

I'm with you on covering hall costs being fine. Krishnamurti was an international speaker, but people invited him to teach and made sure all his expenses were taken care of.

Jeff, however, has an organization that handles all of that for him, promoting him online (and who knows how else, since he isn't exactly a household name) and charging $40 per head for every single talk.

Beyond that, his frantic weekly schedule is pretty suspicious; it keeps changing from the moment you posted the link. Basically, the guy runs four different operations: hall lectures, small group sessions (private settings), Skype consultations, and retreats. All of them are $40 per person. The retreats are probably even pricier.

Just imagine... say Raman had posted Jeff's price list at the entrance of his ashram:
- Large lecture: $40
- Small group session: $40
- Private consultation in a little room: $40
- Retreat: $100

Raman would have said he turned self-realization into a business. But he didn't... he never took a single cent from anyone. He gave spiritual guidance as a gift; in fact, he went out of his way to feed those who came to visit him. For free.

Nisargadatta Swami lived by working at a newsstand. He sold tobacco. When he had free time, people would come to his house, and he would share his insights. Free of charge. That didn't stop him from becoming internationally known or his teachings from traveling the world.

If an enlightened being charges for their help, advice, or sharing—and does so through an organized system with even minimal administration—then they are living off their talk about self-realization. If, on top of that, someone like Jeff is frantically scrambling for cash, then to me, that is the most vulgar form of materialism there is.

That’s all well and good, but it feels a little naive to me. Did Raman just live on sunshine and good vibes? Where exactly was he getting the food he served to all those visitors? IndiaDid he actually turn his ideas into reality? Who was really looking out for him? I bet it was just a massive crowd of followers treating him like some kind of god... and I'm sure their donations weren't exactly small change.

Nisargadatta Swami made his living working at a local newsstand.

👍

Jeff

He was selling it. Cigarettes..

Hard to believe he didn't realize how toxic that stuff actually was...

Jeff

Whenever he had a spare moment, people would just show up at his place and he'd share his insights. All for free.

India is a trip. People there actually think bringing food to their guru and bowing down like he’s some kind of god is a way of life.

Is it just me, or are the people handing out free advice always the most delusional ones out there? 😁

Jeff

If some enlightened being starts charging for advice or sharing their "wisdom" while running a whole organized setup with even a tiny bit of admin behind it, they aren't enlightened. They're just living off the hype of their own self-discovery. If Jeff is frantically clawing at cash like that, it’s about as vulgar as materialism gets..

I wouldn't go that far. I don't think it's really a valid way to measure someone's worth.

Is it really that hard to drop 40 bucks for someone's time and effort?

What’s the last thing you splurged on for yourself—something around $40 or way more? And honestly, was that item actually worth the time wasted dealing with a guy like that?

Even Jesus had a little pouch to carry around all those donations. 😁

George Wood2 said:To guy seems alright to me. He’s refreshingly unpretentious—simple, straightforward, and he doesn't feel the need to clutter his thoughts with complex jargon or clever wordplay just to sound important. I don't "see" him making any grand claims about being enlightened or anything of the sort.
I don't sense any ego-driven posturing or that typical "spiritual ego" trap.
The man is just simple. 🙂
In fact, there’s a genuine positivity to his approach regarding being "full of everything and remaining undivided by it."
It is a profound state of acceptance without anyone actually performing the act of accepting. Or perhaps they can. 🙂.

👍

I don't see him actually claiming to be enlightened or anything.

He never claims that about himself, nor does he hint at it. I was just being sarcastic. 😉
Doesn't mean he hasn't tapped into something worth learning from, though.

My gut tells me there's no ego-tripping or spiritual ego stuff here.
The guy is straightforward. 🙂
And he's actually quite "positive" with that whole "full bag of everything and staying detached" vibe.
Total acceptance without any of the usual baggage. Or maybe not. 🙂

Did everyone bail on Jeff, or has anyone actually given his meditation a shot? 🙂

I think it's alright.

Here’s his backstory:

Foster was born back in 1980 in New York City.[1] He studied astrophysics at Harvard University.[1] Back then, he was drowning in despair and loneliness, [2] which eventually spiraled into physical illness and a total personal breakdown shortly after graduation. He was convinced he was a dead man walking.[1] Foster moved back in with his parents, spending a year buried in spiritual texts, just trying to find some relief from the depression.[1]

It all wrapped up in 2006 when that sense of separation just vanished—what he calls a spiritual awakening:

"As the saying goes, I was walking through the rain one cold autumn evening in Oxford. The sky had turned dark; I was bundled up in my new coat. And suddenly, without any warning, the search for something more obvious just fell away, and with it, all the sense of being separate and alone.
And with the death of that separation, I was everything that appeared: I was the dark sky, I was a middle-aged guy walking his golden retriever, I was an old woman limping in her raincoat [...] I was the raindrops falling on my head (even though it wasn't 'my' head—I didn't own it, but it was undeniably there, so calling it 'my head' works well enough)."

Stumbled upon this old thread about enlightened Jeff by accident after ten years. 🙂

Here’s one of his interviews:

"Back in 2011, Foster wrote an article explaining why he no longer identifies as an 'Advaita teacher' or a 'non-duality teacher,' pointing out how one-sided modern 'radical Advaita' teachings can be. Rather than sticking to strict impersonal philosophy, he started embracing and emphasizing the relative, human, personal side of existence in his writings—a relativity he felt didn't clash with the impersonal Absolute."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_F...ritual_teacher)

Give him a listen... 😉

Gregory Ramos3 said:Honestly, it kind of reminds me of those folks back home here in the States who say, "well, if Ukraine hadn't fought back, there wouldn't be any deaths or war to begin with." 🙄

https://www.zeit.de/2022/27/ukraine-...kipedia.org%2F

AN APPEAL FROM:
Jakob Augstein (publicist), Richard A. Falk (professor of international law), Svenja Flasspöhler (philosopher), Thomas Faith (professor of agricultural economics), Josef Haslinger (writer), elisa Hoven (professor of criminal law), Alexander Kluge (filmmaker and author ), Christoph Menka (professor of philosophy), Wolfgang Merkel (professor of political science), Julian Nida-Rümelin (philosopher), Robert Pfaller (philosopher), Richard d. Precht (philosopher), Jeffrey Sachs (professor of economics), Michael von der Schulenburg (former UN diplomat), Edgar Selge (actor), Ilija Trojanow (writer), Erich Vad (retired general, former military adviser to Angela Merkel), Johannes Varwick (professor for international politics), Harald Welzer (social psychologist ), Yogeshwar (science journalist), Jul Zeh (writer)

Exactly.

Jeffrey Sachs (United Nations) is one of the people signing this letter, which basically tells the West to stop sending weapons and helping Ukraine, so they can just "negotiate for peace." 👎

Amanda Allen4 said:Putin is far too busy to even show up for Gorbachev's funeral

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...busy-to-attend

“ Although the ceremony will include certain “state funeral elements,” a White House spokesperson noted that the President, Vladimir Putin, won’t be in attendance—all because of his supposedly packed “work schedule.”

You can try to imagine how Putin would've handled the whole collapse of the USSR, or the fall of the "Iron Curtain" in Berlin and the end of East Germany, which Gorbachev just let slide away peacefully....

goldentrucker18 said:Hey everyone. It’s been a minute since I’ve checked in here, but I ended up popping back in while searching for some info on homeroom religious studies teachers.
So, I just found out that my daughter’s homeroom teacher from fifth through eighth grade is going to be the religious studies instructor. Honestly, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the potential friction. What happens if they only ever cross paths during SRZ? Like, how is this teacher actually supposed to advocate for her if, say, she runs into issues with her biology teacher? Has anyone else dealt with this kind of setup? How did it play out for you?
I’m really crossing my fingers that this person is reasonable.
To be blunt, my biggest fear is a lack of tolerance toward "her"—you know, being an atheist—and the possibility of them pushing specific agendas during SRZ sessions and stuff like that.
Since SRZ will be their only common ground, I’m struggling to understand the logic here. I have no clue how the administration at this school thinks this is going to work smoothly—they already shuffled kids from all four different tracks—4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D—just because of foreign language electives.
PS. This is happening in Washington, D.C.

That’s just how the Church and the clergy operate globally. They slowly plant their people into school boards, committees, and little cliques until they suddenly vote to push creationism alongside evolution—or claim evolution shouldn't be taught at all because it's "contradictory." It works for any topic that makes them uncomfortable.

If we let them expand their influence into "secular" education, you can bet they'll exploit it for their own ideological agenda and still never be satisfied. Shout out to the exceptions, I guess... ☕

wiredseal7 said:Check out this "Peacekeeper" hit list—which somehow includes our own Commander-in-Chief (Joe Biden)—leaked right on a NATO domain:

https://twitter.com/timand2037/statu...zlM0blaPLrCLaw

None of this is actually true. 😵

Myrotorets

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrotvorets

Back in August 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Russian journalist slammed the site claiming it was actually running on NATO infrastructure.[28][29] https://www.readyratios.com/profile/...63_mirotvorets

Myrotorets frequently blacklists people over issues involving Crimea, which basically means they can't enter Ukraine because border agents use data from the site during checks (it’s not really a "hit list"). Gerhard Schröder ended up on there after calling the annexation of Crimea a "reality that must one day be acknowledged." Roger Waters got added too, after suggesting Russia has more of a claim to Crimea than Ukraine does. Silvio Berlusconi, Roy Jones Jr., and a bunch of Russian pop stars were also flagged just for visiting Crimea, which the US and Ukraine view as an illegal border crossing.

In November 2015, the center added a specific section titled "Putin's crimes in Syria and the Middle East" which leaks the personal details of Russian military personnel involved in operations in Syria.

Once that info went live, the Russian investigative committee launched criminal proceedings against Anton Gerashchenko for "publicly inciting terrorism."

Anthony Hill5 said:Just when I was actually feeling a bit of relief seeing a news update from June 24th, why must you insist on jerking us around like this?

That guy was in Kherson. This new one just kicked the bucket, so he won't be lecturing them anymore.

Four hours ago.
The reports about the shelling in Mariupol are just grim. It feels like nothing ever changes.

I guess we’re all just waiting around to see if anyone actually does anything about this mess. It feels like we're stuck in a loop.

crimsongull28 said:Ukrainian security chief found deadhttps://mondo.rs/Info/Svet/a1678363/...jen-mrtav.html

^
It looks like Russia is starting to look like a gift to Dugin. Denis Pushilin is pointing the finger at Kyiv for the assassination of Dugina—and let's be real, he’s basically Putin's unofficial spokesperson alongside Kadyrov.

Probably didn't happen then. ☕

crimsongull28 said:Ukrainian security chief found deadhttps://mondo.rs/Info/Svet/a1678363/...jen-mrtav.html

^
It looks like Russia is starting to look like a gift to Dugin. Denis Pushilin is pointing the finger at Kyiv for the assassination of Dugina—and let's be real, he’s basically Putin's unofficial spokesperson alongside Kadyrov.

Typical tabloid trash. 🙄

He wasn't the "head of Ukrainian security," just the chief of the Kirovograd Oblast Security Service..

Jose Clark2 said:You're oversimplifying things. Claiming Russia is still a democracy ignores how laws actually function. Even here in America, minor offenses can land you behind bars for years or even life. It's all about the legal framework.

The reality is more nuanced than just the political system; you have the rule of law and the separation of powers to consider. Legal systems vary wildly. Then there's the matter of human rights. Take the USA, for instance—acting as a beacon of democracy while using drones to eliminate ideological enemies abroad, often resulting in civilian casualties and zero right to a fair trial.

Is there even such a thing as a "mafia-style autocratic oligarchical democracy"? 🤔

Take the USA, for example. We act like the world's beacon of democracy while hunting down ideological enemies with drones, usually leaving a trail of civilian casualties in our wake—all without ever giving anyone a fair shake in court.

Islamic terrorists don't get any rights to a democratic trial or due process. If there's collateral damage, that's on them. ☕

Thomas Nelson25 said:Ukraine isn't gonna be part of Russia's sphere of influence—that's exactly why they hit them. Simple as that.
Plus, now we're seeing all those geostrategic motives coming to light—territory, resources, control over the seas... it's all there.

The real question is who actually wants this to happen?

Attacking Ukraine means attacking everyone in Belarus and the rest of the Russian Federation who actually values democracy.

That's Putin's endgame—using the destruction of Ukraine to keep the Russian Federation—that whole Russian colony—from falling apart.

hiddeneagle98 said:Is there some kind of sportsbook out there? I’d love to put some money down on these absolutely wild convictions of yours.

The real question is what becomes of Ukraine. My take? Nothing. It’ll be a total wreck—demographically, structurally, economically, even morally. Their population has plummeted below 30 million, considering they were sitting at 54 million just thirty years ago.

Did you maybe mix up Ukraine and Russia?

The obsession with Russia is starting to look like straight-up religious idolatry. It's irrational to the core.
I just hope the shock actually snaps them back to reality, though who knows. Irrational people can face their absolute worst defeat and total disgrace, yet still convince themselves they've achieved some divine victory... all while sinking straight into the mud.

Jerry Robinson56 said:You’re getting the wrong idea if you’re implying I’m some kind of anti-Semite.

I'm not implying anything, obviously. Just dissecting common prejudices.

Logically speaking, they were chosen by God... right?

If they suffer... That's what they believe. Much like Jesus.

The actual purpose or intention behind being "chosen" doesn't even matter.

True, but anti-Semites usually imply it’s just about "elevating themselves above everyone else out of pure arrogance." It doesn't have to be limited to that.

So they're chosen because they're exceptional and, as you put it, patient...

To suffer and endure for the sake of saving humanity, like Jesus.
When you read the Bible, you see a whole series of atrocities Yahweh handed them.

That's exactly why the episode explaining Stalin's crimes serves to show that Stalin isn't anything new or "exceptional."

As for the "Jewish question," you have to look further back in history to understand why some people use the term "chosen people" as a way to justify oppressing others.
It's not just about weapons and pogroms across the globe. It's not healthy to mix religion and religious zealotry with the actual truth.
But this has nothing to do with "crimes" or punishment; it's more about another work by Dostoevsky...
The point was: if the exceptional ones haven't realized that violence only breeds more violence, then who's going to stop the crimes that keep happening in wars?
See? He didn't get it, which was pretty much expected when he was riding that high.

Unfortunately, that's just how it goes, like you said. Victims of violence often turn into the aggressors once they grab power... I don't see much difference between nations on that front. But you have to keep things in perspective. Ideologies aren't the answer. Not even the "peaceful" ones.

Jerry Robinson56 said:They always brag about being the chosen people... what's the point...

Every brand of nationalism loves to puff itself up.

With Jewish believers, there’s this extra layer of religious "chosenness." They interpret it as being "chosen to suffer like a martyr (much like Jesus), constantly humiliated, killed, and persecuted just so they can absorb the sins of others, enduring everything while waiting for their persecutors to realize their mistake and pay off someone else's debt.

But haters will always frame that "chosenness" as something "arrogant that insults everyone else." It doesn't necessarily mean what the antisemites claim it does.... ☕

boldbison48 said:How on earth did you link AC current to those gays?
I honestly can't wrap my head around that comparison.

Exactly. That crowd runs on DC, not AC. Maybe if we were talking three-phase power, I'd get it. 😛

* My bad, mods. It's just peak trolling season.

lonetrucker4 said:It's totally plausible he was asexual, since he channeled all that erotic energy straight into his work.

Hmm. Asexual people don't necessarily have to sublimate or redirect their sexual energy into work or whatever. For them, sexuality is just... unappealing. They aren't interested. It's an innate trait that only a tiny fraction of people possess.

People like this were, for example:

Back when being gay meant facing brutal persecution, it was probably safer for men and women alike to just keep their sexuality under wraps. Especially if they were public figures. Most likely, plenty of them ended up in monasteries or joined the clergy, while the rest just settled into marriages.

Asexual? Hmm.

21. John Frusciante
“Lately, I just haven’t been having sex 'cause I just don’t enjoy it,” John Frusciante said. “I just stopped enjoying sex at one point, so right now I just concentrate on writing music for [our next] album."

placidtiger142 said:Check this out—got a bit of a different, super interesting take on the war from Korado Korlevic:

Honestly, just listen to the first 10 minutes of the explore segment. It’s really fascinating stuff and totally flips the script compared to what all those other analysts and news outlets are peddling.

Edit: This was from yesterday's show, August 2nd.

👍

He’s been predicting the collapse of the decaying Russian Federation and millions of Russians becoming refugees for a long time now.

(Just skip over the usual rambling from Elvis—he's basically a conspiracy theorist who always heads in the wrong direction, so Korado usually has to set him straight. I actually messaged Explora once saying, "More Korado, less Elvis," and they just read it out loud with a dry smirk lol)

Explora regularly features Korado’s takes on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The whole idea that the USA is stirring up trouble is just as fake as the claim that we Americans were all itching to tear America apart, when really, we just wanted to stay on good terms with them. 😵

Who actually falls for that crap? Aside from the thugs—you know, those Putin stans—who use it to justify their actions to a public they basically incited themselves.

William Anderson5 said:That only happens if the West puts enough pressure on Ukraine, similar to how things played out in 2014 and 2015. But honestly, it's become clear to everyone in the West that freezing this conflict isn't an option anymore. No one in Washington or Brussels is looking for that kind of deal because Russia completely burned its bridges and shattered any trust that was left. This time, the war will likely go on for as long as the Ukrainians have both the will and the capacity to fight. And they seem to have significantly more of both than the Russians do...

For sure. I mean, who else in the world is actually cheering for this Russian embarrassment?

It feels like that whole Russian system was destined to collapse eventually; this is just the dying gasp of a chaotic empire. Putin decided to go out with a massive bang and a mountain of casualties instead of fading away quietly.