Posts by placidjackal36

Jacob Jackson50 said:Hey placidjackal36, I really respect how committed you are to explaining life through a scientific lens. That said, there's plenty of stuff online that seems to trip up those scientific explanations. For instance, I came across info about people claiming to live off light—basically surviving on prana. I'd love to hear what you think about that.

What can I say? This is totally off-topic, and if I start dropping actual facts, half the people here will be at my throat, the mods will come after me for breathing wrong, and I'll end up getting flagged just because I refuse to swallow certain dogmas. It's a lose-lose situation where I'm basically asking for trouble.
But honestly, I don't really feel like dealing with that headache today. I'm actually enjoying being here. I'm learning.

No, he just doesn't get it. He hasn't grasped a single thing I’ve put down, and honestly, I’m done trying to explain myself. That whole situation is just weighing on me too much.

Morgan Hernandez5 said:Maybe you inhaled the same atom that Newton or Karr breathed in once?

I’m pretty sure I’m made up of at least a thousand particles that were once part of Spartan. 🙂

rustymaker5 said:placidjackal36, I’m honestly surprised to see you posting about spirituality, especially since you tend to view it through such a... mythic lens. 🙂
In this space, scientific data isn't some absolute, untouchable truth, and subjective values within one's own internal compass carry a lot of weight—not to mention those experiential insights into the beyond, that whole realm of existence you don't even acknowledge...
Under these circumstances, it’s hard to have a real conversation with someone like gentlemaker6; it’s kind of like trying to discuss literature with a kid who has barely mastered the alphabet but hasn't quite tackled Dostoevsky yet. 😉 And I say that strictly in terms of understanding that we all exist on different levels of consciousness, where no one is inherently better or worse than anyone else, we're just simply where we are right now... much like how you wouldn't—and shouldn't—compare the intellect of a third grader to an eighth grader back in middle school. I hope you follow my drift... 🙂

Look, Anna—spirituality isn't built on what you already know. It’s about everything else. Think of it like standing way up in the branches of a massive oak tree. You're high up, gripping the limbs tight, peering through the leaves with that kind of wide-eyed curiosity a kid has. You reach out into the void, just letting your hands wander into the endless space, dreaming, discovering, and getting lost in the philosophy of it all. To It’s what makes us a superior species, really. We’ve moved past just surviving and chasing basic biological urges; now, we actually sit around and think about ourselves. We’re essentially just little fragments of the universe that have somehow gained the ability to go looking for our own purpose. To me, that’s exactly what spirituality is.

Spirituality isn't about playing games or lying to yourself by pretending that ATP doesn't drive everything we do. It’s not some primitive obsession with lucky charms or acting like a scared kid hiding from monsters under the bed, trying to ward off bad vibes with incense and "sacred symbols." That's not it.
Spirituality isn't about ignoring the facts you already know. It’s not just about sawing off the branch you're sitting on; it’s more like planting dynamite in the trunk of the tree itself. 🤷

How are you supposed to build anything if you can't find a single foundation that actually holds up? It’s a total deadlock. Even Descartes went through that whole phase where he tossed everything out, stripped away every certainty he had, only to realize eventually that there was still a bedrock underneath it all.
"Everything is fine, everything is possible"—give me a break. That isn't spirituality; it’s just intellectual anarchy. I can see that gentlemaker6 is actually getting a kick out of it, too—thriving in this chaotic, messy headspace where everything is supposedly "one" and nothing has any individual distinction. Honestly, that’s just peddling cult ideology. It’s nowhere near actual intellectual depth. If you believe that, you aren't even free. I’ve run into some of the most dogmatic types on this entire forum during my time on the Spirituality board, and let me tell you, the hypocrisy is thicker than you could imagine.

I’m just going to keep my mouth shut from here on out. If I say anything else, people are inevitably going to start accusing me of being some troll just looking for trouble. Honestly, all I’m doing is asking questions about the same stuff you are.
When I start questioning someone's rigid dogmas—those little echo chambers where people peddle their views like they’re some kind of holy gospel that can't be touched—it’s always treated like an act of war. It’s funny, really. They wrap themselves in these lofty labels like "The Truth" or "freedom of thought," but it’s pure hypocrisy. If you dare to poke a hole in their carefully constructed reality, suddenly you aren't just a skeptic; you're the enemy. It's the exact same playbook used by those fringe cults you see in documentaries, just dressed up in much more polite language.

gentlemaker6 said:My apologies; I truly didn't mean to offend you by calling you an atheist. I just remembered seeing you mention once that you identify as agnostic. I have nothing against atheists, so labeling someone isn't an insult in my book—it seems I missed the mark there. I was an atheist myself at one point, so I certainly understand the perspective.

Life is created by energy-rich chemical compounds? Everyone had a good laugh at that one. 😂😂😂

If my posts don't interest you, please feel free to simply ignore them.

Perhaps it would be best if I started studying physics, chemistry, and similar subjects. Apparently, that is the only literature that makes a person intelligent. Everything else is worthless. In fact, we should probably just burn every other book in a massive bonfire; they only serve to dull the mind. The most important thing is knowing which specific chemical substance my brain or some gland is secreting in any given moment. Bravo. You’ve managed to solve many of life's essential mysteries with that single statement.😁

Sometimes I’m agnostic, sometimes I’m an atheist, and sometimes I’m a believer. For certain things, I believe simply because they can't be proven. When it comes to nonsense that flies in the face of hard facts, I'm a staunch atheist—or even an antitheist, if we're using your definition of the term, which seems more concerned with supernatural entities than what I'm actually talking about.

Life is created by energy-rich chemical compounds? Everyone laughed. 😂😂😂

If you aren't interested in what I'm writing, then stop replying to my posts.

Yes, life is driven by energy-rich compounds. You honestly think this is just my little invention?
What about the massive teams of researchers who have dedicated their lives to this? What about the millions of people every day who validate these discoveries?
Have you ever actually looked into physiology? People have spent lifetimes studying how a human being functions. They’ve run experiments. They’ve measured the intake and output of mass, calculated how much energy a single unit of a nutrient provides through complete oxidation versus what's actually utilized when someone eats, and then mapped out the metabolic utility of specific parts: muscle, brain, and so on. They’ve tracked oxygen intake and expiration during rest, during study, or while running.
They’ve analyzed bodily fluids using every method under the sun, put subjects through X-rays and NMR, and monitored brain activity via EEG and heart rhythms via EKG.

We know exactly why a person lives and why they die. We understand our own structure down to the histological details. We know what powers a cell—the breakdown of substances and their fusion with oxygen in the mitochondria to produce the ATP that drives everything else.
We know how the kidneys filter waste and exactly how much energy that process requires.
We know why a heart can keep beating even when the brain is effectively dead. We know where emotions reside and where memories are stored.
We know where the center of balance is, and why a person panics when their airway is obstructed.
We know why it hurts when you get hit. We know why the smell of smoke or the sound of a firecracker can trigger a panic attack. We know why a mother's breast produces milk the moment a newborn latches.
We know what reflexes are.

A human being is such a beautifully complex organism that you’re essentially dragging its incredible sophistication through the mud by denying it. You deny it in almost every single post you make. Honestly, it gets under my skin.

I guess it would be best if I just started reading books on physics, chemistry, and stuff like that. Apparently, that's the only way to be considered smart. Everything else is worthless. Maybe I should just toss all other books onto a bonfire. They probably just serve to make people stupid anyway. The most important thing is knowing which chemical substance my brain or some gland is secreting in a given situation. Bravo. You've solved many of life's essential mysteries with that one statement.😁

Look, you really ought to start reading more. You need to take a closer look at the very things you’re dismissing just because you refuse to acknowledge how complex they actually are. I never said things like the meaning of life were "stupid." But you know what is stupid? Denying the actual facts of life, which is exactly what you're doing right now.

Where on earth did you get the notion that I think nothing else has value? Is *Anna Karenina* garbage just because it isn't chemistry? Is Bach’s Third Suite worthless simply because it isn't physics?
Where are you even pulling these delusions from?

And where does this idea come from—that explaining a phenomenon somehow strips away its beauty? According to your logic, something is only beautiful if you’re too ignorant to understand how it works?
Is a night sky outside a major US city suddenly trash and stripped of its wonder just because we know it isn't some mystical shell of dots controlling our behavior, but rather a massive expanse of gas and plasma fusing elements?
Why would it be?

By your reasoning, does understanding how sound waves propagate through metal and air somehow degrade the raw, visceral terror felt when someone strikes a memorial bell in a quiet town square?

Man, what is wrong with you? Seriously, what is actually going on in your head?

gentlemaker6 said:I am not rambling about fantasies, nor have I lost my way.

I fear the confusion lies with you; you seem obsessed with reducing every statement to mere chemistry and physics. Please understand that science does not yet hold all the answers. Until it does, your behavior on this forum is nothing more than harassment—driven by your negativity and a compulsive need to debunk my points or anyone else's. If you truly consider yourself a scientist, you are essentially working just to validate my claims.

I stated quite clearly that this isn't about chemistry, but about life itself. Look in a mirror or out your window; life is teeming everywhere in countless forms. Many haven't even been discovered yet. What binds them all together? Life itself, manifesting in various ways. Within your narrow view, you obsessively study the chemical makeup of every organism, failing to realize that neither chemistry nor physics creates life. Without spirit, without a soul to drive and shape it, there is no life as we know it.

What I am describing—this shift in consciousness and the realization that we are all one—will come through understanding that the One who grants us life is singular. We are one because of that connection, not because of carbon atoms, tin, niobium, ribosomes, or any other material element.

As an atheist, your fundamental settings are flawed because you don't believe in God. Consequently, your efforts aren't aimed at understanding my perspective, but rather at dismantling it. Your stance is predictable: you only believe what can be scientifically proven, yet you live surrounded by phenomena that science has yet to grasp. I am telling you, you will have to change your paradigm if you ever wish to truly see. To truly see, one must first believe. That applies to everything in life, not just religion.

I kindly ask that you cease these negative posts. Spare me the demands for evidence and the constant references to chemistry and physics. If I were to walk onto a forum where you were the moderator and behaved toward you the way you do to me here, I would be giving you a free pass to react however you liked. On this platform, we should maintain a positive tone.

I’m not going to argue with you, because you clearly can't hold a conversation without drifting off into your own little fantasies.
1) I am not an atheist.
2) Life is driven by energy-rich chemical compounds— that isn't a belief, it's a fact.
3) I have zero interest in your dogmas.

That’s all I have to say. Since you labeled me an atheist (which I know is meant as an insult), I’d love to give you a piece of my mind, but I won't. I've been warned that I can't express personal opinions about others on this subforum. Everything has to be wrapped in velvet, polite and polished. It's a shame, really; it doesn't suit my personality at all—most of us back home are much more direct than that. I have enough social restraint to avoid blurting out every thought that crosses my mind, but I refuse to act hypocritical or spineless.

Ryan Wilson2 said:Look out that same window and you will see that death is ever-present. Every single life form eventually ends, or survives by ending another. Death is the true universal constant that binds us all together. Does that necessarily mean we are obligated to celebrate Death?

That’s a solid comparison. But he isn't going to get it because he's too intoxicated by his own slogans. His brain is just pumping out serotonin while he repeats those shallow experiences of easy happiness he felt when he first started reading thicker books (and unfortunately, you know the type).

Richard Walker79 said:That’s precisely the point—parasites live like there is no tomorrow, operating under a "burn it all down" mentality. Native Americans, at least, lived with their descendants in mind; they respected nature and took only what was necessary, as history shows us. That’s why they were wiped out, along with other civilizations that actually lived in harmony with the land. Our own history, especially lately, just proves how destructive and oblivious we can be.

We may not be foolish, but we are certainly crazy if we're willing to wreck the entire planet—and ourselves in the process—just for the sake of some colorful scraps of paper.
budo is right: there is no good or evil, there is only awareness versus ignorance.
We lack wisdom, which is why gentlemaker6 is writing in vain here; you can't pass on mystical insights through an online forum.

I honestly find myself looking forward to the collapse of this modern, destructive civilization that convinced us that luxury is the only way to live. I just wonder what most people are feeling under all that stress and discontentment. Subconsciously, they know we're living unnaturally—racing around in a high-speed, high-stress frenzy just to achieve things.

As the Native Americans used to say: we will return.🙂

Yeah, he planned ahead. In fact, he was more "human" than the settlers who tore him apart. A cheetah doesn't plan. An elephant doesn't plan. A moth doesn't plan. They just eat until they're done.
I think what happened in North America just goes to show that parts of humanity haven't moved past those primitive, impulsive behaviors—behaviors that might be acceptable if they didn't constantly clash with someone else's right to live and be free.

We aren't stupid, but we are definitely crazy if we think we can destroy not just the planet, but ourselves in the process with nothing but colorful scraps of paper.
Budd was right; there is no good or evil, there is only awareness and ignorance.
We lack wisdom, which is why Simon33 is writing in vain here—mystical insights just don't transfer through internet forums.

I agree to a point, but you should never live under the delusion that you are fully aware. That mindset is exactly what landed us in this mess. You set a goal just within reach so that you're always moving toward it. Once people fall into the trap some folks here have, they stop striving altogether and just settle into a mental swamp.

I’m hoping for the collapse of this destructive modern civilization that convinced us that living in luxury is the pinnacle of existence. I just wonder what most people are feeling under all that stress and dissatisfaction. Subconsciously, they know we are living unnaturally—living at breakneck speeds, stressed out, racing just to achieve something or get somewhere.

Like the Native Americans used to say—we will return.🙂

What kind of collapse are you talking about?

Here you go again, spinning fairy tales out of thin air. It’s impossible to have a rational conversation with you when you just keep moving the goalposts and changing the variables whenever it suits your argument.
Look, I ask you a straightforward question, and somehow you still manage to lose the plot.

gentlemaker6 said:I’d throw in a bit of Mercer for good measure.😂

Just kidding, obviously.

But seriously, yes—it means we are one. And that realization is incredibly significant. If those men truly understood that, they never would have committed their atrocities. No one would kill themselves by killing someone else. If we are truly one, then everything we inflict on others, we inflict on ourselves. Everything we do for ourselves, we do for others.

One day, this awareness will fundamentally transform our world. 😁

But I’m not "in" Karr, nor is he "in" me. He’s just made of the same particles I am. I don't see why that makes anything special.

It’s almost as if it’s perfectly normal that Mercer is composed of tin-based compounds, Maddox is niobium-based, and Karr is carbon-based, and then—BINGO!—we’re special, we’re interconnected! 👋

I honestly don't get it. As individuals, we aren't defined by our constituent particles (since we all share the same ones), but by how they are arranged. And Karr has a different arrangement than mine—one where he enjoys murdering Mexicans. 🤷

If I’m eating a cookie right now, Karr isn't eating it too. We aren't connected.
You can't build global human cooperation based on the fact that we're all carbon-based, or that we all contain ribosomes. Even sand contains ribosomes. And it's made of carbon, too.

So, I really doubt this is ever going to change the world. Most people already know they are carbon-based. If they haven't learned it from a textbook, they’ve certainly learned it through the experience of a nasty burn.

gentlemaker6 said:No, rather:

So, just because I’m made of the same energized particles as Karr, does that mean we’re somehow one entity or that there’s some profound, special connection there?

I don't see it.

rustymaker5 said:Yesterday I found myself watching Spades again, and man, it’s such a bloodbath... even though the whole thing focuses on the intense suffering of the Christian Messiah, I can't help but get hit hard by the realization of just how much people are capable of doing to one another. 😢 And honestly, it all stems from such petty impulses, just pure fear. It's this fear they nurture deep inside themselves, and once it takes over—it transforms into this horrific inhumanity, a kind of evil that exists only for its own sake, a mass hysteria fueled by a collective amnesia about our own nature, born out of this panicked sense of isolation, loneliness, and being completely disconnected from everyone and everything else around us. 😢

Yet it really doesn't take much at all—just Love—to actually feel connected, protected, whole, and truly happy... as human beings.

Honestly, that's just crazy Gibson and a lot of red paint. The guy lost his mind but thinks he's on the "right path," so he enthusiastically drags everyone else along with him.

He's following the same rabbit hole as Tom Cruise and that Scientology madness. The whole thing just went off the rails. Too much money, too much free time, and now they're just bored and acting out.

gentlemaker6 said:My opening post, the core philosophy: We are all one..

So, we’re all just the same species, right? Is that really where we're going with this? It feels like one of those deep, late-night philosophical debates you have when you've had one too many beers at a dive bar in Chicago, trying to make sense of why everything feels so chaotic. We share the same DNA, sure, but if you look at how people actually act, it’s hard to argue that we’re all cut from the same cloth. One guy thinks he’s an absolute genius because he can code a basic app, while someone else is out there just trying to figure out how to pay their rent in Austin. We might be biologically identical, but the way we navigate the world—the sheer randomness of our personalities and choices—makes us feel worlds apart. It’s like comparing a high-performance Tesla to a rusted-out Ford; under the hood, they both run on combustion or electricity, but the experience of driving them couldn't be more different. So, yeah, technically we're all the same kind of creature, but honestly, that's a pretty massive oversimplification.

And what exactly is this concept of the "oneness of all"?

coastalorca7 said:Here is the catch: you have to convince the consumer that they need specific items. Post-war production in Western Europe was focused on supplying the market with basic human necessities. Human needs are infinite (you just have to trigger them), but resources are finite. In today's highly industrialized nations, a consumer society needs to exist. Through targeted marketing campaigns, companies awaken desires within individuals that they weren't even aware they had. People demand more and more, and industry exploits this for profit by producing goods to satisfy these "manufactured" short-term needs. Once the item is used or discarded, the cycle repeats with the next product.

Yeah, that bolded part is the core of your argument, and you're spot on. The answer isn't necessarily reverting to that post-war style of production, but finding a middle ground somewhere in between. What we're seeing today really pushes past acceptable norms. Honestly, your only move is passive resistance: just refusing to buy the junk you don't actually need.

Richard Walker79 said:Actually, it’s more about the unnecessary destruction and pollution caused by pure greed.

The amount of wood a tribe harvests to burn for energy is so tiny that it’s actually less than the forest's regrowth rate. People always say an Indian "lives in harmony with nature." In reality, they aren't necessarily living in harmony; they are simply taking less than what nature can replenish. If the forest shrank while the number of Indians grew, we would feel the impact very quickly.

True harmony means not multiplying faster than what stays in balance with the environment.

Once you have a highly developed society—meaning a massive population—you end up with huge energy demands. Nowadays, an average American home requires over 50 GJ of energy per year.

The real issue lies with factories churning out junk and useless products, followed by all the cars on the road... All of that is actually quite easy to fix!

In principle, we are all parasites; some are just more harmful than others.

A parasite is someone who destroys everything—and eventually destroys themselves in the process.

Look, it’s simple math. If you actually want to see a profit, you have to move the product. Just piling inventory up in some warehouse isn't going to help anyone—least of all the guy who spent all that money filling the shelves in the first place. If there's no demand for what you're holding, you aren't selling it, and if you aren't selling it, you aren't making a dime. It’s just dead weight.
Look, it’s pretty simple: it just has to happen. No company is out there intentionally pumping out junk just to pollute the environment. That would be incredibly expensive and completely irrational from a business standpoint. It doesn't make sense.
Look, it’s pretty simple: raw material consumption is skyrocketing because we’re a bigger population and, frankly, we’ve become a lot more demanding. It isn't just about the fact that there are more of us out here consuming stuff; it's also about the sheer scale of what we expect from our gear. We aren't just looking for basic tools anymore—we're chasing constant technological breakthroughs. That relentless drive for the next big thing in tech is what's really pushing the demand through the roof.

The whole point of being in balance is that you don't just breed like crazy without thinking about it; you live in a way that stays in sync with nature. It’s about not overextending yourself beyond what the environment can actually sustain.

We moved past that ages ago. There’s no going back now—unless some plague or an asteroid, a comet, or even the Sun itself decides to thin our numbers out first.
Some people actually go as far as advocating for violence against certain groups of folks. Honestly? I’m with them. I say let everyone pushing that kind of rhetoric pack their bags and head out to some remote Pacific island where they can tear each other apart in peace. It would solve two problems at once: we wouldn't have to listen to their mindless nonsense anymore, and frankly, the planet would be a little bit better off for it.

The real headache isn't actually that complicated if you look at it clearly. The biggest issue we’re facing is the massive amount of resources being poured into factories that churn out absolute junk—stuff nobody actually needs and half of which is low-quality garbage. Then you've got the whole automotive sector driving up the mess. Honestly, once you address those two sectors, everything else becomes easy to fix. It's just basic math.

Spot on. If they actually managed to phase out cash, they’d probably manage to cut down on the sheer amount of nonsense being produced too. Though, honestly? I don't think it would be enough. There are just too many of us, and some people are still out here starving. It’d be a whole different story if everyone actually had enough to eat and a decent place to stay warm, too...

A parasite is a destroyer—not just of its host, but eventually, it ends up destroying itself too. It’s a cycle that always catches up to them.

Parasites don't necessarily just destroy themselves. It’s rarely that simple. 😕
It’s pretty simple, really. Whether it's a piece of iron or some microscopic pathogen, they’re going to consume resources until there’s nothing left, and then they just die off. It's basic biology. You see it with an elephant, a gazelle, or a cheetah—they live, they eat, they exhaust their environment, and that's the end of the line. Humans are different, though. We’re the only ones with brains developed enough to actually realize we're messing with our own surroundings. Once we catch on, we try to pivot. We look for alternatives or find ways to cut back on consumption because, let's face it, we aren't quite that stupid.

swiftsurfer27 said:Even if you’re starting this thread with nothing but good intentions and genuine enthusiasm, I can't help but wonder: is there actually anything this beautiful planet can do to save itself from us?😁
I have to admit, I was pretty shaken by one particular perspective on humanity and our relationship with Earth. Specifically, when Mr. Smith remarked that humans act like viruses—just a contagion that migrates to a new territory once they've finished stripping the first one bare. And the cycle just repeats.

The reality is, this is just the byproduct of rising living standards and a growing population. More people means more demand, which means more energy needed. To put it in simple, illustrative terms: for an Indian to live a tolerable life throughout the year, let's say they need about 1 GJ of energy annually, sourced from wood. That is a tiny amount of energy, and there aren't many Indians to begin with.🙂
The sheer volume of wood a tribe harvests to burn for energy is so minimal that it’s actually less than the forest's natural growth rate. We love to say an Indian "lives in harmony with nature," but it's not really about harmony; it's just that they take less than what the environment can replenish. If the forests were smaller and the population larger, the consequences would hit them almost immediately.

Once you reach a highly developed society with a massive population, your energy consumption skyrockets. Nowadays, your average American home requires upwards of 50 GJ of energy per year.

It seems irrational to expect humanity to just abandon everything we've built, move into shacks, freeze in the dark, and spend all day doing absolutely nothing. This is where we are, and this is the reality we deal with.
In principle, all heterotrophic organisms are parasites on the Earth. They feed at the expense of autotrophs and the planet itself. Plants behave similarly. Any living thing requires matter and energy to survive. If those resources disappear, the organism either dies or moves to find a better spot. A plant will shift its growth to soak up more sunlight. A giraffe will track down a tree with juicier leaves. A bear isn't going to sit by a dry creek bed waiting for fish to appear; it’ll go find a stream that actually has something in it. An elephant herd will clear out a patch of bushes and then move on.
Humans, in addition to looking for a more comfortable place to live, look for wherever the fuel is. Once we dig up and extract the very last ton, we just move on to open a new mine.

At the end of the day, we’re all essentially parasites; some of us are just more destructive than others.

I’d do something really nasty to him. ☕ 🙂

steelsurfer42 said:It’s like pulling a massive booger out of your nose. Thank God you can just do it again. 😂

😲 🙏🙏🙏
That moment when it finally clears up and you catch a breath of fresh air? Man, life on this good land is something else. 🙏😁

Maybe you could find them in those little boutique shops, or maybe just at some local street stalls...

Kenneth Peterson5 said:Look, Anthony Fowler83 didn't say anything disgusting, she just used some clumsy wording because she didn't know any better.
She wasn't trying to be malicious, so I really don't get why you're getting all worked up over her post.

We’re on the same page regarding reiki.
We’re on the same page regarding the term "race."
But we are definitely NOT on the same page regarding your massive leap in logic—where you basically call yourself an authority while tossing insults at others and claiming their thinking is warped.
So yeah, it makes me sick too, and I have to step in.

Hopefully, this post shows you that we're actually advocating for the same things, just differently—you're out here attacking people before you even think about what you're attacking, while I'm just trying my best to give an objective take on the question and the messy posts surrounding it.

Let's hope we can avoid these kinds of misunderstandings moving forward.

mistybison said:It is possible there was simply a misunderstanding. She might have just meant that for those of us in the US—not because of our race, but because we live in a completely different culture—voodoo magic doesn't quite resonate. Since that tradition originated in Africa, where most Black men live, it may simply be that people from different backgrounds shouldn't practice magic that isn't suited to their own environment and cultural conditions.

Based on how she put it, it was obvious to me that she views "race" as a fixed genetic trait that dictates certain social predispositions. It practically screamed it from her words.
If I missed the mark, my bad. But I don't think I did.

Simon33 said:Question for: Kenneth Peterson5, Zlosmjeh, and placidjackal36

Are any of you into reiki?

I'm not.

Kenneth Peterson5 said:I have no idea what you're even talking about here.

It’s pretty obvious you read my post while you were in a bad mood and clearly missed the point—because you’re totally misinterpreting and wrongly implying that *I'm* the one backing racism or fake medicine or whatever else?

Anyway, I really hope your rushed, half-baked thoughts don't end up hurting anyone else on this forum.

If you come back at me with more of those negative jabs regarding my post, consider this my heads-up: I won't be bothering to respond.

Reiki is pure snake oil—it's pseudoscience born out of religious philosophy, and when people try to use it for medical purposes, it falls squarely into the category of quackery. It’s actually fascinating how such a tiny, self-contained little concept can manage to capture such a massive slice of the human stupidity pie. Astrology is probably its only real rival, but even astrology has a bit of an apparatus behind it—some pseudo-math, a touch of astronomy, and a long tradition—that gives it some sort of staying power.
Reiki is basically waving your hands around and "sending positive vibes" to heal people. Its foundation is about as solid as the claim that the world was created in seven days, or that a teapot orbits the sun, or that paper napkins do the foxtrot when nobody's looking. There is zero basis for it, zero evidence, and best of all, the supposed mechanism they claim to use is already fully explained by biochemistry, which has absolutely nothing to do with their mystical results.
And then they charge you for it... which is just the icing on the cake. 🙏 🙏 🙏

What Anthony Fowler83 said was honestly revolting. You might not know this, but biologically speaking, human races don't exist. "Race" is just leftover terminology from the early days of systematic biological classification.
We are a single species known as Homo sapiens sapiens. Race is something you only really see in segregated societies where there are significant differences, making it more of a sociological phenomenon. Sometimes people categorize others this way just for convenience, like how the police might do it for easier identification.

This isn't about being intolerant or hateful. I don't usually even hang out in this section of the forum. I'll pop in occasionally, see that nothing has changed, and leave. But when I run into this kind of garbage you guys are dragging out, it makes me sick, and I have to say something.

Kenneth Peterson5 said:Post number 4, written by Anthony Fowler83, is actually just a well-meaning response to a user who—despite trying to sound polite and educated—is clearly leaning into that negative mindset, probably looking for some quick magic fix or a shortcut to bend reality to their will.
The way the moderators are tearing into Anthony Fowler83 is totally uncalled for, honestly just ugly and sad—it really goes to show how much we all differ from one another.
In the sentence

the point isn't about saying White people are better or worse than Black people; it's about highlighting that we're fundamentally different.
If the mods actually knew anything about the roots of Voodoo, they wouldn't be reacting like this—they'd see exactly what that sentence was getting at.
Just to stop all this unnecessary drama and insults moving forward, I’m dropping THIS link about Voodoo, which might help those who don't get why Voodoo isn't for Americans (or Japanese, or Chinese, or Swedes, etc.)—basically, why it isn't for anyone who isn't part of that specific clan and doesn't share the bloodline or ancestry tied to traditional Voodoo religion.
As for rowdyhawk10's comment regarding Anthony Fowler83's controversial line...

all I can say is that statement is a total fantasy, because people have never been the same and they never will be.
Again, that "controversial" remark wasn't implying White people are superior to Black people or vice versa; it was pointing out that people are diverse, with different cultures they uphold and different histories that shaped them into the individuals they are today.
Saying "White people are equal to Black people" is just as hollow as saying "all White people are the same"—which isn't true, because I am certainly not the same as moderator Endimion17 or moderator rowdyhawk10, and frankly, I'm glad about it.
So, no, White people aren't equal to Black people, nor are White people all identical to each other—no human is truly equal to another.
Attacking Anthony Fowler83 like she's some kind of racist is completely unjustified and obviously just stems from ignorance and being too quick to judge.
Besides, Anthony Fowler83's advice regarding this topic—specifically for Beat_Dadoo's question—is the only constructive thing said so far, so to add to her post, I'm providing this LINK where users can learn a bit more about those prayers.

To wrap this up, I'll touch on post Kosinica Milbo, which is pushing Reiki.

HERE is a bit more intel on Reiki—specifically check out page 4, where it really lays bare how what people call "Reiki" here in the States (and everywhere else, honestly) isn't even close to the actual thing.
Endimion17 is spot on regarding the Roman Catholic Church and their whole stance on Reiki; you can actually see the breakdown under the critiques section at the bottom of Wikipedia.
It’s a damn shame he didn't back up his claims with an actual link or some decent explanation—instead, he just went with his usual routine of insulting some random lady on the forum who, if I had to guess, was just trying to help Beat_Dadoo out.

There is no excuse for Anthony Fowler83's mental vomit.
It’s honestly wild how New York can be so incredibly, almost deceptively simple—packaging racism, snake oil, and pure charlatanism in such a "benign" little wrapper. It makes all that garbage look harmless. Wake up, people! Why are you all just burying your heads in the sand?

Anthony Patel49 said:I wouldn't mind being stuck on an island 200 miles off the coast of Hawaii

Honestly, I’d just bring along a really good dog...And before you guys start getting weird about it, I'm not talking anything inappropriate. I genuinely think hanging out with a dog would be way less painful than being stuck with any actual friend.

Just try not to get your nose stuck in the screen while you're at it. 😁