Local meetup for budo practitioners?

Dana Davis5 said:🤣
Look, once you get yourself cloned again we can pick this right back up—I honestly think you had a lot more on your mind than you actually got out—but hey, at the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone else does. 👍

🙂

silverotter592 said:Hey there,
I’ve been sitting here thinking about this, and I wanted to ask everyone: how much substance do you actually find when you hang out with people who are on their own spiritual journey? I mean, when it comes to really opening up and sharing the highs and lows of life across the board—is there any actual depth there? From what I’ve seen personally, every single person I’ve run into who claims to be into spirituality seems to have already picked a specific religion or a certain niche movement to cling to, and honestly, it feels like they aren't actually looking for genuine, soul-level friendship. It feels more like they just want to recruit anyone they meet into their little group or community. So, I'm curious, what has your experience been like in your day-to-day interactions with others who are also walking this path?

Look, we're all on our own spiritual path here, and honestly, we're all experts in our own little worlds. No one else truly knows what we've endured, what we've learned from it, or how much it's actually changed us. People often don't even wake up spiritually until they hit a massive wall—like losing someone close to them. Before that, most of us walk around thinking we're invincible. It usually takes a heavy, life-altering experience—something that happens at just the right moment for a reason—to really shake things loose.

Solitude is probably the best way to process all that, though you can't go overboard. Solitude is a double-edged sword; at the end of the day, we're still social creatures after all.

silverotter592 said:Hey there,
I’ve been sitting here thinking about this, and I wanted to ask everyone: how much substance do you actually find when you hang out with people who are on their own spiritual journey? I mean, when it comes to really opening up and sharing the highs and lows of life across the board—is there any actual depth there? From what I’ve seen personally, every single person I’ve run into who claims to be into spirituality seems to have already picked a specific religion or a certain niche movement to cling to, and honestly, it feels like they aren't actually looking for genuine, soul-level friendship. It feels more like they just want to recruit anyone they meet into their little group or community. So, I'm curious, what has your experience been like in your day-to-day interactions with others who are also walking this path?

I don't socialize with them.

Back when I was a college student, I met several people interested in spirituality. I even attended some organized gatherings and quickly realized there was nothing for me there. The people I encountered were either dealing with mental or physical health struggles and trying to heal themselves through these methods, or they were total eccentrics believing in things that seemed absurd to me, or outright charlatans just looking to profit from others.

Since then, I've lost interest in meeting such people in person. Connecting online is perfectly fine. 🙂

So, how exactly are those pathetic gurus going to survive dealing with people like this, huh? 🙂 🙂

Totally irresponsible. ☕

Baphomet, Fazlija, and Black Widow are the only ones here who actually grasped my very simple, very direct question. I mean, seriously, how can anyone even pretend to talk about a spiritual journey, or claiming to know the Absolute, the Creator, or the Higher Truth, or whatever else they want to throw at you, if you aren't even capable of getting to know yourself well enough to tell the truth? If you’re stuck thinking you’re some incredibly deep, enlightened being on a plane so high that no regular person could ever hope to understand you, then that isn't spirituality—it's just a massive ego trip. It's nothing more than a soap bubble called arrogance. At the end of the day, we are all essentially the same; we eat, we sleep, we have basic urges, we seek things, we grieve, and we celebrate. If you can't share your own truth with someone, or if you're unable to accept the truth from someone else, that is purely because there is a total lack of love involved. And what kind of "spirituality" are we even discussing if love isn't the ultimate destination? Anyone claiming they don't need a friend clearly has no clue what spirituality actually means, nor do they understand the essence of friendship, and they're just lying to themselves and everyone else.

It seems like this is becoming a practical necessity at this point—I guess. The way society is organized right now seems to be heading toward drastic rollbacks of freedoms, which basically makes living life impossible. I mean, you can't work, travel, access healthcare, go to school, or use any other government institutions, not to mention being blocked from participating in trade... For those who don't want to conform to a system like that, their best shot at survival and growth will likely come from forming communities and acting together. It feels like a pressing need already.
The current trajectory of our society seems to be leading toward self-destruction—maybe. A new society will be built by those who have distanced themselves from this level of consciousness, following entirely different criteria altogether.

graniteridge31 said:It seems like this is becoming a practical necessity at this point—I guess. The way society is organized right now seems to be heading toward drastic rollbacks of freedoms, which basically makes living life impossible. I mean, you can't work, travel, access healthcare, go to school, or use any other government institutions, not to mention being blocked from participating in trade... For those who don't want to conform to a system like that, their best shot at survival and growth will likely come from forming communities and acting together. It feels like a pressing need already.
The current trajectory of our society seems to be leading toward self-destruction—maybe. A new society will be built by those who have distanced themselves from this level of consciousness, following entirely different criteria altogether.

I really wonder what the actual chances are of building meaningful connections between people—real free thinkers who are anchored in lasting values—when most of the people claiming to be "spiritual" actually view their own isolation as some kind of high calling, treating friends and support systems as totally unnecessary just because they're stuck in this deep-seated arrogance and feeding on these hollow, empty philosophies. Even when I've encountered groups of people trying to form communities, they end up losing themselves in the process because they hide their true personalities like a snake hides its skin, all because they're too proud or too terrified of being rejected by the group.

silverotter592 said:I really wonder what the actual chances are of building meaningful connections between people—real free thinkers who are anchored in lasting values—when most of the people claiming to be "spiritual" actually view their own isolation as some kind of high calling, treating friends and support systems as totally unnecessary just because they're stuck in this deep-seated arrogance and feeding on these hollow, empty philosophies. Even when I've encountered groups of people trying to form communities, they end up losing themselves in the process because they hide their true personalities like a snake hides its skin, all because they're too proud or too terrified of being rejected by the group.

What I mean is, it really is possible to form genuinely intimate bonds between people who are out there searching for the Truth without falling into those toxic dependencies or losing who they are as individuals. We’re all prone to lying to ourselves, and having a good, honest friend can actually help you tear down those personal illusions. It’s the delusions and the lies that drive people apart, not spiritual growth. When a person is finally able to strip everything away and show their small and large shadows to someone else—someone who won't judge them because they're also aware of their own flaws—that darkness just dissolves and disappears, and the soul gets purified. Not to mention all the other benefits of a friendship like that. Any "truth" we try to keep to ourselves isn't actually truth at all; it's just a deception.

Chris Williams said:One really ought to confront absolute solitude and whatever processes occur within us during that time.

Most people seem terrified of being alone because, to them, it feels synonymous with the suffering of loneliness. When there is no one else around, the mind tends to start dredging up all the mental refuse we have accumulated over the years. I suspect the mind doesn't truly exist; what we call the mind is merely a stream of thoughts composed of memories and fantasies.

These thoughts aren't actually ours. They belong to society. They are acquired—parasitic constructs born from social conditioning and sustained by our identification with them. This identification is what creates a personality.

When others are absent and the mind begins to fracture, it marks the beginning of the collapse of the personality, leaving us to face a revolting void. To move through that void, to enter that silence, is to cross a threshold; it is an initiation, a leap into the darkness, a plunge into the unknown. Death.

What actually occurs is quite beautiful, I guess. That death is the beginning of the birth of individuality, bliss, true happiness, and a sense of ease in existence.

If you are convinced that there is a reality beyond this sensory one, then you have already been reborn. The real question is what you’re going to do with that and how you intend to live this new life. Are you just going to dwell on mental speculations and hollow philosophizing, playing around with words that sound profound but don't actually mean anything even to you, or are you actually going to live Life?

silverotter592 said:What I mean is, it really is possible to form genuinely intimate bonds between people who are out there searching for the Truth without falling into those toxic dependencies or losing who they are as individuals. We’re all prone to lying to ourselves, and having a good, honest friend can actually help you tear down those personal illusions. It’s the delusions and the lies that drive people apart, not spiritual growth. When a person is finally able to strip everything away and show their small and large shadows to someone else—someone who won't judge them because they're also aware of their own flaws—that darkness just dissolves and disappears, and the soul gets purified. Not to mention all the other benefits of a friendship like that. Any "truth" we try to keep to ourselves isn't actually truth at all; it's just a deception.

I’m not quite sure why anyone would limit their search for friends to just people in spiritual circles, you know? Personally, I have plenty of folks in my life who don't care about any of this at all, and honestly, I just don't bring up those topics with them, and we get along just fine. I do have a few spiritually-minded people nearby, though, and like you said, everyone follows their own specific path, but we still have great discussions where we really bounce ideas off each other, and occasionally we do things together, like maybe a chakra dance class or some meditation sessions or attending a lecture. But yeah, if you aren't part of a formal religious community and you're more of a solo seeker, it can be pretty tough to find someone who sees everything exactly the way you do, but I suppose a true spiritual person should probably be tolerant of that. Some people vibe better with one tradition, others with another, but at the end of the day, the foundation and the ultimate goal are basically the same thing.

So, yeah, I wouldn't go hunting for friends specifically among "spiritual types" instead of just looking out in the regular world, and if I happen to run into another seeker along the way, then hey, that's awesome. We're all walking the same path, I guess; some of us are doing it consciously and straight ahead, while others are just wandering around aimlessly and winding through it.

silverotter592 said:Hey there,
I’ve been sitting here thinking about this, and I wanted to ask everyone: how much substance do you actually find when you hang out with people who are on their own spiritual journey? I mean, when it comes to really opening up and sharing the highs and lows of life across the board—is there any actual depth there? From what I’ve seen personally, every single person I’ve run into who claims to be into spirituality seems to have already picked a specific religion or a certain niche movement to cling to, and honestly, it feels like they aren't actually looking for genuine, soul-level friendship. It feels more like they just want to recruit anyone they meet into their little group or community. So, I'm curious, what has your experience been like in your day-to-day interactions with others who are also walking this path?

What journey? There isn't any journey—it's all just a bit of a cliché.

Andrew Clark9 said:What journey? There isn't any journey—it's all just a bit of a cliché.

Well, life itself is a journey, if it's anything at all, because you're traveling from the moment of your birth straight toward death.

Gregory Jackson said:I’m not quite sure why anyone would limit their search for friends to just people in spiritual circles, you know? Personally, I have plenty of folks in my life who don't care about any of this at all, and honestly, I just don't bring up those topics with them, and we get along just fine. I do have a few spiritually-minded people nearby, though, and like you said, everyone follows their own specific path, but we still have great discussions where we really bounce ideas off each other, and occasionally we do things together, like maybe a chakra dance class or some meditation sessions or attending a lecture. But yeah, if you aren't part of a formal religious community and you're more of a solo seeker, it can be pretty tough to find someone who sees everything exactly the way you do, but I suppose a true spiritual person should probably be tolerant of that. Some people vibe better with one tradition, others with another, but at the end of the day, the foundation and the ultimate goal are basically the same thing.

So, yeah, I wouldn't go hunting for friends specifically among "spiritual types" instead of just looking out in the regular world, and if I happen to run into another seeker along the way, then hey, that's awesome. We're all walking the same path, I guess; some of us are doing it consciously and straight ahead, while others are just wandering around aimlessly and winding through it.

That was a really wonderful response. Thank you, you're absolutely right. For me, Jesus Christ is my role model and guide. But honestly, looking at most Christians I've met, I've sometimes wondered if we were even meeting the same Christ or reading the same Gospel, because the way they live and the things they say don't seem to align much with His teachings. Finding a normal person I can talk to about everyday life sounds perfect to me. For a long time, I pulled away from everything because I was completely broken, and I knew I had to become a healthy person so I could be a good mother to my children, and with God's help, I have a beautiful family today—healthy, smart, kind, capable, and enlightened kids, plus a good husband, though he's unfortunately away often for work. I'm not afraid of being alone, because the silence in which I encountered the Lord has made me what I am today: healthy, stable, optimistic, empathetic, tolerant, rational, and strong, whereas twenty years ago, I was a sociopath, lost in fake spirituality, empty philosophies, drug use, promiscuity, and a massive void where a soul should have been, filled instead with an overwhelming arrogance regarding my own intelligence. When I read certain posts here, I recognize my old self in them, and I thank God for giving me back my soul and freeing me from those hollow speculations and philosophies I once mistook for spirituality. I simply want to share this Life, this beautiful new life that I have received, with others.

silverotter592 said:That was a really wonderful response. Thank you, you're absolutely right. For me, Jesus Christ is my role model and guide. But honestly, looking at most Christians I've met, I've sometimes wondered if we were even meeting the same Christ or reading the same Gospel, because the way they live and the things they say don't seem to align much with His teachings. Finding a normal person I can talk to about everyday life sounds perfect to me. For a long time, I pulled away from everything because I was completely broken, and I knew I had to become a healthy person so I could be a good mother to my children, and with God's help, I have a beautiful family today—healthy, smart, kind, capable, and enlightened kids, plus a good husband, though he's unfortunately away often for work. I'm not afraid of being alone, because the silence in which I encountered the Lord has made me what I am today: healthy, stable, optimistic, empathetic, tolerant, rational, and strong, whereas twenty years ago, I was a sociopath, lost in fake spirituality, empty philosophies, drug use, promiscuity, and a massive void where a soul should have been, filled instead with an overwhelming arrogance regarding my own intelligence. When I read certain posts here, I recognize my old self in them, and I thank God for giving me back my soul and freeing me from those hollow speculations and philosophies I once mistook for spirituality. I simply want to share this Life, this beautiful new life that I have received, with others.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there, I think—it’s like there's just one Christ and one central message, yet somehow everyone seems to process it in such wildly different ways. It kind of reminds me of that parable Jesus told about the seeds falling on all those different types of soil, you know? Where some take root and flourish and others just... well, they don't, or they just wither away. I guess it feels like most people are pretty well-versed in the basic facts of His life, but maybe we don't pay nearly enough attention to what He actually taught us. I mean, following His teachings isn't just about knowing things; it's about actually living them out, which I suppose is a lifelong grind and honestly just way harder than just reading about it. Personally, I’m really drawn to His teachings, because if you look at "love God and love your neighbor," it feels like the entire essence of spiritual wisdom is wrapped up right there in those words. And man, the Lord's Prayer... that's just such a powerful thing to pray, isn't it?

silverotter592 said:That was a really wonderful response. Thank you, you're absolutely right. For me, Jesus Christ is my role model and guide. But honestly, looking at most Christians I've met, I've sometimes wondered if we were even meeting the same Christ or reading the same Gospel, because the way they live and the things they say don't seem to align much with His teachings. Finding a normal person I can talk to about everyday life sounds perfect to me. For a long time, I pulled away from everything because I was completely broken, and I knew I had to become a healthy person so I could be a good mother to my children, and with God's help, I have a beautiful family today—healthy, smart, kind, capable, and enlightened kids, plus a good husband, though he's unfortunately away often for work. I'm not afraid of being alone, because the silence in which I encountered the Lord has made me what I am today: healthy, stable, optimistic, empathetic, tolerant, rational, and strong, whereas twenty years ago, I was a sociopath, lost in fake spirituality, empty philosophies, drug use, promiscuity, and a massive void where a soul should have been, filled instead with an overwhelming arrogance regarding my own intelligence. When I read certain posts here, I recognize my old self in them, and I thank God for giving me back my soul and freeing me from those hollow speculations and philosophies I once mistook for spirituality. I simply want to share this Life, this beautiful new life that I have received, with others.

I feel like you’ve made such massive strides in your life lately, and honestly, since it was all earned through your own grit and firsthand experience, it feels like you’ve built a foundation that’s maybe a hundred times more solid than before. I really do think those old temptations from your past life can't touch you anymore or pull you backward, you know? It’s like you're just wired differently now. And man, family is such a huge deal because that’s usually when people finally grow up, especially once that weight of responsibility and having people counting on you actually hits home. I’ve got two kids of my own, and they’re at that age right now where they just start questioning everything about the world around them—like, asking if they could be born as birds, or if aliens are out there, or even what we actually do in the next life once we leave this one, and all that stuff. It’s wild. Just like how I’ve grown mentally, I feel like I’ve grown spiritually too, so I guess I’m a much higher quality "truth seeker" today than I ever was back then. It’s pretty similar to your situation, actually; those old, naive fantasies and half-baked spiritual philosophies have mostly been replaced by some much more mature practices and ways of thinking, though I suppose there’s still such a long road ahead of us. You can't wrap everything up in just one lifetime, I guess...

I guess I spent a good chunk of time back in the day really hunting for that kind of deep, soul-level connection with people, you know? But honestly, looking back, I’m starting to realize just how tough that actually is, because when you start talking about those raw, deeply personal experiences, it’s just... it's hard. It’s so difficult to really lay everything out there and be vulnerable unless you're talking to your absolute best friend or someone you trust with your life. Even when you talk to spiritual leaders or mentors, I've noticed they almost always prefer to stick to the surface stuff—you know, chatting about different practices, specific techniques, certain books, or giving lectures and sharing their own little spiritual "wins"—rather than actually diving into a real, messy, deep personal exchange. It seems like everyone stays in their lane instead of truly opening up.

So, I was just thinking, and maybe it’s actually time for you to start teaching someone else about new life, you know? Like, instead of just looking for someone who can handle those deep, intense conversations, maybe you could show people through your own actions just how much of a spiritual transformation is actually possible. It might be cool to find someone you can actually guide if they're willing to listen...

silverotter592 said:What I mean is, it really is possible to form genuinely intimate bonds between people who are out there searching for the Truth without falling into those toxic dependencies or losing who they are as individuals. We’re all prone to lying to ourselves, and having a good, honest friend can actually help you tear down those personal illusions. It’s the delusions and the lies that drive people apart, not spiritual growth. When a person is finally able to strip everything away and show their small and large shadows to someone else—someone who won't judge them because they're also aware of their own flaws—that darkness just dissolves and disappears, and the soul gets purified. Not to mention all the other benefits of a friendship like that. Any "truth" we try to keep to ourselves isn't actually truth at all; it's just a deception.

Man, that would be nice. Seems like most people just aren't interested in real friendship anymore—spiritual or otherwise. Usually, it's just grabbing coffee once or twice a month and calling it a day. People lately seem obsessed with being alone. I've tried trying to talk about deeper stuff with people so many times, but it just never goes anywhere.

Paul Diaz54 said:Man, that would be nice. Seems like most people just aren't interested in real friendship anymore—spiritual or otherwise. Usually, it's just grabbing coffee once or twice a month and calling it a day. People lately seem obsessed with being alone. I've tried trying to talk about deeper stuff with people so many times, but it just never goes anywhere.

Solitude can be a good thing. Perhaps what you consider "deep" is different for someone else. Maybe for some, depth is just having a place to vent. Maybe they find peace in the woods. Maybe coffee is enough for them. Or maybe you simply haven't crossed paths with the right people yet. Perhaps conversation isn't always necessary. Perhaps the depth lies elsewhere. Perhaps...

By the way, I don't quite agree with you. I don't think people are resistant to Good; rather, I believe everyone is working toward Good in their own way. Some just do it a little better than others...

For lazybones and idiots like myself, having a spiritual community is actually pretty vital. You need someone to organize a space where you can actually gather—someone to ring a bell and basically bully you into meditating, or whip up some food while you're out on retreats and stuff like that... Because if it weren't for that, I’d just be sitting at home, mindlessly flipping through channels or scrolling through YouTube, letting my brain buzz at max volume without ever sitting still for a second. This way... the bell rings. It’s honestly just like any other club. People would much rather pay a membership fee just so someone will force them to show up and give them some professional guidance.

From what I’ve seen, people who actually claim to be "spiritual" tend to be way more open... and honestly, hanging out with them is just a much better vibe. It feels like the more aware someone is about the narrative they’re running in their head—you know, that whole story they tell themselves about who they are and how the world works—the freer and more playful they become. When you aren't trapped by those mental scripts, you don't have to walk on eggshells around them. They aren't rigid, and they can see right through the surface level stuff, almost like words are transparent to them! There’s this massive potential for real connection there, and everything just feels... brighter. But whatever, I doubt anyone can truly label themselves as purely spiritual or totally unspiritual, scientific or mystical... we're all just a messy mix of everything.

I’ve also noticed this massive wave of fear everywhere—people are terrified of absolutely everything! They’re scared to think for themselves, scared to speak up, scared to be vulnerable, scared of how they’ll be perceived, and so on and so forth. It’s like everyone is just soaked in anxiety, like a bunch of sour pickles... I don't even have to look far from my own life to see it. For my entire life, instead of actually building myself up, it feels like I’ve spent all my energy trying to strip away these weird, unwanted layers and then just patching up the wounds left behind. And then, hopefully, I can move on. But trying to cut away or remove something from someone else? That gets "complicated" real fast. To me, it feels like trying to pull a thorn out of a wild animal's backside. What are you supposed to do then? Nothing. I guess they just have to live in symbiosis with that thorn, or maybe the hand of God will reach down and pull it out, whatever that means. Who knows how many of those thorns I’m carrying myself without even realizing it... You don't really get easy answers to these kinds of questions. Maybe you just outgrow them. Maybe you just learn to live with the uncertainty without forcing an answer.

What do you guys think? 🙂

restlessdriver said:Solitude can be a good thing. Perhaps what you consider "deep" is different for someone else. Maybe for some, depth is just having a place to vent. Maybe they find peace in the woods. Maybe coffee is enough for them. Or maybe you simply haven't crossed paths with the right people yet. Perhaps conversation isn't always necessary. Perhaps the depth lies elsewhere. Perhaps...

By the way, I don't quite agree with you. I don't think people are resistant to Good; rather, I believe everyone is working toward Good in their own way. Some just do it a little better than others...

If talking was useless, we wouldn't have language or the ability to speak—and if solitude was all we needed, we wouldn't be this social species. Honestly, I don't get this glorification of being alone. Is it just fear of actually connecting with people or what? I like my space sometimes, just like everyone else, but being alone 24/7 is more of a mental health issue than some spiritual breakthrough. Seems to me like "spirituality" is often just a fancy word for being self-obsessed.

People *do* resist good. If they didn't, the world wouldn't be such a mess, people wouldn't be crushed by negativity, and those bringing light wouldn't be persecuted—like Jesus and many others. But hey, everyone's free to agree or disagree with whatever they want. 😁