Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

[MTF]

I read few stories on the internet about people having life altering experience for good after an Ayahuasca ceremony (there some posts on this forum too). So I felt it might be of some help to you.

Yeah I've read some stories as well but I'm pretty sure I'd be that guy who just has a bad trip after psyching himself out. Your attitude is very important for the psychedelics to work and mine would be full-blown paranoic crazy.

 

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[MTF]

Today I had my first private krav maga session in roughly 3 years.

Muscle memory is fascinating. Even though I wasn't good by any means back when I practiced last time (I worked with the same instructor for 1.5 years until he had to focus on other commitments and I decided to focus on other sports), it felt pretty natural to get back into things.

It was way more interesting and engaging than a calisthenics workout I now do 5x a week. Krav maga feels way more useful, too, as you not only learn various self-defense techniques but also improve your endurance, strength, precision, and mind.

 

[Kak]

When people pursue these big ideas, they're merely distracting themselves from the fact that it's all meaningless.

If everything is meaningless... If NOTHING matters, whatsoever, other than your lifestyle... And you have the lifestyle you want… Why then do you think you are so depressed? Could it be the mindset that everything is meaningless?

My thoughts on this are that I have a set of skills, what I am good at, the responsibilities those skills enable me to take on. I get peace, meaning, and enjoyment out of accomplishing things I set out to do. I believe there is tremendous meaning in making the world a better place, and my personal burden to carry is business. Making the world a better place by bringing value into the lives of others that wasn't previously there.

I love the quote that @Dwight Schrute posted... "what a man can be, he must be."

Not using my full potential would be like relegating a ferrari to a go-cart track. That, to me, ultimately makes for a pretty sad existence for a Ferrari.

I know you and I disagree on this... But, have you ever considered if your dismissal of using your very clear talent, intellect for something other than your own mental gocart track might be the culprit?

I personally think you are capable of tremendously more than you give yourself credit for, and claim you desire. Everyone thinks I am all business, all the time. And I kind of am... But... There are PLENTY of other things you can do brother. Have you considered starting a foundation about something you are passionate about? Something that does matter to you? Define what isn't meaningless to you and start there.

To me, with such a focus on death, it is like you have beaten the game of life and become bored with your existence. It isn't prudent to ignore death, and you know I don't. My point is that we define what "beating the game" is and there is a reason when people feel that they have a purpose and are carrying it out, they will live, happily and healthily, well into old age.

I watch you, as a friend, essentially waiting to die. I hate that for you man. You achieved what you set out to do, which is awesome, build a great lifestyle that fits your definition of a great lifestyle. Now you don't know what to do with yourself.

I see you dismiss things so easily. Perhaps more consideration should be given to the things that might be outside of your comfort zone.

Start with that traumatic event... What caused it? I don't need to know, but is it something you are passionate about preventing? Or even decreasing the likelihood of such an event for others?

No one has all the answers, but let me be clear, peace and purpose are real. Don't give up looking for yours.

You know I am here for you brother and I believe in you.

 

[SteveO]

Understood.

I read few stories on the internet about people having life altering experience for good after an Ayahuasca ceremony (there some posts on this forum too). So I felt it might be of some help to you.

Noah Kagan's story is one that I found interesting: The Worst Night of My Life: My Ayahuasca Experience

Also, I assume that it's our @snowbank that Noah mentions as "Billy" in the article. Not sure, though.

Understood.

I read few stories on the internet about people having life altering experience for good after an Ayahuasca ceremony (there some posts on this forum too). So I felt it might be of some help to you.

Noah Kagan's story is one that I found interesting: The Worst Night of My Life: My Ayahuasca Experience

Also, I assume that it's our @snowbank that Noah mentions as "Billy" in the article. Not sure, though.

My experience at an ayahuasca retreat.

I did a lot of LSD and mushrooms when younger. They are NOT the same as ayahuasca. The best way that I feel that these can be compared is that Ayahuasca feels very internal while the others feel external. I was always awake and coherent with LSD. I could function in the world as long as the visions and hallucinations were not discussed with anyone that was unaware of what was going on. I even talked with police officers and pastors while high on LSD.

With the Aya, I was basically immobile on a pad. I could get up and find my way to the restroom or whatever was needed. But that was only during a lull in the cycle. While deep in the throws... I was lucky to be able to sit up. Plus the "high" takes you deep into your mind. Like Bio said, you feel only semi- conscious.

That may not be the same for everyone though. The guy next to me was darting around like a hummingbird. But he was the only one in the group that was actively moving. Everyone else was in a zombie like state.

The feeling was very intense. Session one had me with a high fever. The shaman told me that was a reaction to the Aya cleansing negative energy. I could not remember the things going through my head that night. There were plenty of things though. The visuals were amazing and the shamans singing was heavenly. I could not explain but it made me feel like I was floating everywhere.

The second night gave me three deep thoughts that played out in long stories complete with visuals. I'm not going into them here as they were personal to me. But they were intense, relevant, and felt very real. Life changing perspectives.

The night started with something I can talk about though. There were spaceships and other vessels/equipment that were designed for taking you out into deep space. They were shiny, colorful and new looking. I went to get into one and it moved away from me. So, I tried another and it did the same. Everything that I went to get into moved out of my reach. I labeled that one as "Denied".

Soon I began feeling trapped on the ground. I was in a maze and the walls started closing in on me. I was not scared. I had to get out of this trap though. So I launched myself into the sky. Here, I realized that I was telling myself that I did not need the rockets. I had my own ability.

At the end of the session, I could barely drag myself off the ground. Totally drained.

The third night I opted for a lighter dose. All I saw was colors and shapes that session. The rest felt necessary for me.

I wish I had done a normal dose in hindsight.

Watching and listening to everyone else in the group has lead me to believe that my experiences were on the lighter side. Many had much more splendid and life changing experiences.

I am set to do this again shortly.

 

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[SteveO]

Yeah I've read some stories as well but I'm pretty sure I'd be that guy who just has a bad trip after psyching himself out. Your attitude is very important for the psychedelics to work and mine would be full-blown paranoic crazy.

I just posted my experience on this thread.

 

[SteveO]

I just realized something from the aya experience that I had not put together.

I was doing land development in a vision. At the time, I was planning on doing some and just beginning with a land purchase in my real life.

In the vision, everything was moving real slow. It felt like a long time to move on to the next spot. I know from the trance that I was improving and developing but could not see any progress. Every now and then, I would move to another spot to work. Every time I started working, I got sick. Very nauseous. It stood out how bad it felt but I kept developing and working.

Now here I am in real life. Developing and sick. Nauseous with a problem that I can't get figured out. Done with my project and only have 3 lots left to sell but sick the entire time I have been working on it.

I did not put it together that it was a prophesy... I had to read my old post to have it click

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

stop thinking about that thing that you've been wanting to do, just pull the trigger and see what happens

pussy

 

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[Antifragile]

It's the opposite for me. Building a huge corporation sounds like a nightmare, perhaps even worse than working for one. I love my freedom and don't want to trade it for something that would ultimately lead me to the exact same place I am in now (reminds me of that "Mexican Fisherman" story).

Also, I don't really care much about leaving a legacy because I don't see the point. When death comes, none of it matters anyway. Why bother building an ultimately meaningless huge corporation if making enough to sustain your ideal lifestyle and then just enjoy it is an option?

When people pursue these big ideas, they're merely distracting themselves from the fact that it's all meaningless. I'm aware this sounds very nihilistic but it doesn't make it any less true.

This is the reason why I struggle. I'm barely in my early thirties and my life has already turned much darker after a traumatic event two years ago that still haunts me to this day. I can't even imagine how people way older than me can keep living without going crazy from all the trauma they've accumulated along the way.

Life is full of irony!

Most people feel down because they are working hard to achieve their “ideal lifestyle” and here you are! You won’t like to hear this but I think you are battling depression and need someone to help walk you out of this.

You’ve got a hell of a company here, plenty of people who not only care about you, but sincerely and desperately want to help you. Question is … how?

And here is the thing, meaning of life is one of those existential questions. We tend to ask it when we have too much free time. And down a rabbit hole we go.

For me, I see meaning when I’m busy as hell and yet manage to create, to add, to help, to achieve. Money is just money, lifestyle is boring after a little while. What’s never boring is obstacles. Choosing the hard path. Sure we all die, but when I do, I want to look back and feel like I’ve tried to do all I can.

I have a friend who approached me 3-4 years ago for advice. He had this idea for a business that could earn him a ton of money. But he was burnt out and just wanted to have a shoulder to cry on. Boy did he pick the wrong guy to ask… I told him that he had no F*cking right to do anything less than his own best. That people all over the world would kill for an opportunity to be in his shoes. We talked for two hours and he later called to thank me. It was like a light switch. Last week he opened his 6th franchise. He calls me all the time now because he’s feeling like he’s making life meaningful and not letting life happen to him.

You are not like my friend. He and I go back a few years. You and I never met. He wasn’t depressed. But he too had this “what’s the point” thinking. He now has a wife and a little 9 months old boy. His life is harder than ever and yet he’s most satisfied and happy.

Irony of life.

Edit:
Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it.
Margaret Thatcher

 

[ElleMg]

Do we have any fastlaners who used the power of celebrity?

I gave my brain the task of coming up with a way I can utilise one of my key motivators anger/rage last night (without being purposefully belligerent).

I was an early adopter of a social network and organically grew to 150k followers. Not famous but received a few hundred messages a day, with hindsight the key motivators to my success were that maybe ⅙ of those messages were hateful, many people in my school held it against me, and one of the largest groups in my college didn't trust or accept me as they knew who I was from online.

I remember in tfm MJ talked about celebrity worship and it's becoming increasingly clear how easily manipulated (and fascinated) people become by people who boldly do things differently.

I disappeared from all (personal) social media a few years ago and recognise it's different now with millions more people putting themselves out there but I have somewhat of a head start in that I never stopped developing and using of similar tactics to grow businesses organically as I used to grow followers.

I think I remember a thread from a guy on FL who blew up on YouTube? Are there any other people who grew large personal followings here? Would be interesting to check out their stories

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I can't even imagine how people way older than me can keep living without going crazy from all the trauma they've accumulated along the way.

Perhaps the next action is a simple one: you need to see a therapist to address the trauma, which seems to have kickstarted a downhill spiral. I think part of you understands that talking about it can help, which is why you feel reasonable to talk about it here ... in some aspect, it helps to share/talk. If not here, one on one with someone.

(there some posts on this forum too).

Several AYA stories posted on the INSIDERS forum.

 

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[Kak]

The Secret Of Happiness Revealed By Harvard Study

Happiness comes from choosing to be happy with whatever you do, strengthening your closest relationships and taking care of yourself physically, financially and emotionally.

www.forbes.com

 

[Antifragile]

@MTF
Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life

 

[MTF]

I know you and I disagree on this... But, have you ever considered if your dismissal of using your very clear talent, intellect for something other than your own mental gocart track might be the culprit?

I have no clear talents. Just got lucky by being in the right place at the right time.

Have you considered starting a foundation about something you are passionate about? Something that does matter to you? Define what isn't meaningless to you and start there.

I have some time ago. Then realized it would make no difference anyway, other people do it better, and it would require too much work. And since I can't be bothered to do it, it's clear it's not that meaningful to me.

I think I have most interest in sports and nature as that helps me feel better but ultimately, as with other things, one engages in these activities to forget about the futility of life. We're speaking from two completely different perspectives so there's no way I can see things as you do (or you as me).

I watch you, as a friend, essentially waiting to die. I hate that for you man. You achieved what you set out to do, which is awesome, build a great lifestyle that fits your definition of a great lifestyle. Now you don't know what to do with yourself.

The greatest irony is that I'm waiting to die, yet terribly afraid of death at the same time...

Start with that traumatic event... What caused it? I don't need to know, but is it something you are passionate about preventing? Or even decreasing the likelihood of such an event for others?

Hard to prevent a sudden, unexpected death...

You know I am here for you brother and I believe in you.

Thanks, Kyle.

And here is the thing, meaning of life is one of those existential questions. We tend to ask it when we have too much free time. And down a rabbit hole we go.

From my point of view, doing something just to not have enough free time to think about it isn't solving the problem. The moment you aren't so busy you're back to square one, unless you plan to be busy your entire life, constantly dodging the reality.

Perhaps the next action is a simple one: you need to see a therapist to address the trauma, which seems to have kickstarted a downhill spiral. I think part of you understands that talking about it can help, which is why you feel reasonable to talk about it here ... in some aspect, it helps to share/talk. If not here, one on one with someone.

I've talked with a few people about this but it hasn't helped. I understand that not keeping it in might help but at the same time it's probably not just the trauma in itself but me being extremely weak. Other people have had way worse traumas and prosper.

Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life

I read this book. All my respect for this guy ended when I read this after I finished his book and wanted to learn more about him:

On January 10, 2018, ahead of an investigative report released by St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV the same evening, Greitens publicly disclosed that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with his hairstylist in 2015.[176] He and his wife issued a joint statement in which he acknowledged the affair, called it "a deeply personal mistake", and said that "we dealt with this together honestly and privately."[177] KMOV played a recording made by the hairstylist's then-husband in which she said that Greitens had invited her to his home, where she consented to having her hands taped to exercise rings above her head while she was undressed, after which she was blindfolded. In the recording, the hairstylist added that while she was blindfolded, Greitens took pictures of her without her consent and threatened to share them if she ever went public with the affair.[178] She alleges Greitens told her: "You're not going to mention my name. Don't even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, I'm going to take these pictures, and I'm going to put them everywhere I can. They are going to be everywhere, and then everyone will know what a little whore you are."[179] The woman tried to leave, but reported to a Special Investigative Committee on Oversight of the Missouri House of Representatives that Greitens pulled her into a "bear hug," "so that she was now lying on the basement floor, crying."[179] She further testified that Greitens then coerced her into performing oral sex on him, after which he permitted her to leave. The woman also testified to the committee that in a later encounter Greitens slapped her and that, in their final encounter, he "smacked [her] and grabbed [her] and shoved [her] down on the ground."[180]

What a hypocrite that guy is, talking about living a better life with principles and then doing this.

Then again, what else would you expect from a politician.

 

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[Matt Sun]

The greatest irony is that I'm waiting to die, yet terribly afraid of death at the same time...

As most here, I read lots of your post's and really just wish you to get better, in this regard, people who died and came back don't tell such a terrifiying story:

11 People Who Came Back to Life Reveal What They Saw on “the Other Side”

It's the question we've all asked: What happens after death? These people got a look at the afterlife, and reveal what they saw.

www.rd.com

“The most glorious feeling”​

In 1994, orthopedic surgeon Tony Cicoria called his mom from a pay phone during a lake house trip. They’d hung up but he still had the phone in his hand when a blue flash came out. He hadn’t realized there’d been a lightning storm brewing. He felt his body fly backward—and then, confusingly, forward. Cicoria turned around to see his own body lying on the ground. “I’m dead,” he thought. No grief. No ecstasy. Just a fact.

After watching a woman start CPR, Cicoria moved on, floating up the stairs to see his kids getting their faces painted, realizing that they’d be OK. “Then I was surrounded by a bluish-white light … an enormous feeling of well-being and peace,” he told the New Yorker. “The highest and lowest points of my life raced by me. I had the perception of accelerating, being drawn up… There was speed and direction. Then, as I was saying to myself, ‘This is the most glorious feeling I have ever had’—slam! I was back.” (Weird side note: The doctor who revived Cicoria became overwhelmed with the urge to play and write piano music.)

 

[Kak]

I have no clear talents. Just got lucky by being in the right place at the right time.



I have some time ago. Then realized it would make no difference anyway, other people do it better, and it would require too much work. And since I can't be bothered to do it, it's clear it's not that meaningful to me.

I think I have most interest in sports and nature as that helps me feel better but ultimately, as with other things, one engages in these activities to forget about the futility of life. We're speaking from two completely different perspectives so there's no way I can see things as you do (or you as me).



The greatest irony is that I'm waiting to die, yet terribly afraid of death at the same time...



Hard to prevent a sudden, unexpected death...



Thanks, Kyle.



From my point of view, doing something just to not have enough free time to think about it isn't solving the problem. The moment you aren't so busy you're back to square one, unless you plan to be busy your entire life, constantly dodging the reality.



I've talked with a few people about this but it hasn't helped. I understand that not keeping it in might help but at the same time it's probably not just the trauma in itself but me being extremely weak. Other people have had way worse traumas and prosper.



I read this book. All my respect for this guy ended when I read this after I finished his book and wanted to learn more about him:



What a hypocrite that guy is, talking about living a better life with principles and then doing this.

Then again, what else would you expect from a politician.

Bro, all I can really say at this point is that if you don’t decide to do something different than what you are doing, you can’t expect different or better.

Yet, this thread, in the past couple of days, is filled with suggestions and thoughts to try to help, all of which were, as expected, dismissed. The ideas that I presented were intentionally esoteric, leaving tons of latitude for you to find something that fits you. Still, dismissed. Not even slightly explored.

What do you have to lose for trying something? Anything? You hate your life and you’re terrified of death. You’re stuck in a pretty ugly place and making the decision to put the walls up and live there.

I won’t even pretend to understand how you are feeling. That’s not the point. I can’t and don’t. I just wish you well.

 

[Lex DeVille]

There are some depression-related things that people, including doctors and therapists, regularly overlook. Maybe these will apply to @MTF or maybe not, but I think they are worth being aware of for anyone who is dealing with depressive experiences.

1. Get Your Testosterone Levels Checked
Thanks to aging, the body can produce less testosterone over time. If your T drops and your estrogen is still producing at the same rate, then you end up with too much estrogen. That will affect your emotions, energy levels, physical appearance, weight and mindset. Doctors usually don't think to check this in their haste to prescribe SSRIs.

2. Pay Attention to Inflammation
Low T can lead to inflammation. Inflammation can also come from the things you eat, toxins in your environment, viruses, and a bunch of other places. When the body gets inflamed, it affects the brain too.

Review your diet. Even "healthy" diets can have inflammatory foods. For instance, I eat almost exclusively organic, grass-fed grass-finished beef, organic veggies, organic almond butter blah blah... thing is, if I have more than a spoonful of almond butter per day, I've found my body will balloon right up with inflammation. Looks like I gained 10 pounds that week. So I have to manage that. I've heard 6 grams of sugar is all it takes to cause an inflammatory response (that's like 1 cookie).

3. A Good Therapist Matters
If you get a poor therapist who doesn't pay attention to their own language patterns, then they can accidentally plant negative thoughts in your mind that will cause you to feel worse after talking with them. This has happened to me before. I didn't understand why I felt so terrible after talking with the therapist, and it wasn't until reflecting back on the experience later that it started to make sense.

It might be worth finding a good conversational hypnotherapist since they understand the linguistic aspect better, and how important it is to manage subtle verbal commands. Regular therapists and doctors usually do not have training in hypnotherapy and are not aware of the ways in which their words can direct attention to the wrong places.

The T.V. show, Dexter featured a therapist named Emmett Meridian who used this exact approach to get his patients to off themselves. That isn't to say therapists are killers normally, but inexperience can lead to negative outcomes all the same, and you don't want to be on the wrong end of that.

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1444125004136919040

View: https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1444125004136919040

 

[Antifragile]

judge me people, I am buying KFC

 

[ElleMg]

judge me people, I am buying KFC View attachment 40214

KFC chicken just doesn't compare to Los Pollos Hermannos!

Sorry I've been watching a lot of Breaking Bad in my free time

 

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[ElleMg]

There are some depression-related things that people, including doctors and therapists, regularly overlook. Maybe these will apply to @MTF or maybe not, but I think they are worth being aware of for anyone who is dealing with depressive experiences.

1. Get Your Testosterone Levels Checked
Thanks to aging, the body can produce less testosterone over time. If your T drops and your estrogen is still producing at the same rate, then you end up with too much estrogen. That will affect your emotions, energy levels, physical appearance, weight and mindset. Doctors usually don't think to check this in their haste to prescribe SSRIs.

2. Pay Attention to Inflammation
Low T can lead to inflammation. Inflammation can also come from the things you eat, toxins in your environment, viruses, and a bunch of other places. When the body gets inflamed, it affects the brain too.

Review your diet. Even "healthy" diets can have inflammatory foods. For instance, I eat almost exclusively organic, grass-fed grass-finished beef, organic veggies, organic almond butter blah blah... thing is, if I have more than a spoonful of almond butter per day, I've found my body will balloon right up with inflammation. Looks like I gained 10 pounds that week. So I have to manage that. I've heard 6 grams of sugar is all it takes to cause an inflammatory response (that's like 1 cookie).

3. A Good Therapist Matters
If you get a poor therapist who doesn't pay attention to their own language patterns, then they can accidentally plant negative thoughts in your mind that will cause you to feel worse after talking with them. This has happened to me before. I didn't understand why I felt so terrible after talking with the therapist, and it wasn't until reflecting back on the experience later that it started to make sense.

It might be worth finding a good conversational hypnotherapist since they understand the linguistic aspect better, and how important it is to manage subtle verbal commands. Regular therapists and doctors usually do not have training in hypnotherapy and are not aware of the ways in which their words can direct attention to the wrong places.

The T.V. show, Dexter featured a therapist named Emmett Meridian who used this exact approach to get his patients to off themselves. That isn't to say therapists are killers normally, but inexperience can lead to negative outcomes all the same, and you don't want to be on the wrong end of that.

Great final point Lex! I didn't find therapy useful but loooove hypnotherapy. It's how I made my internal voice positive which has been invaluable.

 

[Kak]

judge me people, I am buying KFC View attachment 40214

Sometimes a man needs his fried chicken. Once a year. Max.

 

[Raoul Duke]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOQ9dJY5LSI

 

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[Antifragile]

I am thinking of buying reMarkable 2 - does anyone here own one? Thoughts?

reMarkable 2

Replace your notebooks and printed documents with the only tablet that feels like paper.

remarkable.com

My usage would be:
1. Read PDFs and mark them up directly.
2. Take notes during meetings (ditching my regular notepads)
3. Reading e-books when my kindle isn’t around


edit: I lasted about half an hour and then pulled the trigger. Who cares, It will be either great or in a pile of electronic gadgets rarely used. This is all @Kak ‘s fault. Started with iPhone 13 pro and his “just buy the damn thing” attitude.

 

[KushShah9492]

There's too many books to read and very little time, so I'm gonna stick to this list for now
1. The millionaire fastlane (65% completed)
2. Spin Selling (to get good at sales)/ Unscripted
3. TGRRE
4. New Sales, Simplified.
5. Mindset.

 

[MoneyDoc]

@Kak I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max, do I get the iPhone 13 Pro?

 

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[MTF]

As most here, I read lots of your post's and really just wish you to get better, in this regard, people who died and came back don't tell such a terrifiying story:

Thank you. I appreciate it.

I wish I could believe these stories but most scientists agree that we see what we believe we will see after we die, depending on our religion/personal beliefs. And the term clinical death isn't really death yet, just the first stage we can still go back from (so by definition, not death).

Having said that, I still find these stories curious (attempting to get more comfortable with the concept, I spent some time reading about various experiences/opinions what happens later), so thank you for sharing that.

Bro, all I can really say at this point is that if you don’t decide to do something different than what you are doing, you can’t expect different or better.

Yet, this thread, in the past couple of days, is filled with suggestions and thoughts to try to help, all of which were, as expected, dismissed. The ideas that I presented were intentionally esoteric, leaving tons of latitude for you to find something that fits you. Still, dismissed. Not even slightly explored.

What do you have to lose for trying something? Anything? You hate your life and you’re terrified of death. You’re stuck in a pretty ugly place and making the decision to put the walls up and live there.

I won’t even pretend to understand how you are feeling. That’s not the point. I can’t and don’t. I just wish you well.

I'm trying to do something about it. Currently en route to live in in the Canary Islands for a couple of months. I'll be able to do things I love most that boost my mood (surfing, swimming, hiking, enjoying nature and countryside) plus try some new stuff (I want to learn how to freedive and refocus on krav maga).

I hope it will help heal a little. It's likely that my depression is in large part fueled by the season (that's most certainly true as the symptoms reappear each year at roughly the same time) and by the place where I live (monotony, little growth).

There are some depression-related things that people, including doctors and therapists, regularly overlook. Maybe these will apply to @MTF or maybe not, but I think they are worth being aware of for anyone who is dealing with depressive experiences.

1. Get Your Testosterone Levels Checked
Thanks to aging, the body can produce less testosterone over time. If your T drops and your estrogen is still producing at the same rate, then you end up with too much estrogen. That will affect your emotions, energy levels, physical appearance, weight and mindset. Doctors usually don't think to check this in their haste to prescribe SSRIs.

2. Pay Attention to Inflammation
Low T can lead to inflammation. Inflammation can also come from the things you eat, toxins in your environment, viruses, and a bunch of other places. When the body gets inflamed, it affects the brain too.

Review your diet. Even "healthy" diets can have inflammatory foods. For instance, I eat almost exclusively organic, grass-fed grass-finished beef, organic veggies, organic almond butter blah blah... thing is, if I have more than a spoonful of almond butter per day, I've found my body will balloon right up with inflammation. Looks like I gained 10 pounds that week. So I have to manage that. I've heard 6 grams of sugar is all it takes to cause an inflammatory response (that's like 1 cookie).

3. A Good Therapist Matters
If you get a poor therapist who doesn't pay attention to their own language patterns, then they can accidentally plant negative thoughts in your mind that will cause you to feel worse after talking with them. This has happened to me before. I didn't understand why I felt so terrible after talking with the therapist, and it wasn't until reflecting back on the experience later that it started to make sense.

It might be worth finding a good conversational hypnotherapist since they understand the linguistic aspect better, and how important it is to manage subtle verbal commands. Regular therapists and doctors usually do not have training in hypnotherapy and are not aware of the ways in which their words can direct attention to the wrong places.

The T.V. show, Dexter featured a therapist named Emmett Meridian who used this exact approach to get his patients to off themselves. That isn't to say therapists are killers normally, but inexperience can lead to negative outcomes all the same, and you don't want to be on the wrong end of that.

Thank you, Lex.

I checked my (free) testosterone levels a month ago and they were fine.

As for inflammation, I also did tests that would indicate it and they showed nothing (unless I need a more sensitive test). Any resources that suggest what specific kinds of foods may cause that? How do you know it's really almond butter that's causing you these issues?

As for the third point - thanks for pointing it out. I'll keep that in mind if I'll look for one.

 

[Kak]

@Kak I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max, do I get the iPhone 13 Pro?

Yes. 5G and bigger battery! That’s plenty of reason for me.

 

[MTF]

One of the saddest things in today's world are people who meet with their friends or family only to play with their phones most of the time.

Today I saw a father with two teenage daughters in a restaurant. Most of the time, the girls played with their phones, ignoring the father or responding curtly in that vicious, cruel way only ungrateful teenagers are capable of. The resigned father pulled out his phone, too.

What a sad, sad thing.

I wished I could slap these girls and make them realize that one day they'll regret being glued to their stupid phones instead of enjoying a shared meal with their father.

If you're doing this while hanging out with your family or friends, just stop. It's one of the most disrespectful things you can do to someone. And if you really care that little about them that you prefer your phone, then just don't meet with them.

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

Also, I don't really care much about leaving a legacy because I don't see the point. When death comes, none of it matters anyway. Why bother building an ultimately meaningless huge corporation if making enough to sustain your ideal lifestyle and then just enjoy it is an option?

When people pursue these big ideas, they're merely distracting themselves from the fact that it's all meaningless. I'm aware this sounds very nihilistic but it doesn't make it any less true.

I actually agree with you @MTF regarding the meaningless bit. And I doubt any person of reasonable intelligence can really think it is ultimately meaningful (and yes, that’s an unapologetic challenge to anyone to prove otherwise).

I think most people talk about purpose and meaning largely as a means of marketing themselves and selling their ideas to others. People love aspiring to some greater meaning.

Does Elon Musk really believe that electric cars, going to Mars and all this stuff is ultimatey meaningful? Deep inside, I highly doubt it. But he’s managed to “convince” the market otherwise, and make himself very very rich in the process. And he’s done it by peddling meaning to them, knowing very well that human beings are suckers for deeper meaning.

Call me cynical, but this is what I think the reality is, even though you could never get someone like Elon to agree (too much self-interest in the opposite direction, of course).

But I don’t share your perspective. Yes, it is ultimately meaningless to build a huge company in the grand scheme of things. If there is no God, then obviously none of this matters. And if there is a God, then life in Heaven will be VERY different than earthly life, so once there, whatsoever you’ve done on earth will be irrelevant. Who will care whether you’ve built a giga corporation and provided value to millions or you just pushed keys in a corporation, had a nice family life, etc.? God certainly won’t - you’ll still be in Heaven, in ultimate bliss, just as blissful as the guy who added value.

But, and here’s where I differ from you, even though these things are not ultimately meaningful, they can still be meaningful to you. To you, it may be meaningful to become the kind of person who can build a billion dollar company for example.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

It might be worth finding a good conversational hypnotherapist since they understand the linguistic aspect better, and how important it is to manage subtle verbal commands. Regular therapists and doctors usually do not have training in hypnotherapy and are not aware of the ways in which their words can direct attention to the wrong places.

Interesting Lex. Do you think hypnotherapy is better than other forms of therapy (CBT, Act, etc.) and if so why? I’m curious since I’ve never looked into or tried hypnotherapy, and have always been passionate about mental health!