Open Thread 32 (free speech for comments)

Here's a new Open Thread.

Remember, off-topic comments should go in an Open Thread. 

If you don't see a recent comment, or comments, posted, it's because you've failed to follow the above rule. Keep to the subject of a blog post if you leave a comment on it. And if you want to use this blog as a "chat room," do that in an open thread.

As noted before, it's good to have comments in a regular blog post related to its subject, and it's also good to have a place where almost anything goes in regard to sharing ideas, feelings, experiences, and such. That place is an Open Thread.

Leave a comment on this post about anything you want to talk about. Remember that I'm moderating comments, so it could take a while for your comment to be published. Almost every comment submitted to an Open Thread will be approved. Personal attacks on someone are an exception. Argue with ideas, not insults.

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So if you're a believer in some form of religion, mysticism, or spirituality, this is where you can put your "praise God," "praise Guru," or "praise _______" comments.

Comments

[Sonia]

I absolutely love poetry. It allows you to express ideas creatively, emotionally and in a nonlinear fashion if you so choose.

Anyway, I was reading random poems on related to Buddhism on the interconnectedness of all things when I came across this poem. It’s clearly more inspired by mysticism than Buddhism. I liked it so here it is:

Path of the soul, by Sabin Patel

I have lived on the cusp of anxiety and bewilderment.
Fragmented, mankind's collective consciousness has become. Competitiveness is a hindrance to our natural state, wholeness; peaceful interconnectedness.
My eyes saw only aloneness and sorrow.
Tormented was I. Mind, paradoxical. Misunderstanding the propensity of Being; to witness the majesty of the unfolding cosmos.
Senses are evolutionary faculties for experiencing life.
But corruption of mind and misuse of thought brought maya [illusion]; gifts appear as prison walls.
Take the axe of love and strike the chains of imprisonment. Escape.
Walk out into the light.
The door is open.
Wake up.
Laugh at what you thought to be a nightmare. The nightmare was delusion of ego.
The goal is to die whilst living.
Light the candle in your heart.
Walk the path your soul directs.
Bask in joyfulness that cometh with awareness.
Know the path of the soul.
Know what the soul knows.
Listen, but not with your ears. The soul speaks in the silent language of God. The heart is the receiver.
You feel it don't you?
Reconcile with that which once seemed lost.
Become a servant of light. A star. Look to the sky. Countless stars.
Shine your light where there is darkness. Light the candles in the hearts of your brethren.
Remove the veil concealing their true selves.
This is the path of the soul.
Break through the barrier of ego.
Become a lover, as humble as dust and ashes.

[s*]

Beautiful poem dear Sonia!
Love to you
<3

[Sonia]

@s*

And love to you too 💕
:)

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Sonia
You wrote
"I heard just today (paraphrasing loosely) “unconditional love” is above the eye center.

" Boy, that’s a ways to go...

Actually you are already there, just scattered. Gather there, where you already are. Just make withdrawing a practice, and then flashes of insight.

[Vinny]

if you cant speak for 30 minutes and still write 300 pages book, it seems strange or your understanding of English language is vastly different from U G Krishnamurti or Ishwar Puri's understanding of language. I forgot to mention the fact that America was British Colony and India too.

[Sonia]

if you cant speak for 30 minutes and still write 300 pages book, it seems strange or your understanding of English language is vastly different from U G Krishnamurti or Ishwar Puri's understanding of language. I forgot to mention the fact that America was British Colony and India too.

Posted by: Vinny | May 10, 2020 at 02:32 PM

This seems really random. What are you referencing? The 30 minute satsang video they released for Sunday? I’ll wait for your reply before I fly into some paranoid, self-defensive rant.

[Sonia]

Is self-defensive redundant?

U.G. Krishnamurti—fascinating perspective on life/death.

Vinny said:
“I forgot to mention the fact that America was British Colony and India too.”

My response:
OMG, really???

(I know.)

My mother-in-law was born 4th or 5th generation in India during the British Raj. She’s shared many weird and wonderful, beautiful and horrific tales.

Are you a student of ISHA?

[Sonya]

This?
https://youtu.be/xth4MPbJwmc

[Jesse]

"I’ll wait for your reply before I fly into some paranoid, self-defensive rant."

Don't limit yourself. I've never waited once before soaring into spastic mode, and its worked wonders for my psyche and achieving all my life's goals.

I'll leave you with this qoute from The Buddha-

"just say whatever you want lol it doesn't matter anyway since we're just coagulated carbon trash wobbling around like clumsy toddlers in a 3D fever nightmare"

[Vinny]

It referred to the great blogger and champion of church-less movement.

[s*]

https://youtu.be/0nYMDeW2ix8

<3

[Sonia]

Random comment here (aren’t they all).

A sweet video of homeless man’s transformation: https://youtu.be/6a6VVncgHcY

[Sonia]

Don't limit yourself. I've never waited once before soaring into spastic mode, and its worked wonders for my psyche and achieving all my life's goals.

I'll leave you with this qoute from The Buddha-

"just say whatever you want lol it doesn't matter anyway since we're just coagulated carbon trash wobbling around like clumsy toddlers in a 3D fever nightmare"

Posted by: Jesse | May 11, 2020 at 12:32 AM

And how has that worked out for you? 😂

I was searching for a band called The Buddha to see if that quote was a line from one of their songs. LOL Anyway, it led me down a rabbit hole of Buddhist related books. One was pretty helpful but it’s more about a person’s struggle with certain thought patterns than Buddhist philosophy.

I was curious about the idea of thought patterns being genetic. There was some research years ago on whether or not thought patterns are inherited. Turns out sort of, maybe, not necessarily. 🤷‍♀️

(Still trying to understand free will v. no free will even though the answer won’t change a thing.)

However, I did find this one interesting piece online;

“We inherit cognitive function from our parents, in the same way that physical characteristics are passed down. Scientists have discovered that, unlike eye colour, cognitive function is not influenced by a few genes but by many. Individually, each gene has a small influence but together they account for more than half (or 50%) of the differences in cognitive function between us.

In addition, The Disconnected Mind research project team at the University of Edinburgh has shown that the majority of genetic effects that act on cognitive ability in old age are those that act on cognitive ability in childhood. This means that people with a higher level of cognitive ability in youth are more likely to have a higher level of ability throughout their lives and in older age.”

Anyway, I need to dumb it down a little and simplify. All this esoteric research is probably a waste of time at this stage in my life. Life is what it is.

I enjoy meditation.

Questions never cease... so why keep asking why...

[Jesse]

I've seen a few mentions of GodBoss UG Krishnamurti without any honorifics in recent comments. Please, my one request is that when you mention him, put some respect on his name. Stop playing with his name.

I ain't got no more talking. Let's rock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nebLQvywKKk

[Sonia]

OMG, this totally made my day.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-9MBSJp_rb/?igshid=10h5wgvm8idi6

😂

[Sonia]

I ain't got no more talking. Let's rock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nebLQvywKKk

Posted by: Jesse | May 11, 2020 at 07:13 PM

😳wow🤣

[Solomon]

Two New English sstsangs from Dera

https://youtu.be/xth4MPbJwmc

https://youtu.be/mDRN8_1AeYE

[Vinny]

In their hearts Americans know that they were subjects of British Empire. In order to cover that hurt, Americans have invented American Dream, a post colonial form of British Hegemony.

[Sonia]

Two New English sstsangs from Dera

https://youtu.be/xth4MPbJwmc

https://youtu.be/mDRN8_1AeYE

Posted by: Solomon | May 12, 2020 at 06:34 AM

I watched those. Saw the one that Fountain gave about an hour after it was posted. He ended it with “Goodbye” which cracked me up for some reason. Wonder how often they’ll do that...

[Jen]

Sonia who is fountain?

[Spence Tepper]

I think the problem of RSSB is evident in the two new English videos they posted. These are a combination of textbook definitions of Shabd, with apologetics about the Sangat ('we're like a hospital where the sickest souls come to be healed..' . 'We're members of an exclusive club given priceless gifts by the Master,' etc, etc...)

The videos demonstrate that the isolated/ insulated and self - promoting nature of the organization persists. The organization has a life of its own, like a cult, with its own self - sustaining dogma. The pagan idolatry still persists. And that's too bad because Shabd and the inner journey, and the help of a realized soul are very real things.

But Shabd and all of us are manifestations of love. And where love is, there is no distinction of manmuhk and gurmuhk, private club or exclusivity. Chosen and special or ignorant and dammed.

No true Saint repeats these dogmatic assertions nor shows their friends to. No true Saint takes the authority of God to initiation souls. You have all the equipment within you. You were born with it. And no true Saint accepts a position on a pedestal, allowing anyone to describe them in this way..

This is a bad photocopy of a real path.

[Spence Tepper]

In this world there is rich and poor, beautiful and ugly, abled and disabled, kindness and cruelty. There is already a caste system. People turn to spirituality to be released from the clutches of that, not to be imprisoned in a new God-sanctioned cast system of saved and damned. There is no freedom in a more enlightened system of haves and have nots. What real pleasure is there in being handed permission from some invented version of God not to care about others? All the things spirituality offers are destroyed in dogma, sectionalism, discrimination. And using God to defend such prejudices simply perpetuates the insensitivity that leads to greater heartbreak. And making a human being an idol for worship is placing corruption high upon a pedestal of human excrement.

[Um]

@ Sonia

Thank you so much for these video´s.
Finally after 45 years justice is done and the truth is spoken;
I have spend all those years in socializing in the kantine of that spiritual fitness club,
talk and talked about fitness machines and trainings programms.
I even had the arrogance of instructing others how to train
Hail to the speaker that had the clearity of mind to call a spade a spade.

[Sonia]

@Jen

Fountain is the name of the speaker in the video dated May 10. He is a very good speaker. He attended the same Sangat that I went to when I lived in Connecticut. I think this particular discourse was good but it seemed a little “last minute” for him. Regardless, it was encouraging.

[Sonia]

@Um

Yeah, I think everyone will interpret these according to where they’re at. For some it’s encouraging and for others it might be too dogmatic. Although, I don’t see it that way. I think their message is a lot more contemporary and relatable these days. But to each his own. I’m not a preacher. I’m not even a teacher.

[Sonia]

Like I mentioned before, I took a good look at my life over that past two years and realized that when I stopped meditating things fell apart. I didn’t have the same motivation or self-discipline. I tried other forms of meditation but clearly they didn’t improve my life or my behavior. That’s just my story—it’s what I’ve learned. I totally respect the fact that everyone else has their own experiences and approaches to spirituality... or science.

So, even if I don’t understand some of the concepts and if certain things start to raise doubts I can still sit and get a lot of benefit from it. Maybe some day the “no free will” thing will make sense to me, but it’s not like it even matters. I mean we all make plans and set goals whether we believe in free will or not so it’s not worth debating. Also, the panic is gone. I am pretty certain it stemmed from something that was buried deep within my psyche. It just took a good while to figure out.

And as far as any personality issues I may have had with others, that really has nothing to do with my meditation. That’s mine and mine alone. We all practice what works for us. Life is a journey.

[curious 7]

@Sonia

What's your Instagram pseudo ?

just my curiosity

7

[The other jen]

Sonia thanks for clarifying that’s what I thought that his name was that but wasn’t sure.

[halogen]

Sonia why do you promote those rssb videos on this atheist site?
This isn't a RS official site it's a self proclaimed atheist site. those rssb video's have no place to be advertised here on a site not aligned with it's teaching.

[Spence Tepper]

There is a lot to be said for idolatry. It's simpler. It simplifies life. Anytime you can convince yourself that a higher power is there to protect you, it can help. Anytime you believe "God loves me" and that helps you cope, and relax, and do good works, it serves a very good function. The problem is when that belief becomes objectified into a specific physical person or specific organization. If him, then why not others? What makes him so special, particularly about God realization? Bam! You're cooking a meal of idol worship.

Now every opinion of that person becomes the voice of God. How could it be otherwise? Every choice He makes must be the choice of God! The simplicity of pagan idol worship automatically begins to collect baggage. Stuff you intuitively or objectively see is plain ignorant and misguided. The same way we look at our own past. When we look at the one we idolize in retrospect, they had a few very human limitations. Now a good cult has answers for that.

'First, being God they can't be understood by us mere humans, who should never even question the Guru's actions. That is a lack of faith that is also disturbing to our peace of mind. Secondly, we can invent some positive purpose to help us reconcile cognitive dissonance and the doubt it creates. He was balancing the world's economy therefore the missing funds served a higher purpose. He's not here to fix the problems of others or to stop crime so it doesn't matter. If evil happens under God's unmoving watchful eye, then it's godly for the Guru to do nothing also. We're too stupid to understand at our level because we haven't done our meditation.'
Or,' I understand but you don't because you didn't do your meditation, you weren't smart enough, you weren't grateful enough.'

If God is perfect and this human being is God, inevitably you will have to embrace this kind of illogical, magical thinking. To believe you are special, you will need to embrace being too flawed to apply your thinking to your idol. And now you have made your life easy. You can ignore any crime, any sin on anyone's part that happens right in front of you, that you might have been able to stop, because it wasn't your business, and God is in control for His higher purpose.

This is very selfish and irresponsible thinking. But it serves a purpose for people who are not in control of their lives, and gives them a way to gain some control over themselves, through worship, pagan worship, of their idol: by relinquishing their humanity entirely in exchange for freedom from the responsibility to be fully human. If you follow the moral rules of your pagan idol, simple rules to live by but always strict, then you never need to feel guilty or reach out to help anyone, unless you feel like it. If you meet your vows, you are saved, even if you didn't do such a great job, .Once you make that convenient decision, logic no longer matters because no one does, right? And so what is clearly harmful and within full view becomes accepted as God's will.

You think choir boys only started getting raped by priests recently? It was much worse before anyone spoke, and for millenia. God appointed that priest. He must be perfect. All this must be God's will. We don't want justice, we want love and mercy, so let injustice prevail.

When you find yourself thinking like this, you are creating distance between you and the true Master within you, God. He doesn't want uou to relinquish or misuse your full capacity to think and to question. Because you are here to learn. And learning stops when you stop asking questions.

[Spence Tepper]

Do not ask Gurinder to tell you why he he sits in the role of idol and God. He's not the one who can answer that objectively. He is doing what he was raised to do. And in an organization where every member has to ignore, excuse and dismiss what they see with their own two eyes, and accept whatever wrongs they see as God's will, that starts at the top. It's a culture.

[Spence Tepper]

When RSSB was willing to initiate the blind, the disabled, the institutionalized mentally ill, children and elderly alike, then it was a serving God's will.

But you will have to honestly acknowledge that this never happened.

If not for the weakest of these, any offering in prayer, any effort to appeal to the Lord, even to help the Lord, who needs no help, is rejected by God. Because you have rejected His own. And any religion that rejects these children of God, placing them at a distance from the Master, refusing to initiate them, basically refusing salvation to them, saving initiation for an elite, that is far from God. No effort at meditation will ever get you anywhere on that foundation of filth.

[Spence Tepper]

There is another self - serving fallacy in RSSB, and it is this notion that a passion to help your fellow human beings is a distraction from your own spiritual progress. God isn't here on earth to help starving humanity, RSSB claims. He's here to take souls back to the lord. And the distance is so great, the hurdle so high that you must carry no attachments, and therefore helping others is an attachment that must be relinquished.

But I'll tell you a truth. Were it not for the charity of RSSB, God would have wiped that organization from the face of the earth long ago. It is only charity that justifies its flawed and materialistic existence.

In RSSB we are told you should live comfortably.

But here is another truth. So long as anyone suffers, anyone goes to bed in hunger, a child must live separately from its mamma and poppa, or two homosexuals must hide their pure love for each other, no one can rest, least of all God. Because we are here to help each other. Our necessity to care for ourselves, to pursue happiness serves only to help others, and is served by helping others.

Why doesn't God do this? He put you here for that. That's how He does it. And the True Saints devote themselves to it.

Your salvation is His job. Helping others is yours.

There is one very fast way to be pulled through all the regions in a shower of brilliant glowing gems and a symphony of celestial music. And that is yo appeal to God day in and day out in meditation to give you the strength to help others first.

[Sonia]

Sonia why do you promote those rssb videos on this atheist site?
This isn't a RS official site it's a self proclaimed atheist site. those rssb video's have no place to be advertised here on a site not aligned with it's teaching.

Posted by: halogen | May 13, 2020 at 05:21 PM

I’m not Solomon. I didn’t post them. And the only reason I included the link to the first video was because I was totally confused about what Vinny was referring to.

I certainly wasn’t promoting them here.

Like I said, Solomon (whoever that is) posted the two video links. I only copied the link to the first one as a reference to Vinny’s remark.

[Sonia]

I think this is an atheist site where a lot of really confused believers come to vent. Not many atheists comment here (which is undoubtedly strange).

But I did not post those two videos. The first one I linked only because I didn’t know what that guy, Vinny was talking about.

Sometimes I think this is more of an anti RSSB site which is why almost all of the regular commenters were Satsangis at one point in their life.

Atheists or just anti-RSSB??

[Spence Tepper]

There is room for all views here. There is great benefit to a life of devotion, and the teachings contain such beauty. The RSSB masters are clever and largely helpful. It is however, a mere photocopy. There are foundational problems, structural problems that require lying to ourselves in order to Meditate. But then you are lying not to yourself alone, but to God who is within you.

And that creates distance and limits what your meditation can do. We should be devoted to that One within ourselves who is always there and can help us.

That isn't pagan idol worship of a human being. Pagan idol worship is building a wall when walls must come down to reconnect with the Lord in you.

Otherwise you are building up one part of yourself, a relationship, an attachment to a flawed human being, at the expense of intimacy with your own Self.

It's not a matter of rejecting the Guru. It is the simple matter that no true Saint allows His friends to put Him up on a pedestal with a title, with adulation and adoration that belongs to God alone.

It's not a matter of whether you have met the requirements for initiation. No true Saint has any such ceremony. Their friendship is the connection.

And they are friends with everyone.

They are busy doing good work. It's the best way to pass the time here.

[Sonia]

@Sonia

What's your Instagram pseudo ?

just my curiosity

7

Posted by: curious 7 | May 13, 2020 at 05:41 AM

sonia_loves_chloe

[7]

@Sonia

That was awesome and clear :
specially A LAW for every selfie : read a book
plus : I know U and Andrew now

7

[😘 77 😘]

Brian wrote :
I only saw him in person once, when I went to the Dera for two weeks in 1977

me:
Great figure is that
and
What great smile of Gurinder in that photo above.

Isn't it marvellous the ONLY way to SEE. is
inside by stopping the 'bull shitt thoughts

Indeed, if it was common the whole planet would come,
SK overloaded
and creation would end
This will happen while U happen to be reborn sir

77

Posted by: 😘 77 😘 | May 15, 2020 at 02:38 PM

Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

[Sonia]

My letter to Dera that I mailed March 10th just came back today with this stamped on it,

“Return to Sender”
“Refused”
“Unable to Forward”

🤣🤣🤣 OMG, for some reason this was hysterical. Anyway, I think it’s because of the COVID thing but then again...

too funny

[Jesse]

When science becomes a religion as it has, real scientists whose predictions are correct (the whole point of science's existence) get censored-

https://nypost.com/2020/05/16/youtube-censors-epidemiologist-knut-wittkowski-for-opposing-lockdown/

[Sonia]

And.... now I’m taking a course on DBT Skills Traing course. #selfcare

[Sonia]

I cannot believe that in my entire 47 years of living that none of my therapists or doctors ever introduced me to or even suggested that I take DBT training. This is clearly what I’ve been needing my entire life. Wow. It is probably the first step on my journey to transformation.

Why do doctors immediately just prescribe antidepressants?

[Sonia]

As bizarre as it may sound (and this based on three books I’m now reading), sometimes the people who make you feel the worst are the people who need you the most. It’s very dysfunctional and it doesn’t mean you should necessarily engage with such individuals. It’s just a good thing to keep in mind.

[Sonia]

When I was at Dera last (“that” December) there was a satsangi that worked as a clinical psychologist for the Veterans Administration in the US who used to come to my room a few times a week when I refused to leave my room. Only now am I realizing that she was trying to teach me DBT skills. She was great. She was amazing. She and her husband were one of the few couples that my husband and I both got along with really well. Her husband had studied A Course in Miracles for years and was very open minded. They both had a great sense of humor and were very supportive and kind people. It doesn’t matter what your belief system is, there are truly loving and generous people in all faiths and all walks of life (the converse is true as well). We were lucky to have met and made friends with these two people. The rest of trip was a nightmare 😂 but meeting them was truly a gift.

[7]

google. SSRI school shootings

[Sonia]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CANljFrpTX1/?igshid=368ujyk6vbst

🥺😍

[7]

That was so cat nice

We had about 13 dogs and 32 cats in this life
My wife who talks daily with Charan
was shown "footages" of ALL these cats
soldiers in her 17xx army who did more than asked for
in terms of cruelty
Meditation has many many nice side effects

[Sonia]

google. SSRI school shootings

Posted by: 7 | May 17, 2020 at 07:49 AM

Google SSRI guru shootings

[Sonia]

What a nightmare. Just learning about this. Psychiatrists suck. They dose you with heavy meds for years and never ask much about your personal life other than reading off a checklist (the same checklist) every time you visit their office.

This is why a living guru is probably not a good idea for someone like me.

I’m just being brutally honest here. Very painful and embarrassing to admit but it’s true.

https://youtu.be/to5qRLRSS7g

[7]

Never visited a shrink or real psychiater in my life
but I knew 8 of them
All in that business because of having harmed personalities themselves

Sonia
Can't you just stop it
Perhaps in phases
It would be relieving

Like my opinion is
when u really lived through a horrible life, there is no other solution
Stop it
Or start music, painting as long U hv the means

7

[- 👍 7 💛 -]

@all. Little essay on "Non Thinking"

Often I wrote that a state of "non thinking"
must be achieved

I should have mentioned a difficulty
 to have it even during one minute, " seconds, . . one second
The mind , and specially the 'ahanker' -part of it: 
 that is the part that is proud that it exists; the primal sin is that,
 it sees attempts to "less exist" coming from miles away

It will organize a real panic in your body
It will suggest the physical dangers, using lies.
An example everybody knows and that is
 when you want go asleep .
Normally and it happens often,
suddenly one or more muscles contract
unexpectively with a shock

It is even painful, - you might strike your partner in the bed

The mind -when seeing/having a certain short episode 
of diminishing thinking - just before sleep 
is trying to prevent this at all cost

and so uses this cramp or nerve-shot 
to keep us awake

Now how to "not think' which is a real battle
There might be more but I know only of one way:
Try to generate sincere deep Love -
I said : this can work in many religions, 
so try to love Jesus, Buddha, Moses, any image that 
people have about God
 Zeus and Wodan included
Next generally the CORREPONDING chakras will become activated
This works also for the lowest chakras and used for voodoo etc

Try to consider the good you have in life or life itself and start to honestly thank . . . in a high chakra (above the eyes )
When that works The Sound will come 
and will be so sweet that you forget to think

Therefore in the beginning , it s hard to ask a question about this phenomenon

Like a puber,, exalted by the view of his/her first Love 
cannot eat, cannot sleep, . . 
you stare with 'open mouth' to what is overwhelming you inside you
THEN if you hadn't it already, . . that sound will in a lesser form be with you all day and swell at times

 - You are inspired to do a second try and even more motivated 
than the first try . . . etc. etc
Therefore the Saints, the Masters say almost nothing else than : "Meditate, . . Meditate"
 Work with the Simran package Try to love some
After all , everything is God, dive in that stream

don't worry, be happy

777

[💛 - found by searching the frequency (ies) of DNA vs 5G🌞💛]

https://behiveofhealing.com/our-dna-is-listening-to-us/

Our DNA is Listening to Us
Communicating at the proper genetic frequency for healing
Our Beloved Family:
It’s commonly known that only 10% of our DNA is used for building proteins and maintaining body growth, functions and so on. Unfortunately, the other 90% is often referred to as “junk” DNA. How arrogant science is to assume that just because we don’t presently know what something does, it must be useless. Even common sense tells us that the mere fact that something exists in nature means that it serves a purpose. Now, Russian researchers working with linguists and geneticists are releasing scientific conclusions regarding our DNA that are nothing short of revolutionary, particularly when it comes to health and healing.
Our DNA follows a regular style of grammar and set of rules just like our languages.
The research team has found that the genetic code, particularly for the other 90% of our DNA, follows the same rules as all human language. It’s the alkalines in our DNA that organize themselves according to the rules of syntax, the same way in which words are assembled to create phrases and sentences. They even follow a system of semantics very similar to the study of meaning in language forms and adhere to the rules of grammar. Think about that. Our DNA follows a regular style of grammar and set of rules just like our languages. Spiritual teachers and healers have known for thousands of years that things like prayer, affirmations, and chanting could impact the body in a physical way to induce healing. Now, science is finally proving that our DNA is really listening to us. Of course in order to communicate with our DNA to affect a conscious change in our bodies, we have to do so on the right frequency of feeling we already have that which we desire.
In an interesting experiment, Russian biophysicist and molecular biologist, Pjotr Garjajev, was able to modulate a specific frequency pattern onto a laser ray and with it, change the frequency of the DNA and ultimately, the genetic information itself.1 Since the basic structure of DNA-alkaline pairs and language are the same, no DNA decoding or splicing was necessary to create this change. With this same method, the Russian team has been successful in repairing chromosomes that were previously damaged by x-rays. In additional studies, chromosomes, which Garjajev said functioned, “just like solitonic/holographic computers”, always reacted to language-modulated laser rays, provided the proper frequency was being used. This means with the proper intention and vibration, our words are enough to reprogram our genes and ignite the healing process within us.
With the proper intention and vibration, our words are enough to reprogram our genes and ignite the healing process within us.

[Sonia]

Never visited a shrink or real psychiater in my life
but I knew 8 of them
All in that business because of having harmed personalities themselves

Sonia
Can't you just stop it
Perhaps in phases
It would be relieving

Like my opinion is
when u really lived through a horrible life, there is no other solution
Stop it
Or start music, painting as long U hv the means

7

Posted by: 7 | May 18, 2020 at 02:50 AM

🤣🤣🤣

Oh, OK. Like magic? Just “poof” stop it?? 😂 Sure.

Right.

Yeah. (If only the answer to everything were that simple.)

But I can do art therapy. Art is pretty much all I care about second to “how do I fix myself”.

[Sonia]

I love Ramani. I think she might be a god.

Some helpful info about narcissism: https://youtu.be/_uJs0iGQN0M

[777. 💛 - found by searching the frequency (ies) of DNA vs 5G🌞💛]

I guess you didn't place this because it
affirms A VERY GRAND DESIGN

https://behiveofhealing.com/our-dna-is-listening-to-us/

Our DNA is Listening to Us
Communicating at the proper genetic frequency for healing
Our Beloved Family:
It’s commonly known that only 10% of our DNA is used for building proteins and maintaining body growth, functions and so on. Unfortunately, the other 90% is often referred to as “junk” DNA. How arrogant science is to assume that just because we don’t presently know what something does, it must be useless. Even common sense tells us that the mere fact that something exists in nature means that it serves a purpose. Now, Russian researchers working with linguists and geneticists are releasing scientific conclusions regarding our DNA that are nothing short of revolutionary, particularly when it comes to health and healing.
Our DNA follows a regular style of grammar and set of rules just like our languages.
The research team has found that the genetic code, particularly for the other 90% of our DNA, follows the same rules as all human language. It’s the alkalines in our DNA that organize themselves according to the rules of syntax, the same way in which words are assembled to create phrases and sentences. They even follow a system of semantics very similar to the study of meaning in language forms and adhere to the rules of grammar. Think about that. Our DNA follows a regular style of grammar and set of rules just like our languages. Spiritual teachers and healers have known for thousands of years that things like prayer, affirmations, and chanting could impact the body in a physical way to induce healing. Now, science is finally proving that our DNA is really listening to us. Of course in order to communicate with our DNA to affect a conscious change in our bodies, we have to do so on the right frequency of feeling we already have that which we desire.
In an interesting experiment, Russian biophysicist and molecular biologist, Pjotr Garjajev, was able to modulate a specific frequency pattern onto a laser ray and with it, change the frequency of the DNA and ultimately, the genetic information itself.1 Since the basic structure of DNA-alkaline pairs and language are the same, no DNA decoding or splicing was necessary to create this change. With this same method, the Russian team has been successful in repairing chromosomes that were previously damaged by x-rays. In additional studies, chromosomes, which Garjajev said functioned, “just like solitonic/holographic computers”, always reacted to language-modulated laser rays, provided the proper frequency was being used. This means with the proper intention and vibration, our words are enough to reprogram our genes and ignite the healing process within us.
With the proper intention and vibration, our words are enough to reprogram our genes and ignite the healing process within us.

Posted by: 💛 - found by searching the frequency (ies) of DNA vs 5G🌞💛 | May 18, 2020 at 10:46 AM

777

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[Sonia]

@777

That’s actually pretty awesome info you quoted about DNA syntax and stuff. :)

It’s sort of like a missing puzzle piece. Sound and music are everything. I mean, it’s like everything is made up of sound which has keys and chords and waves and particles. Everything in nature dances to the sound of music. It’s cool.

Can you send me the source? I’d like to read more.

[Sonia]

You know how researchers show brain scans of the effects of certain thought patterns... I’d like to see the impact of thought patterns on chakras. I think it’s all connected—the mind/brain/body/energy.

[Sonia]

If you throw it, be prepared to take it.

I think the principle applies regardless of gender.

Posted by: Georgy Porgy | May 19, 2020 at 05:56 AM

But the fact is none of us should be slinging mud in the first place. And I’m acknowledging my role in this. But it’s not just me and it doesn’t solve anything. If you do start throwing mud then most likely people will start throwing back. The whole thing is ugly and doesn’t help anyone.

[Itsallinthemind]

The intention of the person has a lot to do with what effect various conditions have on the body. The most severe interference is tied up in a person’s belief system. There are no absolutes in human living. Some people can drink poison and not have it affect them if they truly believe that it will not, and others just think they will get ill and it occurs.

[Jesse]

"But the fact is none of us should be slinging mud in the first place."

The fact is a personal value preference?

I think we all should be slinging mud. Not sure if it's factually what "should" be, but I like internet flame wars and insults. People don't know who they are, and perpetuating the world of comfort and sensitivity wrought by the childhood viewing of things like Mr Rogers isn't helping change that.

We learn who we are by experiencing more, and not be hearing nice, respectful, mature and bourgeois opinions that are carefully crafted with the intent of protecting feelings.

[Sonia]

We learn who we are by experiencing more, and not be hearing nice, respectful, mature and bourgeois opinions that are carefully crafted with the intent of protecting feelings.

Posted by: Jesse | May 19, 2020 at 08:09 PM

Do you have kids?

Try that one out on a 16 year old. Let me know how it goes.

[💛7💛]

@Sonia
The source is at the begin

But I m still not able to find the
DNA frequencies on the web
Somebody?

I remember around 4, 5 tera Hertz

7

[gettinskoold]

Soul Distancing https://youtu.be/NU9P41Vifec

[Spence Tepper]

Every moment we spend thinking about God, loving God, worshipping God, honoring God, God is loving, worshipping, honoring us!

When we are thinking of him / her / it with a pure and warm heart, God is thinking of us in the exactly the same way. Maybe he is doing it a little more often! But definitely when we are.

[heres2sobriety]

Cat Powers wrote this song after she got sober. Not sure if she managed to stay sober. I imagine it’s a lifelong battle for almost all alcoholics. It’s a sweet song:

https://youtu.be/MVGgGW1ZalY

[🧚💕]

@7-77-777

Here is the info another friend sent me in the healing frequency of DNA https://patch.com/new-york/nyack/528hz--dna-repair--art-and-science-of-restorative-frequencies

I don’t know how I missed the link in your original comment but did go to the site and found it really interesting. Sort of in line with The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto.

Fascinating
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Messages_in_Water

~sonia

[❤️❤️❤️]

I’m having to wait on my niece to get her braces off so stuck on my phone.

Anyway, this is Love. My husband dedicated this song to me years ago. He was really focused on the “you’re crazy” part of the lyrics.

Then one of my best friends just sent me this version of it. Sweet. ☺️

~sonia

[❤️❤️❤️]

It would help if I included the link.
https://youtu.be/brNtBvPT6e4

[Sonia]

“Two things you will never have to chase: True friends & true love.”

—Mandy Hale

[Bonkers]

@Georgy

This has to be the most annoying TV show of all time. 😂 You’d have to be high on Adderall, caffeine and sugar to make it through one episode. I could barely make it through the one minute intro. https://youtu.be/8qR8bw013m8.

[77]

Both religious texts viewed the heart as the source of thought -- a view shared by ancient Jews.

At least they remembered some
about our Chakra System, . . that Aliens try to understand and
otherwise ( than ment - kind of illegally )) try to copy since Billions of Years ( Yes with a B, . . several )

777

Posted by: 🌞 777 🌞 | May 22, 2020 at 07:55 AM

Your comment has been saved.

Nice Song Sonia, Matthew

[Sonia]

Both religious texts viewed the heart as the source of thought -- a view shared by ancient Jews.

At least they remembered some
about our Chakra System, . . that Aliens try to understand and
otherwise ( than ment - kind of illegally )) try to copy since Billions of Years ( Yes with a B, . . several )

777

Posted by: 🌞 777 🌞 | May 22, 2020 at 07:55 AM

Your comment has been saved.

Nice Song Sonia, Matthew

Posted by: 77 | May 22, 2020 at 08:29 PM

Aliens?

I like the idea about the heart chakra being the source of thought. I’ll have to do some more reading about that.

Yes, nice song. 😉

[🌞 7 🌞]

MY FACEBOOK
( End of anonymity )

You can buy the one_person non commercial user right of splendid 4K art for
37 $cents
https://www.facebook.com/ankhaton7
Pls mention in Paypal txt Through BRIAN

7

[Sonia]

You know, we debate all this stuff and send our minds spinning in search of answers—in search of the meaning to life. But we’re never going to find it. At least not in a way that we could completely convey to another human being.

One day we won’t even be here. We may have 10 years left, 20, 30, 40... but that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things.

We followed a path. Some of us have followed multiple paths and will continue to follow a path or just meander through the woods until the day we die.

As uncomfortable as it may sound, no one can actually prove the truth to you. Conversely, no one can shove it down your throat either. The only truth we know is the truth we feel and experience. The human mind can rationalize anything but that doesn’t necessarily make it true.

I can sit in meditation all day long and not experience anything supernatural. Many people sit in meditation every day, year after year after year without having even a hint of a mystical experience. And many will do that till the day they die based on blind faith, having no proof that there actually is something on the other side. They’ll die not knowing. What they do or don’t actually experience WHEN they die we will never know.

Even in Sant Mat, the majority say they’ve never had a mystical experience but they keep the faith regardless because it’s not a science—it’s a faith.

You can have faith in whatever you want. You can believe in whatever you want. But all any of us have to really go on is our own experiences—inner or outer... or upper or downer or wherever the hell direction you imagine.

My direct outer experiences with spiritual teachers and spirituality has taught me not to have blind faith. It’s also taught me not to be 100% certain of anything. However, I fully expect that my understanding of “reality” will expand and change over time. Change is the only constant. Hell, not only will we all die someday relatively soon (in the grand scheme of things), the earth will die and the sun and the moon and the galaxy. Everything.

I don’t know if there’s some divine order to things or destiny. I do know that I didn’t choose how I came into this world—an American white female. I didn’t choose the day I was born or my name or my siblings or my parents. I am who I am—a product of my culture and life experiences. These are the things that mold us. If I were raised in the Punjab I’m sure I would have a very, very different outlook on the world and would be a very, very different person. But that just wasn’t in the stars.

To better understand the impact of culture on beliefs and psychology, take a look at this (especially if you were born in India and even more especially if you’re Punjabi Sikh): https://repository.uel.ac.uk/download/f1bf93df46de3136cb3e0d8209739fffa543636bdacb319b5370a6a39ff38930/5379827/u1331813%20thesis.pdf

[Sonia]

And after you read that 189 page document on Punjabi Mental Health, you understand why one might be better suited to find a spiritual practice that is more accepting of the cultural norms of Western Society. I’m blown away by the mountainous differences between western and Punjabi ideals and cultural attitudes. I resonate very strongly American values especially among my generation which were deeply ingrained in my teens and early twenties.

Honestly, after reading that (again 189 pages) I can understand why GSD and I were in complete and total conflict on the subject of mental and why our conversation—each expressing ourselves based on our own cultural identities—was so explosive.

It really helps to understand people. It can take a lot of work if you’re from cultures that have very little in common. But it’s important to try and understand people, where they’re coming from and why they communicate in the way they do.

It’s a very helpful paper. It will help you understand the reason why mental health is viewed and treated and even occurs in such different manners across the globe.

My husband is South African and 9 years older than me. 9 years older wouldn’t be a big deal if he were American. Hell, I dated and lived with a guy 16 years older than me and we had very little trouble relating on basic approaches to life.

But with a South African 9 years older than me it was like I had married someone who grew up with 60s machismo attitudes and of course there were so many cultural differences in viewpoints. But it has worked so far. It just really helps to understand where people are coming from. It took us several years to really understand each other but I think we’re there now.

[Sonia]

If you’re a westerner you don’t go to a Punjabi guru for advice on mental health issues. They’re not culturally or mentally equipped to deal with it. That’s just not they’re thing.

The whole culture is different in their approach to feelings in general. Some of their attitudes and ways of dealing with certain emotions are better approaches than ours. But one should just stick to spiritual matters when discussing anything with a guru.

I mean, it must have been such a mind fuck when I stood up and started talking about suicide and depression. GSD was probably thinking Jesus Christ who would stand up in front of a group of people and actually admit to having these sort of problems? Who would admit to having these sort of problems to anyone? I’m sure it made him uncomfortable so he just said to me what every Punjabi mom says to their kids even today—pull yourself together, be strong, depression (they don’t even have a word for depression) is a first world problem. Meditate. Sit the fuck down.

And I, having been heavily shaped by the Grunge culture, was like wtf is your problem?? My generational subculture of friends were all about the music scene—Grunge music (definitely not the poster children of mental health). We were hellbent on claiming our right to express how fkd up we were. We had no qualms about that. It was perfectly fine to tell your deepest darkest secrets and you were pretty much encouraged to discover which mental health disorder you had. (Looking back, I should have joined a sorority or something.)

It’s funny though, other cultures, especially Punjabi, pretty much normalize distress. In some ways it gives people more freedom to act emotional without being judged. Look at Mirabai. She was a full blown nut job. Her behavior was bipolar/schizo at best. But her culture often viewed psychosis as a sign of spiritual liberation. In our culture it would be perfectly acceptable for her to talk about and get help for her mental health issues but we’d never normalize that kind of behavior. She’d be a good candidate for electroshock therapy. Yet in her culture she was revered.

Man, it’s a weird world.

[Spence Tepper]

Depression is a first world problem?
Like cults and pagan idolatry is a third world problem?

Do I detect ethnocentricism prejudice in both statements?

Depression happens when we are too tired dealing with a cruel and inflexible world, and cruel and inflexible people.

But we can adjust. We can simply not be here while going about our duties. Like the Lotus flower, roots in the mud, face in the air, enjoy the sunshine within.

Let your clone handle things here.

Mud is mud, darkness is darkness. How do we function in it? By keeping ourselves psychologically out of it. And the best way is to have something else, portable, that we can go to, we can live in. And someone else, our Master, handle things here throb our hands and feet. Take yourself out of it

The inner world is actually a bigger world. This place, this physical existence is tiny and fits within a tiny box. Keep it that way.

[Sonia]

@Spence,

No, I just meant (based on the paper I posted a link to) that in Punjabi culture for example, they really don’t have a word for depression. They experience depression but they describe it, view it and deal with it very differently. They describe and interpret it as a “heavy heart or heavy mind”. They are more expressive and more accepting of displays of emotion. They have a larger, closer family and community network to work through feelings with. They are much more comfortable with a person expressing their feelings in a way that, quite honestly, we would view as excessive. But their acceptance of this emotional expression is a form of therapy for the individual so that they don’t keep all of their feelings bottled up. They express their emotional state through behavior without labeling or categorizing themselves as mentally ill. They also tend to present themselves to a clinical setting complaining of actual physical problems in certain cases where we in western culture would have already self diagnosed ourselves (redundant?) with a depression or anxiety.

Of course they have depression and anxiety, but they don’t see it as a long-term prognosis (in general). They’re approach isn’t perfect and neither is ours. But each have their strengths.

My point is (and you should read the paper because it clearly explains this) that every culture views and experiences what Eurocentric Westerners term “mental illness” quite differently.

The paper was enlightening to me. Not just about Punjabi culture—it included examples from cultures around the world.

It’s quite remarkable that Chinese women don’t experience menopausal discomfort. They really don’t yet. Yet it is an enormous issue here in America and parts of the “Western” world. I was in Hong Kong for a week and had to get medication refills to cover me for a few months in China. I was able to get almost all of them refilled at the Baptist hospital in Hong Kong. But hormone replacement therapy was non-existent.

Another medication that I use for sleeping could only be given out at a sanitarium. 😂 I was like “oh well, who needs sleep on vacation anyway”. I opted out of trying to get that refilled.

But I asked one of our hosts about getting the HRT and she said women in Asian countries (Far East) do not have that medical condition. And that is phenomenal to me. She believed it had to do with heat and cold. She had this commonly held cultural belief that seemed more Ayurvedic in nature. She said not to drink cold water. ?? She was my age she looked about 15 years younger than her age. 🤷‍♀️

Bottom line is, sometimes we have absolutely no idea what a person is really experiencing or trying to communicate to us even if we’re communicating in the same spoken language because our “cultural languages” can be vastly different.

I find it truly fascinating because I love understanding how people think differently and how different cultures perceive and address things differently. It’s fascinating on so many levels.

We can learn a lot from each other if we try.

[Sonia]

Spence,

Here’s another thing, as a white American woman, the extent to how dramatically I’m allowed to express my emotions to others is far more restricted than my African American, Indian American and Latino American friends. This is probably why I have very few white friends. I’m a very expressive person and in WASP country I get super self-conscious about my behavior. People have these prejudiced expectations of how you’re supposed to behave and what meets the criteria of “normal” based on your class and race, even here in America.

Think about it! Maybe that’s why White middle to upper class westerners have a higher rate of “mental illness” diagnosis. MAYBE it’s because we’re expected to walk around with our emotions and feelings bottled up all the time.

[Sonia]

It’s like my husband said when we were in Rome—he was 100% certain that every woman there was bipolar. 🤣

[🍀 Yesterday's 👍🍀 vid BABAJI 30 min. on Simpleness 🍀]

-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz4wPMRebs0

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Sonia
The thesis overtly makes several good points, and inadvertently several disturbing ones. Like all of us, it is bound by the blinkered blinders of the culture of its author.

None of us are free of that.

The culture that allows emotional expression also prescribes roles, rituals and castes. The culture that claims to be superior to issues of depression also enslave its workers into lifetime indentured poverty claiming the right to do this as a karmic gift. Some are meant to be at the top, others at the bottom.

The very situation that causes western style existential angst is actually freedom from those societal constraints.

We look with admiration upon charity not quite understanding how the same religious organizations protect corruption and perpetuate poverty and slavery.

Depression may just be the cost of being woke.

And it's solution? To take the reigns of freedom, and not submit to the ready corruption of cultural enslavement ever again.

[Georgy Porgy]

Gdam anyone seen the Tiger King - morons unite?!

Gdam I seriously didnt ppl got that thick. The thickest of the lot might be the
Federal govt and public prosecutor who brought that ridiculous circus to trial. As for the so-called animal activists, they should euthanize the lot maybe even before ‘bhagavad’ doc mantle - seriously those animals shouldn’t be anywhere near Gdam Kansas or butfk wynnigag at all. The one asshat even a snow leapord in his truck! Can you believe it - it’s like the animal is extinct.

I actually can’t believe there are ppl like that in this world - been a while since I laughed so hard. The only two sensible ppl in the whole show are the amputees barely making ends meet living outa trailers, the old manager missing both legs and the girl missing an arm - insane. Put the manager in charge of the park and the girl in charge of animal rights and all problems solved.

[Jesse]

"But their acceptance of this emotional expression is a form of therapy for the individual so that they don’t keep all of their feelings bottled up. They express their emotional state through behavior without labeling or categorizing themselves as mentally ill. "

Look at their rates of alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. Whatever they do in India, Punjab specifically, pretty much doesn't work. Whatever we do in "the west" doesn't work either though. Especially in USA. If anything we just allowed big business interests to pathologize tons of normal behaviors in the hopes of making everyone think that they're crazy. Very profitable enterprise. SSRI's for all.

The massive cultural chasm you describe has far more relevance to mankind today than it ever has, seeing as how the largest and most rapid mass movement of mankind has occurred in just the past few decades. Some bizarre fantisizers on this blog and elsewhere have bought into the notion of world peace through understanding, when the historical precedent is invariably the opposite. No matter what we might individually think is good, clashes of cultures aren't learning opportunities, but rather catalysts for wars. Cultures need exclusive territory or else they fight. There is no way around this, and anyone who claims the contrary is either stupid or has very bad intentions and wants mankind to suffer.

[Sonia]

Gdam anyone seen the Tiger King - morons unite?!

Posted by: Georgy Porgy | May 25, 2020 at 09:08 AM

The old Georgy is back. You’re IQ just dropped back to normal. 😂

Haven’t seen Tiger King but might have to watch it. People describe it as horrifically stupid and crazy but it just sucks them in and they can’t stop watching.

[Sonia]

@777

Watched the vid yesterday. Even forwarded it to my mom. (I liked the Buddha statue.) :) Liked the 50/50 thing as well. And free will vs determinism made more sense.

[Georgy Porgy]

It’s great stuff - I expected it to just be a bunch of dumb rednecks wrestling gators and stuff, but it’s much richer then that.

The 1st episode was pretty dull, but as you keep watching the characters get more and more wierd. By the end poor old joe is surrounded by total shysters and he ends up behind bars - disgraceful.

[Sonia]

@Spence

The focus of the paper was to contribute to the limited understanding of mental health issues within the Punjab Sikh community and to better understand the support system for Punjabi Sikhs’ psychological and overall well being compared with other South Asians.

The term South Asians in this study refers to people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan.

All participants in this study had been living in the UK for either all or the majority of their lives and considered the UK to be their home. All but one participant was educated at post graduate level.

The need for a lot more of this kind of research in general is critical as the rate of suicide in South Asia is astonishingly high for young people between age 15-24.

IN SOUTH ASIA SUICIDE IS ONE OF THE TOP THREE CAUSES OF DEATH FOR PEOPLE AGED BETWEEN 15 AND 24.

(Kind of like our Native American Indian reservations in the United States.)

I’m very quick to jump to the conclusion that the rates of suicide around young South Asians is likely due to the caste system, arranged marriages and lack of good prospects for work. But I’ve done zero research of my own so far.

However, the paper mentions that earlier studies had revealed that family relationships were responsible for a majority of suicide attempts and for those diagnosed with depression.

Across South Asia there are insufficient mental health resources available to the majority. 80 - 90% of the population have no access to treatment. And then there’s the stigma associated—in most cases mainstream society rejects people accessing mental healthcare services invalidating their difficulties. People labeled as mentally ill fall victim to discrimination and violence.

More research needs to be done on the South Asian subsets—Pakistani Muslim, Hindus, Christian, Jews, etc. But this paper highlighted unique factors within the Sikh community which is primarily in the Punjab. A community which has historically felt rejected and ostracized by other subgroups under the South Asian umbrella.

Unlike many other religions in the South Asian continent, Sikhism is not a known barrier for accessing services. Sikhism does not state that psychological difficulties are caused by evil eye or spirit possession. Nor does it stipulate that treatment can be sought through supernatural powers. Sikhism actively promotes well-being and provides coping mechanisms. Sikhism is also unique in the South Asian continent in that it promotes equality among all, condemning the caste system.

This paper is definitely not saying the Punjabi Sikh culture has it all figured out. That was not the purpose at all. The research was intended to understand South Asians better so that Western medicine could be more effective at meeting their psychological and physical needs. By examining Sikhism and understanding the South Asian mindset they were able to get a glimpse into things that might bridge the gap in communicating with both South Asian Punjabi Sikhs and other South Asian subsets.

This is very important for those practicing medicine or psychology in the UK as the South Asian population is growing there at a fast rate. Doctors and mental health workers need to understand these people (South Asians in general) and their way of perceiving the world so that they can give them the best care possible.

What I liked most about this paper is that it highlights the importance of language when constructing experience and that Western concepts will not have the same meanings in non-Western languages.

THIS IS WHAT FASCINATES ME MOST!!! LANGUAGE & CONCEPTS. The biggest barrier is communicating cultural concepts. Languages themselves often have great difficulty translating specific cultural concepts. (And then some idiot starts a war.)

Disclaimer: I plagiarized bits and pieces of this comment from the paper itself and didn’t bother to put in quotation marks where required.

Also, jump to 105 for info on how it meets the Yardley Criteria. Not 100% but doesn’t matter for what I needed. Just a preliminary understanding. I’ll do further research.

[Sonia]

It’s great stuff - I expected it to just be a bunch of dumb rednecks wrestling gators and stuff, but it’s much richer then that.

The 1st episode was pretty dull, but as you keep watching the characters get more and more wierd. By the end poor old joe is surrounded by total shysters and he ends up behind bars - disgraceful.

Posted by: Georgy Porgy | May 25, 2020 at 11:52 AM

I’m gonna have to binge watch that one by myself. Pretty sure no one in my family would be interested other than my older brother. But I’m not really in the mood for any sibling bonding time right now.

[Sonia]

This is an oldie but goodie.
Trevor Noah—
https://youtu.be/vi7SeBI7z9A

[Sonia]

Gosh, Spence, it’s like you’re this eternal utopian idealist and Jesse is this cynical nihilist. 😅

Can’t we just meet somewhere in the middle?

An analogy we use about trying to be a better person and make the world a better place despite the tendencies of human nature is cleaning your home. Just because it’s going to get dirty again after you’ve worked so hard to clean it up doesn’t mean you’re going to stop cleaning it. And you care about where you live so you clean your home and your yard and make it as nice as possible. Because that’s where you reside for now.

You can offer to mow your neighbors yard and help them out as much as you are able to as long as you keep your own home priority. It’s a good example and it encourages other neighbors to take pride in their homes and the neighborhood. I could offer lots of examples of how so many of our neighbors have helped others by living this way. We exchange help. If a neighbor hasn’t mowed their yard in weeks (which is unusual but has happened) either someone will go ahead and do it for them or we check with the HOA to reach out to them and make sure they’re OK. Fortunately our HOA isn’t micro manage-y but they are caring individuals. We try to work together. Although not everyone is as receptive as some. That’s always gonna be the case when a large group of people are put together.

It’s an interesting neighborhood to see this kind of intention in action. We are comprised of just three streets with one way in and out. We live by a lake and on a public golf course but it’s certainly not hoity toity. We’re middle-middle class. So, most of our neighbors don’t employ gardeners or house cleaners. Some do, but most don’t.

My point is, I don’t exactly look forward to house cleaning. But I hate a dirty house. If my house is dirty then you know I’m depressed. Same applies to our neighbors.

Just do what you can to help those around you. Life is short.

[Sonia]

My whole point is you can’t change the world but do what you can to make the world around you better.

[Spence Tepper]

Have faith in Science
https://m.facebook.com/scibabe/photos/a.493223244147789/1867095013427265/?type=3&source=48

[Sonia]

Have faith in Science
https://m.facebook.com/scibabe/photos/a.493223244147789/1867095013427265/?type=3&source=48

Posted by: Spence Tepper | May 25, 2020 at 10:19 PM

Peer Review 24:7 😂

That’s hilarious

[Sonia]

@Spence

You wrote: Depression happens when we are too tired dealing with a cruel and inflexible world, and cruel and inflexible people.

I agree but I’d add even more to that.

First of all, depression and every other form of mental illness is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. It might be trying to tell you something is wrong in your body—taking on too much, inflammation causes depression, hormonal imbalances, toxins in our food and environment, malnutrition or toxic relationships.

Any sort of “mental illness” is a message from your body. It’s a very loud message. In order to relieve the discomfort of the patient they are treated with urgent care measures—meds. And that is good. It’s a life saver in many cases, however, our modern society considers anxiety and depression and other issues affecting the mind negatively to be the CAUSE. When really they are the EFFECT—like your body’s last resort trying to communicate to you that you desperately need to correct or change something in your life. Often times it will require many lifestyle and thought patterns corrections.

But for us to view mental illness as the last stop is a big mistake. When we do that we’re not treating the problem. And without treating the problem people will continue to get sicker and more dependent and depressed not living up to their full potential.

[Jesse]

"the Sikh community which is primarily in the Punjab. A community which has historically felt rejected and ostracized by other subgroups under the South Asian umbrella."

lol they may have "felt" this way, but it's their own doing. I'm still waiting for someone to provide me with the Akal Takht Hukam (Sikh fatwaa) demanding all non-sikhs be removed from the punjab. It was from circa 2008. Sikhs are an extremely exclusivist and chauvinistic society. Rejectors, not the rejected.

"Nor does it stipulate that treatment can be sought through supernatural powers."

Yeah it sort of does. Constantly being in Guru's grace by listening and chanting gurbani is supposed to remove all suffering. They make pilgrimage to Bangla Sahib in Delhi because "Sri Harkrishan Dhiyaiye Jis Dithe Sab Dukh Jaye." They think the Gurus darshan makes all your pain go away. So maybe not personally achieving magic power, but the magic power of the Guru is considered the cure-all, and this is especially true for mental issues.

"Sikhism is also unique in the South Asian continent in that it promotes equality among all, condemning the caste system."

They promote a lot of things more than they actually do.Equality is an ideal they utterly fail to live up to, especially considering that no Jatt Sikh on earth will marry a Ramgharia or whatever they call Sikh untouchables... Bappan or something. One of our resident Punjabis could tell you.

I've met more Brahmins married to Muslims than Jatts married to non-Jatts. Sikhs generally are amazingly racist generally speaking. You just have to be around them in real life and not reading some UK science fantasy. Once when I was staying in the Guru Ram Das Niwas at the Golden Temple, the big manager of all the guesthouses came in to try to impress the foreigners and he had zero chill. He just started going off about how dangerous black people are in USA and UK etc. Which statistically and relatively may be true, but in "polite society" of a supposedly egalitarian saintly religious people it is unheard of. Some British girl there looked like her dreams had been crushed by more truth than she was ready to hear. It was hilarious.

"I’m very quick to jump to the conclusion that the rates of suicide around young South Asians is likely due to the caste system, arranged marriages and lack of good prospects for work. But I’ve done zero research of my own so far."

Many of the suicides are about usury and the fact that they destroyed their farmlands with chemicals. Many farmers, especially in Punjab, were riding high and buying crap thinking the green revolution turned their soil into gold. Now their state is becoming a desert because of way too much of a good thing. Predictably they blame everyone on earth but themselves.

The other half of suicides are fathers who kill themselves because Sikhs have a cool economic tradition called "extorting brides" where they continually increase dowry demands as the wedding day approaches, then use violence and cancelation threats to shame the brides family until the actual day of the wedding. Families are forced to take out exorbitant loans (that usury thing again) and pay off the grooms family with gold, cars and property. The father of the bride, bow being ruined completely and knowing he can't repay his debts for the fancy cars he was forced to buy some drunken munda, takes his own life to escape. This is also why Sikhs have the highest rate of female infanticide on earth.

India had to make special laws about this specifically because of Punjabis. Beautiful culture. Can't wait until the whole world is their gangland like Toronto.

[Sonia]

A must read!

Seven Types of Atheism, John Gray

https://books.google.com/books/about/Seven_Types_of_Atheism.html?id=xDhIDwAAQBAJ

https://www.vox.com/2018/10/30/17936564/new-atheism-religion-science-god-john-gray

[Sonia]

I just finished the first episode of Tiger King. Not at all what I expected. They are ALL crazy. You’re watching it and it’s like you’re suspended between laughter and the shock that there are people like that. It’s more entertaining than disturbing but still...

I’m speechless. 🤭