Hello Philosophy Society!
Discussion 1: Philosophy is a Way of Life
We began this week's discussion with a review of the purpose of the group for the two new members in attendance. Philosophy is defined as the ‘love of wisdom,’ Philo, the love of, and sophia, wisdom. Conceptual analysis or making sense of things is part of being wise but not all. Eudaimonia, living well, the good life, or well being is also part of wisdom. Being mentally healthy is wise and the foundation for our ability to have conceptual analysis.
There is an overlap between psychology and philosophy. Psychology as a science uses the scientific method to determine empirical truths about human nature, behaviour and thought processes. Philosophically, it is wise for us to integrate that scientific knowledge into our lifestyle. The philosophy of psychology, or the integration of the two, is the application or making sense of psychological truths in our lives so that we increase our own wellbeing.
Discussing sensitive topics can evoke psychological responses and negative emotions. In our philosophical discussions, we can become triggered or others can. Understanding our own emotions and the emotions of others can allow us to develop our ability to philosophize about these philosophical issues. Other psychological phenomena, like delusional thinking, is something that we can practice to mitigate through our philosophical training. Delusional thinking is defined as not changing one’s beliefs when shown to be unreasonable or providing evidence that is contradictory or contrary.
Skills that we can develop in philosophical practice will help us in discussing problems in lifestyle but also in conceptual analysis. One skill would be accepting and listening to feedback and learning to grow in areas we lack clarity or critical thinking. When we learn to develop arguments, or structured ways of believing information, we can break down specific areas we may be mistaken, unclear or can improve on.
In terms of taking feedback, there are two paths a situation can take. One is where we did make some mistake or error. Simply correcting our errors upon acceptance will allow us to grow. The second is where we do not believe we made an error. In this situation, and a response to symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, we can accept the feedback even if we do not believe we made the mistake and grow by implementing habits that would prevent the mistake from occurring again.
There can be a problem in feedback or others engaging in gaslighting, where they make us question our sanity by imposing false psychological attributions on us. To resolve this we follow the procedure to implement the protocol that would prevent the behaviour or mistake from occurring even though we did not engage in it intentionally. This will help overcome the NPD symptom of responding to criticism with an arrogant or haughty, aggressive response.
Ultimately, the best feedback occurs when it is based on accurate, evidenced based observations that are not based in distorted perceptions. This can take skill for the other person to know how to 1) observe other people in an undistorted way and 2) know how to communicate that observation in a way that is accurate. These skills are important in how we communicate and will help us with both avenues of wisdom, conceptual analysis and living the good life.
Only in a social group can we truly be kept accountable for that which we are unaware of. We practice these philosophical skills so that we can receive feedback from others because we know we cannot rely on ourselves due to our own biases. For example, the self-serving bias is the tendency to rate ourselves above average on everything we do. This cannot be the case that everyone is above average because half of the people are necessarily lower than average. The practice of communication and feedback can ensure that others will help us see our weaknesses so that we can improve on them. If we accept that we are flawed we open the opportunity for growth. Allowing a positive emotional response to awareness that we have made an error, in contrast to debilitating anxiety, sadness or humiliation, can make our growth easier.
Discussion 2: Know Thyself
In the middle of our review of the dialogues for the Peaceful Warrior, we had a tangent discussion about the question: Do you ever really know yourself? Know Thyself has a history in ancient philosophy being inscribed at the entrance at the Oracle of Delphi. There are parts of our identity that are not in our control like who our parents are, where we were born, our ethnicity, how we were treated as children, our attachment style, etc. that all impact who we are. Some things, listed here, are not in our control, whereas other factors of who we are, are in our control.
Wisdom, though not necessarily religious and modified to remove the theological input, from the serenity prayer in christianity is very useful in this regard. The prayer is: “[Self or Cosmos], grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This ‘prayer’ is important because it touches on the stoic wisdom of discriminating what we are and are not in control of. When factors that affect us are in our control, it may be uncomfortable to deal with them and that is where psychological courage, acting and doing what is right regardless of how uncomfortable it may be in the moment, will develop our resilience for our own wellbeing.
Our consciousness has many parts to it and the highest form of that is something I refer to as the ‘meta-self:’ it is the part of you that is greater than all other parts. Your capacity for being conscious, aware and mindful is a self but of a higher order. It is not a momentary expression of having fun or being angry. It is, in some ways, a combination of the Freudian conscious and unconscious. All of the facets of what you are are known by the mind. If you try to lie to yourself, part of you knows that you are lying. This comprehensiveness of your mind is a function of being conscious and what I refer to as the meta-self.
When you speak to god, assuming from an atheist perspective that god does not exist, what you are really doing psychologically is talking to your meta-self. It is always present in all of your experiences, unless you have brain damage or are under severe influences of substances. The higher self is part of you and very difficult to ‘know’ because it is not something that you explicitly see. It is the total accumulation of all your experience, categorically. If you program your mind poorly, your meta-self will not have a sense of unity with your other forms of self-expression. This will cause great turmoil in one’s life and is equivalent to forms of mental illness.
Discussion 3: Appreciating the Canceled
There have been many people who have been canceled for immoral behaviour but at the same time have artistic skills that are completely independent from what they were canceled for. It is a fallacy of irrelevance, a category mistake, to ignore the positive elements of the canceled person even though we may condemn the negative decisions they have made. Some people will feel conflicted because they may appreciate some artistic part of a person who was canceled but cannot bring up that art for fear of being socially ostracized.
For example, someone in the meeting brought up Kanye West as a case in point. To say they like Kanye West could mean different things. If said generally, it could mean they condone the anti semitic views and statement KW has endorsed or it could mean they like some of his music. The individual explicitly did not condone the anti semitic behaviour that KW was engaged in and only appreciated some of KWs music.
To resolve this circumstance of not being able to communicate art forms one likes if that artist was canceled, one simply has to be open to explicitly criticizing all problematic behaviour that person when they give them positive attribution for their artwork. So you would say, “I know KW’s views are completely wrong and immoral when it comes to anti semitic statements. I do however respect his music and it is disappointing that KW has such discriminatory views about Jewish people. It is problematic that KW supports dictators like Hitler, seen in his recent Alex Jones interview. Even though KW has had these psychological problems I do appreciate the song XYZ for ABC reasons.” Once you have clarified that certain behaviour is unacceptable and comprehensively explain that you understand that behaviour is acceptable, it is appropriate to give an aesthetic critique or appreciation of art that is completely irrelevant to the immoral or problematic behaviour.
If someone ignores the problematic behaviour that a canceled person has engaged in, it can seem like that behaviour is being enabled, ignored, or endorsed. It is important to clarify one’s position on these moral issues and use a token format that is at least equal. For every positive appreciation there must be a recognition of the immoral behaviour and why it is wrong. This tit for tat acknowledgement is the cost that the canceled person pays for disregarding their behaviour that harms others.
Discussion 4: Hegelian Dialectic
One of the members brought up the point of the Hegelian Dialectic as a real, living dialogue that has been building on itself for thousands of years. They were discussing that the current dialogue we are having is a consequence of all the previous dialogues that have ever existed.
Critical Films Discussion: the Peaceful Warrior
This week we took turns reading the dialogues between Socrates and Dan from the film. They can be found on the website: https://www.achillesjustice.com/post/peaceful-warrior.
Dialogue 1: Knowledge and Wisdom
The first point that Socrates brings up with Dan is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. As Socrates is clearing a windshield, he asks Dan if he knows how to clean it and states that wisdom is doing it. Knowledge here is factual whereas wisdom is something empirical or practical.
The second subject is happiness. Dan challenges Socrates to ask him anything. Socrates asks him if he is happy and identifies that Dan is unable to sleep at night. Socrates is identifying that if you cannot sleep at night, there is clearly a problem in your life. Later in the film, we learn that being yourself, living a life that is in line with your identity, is what will bring you happiness.
One of the fundamental lessons of the film is that happiness comes from the journey or the process, not the outcome. If you are a salesperson, focusing on socializing with other people and knowing your product or service is a process oriented approach, in contrast to an outcome oriented approach which would be basing your success on ‘making the sale.’
Socrates tests Dan on which orientation he has by asking him if he will not make the Olympic team. Dan is baffled at the blasphemous remark from Socrates, like asking a devout religious believer if god exists or not. Dan is in denial of the possibility that he may or may not make the olympic team.
There is something to be said for focusing on our goal to be successful. We can engage in a positive affirmation of the self-fulfilling prophecy. The third movie in the Critical Films course, Gattaca (1997), discusses this determination perspective. Both of these principles, being focusing on achieving the goal and also gearing success to the process, will help us attain and be motivated towards our goals and dreams. Fundamentally, being yourself in the world is what gives us happiness and is part of what it means to live a Eudaimonic and authentic life.
Eudaimonia is not related to a present state of mind but is a trajectory of meaning in one’s life that is found by having a purpose that is significant and coheres with your total identity. This is where being philosophical comes into play in terms of how we live our lives. Sellars said philosophy is ‘how everything hangs together.’ A psychologist who has a bunch of empirical, scientific facts is not sufficient to live a good life. Wisdom, how all of these psychological findings fit together, is needed. The psychologist needs to be a philosopher and the philosopher needs a little psychology.
Dialogue 2: Still Dreaming
The first point that Socrates brings up is the notion of being awake. Dan references a dream he kept having and Socrates said maybe he is still dreaming. To be awake is something that Socrates discusses later in the film: to be conscious of one’s choices and responsible for their actions.
The second discussion is about the highest purpose in life is service to others. This is a reduction of an ‘unhealthy ego’ or sense of self. There is a difference between one’s selfish motivations and doing things to contribute to humanity and make the world a better place. When we only think of ourselves, we are in some ways using the world as a means to an end, and not an end in itself. There is a difference between a self-interested motivation and a community oriented one.
The Kantian philosophical principle called the categorical imperative, where we act in such a way to incorporate what the thing or person who is involved, into our decision making process. We take into account what the person wants and do not use them for our purposes only.
The third topic in this dialogue is the concept of rules versus life experience. Socrates and Dan sit down to eat and Dan eats so fast he can't even taste the food. Socrates gives Dan feedback that it is better to slow and taste it. Dan responds that Socrates has a lot of rules about life. Socrates responds by saying it is not so much rules but that he has life experience. After repeated trials of doing certain activities and being mindful of the results from those actions, Socrates has noticed a difference in the quality or results of the experience. This again goes back to the difference between knowing via fact and wisdom through doing.
The fourth subject is the value of being all the best you can be. Socrates criticizes Dans training and lifestyle, insinuating that it is Dan’s lifestyle that is preventing him from being his best. Socrates tells Dan the conditions he would place Dan under if he trained him. Socrates gives Dan a physical challenge that Dan accepts. Dan ends up failing at the challenge, proving that maybe Dan's way of being is not the best. Dan is confronted with his value of being the best and his attachment to other values like his choice in food, drinking alcohol, promiscuous sex, etc or his value of making the olympic team.
The fifth subject in this dialogue is where we derive our knowledge or answers from: either we get them from others or we learn to develop our own sense and get them from ourselves. There is a sense of judgment we can develop in knowing that we are correct about things and not relying on other people to think or make judgments for us. Socrates says the solution to this is to learn to start gathering information from inside himself instead of outside himself. People are scared of themselves and when they learn to overcome this, they can use their minds and bodies in ways others do not have the courage to.
Dialogue 3: People are not their Thoughts
In this dialogue Dan communicates how he had negative thoughts about one of his friends and that made him not like himself. Socrates responds by telling him that people are not their thoughts. This wisdom connects nicely with the information we have been learning in the Feeling Good book about automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions. Socrates explains how the mind is a reflex organ that reacts to everything. Socrates demonstrates this by getting Dan to throw him a wrench and Socrates catches it.
The next subject is about leverage. Socrates does a martial arts move on Dan to demonstrate the principle that the right leverage is very effective, which is what life is about: to develop the wisdom to apply the right leverage at the right time and the right place. In some ways we can allude to Aristotle’s notion of practical wisdom. There is a practice in learning how to apply the virtues to different situations so we have developed the skill in how to be courageous, wise, temperament and just.
Dialogue 4: Empty your Mind
The next dialogue begins with Socrates and Dan on a bridge over a creek at the University. Socrates throws Dan off the bridge as a demonstration to show Dan how to empty his mind. Dan, shocked and a little upset, asks what Socrates was intending by throwing him off the bridge. Socrates replies that he emptied Dan’s mind; while Dan was falling he had no thoughts, he was 100% committed to the present moment. Socrates is showing Dan what mindfulness is.
The next idea is that of ‘being out of your mind;’ not being stuck with our own thoughts and observing our experience and environment. To have a mindful attitude and observational perspective on life is a lifestyle practice. When our attention becomes fixated on one thing, we end up missing out on the present moment and what is going on around us.
The third subject in this dialogue is that there is never nothing going on. When we become mindful, we become aware that there is always something going on. Whether we are paying attention to our experience depends on how we practice and how we use our mind.
The last subject in this dialogue is the notion of ‘taking out the trash,’ which is anything that keeps you from this moment. Socrates is trying to teach Dan to focus on the present and not be distracted by the past or the future. Our thoughts lead us away from the moment. All of the ideas or things we can think about that come into our minds are trash, according to Socrates.
The present discussion does exclude the value of reflection that is discussed by the Ancient Greek Philosopher Socrates, in Plato’s dialogues. Socrates says in the dialogue the Apology, “An unreflected life is not worth living.” (Plato 38a) The reasoning behind reflecting on our experience is so that we can learn from it.
Taking the wisdom from both being present in our experience and reflection, there is a balance between both of these actions. Later in the film, Socrates asks Dan to sit on a car for a moment of reflection. Using Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom, through experience we can develop a sense of when being 100% present is important for us and when reflecting on what we were previously immersed in is appropriate.
Dialogue 5: Mind Tricks
Dan uses the mindfulness technique and is excited to tell Socrates about it. Dan startles Socrates and is happy he learned this new ‘Mind Trick.’ Socrates is offended by Dan’s attitude towards ‘taking out the trash.’ Dan states he was not worried about what he did, what might or could have happened, and that he was acting and doing the move for the move. Socrates criticizes Dan for being in the past and not in the now and ends the training for the night to ensure Dan does not abuse the new skill he was taught.
Mindfulness is a practice. We are ultimately always with our self: as a conscious being we can continually control our breathing and our attention. This practice is a skill that can help with conditions like Attention Deficit Disorder. Mitchell et. al., (2015) wrote a paper on the effectiveness of mindfulness as a treatment for ADD in contrast to medications. As conscious beings, even in our dreams, under the influence of drugs or upset, we can master mindfulness and meditation as a means to have control over our state and bring ourselves back to equilibrium.
Mitchell, JT., Zylowska, L., Kollins, SH. (2015) Mindfulness Meditation Training for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adulthood: Current Empirical Support, Treatment Overview, and Future Directions. Cogn Behav Pract. 22(2), 172-191. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2014.10.002. PMID: 25908900; PMCID: PMC4403871.
Dialogue 6: Reading Other’s Minds
Dan follows Socrates to his gym, where his fellow friends are training. Socrates is sitting up in the rafters observing the gymnasts train and invites Dan to join. Dan joins Socrates and puzzled why they are so high up they could get hurt, notices something he has not. He can hear what his friends are thinking. Dan asks Socrates if he is reading their minds and Socrates responds that Dan hasn’t listened before. People will say what they say to you, what they say to themselves. We treat all humans the same in some ways and if you listen to the dialogue that the characters tell others, they actually tell themselves these same things.
The second subject is about losing our minds and coming to our senses. Dan wakes up from his ‘telepathic vision’ and becomes scared that now he has entered a new form of awakened awareness. He is in fear that his mindfulness has changed him and he can never go back. Socrates reminds Dan that sometimes we have to lose our mind before we can come to our senses. What Socrates is saying here is if we have built a mind that is not based in reality, we would have to deconstruct that illusionary mental state before we can build a more objective mental state. We will have to disregard a broken mind to create a healthy one. This is one of the constructive places for nihilism, the belief that there are no beliefs or the belief in nothing.
We can use a nihilistic foundation to deconstruct an unhealthy mind as a stepping stone towards building a healthier, non-nihilistic mind. Learning our critical thinking skills and valuing the process of understanding is a much more healthy mental structure than any specific content belief. The process and skills of evaluating beliefs are second-order beliefs. They are things that you use towards beliefs but are also beliefs themselves. These second order beliefs are more fundamental than any content, first ordered, belief one can have because they determine the truth or falsity of all beliefs.
Dialogue 7: Meditate in Every Action
This dialogue is a breaking point in the relationship for Dan becomes upset with Socrates. The first principle that Socrates tells Dan is that a Warrior learns to meditate in every action whether it is doing house work or exercising. Next, Socrates tells Dan that it is best to learn to give up what he is attached to, like pride or addictions.
Dan becomes upset again with Socrates, leading into the next principle: do not let our emotions control us. Dan responds to this by saying that he will be happy when he gets what he wants. Dan is confused about the process vs outcome distinction in terms of happiness. It is important for us to develop healthy goals and values so that we do not lead ourselves into disappointment.
Meditation Practice
To end our session, we did a 5 full inhale and exhale breath meditation. We were in a noisy environment but it was still helpful to practice mindfulness as a group.
WhatsApp Chat
WaC 1: Astral Projection
Jay: U believe in God Achilles? And is it external to you?
Achilles: I believe in the cosmos which is external to me but I am also a part of it.
Jay: Right ok 👍 The cosmos are held up by your consciousness, which is essentially you, subject object relation is dissolved once truth is seen( separation created from your own mind) Spirits quote *you are experience, experiencing experiencing.
Achilles: "You are the cosmos aware of itself..you are star stuff" Carl sagan
Jay: I think that quote is pointing to the same thing. The actual quote We are the local embodiment of a Cosmos grown to self-awareness. So with this I'd have to disagree, once you meditate and self actualize, you will come to know consciousness isn't actually localized.
https://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/non-local-consciousness-and-the-brain/
( just to make it clear I am not like a science guy, but rather a 3 year buddhist who's realizations come from meditation and insights,
Achilles: There has been experiments to test this:
Out of body:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00070/full
NDE
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2014/10/07-worlds-largest-near-death-experiences-study.page
Jay: lol. Good info Achilles though I always run into issues with people that use science to explain stuff. I use direct experience. The reason it's hard to argue with science is because they come up with their own variables and factors for ways to come to conclusions. Though the information sounds correct.
Achilles: Personal experience is meaningful. I have had very unique and interesting experiences in deep meditation. But I realize my brain and mind are creating these representations.
Jay: Ok so Achilles. What do you think about Astral projections? Also have you had any insights or realizations during meditation >if so, can you elaborate on them, doesn't have to be long , but enough for me to grasp what you are talking about. Thank you,(BTW I love these conversations)
Achilles: Well it depends on what is going on here. if one is meditating and begins to pass into the dream state of consciousness, it could be similar to a false awakening or sleep paralysis phenomena. it may appear to be like you are going out of your body, but in actuality it is the transitioning between the state of being awake and dreaming that is being triggered. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-paralysis
When we test to see if someone is actually out of their body, the tests fail. For example if i have a number written on the other side of the door, you claim you will go out of your body, then you should be able to tell me what the number is. all of these kinds of tests have failed.
It's more likely that it is the person who is having an experience that is altering their perception of reality than them being an immaterial conscious orb that floats around. Why can't other people detect and interact with you while you're 'out of body'?
Reggie: John Vervaeke has a lengthy series on what he calls the Crisis of Meaning, and draws upon what can be learned from both philosophers and world religion. https://www.meaningcrisis.co/all-transcripts/
Reggie: Among other things, Vervaeke discusses the root of his cognitive theory by discussing the 4 ways of knowing:
1. Propositional - statements of fact. These typically start from belief, and accepted as truth once proven. Science and math fits in here. So does logical reasoning.
2. Procedural - how to do something, e.g. playing a sport or musical instrument. Instinctual things would fit here as well, like knowing how to eat/drink
3. Participatory - knowing by being. You cannot really know what it's like to be a parent until you become one
4. Perspective - your sensations and perceptions as they are. Their causes might be in dispute (e.g. phantom limbs, outer body experiences) but the fact remains that I am experiencing them.
Vervaeke argues that over the past several decades, society has favoured propositional knowledge (ie. science) above the others. To him, ignoring the other ways of knowing is a huge part (though not completely the reason) of the mental health crisis we are witnessing.
Thoughts anyone? A lot of what he says seems to dovetail with the goals of this group.
Jay: Interesting post, This is why we shouldn't just rely on science. Achilles hav u ever tried astrally projecting?
Achilles: very good video. It is important to understand what science is and the limitations of it.
First, our experiences are highly subject to error in our perception. We discussed this recently and I used the example of refraction to illustrate the point. Another one would be that when I perceive a rainbow in the sky, there is literally not a band of colour that I could drive on as a superhighway. The way and reason we know what a rainbow is is through collecting data and removing our biases from it.
Similarly, there are experiences of my mind and body that are not necessarily what they appear to be. Naive realism is the belief that the way we see the world is the way reality is. We know this is not true. I have given two examples so far.
It is important for us to experience first, but then recognize the limitations of our perception. Even though it may appear that one's mind is detached from one's body, it does not make sense with the evidence we have of brain damage and the lack of explanation of what the mind would be apart from the body.
The mind is a supervenient property of the brain. This means that without the brain there is no mind as we know it. If the brain is damaged, the mind suffers in its capacity. We see this in examples like Phineas Gage who suffered trauma to the head while too close to dynamite as he was working on the railroad. The piece of metal went right through his head, tearing out a huge chunk of his brain. He survived but his mind was never the same.
Now, if the mind can leave the body as in astral projection, why would head trauma in this case have such an impact on the mental state of the individual?
It is important to know how to assess and evaluate scientific evidence and studies. An absolutist anti-scientific attitude is not reasonable. There is a degree of intellectual maturity in giving up certain perceptual experiences because they simply do not make sense. We want to proportion our belief to the evidence. This means that we know how to proportion and place our personal experiences, being aware that the mind can fool us, and things like scientific evidence or propositional knowledge.
We begin with our experiences then move to science, which is simply a way to remove our own personal bias, so that we can get at the truth.
Jay: Lol. It sounds convincing. Ok so the trauma to the head, what was the result?
Achilles: There are many social and cognitive biases that can influence one's experience. Have you ever been to the hypnotist show at a carnival? Why is it that some people are sent down from the stage while others seem to do funny acts under the hypnotist's command?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/
Jay: So can you conclude what happened? He lost cognitive function? Is that what you're saying?
Achilles: He wasn't the same person, the 'mind' was changed from the accident.
Jay: How, by behavior?
Achilles: brain damage
Jay: Right. So brain damage changed his personality. Over the years, accounts of his changed character had gone far beyond Harlow’s observations, Macmillan says, turning him into an ill-tempered, shiftless drunk.
Achilles: The point I am making is that the mind is fundamentally tied to the brain. Astral projection, near death experiences and other mind-body separation doesn't make sense for this reason.
Jay: There's a component that actually comes before the brain. That's the point I'm trying to make. This is consciousness. Consciousness then identifies with thought.
Achilles: what is the mind?
Jay: So my definition is that you have awareness, that is aware of the brain. Within that awareness, you can hold many different * personalities. Mind can be tied to your brain, but that is just a function of the mind that you are constructing in the mind. LOOK AT buddhist people that set themselves on fire, they are perfectly still until death as they have detached. It's hard, Achilles, to have this conversation without direct experience. Can I just ask what realization and insights you've had while meditating.
Achilles: that is basically what we mean by consciousness though. When you say there is a more fundamental awareness before consciousness you are simply creating a new unknown entity that you have to explain. Whereas in the model I am communicating, that assumption is not there. The only reason to maintain that there is an awareness before consciousness is so that you don't have to give up the belief in these mystical experiences. So if you hold on to the astral projection belief, now you have to explain where that comes from.
The Buddhist example is one where they have developed a serious case of pain tolerance and used this as a demonstration to protest against persecution of buddhists.
For example, I have had several experiences where my eyes were open and my entire visual field changed completely. It was as if I was being suspended and viewing an endless red screen that could project any image on it.
Jay: Ok what's the insight on that. What's the realization, what are the permanent shifts you've had.
Achilles: while doing psilocybin, I have had internal experiences of the layering of my life and where I am going with it. I have felt a connection to being human and motivation to find a partner I can have children with so that my children can grow in a healthy environment.
The realization from the meditation experience was that our perceptions are created by the mind. That there is a fundamental experience with the self that is before anything you experience as vision. This relationship with the self is predominant because others are known through the experience.
Jay: Ok ok. Thanks for letting me know. Who's having the relationship with the self?
Achilles: Have you seen 2001 a space odyssey? When Dave is cutting Hal's processors. It is like stripping away the richness of experience to the fundamental base of what our experience is based on.
The self is the who so the question doesn't make sense. It is more accurate to say 'what' is having the relationship. What is the function of consciousness? it is the nothingness that the self is housed in. The self can change which is a fundamental premise in my philosophy of mental health.
Consciousness will always have some bias because it is human consciousness but if we meditate and make an effort to be mindful and be aware of the thing in itself without a narrative, we can remove some of the bias.
Jay: Ok so your saying that consciousness is having a relationship with the self?
Achilles: There can be consciousness without a self. That is what buddhism is getting at; the no self idea.
Jay: Exactly.
Achilles: but if you get brain damage, that function of consciousness would be compromised.
"Homonymous hemianopsia is a condition in which a person sees only one side ― right or left ― of the visual world of each eye. The condition results from a problem in brain function rather than a disorder of the eyes themselves."
So this condition affects the 'consciousness' of the person.
Phil 52: There's a Mexican investigator that disappeared in 1994, and he had the syntergic theory. And he states we have a connection with the global consciousness. Though the lattice that connects everything, even our interpretación of reality, Is a result of such connection
Achilles: Abstract:
"Series of ideas are presented about a new psychophysiology of consciousness called "The syntergic theory." The theory postulates that the human brain is able to create a hypercomplex field of interactions that are the result of the activation of all its neuronal elements. This interaction matrix is called the "neuronal field." One of the effects of its activation is the unification of neuronal activity. It is postulated that the neuronal field produces a distortion in the basic space—time structure and the reality of our percepts is the perception of this distortion. For the neuronal field to be activated a structure as complex as the brain is needed. This field is responsible for the interactions between brains produced in emphatic non-verbal communication. Consciousness is closely connected to the neuronal field. The postulates discussed are supported by the evidence from psychophysiology and the new physics."
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43853834
Jay: LOL. So this is why I asked if you had realizations. And I also asked, If you've actually tried astrally projecting? A lot of your knowledge is correct, but is done mostly through understanding.
Achilles: i have not tried to attempt 'astral projection'
Jay: I know. Have you done any Buddhist practices?
Achilles: Well yes, I have meditated for 22 years.
Jay: And what do you do during your meditation?
Achilles: I have three variations,
1 - no mind meditation, where I make an effort to inhibit all incoming thoughts and have nothing in the content of my mind.
2 - zen meditation - where i fixate on an object and i inhibit all stimulus from distracting me from that object
3 - reflective meditation - where i do the same as #2 but its based on reflecting on an idea and and inhibit all distraction from the idea being reflected on
Jay: https://youtu.be/QwyPdXtl0HU
Achilles If u get the chance try watching this. I'll be honest with you, I think you need a little direction in your meditation. Reason being , is you wouldn't be saying what you were saying If you had permanent shifts. Look up Frank yang as well. Thus is more direct experience stuff.
And I don't mean to sound like I'm above anyone. Chances are if you haven't had any awakenings, you're most likely wrong about everything. As you do direct experience, you will know what brain functions are, and what you are, you won't need scientific articles , believe me.
This is what awakening sorta feels like. Can't really be described
Achilles , highly recommend you watch these videos with an open perspective. For anyone in this group wanting to expand their awareness, please watch these videos as well.
WaC 2: Leo Gura Anti-Science
Achilles: Jay, I am happy for you that these videos have given you some meaning. Leo Gura has a large subscriber list and many people seem to benefit from his videos.
I don't know what evidence you are presenting that I need direction in my meditation. If you could be more clear about that, it would make more sense. I can provide evidence on the types of meditation that I engage in and the benefits that they produce, aside from my own personal experience. I don't know what you mean by 'permanent shifts.' Is not all experience for a person direct? What would indirect experience be?
When you say you are not trying to 'sound like you are above anyone,' but you are speaking to me in a condescending tone saying 'Chances are you haven't had any awakenings, you're most likely wrong about everything'. What does it mean to say that I am wrong about everything? What are you using to evaluate the content of what I am right or wrong about? Can you be a bit more specific?
If there is something I have done or think that is incorrect and you inform me about that, I am grateful for your insight. It would be an opportunity for me to learn and grow. But so far you have only made general claims and referenced a YouTuber who is full of contradictions and misrepresentations of the subject of science.
As for Leo Gura, the author of the videos you shared. Unfortunately, he does not know what he is talking about. I have gone through 1h40 mins of the transcripts of his antiscience video. There is an overwhelming amount of ignorance and confusion in regards to what he thinks science is, how he discusses it and his understanding of critical thinking.
He is clearly attached to his own views and because many of them are contradicted by scientific evidence or critical thinking, he simply discredits science and reason. This is not philosophical and is the epitome of pseudoscience. It is important to be humble and allow our beliefs to be disregarded if they do not make sense and adjust accordingly.
To say that the entire enterprise of science is flawed is clearly confused. He seems to be someone who references reddit and youtube as the primary sources of his ideas. He is popular on youtube but the content of his video is highly dubious and questionable. He conflates much of his information and does not fully understand what he is talking about. He consistently mischaracterizes science and how one can attain valid knowledge.
For example:
29:03 Gura states, "most people’s minds are infected by materialistic science...Denies the existence and validity of love infinity and consciousness"
[this just doesn't make any sense. Science studies consciousness like Daniel Dennett's book 'Consciousness Explained']
52:11 - 34 - Gura states. "neil degrasse tyson, lawrence krauss, lewis carroll, richard dawkins, sam harris, jordan peterson [are all scientists]… offensive to call them scientists ..they have no idea what science is"
[It is overwhelmingly delusional and arrogant to deny that these prominent scientists have no idea what science is and denounce them from being scientists.]
54:28 Gura states, "if you think you know what science is, how can you question science … you already have an ideology …dogma …spend the rest of your life defending your pre-existing beliefs...You don't know what science is because you haven’t ever seriously contemplated it"
[Let's be clear, at 1h40 mins he hasn't even given a definition of science. For someone who spent 10 minutes introducing his video as some 'advanced' knowledge that is beyond all scientific Nobel prize winning people, he has not shown his understanding in a clear and decisive way. He has learned to use video as a persuasive mechanism in the form of entertainment. Some people may gain insight and growth from his videos but his content is not reasonable, coherent or based in fact. He has some factual data but then overwhelms it with nonsense and dogmatic thinking, as he hypocritically criticizes dogmatic thinking. How can he arrogantly claim that no one has seriously contemplated what the nature of science is? Science has been developing for much longer than he has been YouTube-ing. It is absurd that he makes overgeneralized claims like this, clear evidence of fallacious thinking. He is not a reasonable person.]
1:24:03 Gura states, "witchcraft has a scientific component ... if you disagree that is your ideological culture engaged in confirmation bias."
[How does this make any sense? He says that you cannot determine if witchcraft is unscientific unless you try it. Well no. You can determine if something is nonsense by rationally evaluating it. Again, his defense against this claim is to attack rationality in general. He is clearly a delusional thinker who discovered some insight but did not have the educational background to put it all together. Witchcraft has no scientific basis if by it you mean the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm people: that is what it means.]
1:28:28 Gura states, "alchemy, astral projection, witchcraft, animal sacrifice will yield some valid knowledge"
[What do you mean by valid knowledge? Every one of these ideas are pseudoscience or make believe. They are not ways to achieve a reliable outcome. What is the causal mechanism in animal sacrifice or astral projection that would lead to any sense of knowing? Animal sacrifice is clearly a case of scapegoating, which is a social phenomena where a tribe would project the sins of the people onto a goat and send it off, with the sins, to die in the desert. Okay, I know the direction the goat walked in, but it is completely untrue to believe that if someone were abusive to their wife and children and if someone splatters some blood on a goat, the trauma they inflicted on those people will be removed from their lives. It's complete nonsense.]
First, define what you mean by 'astral projection.' Let us understand your first person experience. Then let's see if any psychologists have learned anything about the brain or other people's experiences so that we can have a full rounded understanding of the phenomena.
Even Leo Gura uses the example of galileo at 1:32:26. Galileo used the telescope to "see things from stars you wouldn't see with the naked eye" told the representatives of the church to "use the telescope and see for yourself' and "they thought it was the devil." The use of scientific technology was dismissed and they engaged in denial, according to Leo Gura, the person who authored these videos you shared with us.
So I ask you, would you act like the early church and dismiss any form of technology to understand your experience of astral projection, like a fMRI or EEG? Are the studies I showed you talk of the Devil or do they have some merit in our ability to see something from a different perspective?
Being philosophical means to be reasonable. Being reasonable includes an evaluation of science and when that science is sound, it is incorporated into our worldview. The world and humanity will not learn to solve its problems with fuzzy, ignorant, and unscientific thinking. Through an ethical and community based society, we can use our reason and scientific understanding to make a better world.
All humans have a bias that we have accumulated through our evolutionary development. Only by becoming aware of those biases, like not being willing to give up our beliefs that have meaning to us, will we have a clearer understanding of ourselves and the cosmos we live in. When we disregard science and reason, we lose the 300-2500 years of progress we have made as a species. That is not what will happen here as long as I am alive.
You can believe whatever you want but that does not mean it makes sense or is philosophical. There is an element of being respectful but not at the cost of being misguided. We have to learn to tolerate being disagreed with. If anyone has followed Reggie and I's dialogues, we entertain elaborate discussion and debate on topics full of minor disagreements that lead into a development of both of our understandings. It is through this kind of practice, where we both sharpen our critical thinking skills and awareness of our own biases, that we can develop our understanding.
'Trying to be right' is not philosophical.
Valuing being correct is important, but that is different from the social stats of 'being right.' The value of being correct necessarily means that sometimes one must accept that they are wrong. This is a short term loss for the long term gain of understanding.
Making overgeneralized statements like 'everything you say is wrong,' is clearly a distorted thought as we have learned in the Feeling Good Course. This kind of thinking is not realistic. Anyone who has spent a moment on my website, read my weekly newsletter or read my comments in this chat knows that I have been correct about at least one thing. Which would contradict the previous distorted thought that everything is wrong.
1) We have limitations in our first person perspective
2) Science is a community based initiative by humans that make an effort to remove bias from their understanding of their environment so that they can develop a predictable explanation of the way nature works. Science is an abstract concept and there are people who take it's principles as a lifestyle. Some people are 'scientists' in the sense that they have a job where they apply a method that rules out biases in finding information and how they explain that information. Other people will review their explanation and make efforts to make it better. Science is an institution that we participate in because it has been our best chance at survival. We are still learning how to use it in an ethical and environmentally friendly way. At this point, the only thing that will help us with a problem like climate change, is science. Being critical and philosophical about science is important but that means we use our reason and follow the principles of reasoning in that pursuit.
3) This Leo Gura YouTuber may be entertaining but he lacks coherent philosophical insight even though he brings up philosophical ideas. There are many criticisms he raises of science and many of them are the result of not fully understanding what science is. We can engage in these criticisms fruitfully only through a philosophical approach. Gura takes an anti-scientific approach that is unphilosophical because he needs to disprove science or else his other pseudoscientific beliefs would not make sense. The reason he is making this move is because of the psychological phenomena of cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling we get when our thoughts don't make sense or our thoughts and behaviour conflict. We resolve the bad feeling by changing our beliefs or thoughts.
In Gura's case, like many others, he cannot give up his new age psychological beliefs like his views about 'the ego.' So instead of dismissing the new agey beliefs, like scientists or a philosophically minded person would do, he distorts his whole world view to account for the belief he cannot give up.
We also see this compartmentalization phenomena, separating our contradictory beliefs into different categories where the rules of reason do not apply, in religious believers. The difference with religious believers is that they appeal to faith.
So in conclusion, it is important to learn what beliefs mean and why we hold on to them. It is also important to know that as a human being, your perceptions can misguide you into believing something that is not really the case. It may look or feel like it, but that is your brain's attempt to make sense of an experience it did not evolve to process. This is why drugs have the effect they do, we didn't (or did in the case of psilocybin) evolve to have them in our system. The same goes for when we are deprived of oxygen when we are about to die. This is why we have experiences of 'seeing a white light' or 'going down a tunnel.' Basically what is happening is that our brain is in a similar state to when we were being born and we experience something that is analogous to it.
Science is a way to understand our experience. It is something we will continually improve on and as we do we will understand more. Our perceptions and beliefs are content that are ripe for philosophizing. Applying our reason, scientific knowledge, and language to refine our beliefs and make sense of experiences will only help us understand ourselves and our place together in the cosmos.
Remember that Carl Sagan said, "The cosmos is everything that ever was and ever will be."
Reggie: Seems like Gura is quite the controversial character.
https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/leo-gura-actualized-org-youtube-forum-death-suicide
Sounds like an asshole. The "dangers of spiritual work." You mean, the irresponsible, unsupervised use of psychedelics to achieve an unsustainable mental state in order to unduly influence your cognitive abilities?
30 awakenings by doing DMT for 30 days straight. What did he do while on DMT each night? He jerked off in the bathtub. He doesn’t beat around the bush, he just admits it. Not that I'm against psychedelics -- there is obviously medical value, and I value my personal experiences -- but Gura seems overly reliant on them to achieve enlightenment.
WaC 3: ‘Awakening’ and DMT
Jay: Thank you Achilles for explaining everything in detail. I really do appreciate it. As far as saying you're most probably wrong about everything. It's not an insult, it's just how things are when you are not awakened as your baseline( foundation) nature of reality is off so it tends to throw Everything off.
The reason I said, you need guidance in meditation, is because you haven't had any realizations or insights. These would cause permanent shifts. Temporary awakening experiences, the structure is only in abeyance, with the mold still intact.
But when permanent transformation occurs- in the form of a ‘primary shift’- not only the structure, but the ‘psychic mold’ itself dissolves away. It is replaced by a new psychological structure, or ‘self-system’, so that the individual does experience a new sense of identity. This shift is therefore more deep-rooted and fundamental.
The person may feel that they have been ‘re-born’, even though the only real connection with their previous identity was that they are associated with the same body and name.
Reggie: So....I have never seriously meditated, never mind achieved these mind states. What is the purpose of achieving this feeling of rebirth? Because the research I've seen on meditation seems to suggest that they yield the greatest benefit to those who experience all forms of mental anxiety.
Jay: This should be THERE as if you don't ground yourself you can run into nihilism.
Reggie: That's not what Gura is talking about though.
Jay: Then what?
Reggie: [reference to previous no-responsibility for his followers committing suicide screenshot]
He's talking about a state where one tries to do physical harm to themselves and then he places a disclaimer.
Jay: LoL yes Reggie, as after you find out certain things, people can drastically change from the results of spiritual work.
Reggie: Based in psychedelics? Or like Buddhist monks?
Jay: Either , or
Reggie: Because I am not aware of any religious meditations that result in suicidal thoughts. Are there?
Jay: Well think of it this way. Look at Achilles and all of his scientific things he believes in, after finding out that nothing of what he thinks is actually true, it could be a hard hit for him.
Reggie: That's anecdotal though. If true (which I don't think it is).
Jay: Lol trust me, Look at what happens to Connor Murphy.
Reggie: I'm not sure that's relevant.
Jay: Of course it is, he became insane and delusional. Those are the dangers. Remember you don't actually know what I'm talking about, you have an intellectual understanding of it. But once you actually do it, it's a completely different thing.
Reggie: I get there are dangers.
Jay: Massive dangers, I was out of it for a few months when I had my awakenings.
Reggie: Agree, this knowledge is participatory.
Jay: The video of Leo of how awakening feels like. Imagine that happening.
Reggie: However, the fact remains that following Gura's method requires inducing this state with assistance; it's not induced naturally.
Jay: Nope,
Reggie: So why does Gura focus so much on psychedelics?
Jay: Because it's a huge boost, you take 5me dmt, you'll jump into infinite consciousness.
Reggie: So yeah, you're taking drugs to induce a mental state.
Jay: Look at Frank Yang, he doesn't do any drugs, but still had the same awakenings.
It takes people years to awaken though. It's not for everyone, if you have a burning desire for truth.
Reggie: So I guess that's my question: What new truths are discovered?
Jay: That seed inside of you will grow. Just who you are, what's happening in reality.
Reggie: Can you explain/expand on this please? And how does it help my everyday life?
Reggie: Do you have any videos or examples of older people who have been doing this the same way?
Jay: Well you realize you were never in control.
Reggie: Okay…
Jay: You'll see the illusion of free will
Reggie: What happens if I do it with children or a family? Can it be a weekly activity with my spouse and kids? We would probably want people to start as early as possible! What if you can never awaken?
Jay: Most people never do, it's not meant for everyone.
Reggie: Then what's the point? That's like saying most people will never win the lottery. Okay, who is it meant for?
Jay: The seed inside of you will grow. You'll l b giving up television time to go more and more into it.
Excellent video giving you more answers. (Achilles watch this as well)
Reggie: Will this person tell me what criteria are required, and whether I can do it with my loved ones?
Jay: It's not that type of activity Reggie.
Reggie: Well then it's not sustainable. And do you have any videos/evidence of long-term usage of this, such that it is an older person?
Jay: Of course it's sustainable. It's a PERMANENT shift.
Reggie: So if I do it until I hit that shift, then I can stop? Or do I have to maintain that state through regular activity? i.e. does it become a dependence?
Jay:
This is what the path will look like. No it's a permanent shift, like you knowing sun will be there when you wake up, you don't have to guess.
Reggie: So then once I achieve that shift, then I no longer have to meditate. Is that what you're saying?
Jay: Lol Reggie it's up to you. You'll know. It won't be like a TASK. You'll do it if you want to.
Reggie: How will I know if I want to do it? This sounds like a very exclusive club lol
Jay: Do you feel like eating? Just like that.
Reggie: When I'm hungry.
Jay: There u go.
Reggie: But I also binge eat chocolate and chips. Is it like that too? I also practice intermittent fasting.
Jay: Could be, but you'll be aware of it.
Reggie: How?
Jay: Remember the self that you think you are , you'll see the illusion in that.
Reggie: How does one become 'aware' of wanting to be 'aware'?
Jay: There will be changes. I can't watch basketball anymore. That used to be my hobby.
Reggie: Do you play any other sports?
Jay: No just run or play basketball for exercise.
https://awakeningclaritynow.com/
He has classes. Probably the quickest way for you to wake up.
Reggie: I never watched sports, not my cup of tea. If I may ask, do you have kids or a family? To be clear, I'm interested in understanding more about these experiences: the state of, the journey towards, and the long-term effects/impacts. So I hope I'm not coming off as disrespectful with my questions; because that's not my intent.
Jay: Not at all. You'll be dissolving the solidity you have. Eventually your subject object experience will merge. Basically, you'll be in a state of existing and non existing at the same time. And Achilles please browse, you're a bright man. Instead of reading about things, just do a direct experience. I'm sure you've meditated for so long. You can astrally project. Try and do it, and see for yourself, within 2 weeks ul be able to.
Reggie: So respectfully, my issue with your explanations is that you are only explaining the in-the-moment experience, and not the benefits post, whether the short- or long-term. other than "I will know." "I will feel oneness." or something of the like. (I am probably misrepresenting here)
Jay: Answer to Is there any scientific evidence backing up astral projection? by Dan https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-scientific-evidence-backing-up-astral-projection/answer/Dan-5554?ch=15&oid=81165952&share=59e11d0f&srid=hNHsSE&target_type=answer
Again Achilles, this is someone that was into the science aspect of Astral projection, concluded that he doesn't think it's the brain doing it.
Reggie:
Okay, so this simply amounts to a particular interpretation of their subjective experience.
And eventually, science will get there. Doesn't this crush the opinion that science is junk? To say that the world is consciousness is not a novel ideal that requires achieving a meditative state. There are cognitive researchers (ie. scientists) who have postulated and believe this.
And unlike what you have described, science is not exclusive. Anyone can do it. Many of the videos you have shared are testimonials of one's subjective experience which, while an important way of knowing, should be harmonized with other knowledge. Hypothesizing that consciousness is more fundamental than quantum particles is an interesting idea, but so it's the mathematically sound notion of parallel universes.
From a practical perspective though, it's still not clear to me what the post-experience benefits are of this type of meditation. And I say "this type" because there are others (e.g. Sam Harris) that doesn't require achieving certain states. Which sounds similar to what Achilles is referring to.
Regardless, trying to attain knowledge of the "self" (if that exists at all) is something that many have tried to achieve through various means, both contemporarily and historically. Same with trying to understand the relationship (supervenient or otherwise) between mind and brain.
Jay: No LOL consciousness is preliminary before brain lol, that's what it will prove. But Achilles hasn't stripped any solidity. That's why he's not getting insights. He should do vipassana. Reggie, just do the practice. You won't need scientific justification. In fact the only way to get insights is by dropping the idea of understanding.
Please watch the above video, all stiff I've been talking about is better communicated thru these AWAKENED beings. Reggie this will be extremely good for you, and will answer a lot of your questions.
Reggie: I'll take a look at these videos and revert back on this.
Jay: Thanks Reggie.
Reggie: Still don't understand though how this betters my everyday life.
Jay: All blocks you have, get removed.
Reggie: Or what these "blocks" are?
Jay: Achilles please watch the above video as well with Daniel Ingram, tell me what you think, but these are awakened beings. Yup watch the above video , you'll gain a better understanding.
Achilles: I appreciate that you are sharing this information. I would caution you to be mindful of how you present it so you don't sound pretentious, patronizing or condescending. It is not about being better than other people and people who do not know what you know are not less than you.
It is disrespectful to dismiss or disqualify someone's experience and effort into a task when they have been doing it for nearly as long as you have been alive. For example, even if a young carpenter learned some new tricks from youtube on how to renovate a house, that does not depreciate the decades of experience a veteran carpenter has gained through trial and error and training.
You may have discovered something valuable in a specific style of meditation or the use of DMT but how you present that information to others will determine their motivation to listen to you.
First, don't disqualify other people's training or experience. This is something we have learned in the Feeling Good course. I suggest you follow along with the readings or modules for this course. You have been committing some distortions in how you have been communicating the information you are presenting here. If you structure your thoughts without these distortions, it will make it much easier for others to be receptive to what you want to share with them.
There is something to be said for DMT experiences but this drug is very intense and needs to be done with caution.
For the meditative practices, it is something we know a lot about and neuroscientists, like sam harris, have been studying it for years.
This 'awakening' phenomena does sound a lot like clickbait or a new age pseudoscience term. It is equivalent to a form of 'enlightenment' that one can reach. If this is true, we would be able to see how these people's brains function differently in a variety of stressful situations. For example, would someone who had an extremely stressful, near death experience respond differently and have different neural activation due to their 'awakening?'
In some ways it seems like a way to segregate people as awakened and not awakened, that those who enter the awakening club are necessarily better people than those who are not. 'Woke' is a term that has been used to identify some zeitgeist- like, minded person as well. It in some ways has been a fad that people ascribe to because they want to stand out, seem different, and provide value to their self-esteem.
As we have learned in the Feeling Good course, only your thoughts can reduce or increase your self-esteem. By telling yourself you are 'awakened' it seems that you are bolstering your self-esteem in an artificial way. For I hypothesize that when some really stressful, unexpected event occurs, you are very likely to become upset, which is contrary to the 'awakened' state.
In this context, you would now be presented with dissonance again: how can I be upset if I am 'awakened?' This would ultimately result in not accepting the emotional state or coming to terms with the inherent conceptual and practical limitations of what being 'awakened' really means.
Meditating is very valuable but this term has much pseudoscientific nonsense around it. I am highly skeptical of this awakened claim for "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" (Sagan). If you are making this claim that it only takes 2 weeks to become awakened, as Reggie has been questioning, how durable is this state?
It seems that after a 2 week interval of intense meditation, it is not that you have arrived at some 'permanent shift,' but you are riding off the neurological state of having been intensely meditating for a 2 week period. What usually happens is when you stop meditating, the feeling of being awakened also goes away. The permanence of the shift is relative to maintaining consistent meditation, hence why monks live in monasteries and meditate on average 8-10 hours a day.
Reggie and I have discussed the notion of Qualia experiences so we understand what you mean when you say 'you just have to experience it,' that some things cannot be put into words. However, we would be able to see an empirical difference between people who do these meditative practices and those that do not. Also, this form of meditative practice does not negate other forms of meditative practice and all of the research that has followed from them.
I am sorry but I am not able to invest more time watching videos at the moment. I have classes starting this week. I am writing a major paper on the philosophy of mental health right now, and I still have to write this week's newsletter.
It is ultimately up to you to take the time to explain this information to us if you want to convince us. I suggest taking some notes on the subject and doing some research to strengthen your claim so that it is more philosophically sound.
Video dropping is not a good way to persuade people. You can present the video as a reference but it's best that you explain, accurately, what the video contains and if the reader wants to learn more they have the opportunity to watch the video. Dropping videos is giving people more shit to do. We have enough shit to do. If this information means so much to you, do the work yourself to learn how to communicate it to others. Teaching is different from dictating.
I don't have time tonight to discuss this topic any further. I will be working on researching the philosophy of science and other classes I have this week.
Jay, please take some to read the modules on the website in regards to the Feeling Good content. We have been working on learning this material as a group for months and it would be beneficial to you and us if you caught up. The summaries for chapter 4-7 modules are complete. https://www.achillesjustice.com/courses-1
Jay: It's NOT a neurological state. Listen, I'm not trying to sound harsh. But for you to go into these meditations, and get permanent shifts, you have to get rid of your preconceived notions. You're already dismissing it without even doing it.
Achilles: Did you read what I wrote?
Jay: One sec. Ok. It's hard to get more in depth with things as the preliminary foundation is not there. That's why what I'm saying sounds harsh. That's why I posted the video.
Achilles: I don't want to communicate about things if you don't bother to read what I spend time writing. Did you read the previous post I wrote?
Jay: Read the whole thing.
Achilles: Ok
Jay: Il try and catch up with modules as well.
Achilles: Do some more research first before we continue so you can explain it more clearly. I am working on other research tonight.
Jay: Got you.
PSN 3(2) - 11.1.23 - Philosophy is a Way of Life, Know Thyself, Appreciating the Canceled, Hegelian Dialectic, Peaceful Warrior Dialogues, Astral Projection, Leo Gura Anti-Science, ‘Awakening’ and DMT
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