Lians

Have a look at this thread for a general overview: Physical Exercise and Its Benefits Section 6 in particular provides lots of resources on the health benefits of exercising when it comes to our central nervous system. What I've found particularly great about exercising is how much it allows me to connect with my unconscious mind and all the rich instincts that we developed throughout our evolution as a species. There's just no way to think your way through an exercise or a sport. For example, increasing your reaction time is all about training and trusting your unconscious to do the work for you. You definitely have to use your conscious mind for high-level decision making, but the unconscious does all the heavy lifting under the hood. Exercising also teaches you to pay attention to what's going on with your body, which is very useful given our fast-paced, high-stimuli culture. Getting more comfortable with failure and learning to defer gratification are common side-effects of body work. Building your body is a gradual process driven by making mistakes and there's just no way around that no matter what Hollywood film directors think.

Be careful when you start redefining terms. A quiet place for reflection is too vague a description relative to a man cave. A walk in the park, a hike, going fishing and so forth can all provide the space you need to explore your thoughts and feelings. The man cave is specifically associated with getting away from women and emasculation due to lack of authority in a relationship. Now, this is the third time I address a point that is not at all foundational to my original post. It seems to me that I'm pointing at a smoking crater and you guys are arguing whether the grass around it got burned or not. I'm curious to know why that's happening.

I'm not saying it's all negative, but I'd seriously question the nature of a relationship where I have to retreat in isolation to be myself.

Yeah, it took me years of self-motivated self-work to get more in touch with my emotions. The gentleness of one woman can't undo years of abuse. Emotionality is a necessary but not sufficient part of having depth. That being said, I've found women to be particularly disingenuous when it comes to communicating emotions. This was a topic often brought up amongst my male peers: "Boy does it suck to be manipulated by false feelings." The difference here is that women have the option and choose to squander it while men get attacked for being vulnerable. Communicating my anger and rage was acceptable, but bringing up fear, pain, sadness felt like painting a target on my forehead. The more important question is why you have to retreat in a man cave to become authentic.

Personally, I've not found women to be more shallow than men. I was a very shallow fellow myself, and in my early teens I went for the pretty, shallow girls. When I figured out that wasn't working, I decided to look for pretty and intelligent. Frankly, I only valued the female intellect insofar as it came wrapped in a beautiful package. Shallowness was enforced socially. I remember being afraid of what my friends would say if I dated an unattractive--or less attractive compared to me--girl. I remember being attracted to a girl that I didn't ask out on a date solely because my friends would disapprove of her. Shallowness was all-pervasive throughout the social spectrum--nerds and geeks were just as susceptible to it. Even though they had lower standards, men still longed for the pretty girl. I later found that the character qualities of a girl played an important role in what I found beautiful. Perhaps the raging hormones had finally settled down. "Why did you have to ruin your beauty by opening your mouth," was a pretty common saying in my circle of friends. The reverse was also true--physically unattractive girls with attractive character qualities seemed beautiful to me. Eventually, I managed to find a beautiful girl that was also kind, humble and intelligent. However, dating her turned out to be a disastrous decision. I was so upset by this spectacular failure of a relationship that I stopped dating altogether. Deep down, I knew I was missing important pieces of the puzzle. Looking through the eyes of my former self, I can tell you that a girl with true depth would've terrified me. She'd be able to see right through the hole in my chest and reflect back to me what all mirrors managed to conceal. Furthermore, since I wasn't given a template for true depth in my family, I'd be unable to recognize it even if it slapped me across the face. I couldn't appraise what was truly valuable, so I simply went for the next best thing--biological value. I don't think it's surprising that, given the way they are raised, men shy away from women with depth. The inner life of boys is not only ignored but also mocked and berated. I think it's tragic that the male obsession with beauty drives so much of female consumption and dysfunction, but in reality, women are simply paying the price for shunning our man-feels, rejecting our man-tears and forcing us into our man-caves. What goes around comes around.

Thank you! Here's the second part: Rain The sound of crackling echoed through the woods, a soothing lullaby of burning lumber. The fire stretches out his limbs of flame, trying to escape the cage of slumber. Now awake, he'll swallow up the forest, turning it to ash without a strain. From above - a cry of thunder, announcing the arrival of the rain.

I wanted to bump this lovely thread with something I wrote recently: Fire The shapeless wind was running through the trees, a morning mist obscured his vision. Rushing through he brushed against the leaves, an echo chamber of their falling tears. He can't be stopped by pillars of illusion, for their roots of old are rotting underneath. Behind the wind - a forest fire, threatening to suffocate him with its heat.

To outsiders, these paragraphs will be pretty words devoid of meaning. There really is no substitute for experience. Enjoy this haven for reason and take care!

Your unconscious got you out of a trap that not many are able to escape. I think having such an invisible ally is a cause for celebration! My passion was somewhat of a dirty secret prior to encountering philosophy. It was there but I had to keep it in the closet to avoid attacks from people around me. I managed to dodge the death grip of religion but there was no running away from family, culture and state propaganda. The reality distortion produced by these three institutions really screwed up with my passion for knowledge. Nothing made sense - up was down, black was white and taxation was voluntary. Philosophy rekindled the fire of authenticity for me. It took a lot of sleepless nights during which it felt like new ideas were setting ancient fractures in my mind. I eventually concluded that a life of self-erasure wasn't worth living, gritted my teeth and crossed over to the world of the living. It's still an exciting journey for me!

Welcome to the board, Jorell! I'm glad you made it here, and I very much enjoyed the energy in your writing! Were you always this passionate or did philosophy rekindle the fire that religion was trying to put out?

Thank you for sharing this video! I was somewhat aware of the mask even as I was wearing it. Showing vulnerability always felt like jumping in a shark tank with a gaping wound on my back. Why would I ever want to do that? "Be a man," is one of many phrases designed to trigger the self-attack that was implanted in us from an early age. Most men have to earn affection by conforming to whatever man is defined to be. Without self-attack, manipulators of language have to face the primal nature of the species who conquered the wild world. Why would a coward ever want to do that?

I watched the first five episodes after I saw your video yesterday, Darius. The show's got deep and complex characters, great cinematography and a truly gripping plot. I didn't even notice the time fly by as I was watching it. It's a rare gem. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

All booked now! Will be in Amsterdam from the 23rd to the 26th.

Thank you for asking! I'm quite happy. I've been making slow but steady progress thanks to a good mirror. It's quite humbling to see yourself stumble over seemingly basic things. I also try to combine the deep self-work with calculated exposure to things that trigger anxiety in me. Therapy and new experiences give me plenty to work with.

We're all attracted to the pitfalls of our history. I try to be very careful around people with whom I share similar experiences. By recognizing this dynamic at play, you turn it into a learning experience. In that sense, you becoming aware of this blind spot is actually a mark of progress, not a shortcoming!

Why do you assume your discomfort was caused by Stef's treatment of the woman? It doesn't matter whether people admit they're wrong or not. Accepting responsibility and providing restitution is where the rubber hits the road. The woman did none of that and sought to garner pity by appealing to ignorance. Why are you empathising with her and not the child who's going to grow up with his penis mutilated and a mother who refuses to take full responsibility for it?

Given the overall quality of education, it's not surprising that they don't teach these things in school. It's also sad that the kids you saw will most likely learn to associate physical activity with compulsion. As usual, force achieves the exact opposite of its supposed goal.

Putting logic aside, we all know how Hoppe's work brought about amazing advancements in the spread of libertarianism. Oh, right, measuring progress is for those who actually participate in the market. This video is an excellent example of why you need self-knowledge, particularly if you work in philosophy. It reminds me of Rand's dismissal of anarchism. The old dinosaurs sure feel threatened by the approaching asteroid of consistency.

Excellent video! Thank you for sharing! He's a great candidate for an FDR interview.

Yep, I think you were talking about this hostel: http://www.stayokay.com/en/hostel/amsterdam-vondelpark I'll wait a few more days to see if anyone's up for booking a whole room. Regardless, I'll probably go for either your hostel or Vondelpark.

My example is too convoluted. I'll try again! Stef has repeatedly pointed out that what's missing from psychology and therapy is philosophy. For example, most therapists lack the moral clarity that philosophy provides and therefore aren't able to help their clients assign proper responsibility for what's happened to them. On the other hand, most philosophers lack the self-knowledge aspects of psychology and end up with wildly inconsistent work. Genuine clarity comes from bridging both worlds. To me, the biggest benefit of therapy is to have someone point out your blind spots. I don't need a therapist to tell me whether my parents acted inconsistently or immorally. I've got philosophy for that. However, due to the trauma that I've experienced, I'm blind to a lot of key information that is needed for a philosophical evaluation. Working through emotional blocks and blind spots is where therapy becomes invaluable. You know how dancers need a mirror to check the form of their movements? The therapist is that mirror when it comes to processing your history. Of course, you don't want someone who sides with your abusers. I haven't watched Gerlach and I wasn't implying anything about him. Frankly, I don't care much about the type of therapy. If the therapist helps me see my blind spots, she's doing a good job. All of this is just my personal opinion. Does it make any sense?

Therapy in the absence of philosophy is like trying to play a sport without knowing the rules. There are objective principles that underlie human interactions. Philosophy will tell you what they are and a therapist can help you understand how they apply to you and your history. I see therapists as coaches. The job of a coach isn't to invent new rules but to help athletes perform better within the existing rules.

This fellow's been around since 2007... Talk about impenetrable to reason.

Let me offer a different perspective. Anyone who watches your videos expecting you to look a certain way is too superficial to ever understand your message. Not relying on looks is a natural filter against shallow people. Personally, when I watch videos I'm more interested in the body language, not the looks.

This is a common tactic used in former Eastern Bloc countries, particularly after the fall of the USSR. They siphon money off the taxpayers through large funds. The money ends up in the politicians' pockets or is used for political influence. Looks like the president of the USSA has been doing his homework.