Emanuel

That's so cute, I'm sharing this!

I'm also following Peter Gerlach's first lesson, I think it's a great feat of human thought to have found out these truths and methods. Who called you crazy and why? What your father is saying is done in order to get you to comply with his needs. That's manipulative. Have you read Real Time Relationships? It's a free book from Stef that has been vital to my understanding and application of honesty in relationships. I'm mentionning this because it seems to me that you are not expressing your needs and feelings to your parents. I completely empathize with why you would not do that and the feelings that are brought up by your environment. I'm deeply sorry for what you have to deal with. I can tell you that I have kept on this road of philosophy and self-knowledge because I feel that even if everything with the world and my life is wrong and fundammentaly evil, I can change it all. I can create virtue in myself and inspire others to pursue it. That gives me hope and longing for my future. Just being around this compassionate and honest community gives me a taste of what we can create with these principles. Best of luck, and keep up the good fight.

I'm sorry about the environment you grew up in. As you said, your parents are grown wounded children. They have not brought into their consciousness what was done and they have not grieved. They never learned how to do these things and unless they truly hit bottom, they might never decide that they need to. But you're in a different situation, you've found this resource and many others. You're honest about your wounds, your situation and your skills. You're also working on self-therapy and actively looking for more self-knowledge. We're all very proud of what you're doing. It's a hard and long road, but at the end of it is your true Self. After all this work, which is the hardest work any man or woman can do, you will have the ability to be who you really want to be. I can already see parts of that honesty showing up in your words. Don't worry too much about conversing in real life, as you gain more self-knowledge, you'll gain confidence in your own abilities and it should come to you naturally. Just remember why you're doing this work and you should get the motivation to keep moving forward. I'm glad you already find it important to connect with yourself and the more you work towards that goal, the better you get. Have a wonderful day and keep on doing the good work my friend.

I'm so sorry about what you're going through... I can't imagine how you must feel right now. If I could, I'd hug you right now. Have you had a conversation with your parents about how you feel around all these events? You say that your father is verbally abusive, how is he trying to manipulate you? I don't know if it's a good idea to try to be honest about your feelings around these people, as I don't know them personally. But you do, have you thought about seeking professional help, like a therapist, to resolve the conflicts between you and your father? I'm sorry if these questions don't really help, but I think that you're definitely the one with the most knowledge about the situation and I hope these questions might help you think about the possibilities. Again, what is going on for you must be terrible, and I want to tell you that even though I don't know you, I care about your happiness and I want you to enjoy life, as hard as it is. I'm glad you found this conversation, and that I was able to write the little things that I can. I'm no expert and I'm still having a lot of trouble myself, but we're all growing together in this crazy world. We can overcome and maybe we can even thrive, but we first have to be honest and work on ourselves. I'm happy that you've found it important to do self-work, and I can tell you that if you stay on this road, it will pay off immensely. I hope you have some progress and a resolution of these problems, my friend and please keep taking care of yourself, you're your most important asset.

I think it's a really cool presentation. It's not something we tend to think about a lot, but what we call our ''self'' is really a HUGE ecosystem of intricate and awesome interactions and struggles. Learning about philosophy and anarchism has sparked in me a desire to learn. To learn about how the entire world functions and the way we can make it better. Thank you for sharing this.

Hello everyone, I'm not certain if this is the right board to post this, but this topic is about my parents, so I thought it would be the best place to post. For the past 7 months, I've been working in a grocery store for minimum wage, but now I work for my mother in a driving school as a secretary and IT specialist. I will be 19 years old in less than a month and I know that I do not want to be doing this kind of work for long. I know that I am very intelligent and that with motivation and hard work(two things I've always had big trouble with), I can do great things. So, I've recently decided that I wanted to study the Natural Sciences in a local college. This course includes Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Maths and lots of other things that I find really interesting and would like to start a career in. After talking with my mother about this idea of mine, she mentioned that I would have difficulty paying the 200$ per month that I give her for living expenses. I told her that I would not be able to pay. She said that she would ask my father for money. My parents have been divorced since I was 13 years old, and I am terribly hurt by this. It's nearly impossible for me to be vulnerable, I felt numb when she mentioned that option. I have not seen my father in more than three months after I told myself that I couldn't be happy by still seeing him. Whenever I'm around him, I feel like I can't talk about what I really think. That he'll shoot me down and try to humiliate me for disagreeing with him on whatever subject. But when my mother started talking about how she only has me and my younger brother's interest at heart, how parents are in bonds to take care of their children even though they do not live under the same roof, I couldn't say a thing. I couldn't even form ideas or phrases inside my own mind that I could have communicated. I just felt numb. She asked me how I felt about it, what I thought about asking my father for money, if I though it should be done. I didn't say anything. I just sighed and told her I was going to my room to sleep. After a while she came to my bedroom and asked me if she said something that hurt me. She told me that she felt bad and asked me if I resented her. In my mind, I was saying ''yes! yes you hurt me but it's not about the words, you destroyed my life! you destroyed my childhood!'' I did not say a single word. I'm not an adult. I'm a grown wounded child. If I can't deal with my trauma now, I'll fail in school and fail in my relationships, and in the end, I'll just be a failure, the failure that my parents imposed on me, I'll just be following the endless cycle of broken dreams and shattered hearts. I tell myself I'm looking for a therapist, but that's not true. My mother recommended me her psychotherapist, but I feel that he's going to try and manipulate me into just accepting everything and that I'll become and emotionless zombie. I already feel dead. When I look in the mirror, I suffer. I don't like what I see. The cold eyes, the distant look. I don't feel like I'm living in the present, I don't feel responsible for my actions or thoughts, even though I know I am. After writing all this, I can't even figure out a question. If I want to break the cycle, I need to become open and vulnerable. How do I become truly honest and vulnerable not to others, but to myself? How can I open my heart and love what I see in the mirror? A part of me wants to say I'm sorry for ''just dumping'' my emotional worries here, but I know listening to that voice will not help me get anywhere near virtue and happiness.

About the social anxiety you experience now and experienced before, I know what you're feeling. I know just how crippling it feels not to be able to ask for what you want, to have that voice inside of you telling you ''you can't do it!'' or ''why would they want you?''. I think that self-knowledge is really the way to move forward and start living. Have you considered psychotherapy?

Thanks everyone, to answer some questions: It would be the first time I go to a therapist, and money is not an issue as my parents have insurance that could get me up to 12 sessions for free. You're right, therapy will save me time, and seeing as how money is not an issue at all, I'll go to a psychotherapist. I'll do some more research and listen to that podcast. Thank you very much.

Hello everyone. I've discovered philosophy and the idea of self knowledge through this conversation around 6 months ago. Since then, I've learned a lot about reality and human life, my own in particular. I have been keeping a journal and have been searching out for new information. Recently I realized how important the unconscious mind is to my own life. I believe that if I want to succeed in my endeavors, I must explore these ideas and their manifestations in my own experience more closely. After watching a documentary about Freud and mulling over it for a while, I realized that if I want to win the fight of self-improvement, I need to truly listen to my dreams. (I really had to stop and think about writing this phrase. Phew!) So, I'm looking at really working toward increasing the relationship I have to my unconscious mind and inner family. Should I look for a therapist now or wait until I know more, so that I can ask the right questions and know what to say when I'm with the therapist? I think I don't want to accept the fact that I have serious psychological wounds. It's really hard to grasp how much work will be necessary to get me back on track. Thanks for reading and I await your responses.

Welcome to the boards! We're all friends of truth here, so you can feel free to be open. I know what you mean, but you must realize that these ideas are the polar opposite of the way things are and the way people think right now. How did you end up here? I'd really like to know more about your path. Now, I'd like to invite you to explore the different topics here on the boards and to participate. Your input is highly valued! Again, I'm glad that you've found this place and I wish you a most wonderful time.

Good day, Josh! It's great that you've found your way here, we really need more free people in this world. I wish you a lot of fun and discovery on the boards and with these fascinating and deep ideas. Just remember that your contribution to this conversation is highly valued. Again, welcome to the boards!

Congratulations on this achievement! With your efforts and honesty, you are changing the world for many of us. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you so much for sharing this, this conversation is really enriching and makes life worth it to me. I have trouble trusting myself with the responsibilities I am giving myself, but this outlet for thought has given me new hopes. I realize that I have a lot of work on my hands if I want to be satisfied and proud about the way I live and the things I do. I was clueless that our relationship to truth was to be our saviour, but now that I see just a glimpse of what is possible, I want to go deeper. I'll have to do more research into the MEcosystem, can anyone recommend some good sources of information? Thank you very much.

I feel the same way. Philosophy really changes lives. It's given me an entirely new and better way of making choices and analyzing the world. I feel as though every day I'm a new man, a better man. Plus, having a good relationship with reality has been excellent for my self-esteem. It's incredible to me that there really are sane people in the world who are interested in truth. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day my friend.

I think there's only one thing we can do if and when we encounter individuals who have ideological views not based on philosophy and reality. The best and surest way of either getting the person to hear reason or know immediately if they cannot be argumented with is to avoid the subjects of ideology as a whole and discuss the origins of knowledge, Philosophy and ask about childhood experiences and try to notice emotional overtones in what the person is saying. Sadly, a lot of people are controlled by a false self and I feel that when you argue with them, you are really arguing with the parents. As a rule, if I notice I'm getting into an argument, or a power struggle with someone, I just end the conversation. I know that what I say will not help them explore the truth and will not help me achieve happiness. I find it hard to just give up on some people, but I feel that it's best for me if I follow that path.

I feel as though I can identify myself through your words. As a child I was extremely introverted and in my teenage years I felt detached from the world and the people in it. Now that I have brought philosophy into my life, I have been ''forced'' to face some harsh truths about my childhood. This is a terribly humbling experience for me and I feel that I have been taken to a better, a more true ''reality''. Through high school I was at different times a mixture of Jehovah's Witness, Nazi, Communist, Libertarian and Conservative. I was disgusted with the world but had not faced the true source of all this evil. Now that I have, I feel as though there's an empty void of what could have been, and I need to work very hard to replace this, and then build on top. My relationships with others have radically changed and all of my interactions with others are peaceful, respectful and honest. I have helped many of my friends to realize what was done wrong to them. Recently, I've been having very intense discussions on the nature of parenting and the effects it has on our development. They have been very painful and difficult to reason through, but I believe we have all gained from this introduction of philosophy in our relationships. The hardest for me is not to listen to others and extend sympathy, it is to listen to myself and heal the wounds from which I suffer. I'm going to invest in psychotherapy for myself and build my ''true'' personality from scratch. It's great to have a place to talk. Thanks for your honesty, and have a wonderful day.

I've got to agree with the previous posters, the real crisis is in parent-child relationships. I think this is why Stefan's approach is so vital to improving the situation. We cannot reform society without reforming the individuals. Reality, or the realities the individual experiences defines their entire world view and view of themselves.

Absolutely disgusting.

This progress is amazing! I can see the show becoming much much more popular in the near future. I think the awakening process of humanity is coming.

Have a look at Galt's Gulch Chile at http://galtsgulchchile.com/ Here's a video from one of the founders I'm very excited about these new communities of free thinkers springing up.

Thank you for opening up like that. I'm so sorry for what you've gone through. I'm happy that you found this place and these ideas. I found that they really helped me look at myself and think and act according to objective standards of reason and morality. It's like I've been born again. But this time I'm surrounded by moral, curious and honest people.

Thank you Jeff for sharing your story, it really made me think about my own childhood. I feel better knowing that others have managed to get their lives running the way they want, even if it is incredibly hard at times. I'm really glad to have found FDR and to be able to discuss these things.