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Hey Everyone! After 3 years of thinking about this, ive finally put out a call on thsi forum for fellow Building Entheisiasts be they Architects, Architect students (like me), engineers relating to buildings or building in some way. I would like to connect with those whom i nto onyl share MORAL values but also academic and Career related values! Because as you may already know it is a damn shame and also really depressing if you find philosofy but then find out you have little or nothing else in common with thsoe engaged in rational discourse. If anyone wants to contact me and have friendly chat about philosofy AND career and mutual interests. Well post her first and then we shall see. PS. Other interests include, problems solving, science, chesmistry, food, health, video games, CREATIVITY and Fantasy art/DND. ect. PPS. I can hear my childhood self going like this atm:

Hey guys, if you are hungry for a good conversation and for connection come join us at The Oasis - a place where FDR listeners and anarchists from all corners of the world come together once a week to hang out together and exchange ideas. Here are a few highlights from one of our weekly meetings where we got together to chat about Trump. You can find the link for joining the group in the description of the video. I hope you'll enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed producing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3EhfTpWAsw

I have a friend who has an indoor garden, full of pots and plants that he enjoys taking care of. Planting seeds and watering them brings him immense joy. As for me, I don't really care for planting or gardening. I think it's boring and dirty, it's something I would never do, or at least won't at present. But when we're in a conversation and it comes up, I like to ask him about what he enjoys about it, what new vegetables or fruits he's gonna grow next, and what it's like to have such a hobby. And my interest is genuine. I'm not just asking questions for the sake of keeping the conversation going, I genuinely care. Why? Because when people share things with me, their joy is my joy, even if what they're talking about is stuff I won't engage in. Whether it's watching a certain TV show or movie, reading a book, or playing a video game, whatever it is! I sense that certain activities people bring up bring them joy, and I find it to be an incredible opportunity to get to understand that person better. Sometimes I'll listen to a song of a genre or artist I don't really care for, but take the time to appreciate it for a moment to put myself in the shoes of my friends, and we can have great discussions about it without me ever listening to that song again. Other times, giving other people's preferences a chance gets ME to adapt the same interest. Whatever the outcome is, what I think is most important in these instances is giving people the chance to express their joy in their interests. I remember Stefan mention sharing a Pink Floyd song with one of his friends and he felt disappointed that his friend just talked over the song and not even asked him what he liked about it. I can relate. There's one time where I wanted to talk about The Fault in Our Stars and how much it moved me because I have experienced love and loss myself. The story is also about cancer and it reminded me of the grief I experienced a decade ago when a friend of mine died of cancer. This is how much the story means to me and wanted to share that with everyone in a room one time, and one person just kept saying it was "average." Every time I brought up something I enjoyed about it, someone just kept on saying "it was average." With no reason to backing it up, and just saying it didn't do anything for them. Eventually, I confronted this person and expressed how I felt dismissed when he shared his detail lacking opinion on the story. Only after acknowledging his callousness (half sarcasm) did I feel free to continue sharing about it at greater depth than "it was well written. It is a nice story." This has been on my mind for a long time, if anyone has any thoughts on what I like to call The Philosophy of Sharing. When people share their favourite hobbies and interests with you, even in just a conversation as opposed to getting you to experience it with them, I believe that this is the right way to go about it. Yes you can have your opinions because conversations are a two way street, but I think it's optimal to ask the other person's thoughts on something you're not familiar with. I personally think it's a conversation killer to give your opinion and not ask questions in these instances. Not everyone is going to be assertive enough to keep on talking if they're not asked to say more, and not everyone is going to be assertive enough to express their feelings of dismissal. What are your thoughts and experiences with sharing your favourite stuff with people who are not familiar with your interests?

Part one in the series I started recently. It's on an issue almost all people I met or observed struggle—or have struggled—with. I plan to upload part two and three in the upcoming week.

Hello, my name is benji (: I am a very driven person who loves to stay busy and meet new people (: . I just graduated with my bachelors degree in psychology with a minor in special education. I chose this path because I think it truly is the best way for me individually to help people and to spread the knowledge of goodness (: .In regards to what I do for fun, I love to play soccer. I have played for the UNC men's soccer team throughout my college career, which I will miss once I graduate. Although, I have just joined a Fort Collins coed soccer team!! AND IT IS SOO MUCH FUN!! hehe... I love to be active and routinely involve myself in different sports clubs and programs in order to live my life to the fullest (: . Most of all I love goodness/virtue, morality, and love. I spend most of my days researching and learning about new therapeutic methods in hopes to begin to add some good into this world (:. Simply I love knowledge,morality, honesty, and integrity. these are the some of the most important principles that make up the nature of who and what I am. Interestingly, I do enjoy partying and letting loose. But I am finding thats not exactly what makes me happy in all honesty. Although, I am very extroverted and can be the life of the party. hehe. Thusly, I enjoy long walks that involve lots of talking, i routinely video tape conversations I have, in order to preserve those moments that we all love, that we all wish to last forever (: .... What i loev most of all is creating and maintaining a deep and loving connection based on honesty. I am currently seeking a 100% honest and open relationship. Specifically my standards for relationships are only 3 honesty, courage, and kindness. These are the standards by which I am currently seeking a romantic partner and friends in my life. If your curious about anyone of my standards. I will love to discuss them further (: ... life is a series of challenges, but having people who you can share those hard occasions with is something that will only make those obstacles easier and more fun to climb together (: .... So what do you say? message me and lets do some climbing. hehe hehe, I simply love to love, . I do have a plan for the future, but of course, life and everything is always subject to change at any moment, so embrace the change, as no doubt, IT IS a beautiful time to LIVE!.... Also, I am a health nut so to speak. Eating healthy, working out, and maintaining my physical health is a very important quality of my life. (:, .... , In observation of my "Benji Nature" I am truly a cuddle bug and especially enjoy cuddling my fluffy puppy Charles, hehe. I have been told that i am a soft warm hearth to entertain ideas and enlighten the harder issues that many of us struggle with. for example, relgion, politics, life and death, purpose of life, these are all some of the most important things THAT ARE NEVER TALKED ABOUT!! therefore my goal is to change the world ........... with 1 tool love/empathy. and love is what i am seeking (: although, that will take time, so please know that truly, we are just becoming friends, because best friends make the best, life time lovers (:

Hello to my fellow board members. I'd first like to say I've been a long-time FDR fan and donater. I discovered Stefan's show through similar movements like those of Ayn Rand or Adam Kokesh, and have listened to - at least - one thousand of his podcasts by this point in time. This show has changed my life, and the relationships in it, for the best. So to Stefan, as well as all of you for your role in the show: thank you. I've learned recently, through the use of unrelenting curiosity and maturity in my conversations and reflections, that my parents are nihilists. I won't get into the details of the situation I experienced right now, nor the complexity of my childhood (which caused in me a severe anxiety disorder and teenage drug use). However, I would like to explain how, after applying RTR and philosophy to my life and relationships, the information learned from their use causes everything to slide and click into place. What I mean is that, after a particular conversation with my father, and through days of introspection and note-taking after the fact, I learned that my parents are somewhat sociopathic nihilists. What it was that "clicked into place," so-to-speak, was the devastating realization that my anxiety disorder takes the form of my nihilistic fathers voice, which eats and has eaten through my thoughts and motivations throughout everyday of my entire life. This leads me to the rather depressing issue at hand: for the past few weeks, occasionally, I've been experiencing severe depressive states generally followed by serious considerations of suicide. The problem: I DON'T WANT TO DIE... as of now my eyes have teared up and I feel pressure in my sinuses. I've promised myself that I would never take such an action, but I feel so afraid that my future self won't be able to handle the stresses of life and be driven to do this; and I feel nothing short of pure terror. So, from the folks on here, I ask simply for connection. For people who care about life, philosphy, and the future to have serious conversations with, to know that I'm not alone in the world; there are so few I can consider myself close to. I'd like to talk about my experience with anxiety, with life stresses, with my parents, as well as share some RTR success stories. I'm also new to the board as far as posting goes, and new to forums in general, so I ask for empathy in that regard. Glad to join the group, Mason

I am not sure how to start this. For quite some time now, I have felt ambiguous towards the FDR community. On one hand, I see the community as one of the most beautiful things on this planet, if not the most beautiful. The honest, kind people it is inhabitated by. The flourishing of ideas, the unwavering support to eachother, is beyond words. But, on the other hand, I feel like I am not part of it. That I am alien to it. That my interactions here, from my side, are false, self-serving, vain, evil. Sure, some of it has been self-serving, and yes, some vanity has driven me here. But it isn't core to WHY I am here, it is a sandcastle on a beach, that I am certain of. But, a part of me blows these acts of vanity and self-serving out of porportion, judging me as sinister, as not worthy of being in this community. Although, I think to myself, I am not engaging a whole lot with the community. Is it then really that weird if I don't feel like I am a part of it? And then I realize, after a while, something I have concluded before: I am afraid of trying to connect with people, both in real life and here on the boards. Several factors play into this. For one, I find it hard to empathize with people. Like, sometimes, if I hear of something terrible someone has been through, I feel next to nothing. And I understand that others DO feel something in response to hearing the same thing I am hearing (happens a lot when Stef is talking with callers). And I hear a voice say ''You are a broken human being! Disgusting.'' Based on that, I deduct that I will have a harder time connecting with people, because I cannot fully sympathize with them. Another part of it, is me fearing to talk with people in general. When I think of doing just that, I hear inside myself, that I will not bring anything of worth to the table. That I will waste the other persons time. This is reflected greatly in my life, where I might want to engage in conversation with someone I know or want to get to know, but I do not dare. ''Maybe they are busy, I shouldn't disturb.'' Or, ''If they wanted to talk with me, they'd start talking to me''. Anyway, it really hit me yesternight. I broke down into absolute despair, crying like I have never cried in my life before, for an hour, truly realizing that I want to be part of this community, so badly. But that I feel like I am unable to acomplish it. That either I will keep myself from trying to be a part of the community, or attack myself when I try to be a part of the community. And it was tearing me apart, still is. Because I want it so badly. I connection, real, deep connection, with this community. Because, the people that it is made out of, are so wonderful, so brave, so honest. And I so want to be a part of that. I can feel the tears well up behind my eyes as I am writing this. I want it so much. And the thought of never feeling like I was connected to this oasis of human goodness, going to the grave without having had that, is so grim, is so terrifying. Before, when I have experienced these feelings, heard these thoughts, I have 99% of the time, went into solitude. Tried to find my answers in logic, in books. Numbed the pain with video games, and with embracing the voices telling me that I am broken, that I am forever lost. That strategy, of isolating when feeling isolated, has not worked so far. So that's why, I now reach out, put out my emotional state, my thoughts, and my feelings. Hoping that I can break my loneliness. Something that has crossed my mind, is that ''Maybe I don't know how to connect with people? Maybe I don't speak that language. That I can only connect if others engage me first, that I just know how to be passive and reactionary?'' I don't know whether this is true or not. The title just came to me. Yesternight, in my despair, something came to me: Maybe, I am having a Simon the boxer experience, but instead of boxing, I am isolating myself from others? It makes some sense to me. For 10 years of my life, from the age 6 to 16, I was bullied, both verbally and physically, but mostly verbally. From age 10, I started to actively avoid people. I worked hard to make as little noise as possible, to avoid being noticed by bullies. And home was my sanctuary, where I was free from school-bullies, free to numb the pain with hours upon hours of video games. But no connection. My mom was, and still is, a selfish, cruel, sadistic, evil women, who'd make fun of me, make fun of my preferences, and yell at me. And my father, he acted as if I didn't exist. Unless he felt like I needed to be put to work, because he thought In was lazy. I have known, for all of my existence, there has been only one thing that has been a constant for my father: That he has always, always been a disapointment to him. That I have always failed him. it's always been there, in the background, in his eyes and in his voice. I noticed that I didn't describe my feelings for my father as I did with my mother. Or, rather, the truth about who he is. I don't know why. Maybe I am still chained to him emotionally in some way, because the words don't seem to come as easy to me when I am writing about him. I am sorry if this post is confusing. I am, myself, feeling all over the place while I am writing this. If you have made it this far, thank you. Really. It's a lot of text. I hope that this can set me on the path of understanding this part of my being. If you feel that I have missed an obvious important point/connection/contradiction, whatever it might be, please, feel free to be as honest with me as you possibly can. This is me, breaking my emotional isolation.

Hi there, This wasn't an actual question, as it was me polling some personal observations. For the record I'm not interested in a competition between Europe and North-America about which one is more active in fighting tyranny or in enlightening people about freedom, reason and evidence. In fact I sort of taste the same level of general outrage in both regions ( I know subjective me). But I do see an overwhelming majority of anarchists even libertarians coming from North-America. Which means that most Europeans either don't know the concept of Libertarianism or that in their minds the current regimes haven't got: The right amount of money or the right people or something..... :S? Now as a frame or reference I've talked about anarchists' ideas in social clubs (indoor football(soccer)), friends, family. And everytime it's almost like they are all tripping over eachother to defend, chime in, apologize for whatever I'm attacking. Now I'm going to project my own feelings/insecurities to all of Europe. But I often found myself sort of waiting, hunkering for what the American freedom/truth organisations are doing. Which of course means that the bad guys in Europe almost get a free pass and that we are missing the planning/organizational/networking skills that the Americans are amassing. Not to mention the fact that we can't expect them so safe us in Europe. Personally I've recently found the vonMises institute Holland, so I'm going to check them out. 1But are there more Europeans on this board?? 2More Europeans who feel the same way I do?? 3Are there any Europeans who know of organisations or businesses who support Libertarian ideas? Now for the introduction: My Name is Tim, 26 years old, from Holland. I grew up with no brothers/sisters with my parents. They split up when I was 2 or 3 years old. My mother, single-home, fairly socialist, spanked me regularly with wooden spoons, sticks etc. from the age of 3 until the age of 11. She became a Christian from when I was 10 or 11, which I still blame myself for, because we were one of the few people in my mother's side of the family who weren't. I sort of pondered to her why we couldn't go to church? My dad was emotionally pretty distant. He wasn't around from age 2 until age 4. Later on we still weren't close when it came to reallife human things like sex, music, culture whatever. But we both had the same sense of humor, political views (age 14) conservative and both liked practicality. And my dad never spanked me. He could get confrontational but rarely any yelling. Thanks to Stefan Molyneux' podcasts I now know that depression is very common with abused children. But from the age of 16 I suddenly developed depression. This could also be attributed to my lack of interest in school and my uncertainty of what to do/become with my life. I spend the following 7 years venturing into the jungles of the internet. Socialism, Conservatism, Satanism, Christianity, Conspiracy Theories, Freemasonry, mysticism, New-age magicism (witches whom worked at starbucks lol). I looked at it, studied it and became more and more aware of how confused I was. Until I just gave up and became a natural-minimalist anarchist. Believing that almost all human interaction was evil because of manipulation, all technology and science were there to enslave us (along with all those theories i.e.: evolution) etc. Don't worry I came around 3 years ago when I saw a video from Stefan Molyneux: Statism is dead part 13. It was posted on a conspiracy website and since then all those previous ism's left my mind. I was so excited and relieved that there was someone out there like that. And kudos to Stefan for being so incredibly,stupifyingly clear and straightforward. Now I'm working to pick up the pieces of 10 years of brain fungi and child trauma. This year I'm going for my VWO degree. (It's like highschool, but the highest level that permits entry into college). Only 1 course : Math! And I'm working out, losing weight, trying to quit smoking (down to 1 a day) and exercising my brain with stefan's podcast and with a helpfull online brain exercise program.(Check out JoeRoganExperience if you want to check the one I'm using; don't know if I can say their name) Anyway Hi there, looking forward to this experience.

I decided to experiment and record a slightly different type of video. Here I share some personal details and ideas on the topics of loneliness, inability to connect, healing, self-work, growth, connecting with yourself, and having meaningful relationships. http://dai.ly/x17zd4m