tree_frog_and_rain
@tree_frog_and_rain@lemmy.world
- Comment on Honestly wtf? 6 days ago:
Hi, drug nerd here. Especially psychedelic plants and fungi.
Don’t.
And not just because I tried it in my twenties and had a really horrible time. But also because I’ve learned a lot in the last two decades about the plant, and that potency of the alkaloids and it can vary significantly.
A dose someone took in a trip report where they had mild effects could cause temporary or permanent blindness for you. Because the plant that you are consuming may be a lot more potent than theirs was.
But yes, the trip is horrible. If you want to know what it’s like it’s a form of delirium. So if you’ve ever been up for long periods of time in your mind has started playing tricks on you it’s like that. On top of this you also experience urinary retention, which means I spent the night getting up to use the bathroom while delirious and being unable to pee.
And remember I mentioned temporary blindness, I had what you could call the opposite of tunnel vision. I wasn’t able to focus and could really only see using my peripheral vision. This effect lasted well into the next day.
And while I was actually high, I was mostly experiencing audio hallucinations and I just wanted it to be over so I tried to sleep through it.
- Comment on Why do some Americans "feel ashamed" for being American even when it's not their fault? 1 week ago:
Well this last election really broke me from thinking of myself as an American. I just happen to live here.
Because the truth is our democracy is managed by oligarch propaganda. And our votes mean very little outside of local elections.
A vote for Trump and a vote for Harris were both going to continue the harms of the MIC and the fossil fuel industry. Yes, Trump is an accelerant.
And I voted not to add gasoline. But the fire was going to burn one way or the other. Because that’s the wishes of Wall Street. And ultimately our vote means little.
- Comment on Why do some Americans "feel ashamed" for being American even when it's not their fault? 1 week ago:
Every comment like this pretends that our elections are based off the popular vote, and not the electoral college.
But over a year later, liberals still blame wa non-voters instead of their party running unpopular candidates.
And voter turnout was good in swing states btw. Granted, I think Trump cheated.
- Comment on The ancient Greeks or Chinese should have already had words for this. 1 week ago:
Yeah I think everybody actually does, but the sense consciousnesses are a lot less subtle than stuff like intentions.
And even that last part can be let go of. What is beyond that is beyond conceptualization but it’s not nothing.
- Comment on The ancient Greeks or Chinese should have already had words for this. 1 week ago:
They’ve done studies on dopamine with sugar. It’s not the eating it that’s satisfying, it’s the getting it. So most dopamine is released on the way to the mouth. Assuming you’ve had ice cream before and the neural pathways are laid.
Which is why the first bite is the best.
But yeah the mind has some plasticity. We can learn to be more visual or olfactory ‘thinkers’.
- Comment on The ancient Greeks or Chinese should have already had words for this. 1 week ago:
You’re mind has an active visual cortex. Other folks think more using their audio cortex. Some more with somatic awareness (feeling tone).
Mathameticians can visualize math.
Everyone is wired a bit different.
I’m a two or a four on the scale, depending on how much weed I consume. As heavy weed use dulls the minds eye. Though irregular use can enhance it.
- Comment on So now that it's that time of year again in the US, what are some tips and tricks for dealing with that one relative who goes on about the same bullshit for hours and won't shut the fuck up? 2 weeks ago:
Set healthy boundaries.
“I don’t want to keep talking about this today.”
And then leave the room.
If they make suicidal threats.
“If you’re serious I’m going to have to call a welfare check.”
- Comment on Why isn't it considered vegan to harvest animals who die naturally? 2 weeks ago:
Mahayana also reframes the goal toward practicing compassion in the moment and other pro social concepts (no self), rather than enlightenment of the individual.
A Western Zen teacher was asked by a student why the Bodhisattva vows are unattainable. Suffering is endless, living beings are innumerable. But we vow to end all suffering and lead all beings to enlightenment.
The Zen teacher replied, essentially, they’re silly because being helpful is the goal.
Mayahana also helped a lot with reification that snuck in during the five hundred years after the Buddha’s death. The abhidharma for example reduces the mental factors into individual components or atoms and treats them as though they have an essence or self.
Indian Buddhist philosophers such as Nagarjuna, pointed out that even these are interdependent. Jewels in Indra’s net.
For context, I’ve been studying and practicing off and on for around a decade. Took my precepts in the Plum Village Zen tradition under Thich Nhat Hanh’s lineage, and also study and practice under the guidance of a Theravada monk and scholor named Bhikkhu Analayo.
All concepts are upaya. Some are more skillful than others, such as the Dharma taught by the Buddha. But they’re signs on a map, rather than a dogma to hold onto.
Of course, individual teachers and practitioners are human, and they may see things differently than I do. But ultimately I view Buddhism as a critique of concepts, that points at the interdependent (empty) nature of consciousness. And most world religions seem to lean much more heavily on dogma.
But again individual practitioners in other religions may be more enlightened. I know Thich Naht Hanh was friends with a lot of Christians and studied theology in the West as a young man. Some of his closest friends included monastics like Thomas Merton. And some activists such as Daniel Berrigan and Dr King. Hanh believed that the heart of Christ and the heart of the Buddha were pointing at the same ultimate ground.
And I could also argue that Jesus was quite critical of Judaism. Though his followers have largely used him for personal and political gain in the 2000 years since his death.
Linked below is a Dharma talk were a Plum Village nun discusses the appropriation of spirituality for the sake of control of the masses.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm7NL8mOsEs
Anyway, I’ve read a lot and I’ve studied a lot. I find wisdom in both Theravada and Mahayana. Though I do find the Tibetan tradition problematic, and don’t generally spend much time with their teachings anymore. Though I am drawn to the esoteric teachings and have cribbed quite a bit from the book of the dead, I find Plum Village speaks more to my heart. And without that, the dharma is hard to hear.
- Comment on Why isn't it considered vegan to harvest animals who die naturally? 2 weeks ago:
I would argue that Buddhism is as distinct from Hinduism as atheism is from the abrahamic faiths.
If you really look at Buddhism, it’s a critique of Hindu concepts such as Atman.
Of course it incorporates a lot of those concepts, because the Buddha was communicating his critique to folks who used those concepts.
For example, the four brahmavajara’s are framed in a Hindu understanding of the godhead. That doesn’t mean the Buddha believed in Brahma beyond it’s conceptualization by Hindus.
He was merely using it as a teaching device to point out the importance of the four immeasurable minds to a Brahmin who asked him what the mind of God is like.
- Comment on Dude read the rules of woman only community and decided to post anyway 2 weeks ago:
I read through that thread, the mods were very patient.
And individual community members of course had their own individual reactions, depending on the content of the post.
- Comment on Dude read the rules of woman only community and decided to post anyway 2 weeks ago:
There are support groups for men out there that are not generally charectirized as toxic. Toxic folks may attack men for going to them, but I can tell you before I transitioned I used to go to one, and that wasn’t something I ever experienced.
- Comment on Is it normal to see this static when you close your eyes? 2 weeks ago:
Yeah there’s a term for it in Hinduism, Maya.
I’ve also spent a lot of time and study with Buddhism. Explored a lot of mind altering drugs.
Perception is a map of the territory influenced by karma (evolution and personal experience) In constant feedback with the territory, of course.
But the map edits itself out. Because when a tiger appears on the map we need to run, not debate rather or not there’s really a tiger.
- Comment on Is it normal to see this static when you close your eyes? 2 weeks ago:
But you’re right.
Only the hologram is produced by the nervous system. Not God’s super computer or whatever.
- Comment on What do you call the beleif that gods are just higher beings on other planes of existence? 5 weeks ago:
In Buddhism the God realm is where beings with very good karma go after death. Where they often become apathetic, burn off their good karma, and don’t reach enlightenment.
The cosmology also reflects inflated/deflated egos. The mind needs to be balanced to easily see the path, and the lower realms have a lot of pain while the upper ones have a lot of pleasure.
The idea behind enlightenment is to transcend both pleasure and pain. All the realms of birth and death.
But there’s some God realms looked after by enlightened Buddhas rather than Gods. In Pure Land Buddhism for example, merit practice is about being reborn in one of these realms, so in the next life enlightenment is easier to reach.
Personally, I vowed to be reborn to practice under Kwan Yin/Avolokita. Bodhisattva of compassion. I practice in this life too. But in the next one I’d like to do it in a nun’s robes.
- Comment on Why does the GOP think “ANTIFA” is bad? 1 month ago:
Not trolling.
But randomly capitalizing words to express your outrage is off-putting. So is pointing at your PhD multiple times when you feel defensive.
Anyway, the answer to your first question answers the rest.
Not everyone agrees that fascism is bad. Yes, it’s what we were supposed to learn in school. But our country has its own history of genocide, racism, and hate. And we largely teach that greed and stepping on others is how to get ahead. I mean, we’re taught the golden rule. But also to be successful even if it means turning a blind eye to the harms you cause.
Our unresolved racial and genocidal karma is also very easy to tap into when folks are scared or feeling stepped on.
Which makes it very easy for a demogague to make the case, you know, maybe fascism isn’t that bad.
Couple this with billion dollar propaganda machines and a lack of critical thinking skills taught by religion and in our education systems, and most folks on the right don’t realize that anti-antifa is logically pro-fascim. And the rest don’t care as long as they get theirs and the right people get hurt.
- Comment on We interrupt your happiness to bring you this special message from our sponsors 1 month ago:
The opening part is important. A pattern of disregard for the rights of others.
Most folks will exhibit some of these traits sometimes. We might get defensive and overstep. Feel remorse and make ammends.
If you look at your life and think everyone but you is the problem, rather than understanding that sometimes I am the problem and can work on things from my end, than yeah, that’s ASPD.
But the fact that you’re capable of reflecting and asking suggests that you don’t have ASPD. Some traits, sometimes. Like most folks.
- Comment on How to relax and most importantly stop thinking about the things i could be doing? 2 months ago:
Move your attention from your thoughts about what you could be doing, to your breath and your body.
I find my feet can be quite grounding, I’ve done a lot of walking meditation but our feet have a lot of nerve endings in them they’re pretty sensitive like the hands. And usually our thoughts you know we experience those in our head because we associate it with our hearing.
By moving your attention down to a different part of your body it helps to make the thoughts feel less intrusive. You don’t have to push the thinking away or get rid of it, just put most of your attention someplace else.
- Comment on How do I "sabotage" my own online content to throw a wrench in AI training machines? 3 months ago:
Make obvious jokes that a computer will think is real.
I saw an AI quote what was obviously a joke somebody dropped on Facebook about bees getting drunk.
So basically just have a sense of humor.
- Comment on what are the grievances with the "male loneliness epidemic"? 3 months ago:
Anarcho-communism is the way.
- Comment on what are the grievances with the "male loneliness epidemic"? 3 months ago:
There is one source.
I recommend reading nurturing our humanity. Primates have two observable social systems. And they both exist in all societies along a spectrum.
Domination and partnership.
The more domination based a society, the more everybody suffers. Including those higher in the social hierarchy.
Working class men, they are in a strange place because they have hierarchical status based on gender but not based on economic class. This makes it difficult for them to find solidarity with women. And thus more lonely in a system of loneliness.
Communists would blame capitalism of course, and they’re not exactly wrong because capitalism is a domination-based system. Marx called this phenomena alienation.
Feminists would blame patriarchy, and again they are not wrong it is a domination-based system.
So on and so forth, but we can take a step back and look at ourselves as apes and see domination is the problem. The will to power.
Buddhism calls this energy Mara, and would call the partnership energy Buddha nature.
It’s all the same thing, it’s a strategy apes use to relate to each other and survive. Partnership is a better strategy. Assuming your goal is the health of society and the planet rather than personal gain.
- Comment on what are the grievances with the "male loneliness epidemic"? 3 months ago:
Yeah I also disagreed, I’ve read some very compassionate takes on men’s situation written by academic feminists.
Bell hooks the will to change for example. Women can be experts on gender, and how systems of domination effect everyone. Men included.
- Comment on what are the grievances with the "male loneliness epidemic"? 3 months ago:
On the other hand, belle hooks’, The Will to Change, is one of the most compassionate and understanding takes on the subject.
So she has an opinion on the validity of the experience, and it is that capitalism and patriarchy is alienating for men, just like it is for others. Especially working class men.
Nurturing Our Humanity, co-written by a female author, uses system science and primatology to validate what men experience in domination based societies.
I know your point was more long the lines of critics shouldn’t criticize things that they don’t understand, but there are a lot of feminists that do understand and have an informed opinion, because they study how these systems of domination affect everyone, not just women.
- Comment on The internet kind of sucks right now 3 months ago:
Hating someone for their political views is different than hating them for their gender, sexuality, or ethnic background.
And I think wanting to punch Nazis is pretty normalized on the lemmy verse.
But I hear you, liberals are far to complacent with the far right. But they serve the same master (the dollar). So it’s not surprising.
- Comment on The internet kind of sucks right now 3 months ago:
The forum I call home tolerates a lot of hate speech.
I think I’m out, but it’s less about the AI scraping and more about moderation.