Sir Darius the Clairvoyent

I could ofc do my own research, but would you like to expand on anatta?

Right, but it is often talked about in Buddhism and Hinduism to, isn’t it? What is the Sanskrit (?) term we’ve translated into ego?

Welcome, would you like to tell us about the book?

I listened to this podcast with a fellow by the name of Børge Fagerli. Real wise fellow. Into health, pyshical and mental, and deeply into eastern philosophy. He has an English website as well, where he publish articles. Here is one of them: What Bruce Lee’s Philosophy Can Teach You About Navigating Social Media Apr 13, 2024 In a world saturated with influencers proclaiming their ultimate routines for success, happiness, and self-improvement, it's easy to fall prey to the illusion of an "optimal" life. The legendary Bruce Lee was not only an actor and a martial arts master but also a philosopher who developed a unique approach to life and combat. He’s credited with the quote: "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely your own." Lee believed that traditional martial arts were often rigid and not fully equipped to prepare students for real-world self-defense scenarios. "Absorb what is useful" - referred to experimenting with effective techniques from any martial arts style. "Discarding what is not" - removing any move that was impractical or unnecessarily complex. "Adding what is uniquely your own" - personalizing one's martial arts style, making it adaptable and reflective of one's individual strengths and weaknesses. This was the foundation of Lee's own hybrid martial arts philosophy, Jeet Kune Do. Looking back at my own professional and personal journey it’s in complete alignment with how Bruce Lee developed Jeet Kune Do. I’ve done it all: Cold showers, meditation, getting up at 4AM, hundreds of different supplements, methylene blue. Well, I still haven’t tried coffee enemas yet, but I think I’ll keep that part of my body a one-way street... The Illusion of Optimal Scrolling through any social media platform - I admit to still catching myself "doom-scrolling" once in a while - every influencer seems to have cracked the code to an ideal life. From secret morning routines they learned from Tibetan Monks to meticulously planned diets, magical supplements and business strategies, the message is clear: Follow these steps, and you too can achieve ultimate success and happiness. However, this pursuit of the "optimal" often masks the nuanced realities of individual experiences, creating an unattainable standard that leaves most feeling inadequate. I know I did. Here’s the truth: Social media is a game of engagement and this often requires that you "fake it till you make it". A lot of the health and efficiency improvements, revenue numbers and client successes are often inflated and sometimes entirely made up. I think we’ve all witnessed how someone with hundreds of thousands of followers went from evangelical promotion of weird diets to changing their stance as their previous health improvements started reversing and even deteriorating: The vegan influencer crying openly on camera and admitting to eating meat again. The carnivore influencer enthusiastically bingeing on honey and fruits, while still clinging on to the moniker "animal-based". My goal isn’t to discredit them, it’s to remind you of the importance of authenticity, honesty, and the willingness to embrace experimentation in our lives. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. The Cost of Comparison Comparing our own behind-the-scenes, bloated morning face with everyone else's highlight reel, we lose sight of our own. Measuring our self-worth against a curated illusion leads to a pursuit of success that may not even align with our true desires or needs. Authenticity and Honesty At the heart of Bruce Lee's philosophy is a call to finding your own way. To be able to manage the bombardment of one-size-fits-all solutions, we must first cultivate a practice of introspection and honesty. Acknowledging our unique strengths, weaknesses, passions, and fears is the first step. Optimal is a transient phenomenon and may change from day to day - it’s trying to hit a moving target. I believe an optimal diet is what works for YOU, and that it will change over time as your body changes, as the seasons change, as your needs change. The diet just stopped working because it eventually created bottlenecks in your bioenergetics. It’s the diet, not you. I teach an approach to training in The Last Program (https://www.borgefagerli.com/the-last-program) where you start out with a basic and minimalistic template, and progress and adjust it according to YOUR individual progress. People want to be told what to do, and I get it - but it’s intellectually lazy and it can never work as well as systematically trying stuff out for yourself. The Courage to Experiment True growth and self-discovery lie in the willingness to experiment. Trying new approaches, stepping outside our comfort zones, and accepting the unpredictable nature of life enable us to uncover what genuinely resonates with us. This journey of experimentation is not without its challenges, often accompanied by fear of failure or judgment. Social media algorithms will register what type of content and people you interact with, and now start showing you more of that. Now, you’re stuck in an echo chamber where it seems as if EVERYONE is doing it and it’s working amazingly well for them. Except that you’re only seeing the 1% of the 1%, and the remaining 99.9% that it’s NOT working for are silent. Because anyone who voices their concern or says out loud that their experience was negative are shamed or ridiculed, or just told "you did it wrong". Absorbing What is Useful The essence of Bruce Lee's philosophy encourages us to approach life with a willingness to experiment, absorbing what serves us best while remaining open to change if new knowledge becomes available to us. This doesn't mean indiscriminately adopting every piece of advice but rather, evaluating against our personal values and goals. Discarding What is Not Equally important is the ability to let go of what doesn't serve us. This could mean outdated beliefs, toxic relationships, or practices that no longer align with our own evolution as a professional. The act of discarding is not one of failure but of clearing space for what truly matters. The Ego doesn’t always want that. It wants to define itself according to what "tribe" it belongs to. But healthy psychological development involves using First Principle thinking to question your beliefs with a "what if the opposite is true" mindset and even try to find evidence for that. A great definition of having a Healthy Ego comes from my coach Cliff Wilson: "I want to be right so bad that I’m going to switch my approach when I receive conflicting information." Yes, I have a coach, and I think everyone should have not just one, but several coaches throughout their careers. You know why I chose Cliff? Because some of his methods were the opposite of what I believed in. I had to learn from someone who disagreed with me to become a better coach myself. Adding What is Uniquely Our Own The culmination of absorbing the useful and discarding the unnecessary opens us up for innovation and creativity. By adding what is uniquely our own, we contribute to the world from a place of authenticity, offering perspectives and solutions that reflect our individuality. Having spent a majority of my career coaching people on nutrition and training, I discovered almost a decade ago that this was the "easy" part. The difficult part was changing the mindset and habits. Many have struggled to find their own way, being overwhelmed with all the conflicting advice and thinking they were at fault when they were unable to make a certain strategy 1000x their energy/fat loss/muscle building/revenue. I have gradually shifted my approach to focus more on psychology and mental frameworks, and focusing on identifying the most effective strategies for training and nutrition to maximise Efficiency, drawing upon both my own experiences and those of my clients’ successes (and failures). It was scary to shift from something I was so familiar with to something that was so complex and challenging, but it turned out to be a shift with the power to truly 10x my happiness. No special hack. Just figuring out the overlap between: What I was curious about What I was good at What solved problems for both myself and people I enjoyed working with. This is where true fulfillment lies—not copying others, but creating our own philosophy, with a combination of our unique contributions and experiences. The Journey Continues My path to authenticity and self-discovery is still ongoing, a process of learning, unlearning, and relearning. It requires patience, compassion, and commitment to remain true to myself amidst the noise. It’s not easy, but the feeling I get from a wasted hour of doom-scrolling is a powerful reminder to get back on track. By embracing Bruce Lee's philosophy, I truly believe it is possible to empower ourselves to navigate life's complexities, creating a life that arises from your own, deeper values combined with your own successes and failures, and this is exactly what makes the journey so deeply fulfilling. https://www.borgefagerli.com/blog/what-bruce-lee-can-teach-you-about-navigating-social-media

I have ChatGPT a description of you, based on how I know you. Here is the result: edit: omg this side an images 😂 Edit two: I made it work!

Smile mister thunder

Personally I think about dvelving into the Eddas or the alchemist. Maybe ill find something nice under the tree tommorow, who knows. What are you planning on reading? It doesnt have to be related to the time, but it would be nice if it did in someway, or maybe you have a tradition? edit: decided to go with der steppenwolf, Hesse. Read it years and years ago, but loved it. Think it will hit me deeper this time around. If I am not mistaken, it takes place much around this time of year.

Anyone done it? Process, advice and results?

Speaking of Santa, apperantly scientists have reconstructed the face of Saint Nicholas: I mean, seems friendly. I’d trust him.

So, there are aspects of different spiritual traditions that seem to have come to the same conclusion, but with different language and symbols. Here, I’d like to discuss some of these. A follow up could be, is this innate, or does it point to a common origin (obviously, in some cases it will be due to shared origin, in others due to the fact that we are the same spieces facing similar challenges on the same planet. Some might be down to pure chanche, others might be a combination of all of the above). I’d love to hear your thoughts, and will ofc contribute myself as well. But right now, I think I’d be better of taking the advice of the all-father (Odin): Havamal (sayings of the high one), stanza 23: The unwise man is awake all night, and ponders everything over; when morning comes he is weary in mind, and all is a burden as ever.

Light a candle A candle shall burn for this little earth The shining star in the sky, where we and everyone live May all share hope so good things can happen May earth and sky meet. A candle is lit for it Light a candle Two candles will shine for love and faith For those who care and always build bridges May prisoners find their freedom and refugees a home Light a candle for those who cry and those who comfort them Light a candle Three candles will flame for all who must fight For justice and for freedom. They need our help May no one lose heart until all peoples are one Light a candle for those who fight for freedom and justice Light a candle Now all the four lights shine for him Who loves every living thing, every lion and every lamb Light a candle for the king of heaven whom the flock saw Now earth and sky meet in the child laid on straw Light a candle For the richness of life, for earth and air and water Light a candle for peace and friendship, for children in every land May no one be afraid, and lack home and bread Light up the world with light and hope, against poverty and need 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

(I dont know how to @ the chinese characters, but your taste in art is... well, I love it. Do you make art? Particulary interrested in it? A lot in your home etc. etc.

I can allready see the red text comming along with a six month ban under the cover of some totally unrelated trivia ahaha

Id like to continue the christmas theme. Santa is an interresting figure. The colours of red and white, flying reeindeer, gift giving. I beliive it might be related to old european traditions of gift giving, possibly some siberian shaman stuff and ofc. mushrooms. Another christmas decorations: Suggestions, feedback, ideas? The wild hunt, ritual drug use and fire symbolism could be fun as well.

The solstice, evergreens, Thor and Himalaya This is the latest addition to my home. It is a yule (= christmas) goat, a traditional symbol of fertility that has survived from pagan times till today (in Scandinavia). So, to understand how it relates to fertility, we need to take a look into mythology. Younger Edda, Gylvaginning, Thors trip to Utgard (relevent parts): Thor (and Loke) was driving his chariot, driven by two goats, trough utgard (= outside the fence, literally). At evening, he came to a farmsted who gave him shelter for the night. At evening, Thor slaughtered the goats and prepered them for cooking. When done, they the offered their host, his wife and children to come join them. The boy was called Tjalve and the girl Roskva. Thor laid the skin of the goat out, and told the family to throw the remains in it. Tjalve broke the bone to access the marrow. Next morning, Thor folded the skin together, raised his hammer (mjølnir) and hallowed the skin. The goats ressurected, but one of them was limbing. Having relized what had happened, Thor clenched his hammer in anger. Not much immigination is needed to imagine the fear of the farmer. His fear calmed him, and instead of their lives, he took their children as servants, who followed him ever since. Wholesome But if I am to look for a moral of the story, I think it would be hospitality and reciproicity. Anyhow, this thread is about shared cultural motifs, so lets travel to the himalayas. Here, I qoute from the article: Our distant relatives in himalaya Increadibly, the article was deemed racist due to the fact that there are blue eyed people in the himalayas, and was later removed. But trough internet archive ive digged it up again. It is in the spoiler below for those interrested. Relevant passages qouted: A lot could be written about evergreens, fertility and the like. One myth Id like to highlight, is the death of Baldur. As Ive written about this before, ill just throw it in a spoiler. The death of Baldur Notes: Baldr and Easter: The association with Easter or spring is a modern interpretation and not part of the original Norse sources. Baldr is linked to light and purity, but not explicitly to seasonal changes. Líf and Lífþrasir Worshipping Baldr: While Baldr returns to rule the new world, the idea of them worshipping him as a primary deity is not supported by the sources. The Sun's Disappearance: The sun's disappearance during Fimbulvetr is not explicitly mentioned in connection to Baldr's death in the Eddas but is part of the broader apocalyptic imagery of Ragnarok. Jesus Comparison: While thematic parallels exist, Baldr's story is rooted in a different cultural and mythological framework. Ending We could continue forever, but I think this picture captures it all (evergreen, christmas, goat) perfectly: 'Old Christmas', riding a yule goat; 1836 illustration by Robert Seymour Under the puritan tyranny of the 1600s, christmas was outlawed due to being to pagan. If anybody bothered reading, thank you.

Reminds me of the time when Zlatan joined LA Galaxy. Lebron sent him his jersey. Zlatan signed it and sent it back But there is one who surpasses them all:

I goggled grok and found several definitions. The term is foreign to me. Could anyone help me out?

A joke now, but distopia in the near future. Are you familiar with the trend among some Japanese men who have given up, and turned to virtual cartoon girlfriends? I’d show you if I wasn’t concerned about what the algorithm might decide to show me in the future.

Im not sure, maybe. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard those sentiments.

Im not sure, maybe.

Well, if you think humanity is a cancer on the earth so… lead by example

But I like humans, and we are apart of earth. Maybe change our direction and values a little, but get rid of us? Nah, start with yourself

Read the alchemist as a child, enjoyed it. Planing on reading it again, an see if I can get a deeper understanding