futuredaze

The Lighthouse in the Void- Waves crashing: the breath of Eternity. Ghost ships sail across the horizon as stars reflect on their transience. She awaits at the pier. Alone, she is one with all. Her eyes shine with welcoming. Her warm voice is like returning to campfire, after wandering lost and aimless in the skeletal woods of midnight.

On this wayward path, traveling light and spontaneous, I encounter others who radiate from within. They are near and yet so far, shining like stars and constellations, burning alive with the energy generated from inward gravity and tensions of passion. Maybe I, too, am like a star, which flickers on their horizons. Between vast spaces of darkness, in the clear sky of endless night.

This picture is from Southern Oregon, which isn't quite as rainy as northern Oregon and Washington state. Southern California coast is beautiful but a bit too crowded for my taste. Santa Barbara wasn't quite as bad as LA or San Diego, at least. San Fran is really nice, I'd love to spend more time there but it is a very expensive city. What branch did you serve in Marblehead? My favorite is the most Northern California and Southern Oregon, aka the State of Jefferson. Their history is interesting - they almost became an independent state but then World War 2 happened... It has a very independent vibe. San Fran is very liberal, but State of Jefferson is more mixed- but it seems both the rednecks and hippies in this area are more independent-minded than most other Dems/Conservatives I know. I still haven't checked out Vancouver, but I spent a month travelling and camping on Vancouver Island a few years back. It was very beautiful to camp on the beach that was right next to thick Redwood-filled rainforests.

Being alone has its ups and downs. Relationships have their ups and downs. both intimate relationships and simple friendships. As un-poetic as this metaphor is, I compare it to the lottery. The more you play, the more success you have. The more you go out, the more people you meet, the better chance you have of meeting the kind of people who can be really good friends or lovers. It may take a real long time to "win" but the good thing about socializing is there is way less to lose than gambling. However, as a wise man once told me: "one door opens, another door closes" (it was more the way he said it, however) So, if we spend more time by ourselves, we learn how to have clarity and bliss from solitude. Just like the more people play the social game, the more helpful and awesome it becomes - the more we play the solo game, the more useful and amazing that becomes. either way, life can only get better, with good internal alchemy.

Real success is defined internally.

Oh, I see what I did - I tried the "Share Link" which is different than the "BBCode (Forums)" link on imgur. At first, I thought the restriction was because I posted from imgur, not because of a wrong code. Thank you for helping me figure that out now for the pictures: from Santa Barbara, CA near Happy camp, CA near Ashland, Oregon:

I am an Earth Snake looking for a Ox (preferably Water) or Rooster (preferably Fire) hehe, just kidding I used to seek a partner... now I just wait and let the cosmos guide me either to a beautiful relationship or a beautiful solitude. Both sound really nice and I don't want to have a preference which heaven the cosmos has in store for me

For lunch I had: - some Kielbasa that was in my parents' house, - eggs with onion, garlic, and mushrooms fried in coconut oil with some herbs like thyme and parsley I don't eat meat often, so it was a nice treat.

Too lazy to pull up studies now, but I remember the general view I came to on this subject was: "It depends." Certain vitamins, calcium I believe, are not good to take in supplemental form. A person can also have too much fat soluble vitamins, which would make it bad. So it is not the supplement in this case - so much as the dose. However, I do remember reading supplemental calcium is no good. Also, there are different variations of vitamins, e.g. Vitamin D2 vs. D3, which some are better than others (in this case, D3). I take vitamins when I know I am not getting enough veggies and other whole foods. I think it helps, but I do a lot of research on finding a good brand and mix of vitamins. Normally, I try to get all my nutrition from good food, teas, spices/herbs, and natural supplements such as krill oil, spirulina, moringa, medicinal mushrooms, schizandra berries, etc. However, I do travel often and it can be hard to prepare good food every day on the road.

I was just about to post some pics I uploaded to imgur, but get the following message: "You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community." Can someone explain why this is??

I remember playing one of those in Guatemala! I forgot what they were called, so I'm happy to know, now. A German guy I was hanging out with had one, and it was really fun to play after drinking and smoking some ganja. It's cool because you can play it solo, or with somebody. I remember getting into a trance playing with this girl and it sort of felt transcendent. I'm not that musically inclined - play a bit of guitar and drums, but this instrument was enjoyable. Then again, I am easily amused in general and after drinking/smoking that tendency is only magnified. and yes it did piss off the hostel owner, haha, but he couldn't have done anything since he wanted our $$$

Video on Max Stirner, talks about freedom, and how "the self" (our thoughts, experience, physical being) are greater than anything "abstract" (God, progressive values, Marxism, any -ism). Interesting stuff, since I partially agree it challenges me to try to refute what he says with logic rather than emotional sentiment. Very much against Marxism and the other Hegelian philosophers.

Look on the bright side -- no matter who wins, it will be a historical nomination: Either we get the first Troll President or the first Robot President

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFI554_xM-I Forgot about how good this album is.... dark sounding prog rock from Sweden, fans of King Crimson would probably dig it

I feel sorry for people who think Trump is Hitler - that is a lot of stress and negativity over nothing. Even if Trump is an authoritarian and bad president, that would place him in the company of George W. Bush and Barack Hussein Obama. And, funny enough, people have called both of them "Hitler" too. People need some new insults. Furthermore, in some ways, the media is probably worse than either candidate. I don't think Trump would make people afraid if the media wasn't selectively portraying him saying stuff out of context and then having "experts" show us how Trump is committing racist badthink. There are videos of people on youtube talking about Trump who are shaking from all the fear the media (which includes online media funded by the same corporations or globalist elites), plus people getting beaten up for wearing Trump shirts. Not only do people think Trump is bad, but they think everyone who supports him must be "racist, bigot, sexist, etc." I hope that even you will agree that this is just wrong. At least Trump isn't targeting Hillary Clinton supporters... I don't really know another time the SUPPORTERS were being targeted like this. I thought Trump was really bad at first - when I was only exposed to the media, and what some idiots around me were saying because they had only heard the media views, too. Then, after actually watching some of his full press conferences, rally's, etc. I realized how the media was essentially committing a crime against humanity by shitty Soviet-style reporting. Not that I think he would be great or anything - like I said, I am not omnipotent, clairvoyant, or psychic. However, with my limited judgement abilities, I think he likely would be better than Clinton. As I said, I was duped hardcore with Obama, who I thought would be a good leader and, in some ways, is worse than Bush (or at least just as bad). So maybe I am wrong about Trump, but only time will tell (if he wins). We can only go by our judgment which is mostly irrational and emotional, although sometimes we use rationality, we generally think we are more rational than we are (but it is very easy to think other people are so irrational). You say to study history - I say you should study psychology.

I don't really see him as an authoritarian though. Then again, I thought Obama was going to be transparent and unifying, like he talked about. I've been lied to before, so maybe I can be duped again.

I don't profess to understand Trump. I am neither psychic nor clairvoyant. I really doubt that anybody, outside of maybe Trump's family and closest friends/associates know what his "real agenda" is -- if it is, in fact, deeper than what he has stated upfront. I am not pro Trump or anti Trump. I am Trump-skeptic. If I believed he was a horrible person, I would use my rational brain to filter phenomena to support my theory. If I believed he was a savior of America, I would use my rational brain to filter phenomena to support my theory. Confirmation bias is a powerful tool. People are fundamentally more emotional and belief oriented than logical or rationally oriented.

Video on Spinoza. I read a bit about him back when I studied Philosophy in University, but now I am starting to revisit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpAmJZmnAaA

I actually met some Hillary Clinton followers earlier today!

The interesting thing about Trump is he is, psychologically speaking, something of a Rorschach. For middle class Americans who are making less than they did 30 years ago, maybe saw their job go overseas, or those who think America's world power is diminishing - Trump might seem like a savior. He is a non-establishment candidate who seems to be upfront and straightforward. I think whatever shred of hope Americans had left for establishment politicians was ended with Obama, whose actions did not match up to his words and promises. To them, Trump represents a much needed change. Then to others, who are fed the "Trump is a racist" bit, think this guy is a power-hungry tyrant bent on pushing his dark, sinister agenda. To be fair, Trump does speak in a "word salad" way sometimes, and often comes across as narcissistic and inconsiderate. In Trump's defense- lots of people from New York sort of talk the way he does (in NY someone might say "we need to knock ISIS the fuck out" whereas in California they'd say "the threat of ISIS needs to be mitigated") and also, I think a lot of feminized beta males and feminists would see Trump's "alpha male" qualities as being a threat and inherently sexist. However, I would not talk the way Trump does, but I can't deny that for many it is persuasive. In the past couple weeks, Trump has been doing what people are calling "the softening" which involves talking in a softer tone, saying less controversial stuff, reaching out to minority groups, speaking to world leaders, talking about policy instead of typical Trump tangential rant. His poll ratings are going up, which might have to also do with the fact that he has said less controversial stuff recently. Trump is pretty hard to examine rationally. However that is no problem, since people are fundamentally irrational, and the media is very good at feeding into our emotions and psychological biases to get us to think whatever they want us to think, with feeding us a minimal, distorted picture. Then the supporters of Trump are quick to disregard all the negative stuff about Trump, which is also not really a good idea. As a skeptic, I don't know how he'd do. I admit it. I think he'd do better than Hillary, since we know sort of what to expect from her (Obama pt 2, maybe a bit worse, maybe a bit better), but I could be wrong. I was wrong about Obama, which made me distrust the modern Democratic Party.

I took this one in Guatemala as well, A very "circle of life" moment for me.

Hillary will lose unless Trump says something really inappropriate/stupid or the polls become even more rigged than usual. Trump is going up in the polls. Since he has been reaching out to minorities (whether or not it is genuine is hard to tell, but confirmation bias can make it look one way or the other), talking about policies, speaking with a softer tone, speaking with the Mexican president, etc. I'm not saying this is good or bad, but it is a fact. Wait until the debates. I did not support Trump, but I was impressed that he was able to defeat the dozen or so GOP candidates with seeming ease. Clinton is an easier target, has lower stamina/health issues, more questionable track record, etc. If Trump can hold composure and seem presidential, he will blow a lot of people's minds and create cognitive dissonance. The media only presents Trump when he is riled up and aggressive, which he often is at rallies. However, during press conference and other events, he is much more calm.

Good speaking ability does not mean good leader. There are plenty of people who faced criminal charges for doing what Hillary did, like Gen. Patreus and some others. A quick Google search will help. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hillarys-health-concerns-serious-say-most-doctors-polled-by-the-association-of-american-physicians-and-surgeons-aaps-300325065.html 71% of physicians think there is something up with Hillary's health. but I guess you still think it is a conspiracy

I think the executive branch definitely has power. Although you are right, it won't make as big a difference as many people think, that doesn't mean it is just a superficial thing. I also think this election matters more than any in at least 20-30 years -- in the past, both candidates were funded by the same special interests, now we have a candidate who is self-funded. I'm not saying this makes Trump inherently better, but it does make him seem more different than the usual circus-trained politicians.