Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! You are experiencing a small sample of what the site has to offer. Please login or register to post messages and view our exclusive members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, file attachments, board customizations, encrypted private messages, and much more!
|
 Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
 Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9566770 - 01/07/09 06:14 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Vital Stats: 36 y.o., caucasian, single mother of two sons (15 and 8), servant to two cats (both 8 months old), Pacific Northwest resident since 1974, very small carbon footprint.
1. Raised below the poverty level by a single mother. She was a lapsed Catholic, and tended to follow the "Guru of the Month." She discussed whatever new beliefs she had adopted at the time, but the constant shifting led me to become very skeptical of whatever quick fix she had discovered.
Her group of friends was very artistic and intellectual, and we held Sunday salons for years to view their art, hear their music & listen to their poetry. I was invited to join them & share my art, music & poetry, and they never talked down to me.
My favorite places were outdoors...our yard, in a tree, wandering in acres of BLM forest. Since I was homeschooled, I could spend the entire day among the fascinating bugs and flowers and trees, soaking up the sunshine. 
2. I attended kindergarten, first grade & part of second grade. When I began having anxiety-based stomachaches every day, my mother decided that public school was not for me. She had not wanted to send me to school in the first place, but I insisted. My fantasy was that everyone at the school would be in love with learning, as I was, and that we would spend our days immersed in knowledge, smiling in glee. 
Homeschooling was perfect for me. I could be involved in the community AND have time alone, plus I could always work at my own pace. I started taking college classes when I was 14, and it was thrilling to talk with the professors about their subjects. Many of them seemed to love learning as much as I did, and it felt like meeting kindred spirits.
3. I'd like to pursue a career as a counselor, but cannot afford to take the time off work to complete the requisite hours of supervised internship. I plan to do so once my boys are out of the house, so that I can reasonably down-size my expenses while I put in my 800 hours.
Right now, I'm working full-time as a Broker's Assistant while I study to become a registered Financial Advisor. I'm also the owner of a bookkeeping service, but have scaled back my client load while I am working full-time as an employee.
This is partially a paycheck job, but also a way for me to be paid to learn about wealth-building. I spent years preparing tax returns, and seeing the technical details of wealth. I realized that there was nothing mysterious or lucky about it, and that I could learn to be wealthy, too.
So, now I get paid to learn & I can make all my investments without paying sales charges. Since these charges are usually between 4% and 6% of the total purchase, this is a significant benefit. I plan to build a great portfolio & have the financial means to pursue my deeper interests later.
4. I first became interested in philosophy & religion when I was 14. I went through an identity crisis, and felt very undefined. To the library I went, and read through every religious text, philosophical treatise & psychological work I could find. I found many similarities between the world's religions, and realized that they were essentially promoting rules to help humans to cooperate & live peacefully.
I couldn't get into the idea of God, though it was very attractive. The idea of a being who is all-powerful & loving was very appealing, but I could not see nor feel any evidence that such a being existed. My awe was reserved for nature and ideas, and I decided that that was OK.
Reading the complete works of Jung and Freud inspired me, and I signed up for my first college psychology class. My interest has not waned in the 20+ years since then.
5. My core values include rationality, non-attachment, compassion, ecological responsibility, facing my fears, achievement and love. My sons are the most important way I contribute to this world, and I push myself to give more to them every year. My values seem to be very different from the majority, and I often feel alienated when faced with blatant disregard for what I value. It's my work to accept that there may not be a "one size fits all" way to do this human thing, and that they are just doing it their way. 
|
 supernovasky
Comrade
Registered: 01/10/08
Posts: 8,034
Loc: Louisiana
Last seen: 1 hour, 50 minutes
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9566789 - 01/07/09 06:17 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Veritas... One of my most valued theories is Jung's theory of the collective unconscious mind. It has quite literally shaped my worldview over the last year.
|
Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
|
Yes, it's a fascinating theory. I've come to think that it has more to do with empathy and basic similarity than a true collective unconscious, but I still like the idea.
We are all much more alike than we are different, yet the nature of perception creates the distorted idea that we are unique and alien. IOW, we may not all be "one," but we are very close to the same.
|
awesomebastard
Lost
Registered: 12/15/07
Posts: 4,891
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9566868 - 01/07/09 06:26 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
I'm not going to bore any of you with a life story here so I'll just wrap it up.
I was raised in a very religious home,
started life as a catholic and became an evangelical
due to my fathers disagreements with the Vatican.
As a child I scored relatively high on standardized tests
and was put into programs for "gifted" children, but by middle school
I lost interest in academics and began to get into "trouble".
I was sent to a few alternative schools most of which were evangelical run.
At these schools I learned Christianity inside and out and came to
recognize all of the logical traps that the religious fall into.
I graduated from high school and went to work and after a year
began college and I currently plan to get a B.S. in biochemistry.
I may come off as hostile from time to time, but I have seen first
hand many of the problems which unsubstantiated belief can cause.
I rarely beleive that I am right so dont take anything I say too personal.
Oh BTW I'm 19 years old.
--------------------
"Absolute certainty is a privilege of uneducated minds and fanatics." ~ C.J. Keyser
Mr. Cypher said: "I just tell the girls how sexy I am and their panties melt."
|
Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
|
Don't be too quick to assume that your life story would be "boring." It sounds like an interesting life, from your Readers' Digest version.
What attracts you to Biochem? I considered scientific majors, but I hated being in the lab. Same with computer science, though my profs practically begged me to change my major.
|
deranger
Registered: 01/21/08
Posts: 6,840
Loc: off the wall
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Lion]
#9567003 - 01/07/09 06:48 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Lion said:
As far back as I can remember, I always loathed school.
Yeah same. My priority was always to enjoy myself, I hated the idea of being a slave to the teachers and their homework... even in my earliest years. I did whatever I needed to get by, which wasn't much. In grade 11 I got into psychedelics and quit going to half of my classes, but I passed. In grade twelve I hardly went to school as my parents worked full time and the teachers or principal didn't seem to mind that I skipped so much. I failed grade 12, but graduated the next year doing school from home (virtual schooling).
I couldn't understand my brother who would go to every class and do his homework during almost all of his free time outside of school.
He's now depressed, addicted to alcohol and rarely thinks for himself. I'm guessing it's an accumulation of all the stress he went through in school... taking it too seriously and all. Quite the rut he got himself into.
|
awesomebastard
Lost
Registered: 12/15/07
Posts: 4,891
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9567114 - 01/07/09 07:09 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Veritas said:
What attracts you to Biochem?
My goal ever since I was young was to understand the universe around me.
In order to understand anything I thought I should first understand myself, both psychologically and as a system.
I have always been very interested in biology so I figured that was the route which I would take.
This is also why I am into psychedelics.
For awhile I wanted to major in psych but IMO it is based mainly on assumptions.
--------------------
"Absolute certainty is a privilege of uneducated minds and fanatics." ~ C.J. Keyser
Mr. Cypher said: "I just tell the girls how sexy I am and their panties melt."
|
Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
|
Hey, it sounds like we have a lot to talk about! 
|
xFrockx
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 8,239
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 7 hours, 11 minutes
|
|
Mu
...
But seriously (or at least less brief),
"1. What was your upbringing? Did your family have money? Were they religious? Did they discuss philosophy and/or spirituality with you? "
I come from a family of misers. Middle class, but we live at or below our means. I went to summer school at a church as a kid so my mom could get me out of the house, but going there did help me realize that people have different beliefs. The only philosophy my parents ever discussed with me was A) how to not be worthless, and B) how to do my best, neither of which you will find in books.
"2. How was your educational experience? Did you enjoy school? Were you academically-oriented, or disinterested? How much of your education has found application in your daily life?"
I hated myself and high school, then I got to college and loosened up, became a lot less scared. I was always a nerd, but I liked to do puzzles and study things like biology for fun, I liked the animals and plants. I apply every day of my life to every other day of my life.
"3. What career interests you? Are you working in this career now? Do you feel satisfied in your work, or is it mainly a paycheck job? What work would you do if you did not have to earn money?"
I would like to live in a place that was warm all year round in a field of berries. If I must work, I'll be going for a tenure track job as a philosophy professor. Key word: Tenure. Right now I am a dishwasher at Bob Evans. I love it. If I could do any job I wanted right now for no money I would be a priest.
4. Has your philosophy/spirituality changed much over the years? Have you had epiphanies or rude awakenings which led you to reconsider your beliefs/values? At what age did you first become interested in philosophy/spirituality?
I used to be an athiest, but then I realized it was stupid to say that I believed in anything. Right now I'm a firm believer that I am. That's about it.
5. What are your core values? How are these values expressed in your daily life? Do you feel that your values are similar or dissimilar to those of the majority?"
Judge not lest ye be judged.
Be Honest.
Forgive people, and ask for forgiveness (Say "Sorry")
Treat others as I would like to be treated.
Other people have these values, but sometimes they forget. No one ever seems to be offended by my values.
|
BlindSophist
drunken preacher
Registered: 07/11/06
Posts: 18,085
Loc: SF Bay Area
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9567627 - 01/07/09 08:25 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Good idea. This should be interesting.
22 year-old male, caucasian, leading a somewhat pointless-feeling existence at the moment, slave to one cat.
Quote:
Veritas said:
1. What was your upbringing? Did your family have money? Were they religious? Did they discuss philosophy and/or spirituality with you?
My upbringing was pretty middle-class and very liberal. My parents are not rich, but well off enough to afford luxuries. My mom is atheist and my dad was pretty agnostic up until a recent joining of Asatru; they occasionally spoke of what "some people believe" when describing religion to me.
Quote:
2. How was your educational experience? Did you enjoy school? Were you academically-oriented, or disinterested? How much of your education has found application in your daily life?
Terrible. I hated school from the first day of preschool, never developed much of a liking, shirked homework whenever possible, skipped as often as possible. In the earlier years the anxiety of being stuck in school often made me feel sick and panicky. Though I got over this in the later years, I can count the number of classes I did well in on one hand - Journalism stands out. I managed to get onto the high school paper despite my dismal grades because my English teacher thought I stood out (even though I got a D in her class, like most other classes), and I actually did very well there.
I also got mostly A's and B's during the two years of high school I spent in an "Independent Study" program, where I would meet one-on-one with teachers once a week and be assigned my workload in the form of homework, tests done in-school.
I've had several fucked-up years of junior college as well. Shitty grades, lack of motivation and direction. I am going back this month to study journalism, though. I plan on seeing the campus therapist to help me with my organizational problems and issues with focusing.
Quote:
3. What career interests you? Are you working in this career now? Do you feel satisfied in your work, or is it mainly a paycheck job? What work would you do if you did not have to earn money?
In the long term, journalism. At the moment, I'm a semi-employed barista. I really enjoy working with coffee and with people but I'm currently waiting on my boss to open shop.
Quote:
4. Has your philosophy/spirituality changed much over the years? Have you had epiphanies or rude awakenings which led you to reconsider your beliefs/values? At what age did you first become interested in philosophy/spirituality?
I have never been very certain about my reality. I remember at age three asking where my thoughts came from and what they were; when I was told they came from my brain, I asked how my brain did it. Nobody could really answer that one. And so I've always been fascinated with the multitude of different ways people have formulated to answer, approach, or avoid this question.
I was especially fascinated with Buddhism when I read about it in sixth grade history, and I have been sporadically practicing meditation ever since.
Psychedelics had a large impact on me, shaking my ontological perspectives to their core. LSD convinced me of the fluidity of consciousness, showed me how Mind may truly be the central point of the entire universe, made me genuinely consider, for the first time, that my body, personality, and self may be a temporary vessel for an eternal consciousness, expressing itself in infinite terms.
I stopped trying to address these ideas eventually, as I found that in the anxious moments of my life they would exacerbate my fears. Now I appreciate them as being part of the mystery of life, without which we would enjoy no sense of meaning or excitement in our existence. This holds true regardless of ontology. In the meantime I've realized that there are more pressing things to worry about within my own life.
Quote:
5. What are your core values? How are these values expressed in your daily life? Do you feel that your values are similar or dissimilar to those of the majority?
At the moment, I have a hard time answering that. I want to enjoy my experience of life, I want to live peacefully and harmoniously, and I want to share it with people I love. I feel everybody deserves this equally, and that the "worst" among us are ultimately victims of circumstance. Nobody deserves to suffer for any reason IMO. I don't know how many people feel the same way as me on this.
--------------------
Love of one is a barbarism; for it is exercised at the expense of all others. The love of God, too.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Edited by Tchan909 (01/07/09 08:38 PM)
|
Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
|
Quote:
Nobody deserves to suffer for any reason IMO. I don't know how many people feel the same way as me on this.
Me, for one. It's part of what draws me to a career in counseling. I see people causing themselves so much needless suffering, and I wish that they could understand what they are doing & how to stop. 
|
lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
Stranger
Registered: 12/16/04
Posts: 11,123
Loc: Texas
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9568297 - 01/07/09 10:22 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
1. What was your upbringing? Did your family have money? Were they religious? Did they discuss philosophy and/or spirituality with you?
My dad was director of several publicly traded companies, as well as a geologist.
He also had his own private management company. So yeah, we had money, but he has never given me any of it, nor did I want any. I always felt like getting money and not working for it was cheating, so me and him have always been pretty separate and I guess not very close. He is extremely intelligent.
My sister, who just finished her degree in nursing, did so with her own money and without having to get student loans. I don't think the degree would have meant anything to her if my dad had just paid all her tuition. It's weird how my family members are all really independent and all want to "make it" on their own.
My dad has a lengthy criminal record, all drug and drug trafficking related. However, this all occurred before I was born, he has been totally clean for over 30 years now. I am sure his former heroin addiction had lasting effects on his brain.
Both my mom and dad were not religious, and we rarely ever discussed philosophy or spirituality at home. I guess other than my dad's unnatural wealth it was a pretty normal childhood, and we lived in a modest house and never went on any extravagant vacations or anything like that.
2. How was your educational experience? Did you enjoy school? Were you academically-oriented, or disinterested? How much of your education has found application in your daily life?
I did well in school but spent most of my time reading encyclopedias, history and any non-fiction I could get my hands on. I did best in Chemistry and Physics, getting all the awards in these subjects in high school. I actually got 100% on my final departmental exam in Physics, which only a few others did in my province. I wouldn't say I studied very hard at all, which is why I never did as well in subjects like English. I would say school was pretty fun.
3. What career interests you? Are you working in this career now? Do you feel satisfied in your work, or is it mainly a paycheck job? What work would you do if you did not have to earn money?
I have always done very high paying jobs, mostly in the mining and oil industry. I guess I have the advantage that I am well versed in these areas, so it isn't as hard for me to get a job as someone who wasn't brought up around geology and geological exploration their whole lives.
Now, do I like this kind of work? Not really, but I am good at it. Like for example I have cut down probably hundreds of acres of forest with heavy equipment... but I am a person who likes trees and natural ecosystems. But that was my job, to cut them down so I did it. And because I did something that most people wouldn't want to do I got paid a lot of money.
However, the work is hit and miss, totally unstable but lucrative when available.
What I actually want to do is grow food for a living, being a farmer. However there is pretty much no money in this and the startup costs are enormous.
4. Has your philosophy/spirituality changed much over the years? Have you had epiphanies or rude awakenings which led you to reconsider your beliefs/values? At what age did you first become interested in philosophy/spirituality?
I have pretty much always been interested in philosophical questions, since age 7.
I have had several epiphanies over the years, which occurred as I studied this world through non-fiction and actual experiences. These have been consistently negative, as it seems the more I learn about the way the world works, the more distasteful the overall picture becomes.
5. What are your core values? How are these values expressed in your daily life? Do you feel that your values are similar or dissimilar to those of the majority?
I don't really have any values, I am willing to do just about anything, including things which are illegal. The only reason I don't do them is there is no reason to and the repercussions if caught would be horrible. Otherwise there is no morality guiding me. I wouldn't say I am a sociopath because although I find it easy to control others I find no motivation to do so. In general people bore me. 
|
lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
Stranger
Registered: 12/16/04
Posts: 11,123
Loc: Texas
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9568346 - 01/07/09 10:34 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Veritas, why are your sons so important to you?
Also, what do you mean by "building a portfolio" for yourself?
Edited by lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl (01/07/09 11:33 PM)
|
BlindSophist
drunken preacher
Registered: 07/11/06
Posts: 18,085
Loc: SF Bay Area
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9569181 - 01/08/09 04:04 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Veritas said:
\When I began having anxiety-based stomachaches every day, my mother decided that public school was not for me.
I gotta say... you're lucky. I had the same experience and my parents told me to "grin and bear it." I had a couple years in HS which were less orthodox and excelled academically in that time, but the majority was typical public schooling, which I simply could not deal with. It was just an ongoing struggle with pitiful results.
I also have an interest in psychology and counseling, but that's not really what I'm aiming for in my career, simply because I don't feel I understand myself well enough to help others understand themselves.
I plan to base my career in journalism, though I hope to be able to get involved in the psychology community through that basis. I feel I have a lot to say on the subject, even if I would not prefer to be a therapist or counselor myself. The only classes I've really succeeded in with JC so far are psych classes.
--------------------
Love of one is a barbarism; for it is exercised at the expense of all others. The love of God, too.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Edited by Tchan909 (01/08/09 04:07 AM)
|
Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
|
Quote:
adjust said:
Veritas, why are your sons so important to you?
Also, what do you mean by "building a portfolio" for yourself?
My sons are important because I love them, and want them to have the best life experience they can. They are also important because they are one of my contributions to the world, and will cause a ripple effect (positively or negatively) that starts with me.
I was referring to building a portfolio of investments, stocks/bonds/mutual funds/other, which will appreciate in value and generate income during my retirement.
|
lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
Stranger
Registered: 12/16/04
Posts: 11,123
Loc: Texas
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9569600 - 01/08/09 07:37 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
That certainly is a noble goal you have.
Myself I was conceived while my mom had her tubes tied, and a super intelligent sperm somehow navigated through it. I was a completely unplanned accident. And although my parents I'm sure had the same goal as you do, I can't help but wonder if it was really worth it? I think if I had the chance I would tell that rogue sperm to turn back... but since I'm already here I might as well keep going in case something interesting happens.
So far not much interesting has happened, and all I see is a natural system designed to produce more DNA, with epic battles between individual, unthinking genes over millions of years... and we just happened to come along and fit into the design, so we're here.
Well, it certainly is a noble goal you have.
|
xFrockx
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 8,239
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 7 hours, 11 minutes
|
|
"So far not much interesting has happened, and all I see is a natural system designed to produce more DNA, with epic battles between individual, unthinking genes over millions of years... and we just happened to come along and fit into the design, so we're here."
Same experience here, pretty much, only minus the "we". "we" is just a label for something that is always changing..
Edited by xFrockx (01/08/09 09:21 AM)
|
deCypher
Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 51,933
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: xFrockx]
#9577183 - 01/09/09 01:06 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Great idea, Veritas!
I might add something about me shortly, but it'll take some time to concisely frame my views.
--------------------
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
  
|
Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,088
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: deCypher]
#9577295 - 01/09/09 01:29 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Credit for the original idea must go to Redstorm, who started a similar thread in the Political forum a while ago.
|
C.M. Mann
subconscious explorer
Registered: 05/01/08
Posts: 899
Loc: Florida
Last seen: 9 months, 21 days
|
Re: Who Are You? [Re: Veritas]
#9581138 - 01/10/09 01:12 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
|
|
Probably the next best thing to sitting in the same room Born in St.Petersburg, Fla. Father was Union official/ politician Mother was biology professor Both parents were Democrats, Greek orthodox,Catholic Both parents were very strict, and didn't talk about sex or religion but did talk politics. My Mother's father was an Admiral, and was banished when she married my Father. My Fathers family were fishermen, and banished him when he married my Mother. I went to a private Catholic school that was year round, and graduated when I was fourteen. I was in a band called The Emotions and we went to L.A. when I graduated. The band disbanded when our lead singer died, and I stayed in L.A. 1) Spent two years at UCLA, and the summers at Berkeley 2) Spent two years at U.of Fla./ and the summers at Stetson 3) Spent four years at LSU/Shreveport 4) Spent five years in the Peace Corps./ Africa 5) Joined the Air Force/ transfered to the D.O.E./ State Dept., Spent eight years in the Lavant. 6) when I got back to the U.S. I had a business for ten years, but sold everything when my Wife passed away. 7) Decided to get back into music/ built a studio and started a small indie label. ( Crow Magnum Mann ) Last year I added a video/film production studio. I play guitar,piano,cello,sax, and some others a little. ----------------------I like all kinds of music but play rock/blues, and listen to metal/Pantera. ---------------------When I was twelve I joined a band with much older guys. They slipped LSD into my kool-aid, and that was my epiphany. I don't like commercialism, materialism, or anything that is ego driven. I do psychedelics about once a month, and smoke reefer almost every day. I don't smoke or drink or do any other drugs. 8)I am an addicted professional student, right now I am taking chemistry and psychology at U.F. I'm probably going to drop psychology, and maybe add physics. 9)I have two sons in their early twenties, and a daughter who is thirty . 10) I have been a conservative since Berkeley, I try to be a good neighbor and a productive citizen. 11) I live in the woods with nine cats, and a golden retriever.
| |
|
|
You cannot start new topics / You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled / BBCode is enabled
Moderator: Mr. Middle, Diploid
44,042 topic views. 8 members, 10 guests and 1 web crawlers are browsing this forum.
[ Toggle Favorite | Print Topic ]
| | |
|
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
