Jokeshopbeard said:

I once chose stronger words. A lot stronger than the words you use. I once thought I knew what was right for everyone.

Then I realised it does far more damage than good.

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Icelander said:

I'm sure you're just trying to help - I just see your methods of doing so as potentially being quite destructive to people who might not have an ego the size of yours. Some people are quite vulnerable, and are prone to jump on the band wagon when they hear such strongly worded opinions as yours.


Well then you'd have to see most of my methods in the same light.  I'm going to side with the spaceman on this one.  He's given his truth and it's not his problem to nurse the unwashed and ignorant along.  (I'm not saying that about the OP btw)  It's his job to call it exactly as he sees it and to play gentle when his inner voice says it's the time to do that.

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I agree that Space owns his point of view and doesn't have to edit it to placate others.  I'd need to meet him irl to really get a better impression, atm I get the impression that he's selling himself like he's the guy in the book Into The Wild... WTF such a person would be hanging around on The Shroomery forums for is a bit of a mystery though. 

CosmicJoke said:

I'm slightly embarrassed by my 'cutshy' situation.. I was very fortunate to inherit a lot of stock. Had I had the sense to hold onto it like my financial advisor suggested, cashing out now would have made me absurdly wealthy....  But at that time, a half a dozen years ago, the payout was enormous and that was too risky... so I sold em and spread the money across six annuities...  I receive a several cheques monthly that I could live off alone well enough, yet I still put in 36hrs (two 10hr days, two 8hr days) of work a week, and have 3 days to myself every week. Also 4 weeks of vacation time a year.

I try to live relatively frugally, 40 blocks east of SW portland (the heart of downtown) for lower rent, own a 4yo Prius I barely drive (cars do nothing for me other than get me from one place to another) - I mostly ride my bike or take the bus/rails to get around.  I like to travel, but go frills free, fly coach, look for hotels neighborhoods where the action is, so that I don't have to drive much, but keep my eyes peeled for the best rates for nothing greater than a clean room, nothing lavish.

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My hero.    Too bad about the drugs. I'd have thought in a big city you'd find the right connection.  It's really all about finding a dealer who deals as a calling rather than one who deals to make lots of money.  The former will always have the best and cleanest drugs.  My hot tip for the day.

crkhd said:

I just wanted to ask and do a quick informal poll. Who here feels comfortable where they are in life right now? By comfortable I mean that you have enough free time to do what you truly want, your finances are secured and you feel *able* to actualise yourself. Enough time, enough money, enough freedom or even better, a full surplus of all of them.


I can damn well say I am not at this moment. When I was a student living without a worry regarding food and water, borrowing from future-me, I could say that I was in a genuinely good place. Right now I work 40hrs/wk and the rest of my time is filled up completely just trying to get ahead and stay ahead. Single, no kids, mid 20s.

The reason why I ask is that in my experience, practicing spirituality goes hand in hand with Maslow's pyramid. When my survival is at stake I just go into deep depression and give up on everything and I mean everything, right down to personal hygiene though I try to keep that at a good level irrespectively :P. Certainly not helpful to going deep into meditation! In my experience the deepest of meditations is attained by the successive realisation that you do not have anything left to do therefore you can relax fully. This is not even practical if every 5 minutes you need to get up and do this or that task.


When I worked part time for half the pay, I felt semi-actualised. No survival worries. Those were the days I entered the deepest of meditations, and I found some seriously psychedelic shit in those times.


I feel like if I don't do something serious now, I'll be grinding hard with the rest of the 9-5ers and miserable like em all. Fuck that noise. A nice 100k in the bank would sort me out fully but that's a pipe dream atm. So... Who's feeling cushty and what's your situation like?

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pika* said:

Yeah I'm also slightly guilty of my blessed situation.

My bf & I live in a house owned by his parents and we only have to pay bills here, around $350-$400 shared. Because I work from home mainly on various freelance gigs and entrepreneurial ventures, this arrangement has given me a renewed sense of freedom and ownership over my own time. I now have time & space to cultivate hobbies outside of the work, sleep, eat, repeat lifestyle I had been living for years in a major city. Also having the opportunity to actually put money aside for traveling and the future is huge. It's kind of a small, conservative, boring town; but some bigger cities are close enough if we want a dose of culture....

So, yeah, more comfortable than I've ever been OP. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting money in your bank account for security; but don't wait to be happy or find meaning in life until you have as much as you want in your bank account.

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That's awesome. Big cities are like epitomes. You have so many opportunities that are just bigger then life, and so many obstacles and failures as well. In small towns you have a smaller population and you have to fight more for the few existing great things that come your way, but cheaper living/less obstacles etc. to me make it easier if you really have a career or gig down.

I mean, it's harder to be a lawyer in a small town and find 1000 law firms that will give you start up jobs, but you know being a web designer to me is just about the same however. I've heard many people argue this "as a web designer in Miami I was doing a lot better then I later was in Jacksonville." Well, it's all about your clients, I knew a web designer in Boise Idaho who was doing like 8 web sites a day, more then any person I ever knew in a big town.

Too much info? Well... it's all about who you know and who loves you and who's willing to show it. I mean more power to you, it always sucks moving away from what's comfortable, but when you find out what's comfortable is destroying you, it's time to move and become comfortable somewhere else. Always a risk imho but if it works out then who's to complain. You always have to have an angle, people have to want you. If you just bounce around it never goes anywhere. I feel much compassion for people who don't bounce around and just stay at the same place in the same spot getting screwed. I mean you have to bounce, but bounce wisely, and stick with something when it works. Obviously finding something that works might require thousands of bounces

................. idk........ it's early and the shit talking is representing itself

Quote:

In the 80s I lived in Jamaica out of a backpack for a few months, then later went on extended vacation windsurfing in the Gorge and Baja.  The hardest time ever finding a job was after that.  Every employer figured I'd be on the run again after a year so they didn't want to hire me.  Far easier to get hired after being fired.  People can relate to "personality differences" far more than "this guy will flake and go travel again".

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So why did you return and try to find a job in the "regular" way? Why not stick to the wind surfing and such? IMO they would have directly taught you ways to sustain that kind of existence, away from factories, offices and other boring places like that. Or were you genuinely interested in performing some specific profession in those places?

I for one am not worried about finding "a job" as I don't ever want to, not "like that". Not in this lifetime.

Now I might do things like get my mural skills up, and then start offering to paint kids' rooms in Disney patterns or what have you. Hand painted murals. I might get my airbrush skills up and start doing things on helmets, cars, what have you. I might get my digital skills up and then focus more on freelance digital illustration. All of these are portfolio based gigs, not resume based. If I can pull of a look that the client likes, they won't give a flying fuck what color my hair is, how many festival bracelets I have, or where I spend my summers. Like those 3 ideas, I have plenty more, and I'm sure in 5 years' time I'll have more still. No need rushing into some dead end job, and IMO all jobs are dead end, if you don't like them. Better to be a good street juggler, than a dissatisfied spent worried investment banker.

I get how a festival, backpacking, hemp wearing hippie lifestyle would turn off most "normal" employers, because indeed you WOULD make a pretty unreliable office drone

Anyway, what were the months of backpacking like? Did you ever do that again? Do you wish now that you had done it more, in life in general, or have you had your fill?

Quote:

Kind of like on here.  Everyone dreams of all this travel time after making the money, except for my hero Spacerific.  Soak it up, man, you got it dialed.

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I know Everywhere I look I see people frowning an being serious about the what if's. Meanwhile, I'm taking my clues from the festival people, they've just struck me as being very much able to chill and have a good time. Living in vans, tents, boats, what have you, having a total blast. Here's my take on it (photo included)

I wouldn't have had the balls to even consider this if I didn't soak in Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week, where he explains these things.

So far, my year of living in the Netherlands set me back under $1,000, in cash money terms. I did put in time to work or create, that's for sure, but I'm saying you don't need the $10,000 saved in the bank before you go someplace to see the world, let alone the 100k. One year, haven't stayed in a hostel a single day. All helpx, couchsurfing, random encounters and a couple of fellow Shroomerites.

Now if anybody can explain to me how and why living at home going to the same job every single day is supposed to be somehow better, I'm all ears.

And don't get me wrong, I'm in no way AGAINST jobs or careers of one has found a right match for themselves. I'm sure I might find one soon and settle down for at least a while, if the gig is worth it and I feel I'm growing and learning in it. But what I am challenging here is being hellbent on ONLY living like that, all the time from graduation to retirement, no other options on the table.

This goes for jobs, living conditions, lifestyle in general. I wonder how many people here consider a van a proper place to live, worth investing time, funds and energy in. Probably not that many. Yet I've seen people and couples doing it for 15 and 20 years and being tremendously happy in it. So why the compulsive rat race for large houses to be alone in? Why the slaving away to pay off loans used to buy not-that-fun places to live in, or to get diplomas in fields that one doesn't really care that much about? I've done some of this stuff myself back in the day, I've just found it not fun enough to keep on doing.

Icelander said:

Well then you'd have to see most of my methods in the same light.  I'm going to side with the spaceman on this one.  He's given his truth and it's not his problem to nurse the unwashed and ignorant along.  (I'm not saying that about the OP btw)  It's his job to call it exactly as he sees it and to play gentle when his inner voice says it's the time to do that.

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Icelander said:

Jokeshopbeard said:

I once chose stronger words. A lot stronger than the words you use. I once thought I knew what was right for everyone.

Then I realised it does far more damage than good.

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Really?  Please provide and example so I can annihilate it with a little clarity.

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Quote:

Life aint a fairytale

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pika* said:

Yeah I'm also slightly guilty of my blessed situation.

My bf & I live in a house owned by his parents and we only have to pay bills here, around $350-$400 shared. Because I work from home mainly on various freelance gigs and entrepreneurial ventures, this arrangement has given me a renewed sense of freedom and ownership over my own time. I now have time & space to cultivate hobbies outside of the work, sleep, eat, repeat lifestyle I had been living for years in a major city. Also having the opportunity to actually put money aside for traveling and the future is huge. It's kind of a small, conservative, boring town; but some bigger cities are close enough if we want a dose of culture....

So, yeah, more comfortable than I've ever been OP. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting money in your bank account for security; but don't wait to be happy or find meaning in life until you have as much as you want in your bank account.

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That's really great to hear about.  I'm very glad for you. 

crkhd said:

I just wanted to ask and do a quick informal poll. Who here feels comfortable where they are in life right now? By comfortable I mean that you have enough free time to do what you truly want, your finances are secured and you feel *able* to actualise yourself. Enough time, enough money, enough freedom or even better, a full surplus of all of them.


I can damn well say I am not at this moment. When I was a student living without a worry regarding food and water, borrowing from future-me, I could say that I was in a genuinely good place. Right now I work 40hrs/wk and the rest of my time is filled up completely just trying to get ahead and stay ahead. Single, no kids, mid 20s.

The reason why I ask is that in my experience, practicing spirituality goes hand in hand with Maslow's pyramid. When my survival is at stake I just go into deep depression and give up on everything and I mean everything, right down to personal hygiene though I try to keep that at a good level irrespectively :P. Certainly not helpful to going deep into meditation! In my experience the deepest of meditations is attained by the successive realisation that you do not have anything left to do therefore you can relax fully. This is not even practical if every 5 minutes you need to get up and do this or that task.


When I worked part time for half the pay, I felt semi-actualised. No survival worries. Those were the days I entered the deepest of meditations, and I found some seriously psychedelic shit in those times.


I feel like if I don't do something serious now, I'll be grinding hard with the rest of the 9-5ers and miserable like em all. Fuck that noise. A nice 100k in the bank would sort me out fully but that's a pipe dream atm. So... Who's feeling cushty and what's your situation like?

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Wise man is wise

I am headed to be living comfortably now after a recent change in my circumstances. The good old doc has been trying to kindly stick his label on my person for quite a while now and it is now that it is easier to just accept the label as a great gift from Big Pharma than to bother arguing about trivialities. So I'm officially a diagnosed "paranoid schizophrenic".

Yes I'm fucking paranoid. I know already I'm on the PRISM hitlist. Snow joke den. If I walk off the straight and narrow I'll get eaten, either by the intel services or by my fellow muslims, it's one or the other or both or neither and I know which one I'm going with there. To be explicit, I choose option D. I bet the CIA snort a shitfuckton of coke in their own time. Heh.

As for the schizophrenic part, I will wear that as a badge of honour. Do I see things and hear voices? Fuck yes I do, I'm glad I have eyes that see and ears that hear. My eyes are fucking open and my ears aren't glued shut, that's for damn sure. I can hear all of you cheeky London fuckers pointing me out in the street. I know I'm going to get a cheeky look from some equally cheeky Shroomerite when I pass him/her on the street. The jig is up, I'm known too widely to give a flying fuck now. By now if you're a Londoner I've given more than enough information for you to work out who I am. There are only 7 billion of us on this planet. Schizophrenic? Big Pharma has officially recognised me as a Shaman. A badge of honour. Delusions? I've passed through Nirvikalpa Samadhi, go fuck yourself. Mania? Feelings of grandeur? Dude if you go through Nirvikalpa and don't feel somewhat fucking grand then you have problems.

Anyway my chief problem in Life now is to learn to fart and shit properly again. I need to learn how to crack fart jokes and for that I'm going to need lots of oxytocin and serotonin. By the way here is an amazing link explaining everything Spacerific has said scientifically: www.girlfriendcircles.com/blog/index.php/2013/07/friendships-stress-and-hormones-simon-sinek/

Quote:

Sinek relied on human biology to illustrate what motivates behavior, saying basically that our actions boil down to the good feelings we get from four key chemicals in our body: dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin.  When we trigger any of these chemicals in our bodies, we get a shot of something euphoric whether it’s extra energy, joy, calm, or pride.  Here’s how we receive those good feelings:

    Dopamine is the result of accomplishing goals, it’s designed to help us find what we’re looking for. Every time we see a finish line, cross something off our to-do list, or see movement toward our goals– we get that shot of dopamine!
    Endorphins mask our physical pain and help us keep pushing ourselves to where we need to be. For most of us who live more sedentary and safe lives, our most common form of endorphins come from exercise. If you’ve ever had a “runner’s high”– you know this feeling.
    Oxytocin is one I talk about a lot in connection with our friendships as it reinforces bonds, builds trust, and relieves stress.  We get this from touch, meaningful conversation, breast-feeding, and when we see/experience acts of human generosity.
    Serotonin happens in moments of pride, recognition, and status. When we receive our diploma on stage, say “I do” in front of friends and family, or are the recipients of a meaningful award– we get that shot of serotonin that boosts our joy.

Now, what I thought was super fascinating is that the first two chemicals you can get all by yourself.  You need no one else present to get your dopamine from crossing something off your to-do list or to exercise and feel the endorphins.  Sinek called these “selfish” hormones.

The latter two–oxytocin and serotonin– are “unselfish” chemicals since we need someone else present in order to receive the rewards that our body wants to give us.  He gave the example of someone who could just receive an email telling them that enough credits had been accomplished and the bill paid so therefore they earned their diploma– and that person would have most certainly received a shot of dopamine for reaching their goal.  But it’s when that person dons their cap and gown and walks in front of everyone that the serotonin is released.  We need an “audience”– someone to cheer for us or witness our success– to give us that sense of pride and recognition.  And the best part of these unselfish chemicals?  BOTH people get the shot.  Not just the graduate on stage, but also the teachers who taught that student, the family that supported them, and their friends who did it with them.  Oxytocin and serotonin need others present to initiate them, but they also benefit all parties.

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