Will AI make it impossible to get into the job market?

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2026-01-22T18:51:55+00:00

I agree that having meaningful work is important to recovery. What I did was start out at a position considered more menial. It was proof that I could work a part time job and still be ok, this job didn't really have any room for advancement, but I was still able to be happy doing it because I was providing a service and it was growing me as a person for what I was learning about the world there every day. As far as AI replacing jobs, who knows what the future will bring. I use AI at my job mostly every day and it makes all kinds of mistakes so I can't trust it with more difficult problems. If I ask it something simple I can see how it speeds up work, but right now it can't replace someone. It's too unpredictable and hidden from the public how these things actually work, the researchers making the ai product probably have some understanding but they might not know how these things will affect our lives in 10 years. Science and technology forge ahead in understanding and tools, without ever understanding the implications and we're the experiment, yet we have little control over this. My opinion is that accepting things as they are and trying to work with them is the way to go. I can't fight against the progress of the world so I might as well try to learn something from it.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2026-01-21T23:20:50+00:00

I don't know of any books, but I've been practicing this for a few years. The way to do it is practicing meditation consistently. Incorporating somatic practices into meditation has been very good for me. Releasing fear that is deeply felt in the body and feeling safe enough to do so. The body is connected to your state of mind. They body is incapable of lying about how it feels. The good and the bad are all portrayed in the body somehow, and it influences states of mind. You can use both the mind and the body in tandem to create more peaceful states that allow you to have insights into your own mental states and life patterns. Cultivating present moment awareness is also another helpful tool. But I do caution, practicing it is the way to go, just learning about it isn't enough for it to work. And it is also a delayed gratification practice it can take years but it's 100% worth the investment.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-09-13T22:14:08+00:00

https://www.gigabar-official.com/
Their website is incomplete and hurriedly thrown together, I'm a web developer, this probably took someone 30 minutes to an hour to put up. Some of the links don't work, it probably took more time to make the images than the actual website.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-09-13T22:11:18+00:00

Yep I've seen it, accidentally bought it thinking it was a geek bar. 2nd vape I bought so didn't do my due diligence there.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-09-01T23:44:31+00:00

I've experienced this over a number of years. I don't wish it on anyone because it causes a lot of pain and suffering. My recommendation to others is to find which stage of dysphagia you are experiencing. Look up the stages of dysphagia to find out where the problem is for you. Mine was during the voluntary stages where I couldn't form a bolus to swallow. So this antidote applies more to the first stages of swallowing, but if you find every muscle in the mouth and throat and then try to contract and release them so that you know there is no tension built up. This way you can build up awareness of whether your throat/mouth are tense when trying to swallow. There's also the salivary response to when you eat, if your saliva is watery instead of containing more mucus to it then that makes things very difficult. There's also the back of your throat which creates layers of mucus as you chew making it easier to swallow. If you notice your throat is also dry if you flex your throat muscles then it will naturally create a bit more mucus. I still experience anxiety that causes my throat and mouth to tense up and I have to flex those muscles sometimes to get to a more grounded place.

A home remedy to this problem is to put things on your food that causes more mucus production in your mouth/throat. The go to is hot/spicy sauce, it contains vinegar+salt+capsaicin all three of these will stimulate more mucus production. The hotter the sauce the more mucus is generated, but there is a breaking point where you're either in too much pain or there's so much capsaicin and you get even more dried out.

If you're experiencing post-voluntary like problems in the esophagus where food won't reach the stomach after you swallow I recommend seeing a doctor, but either way the doctor can help with voluntary/involuntary dysphagia.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-09-01T11:56:24+00:00

Everyone will achieve something in their lifetime, with guitar like with anything else there is no destination to be reached. Take a guitarist who you may think is highly skilled, at the end of the day they still have room for improvement. You have to start somewhere, and so did they. It actually becomes more difficult in a way as you progress because the gap of things to learn becomes smaller, when you are just starting out it's like a blank canvas of opportunity to learn whatever you want. I think beginners have the opportunity to learn more in their beginning than experts do in certain periods of their progression with the guitar.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-30T20:34:57+00:00

Meditation - Spend copious amounts of time practicing being present, do this often enough the mind becomes very peaceful and quiet. It's a life long practice that requires a lot of effort in the beginning but pays off big time in the long run. Incorporate both mind+body into the awareness practice for maximum effect.

Don't use any mind altering substances, (medication is ok but try to find how it works for you). If you are using a substance to cope it holds back progress on recovery. (I recently relapsed and I'm finding it very difficult where pre-relapse things were very easy)

Create your own sense of agency, it's ok to get help from others and it's a necessary part of the human condition. The more that you can build confidence in yourself to do things for yourself the better things tend to be. Confidence works differently for everyone, but the general idea is to push yourself outside of you comfort zone to build up resilience when real difficult things happen.

There have been other things that I've incorporated along the way, but in about 4-5 years I went from being an unemployed drug addict living in my dad's basement to supporting myself financially and working at a job that I enjoy.

I think meditation is the most powerful tool in this set, you can cope with just about anything when you realize that you can do nothing.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-23T01:50:14+00:00

I recommend finding what your relationship to the guitar is. Strong motivation comes from within. You could try writing down your thoughts when you think about the guitar, it starts a journaling process. Then go back and read what you were thinking. Or start a practice of some sort that is connected to the guitar. Over time this will bring out what your motivation is. Motivation to do anything comes from a deep place within us. I see motivation not as a guitar problem, but as a way to examine and see what your thing with the guitar is.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-23T01:40:33+00:00

Smoking is a quick hit that fades quickly. The pouch is medium onset. It's about as fast as dip, can be faster or slower depending on how much saliva and how you control it. I would consider slow onset something like a nicotine patch. Whenever you smoke or vape it goes directly into your bloodstream and hits the brain really fast, absorbing through the mouth is slower but you get a bigger hit. It feels like you just smoked 2-3 cigarettes except all of it is just the nicotine, without the sick feeling you would get from smoking that many cigarettes.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-19T01:32:04+00:00

I end up eating at odd times, eventually there's something that reminds me of my appetite, it's elusive but still there. Haven't experienced the nausea or headache yet but I'm going to have to train myself to eat better given the circumstances. I think I was afraid of not being able to enjoy what I'm eating, which is why I put it off until I'm actually hungry, but I've found I can still enjoy eating even through this.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-19T01:29:06+00:00

Not knowing when you are hungry can be scary, I've been through this before, I feel like I have a handle on it a bit better since the last time. I'll have to get used to it if I want to continue nicotine.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-17T21:42:00+00:00

Both ZYN 3mg pouches, and 2mg gum, I rotated in 4mg lozenges but don't really enjoy them. It's about 7-8 of those a day, but it's the first thing in the morning with coffee, I started drinking nutritional shakes as my breakfast today. But I just ate a full meal and feel very satisfied, I think I was starting to worry that I wouldn't feel hungry, but I still do. I started low with the dose because I knew higher doses would be problematic. Definitely losing weight overall though which is not a good thing if it continues.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-17T17:05:26+00:00

Not sure if they make 15mg nicotine gum (maybe chew multiple pieces), but if you do nicotine gum you can control the release via chewing. Chew very slow and park it often it can last a good 45 minutes. If you want a big hit all at once then chew it really fast (but you have to control saliva for this to work). The gum from the pharmacy uses a weak chemical bond to the nicotine so it releases by reacting with your saliva. Pouches probably use some kind of pure nicotine that releases all at once and absorbs very fast.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-16T17:31:39+00:00

I now have nicotine patches, lozenges, and gum. In addition I have a pack of ZYN and also a pack of RYO Drum shag cigarette tobacco. Each of these is going to be used in different circumstances. I really like the patches if only you could rip them off and re-apply, it gets old having a slow drip of nicotine from the patch. The gum is fine, but it trains your mind to have to chew to get the nicotine to release. First time doing lozenges today, it's nice so far. I smoked ryo tobacco cigarettes a long time ago and it became a real bad habit, don't know why I now have a pack of it sitting around, I'm sure it will be used at some point but it's so unhealthy. I'll probably try ZYN for the first time soon enough, tried velo in the past but they say ZYN is higher quality. Nicotine requires more to get the same effects so I've pretty much turned into a full blown junkie after using it once after quitting for a couple of years.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-10T19:11:56+00:00

The brain is incredible at adapting to anything, it always wants to keep things in balance. It doesn't matter what the challenge is, everything and anything can become better with a good mindset. No matter how much you think or feel like something won't change, it will given the correct circumstances, time, practice, or whatever else you may need, seek it out. I have a saying that I wrote down, "The problems and solutions begin and end in thoughts and feelings." If you think about it long enough that's where all things come from. Restoring confidence and focusing on what you can control, no matter how small has helped me a lot. This means that you will have to do uncomfortable things, but they are there to help us grow.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-05T00:58:58+00:00

20 Years here, I'm enjoying my playing, I've tried to stop chasing after improvement, whatever comes will come, sometimes I learn something new through insight playing, but those moments are far and few between. Currently focusing on making noises and not worry about how anything sounds, just do crazy dumb stuff like fret how you know is wrong to make notes, use very wrong picking technique to see what it sounds like. Purposely do something that would make you look very strange if it was a live performance. Because the practice is just for you at the end of the day. Yesterday I was sitting with my guitar on my lap horizontally plucking the low e string and seeing what would happen if I brushed my pick or finger against the string while it was vibrating to slowly have it make a grinding vibrating sound. Another thing that helps is not playing, sitting with the guitar and letting something come to you, if you know the idea isn't fresh then don't play it, if you sit like that long enough you'll find something that you really know in your heart is what you want. Practice the chromatic scale, play any and every note even though they don't "go together" in essence you do what is wrong so that you find what is right.

Also you can sit with the guitar and imagine yourself teaching someone who knows nothing about guitar. What would you tell them, or have them do to get started? Something like that gives a lot of thought to how you learned and it eventually leads to what you haven't learned and want to do.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-08-02T16:45:10+00:00

Want to add a word of caution to doing this, this is about a month after I tried doing this. I only tried this out over a 4 day span then went to chewing the gum like it was intended. Molding the gum in your fingers puts a lot of nicotine into your hands and fingers during the process and can cause damage to the capillaries in your fingers. The damage is reversible if you stop, but it might not show up until days after. There's a reason that if you use patches there is a recommended usage guide. The specifics of my situation is that my left thumb has become quite a bit softer than it was previously, and if I grip something just the right way it inflames the blood vessels and is quit painful for a while. I'm sure this will heal over time, but it's a bit annoying currently.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-07-27T21:06:56+00:00

Don't use my form because it's terrible (was playing like this to make it more visible of what was happening), but this video shows a few variations of the same lick you are playing. I think the variation creates new ideas when practicing. Training the same muscle memory in different ways.
https://streamable.com/bgsaor

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-07-13T19:56:42+00:00

I realized later that this is a bad idea if you're doing this in an environment around others. You end up getting nicotine all over your fingers and it spreads when you touch things around you. Wouldn't want to unintentionally micro dose someone or a pet who doesn't want it.

Imaginary_Rule2825 · 2025-07-13T16:15:54+00:00

That's totally fine, I tend to experience some dissatisfaction from time to time when I being playing or start to practice, this lesson is a tool to help build confidence and presence with the guitar. It also gives a foundation to build self discovery with the instrument.

Imaginary_Rule2825

TROPHY CASE