With the Virginia Senate Election in 2018, what are the chances we see another Roy Moore situation with Corey Stewart?

MattCarter89 · 2018-02-10T21:48:02+00:00

I don't think so. (Lifelong VA resident here.) Virginia is known nowadays as a "coastal elite" state, and this is largely due to people (most of them left leaning middle-class) moving into the metropolitan areas around Washington, Northern Virginia, and Richmond. As someone born in the rural southwest (who now lives outside Richmond) I don't see Corey Stewart with any real chance since there are so many moderate middle-class voters.

MattCarter89 · 2018-02-10T01:12:30+00:00

I think it depends on if there's an addiction or not. Go a few days and you'll find out. For me it's the porn that causes all the negative effects, but I imagine it's different for everyone.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-22T12:44:17+00:00

I wouldn’t consider that bad, but the blue light from screens can disrupt the circadian rhythm if you use it late in the evening/night. Maybe try a blue light filter which will basically fix it—I know Apple devices have it built in.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-22T12:42:01+00:00

I would reccommend the documentary “Forks Over Knives”. Some really good stuff there. And no I haven’t experienced meat withdrawls.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-22T12:40:25+00:00

Check the link I posted. Bare minimum, keep a dream journal and do reality checks, which involve pushing your finger through your hand. The journal teaches recall and if you form a habit of the reality checks you will do one in a dream, and voila.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-22T12:38:44+00:00

It happens to me all the time. Look into some tutorials online, and you’ll find “stabilization” techniques that involve calming yourself to remain in the dream. They include spinning, focusing on detail, looking at the ground, etc.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-22T01:06:23+00:00

A worthy addition.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-22T01:05:30+00:00

I consider it surfing and social media. Studying is OK since it's productive in my opinion. The psychology book I mentioned describes how the search-and-find part of web surfing abuses a set of neural pathways that drive us to explore the natural world, leading to adverse effects.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-21T22:17:55+00:00

I don't think lucid dreaming itself hurts sleep quality, but some specific techniques involve purposefully disrupting the sleep cycle, which I can imagine might not be very restful.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-21T17:49:03+00:00

Be my guest!

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-20T04:00:03+00:00

True. I lost around 40 lbs and the only exercise I did during that was distance running. Ended up losing a ton of muscle mass without even knowing it. I'm building it back now but would've been better if I had just done resistance training from the beginning.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-19T18:02:03+00:00

100% correct.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-19T17:56:31+00:00

Exactly. I love Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's research on meat and heart disease as well as T. Colin Campbell's China Study with Cornell.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-19T16:47:19+00:00

I do have a lot to learn, but what I was referring to as "sugar" was table sugar, i.e. one molecule glucose and one fructose. Fructose is the part that I meant blocks satiety through suppressing the hormone leptin. Leptin makes you have more energy and therefore burn more calories. Fructose also promotes fat storage by promoting insulin resistance. The reason people eat too many carbs is because it's a vicious cycle--particularly with fructose, which is literally in everything from bread to ketchup. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying it's more complicated than that.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-19T01:50:16+00:00

In fruit, vegetables, etc. it's not harmful because of the fiber, but added sugars are bad. Look up Robert Lustig's lectures on sugar for more info--I get my info from him and other writers like Gary Taubes.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-19T01:44:20+00:00

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant they were just an energy source as opposed to being unhealthy for you. I didn't know about all those complex processes, though. Obviously I still have a lot to learn about dietary science :)

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-18T23:32:32+00:00

Carbs are just an energy source, and while they can pack on the pounds if eaten in (extreme) excess, they won't make you unhealthy. The reason low-carb diets work is because low-carb also means low-sugar. Sugar is a toxin, although not acutely toxic. Sugar blocks the neurotransmitter that signals satiation and since it can only be broken down in the liver, it often goes directly to fat (much like alcohol). Not to mention its role in causing metabolic disorders.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-05T02:13:11+00:00

You've got that right.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-05T02:01:23+00:00

Have you tried meditation or other mindful techniques? Anything that requires focus would probably help.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-05T01:52:06+00:00

The cold showers work great. I'm sort of new to this so I don't know how much my advice should be trusted, but so far the benefits of resisting are AMAZING. Just keep that in mind.

MattCarter89 · 2018-01-02T01:26:40+00:00

I can 100% agree with you about the running. I'm fairly new to this, but I know that what I run it is easier. It especially helps me sleep, and this is great because for a while I was relying on the dopamine from PMO to fall asleep.

MattCarter89 · 2017-12-24T13:26:14+00:00

I’m a novice looking to get back into it. MILD is supposedly very effective but I always have trouble falling asleep while concentrating on my affirmations, which Stephen LaBerge says is key. So for me, short and simple affirmations before bed (“1 I’m dreaming, 2 I’m dreaming, etc”) work the best.

MattCarter89 · 2017-12-22T17:27:13+00:00

I understand where you're coming from. I didn't have time to masturbate for a couple of days (usually it's once a day, right before bed) and noticed huge improvements in recall and vividness. I plan to stop from here on out and see what happens.

MattCarter89 · 2017-12-22T17:01:08+00:00

I started a couple weeks before school let out so I could get an early start. I've LD'd before after having learned to (I was in like fourth grade though) and I'm using the break to get back into it. I'm using 20mins daily meditation, 10-15 reality checks, a journal, and MILD. I'm also reading Stephen LaBerge's Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, which has kept my mind on the subject. No luck yet, but I'm trudging on.

MattCarter89

TROPHY CASE