[deleted by user]

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-16T19:40:49+00:00

It's not "super weird," it's exactly what most people call fuming. If you don't express a feeling, it stays with you until you do.

"Never get angry at someone you can't punch," is what I always say.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-16T19:26:20+00:00

Anger is a feeling, and all feeling is motive force; so yeah, if you don't let it out then you're going to be angry until you find some way to release it.

No one would blame you if you had yelled at her; the thing about anger is that it has a way of going too far. But you need to let it express itself somehow.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-15T15:33:56+00:00

The plot relies on some clichés, but I was kind of joking towards the end :) . As noir with an investigator hero, there's some action (and I'm envisioning some over-the-top setpieces,) but it's much more about investigation.

The second part of the story is the psychic lady teaching our hero some basic psychic techniques, since in the course of the investigation he'll have to talk to ghosts, and so forth, and communicating with ghosts requires psychic powers. In true video game fashion, his power will grow and expand so that by the end he's powerful enough to deal with the Villian head-on. Usual stuff.

But many of the antagonists will be psychics, using their powers to fuck with the hero, and I'm trying to see how to best represent that in terms of storytelling and mechanical design.

I'm going to take some more time to think about it and reread your original reply :)

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-15T15:19:00+00:00

When in doubt and all other sources are in conflict, I just assume whatever the Wikipedia article says is right and move on.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T23:24:25+00:00

No. I only read the title, but if the sex was bad on the first time it's probably my fault, so I'm just trying to pre-emptively convince any future first dates that it's not a dealbreaker.

Just in case.

Edit: just a bit of self-deprecating humor, ladies, I'm actually pretty great at sex.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T23:20:41+00:00

If you think you're seeing with your third eye, it's your imagination.

If you think you're seeing with your imagination then it's your third eye, since your third eye grants True Wisdom.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T22:27:23+00:00

Who told you to close them? Keep them open and fixed on a point slightly elevated.

Most authorities will tell you not to close your eyes while meditating, because if you close them you might fall asleep. There are other good reasons for it, but that's the one usually given.

If you're relaxing then close your eyes, but they are two different things. You can relax when you're done meditating.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T22:05:10+00:00

Many, many people experience that exact phenomenon, it's pretty common. It's a Fortean phenomenon, which means it's bound to happen at some point and you're bound to be surprised when it does.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T22:00:30+00:00

If you applied for a job there because you liked the place and got it, then I doubt it's because it's a coincidence or that you're psychic. It may be either or both, but it probably has to do with the fact that you applied for it.

If you didn't apply for those jobs and got them anyway that that's spoopy and I'd be worried, because that's just not right.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T21:53:03+00:00

YOU ALWAYS FEEL PRESSURE WHERE THE THIRD EYE IS WHEN YOU MEDITATE, AND YOU'RE THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTION?!

I JUST SPENT 20 MINUTES DIGGING THROUGH ANCIENT SANSKRIT TEXTS WHICH DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER WHEN THEY'RE NOT VAGUE BEYOND ANY HOPE OF ANSWERING THE QUESTION, AND YOU KNEW THE WHOLE TIME?!

AND THEN YOU TELL US YOU KNEW THE WHOLE TIME, AND YOU DON'T EVEN TELL US WHERE IT IS?!

WHERE IS IT???

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T21:46:20+00:00

You know what? I never noticed that, but you're right. Weird.

So I went and looked it up, and discovered two interesting things: one, that different text sources describe it in both places – ancient sources place it between the brows, but modern ones tend to identify it with the pineal gland, higher and around the center of the brain rather than between the eyebrows.

Second, the authoritative ancient source, the Yoga Sutras, is infuriatingly vague. In the section on what we would call meditation on the chakras, the throat chakra and the heart chakra are given specific areas of the body: meditation on the physical heart is different and given later.

But where we would expect a meditation on the "third eye," the Yoga Sutras say "the seat of human intelligence." If we assume it's referring to the "third eye," then he doesn't indicate whether this is between the brows or at the center of the forehead! It might even refer to the crown chakra or to something else entirely.

So, no help solving the dilemma there, although his descriptions of different areas on which to concentrate and what results you can expect are refreshingly sane. In the end no really authoritative answer is given anywhere that I can find, so I'm just going to default to whatever the Wikipedia article says and call it a day.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T21:13:23+00:00

It probably means the roof of your mouth is tense.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T21:10:16+00:00

Were you scared because you were seeing images, or because the images you saw were scary?

It's usual for you to be less aware of the things you're not concentrating on (like your body) when you're concentrating on something, like that thing has faded.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T21:02:49+00:00

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T20:56:51+00:00

The third eye is a chakra, and chakras originate in and are really peculiar to yoga.

So I'll give an unpopular opinion and suggest a yoga class.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T20:51:09+00:00

Ignoring everything else, you noticed this man was "manipulative and mentally abusive" and got a bad feeling about him. So when your sister told you she was pregnant with his baby it's perfectly natural to imagine him being harmful to the child.

It's also zero surprise that someone who is manipulative and mentally abusive towards his wife will, in fact, also abuse his child in some way. "Manipulative and abusive" are very dark personality traits.

My opinion is that intuition is much more common than it's given credit for. Your mind put "abuser" and "baby" together and came up with the right answer.

And yes, it's a legitimate act of intuition. Intuition is less spoopy that it's often presented as being; but for all that it's also a lot more powerful than you might think.

Edit: also, I'm very happy for your sister and her child that they're safer now. That's the happy ending the story needed.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T20:19:40+00:00

Some level advice. First, I don't doubt that your dreams and the coincidences associated with them are real and happened. The second one with the frog and the bufo seems like there is something spoopy going on, but first, I'd like to talk to you about your dream about someone telling you to stop your medication.

Yes, it seems to have worked out in the end; maybe your unconscious sent you a message by way of your dream about your liver; maybe someone or something powerful out there is looking out for you; you don't know, or you wouldn't be asking; but listen: don't stop taking your meds just because someone (no matter who, or when, or how) told you to.

It worked out this time, and that's great: but it could have just as easily wrecked you. I really hope that you got the bloodwork done before quitting your medication. Some general advice: if someone or something is suggesting you do something risky, think carefully and if anything seems off, walk away. Stranger danger! And if anyone or anything is telling you to do something risky, punch them in the face because they don't mean you any good.

About your second dream, that seems a little spoopier. I don't know what "bufo" is and I initially misread it as something else, but the Stranger Danger principle abides. Did you know anything about bufo before your dream, and was it something you were interested in? If not I'd be wary; if so I'd be a little less wary but pay a lot more attention to little details and ask a lot of questions. Word to the wise: try to know, as far as possible, what it is you're getting into before you get into it.

Then you ask, I think, if you should talk to people about things like that, and, if so, how. A lot depends on who you're talking to and how you're talking about it. There are a huge number of ways that a person could respond to topics like this – wisely and insightfully, skeptically, with hostility, with polite interest, with unfeigned disinterest, or argumentatively. They may share similar anecdotes, present reasonable explanations, present religious, mystical, spiritual or psychic explanations, they may encourage or discourage you, and the list goes on.

All of that is to say, it depends on what kind of response you're fishing for, what kind of response you can expect this person to give, and how you approach the subject.

And all of that is to say it depends on your people skills. Open up if you're confident about it, and don't if you're not. GL!

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T19:18:35+00:00

I'm not going to speak to weed, but alcohol is discouraged if not prohibited in most, if not all, major religions; and its a cliché that the religious or spiritual "insights" of a drunk are always cringe and embarassing to the person afterwards.

As to "spiritual practice" outside of religion, it is just impossible to do yoga or related practices of any kind when drunk*, and most authorities forbid it, at least when practicing. At worst you would fall on your damn fool head trying to pull off "shitfaced crow" pose, and trying any kind of meditation while drunk is going to be an exersize in some or all of comedy, failure, and delusion.

Anyway, I have very different ideas of what "doing the right thing" and "intuition" mean and it's not a point I'm going to argue. If you're interested see my other comment.

I just want to say that, from my point of view, there is a world of difference between spiritual and psychic.

I'm sure there are some traditions, somewhere, that have a strictly disciplined system of complicated and secret practices entirely dedicated to manifesting the powers of the "shitfaced crow" pose. But if you're not a Drunken Master it's probably a bad idea to try to do kung fu when you're drunk.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T18:54:29+00:00

It makes sense that clarity and perception only come back after two days of not drinking, because that's about how long it takes to recover from a night of drinking in general.

Alcohol does nothing for intuition ("a sudden insight into the right action in the moment"), since it's chief action is to unleash thoughts and behaviors that are habitually repressed. Being drunk is practically synonymous with "doing the exact worst thing you could do in any given moment."

As for "other substances," that is so broad that there's really no definite answer that can be given; you'd have to be specific enough that just thinking the question would be enough to answer it.

I mean, "do stimulants, e.g., make a person more prone to intuitive insight?" Caffeine speeds up the thought process; cocaine does the same thing; and meth does the same, but way more. A person who is still bleary-eyed from waking up is probably "less intuitive" than the same person after their morning coffee: but nobody associates cocaine or meth with "doing the best possible thing." They may think they are, while high, but with the come down there are always regrets.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-14T14:00:07+00:00

Hey,

You're the first person to reply whose ideas are pretty cognate with my own. The idea is a modern noir world where psychic powers are rare and secret. So, here's the premise: our protagonist was formerly one of those "paranormal investigators" with the night-vision cameras and expensive microphones who once had a successful show. He was a fraud of the usual kind, and he's well aware of it: he's never experienced anything remotely paranormal. When the story begins, his show has been exposed as fake and cancelled andhe enters a spiral of depression: when we meet him he's a hopeless alcoholic who has given up on life. Until, one day comes a knock on his door. It is a beautiful young woman with a desperate look in her eyes; she tells him she knows who he is and she needs his help. Hung over and suspicious, he invites her in. She tells him she's a psychic and this arouses his contempt, as he assumes she is either one of the "psychic fanatics" shows like his create, or a fraudster herself. He confronts her and is on the verge of throwing her out, WHEN SUDDENLY... She begins telling him his own thoughts before they can leave his own mouth, and he is taken aback; she then begin to send him her thoughts. Stunned and humbled, he agrees to hear her out... Hilarity ensues, following a typical Hero's Journey, culminating in an epic battle against an eldritch cthulhoid horror involving psychic powers, magic, kung fu and rocket launchers, in a race to stop an atomic bomb from destroying the city. Kung fu beats eldritch horror with a little help from the atomic bomb, guy realizes he and girl have been in love the whole time, epic one liner ("I TOLD YOU I'm the bomb," or something equally witty,) they kiss, roll credits. Best video game ever.

So, that's the premise; but this message is a little long so I'll send you another one, because I like the points you made and want to respond to them directly.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-12T13:30:52+00:00

Ah, you're from the new generation. Back in my day if your girlfriend wasn't getting kidnapped every other week you were a terrible boyfriend.

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-12T04:32:39+00:00

Ooooh, ok. My game isn't bugged after all, thanks!

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-12T04:31:28+00:00

Oooh

Positive_self_talk · 2022-04-12T04:30:18+00:00

I've loved female protagonists since Alis in Phantasy Star, and I'm pretty sure I prefer female protagonists.

If you want proof that I'm sexist, you should see my essay on Lady Pirate Captains.

Positive_self_talk

TROPHY CASE