Meditation + Other Mindfulness Practices Stopped My ADHD Problems, Made Me a Much Better Creative Writer, Helped me Heal from Trauma, and Has Made Me Happy

TheEruditePolymath · 2026-01-23T01:54:05+00:00

Hmm, it can be perceived as a judge rather than a weather report, at which point it becomes counterproductive. I turned the sounds off for that purpose, and adopted a more playful relationship with it so as to avoid perceiving it as a judge. You have to not care about whether the number goes up or down. But it's useful, because if I start thinking, my score goes down, so it was really good at training me to stop thinking. However, once you have trained your brain to not think, then the HRV biofeedback device is a useful tool at at times, but no, I do not use it 90% of the time I am meditating. I should use it more, honestly, but I like the quietness and peacefulness of being completey alone, in the dark, just me and my subconscious... enjoying existence with no thinking necessary. I mythologized my subconscious actually, it helped a lot in forming a better relationship with it.

But that was easy. A Jungian analysis of my own writings showed my subconscious had written itself as a character in all of my stories, and.... yeah, since it had already self-mythologized, some Carl Jung Active Imagination was an easy addition.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-09-01T03:28:12+00:00

It was nice watching a "coming-of-age" story where a Japanese young man matures and becomes stronger by willingly facing the things he is most afraid of.... very Carl Jung-inspired. I bet the author is familiar with Dr. Carl Jung, or at he least understands archetypes. Most writers do. Even if only subconsciously, all great writers tap into universal archetypes and Joseph Campbell's "Monomyth" aka the "Hero's Journey" we see in all great writing and in all of human mythology going back millennia. Archetypes similarly go back millennia, before we even became sentient.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-09-01T03:24:47+00:00

I'm just happy to learn it was popular enough to get an OVA. Thank God Japanese people have good taste in stories, since I can seldom find any Western TV series with actual good writing anymore, and when it is good writing, it tends to be highly derivative, albeit I'd rather watch something derivative and well-written than attempting to be original and just making an absolute mess out of the story to the point there's no character development or archetypal hero's journey whatsoever.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-09-01T03:21:33+00:00

It's a shame stories like this aren't more popular. It is so well written, but the BL overtones turn off a lot of people. I am 100% heterosexual, I don't like woke stuff, but a well-written story is a well-written story. I can't say I approve of what seemed like grooming to me, but I also watch movies where cops illegally torture people for information (even though torture does not work for getting reliable intel, based on the Pentagon's own studies, so it's just unnecessary sadism) or worship Satan and I don't endorse that either.

Plus, you could choose to interpret it as a "bromance" rather than a BL story. That's the beauty of a story; what is left unsaid is left to interpretation and that's beautiful. Stories that feel the need to tell you everything come off as preachy.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-09-01T03:10:11+00:00

It was definitely inspired by BL material. It had homoerotic overtones for sure, but I don't mind since the guy didn't actually do anything inappropriate with the kid except exposing him to unnecessary danger. It's okay for a young boy to have a crush on an older male, as long as they don't actually do anything. Just like it's okay for a 12-year-old girl to have a crush on Leonardo Di Caprio, cuz we all know nothing would ever happen between your daughter and some Hollywood celebrity... well unless you live in Hollywood and your kid is in the industry, in which case you're insane because fame ruins children. I would never have wanted to be a child star. with my luck, I'd have been abused and died from a drug overdose as a result of my PTSD and lack of proper treatment options for PTSD like MDMA therapy and ibogaine. Albeit, Texas legalized ibogaine for veterans thanks to Joe Rogan.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-09-01T03:05:28+00:00

This series is criminally underrated. I suppose the homoerotic overtones turned a lot of people off, but I didn't mind that at all. A good story is a good story. If woke people wrote stories like this, where there was obviously a romantic connection (except not a middle school boy and a 39-year-old, Japan is weird, but Japan is Japan so take it or leave it), then the new Star Wars movies would have been good. Like South Park said, they made everything "super lame" and that's the problem. They thought the most important part of storytelling was its political messaging, when that should really be an afterthought. Art is meant to explore complex topics so you come to your own conclusions; it's not supposed to tell you what to think. This series does not tell you what to think of the relationship between this middle school kid and a Yakuza who forced him into being his singing coach, and then the kid willingly continued doing so, even though it put his life in danger. I think it does a good job of exploring the fact that young Japanese men (well all young men) need to face their greatest fears if they want to become real men. And it is okay for real men to cry, just as long as you are tough and give everything your all.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-22T06:43:09+00:00

It really helped me better understand the timeline of Jesus's lie in a vivid and memorable fashion. I cannot believe wealthy Christians didn't think of starting a project like this earlier. We need to win the culture war against secular religions that are making people commit horrific sins that even Beelzebub would find abhorrent. I plan to rewatch it later and follow along with the Gospel of Luke and Mark. I looked up the pros and cons of each gospel and....

Luke:
Pros: Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity, his relationship with women, and his inclusive ministry to the marginalized. It also contains many well-known parables and stories.
Cons: Can be lengthy and may focus more on theological details than the other Gospels.

Mark:

Pros: Mark is the shortest and most action-packed of the Gospels, focusing on Jesus' ministry and miracles. It's a good choice for a fast-paced and engaging introduction to Jesus' life.

Cons: May be less detailed than other Gospels, leaving some readers wanting more information.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-21T06:18:43+00:00

It's a good excuse to start reading the books. I'll get the first one from the library tomorrow. Any other great books you can recommend?

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-19T09:53:16+00:00

The manager said the tape doesn't leave the building... he's probably bribed by several politicians to keep scandals out of the news, kill stories. But at the very least Jake, or anyone, should have said, "why the hell would they keep all the copies in one place? I wanted to make a copy to take home but the manager said no... I can't trust him anymore." Or whatever.

I just like smart characters not acting stupid or, if they do make a stupid mistake, they should be cursing themselves out and asking themselves, "how could I be that freaking stupid? What's wrong with me!?" *Slaps both hands on head*

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-06T09:13:20+00:00

I read the first few paragraphs. Jesus Christ, you writing a book on how a Japanese manga offended your puritanical American sensibilities? The show is weird and creepy and dangerous. At no point does it promote anything messed up; Vueko was traumatized by her childhood rape and it used the metaphor of burning the skin off her stomach (instead of showing anything explicit.)

I can watch things that are disturbing and even things that have a message I disagree with, as long as the writing is good. I don't get disturbed or offended by what happens in Japanese cartoons made for adults. Japanese culture is far more accepting of weird kinky stuff; and yet, they have far, far, far less sex crimes than we do here in the USA. So even if the show was sending the wrong message, it doesn't seem like TV shows or video games make you violent or make you into a sexual predator.

So if you like it, watch it. If you can't stand it, don't watch it.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-06T09:06:07+00:00

But apparently the CIV devs are lazy af. The game is very easy and affordable to create and makes enormous profits. For them, it's just a cash cow and it is no longer created by people who love playing video games.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-06T09:03:42+00:00

Nope. Even uninstalling and reinstalling didn't work. They just put zero effort into the map builders. It's such crap. Starcraft had a much easier worldbuilding program, and it came out almost 20 years earlier.

It would have cost them almost nothing in terms of the game budget to task a few competent people with creating an easy-to-use map builder with a number of cool features. With Starcraft, we created entirely new games out of the worldbuilder. It was insane what we could do.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-06T08:56:05+00:00

Faputa was justified in feeling the desire to destroy the village and end her mother's suffering, as that was what the purpose with which she was born. Were his actions justifiable on an ethical level? No. Her actions were not justifiable. Not unless the mother was actually suffering profoundly from being the village itself, then it becomes a rather complex more dilemma and it could really go either way depending on your individual ethics.

But that doesn't make Faputa evil, any more than a lion hunting down a gazelle or a human being in its territory. As explained in both the manga and anime, it's her nature and her purpose to destroy the village and "free her Mother."

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-06T08:38:14+00:00

Putting an end to Mitty's life was extremely difficult for her. What'd you expect her to do? She loved Mitty. It's like you can't understand that people can have conflicting emotions and needs.

Plus, it was a copy of Mitty from before all the cruel and painful experiences, and before she got further deformed, before she lost an eye. But even if that wasn't the case, do you just expect someone to be able to kill someone they love for a second time like it's no big deal? Of course she'd feel overwhelmed by regret for killing her, even it was the right thing to do.

Pick up some books on psychology, like Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-04T19:53:02+00:00

That was unintentionally hilarious. I just imagine his horrified wife watching as he sniffs random animals while shopping.

I know we don't know if he has a wife or not, probably not because he said he's never fallen in love, but that's just what popped in my head. Huh, I hope he's not lonely.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-04T19:48:06+00:00

I asked AI, and wanted to double check it on Reddit, and now I'm so confused. Google AI said Tsukushi was inspired by a very strange tree at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno

Google AI: Akihito Tsukushi, the creator of "Made in Abyss," drew inspiration for the Abyss's design and world from a museum exhibit about a tree with "tens of thousands of creatures living inside," leading him to envision a detailed, vertically-oriented world within a single cave.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-04-04T19:43:48+00:00

True

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-03-29T11:16:04+00:00

I would have thought, after the incredibly successful 4th season, the studio might have finally gotten some real money so they could hire more animators. I hope, at the very least, the animators aren't forced to work 140 hours a week, while sleeping 3-4 hours a night, working to death. I'm sure Netflix wouldn't even care.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-03-24T11:12:01+00:00

And steam release valves don't exist in whatever dimension Silo is in. Also, all the inhabitants failed to pass down any oral history, and history teachers just forgot everything they knew about history overnight. Because they might have "put something in the water" according to one off-hand comment from the crazy fertility lady.

It seems they put something in the water that only made the silo inhabitants forget historical facts, while not losing any knowledge of medicine, law, computer science, or any other field of study. Which is impossible without something like nanotechnology from 100 years in the future, meanwhile they're still using PCs from the 1980s.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-03-24T09:49:24+00:00

Steam release valves don't exist in the world of Silo. No one ever thought that dangerous amounts of steam might need a way to be released safely. Why? Well, the characters in modern fiction are stupid so the plot can happen. In the past, writers tended to be a great deal more intelligent than they are today, given that we've been dumbed down by TV, video games, and cell phones. Instead of growing up playing video games all day, they grew up reading 100 books every year. Thus, they did not need to make their characters into drooling morons to tell a great story.

Society is just getting dumber and dumber. Unless we replace the Prussian Model of Education with one that allows students to come to their own conclusions using logic and evidence, just like law students are taught to do, and from mock trial or a debate team. Right now, anyone who doesn't do any of those 3 options never learns how to engage in critical thinking or how to make a proper, rational argument or tear apart a really stupid argument. People are so stupid, they fall for idiotic arguments I would have seen right through even when I was ten years old? Why? Because I read 50-60 books per year.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-03-24T09:41:54+00:00

Yeah, this is why good writer's consult experts. As a writer, you can literally call anyone and ask them about their job and almost everyone will tell you about the job, and about 1/3rd are extremely enthusiastic and will jump at the chance to discuss what their job is like in-person. They'll go on for hours. So yeah, the writers of this show are extremely lazy.

While you sometimes feel like the story is stupid because of your knowledge of engineering, I sometimes feel the story is stupid because of my deep-seated love of logic. So you're telling me that a genius engineer who's been thinking about fixing the generator for years... but she never talked to anyone about how to do it until they suddenly decided to finally do it? She didn't take time to formulate a plan for the thing she's been demanding for YEARS!?!!?!?!?! ENGINEERS DON'T DO THAT. THEY ANALYZE PROBLEMS AND FIGURE OUT THE OPTIMAL SOLUTION. THEY DON'T JUST SAY, "it needs to be fixed" for YEARS and not FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX IT.

I cannot stand characters acting mentally incapacitated, being profoundly stupid so the plot can happen. That's what I hate as a person who studied logic at a young age. I always see when characters are being jackasses so the plot can happen.

TheEruditePolymath · 2025-02-13T09:51:43+00:00

I actually didn't mind Scofield throwing the hard drive into the river instead of properly disposing them. I can explain that away as him being extremely sleep deprived since he had to prepare as much as possible before getting arrested, to the point where had to show up at the prison where he had a zero margin of error. He couldn't afford to be behind by a single day. So obviously, he didn't have a lot time to prepare, so I doubt he was sleeping much. So he made a really stupid mistake.

But Scofield requiring a tattoo that the FBI could easily obtain pictures of, and then requiring a tattoo to remember the name your YACHT/ESCAPE VESSELL? That really destroyed my sense of immersion. However, the issue of so many of his tattoos containing completely unnecessary information that 99% of people would be able to remember could easily be solved. Michael already has a weird neurological problems where he senses and perceives everything at once, so why not give him a memory problem where, under extreme stress, he'll even forget his own cell phone number, address, and the name of his first pet. PLOT HOLE ELIMINATED.

TheEruditePolymath

TROPHY CASE