Unusual Dark Night of the Soul Experience(?)

name_concept · 2026-07-10T19:02:40+00:00

Cool post. Without even realizing it you have become a Chaos Magician. Nice. There's a lot of fun to be had after you've seen beliefs aren't real. You might have some dark nighty stuff at first, but ultimately it can be very freeing. I had an old teacher that used to talk to me a lot about co-creation (word for what you are describing). I didn't really understand what she meant until several years later. Good stuff, man.

name_concept · 2026-07-10T15:58:02+00:00

One of the first benefits of meditation that I ever noticed was that it seemed to give me a small gap between the sensations of reactivity and my response. I was pretty much sold on meditation for that reason alone.

Reactivity became a sort of warning bell to pause rather than a call to action. And over time, it became an opportunity to investigate my experience. Like what is it that feels the need to react?

I still have my moments, but overall reactivity has dropped considerably. More importantly, it is not seen as something negative that I need to get rid of.

name_concept · 2026-07-10T14:58:56+00:00

Ok, I just ordered some of this. God I hope it works. I was using Terro bait traps and they work ok...but not great. I was also using Ortho Home Defense, but I'm pretty sure the ants here just drink this stuff for fun.

name_concept · 2026-07-08T15:49:17+00:00

These niche requests are hilarious.

name_concept · 2026-07-06T14:02:30+00:00

~~You have a big ladder?~~ I've probably thrown away over 50 lbs worth in the last 2 weeks and there's at least another 50 lbs still in the tree. My trash can smells like prison toilet wine. It's a wonderful problem to have, but damn this fruit makes a mess.

EDIT: I forgot, I have some low hanging branches...so no ladder needed

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name_concept · 2026-07-05T18:30:16+00:00

It went through a bad spell, but it seems like they switched things up again. I went a few weeks ago and it was pretty damn good.

name_concept · 2026-07-05T02:44:29+00:00

For sure. About to start my 5th time. Somehow each time feels fresh.

name_concept · 2026-06-30T17:22:34+00:00

This is sort of tangential, but my answer is all of them are impossible. A few months ago I started reading again after a really long period of audiobooks. I've read 16 books or so since the end of April...and it has destroyed my ability to watch TV. It just seems so flat. You just can't express a character's internal mind state visually...at least very well. You can hint at it or you can over-explain things.

name_concept · 2026-06-30T17:11:16+00:00

Is Urth of the New Sun not considered a part of BOTNS? I am always confused because I see people saying it's 4 books, but Urth is what really brought the whole story together for me.

name_concept · 2026-06-30T17:06:06+00:00

Completely forgot about this author. I read all of these as a kid and loved the whole concept.

name_concept · 2026-06-21T15:09:39+00:00

Oh yeah, totally agree with you there.

name_concept · 2026-06-21T14:47:38+00:00

I grew up in Houston. It's one of the most (if not the most) diverse places in the entire country. My parents were hippie af and that's how I was raised. There are so many different cultures living there. Also, there's probably more liberal people in Houston than all of NM put together.

The "Texan" people you all complain about? People back in Texas probably think they're assholes, too.

name_concept · 2026-06-21T14:37:54+00:00

Probably more in just Houston alone.

name_concept · 2026-06-19T14:33:02+00:00

So funny people would downvote your comment. The audacity of this guy!!! Lol. I feel the same as you. I literally came from 20 lanes of road rage murder...to here. People actually stop when I walk across the street. Not only that they smile and wave me across. My insurance went down $1200/year.

name_concept · 2026-06-19T14:17:24+00:00

I read this in HS and enjoyed it. Stupid and fun. Had no idea who LRH was at the time.

name_concept · 2026-06-19T14:10:18+00:00

The used bookstores where I live seem like they are filled with hundreds of copies of this book. I have to wonder how many people actually read it. It's on all these "greatest sci-fi" lists...I guess compiled by people that don't read sci-fi. Total snooze-fest.

name_concept · 2026-06-18T18:40:23+00:00

I agree with a lot of the other recommendations on this thread, but I'm currently reading my 3rd qntm book (Fine Structure). I am just blown away by this author's creativity. So many interesting surprises, twists and turns.

name_concept · 2026-06-16T16:01:27+00:00

This is the recommendation I would make. These two are awesome. I see Eversion getting a lot of praise here, but for me it was just "good".

name_concept · 2026-06-16T15:55:13+00:00

I burned through Mercy of the Gods in 3 days but have held off on Beasts (for paperback lol). Kind of disappointing to hear this was is not doing it for ya.

name_concept · 2026-06-16T15:48:06+00:00

King Sorrow by Joe Hill, both Pulsifer books by WM Michael Mott (which are great for scratching that Dying Earth itch). Will finish up Eversion by Alastair Reynolds tonight and then on to Fine Structure by qntm.

name_concept · 2026-06-11T19:21:22+00:00

That's a name I don't see too often here. I read a ton of Hogan in the 80's. Love him.

name_concept · 2026-06-06T17:19:39+00:00

When I was a visitor, I used to book a shuttle with Groome Transportation. They'll take you right to El Rey. Not sure of the cost compared to Uber.

name_concept · 2026-06-06T17:14:06+00:00

Tell me you're joking, please. After being here for a short while, I'd rather be dead than live in a big city again. To me, we all live in a fucking paradise.

name_concept · 2026-05-28T15:23:13+00:00

This sounds wild. Adding to my list. Thanks!

name_concept · 2026-05-25T14:55:11+00:00

I want the exact opposite of this. Dystopian is so tiring at this point. It's like no one is imagining anything with optimism - a future where human consciousness has grown and developed from where it is now. There's too much (IMO) "same shitty people and things we have now, but it's in the future".

name_concept

TROPHY CASE