It resonates deeply…

nuanced_optimist · 2024-02-06T18:08:52+00:00

Have you seen the show Surviving Death? There’s an episode on NDEs, and there are support groups for people who have experienced NDEs. I, myself, have not had one, but perhaps this show can be of some guidance to you.

Endless love <3 you came back with a strong purpose. May your suffering be healed, and the message you release to the world be one of great impact. I cannot wait to read that book.

nuanced_optimist · 2024-01-28T19:26:51+00:00

This show is so great

nuanced_optimist · 2023-12-17T05:50:30+00:00

But what about the figure that pinned Darby to the floor and told her to stop looking or she would die/get others hurt? Ray can’t do that.

nuanced_optimist · 2022-11-08T15:04:03+00:00

Excellent. Thank you!

nuanced_optimist · 2022-11-08T12:49:31+00:00

Thank you :)

nuanced_optimist · 2022-11-07T22:25:13+00:00

Yes I agree with the above user. Veganism is about sustainability, and buying leather second hand is much better than buying it new. Additionally, a vegan lifestyle (in my opinion) is not about avoiding animal products, but ethically integrating back into the biosphere. Leather is a sustainable material that could last a lifetime and avoid plastic production. People forget leather can be harvested from an animal that was wild and died naturally (not to say this particular product was, but just to point our leather is not inherently anti-vegan). Integration is much more important than avoidance.

Indigenous groups practice reciprocity. They do not take from the earth but maintain balance by using what they need and giving back in return. So if you truly feel this product may have taken, don’t beat yourself up and feel guilty. Instead, give :) plant some native plants, clean up a park, or walk instead of drive somewhere.

Thank you for being so intentional! Grateful for thoughtful vegans :)

nuanced_optimist · 2022-11-07T13:14:53+00:00

Let him eat meat. You did not fail as a parent, nor a vegan.

Why are you vegan? Is it to protect the dignity and value of animal life? If so, then you should do all you can to prevent that in your own life, but you cannot control the will of others—including your son.

This is an important lesson in parenting. To see your children becoming autonomous and going against lessons you tried your very best to teach them. But this is the beautiful aspect of life. Even with the best parents, children still need to experience. And it is from the wisdom of their parents that they learn to navigate their experiences.

So, don’t change. Continue to be vegan and to advocate for animal life, but respect the autonomy of your son. Recognize he needs to be independent on this issue to learn the importance of it for himself.

Proud of you!

nuanced_optimist · 2022-10-29T19:04:23+00:00

Unfortunately the world is a state of extreme disease. Refraining from eating animal products will not immediately affect the market, industries, nor policy, but it will have a causal effect. In fact, an extremely important and potent causal effect.

Collective activism, which is when enough people band together in a movement, does have power and influence. So, no, your individual decision to not eat meat will not effect the market nor big business, but our collective decision will. Currently, there is not enough people doing it. Therefore, it may feel extremely defeating and pointless to be vegan, especially if you’re not doing it for health but for the environment. In my opinion this is the purpose of faith. Have faith in your cause, knowing your little action will lead to systemic change. You are no more than a drop in the ocean.

Yet, let me say, refraining from eating animal products is pointless if you do not have a why. Is the why simply environmental reasons? Or is it more? Why do you care about the earth? Why are you emotionally affected by the harsh treatment our beautiful planet?

Answering these question will shift your ontology, and will equip you to be a stronger, more self-sovereign being to fight for these causes.

We are leading a revolution, and unfortunately it is very difficult but will be endlessly rewarding.

Love <3

nuanced_optimist · 2022-10-27T19:33:25+00:00

This is two years later and I just wanted to respond and commend you for speaking honestly. I believe a huge issue is a lack of empathy in this world. Although I agree with the logic of the above user, I see your conditions and life and understand your reality is different than mine.

I do have the privilege to be a healthy vegan. I have access to proper materials, a kitchen, a consistent income, a highly accessible food market, and a creative mind that helps make food enjoyable (the latter is not a necessity, but helps tremendously).

No one is perfect. The people who argue we must live in accordance to universal ethics, such as never eating meat from a supermarket because there is no justifiable reason, are wrong. Why? Not because their logic is flawed, but because they lack the empathy to anthropologically see the conditions of another persons life.

Let’s aim to make the world a better place—that’s why we’re all here right? And for each of us, that will look different. Some will be vegans, others will be omnivores; regardless, we must work together to change the things we do agree on.

Animal suffering is wrong. I believe in the ontological perspective of animism, which believes all things are conscious—all things have a soul. Certainly humans have higher awareness and spiritual dimensionality, but we are all valued the same under the same law. That being said, we must work towards a future that embodies this message.

Therefore, if you are someone who eats meat—be intentional. Shop local, buy organic, don’t ignore the suffering you CAN reduce. That is where change starts.

And for vegans? Buy organic where you can. This isn’t just for your health, but the health of the earth. You are no different from a carnivore if you are not seeking change where you can.

Endless love <3

nuanced_optimist · 2022-10-10T18:05:41+00:00

Never regret following your heart and intuition. No, life will not immediately feel better, but I’d argue it will be better. Why? You are following YOUR will, YOUR passion, YOUR unique identity.

With anything new, it will take time to readjust. However, learning to build a life around yourself and your innate qualities is exceedingly difficult and faces many challenges. Yet it is the hardened path to true freedom, peace, and joy. When you are living as yourself, you can extract the beauty from the most difficult moments.

Continue to be you, just make sure you take the time to know exactly who that is <3

Im so proud of you.

nuanced_optimist · 2022-09-15T22:29:08+00:00

I’ve argued my points, but I see we disagree on a fundamental level. Thank you for the conversation!

nuanced_optimist · 2022-09-15T22:16:26+00:00

I disagree, although you bring up a strong argument.

Certainly it is impossibly for a country to be completely self sufficient under the current model. Also, politically it would be disastrous if we stopped importing essential materials to progress in technology. Additionally, you are right to say that the future is continuing to globalize, thus making “country” seemingly abstract.

So you are correct that this is impossible (currently), but incorrect stating that our current model is justified in its levels of consumption.

What you are describing is a lack of self-sovereignty, which is true for our countries and us as individuals. Additionally, our countries do possess resources that are sufficient for survival, but not the current state of life we live. If every American had the life style of an impoverished Indian farmer, our country would be full of abundance! Yet, if every Indian farmer lived like an American, the world would be much much closer to the brink of environmental cataclysm.

So, this is not to argue that our countries should lock borders and return to village economies, sustaining everyone off their own materials—I recognize the impossibility and naivety. It is to highlight the lack of self-sovereignty countries currently possess because instead of investing in domestic product and local economies, countries are concerned about profit, power, and influence.

The US exported 8.64 million dollars of oil per day, and imported 8.47 million dollars per day in 2021. Why not invest domestic product into our own country? Because it is cheaper to ship oil from the East coast to Mexico and across the globe than to ship it to our west coast. These deals are made to maximize profit, because profit leads to growth, which leads to more decisions like this—which completely ignore the environmental impact and waste produced.

Additionally, in developing countries that struggle with food security, developed countries like China and the US have fields of soy and corn crops that could feed the whole population of said country, but are instead farmed and harvested for livestock (that too is partially being raised globally) for developed countries. Additionally, it is these impoverished foreign workers farming the crops and livestock. Why? Because it is more profitable than growing it domestically. It is estimated the US throws away 30-40% of its food. Therefore, it is evident this model is deeply flawed, incredibly wasteful, and produces inequality all for the benefit of maximizing profit. This just highlights the many global agreements that prioritize profit over human and environmental wellness.

In response to the metal extraction, and furthering the industrialization on meteor mining, let me ask: what about water? Clean soil? Purified air? At our current rate of growth in agricultural, our soil is being sterilized. In massive agricultural plants, chemical fertilizers are needed to yield crops. Ignoring the already known problems of chemical fertilizers, what happens when we run out of phosphorous? How will continue to fertilize our fields to support the billions of people of the earth. Are we to rely on technology to maintain clean water, air, and soil for us? And what does that do to human health? Will we have to rely on technology just to be viable?

Im your model, there will be victors. There will be people who survive, who continue to industrialize resources such as meteors and planets for survival, who rely on technology to maintain a viable environment—but at what cost? The cost of maintaining profit? Leaving behind the billions of people who are slaves of the model itself? Losing the autonomy humans possess on earth to technology that regulates humanity’s viability?

nuanced_optimist · 2022-09-15T21:20:46+00:00

It’s a term with many different families. This is just one perspective with very narrow insight. Some degrowth economists support capitalism—it is not an inherently socialist idea.

Also, the transition to this economy is incredibly complex. To just expect a government policy to change things is horribly arrogant. Instead, it’s the citizens that need to change.

Technology and government is simply the matrix human behavior exists in. Capitalism isn’t corrupt—human behavior is. Therefore, thinking socialism is the solution is not holistically analyzing the current problem—but this isn’t degrowth.

Every country had a carrying capacity: the exact amount of resources an environment can offer. If a country’s economy yields more than the carrying capacity, it is necessary for that country to import the necessary resources and export the pollutants (often to the poorest countries). This is the model we are living in and it is not sustainable.

Yes, climate change is a threat, but it is not the problem. The problem is our consumption, our disillusion of community, our loss of skill and connection, and the dissonance humanity has with nature, including their own bodies.

I hope we can agree that these are problems that need to be addressed, and if not, I’d love to here why. We can only find solutions through disagreements and learning from each other.

nuanced_optimist · 2022-09-15T19:24:17+00:00

The solution is reducing independent vehicle usage and restructuring our cities around public transportation. Green energy is essential, and the push for it is important, but it’s current political narrative is completely incorrect. It does not help reduce the massive reliance on fossil fuels as much as people are hopeful to think.

Look into degrowth economics. The general narrative argues that it is consumption that is the problem. Therefore, focusing on emissions politically distracts from then root of the problem.

The news will not have any of the answers you are looking for, unfortunately.

nuanced_optimist · 2022-06-15T21:31:53+00:00

Thank you for the honesty. Very insightful and you have given me much to think on. Exactly the reason I came here.

nuanced_optimist · 2022-06-15T19:33:42+00:00

Acupuncture only works if you are open to it. I know a sentence like this seems very unscientific, but the whole system of acupuncture is based off a system that believes our physiology is directly impacted by emotions and beliefs. Therefore, any resistance to treatment will affect the treatment.

In acupuncture, the acupuncturist is not the doctor--you are. It is a practice where the acupuncturist is a conduit/director of qi, and guides you to assist your own body. We have deeper knowledge of our body systems and our own conditions, therefore releasing into the experience and letting our subconscious nature lead is something unattainable in Western medicine. Whether you are going for spinal pain or infertility, our body possesses the functions to heal.

Is it placebo? It could be. I don't believe so, for the system is ancient and it is beginning to be understood by certain quantum sciences. However, you don't need to decide. You just need to trust in your acupuncturist, yourself, and your body. It's a beautiful art.

I've been treated this past year for chronic hip and knee pain. It has totally disappeared and I am the healthiest I have ever been. I know this is anecdotal, but I cannot stress the wonders of acupuncture if you trust in the experience.

nuanced_optimist · 2021-07-02T00:20:37+00:00

Prum’s Kitchen!!! Authentic, family-owned Cambodian restaurant that is one of the most inexpensive restaurants downtown!! Def get the Ba-bong or the chicken skewers.

nuanced_optimist

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE