Raymond Carver, writer and poet, has this epitaph on his headstone. It seems to be a conversation with his maker.

"And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?"

"I did."

"And what did you want?"

"To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on this earth."

In the current climate of feminism, how many of us will be denied this? When feminists demonise men, they deny themselves that love which they might have experienced, the joy of a family, of loving and being loved. Is it worth it, just to break up the nuclear family? https://www.azquotes.com/quote/692702

They do it to themselves, they do. Just.

In everyone there sleeps / A sense of life lived according to love / To some, it means the difference they could make / By loving others. But, across most, it sweeps / As all they might have been had they been loved / That nothing cures.... Philip Larkin (In Everyone There Sleeps)

Hey everyone, I’ve been diving deep into We Who Wrestle With God and got inspired by Jordan Peterson’s emphasis on how a “central idea” shapes the entire network of beliefs around it. I wrote a piece called “Aligning AI With God: How Jordan Peterson’s Insights Might Help Align AI with Meaning.”

Here are the quotes from We Who Wrestle with God that ignited me to think through this:

“…this mathematically detectable landscape of linguistic meaning is made up not only of the relationship between words and then phrases and sentences but also of the paragraphs and chapters within which they are embedded—all the way up the hierarchy of conceptualization. This implies, not least—or even necessarily and inevitably means—that there is an implicit center to any network of comprehensible meanings.” (pg.23)

And further,

“Around the central idea, stake in the ground, flagpole, guiding rod, or staff develops a network of ideas, images, and behaviors. When composed of living minds, that network is no mere “system of ideas.” It is instead a character expressing itself in the form of a zeitgeist; a character that can and does possess an entire culture; a spirit that all too often manifests itself as the iron grip of the ideology that reduces every individual to unconscious puppet or mouthpiece.” (pg. 26)

Why does this matter? Because if we’re building superintelligent AI, we need more than just superficial rules to keep it in check. Peterson’s idea of a “flagpole” or “core axiom” might actually be key to ensuring AI doesn’t drift into dangerous or nihilistic territories. In my post, I explore how the “hero archetype” could become a guiding principle for AI—borrowing from Jung and Peterson. It might sound far-fetched, but I truly believe Peterson’s framework gives us a new way to think about AI alignment.

If you’re interested in how moral or spiritual structures can be embedded in AI—and how Peterson’s insights on mapping meaning might be relevant—check it out here

I’d love your thoughts or critiques.

Thanks for reading!
— Dom

After six years of sinning egregiously against God and Christ…

I have had a super hardened heart, along with terrible intrusive blasphemous thoughts, and also I haven’t been able to feel a single emotion for the last year and a half, and feel completely spiritually dead and emotionally numb.

I can barely feel any emotions. Not fear, not love, not contrition, not longing, not wonder, not hope. Well, I can still feel some of these things, but barely.

I can barely even conceptualize or conceive of goodness and can’t properly understand how my sins have offended God.

However, deep down I love God (even though I can’t feel it emotionally) and I truly want to seek His forgiveness. I hate my sin (even though I can barely sense how horrible they are in comparison to God’s goodness).

My heart has softened over time, and the intrusive evil thoughts have mostly gone away.

I’ve been doing nothing but praying for upwards of four-five hours a day for a year and a half.

I’ve been to confession multiple times but have never felt almost any contrition.

I have tried to sin as little as possible for the past year and a half, and I completely gave up all the major sins in my life. I don’t feel as tempted by sin any longer like I used to be, but I’m afraid this is because I’ve done something unforgivable and not God’s grace. I have faith this is God’s grace.

I’m really struggling to feel godly sorrow.

I read somewhere that having shed even one tear of godly sorrow means you are not unforgivable.

I cry often but I usually don’t feel anything.

I have had two moments I can remember in the past year and a half where I remember feeling true godly sorrow and actually weeping. But they lasted maybe 10-20 seconds.

I have faith I haven’t done anything unforgivable, but the fear keeps popping up and plagues me to almost no end.

I am seeking the Lord with my whole heart and my soul thirsts to be with Him. But I can’t even conceptualize of God at all in my mind or heart and feel completely separated from Him.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

God bless you all.

Never really understood the hangup about 'quality' in Pirsig's book. "Fitness for purpose", the dictionary definition, seemed adequate for me. Not worth having a nervous breakdown trying to figure it out.

But, that was in 1975, when I first read the book. Little did I know what lay ahead. Eventually, was reduced to a Phaedrus-like state in 2003, because my wife refused to LISTEN about what was actually important in my life.

The 'quality' of M/F relations has always been thus. I understand now.

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Baxter-Basics-ebook/dp/B0DJ2DM6N7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FMPQNNMEH2BM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zUMLS9VF3VupXXGmlSk8ip7OkgZa460_7v9vaLpJ5nG3lmYGATF4cXZe3L1AmbruvKBI9WMORBq192QVjJHHdRUW3mvCN7LHbQiTgnHdr5xSElhHtNhrFdCWXlmCguUJceoxhh_l-FdnvhBKglLjD6m1amcllZHBionfN3413ZGCn36IlwKtHP8dWydmOkClWAfiGRh8xxtr3iBiioWgSev7k1SznwhkstcIKNvAqUw.2LSOhlCxacP6d3rNzgx4D74qu0swbnWI9ylcy_CnTUY&dib_tag=se&keywords=baxter+basics&qid=1733911402&s=digital-text&sprefix=baxter+basics%2Cdigital-text%2C164&sr=1-1

So I have been posting on Reddit for a long time, countless subreddits, posts and everything else...

I am getting older, grayer, dumber, sicker and more hopeless.

The more time passes I feel like I should have done it a long time ago.

I came from a not so healthy childhood it is a long story, I don't have the energy of talking about again and again.

I have dyscalculia, dyspraxia, ADD, dermatitis, kyphoscoliosis, sleep problems, depression, occasional tension headaches where I want to vomit and I have digestive issues because I have IBS. I also have brain fog and I am just constantly tired.

My work schedule is as follows:

Early Shifts (8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)

Wake-Up Time: Early morning to ensure you're ready for work.

Commute: A 30-minute journey via public transportation, as it's more available during the day.

Work Hours: I spend the day at work, finishing at 6:00 p.m.

Evening: After the commute back home, I have some time to unwind and prepare for the next day.

Night Shifts (ending at 3:00 a.m.)

Work Hours: I work through the evening and into the night.

Commute: After my shift ends, it takes about an hour to get home due to reduced public transportation availability at night.

Post-Shift Routine: I typically need another hour to relax and transition to sleep, meaning I fall asleep around 5:00 a.m.

I have two days off usually after two nights, and then I do two early shifts and after that two nights...

It is tough on me, I recently made a mistake at my work and I got so mad as I already wasted so much money, 100 euros is much for me, I have to work whole day with people I despise for that money...

I don't want to go to a psychiatrist or psychologist because I don't see any legit way that they can help expect offer coping through pills and CBT gaslighting. What else is there?

Quantum mechanics speaks about how waves only collapse into particles when observed. They transition from a superposition of possibilities into an actuality when conscious observation occurs. What if consciousness precedes material reality?

What if consciousness is what collapses the wave function, turning it into a particle and thereby creating reality? But that begs the question: why was there anything to be superimposed in the first place? If all humans have consciousness, it’s almost as if consciousness itself creates everything. And if consciousness creates reality, then could it not be that a supreme consciousness created existence itself?

What if the reason there was anything to collapse in the first place is because consciousness is all there is? Consciousness has always been, and it always will be. It interacts with itself—we know this to be true in human beings. Could it not be the same at a macro level? Could all of reality be part of the same substrate, the same mind? And what if that supreme intelligence is God? What if God really did send someone to die for us? What if that’s actually true? And what if the reason it’s true is because the wave function precedes material reality?

In this view, the wave function could be consciousness itself, interacting with itself. As we’ve seen in human beings, consciousness interacts with and observes itself, collapsing into something tangible. What if the reason there was something to collapse in the first place is that consciousness is all there was, all there ever will be, and all there is? Consciousness as the wave function, observing and interacting with itself, collapses into a particle. It transforms from mind to physical—or perhaps not even physical, but rather a different layer of mind.

Maybe the "physical" is only an illusion. It feels real, but consider a video game. The characters in the game would believe they’re not in a simulation because everything makes sense within their conceptual frame. Could our reality be similar? A construct within a grander, conscious design?

--------

Alright, imagine you’re playing a video game. The game’s world doesn’t really "exist" in its full form until you move your character there. It’s as though the game’s computer decides, "Okay, they’re looking at this part of the map now, so I’ll make it appear." Outside of where you’re looking, the game is just a bunch of potential—not something fully real yet.

Now, think about our universe. In quantum mechanics, scientists discovered that tiny particles, like electrons, don’t seem to have a fixed position until they’re observed. Before that, they’re like the game map—just potential, waiting for something to make them "real."

What if the thing that makes them real isn’t just observation by a person, but consciousness itself? What if consciousness—your ability to think and be aware—is what creates the reality around us? It’s like the "game engine" behind everything.

But here’s the big question: if consciousness creates reality, where did everything come from in the first place? Why was there a "game" to start with? One idea is that a Supreme Consciousness—something far beyond us, like God—started it all. This "ultimate mind" would be the source of everything, creating the universe by observing and interacting with it, like a painter bringing a canvas to life.

So, the "physical world" we experience might not really be physical at all. It could be more like layers of thought or mind, arranged in a way that feels real to us—just like the game feels real to the characters inside it. If that’s true, then our reality could be part of a grand design, created by a mind infinitely greater than ours. And if that’s the case, maybe all the stories about this supreme consciousness caring for us (like the idea of God sending someone to save us) are true too.

Hi all,

I've created a subreddit for people with high personality trait openness (>85th percentile), to hangout and talk about whatever they want.

r/HighOpenness

Come join if that's you!

"But when one follows the path of individuation, when one lives one's own life, one must take mistakes into the bargain; life would not be complete without them. There is no guarantee—not for a single moment—that we will not fall into error or stumble into deadly peril. We may think there is a sure road. But that would be the road of death. Then nothing happens any longer—at any rate, not the right things. Anyone who takes the sure road, is as good as dead."

~ Carl Jung

My inner world lays out a path most meaningful. My guide on this path is intuition. The decisions informed by intuition, based on my inner world, have made life a meaningful adventure—though not always a safe one.

The world of the unknown is an unfamiliar home. While visiting, I feel a dense fog resting on my shoulders. Every step forward lays itself out as long as I am respectfully thinking and intuiting. Each step makes itself known, and at times, the fog lifts, and I feel I can see as far as the horizon extends around me in all its horror and beauty.

Our culture treasures the thinking, measured, and reason-based scientific rationale that defines our modern era. Yet, in pursuing this path of certainty, we've marginalized something fundamental about humanity—we are primarily driven by story, by myth, by the uncertain path that calls from within.

Jung understood this deeply. In "Memories, Dreams, Reflections," he offered this insight about questions that science cannot answer (bolding mine):

"My hypothesis is that we can do so with the aid of hints sent to us from the unconscious—in dreams, for example. Usually we dismiss these hints because we are convinced that the question is not susceptible to answer. In response to this understandable skepticism, I suggest the following consideration. If there is something we cannot know, we must necessarily abandon it as an intellectual problem. For example, I do not know for what reason the universe has come into being, and shall never know. Therefore I must drop this question as a scientific or intellectual problem. But if an idea about it is offered to me—in dreams or in mythic traditions—I ought to take note of it. I even ought to build up a conception on the basis of such hints, even though it will forever remain a hypothesis which I know cannot be proved."

I've written a deeper exploration of this journey into the unknown, examining how we might integrate both our scientific understanding and our mythological truths to live a more meaningful life.

You can read the full piece here: Inner World, Outer Truth, and the Adventure of a Lifetime

What path has your inner world laid out for you? How do you find the courage to step into the fog of uncertainty, knowing there are no guarantees except that the "sure road" leads to death?

https://preview.redd.it/3xo6qc4xs4xd1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e28c4a0001d61d6362fcea0edebadc1befb03362

In a variety of belief systems, there are certain themes that may be prevalent. Certain stories that look similar. Why? There are Spiritual Laws. These laws may be similar to The Laws of Physics. Anyone who was experiencing the Spiritual, they may have been doing particular things along certain spiritual laws or lines. This may be called "The Stone Rejected by The Builders." Regardless of what rebellious people were doing, God always maintains some Intelligent Design "Gotcha Moments."

I have a warm up song for this.

Song: "Oh Well."

The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone (Psalms 118:22)

What is a builder? A builder may been a laborer. A builder may have been an architect. A builder may have been a teacher of religious law shaping how men perceive themselves, and how men perceive God. In Judea, Rome around 30 AD, the Pharisees had been Tenant Farmers. (Luke 20:9-19) Humanity is like God's Vineyard. The Pharisees were Tenant Farmers, they were teachers of religious law, shaping how men perceived. Jesus Christ comes, and he looks to be fulfilling all these prophecies. Jesus is The Stone Rejected by the builders. (Acts 4:11) This is a theme that runs through the Bible.

Given you are unfamiliar with Christianity, the Bible, and these verses, you should take some time to look at them, and reflect. Instead of writing about this too much more, I will show you some things.

• Greece and Rome had builders, teachers of religious law. There were a lot of interesting things going on in Rome, around 30 AD, like Pan the Greek false god of Shepherds dying. This opened the door for the Hebrew Messiah.
• A lot of people may have been taught from Aesop's Fables. Jesus fits into The Wolf and the Lamb.
• Some people like to point out that there are flood stories in many cultures. The Stone Rejected by The Builders Becomes the Chief Cornerstone.

Saint Patrick he going into Pagan Ireland, he may have needed to understand, Man is God's Glory, made in the Image of God, and have been applying the correct Biblical perspective on this concept. As Saint Patrick went into Pagan Ireland, some pagans looked to get him to "Bite the nipple." A man may have looked to put another man in an sexually submissive role to effeminate him, and assert authority. To do this, a boat captain was said to have demanded Saint Patrick bite his nipple. Instead, Saint Patrick talked to the man about The Lord Jesus Christ, and how men are God's Glory, made in God's image, and we do unto others. There was mutual respect. Someone like Saint Patrick, he may have understood, that there were spiritual laws, and The Stone Rejected.

Hernan Cortez, he goes into Azteca, and looks to be fulfilling prophecies. As a servant of God, bringing God's Judgement on a wicked people who practiced human sacrifice, and other abominations, similar to the people of Canaan, Hernan Cortez may have been The Stone Rejected.

This is a deep topic. I may be able to key someone onto a lot of interesting things from Ancient Rome to China to India to The New World. Someone should be respectful and approach the topic with humility.

Do it.

What's stopping you?

Have you? How is that going?

There are four lecture series of MoM: 1996, 2015, 2016, 2017. Can people who have watched or attempted to watch more than one compare the two (or 3 or 4)?