As we stand on the precipice of another potential Trump presidency, the policies embedded in Project 2025 cast a long shadow over the future of the United States. Crafted by the Heritage Foundation, this comprehensive plan for conservative governance could reshape the nation in profound and troubling ways. Fast forward to the future: if adopted, what might the 2025 policies make the U.S. become? Let's explore!
After many years of living in the United States, I have noticed a common tendency: not to like immigrants, even those who are not doing anything wrong.
This is so interesting how I used to think that my life was one of the most possibly difficult ones... Now I can see that I'm not alone. I mean yes its freaking not easy but some of those folks that I used to think had better lives (like you can get one on demand) actually are really struggling in ways I would never be able to handle.
This is our mind that makes it good or bad. What are you lacking? Money? Love? Success? Maybe you have something else - lack of worry of losing money, staying away from bad relationship, being constantly hunted by paparazzi?
The hardest and riskiest thing to do is to say "No" to your boss. The higher your boss’s position, the harder it is. But a good leader must be able to do this because they are responsible for their team. Every reasonable "No" means avoiding unnecessary, impossible, or unreasonable tasks for the team.
Renee.... This is not about shaming plastic surgery. The shock is about a beautiful woman wanting and making herself look entirely different. And not just that even... If she was not famous a few would have noticed. They would be shocked to but would get used to it.
I realized that my desire to be loved faded due to a lack of faith that it was possible (the reason for this lack of faith is not important, but the consequences are) and gradually transformed into a desire to be admired
I guess I was trying too hard to understand what love is. All the time I had been trying to find myself, my place in life, solving my internal puzzles, and wishing for happiness—I was looking for love. I thought I had a glimpse, a vision of love…visions of love. One vision was that it’s a dimension between two people, a space just for them and nobody else, where they can be together.
I have realized that for me, giving love and receiving love were two different processes. Giving love felt altruistic, while receiving love felt more egoistic. Now, I see it in a completely different way. I see both as one. Giving love is not about giving something away—it's about sharing, multiplying, and extending. It's one of the few things, besides your word, that you can give and still keep.
Once, I was planning to write about a Russian composer and pianist named Oksana. I had already met with her, talked, and taken some pictures of her, so I thought I had everything I needed. But there was no life in that material, something was missing... as if I could not find the key component. Suddenly, I realized what it was!
Just when they get together and something may happen between them—it almost doesn't matter what that is—she is carefully listening. She may not even be aware of it, but she's listening to make sure his actions align with his words.
Almost everybody knows this Buddhist tale...
A man is strolling in the forest, when he sees a tiger, bounding down the track towards him. As the tiger closes upon him, the track comes to an end at the edge of a cliff, man jumps. Luckily, he is able to grab a hold of a vine, which brings him up short against the cliff. Below him another tiger is waiting for him to fall down...
About your essay “The Self is a Conceptual Chimera“.
It was a pleasure for me to read your essay in a book “What is Your Dangerous Idea?” It resonated with me, and I believe it’s the most brilliant idea of all those “dangerous” ideas in the whole book.
Don't be afraid. Lies are not the reason for all human troubles. Lies are a result of a sickness, of fear. Fear of being rejected by people, by society, fear of loss. Human life is often all about consumption. We accumulate material possessions and use them to wrap ourselves as if in a cotton-ball blanket. This blanket separates us from real, true living.
Some of us are really lucky to have self-aware parents. It’s a blessing to be raised by people who never tried to overcompensate for their unhappy lives by putting you down as a kid… I don’t blame anybody, we are all human beings, we do mess up, it is natural. However, a lot of times lack of awareness in our parents (and lack of our own awareness for that matter!) leads to difficulties in relationships and separation.
I have heard different opinions that sometimes we may experience different (meaning more advanced) levels of awareness when our mind is altered by various substances. For sure, we can get interesting experiences under influence, but will those experiences really help us achieve new levels of awareness?
Once I've come up with a formula to solve any conflict situations. I just had to start feeling love about the person I was having a conflict with. So easy! And it actually was for me when I was in my early twenties - that's when I came up with this formula. Allowing myself to accept and understand the person I am having a fight with - and conflict is gone, it somehow dissolved. A lot of times conflicts just don't exist outside of our heads.
Over the past month, I've been working with a therapist. Never before in my life have I had the opportunity to regularly communicate with a psychologist, at least not for a whole month. All my previous encounters were spontaneous and unplanned, for the most part. This time, I needed to have at least four scheduled sessions.
A strange transformation happened to me. Strange because all other transformations filled me with piggy delight. I would skip and dance, feeling an incredible surge of energy within me.
But this time, the transformation brought tranquility.
Last night, unexpectedly, I watched a video of Eckhart Tolle, a fragment of one of his talks. A question from the audience was: "How can I come to terms with the fact that I'm aging, becoming ugly, and unnecessary?"
What does "freeing up space" mean? It's thinking in physical terms and applying that perception system to a sphere that's nonlinear and not three-dimensional.
Any choice made is always right. If you understand why, it becomes horribly simple and easy. Especially for those inclined to reflect on their past actions.
Let me explain.
In the psyche of a "healthy" (integrated) individual, the Observer (compassionate, wise, adult) is the Primary personality, while subpersonalities are merely "social roles" we play - worker, spouse, child, parent, friend, - and so on. All these are healthy subpersonalities, and they all play by the Observer's rules.
Reality slowly begins to nudge us, that is, to prove that what surrounds us is just a reflection of what is inside us.
For quite a long time, one inconsistency with my understanding of the world troubled me, which I noticed in the very first film Planet of the Apes. One of the astronauts, captured by the apes during the hunt, George Taylor, retained consciousness, while the other astronaut very quickly lost his human face and began to behave like the other people of that society - like an animal.
I had two beliefs, each of which seemed very logical to me and was confirmed by my life experience and other less significant understandings of the world and life. But they didn't want to work together, that is, there was no logic.
You know how it goes – you read, you read about something, you think you understand it, you intellectually grasp it, like, for example, that childhood traumas can affect us throughout our lives, you see how it works, but it doesn't quite sink in completely, it doesn't become part of your foundational knowledge, your understanding of life.
It now has become completely clear to me that connection, closeness, and interaction are very important in my life. Perhaps, this is the most important thing in my life. But (after listening to Transurfing) I now think, maybe it's important because I haven't had much of it in my life. Because I'm quite capricious here - I need it, but only a certain kind. Not just anyone. So, after all, it's not some global desire of the soul, not a goal, but rather a means.
Comfortably settled in the passenger seat next to me, little Anna, freckled and glowing, pushed back a stray lock of her red hair and asked:
"So, what's your homework?"
I believe that the way this question is framed is fundamentally incorrect. More precisely, for many people, this is indeed the case: when they want to know what love is, for them it's primarily about - what does it mean when someone "shows" it to you: says they love you, gives you attention, cares for you, desires you, gives gifts, makes love to you with corresponding moods - depending on what love means to them.
What a freaking cocktail of subjects I am. Sometimes it seems to me that I am a classic specimen for studying many topics, such as the rupture of relationships with my father at a tender age, merging with my mother, and the subsequent desire to reunite with her...
I completely agree with this:
If you are thin (and have never been really overweight) - stop judging overweight people and giving them advice on how to lose weight. It's a separate topic - the psychology of a fat person. Everything is different there. So when thin people start reasoning and, worse, condemning someone with comments like 'how much can you eat?! Can't you control yourself?!', I want to smack them on the head... Overweight and thin people are always on different sides of the barricade.
The thing that amazes me most in life is people who try to teach me how to live in this regard.
There are three types of kindness.
The first type of kindness is the one a person needs and asks for.
In this case, whether to give them kindness or not depends on two factors: the degree of compassion and the internal feeling of the rightness of giving.
Yes, an immigrant (who is not surrounded by close people or is surrounded by those who were not around them in their homeland) may begin to yearn for the "old" days and familiar places particularly strongly.
I've determined a very important point. First and foremost, I will now always pay attention to how a person communicates. It doesn't matter - whether it's in person, over the phone, on Skype, or responding to comments in their journal....
Lately, I've been concerned (although I've almost gotten used to it, intellectually understanding it even though it's still difficult to accept) by the fact that many people draw conclusions about us based on fragments (even tiny pieces) of information about us, which not only cannot form any somewhat realistic picture but also completely distort the existing perception of us.
I was completely captivated by the Dyatlov Pass incident. I read every article I could find on the topic, including Matveeva's book. Yet, I couldn't find what I was searching for until I read "One Hundred Days in the Urals" and the publications marking the 40th anniversary.
Admitting honestly to oneself that I do not "love" people in the way I always thought I did might initially make me seem like a misanthrope. But when this idea is allowed to flow naturally, it becomes clear that I am somewhere in the middle.
Can a child carry the genetic information of his mother's previous partners?
I've wanted to write about this for a long time, and then an opportunity came up.
Self-love is equivalent to the absence of self-hatred, it's a state of human consciousness that can be described as "simple" - devoid of self-flagellation, self-rejection on any level, constant self-reflection, self-criticism, self-punishment, and lack of self-respect.
Lately, a topic to which my consciousness periodically returns. I realized that shame, at some point in my life, firmly and quite conveniently settled around my neck, taking control of practically every aspect of my life.
I started recalling unpleasant events from the past related to my former colleagues. These events always make me shudder and strive to quickly forget it all over again. Even now, almost three to four years after all of this, it feels like yesterday to me, and it's awful, disgusting, humiliating, and many other epithets.
I don't like gossip. Gossip is filth. Anyone who carries it is a spreader of disease. Even if you just hear something somewhere and say something to someone, even if it's just a little bit, it is still gossip. Gossip is disgusting because by the fourth link in the chain, more than 50% of it becomes false - dirty, murky, nasty lies.
I marvel at Americans more and more the longer I live here, and the fewer illusions I have about them: people are so superficial that they use "friendliness" and "supposedly deeper relationships" as a marketing ploy.
When people are attacked, when they are in a state of stress, there is no hope that they can be rehabilitated…
Recently, I've been reflecting quite a bit on psychoanalysis, which I once delved into so deeply that I decided it wasn't for me. But that was a long time ago
After a dream in which I died, today I look at everything in a completely special way. It was helped by my active study of Turkish real estate. I'm just devouring tons of information about houses and apartments with sea views mostly in Alanya, but also in other cities.
My friend recently asked me: "What if no one will ever love me…"
The topic of love is particularly relevant to me right now. When I received her letter, I was suddenly struck by the answer to it, tears welled up in my eyes. The past few months, and indeed, many years of my struggles around the theme of love, have left me exhausted. I've always wanted to sit down and hear the voice of my own wisdom. And to listen. And to find an answer. And suddenly, my friend's letter unexpectedly triggered a clear and sincere response in my consciousness - the very one I had been waiting for. I sat down and wrote down this answer. For her. For myself. And for everyone.
Ask for what you desire
I know how it works in the Universe (Cosmos).
I know the Universe is already working on my request.
I know the law of attraction is already manifesting my request.
All I need to do is release resistance and allow it to happen.
You think the Universe is like a big auntie, God is a wise uncle, and Creation is a loving something. Whoever they are, they know all about each other, hear all of us (except those who think they don't exist), take applications during working hours, which is always, strictly give only upon request, and otherwise don't really care about us. However, if in our understanding they love us, then in life it seems to be true…
On one hand, I completely understand the desire of the people close to you to always see us happy and soaring. But, on the other hand, a person cannot constantly remain in a blissful state. Those who are constantly smiling are called idiots for a reason. Not an idiot will inevitably experience periods of decline and moments of weakness.
Actually, everything I'm going to write about has long been written and said many times in various forms. I won't say anything new for the world. But all of this is new to me. No, not that we can throw an order into the Universe and it will return as reality. What's new to me in this process is the amazing, unfamiliar sensation of realization at some deep level of how it actually works.
Osho once elaborated quite well in one of his books (and it's known that most, if not all, of his books are nothing but transcripts of his speeches) about how "The giver should be grateful." He gave an example of a rich man who brought a bag of money to some guru.
I'm not talking about wearing pants backward or sleeping upside down. I'm talking about the discomfort within. Since growth is always associated with stepping out of the familiar cozy 'comfort zone', in order to grow, you need to always (or at least most of the time, outside of sleep) feel the challenge.
It's a bit strange how the meaning of the well-known phrase 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions' has been so twisted… Well, you can't possibly interpret it so literally! The essence of it is not that if you have good intentions, you'll inevitably end up in hell… And it's certainly not about how every good intention harbors a bunch of bad ones…
Survival
Almost constant worry – about various issues: whether there will be enough money, whether the spouse will leave, whether the spouse will cheat, whether the children will get sick, whether I will start aging earlier, whether I will be perceived as ugly, whether I will gain weight, whether I will lose potency, whether I will be fired, whether I will recoup my investment, whether my partner will back out of the deal, whether there will be a bad harvest, whether the oil price will spike…
I have been contemplating how to arrange things so that both love and pigeons, well, you know what I mean…
I approached it from the perspective of the space of possibilities. As is known (I don't know about you, but for me – yes), we live in a space of possibilities – infinite ones – and we each choose from them according to our thoughts and feelings.
Of course, I had to consider it from various aspects, practice, study it in depth, and test it practically at the deepest level - in my life, in communication with people, and in the business process, I had to break through several stumbling blocks.
Life is empty and meaningless. Meanings are invented by ourselves. And only what has passed the test of objective factors—space, time, and continuity—is considered real. EVERYTHING else (which can only be subjectively tested for reality)—feelings, forecasts, fears, hopes, anxieties—is deemed unreal
I'm reading this amazing book by Joe Vitale Zero Limits. Joe is that guy from the movie The Secret who talked about being broke in Dallas for 15 years. And then, bam - suddenly became rich. Well, lots of other cool stuff happened to him too. But this book isn't about how he got rich.
The production of the hormone of happiness is provoked by what is called mindset - thoughts, roughly speaking. In other words, happiness is born in relation. This is a priori. What kind of attitude is needed to be happy and to produce this hormone of happiness.
I had to identify several areas of my life and rate them on a ten-point scale based on how well they were functioning. I found only two areas (out of 10!) that were working better than a 4. On a ten-point scale!
I have been listening to a series of interviews with James Ray, who participated in the movie "The Secret." As always, he gives a lot of analogies, and I love analogies as visuals: I can immediately imagine the mechanism of what is actually happening and remember the metaphorical meaning.
Have you ever felt intoxicated by such perfumes as Michael, Marc Jacobs, Flora by Gucci, Fragile By Jean Paul Gaultier? These are some of the sexiest women’s scents on the market, and all of them have something in common – one of their main notes is the tuberose. I believe that tuberose creates an unforgettable strong aroma that may not leave anybody indifferent. It allures, it's irresistible, it's hot, it's enchanting.
Even the most beloved person is just a part of my vast, boundless World. To say that they are the entire World means greatly narrowing this boundless World down to just one beloved person. Firstly, it's a conscious global limitation of oneself, depriving oneself of all the possible riches that the World can offer us.
We strongly concentrate our understanding of love as a process directed towards one person, whereas love is a state that is available to us at any moment because life is love. We are not open enough if we allow ourselves to squeeze out a tiny bit of love for one person when we can open up to the whole world.
Once, a human naively assumed himself to be nothing less than the king of nature. No, enough of that! King! Let him be released into the open field, face to face with the king of beasts, and I believe, to our mutual regret, there will be no boundaries because Mr. Lion will devour the imaginary crown-bearer and leave no bones, the scoundrel.
I envisioned the state in which the majority of bottoms (depression, negativity) find themselves as such "hell" (which is not as frightening as it seems). Negative thoughts, fears, doubts, and uncertainty prevail. There's little positivity, although paradise is close, so sometimes there's a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel or even its gentle touch.
Attention. I'm unveiling the existential mystery of existence to the general public. Life is not a given, governed by ironclad rules and possessing its own will. Life is like a piece of clay, obedient in the hands of its creator (me, you, him, her, them, by them, for them, and so on).
Always expect pleasant surprises from yourself, wherever you go.
If failure unexpectedly comes your way, do everything to ignore it, or if that's not possible, convince yourself and everyone else around you that it's just a fluke and will soon pass. After all, any failure is a sure sign that an awesome success is just around the corner!...
On a glorious summer day, I was driving, lost in thoughts about my own complexes, clearly intending to sort them out. I've noticed more than once that as soon as I wish for something and relax, continuing to live as I always have, magically everything comes true.
Many of us perceive happiness differently. Perhaps those who find the simplest forms of satisfaction - money, fame, power - conclude their search. Unfortunately, if humans didn't evolve, I could say, "Thank God!" But eventually, the sources of illusionary happiness acquired by such people will reveal their deceptive nature to others and cease to provide pleasure, and the illusion will collapse.
Love is openness. When the heart is open, there are no defenses, you are laid bare… Such openness implies total trust in the world. And in my life, I've never had problems with such openness.
You wander through the world, touching other people. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it's hot. Sometimes it's cold. Sometimes it's warm and gentle. Sometimes it even seems forever. But time passes, and you're on the move again.
The person who walks towards themselves and does everything to be true to themselves is worthy of respect by definition. It's not an easy path - the path to oneself. And it's not always grateful. A person grows only until they reach a certain spiritual purity and SINCERITY, it's very difficult for them to socialize - to fit in with this world.
It seems to me that everyone around has his or her own opinion about how the Universe is designed. And I have listened to all their theories - incredibly interesting, of course - and the more I listened to them, the stranger I felt.
Since I believe that the past, present, and future are not some continuation over time, but rather concrete components of the present moment, I began, like a cat with its tongue, to pass through my entire life with thick strokes, straight from childhood, illuminating, like an X-ray, with sunlight all the moments of family and closeness that I experienced, all the signs of lack of love and disconnection in my family.
The soul is born for song and lightness. This world is full of Love. And I want to whirl in it, as in a dance.
But sometimes—who knows what—little hooks grab me and hold on. And I get stuck in the perplexity of the heart. Am I to blame? Did I do something wrong? Am I scared? Did I consider myself unworthy?
To achieve something, the following is necessary…
Clearly understand what the desired outcome should be.
For example, "I want to run in the mornings" is not an outcome. The outcome should be "developing a habit of running in the mornings." The outcome should be measurable in some way.
I hear the creaking of the white swings. And the supports – they are red. I turn my head and slightly open my mouth. I know my mouth looks beautiful this way. I straighten my back. And I am excited. I am so excited that suddenly it seems like I might fall. But I pull myself together and walk past the small lights.
I love it when it starts to darken during the day because there's a heavy leaden cloud hanging overhead, filled with thunder. The branches reach northward under the force of the warm wind, and the grass trembles at my feet.
I agree that it's important to take into account the rules established within the "husband-wife" system (oops, got a bit complicated there, let's simplify). If it's established that "left" is just as natural as "right," then no complaints are accepted.
Being a passionу one, I indeed don't just wish for seductive occurrences in my life, I passionately desire them, permeating these desires with energy and love, joy and hope.
Have you ever noticed those energy vampires around you? They can be beautiful, intelligent, interesting, and charming. In fact, they usually are. Because if they weren't, we wouldn't get caught in their enchanting webs. How we get caught isn't the point: it's easier to capture an unprepared person than to keep them.
I'm not a woman. I'm a wind that wants to escape the limits of rituals, politeness, and "have to's".
I've come close. I can feel it. What I've been searching for so long, I think I've almost found.
Subconscious substitutions of true beliefs with false ones
I want to love. But I'm afraid. Because love brings pain. In the end, I stop wanting to love. I want to love with my heart, but I don't want to with my head.
Who is a talent?
Talent is someone who has some creative abilities. For example, a good voice. Or the ability to draw beautifully. So that others like it. Or here's - the talent of a leader. In general, talent is not such an extraordinary thing. At first glance. But in my opinion, talent is an open channel of creativity.
Once upon a time, there was a Life. One day, someone asked her, "How are you living?" So then, after thinking it over, furrowing her brow and alternating between smirking with her right and left cheek, carefully and thoroughly pondering the question, she finally lifted her smoky eyes, framed by short black lashes, to look at the one who had asked the question before answering...
