Taking the Red Pill- the importance of being aware of your own best interest

[[Fl...]]

The red pill and its opposite, the blue pill, are popular culture symbols representing the choice between embracing the sometimes painful truth of reality (red pill) and the blissful ignorance of illusion (blue pill).

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_pill_and_blue_pill

 

If you are reading this, chances are you have had to learn the hard way that things aren't always as they seem and you can't take for granted that other people always have your best interests in mind.

 

What I am proposing is that you take a look around you and ask yourself "Are there any other lies I am being told that could have a detrimental effect on my health and well being or the health and well being of those I care about?"

 

So much of the information we receive is propaganda or is at least biased in some way, so it is of the utmost importance to ask ourselves where the information we get comes from and who benefits from it. Often times it seems like it is coming from well intentioned groups or individuals who have our personal best interest and the greater interest of society in mind, but is it?

 

This is not a political post. This goes much deeper than politics and it is possible to be lied to from all sides of the politcal spectrum which makes it that much more important to learn how to swallow the red pill. It's ugly, it's bitter, and it's BIG. But once you learn how to swallow it you will start to see things that you were blind to in the past and you will be able to make better decisions with your own best interests in mind.

 

 

[[Po...]]

We need to open our eyes and make sure the pill we take will strengthen us.

[[Fl...]]

It is all about opening our eyes. I will let everyone draw their own conclusions about the other things that might be able to hurt us but I can guarantee you that benzos and psych drugs aren't the only thing.

 

If something like this could happen to people in the so called civilized world in the year 2016, what else do we need to open our eyes to? The world is certainly safer in general today than it was 1000 years ago but we can't afford to be complacent. We live above a thin veneer of safety and comfort but the world isn't always as safe as it might seem.

[[Be...]]

I think we are being brainwashed everyday by the powers-that-be who DO NOT have our best interests in mind.  The DNC and RNC are perfect examples.  Lots of entertaining speeches, but that's been going on for decades.  Nothings changed or gotten better after all this time.  We're being distracted by colorful speeches and other stuff, while what is not being reported is what is really going on the world that does affect us.  The news now is nothing but shock and awe crap.  DNC on every single channel on my basic cable.  I feel like the character in 1984. 

[Guest [Le...]]

It is all about opening our eyes. I will let everyone draw their own conclusions about the other things that might be able to hurt us but I can guarantee you that benzos and psych drugs aren't the only thing.

 

If something like this could happen to people in the so called civilized world in the year 2016, what else do we need to open our eyes to? The world is certainly safer in general today than it was 1000 years ago but we can't afford to be complacent. We live above a thin veneer of safety and comfort but the world isn't always as safe as it might seem.

 

Amen to all of it, FloridaGuy - psychiatric drugs were the first and last blue pills that I ever swallowed blindly.

 

Here's to a reality-based future! 

[[4G...]]

"Humankind cannot bear too much reality"  T.S. Eliot.

 

Just a thought.

[[Fl...]]

I think we are being brainwashed everyday by the powers-that-be who DO NOT have our best interests in mind.  The DNC and RNC are perfect examples.  Lots of entertaining speeches, but that's been going on for decades.  Nothings changed or gotten better after all this time.  We're being distracted by colorful speeches and other stuff, while what is not being reported is what is really going on the world that does affect us.  The news now is nothing but shock and awe crap.  DNC on every single channel on my basic cable.  I feel like the character in 1984.

 

Political discussions aren't allowed but I agree, it comes at us from all angles.

 

I have never been a big "news" person, probably because at a base level I always knew that the news is as biased as anything, but lately I have been getting into listening some alternative news sources online. The internet has the potential to be the big equalizer with the whole psych drug epidemic but it doesn't stop there- the mainstream media is now losing share to these alternative news sources on youtube and twitter and such and it is extremely "unplugging" to hear so much information that makes sense for a change, things that you won't hear in any of the mainstream media outlets.

 

Amen to all of it, FloridaGuy - psychiatric drugs were the first and last blue pills that I ever swallowed blindly.

 

Truer words have never been spoken. 

 

"Humankind cannot bear too much reality"  T.S. Eliot.

 

Just a thought.

 

Absolutely. Here's another quote for you, from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene:

 

Law 32

Play to People’s Fantasies

The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.

 

This is the trickery that is being used on us. Tell people what they want to hear and they will give you their last scrap of food and the shirt off their backs.

[[Be...]]

T.S. Eliot, exactly, and that's what it is:  Law 32, Play to People's Fantasy.  People would rather be mesmerized than see the stark reality of truth, it's too distressing.  We must keep our heads in the sand or we would all go crazy. 

[[ho...]]

Questiion is.....what are we going to do about it? If we choose not to decide, we still have made our choice....somebody once said that...

[[ni...]]

T.S. Eliot, exactly, and that's what it is:  Law 32, Play to People's Fantasy.  People would rather be mesmerized than see the stark reality of truth, it's too distressing.  We must keep our heads in the sand or we would all go crazy.

 

Thats true, I've been listening a lot to self proclaimed spiritual teachers such as Eckhart Tolle, Mooji etc... and I often get the feeling its all a big scam or at best these people have just entered a state of 'grace' where they are far removed from their emotions and feelings..

[[Fl...]]

The big issue is that so many people are unaware of this false reality they are living in so their guard is down. I have seen enough of it that I should have known better with the benzo deal so I wonder how much more unplugging I have to do, and I consider myself to be pretty well clued in.

 

Questiion is.....what are we going to do about it? If we choose not to decide, we still have made our choice....somebody once said that...

 

I think the most important thing is to open our eyes. We are lulled into this false sense of security and that is a dangerous thing. It is up to us as individuals to assume that the rest of the world does not necessarily have our best interest in mind until it is proven otherwise.

[[Be...]]

I studied world events for decades and pulled the curtain back on what's really going on.  It's frightening.  I listened to endless hours of talk radio on the web and read many books and articles about the truth about things.  We can't talk politics on this forum anymore, but it's the truth that the banks run the world.  They print money out of thin air and manipulate our money supply and cause the recessions and depressions.  Hollywood force feeds us dark, depressing, lewd and disgusting media causing the breakdown of the psyche in the human race.  Nothing pleasant, moral or uplighting on the TV anymore, like when I was a kid.  No, they are not giving us what we want.  They are dictating what we will watch.  It's done this way so they can keep the masses suppressed and mentally broken and make sure the family unit is destroyed and doesn't live in harmony, then they can control us better.  A strong mind that can discern the truth would be a danger to them.  There would be upheaval and revolution and they would lose their power. 

[[ho...]]

Right on becks!!

[[Be...]]

The "people"--not sure if they're human--who run this world are POWER hungry and love to dominate and control people, it's in their DNA.  They don't want us to have freedom.  Most bosses I've worked for on the numerous jobs I've worked at were the same way.  I know people who are power driven.  They're our neighbors, family and friends.  I'd say every other person on this earth is a control and power-driven freak.  What's that famous song,  Everybody wants to rule the world?  About right.  Look around and see if there aren't alot of people who want to control and abuse others?

[[ho...]]

Its just so sad. I think these are the end times and much of what we are witnessing has been fore told. Doesn't make it any better though. Still scares the you know what outta me.

[[Po...]]

There are so many parallels. It seems like the powers that be want us all drugged, eating bad food, consuming various kinds of mindless media, in debt, and above all never questioning the way things are and how they could be different.

 

The more time I spend in nature and trying to live as naturally as is possible in this society, the more surreal it all seems. But it's a huge challenge even when you do see it. And it's all too easy to get caught again in a momentary lapse of vigilance or just a bit of bad luck, even when you do know.

 

This benzo experience though has made it less likely for me to do that ever again. At least I hope so.

[[az...]]

Good post.

[Guest [mu...]]

This is one of the main reasons why I've been studying herbalism so intensely these past few years. NOT commercially-driven, alternative market consumerist herbalism (e.g. buying overpriced herbal capsules because you saw some David Avocado Wolf meme), but REAL herbalism. Learning from teachers with a lineage. Reading books written by those who have studied and practiced for decades. Learning to identify plants that grow wild in my region, and then making free medicines from those plants, as many people once knew how to do. Realizing that there is a reason that people forgot how to do this, and it's not because plant medicines don't work. Finding joy and satisfaction in the radical, anti-consumerist, and self-reliance aspects of herbalism, as well as in the aesthetic and poetic dimensions of it. Reading the history of modern medicine and how and why it came to function as it does now. Educating myself about the dangers of all pharmaceutical drugs, then striking a balance and appreciating the life-saving and crucial aspects of modern health care as well. Learning, digging further, and not accepting anyone's blue pill, whether it comes wrapped in a box from Pfizer or from a caring naturopath. Understanding that sickness need not be some terrible enemy that we need to fear and eradicate by any means necessary.

 

And of course, this goes way beyond health care, too....

 

Great post, FG.

 

[[co...]]

Ni Mutuuraia, on the subject of herbalism check out Saint Hildegard of Binegen, a visionary who lived in the 1100's. The pill that really got me in trouble was white, lol.

[Guest [mu...]]

Thanks Confused, I think I'm definitely going to have to do that. She's been coming up a lot in my readings lately and I was very intrigued by her. I'd love to get into the old texts at some point - the history there is utterly fascinating. This is definitely going to be a lifelong pursuit for me, although I'm quite sure one could study herbalism for 10 lifetimes and still have only scratched the surface (which oddly enough makes me very happy indeed.)

[[Fl...]]

I am not a conspiracy theorist. There isn't some big nefarious plot that is being implemented by a certain group of people. It is many different groups of people all looking out for their own interests. It is all about human nature and as becks pointed out, the desire for resources. It is a natural thing. It is in our nature to gather resources to help us survive and thrive.

 

There are certain people who refuse to play within the rules that society sets forth, but I would argue that the bigger danger is with the ones that play mostly within the rules (sometimes working to change the rules to benefit them) that allow the dangers of their actions to go undetected. This psych drug debacle is a prime example. Thousands of innocent lives destroyed and as it stands no one can really do a damn thing about it. It's just scary to think that this can't be the only thing we have to watch out for.

 

 

[[co...]]

So you're saying there is a massive conspiracy of human greed and stupidity, lol? 

[Guest [mu...]]

Yup, it's not a conspiracy, it's just capitalism and the disastrous effects that occur when all basic human rights and services are turned into for-profit ventures.

[Guest [mu...]]

It is all about human nature and as becks pointed out, the desire for resources. It is a natural thing. It is in our nature to gather resources to help us survive and thrive.

 

That's just another blue pill, my friend. It's also in our nature (in all kingdoms: human, animal, insect, plant, fungus) to cooperate, share resources, and help others in need. Current ideology has left us to believe that nature is inherently self-interested (kill-or-be-killed), and that our modern ways of living are in accordance with this. But despite the capitalist language that most nature documentary filmmakers tend to use (i.e. "the flower exploits the bee"), this is not actually the case, and nature is also equally cooperative and mutually beneficial.

[[Fl...]]

So you're saying there is a massive conspiracy of human greed and stupidity, lol? 

 

I am saying that "greed" in and of itself isn't bad. Or at least what many people call greed. Of course there are degrees of selflessness and self interest in the world, but at the end of the day everyone has to lookout for themselves and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We just have to keep that in mind when we make decisions that affect our own well being.

 

Yup, it's not a conspiracy, it's just capitalism and the disastrous effects that occur when all basic human rights and services are turned into for-profit ventures.

 

I don't want to get too political with this but I will say that in order for any ideology to succeed long term it cannot go against human nature. Our current system is flawed for sure but it isn't necessarily because of capitalism. My life was ruined by a drug that was created under this system, but 3 years ago my dad's life was saved by innovations that would have never been made had people not had financial incentive to solve problems. It's a double edged sword and the flaws are in the details, not the system as whole.

 

That's just another blue pill, my friend. It's also in our nature (in all kingdoms: human, animal, insect, plant, fungus) to cooperate, share resources, and help others in need. Current ideology has left us to believe that nature is inherently self-interested (kill-or-be-killed), and that our modern ways of living are in accordance with this. But despite the capitalist language that most nature documentary filmmakers tend to use (i.e. "the flower exploits the bee"), this is not actually the case, and nature is also equally cooperative and mutually beneficial.

 

Nature is cooperative but it is cooperative in a self interested way.

 

Humans would like to believe that there is no self interest in their "selfless" acts, but there absolutely is. Some people get a rush of feel good chemicals from building empires, and some get the same rush from being altruistic, and good and bad can come from both. But when it comes down to it, everyone is looking out for their own interests, and rightfully so. That is how we have survived for millennia. Both types of people just need to be aware that sometimes the safety nets that most of us take for granted won't protect them.