Posts made by NoeticJuice

@cs3000 said in Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) eliminated OCD:

about mesembrine being more serotonergic

I recall reading that it's also a monoamine releaser

did u swallow after? and how long did you keep it in mouth?

I placed the powder between my lower lip and my gums. I didn't check how long I kept it in my mouth but it was at least 30 minutes, perhaps even an hour. I allowed myself to swallow saliva after that time period. For sublingual administration people on r/kanna recommend keeping the powder under the tongue for at least 15 minutes.

also did u notice improvements leading into it with the other 2?

I'm unsure of what you mean by this

@Nomanarch I don't feel like wasting time and my very limited energy reserves, but I also don't want to be rude and ignore you. This is likely to be my last reply to you on this topic.

@NoeticJuice said in just3another3normal3person:

Assuming that nothing stays the same, that there's no unchanging foundation, then change would just be something disappearing and another thing appearing out of nothing. And, of course, nothing comes from nothing.

Based on what you wrote, TS claims that something appears from nothing. Also, claiming that awareness exists independently from that which is aware is a claim entirely detached from reality.

TS is impossible. But if you can't see beyond what is given, I don't think I can explain it to you. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

@Nomanarch Thanks. Now I know that I understood the terminology and ideas sufficiently well.

Transcendental Solipsism denies logical necessities and is therefore impossible. It needs no further consideration, just another theory to discard.

Update: 15 days since my last dose of kanna and my OCD is still only around 1% of what it used to be at it's worst. It no longer disrupts my ability to function in daily life. The other effects (increased energy and ability to focus on the external world) have faded away completely or at least nearly completely. I might experiment with kanna again soon to see if I can get the other benefits back.

@gg12 said in just3another3normal3person:

The universe is in dissonance—it causes innegligble flaws and errors in all things, which results in disagreement and conflict.

On a smaller scale there are things to be observed that are unpleasant. But when viewed as a whole, from a higher vantage point, the is universe is quite beautiful in the way everything works together. Perhaps it could be likened to a beautiful solution to a problem, or a beautiful equation.

There may be flaws in the universe in the sense that it isn't perfect, but I wouldn't say that they are flaws in the sense that they should be fixed. Only the One (perhaps you could call it God) that remains the same and contains everything within it, lacking nothing, is perfect.

Perfection is redundant, harmony is perfect enough.

Perfect enough for what purpose?

The universe is governed by mathematical destiny.

I wouldn't call it "mathematical destiny", neither would I say it's something that governs. But if something happened, then it couldn't have happened any other way.

@Rah1woot said in just3another3normal3person:

Everything is Developing All the Time.

Development is a form of change. But if everything changes, then what does? Assuming that nothing stays the same, that there's no unchanging foundation, then change would just be something disappearing and another thing appearing out of nothing. And, of course, nothing comes from nothing.

Development, unlike change, also implies advancement or growth. While this can happen at least to a degree in the world we perceive, there's no growth in the One. It's already whole and complete, and has nothing outside of itself to contribute to growth. Though this point is kind of redundant in the light of my previous point.

@Nomanarch said in just3another3normal3person:

Consciousness is the only given.

Consciousness changes all the time. And as I already mentioned to Rah1woot: for something to change, there must be something else to make that change possible.

By the way, awareness is an attribute of something else. It has no independent existence.

All else is representation.

Representation of what? For there to be representation, there must be something to be represented. This implies some forms beyond the world of representation.

Ballistics does not refute solipsism; it merely shows that the dream is internally coherent.

The coherency itself suggests a coherent structure beyond the scope of individual consciousness, especially since the coherency remains in the absence of awareness of it. Things can influence us without us being aware of it. And later, it's possible to figure out what was affecting us and to test it.

It's easier to claim that the only thing real in a dream world is oneself since dream content is determined by an individuals conscious and unconscious processes. The waking world functions differently from the dream world, as I'm sure you have noticed.

If we are to say that the mind can't grasp things outside of itself, then perhaps we could say that the mind "projects outwards" towards these external structures. And as it makes contact, then the change in the form of the mind is interpreted as the experiences we have.

I also see no reason why we couldn't attain direct knowledge that is not merely representation. Even though our individual consciousness isn't all there is, a part of us is still essentially one with the foundation of all existence. The One contains all there is. And as so, it seems possible to have direct understanding. But perhaps the part which can attain this kind of understanding is not the mind. Or maybe it is. It depends on our definitions which can vary from person to person, from theory to theory.

@Rah1woot @Nomanarch I haven't read any of the writings of the people Rah1woot mentioned, this is my first introduction to solipsism, and I don't read much philosophy in general. As such, it's entirely possible I misunderstood some terminology or ideas and therefore commentated on them incorrectly. If this is the case, then please clarify the terminology or ideas so I can learn and better address them, if there is anything left to be addressed.

Most of your reply can be interpreted through the perspective I provided in my previous reply. I do still feel like commenting on some parts of your reply. But before you read the rest of this reply, I ask you to re-read your reply through the previously provided perspective.

@wester130 said in The ‘Fall’ of man from a new perspective.:

There is a sort of 'dual' nature to creation: immortal and mortal.

The immortal is not created, it doesn't have a beginning in time. Eternity, and so immortality, is outside of time and space. Only the mortal is created.

The immortal creation is real and is LIFE. The mortal creation is unreal and is DEATH.

As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to keep life and death within the realm of time and space. God, being outside of it, is neither alive nor dead. But this might just be semantics. This is how I'll continue to use these terms.

By the way, nothing is "death". Death is the ending of life, not a thing in and of itself.

Death is unreal to God, and as God is the source of all life, God cannot be the 'father' of mortal man, contrary to popular belief - God did not create this creation of sin and death on purpose - it was manifested as a consequence of Satan's rebellion against God as Life.

Are you suggesting that God and Satan are entirely separate entities? If so, then there must be something antecedent to and containing both of them. For any kind of communication or interaction to occur between separate things, there must be a common medium which allows this to occur. But if we are to say that there's something antecedent to God, then wouldn't God not be God anymore?

Light cannot be conscious of darkness nor darkness conscious of Light--yet they coordinate upon and influence each other; and as you became Real, in consciousness to one you become un-real in consciousness to the other, as you become conscious of one you become unconscious of the other.
by becoming conscious of one of the attributes of the Devil - lust - mankind was cast out of the presence of God into the consciousness of the mortal creation - sin and death.

You seem to associate "good" things with light and "bad" things with darkness. I am capable of simultaneously being conscious of the light and dark parts of myself. If light can't be conscious of darkness, and darkness can't be conscious of light, then I, being conscious of both, am neither. You'll either have to change your ideas of light and darkness or you'll have to accept a third entity that is antecedent to and contains both.

absence of God in the soul

God is the basis of everything that is. As so, there can't be a complete separation of God from soul.

All of His Creation is spiritual and made in his image.

God contains the potential for everything, and creation is the materialization of that potential. Creation is a continuous process. With every unit of time, with every change, the old dies and the new is born. You can think of it similarly to pixels on a screen turning on and off. There's a potential for the pixel to be turned on, and when they are turned on and off in specific ways, various forms of creation are observed. This isn't a perfect analogy though, but it's decent.

Things are created "in his image", but not as perfect replicas, though I don't assume you meant that. The perfect, eternal (or immortal, if you prefer that word) ideas of things are within God, and creation is the imperfect replication of those ideas within time and space.

man's consciousness (the soul)

These two are not to be confused with each other. As I mentioned in my reply to your original post, what is commonly thought of as consciousness arises from the interplay of the soul and the body. This is evidenced from the book "Return to the Brain of Eden", Peat's work, experiences with psychoactive substances, and even everyday occurrences such as the effect of blood sugar on mood and behavior.

As pertaining to blood sugar, here are my thoughts briefly on this:

• An organism needs adequate energy for survival. When blood sugar is low, people can become hangry. They need fuel, without which they'll die if they go long enough without it. In certain situation, like in environments of scarcity, the anger could be important for survival. But when living in abundance, and without any perception of present or future threats, there's no need for the "negative" behaviours.
  That being said, these states of consciousness and resulting behaviours are mediated through various chemicals, and these chemicals can be altered through drugs, foods and other things to create the same internal chemistry as in a state with an obvious external threat even if there is no real threat.

The attributes of the evil angels are spiritual darkness and hatred, greed, vanity, deceit, lust and spiritual death, all of which is the absence of God as life in the soul. The attributes of the fallen angels are manifested in the personality and nature of the material and physical man.

The state of the body doesn't just contribute to lust and the various "bad" things. It also contributes to "good" things like empathy and altruism. There's an entire class of drugs, empathogens, that increase emotional empathy and decrease aggression. Both "good" and "bad", and the way we perceive them, are modulated by the body. Human behaviour, including both "sinful" and "good" behaviour, is better understood through the lens of (evolutionary) biology and biochemistry rather than fallen angels.

I put "good" and "bad" in quotation marks because, from my perspective, nothing is inherently good or bad.

I experimented with two different extracts of kanna from https://bioextracts.co.uk/. They are "Classic Sceletium Extract" and "FS5". I first tried 25 mg of the classic extract buccally. There were some positives from it but I also got a mild headache for the entire day and didn't really like the effects overall.

After a few days, I tried 25 mg of FS5 buccally. From this, I got a mild mood boost, a slight but noticeable and meaningful increase in energy (I have chronic fatigue, maybe undiagnosed CFS), it was a bit easier to focus on the external world (I'm usually stuck in my head most of the time, and still was while using it but to a lesser extent), and the external world looked slightly better than usual (observing more beauty in the same environment). The biggest effect for me was the elimination of my OCD by around 99% on the same day I used it. However, I seemed to get a mild headache from this extract too.

I took another 25 mg dose the next day. The effects from the previous day persisted, so I don't know if the second dose really gave me any additional benefits. I still had a mild headache, so I decided to take a break from this after my second dose.

The day after, my OCD hadn't returned. It was still slightly easier to focus on the external world, but that effect seemed to have faded a bit. Fast forward to today, 6 days after my last dose of FS5, and my OCD hasn't returned. I also still have slightly more energy than before, and it's still slightly easier to focus on the external world. I've been continuing to take ginger extract and passionflower extract the whole time, so I can't exclude the possibility of a positive interaction between ginger, passionflower and FS5.

As for why it had such a positive effect, I suspect it could have something to do with PDE4D inhibition. PDE4D inhibition enhances dlPFC function, and from the linked reddit article:

• "Enhancing the dlPFC over the whole prefrontal cortex is normally more desirable because you get a more selective outcome and also you don't enhance areas such as the OFC, which can be problematic if overactive (potentially leading to conditions such as OCD) [11][12]. Enhancing the dlPFC can actually bring brain regions back into a harmonic system, for example enhancing the dlPFC through different methods has been shown to reduce OCD phenology through overriding OFC (orbitofrontal cortex) activity."

Mesembrenone, an alkaloid found in kanna, is a relatively potent PDE4 inhibitor (unfortunately also an SRI):

• "The extract was a potent blocker in 5-HT transporter binding assays (IC(50) 4.3 μg/ml) and had powerful inhibitory effects on phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) (IC(50) 8.5 μg/ml), but not other phosphodiesterases. There were no cytotoxic effects. Mesembrine was the most active alkaloid against the 5-HT transporter (K(i) 1.4 nM), while mesembrenone was active against the 5-HT transporter and PDE4 (IC(50)'s<1 μM)." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21798331/

FS5 has more mesembrenone and less mesembrine than the classic extract. But these are not the only differences between the extracts, so it's possible that something other than mesembrenone (maybe an alkaloid from the "15% other alkaloids") was also having a beneficial effect on me. And of course, it could also be a specific combination of different active compounds

Classic Sceletium Extract has a total alkaloid content of 6%, out of which:

• 60% is mesembrine
• 20% is mesembrenone
• 20% is delta-7-mesembrenone

FS5 has a total alkaloid content of 5%, out of which:

• 25% is mesembrine
• 40% is mesembrenone
• 20% is delta-7-mesembrenone
• 15% are other alkaloids

Edit: I also took 100 mg of blue lotus extract (80% nuciferine) on the second day of using FS5. I've used the same dose of blue lotus extract once before and it didn't affect OCD much. I still wanted to mention it just in case.

@wester130
Whether most of what you wrote is true or not, I don't know. But I'll entertain the ideas presented in your post, comment on them, and offer interpretations I see as more rational.

This genetic manipulation meant that the vast perception range of humans in the real golden age was now gone, and a series of genetic ‘upgrades’ (slavegrades) have confined humanity to this sliver of ‘reality’ — visible light. This involved a massive infusion of reptilian genetics to connect humans vibrationally to their ‘Matrix’.

Human vision, via the eyes, is confined to the spectrum of visible light. However, perception can go beyond this.

The Reptilians created humans in their genetic image in that they infused the human body-computer with their own reptilian information and coding.
Now, linking this into my other posts. What exactly is this human form they created in their image, and tuned human awareness into?

I quote Christ:

‘Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.’

Here, The Master declares that the father of mortal man is none other than The Devil, and that his domain is lust, and that there is no truth in him.

From this, it appears that what humans (or perhaps more appropriately, "souls") were tuned into was the human body itself, not necessarily having needed to be modified by some entities known as reptilians. The body exists in space and time, but true reality is that which is outside of space and time, the One. Hence, we could say that the realm of time and space is the father of mortal men.

It is dangerous to believe that people don't believe you because you're telling the truth. If a person truly believes this, they trap themselves in a position where they can't (from their perspective) be proven wrong, even if they truly are wrong. There are various reasons for why people dismiss truths. But as far as I know, people don't dismiss truth just because it's true. I've never needed such a concept to understand human behaviour.

The mortal man is the same human ‘body-computer’ that the reptilians created through their genetic manipulation and tuned human awareness into it. This mortal man is unreal; and is propagated through the serpent’s mind, which is the mind of the fallen angels, and is death. Death is the absence of God’s mind in the consciousness of the soul - the spiritual man made in God’s image.

The realm of time and space is in a constant flux of death and birth. Change is death. That which was is no more. But then something else occurs, or perhaps you could say is born.

A relevant quote:
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." - Heraclitus

But with constant change, there must be something beneath it which makes it possible, something unchanging. This could be called the One, or God, or pure potential.

There is definitely a part of us which is real, beyond the material unreality. This is confirmed through experience. Without an experiencer, there is no experience. And that which doesn't exist can't experience. This would be the part of us which remains, the one that is connected to the One, while the "mortal man" keeps constantly dying.

The ‘lie of the serpent’ is that the sex and lust senses are the source of life, when in fact, they are the source of death, the sex and lust senses whereby mortal man is propagated IS the serpent’s mind which connected humanity to the fake ‘Matrix’, it ‘IS* the hive mind - the mind of the fallen angels. The fallen angels are attempting to assimilate human awareness into their domain. That is the true yet horrible truth.

If the sex and lust senses are the serpent's mind, then the serpents mind is the physical body. Our consciousness is formed through the combination of the soul and the body (I feel like words are limiting me here). Soul is pure and makes consciousness possible. Consciousness is also dependent on the body, and the body alters consciousness. Sex and lust senses are there for a reason: for the continuity of animal life. The soul separated from the body has no lust.

Christ and the Apostles were from a more ancient domain and were manifest here to prevent this from occurring. Christ (The Son of God) was manifest without the law of lust of the fallen angels (immaculate conception) and was therefore free from ‘sin’ which is sex-lust, and overcame the serpent’s mind in thought desire and consciousness, and therefor overcame death and came out of the grave

Perhaps Christ realized that the true self is the soul. The body still dies, but the the body is no longer being identified with. The soul is realized to be the true self. And so in a way, he overcame death (the realm of time and space). I suspect the story of Christ is more metaphorical than literal.

All sickness, disease, and insanity comes out of the mesmerism of the serpent’s mind. The human race thus hypnotized by the serpent mind believes the lie of there serpent - that there is pleasure and life in the sex-lust senses and therefore propagates here in this mortal state, and goes to the grave.

The soul confusing itself for, identifying with, the material world it perceives.

Everything you (@wester130) wrote beyond this point can be interpreted through the perspective I provided. However, there are some comments I still want to make.

The serpent (mind of the fallen angels) lives and has his being within the thoughts of the sex brain. The thoughts of this serpent, which are lust, poison both body and mind, and produces directly or indirectly the diseases of the human race, and damns the soul. It is the mind of fallen spirits, whom God cast out of his presence for having rebelled against him as life.

I don't think it's a good idea to view these as "poison". Everything comes from the One, and nothing is without purpose. You can choose to have sex or to abstain from it. Both are valid decisions. But if transcendence (if that's the right word) is desired, it's paramount not to remain attached to the physical. The various things life has to offer can be enjoyed without identifying with them or becoming attached to them. Being in the world, not of it.

The fallen spirits are in outer darkness. They have no consciousness of that which is holy and divine. They are lustful in thought and nature. This is sin; and this is death; and the “devil sinned from the beginning;” that is, was carnal in thought. This was the origin and the beginning of sin and death

Sin, in this case, could be interpreted as the lack of wisdom, or the knowledge of that which is eternal, or true self-knowledge.

The lust of the flesh is the mind of fallen spirits - the mind of the fallen angels. Had our Lord yielded to this mind, this fallen race would have been eternally lost. But by overcoming the serpent’s mind, in thought and consciousness, he kept the holy state of thought and consciousness and became the redeemer of the human race.

Here "thought" and "consciousness" aren't the best words to use. It's through wisdom, by recollecting the self, that the illusions are burned away. The soul, no longer searching itself from outside, will no longer get trapped, or embodied, and therefore it overcomes death.

At the basic energetic level, humanity essentially has become a battery for this archontic energetic distortion - all the thoughts of sorrow, envy, hatred - low vibrational emotional energy, are generated and the ‘fallen ones’ can then absorb, synchronize, and feed on it.

Could very well be that the soul, being in essence one with God, can be used as an energy source to power the world. If this is the case, then perhaps, if we harness the power intentionally, it would be possible for us to bend reality to our will. But if this is possible, I can imagine a person wielding such power destroying themselves with it, becoming high with power. The beneficial use of it would require an appropriate orientation or direction of the mind, if this is the right way to say it (again, I feel limited by words).

Remember the traits that ‘emanate’ from the reptilian mind or serpents mind are not just lust they are also: psychopathy (no empathy), ritualistic behavior, a desire for control, compulsions and obsessions, worship, rigidity, and hierarchies.

As with lust, these also come from the animal body and are involved in survival (or adaptation to stressors) and the creation of offspring.

The ‘truth vibrations’

Truth, or rather wisdom, does not vibrate. Vibration is motion, motion is change, and change is death. Wisdom is eternal and still.

A few final notes:

• This is perhaps just personal taste, but I'd rather limit life to the realm of time and space. Life and death happen there, and that which is eternal is beyond life and death.
• It was mentioned that there is a separation from God, at least for some. This, however, can't be true in the literal sense. If God was before everything else was, then the only "material" that could be used to create things is God. Everything that is real is God, and that which isn't God isn't real. But there can be a separation from God in the sense than one identifies with the unreal, and is ignorant of their connection to God.
• The book "Return to the Brain of Eden" by Tony Wright and Graham Gynn feels relevant here, though it's approach or lens to these matters is quite different to what I've written here. It's more biological and less philosophical. Nonetheless, I think it could help provide some perspective. Reading Peat's work also helps.

@war4512 said in Music through the bioenergetic way:

Music is an inherent component of our identity. It is a kind of mirror, transparently revealing the nature of our character. It is the most authentic marker of personality, as music leaves no room for secrets—it is an expression of ourselves.

@the_black_jew said in Music through the bioenergetic way:

that song is so bad. but to each his own. it’s objectively bad tho

Nice way of (potentially) increasing serotonin in another person. I wonder why a member of this forum would want to do that to someone else.

@war4512 said in Music through the bioenergetic way:

@war4512 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpZLQI_uORs&ab_channel=HardMission

A song that evokes a lot of positive emotions in me. One of the most motivating tracks.

I liked how the song sounds a lot. The only thing preventing me from adding it to my playlist are the lyrics, but they do fit OCD quite well. I still feel a bit like I should add it.

This is one of the happiest pieces of music I'm aware of, but I don't listen to it frequently:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhusP6wn5p0

Some music I've been listening to a lot recently:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb4vzBErGyw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlBIo2FaRmQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVpIVj1kJwc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvklafyQZaM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2onIu-x1wE

Two books some of you might find interesting, both by Joscelyn Godwin:

• The Harmony of the Spheres
• The Harmonies of Heaven and Earth

@pondfountain said in Passionflower and OCD: personal experiences:

@NoeticJuice
While taking Passionflower were you also on any medications?

I've never been on any medication for mental health. It might be worth mentioning that I've been using ginger extract the entire time I've used passionflower extract. I started using ginger a few month before starting passionflower. Ginger didn't have any noticeable effect on my OCD on it's own but I can't currently rule out any interactions with passionflower.

@war4512 @gg12 https://bioenergetic.forum/post/37610

I had severe OCD for at least 2 years and milder forms for longer. During the second half of last year I experimented with a passiflora incarnata extract. I took it daily and experienced gradual reductions in OCD symptoms. I didn't notice ay acute effects. Noticeable reductions in OCD occurred only after using for 2-3 weeks, then symptoms continued to get better. After using it daily for ~2 month, time spent doing OCD related things reduced by ~70-80 percent. This is really significant, especially considering that I used to do them for 8-10 hours daily by my estimation. However, the extract doesn't seem to reduce symptoms any more than this no matter how long I continue to take it. The way it seems to work for me is that it reduces OCD-related anxiety significantly, therefore making it easier to just not do the things I would have previously felt like I needed to do.

I went a few weeks without the extract and my OCD gradually came back. It seems like I'll have to keep taking it to maintain it's effects. When I started taking the extract again, my OCD got better.

The extract I use is by Soria Natural. The only reason I use it instead of other extracts is because it's the only passionflower extract that doesn't contain ethanol that's available in a local health food store. I have no experience with other passionflower extracts and can't currently compare them. I use the product as recommended on the label.

@yerrag said in Why is raypeatforum so touchy about the topic of looks, becoming more attractive, and height?:

When you say you avoid being with narcissists, were you saying there is no judgment on your part?

I don't judge them in terms of right or wrong. I just think it's harmful for me to be near them. So I do judge whether or not it's beneficial for me to be around them.

Hope to see more agreement as we share ideas on bioenergetics

I agree, that would be nice

@yerrag said in Why is raypeatforum so touchy about the topic of looks, becoming more attractive, and height?:

Please best in mind I was speaking mostly against being narcissistic. And if you feel that being narcissistic is fine, then we cannot have a meeting of the mind.

I don't like narcissists but I don't judge them (in terms of right and wrong) for being narcissistic. There are reasons for why they are the way they are and they couldn't at that moment be any other way. If I know a person is a narcissist I would avoid them because being near them is likely to be harmful to me.

And while I cannot deny that being attractive has its advantages, you speak as if that is the only gateway to success.

Depending on what you want improving your appearance can be really beneficial or pointless. Perhaps even a hindrance as you say but I don't think this is the case for most people. You'll have to see for your self what you really want in life and then decide if it's worth improving your appearance or not.

what have you done about it from a personal success standpoint? Have you grown an inch taller of a foot taller? Has your jaws become much more prominent in a significant way? Has your facial structure and appearance undergone a change that made you so handsome beyond recognition to a fault by your efforts.

I already have good facial structure but not perfect so there's still room for improvement. I'm not currently doing anything about it. I have grown around an inch taller but I didn't put any effort into growing taller. My growth plates seem to still be open.

It is a different story when what you seek to attain is within the realm of realistic, to such extent that you are not obsessed with achieving the impossible.

If something is impossible then there's obviously no point in trying to achieve it. However what is imagined to be impossible is not necessarily impossible. Depending on how important something is to you, you might want to try to achieve it even if there's only a small chance. It would be beneficial to work towards a vision without hurry and enjoy the journey without being too attached to the outcome.

people not blessed with the genes to be models. If you're not so blessed, why bother

I find it likely that model-like appearance isn't prevented by genes in most cases. Rather it has more to do with environmental influences. In a perfect environment everyone will look great but still different from each other. I recommend watching videos on the youtube channel "Orthotropics" for more info on facial development.

Younger people are better able to change their appearance. If you're really old then attempting to greatly change your facial structure might be futile but some change can still be made. This is why it's a good idea to focus more on appearance when young if attractiveness or the things attractiveness positively affects are important you you.

Why not be more realistic and assess where your strength, and edge, lies? Why not develop them? Spend more of your time on pursuits that will reward you because you have that gift or talent? That way, you will be more fulfilled, hsppy, and self-respecting, and you can be more secure. And be in s better position to share your hsppiness with someone you care for. It is for me, a nobler pursuit.

If, let's say, painting was my passion but I'm talented in mathematics I think I would focus on improving my painting instead of mathematics. Doing what you're good at while avoiding your passion is not going to lead to the best possible life and can lead to an unhappy life. However if you're too attached to the outcome (in this case perhaps becoming a well known painter) and fail at doing so you might feel deep regret and wish you just did what you were good at. This is why holding everything with an open hand and enjoying the journey is important

@yerrag In my early teens I used to have similar opinions as you do about appearance and about people who are focused on improving their appearance however my opinions have changed over time. A person looking to become more beautiful isn't necessarily shallow and can be very interested in becoming a better person by improving mental and spiritual aspects of themselves too. Wanting to become more attractive isn't always caused by insecurities either. I know this from my own experience.

There are benefits to being attractive. Being generally attractive improves your chances of getting a job, having taller can help in some sports, and improving facial structure also improves airways and thus health. These are only few of the benefits. Some aspects of appearance such as bone structure are more difficult to improve when older so focusing on them when still young makes sense as long as you don't completely neglect other important things.

If something has happened it means it couldn't have happened any other way. This is understood when you keep in mind that every effect has a cause. So why judge anyone? By judging others you're allowing yourself to be judged by your own subconscious.

@noodlecat59 said in A super interesting case of high testosterone levels.:

@Norwegian-Mugabe being able to bond with peers is a sign of high intelligence. being unable to bond with peers is autism.

A ~11-minute video about intelligence, socialization, and communication:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8uWAEnlCl4

In short and in relation to your reply:
People with very high IQs can find it difficult to form meaningful relationships because they perceive the world very differently from people with an average IQ. They also won't be able to freely communicate their ideas and perceptions because people with an average IQ often would not be able to keep up with it.

I recommend watching the whole video for more details and a better understanding of the subject

My OCD improved by ~20% after ~2 weeks of strictly avoiding PUFAs. I haven't noticed a reduction in obsessive thoughts but my anxiety related to them decreased and therefore I'm better able to avoid doing the compulsions/rituals. If I eat more PUFAs within a day or two then my symptoms worsen again. 2 or 3 days of strictly avoiding PUFAs after eating them for 1 or 2 days is enough to reduce my symptoms back to what they were like before eating more PUFAs. By strictly avoiding PUFAs I mean avoiding anything with more than 1% of their calories coming from PUFAs with the exception of chocolate