Freedomain Radio

I know what you are saying.  (at least I think I do).  For me, it was this amazing knowledge that I wanted to share, but then when i did, I felt all icky and terrible like I wished I had kept my mouth shut.  Things snowballed from there and combined with other issues to create a very lonely life. 

What I am saying is: You don't have to do anything.  Be an example of philosophy applied, not a spokesperson.  You will know when you are ready to be a spokesperson. I know that sounds kinda silly, but it is true.  It doens't happen over night or even over a year.  It takes much longer.  I am still not there yet, after about 8 years of this stuff.  Everyone is different, but this has been my experience.

Talking about philosophy should make you happy.  Living it will eventually make you happy, but it will feel like hell first and for as long as you don't live it 100%.

Choose your battles is another thing that has helped me in the last while. I don't engage as often as I did in the past.  I can see now how it had negative effects on my life.  Not because of what I was saying but because of how.

Hi Ex,

I can relate to your frustration. It's pretty awful to hear someone take something from your past (that is not your fault) and use it against you. I had my psychotic episode and many people dismiss what I say because of it. It's a hard pill to swallow, but the reaction shows who's empathetic, curious and basically good (if such a broad word applies ).

I've begun to insert little "FDR ads" into conversations with people who I think are intrigued and would benefit a lot from the ideas that I've found so helpful and important. I often mention a great board discussion or a podcast that covers a topic I've talked about with a friend or a relative.

I haven't had much luck yet - e.g. my brother's reaction to my mentioning Stef's videos was "Oh yeah, is that the guy who says that the purpose of life is happiness? Well, I get happy when I get new golf shoes, so no problem!" My best friend hasn't listened to the podcasts I've sent him - I think he doesn't want to solve his problems (he's very passive-aggressive and been on disability for 15 years). It's very disappointing and sad when your enthusiasm gets shot down, but I try to persevere...

After all, I know that I'm such a philosophy n00b that I can't apply much of anything yet. I've often thought of this whole change as suddenly realizing you can walk after 30 years in a wheelchair. My "legs" are atrophied and weak, and I have to proceed with patience and caution. I just wanna run but I know I'll fall if I try to go too fast too soon.

I'm with you on this. I used to be a conspiracy theorist and when I started getting more into FDR, I was worried that everyone would think that this was just another fad I was in. As a result, I ended up avoiding talking about my ideas for about a year.

What has really helped is looking at FDR and virtually every other movement I have been a part of very critically and to accept that I am really just a slave to reason and evidence. You might feel bad that you were a follower of cultish ideas, but most ideas are cultish in a way when you don't fully submit yourself to reason and evidence.