Nobody here understands me!

[sayak83]

That's a generous and kind way to respond to my anathematizing post!

I'll be thinking about that. What I think I would like to do now is learn more about the community service that people here, and the communities that they're part of, and other members of those communities, are involved in. I'll be in and out of these forums, so it might be a while before I continue with that.

Cool.

 

[Jim]

Someone asked me about my history in my love life, and I decided to answer it here. Starting in junior high or high school I fell in love four times before I fell in love with the person that I later married, then I fell out of and back in love with her again, and I’m still in love with her. “Getting better every day.” “We’ve only just begun.”

 

[Jim]

I'm feeling burned out again, and now I'm thinking about people that I'll miss if I ever actually stop posting here, which I decided to do two or three weeks ago.

 

[Jim]

Thought policing. Playing the victim. Acting like snowflakes. With all my experience and what I thought I knew, about counterfeit diversity and social justice, I’m surprised that I didn’t see through all this sooner.

 

[Jim]

(To myself) Remember, it’s just a roleplaying game. Just a roleplaying game. Take some slow, deep breaths. Count to ten. It’s just a roleplaying game. Just a roleplaying game.

But ... but ... isn’t there anyone who has any interest here, in the offline world around us, outside of the game?

 

[Jim]

Not even trying to correlate anything with any reality in the offline world around us, and proud of it.

 

[Jim]

But why does it keep surprising me and traumatizing me? Maybe just a habit that’s hard to break, of thinking that people are talking about the offline world of actual experience.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

But why does it keep surprising me and traumatizing me?

It's hard to say. I have made the observation, perhaps I'm misunderstanding, that you will pretty much make a post saying "things might be getting better, I have hope" then 5 minutes later make a post saying how things are getting bad. I'm not calling you out, just providing the constructive feedback that perhaps you shouldn't let your happiness be based on a forum and not only that, that there may be better methods of making a difference than just calling out behaviors you see in such a broad sense, no one will know what you're talking about (most of the time).

I hope my post isn't taken the wrong way. I'm trying to speak in love.

 

[Jim]

Here I am preaching about the value of stories and what we can learn from them, and I can’t even practice what I’m preaching with the stories right here in front of me.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Here I am preaching about the value of stories and what we can learn from them, and I can’t even practice what I’m preaching with the stories right here in front of me.

Sometimes stories keep us within a narrative we need to break out of

 

[Jim]

It's hard to say. I have made the observation, perhaps I'm misunderstanding, that you will pretty much make a post saying "things might be getting better, I have hope" then 5 minutes later make a post saying how things are getting bad. I'm not calling you out, just providing the constructive feedback that perhaps you shouldn't let your happiness be based on a forum and not only that, that there may be better methods of making a difference than just calling out behaviors you see in such a broad sense, no one will know what you're talking about (most of the time).

I hope my post isn't taken the wrong way. I'm trying to speak in love.

Thanks. Sorry for the theatrics. Don’t worry, I’m fine.

 

[Jim]

Maybe I’m as much of a clown as @PopeADope . Is anyone having any fun watching my clowning? That might make it all worthwhile.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Maybe I’m as much of a clown as @PopeADope . Is anyone having any fun watching my clowning? That might make it all worthwhile.

I view you more like Obama - a man of integrity, with the occasional vision problem. But still awesome.

 

[Jim]

“To dream the impossible dream ...”

 

[Jim]

It’s like cooperative storytelling, only different, because different people are wrapping themselves and others in different stories. Media stories, faction stories, stories of their own. Me too. I have my own stories, but I’m continually comparing them with my offline experience and results of my own research, trying to correlate them with the offline world of actual experience. I take things that people are saying as being about that world, and I keep feeling betrayed when I find out they aren’t.

 

[Spirit of Light]

It’s like cooperative storytelling, only different, because different people are wrapping themselves and others in different stories. Media stories, faction stories, stories of their own. Me too. I have my own stories, but I’m continually comparing them with my offline experience and results of my own research, trying to correlate them with the offline world of actual experience. I take things that people are saying as being about that world, and I keep feeling betrayed when I find out they aren’t.

Do you only listen to people and their views, and live by them, or are you study the Bahaì scriptures and live by that?
I noticed you been looking at different religious paths lately and I was wondering if that is a part of being Baha´ì or maybe you would benefit from the study only scriptures from Baha´i?
Sometimes your writing here indicates you are unsure of what to study. Do you feel so?

 

[Jim]

Do you only listen to people and their views, and live by them, or are you study the Bahaì scriptures and live by that?
I noticed you been looking at different religious paths lately and I was wondering if that is a part of being Baha´ì or maybe you would benefit from the study only scriptures from Baha´i?
Sometimes your writing here indicates you are unsure of what to study. Do you feel so?

I mostly study Baha’i scriptures, a short passage each day, before meditating. I want to learn to do it twice a day. There’s also a passage that’s like a garden for me to retreat to sometimes. Sometimes I search in Baha’i scriptures for answers to questions. I always have one or two virtues that I’m working on. Also, there are two prayers and a verse that I want to ponder every time before I post, but I’ve been forgetting that since a week ago or maybe more.

Sometimes I do research in the Bible to see what I think about what other people say it says, or to help me understand what Baha’i scriptures are saying.

The reason I’m interested in Buddhism, Confucius and Taoism is because those are three of the most influential religions where I’m living now. I think it will help me be a better friend to my Chinese friends. My question about what to study is because actually the religion closest to the hearts of some of my friends might be some kind of folk religion which is all three of those in some ways, and none of them in others. Now I think the best way to learn might be from the festivals. Yes! Of course! That might be the best way to learn about the stories!

 

[Jim]

I’m learning about online cooperative storytelling games. I thought it might help me fit in better with the storytelling games here. It isn’t exactly the same because the stories people are telling here contradict each other, but there might be some similarities.

Storium - the Online Storytelling Game

 

[Jim]

Just now I did a Google search (apologies to @Samana Johann ) for debating without any rules or judges, and I couldn’t find anything.

 

[Jim]

It can’t be serious. None of it. They can’t really be as foolish as they look. That’s what people keep telling me, that none of it is serious, it’s all just for entertainment. But it looks so serious sometimes. I need a walkthrough for this game, but do I even want to play?