Male Toxicity

Funny isn't it that there only seems to be a category for toxic masculinity, but there doesn't seem to be an equivalent term for toxic femininity. It is as time goes by more apparent, that men in general and very specifically white first-world males in the west are seen as the world's problem. It seems from a certain perspective that you can ascribe any number of critiques, insults, or judgments upon us and we are supposed to `respectfully' take it on the chin, buck our ideas up, and not complain that we are under such scrutiny and critique because if we do we are just making the point about our toxicity. In some ways, it's a beautiful trap, doomed if you do, doomed if you don't. 

I often think that men should just go on strike for a few days, a week say. Just none of us turn up for work regardless of what our professions are. Not for money, just so society has a wake-up moment realising the load we carry, for the most part silently, because we are too busy keeping the world running to bitch and moan about how `We've never had it so good.'

John Vervaeke, Ep. 3 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Continuous Cosmos and Modern...

Part three, is a history lesson about cognition and its development. So, not a huge surprise there, however, what we learn, is that cognitive fluency is relative to the material presented to allow you to learn (amongst other things). I can only do an hour each time I watch, there is too much information to assimilate if you try and binge watch, and this is a good thing ... clearly, educators make lectures last about an hour for a reason (had a doh! moment as I realised this) ... that will be an aspect of secondary thinking, which is covered in the second episode.

As an aside, and I am no expert on the Younger Dryas event, all I know is that which I have read on Wikipedia after learning of the hypothesis from friends a few years ago, John Vervaeke doesn't refer to it by name, but the historical context could well be there in the mix

Younger Dryas impact hypothesis

Younger Dryas

John Vervaeke: Ep. 2 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Flow, Metaphor, and the Axial Revolution

How you think, and how you came to think the way you think, is the surface detail here. I would suggest that everyone could benefit from watching this episode as a stand-alone insight into the royal "us".

John Vervaeke: Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Introduction

On from Jordan Peterson's courses on personality, I found John Vervaeke's take on meaning and perspective very interesting, and would you Adam and Eve it, he's put together an entire course of lectures on the subject. 

I heard a thing recently "when the student is ready the teacher arrives." and everyday is a school day. Already after one hour, I have been able to unpack some stuff. He also has videos on guided meditation, for those who are interested, and of course it comes from the perspective of a scientist so the woo woo is minimal.

Jocko Podcast 336: Your Superpower. How To Get It. How To Use It.

I have to confess when I came across Jocko Willink a few years ago, I didn't want to like him, I wanted him to be some ex-Jarhead gung-ho all-American fuck-knuckle who I could dismiss as a product of the American military-industrial complex, getting old and fat on war kudus on the TED talk circuit ... BUT then I listened to a snippet, a slither, a wafer-thin segment, the core, the essence, the absolute gist "Extreme Ownership."

It was revelatory, and I realised I was just suffering from extreme envy and resentment and that this geezer put himself in the line of fire with all the awful risks that go with the job, to protect the freedoms we in the west enjoy. Frankly, I was ashamed of myself. I adopted extreme ownership and being responsible for everything (If you read here, then you will know I almost came off the rails completely). But at my back, and in my head, Jocko and Jordan Petersons' words and ethos's made me get back up and drag myself kicking and screaming through another twenty-four hours, another day, another week, another month and so on. 

I think we can safely say the incremental interest of small positive changes have accrued. Thank you, Jocko, thank you, Jordan Peterson, you helped me, put me back together.

I don't listen to all Jocko's podcasts, some of them are for want of a better phrase culture-specific, so, while they may be informative in some way, they sit outside my niche interests. This one piqued my interest because when Jocko talks about your powers, he does so in the context of your mindset, not that you can hump 40kilos in a backpack 40-miles through a field of broken glass while it rains hailstones the size of golf balls.

I will say no more, watch the podcast, absorb the information on offer. Your life will improve, it really is that simple.