I don't really have any argument man. I just shared with Mencoh practices that have helped lessen my rage somewhat. I'm just as clueless as anyone else when it comes to trying to separate individuals from the horrific systems that they enable, my family members and relatives included.
About liberals being liberals, hardly anything can be done about that. This is another similarity between us and them: everyone is largely powerless against and overwhelmed by capitalism. Maybe deep down they believe that a better system is truly impossible. I know it's extremely infuriating to be told that again and again, but things are just as they are.
One important practice that has helped me tremendously and yet I forgot to mention yesterday in hurry: Yidam practice. Basically, instead of being angry about phonies, you fully embrace your own phoniness. I assumed an attitude of absolute pride and holy hell it actually worked to my surprise! In that mental state, I stopped getting angry at people being shitty and simply found them hilarious to the point of finding myself actually smirking at their bullshit. Their shittiness rolled off my mind just like water droplets rolling off a lotus leaf. I kept being like that for a few weeks but then decided to stop because I didn't want to become a psychopath. Moreover, being in that mental state helped me see the value of my usual vulnerable and empathetic self that I had tried to change. I think that experience really helped me to not take myself and my suffering too seriously. Warning: it worked for me but that doesn't mean it is guaranteed to work for you! I was living dangerously and didn't care about the clear warnings associated with this practice. Thinking back now, that was completely reckless.
a way out of this mindset while not deluding myself
I think you need the experience of being in a completely different mental state in order to dispel your doubts. Vipassana didn't work for me but maybe it will help you. Even psychedelics, if legal and available where you live, should be considered. Years ago I read about this old dude who had been a skeptic his whole life before he experienced a transcendental state after being fed a poisonous candy by a robber in Thailand. Good luck on your path!
I don't really have any argument man. I just shared with Mencoh practices that have helped lessen my rage somewhat. I'm just as clueless as anyone else when it comes to trying to separate individuals from the horrific systems that they enable, my family members and relatives included.
About liberals being liberals, hardly anything can be done about that. This is another similarity between us and them: everyone is largely powerless against and overwhelmed by capitalism. Maybe deep down they believe that a better system is truly impossible. I know it's extremely infuriating to be told that again and again, but things are just as they are.
One important practice that has helped me tremendously and yet I forgot to mention yesterday in hurry: Yidam practice. Basically, instead of being angry about phonies, you fully embrace your own phoniness. I assumed an attitude of absolute pride and holy hell it actually worked to my surprise! In that mental state, I stopped getting angry at people being shitty and simply found them hilarious to the point of finding myself actually smirking at their bullshit. Their shittiness rolled off my mind just like water droplets rolling off a lotus leaf. I kept being like that for a few weeks but then decided to stop because I didn't want to become a psychopath. Moreover, being in that mental state helped me see the value of my usual vulnerable and empathetic self that I had tried to change. I think that experience really helped me to not take myself and my suffering too seriously.
Warning: it worked for me but that doesn't mean it is guaranteed to work for you! I was living dangerously and didn't care about the clear warnings associated with this practice. Thinking back now, that was completely reckless.
I think you need the experience of being in a completely different mental state in order to dispel your doubts. Vipassana didn't work for me but maybe it will help you. Even psychedelics, if legal and available where you live, should be considered. Years ago I read about this old dude who had been a skeptic his whole life before he experienced a transcendental state after being fed a poisonous candy by a robber in Thailand. Good luck on your path!