Getting the Word Out

@claudiu well you did put it up here for a critique, so we’re all having a go lol. Maybe we could just DM?

I do think Miguels got a point though. I would also use language that’s a bit less formal and start with with something personal and relatable before touching lightly on the broader implications for humanity - if that’s something you’d like to include.

I think you can just launch into your piece from the get-go with your own take. There are broad overviews on the AFT and now SA.

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:smiley: that’s what I get for asking for putting something up for feedback … … feedback! Who coulda figured?

I had a magical experience while writing that. I thought if others could experience it too then it is worth putting out there. So I am very partial to it :smiley: . But I’ll see how it evolves as I write/re-write think more about the whole thing. and take into consideration what you guys said. It is hard to resist the urge to write a nice intro to actualism I guess :smiley: .

Also I like Richard’s direct approach to this, putting what it is all about right up front. That in my opinion gives the chance to immediately interest a certain subset of the population - which is perhaps the one that will most readily benefit. I remember I read a lot of the AFT before gradually coming to recognize that what was being spoken about was the meaning of life in and of itself. And it was quite a shocker where in my first trip in Australia, where I relayed an experience of synchronicity I had that I thought pointed to the meaning of life, and Vineeto said “No that doesn’t sound like it” (or something to that effect), to realize that she meant that there was a meaning of life, as in a singular actual what-it-is, as opposed to it being something every person evaluates for themselves.

So this way that is put right up front for the reader. 99% may roll their eyes and turn away, but it’s the 1% I’m interested in at this point!

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It’s an interesting point of view, and I think that in these cases one does not have to look for the best possible article (which we do not really know a priori how it can be, neither in substance nor in form -besides, it probably cannot exist because there is no way that only one article can satisfy the needs and conditions of all readers). But it is not necessary either: blogs allow to generate an unlimited number of articles on different topics, or on the same topic but from different points of view.

Why don’t you write TWO articles?

  • One, exactly from the perspective and with the objective/target you propose in this last message
  • The other, from the perspective proposed by @Srinath .

Of course, you don’t have to answer; it’s just another idea that you can discuss with Srinath privately.

At the end of the day, just write like you would like. My editorial input was just a guide. I envision different pieces by different writers, each with their own style. It’s more important to get it out, rather than to get it perfect. Then obviously not having any big errors re: actualism is important, but I can’t see that being an issue in your case.

This has been a fascinating topic/subject for me basically since I got into actualism: how to communicate it to others?

The percent of people that I’ve actually been able to explain it to in a way that I saw they understood has always been very low, and the percent that has actually been moved to do anything about their personal human condition has been even lower, stooping very close to zero.

I’ve personally found that my efforts to ‘spread the word’ have been rooted in my desires to make my actualist identity bigger, for more people to know that ‘I’ ‘have it all figured out,’ ultimately a rotten motivation. Whenever I’ve really thought about what the best thing to do is, it’s to become free and then think about telling more people. Otherwise I’ll always be talking over my own head to some degree.

And @Srinath and @geoffrey have no such excuse :wink:

My experiences with trying to explain all this to others have illuminated a few things:

  • I agree with @claudiu that the severely depressed are not necessarily the best target audience for actualism, though obviously there are some people that would benefit from it. I’ve just found that depressed people are in a tough spot and it’s hard to get anywhere from that spot.

  • Similarly those who are already invested in their personal spiritual way aren’t likely to change their views

  • Something related to the above points is that in my experience approaching others with actualism in mind severely limits the potential of being heard. When others come to me and ask me about this or that, then there’s a conversation that can get somewhere. Richard echoed something similar when I spoke with him, he said he never brings it up to others. Sometimes others will come to him and comment something (eg “you’re so calm!”) and then something productive can happen because they’re interested. I think any kind of ‘outreach’ as such is doomed to be experienced as proselytizing, which is an inherent turn-off.

  • There’s a two-direction problem that I see with 1) Not enough visibility and not many will see it and 2) too much visibility and it becomes a target for the internet hate brigade. We all know what internet comment sections can look like at times. This may only be a matter of time and visibility before that happens, though. Also it may not matter much, it’s only ‘my’ identity that’s worried about that particular outcome. Richard faced loads of vitriol over his years of running the mailing list.

  • It does seem that podcasts and other platforms like youtube, instagram, and tiktok are where a lot of traffic is nowadays, but that doesn’t mean that they’re good platforms for communicating what actualism is about. It depends on the predilections of the specific actualist. There’s plenty of room for experimentation with all of these.

  • I think a major benefit of audio and video platforms is that the actual lack of vibes of free people comes through, several people that I’ve shown the videos to have been struck by Richard even if they didn’t quite understand what he was talking about.

  • Something I think I’ve noticed is that people who connect with actualism tend to have high reading comprehension. That may be an artifact of Richard’s wordy style, it may be that those who have read a lot (in general) have a better concept of what the available options in the world are, leaving actualism as the remaining viable/necessary option. Maybe that would change with more non-written content being available, maybe not.

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@henryyyyyyyyyy Good points.

I’ve come to the conclusion that actualism and actual freedom aren’t for everyone. The appeal is pretty niche. But raising its profile might legitimise it in the eyes of those who might not give it a second thought because of its obscurity. I on the other hand was actually attracted to its obscurity lol.

I’ve similarly failed to interest anyone I’ve met into seriously pursuing it, but then again I have spoken to very few people about it. I found it difficult to convey it coherently for a long time and this lead to the creation of Simple Actualism. Yes, of course there is the chance that writing and talking about it becomes a self aggrandising thing, but so does almost everything the feeling being does. If one is attentive to the potential for self-delusion, then writing about actualism can further ones own clarity about it. As a feeling being I benefited immensely by writing about it on forums and you could say the same for Vineeto and Peter.

All we can do is put the message out there so that we can increase the changes of that small niche of people becoming aware of it.

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When I first showed my partner the AFT she was pretty turned off by the lo-fi web design, she thought it was corny.

So I helpfully pulled up the scientology homepage, which is extremely clean and polished.

There is something to be said for obscurity.

The other side of this is, what do we have to hide? Nothing.

IME the people you meet in daily life - friends, colleagues, partners, family etc that you think would benefit from actualism often don’t want a bar of it. Or else they get into it superficially when times are hard and move on quickly.

We’re trying to reach those who have a certain history and aptitude that when they hear about this something in them is stirred. It’s what they’ve been waiting for. From that point they eventually become obsessed - like many of us here. We don’t know who or where they are, but dissemination through the internet on various media increases the chances that the message will reach them.

And yes, some will come with mental health problems. That’s always been the case. Not something we can prevent. It’s a complex situation. Some of them will be better served getting more conventional help, others might benefit from incorporating actualism into their lives and might even be especially good candidates for actual freedom because of it. We’ll have to manage that even more probably once AF becomes more widely known

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On that note, the TATFoundation could be a good place to submit an article. They have also been doing ‘viritual retreat’s’ which could also be a good arena for a presentation of sorts. The only thing is, is that they’re spiritually bent, but you’d probably find some people in that crowd with the aptitude and interest.

https://www.spiritualteachers.org/ - - The guy who runs this website does a podcast where he talks to different enlightened people in the community. I really think it’d be interesting if he did a podcast with an Actually Free person.

The spiritual community is probably still the best place to find promising candidates. :crazy_face:

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Maybe, but I don’t know if a spiritual platform is right for us.

Heads up, I did just put up some links to this forum and Simple Actualism on a DHO thread - for what its worth:

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Certainly not on the regular but a visit might grab some spiritual seekers that don’t know Actual Freedom is a thing.

Release the kraken! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: curious what the response will be actually

I’ve gone ahead and published the article I wrote here - https://actualism.online/ . Feedback is welcome!

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I really enjoyed the article :smiley: Always cool to see just how similar my experience has been to yours… Random/drug inspired PCEs - > detour down the spiritual → long period of making sense of what actualism is but not doing much → finally getting that the method is enjoying and appreciating → inching closer to my destiny.

No particular bits of feedback really come to mind other than maybe that a large chunk of it describes the trap of Spirituality and there is not so much mentioning what it is about Actualism that delivers the goods, although I guess that could be explained in detail in other articles.

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I especially like this bit as it reminds me of what I nowadays enjoy with Sonya and what I never had in my past relationships :

“One of the biggest indicators that what I’m doing is actually on the right track is the appreciation my partner shows for me when I’m being happy and harmless, and the frequent bouts of naive fun and intimacy that we enjoy together. I highly recommend it for anybody interested in being happy and harmless in the world as it is with people as they are.”

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Also it seems to me that what would be useful for people who are just getting into Actualism is more specific writings on how Actualism plays itself out in the lives of say Claudiu or Cub933 as opposed to more general explanations on what the method is.

For example I remember almost giving up Mixed martial arts when I first got involved with Actualism, out of some weird Actualist morality. But I didn’t and what I find now is that I am still able to train and coach MMA whilst simply feeling good, Actualism just made it all better and I never had to give anything up.
So for example that sort of personal account would have been interesting and useful to me when I first started with all this, it would have shown me the sensibility of it all in practice.

Or explaining the specifics of the troubles me and Sonya went through when we first met and there was a bunch of male/female issues to sort through.

I think going into specifics is what would make it a lot more relatable and applicable for people. Maybe I will write something also :smiley:

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Sounds like a great opportunity for you to write something indeed! :smiley:

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This is a good point - I edited the end a bit to make some room for this. Probably it warrants another article, which I can then link to from the end of this one when it’s done. I am open to someone else writing it :smiley:

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I think it’s excellent! Exactly the kind of article that can resonate with many people.

By the way, it is the type of article that I thought would be developed in this very forum (for example, part of what I want to share in my diary has this historical-narrative format). This is why I find it SO important at a given moment to stop speculating and EXPERIENCE different things (like getting out of Slack, for example).

Only one observation, although it can stay as it is: after “took me out of my normal way of being”, I think you should specify in what sense. That this experience (which you mention again at the end of the article) showed you that “there was far more to life than my usual anxiety-ridden existence” does not clarify to the reader in what sense (did you suddenly feel non-anxiety, peace, happiness?). Ultimately, I think what that fragment that ends mentioning the PCEs is asking for is just a brief personal description of what you experienced then, beyond the AFT link provided.

I have already sent the article link to a friend, and i will share it elsewhere.

I really enjoyed it. Congrats!

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Yes, spot on :slight_smile: I just updated it now