A State of community

[tassadar]

First of all - read this. You're done? So... what is your opinion about the state of our community? What are your suggestions? Ideas? Anything? Write it! On my blog, on this forum, on your blog, on other websites. Just say it. We can't hide from our problems, we must confront them. And it is the time to do this - to change something.

PS: For those from psionicsonline - it is not a Deja Vu

[neopsychic]

Has anyone read the article? This is probably why many people don't post a lot on psiworld.

[Mat Ethers]

I would read it but it's a dead link for me. I seem to be getting a lot of those lately.

[Brilenus]

Had not noticed this before, so I shall comment now.

In my very short time in the psionics/magic community, I am forced to say that this is true. People get worked up over making a simple ball of energy that floats around in a circle. Very few seem to progress much farther than that. Even the few who get past such simple things rarely even look at other forms of magic, thus removing the main intake of ideas from fresh minds.

This all leads to stagnation, loss of knowledge. There is no where to turn to once you have progressed past the first stages of experimentation. The rate people progress is painfully slow at best normally. It is a pity to see so many people with potential just let that potential go to waste. Out of the few dozen people I have felt high potential in, and offered to help, only two have accepted help getting the right mindset put together. Both of them are weaker than I, but they put more focus into other things. The thing is - they DID actually improve, come up with their own ideas and theories, and experiment.

I think that one of the main reasons it is this way is how much things change. When you start, you have words and terms for everything you do. You can plot out what does what via simple math. A energy + B technique = C result. However, once you begin doing hard-core experimentation, you end up with "A-V energy + X-why mindset + I-K phase state + P interference = E-G possibilities" and other such things. Until you learn to filter such things out and work from instinct and intuition, it is like an alien language. There are no set terms. There are no set techniques.

What needs to be done is teaching of how to think. Until you can think properly, you cannot progress beyond certain points. I have seen too many people with potential sit there and repeat my mistakes because they will not learn how to view things, how to think, and how to live. I will not pretend to know how you should do such things, but I do know one path that works better than most I have seen.

I see no reason why people are afraid of the words "Experiment" and "Teach yourself" at all. Such is how I learned, and those who have been around to recall when I joined (under the name Vornakos) will be able to tell you that I went from being a total noob into one of the more skilled in shielding and defense here in an incredibly short time. All it takes it willingness to work on your own, experiment, teach yourself, and learn from your mistakes. If you can do those, you have a very high chance of excelling, even should you not try to do so.

People seem to just want to have everything handed to them. I have had over four hundred PMs/IMs asking me how to do the simplest of things. So few people are willing to put any effort forth to learn - most just want knowledge handed to them on a plate, and expect to gain from it. There are several on the forums who can back me up on this - when you are putting effort into learning, you WILL learn. You may not learn what you want to, but you will learn something or other that will be useful in some form. Should you wish to speak with said people, look for Dangpp, Jose, Nightshare, Idzuna, T_Hornberger. They will all tell you that trying to learn is a major part of the learning processes. Asking for someone to give you the ability/knowledge to do something is now.

On top of this, most places are strict as to what they allow and what they do not allow. This also reduces the ability of the few who wish to learn to actually learn. I will admit that I do not fit in here any longer, as I have turned away into the larger group of magic itself, rather than the sub-type of psionics. I have very little against places like this, as without psiworld, I would not be where I am now. However, it can be quite a bit of an annoyance to spend months looking for somewhere where you can learn, and finding not a single place that works well.




Sorry about the long rant, I have just been rather upset at the state of things lately, so this is a small version of what is on my mind. This is not in the best form it could be in, but rather the "Direct out of the mind of an insane paranoid fool" version. If anyone wants a well-written version of this, PM me and I might try to make one some time.

[Mat Ethers]

I completely agree with you Brilenus except I'm speaking from the bottom of the ladder not the top. It's almost depressing seeing people at my level just stopping and "giving up" the very few people that have actually made it makes it less than motivational and makes it seem hard.

Now I can't read the article but I get what it's about.

also did you get that email you asked me to send to you Brilenus?

[Brilenus]

Yes, I just haven't gotten the chance to reply yet. Much as I complain about people putting other things ahead of psionics, I do it as well. College is more important, so I am focusing on it above most other things. Will try to reply today, after all, I am in a security class at tech school, and I have full access to the server room. Not too hard to bypass security if I need to do something.


And to add something relevant to this topic - most people give up because they don't understand that you actually have to work for things, just like everything else in life. If you wait for knowledge to jump into your head, you will be waiting quite a while. If you seek out knowledge, you will advance ahead of others quite rapidly. Believe it or not, I was like you - I just got really annoyed with everyone not doing anything new, so I just skyrocketed up past them, and then started doing new things myself. Amazing what a little willpower and desire to learn can do.

At any rate, do not think that you have too many problems to advance. It took me a month before I thought I made my first psi-ball. I was too conditioned by society to believe that I could do anything right, even when "right" was not even defined. It took Intrigue taking me aside and showing me that I was doing it properly to actually start me off. Even then, I was more or less blind psionicly for four months. No fun when you are experimenting with things other people have never tried - gotta keep asking everyone else if things are working or not.

No matter what your problems, willpower, experimentation, and effort can overcome them. Once I was unable to create even a psiball correctly; now I can easily reach to another plane of existence, rapidly create an AI construct, and have it go and collect energy samples for me to experiment on. Once I was blind; now I am working on improving my scanning, and correct more often than not.

If you feel stuck or frustrated, repeat this saying to yourself, "And this too shall pass away." as it is true in all times, all places, and all events. Given time, all things shall change. Sometimes that change is for the better, sometimes for the worse. However, what appears to be a change for the worse could simply be a lesson for you to learn.

I would like to share the story of my first cloaking shield experiment - it may help a few people. I was trying to make a cloaking shield around myself, and I had a feeling that if I could use an unstable energy but contain it in a thin sheet, it would have the effect required to confuse people and make them ignore me. While creating this energy, I accidentally altered it to convert other energy into more of itself. By the time I caught it, almost a full half of my energy had been converted into it. That energy was anti-energy. Big boom, energy body was almost torn in half. However, I viewed it as a lesson rather than a accident, so from then on, my experiments have been done in shielded bubbles far away from myself. Even if I do mess up again, all it will do is expand to the shield, then be destroyed as the shield crushes it.



May all go well, and I hope more people might choose to try to learn in the future.

[dash]

i think the psionic community is just about 500 of us.. i think only the people that actually take interest and initiative should be considered psions.. i know.. you might think im mean... but think about it.. the psionic community is fine.. the people who dont practice shouldnt be considered part of the psionic community..
im being harsh again i know.. but its kinda true

[Rippy]

Nice post, Bril, and a nice topic for the thread.
I don't think I'll get much into detail in this one, though, for if you read Stony's reply to the article; it pretty much sums up my point of view. Everything I can think of saying right now has been said before. I'm tired of words anyway, action is so much more satisfying.

It is a crisis. I realized it not long after reaching the psionic community.

Bril is correct. It is the mindset which controls nearly everything in ones life. If you believe your life to be awful, indeed it will be. If your way of practicing psionics is to approach a situation in the same way every time, with no results, and continue to change nothing-- then you will never progress. It takes an observant and creative mind to be successful. Most people don't realize that you can create such minds. You have control over your entire personality, your soul, you ambitions and your desires. You have the power to change these and focus them into paths that will accelerate your learning speed and expand your frame of mind.

I don't know the answer to our current problem. From my point of view, the community's progressive knowledge is trapped. Someone has to break the barriers, but how, who, and when? It's one step to admit that we've reached a crisis and to ask such questions. It's another entirely to be the one to gnaw through our chains. We're only as far away from that wonderful idea as we put ourselves, folks.

[Brilenus]

I have many ideas of how to solve the issue, but I highly doubt that I am the person to bring about change. I am far too passive, far too rational, and I refuse to put effort in convincing others - I allow them to convince themselves, whichever way they decide. Additionally, my ideas are made considering that people are rational, logical, and willing to try things with an open mind. Things that will not happen.

If anyone has any good ideas, please mention them.