Have you ever completely changed your mind on something big? \ stacker news ~alter

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Have you ever completely changed your mind on something big?

3442 sats \ 111 comments \ @Signal312 15 Oct alter_native

I have. There's two things that come to mind, as areas that I've done a full 180 on. One is vaccination, and the other is nutrition.

Vaccination...I distinctly remember, years ago, thinking to myself how evil those parents were, that chose to NOT vaccinate their children (and thus, supposedly, risked harm to other children).

I don't even know what prompted this thought - I suspect that it was a rabidly pro-vaccine article in mainstream media, likely bought and paid for by the pharma industry. I had never even KNOWN anyone who was unvaccinated, or didn't vaccinate their kids. Or at least, anyone who talked openly about it.

I actually had a yearly recurring calendar appointment, for the whole family to get a flu shot every fall. I thought all these shots were GOOD for us. Big regrets there.

I'm sure you all can guess what caused me to change my mind on that one, of course it was covid. In the area where I used to live, not being vaccinated was tantamount to being an untouchable. I remember planning a group hike with some people, only about half of whom I knew. I was told that it might be a good idea to keep quiet about not being vaccinated. The hike didn't actually happen (all social activity plummeted and hasn't recovered) but I certainly wouldn't have felt welcome if it had.

Covid, and the intense, constant pressure to get a shots made me skeptical. Being skeptical made me do some poking around, and luckily I found a reddit subforum called something like CovidSkeptics (which, of course, ended up being shut down). That opened the door to lots of other information that I gulped down like a person dying of thirst drinking a glass of water.

Nutrition is the other issue I've done a 180 on. This is what I used to think:

Fruits and vegetables are good. The more, the better.
Whole grains are good
Fiber is good.
Low fat is good, if you need some fat you should use canola oil
All animal products, and particularly meat, should be strictly limited, and used more as a condiment

I've completely switched my diet now, to carnivore/animal-based. Basically I eat lots of high fat beef - I never get tired of it - and also eggs, some dairy, fish, and poultry.

What caused this drastic change? Most people who go carnivore are trying to lose weight, or have some kind of autoimmune disease, or digestive issues. I didn't have any of those issues, but I was not satisfied with my health. As much as I tried to eat healthy, and eat all the "superfoods" that I could, I didn't feel that great.

So I was open to new ideas. And really, I have Saifedean Ammous to thank for introducing me to the carnivore diet, as well as to bitcoin. Because of my respect for him based on his book The Bitcoin Standard, I was open the idea of carnivore. He mentions it occasionally on his podcast, and also interviews lots of people that have alternative ideas about nutrition. The guest that influenced me the most was Nina Teicholtz. Her book, The Big Fat Surprise, was a revelation, and within a month of reading that, I had become carnivore.

So, those are my stories about how I changed my mind on a few big topics. How about you?

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326 sats \ 4 replies \ @adam_coinos_io 15 Oct

I'm with you on those two. My latest 180 is on religion, specifically Christianity. I had some exposure to it as a child but was raised secular. In my teens and 20's I considered myself agnostic or vaguely spiritual with an interest in Eastern religions, philosophy and psychedelic experiences. I went through an atheist phase and thought Christians were all brainwashed zealots in a big cult. Lately I've started reading the bible, going to a church and praying and I'm coming around to accepting the possibility that God and Jesus are real.

132 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 15 Oct

Thanks for sharing that. As a Christian, I'm encouraged by your thought process.

The main thing I wish atheists would see is that it's not just some big brainwashed cult... it's a historical religion with solid philosophical and historical arguments, that has inspired billions for over two thousands years.

Also, the idea that religion is the root of repression and violence is very much overblown. One merely has to look at the damage done by atheist philosophies in the last century. It's our human natures that lead us to oppress and do violence to each other, we often merely use ideology as an excuse.

11 sats \ 2 replies \ @Signal312 OP 15 Oct

Thanks for the comment. So if I understand right, you're going to church and reading the bible and praying, before actually being convinced that God and Jesus are real, is that correct? I'd be interested in learning more about what caused you to take this path.

108 sats \ 1 reply \ @adam_coinos_io 15 Oct

Sure yeah I never discounted the possibility that God is real and used to pray once in a while as a kid or even very seldomly as an adult usually for health, happiness and protection for myself and my loved ones. My life ended up turning out pretty well -- my parents are still with me, I fell in love and got married, had some beautiful kids, found financial freedom through Bitcoin and in general didn't suffer any major calamities so I started to feel blessed and that maybe my prayers were subtly answered after all.

I also started to get a sense of the extent of the evil and wickedness being perpetrated in the world and began noticing that some people I respect and follow online were Christian and were confident in Jesus' ability to protect them and overcome evil. More recently some people came into my life that had themselves converted to Christianity after being non-believers and I asked them about their faith.

111 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 15 Oct

Thanks for the details. It's interesting how when people you really respect follow a certain path, that path becomes something to consider.

31 sats \ 1 reply \ @TheMorningStar 15 Oct

Yes, As a college boy I used to think that you achieve everything because of destiny but now I believe in Karma.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

💚

157 sats \ 4 replies \ @SimpleStacker 15 Oct

Two incidents really changed my view on doctors.

First is, my son has a disability. When we first started noticing things were off, we saw a lot of doctors. They all had a different opinion on what was wrong. One told us he would never walk. We asked about this therapy clinic that uses an experimental type of physical therapy. He recommended against it, without even really looking at it, just because the therapy wasn't by respected academics. (This the same doctor who said son would never walk.) We decided to go against the advice and try it anyway. Guess what, son is walking now and going to school and all that.

Second, the way most doctors just bought the official narrative hook line and sinker during Covid.

I learned that (most) doctors don't actually think for themselves. They regurgitate what they're told by medical textbooks and pharma companies.

Joe Rogan said it well. If you need a specific procedure done or you need a specific drug, go see a doctor. But for general, more holistic health advice, avoid them.

64 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 15 Oct

I came to have the same view of doctors.

Something I realized after meeting a few doctors outside of work is that they aren't scientific minded people. Like you were saying, they memorize a ton of information (much of it very valuable), but they aren't really interested or curious about the truth or thinking about the claims they're repeating.

59 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 15 Oct

I remember talking (back in early covid times) to a neighbor who was a doctor.

Information had just come out about ivermectin, and how it was a potentially helpful treatment. My doctor neighbor was from India, and the study on ivermectin was from India, so I sent it to him, thinking he'd be interested.

He flatly answered back, "We need to wait for the vaccine".

And that was it.

55 sats \ 1 reply \ @398ja 15 Oct

I recently went to the doctor and came back with two misdiagnosis, and a prescription of antibiotics and statins. I'm so happy I decided not to take them. I've also watched countless YouTube videos of patients who've survived stage 4 cancer, and what they all have in common is that they're actors, and not just mere passive spectators, they're very much involved in the decisions concerning their health, and often going against the advice of their doctors. Truly inspiring!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @398ja 16 Oct

This Guy is amazing, and I believe he also has an English YouTube channel https://youtu.be/VYCjLH5u0Hk 🇫🇷

47 sats \ 4 replies \ @398ja 15 Oct

On nutrition, I don't believe there is a superior diet. IMHO, what matters is avoiding processed food, and optimising the intake of micro nutrients...

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

Food is a journey.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @398ja 15 Oct

Exactly, we're constantly changing, and the food must adapt to it

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @Signal312 OP 15 Oct

Which micronutrients are most important, do you think?

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @398ja 15 Oct

I'm thinking mostly of vitamins and minerals. I've never thought about it in terms of which ones are more important, so I'm struggling to come up with a sensible answer, but I think it may depend on the individual, and what state they're in.

PS: I recently watched this video https://youtu.be/VaL8EXQE8Uc where the author, an MD, was talking about the importance of salt, which I found a novel and interesting take.

55 sats \ 2 replies \ @Satosora 15 Oct

Vaccination. Fiat. Passports and visas. All total garbage.

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @rebel_nomad 15 Oct

Totally agree!

If I had been able to I'd literally burn the only passport I have, I know people who've gone down that route, declaring themselves totally off the map & completely sovereign.

But when your home country is occupied by globalists and you have haven't got that local network that those have as long as a body not capable of doing those winters any longer...

Oh well, I'll do well as a Rebel Nomad! ;-)

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

👏

119 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 15 Oct

We've talked about it elsewhere, but my major 180 was on the ethics of consuming animal products. I grew up hunting and fishing for a non-trivial portion of my diet, but have come to see that and almost all animal farming practices as unethical.

I probably haven't done a full 180 on religion, because I'm still not religious myself, but I've done something like a 170 on it. In college I was a militant agnostic and read a lot of the "New Atheist" books. However, I've come to see religion as being very important in maintaining the social fabric in a healthy culture.

Similarly, while I've always hated the government, I've done a 170 on it: going from being a constitutionalist libertarian to a strict voluntaryist.

27 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

You don't eat meat? I thought I was alone in that on stacker.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 15 Oct

There are a couple of others, but we're definitely few and far between.

145 sats \ 3 replies \ @User21000000 15 Oct

My relationship to alcohol. I have changed multiple times during my life. Partying then hard zero alcohol to regular social drinking to now limited social drinking

46 sats \ 0 replies \ @398ja 15 Oct

I've given up alcohol completely I'm, not even socially drinking anymore. I've also inspired a few friends too and this makes me proud. The health benefits were just too obvious to ignore, especially after you reach a certain age... It's so empowering, the feeling of self control, when going out to a social event, and coming back home sober.

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 15 Oct

Stay strong. I hope you find the right relationship and hold it

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @User21000000 15 Oct

I am the rock 🪨 that the waves 🌊 crash over and eventually become still

45 sats \ 3 replies \ @sophostheliberator 15 Oct

Many times, here are some biggies:

"green" energy, used to think wind and solar are great, but now I know better. Energy is best done efficiently and abudantly, i.e. Nuclear fission or fusion when time comes.
eating meat: I went on vegetarian diet for 6 years, then I changed my mind as I had started to hit gym more often and started to think about the quality of the food more.
Jesus Christ: kind of "raised" as a evangelical Lutheran, but not really living it at all and officially quit the Church when I hit 18 or so and started pursuing all kinds of oriental philosophies and other philosophies of men as well. Later I got introduced to the Jesus Christ again and baptized as member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
inflation is good - not. Well Bitcoin has changed the way I think about many things incl. money, government etc.

11 sats \ 2 replies \ @Signal312 OP 15 Oct

Interesting comments, thanks. If you're comfortable sharing, I'd be interested in hearing more about how your religious conversion happened.

68 sats \ 1 reply \ @sophostheliberator 16 Oct

Sure thing. For me, the decision to convert boiled down to one question in the end: will this help me to become a better person?

Of course, I had sought to answer that question long before I even came into contact with the church. I read a lot, and some books quite many times. Some of them included 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Road Less Traveled, and Jordan Peterson's books 12 Rules for Life and Maps of Meaning, which certainly influenced my thinking and behavior somewhat already.

So then I met a person who would later become my wife. She had an interesting combination of admirable characteristics like courage, vulnerability, observation, and a certain intellectual drive that caught my attention rather quickly. The first time we met, we weren’t on a date yet. I showed her an opening from my notebook, she read it keenly and pointed out that the concept of service is also important to her. Most of the people I knew or who were in my life were like from a different planet compared to this woman, so this perhaps was the first encounter that made me wonder how she came to be the way she is.

Later on, as we were on our second date, I asked her one of my favorite questions back then: what is the one book I can read that would help me get to know you better? Even though I knew by then that she was religious, her response still kindly surprised me as she gave me the Book of Mormon with a dedication and some tips on where to start.

She also invited me to go to church the next day, and I went. I’ve had this principle in life to see things with my own eyes before making any decisions. Overall, it was an okay experience. I also remember that missionaries came to talk to me, but I kindly rejected them at the time, saying I would figure things out at my own pace.

At first, when I tried to read the Book of Mormon, it did not go very well. I was skeptical, questioning, and resistant. There were historical details, like the mention of an iron bow, that didn’t make sense to me. So I read some and then left it there.

We had started dating by then, but we were living in different cities quite close by. My religious progress was almost nonexistent at first. But a big thing happened soon after when she asked if I would like to meet the missionaries at her place, and I agreed. So I met these two brothers (who were really exceptional people). They almost immediately found a way to connect with me on a meaningful level by starting a conversation about interesting ideas and books. I was soon amazed to find out that Stephen Covey, the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was also a member of this particular church (although this is mentioned in the introduction of the book, I am living quite far away from the US, and the Church is not widely known here, so I had connected zero dots before).

That was a big “wait a minute” moment for me. Another happened soon as well. In Civilization IV, there is this incredible theme song in the menu called Baba Yetu. I had found online an interesting version by Alex Boye, which I had been listening to. And as I played it for my future wife, she wondered if the choir was BYU people. Then we found out that indeed it was, and also found out that Alex Boye is a member of the Church.

Although these kinds of “connecting the dots” moments were fun and meaningful, the actual dialogue with Church members and especially with my future wife was important.

Particularly, there are a few ideas that resonated with me:

The idea that we are all children of God, and that this earthly existence is a temporary state which we have entered out of our own choice in order to progress to become more like Him. So we all have the potential to become godlike if we choose to. Put in these words, it is inspirational. Eternal perspective. We have been in some plane of existence before we came to earth, in some form, and we will be in some form or another after earthly existence. And our conscious choices will matter as well. The Church is about Jesus Christ, most importantly, and He is the perfect example because He was a man but became a god. Jesus followed the will of the Father and showed the way. We all should follow His example. I’m not saying this is easy, or that I or almost any man on earth can do this perfectly. But His love and mercy are deeper than we understand.

So, as I was equipped with some of these ideas through conversation and our relationship was developing quite well, I decided to start learning more, on my own terms. I started off with the Biblical Series by Jordan Peterson (on YouTube), which really deepened my interest in the overall question of God. Around that time, I also decided to move to the same city as her, so I began attending church on Sundays—although at first, most of it was online streaming because it was around the time of COVID.

Then I picked up the Book of Mormon again, this time with a more open mind and less focus on picky details. As I started reading it more as a spiritual book and less as a history book, it started to open up to me: like the subtitle suggests, it’s another testament of Christ. For me, the important message and feeling was that Christ lives. It was a feeling I had never had before in my life. The strongest I have felt it is through following the teachings of Christ and the commandments of God. So I started committing more.

My wife showed me a temple from the outside, and we talked about it. I heard that these are special places where one can feel especially close to God and that they are also places where families can be united for eternity.

When I first heard about the idea of eternity, I was again skeptical. I thought, “Why would someone want to be with anyone for eternity?” But as I had grown up in a kind of broken family with more negative examples of life than positive ones, I started to change my mind as I met her family members, relatives, and other people who had built their lives on the foundation of Christ. It became very obvious to me that if I wanted something different, I could choose which foundation to build my life upon. In this sense, I respected my principle of seeing things for myself first, then making decisions.

By this time, I had reached a saturation point with both information and experience. I had been attending church, I had read the Book of Mormon, and I felt it had a lot to offer me. The Church in general had a lot to offer me. I knew that even though I was living a pretty good life, there were still some changes to be made. As I approached the missionaries and asked if they could start teaching me, I had already quit alcohol earlier and had just quit coffee as well in order to follow the Word of Wisdom commandment.

A difficult commandment for me was the law of chastity, which I still struggle with sometimes, often repenting because my mind is not as clean as I would hope. But I’ve gained perspective and motivation for it as well, especially now that I’m happily married, because I want to protect my wife and family.

After a few more weeks of learning, I got baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It has been three years now, and I feel like that was only the beginning of a grand spiritual journey that I am still on. Faith is more of a process than just an event. Nowadays, I ask myself: does what I’m doing invite more of the Spirit or less? This helps me become better and also learn the Father’s will.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 16 Oct

I appreciate the details. Definitely something to ponder!

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @7e6e393a56 15 Oct

Political thoughts were something I changed my mind about.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @d680ecaa8e 15 Oct

The person attitude is always scared from what is new. It could be that nutrition cooked by this manner has negative sides on health as new manner. Same as vaccination it could have negative health impact so this is not your only attitude but a lot of people nowadays.

11 sats \ 71 replies \ @didiplaywell 15 Oct

I was a devote Christian. I'm a fundamentalist atheist now. I was a devote socialist. I'm a fundamentalist libertarian now.

20 sats \ 58 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

Do we really need any of those labels?

11 sats \ 57 replies \ @didiplaywell 15 Oct

Yes, we absolutely do. Things have names. Wherever a clear thing-name connection is absent, the power of rhetoric can manipulate the will of the ignorant at whim.

10 sats \ 56 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

I suppose labels can be helpful.

0 sats \ 55 replies \ @didiplaywell 15 Oct

There're not just helpful, they're all we have to make sense on anything. Conversely, wherever we don't have them, there's no sense, no compass.

The sterile debate on labels happens when there's already a meaning associated to the label yet "there's a more fitting label". Like the fact "liberal" means "libertarian", yet it became associated with "socialism". Ok, we can go past that one, for everyone, even the ones who disagree, perfectly recognize the label-meaning connection. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what's the specific sound, only the sound-meaning connection matters.

20 sats \ 5 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

I feel like I make the most sense of my reality through silence. And also, I understand what you are saying. Words are powerful.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @didiplaywell 15 Oct

The fact I might have words for something doesn't mean I have to express them aloud. Words have equal meaning when kept to one-self.

20 sats \ 3 replies \ @DesertDave 16 Oct

Maybe even more so. That's like prayer. I think speaking things into existence is powerful when are alone. Or even just in the mind.

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0 sats \ 48 replies \ @DesertDave 16 Oct

I think humans may choose to live more like animals. My dogs don't reason with words. They move with sense and intuition. Humans get the gift of language. With great power, comes great responsibility. It seems it often confuses us. People often use words to trick others. Like the media does.

0 sats \ 47 replies \ @didiplaywell 16 Oct

My dogs don't reason with words

All living beings with a brain do process information through finite abstractions. Your dog perfectly identifies "hunger", "human", "owner", "own name", "sadness", "food", "walking", "stick", "water", "happiness", etc. Those are all abstractions which the dog connects either to a feeling, a specific bark pattern, or a sound (like when you call him by his name). We only got more sophisticated at barking, but the logic remains the same for the brain can not operate otherwise but through connecting a thing to a label.

0 sats \ 46 replies \ @DesertDave 16 Oct

Yes. And experiencing things for what they are, is more important to me than the word we give it. The essence. Dogs identify and catalog thousands of smells. No names needed. Do words make that process better?

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0 sats \ 11 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

I mostly know people who became christian after being atheist. Is that a common path? Have you shared about it on stacker?

11 sats \ 10 replies \ @didiplaywell 15 Oct

Yes it is, I have heard of atheists becoming religious many times. I have no personal accounts to share for my path was the inverse.

0 sats \ 9 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

Yeah. Many of my peers have become christian recently.. most of them were raised that way when they were young and rebelled against at. And then went back.

I never had any kind of faith, and now I feel some kind of connection to my own version of "GOD"

11 sats \ 8 replies \ @didiplaywell 16 Oct

I don not have anything against being religious, my experience in my childhood was great. It just lost sense by itself until it vanished, and time did nothing but to consolidate that path. The idea of a god disturbs me, makes everything lose sense. I took engineering as my religion and never looked back.

20 sats \ 7 replies \ @DesertDave 16 Oct

I love engineering. I was an electrician for many years. Now I tinker.

11 sats \ 6 replies \ @didiplaywell 16 Oct

Then you understand me

10 sats \ 5 replies \ @DesertDave 16 Oct

I think it is possible to be logically minded and still spiritual. It all works together when we zoom out enough.

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11 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satoshi__Nakamoto 15 Oct

Yep I have done

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @rebel_nomad 15 Oct

It feels like I've changed my mind on literally everything, down to the very fabric of reality itself ;-)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

Me too.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

Switching from fiat mindset to denominating in Bitcoin is a huge shift.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

My biggest shift happened in a single moment. I went from not having any faith in anything, to feeling very spiritual.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 15 Oct

I have had major changes in my views my whole life. Even when it comes to just food, I have tried it all. I think being open minded and willing to grow is a key.