Has being a Conspiracy Theorist actually provided any practicality in your life?

Well this has definitely opened a new perspective for me - reading everyones responses I have somewhat come to a basic conclusion which I believe I need to expound on.

And that is - not to go into extremes - but rather a balanced our opinion and belief system to whatever it is I'm discovering, whether new or old.

I do realise my discernment of character and motives has increased, a healthy sense of paranoia which I now use in my daily life to address certain issues I encounter, a more solid foundation for a flight or fight response, if that makes sense.

So this is great, thanks everyone for sharing their ideas, and keep them coming, that light somehow has started to shine in my never ending tunnel of darkness. Thanks again!

I wouldn't say that being a conspiracy theorist is even the right label to use here, because I see this is as a website dedicated to unravelling and discussing truths that we may not have been told, and generally learning from one another. It's kinda like a microcosm of everything that is day to day life, mixed with a sprinkling of What If?

We are all here to learn, afterall.

Sure, it's easy to approach this place with an open mind... but in my time here, one thing I have found is this:
Take it in earnest, and don't believe everything you read. Research, and form your own conclusions.

Pay no attention to the trolls, and negativity. At the end of the day, if I've learned something...
It's more than I had known the day before.

Walking the path of the Fool has lead me down many alleys, but generally it has given me a better understanding of myself and of this world and some scant knowledge on the greater reality behind it all, to me, this is the path of the mystic, the path of the seeker.

In many ways we are pioneers, one of the few willing to deal with fringe subjects that may have some authenticity, because, if true the ramifications of large populations of the world dealing with and acknowledging some of this information could bring sweeping changes to how we deal with and how we perceive our environment and place on this earth.
That is, a total paradigm shift(yeah I know).

I see it in terms of the 100th monkey effect, regardless if the experiment in question is dubious I have come to the realization that the concept is very much true. So to me it is about pushing the envelope, dragging our collective consciousness to realization of themselves essentially, but also to our collective shortcomings and to things that desperately need to change.

For me this journey has been filled with fear, amazement, depression, awe, but the spiritual dimension is what has really given me a sense of adventure, it invigorates me and it gives me a sense of fulfillment more than anything else.

I think the OP is alluding to if being a truth seeker has led to any physical changes to your environment.

It is all well and good to be more "aware" " happy " " enlightened " etc....


But if you do not use newfound knowledge to change the world around you. To physically help others become free. What was it all for ?


To be more precise. Being enlightened without action may be viewed as a selfish path.

Psychology . com / Kurt Lewin quotes

reply to post by thedeadtruth


You are somehow right that it would be nice to see that noted in people's answear, but his last line is.

So..... has conspiracy theories shaped your life for the better?

Now, to be honest about what you just said, in my case....No! I have been to busy taking care of my self. So my enviroment is just getting worse, but, i do speak to my children.

I do have two Teen's (16 and 18), that i try to learn, that if they wan't a better enviroment, they need to be more aware of thier own doing, speak out if you think something can be done different and in a better way, and i have given them a rule i use myself to make them understand.

" I don't see myself as smarter than other people, but like to share the knowledge we have, and work together to overcome the trouble we meet."

But, you know it's not easy when there is a power(government) constantly changing rules that makes you more powerless.

Look at Ukrain, they have to physically fight to be heard, will they succed? maybe! but for how long, and how many life is it going to take?

I agree with your post. It's been depressing. No real answers ever emerged to be satisfactory.

I don't really delve into the whole afterlife thing. Don't care what happens after I die. I'll be dead.

It depends what conspiracies interest you I suppose. Ignorance can be bliss in some cases.

Overall I think it's probably not the healthiest way to be.

I've been a CTer since I was in my teens. Didn't know diddly squat but I knew that the nightly news reports couldn't possibly be right or, if they were, they couldn't be the entire story. Too many things didn't make sense. The internet wasn't available back when dinosaurs roamed the earth so I talked to other people, read as much as I could and learned.

The more I learned the more I realized just how screwed we all were. That's a pretty depressing place to be and I didn't like it one bit so I decided to do something about it. I've spent a lifetime learning all sorts of useful stuff and teaching it to my kids. I'm an avid forager, a registered nurse, a do-it-yourself craftsperson (leather, woodwork, toiletries, tanning hides, crochet, pottery, basket-making, macramé, etc.), a belly-dancer, an herbalist, a massage therapist, a crack shot with rifle and handgun, an archer, and a pretty good cook.

Has being a CTer made a positive influence on my life? I'd have to say that I've been very pro-active in self-improvement and have been able to help a lot of other people along the way, most importantly-my children who all turned out to be decent and well-rounded human beings. I'm a life-long learner working on my doctorate in naturopathic medicine and am trying to teach myself blacksmithing.

Being imminently practical and realistic, I realize that in a shtf scenario (should a full scale one ever occur), I may be taken out in the first 5 minutes but I still don't think all my efforts will have been in vain. It's been a hell of a ride and I have no regrets.

reply to post by Im a Marty


Personally speaking, I find it much easier to understand the foolishness of governments, and the tyranny of corporations these days, and as angry as these things still make me, I am not wasting as much time with dismay as I might once have done.

These days, when a truly crappy piece of news reaches me, I spend less time in apoplexy, screaming at the walls, and gesticulating rudely at nothing in particular, and more exploring the deeper implications of things, so I am saving a lot of time there. Also, critical thinking helps you solve real world problems. It helps you diagnose problems in a logical way, makes the brain agile enough to come up with better answers to the questions posed by life on a daily basis.

Being a theorist leads oftentimes to false conclusions. I consider myself more a debunker whether it is a carefully spun story by a government like the official conspiracy theory of 911 or somebody online. Conspiracy theorists are prone to replace one fallacious story with another.

reply to post by Im a Marty


Practical in the sense of enlightening people.

Most people I know get their info via the MSM, they are either not tech savvy enough to get onto ATS or they don't have the attention span to read an ATS post.

So I enlighten them the old fashion way, by using my vocal cords. If they aren't aware that the wool has been pulled over their eyes, I shave their head, in a figurative way of course.

tetra50
reply to post by Im a Marty

 

One thing you mention, though, is about meeting people, connecting with good hearted people. Again, this is what I arrived at in Randy's thread.. Connecting with him, having a meeting of the minds and not feeling so alone makes it worth it, I think, for this life can be extremely lonely for many of us. So, that, I think is all important, maybe much more so than any information we learn or exchange here. Sometimes I have to take a break here. There's a lot of mean spiritedness, as well, and it can get to you…..

Thanks T50. That resonates with what I'm trying to think of - I find there is practical application of the ATS forums for engaging in intelligent discussions with other people, and like the O.P. I also have been posting on B.T.S. lately but I still think the main draw of this site is for intelligent discussion of interesting topics!

So even a thread I wrote on Cat Communication the other day - it was an interesting topic, and there was a thread I read on separating egg yolks from egg whites that was super cool -

The Coolest Way to Separate Egg Yolks

Communicating with Cats (Plus Examples)

Wow... 26 flags? That is actually a surprise, a lot of flags for me... and see, it was simply a topic that I was passionate about... every day that goes by, I tend to have a different topic that I am passionate about and love to discuss.

So you know, the site grows well on you - once you are done working things out in the hardcore conspiracy threads, there is still room for the more practical stuff in other forums with the same friends you've met over the years. Just like in real life, you know?

These days, my interests tend to be more lifestyle oriented, although past topics that were also practical were ones that got me more informed about economics and world politics - and I still check in on those and others, too.

One super cool thing about ATS - now, not only do I know most of the countries in the world and where they are located, but I know things about their local politics, cultures, religions, and even historical sites. It is pretty sweet - I have even seen random pieces of art and been able to locate the country they were painted in from things like architecture, clothing, etc.

Yes! After school was finished considering and reading these topics has been like one big critical thinking exercise. Keeps me sharp.

Also it makes it easier to call out propaganda and b.s. You are a bit less naive to the world.

Just as long as you dont get lost in it or go over board. The second you believe one of those shills with their loon theories (alex jones/david Icke) you have proven that conspiracy theory has done you a disservice and you arw not able to think critically only able to swing from one extreme to the other.

Im a Marty

So..... has conspiracy theories shaped your life for the better?

yea it saved my life

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by nofear39


NoFear39.... truly inspiriting..... well done on such an accomplishment, kudos to you and the fellow ATS member who helped save your life - well done

Much respect
Marty

Im a Marty
reply to post by nofear39

 

NoFear39.... truly inspiriting..... well done on such an accomplishment, kudos to you and the fellow ATS member who helped save your life - well done

Much respect
Marty

thanks Marty

these things DO change you to different degrees, like it or not.
while i can't say there was been any dramatic change in my life, following conspiracies tends to make you more aware, and let's face it, more cynical.
You just start calling B.S. on half the things you hear or even more.
It hasn't made me a better person or anything like that, but it did give me the healthy attitude of "ok, i see what you are saying, now let's see if you pulled that out of the proverbial, or if i can find facts to back up your claims"
And i guess that's not such a bad thing in the end, we all know that on a smaller scale, people conspire against us, co workers, "friends", sometimes even our significant other, so why not try to always have enough information at your disposal?
The big problem is how we give things for granted, from Santa Claus to the people we worth with all the way up to what our government tells us. And we all know how lots of those things go.
so why not empower yourself, and if it makes you a conspiracy theorist, so be it.

I have never looked back since going into the rabbitt hole. I guess you could say I started my conspiracy theorist mindset at the age of 8 when I just had to get to the bottom of the Santa Claus thing. The following is not my words, but I can't remember where I read this.

The word "theory" is the important word in the "conspiracy theory". Explaination. In theory I could win the lottery. It remains a theory up until I purchase a lottery ticket. once that ticket is purchased, it now becomes a "possibility" that I can win. Now with each and every ticket purchase the odds go up in that "possiblity" If I could purchase millions of tickets that "possibility" now becomes a "probability" Same as with ANY evidence in a conspiracy. Even the slightest, evidence that draws into question the MS narrative, is now a" Possibility" given the evidence.With each added piece of evidence it slowly becomes a "probability". So, even the smallest piece of evidence in a conspiarcy theory, it becomes that lotto ticket of probability. I hope that sounds correct. Again not my analogy. But I do find that saying to be spot on.

reply to post by telemetry


Put particularly well I think.

reply to post by Im a Marty


I can say without a doubt that I would be much more depressed if I looked back on my life after I died, and I had never questioned the things that I have questioned. Knowing that I don't know is depressing. Not knowing that you never knew then finding out when it's too late, is even more depressing. Better to be in the light and know the truth than to be comatose in your own mental cocoon, exempt from the experience of reality and the world around you. Like Socrates said, or what Plato said that Socrates said, "The unobserved life is not worth living." and then he killed himself by drinking poison. Because his charges were philosophizing and "corrupting the youth".

Anyway, do not think this way. Just because you have run into dead ends and black holes within black holes of questions and never ending mystery, does not mean that you have not made progress. If you were the exact opposite of a conspiracy theorists these past few years, don't you think you would have run into just as many depressed people on that side of the fence? Depression isn't prejudice, it's like ignorance. It takes all forms.