I don’t believe in complaining but I do believe in asking for help, and when I ask for help, I always include my gratitude to you and my trust in your good will.
I have never been particularly interested in the Soviet Union except to read Pravda (their propaganda was so much more interesting than the US propaganda) outside their embassy in Iran, and to visit the border where the Soviet side of the border was so unbelievably beautiful I never wanted to leave. But I've read some history to put current events into perspective (inoculating me against idiotic American propaganda and dishonesty) and I actively seek out information on the Russia perspective at this point. I have had some Russian friends here, though there's a point at which they refused to talk to me about politics (regarding the Russia/Israeli mafia link in Bush Jr. times). That was when the Russians and Ukrainian students here were really losing it with each other--around 2014.
But now I'm reading Russians, listening to them, glad Putin is in power (quite honestly) because he's so sensible and level-headed (unlike several dozen American leaders I could name), and they also know way more than I do about the Soviet military (like Andrei Martyanov) and particularly Dmitry Orlov who writes SPECIFICALLY about what the fall of the Soviet economy and political system was like and what Americans need to do to be prepared for it, and how to survive it. That's not fear porn. That's giving people the kind of information that is super useful and that will also calm down their neurological system, which is good and needed.
I want to know how the fall of the Soviet system affected you, your parents, your grandparents, your school, your neighborhood. How did people eat during the worst of it? How was it different there then than it is here now--like how did you get your housing and how did your government protect you from homelessness which would have been so much more serious there than here? What did people find most useful to sell to get by? What happened to your savings? Your money? How did you deal with loss of utilities? What happened to the food supply?
Really practical information is what is needed.
That's what I really want to hear from you. You're a normal person. I like some American and international economists, but normal, ordinary, bread and onions type people have so much practical knowledge--way more than you know. That's what I really want from you.
Also, how did you keep your spirits up? Especially regarding the arts. What kind of social networks helped the most? Which human relationships kept you going best?
Did you have a dog? A cat? What happened to your books?
What are your perceptions of what really happened? Why did the economic system fall apart? (Beyond Reagan.) How did Russia manage to rebuild it the way it has? It's quite remarkable how successful they have been, especially given the fact that they don't have a huge population.
With limitations in both resources and time, in the past year I’ve had to take on less subscriptions both paid and free. Only a few Substacks that pull me in and say, “this is worth something to me” have been added to the list. In that light I’m truly thrilled to have added Tessa and love what she offers. And if anyone is able to become a paying subscriber there is a wonderful benefit she provides weekly that I really like a lot.
Your work moves me, as though I can hear my heart whisper under the roar of mad calamity all around. I must have been Russian in a past life, your thoughts fell wonderfully familiar, like I've come home from a long weary trip.
Tessa i searched my heart and realized that while I can't support everyone I would like just yet if I could only read one substacker I'd probably choose you. I am taking a leap of faith that I will have an income soon and it will be a no brainer.
Or is it the other way around? My heart searched me? Ah well, either way.
I think I would enjoy your Friday Philosophy club but for now I have prior obligations at that time. I do hope to call in and say hi one day at least.
Can I share something? When the lockdown was imposed, I didn't see it for what it was right away. LIfe was easy for me out in the country. In the mornings instead of dressing and going to work I would go for beautiful walks in the cool morning air. It took people like yourself to really open my eyes to what a globalist corporatist totalitarian techno-putsch it really was.
Are you familiar with the work of Mattias Desmet? He was an early questioner of the narrative like yourself. He wrote a book called Psychology of Totalitarianism. He says the only way to stop an ascendant totalitarian system from becoming an out of control nightmare state is for a few people to continue speaking truth from the heart to counter the Narrative. You've been doing that all along and I want to support you so you can keep on.
Anyway, I hope you hit your target whatever that may be. Stressing about money is such a shitty emotional drain, especially when the dominant culture locks you out for being a truth teller. We need you focused on fighting robots so I hope you get everything you need.
Yes, I have read his work. There was much controversy about it back then, first he was a hero, then he acquired a reputation of a villain, there was much back and forth, and it caused a giant split on the "medical freedom movement" at that time. I remember that moment well, it was very dramatic and caused a rift that caused a bit of a nosedive to the expectation of civil discourse among the COVID dissidents. :-)
Oh that’s interesting I don’t know the backstory. I only learned of Desmet in the past year after he talked to Iain McGilchrist. (They’re talking again on March 18, specifically about totalitarianism…)
I don’t know if it’s the stuff of an article, but if you ever see an opportunity I would like to know more about this history? Specifically, was it an op designed to fracture the movement or an organic disagreement? When I hear soft spoken Desmet talk I don’t pick up on villain vibes, so can I assume it was an operation?
It’s okay if you don’t want to dredge up the past, but if you see any good reason to I’d love to learn more about it. Cheers and have a great weekend.
My recommendation is that you continue to write sincerely, from your heart. Write for what you believe is needed/ in the best interest of your readers - but per your own innate intuitive wisdom/ guidance, and your internal tugs. (Writing what others want to hear can lead to burnout and may lack the passion your authenticity currently imbues into your amazing writing.) You often write what my soul wishes to express! Trust that your authentic passion will magnetize what's needed, and continue to shine like the beacon you are! Your uplifting reminders, insights, & perspectives when covering even the harsh realities in the world have been an outstanding source of inspiration and encouragement! Wishing you all the best - always! Peace & Love :) :)
I used the delicious, home-cooked Donate button. When I got to the end of the process, I found out I could make your net amount the same as my gross amount, so I went back and increased it. Please, keep up the good work you're doing. Brgds, Cousin Vinny
once my own situation changes i'll upgrade my membership.
i love that you follow your intuitive prompts and that which you see as important.
as mentioned, my fridays have become full with other things and so i've not been given the space to participate with your interesting meetings. (maybe a good thing in some ways, as i can ted talk way too easily.)
all the very best with finding financial stability. i'm moving towards that more tangibly in different ways that i hope become tangible and not just the possibilities currently extant.
we are living the bhagavad-gita wedded to the great apocalypse! all the best with what is changing. everything changes! with peace, respect, love and exuberant joy.
“How I...” solved this problem, resolved that situation, managed this issue...
Everyone has some philosophy of their own life, and adding more theories may be fascinating intellectually, but in the long run will remain kind of “not my stuff”.
Presenting particular situations and telling the story how the person behaved there brings in more practicality. Or at least shows an example how the thing could have been approached.
The story does not have to be authentic, but the insight, what you actually believed or did is valuable. Because personal stuff should remain personal. Telling stories of other people which you witnessed and adding your interpretation or “what would I do” may be another take.
Tessa, thank you for asking - it’s a show of great respect for the readership.
I deeply relate to your journey and the challenges you’ve faced. I, too, am a product of the Soviet Union, navigating life in the U.S. with its own set of difficulties. Your writing always feels like a conversation with a friend, and I truly appreciate your honesty, resilience, and unique perspective. I hope this call for support brings you everything you need to continue your incredible work. Wishing you strength, success, and all the best!
Dear Tessa, Do you know anything about Lt. Colonel Douglas McGregor? He is claiming that Hitler did not start the war but tried to preempt the Holodomor reaching the German border. You may not want to even begin to watch this HORRIFYING documentary series of https://europathelastbattle.net/
Things are getting tough for most people I know. The people who are creative and used to thinking out of the box seem to be doing best right now, though none of us knows what the future will bring. The people in power right now all seem to have Asperger's Syndrome. And maybe dysfunctional brains, lacking in empathy. I suspect it will be hardest on those who are middle or upper middle class.
We (meaning all of humanity) are meant to live as tribes, in some sort of community, not as alienated individuals (or alienated nuclear families) desperately struggling to make ends meet and survive in a constant state of insecurity and competition with everyone else.
Such an extremely individualistic lifestyle is not only unpleasant, absurd and tiresome, it is destructive physically and spiritually. It literally kills us with stress and worries and opposes the deepest aspirations of our souls, which are not to oppose, overcome and dominate others but to love, cooperate and share, to have each other's backs.
We could find satisfaction in individual achievements while fulfilling our human needs to cooperate and share. We could remain free while achieving a tribal consciousness, which would simply mean a balance between the individual and the collective, between the self and, ultimately, the universe.
Meaning cannot be found in alienation, no matter how glorious or heroic one's achievements against all odds. Meaning is found in connection, it comes with a sense of belonging in a community and within the natural creation.
It does not, however and to be clear, come with a sense of belonging to the State, which is the ultimate usurper. The State has universally destroyed all human communities through the centuries (tribes, cooperatives and it is now attacking families) in order to replace them with itself, so as to have power over, dominate and control populations. A powerfully connected and interdependent population does not need the State for support, security and comfort. An alienated populace does.
This is unfortunately the path humanity has chosen. State enforced collectivism is not a reaction against individualism but the next logical step in a long term strategy meant to achieve State control through the alienation of the individual, and by causing him or her to live in a perpetual state of insecurity, fear and disempowerment.
In a culturally devastated global landscape, finding a community has become a struggle, as even those physical communities, such as those of Native Americans living on reserves and reservations, have imploded and are collapsing from within, being forced to follow the black road of the dominant culture, the "looking out for number one", "everyone for himself and to hell with anyone else" blueprint, or die.
I will keep you in my thoughts for the difficulties you are experiencing.
Thank you Kristina!!
I have never been particularly interested in the Soviet Union except to read Pravda (their propaganda was so much more interesting than the US propaganda) outside their embassy in Iran, and to visit the border where the Soviet side of the border was so unbelievably beautiful I never wanted to leave. But I've read some history to put current events into perspective (inoculating me against idiotic American propaganda and dishonesty) and I actively seek out information on the Russia perspective at this point. I have had some Russian friends here, though there's a point at which they refused to talk to me about politics (regarding the Russia/Israeli mafia link in Bush Jr. times). That was when the Russians and Ukrainian students here were really losing it with each other--around 2014.
But now I'm reading Russians, listening to them, glad Putin is in power (quite honestly) because he's so sensible and level-headed (unlike several dozen American leaders I could name), and they also know way more than I do about the Soviet military (like Andrei Martyanov) and particularly Dmitry Orlov who writes SPECIFICALLY about what the fall of the Soviet economy and political system was like and what Americans need to do to be prepared for it, and how to survive it. That's not fear porn. That's giving people the kind of information that is super useful and that will also calm down their neurological system, which is good and needed.
I want to know how the fall of the Soviet system affected you, your parents, your grandparents, your school, your neighborhood. How did people eat during the worst of it? How was it different there then than it is here now--like how did you get your housing and how did your government protect you from homelessness which would have been so much more serious there than here? What did people find most useful to sell to get by? What happened to your savings? Your money? How did you deal with loss of utilities? What happened to the food supply?
Really practical information is what is needed.
That's what I really want to hear from you. You're a normal person. I like some American and international economists, but normal, ordinary, bread and onions type people have so much practical knowledge--way more than you know. That's what I really want from you.
Also, how did you keep your spirits up? Especially regarding the arts. What kind of social networks helped the most? Which human relationships kept you going best?
Did you have a dog? A cat? What happened to your books?
What are your perceptions of what really happened? Why did the economic system fall apart? (Beyond Reagan.) How did Russia manage to rebuild it the way it has? It's quite remarkable how successful they have been, especially given the fact that they don't have a huge population.
With limitations in both resources and time, in the past year I’ve had to take on less subscriptions both paid and free. Only a few Substacks that pull me in and say, “this is worth something to me” have been added to the list. In that light I’m truly thrilled to have added Tessa and love what she offers. And if anyone is able to become a paying subscriber there is a wonderful benefit she provides weekly that I really like a lot.
Thank you Jef!!!
Tessa - how can I send you a private message?
Thanks
Jeff
Tessa,
Your work moves me, as though I can hear my heart whisper under the roar of mad calamity all around. I must have been Russian in a past life, your thoughts fell wonderfully familiar, like I've come home from a long weary trip.
Gawain
Left a one time and a small monthly, hoping you feel the love.
Thank you!!!!!!! it is very kind of you
Tessa i searched my heart and realized that while I can't support everyone I would like just yet if I could only read one substacker I'd probably choose you. I am taking a leap of faith that I will have an income soon and it will be a no brainer.
Or is it the other way around? My heart searched me? Ah well, either way.
I think I would enjoy your Friday Philosophy club but for now I have prior obligations at that time. I do hope to call in and say hi one day at least.
Can I share something? When the lockdown was imposed, I didn't see it for what it was right away. LIfe was easy for me out in the country. In the mornings instead of dressing and going to work I would go for beautiful walks in the cool morning air. It took people like yourself to really open my eyes to what a globalist corporatist totalitarian techno-putsch it really was.
Are you familiar with the work of Mattias Desmet? He was an early questioner of the narrative like yourself. He wrote a book called Psychology of Totalitarianism. He says the only way to stop an ascendant totalitarian system from becoming an out of control nightmare state is for a few people to continue speaking truth from the heart to counter the Narrative. You've been doing that all along and I want to support you so you can keep on.
Anyway, I hope you hit your target whatever that may be. Stressing about money is such a shitty emotional drain, especially when the dominant culture locks you out for being a truth teller. We need you focused on fighting robots so I hope you get everything you need.
Thank you Jeff!!!!! I am so touched.
Yes, I have read his work. There was much controversy about it back then, first he was a hero, then he acquired a reputation of a villain, there was much back and forth, and it caused a giant split on the "medical freedom movement" at that time. I remember that moment well, it was very dramatic and caused a rift that caused a bit of a nosedive to the expectation of civil discourse among the COVID dissidents. :-)
Oh that’s interesting I don’t know the backstory. I only learned of Desmet in the past year after he talked to Iain McGilchrist. (They’re talking again on March 18, specifically about totalitarianism…)
I don’t know if it’s the stuff of an article, but if you ever see an opportunity I would like to know more about this history? Specifically, was it an op designed to fracture the movement or an organic disagreement? When I hear soft spoken Desmet talk I don’t pick up on villain vibes, so can I assume it was an operation?
It’s okay if you don’t want to dredge up the past, but if you see any good reason to I’d love to learn more about it. Cheers and have a great weekend.
My recommendation is that you continue to write sincerely, from your heart. Write for what you believe is needed/ in the best interest of your readers - but per your own innate intuitive wisdom/ guidance, and your internal tugs. (Writing what others want to hear can lead to burnout and may lack the passion your authenticity currently imbues into your amazing writing.) You often write what my soul wishes to express! Trust that your authentic passion will magnetize what's needed, and continue to shine like the beacon you are! Your uplifting reminders, insights, & perspectives when covering even the harsh realities in the world have been an outstanding source of inspiration and encouragement! Wishing you all the best - always! Peace & Love :) :)
I gave you a monthly sub
Thank you so much!!
you need to be more explicit (if you can while still protecting your privacy) with what exactly you need.
I used the delicious, home-cooked Donate button. When I got to the end of the process, I found out I could make your net amount the same as my gross amount, so I went back and increased it. Please, keep up the good work you're doing. Brgds, Cousin Vinny
Thank you Vince!!! I very much appreciate it!
hola, tessa.
you are in my thoughts and prayers!
once my own situation changes i'll upgrade my membership.
i love that you follow your intuitive prompts and that which you see as important.
as mentioned, my fridays have become full with other things and so i've not been given the space to participate with your interesting meetings. (maybe a good thing in some ways, as i can ted talk way too easily.)
all the very best with finding financial stability. i'm moving towards that more tangibly in different ways that i hope become tangible and not just the possibilities currently extant.
we are living the bhagavad-gita wedded to the great apocalypse! all the best with what is changing. everything changes! with peace, respect, love and exuberant joy.
🙏❤️🧘♂️🙌☯️🙌🧘♂️❤️🙏
Thank you for your kind words, Guy, and I appreciate all your wonderful insights and comments!!
“How I...” solved this problem, resolved that situation, managed this issue...
Everyone has some philosophy of their own life, and adding more theories may be fascinating intellectually, but in the long run will remain kind of “not my stuff”.
Presenting particular situations and telling the story how the person behaved there brings in more practicality. Or at least shows an example how the thing could have been approached.
The story does not have to be authentic, but the insight, what you actually believed or did is valuable. Because personal stuff should remain personal. Telling stories of other people which you witnessed and adding your interpretation or “what would I do” may be another take.
Tessa, thank you for asking - it’s a show of great respect for the readership.
Huh? Seems I am missing the point or is that the point? How does personal stuff remain personal? Yeah we all can kinda “not my stuff”.
Language is…….?
Personal stuff is always personal. Unless you want to share it unlimited because you profit from it as a so called influencer.
It's most helpful to read how a writer is dealing with their own challenges while facing the complexity of our world.
And if you mixed that with things we all face, shitty heath insurance, and the digital currency, that would be nice as well.
I deeply relate to your journey and the challenges you’ve faced. I, too, am a product of the Soviet Union, navigating life in the U.S. with its own set of difficulties. Your writing always feels like a conversation with a friend, and I truly appreciate your honesty, resilience, and unique perspective. I hope this call for support brings you everything you need to continue your incredible work. Wishing you strength, success, and all the best!
Thank you, Zee!
Dear Tessa, Do you know anything about Lt. Colonel Douglas McGregor? He is claiming that Hitler did not start the war but tried to preempt the Holodomor reaching the German border. You may not want to even begin to watch this HORRIFYING documentary series of https://europathelastbattle.net/
Things are getting tough for most people I know. The people who are creative and used to thinking out of the box seem to be doing best right now, though none of us knows what the future will bring. The people in power right now all seem to have Asperger's Syndrome. And maybe dysfunctional brains, lacking in empathy. I suspect it will be hardest on those who are middle or upper middle class.
They want to de populate down to 2 billion. It will get very bad.
If they succeed. Fortunate, living organisms fight like hell to stay alive.
We (meaning all of humanity) are meant to live as tribes, in some sort of community, not as alienated individuals (or alienated nuclear families) desperately struggling to make ends meet and survive in a constant state of insecurity and competition with everyone else.
Such an extremely individualistic lifestyle is not only unpleasant, absurd and tiresome, it is destructive physically and spiritually. It literally kills us with stress and worries and opposes the deepest aspirations of our souls, which are not to oppose, overcome and dominate others but to love, cooperate and share, to have each other's backs.
We could find satisfaction in individual achievements while fulfilling our human needs to cooperate and share. We could remain free while achieving a tribal consciousness, which would simply mean a balance between the individual and the collective, between the self and, ultimately, the universe.
Meaning cannot be found in alienation, no matter how glorious or heroic one's achievements against all odds. Meaning is found in connection, it comes with a sense of belonging in a community and within the natural creation.
It does not, however and to be clear, come with a sense of belonging to the State, which is the ultimate usurper. The State has universally destroyed all human communities through the centuries (tribes, cooperatives and it is now attacking families) in order to replace them with itself, so as to have power over, dominate and control populations. A powerfully connected and interdependent population does not need the State for support, security and comfort. An alienated populace does.
This is unfortunately the path humanity has chosen. State enforced collectivism is not a reaction against individualism but the next logical step in a long term strategy meant to achieve State control through the alienation of the individual, and by causing him or her to live in a perpetual state of insecurity, fear and disempowerment.
In a culturally devastated global landscape, finding a community has become a struggle, as even those physical communities, such as those of Native Americans living on reserves and reservations, have imploded and are collapsing from within, being forced to follow the black road of the dominant culture, the "looking out for number one", "everyone for himself and to hell with anyone else" blueprint, or die.