I must comment a moment about the depth of your realness. I met you at LA Fitness yoga and followed you to your own beautiful studio. You, with so much spiritual integrity, led me deep into my own body, fully into my divine spirit. I recall leaving your yoga class, sitting quietly in my car for many minutes. Landing myself back to earth and the- every-day after being transported up and beyond with movement, breath and sound led by you.
You are a gifted healer. Utterly real with heart that invites others to open their hearts to profound connection. I agree with all you said about depleting on-line junk disguised as connection. But you, dear one, are a real-deal seeker and truth teller, and I am grateful for your place, and inspiration, in my life.
Thank you Jacquelyn for reminding me of that era in Tucson! Wow, I can remember pouring my heart and soul out into my classes, even those at LA Fitness, where we were under fluorescent lights and surrounded by mirrors. That was a special time and I was blessed to meet you. How cool that we could connect so deeply there in person! Life is such an incredible experience and those feelings of authenticity we shared were far from counterfeit.
I knew the first time I met you that you were blessed with many gifts. I wish I had words to eloquently convey my appreciation to you for those gifts that you’ve shared with me.
I to share your opinion on how the world is changed and how we’ve become more disconnected in our connected world.
Thank you for all you give to so many. I will wait patiently for that book.
I think one of the greatest deceptions of modern life is that we've confused connection with access.
We have unprecedented access to one another, yet many people have never felt more unseen. We can witness thousands of lives without truly sharing one. We know what strangers ate for breakfast while scarcely knowing our neighbors.
What struck me most is your use of the word counterfeit. That's exactly the risk.
Counterfeits don't replace something worthless. They imitate something precious.
A counterfeit community imitates belonging.
A counterfeit identity imitates character.
A counterfeit influence imitates wisdom.
A counterfeit intimacy imitates love.
Western Refugee has never been anti-technology. It's been concerned with what happens when the simulation gradually replaces the substance. When performance replaces presence. When algorithms become our environment instead of our tools.
The challenge isn't escaping the digital world entirely.
It's making sure the real one remains the place where our deepest relationships, greatest loyalties, and truest identity are actually formed.
"Counterfeits don't replace something worthless. They imitate something precious." That is the KEY! Sometimes in the mesmerization with the allure of the counterfeits, and the ensuing realization of their phony nature, the original thing they imitated also loses value, because people are so upset and disappointed by the counterfeit. I think that's why there is such an overabundance now of counterfeit everything (thanks to AI's proliferation) that it deceives folks into feeling all is 'fake and ghey' - when no, only the counterfeit world is the culprit, but that can be harder and harder to discern. The despair it puts folks into and apathy is what is so sad, because there is a whole world of authentic beauty and wisdom that is hidden behind all the pompous hoodwinking. You also said, "A counterfeit community imitates belonging... A counterfeit influence imitates wisdom..." -Thank you for sharing this so succinctly and suggesting we be more concerned when "performance replaces presence" and when "the simulation gradually replaces the substance." I am concerned, and I am with you in ensuring the real world "remains the place where our deepest relationships, greatest loyalties and truest identity are actually formed."
Great stuff ! What keeps me sane is having no phone and using so social media besides the long form essays of substack. Having a massive garden, and working on it and my family.
I do about 20 hours a week of spiritual work with people.
If I do that I can maintain sanity.
But man this planet used to drive me crazy.
Sometimes the only thing that works is full time obsessive salvage of it, where you convince yourself that you are some kind of Devic being that is here to liberate all beings from the world of form
Another excellent and well-stated essay my friend. I await the day of your book release; I enjoy and have enjoyed your musings for years now but there is something about the feel of the page, the smell of the ink…
I enjoyed accompanying you on self discovery here, a journey we’ve some experience with together IRL. Always a gift to hear another’s discovery of being deceived by the shiny object.
In my own life the effort has become one of utilizing the tool without mistaking it for the product, and I do fail but not as often.
I have something of an advantage in that I’ve never been on any (anti) social media other than Substack. Easier to resist smoking than to quit I suppose. Still, the siren song of checking the little ‘bell’ to see if anyone commented on my comment which was a comment on someone else’s comment….well, it can be seductive.
I think the thought that occurred to me about halfway through this was ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss!’
Lately I have been reading that we, via the digital juggernaut, are already there - a new world quaranteed to produce the ultimate mass disception wherein we can no longer discern real from fake, truth from fiction, good from evil. "Have no fear!", the Transhumanist Gods proclaim. "Ai will keep us all grounded, informed, centered, fed and safe in the New Utopia."
I reply...
I will not comply! I will not go down without a fight!! I will not be enslaved nor ushered into Their New Las Vegas Prison!!!
Sigh...
And then, even though I have spent more decades in the good human contact analog life than the recent few years of Digital Dystopia,
I fear I am already captured when I catch myself everyday exclaiming, Where's My Fucking Cell Phone!?!
I fear I am doomed.
But alas, your words Tamara, spoken and written, are a Blessing, ring True, and bring hope, courage, and comaradery. God Bless you my friend.
Not a shred of counterfeit! Your students, including me, were deeply moved by your enormous spirit and soul! I am forever grateful for the time we shared in person: Classes, gong bath, and the masterful way you invited us all to go deep into our sacred bodies! You were born to teach. Not as guru or master but ad heartfelt invitation to touch, feel and move our own bodies and souls.♥️♥️
I must comment a moment about the depth of your realness. I met you at LA Fitness yoga and followed you to your own beautiful studio. You, with so much spiritual integrity, led me deep into my own body, fully into my divine spirit. I recall leaving your yoga class, sitting quietly in my car for many minutes. Landing myself back to earth and the- every-day after being transported up and beyond with movement, breath and sound led by you.
You are a gifted healer. Utterly real with heart that invites others to open their hearts to profound connection. I agree with all you said about depleting on-line junk disguised as connection. But you, dear one, are a real-deal seeker and truth teller, and I am grateful for your place, and inspiration, in my life.
Thank you Jacquelyn for reminding me of that era in Tucson! Wow, I can remember pouring my heart and soul out into my classes, even those at LA Fitness, where we were under fluorescent lights and surrounded by mirrors. That was a special time and I was blessed to meet you. How cool that we could connect so deeply there in person! Life is such an incredible experience and those feelings of authenticity we shared were far from counterfeit.
I knew the first time I met you that you were blessed with many gifts. I wish I had words to eloquently convey my appreciation to you for those gifts that you’ve shared with me.
I to share your opinion on how the world is changed and how we’ve become more disconnected in our connected world.
Thank you for all you give to so many. I will wait patiently for that book.
I think one of the greatest deceptions of modern life is that we've confused connection with access.
We have unprecedented access to one another, yet many people have never felt more unseen. We can witness thousands of lives without truly sharing one. We know what strangers ate for breakfast while scarcely knowing our neighbors.
What struck me most is your use of the word counterfeit. That's exactly the risk.
Counterfeits don't replace something worthless. They imitate something precious.
A counterfeit community imitates belonging.
A counterfeit identity imitates character.
A counterfeit influence imitates wisdom.
A counterfeit intimacy imitates love.
Western Refugee has never been anti-technology. It's been concerned with what happens when the simulation gradually replaces the substance. When performance replaces presence. When algorithms become our environment instead of our tools.
The challenge isn't escaping the digital world entirely.
It's making sure the real one remains the place where our deepest relationships, greatest loyalties, and truest identity are actually formed.
"Counterfeits don't replace something worthless. They imitate something precious." That is the KEY! Sometimes in the mesmerization with the allure of the counterfeits, and the ensuing realization of their phony nature, the original thing they imitated also loses value, because people are so upset and disappointed by the counterfeit. I think that's why there is such an overabundance now of counterfeit everything (thanks to AI's proliferation) that it deceives folks into feeling all is 'fake and ghey' - when no, only the counterfeit world is the culprit, but that can be harder and harder to discern. The despair it puts folks into and apathy is what is so sad, because there is a whole world of authentic beauty and wisdom that is hidden behind all the pompous hoodwinking. You also said, "A counterfeit community imitates belonging... A counterfeit influence imitates wisdom..." -Thank you for sharing this so succinctly and suggesting we be more concerned when "performance replaces presence" and when "the simulation gradually replaces the substance." I am concerned, and I am with you in ensuring the real world "remains the place where our deepest relationships, greatest loyalties and truest identity are actually formed."
💜💜💜
Great stuff ! What keeps me sane is having no phone and using so social media besides the long form essays of substack. Having a massive garden, and working on it and my family.
I do about 20 hours a week of spiritual work with people.
If I do that I can maintain sanity.
But man this planet used to drive me crazy.
Sometimes the only thing that works is full time obsessive salvage of it, where you convince yourself that you are some kind of Devic being that is here to liberate all beings from the world of form
Another excellent and well-stated essay my friend. I await the day of your book release; I enjoy and have enjoyed your musings for years now but there is something about the feel of the page, the smell of the ink…
I enjoyed accompanying you on self discovery here, a journey we’ve some experience with together IRL. Always a gift to hear another’s discovery of being deceived by the shiny object.
In my own life the effort has become one of utilizing the tool without mistaking it for the product, and I do fail but not as often.
I have something of an advantage in that I’ve never been on any (anti) social media other than Substack. Easier to resist smoking than to quit I suppose. Still, the siren song of checking the little ‘bell’ to see if anyone commented on my comment which was a comment on someone else’s comment….well, it can be seductive.
I think the thought that occurred to me about halfway through this was ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss!’
Love ya sister, rock on! 💖💖💖😎
Lately I have been reading that we, via the digital juggernaut, are already there - a new world quaranteed to produce the ultimate mass disception wherein we can no longer discern real from fake, truth from fiction, good from evil. "Have no fear!", the Transhumanist Gods proclaim. "Ai will keep us all grounded, informed, centered, fed and safe in the New Utopia."
I reply...
I will not comply! I will not go down without a fight!! I will not be enslaved nor ushered into Their New Las Vegas Prison!!!
Sigh...
And then, even though I have spent more decades in the good human contact analog life than the recent few years of Digital Dystopia,
I fear I am already captured when I catch myself everyday exclaiming, Where's My Fucking Cell Phone!?!
I fear I am doomed.
But alas, your words Tamara, spoken and written, are a Blessing, ring True, and bring hope, courage, and comaradery. God Bless you my friend.
Not a shred of counterfeit! Your students, including me, were deeply moved by your enormous spirit and soul! I am forever grateful for the time we shared in person: Classes, gong bath, and the masterful way you invited us all to go deep into our sacred bodies! You were born to teach. Not as guru or master but ad heartfelt invitation to touch, feel and move our own bodies and souls.♥️♥️