New Year's resolution: Read this book?

Fox Your Carp, Jeff Bezos

F*ck Your Crap - Break Free and Take Control: The Brutally Honest Guide to Stop Overthinking, Start Living, and Finally Take Control by John Forgetson has 4.8 out of 5 stars (with 273 reviews), and it's getting a push by the algorithm.

Too much thinking? Who, me?

The brutally honest wake-up call that overthinkers can’t stop talking about

The year’s almost here. Still overthinking? Still waiting to change? Maybe it’s time to gift yourself the truth...and actually stick to it this time.

Stop overthinking. Start living. Finally take control of your mind, time, and life. You’ve read enough boring self-help to last a lifetime -- the repetitive and brain damaging kind that sounds good but changes nothing.

By now, we don’t need more motivation, we need a mirror...and a serious slap in the face.

Colorful 2026 New Year celebration with vibrant fireworks (dreamstime.com/365501362)

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If I could learn meditation, I could do it all.

So if anyone is tired of overthinking while worrying about what everyone thinks and drowning in endless to-do lists that never end, this book might hit like a truth bomb.

Fck Your Crap isn’t another "feel good" pep talk. It’s a brutally honest wake-up call for people who are done pretending everything’s fine.

It’s not about chasing happiness; it’s about taking control of our life, our focus, and our energy. Inside, find a practical blueprint to stop overthinking, silence self-doubt, and build unstoppable momentum.

What’s inside

• How to stop overthinking and anxiety by rewiring the way the brain reacts to fear and pressure.
• How to stop worrying and start living using real tools that actually work, not useless affirmations.
• How to declutter the mind and rebuild daily habits around clarity and purpose.
• Why "positive thinking" is a scam and what to do instead.
• How to build a mindset so strong that we stop letting everything affect us.
• How to finally break free from the Anxious Generation....

Every chapter hits hard, talks straight, and gives the tools to stop overthinking, stop spiraling, and start living.

Forget the gurus. Forget the hacks. This book is for people who want change that lasts.

Who(m) this book is for

Ever said:

• "I can’t stop overthinking."
• "I feel stuck, lost, and mentally drained."
• "I’m tired of fake positivity and surface-level advice."
• "I'm scared..."?

Then this is a MANUAL to read. It’s for anyone ready to throw the excuses away, face the truth, and build a life that finally makes sense.

Whether navigating anxiety, career burnout, or just trying to get life together, this book will become the slap in the face we didn’t know we needed...until now as we read it.

Why it works

Because it’s REAL. Author John Forgetson doesn’t sugarcoat, spiritualize, or oversell. He cuts through the noise and teaches how to stop self-sabotaging, one brutally honest truth at a time.

With over 200 five-star reviews across platforms, Fck Your Crap has already changed how readers think, work, and live. It’s part tough love, part therapy, and entirely life-changing.

Ready to take back control? If we’re done overthinking our potential, this book will help us stop being our own worst enemy.

• Stop worrying.
• Stop waiting.
• Stop believing everything you think.
• Try something new.
• Try something different.
• Try something better.
• Forget motivation.
• Read this instead.
• Let’s face ourselves...and fix our crap.

F*ck Your Crap - Break Free

Buy Fck Your Crap NOW and finally take control of life. [What’s the worst that could happen? John Forgetson gets rich?] DON'T OVERTHINK IT.

P.S. Important note to readers: Due to Amazon’s advertising guidelines, the eBook edition appears as "Fix" Your Crap. The paperback and hardcover versions remain uncensored as Fck Your Crap. Same content, same no-BS truth. That Goodness for censorship, huh? Thanks, Jeff Bezos.

Tibetan girl came from Shangri-La

There are at least two "Shangri-Las," the mythical and one called Shangri-La, Yunnan, China along the Yangtze River, where marriages arranged by caring families are the norm. Where's Dong Dong?

Lost Horizon (James Hilton)

Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains [1], or mythological Kunlun, described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by the British author James Hilton.

Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a Buddhist lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountain [1].

In the novel, the people who live in Shangri-La are almost immortal, living hundreds of years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly ageing in appearance [possibly in our Hollow Earth, called Agartha, or on another dimension within this world].

(Fundiscovery) From shy shepherd girl to confident hotel owner: A
decade-long bond between Tibetan girl and Japanese director-actor

Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise, particularly a mythical Himalayan Buddhist utopia -- an enduringly happy land, isolated from the world.

Girl stunned by man’s kindness ❤️ #heartwarming

Ancient Tibetan Buddhist scriptures mention Nghe-Beyul Khembalung [2], one of seven utopian beyuls which Tibetan Buddhists believe were established in the 9th century AD by Padmasambhava as hidden, sacred places of refuge for Buddhists during times of strife [3]. More

Chinese girl adopted by U.S. parents chooses to live with birth parents

• Fundiscovery,  3 years later: He returns to find the Tibetan shepherdess who now owns a hotel she founded; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Massive anti-Trump Labor Day protests

Watch: Massive anti-Trump union-led Labor Day protests rock Chicago and cities across America | AC1G

(DRM News) Sept. 1, 2025:  #WorkersOverBillionaires Join DRM News for live coverage of the "Workers over Billionaires" protest in Chicago. Union leaders lead a nationwide movement demanding fair wages and worker rights over corporate wealth. Middle East Eye

Americans for Food Flotilla

(Middle East Eye) American activist Hannah Smith

Right-wing Australian coverage of Greta Thunberg going to Palestine/Israel

Australia: Free, Free Palestine

(9 News Australia) Major nationwide pro-Palestine demonstrations

Get real-time updates, exclusive interviews, and insights from the march. Watch now to follow this historic fight for justice. Workers over Billionaires, Chicago protest, union rally, labor movement, fair wages, worker rights, union leaders, income inequality, corporate greed, Chicago march, labor protests, workers’ rights, U.S. protests, economic justice, live news, breaking news, labor unions, DRM News, workers strike, social justice. #ChicagoProtest #LaborMovement

Would you date a Republican guy?

Garfunkel & Oates: "Dating a Republican"

Do it for citizenship papers and paper billions

(Just For Laughs) GO perform a song they wrote about men they dated, specifically about a Republican named Dan. (This is not about left and right but left and wrong).

• Cautionary tale: What if you end up marrying right wing guy? (Ariana Grande, SNL)
• How's that GOP Sex Strike going? The 4B Movement

ABOUT: Just For Laughs is the world’s premiere destination for #standupcomedy. JFL produces the world’s largest and most prestigious comedy event every July in Montreal, as well as annual festivals in Toronto and Sydney. On this channel, will find comedic clips from some of the most legendary comedians in the business: Chris Rock, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, and more. It also features stand-up from newcomers such as John Mulaney, Bo Burnham, and Amy Schumer. Just want to laugh? This is the right place. Website: bit.ly/1pFZ2d1.

(Flo & Joan) A Song for Anti-Vaxxers (if the UK had Republicans)

#Garfunkel #JustForLaughs #JFL #Garfunkel&Oates #Garfunkel&OatesStandUp from the #JustForLaughs Festival in 2018. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/1ShFiDP Watch more #StandUp from #JFL: http://bit.ly/2M0R2j4 WATCH MORE: NETFLIX SPECIALS: https://bit.ly/2TLIh45 SEEN THEM ON TV?: https://bit.ly/2HIKRAS LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS STAND UP: https://bit.ly/2JmFV6R MUSICAL COMEDY: https://bit.ly/2UKbLM4 FOLLOW JFL: Facebook: http://bit.ly/1qbX9p0 Twitter: http://bit.ly/1RG2uuI.

• Garfunkel & Oates, Just For Laughs, June 12, 2021; Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Are whites racist? The Myth of Superiority

Whites are fragile and find it nearly impossible to comfortably talk about race and privilege.

I'm white. I got drunk in Kentucky and my racism came out, attacking Blacks (MSN)

Why white people in America are so scared of Black people

Hi, we're the Himmlers, swingers.

(LuiSpot) Premiered Nov. 4, 2022. Anti-racism activist and educator Jane Elliott explains American racism and the reason why whites are so scared of Black people. Watch full: youtu.be/4QJIu15VjQg ✪ Get access to merchandise: ⤦ luispot.creator-spring.com ✪ Become a patron today: ⤦ patreon.com/luispot.

• WHITE AWAKE Study Group (online) Shambhala Meditation Center of Los Angeles: Nov. 20

White Fragility (R. DiAngelo)

WHO? The White Awake Study Group is for anyone who identifies as "white" who wants to learn more about the realities of unconscious racism and the unintended impacts of white privilege so that we can consciously contribute to racial justice rather than unconsciously perpetuating patterns of racism.

WHAT?

We were born to privilege. It's not our fault.

We gather with other whites to create a space of learning without causing more harm. We hold the Shambhala Buddhist values of "basic goodness," bravery, gentleness, kindness, and understanding at the center of our study.

WHEN? Once a month, over the course of a year, we will be studying anti-racism through reading, contemplation, and discussion. Drop-ins are always welcome! More

White Awake: Buddhists against racism, implicit bias, white privilege, and white fragility

Easy way to decompress the spine

Joseph Everett (What I've Learned); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Spinal traction or decompression is stretching out the back. It can be done by inverting. It helps posture, meditation, and sleep. This kind of stretching has made a noticeable improvement. The idea came from @TimFerriss's #fourhourbody. Why it works: It improves blood and lymph circulation. The circle above shows the lymph nodes on the vertebral column. Andrew Still said circa 1874, "[the importance of chiropracty/osteopathy is] found in the spinal column with all of its intricate bony framework, plus the beautiful circulation of blood and lymph through the nerve centers of the spinal cord and throughout the whole body.” Hang from a bar or, safer yet, use an inversion table. Hang completely upside down then lower yourself gradually while keeping the core engaged. Spinal traction is meant to be a "gentle" decompression process. More

• Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page breaks her silence
• PHOTOS: Tired of paying rent, build a tiny house
• Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes (Daniel Everett)

Dr. Martin Luther King's LAST speech (video)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Divinity33372 (video); (preview)



I Have Been to the Mountaintop (full speech)

(Div) April 4th is the commemoration day of the assassination of the great Christian preacher and peace activist, civil rights leader, and Vietnam War denouncer Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was assassinated by U.S. officials in a covert operation a day after delivering this magnificent and inspiring speech/Baptist sermon. It seems to predict his demise given that he had already been threatened with being outed for some indiscretions. A personal friend and fellow Nobel Peace Prize candidate of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. King was inspired by India's Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, who kicked the British out of India after centuries of colonialism and abuse, through strictly NONVIOLENT means. It is the only way to long term change, because if we fight the fighters then only fighting would win. Peace must pacify the impulse to violence, war, abuse, and militarism. Audio: americanrhetoric.com.

Long Beach abolishes Columbus Day

Cris Rivera (49er Staff Writer, Oct. 4, 2017) edited by Wisdom Quarterly  Comment

Councilmember Jeannine Pearce (middle) congratulates supporters of Indigenous Peoples' Day with signs, "Support Long Beach Indigenous Peoples Day," after unanimous vote (Cris Rivera).

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Long Beach replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Ahh! I can't believe it! We really did it!

Oct. 9 will now be celebrated as Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day.
 

The decision to adopt Indigenous Peoples’ Day in place of Columbus Day was met with cheer and applause from the crowd at the Long Beach City Council meeting Tuesday night.

 

Indigenous Peoples' Day is a movement

The newly dubbed holiday will be celebrated Oct. 9 this year but won’t be officially observed until 2018 in Long Beach.

 

While still federally recognized as Columbus Day -- which has been a national holiday since 1937 -- Indigenous Peoples’ Day strives to acknowledge and celebrate Native American history and culture.

 

Cheyenne Phoenix, president of the Native American Student Association at Long Beach City College, described to the councilmembers and crowd what it was like to grow up as a Native American. More

• The LIST of cities adopting the day is growing!

"A Journey into Buddhism" (Part II)

Elizabeth J. Harris, A Journey into Buddhism; A. Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha, Kanthaka, and a Christian saint, maybe Mary, maybe Jay (Ginger Mayerson)

 
2. Non-Retaliation

And this mudra means "peace"!

In one sutra in the Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya), one of the five divisions of the sutra collection that make up the Pali canon, the Buddha says to his disciples:
 

"Meditators, as low-down bandits might carve you limb from limb with a two-handed saw, yet even then whoever sets mind at enmity, that person for that reason is not a doer of my teaching (Dharma).

"This is how you must train yourselves: neither will my mind become perverted, nor will I utter unskillful speech, but kindly and compassionate will I dwell, with a mind/heart of friendliness and free of ill will."

The vividness of this picture has always moved me -- a criminal hacking off my arms and legs with a saw. And it isn't that far-fetched. War involves such butchery. The denial of human rights under totalitarian regimes produces similar horrors, and so does the obsessional urge of a serial killer or multiple murderer.

Get her! She has a look on her face!!

Fear, terror, or violent retaliation in self-protection would seem the natural reactions to such an attack, the way we're taught in Christendom (though not by Jesus), a reaction programmed into our bodies.
 
Yet, the challenge of Buddhism here is to not retaliate, not to hate, no to grow angry or seek revenge. Instead, it is to show compassion to all people even if they are about to kill you.

It is a challenge that reaches out from other religions also. Jesus of Palestine, suffering the agony of being nailed through his flesh to rough wooden posts, forgave his killers and even felt compassion for them [due to the karma they were accruing] in their blindness.

But does this imply that Buddhism advocates that we should never protect ourselves or others from violence, that we should submit to whatever exploitation we are subjected to, that in the face of "evil" forces we should remain passive?

To answer "yes" is to misread Buddhism and all true religion. Buddhism does not support hopeless passivity in the face of violence and evil. Rather, it encourages a mental attitude which can face and oppose violence without fear or hatred or delusion.
 
Nowhere in the Buddhist texts is it suggested that we should remain inactive when we or others are suffering. Nowhere does it say we should refrain from action if someone is murdering our son, daughter, neighbor, or colleague in front of our eyes.

In such situations, harm must be relieved, violence denounced, interceding or self-sacrifice might even be demanded, though the Buddhist texts also warn that to meet violence with violence brings a vicious circle of spiraling further violence.

What the Buddhist texts do say is that to hate, to feel anger towards the doer of violence, is self-defeating. It harms both and harms the hater even more than the hated.

In the ancient Buddhist texts, we come across many stories of non-hatred deflecting violence and making it powerless.

One woman, because she refuses to feel hatred, is unharmed when burning oil is poured over her by a jealous co-wife. And when a monk dies of snakebite, the Buddha says he would not have died if he had radiated loving kindness (metta) to the four families of snakes. (See the khanda paritta for protection from snakebites).

This might seem utopian in a world shot through with violence. The skeptic can point to the deaths of Gandhi in India, Oscar Romero in El Salvador, and Michael Rodrigo in Sri Lanka to show that the most compassionate of beings are sometimes unable to escape violent deaths caused by the greed and hatred of others.

• [The fact that the chief disciple Maha Moggallana could not avoid such a death shows the power of past karma to bear its results when it gets the opportunity. This disciple was fully enlightened and foremost in the practice of magic yet could not always avoid karma consequences (vipaka and phala). What then of ordinary unenlightened beings without magical powers?]

But the force of these spiritual teachings will remain. Violence is not overcome by violence. Hatred is not defeated by hatred. Our lives are not made more secure by wishing to protect them [or by harming others in that effort.]

To face death without hatred or fear, even towards our killers, is the path of sainthood (arhatship, full enlightenment). These are eternal truths. More

Bernie Sanders LIVE in L.A. (May 17th)

CBSLA.com; Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

(Jimmy Dore Show) Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (Ind.) rips into Fed Chief Alan Greenspan

Bernie is reaching out so that people will understand what a disaster Clinton would be.

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LOS ANGELES - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is holding a campaign rally Tuesday, May 17th at the StubHub Center in Carson (where the 110 and 405 freeways meet).

• RSVP at BernieSanders.com. Select events, search by zip code: 90746. The Tennis Stadium at the StubHub (formerly the Home Depot Center) is on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills about 10 miles south of downtown LA: 18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson, 90746.

The rally will be held at the 8,000-seat tennis stadium. Doors open at 5:00 pm. FREE to the public, but “RSVPs are strongly encouraged.” Admission is first come, first served. NO chairs, signs, or banners allowed through security.

 

The Vermont Independent senator has already been campaigning in California ahead of the June 7th primary. He opened a first California campaign office last month in Hollywood.

Senator Sanders also held a March rally at the Wiltern Theatre and has expressed optimism about his chances of winning the California primary, telling CBS2’s Dave Bryan, “I think the people of California will respond to our message.”

Strongman, Establishment, Radical?

Opponent of the people in the race for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, will be in Los Angeles next week for a pair of high powered fundraisers, one of them co-hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour. More

• Bernie Sanders holding rally in Southern California  (laist.com) On Tuesday, presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will be making his return to the Los Angeles area, holding a rally at Carson's StubHub Center... 
• Bernie for President Event: A Future to Believe In (go.berniesanders.com)
•  P.J. O'Rourke "backs" Hillary Clinton (lol)

Democracy Spring ignored by media (video)

DemocracySpring.org; Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; DemocracyNow.org

Sit in with thousands. Save democracy for millions. MARCH FROM APRIL 2-11. SIT-IN APRIL 11-18.

This week we're taking back our democracy. Now is the time to take mass nonviolent action on a historic scale to save our democracy.
 

Following a ten-day, 140-mile march from Philadelphia to Washington DC, thousands are gathering this week in the nation’s capital.

• "Democracy Spring" on Facebook

We are here to demand that Congress take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in politics and ensure free and fair elections so that every American has a voice.
 

Day after day we will reclaim the US Capitol in peaceful and powerful mass sit-ins. Over 3,500 people from near and far have already pledged to face arrest throughout the week.
 

Get to DC for one of the largest civil disobedience actions in a generation. Together we will open the door to reforms. Join us! More

Mass civil disobedience trainings:

• Trainings continue twice a day this week: SCHEDULE

• Arrests made as even elderly Americans protest (RT)
• Sit-in protest brings hundreds to Capitol steps (NPR) Coalition of progressive groups called on legislators to put caps on campaign donations, fix Voting Rights Act
• Arrests at US Capitol during Democracy Spring (VICE)
• Democracy Spring: 400+ arrested at Capitol protesting
• "Democracy Spring" protest: sit-ins at Capitol Hill (CNN)
• Racist Hillary Clinton steps in it during comedy skit War hawk Clinton under fire over a racially insensitive comedy skit. Just days before the crucial New York primary, Clinton surprised guests during mayor's performance at the annual Inner Circle show, a black-tie charity gala that's the city's answer to the White House Correspondents Dinner.
• Prosecutors do not want to convict killer cops, so they throw cases and blame juries
• VIDEO: Bill Clinton sent blacks to prison ("super predators"), ruined welfare -- so he fights with Black Lives Matter protesters

"American Denial" (PBS video)

CC Liu, Sheldon S., Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; PBS.org/IndependentLens; (SCPR)

This A.I. robot will judge your selfies to tell you if you suck or not (Popular Science)

(Indpendent Lens/PBS) "American Denial: An American Dilemma" on our implicit bias 

• Understanding Implicit Bias (kirwaninstitute.osu.edu) Definition: Also known as implicit social cognition, implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and... 
• Implicit Bias (Stanford)...“Implicit bias” is a term of art referring to relatively unconscious and relatively automatic features of prejudiced judgment and social behavior. 
• Project Implicit PROJECT IMPLICIT Social Attitudes: Find out your implicit associations about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other topics 
• Implicit stereotype (Wiki) Implicit stereotypes are associations learned through past experiences... Unconscious bias, or implicit bias, is a "positive or negative mental... 
• Across America, whites we're biased and don't even know it
• The one habit millennials should keep
• Mass surveillance silences minority opinions: study
• Being an expert literally changes how you see things
• The feds have resumed a controversial program that lets cops take stuff and keep it
• Apple, Google are struggling to design simple software

What is "Nonviolent Communication"? (video)

Marshall Rosenberg (CNVC.org); Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Annual Peace Bell Ceremony, United Nations International Day of Peace (UN)

Nonviolent Communication Training Course with Marshall Rosenberg (CNVC.org)

Peace (Kineticfoto)

The Buddha praised peace, tranquility, and serenity, seeing them as vital steps in the realization of enlightenment and final peace or nirvana, "the end of all suffering."

But how is it achieved in our daily lives as we talk to ourselves and begin to form an intention (cetana) to communicate with others? Speech is one of three main types of karma (action), along with mental and physical activity.

 

Let's become aware of how our language was built to use punishment and reward, which are tools to dominate the public, then let's learn how to change ourselves for the better and help others evolve as well so that all needs are met and happiness is gained here and now.

Remember, according to an ancient insight, "There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way!" Along the road we find quiet reflection, peace, wisdom, compassion, and a realization that things that upset us were never even what they seemed. There is so much we are missing when we are benighted by the three poisons of greed, anger/fear, and delusion.

What is NVC?

Peace on Earth begins/ends with peace in the heart (Ka)

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is based on the principles of nonviolence (Sanskrit, ahimsa) -- the natural state of compassion when no violence (violent or harmful intention) is present in the heart.

 

NVC begins by assuming that we are all compassionate by nature and that violent strategies -- whether verbal or physical -- are learned behaviors taught and supported by the prevailing culture.

NVC also assumes that we all share the same basic human needs and that each action is a strategy to try to meet one or more of these needs.

 

People who practice NVC find greater authenticity in their communication, increased understanding, deepened connection, and joyful conflict resolution.

 

The NVC community is active in over 65 countries around the globe. Find out more about how NVC is changing the world and how you can get involved.