Show #48: Surviving the Psy-pocalypse - Interview with Stefan Verstappen

Great show once again, despite the slight technical difficulties! Although I don't think I agree with everything he said, Stefan was interesting and a lot of fun to listen to.

Thank you!
 
What a great show!! I'm interested in his book as well, and his upcoming book.

For those interested, the first chapter of his book "The Art of Urban Survival: A Family Safety and Self Defense Manual'' can be read for free here: http://www.chinastrategies.com/defenseagainstpsychopath.pdf
 
Mariama said:
The timing of the show was remarkable, OSIT, in light of what has happened these past few days. When Stefan talked about the victim psychopath I had this 'aha' moment.

Really wonderful show. I hope he will visit you in France, who knows what might happen if you join forces?

Thanks lovely people, also thanks for the laughs.

Yes, completely agree, very nice timing. The energy of the talk and its perspectives were fresh and inspiring- great show, thanks!
 
We enjoyed speaking with Stefan. He sure 'gets it' re psychopathy.

Oxajil said:
For those interested, the first chapter of his book "The Art of Urban Survival: A Family Safety and Self Defense Manual'' can be read for free here: http://www.chinastrategies.com/defenseagainstpsychopath.pdf

That's the one. That 20-page booklet is probably the best summary of psychopaths and psychopathy we've come across.

See also: http://www.sott.net/article/234214-Defense-Against-the-Psychopath
 
This week's show was awesome and inspiring! It was cool how alot of Stefan's ideas are similar to network principles. Mutual aid communities just seems so natural and beneficial like this is exactly how humans are supposed to exist.
 
The show went well in my estimation despite the technical glitches. The discussion on groups was particularly interesting. From what I've encountered in my own reading, it seems that most experts on survival agree that it takes a group of people to create any sort of decent odds for success long-term . But as with everything there are hazards involved with groups too. Psychopathology in particular is something I haven't heard mentioned in discussions about survival groups before this show with Stefan. He seemed adamant that there really is no way to prevent infiltration by such types, so as ever it's back to the adage of "knowledge protects". In that regard I think the idea of educating the new members of any group about such possibilities is a wise move. Possibly a test of some kind could be devised that serves to both educate prospective members as well as put them on notice as to what's expected of them. It's likely that it would only be a matter of time before the short term appetites of a psychopath would sabotage his or her long-term agenda. As Stefan put it, time multiplied by experience equals trust earned. I guess it could be said that the trial period never really ends, it’s just that the evidence tends to stake up on one side or the other.
 
Thanks for the show guys, I really enjoyed it. It's always easy to listen to people who have done at least, the minimum requirements to understand a subject so that they can converse with others on the same footing. This is crucial in virtually every interaction, & Gurdjieff was was crystal-clear & absolutely spot-on when he described the situation of the confusion of language, exchange of thought & proper study.

Mariama said:
The timing of the show was remarkable, OSIT, in light of what has happened these past few days. When Stefan talked about the victim psychopath I had this 'aha' moment.

Really wonderful show. I hope he will visit you in France, who knows what might happen if you join forces?

Thanks lovely people, also thanks for the laughs.

Laura: "Rant over". :lol:

I agree the timing of the show was fitting, not just for the last few, but months also. We had two "funny ones" in our midst! One apologizing & endorsing (in effect) & another fluctuating along a particular pathological spectrum. ("victim") I don't know if that is one side of that coin & there's "simply" another, (manipulation - playing numerous people off against each other for example) or if it's a case of what tactics are readily available to the individual (depending on what info they've gleaned in their experiences or/and their level of intelligence) resulting in a jumble where they're juggling to many brightly coloured balls at once, then those "balls"(targets) become aware & cause the "juggler" to drop them. Then the closing of ranks & swapping of detail reveals the nature of the "juggler".

I hope he's all he seems & he can join too, more likeminded people with long-term experience can only accelerate the learning thus, spotting the psychopath (or just psychopathological behaviour) becomes easier. And as was said long ago, (paraphrasing) "you'll have to see the unseen on a regular basis in the future", I for one think that this is the only type of breach of (the group) defences that is "acceptable" because if each individual cleans up their psychological, emotional & physical state, then learns all that they can about themselves (humans) & psychopaths interactions throughout our history, then group together & becomes co-linear; then there really should be no breaches but a semi-open invitation to others as part of normal human relations. This will always attract any type of virus, micro or macro & I think this gap, with the lack of insight of all viruses, that is seen as an opportunity for infection & takeover, can actually (if all the above measures have been taken) be a trap or counter-measure. Then the group (cell) can evaluate quickly what that "foreign body" is & if it's an invader well... super-strength rapid detox!!

I could feel Laura's frustration as she spoke at times (she got louder lol) & yeah, I think we just need to get used to the idea of this thing happening but drawing strength from it after processing. We're pretty limited in 3-D psychopath BBM, & after certain learning takes place, mitigating the crap is what can be done whilst hoping that some positive cosmic energy can arrive & level the playing field somewhat. When I hear ponerization now, I think "zombies", I'm sure you can understand why.

Thanks to Oxajil & Kniall for those links, I'm eager for his book & the next one this month. Hope you guys do a review of it. :)
 
H-kqge said:
I could feel Laura's frustration as she spoke at times (she got louder lol) & yeah, I think we just need to get used to the idea of this thing happening but drawing strength from it after processing.

Maybe that was why it was such a great show. Laura's so-called rants and practical examples worked well with what Stefan had to say. I was thinking about this person that we have been discussing these past few days and I wasn't probably the only one. So, I was actually pleased when Laura brought it up herself. These experiences are frustrating and maddening, so hearing Laura rant was cathartic in a constructive way IMO.

We have to continue talking to each other and comparing notes, that's what Sandra Brown tells women to do when they start dating again or enter into new relationships. I think that this is one of the most important things we can do, so that we can minimise pathological influences. (Hope I am being clear, it took me ages to write this post. :zzz:)
 
Loved the show! I liked the way Stefan used the term "warrior" as a metaphor and then proceeded to define the first battle as that of a psychopath (i.e. the first chapter in his book). After listening to the show, I was reminded of Don Juan. Here are a couple of my favourite quotes that will prepare y'all for battle:

"Nothing can temper the spirit of a warrior as much as the challenge of dealing with impossible people in positions of power. Only under those conditions can warriors acquire the sobriety and serenity to stand the pressure of the unknowable."

"The perfect ingredient for the making of a superb seer is a petty tyrant with unlimited prerogatives. Seers have to go to extremes to find a worthy one. Most of the time they have to be satisfied with very small fry. Then warriors develop a strategy using the four attributes of warriorship: control, discipline, forbearance, and timing."

"Warriors take strategic inventories. They list everything they do. Then they decide which of those things can be changed in order to allow themselves a respite, in terms of expending their energy. The strategic inventory covers only behavioral patterns that are not essential to our survival and well-being. In the strategic inventories of warriors, self-importance figures as the activity that consumes the greatest amount of energy, hence, their effort to eradicate it."


;D
 
Another highly informative and in interesting show folks.
Stephan is quite a guy. He certainly has a lot of knowledge and experience under his belt. I don't think it would be too far off to define him as a renaissance man.
 
Thank you for the show. It was really interesting. Here is a link to the documentary that Stefan mentioned about the baboon and community: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/stress-portrait-of-a-killer/
 
Thank you for sharing the link to the pbs documentary Starlight it is very informative. It reminds how valuable EE and possitive dissasotiation can be to avoid the damages hyper stress can bring. :)
 
Just finished listening to this show. Another really great one! Thanks.

I'm looking forward to his new book. And I happened to watch the "Stress: Portrait of a Killer" documentary yesterday, finally. That was really interesting with the first baboon group studied.
 
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