Vibes of a place or culture and resonance

[Lucas88]

I've always found that some cities, regions or countries give off an inexplicably attractive vibe even if I've never even been there and know little about the culture while others immediately give off a repulsive vibe. Note that here I use the words "attractive" vs. "repulsive" as opposed to "positive" vs. "negative". What might be perceived as positive by one person might be at the same time perceived as negative by another. Whether we subjectively find a place's energy attractive or repulsive will largely depend on our own personality and energetic makeup.

For example, in the UK I find London and the southeast's overall vibe and culture utterly repulsive and alien to my soul to the point where I feel disgusted by any topic to do with that part of the country while I find northern counties like Yorkshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, etc. to have more attractive energy. This is still all relative though. I don't like the UK at all. I simply think that some parts of this rather negative country have somewhat better vibes than others.

Another personal example would be Latin America. I'm an avid Hispanophile but I've always instinctively had my preferences within the continent. Ever since I started learning Spanish at the age of 17, I always inexplicably liked Colombia's energy and overall vibe and felt drawn to it even though I knew little about Colombia at the time while at the same time I've always instinctively disliked Argentina and Uruguay. For me, Argentina and Uruguay always had a somewhat dark and unpleasant vibe and to this day I don't feel much sympathy for their culture. I still prefer Argentina and Uruguay to most non-Latin cultures by virtue of their Latinicity but within the Hispanic world they're certainly my least favorite Latin countries and I continue to dislike their overall vibe.

Likewise, within Colombia certain regions give off an attractive vibe while others repulse me to a degree. I've only just started to seriously look into Colombia's different regions and I've found that the regions of Antioquía (where Medellín is located) and the central region just below which forms the Coffee Axis have an energy that strongly attracts me while Bogotá gives off a really negative vibe. I just instinctively don't like Bogotá and its culture.

I like both Colombia and Mexico. They both give off attractive vibes for me. However, at the same time Colombia just has a different vibe that I like more than that of Mexico. That different vibe is like an elusive essence which I find hard to put into words but which I perceive clearly as a distinct energetic signature that my consciousness picks up on.

I believe that distinct vibes could be a real phenomenon based in a more subtle layer of reality rather than simply a product of our imagination. Different cultures have their own objective characteristics which have evolved and crystallized over the course of time. These objective characteristics could in turn inform the structures and frequencies of the culture/location's "collective soul" or what in occultism is known as an "egregore". It might be that those of us who are energetically sensitive are able to "feel" the structures and frequencies of a particular culture/location's collective soul/egregore. That inner perception of those structures and frequencies might account for what we perceive as "vibes".

I view the respective vibes of countries and cities much in the same vein as musical genres. Just as the objective sound frequencies of one genre attract a certain kind of people on the basis of their individual personality and the characteristics of their own individual consciousness, the underlying energetic structures and frequencies of some cultures/locations resonate with a certain kind of people but not with others. I'm attracted to Colombia for example because Colombia's collective soul is characterized by certain energetic structures and frequencies that match many of those of my own soul and consciousness and I could always sense these on an intuitive level even before intellectually exploring its culture. Conversely, I dislike Argentina and Uruguay because their respective collective soul is characterized by other energetic structures and frequencies that are incompatible with my own.

The above is my own personal hypothesis with regard to "vibes".

Do you experience this gut instinct of attraction vs. repulsive vibes for certain cultures/locations that you barely even know? If so, which cultures/locations have you already instinctively found attractive or repulsive?

[Tsar]

Yes, I think that there's definitely positive and negative vibes. I often have sensed different vibes depending on the nation or region of the world.

Different cultures also have their own vibes.

I began to think heavily about vibes back in 2021 when I became much more into the metaphysical. America had a really heavy negative vibe with really heavy ambient energy that was negative at the time.

I didn't feel it as much back when I was there this time around probably because my aura and personal field was much stronger and more powerful. But I definitely felt like I didn't belong and couldn't wait to leave. I know that I just don't belong in the US because of the cultural vibe and it's mainstream values.

I prefer places where people are more traditional, friendly or easy to make friends, and where there's more ability to be different.

The countries of the world that claim to be the most free and democratic are actually the most oppressive and people can be "cancelled" and censored.

I definitely think that people can have different experiences somewhere based on their own vibration or frequency or energies.

I can't imagine living in a place like North America, Western Europe, North Europe, or most of Central Europe. I mainly like Southern Europe and Eastern Europe.

I don't have much experience elsewhere but I definitely felt Mexico had a more positive energy and lighter. But I still felt less drawn to it than Europe.

Have you ever considered the possibility of the Chakras of the Earth having some influence? I started to look again at metaphysical things deeply around this time last year after my occult revelations. I haven't been focused too much on that at the moment but I'll definitely get back into my metaphysical and occult research soon. There was a lot that I still needed to look more into.

[kangarunner]

I believe that distinct vibes could be a real phenomenon based in a more subtle layer of reality rather than simply a product of our imagination. Different cultures have their own objective characteristics which have evolved and crystallized over the course of time. These objective characteristics could in turn inform the structures and frequencies of the culture/location's "collective soul" or what in occultism is known as an "egregore". It might be that those of us who are energetically sensitive are able to "feel" the structures and frequencies of a particular culture/location's collective soul/egregore. That inner perception of those structures and frequencies might account for what we perceive as "vibes".

Your post is very interesting. I once heard someone say that each of our bodies are self-contained energy factories. Each of us is a physical energy factory putting out a frequency or energy to others.

Having resided in SE Asia, I find that my soul and energy is much more in alignment with the natives there. SE Asian people are happy and have a peaceful, easy going approach to life. Whereas people in America are serious, dominant, and judgmental. I also don't choose to be around Anglo white men anymore just because I don't get along with them either. I remember Winston telling me some New Age theory that white men are warlike, dominant, and aggressive and the reason for this is because they're from Mars. Or maybe that is a metaphor.

And for what you said about music, when I listen to peaceful music like that song @Pixel--Dude posted in the shoutbox the other day, I immediately calmed down. Just like listening to a good song will cheer you up, being around people and friends who have similar energy to you will also cheer you up.

[publicduende]

I've always found that some cities, regions or countries give off an inexplicably attractive vibe even if I've never even been there and know little about the culture while others immediately give off a repulsive vibe. Note that here I use the words "attractive" vs. "repulsive" as opposed to "positive" vs. "negative". What might be perceived as positive by one person might be at the same time perceived as negative by another. Whether we subjectively find a place's energy attractive or repulsive will largely depend on our own personality and energetic makeup.

For example, in the UK I find London and the southeast's overall vibe and culture utterly repulsive and alien to my soul to the point where I feel disgusted by any topic to do with that part of the country while I find northern counties like Yorkshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, etc. to have more attractive energy. This is still all relative though. I don't like the UK at all. I simply think that some parts of this rather negative country have somewhat better vibes than others.

Another personal example would be Latin America. I'm an avid Hispanophile but I've always instinctively had my preferences within the continent. Ever since I started learning Spanish at the age of 17, I always inexplicably liked Colombia's energy and overall vibe and felt drawn to it even though I knew little about Colombia at the time while at the same time I've always instinctively disliked Argentina and Uruguay. For me, Argentina and Uruguay always had a somewhat dark and unpleasant vibe and to this day I don't feel much sympathy for their culture. I still prefer Argentina and Uruguay to most non-Latin cultures by virtue of their Latinicity but within the Hispanic world they're certainly my least favorite Latin countries and I continue to dislike their overall vibe.

Likewise, within Colombia certain regions give off an attractive vibe while others repulse me to a degree. I've only just started to seriously look into Colombia's different regions and I've found that the regions of Antioquía (where Medellín is located) and the central region just below which forms the Coffee Axis have an energy that strongly attracts me while Bogotá gives off a really negative vibe. I just instinctively don't like Bogotá and its culture.

I like both Colombia and Mexico. They both give off attractive vibes for me. However, at the same time Colombia just has a different vibe that I like more than that of Mexico. That different vibe is like an elusive essence which I find hard to put into words but which I perceive clearly as a distinct energetic signature that my consciousness picks up on.

I believe that distinct vibes could be a real phenomenon based in a more subtle layer of reality rather than simply a product of our imagination. Different cultures have their own objective characteristics which have evolved and crystallized over the course of time. These objective characteristics could in turn inform the structures and frequencies of the culture/location's "collective soul" or what in occultism is known as an "egregore". It might be that those of us who are energetically sensitive are able to "feel" the structures and frequencies of a particular culture/location's collective soul/egregore. That inner perception of those structures and frequencies might account for what we perceive as "vibes".

I have always had mixed feelings about London and, for years, I wondered why I wasn't able to reach a final definition that could wrap up the dilemma. Then, all of a sudden, talking to my good friend N (the Frenchman married to a Filipina I already mention in another post),who left London a few years ago to move to Kent (Sevenoaks), it all became clear.

Our "vibe" towards a place is solely shaped by our relationship with the people who live in that place. Digging back into my past, my "golden years" in London were the two years I spent as a postgraduate student. I studied one year at Kings College London and one year at University College London, two of the largest academic institutions in the City and veritable hubs for students from all over the world, and all walks of life. London was electric, back then: there was always something exciting see and do, always someone new and interesting to meet, always relatively on the cheap. I found myself living in Shoreditch just before the hype and the inevitable gentrification started.

I had friends from both colleges, my Japanese girlfriend, a rotation of roommates from different countries (Italy, Spain, Mexico, South Korea, etc.). In short, I never had time to be bored and enter a routine.

That routine set in, inevitably and brutally, as soon as I started to work. I spent a year in BIrmingham working for a software company and it was excruciatingly hard, to go from 100 to 0 in terms of social life. I chose to live in a flat smack in the centre of the city (Victoria Square) to be close to "everything" and walk to the office, but that everything soon became working until evening and going home to my gf, and eating out with my gf once or twice a week. Although Birmingham wasn't even remotely comparable to London in term of class and variety of cultural/night life, I knew it wasn't really the bars or the gigs I was missing, it was the accomplices I had back in the big city, who used to accompany me and make the experience whole.

Case in point, when I eventually got back to London after a few years back in Italy and one boring year in Cambridge (where at least I met my Colombian ex-wife), my social life became a pale shadow of what it used to be. I wasn't "vibing" anymore. Hadn't it been for my 2 French friends N and C, the only people my ex-wife and I used to hang out with, this second bout in London would have been purely a work/eat/sleep routine. I still think London is a great city, despite being exceedingly expensive of late, however a place where social life among working adults is ruined by two simple facts:

• almost nobody lives in London proper, near the workplace, so everybody must commute back home in the commuting belt
• trains back home only run until midnight, 1 AM in the best cases, so every social event is subject to the "Cinderella effect" that it's all over around 11, so everybody can take their trains home.

No surprise, the most "social" night of the week is Thursday night, which is when workmates crowd the pubs and restaurants to give themselves that rare opportunity to bond over a beer or curry, as the Friday evening is usually spent with their families.

For all the efforts, one get easily tired of the quick drunken nights, spent with people who are "friendly" but not "friends", they are colleagues and occasional acquaintances who hang with you for purely functional reasons. One misplaced statement, one misfire, and you will find those people leaving you, or treating you differently.

To conclude, by personal experience, I think the vibe is not related to a place but to the social settings one finds themselves living in, sometimes by choice, often by chance.

I view the respective vibes of countries and cities much in the same vein as musical genres. Just as the objective sound frequencies of one genre attract a certain kind of people on the basis of their individual personality and the characteristics of their own individual consciousness, the underlying energetic structures and frequencies of some cultures/locations resonate with a certain kind of people but not with others. I'm attracted to Colombia for example because Colombia's collective soul is characterized by certain energetic structures and frequencies that match many of those of my own soul and consciousness and I could always sense these on an intuitive level even before intellectually exploring its culture. Conversely, I dislike Argentina and Uruguay because their respective collective soul is characterized by other energetic structures and frequencies that are incompatible with my own.

The above is my own personal hypothesis with regard to "vibes".

Do you experience this gut instinct of attraction vs. repulsive vibes for certain cultures/locations that you barely even know? If so, which cultures/locations have you already instinctively found attractive or repulsive?

This is an interesting metaphor. I have always associated London with its vibrant electronic music scene so, if I could think of a defining rhythm, it would be a music genre I have always loved. I know what you mean by "the energy" of Colombian music, those fresh Latino beats, the cheesy lyrics about love found and lost, or the serious "assault to the senses" of a salsa or a regueton. I personally never learned to dance, so I guess I chose to miss most of that energy.

This is one of the more "iconic" examples of fusion (vallenato + rock) coming from Colombia. It's one of the songs that brings me back to the good memories of my ex-wife and her Medellin.

[Lucas88]

I have always had mixed feelings about London and, for years, I wondered why I wasn't able to reach a final definition that could wrap up the dilemma. Then, all of a sudden, talking to my good friend N (the Frenchman married to a Filipina I already mention in another post),who left London a few years ago to move to Kent (Sevenoaks), it all became clear.

You're a brave man, @publicduende. I can't imagine how tough it must be to go from the sunny Italian South with its picturesque towns, beautiful beaches and crystalline turquois sea, charming architecture and pleasant Mediterranean way of life to the miserable UK with its gloomy weather, drab grey cities that almost look Soviet in style and general lack of anything that can unironically be called culture. Well, actually I can. Every time I come back from Spain I'm immediately hit by intense culture shock and an incredibly melancholic energy and feel as miserable as sin. I don't think that I would have lasted in your shoes. If I were a young Italian dude recently arrived in London with the goal of making a career, I think that the shock to my system and the general feeling of melancholy would be too much for me and that within a month I'd be back in Italy working for 'Ndrangheta or La Cosa Nostra.

I can understand the appeal of a cosmopolitan environment in which one can meet interesting people and exotic women from all over the world though. I experienced something similar in Valencia. I met people from all over Europe and Latin America. Some were international students, others immigrants, others expats, etc. If you like a variety of women, there you can find hot mamis from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Central America, Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, etc. And all under the pleasant Mediterranean sun and in a city that actually resembles civilization!

I've only ever been to London on three occasions. I wasn't impressed by the place at all and thought that it mostly looked ugly and had bad vibes. The latter two of those three occasions, I had already spent considerable time in Valencia and other Spanish cities and so there was no way that London was going to impress me. Lol!

Our "vibe" towards a place is solely shaped by our relationship with the people who live in that place.

I don't think that it is accurate to say that the "vibe" that we perceive of a place is solely shaped by our relationship with the people who live in that place. I think that you're only looking at it from a perspective of social life, maybe because social life is something to which you personally attribute a lot of value and which has shaped your own experiences the most.

I on the other hand perceive that various other factors also contribute to a place's vibe, things such as architectural style, climate, language, prevailing social attitudes, etc. For me, all of these inform a place's vibe as much as my experience with its social life does. For example, I'm really sensitive to the aesthetics of a place. If I find the architecture bright, warm and endearing (e.g., Mediterranean cities, colonial Mexican towns, etc.) the vibe will be more on the positive side regardless of how many friends I have while if most of the buildings are drab grey monstrosities (e.g., UK, urban Japan, etc.) the vibe will be negative no matter how many positive relationships I have with the people. Same with climate. If a place is cold and the sky always looks gloomy, then its vibe will likewise be darkened whereas if a place has a warm climate then it will appear more vibrant and have better vibes. At least that's how it is for me. I actually learned that there are people who love cold, gloomy climates.

For me especially, language is an important factor too. I could never love a culture if I didn't like the sound of its language. If a language has harmonious and melodic phonological qualities and is infused with abundant passion (e.g., Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, etc.) then I'll naturally find the culture more attractive and with good vibes. However, if a language has harsh and dissonant phonological qualities and lacks passion or otherwise sounds soulless or robotic (e.g., British English, German, etc.) then I'll conversely perceive the culture as ugly and soulless. After all, the language of a place is something which can be heard all the time. Language is the closest factor here to music as both are sonic in nature. Just like the sound qualities of a certain musical genre can produce an emotional reaction in listeners and some genres produce pleasant feelings in some people but negative ones in others, spoken languages can have the same mood-altering effects too. I'm usually more melancholic when I'm in the UK and have to hear British English but much more upbeat when I'm in a Hispanophone environment. Language contributes to a place's vibe too, especially for those who are aesthetically sensitive.

Social attitudes too. I just hate stuffy, uptight and overly formal cultures or those which are overly rationalistic and Apollonian and much prefer open and free-spirited cultures or those which are passionate and have a strong Dionysian element.

But all of these things aside, I lean more towards the view that deeper "energy structures" underpin the material reality that we experience through the senses (like on what in occultism is known as the etheric plane) and that the particular vibrations of these create very real vibes or sensations that we in turn perceive subjectively. @Winston has touched on this with his idea of national oversouls and in occultism there is the similar concept of egregores (i.e., collective group minds). Esoteric author Mark Stavish wrote an excellent book on the subject titled Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny. Like Winston, I've always theorized that every country or city has its own unique underlying energy structure or group soul. Curiously, I've always been sensitive and am able to "feel" energetic signatures in everything that I encounter. It's hard to put into words but I just perceive the vibrational qualities of a place with my mind and they feel like they have certain shapes and forms which feel very real. Whenever I arrive in a new country, this always happens and I get an energetic reading. This leads me to believe that such a concept is real. I'm also synesthetic. I don't know whether the two things are related.

[publicduende]

You're a brave man, @publicduende. I can't imagine how tough it must be to go from the sunny Italian South with its picturesque towns, beautiful beaches and crystalline turquois sea, charming architecture and pleasant Mediterranean way of life to the miserable UK with its gloomy weather, drab grey cities that almost look Soviet in style and general lack of anything that can unironically be called culture. Well, actually I can. Every time I come back from Spain I'm immediately hit by intense culture shock and an incredibly melancholic energy and feel as miserable as sin. I don't think that I would have lasted in your shoes. If I were a young Italian dude recently arrived in London with the goal of making a career, I think that the shock to my system and the general feeling of melancholy would be too much for me and that within a month I'd be back in Italy working for 'Ndrangheta or La Cosa Nostra.

I can understand the appeal of a cosmopolitan environment in which one can meet interesting people and exotic women from all over the world though. I experienced something similar in Valencia. I met people from all over Europe and Latin America. Some were international students, others immigrants, others expats, etc. If you like a variety of women, there you can find hot mamis from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Central America, Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, etc. And all under the pleasant Mediterranean sun and in a city that actually resembles civilization!

I've only ever been to London on three occasions. I wasn't impressed by the place at all and thought that it mostly looked ugly and had bad vibes. The latter two of those three occasions, I had already spent considerable time in Valencia and other Spanish cities and so there was no way that London was going to impress me. Lol!

London is a very large city and it embodies a lot of contradictory elements. Many areas are a parade of run-down, red-brick houses, dirty walls and scraped doors, the occasional rat nonchalantly walking along the side. The establishments are either grocery shops run by British-born Middle Easterns or South Asians that smell like they haven't been deep-cleaned since prophet Mohammed's death, or pound stores and other cheap franchises that look all the same.

There are also many areas where you can "vibe" with the city's rich and grandiose past, and even elements of a vibrant, if not grandiose, present. The areas around King's College (Strand) and UCL (Fitzrovia/Russell Square) exuded history, albeit not always a history Britain should be proud of. Mr Russell himself became incredibly rich trading opium and the British Museum he helped establishing had manufacts stolen from all around the world during colonial times.

My last job before moving to the Philippines was for an asset manager headquartered in St James' Street, a stone throw's from Green Park and Piccadilly. I remember how refreshing it was, to commute from High Wycombe to Green Park or Piccadilly and reach the office having strolled on a piece of Piccadilly. St James' Street itself was home to the world's longest running wine shop, Berry Bros & Rudd, and a large Freemasons Hall.

Even working for banks in Canary Wharf wasn't a lot less inspiring: walking around the host of skyscrapers connected by underground malls, Canadian style, was quite pleasant even among the morning crowd of suited-up guys, even on a cold day. In the end, I realised that I had maxed out my opportunity window in London, doing "the rat race": I wasn't going to get any richer, while London's and South-eastern England's estate prices were not going to go any lower, and I had just divorced the only pillar of my relational life, my wife.

Long before, I had chosen to be a contractor, which meant more money in the short run but no career opportunity, so I ended up stuck on a Senior Quant Developer job, alone, living in one of the furthest corner of the commuting belt, in my early 40s, with no appetite for building myself a relationship with the usual flabby English divorcee mom of 2. I made a calculated decision that that inspiration, that vague "sense of belonging to something greater than the self" was a dream past its sell-by date.

I thought my skills could be of greater service in areas of the world where people didn't have them and, after a few years of painful adjustment, I was vindicated.

I can say the dream was good while it lasted. LOL, certainly, though, one doesn't choose London for the sunny, pleasant weather, although - such is human nature - the effect of scarcity made all of us appreciate those relatively rare sunny breezy mornings, having a sandwich on a bench in a small historical garden, or on the grass of Green Park, even more.

Perhaps we both got enamoured of our respective exotic locales because we have been passer-bies. Your perspective, which is one that sees Southern Italian towns as "picturesque", with "beautiful beaches and crystalline turquois sea, charming architecture and pleasant Mediterranean way of life" is equivalent to my loving view of London and its own kinds of beauties and charms. In my case, having lived and worked in and around London for 10 years plus, I realised that those glimpses of grandiosity and beauty were in contrast with a life that was quickly descending into frustration and loneliness.

I can't speak for Valencia, since I have never been there, but one thing I can tell you for sure: one can get easily tired of those picturesque Italian towns. The jobs are scarce and poorly paid. The pleasant Mediterranean way of life is under constant attack from two versants: 1) the great multinationals like Carrefour setting up large shopping districts just outside town and destroying the fabric of "mom&pop shops who care" and local establishments, and 2) the rising cost of living, which relegates the relaxed lifestyle to a pizza & beer with family and/or friends twice a month.

The turquoise sea and beautiful beaches do exist, but limited to very specific spots, mostly owned by private companies and resorts who care about keeping them clean and pristine. Both the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts are mostly polluted. Plus, they tend to be super cold and unappealing during the winter. The southern regions only have pleasant sea about 4 months a year, with the exception of southernmost Sicily which has about 6.

Even the picturesque architecture is a massive double-edged swords, as those historical buildings are a nightmare to inhabit: poorly insulated, with electrical wiring and water pipes laid a 100 years ago, too expensive to refurbish (often as required by EU regulations), and hard to sell due to an estate market that has been in constant decline for 2 decades at least.

Then there's the pain of living outside the honeymoon period, the tourist beauty window, when it occurs to you that what you make just about pays the bills, that your taxes go towards public services of very dubious efficiency, when you find laziness and corruption at every corner. The last straw is usually when you get mugged, or see a car across the street set on fire, or you see someone wounded or killed by a straw bullet shot by a local Mafia henchmen, or a friend gets killed by a runaway motorbike while saving his son from the same fate (happened to a dear friend of mine, just a few months back).

The only place where it's worth living, in terms of availability of lucrative job opportunities that can sustain a decent urban lifestyle is, no surprise, Milan, which is a true global city still steeped in rich history, recently cleaned up and packed with decent services, yet prohibitively expensive for all but double-income families with 5-6,000 EUR/month combined.

I don't think that it is accurate to say that the "vibe" that we perceive of a place is solely shaped by our relationship with the people who live in that place. I think that you're only looking at it from a perspective of social life, maybe because social life is something to which you personally attribute a lot of value and which has shaped your own experiences the most.

I on the other hand perceive that various other factors also contribute to a place's vibe, things such as architectural style, climate, language, prevailing social attitudes, etc. For me, all of these inform a place's vibe as much as my experience with its social life does. For example, I'm really sensitive to the aesthetics of a place. If I find the architecture bright, warm and endearing (e.g., Mediterranean cities, colonial Mexican towns, etc.) the vibe will be more on the positive side regardless of how many friends I have while if most of the buildings are drab grey monstrosities (e.g., UK, urban Japan, etc.) the vibe will be negative no matter how many positive relationships I have with the people. Same with climate. If a place is cold and the sky always looks gloomy, then its vibe will likewise be darkened whereas if a place has a warm climate then it will appear more vibrant and have better vibes. At least that's how it is for me. I actually learned that there are people who love cold, gloomy climates.

For me especially, language is an important factor too. I could never love a culture if I didn't like the sound of its language. If a language has harmonious and melodic phonological qualities and is infused with abundant passion (e.g., Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, etc.) then I'll naturally find the culture more attractive and with good vibes. However, if a language has harsh and dissonant phonological qualities and lacks passion or otherwise sounds soulless or robotic (e.g., British English, German, etc.) then I'll conversely perceive the culture as ugly and soulless. After all, the language of a place is something which can be heard all the time. Language is the closest factor here to music as both are sonic in nature. Just like the sound qualities of a certain musical genre can produce an emotional reaction in listeners and some genres produce pleasant feelings in some people but negative ones in others, spoken languages can have the same mood-altering effects too. I'm usually more melancholic when I'm in the UK and have to hear British English but much more upbeat when I'm in a Hispanophone environment. Language contributes to a place's vibe too, especially for those who are aesthetically sensitive.

Social attitudes too. I just hate stuffy, uptight and overly formal cultures or those which are overly rationalistic and Apollonian and much prefer open and free-spirited cultures or those which are passionate and have a strong Dionysian element.

But all of these things aside, I lean more towards the view that deeper "energy structures" underpin the material reality that we experience through the senses (like on what in occultism is known as the etheric plane) and that the particular vibrations of these create very real vibes or sensations that we in turn perceive subjectively. @Winston has touched on this with his idea of national oversouls and in occultism there is the similar concept of egregores (i.e., collective group minds). Esoteric author Mark Stavish wrote an excellent book on the subject titled Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny. Like Winston, I've always theorized that every country or city has its own unique underlying energy structure or group soul. Curiously, I've always been sensitive and am able to "feel" energetic signatures in everything that I encounter. It's hard to put into words but I just perceive the vibrational qualities of a place with my mind and they feel like they have certain shapes and forms which feel very real. Whenever I arrive in a new country, this always happens and I get an energetic reading. This leads me to believe that such a concept is real. I'm also synesthetic. I don't know whether the two things are related.

I agree with you: architecture and local geography "talk" to us and are do shape our perception of a place, as well. My stance is that architecture, historical legacy and picturesque surroundings alone are not sufficient to build a long-standing positive relationship with that place. Everybody arrives to a place and has a honeymoon period for a while, until reality sets in. From that moment onwards, it's only the strength, the quality of our social relationships that makes our life pleasant, or otherwise.

I have a love-hate relationship with "open and free-spirited" cultures, like those you can find in many parts of Italy and Spain, or almost everywhere here in the Philippines. Like you, I "vibe" easily with friendly smiles, happy-go-lucky encounters and, for as long as it lasted over here, a sex life a man of the West couldn't even begin to dream of. Coming from England, socially and sexually-starved, you can imagine the positive culture shock.

In the end, you come to reason and realise that that open and free-spirited collective vibe and way of life is what gets in the way of a fair for all, efficient society. People have social networks to protect, so they tend to favour those networks against ethics and even the law: you have cronyism and nepotism. Besides those friendly smiles and invitation for a beer, people will only see you for how much they can grab from you, giving as little as possible in exchange. They will only do things with their sole interests in mind, and that's how you get rampant inequality and corruption.

Case in point, I spent about 2.5 years, my years in Davao, in love with the Filipino people and their alleged virtues that made them superior to the societies I had just left. I remember speaking at conferences, or among friends, and never sparing words of praise and unconditional respect towards the country, the people, the "spirit". In the end, when I realised my company had to shut down because all my Filipino employees were all working side gigs instead of working with me, where virtually all of those I called "friends" owed me thousands of dollars of "loans", never to be repaid, and where none of the benefit of the doubt I had placed had been proved worthy.

With all the nice beaches, the cheap seafood and the sexy 20-yo in my bed, I realised I was just living and loving a colossal poverty porn. The movie ended, the bubble popped and I sobered up to a less flamboyant, albeit slightly more efficient, lifestyle here.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@publicduende

Damn.. that' pretty sad but I can see where your coming from..

Visiting the country and staying for several weeks is way different from settling there, trying to make a living and trying to make it work.
I also too vibe well with Hispanics, Southern European people, but I won't want to settle in their countries because of all the corruption, nepotism, inefficiency, bureaucracy, low salary, backstabbing friends, high crime, etc. Surely America and Western European countries suffer the similar sickness but at least things get done much faster there and they are relatively "functioning" compared to the Hispanic-sphere or Sothern Europe. I guess there are pros and cons in every place and trade offs. Nothing is perfect.

[publicduende]

@publicduende

Damn.. that' pretty sad but I can see where your coming from..

Visiting the country and staying for several weeks is way different from settling there, trying to make a living and trying to make it work.
I also too vibe well with Hispanics, Southern European people, but I won't want to settle in their countries because of all the corruption, nepotism, inefficiency, bureaucracy, low salary, backstabbing friends, high crime, etc. Surely America and Western European countries suffer the similar sickness but at least things get done much faster there and they are relatively "functioning" compared to the Hispanic-sphere or Sothern Europe. I guess there are pros and cons in every place and trade offs. Nothing is perfect.

@Natural_Born_Cynic

As William Blake said, "the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom". It's not all that bad: as the honeymoon period ends and a new awareness sets in, most people (including myself) draw a few interesting lessons and apply them to "optimise" their life experience in their host environment, if they do decide to remain.

I am similar to @Lucas88 in the sense that the Latino, free-spirited vibe has always fascinated me. That "duende" (no pun with my nickname) spirit, well represented in Almodovar's movies, that makes people more thoughtful and problematic, but also capable of great moments of creative and speculative output. I know I can find that duende in much of Spain, the more refined South American cultures like Argentina and Chile (not Colombia or Mexico...too americanized by now!). I have also learned that that duende is a blessing and a curse and what makes these cultures so poignantly interesting, is also fragile, full of contradictions, and sows the seeds of their own demise.

In the end, one can whine as much they want about "cultural appropriation". I came to the conclusion that world cultures are but huge buffets of things to learn, love and take, to one's own preferences and heart's content. One can learn to live comfortably in Scandinavia as much as South East Asia. It's all about what one wants, or needs, and how well they can grab the necessary ingredients and cook up their own personal life recipe.

With all its problems and limits, it's what I am trying to do here in the Philippines. It's what Lucas will probably do once his dreams come true and he will move to his beloved southern Spain for good.

[kangarunner]

With all its problems and limits, it's what I am trying to do here in the Philippines.

And what may that be? To conquer a new land and become king?

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@publicduende

Damn.. that' pretty sad but I can see where your coming from..

Visiting the country and staying for several weeks is way different from settling there, trying to make a living and trying to make it work.
I also too vibe well with Hispanics, Southern European people, but I won't want to settle in their countries because of all the corruption, nepotism, inefficiency, bureaucracy, low salary, backstabbing friends, high crime, etc. Surely America and Western European countries suffer the similar sickness but at least things get done much faster there and they are relatively "functioning" compared to the Hispanic-sphere or Sothern Europe. I guess there are pros and cons in every place and trade offs. Nothing is perfect.

@Natural_Born_Cynic

As William Blake said, "the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom". It's not all that bad: as the honeymoon period ends and a new awareness sets in, most people (including myself) draw a few interesting lessons and apply them to "optimise" their life experience in their host environment, if they do decide to remain.

I am similar to @Lucas88 in the sense that the Latino, free-spirited vibe has always fascinated me. That "duende" (no pun with my nickname) spirit, well represented in Almodovar's movies, that makes people more thoughtful and problematic, but also capable of great moments of creative and speculative output. I know I can find that duende in much of Spain, the more refined South American cultures like Argentina and Chile (not Colombia or Mexico...too americanized by now!). I have also learned that that duende is a blessing and a curse and what makes these cultures so poignantly interesting, is also fragile, full of contradictions, and sows the seeds of their own demise.

In the end, one can whine as much they want about "cultural appropriation". I came to the conclusion that world cultures are but huge buffets of things to learn, love and take, to one's own preferences and heart's content. One can learn to live comfortably in Scandinavia as much as South East Asia. It's all about what one wants, or needs, and how well they can grab the necessary ingredients and cook up their own personal life recipe.

With all its problems and limits, it's what I am trying to do here in the Philippines. It's what Lucas will probably do once his dreams come true and he will move to his beloved southern Spain for good.

So that's what duende means = inspiration from passion and spirit.
I mean.. I don't want to generalize, but similar to @Lucas88 experience, Latinos were much more warmer, receptive than their American and Korean counterparts. It is totally night and day, night = White Americans and Asians, day = Latinos and European white people. I guess they also have "duende" like you and I do.

Speaking of duende,
Similar to Winston, Tsar and many others, I don't really fit into American mainstream culture. All my colleagues care about money, status, keeping up with the Jones, chasing trends, hanging out with their friends, etc. Too cold and sterile to me. My spirit is suppressed and imprisoned while in America. I was just an invisible nobody, used and disposed of during my formal educational years. Not one even cared about my name, my race, my culture, heritage, etc. No body asked me to hang out with them, I didn't get invited to any parties or all the cool things they did. It's like a dark repressive energy or Murphy's Law enacted during my school years.. My high school experience was the worst. The entire school wanted me dead and to be casted out like a pariah. No one picked me in any group projects and at Gym class., so a teacher always have to forcefully assign me into a group. I am amazed how I even functioned during High School. Like Winston mentioned with his High School experience, I NEVER chose to be a Social Outcast or a Pariah! NEVER! I was automatically ordained, anointed, selected, designated, shoehorned into one.

There was also severe bullying when I was in High School. They always come in 2,4,6 people and gang bully me, not physically but mentally, saying very nasty things. I had to side myself with administrators and teachers to survive. So everyone assumed I was a teacher's pet and never befriended me. America just sucks a$$. No wonder there is school shooting every goddamned week. Who the F*ck wants to be treated like garbage day in and day out? I wanted to blow up my High School with an artillery strike.

I only stay in "Jewnited States of stupid Americ*nts" because of my decent paying job. I been to Milan for couple of days, It has been pretty amazing. But too bad you guys have to pay high rent and cost of living there. When I returned from Milan to America, it felt like entering a supermax maximum security prison with all those TSA clowns making people stand in line for several hours and yelling out orders like a Gestapo in a Concentration camp. The Italian customs officer was very friendly and accommodating, but back in America.. oh man. Bunch of "Discount" Nazis with tacky blue uniforms.

I am currently investing into various Portfolio Funds, Stocks, bonds so I can eventually live off of dividends and others. So I can finally get out of this horrible country with 300lb entitled women, horrible plastic dog food, horrible culture, horrible government, etc.

[publicduende]

And what may that be? To conquer a new land and become king?

LOL, I don't have those "tsar-like" ambitions. Just want to have my orchard and tend to it.

[publicduende]

So that's what duende means = inspiration from passion and spirit.

Duende is the Spanish name of a mythological creature that is supposed to inhabit houses, gardens and forests. Equivalent to gnomes or elves, or "the house spirit". Duende also refers to some sort of irrational impulsion that drives to creative endeavour, as if being possessed by a duende.

I mean.. I don't want to generalize, but similar to @Lucas88 experience, Latinos were much more warmer, receptive than their American and Korean counterparts. It is totally night and day, night = White Americans and Asians, day = Latinos and European white people. I guess they also have "duende" like you and I do.

Speaking of duende,
Similar to Winston, Tsar and many others, I don't really fit into American mainstream culture. All my colleagues care about money, status, keeping up with the Jones, chasing trends, hanging out with their friends, etc. Too cold and sterile to me. My spirit is suppressed and imprisoned while in America. I was just an invisible nobody, used and disposed of during my formal educational years. Not one even cared about my name, my race, my culture, heritage, etc. No body asked me to hang out with them, I didn't get invited to any parties or all the cool things they did. It's like a dark repressive energy or Murphy's Law enacted during my school years.. My high school experience was the worst. The entire school wanted me dead and to be casted out like a pariah. No one picked me in any group projects and at Gym class., so a teacher always have to forcefully assign me into a group. I am amazed how I even functioned during High School. Like Winston mentioned with his High School experience, I NEVER chose to be a Social Outcast or a Pariah! NEVER! I was automatically ordained, anointed, selected, designated, shoehorned into one.

There was also severe bullying when I was in High School. They always come in 2,4,6 people and gang bully me, not physically but mentally, saying very nasty things. I had to side myself with administrators and teachers to survive. So everyone assumed I was a teacher's pet and never befriended me. America just sucks a$$. No wonder there is school shooting every goddamned week. Who the F*ck wants to be treated like garbage day in and day out? I wanted to blow up my High School with an artillery strike.

I only stay in "Jewnited States of stupid Americ*nts" because of my decent paying job. I been to Milan for couple of days, It has been pretty amazing. But too bad you guys have to pay high rent and cost of living there. When I returned from Milan to America, it felt like entering a supermax maximum security prison with all those TSA clowns making people stand in line for several hours and yelling out orders like a Gestapo in a Concentration camp. The Italian customs officer was very friendly and accommodating, but back in America.. oh man. Bunch of "Discount" Nazis with tacky blue uniforms.

I am currently investing into various Portfolio Funds, Stocks, bonds so I can eventually live off of dividends and others. So I can finally get out of this horrible country with 300lb entitled women, horrible plastic dog food, horrible culture, horrible government, etc.

I am sorry @Natural_Born_Cynic about your history of being bullied. It happened to me and most people I know. Wherever in the world you go, you will always find 5 bullied kids per 1 bully. In a way, it's a good sign, it means that the decent people of tomorrow will outnumber the assholes of tomorrow. Not counting the occasional redeemed bully...

To be absolutely correct, it's unfair to assume that, because Latinos are warmer and friendlier, kids don't get bullied over there. When I was a teenager my parents insisted that I had to go to this particular summer camp in Rome, managed by the Opus Dei. Man, it was one of the most terrifying experience on my entire life. Groups of kids from both Spain and Italy, attending mass everyday and praying with rosary every afternoon...and yet intent on some of the most genuinely evil, nasty form of bullying. Especially the Spanish kids, they all behaved as if they had a massive chip on their shoulders, as if they had to vent their existential frustration on them, because someone bigger than them did on them before.

Growing up I learned that Opus Dei is a cancer within the Catholic church: it's a sect that uses religion to perpetuate political and socio-economic power in Spain (and much of Latin America). Bullying kids and adults into submission is just one of their modi operandi.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@publicduende

Oh no, you don't have to feel sorry for me. I am just giving you bit info of my personal life. I am self sufficient now.

Like Winston said America sucks and I didn't "choose" to be an social outcast or pariah. No matter who you are, the American system decided to assign me into one. I was shoehorned into one. Do you think I enjoy being placed in the periphery? No. Sometimes I wonder what is it like to be accepted into mainstream society and be happy and fulfilled. Then I wouldn't even be here in this site.

I have lot of work related acquaintances but no true friendships except people from Spanish town, Black people and Europeans I talk over online.
I didn't have "success" in America like the rest of those stupid knuckeheads and ret@ards that the system favors over. The system doesn't really like intelligent, kind, honest, hard working, responsible, creative, empathic, friendly people like me(I don't like to brag about my characteristics through..). I am not a ugly guy either. I am 6ft, decent looking, square jawed face, looks somewhat "Italian" with black hair and arched nose.

I am frugal and don't spend money on unnecessary sh*t like expensive furniture, and I live a cheap apartment, and buy groceries with coupons. But Americ*nt women doesn't like that and rather spend on expensive apartment, expensive furniture, expensive cars, expensive clothes, etc. So that's why even if they make 120,000 USD per year, they are still poor. I always put more than 1000 USD per month on my investment account instead.

I never heard of Opus Dei... so the Spanish kids fight with Italian kids over there? Well Damn I know Latino people are human beings too, not angels. I am a cynic, so I don't fall for all Latinos are good stereotype. They are just human beings like we are.

My experience with the Hispanics have been mostly good, but even my Latino friends say they also suffer from infighting, jealously, and crime of passion such as murder, kidnapping, adultery, etc. Latinos are flawed but at least they are much more socially liberating than the cold, stuffy and repressive Anglo and Asian society. You try living in East Asia or in America. Never mind.. you lived in London, so you kind of know what I am talking about.

[Lucas88]

In the end, one can whine as much they want about "cultural appropriation". I came to the conclusion that world cultures are but huge buffets of things to learn, love and take, to one's own preferences and heart's content. One can learn to live comfortably in Scandinavia as much as South East Asia. It's all about what one wants, or needs, and how well they can grab the necessary ingredients and cook up their own personal life recipe.

I've read all of your detailed responses and taken into account all of the wisdom that you've distilled from your rich experiences of life in various radically different cultures but I think that I myself am a very peculiar case - I'm only suited to certain type of culture while being extremely unsuited to most others, including my own native culture.

I don't think that I could ever learn to live comfortably in the UK (or any other similar Northern European culture, for that matter). The place is just too incongruent with my inner nature. Sure, the UK offers opportunities for a decent income and material comfort and that's the reason why many people are here, but I personally am completely incapable of socializing in this culture. For some reason I just don't vibe with British people at all. It's as though I'm an alien in their midst. I'm a complete social misfit here. Moreover, I don't know how to talk to girls in the UK for the life of me (the British style of communication is just bizarre and unfathomable for me) and, quite frankly, I find the vast majority of British girls disgusting anyway, as though they were a completely different species and one that were poisonous. In the UK, due to my own inadaptability, I tend to become socially withdrawn and live in the digital fantasy world of computer screens.

Life in Spain has been completely different for me. Ever since I began studying Spanish and spending a lot of time in the country, I've always been able to socialize with Spaniards and Latinos just fine, have normal conversations with people, and establish fruitful and long-lasting friendships. I can even talk to girls. In fact, I met my Peruvian ex-girlfriend in Valencia and was in a relationship within two months of being there. I tend to make friends easily in Spain and especially among the Latinos who live there. People find me interesting, charming and intelligent and sometimes tell me that they're amazed by how a native Anglophone can speak Spanish so well. In Spain I feel like a normal person. The difference between Spain and the UK really is night and day. And it's not because they're "being nice to the tourist" or they just want something from me. I don't go to touristic parts of Spain and I always live among Spaniards and Latinos. The truth is that Spaniards and Latinos are fundamentally different from Anglos and I am able to relate to them infinitely more.

Also, at this point, I'm of the view that the British are simply an extremely strange outlier people that is considerably different to most other European nationalities. They have all kinds of bizarre cultural oddities. You either get them or you don't. It's that kind of deal.

In light of my experiences, like Winston, I also believe that everybody has their own inner nature and therefore naturally vibes with certain cultures and people groups but not with others. People like myself, @Tsar and @Natural_Born_Cynic are extreme cases; we are utterly incapable of adapting to certain cultures that are so radically opposed to our own inner nature.

I am similar to @Lucas88 in the sense that the Latino, free-spirited vibe has always fascinated me. That "duende" (no pun with my nickname) spirit, well represented in Almodovar's movies, that makes people more thoughtful and problematic, but also capable of great moments of creative and speculative output. I know I can find that duende in much of Spain, the more refined South American cultures like Argentina and Chile (not Colombia or Mexico...too americanized by now!). I have also learned that that duende is a blessing and a curse and what makes these cultures so poignantly interesting, is also fragile, full of contradictions, and sows the seeds of their own demise.

I always wondered about the meaning of your username. I imagined you as some kind of horny and mischievous leprechaun that goes around making love to all of the cute Filipinas in some village near Davao and belongs to them all and is therefore in a sense "public".

Just out of curiosity, how do you perceive Chilean culture in comparison to the rest of Latin America? In what way is it more refined?

I had a few Chilean friends, some of whom were immigrants who I met in Spain and others who were their relatives in Chile who I used to talk to via the internet. Because of this, I became interested in Chilean culture for a while. I noticed a few things. 1) A lot of Chilean are well-educated and intellectual, and 2) There seems to be a lot of interesting programs on Chilean TV about UFOs, paranormal, mysteries, secret societies, etc. I used to watch Dr. File (aka Cristián Contreras Radovic).

[Lucas88]

To be absolutely correct, it's unfair to assume that, because Latinos are warmer and friendlier, kids don't get bullied over there. When I was a teenager my parents insisted that I had to go to this particular summer camp in Rome, managed by the Opus Dei. Man, it was one of the most terrifying experience on my entire life. Groups of kids from both Spain and Italy, attending mass everyday and praying with rosary every afternoon...and yet intent on some of the most genuinely evil, nasty form of bullying. Especially the Spanish kids, they all behaved as if they had a massive chip on their shoulders, as if they had to vent their existential frustration on them, because someone bigger than them did on them before.

Growing up I learned that Opus Dei is a cancer within the Catholic church: it's a sect that uses religion to perpetuate political and socio-economic power in Spain (and much of Latin America). Bullying kids and adults into submission is just one of their modi operandi.

Have you ever read No se lo digas a nadie by Jaime Bayly? It's a Peruvian novel about an upper middle class repressed homosexual boy from Lima. The boy is called Joaquín Camino.

In the novel, Joaquín's mother Maricucha is a fanatical member of Opus Dei. She instills strict discipline into Joaquín and has high expectations for him and wants him to become either a priest or president of Peru. Throughout the novel, the Camino family's hypocrisy comes to light. The family puts up the appearance of a respectable and pious middle class Liman family yet at the same time the father is an alcoholic and compulsive womanizer who beats his son and mistreats his wife. They are also extremely racist towards "cholos", a reflection of Peru's racially stratified society. The hysterical Maricucha sends Joaquín to some Bible camp with Opus Dei and it turns out that the priests are molesting the boys. When Joaquín tells his mother about what the priests were doing, she turns a blind eye and even chastises her son for "telling lies" about those "holy men". Of course, when Joaquín's homosexuality comes to light, his parents are vehemently opposed and look upon their son with shame. Joaquín becomes estranged from his family and his life spirals out of control as he becomes addicted to drugs and promiscuity.

The novel depicts Opus Dei just as you describe it. The priests are hypocritical scumbags, the followers are sanctimonious fanatics, and their kids and family are incredibly messed up and dysfunctional as a result.

No se lo digas a nadie is an okay novel. It's not tremendously deep or philosophical or anything like that, but it offers an interesting glimpse into 1980s upper middle class Lima and has a lot of humorous parts. The story is supposed to be loosely based on the real life of the author.

Notice the family name Camino? Isn't it reminiscent of the Opus Dei core text The Way?