communication

It appears there is very strong opinion these days about issues like corruption and misconduct. Either people are 100% sure it's happening on a large scale, or they refuse to believe the possibility even exists. Is it strictly a belief system thing, maybe just creating divide,... Any insight or ideas about this? 

Like is different than trust. I think Jordan said at an uptrust session that he misses the like button. I’m having the same feeling lately, there are posts I like that I wouldn’t necessarily say I trust. Or I want to give it some sort of that was cool but I don’t want that statement in my trust algorithm.

But maybe that’s all for the best? Surely some not-insignificant portion of my trust isn’t in my conscious awareness, maybe feeling a sense of yes to something is functionally the same as trust.

Like is different than trust. I think Jordan said at an uptrust session that he misses the like button. I’m having the same feeling lately, there are posts I like that I wouldn’t necessarily say I trust. Or I want to give it some sort of that was cool but I don’t want that statement in my trust algorithm.

But maybe that’s all for the best? Surely some not-insignificant portion of my trust isn’t in my conscious awareness, maybe feeling a sense of yes to something is functionally the same as trust.

hello world, testing

Is this gonna be another Ello? I like the mission statement of this platform, but I'm always wary when a new social media site comes along — because I know there's every chance it won't be here in six months.

Maybe UpTrust will prove me wrong. I hope so. How is your experience so far?

Introduction to who I am. My name is Paul Leverich.

I’ve lived enough life to know that most people only show you the highlight reel. The clean parts. The filtered parts. The “I’ve got it all together” parts.

That’s never been me.

I’ve walked through loss, pressure, mistakes, reinvention, faith, doubt, rebuilding, and starting over more times than I can count. I’ve learned that growth is rarely pretty. It’s loud. It’s lonely. It’s sacred. It’s stubborn.

I’m a thinker. A builder. A question-asker. A man who refuses to stay small just to make other people comfortable.

I believe truth matters. Integrity matters. Discipline matters. Healing matters. Legacy matters.

I’m here to talk about real life. Business. Spirit. Strategy. Pain. Purpose. Systems. Survival. Becoming.

No masks. No fake perfection. No borrowed personalities.

Just perspective, progress, and honest conversation.

If you’re here to grow, rebuild, and think deeper than the surface, you’re in the right place.

Welcome.

What's in a question...". Here's a scenario...
I say something. It could be anything but for the sake of argument, "I hope Trump runs for a third term."

People in hearing range are heard to ask (examples):
   - What do you mean by that?
   - Umm, have you read the Constitution?
   - Why?
   - How do you think that benefits the country?

My interest... Which, if any, of those questions might be considered an invitation to dialogue? Which might elicit a defensive or angry response? If we accept a premise that Our country is being damaged by polarization and hostility, how do we engage with one another to explore the why's behind opinions held? What is your base response when someone asks you a question?

I have observed what I think is shift in definition (or perception) regarding the purpose of a question. To some extent, I think the use and nature of questions has been placed in a negative light. And, that is hazardous to Our ability to gather and analyze information as well as Our opportunities communicate about important societal issues.

At a base level, how much does tone of voice matter? Does who asked -how they look- matter? Does the choice of words affect your response? The time or place? How much of your response is determined primarily by how you interpret the question versus how the questioner might have intended it?

Additional circumstances where I wonder about questions and what they mean or do...
   - How often does a politician who represents you ask your opinion before voting on a matter?
   - Are public polls and surveys able to collect opinion fairly? (I.E., Shouldn't there generally be a "None of the above" option for almost everything you've ever been asked? Or, data about who is taking the poll and for what purpose? I am tired of being forced to answer in a way that defines my 'social box' incorrectly.)
   - Particularly with regard to evaluation of programs, we are asked to place ourselves in various classifications. Income, race, faith, address, age - you know what I mean. These "metrics" are quantitative and objective but... Who decides on the ranges?; Who decides on definitions? When we are measuring whether the quality of someones life has improved, do we need more 'humetrics'?

Have I perhaps managed to kindle curiosity in a dark corner ? :-) It seems to me that this is worth thinking and talking about. It may be part of healing and finding our individual agency to affect the world. It might also be a part of solving problems in a way that promotes positive-sum outcomes. 

An Introduction. My name is Eric Stevens 

I want to be clear about who I am and why I am here.

I recently published my book, Evolution Mine: Genesis.
You can read it for free here:
https://nowweevolve.com/view-the-book

I made it free on purpose. The idea matters more than the money.

For the last 15 years, I have been working inside the systems most people only argue about from the outside. Global trade. Manufacturing. Supply chains. Policy. Commodities. Labor. Capital flow.

I helped Vietnam enter the World Trade Organization in 2007, ironically on my birthday. I have worked with governments, factories, military-adjacent systems, and private industry. I have seen how decisions made far from communities quietly reshape jobs, materials, and power at the local level.

Most of my life was spent in Los Angeles. I recently moved to Dallas, where the political and cultural polarization is impossible to ignore. The fights feel louder. The solutions feel thinner.

I am a father of six. I am married to an incredible Salvadoran woman. I am politically independent, not because I avoid responsibility, but because I do not believe any single ideology owns the truth.

What I am building is not a movement in the emotional sense. It is an economic one.

Our society talks about systems as if they are beliefs. They are not. Systems are built on inputs. Commodities. Materials. Energy. Logistics. Whoever controls those controls everything downstream.

That insight sits at the center of everything I do.

Through these platforms, I am working on one integrated effort:

Now We Evolve
https://nowweevolve.com

The Bioeconomy Foundation
https://thebioeconomyfoundation.org

American Fiber Group
https://theamericanfibergroup.com

Together, they focus on one question most debates avoid.

What happens if we change the materials the economy depends on?

Hemp and bamboo are not symbols. They are commodities. They grow locally. They scale horizontally. They support regional processing. They anchor manufacturing close to communities. They change money flow, job creation, and who holds power.

This work is not anti-capitalist or pro-corporate. It is pro-reality.

If you want different outcomes, you do not argue harder. You replace the inputs.

That is what I am here to discuss.
Not outrage. Not slogans.
Industrial math, material systems, and practical paths forward.

If that resonates, you are in the right place.

On public shaming – the Biblical perspective.
I'm new to this website but I felt called to respond to this prompt–

These past few months, I have noticed that my underlying value system (developed over years of working on the self) is reflected fairly well in the Bible.

Here are a few scriptures that resonate for me on this subject

Orienting towards Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21–22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

Christ has already died for all the sins of all of humanity (you are welcome to disagree here), so in a sense, all the poor quality actions of all humans have already been forgiven at a cosmic/karmic scale. That is the Truth. So forgiving someone is you aligning with that Truth. Now don't confuse forgiveness for an absence of boundaries here. There is a man from my community who regularly writes hateful comments on my posts, essays, contents in different places. Each of the comment hurts momentarily. I forgive him (because he is already forgiven by the crucifixion of Christ) and then block him on the new Internet surface he has managed to locate me on.

Private Correction First

Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you… If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.”

Emphasizing a graduated approach–starting privately, escalating only if needed, and always with the goal of reconciliation, not shaming.

Restore Gently

Galatians 6:1

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should 

restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

This one is the hardest and the one that most humans have really struggled with following through history (including myself). The easiest entry point for devilish behavior is in naming someone else's perceptibly devilish behavior. This is reflected in modern day "cancel culture" or in slogans like "Nazis don't deserve kindness". Christians have shown their own susceptibility to this via witch-burning and telling "sinners" that they are "going to hell". It requires gentleness, softness and slowness in restoring someone who has acted wrongly to the Holy Spirit while yourself staying connected to the Holy Spirit. I made a reaction video recently that captures how easy it is to fall prey to poor behavior while condemning a man who has wronged and how powerful it is to stay connected to kindness instead.

Rebuke Leaders in Front of Others

1 Timothy 5:20

“But those elders who are sinning you are to 

reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.”

Public rebuke can serve a function of protecting the community, which is where cancel culture started. But it has slipped into the shadows as who is labelled a "public figure" has gotten diluted.

To close this out, I am reminded of the episode where a woman caught in adultery is about to be stoned and Jesus interrupts it saying–

John 8:7-11 “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone…” 
“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

This shows two things. Firstly, putting up boundaries when people sin (consider a synonym for poor behavior) in response to someone else's sin, is critical because otherwise the community gets infected with sin. Secondly, while doing so, ensuring that you also ask the original sinner to stop their poor behavior is important too. But both should be done from a restorative orientation.

Grace is our collective safeguard against the society becoming drenched in sin.

AMA with Liv Boeree on incentive traps, game theory, and win-wins. AMA with Liv Boeree -poker champion with a background in astrophysics here to slay Molog- & Jordan Myska Allen on incentive traps, game theory, and win-wins | UpTrust launch event | #heywait, can we do better?

Introduction to who I am. My name is Paul Leverich.

I’ve lived enough life to know that most people only show you the highlight reel. The clean parts. The filtered parts. The “I’ve got it all together” parts.

That’s never been me.

I’ve walked through loss, pressure, mistakes, reinvention, faith, doubt, rebuilding, and starting over more times than I can count. I’ve learned that growth is rarely pretty. It’s loud. It’s lonely. It’s sacred. It’s stubborn.

I’m a thinker. A builder. A question-asker. A man who refuses to stay small just to make other people comfortable.

I believe truth matters. Integrity matters. Discipline matters. Healing matters. Legacy matters.

I’m here to talk about real life. Business. Spirit. Strategy. Pain. Purpose. Systems. Survival. Becoming.

No masks. No fake perfection. No borrowed personalities.

Just perspective, progress, and honest conversation.

If you’re here to grow, rebuild, and think deeper than the surface, you’re in the right place.

Welcome.

Engage or Enrage. It is likely that we have family members or friends that we differ with greatly when it comes to politics, healthcare, etc.  I am no different.  When the inevitable hot topic arises, do you recommend flight or fight, engage or enrage?  How do you respond when this occurs?

Engage or Enrage. It is likely that we have family members or friends that we differ with greatly when it comes to politics, healthcare, etc.  I am no different.  When the inevitable hot topic arises, do you recommend flight or fight, engage or enrage?  How do you respond when this occurs?

AMA with Liv Boeree on incentive traps, game theory, and win-wins. AMA with Liv Boeree -poker champion with a background in astrophysics here to slay Molog- & Jordan Myska Allen on incentive traps, game theory, and win-wins | UpTrust launch event | #heywait, can we do better?

AMA with Adrian Grenier. Wednesday 2/4 at 7:00 PM CT

Entourage star who at the top of the Hollywood game pivoted to an integral spiritual path and farmstead

AMA with John Churchill. Wednesday 2/4 at 6:00 PM CT

Dr. John Churchill, clinical psychologist, mentor, and co-founder of Planetary Dharma. Find out more:

• Next Bodhisattva’s Compass (January 27th)
• Introduction to Planetary Dharma: April 24-26, 202
• The Cedar Cohort, a two-year, in-depth training program starting in Fall 2026 (a "fourth-turning" Bodhisattva path, integrating Buddhist contemplative science, psychology, and embodiment practices, focusing on personal and planetary awakening).

If You Can't Make Peace With Your Partner, How Can You Expect to Make Peace in the World? AMA with Annie Lalla