After a week or two of crazy emotional storms and watching conflicts breaking out all around me, things seem to be calming down. Funny thing about storms is how nicely they tend to clear the air and leave all of those great negative ions around that are so beneficial. More and more I am learning to surf the emotional and spiritual waves and ride them home. It helps to know how little in life needs to be taken seriously.
All aboard the enlightenment express. The only time it slows down is when you think you’ve reached the destination.!!!
I always get a kick out of it when people refer to themselves as being enlightened. I find it difficult not to reply with “Really, to what? and to what extent?”. I gave up seeing enlightenment as a destination and started seeing it as a never-ending process quite awhile ago. To use a metaphor that I use quite a bit, its not a switch but a dial with infinite graduations. There are all too many who not only believe that they are enlightened but state so quite often.
I look forward to gaining more and more gnosis and understanding. I will ride this train for the rest of my life. Yet I know that there are lots of bypasses and stops on this journey. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Too often in life it becomes too easy to sit back and watch conflicts happen in front of us. When we have a talent for seeing more than one side of an issue both sides can look pretty foolish. This objectivity can too often be used tho to overlook bad behaviour and even more can be used as an excuse to not taking a stand.
More and more tho I am starting to believe the adage that “If I don’t stand for something I will fall for anything” I have no intentions of going to extremities but I will do what I can to stick up for friends and anyone’s right to be themselves openly without fear. I don’t mean fear of other people’s words or reactions. We all need to grow up enough to realize that no matter who we are, someone won’t like it and they will probably be vocal. When someone challenges us vocally, we can either challenge them back or ignore them. After all, what someone thinks of me is none of my business. It is a different story tho when someone by their actions tries to limit another in their freedom. That is when it is time to fight.
Social media is nuts. People tend to ignore or forget everything they have ever learned about interacting with other people whether it be friends or strangers. Because it is the internet and people can’t see your face, there is a feeling that we can get away with noxious interactions and then we get surprised (and perhaps part of us delights in it) when it blows up in our faces. People will do what they do but this has become somewhat tedious to watch. I also find myself, all too often either being pulled into these conflicts myself or occasionally forgetting these things myself so I post this as a reminder to myself as much as to others. If you want to have productive conversations on FB (and other social media), it tends to work just as it does offline.
On Facebook, someone’s wall would be equivalent to their living room or house. When you friend someone you are inviting them into public conversations that you would have at home. If you blast someone for something they post on their wall, it is the equivalent of sitting in their living room with them and a bunch of either their friends or mutual friends and sharply criticizing what they say. It’s pretty fucking rude! In real life, this would be met by either a bunch of people rushing to defend and there would probably be an ensuing argument or donnybrook or you would be issued a sharp invitation (perhaps forcibly) to leave. If there is a need to call a friend out on something (and this does arise) in the offline world, you would pull them aside or wait until there is some privacy and talk to them. In FB, this could be done in real time using PM. Easy enough to do and at worst you lose one friend rather than marking yourself out as a public douche.
Chat rooms, groups and public forums are a different matter. Those are more like meetings in a lodge or clubhouse. Would you call out a friend in a club you both belong to? You might challenge something they are saying. Most of us (at least the more mature) know the difference between attacking someone’s statements and attacking someone personally. If not there are lots of guides online to logical fallacies (https://thebestschools.org/magazine/15-logical-fallacies-know/ is a good one) and I would suggest checking them out.
Basically, productive communication is productive communication whether it be online or off. I know that some people get off on being trolls and there is even entertainment value there but if you’re going to be that kind of asshole, its better in my opinion to do it intentionally.
Wow something in the air the last couple of days. I have seen more people in conflict with each other and more molehills being mountanized than ever. I wish this didn’t feel quite so much like an escalation of an ongoing trend but it does. People seem to be in either shitstirring or hyper vigilant attack mode and at least for me its losing its entertainment value.
Here are a few suggestions if you feel yourself getting angry at something another person has said, done or posted:
a) ask yourself does it matter? Does it matter in the moment and will it matter an hour from now? Is this worth annoying myself with? Chances are unless you are really really bored the answer is no.
b) Other good questions. Is anything I say going to fix this? Will my response or showing my annoyance cause any change in the situation? Do I have anything to add? Remember, if what the other person is saying is stupid, you can’t fix stupid. You can enjoy watching it expose itself.
c) Take a pause before you respond. Go for a walk, make some coffee or whatever beverage, just wait. Still feel like responding? Go for it.
This has been a public service announcement. Sans guitars.
I read an interesting post on social media a few minutes ago. The poster listed a number of subjects that they stated were not open to debate and suggested that anyone who thought they were should take a long look in the mirror. I feel this is total tripe.
There is no subject that is not open to debate especially if several people hold opposing points of view. That is by definition what debate is. You may not want to debate a person holding the opposite point of view. You may not find it a useful endeavor as either you, they or both are unlikely to change your minds based on a discussion yet the debate can still happen and some may even find it valuable. The value of debate would be increased if both sides avoided traps such as strawman arguments, ad hominem attacks and other logical fallacies. Indeed even if the opinion of the debaters remains unchanged, that does not mean that others observing or participating would be unaffected.
I would go even further and give an exercise that I have found useful. If you feel strongly about something and know that many disagree, assume the opposite position and argue that. This both opens you up as to the reasons (and facts) for opposing your point of view, countering these conclusions with facts of your own will strengthen your arguments and it might even open up alternative possibilities as there is often a range of thought behind any one topic of discussion. The truth or the solution may not be as either-or as you thought.
An unwillingness to debate a topic tho has always seemed to me to be cowardly in the extreme.
In archetypal realms I roam seeking connection and understanding of every being I encounter. Each one activates another part of my self and enhances my understanding of all and nothing
Possibly because I am a Libra, I search for equilibrium. I would say balance but that would mean that I want to be in the middle at all times. I like extremes fine. I want to be able tho to experience the full spectrum of everything whether it be artistically, politically, spiritually or any other category.
In order to experience these full ranges tho it means a certain code of honour. I avoid dismissing anyone’s experience and when possible to avoid insulting any form of thought. I admit that I find it rather foolish to insult people who hold opinions rather than challenge the opinion itself. I also find that leaping to conclusions of the type “If you believe so and so than you must be ” People are oh so much more complex than that. I also have to avoid moral outrage at what another expresses. It doesn’t mean I approve or would hold these opinions myself. Merely that I don’t want to remain ignorant that these views or experiences exist. To do so feels dishonest
Food for Thought:
“Dangers lurk in all systems. Systems incorporate the unexamined beliefs of their creators. Adopt a system, accept its beliefs, and you help strengthen the resistance to change.” — Frank Herber
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I was discussing with a friend lately how any system of belief has blinds built into it even when they are unintended. I believe it possible that the biggest blinds come from those unexamined by their own creators. If you adopt someone else’s pathworking or someone else’s systems of belief and you wish to see through the blinds, it means you have to examine both the system at least as much as its creator / founder did and yourself at an even deeper level.
Social Media land of drama. Where else can you encounter so many other views of reality to challenge your own and so many people willing to tear down anybody who disagrees with them? So many voices saying listen to me and when people don’t feel obligated to do so, they attack (usually a third person) in order to get people yelling at each other. It is like a beautifully decorated and orchestrated cesspool. Come for the beauty and try not to get sucked in. It may be too late for me but save yourselves
Taking Myself For a Spin (Redux) by GAR
Hagalaz Rune by GAR
Gnosis by GAR
