The horrific situation / the place of "pleasure"

Re: The horrific situation

GRiM said:
I found this to resonate, very scary in a way. I think its because I absolutely don't want to end up there.
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I agree. I love Gibran and Rumi's works. To me, the esoteric meaning of that section you pointed out refers to those who are asleep in fear and the comfort levels of their particular status quo, shrinking further and further away from their true natures.
 
Re: The horrific situation


The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. I'd never heard of him. That was really a really incredible quote. Thanks for exposing us, Buddy! ;D

I just ordered a copy.
 
Re: The horrific situation

Buddy said:
But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed.
Your house shall not be an anchor but a mast.
It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye.

You shall not fold your wings that you may pass through doors, nor bend your heads that they strike not against a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall down.
You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living.
And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing.
For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night.
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Freedom. That's what would bring me a lot of happiness and joy in my life, which is missing. The above passage seems to radiate with the idea of being free. Not having to fold our wings or bend our heads, but soar through the sky - thanks Buddy.

Sadness and neutrality having been at me for a while now. Reading over this thread has given me some 'things' to ponder. I'm not so sure if its the 'overall' horror of the situation for me at this point, as much as applying what I've learned. It seems now everytime I go back into a program, or am in one and I know that I am, yet can do nothing about it, I realize how horrible the situation is. Comets, and Consortiums are things I can't control or affect to any degree, but when my 'environment' so easily affects and changes me, even though I am practicing and applying the knowledge I know here to the best of my ability it bothers me. Which makes me wonder if I'm applying knowledge or fooling myself into thinking that I am.

These situations sometimes become unbearable for me. Little things like engaging in an argument where I knew it would not lead anywhere fruitful, but going with it anyways. Or giving in to a predetermined response to someone or some situation that was anchored in me at some earlier point. I don't know if maybe some of the sadness is caused by 'giving in'.
 
Re: The horrific situation

Hi GRiM

I have the very same problem.
My answer will be short because I don't know any specific cure for all those sad feelings but I have two great dogs that really cheer me up.
I've no idea why but one of my dogs really cures all this sadness for short period of time when he comes to me then tickles and plays dumb like it was not him :D
Second one is also great , but I just don't feel that strong bond with it.

Also , reading , learning and working on myself seems to bring a small relief - my mind is not so absorbed by depressing thoughts when I learn
 

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Re: The horrific situation

drygol said:
I have two great dogs that really cheer me up.
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I think this is a point that is important.
I recall a picture that was taken of me and two dogs that we had when I was about 10 yrs. old, I think. I was outside, kneeling on the ground and both dogs were licking my face like there was no tomorrow. I had a huge smile on my face.
Growing up, I was lucky enough to have had several animal companions and I can speak to the emotional benefits. I could go outside and growl, grin or anything else and they would instantly know I was playing so the feedback was very uplifting. :)

Some time later I was to think I figured out the reason why: they could 'see' me! I mean, they were really aware of the real me and I was OK with them! I was someone worth interacting with and playing with! That was an exciting discovery for me at that time! I came to feel that if I were to die before ever finding anyone who was willing to just try to understand and accept me the way I was, at least I had the pleasure of the dogs.
What was I like that was so terrible? From my point of view, I was thirsty for knowledge and just wanted to know everything. For a long time, I just simply could not make myself act like something was true or real if I didn't understand it because that wouldn't be authentic...and that was all I was interested in - I just couldn't bridge the gap, so I frequently got contempt/threat/ridicule displays directed towards me until I couldn't stand it anymore.

Apologies for the digression, but anyway, that's why I freely show my dogs, cats, or any other animal, the love I have for life and that's what I receive in return.


Some possibly interesting information:

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PET BONDING, SELF-ESTEEM, AND EMPATHY IN PREADOLESCENTS[1]

"Everything that lives, lives not alone nor for itself." -William Blake

This study extended the research on the effects of pet bonding on self-esteem and empathy during the preadolescent stage of development. Results supported both mere pet ownership and the establishment of a strong bond with a dog as development-enhancing for ten-year-old dog owners. Both male and female dog owners had statistically significantly higher self-esteem and empathy scores than did participants without dogs. Children who were highly bonded to dogs also had statistically significantly higher self-esteem and empathy scores than children who did not own pets. The only family characteristic that affected companion animal bonding was the absence of siblings, or being an only child. Dog-owning children without siblings were significantly more bonded to their dogs than children with brothers and/or sisters. The results of this study strongly supported the positive benefits of dog ownership for preadolescents.

Some noted benefits of dog ownership:

1) Increased sense of psychological well being

2) Not so pressured by feelings of anxiety, personal inadequacy, or failure, which often accompany other interpersonal relationships.

3) Complete acceptance and approval in a non-judgmental context.

4) Empathy increases through interactions with others who are dependent upon one's care and who send non-verbal signals, much as pets do (Eisenberg, 1988).



----------------------------------------------
[1]
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PET BONDING, SELF-ESTEEM, AND EMPATHY IN PREADOLESCENTS
Study Abstract

by Robert Elias Bierer
Ph.D., Family Studies, Counseling, University of New Mexico, 2000
M.A., Clinical Psychology, Pepperdine University, 1992
B.A., Psychology, University of Colorado, 1989
Source: _http://abramarketing.com/h/dogskids/abstract.html
 
Re: The horrific situation

Thanks GRiM for starting this thread and to everyone for their replies because it really helped me - I was feeling very similar to Grim and others.

GRiM said:
The food is unfit to eat and mostly poisonous, the water is poisonous.
The economy is done for. People around me does not notice it and don't care.
People around the world is dying from wars, psychopaths toxic environment and much much more.
Narcissism is the norm for many, the trivial gets the most media exposure and all this while fascism is overt and in your face.

Mass vaccinations around the corner for Americans and Canadians.

The war on terror illusion is reality for most of the people, even the one who question it does not question the root of the problem.

I can not enjoy much anymore, even things that made me happy before have lost its appeal in the face of all the horrors going on in the world.

My friends and family, even if I have time and time again tried to hint about it and sometimes even told them point blank does not get how close to the abyss we are.

I guess I could say that all that I read about on sott.net and this forum and see in the media and mirrored in the society:)

A Iranian friend of mine buys the illusion of how the evil Iranians are torturing protester who just want to have democracy.

Its not really news that we are in for a spectacular horror show but it saddens me so much that so many around me don't care, don't understand, don't see it, so they
don't want help and how can you help someone who does not want to be helped?
A recent example is a friend of my dads who wife have cancer and gets four different types of chemo-treatment and loads of drugs to cancel out the other drugs side-effects...

I try to eat right, filter my water and read and try to understand. I'm working on myself with all the tools I have learned, I believe I have a pretty good idea about it now but I don't know how to use it expect for myself.

I don't feel depressed, more of a intense sadness for those around me. Today it was slightly overwhelming, I think the trigger was when a friend told be about a new tv-series that he really enjoy...

How do you deal with it? What makes you happy these days?
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I'm having very similar experiences, especially in the last week or so. As I try to process the new information I read each day on these sites, which is piling more and more data to an already massive realization or re-realization of the true TERROR OF THE SITUATION, I try to think what can I do more than I am doing. And the only thing is try to work more intesively on myself and put greater efforts to contribute to the goals of this network. As others mentioned, the breathing (and Prayer of the Soul) is helping me with the stress.

Like you, with all you outlined, I've been getting the feeling that the knives are being sharpened for a great slaughter of the oblivious sheeple.... And there's not a whole lot I can do.

I also get the feeling that if I do take any step to be more useful to the QFG aim, all hell breaks loose all around me (and it's really been breaking loose the last few days). The only thing I can do is continue on the best I can. This invaluable network really helps....

foofighter said:
So with all this crap going on, both in the big and the small, what is there to be happy about? To be honest, not much I feel. Little things, mostly. We had karaoke yesterday, and that was good for the moment, but it is only a temporary getaway really. Reality is still there, in various shades of black. I'm feeling as pessimistic as you right now.
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I wish you all the best, foofighter, in your child custody battle. What a horrible situation....

Thank you again for all the responses; they really help to know that we are not alone. It is important to remember the future IS open.
 
Re: The horrific situation

I think this thread describes very well the current state of mind. I used to feel so alone except when I am reading this forum material. Even my closest friend don't get it. Sadness is my constant companion. I would be so glad to have someone to discuss all this face-to-face, but I can't find anyone! Reading, humor with closest friends, work on myself and this profound certitude that future could be better if I acquire WILL to make it as I want it to be are the only things which remain! Breathing profoundly, thinking to people whose situation is still worse than mine and saying to myself " Situation could be worse" used to awake me from my sadest thoughts. Thank you all for your inputs in this thread.
 
Re: The horrific situation

Marcus-Aurelius said:
...this profound certitude that future could be better if I acquire WILL to make it as I want it to be....
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I don't quite understand what you mean here. How, exactly, do you want the world "to be", and how will the acquisition of "will" make the future "better"...?
 
It is tempting to get mired in the horror and sadness that a clear and aware perception of reality naturally produces. Yet how "clear" is a perception that does not also see and experience the joy, beauty, goodness, wonder, and potentiality that is ALSO part of that reality?

Sometimes I sense -- especially among those whose eyes have only relatively recently been opened -- that there is a feeling that in view of "the horrific situation", one should feel overwhelmed by despair, that one should not pursue or allow "positive feelings", as they can only be seen as buffers against reality, or somehow "false" in nature. Yet "horror" is not all there is, and a mind consumed by sadness, pessimism, and despair is extremely tasty food to STS forces. It is also necessary to explore how much of that "sadness" is sadness and pity for ourselves, and how such subjectivity may affect our perception of objective reality.

It seems to me that we are required to walk a very fine line, to discipline ourselves to recognize and tolerate the inherent tension of a reality that includes both horror and joy -- to not buffer ourselves against nor flinch in the face of that horror, but to also not allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by it to the point that we are unable to also seek out and experience the many joys and pleasures of human experience that form a useful counterpoint.

I would even venture to suggest that we have a responsibility to seek out and enjoy at least one of the following, at least once a day:

- a good belly laugh
- the pleasure of the the sun and a breeze on your face
- appreciation and pleasure at the sight and scent of a beautiful flower
- the wonder of a spectacular sunrise/sunset and/or beautiful natural scenery
- the joy of wonderful music (preferably while dancing)
- the comfort and pleasure of hugging and/or petting a loved one (whether human or animal)
- the excitement of learning/discovering something new
- the satisfaction of creating something, or at a job well done
- the comfort and pleasure of a good meal prepared with loving hands
- etc etc


Some reminders from the Cs:

Session 970607 said:
A: Let your search be joyous as
always..
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Session 000219 said:
Q: Well, is there something that you can see
around the corner of our lives that we don't see,
that we ought to see....
A: Let it unfold with joyous hearts.
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Session 020731 said:
A: Let us just say that there is great joy in these
"realms" and that does include "laughter."
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Re: The horrific situation

PepperFritz said:
It is tempting to get mired in the horror and sadness...
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Thanks for that post PepperFritz. That's pretty much how I've started seeing things. Like Don Juan, one does, occasionally, experience sadness, melancholy and such, but the trick is not to let the predator's mind conjur up an image that's so big and powerful that it only leads to feelings of helplessness.

Even the mythical 'David' found 'Goliath's' weakness.
 
Re: The horrific situation

Thanks PF that's quite insightful/helpful to know. I seem to be reaching that point as well.
I'd like to ask a question though, does anyone experience joy and terror at the same time?
I've been feeling that, as well as a calmness and alertness. Doesn't always last that long but its duration seems to be getting longer.
Also, there seems to be a sort of pleasure (and I'm not sure that word quite fits exactly) in 'seeing' the terror of it all. A bitter joyfulness with observing perhaps?

I think I should probably bump G's work up my reading list, it seems to be where my knowledge is lacking at the moment.
 
Re: The horrific situation

RedFox said:
I'd like to ask a question though, does anyone experience joy and terror at the same time?
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In a word -- yes.

The novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function".

I think that observation comes close to what we're talking about here. The poet, artist, and mystic all have the occasional ability to recognize the underlying balance/unity within the duality of our third-density existence, and through the work that they do are able to hold seemingly opposed/polarized ideas, thoughts, emotions, etc. in the mind/psyche without giving in to the need that most of us have -- which is to resolve the tension in favour of of one "side" or the other. As I have come to understand it through the Ra and Cassiopaea material, for the purpose of learning, third-density humans experience/perceive reality through the distortion of duality/polarization; but at higher densities (7th and beyond) such distortions are no longer necessary, and all is one and one is all.

Although at this density we are not capable of doing away with duality/polarization, I think that with discipline, awareness, and attention we have the potential to glimpse the unity of the higher levels. I think that in those moments in which we experience/perceive both terror and joy at the same time, and do not immediately seek to resolve the tension of that seeming contradiction, we are briefly glimpsing the timeless "Law of One". Although we are not capable of operating outside of the polarized duality within which our third-density lessons are framed, I think we can achieve such glimpses in our striving for objectivity. Just as, in Gurdjeff terms, we can never completely escape our own subjectivity and become fully "awake", nonetheless with persistent self-discipline and self-observation we can become more and more objective and less "asleep" over time....

I hope I am not misunderstanding/misinterpreting the Ra and Cassiopaea material with the above. If so, I'm hoping that someone more knowledgeable will step in to correct me.
 
Re: The horrific situation

PepperFritz said:
RedFox said:
I'd like to ask a question though, does anyone experience joy and terror at the same time?
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In a word -- yes.

The novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function".
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I just remember the following part in ISOTM:
Ouspensky - In Search of the Miraculous p162 said:
Consciousness is a state in which a man knows all at once everything that he in general knows and in which he can see how little he does know and how many contradictions there are in what he knows.

Conscience is a state in which a man feels all at once everything that he in general feels, or can feel. And as everyone has within him thousands of contradictory feelings which vary from a deeply hidden realization of his own nothingness and fears of all kinds to the most stupid kind of self-conceit, self-confidence, self-satisfaction, and self-praise, to feel all this together would not only be painful but literally unbearable.
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One observation I have in relation to this topic is regarding the inner substance Mi 12.
It seems more one has this substance inside more one can bear contradictions one 'sees' WITHOUT "buffering".
 
Re: The horrific situation

GotoGo said:
One observation I have in relation to this topic is regarding the inner substance Mi 12.
It seems more one has this substance inside more one can bear contradictions one 'sees' WITHOUT "buffering"
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For the benefit of other readers, this is the part of Gurdjieff's teaching that GotoGo is referring to:

Gurdjieff said:
"The study of the work of the human organism as a chemical factory shows us three stages in the evolution of the human machine.

"The first stage refers to the work of the human organism as it has been created by nature, that is to say, to the life and functions of man number one, number two, and number three. The first octave, that is, the octave of food, develops in a normal way to mi 192. At this point it automatically receives a 'shock' from the beginning of the second octave, and its development goes on consecutively to si 12. The second octave, that is, the air octave, begins with do 192 and develops to mi 48 where it stops. The third octave, that is, the octave of impressions, begins with do 48 and stops there. Thus seven notes of the first octave, three notes of the second, and one note of the third octave represent a complete picture of the work of the 'human factory' in its first or natural stage. Nature has provided only one 'shock,' that is, the 'shock' received from the entrance of the second octave which helps mi of the first octave to pass to fa. But nature did not foresee and did not provide for the second 'shock,' that is, the 'shock' that would help the development of the third octave and thereby enable mi of the second octave to pass to fa. A man must create this 'shock' by his own personal efforts if he desires to increase the output of the fine hydrogens in his organism.

"The second stage refers to the work of the human organism when a man creates a conscious volitional 'shock' at the point do 48. In the first place this volitional 'shock' is transmitted to the second octave which develops as far as sol 12, or even further up to la 6 and so on, if the work of the organism is sufficiently intense. The same 'shock' also enables the third octave to develop, that is, the octave of impressions which in this event reaches mi 12. Thus in the second stage of the work of the human organism, we see the full development of the second octave and three notes of the third octave. The first octave has stopped at the note si 12, the third at the note mi 12. Neither of these octaves can proceed any further without a fresh 'shock.' The nature of this second 'shock' cannot be so easily described as the nature of the first volitional 'shock' at do 48. In order to understand the nature of this 'shock' it is necessary to understand the meaning of si 12 and mi 12.

"The effort which creates this 'shock' must consist in work on the emotions, in the transformation and transmutation of the emotions. This transmutation of the emotions will then help the transmutation of si 12 in the human organism. No serious growth, that is, no growth of higher bodies within the organism, is possible without this transmutation.

The idea of this transmutation was known to many ancient teachings as well as to some comparatively recent ones, such as the alchemy of the Middle Ages. But the alchemists spoke of this transmutation in the allegorical forms of the transformation of base metals into precious ones. In reality, however, they meant the transformation of coarse 'hydrogens' into finer ones in the human organism, chiefly of the transformation of mi 12.

If this transformation is attained, a man can be said to have 'achieved what he was striving for, and it can also be said that, until this transformation is attained, all results attained by a man can be lost because they are not fixed in him in any way; moreover, they are attained only in the spheres of thought and emotion. Real, objective results can be obtained only after the transmutation of mi 12 has begun....
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