Twice a day, every day for months, my partner, our Papillion mix, and I have walked the same dusty trail around a well-polluted lake in our semi-rural neighborhood.... The sights are basically the same, such as the rowboat tied to a tree, the dragonflies, and other dog-walkers. Yet each walk, of course, is a unique experience. Last evening I scooted a baby snake off the trail, and it slithered across my shoe. This morning, the view of the rowboat evoked the sense of a soft painting, and the glint of morning light on their wings turned the dragonflies into a magical sight, of air filled with golden flying creatures. The morning moon shone white against a clear blue sky. All this, after a night of deep sleep processing of the day before, stimulated ideas new to me. The ideas circle around two central questions: 'What are the range and scope of humanity?' and 'What, if any, is a human's natural state - or psychological baseline?' The first can be answered with examples. Human scope ranges from: Ascetic to hedonistic, conformist to rebellious, cautious to reckless, reclusive to gregarious, self-indulgent to self-sacrificing, low self worth to inflated ego, leader to follower, sinner to saint, virtuous to vicerous (made up antonym), serious to silly, activist to pacifist, fighter to peacemaker, etc. Remarkably, one person can exhibit any of these characteristics from one moment to the next. Is any of it a problem? Is any more or less desirable than another? Or is it all simply self expression? Do problems only occur when one characteristic infringes upon another? Or, would there be no infringement if the other maintained a state of acceptance, tolerance, and equanimity? Is it inherently wrong, by law of nature, to do harm? Or are ideas of good and evil, right and wrong, just moral judgments within human society, which itself is mentally ill? Are obsessions, over-indulgences, excesses, etc., inherently 'unhealthy' or can they also be simply experiences? Personally, I love moderation and the middle way. But if a person chooses, even from an unconscious place, to live in excesses, who am I to judge, or interfere, even if the behavior is self-destructive? If I am not asked for help, I must stay out of another person's process. Is there an aim or objective to achieve as psychological well-being, or do attempts to contain and categorize it, stifle and suspend the flow of human experience? Where are the boundaries, if any? In an individual, are their problems (what they would call problems) mainly within the mind, such as agitation, anxiety, criticism fear, judgement, stress, tension, etc.? Can those be resolved by a simple practice of training the mind to abide in a state of 'it is what it is'? The fear that remaining in such a state would lead to passivity, apathy, or non-caring, is unfounded. In a mental state of 'it is what it is', I can still act to protect the vulnerable, or to improve a situation, for example, if so motivated by calling or choice. Well, it won't all be answered in a single writing. And to me, the value of answering is in gaining insights which can be put to practical application and bring betterment, a progress of the soul. My soul progresses when it moves through the vicissitudes of earth life with more grace, ease, and effortlessness. On this morning's walk, I could start to realize the great benefit of calming my mind by reminding it that 'it is what it is', even to calming excitements and enthusiasms. I prefer the peaceful state of equanimity, of remaining calm in the midst of turmoil, tumult, and all sensory stimuli. It is an expansive state of beingness, with which nothing can compare. COMMENTS BRIAN X SOSKIND in reference to the post, 'Scope', with response from Gary Brian, You wrote: 'This resonates with me. I have always tried to maintain balance and have had some difficulty accepting injustice of any type. How does one come to terms with the concept that the pain and suffering in the world is part of the fabric of reality and just another experience, chosen by the recipient before they were born?' G: I can only share with you my experience, which may have some relevance as I feel energetic commonalities between us. For me, it is an on-going process, a journey without end. Although some could argue with my choice of words, the phrase 'Progress of the Soul' still resonates with me. Although we are not bound by our neurology or astrology, those can offer challenges on the journey's way, and mine to me have seemed rather extreme, though it is only the ego whining. Whatever challenges you or anyone faces, I know they can be overcome. To address your first question, I did not 'come to terms', but let go of control. I do not know that the pain and suffering is chosen by the recipient before they were born and rather let go of having to know the specifics, as that need to know is also the controlling of the ego-mind, in my view. Please understand that even when my words sound like statements, they are from a perspective that nothing is fixed, and all statements are partial and incomplete. Adding a disclaimer to every sentence becomes burdensome, and is mentioned due to other discussions, not with you. 'How do I accept that the most growth comes from the most horrendous experiences, especially in light of how many people are sent down a path of destruction because of those experiences?' Try backing away in your mind's eye from the scene of the most horrendous experiences, back away until you see the earth suspended in space. From that vantage point, with all information removed, where is the suffering? A phrase which is helpful to repeat is, 'It is what it is.' But not only words, there needs to be an energy and feeling behind them. The most powerful tool for me is the 'Progress of the Soul' meditation. If you knew for a certainty that the greatest gift you could give to humanity, and the greatest help to alleviate its suffering, far above anything else you could possibly do, would be to transform your self, would you put focus or energy into the anything else? It is so, in my experience. So though I share your grief and anguish in one sense for the condition of humanity, I know my course is first one of measurable self-transformation. 'Granted the source wants to experience all possibilities, but I believe we now have moved past the need to explore pain and suffering, and will be glad to see a world of joy and love. We always must forgive ourselves, but I find it difficult, nay impossible to forgive some of the acts that have been done in this world. Perhaps the story that we needed to go through chaos to reach unity was a lie we told ourselves all along and have accepted, because we were not clear on how to change it. I believe we now have a better grip on this issue and are about to see a better system come into being through our creative consciousness. I wonder about these issues a lot. Any insights are welcome.' I love your heart! Like you, I feel 'we now have moved past the need to explore pain and suffering'. I question, though, if people will soften their hardened views long enough to see a way other than their habits and opinions. It is so easy to become cynical and critical, two characteristics which do not belong to my authentic self. I do have a practice which is working for me, over which I can see a measurable Progress of the Soul. If you are interested, we can dialog more. Ian Evans First of all... Well written and insightful my friend. The scope of human behaviour is vast and varied, as you eloquently described in your post. Normal psychological behaviour can be described in terms of intrapersonal normality, that being which can be viewed as normal for an individual when it is consistent with the most common behaviour for that individual. Individual behaviour can be viewed as normal when it conforms to the most common behaviour in society. I guess ultimately a humans natural state or baseline may be described in terms of resting without response to any particular stimulus other than the maintenance of bodily functions Gary That is helpful, thank you. It may be unrelated, but isn't there a state in physics also called resting? I can't recall the full term at the moment. As a house parent to at risk youth, my wife and I often heard baseline in reference to the boys. That would be as you wrote, individual baseline behavior. Then there is the social baseline. Could there also be a natural baseline for humans? What I'm thinking is that this would not be fully measurable in brainwaves, though those might give an indication. Conceptually, it would be when a human is at rest in being, so perhaps a quantum state. Ian Yes Gary, my friend, you are right about the state of resting in physics, although I have to use a direct quote to provide the answer "In physics, rest is the state of an object being stationary relative to a particular frame of reference of another object; when the position of a body with respect to it's surroundings does not change with time, it is said to be 'at rest'. I believe that the natural baseline for the human psyche would be theoretically explained well by Freud's work on 'ego', 'superego', and 'the id'. I'm sure you are well aware of this, and so would not insult you by explaining the concept. This theory is still highly relevant in explaining the dualistic nature of man. Gary 'Could there also be a natural baseline for humans?' What I'm thinking is that this would not be fully measurable in brainwaves, though those might give an indication. Conceptually, it would be when a human is at rest in being, so perhaps a quantum state. A meditative state, perhaps, but intuitively it feels there is something beyond this. There are books about Boundless Awareness, yet all I've encountered seem to be more theory than practice. Experientially, my center of human awareness expands to a state of being in the 'Progress of the Soul' meditation. I am still applying, to extend it to everyday living. What is rest position in physics? 'Rest is a state in physics that refers to an object being stationary relative to a particular frame of reference or another object; when the position of a body with respect to its surroundings does not change with time it is said to be "at rest". According to the theory of relativity, it is said that an object is "at rest relative to" another.' - Rest (physics) - Wikipedia Gary The position, or state, of my mind seems to change erratically as it reacts to stimuli. In the state of rest, it would remain steady and constant, open and borderless, it's quantum frequencies attuned to the great deep of consciousness, while in the midst of daily activities. About ego.... Ian Evans Just commented in another group on a post asking, 'what is ego?' Seems ego is a hot topic at the moment. My response was, The answers are interesting, and insightful. Like any subject, it can be approached from different angles, each giving its own perspective. None of the interpretations are wrong, and none are fully right. No perspective on any subject is complete, unless it includes all possible perspectives. What is ego? It is whatever you want it to be, in the moment, for your own definition. I would choose what is most useful. But that is me, serious. A lighter person might choose a definition that is most entertaining. I am not drawn to traditional, psychological interpretations of ego, superego and Id. In recent discussions, the other person insisted ego is not real. In another discussion, my sparring partner insisted that ego is not the villain it is made out to be. In this moment, my most useful understanding of ego is that it is an anchor of the soul into the world, a mental construct of identity as self. It is a temporary placeholder. POST BY KATA LIGHT
You are eternal. Literally. You have no end and no beginning. You exist simultaneously on earth and a part of your soul watches from a non physical plane. Your higher self has access to your whole history, knows your true desires, your mission and guides you thru emotion at every choice youre about to make. A good/buzzing/ excited feel means your higher self agrees with the step you about to take. In the beginning, before this physical universe was made manifest, we all were one being. Our first thought was I AM. We felt bored and got creative. What all else could i be? We manifested ourselves as vibration, sound, light, geometry and created 9 dimensions of existence and split ourself / sent our energy to animate as many physical and non physical aspects as we could imagine. We had no other agenda except to experience ourself as all possible aspects and wished for all of those aspects to go thru all possible scenarios. All we want is to experiment, integrate and finally renounce. And in the 9th dimension aspects of us have already renounced and created new universes with different geometry, physics, laws, based on all the knowledge integrated thru having experienced this one. When we thought up earth we said let me go down to that most beautiful planet, with most diverse plant and animal life, let me go down for 5minutes (from non physical eternal perspective a human lifespan is like a blink of an eye) and let me forget my true nature and see what happens. For fun. For expansion. To experiment, integrate and to renounce. I AM all there is. I AM the void. All aspects of I AM have the same charateristics as prime creator/ the one. We are creators. There is nothing else but us. There is only one. The one does not judge its own self. Unless, like on earth, it forgets its nature. Light is created thru integration of positive and negative charge. Integrate.
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