Thank you, thank you for this! You have beautifully articulated what I have been thinking and feeling and really expanded on my understanding of Buddhist teachings and the insights they have brought me in how to cope over the past couple years.
So much of what we see around us now is driven by fear, anxiety and too much ego identification with ideas.
If one directly challenges an idea someone holds you can threaten someones ego, it can feel like a death to them so it’s not wise to do that but instead practice compassion and letting go of fear through contemplating impermanence.
We must not allow ourselves to be divided into tribes. We are all one people in various states of slumber or awakening and on our own very individual spiritual paths.
You are very welcome. Glad this has helped you with understanding more deeply Buddha's teachings and with being able to make these powerful ideas come alive! Perfecto. To expand ourselves enough so that we no longer force others to fit within our gripping ego's need to hold, pinch, squeeze and limit life into its tiny hands.
When I find that happening, when I am able to see that happening as anxiety and fear, I now say with gentleness and kindness 'Hello, Ego. I see you. Thank you for being here. You are't needed in this particular circumstance and so you may go now and rest.' I recently learned that Buddha's advise is the same! 'Hello, Mara. I see you.' Michael Stone appends that with some words of kindness towards Mara.
That is so powerful! It means we have slowed enough to see the Ego's aka Mara's presence, and can relinquish both the need to control the ego which then relaxes it back to sleep until it is needed. Buddha has expanded the depth of my yoga immeasurably. And, I think, vice versa too. A great synergy there.
"Or practice compassion and recognise that to even open one eye is an act of courage. Be loving, and with that you may discover that the other will relax from anxiety and fear enough to cautiously expand their curiosity and maybe allow themselves to die a little in order to live a lot. With both eyes open."
Thank you for being the inspiration for this. As I was writing my initial response to your comment, it expanded. And then, for this post, wow! I didn't know I was going where it went.
Yes, la petit mort indeed.
Stone describes that first of the four stages of deep meditations is a feeling of joy and bliss that goes beyond that by far. Many get stuck there, and don't reach the final stage beyond bliss, equanimity and complete intimacy/unity with existence. The choice becomes 'Do I stay in bliss or do I continue forward to see the truth beyond *that* blissful truth.?' Well, I have a ways to go. :-) I am, day-by-day, moving closer to that with purpose, intention and practice. We'll see. It is the journey, after all, not the destination that creates a life lived.
All the best, with peace, love and gratitude. Gracias.
You rang many bells with me in this one! Very good.
Someone once said, "Everybody is going to die, but no one wants to believe it."
Until one can accept the truth and fact of death and the impermanence of things, they will live, immortal, in their world of illusion. That is not a good thing. "To learn is to allow a little of me to die. And that is often uncomfortable, especially at the beginning of the process of learning discipline." I quote you, and say I like it. Be well.
Pure clear bells from Tibet that are helping clear away avidya and opening you (and the rest of us) to compassion. Or crystal ones, with special tonal frequencies to bring instant enlightenment? Or maybe both. All are wonderful! 🙏
Yes, the death of the self is a challenge. Patañjali in the his great book, *The Yoga Sutras* says that even the most aware yogi's have this fear of death come to them. So, it seems *built in* to a big degree.
Michael Stone, a wonderful Buddhist-yogi and scholar with a great podcast series, looked at this from the 'built in' perspective with a twist that I have found helpful. We, the human mind/ego complex, build our stories of Self. We *built them*. (Michael doesn't discuss how that 'building' process for humans may be similar to which allows the development of speech to occur without instructions: it is 'built in' to the human development process.) Anyway, the ego/mind complex is very uncomfortable without having a story it can hang its hat on so to speak. Eventually much of the story telling is about the past, and some about a future that isn't likely to exist. Both are ephemeral and intangible and impermanent.
The ego-mind complex will inherently be anxious because of the above reasons, even if unconsciously, because it knows it is the core truth is that the stories are not actually bound or grounded or rooted in the ineffable and intangible source of who we are. Which is 'Who knows, what?!!!!' and 'No one knows.' RotFL! Too funny.
One of Gautama's great insights occurred when he went into a long deep meditation dive to to find the source, the truth, pith, nib, kernal, whatever it was that was Gautama. He came to the conclusion that the self of himself he was looking for didn't exist. And he was asked, I think by his companion Ananda, 'Fine, the self you *looked for* didn't exist. And yet, *who* was doing the looking?'
Letting go of the story / stories of self is to allow the mind/ego complex to begin to die. Without story we can be eccentric and spontaneous. I seem to be on the path towards that goal. LoL! On the path, at least that is the 'best' *story* I am telling myself at this time! OMG, the Universe has a funny sense of humour.
Impermanence. Hmmmm. When looked at deeply, it is a master key towards becoming truly compassionate. We don't know anything, not even our Self. And yet we know that compassion reduces the suffering that impermanence and the fear of it creates.
"relaxing into uncertainty" and "harmonizing with impermanence" has been a central focus of mine for a few years now.
That is something I sensed was especially important to take time to work on when the scamdemic government tyranny kicked into high gear in 2021-2022.
When my awareness of the seemingly endless ways in which humans are wreaking havoc and scheming about how to dominate, enslave and kill each other starts to get to me and my faith wavers I take a step back to look at this life from the the more holistic perspective of my soul.
From the perspective of my spirit I remember that there is beauty and meaning to be found in impermanence. From that knowing, whether or not my efforts in this life send out clearly observable multi-generational ripple effects or not becomes irrelevant. After all, within a broader cosmic cycle, the inevitable natural result for this world will be end of all life on Earth. Planets only live as long as their stars burn, and eventually our sun’s life will come to an end as well, at which point all that ever was created by humans on this Earth will eventually be turned back into the stardust from once it came.
Does that inevitability make living a life where one chooses to be creative, kind, courageous, hopeful and curious any less meaningful?
In the end, whether its 1 more day, a couple years or a 100, it always comes down to the question:
How do I want to spend the time I have left on this Earth?
Does planting a seed in the Earth and tending it to grow, providing poetry for the senses, food for pollinators and nourishment for the soul have any less value because of the impermanence of that individual plant only living for a single season?
Do the fleeting expressions of form and color in a sunrise or a sunset make it any less beautiful or worth being present and aware to cherish and appreciate?
Asking myself these questions allows me to regenerate the faith, hope and sense of purpose in my heart and mind despite the corrosive onslaught of a world full of humans that have lost their way.
Even if the most grim "black pilled" worse case scenario one might imagine ends up being we are facing, that does not negate the value of using one's free will and one's moments on this Earth to nurture life, choose hope, courage, love and peace in the face of fear, hubris, apathy, violence and cowardice. Each choice we make leaves a mark, not only in the lives of those we share this world with but perhaps more importantly, each choice me make leaves a mark on our soul.
From the perspective of my spirit I remember that there is beauty and meaning to be found in impermanence. From that knowing, whether or not my efforts in this life send out clearly observable multi-generational ripple effects or not becomes irrelevant. After all, within a broader cosmic cycle, the inevitable natural result for this world will be end of all life on Earth. Planets only live as long as their stars burn, and eventually our sun’s life will come to an end as well, at which point all that ever was created by humans on this Earth will eventually be turned back into the stardust from once it came.
Lets say hypothetically (for the sake of argument) the worst case scenario happens (total overt totalitarian technocracy involving out in the open democide of dissidents and/or massive open warfare and/or civil war). Even if that were to come to pass my answer would be the same… because for me in that hypothetical situation the question still boils down to:
“How do I want to spend the time I have left on this Earth?”
Do I want to spend the time I have been gifted to wield the weapons of man in violence?
Or do I want to embody faith in that which the Creator of all things gave us and plant the seeds of hope, love and abundance by working with my hands in the rich Earth?
Therefore, I see creating regenerative gardens and food forests as a viable, honorable and practical path forward in these uncertain times. We can forge alliances with the more than human world through planting food forests and regenerative gardens all over, and in doing so provide not only for ourselves, but countless future generations in the process.
" Each choice we make leaves a mark, not only in the lives of those we share this world with but perhaps more importantly, each choice we make leaves a mark on our soul."
Yes, this is key, perhaps. And certainly one of the great lines in the Matrix "The problem is choice."
Once we become aware that everything is the result of choice, which is fundamentally Guatama's definition of karma, that is when the joy in whatever circumstance becomes available to us. And that awareness is what in the past might have been called maturity or mature wisdom – the ability to chose joy even amidst a time of suffering. And that is when I get to choose to make the world, in whatever formulation is extant at the time, less burdened by suffering. Planting seeds, watching sunsets, writing poetry, all are expressions of the joy that is the core of life. How can they not be the most important things? How can they not be the true 'weapons' against the energies that want to remove choice and keep a perpetual infantilism that serves others?
Thank you for reading and providing this thoughtful remark. I really appreciate this and know that we have connected in a way that is empowering the army of joyful warriors in this time of the Bhagavad-Gita. Namaste. Blessings and love.
The sand artist is a wonder of life! Thank you for sharing him with me.
Well, that was joyfully refreshing. When I talk in such pacifist terms, I hear “spiritual bypassing” and “Kumbaya” in return. But, in reality, we need to help usher in the next evolutionary step. How can we expand consciousness if we just keep throwing darts? Loved this essay.
"Well, that was joyfully refreshing," was an uplifting and beautiful response. I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Yes, the challenge of 'spiritual by-passing' is actually significant because unlike face masks for a virus – really? – it can be hard to spot behind yogic/spiritual virtue signalling. This sounds like a fun topic for me to explore. I touch on it very incidentally in my essay "Q: 'I agree that [yogic calmness] is important, how do we account for all the yoga teachers who fly Ukraine flags and require masks in their studios?' A: Yoga as drug." https://gduperreault.substack.com/p/q-i-agree-that-yogic-calmness-is/comments
In it I make this observation, really a comment about how easily yogic spiritual by-pass can happen:
"Yoga is a perfect vehicle to hide one's Self from oneself because it provides an immediate palliative to anxiety. In my practice and life experience I discovered that yoga and meditation are often not enough to heal our trauma and so yoga can easily become an addictive drug no different than alcohol, sex, money or power. Except that it looks way better and often has immediate physical, emotional and psychological benefits that seem to be healthier than those that the 'bad' drugs provided."
Namaste, and great journey! Isn't it amazing, to be alive now, in the time of the Bhagavad-Gita and such a huge opportunity for spiritual awakening.
Yes, even yoga and meditation can be an addiction. This reminds me of my favorite Aaron Diaz quote: “for reasons unexplained, every person in the world is born with a large gaping hole in the center of their chest. while not uncomfortable, it is widely considered unsightly, and pretty much everyone tries to fill it with something. some people fill it with religion, others just buy a bunch of stuff, and some even fill it with other folks. i left mine alone, though, because i found out if you run against the wind at just the right angle, it makes a whistling noise.”
Superb. It's incredible how many of my own conversations and internal dialogues you have captured in one essay - often with the exact same reference which stimulated me. Eg.
Naomi Wolf - Why so much bible? Ah she retreats into safety.
Steve Kirsch - Why repeat so many discoveries? Ah, he is still a form of expert/ data worshipper
Myself - is it abuse (arrogance) to try to inform those who cannot understand? I concluded differently: no it is not wrong to warn people of a danger, especially if they cannot see it.
Thank you for the kind words and for sharing the parallels. 🙏
As to the sharing with others. Each situation is unique. I didn't think I actually said 'Don't share.' More like it is inappropriate to share with those who have no capacity to hear or digest. That I understand means absence of a curiosity-based willingness to hear.
Even that is tricky, though, because there are people who have become tired of their old story and what they internally want, and overtly deny, is a new story that is closer to the truth. We do get bored with our own lies and the internal stories we rely on to manufacture our by-line!! Too funny. And what *is* required is that physical or metaphorical 'slap-in-the-face' to wake us up.
Nope: life is not a one size fits all kind of place.
You are not alone. We are sharing this journey into personal truth and empowerment. It has huge opportunity and with that the associated joy of overcoming the challenges confronting that opportunity. Amazing times.
Thank you for reading. All the best, with peace, love and gratitude.
I loved this essay! Thank you Guy for the careful and nuanced approach. This message is quite an important one for many, who live in our science based, western world.
Life truthfully lived, bestows wisdom. Thinking too much creates fear. Life and death are not opposites they are part of the One.
Fear is similar to "belief" in that it tends to hold perception back from the movement of life, which is an action of consciousness. When human perception operates with the least amount of belief, it observes the most truth.
In every era, when there has been the most challenges for human existence, there has been the best opportunity for awareness of truth, first within the individual and then, civilization reaching a golden age. But solutions always come from within, there is no such thing as "the outside" of the Self.
You are correct that this is an important one, especially for those of us waking up. It is so tempting, when first waking up to 'Kirsch' everyone with data bytes of an ego's perception of truth. Yup, I did that a little bit in 2021! Within a few months my partner and I both realised when had fallen into the bully-trap, even after so much awareness of it around us! Perhaps Mara as 'good intentions' is the most difficult to see and let fall away. Everyday an opportunity to let go of that which no longer serves God and the Universe.
Fear is similar to belief, for sure. I will write about my recent profound awarenss that fear is actually the clinging attachment to belief. And that completely blocks our ability to see 'the' alternative path.
To *know* is to be blind in some way.
And it is amazing and so blessed to be alive in this time of opportunity to see Mara and let Mara go: 'Hello, Mara. I see you. You aren't required now, please rest until your presence serves.'
I had the same initial feeling as Kirsch. I felt panic that if not enough people wake up, it will continue to the point that I will be a refugee from civilization.
I felt like every mistake made by the waking will just bring more and more confusion and divert people from the truth about the allopathic medical system (and other sciences, like we are seeing with the global warming hype).
Nowadays, I realize that people have to go at their own pace. It's scary to face the truth, in some cases it is blinding.
Nagual Don Juan told Castaneda that the seers that succeeded first needed to face petty tyrants in order to learn how to face infinity. It's not looking for stress and pain, but learning from it so that we can feel pain (face infinity, both good and bad) without the second self administered dart.
A few quotes I've collected to explain the reactions of people despite the evidence.
"And then there is the psychological effect of the Big Lie which is axiomatic in gaslighting. The paradox here is that the bigger the lie, the harder it is for the mind to bridge the gulf between perceived reality and the lie that authority figures are painting as truth. I believe that the prospect of being deceived evinces a primitive emotional response on a par with staring death in the face. We are hard-wired to fear deception because we have evolved to interpret it as an existential threat. That’s why deception can elicit the same emotional response as the miscalculation of a serious physical threat. Lies told to us don’t always bear the same cost as a misjudged red light, but the primitive part of the brain can’t make this distinction and we rely on cerebral mediation for a more appropriate but delayed response. And in the long run, the lie is often just as dangerous as the physical threat. Many government whoppers – ‘safe and effective’ – do cost lives.
To avoid the death-like experience of being deceived, a mental defence is erected to deny that the lie is happening."
"The evolutionary psychologist William von Hippel found that humans use large parts of thinking power to navigate social world rather than perform independent analysis and decision making. For most people it is the mechanism that, in case of doubt, will prevent one from thinking what is right if, in return, it endangers one’s social status. This phenomenon occurs more strongly the higher a person’s social status. Another factor is that the more educated and more theoretically intelligent a person is, the more their brain is adept at selling them the biggest nonsense as a reasonable idea, as long as it elevates their social status. The upper educated class tends to be more inclined than ordinary people to chase some intellectual boondoggle. "
Thank you, thank you for this! You have beautifully articulated what I have been thinking and feeling and really expanded on my understanding of Buddhist teachings and the insights they have brought me in how to cope over the past couple years.
So much of what we see around us now is driven by fear, anxiety and too much ego identification with ideas.
If one directly challenges an idea someone holds you can threaten someones ego, it can feel like a death to them so it’s not wise to do that but instead practice compassion and letting go of fear through contemplating impermanence.
We must not allow ourselves to be divided into tribes. We are all one people in various states of slumber or awakening and on our own very individual spiritual paths.
Much love and peace to you my friend. 🪷
Hola, Joy.
You are very welcome. Glad this has helped you with understanding more deeply Buddha's teachings and with being able to make these powerful ideas come alive! Perfecto. To expand ourselves enough so that we no longer force others to fit within our gripping ego's need to hold, pinch, squeeze and limit life into its tiny hands.
When I find that happening, when I am able to see that happening as anxiety and fear, I now say with gentleness and kindness 'Hello, Ego. I see you. Thank you for being here. You are't needed in this particular circumstance and so you may go now and rest.' I recently learned that Buddha's advise is the same! 'Hello, Mara. I see you.' Michael Stone appends that with some words of kindness towards Mara.
That is so powerful! It means we have slowed enough to see the Ego's aka Mara's presence, and can relinquish both the need to control the ego which then relaxes it back to sleep until it is needed. Buddha has expanded the depth of my yoga immeasurably. And, I think, vice versa too. A great synergy there.
Namaste.
Beautiful, Guy.
"Or practice compassion and recognise that to even open one eye is an act of courage. Be loving, and with that you may discover that the other will relax from anxiety and fear enough to cautiously expand their curiosity and maybe allow themselves to die a little in order to live a lot. With both eyes open."
La petite mort .
Hola, Sarah.
Thank you for being the inspiration for this. As I was writing my initial response to your comment, it expanded. And then, for this post, wow! I didn't know I was going where it went.
Yes, la petit mort indeed.
Stone describes that first of the four stages of deep meditations is a feeling of joy and bliss that goes beyond that by far. Many get stuck there, and don't reach the final stage beyond bliss, equanimity and complete intimacy/unity with existence. The choice becomes 'Do I stay in bliss or do I continue forward to see the truth beyond *that* blissful truth.?' Well, I have a ways to go. :-) I am, day-by-day, moving closer to that with purpose, intention and practice. We'll see. It is the journey, after all, not the destination that creates a life lived.
All the best, with peace, love and gratitude. Gracias.
🙏🏼
You rang many bells with me in this one! Very good.
Someone once said, "Everybody is going to die, but no one wants to believe it."
Until one can accept the truth and fact of death and the impermanence of things, they will live, immortal, in their world of illusion. That is not a good thing. "To learn is to allow a little of me to die. And that is often uncomfortable, especially at the beginning of the process of learning discipline." I quote you, and say I like it. Be well.
Hello Carl.
Pure clear bells from Tibet that are helping clear away avidya and opening you (and the rest of us) to compassion. Or crystal ones, with special tonal frequencies to bring instant enlightenment? Or maybe both. All are wonderful! 🙏
Yes, the death of the self is a challenge. Patañjali in the his great book, *The Yoga Sutras* says that even the most aware yogi's have this fear of death come to them. So, it seems *built in* to a big degree.
Michael Stone, a wonderful Buddhist-yogi and scholar with a great podcast series, looked at this from the 'built in' perspective with a twist that I have found helpful. We, the human mind/ego complex, build our stories of Self. We *built them*. (Michael doesn't discuss how that 'building' process for humans may be similar to which allows the development of speech to occur without instructions: it is 'built in' to the human development process.) Anyway, the ego/mind complex is very uncomfortable without having a story it can hang its hat on so to speak. Eventually much of the story telling is about the past, and some about a future that isn't likely to exist. Both are ephemeral and intangible and impermanent.
The ego-mind complex will inherently be anxious because of the above reasons, even if unconsciously, because it knows it is the core truth is that the stories are not actually bound or grounded or rooted in the ineffable and intangible source of who we are. Which is 'Who knows, what?!!!!' and 'No one knows.' RotFL! Too funny.
One of Gautama's great insights occurred when he went into a long deep meditation dive to to find the source, the truth, pith, nib, kernal, whatever it was that was Gautama. He came to the conclusion that the self of himself he was looking for didn't exist. And he was asked, I think by his companion Ananda, 'Fine, the self you *looked for* didn't exist. And yet, *who* was doing the looking?'
Letting go of the story / stories of self is to allow the mind/ego complex to begin to die. Without story we can be eccentric and spontaneous. I seem to be on the path towards that goal. LoL! On the path, at least that is the 'best' *story* I am telling myself at this time! OMG, the Universe has a funny sense of humour.
Impermanence. Hmmmm. When looked at deeply, it is a master key towards becoming truly compassionate. We don't know anything, not even our Self. And yet we know that compassion reduces the suffering that impermanence and the fear of it creates.
Amazing process. Good night!
Thanks for putting this together.
"relaxing into uncertainty" and "harmonizing with impermanence" has been a central focus of mine for a few years now.
That is something I sensed was especially important to take time to work on when the scamdemic government tyranny kicked into high gear in 2021-2022.
When my awareness of the seemingly endless ways in which humans are wreaking havoc and scheming about how to dominate, enslave and kill each other starts to get to me and my faith wavers I take a step back to look at this life from the the more holistic perspective of my soul.
From the perspective of my spirit I remember that there is beauty and meaning to be found in impermanence. From that knowing, whether or not my efforts in this life send out clearly observable multi-generational ripple effects or not becomes irrelevant. After all, within a broader cosmic cycle, the inevitable natural result for this world will be end of all life on Earth. Planets only live as long as their stars burn, and eventually our sun’s life will come to an end as well, at which point all that ever was created by humans on this Earth will eventually be turned back into the stardust from once it came.
Does that inevitability make living a life where one chooses to be creative, kind, courageous, hopeful and curious any less meaningful?
In the end, whether its 1 more day, a couple years or a 100, it always comes down to the question:
How do I want to spend the time I have left on this Earth?
Does planting a seed in the Earth and tending it to grow, providing poetry for the senses, food for pollinators and nourishment for the soul have any less value because of the impermanence of that individual plant only living for a single season?
Does the impermanence of this man’s art make it any less beautiful or worthwhile in creating? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEpz8Z2BMAc
Do the fleeting expressions of form and color in a sunrise or a sunset make it any less beautiful or worth being present and aware to cherish and appreciate?
Asking myself these questions allows me to regenerate the faith, hope and sense of purpose in my heart and mind despite the corrosive onslaught of a world full of humans that have lost their way.
Even if the most grim "black pilled" worse case scenario one might imagine ends up being we are facing, that does not negate the value of using one's free will and one's moments on this Earth to nurture life, choose hope, courage, love and peace in the face of fear, hubris, apathy, violence and cowardice. Each choice we make leaves a mark, not only in the lives of those we share this world with but perhaps more importantly, each choice me make leaves a mark on our soul.
From the perspective of my spirit I remember that there is beauty and meaning to be found in impermanence. From that knowing, whether or not my efforts in this life send out clearly observable multi-generational ripple effects or not becomes irrelevant. After all, within a broader cosmic cycle, the inevitable natural result for this world will be end of all life on Earth. Planets only live as long as their stars burn, and eventually our sun’s life will come to an end as well, at which point all that ever was created by humans on this Earth will eventually be turned back into the stardust from once it came.
Lets say hypothetically (for the sake of argument) the worst case scenario happens (total overt totalitarian technocracy involving out in the open democide of dissidents and/or massive open warfare and/or civil war). Even if that were to come to pass my answer would be the same… because for me in that hypothetical situation the question still boils down to:
“How do I want to spend the time I have left on this Earth?”
Do I want to spend the time I have been gifted to wield the weapons of man in violence?
Or do I want to embody faith in that which the Creator of all things gave us and plant the seeds of hope, love and abundance by working with my hands in the rich Earth?
Therefore, I see creating regenerative gardens and food forests as a viable, honorable and practical path forward in these uncertain times. We can forge alliances with the more than human world through planting food forests and regenerative gardens all over, and in doing so provide not only for ourselves, but countless future generations in the process.
Beautifully expressed, Gavin!
And so on point.
" Each choice we make leaves a mark, not only in the lives of those we share this world with but perhaps more importantly, each choice we make leaves a mark on our soul."
Yes, this is key, perhaps. And certainly one of the great lines in the Matrix "The problem is choice."
Once we become aware that everything is the result of choice, which is fundamentally Guatama's definition of karma, that is when the joy in whatever circumstance becomes available to us. And that awareness is what in the past might have been called maturity or mature wisdom – the ability to chose joy even amidst a time of suffering. And that is when I get to choose to make the world, in whatever formulation is extant at the time, less burdened by suffering. Planting seeds, watching sunsets, writing poetry, all are expressions of the joy that is the core of life. How can they not be the most important things? How can they not be the true 'weapons' against the energies that want to remove choice and keep a perpetual infantilism that serves others?
Thank you for reading and providing this thoughtful remark. I really appreciate this and know that we have connected in a way that is empowering the army of joyful warriors in this time of the Bhagavad-Gita. Namaste. Blessings and love.
The sand artist is a wonder of life! Thank you for sharing him with me.
Well, that was joyfully refreshing. When I talk in such pacifist terms, I hear “spiritual bypassing” and “Kumbaya” in return. But, in reality, we need to help usher in the next evolutionary step. How can we expand consciousness if we just keep throwing darts? Loved this essay.
Hello Visceral.
"Well, that was joyfully refreshing," was an uplifting and beautiful response. I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Yes, the challenge of 'spiritual by-passing' is actually significant because unlike face masks for a virus – really? – it can be hard to spot behind yogic/spiritual virtue signalling. This sounds like a fun topic for me to explore. I touch on it very incidentally in my essay "Q: 'I agree that [yogic calmness] is important, how do we account for all the yoga teachers who fly Ukraine flags and require masks in their studios?' A: Yoga as drug." https://gduperreault.substack.com/p/q-i-agree-that-yogic-calmness-is/comments
In it I make this observation, really a comment about how easily yogic spiritual by-pass can happen:
"Yoga is a perfect vehicle to hide one's Self from oneself because it provides an immediate palliative to anxiety. In my practice and life experience I discovered that yoga and meditation are often not enough to heal our trauma and so yoga can easily become an addictive drug no different than alcohol, sex, money or power. Except that it looks way better and often has immediate physical, emotional and psychological benefits that seem to be healthier than those that the 'bad' drugs provided."
Namaste, and great journey! Isn't it amazing, to be alive now, in the time of the Bhagavad-Gita and such a huge opportunity for spiritual awakening.
Yes, even yoga and meditation can be an addiction. This reminds me of my favorite Aaron Diaz quote: “for reasons unexplained, every person in the world is born with a large gaping hole in the center of their chest. while not uncomfortable, it is widely considered unsightly, and pretty much everyone tries to fill it with something. some people fill it with religion, others just buy a bunch of stuff, and some even fill it with other folks. i left mine alone, though, because i found out if you run against the wind at just the right angle, it makes a whistling noise.”
RotFL! Love it. Gracias.
Superb. It's incredible how many of my own conversations and internal dialogues you have captured in one essay - often with the exact same reference which stimulated me. Eg.
Naomi Wolf - Why so much bible? Ah she retreats into safety.
Steve Kirsch - Why repeat so many discoveries? Ah, he is still a form of expert/ data worshipper
Myself - is it abuse (arrogance) to try to inform those who cannot understand? I concluded differently: no it is not wrong to warn people of a danger, especially if they cannot see it.
Hello, Shane.
Thank you for the kind words and for sharing the parallels. 🙏
As to the sharing with others. Each situation is unique. I didn't think I actually said 'Don't share.' More like it is inappropriate to share with those who have no capacity to hear or digest. That I understand means absence of a curiosity-based willingness to hear.
Even that is tricky, though, because there are people who have become tired of their old story and what they internally want, and overtly deny, is a new story that is closer to the truth. We do get bored with our own lies and the internal stories we rely on to manufacture our by-line!! Too funny. And what *is* required is that physical or metaphorical 'slap-in-the-face' to wake us up.
Nope: life is not a one size fits all kind of place.
Nice to meet you, Shane. Namaste, 🙏
With peace, love and gratitude.
Thank you! Reading this helps me to not feel so alone in the world.
Hello, Mary! You are welcome.
You are not alone. We are sharing this journey into personal truth and empowerment. It has huge opportunity and with that the associated joy of overcoming the challenges confronting that opportunity. Amazing times.
Thank you for reading. All the best, with peace, love and gratitude.
I loved this essay! Thank you Guy for the careful and nuanced approach. This message is quite an important one for many, who live in our science based, western world.
Life truthfully lived, bestows wisdom. Thinking too much creates fear. Life and death are not opposites they are part of the One.
Fear is similar to "belief" in that it tends to hold perception back from the movement of life, which is an action of consciousness. When human perception operates with the least amount of belief, it observes the most truth.
In every era, when there has been the most challenges for human existence, there has been the best opportunity for awareness of truth, first within the individual and then, civilization reaching a golden age. But solutions always come from within, there is no such thing as "the outside" of the Self.
Hola, Nefahotep.
You are very welcome.
You are correct that this is an important one, especially for those of us waking up. It is so tempting, when first waking up to 'Kirsch' everyone with data bytes of an ego's perception of truth. Yup, I did that a little bit in 2021! Within a few months my partner and I both realised when had fallen into the bully-trap, even after so much awareness of it around us! Perhaps Mara as 'good intentions' is the most difficult to see and let fall away. Everyday an opportunity to let go of that which no longer serves God and the Universe.
Fear is similar to belief, for sure. I will write about my recent profound awarenss that fear is actually the clinging attachment to belief. And that completely blocks our ability to see 'the' alternative path.
To *know* is to be blind in some way.
And it is amazing and so blessed to be alive in this time of opportunity to see Mara and let Mara go: 'Hello, Mara. I see you. You aren't required now, please rest until your presence serves.'
All the best, with peace, love and gratitude.
Thinking too much creates fear."
N, I too have discovered that sometimes it's best not to overthink things, and for that reason.
I call this a work of brilliance, Guy!
LOL! Thank you.
🙏🙌🙏
Something I wrote a while back that I thought you might appreciate..
Washing the dishes like your bathing a baby buddha:
https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/washing-the-dishes-like-your-bathing
Muchas gracias, Gavin.
That is a beautiful and exquisitely expressed essay on living now. Thank you for linking it here, and I hope that others will be inspired to visit it.
Namaste.
I had the same initial feeling as Kirsch. I felt panic that if not enough people wake up, it will continue to the point that I will be a refugee from civilization.
I felt like every mistake made by the waking will just bring more and more confusion and divert people from the truth about the allopathic medical system (and other sciences, like we are seeing with the global warming hype).
Nowadays, I realize that people have to go at their own pace. It's scary to face the truth, in some cases it is blinding.
Nagual Don Juan told Castaneda that the seers that succeeded first needed to face petty tyrants in order to learn how to face infinity. It's not looking for stress and pain, but learning from it so that we can feel pain (face infinity, both good and bad) without the second self administered dart.
A few quotes I've collected to explain the reactions of people despite the evidence.
"And then there is the psychological effect of the Big Lie which is axiomatic in gaslighting. The paradox here is that the bigger the lie, the harder it is for the mind to bridge the gulf between perceived reality and the lie that authority figures are painting as truth. I believe that the prospect of being deceived evinces a primitive emotional response on a par with staring death in the face. We are hard-wired to fear deception because we have evolved to interpret it as an existential threat. That’s why deception can elicit the same emotional response as the miscalculation of a serious physical threat. Lies told to us don’t always bear the same cost as a misjudged red light, but the primitive part of the brain can’t make this distinction and we rely on cerebral mediation for a more appropriate but delayed response. And in the long run, the lie is often just as dangerous as the physical threat. Many government whoppers – ‘safe and effective’ – do cost lives.
To avoid the death-like experience of being deceived, a mental defence is erected to deny that the lie is happening."
(From https://leftlockdownsceptics.com/alleged-cia-involvement-in-jfk-assassination-goes-mainstream-so-now-what/ )
------
"The evolutionary psychologist William von Hippel found that humans use large parts of thinking power to navigate social world rather than perform independent analysis and decision making. For most people it is the mechanism that, in case of doubt, will prevent one from thinking what is right if, in return, it endangers one’s social status. This phenomenon occurs more strongly the higher a person’s social status. Another factor is that the more educated and more theoretically intelligent a person is, the more their brain is adept at selling them the biggest nonsense as a reasonable idea, as long as it elevates their social status. The upper educated class tends to be more inclined than ordinary people to chase some intellectual boondoggle. "
-Sasha Latypova