2008-01-06 17:50:36
I just want to put something in this spot. It's not really psychobabble, per say. My aim is to layout, in a nutshell, the essential core of my overall view.
The Four Agreements
1) always do your best
2) be impeccable with your word
3) make no assumptions
4) take nothing personally
The Serenity Prayer
dear god, grant me the serenity to:
1) accept the things i cannot change
2) the courage to change the things i can
3) and the wisdom to know the difference. if you can't change it or it's not worth the effort, then try to change your perspective so that you may use it as an asset, or at least appreciate it.
* i persistently tack on that i am the only person i can change =)
The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights
Those brilliant, enlightened fuckers. There are elements in these documents which spring from not occult knowledge, but rather an awareness of nature which ordinarily persists on a subconscious level and that we often take for granted. For these things to be so specifically outlined is breath-taking to me. I pledge my allegiance to these ideals, sincerely.
Isn't it astounding that so many things of our successful nation mirror natural selection? Do you think this is by accident? Capitalism and free enterprise. From the evolution of species down to the level of the structure of our minds, networks of interconnected neurons. The evolution of language and ideas. It's all natural selection; the fittest survives.
To take this in a Machiavellian fashion and become a Nitzche-ian superhuman would be ineffective. We are creatures that have evolved compassion and empathy as tools for survival. The overall consequence of this natural selection for us are self-imposed checks and balances. The United Nations, insurance companies, habitat for humanity. We recognize that untended suffering tends to spread virally.
What other reason is there for living except to feel good? Except to pursue happiness? Please don't confuse these rhetorical questions with advocating hedonism. Feeling good and happiness are not only physical things, but spiritual and intellectual and emotional as well. There is a requirement of balance over periods of time in order to be happy; to feel good.
A person is only as free as their awareness of options enables them to be. How can people be free without the ability to communicate options? Without a freedom of speech.
There's more, of course, but I'm not going there right now.
The Four Noble Truths of the Buddah
1) Life contains suffering. To me this is a source of bonding between me and the rest of life. It's a source of fellowship, in my eyes. We are bonded together in pursuit of freedom and happiness, from a starting point of suffering.
2) The cause of suffering is attachment. Not all attachments are a source of suffering, though. It's only when they become a source of suffering when it becomes necessary to repeat the serenity prayer and enact the overall problem solving strategy or just let it go.
3) it is possible to end suffering
4) the path to the cessation of suffering. i'm fuzzy here on specifics, but for myself it is essentially maintaining a continual mindfulness of my expections (for any situation), my intentions, and what my intentions aim to gratify. I know there is more to it, but most of my suffering generally stems from unsatisfied expectations. A general mindfulness of my own act of being is helpful, as well.
I find myself continually asking questions in the form of: "is it realistic to expect [specific details]?" It's a lot easier to let go of attachment to a result if the expectation of that result or some element of it's fulfillment are unrealistic. Like expecting things to come too fast, etc.
Precepts I've come to (mostly) on my own
1) Love is "Acceptance" and "Appreciation". Imparted to me by a female voice during deep meditation. For me, invaluable. For you, depends on the definitions you start with for the words.
This meditation was on the tail end of Laura telling me of her frenetic search for what love is. This was during the period where I talked to AJ.
2) My self-riteous rants; I use to justify my darkness, my anger, my feelings of victimization. I strive now to justify love as afore-defined; acceptance and appreciation.
3) Christ said no one comes unto the father except through him. I take this to mean that no one may come to love except through sacrifice of self. Christ, to me, is an archetype of self sacrifice. Self here is intended to convey selfishness in a metaphysical context; not necessarily material. There may be "logical" holes here, but regardless it still pans out well in my mind.
I guess I could consider myself christian from this, but I don't really. It's just a beautiful metaphor for me.
4) Altruistic selfishness; our general moral and ethical code is a balance between what's best for the individual and what's best for society at large.
5) Once events have transpired, it is far more effective to work forward from present conditions than to brood over those events.
6) I use to believe there was only effective and ineffective, and that right and wrong didn't exist. I think i still do, except this belief requires some clarification. See item 4 of this section.
7) The tao of object-oriented programming, I suppose. Being extends from a common base, inheriting attributes much like inheritance works in object-oriented programming. That is, entities inherit properties of that which they are constituent.
atoms<-cells<-organisms
atoms<-materials<-planets<-solar systems<-galaxies<-universes(?)
and the universe is effectively arranged in a composite pattern.
universe<>-galaxies<>-solar systems<>-planets<>-objects&organisms<>-etc
Oh, and like I said above in my thoughts on documents provided by the founding fathers...natural selection is a strategy pattern iterating over the composite elements of the universe. I think the bell-curve, too, is a sort of strategy pattern. Can't recall any of the others off the top of my head. The golden ratio, for certain. Fractally vistor-patterny strategy-patterny over composite structures of microcosm/macrocosm.
8) There is nothing that has life which can exist and persist without love and the capacity to love. Same goes for anything life perpetuates; yes, down to your toaster oven. You love toast, right? Yarp. =)
9) Seek first to see how something is true, secondly how it is false. For myself, looking for reasons why something is false or can't be done prevent me from seeing how it may be true or can be done.
10) I use to have a very difficult time with it, but now I try to allow myself to feel gratitude for things that I enjoy and allow myself to enjoy things, period.
Overall Problem Solving strategy
1) Define precisely what you want or describe the problem completely and in detail
2) Determine what elements compose what you want or what elements need to change so that the situation is what you desire.
3) Develop of set of steps to move you between states.
4) Narrow your scope to each step; execute each procedure very well then move on.
5) Repeat 1-4 each time you run into issues in step 4.
* I've revised this to be more precise...the original I have not bothered to save.
Frick! There is really a lot more I'd like to put here and a lot of ways I could expand on each of these. Ha, consider this an outline for my book...whenever the hell I write the damn thing. =)
There is a story I want to tell, of magick and psychosis and a fool who took things too literally. I'm not sure if I should give you the fruits first, or the story.
The heart is the gateway to the universe and until I passed through, I lived in darkness. And once I had fallen, for a long time I lived there once again. =|