Spirituality for Living

A big part of why empathy suffers in today’s society is that they think they see the other’s view. But they put themselves into their own construct. That isn’t empathy. It’s actually pretty depersonalizing. They cannot even see themselves…feel for themselves. This is why they don’t see what they do. They don’t claim the interface [...]

The search for rest is what takes so many people into substance abuse. To take a break from their inner chaos. The process that leads to addiction is not “evil” in the person. We do even the harmful things because we perceive a need, but are not always in touch with our real needs. So [...]

The media and the corporations like it. It’s very easy to control an addict. Give them more of what they think they want, and fear triggers the herd instinct. Fear is the mind killer as Frank Herbert said. We don’t go our own way while afraid. We look for help and trust our leaders. Leadership [...]

There is a dark side to may popular attitudes that people deny, and in fact everything we think and do is symbolic. Even with the more “normal” types. Some say suicide is by no means symbolic, but indeed it is. It is usually the playing out of a drama that was full of symbolism. It [...]

Mortification of the flesh to what purpose, disidentification? Yes indeed.  When people still undertook it with the proper intent, but it has no merit if it’s merely a self destructive act.
Are there not other ways less destructive to disidentify? Yes, and ’destructiveness’ is a key concept. It is not the key concept of self mortification. [...]

So, are you advocating for self-mortification? No. I am advocating experience. No one practice. When you are impassioned, and begin cleaning house despite physical fatigue, you restructure your whole living space. You ache miserably after pushing yourself so hard, but from somewhere not explained by your body something moved you. Experience of this I see [...]

It is safe to say that both mortification of the flesh and the stock market crash are manifestations of something. We learn by testing. We learn by trial, and in the past there have been trials of all kinds. Now we are putting our trade on trial. People want to feel safe and will create risk [...]

Is religion a new addiction of self image? Often times it is from my observation. This is why modern organized religion is so troubled. In one case I was taking my son to a daycare, very religious people and thought they could be trusted. They were in the atonement cycle. Turns out the male of [...]

We are self medicating to avoid the real problems and the world of greed and intolerance. We demonize vices and thus wind up worshiping them. Greed is bad and no one really thinks about greed. The greedy person often reviles their own greed, but they don’t stop it. It is an addictive behaviour. It is [...]

Many people complain of being addicted to the online virtual world of Second Life (SL). There is a simple reason. You don’t come here and have a second life, you come here and say “Oh wow, what’s here, what’s this and what can I do now?”.
And watch bugs?   Yes, you might watch bugs here. You [...]

Maybe nations are the gullible ones? An old acquaintance of mine once said, and you might recognize this from ‘Men in Black’ also, one person can be smart, crowds are stupid. So, yes. Just last Christmas, there was no emergency, no natural disaster, but three people were trampled to death.
You can avoid accountability in a [...]

There is a difference between a ‘natural’ law and a connived one. The natural laws arise even without human doing, but include us, and they are a part of our natures. Contrived rules tend to create resistances, they rely on denial of select elements of reality.
We know instinctively? Yes we do, and the natural rules [...]

There is giving, and then there is bribery. The difference between genuine giving and bribery is in giving there are no conditions. You give because you are adding to the world. It’s bribery if you are giving to induce a condition, and there is no reason to accept bribery.
Love. Expect nothing in return? Yes, and [...]

What if we seek comfort from food or substance as a way of dealing with worry even though we know we shouldn’t? That is a mixed worry response. Your instincts are still in a sense good, but we sit and brood. If you are busy in self expression or engagement with life, make that your [...]

Greed and generosity are pretty central “moral” issues in many peoples live. We are naturally motivated creatures, and greed and generosity are two sides of the same coin. One can be greedy for opportunities to be generous even, so first let’s focus on greed.
We are creatures of appetites, and this is abundantly evident. The cookie [...]

Even the “saints” felt spiritual darkness. The term “dark night of the soul“ was used to describe the doubts experienced by a man now seen as an exemplar of his faith. It’s been expressed in a lot of art also, but people don’t seem to think about it. The poem “Footprints in the Sand“ says in your [...]

The bodies awareness is not a source of evil. It’s the disconnect that is. Most people are actually very little present in their body, so food, sex, music, they are only half experienced, and people often seem very self absorbed. This is attributed to gratifying the body for some reason. Anyone have an idea why?

To [...]

The subject is waste, and people are very concerned with conservatism. It’s like saying “Here. Let me keep all the blood in your hand. You know you need blood in your hand right?”. Taken to the extreme you will lose the hand. The same applies to psychic energy. “Here let me keep your energy on these [...]

Can anyone tell me what they do in life that isn’t play?

I’d say sleep, but dreams are play. So scratch that, the “little death” is play.
Cleaning? Cleaning is play too. It’s “Let’s pretend this isn’t dirty after I spend a lot of energy making it look like it’s not“.
Cleaning to my standard is play. Cleaning [...]