Zigzag Idiot

Reaching Up "Starve Them Out" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2022 Dr. Jim Rosen Don't feed those negative emotions. Emotions are like living, breathing creatures. When you act out negative emotions, and you do or say what those feelings seem to "compel" you to do, you are actually feeding them. They grow bigger with each feeding, and you give them the power to dominate you. So if you're feeling insecure-hurt-angry, and you do or say what you feel the urge to do at that moment, then your insecure-hurt-angry feelings grow in stature, and you're more likely to suffer the same feelings next time. But if you starve them out, if you don't act on those compelling urges, the negatives shrink a little more each time. The choice is to make yourself act out your positive emotions - no matter how small they seem in comparison. For instance, by behaving securely or warmly or tenderly, these positive feelings are the ones that grow bigger and stronger. Slowly and steadily, with much practice, they become the dominant emotions, and you get to enjoy more peace of mind.

“Well it’s alright,,, Remember it’s best to live and let live The best you can do is forgive “

My Elaborate Plan to Change the Whole World and Stuff Part V Maybe I need to adopt another title for this imaginative conjecture that I've developed towards possibly redefining insanity within the Untied States Jurisprudence. Specifically centered around the term 'ego'. Not just ego but also bringing the term 'Being' into the conversation. For the time being I'll just keep this title as a heads up for those who are not interested but also for those who are. How to introduce works like - I CHING; The Oracle of the Cosmic Way and A Course in Miracles into this argument within in the Legal system? Is this even possible? I've began with quotes from A.H. Almaas because of his approximate nearness to mainstream secular orthodoxy. If there is such a thing,,,. or I would borrow Charles Tart's phrase "cultural consensus trance" but it would most likely be taken as adversarial by those most infected with egoistic worldviews. Once again I would like to emphasize that 'ego' is not synonymous with bad or false. Because of it's legitimate different usages this makes for a very confusing issue to address. Making a distinction between Being and ego helps to resolve some of this confusion. In my reasoning anyway,,,, Most of us stay too stuck in our head and are poisoned by too much thinking. How a certain usage of ego is a source of pollution to one's mind,,,, An Important Difference Between the Mind and Being These fantasies, beliefs and misinformation actually accompany almost all internalized object relations to some extent. Internalized object relations are rarely true representations of actual events or relationships. One’s memory traces include all kinds of ideas, fantasies and images that never had an objective reality. Another source of extraneous material comes from the psychic processes of organization and integration themselves. These processes modify the original object relations as more impressions are internalized. This is necessary for the integration of object relations units of various affect and content. This extra material, whether it is attached to actual memories of object relations or consists of pure fabrications, cannot be absorbed into Being. This is an important difference between the mind and Being. The mind can absorb and identify with any psychic material it believes to be true. It does not have the capacity, on its own, to discern what is objective truth and what is not. In other words, the mind can be deceived, even by itself. Being, on the other hand, is pure reality. It is the actual stuff and consciousness of truth, and cannot be deceived. It does not try not to be deceived; it is simply truth by its nature, a self-conscious medium made of pure sensitivity. Any falsehood, that is, anything which is not the objective truth of what actually happened in past interactions which produced a particular object relation, is felt in comparison to Being to be dull, gross and distasteful. When one is in contact with Being, these falsehoods are felt to be lifeless, thick and heavy veils in comparison to the luminosity of Being. Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 163

@tsuki I appreciate you're feedback.

Reaching Up "Anxiety Guaranteed... If You Want It" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2022 Dr. Jim Rosen It's guaranteed to happen. It comes right down to the issue of control. If you try to control another person, or if you allow someone to control you, your anxiety will be almost immediate. The controller feels it, and so does the person who submits to control. Anxiety bursts to the surface when you perceive that "who you are" and "who you should be" are two different people. If you allow someone to control you, you accept and give in to the false message that you aren't the person you should be. So here comes your anxiety. If you are the one who tries to control another, you are accepting the false message that you should be powerful and righteous enough to be in control. You can't really control another, so you can't be who you think you should be. And here comes your anxiety. Like magic, guaranteed anxiety for both people. Of course, "live and let live" is a healthier philosophy. Dr. Jim Rosen is a PhD Clinical Psychologist. He is an experienced psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, and couples counselor. He offers treatment for anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression, relationship problems, self-esteem issues, assertiveness training, anger control, stress management, and overcoming the effects of sexual, physical, and emotional trauma. Dr. Rosen works with his patients primarily over the phone. When needed, face-to-face therapy sessions can be scheduled in his home in Magnet Cove, Arkansas. Because he does not accept insurance, his fee is only $60 for a full 50-minute hour of treatment. He can be reached anytime by email at drjrosen@ipa.netor by phone or text at 501-623-2050. If you like Dr. Rosen's Reaching Up column, you are free to share it with other people. There is no fee for this column. It's free. If you're not on the list to receive it, just send an email that says "Please Send Column" in the subject line. You will receive a new column each Sunday. If you are on the list and you don't want to receive Dr. Rosen's column anymore, just send him an email that says "Stop Column" in the subject line.

Yeah, me too. I think antidepressants are prescribed too much and mostly just a profit scheme by big pharma. I thought women sometimes got estrogen and/or testosterone shots for postpartum depression, i may be mixed up about that though. I just remember a friend of mine mentioning a steroid shot of some kind she got for postpartum depression and what a difference it made. I ran across this doing a little research to be a little more informed, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopregnanolone It sounds like you're doing better or you don't consider yourself having severe postpartum depression. That's good!

More preparation for Supreme Court arguments concerning ego Many of us have seen Judges on the bench who get all bent out of shape and take it upon themselves to start scolding someone. Maybe the defendant, a witness, or one of the attorneys. With this aim of mine to designate egoic nature to be the legal definition of insanity. One idea that comes to mind is that first and foremost it should apply to anyone who sits on the bench. Perhaps maybe a litmus test to determine a man or woman of Being and one not driven by egoic mind. The way I understand it .,internalized images are one of the main building blocks of ego structures, especially in adulthood. Whether you think of yourself as responsible, rebellious, spiritual, intellectual, or a patient and long suffering person. You will have some corresponding self image to match whatever your self identity is identified with. And not just one. Naturally we are multidimensional creatures and so we will have many internalized self images regardless of whether we are psychologically integrated or not. When Almaas speaks about essence he is referring to being. Being, as the general term for our Self realized presence which is flavored by different aspects of essence. Essential aspects such as Joy, Strength, Compassion, Merging, Peace, Intelligence, Will, etc., which contributes to the uniqueness of our individual personal being or some might say soul. Elimination of Images The aspect of Space is related to the Personal Essence in yet another, more specific way. It is one of the aspects needed for an important part of the process of psychic metabolism, i.e., that of elimination. We have seen that for metabolism to proceed to its completion, which is absorption, the false in any experience must first be eliminated. The greatest falsity, in any identification system, is the central belief that the image defines who one is, The content of identification systems is either part of an image, or used to build and fixate an image. So the elimination of image amounts to dissolving all of what is false in the mind. The truth contained in the mind becomes absorbed into Being, and does not remain as an image, which is a mental content. And since Space is what dissolves, or what accompanies the dissolution of, any image, then it can be regarded as the aspect needed for elimination. When an image is eliminated the mind becomes empty (of its content), clear, spacious and light. This is the experience of Space, mind with no content, the nature of the mind. The dullness of mental content dissipates as the lightness and clarity of Space penetrates it. Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 316 Ego Structures Seen as the Structuralization of Space Space: This is the aspect that is the open dimension of the mind, which is its most inner nature. It is the experience of Being as a vast, clear and empty space. It is not an emptiness in the sense of lack, of something missing. It is the presence of Space; clear, light and immaculate. We have devoted a book, The Void, to this aspect. In that book, we develop the understanding that ego development is not only a matter of building mental structure, but that, because Space is the ontologic nature of the mind, these structures are built in the emptiness of Space. So ego structures are seen as structuralization of Space, building content in it instead of letting it be in its purity. This leads to the loss of this aspect. The particular issue for this aspect is the presence of the self-image itself. When one can let go of one’s self-image Space arises. Space becomes the agent that is needed for eliminating any self-image, which is necessary for the realization of the Personal Essence. In other words, Space dissolves the self-image. The individuality of the ego, being based on the self-image, loses its defining boundaries, which leads to the emergence of the Personal Essence. The sense of self of the ego, which is dependent on the self-image, loses the mental content that defines it, which leads to the manifestation of the Essential Self. Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 316 I guess being a space cadet airhead should just be our natural birthright,,,, No worries, obsessions, or nonstop internal dialog. That's sounds alright. Sounds like being at peace,,, One more quote concerning self-image and Being,,, When One Experiences Oneself as Being, One is No Longer the Self-Image However, when one experiences oneself as Being, one is no longer the self-image. One’s sense of being a human individual is now based not on the internalized self-image, but on pure beingness, beyond all images of mind. This means that this new sense of oneself is not in relation to mother’s image. It is not dependent on past object relations, and is not a reliving of them. This is the autonomy of Being, that we discussed in detail in a previous chapter. The mother’s image is completely irrelevant to this sense of being oneself. It is in fact in a completely different dimension of experience. One is living on the Being level, while mother’s image and all mental representations are on the mind level. These representations are experienced as mere thoughts, concepts, images and of no fundamental reality. The disengagement from the mother in this experience is complete, utter. One feels no relation to the memories of mother or her image, in the sense that one’s sense of identity is completely independent from both. The experience of the mental representation of the mother is seen as completely alien to one’s experience of Being, as if from two different universes of experience. So the separation involved in the experience of Being is complete, total, and profound. Ego never feels such separation, regardless how separate and autonomous it is on the mental sphere. It is a different order of separation. Ego separation is like a distance on the surface of the earth; while Being separation is like going to another star system. In fact, it is more like dying. And many individuals respond to it as a kind of death. So now, either due to a remaining partial identification with ego or a late reversion to such identification, the ego reacts to this perception of such radical separation. This will naturally activate the already existing unresolved old conflicts about separation. However, even if ego development has been smooth and very successful, with little conflict around separation, there is bound to be a much greater pressure on one’s capacity for separation. The ego has never experienced such a measure of separation, and this naturally scares the hell out of it The fear of death or disintegration is one of the usual reactions among others . . . Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 218

Considering Being Being is an Existence, a Suchness Being means no reaction, no mental activity that defines who or what one is. In fact, Being is not an activity at all; it is an existence, a suchness, a thereness, a Presence that is not doing anything to be there. Since Being is itself existence, it does not need the mind to be there. It is like a physical object, which does not need the activity of mind to exist. Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 57 Being Where You Are This process of locating yourself is a profoundly personal one, a subtle and sensitive unfolding of inner awareness that does not use obvious external signposts to tell you where you are at any given time. It requires discipline and patience, gentleness and attunement, because the only one who can know where your consciousness is is you. To truly be where you are requires a capacity for listening, a willingness to be open, and a curiosity about your own experience that most likely few people have ever shown toward you. What this calls for is the development of your ability to truly witness yourself, to be a pure and undistorted mirror for where and how you are appearing in the moment. Ultimately, this means seeing yourself without the aid of anyone else’s perspective, anyone else’s experience, or anyone else’s beliefs and judgments. It means not seeing yourself from the outside or locating yourself by where you are relative to external criteria. It is by seeing yourself from inside, from the center of your own experience, that you can discover your own truth, the untouched True Nature of what you are. The Unfolding Now, pg. 22 In the next post. I would like to address and express my understanding of ego structures and how closely related ego structures are to one's sense of identity and where internalized images of oneself ties into this.

Beginning the discussion on ego I'm going to talk/write about ego a whole lot. This could become too boring or too hairsplitting for some to follow. Luckily I've got A.H. Almaas' Diamond Approach glossary to draw on. In the unfolding of the Diamond Approach Teaching, Hameed studied Developmental psychology, Ego Psychology, Analytical Psychology and Jungian theories, Depth Psychology, Humanistic Psychology and I'm sure whatever was written about Transpersonal psychology at the Time. Other texts I'll be quoting will be A Course in Miracles and the revised I Ching; The Oracle of the Cosmic Way. Both of which use the term 'ego' extensively. I may also quote Ram Dass, Charles Tart, Stan Grof, and maybe Eckart Tolle and Martin Butler. And probably others. My first two quotes will be from Hameed dealing with different usages of the term 'ego' basically. Both usages converge in a way at the point of "ego identity or sense of identity. The second quote brings in the idea of 'being' and how egoic perspectives can be an impediment to the experience and unfoldment of being, as experience, in one's inner world. Confusion About the Term "Ego" Here we digress to point out a source of confusion about the term “ego.” Readers who know both the spiritual and psychological literatures will find the term freely used in both, but with no general agreement on what the term refers to. This ambiguity often leads to confusion. The literature on spiritual development, on essential or inner development, on all matters of religious concern, generally uses the term “ego” to mean something which is seen as the barrier to spiritual realization. The literature on depth psychology, however, uses the term with a very different meaning. The ego referred to by Freud, and which ego psychology studies, is not the ego which is the barrier to spiritual development. They are two different concepts. The psychoanalytic term “ego” refers, rather, to the functional self, which is the site, organizer, and coordinator of the functions of perception, memory, mobility, and so on. There is, however, a concept in depth psychology and ego psychology that coincides with the ego of spiritual literature: it is called the “ego-identity,” and is sometimes referred to as the sense of self, or the sense of identity. This sense of self or separate identity is the main concern of ego developmental theory. This identity is, in fact, the acme, the most important outcome of ego development. It is ultimately the organizing center of the psychic apparatus. This psychic apparatus includes as one of its units the Freudian ego. In other words, the Freudian ego is part of the mind, is a structure or a structured process in it, while the self is a sense of identity and a center of action. The exact sense in which the ego identity is a barrier to spiritual development will become clear in later chapters. The Void, pg. 9 The Delusion of the Ego View The habitual way that human beings participate in the dynamism of Being is known as the conventional view. We usually participate in the revelation of reality by being a self that exists on its own, among other selves and other objects in a world of linear time and space. This is commonly known as the ego, or dualistic, perspective. As a view, the ego perspective is neither bad nor a problem. Most nondual teachings consider the ego view delusional; they think that the dual experience of reality is false. But reality does appear as ego experience and, as such, it is only delusional if viewed from the perspective of the nondual. The view of totality recognizes it as simply one of many ways that reality manifests. The real difficulty with the ego view is that it obstructs and closes us to other possibilities of Being. The ego perspective limits the freedom of our nature to respond appropriately to the situations in which we find ourselves. At the center of this conventional view or ordinary philosophy is what we think of as our self. The sense of self is the center or foundation of the ego view—“I am here, and I am in the world, and I perceive things from here, and I act according to my preferences.” Many traditions consider this position to be ignorance or delusion. The delusion of the ego view is in its sense of finality—“This is what reality is and that’s that.” If the ego understood that its view is only one of many ways that reality manifests, then its position would not be a delusion. It’s true that the dual view is one way that reality happens. But believing this one way to be definitive is the delusion of the ego view. Runaway Realization, pg. 138

My elaborate plan to change the whole world and stuff I have just a few years left to live. I'm 54 now and something tells me I'll probably leave this body sometime in my mid to late 60's. This may sound just a tad grandiose but here's my idea that I've repeatedly considered since about the time when I first joined Actualized.org. I'm going to change the world by legally defining within in the United States Judicial system that egoic mindset is the legal definition of insanity. It may be a huge understatement that I'm swinging for the fence. But what the hell,,, I think it's a beautiful idea. Chances are that this initiative will never make it to fruition in my lifetime but If I from time to time continually make arguments for how this might happen maybe one day in the future after I'm gone others will take on the cause and make it happen. Here's some trivia to begin with. A Justice does not have to be a lawyer or a law school graduate to sit on the Supreme Court. Not that I'm planning to become a Supreme court Justice but rather to reveal something about the United States Judicial system that many people are probably unaware of. With my aim, one line of thought to begin with is with the term Human Being. We are human beings, not human doings or Human ego's. Therefore, BEING is our true nature! This is my introduction to this aim that I have. I will continue to provide written arguments from time to time about this notion which I'm sure will leave any licensed attorneys who happen to be reading this, slapping their knees and howling with laughter. Have a nice day.

Reaching Up "What Does It Mean to Have Peace of Mind?" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2021 Dr. Jim Rosen It means that you express the feeling of peace toward yourself and toward your brothers and sisters. You are not at war with the world or yourself. You are not in a state of conflict with yourself and others. You want to learn and grow. Indeed, you strive to learn and grow. But you do not point the finger at your own mistakes or those of others. You look right past the mistakes to the inner beauty. You recognize that the outward picture of a person is just that. So you look past the picture and see the spark of goodness in all. And because you do, you see with clarity what we really are. And you give peace and gratitude to what we really are. When you stray from peace and gratitude, you renew your focus on what is real and good in us. And you do it with patience. Dr. Jim Rosen is a PhD Clinical Psychologist. He is an experienced psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, and couples counselor. He offers treatment for anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression, relationship problems, self-esteem issues, assertiveness training, anger control, stress management, and overcoming the effects of sexual, physical, and emotional trauma. Dr. Rosen works with his patients primarily over the phone. When needed, face-to-face therapy sessions can be scheduled in his home in Magnet Cove, Arkansas. Because he does not accept insurance, his fee is only $60 for a full 50-minute hour of treatment. He can be reached anytime by email at drjrosen@ipa.netor by phone or text at 501-623-2050.

I remember my little 5 year old self riding in the back of my mother's Oldsmobile. We had been out to my Grandparent's house that was about 15 miles southwest from our home. My sister was recovering from chicken pox and it was going through all the local schools. I was in kindergarten at the time. The talk that day had mostly been about chickenpox and how bad it got with some children. The fever and the terrible itching that accompanied the illness. On the ride home in the back seat I remember jumping up, raising my right arm with pointed finger and declaring in a loud voice, "I AM NOT GOING TO GET CHICKENPOX!" I remember my mother from time to time over the years recounting my emotional declaration that day to others. What made it rememberable was the fact that I never did get chickenpox. Looking back and pondering what took place in my mind is a simple phenomena comprised of two ingredients. The placebo effect combined with strong emotional intent. I've also oftentimes wondered why doesn't it work more often. Intuition or some other faint voice tells me it's a lack of purified wholehearted intent. Something like that anyway. That when I've tried to manifest without success. Somewhere in my being there is a division within or a vague doubt,,,

Man is never helped in his suffering by what he thinks for himself, but only by revelation of a wisdom greater than his own. It is this which lifts him out of his distress. Carl Jung (1875-1961) Truth Only that truth which is recognized by all can become a fellow-being. You should grow up around your grievous mistakes like a tree, and let them be, until one day they become a part of your strength, and they no longer hinder your ascent. Thinking is a force, feeling leads to new motivations. Remain receptive to both and truth will become attainable. Truth is that knowledge which becomes one with being. You will become one with being when all of your burdens and loves, objects and fears, sorrows and joys have found their place in the whole. Joy and Sadness Sorrow originates when false thoughts supplant those things that are right, and a shadow realm comes to represent the being. Joy is wakefulness in love. Sorrow is the precondition of joy, not because there need exist an antithesis to joy, but because no one can let himself fall deep enough without sorrow. by Arnold Keyserling from; https://schoolofwisdom.com/visions-and-poems/from-dark-to-life/

I'm probably more neurotic than my score shows,,, Openness - 85% Conscientiousness - 77% Extraversion - 31% Agreeableness - 62.5% Neuroticism - 40%

If you're starting to feel overwhelmed have you considered getting a hormone shot? I figure you probably have considered. Just wanting to be supportive,,,

Great Idea!

I just thought it sounded good and really wasn't thinking that deeply so I may have to crawfish a little here. Pondering a bit more about it some text from A Course In Miracles came to mind. It's maybe more in line with the notion of us being a chip off the old block. So to speak,,, I took just a snippet from this section- https://acourseinmiraclesnow.com/course-miracles-chapter-9-viii-grandeur-versus-grandiosity/ T-9.VIII.5. From your grandeur you can only bless, because your grandeur is your abundance. 2 By blessing you hold it in your mind, protecting it from illusions and keeping yourself in the Mind of God. 3 Remember always that you cannot be anywhere except in the Mind of God. 4 When you forget this, you will despair and you will attack. T-9.VIII.6. The ego depends solely on your willingness to tolerate it. 2 If you are willing to look upon your grandeur you cannot despair, and therefore you cannot want the ego. 3 Your grandeur is God's answer to the ego, because it is true. 4 Littleness and grandeur cannot coexist, nor is it possible for them to alternate. 5 Littleness and grandiosity can and must alternate, since both are untrue and are therefore on the same level. 6 Being the level of shift, it is experienced as shifting and extremes are its essential characteristic. T-9.VIII.7. Truth and littleness are denials of each other because grandeur is truth. 2 Truth does not vacillate; it is always true. 3 When grandeur slips away from you, you have replaced it with something you have made. 4 Perhaps it is the belief in littleness; perhaps it is the belief in grandiosity. 5 Yet it must be insane because it is not true. 6 Your grandeur will never deceive you, but your illusions always will. 7 Illusions are deceptions. 8 You cannot triumph, but you are exalted. 9 And in your exalted state you seek others like you and rejoice with them. T-9.VIII.8. It is easy to distinguish grandeur from grandiosity, because love is returned and pride is not. 2 Pride will not produce miracles, and will therefore deprive you of the true witnesses to your reality. 3 Truth is not obscure nor hidden, but its obviousness to you lies in the joy you bring to its witnesses, who show it to you. 4 They attest to your grandeur, but they cannot attest to pride because pride is not shared. 5 God wants you to behold what He created because it is His joy.

This may be slightly off topic but I've found the following to be true, Don't make eye contact with someone who is angry or antagonistic. It feeds their ego while robbing you of your chi energy.

Lots of great replies.... Ego = "A bad case of mistaken identity" as Ken Wilber put it. One that obscures the realization and experience of Being. Here's a quote from the glossary that I've never shared before when this topic has come up- Ego Seen as the Belief in a Self Other perspectives see ego as the belief in a self or entity. The activity of ego is taken to be the activity of a person -- an entity -- who has desires and hopes. So here ego is seen as taking oneself to be a person, separate from the rest of the universe, who was born to a set of parents, who was a child, who grew up, in time, to his present status of an adult who has his hopes, desires and goals. The belief that this separate individuality is one's identity, one's self, is seen by some teachings as the main barrier to the ultimate reality which is an impersonal and universal Being, or alternately, the Void. Enlightenment then is the insight that one is not really this separate individual, a realization which is equivalent to the state of unqualified Being, or nonconceptual Reality. Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 21

I listen as a heretic. To hell with the lyrics. It’s the beautiful voices and melodies that makes me smile and the tears well up,,,,

Periodically I get hit with overwhelming depression. Yesterday was one of those days. And some early this morning reading Bernadette Roberts, contemporary Christian mystic. The material she had written had to do with some of the very trying times which are encountered in our inner world,, when we are confused and hurting. The existential angst that may appear in our lives for no reason at all. Or to me that's how it has seemed on some occasions when I have really felt overburdened and overwhelmed. Fortunately as I have grown older these periodic bouts of severe depression have grown a lot fewer and probably less intense. it's amazing how much difference there can be in just a couple of days time. Often a long nights sleep with a very active dream pattern is the thing which lifts the distress and heavy mood for me. Whenever these one of these spells shows up and kicks the shit out of me. I find myself having a little more compassion towards whoever it may be that I encounter in life. I share this now in case there are any readers who are 'going through the shit'. Just hang on. It will get better,,,, It can help a lot to find some kind of activity to " break the worry cycle", as transpersonal psychologist Charles Tart puts it.

In the Fourth Way the process of disentangling the four Jungian functions is stressed. From my perspective it seems this process is prioritized differently among lineages. I took a snippet from the following article written by Ralph Losey. This is pertaining to the feeling function. If it interests you, I think you'll enjoy the full article and maybe some of the adjoining links found in it. https://schoolofwisdom.com/laws-of-wisdom/laws-of-human-consciousness/ Our ability to feel is also stunted for much the same reasons as our senses. There is little or no place for our feelings in the adult world we are trained to enter. Very few feelings are acceptable in western culture. We are taught to turn off our feelings, the boy children especially. Some sedate feelings may be permitted, but the palate is quite limited. In general strong emotions of all kinds are suspect and forbidden. The subconscious, instinctual world is considered dangerous, especially feelings related to sex. Some children are abused, physically or mentally. They are subjected to strong negative emotions, deeply hurt feelings, and do not know what to do or how to handle them. Many cannot endure the pain and so turn from all feelings, becoming dry robots, autistic or schizophrenic. Even in the best of families we acquire complexes or neuroses of one kind or another. In today’s culture we all leave childhood psycho-traumatized to a certain degree. The home of feelings, the dream world, is a forgotten area. It is given little importance by most of the adults who raise us. After some indulgence, we are encouraged to grow up, to put our fantasies and play behind us. Imagination is “kids stuff”, dreams are unreal or unimportant. So the indoctrination-education-program goes. We lose all touch with our dream world, our deepest desires and wishes. In today’s world of advertising, subliminal fill our feelings with new, acceptable desires and goals. In the United States for instance many of us actually come to believe that our deepest desires in life involve material consumption of one form or another. The pursuit of happiness becomes the pursuit of money and thrills. We find pseudo-happiness in consumption and entertainment, in movies and television. Our emotional needs come to be filled from the outside by observing the actor’s feelings. On the inside we become dead, hollow – the juices of our own feelings dry out. The function atrophies, and for some dies. Again, this process can be reversed, feelings can be resurrected. The joy of play and imagination we knew in childhood can be regained. There are many procedures for this reawakening, you have only to find the one you like. For some it may be music, for some acting, for some martial arts, for others loving and hugs, for others sex. For many there are powerful traumatic events in their childhood which must be worked through. There is deep pain and emotional hurt in their past which must be overcome before their feelings can develop and grow, or before they can mature sexually. Many different psychological therapies have been developed to overcome this pain, including the pain of birth itself with which we all enter this world. As we face and overcome the traumas and hang ups of the past, our feelings naturally strengthen, and our overall energy grows with the increased capacity to feel. Our dream world starts to communicate better with our waking selves. We start to transcend the advertising propaganda, to get in touch with our own desires. We start to find out what we really want out of life. We learn what we really love, what gives us real happiness and fulfillment. We learn from both our suffering and our joy. The dry sensations become charged. We awaken to art, to beauty, to sex. Our whole lives become filled with a new fire, with intensity and new feelings of all kinds. The purified feelings give our thinking a whole new dimension, our will a new power and force.

I find some wisdom in everyone's remarks. For myself, feelings are always sincere and never lie. Not so with thoughts,,, My deepest hatred became a doorway into a place where nothing is wrong anymore. With the caveat that the absence of Self Remembering is a return to some level of Hell. The idea of a 'once and for all permanent threshold' into tranquility is a fallacy. In my experience anyway. But the Kingdom of Heaven is always at hand if- "Ye become as little children". It gets complicated because sometimes my inner child is a mean little shit. So the idea of becoming as a child needs to perceived in a certain light. One of letting go and of embracing or a return to innocence where stupidity is not mandatory.

Thanks @gettoefl I found this interview to be much more approachable than her book - The Real Christ Held in high esteem by many with no sugarcoating and very plainspoken. Bernadette Roberts says modern Christianity has devolved into just a "Jesus cult". Under the surface here in this YouTube I see a division being made in more than one way from the old Patriarchical dominance of the Piscean age. Does anyone else see a parallel with Paramahansa Yogananda's: Second Coming Of Christ? This to be Christ Consciousness spreading in the minds of Earth's population instead of a returning messiah figure,,,