Zigzag Idiot

Reaching Up "What's In Your Nucleus?" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2021 Dr. Jim Rosen I am updating the mailing list for the Reaching Up column. If you would like to continue receiving my free column each week, please reply to this email with "Yes" in the subject heading. That's all you need to do. If I receive your reply by December 4, you will be on the updated list and you will continue to receive this column each Sunday. Thank you for giving this your attention. If your kids are the center of your universe, the bond between you and your mate is suffering ...and your kids suffer, too. Their sense of well being shouldn't depend on being the center. It makes them self-centered and insecure. A strong family revolves around the bond between two loving adults. When your choices and decisions are based on what's good for your marriage to your partner, then your family has a strong nucleus. It fills your home with security and love. Although your kids won't always get their way, they do get the security and love they absolutely need. They also learn to share with others and tolerate frustration. Having a strong center doesn't mean that you ignore your kids' real needs. It doesn't mean that your kids become less important. It doesn't mean you become a slave to your mate's wants and wishes. It means doing what's right for your marriage, because it's right for your whole family. 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.net or 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. Dr. Jim Rosen Clinical Psychologist Magnet Cove, Arkansas Ph: 501-623-2050 Email: drjrosen@ipa.net

Re; Is Reiki real or scam? Both. In my opinion. There are those who are earnest and sincere who are effective healers. This field is also full of charlatans just trying to get into others wallets or just those who are caught up in magical thinking.

Other low ambition type people like Terence Mckenna. Joe Rogan and Graham Hancock at some point in their life anyway have been consistent users of cannabis. Hancock quit cannabis for a good while after an ayahuasca trip informed him of the need to. If I understand correctly he smokes occasionally nowadays. After smoking it regularly in my teens. I quit completely for 20 years or so. I then used it to replace Paxil, an SSRI, prescribed for anxiety. My use of cannabis fluctuates. I find that if I lay off for a while and my tolerance goes down. Meaning I become more sensitive to it. I become more prone to experiencing that certain kind of paranoid that sometimes affects people who smoke cannabis. It counter intuitively works for me to just double down and smoke even more and the paranoia then usually disappears. I feel that cannabis is a good antidote for those who are overly serious or are chronic worriers. Some claim that it feminizes men to a healthy degree in that it puts them in touch with their feelings and perhaps lessens the swaggering macho violent jackass tendencies. I'm not an overly enthusiastic advocate for cannabis though. Everyone's body chemistry is unique and I believe the old saying applies that what is good for some may be poison to another. To me it's on par with baby aspirin and all these hysterical little male and female Nancy Reagans running around saying -"just say no" are just the core of the collective ego and its group think and herd mentality.

Read my lips Read my lips No new taxes on a burned out village No new taxes on a burned out village Don't scold the lover. The wrong way he/she talks is better than a hundred right ways of others. This is what you get when you mix George H.W. Bush with Rumi.

Thanks! @Raptorsin7 I'll definately give it a watch.

@Zeroguy Thank you, We all vary with different backgrounds, cultural conditioning, and shadow elements to process or heal no doubt. But in other ways we are all the same. It's interesting you mention that. I need to be reminded of that on occasion. Whenever ungroundedness or imbalance show up in my inner condition. I've always been prone to hero worship as well and anyone with a degree of status or fame intimidate me sometimes. A self esteem issue most likely. I try to at least observe it as objectively as I can if nothing else.

In another Journal this morning I was pretty harsh in my assessment of Leo's latest video. i Should have waited until after I had watched the whole thing before I gave an opinion. He said some things that made good sense and outed himself for how socially awkward he used to be which was an endearing display of humility. I still think how he presented some ideas in the video and the title given to it was kinda cheesy though. Talking about "game",,, For the most part developing healthy self esteem seemed to be the focus. It's a part of my development which has always been lacking. So who am I to be so critical,,,,?

Reaching Up "Finding Purpose & Meaning" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2021 Dr. Jim Rosen There is purpose in life. Indeed, there are perhaps four big purposes. If you pursue them, i.e., if you strive toward these purposes, you will very likely experience fulfillment in life. It's no small task to achieve fulfillment. Much of your time and effort is spent taking care of physical needs. But that's not the reason you are here. The real purposes - the higher, deeper, meaningful ones – you can accomplish in very important spans of time. Without them, your life will probably be empty. Just take a look at people you know whose lives lack purpose or meaning. They're often depressed. They experience the "what's it all for?" kind of depression. They feel empty because their life is missing something. They lack a reason for being. You are not handed your purpose on a silver platter, but you are provided with opportunities to find your purpose. And it's your responsibility to seek it and reach for it. But first you must put your physical needs in their proper place. You already know that life is not really about physical beauty, money, sex, possessions, and the size of your portfolio. Close to 45 years as a psychologist have taught me that the deeper purposes, the ones that give meaning to life are these: to love, to learn and grow, to create, and to enjoy. You come here to open your heart and love deeply. You come here to find out how to love. Along your travels through life, there are many discoveries, such as: loving another person as much as you love your own self; viewing yourself with humility instead of self-importance; putting yourself in the place of others and feeling what they feel; and accepting others for who they are, instead of molding them to serve your needs. You come here to give love to your brothers and sisters, and to open yourself up to receive love. Thus, you are making a home for love within yourself. Life is also for learning. You come here to learn and grow and develop as a person. Improving your worldly talents is important. Becoming a deeper, better person is much more important. This is the kind of learning that you keep forever. You also come here to create, and thereby give something back to the world. There are no rules for what your creations must be. You can be an architect or a carpenter - both are capable of giving beauty to the landscape. You can be a bus driver whose gift is transportation. You can be a teacher who stimulates young minds. You can be a parent who helps create love and self-esteem in your children. Fulfilling your purpose to create can be anything you do from your heart. It’s not easy. Life hands us many difficulties and hurdles. But it's not enough just to endure your circumstances and grunt your way through life. You come here also to enjoy. When you can enjoy who you are and what you are given, then you have mastered this task. 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.net or 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. Dr. Jim Rosen Clinical Psychologist Magnet Cove, Arkansas Ph: 501-623-2050 Email: drjrosen@ipa.net

UUHHH, I was just role playing a plain spoken asshole of sorts earlier this afternoon. One of the crew aboard my ship of fools. He's an unguided projectile. He rebels at any kind of guidance or direction. Neither is he afraid of being a self starter. He just pulls initiative right out of his ass and goes to town. Moderate to heavy use of cannabis pacifies this patented Idiot. Guess I haven't been smoking enough lately. If I were to quit altogether. He would probably be running for the presidency or maybe a Senate Seat and offending as many people you can just barely get by with. Anyway I hope that all who witnessed this role playing event were entertained or amused.

Five fridays in a week Universal heretic celebration day The title stems from my station as being both a Zigzag Idiot and a universal heretic. I've titled today as that just for the hell of it and because it's raining outside. it would be more serious if it were also raining inside. I agree with Almaas when he says you have to have a lot of nerve to let go and voluntarily lose your mind. The average Jack or Jill in no way will be up for it because they want to be accepted by the herd. Now for a comercial. At times I will come off as being a goody goody and at the drop of a hat I will say extremely raunchy things sometimes. I'm not bothered by this because through understanding I've come to accept my multifaceted nature. This doesn't mean that I never get rattled or embarrased because of .the depth this multifaceted nature. I'm just not as fractured as I was in youth and early adulthood. What most of you actualizers reading this needs is someone to slap your sorry ass around. Either to make you angry so you'll quit crying foul and telling everyone what a poor helpless victim you are or to put you face to face with your own schadenfreude. Saying this won't win me many friends but I write this with sincerity and conviction. Expressing my inner truth means more than winning peoples approval. Whenever I express from this facet of myself it drives compassionate Idiots completely berzerk. They start jumping up and down pointing at me and blowing a loud whistle. They may say "Look, look look. See how terrible and uncaring this ruffian is. Oh how awful." If they're lucky, there will come a day when the need to show the world how caring and compassonate they are will be gone and they will have a more complete understanding. I intuit that in Leo's approach at times what people are seeing as arrogant is his way of slapping us around a bit to make us think or wake us up. He's possibly playing the role of the malamat at times. The way of blame. I could be wrong about that also. Anyway, in light of that there is the idea that at times an awakened person needs to learn when it's best to just go run and hide. So as not to be pecked to death. Somewhere in my journal I remember writing about the aggravated chicken pecker syndrome that manifests both in poultry farming as well as in human sociology. The tone of all this may sound like I'm putting myself above everybody or that I don't have any empathy in regards to the hardships others have to endure. Not so. I do care deeply about people but at times my selfishness may rule the day. In addition to occasionally being a complete fuck up to boot. I try to be honest with my self observation and inquiry. To help pay my dues, so to speak.

"Let's dispense with any self congradulatory statements." That statement was made at a Fourth Way group meeting nearly twenty years ago. That's a statement that gets your attention. It did mine anyway and also the lady that finished making some remarks just pryor to it being said. At the time I didn't really hear anyrhing that was self congradulatory in what she said. Also I belive it was the first time I had ever heard that word uttered. I knew what it meant though and became concerned that it might have been me that had made some self congradulatory remarks just before the lady mentioned spoke. This cause me to inner consider which is fourth way speak for -thinking too much-. Another point stressed in fourth way self observation is to refrain from self criticism. That's difficult to do. It was for me anyway for a long time.It's something I still have to keep an eye on. How objective is your inquiry? Can you recognize when you make self congradulatory remarks and possibly out yourself for it. By the way, this is pretty hardcore. If a person is working on bolstering their self esteem. They really don't need to be concerned with outing themselves for being self congradulatory. It goes along with Ken Wilber once saying that we have to have a healthy functioning ego before we can start doing work to go past it and letting go of things egoic.

I got this in an email from the Diamond Approach today and thought some good points were made in relation to duality/non-duality Experiencing Nonduality "In the experience of nonduality, it is not as though physical reality were a dream emanating from it - that perception would still be dualistic. When duality is seen through, physical reality is imbued with the essential dimension, and the two become one. This gives the physical more reality, more substance, more existence, more meaning, more depth, and more dimensionality. When you look at people, they seem more substantial, and even their bodies appear more physical, in a sense. Every object and person has a concreteness and a definiteness that makes each appear more defined, more present, and more complete, because your experience of them includes the depth of the true existence. When everything is perceived as the Absolute, each atom, each form, has its depth. The Absolute not only underlies everything, but penetrates all manifestation. Depending upon which dimension you are experiencing, everything you perceive acquires the depth and beauty of that dimension." -A. H. Almaas, founder of the Diamond Approach, Facets of Unity, pg. 87 The known can place limits on our potential and possibility. How we envision the end of the spiritual journey or the enlightenment of the soul can pre-define what’s possible. The Diamond Approach doesn’t posit an ultimate reality, and the central methodology of the Diamond Approach is open and open-ended inquriy. These fundamentals keep everything wide open, allowing each soul to unfold according to its uniqueness, not some prescribed cookie-cutter reality intended for all. The openness to engaging experience where you are is more important than whether you happen to be in a dual or nondual state. Spiritual bypassing can happen otherwise. Read Full Blog Post Here https://online.diamondapproach.org/nonduality-allowing-experience-to-educate-inform/?utm_source=ontraport&utm_campaign=eNews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=eNews&utm_content=Nov21&0=

A.H. Almaas (/ˈɑːlməs/ AHL-məss) is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali (born 1944), a Kuwaiti American author and spiritual teacher who writes about and teaches an approach to spiritual development informed by modern psychology and therapy which he calls the Diamond Approach. A.H. Almaas Born1944 Kuwait OccupationAuthor, spiritual teacher Almaas is originally from Kuwait. He is the spiritual head of the Ridhwan School. He may be described, among other things, as an Integral theorist, mystic, spiritual teacher or an exponent of the perennial philosophy. Almaas' books were originally published by the Ridhwan School, under the Diamond Books publishing title, but are now published by Shambhala. The Diamond Approach is a contemporary spiritual path integrating the teachings and practices of the ancient wisdom traditions with modern depth psychology. The Diamond Approach is derived from the experiences of Almaas, along with Karen Johnson and Faisal Muqaddam (who split off early on to develop his own approach). They were among the first students of Claudio Naranjo, an early pioneer of the integration of spiritual and therapeutic work. The curriculum of the work draws upon the founders' backgrounds in Sufism, Platonism, Buddhism and the Fourth Way. Teachers of the Diamond Approach focus on the students' specific perception of their own immediate work issues.[1]Presentation of a canonical body of knowledge and practice is introduced over time as required. From - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._H._Almaas I'm adding this mostly for everyone to have easy access to the Glossary. The Glossary https://www.diamondapproach.org/glossary In many aspects I find most of Almaas's Teaching and Leo's articulation to dovetail quite well especially in regard to describing the Absolute, Love, as well as the realization of many aspects of being. There seems to be much more in common than not,,,, I'm a rogue student of the Ridhwan School or the Diamond Approach as it's called. I've never joined a group, participated in any online courses or interacted with anyone connected with Almaas or his school. I just love reading his books and want to share what he is sharing. The the Glossary consists of quotes from his books for the most part. As with the term ego, this could be a resource for clearing up confusion in regard to our own discussions and interactions. Maybe,,,,@ Leo gura and Moderators. ? 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. This is the second quote of 17 quotes on this page. https://www.diamondapproach.org/glossary/refinery_phrases/ego Everyone can decide for themselves. ?

Ha! Thankfully that incident was resolved without any violence and all is well. Thanks.

I can be in a state of love. That oceanic condition,,,,, I've noticed in the past that driving a 16 penny nail into a piece of wood is not conducive while in that oceanic condition of Love with a big L, Love for all. On the other hand I can't recall any difficulty in swatting a mosquito while in a state of Love or agape. The mosquito doesn't have 3 centers or 7 chakras. The mosquito doesn't have feelings or for that matter opinions about anything whatsoever. So far as I know. At most, biologically speaking, a mosquito is just a very small stimulus response blood sucker that has no nostalgia for times gone by. Not that long ago I was held at gunpoint while laying on the ground with instructions not to move or they would shoot my ass. This wasn't the police by the way. As this drama unfolded there was more than one mosquito that fed free choice on my body for a good while. The result was quite large welts that were red and swollen that really had a deep itch and didn't go away for a couple of days. Long story short. It doesn't violate my conscience to kill a mosquito. A mammal it does but not a mosquito.

I'll smash that sucker flat. About how this relates to Absolute Love. I'll have to ponder on that,,,

Here is a relevant perspective on the topic for anyone interested. I googled ectomorphs and got this link. https://www.uh.edu/fitness/comm_educators/3_somatotypesNEW.htm

Reaching Up "Let's See What You're Made Of" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2021 Dr. Jim Rosen Are you love or are you fear? God created you to be love. The world demands that you be fear. You can try to be both, but you can’t really be both. Being afraid blocks your ability to be loving. Fear covers up your loving nature. It is clear beyond crystal clear that your brothers and sisters need your love. Everyone needs your love, your compassion, your kindness. And you need the very same to be returned to you. What you give is returned to you. You have a choice, an obvious choice. You can comply with the world’s commands to stand in fear and tremble within. Or you can listen to your deeper within, the One where God is. You can stand in His light and be the loving being you were created to be. The power to make this choice comes from the simple realization that you have a choice.

BLACK ELK's VISION This is a quote from a well known and recorded vision. It's from the Lakota healer and visionary, Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950). It's a powerful statement expressing about his nondual experience. In reading it, some of you will cry. ,,,,,,,,,,Then I was standing on the highest moutain of them all and around and about me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together as one being.,,,,,,,,,

I'm about a week late posting Dr. Rosen's weekly mini- column. Tomorrow he should send out another. Reaching Up "Challenge the Bull" by Dr. Jim Rosen ©2021 Dr. Jim Rosen Challenge the untruths and educate yourself with truths. You're not stuck with the thoughts you have today. It's a good thing too, because "bull" causes people a lot of pain. The Greek philosopher, Epictetus, put it more eloquently when he said, "It is not events, but the perception of events that disturb people's minds." There are many untruths. Here are just a few examples. Put-downs: "I'm bad. I'm stupid. I'm ugly." False ideals: "If I don't do _____ like other people, then I'm abnormal." "If it's not perfect, I've failed." "I've made bad mistakes, so God couldn't possibly love me." Awfulizing: "If I don't get enough _____, I'll go crazy and I'll die." Personalizing: (S)he did _____ because there is something wrong with me." The untruths cause much emotional distress, including anxiety and panic. You've heard the proverb, "The truth shall set you free." Well it's true.

@fridjonk Please forgive the slowness of my responses. I understand what you express about the cost of running a farm in a responsible way with a long term view. When I managed our family ranch there seemed to be no end to the things I could spend money on ( x 10 ) with good justifications. I got tired of working my ass off whie deciding what I had to spend money on that was most crucial and then paying taxes with the rest. Often denying things for myself like health insurance and taking vacations. @fridjonk Expounding on the question I asked you became a launching pad for a spontaneous spiel that I just typed out and in no way is directed at you but to the forum at large. I wanted to make that specifically clear and thank you for allowing me this space in our conversation for this indulgence. My question about the possiblilty of deceptive potential mates probably gives away my tendency for having a rather pessimistic 'glass half empty' view of the world, At times anyhow. That admission is likely to push the buttons of lurking self righteous zen devils that are currently trolling this section of the forum. When I say these things that appear to have an inherent negativity, I do so with a non-judgemental heart, or try to, because in the past, I was one of them. A zen devil that is. This is my expression of how I've found this work towards Self actualization to be a two edged sword. I could often see others shortcomings but lacked the love of absolute truth enough that I would put on the blinders to avoid seeing my own self deception and folly. I've also found these type of confessions to draw out the beginners and partially awakened neophytes who are quick to dog pile onto others and in which they fail to recognise their own judgemental assessments. The neccessity here that I see of this work to eventually resemble an ouroboros. A similar cryptic statement out of the Fourth way is that one must work on oneself and purify emotionally in order to become food for Arch-angels. When one has cooked enough internally in an alchemical way, anything which happens will no longer be taken in a negative way. Even seemingly "bad" things. This realization is one that comes and goes with the flux in my degree of being. My daily yo-yo of being. When I have objectively seen my own bullshit, how can I judge others at all for theirs,,,, When my degree of being is at a higher level I perceive how Understanding is a magic bullet for unconscious behaviors and unneccesary suffering. It comes with a price though.

@fridjonk I would have been glad to have your company! Yesterday I did discover how much better a millwaulkie high speed grinder with a metal cutting disc cuts through roofing tin versus the old skillsaw with a blade put on backward. And much less noisy as well. Such an improvement there has been in tools over the last 30 yrs.,,, Ive been meaning to ask you a rather personal question. Please disregard if you would rather not answer. With all of your families enormous spread of land, people must view you as rather wealthy. Have you ever been suspicious or a little paranoid that potencial mates/wife would pursue you because of your wealth?

Re; List any and all the ways you see as being contributors to building and sustaining and solid sense of self. An internalized self image Being identified emotionally with ideals and values I believe we need a healthy well rounded personality/ego before we can begin transcending and letting go, Eventually the two things I listed will have to be let go of for Self realization of one's essential identity. For those who want to dig a little deeper and maybe from another perspective- A Dynamic Structure Comprised Not Only of Self-Representations but Also of Inner Activity The self-identity structure is a dynamic structure comprised not only of self-representations, but also of inner activity (Kohut’s tension arc). This “dynamic essence of the self” is an automatic, compulsive and incessant activity, which is mostly unconscious. We saw in Chapter 8 that the main components of this activity are rejection, hope and desire. Repeated experience of the stillness of black emptiness exposes this activity as mental agitation, which now intensifies and reaches feverish proportions, as an obsessive inner activity whose ultimate purpose is to perpetuate itself. It becomes increasingly obvious that the details of this activity, the content of what the self rejects and what it hopes for, are immaterial. What matters is the activity itself. The notion of giving up this inner activity appears to the self as defeat, a surrender to hopelessness. The mental activity intensifies in an effort to avoid deep hopelessness and helplessness, despair and depression. These feelings are part of a narcissistic depression and deep hopelessness that the student feels about being her real self. This heavy and painful state is characterized by inertia, dullness, and self-hate. One feels existential hopelessness and despair about the possibility of existing authentically, and about receiving support for one’s authenticity. The Point of Existence, pg. 340 From; https://www.diamondapproach.org/glossary/refinery_phrases/self-identity There are several more excerpts on this same web page.