Zigzag Idiot

Watching the movie Terms of Endearment works for me.

@GrowthPilgrim @Waken I very much agree with both of you. Pardox is near. ?

I got started making comments above about the Terence McKenna clip below regarding the idea of the noosphere. Guess I should have mentioned that and maybe include the clip.

I thought some contemporary students of Teilhard de Chardin had proposed the idea that the internet was connecting us together, manifesting as the noosphere or global mind. ?‍♂️ There is probably more to it than what I summarize with just one sentence. Jung brought the notion of individuation being a crucial aspect of Actualization. Individuation requiring integration of our varied aspects. This is where I see the genuine True Self and false self acting as basic mirrors or templates to one another. The false self acting unconsciously and the True Self rising from the ashes of the Alchemical fire or switching metaphors being born out of the processes of integration and individuation. Ive said that what Almaas refers to as the "Diamond Guidance" is the same thing as the Holy Spirit in the Christian Tradition. This note is just a preface to a quote of his below from The Pearl Beyond Price. Ever-Deepening and Expanding Individuation The presence of the Personal Essence makes it possible to have direct contact with present-centered experience, to be present, open and vulnerable to experience. This capacity, aided by the operation of the objective understanding of the Diamond Guidance, makes it possible to absorb present experience readily. One’s life becomes the metabolism of the interaction of the essential aspects with the environment. This continuing and ever expanding integration is the process of development of the Personal Essence. This ever-deepening and expanding individuation and maturity leads ultimately to the nonpersonal realms of Being, like those of Cosmic Consciousness, Nonconceptual Reality and Absolute Truth; this is the natural and spontaneous outcome of the development of the Personal Essence. It is part of the human potential, and if the process of maturation is proceeding in its correct path, then it is bound to occur. The presence of the Personal Essence is a sense of Being, of experiencing “I am.” There is presence without resistance. So it is bound to go deeper into more expanded realms of Being. This understanding that the experience of “I am” can lead directly to the nonpersonal realms is not an uncommon one among teachers of Being. Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 195 from: https://www.diamondapproach.org/glossary/refinery_phrases/individuation

Good video! ? Thanks, Marc

From narrative (egoic operating system) to witness Consciousness Going back and rereading in my journal has helped me to see how much I repeat myself. Some of what I've written, I feel, is pretty good, though. Some of it is a little embarrassing. I probably quote A.H. Almaas too much but that's okay in part because no one else hanging around Actualized.org. quotes him at all and he deserves to be quoted some. One reason for my reviewing was to look for and retrieve the following quote by Cynthia Bourgeault. “The repetitive motion of finding oneself through Identification (even true and worthy descriptions) keeps the being energy just below the critical velocity needed to escape the gravitational field of narrative selfhood.” - Cynthia Bourgeault The internal dialogue you keep up inside yourself, regardless of whether it's praise or blame, cuts you off from Witness Consciousness. Witness Consciousness is a state of consciousness that's a treasure which is also a container of being. Witness Consciousness is a state of equanimity that has within it the inherent capacity for self observation. Not so when I'm caught up in my own narrative and opinions and looking for validation of some kind. To bask in the inner silence of Witness Consciousness is unexpected and a felt blessing that was never anticipated. For me, anyway. Witness Consciousness is a state of consciousness. States of consciousness come and go. States of being identified with the story we may have in our head is like unknowingly hitchhiking into hell. The "gravitational field of narrative selfhood" is a state when one is identified with one's own thoughts and emotions. It's easily seen at times in the facial expression of others but rarely recognized about oneself.

Life is beautiful. The paradox of existence. Maurice Nicoll referred to life on earth as a pain factory. “Saints are the eaters of suffering.” said Ocke de Boer Life is still beautiful.

I know a little of what you're dealing with. It seems to me there is more disfunction within families than is usually thought because it's so often covered up when around friends and aqauntances are around. I introduced the word and the concept of shardenfrued to a couple of family membors who are college educated that I thought might be open to pondering the phenomena. It seemed to pique their curiosity and as a result,,,, just may be doing some good. Other family members simply don't care and don't want to know. I would wager that most of the emotional pain we endure come from dealing with semi-toxic/toxic family members. With this element ,, it reminds/helps me to double up my efforts practicing forgiveness and letting go and not being reactive which just feeds the turmoil. Good luck,,,,

I did a trip on an auyawasca compound today. A friend was with me who took 5 dried grams of Cubensis. During the peak of the trip I had a vision of sorts. We were in my bedroom letting the conversation flow where it wanted to. I've painted this room black and have strung some Christmas lights around so It makes for a good setting. Staring into a bookshelf, some small items within transformed into an image of a person sitting in meditation next to a tree. The canopy of the tree no longer stretched toward the sun but instead bent over and drew to a concentration over the top of the meditator where it was then feeding on chi energy flowing out the top of the meditators head. ?‍♂️

@mandyjw I appreciate the spirit of integration with different Teachings which you suggest in your last podcast. One of my former Fourth Way teachers could be described as a lineage holder in a certain line of the Gurdjieff Work. I was really into Castenada at the time as well as Ken Wilber and Eckart Tolle. He would not engage in talking me through the commonalities from these different Teachings and it really turned me off from wanting to continue with him. Lineage holders by nature are often very conservative about what might be considered systems thinking. I was unable to just drop my 1/2 understandings of these other teachings to only concentrate on what he was offering. I know there are some good arguments for my former teacher to have had this stance but the point you made about resolving the disparities between these Teachings which are pointing at the same truth, could be a big boost for a definite percentage of seekers. I may offer possible bridges or common denominators between Abraham Hicks and The Girdjieff Work at some point using the language of Law of Vibrations. Perhaps it's already been done and I'm just not aware of it. To give a peak at this possibility, I googled Gurdjieff law of Vibrations and picked a random result to paste here. -- The law of Seven is a law of vibrations. Just as in modern physics, this ancient idea considers the world to consist of vibrations, and this is a general law to help understand this, for practice use. To increase the rate of vibrations of a material, we need to apply energy to it. E.g, to raise the temperature, you need to apply heat to a substance. In popular physics not much attention is given to the fact that the increase in the rate of vibrations is not always directy related to the rate of application of energy, i.e. applying energy at a constant rate does not always give a constant increase in the rate of vibrations. A very simple example is in heating water from ice to steam - there are two points, the point when the ice is at 0 degrees C, but not yet melted, and the point when the water is at 100 degrees C, but not yet steam. At these two points, one has to keep applying heat for a longer period of time for the temperature to rise... taken from- http://fourthwayschool.org/7law.html ???‍?

taken from -

About 3 years ago I learned a couple of practices that incorporate sensing the actual physical heart. Physical sensing on the outbreath and then feeling with the inbreath. Sensing with out-breath,,,, feeling with inbreath. I find myself being surprised by how powerful these practices are when only just practiced for a short time. Making the difference between sensing and feeling pays good dividends. Feeling through the physical heart seems to open my space up. Doing this for only three minutes a couple of times a day does some good.

Magnetic center Ted brings in the specific Fourth Way term "magnetic center" which refers to those who have a hard-on for spiritual awakening more than the average person. Arnold Keyserling gets credit for the earthy phrase of someone having a hard-on for spiritual awakening. ? This attribute is also indicated by a certain line in the palm of the left hand. See the end of Chance and Choice chapter 7 - http://www.chanceandchoice.com/course-overview/energy/ Interesting theory anyway,,,, From a certain angle, prayer has become a polluted concept/activity, tangled with magical thinking along with a childish petitionary helplessness. Petitionary Prayer is most often divorced from authentic reverence, gratitude and the law of attraction. Ken Wilber has described petitionary Prayer as - " Hey God, here is my ego,,, now give me something." In this ten minute talk, Ted offers some good articulation. I used to follow abstract thinker, Jonathon Zap, in years past. Below this link to his website is an article he wrote and later made into a podcast which gives good food for thought. https://zaporacle.com/

Thank you, @fridjonk Also, in regards to resistance there is a saying in the Work that says the act of opposing second force only increases second force. An example is trying to oppose alcoholism with will power. One reason why that method doesn't work very often. Whatever I fight only increases the power of whatever it Is I fight. What a weird thing,,, ?‍♂️ -------------------------------- Now, metaphorically, I'm going to write a little bit about my struggle with the issue of gossip. In the right hemisphere of my brain, there is a tiny strip mall. One of the establishments in this strip mall is a magnet for juicy gossip. There's a pretty steady hand running the joint now, finally. It hasn't always been that way. I drop in there now from time to time and put out some special air freshener that secretly neutralizes cynicism. That seems to help a lot. Resisting the temptation to gossip has been a long ongoing battle among my ship of fools. There's law somewhere that states if you hold your tongue and successfully outmaneuver acting out the inner gossip Queen, you get bonus points in addition to attracting even more juicy gossip which presents to you once again the temptation associated with knowing secrets. A part of this law states that if you spill your guts in order to get the short lived inner sunburn of relating juicy gossip; then all your power is swept away, a quick amnesia appears and you're also automatically cast into the cultural storm of confusion-ignorance. Gossiping dims third eye capacity. Gossiping can have an especially pernicious tendency with some people. Having compassion towards these people helps me which secretly helps them I discovered. We're all alike in ways and connected too. One bad mood with an episode of word vomit in accompaniment can temporarily destroy it all. The stakes are high in this game. But the fact that it's a game that's so big that we're in the middle of it and can't even see its a game, is also our saving grace. So, that makes it a really weird game,,,, A few months ago I watched a Brad Warner podcast that opened up a can of worms about a spiritual teacher who was in the process of having a messy separation from Jack Cornfields Retreat Center out in California called Spirit Rock. I like Brad and really do consider him a contemporary Zen Master. The manner in which he was addressing these issues were appropriate in my estimation. A part of all this scuttlebutt was that Jack and his crew had supposedly declared that a certain kind of psychedelic was more or less now a part of their spiritual practice. I didn't relate this to the forum at the time because it just felt like gossiping. For reasons I can't explain it no longer feels like gossip but as a relevant issue and consideration. I like Jack Cornfield. The dude has been around awhile. I've been waiting to learn more about this story as well as what the "substance" they have allegedly incorporated into their practice is. If anyone runs across any recent articles or podcasts which are credible and shed light on this, please share,,, It seems like sometimes what determines the difference of whether something feels like gossip or not is simply the presence of a cynical atmosphere. ?‍♂️ I could be flacky also. That's always a possibility, as well. One which is most often never recognized until the revelatory perception of hindsight. It's not the end of the world though. I've been busted a lot of times for being flacky. ??‍???❤️

@Waken Hi, The daily exercises/lessons were a chore for me. Some of them are a little more time consuming but most of them require just a few moments scattered throughout the day. I knew I would have little chance in maintaining a daily discipline with them so I cut myself some slack and tried to do at least 3-4 days a week but really try to do them the best I could on the days I did them. It may have been closer to 3 years before I finally got through them all. My ACIM teacher stressed though that the lessons go congruently somewhat with the text. I went ahead and did it the way that I thought I could more realistically carry them out, though. IMO - The daily lessons strengthen the 'muscle' of -continuity of Consciousness- in addition to boosting the information given in the text. I read the text in just a little over a year and still enjoy rereading it. Not so much the lessons though. They are kind of a chore,,,,

In defense of Astrology as having relevance in regards to Self Actualization I post an excerpt from Keyserling and Losey's Chance and Choice. In short, the argument goes that the astrological wheel represent the multidimensional archetypal energies that are within each human as well as God if I understand it right. Self similarity over scales,,,,, In 2360 B.C., the Chaldean's made the spatial Zodiac of the constellations fit the geometric circle of 360 degrees by inventing the twelfth sector. They did this by inventing and arranging the last missing constellation of Libra. (Before there were only eleven.) With this development there was a star group for each of the 360 degree sectors. Time then became accessible to full brained understanding. By the year 2340 B.C., 20 years later, Astrology was the official religion of Babylonia, not as a science, but as a wisdom teaching to create a personal Way. This coincided with the Babylonian invention of the seven day week in accordance with the basic human energies. In their culture the King and Queen were joined on the Zikkurath - the Great Tower - at each of the four moon constellations. With the seven day week the year was divided into 52 cycles. As will be seen in the last chapter, this is one of the prime numbers of spiritual development. The day itself was also made to follow the basic twelve-fold structure of the year: twelve hours of left brain day, twelve hours of right brain night. This creation of the basic units of time - the seven day week -- changed the potentialities of the visible planets, and the moon and sun, into creative time. From that point in history to today, time and society has been ordered according to the twelve-fold Zodiac with the 12 months and hours, and the sevenfold time-cycle of the week comprised of the five visible planets, the sun and the moon. Unfortunately, most people today have no idea or understanding of the original meaning behind this structure. The seven days of the week and their cosmic origin are summarized in the following heptagon: ,,The time planets took their significance from their spatial Zodiacal "Homes". Each time planet corresponded to a space Zodiac sign where it was said to be at home. This is shown on Keyserling's Wheel. The order differed between the traditions. But Keyserling has been able to harmonize these differences and synthesize all of the traditions. Now that we have knowledge of all of the planets, not just the five visible planets known to early Man, we arrive at the following time cycles. This shows the twelve basis types of human potential associated with each time cycle. The chart also shows the relation to the grammatical parts of speech. THE TWELVE BASIC HUMAN POTENTIALS The planets symbolize the twelve archetypal human capacities or potentials which can be realized in time. They are divided into subsets of nine and three. The twelve potentials of time follow the basic pattern of the mind. The one or two word "Meanings" given above for these concepts should be understood very broadly. The words are "cluster words" which represent a wide spectrum of related capacities which come within that basic field of consciousness. They are like the twelve sides of a diamond which are unified by the crystal center of pure light - the Awareness behind the diverse manifestations of the Self. The twelve basic capacities are potential powers until chosen in time. In life they can appear at three times in a person's development: (1) As Apprentice Learning (2) As Companion Acting (3) As Master Teaching You must choose to use all twelve of the basic potentials, both in language and in life, when the opportunity is presented by life. Otherwise, they will remain latent. These potentials do not automatically grow. They require choice and intentional efforts. First, your language must become holistic and coherent. To make sense of your life you have to make sense in your speech. The twelve basic concepts presented in the chart above are the keys to making sense. You have to learn to use these concepts in your speech, your language. Then, eventually, you will learn to master these conceptual cluster-words in a three step process: apprentice, companion, master. This mastery of language allows for mastery of the human faculties which they represent. This means mastery of the full human capacities in controlled actions, or as Don Juan said, "Controlled Folly". Both learning processes - language and life - must go hand in hand. One without the other will not allow for full development. Words alone are hollow. Life alone is incomprehensible. Only both - language and action - allow you to actualize these potential powers. With both you can integrate them into your being, and thereby make sense of life. You can walk your talk. You fully master the twelve time potentials in a three step process. First, you learn them. Next, you learn them even better by acting them out. Finally, you master them after you have taught them to others. In the final Master teaching stage the Self can merge with the Sun. The Self then can become radiating, full of life giving light. But, until all nine of the potentials are integrated, and the whole potential of your Being is realized, you will be submitted to reincarnation. As Keyserling says, you will be stuck in the "cosmic game of bowling". Only when all of your pins, your potential, have been set up and mastered, can you survive the inevitable black ball of death. The nine planets represent talents available to everyone at any time. The last three - Rahu, Ketu (19 year "moon nodes" or Metonic cycle points) and the newly discovered tenth planet, "Lucifer"(1) - are different. They can only be tapped by taking part in a larger social movement, or assuming a historical role. The nine planets are ordered in the Wheel according to the geometric pattern called the "Enneagram" - shown below. The Sun is in the center of the Enneagram and represents the essence. All of the planets take their nourishment and light from the Sun. In the same way the nine personalties take their light from the inner essence. The nine sided Enneagram comes out of the Sufi tradition. It was first brought to the West in the esoteric teachings of George Gurdjieff, one of Arnold Keyserling's mentors and teachers. The ninefold structure can also be used as a key to understanding personality types. When a person emphasizes a particular potential, they naturally have a personality type associated with that planet. This system of personality analysis works because most successful people are at any one time dominated by one or two of the nine basic impulses to the exclusion of most of the others. They are successful because they at least have some personality of their own, even if only one dimensional. The majority of people today never develop any personality of their own at all. Instead, they have a false personality imposed on them from their parents, friends, job or society. The false personality has no connection with any of their innate capacities. For this reason it is usually weak, and the person has little energy or vitality. Only personality which is in connection with a person's essence - their inner sun - can vitalize. The false, unconnected personalities only block energy. They act as a negative mask to hide true potential, instead of express it. Such lifeless personalities should be dropped and replaced by impulses and roles which you choose. They should be replaced by personalities that are more in accord with your essence and true potential. In the Gurdjieff tradition this process of liberation from false personalities is called "waking up". It is accomplished in part through a process called "self remembering" where you observe the false personalities in action. If you are lucky enough to wake up and tap your inner essence and develop a true personality, you are on your way. But this is only the beginning, and many fall prey to the danger at this initial stage of development. They fall into the trap of domination by the first strong energy they develop. They may improve the quality of that type, and become more mature, but they do not fully grow or diversify. They do not become a real human. A real human awakens to all nine time forms. Instead, they become freakish, unidimensional beings. Strong perhaps, in their own little area, but narrow and imbalanced. They are only partially awake. They have knowledge and mastery of only one of the many forms of time. Their other potentials remain undeveloped, dormant or childlike. You avoid this danger by using your beginning personality as a springboard to master all of the others. Aware of the trap, you take steps to avoid stagnation in one type of time. You seek out continual change and flowing. You look for new ways to be, new roles in accord with your essence. You strive for multi-dimensionality. Normal "fully actualizing" people let the false personalities die. They awaken to all of the forms of time. They are able to grow and change personality types. They can diversify their character without identification to any one impulse. They learn and emphasize other potentials. They are not satisfied with the "one of nine" that is naturally the strongest for them. They go beyond, and add to the first real personality they happen to awaken. The goal is to divest yourself of all false personalities. To instead become a "well rounded" personality. Such a being is connected with all of their essence. They are filled with many different kinds of energy. Such a whole person has learned and mastered all of the archetypal capacities possible in time. They can adopt or "put on" one of the personalities like a mask as the occasion requires. The particular mask worn at any one time allows the inner essence to shine through, with color and style. The Master is not attached to any of their twelve sides. They do not identify with the various personality masks used to express their essence. Instead, they identify with the Essence of Being, the white light Sun - Zero dimension Awareness - behind all personalities. They are centered. They are like an actor with a role. They use the masks or personalities as a tool to interact with other beings. When the Ego and the Self are in this type of healthy relationship, the positive traits of a personality type naturally dominate over the negative. Time is filled with meaning and diversity. In these circumstances the perception of time can change dramatically. It intensifies and grows in duration. Ten minutes of peak time can seem like hours. Conversely, hours of intensity in a flow experience can pass in what seems like no time at all. Normal "fully actualizing" people let the false personalities die. They awaken to all of the forms of time. They are able to grow and change personality types. They can diversify their character without identification to any one impulse. They learn and emphasize other potentials. They are not satisfied with the "one of nine" that is naturally the strongest for them. They go beyond, and add to the first real personality they happen to awaken. The goal is to divest yourself of all false personalities. To instead become a "well rounded" personality. Such a being is connected with all of their essence. They are filled with many different kinds of energy. Such a whole person has learned and mastered all of the archetypal capacities possible in time. They can adopt or "put on" one of the personalities like a mask as the occasion requires. The particular mask worn at any one time allows the inner essence to shine through, with color and style. The Master is not attached to any of their twelve sides. They do not identify with the various personality masks used to express their essence. Instead, they identify with the Essence of Being, the white light Sun - Zero dimension Awareness - behind all personalities. They are centered. from : http://www.chanceandchoice.com/course-overview/time-cycles/

More hippy music.