Zen Devil

[Flowerfaeiry]

If you have yet to watch Leo's video, or maybe you need a refresher, here's your opportunity. I keep returning to the lessons in this video. 

I recently got myself into a situation that I think could have been avoided if I had not been so hell bent on proving my "goodness" to the people around me. 

 

Having hundreds of psychedelic trips and sitting hundreds of hours in meditation doesn't make you any more enlightened than the next person, tbh. Don't walk around all high and mighty just because you've had a taste of the divine. In fact, you're in almost a worse position than the person who has not done any of those things, because now you have new ways to manipulate or abuse others through the guise of being a good person. 

 

 

 

[Batman]

Yes, this happens when you are being dishonest with yourself, and lack the consciousness to distinct whether your understanding comes from belief or from Consciousness. 

This is pretty basic stuff IMO, distinguishing between concept and realization. But it is a common trap to fall into. 

Hope your head is fine though. 

[Flowerfaeiry]

On 4/23/2021 at 1:16 PM, Batman said:

Yes, this happens when you are being dishonest with yourself, and lack the consciousness to distinct whether your understanding comes from belief or from Consciousness. 

This is pretty basic stuff IMO, distinguishing between concept and realization. But it is a common trap to fall into. 

Hope your head is fine though. 

What do you mean? My understanding comes from direct experience. I have sat hundreds of hours in meditation, I have nearly 100 psychedelic experiences, I've watched videos, read books, I've been working on myself for years. Yea, I've fallen into the trap of just believing somethings, but I've also experienced many, many of these things with my own eyes. 

The problem is, I've taken these lessons and used them for evil. Used them in the wrong situations and haven't integrated what I've learned. 

[SolarWarden]

4 hours ago, Flowerfaeiry said:

The problem is, I've taken these lessons and used them for evil. Used them in the wrong situations and haven't integrated what I've learned. 

Maybe you are a Zen Devil.

Evil is just the absence of good or the exaggeration of good. Evil per se does not exist but only in our minds.

At least you now know what to work on; your own devilry.

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by SolarWarden
Ps. The headpunch was probably a wake up call from the universe

[DLH]

You may have, or are, experiencing a form of Spiritual bypassing!

I try not to use other people’s words and ideas when expressing some of my own thoughts, but in this case Luna & Sol managed to sum-up and provide useful examples of Spiritual Bypassing.

In no way am I promoting their web site, other than to use their examples of Spiritual Bypassing, which I have been subject to and still battle to this day.

https://lonerwolf.com/what-is-spiritual-bypassing/

The examples given below are just food for thought, and they may or may not add some practicality to those seeking expanded awareness and consciousness.

“Spiritual bypassing, by Luna & Sol”

The reality is that not everything in life is ‘love and light’ as is the slogan for many spiritual seekers.

Pursuing the light and living enlightened and deeply interconnected existences is also about setting yourself on fire.

It is about creating an inferno of your false beliefs, illusions and separating desires, ideals, and prejudices. It is about surrendering to the destruction of every limiting thing you ever thought and felt about yourself, other people, and the world.

Spirituality is not always pretty. In fact, oftentimes it is the most shattering, tumultuous, and testing experience we can go through in life.

The truth is that there are many types of spiritual bypassing that we sometimes don’t recognize (or refuse to recognize) in life. I have listed ten of the most common types below:

I)  The Optimistic Bypass

We’ve all come across people in life who love to laugh and smile, yet seem to be forcefully optimistic.  “Focus on the positive!” “See the glass as half full!” “Don’t let a frown get you down!” are some of the catchcries of these people who tend to use optimism as a way of avoiding the more somber and troublesome realities of life. The optimistic bypass is often a side product of anger-phobia, or the inability to deal with negative emotions.

II)  The Aggrandizement Bypass

This is a type of self-delusion that some spiritual seekers use as a way of masking their perceived deficiencies and insecurities. The aggrandizement bypass is adopted by those who seek to feel enlightened, superior or having reached higher planes of existence. It is sometimes used by self-proclaimed masters, leaders, spiritually awakened souls, and gurus.

III)  The Victim Bypass

When one becomes a victim of their gifts, or of other people, this takes away the pressure of responsibility for shaping a satisfying life and taking responsibility for one’s happiness – such is the case with the Victim Bypass. This type of spiritual bypass is often used by spiritual seekers who believe they have extrasensory gifts of some kind, but due to their gifts they are unable to feel happy or healthy. Identifying as an Empath is sometimes a good example of this type of bypassing, as it can be interpreted as the fault of other people and their emotions for behaving in self-destructive and volatile ways. Other labels, like being a clairvoyant, indigo child, starseed, gifted healer, and so on, can often fall into the Victim Bypass trap.

IV)  The Psychonaut Bypass

Many spiritual seekers explore the frontiers of the mind, the soul, and reality through the use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, DMT, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and other entheogens that expand the mind and perception of existence. While this is a fascinating way of exploring reality, entheogens, like any other drug, can sometimes be used as a way of escaping reality and avoiding committing to personal development and soulful refinement.

V)  The Horoscope Bypass

When we frequently look outside of ourselves for help and guidance, as is with the case with Horoscopes and Psychics, we are failing to tap into our inner wellsprings of wisdom and strength and are allowing external predictions to control the outcome of our lives. The Horoscope Bypass is derived from fear and mistrust of ourselves, our inability to make decisions, and our inability to deal with anything tough that comes our way.

VI)  The Saint Bypass

As children, we were conditioned to believe that a “spiritual person” is always kind, compassionate, and saintly. In adulthood, we continue to repeat this story to ourselves, and sadly, it can cause us tremendous suffering. The Saint Bypass is a reflection of extreme “black or white” thinking, promoting the underlying belief that spiritual people can’t have dark sides because that would make them “unspiritual.” This type of bypass is essentially avoidance of one’s Shadow Self (dark side) by overcompensating with the guise of a sweet, heavenly, exterior. Self-sacrifice is a major symptom of this type of bypassing.

VII)  The Spirit Guide Bypass

In some spiritual traditions, it is a God who protects, in others an angel, an animal or an ascended being. No matter who the Spirit Guide is, the belief that they are there to “protect” us is pleasing to the mind but ultimately constricting to the soul. When we place our faith in another being’s power to ward off danger and keep us safe, we are committing a classic spiritual bypass: avoiding responsibility for ourselves and our lives and sidestepping the tough development of courage and resilience. We are not children, but when we think of ourselves as being so we mold our lives in such a way that we fail to develop strength of spiritual character. Spirit guides serve to teach us rather than to babysit us.

VIII)  The Prayer Bypass

Similar to the Spirit Guide Bypass, the Prayer Bypass circumvents personal responsibility by putting faith in a higher being to solve all of our problems and issues. While praying can be a healthy practice, it can easily become limiting and misguided.

IX)  The Guru Bypass

Often it is beneficial to follow a guru, shaman or spiritual teacher to learn and grow. However, becoming too attached to them can rapidly turn into another form of spiritual bypassing. The temptation to begin worshiping (knowingly or unknowingly) these teachers means that we eventually forget the purpose of listening to them: to integrate the essence of their teachings. By treating the words of a guru or master as the irrefutable truth and failing to think for ourselves, we are starved of true spiritual growth and transformation on our spiritual journeys.

X)  The Finger-Pointing Bypass

On our spiritual quests, we begin to see through the lies, delusions, and crazy behaviors committed by our fellow human beings and this can make us angry, downhearted, and frustrated. However, when we get caught up in “everything that is wrong” with the outside world and other people, dedicating our lives to the self-righteous quest of finger-pointing, this can be another form of spiritual bypassing. Finger-pointing instills us with a false sense of righteousness, taking away our responsibility of looking inside and working on ourselves. At its roots, the Finger-Pointing bypass is sourced from fear and avoidance and is a powerful form of procrastination.

 

Food for though!

Take what thoughts and ideas resonates, and store in your spiritual tool box those thoughts and ideas that don’t at this moment of now!

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by DLH

[Flowerfaeiry]

@DLH oh yeaa, thanks for that reminder 

[Thought Art]

On 4/23/2021 at 4:27 PM, Flowerfaeiry said:

If you have yet to watch Leo's video, or maybe you need a refresher, here's your opportunity. I keep returning to the lessons in this video. 

I recently got myself into a situation that I think could have been avoided if I had not been so hell bent on proving my "goodness" to the people around me. 

Having hundreds of psychedelic trips and sitting hundreds of hours in meditation doesn't make you any more enlightened than the next person, tbh. Don't walk around all high and mighty just because you've had a taste of the divine. In fact, you're in almost a worse position than the person who has not done any of those things, because now you have new ways to manipulate or abuse others through the guise of being a good person. 

 

 

 

I don't agree with this, but see what you are pointing to. There are many degrees of awakening. You can study Ken Wilburs 4 quadrant model of Waking up, Growing up, Cleaning up and showing up. 

The problem is, are you enlightened, mature or loving or not? The rest is just tools and concepts. 

We can only bring those to the level we are at. There is no faking being enlightened. Though, many will fool you only because they have already fooled themselves. Fools fool fools. 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Thought Art