Given the Right Set of Circumstances, Anything Becomes Possible

I saw this quote today and had to clip it.

Along the same lines, Frank Oppenheimer (brother of Robert and creator of the Exploratorium in San Francisco) once said: "Just as present technology had to await the explanations of physics, so one might expect that social invention will follow growing sociological understanding. We are desperately in the need of such invention, for man is still very much at the mercy of man."

That sociological invention exists. The problem is that people enslaved to a false sense of self (ego) can't see it. Very often, the more intelligent you are- the more difficult it is to find.

We live in a world of narrow minds, skeptics, false selves, and ego. Most people think that if they have not personally discovered something- it cannot or does not exist. And yet they yearn for something better. They yearn for something that they cannot find because they have not been given the gift of desperation. They cling to those old faulty beliefs that the planet gave them. The ones that don't work.

Instead they seek short term solutions that pay off now, distractions, emotional pain killers. That's reality as they see it. The only viable emotional solution currently available to more than half of our society either comes in a can, a bottle, a capsule or a pill. Maybe a joint. Or they whine and act like victims- find some enablers to commiserate with. That's not acceptance- that's avoidance.

I became comfortable with the world and everyone in it- right here on these pages. This was my journey. Calm, serene, day after day- years worth. It's not all perfect. But bouts of depression or negative emotions are processed quickly and dispelled. I am comfortable in my skin- and the journey is not impossible. But the path is only available to those who refuse to practice contempt prior to investigation. Very often I find that everyone wants to be a teacher rather than a student.

In my desperate days, I was a student. I was willing to find anything that would help me resolve all of the issues in my mind. Isolation, fear, rejection, anger, loneliness, financial insecurity. I found a solution for all of those things. That solution would never have become available to me until I accepted the role of student. To this day, I consider that my primary role.

I am not kidding when I say this. I have often thought that if Christ were ever to return to this planet, the end result would not be much different. His credibility would be attacked. He would be castigated, ridiculed, and ignored. Perhaps he would be spared some tortured death here, but I cannot say how he would fare in other places. Emotional evolution at a glacial pace.

Odd, that something so simple has always been available, tangible. Yours to find given the right set of circumstances.

My First Instinct Is Usually Wrong

As I was arriving at the conclusion of my first year of consciousness, I became aware of something that made a great deal of sense.

Imagine being indoctrinated with all of the faulty belief systems of our planet and accepting them as true. For example, when somebody cheats on us- very often we feel diminished. We are less than. We are hurt. We become angry, depressed. We are isolated and alone. Are all of these feelings common? Yes of course they are. But please allow me to ask another question.

Are those feelings mandatory or even necessary? We think that they are but in reality that is an illusion, an opinion. A belief that we were taught was true. We have seen it in others who were similarly instructed. It is hardly a statement of fact although the planet would have us believe it is so. We have always had a choice even when "conventional" wisdom says that we don't. Sometimes we have to tell conventional wisdom to take a hike. And that is one of the healthiest things I have ever learned.

If we have been indoctrinated with a bunch of faulty belief systems- doesn't it stand to reason that very often our first instinct is wrong? Doesn't it stand to reason that we judge others on their actions, and yet we give ourselves the luxury of judging ourselves on our intentions? When we react to someone without knowing their true intentions, could we possibly be wrong? When somebody does something that we have been taught should diminish us- do we not in fact feel diminished? Sometimes hurt and angry? In fact, don't we feel all of those negative emotions long before we know the intentions of others?

Throughout this blog, I have talked about the importance of letting people live their lives and absolutely refusing to take anything they do or say personally. Under any circumstances. That is absolutely mandatory. This is something I practice every day. I practice this everyday because of one steadfast and universal truth that will never change.

I simply cannot understand what motivates anybody to do anything at any given time. Most of the time behavior is somewhat predictable. Sometimes it is not. I cannot assume under any circumstances that I know what has prompted someone to behave a certain way. This is what I know for sure. People are living their lives. They are making decisions and choices based on a set of internal controls, truths, and experiences that they will never be able to fully identify or communicate to me. I must simply accept that they are making the best decisions that they can within their capacity. And sometimes as they make these decisions, others diminish or anger me. What do I do?

In the past, I would simply react in a way that the planet or my teachers had taught me was acceptable. That old faulty belief system. And when I reacted the same old way, I kept getting the same miserable results. Conflict, one ups man ship, hostile remarks. Sometimes physical assaults. All of these reactions are choices. They were taught to us- given to us as beliefs. They are very hard to break free of. But that is precisely why we are here. We are trying to shed these beliefs that do not work. Beliefs that keep us emotional hostages.

Today, I am conscious and aware. When somebody or something is bothering me- I am the problem. I try to identify what is wrong with me. I can identify what is wrong with me. I never have to make an assumption about that. I understand that my first reaction toward others is almost always wrong. I am assuming I know what motivates them. That is a faulty belief.

We don't have to be perfect and process all of this in a nanosecond. Sometimes, we can cure all of this by not acting at all. Very often we do have the luxury of time if we choose to exercise it. By allowing people to be who they are, which includes saying off color and poorly thought out things from time to time, we show patience and tolerance. We do not make assumptions or hasty judgments. By simply accepting that our first instincts are usually wrong, we can avoid many of the pitfalls that cause us emotional distress. We are not required to keep selecting the same choices that "conventional" wisdom would have us select. That is the thinking that perpetuates the faulty belief systems of the planet.

The Greatest Barrier To Eliminating Depression May Be The Acquired Idea That You Are Unique

It might be the biggest learning disability ever bestowed on a loved one.

You are unique and wonderful. An opinion, a myth, born out of love that we tell our children. Why shouldn't we say that? Because the false sense of self, the ego, attaches itself to that statement. It wants to believe that this is true. And so it does. Perhaps forever.

There is a huge problem with that. Generally speaking and with respect to timing, every human life has great moments of desperation, loneliness, fear, loss, and bouts of depression. How is an individual going to respond to those types of adversities- particularly if they have bought into the concept that they are unique?

What happens to them if they believe nothing will really work for them, that there is no solution, because what they are going through is far worse than what anyone can imagine because they are unique? Of course they are wrong- but because they have bought into the premise that they are unique or special- they do not believe that solutions exist for them.

In later life, this false sense of uniqueness might possibly be the greatest barrier to emotional freedom and eliminating depression and hopelessness. Why? Because you may very well believe that you are unique. As a result of that foolishness, many of us, if not all of us, begin to practice contempt prior to investigation. We are convinced nothing will work. There is no tangible solution for our problems. It doesn't exist.

Contempt prior to investigation can work through a couple of different conduits or mind sets. One route is the belief that I am unique and special- there is no solution for what I am dealing with. Therefore other people cannot possibly understand how I feel nor can they help me. Very often this false sense of self is coupled with another false sense of self... I am very intelligent and if there was a solution I would have been told what it is or discovered it by now. When these two types of mindsets are at work, there is very little chance of getting through to someone in emotional distress. They are blocked from an external solution quite simply because of a false sense of self that says I am unique and intelligent. Your solution will not work for me.

I am focused almost completely on depression here.

The standard solution today for people who cannot break free of that false sense of self...is to run to the doctors office and get some medication which will cure how I feel. Alter my state of consciousness. Millions upon millions of people do that. Millions more self medicate with alcohol and pot. In fact, I believe the majority of our culture does this.

It's not a solution, is it?

I have met many people who simply have such severe states of depression that medications are really the only way they can function at the levels that they do. However, I have met hundreds of people who quite simply do not need medication. They are not unique, they are not special, yet because they are slaves to this false sense of self that practices contempt prior to investigation- they believe drugs are the only way to deal with their problems. In a world that stands to profit from that type of thinking- the producers have no incentive to help. They want you to believe that their product is the only solution.  I exited that world four years ago. I found a healthy spiritual solution.

One of the first things I did was eliminate this ridiculous notion that somehow I was unique. That did not come about quickly. My ego desperately wanted to cling to that falsehood. Doesn't everyone think they are unique and special? Aren't we all told that? Perhaps. Does that make it true?

The next thing I did was eliminate this false idea that I was intelligent and far superior to other people who had found the solution I was seeking.

Once I had eliminated those two faulty belief systems I was on my way. I became willing and found  a healthy way to process and eliminate depression without mind altering substances and without wandering around numb for days or weeks at a time. I simply do not believe that I would have been able to accomplish and rid myself of depression had I allowed my ego to cling to the ridiculous belief that I was unique, special, or too intelligent to receive a solution.

There isn't an anti-depressant manufacturing drug company operating within our culture that wants to lose their customer base.