Hi everyone,

These are some of my very own, recent, spontaneous, personal, original, unlinked, unquoted, unpromoted, unexcerpted "off-topic" philosophical thoughts, observations, insights and conclusions - all from direct, intimate, personal experiences (I swear on a Bible!). Some of these experiences are from right here on this discussion forum - although no matter what the psycho-physio-spatial-temporal relative origin, they are remarkably, all still within my own subjective experience.  Imagine that.

 Anyway, enjoy!

p.s. - Is it ok if I quote myself?

ultra said,
Quote:

1) We have already been converted by Ignorance - everything else is just uncovering, discovering, listening, remembering, realizing, loving, accepting and surrendering. 2) Dogma is a formalized incapacity or unwillingness to release useless old solutions when faced with new problems. 3) The Pharisees of every age are eventually proven wrong - it is their role. 4) The basis of 'self-honesty' is sincerity plus examination. 5) An 'out of control' ego undoubtedly means an unhappy life, but what it also really means is that the ego is actually very much in control. 6) Besides fear which is obvious - expectation is another very potent reality-killer, even if a more subtly and insidiously expressed form of separativity. 7) There is a huge difference between what is high-minded and what is high-handed. 8) A hallmark of the New-Age will be that human beings will have the ability to share experience without the need to control, disparage, or hurt others. 9) All experience is the result of, and the potential from prior experience. 10) In both giving and receiving, what humans share is the energy that has been identified with and manifested through willingness and creative choice, whether positive or negative. 11) Individually and collectively people clearly demonstrate what is consistently important to them either due to a visible authenticity or regardless of superficial appearance. 12) Everyone is exploring consciousness of some kind with some intent whether they know it or not. 13) A good teacher must first be a good student - it cannot be otherwise, nor true in the reverse. 14) The greatest example is just an empty promise if it is not realized in action by others. 15) Truth and Love are not mutually exclusive, but the separating mind desperately tries to make it so for the convenience of its freedom. 16) Human beings operate through division, preference, and possesion, while God seems to see, love and use everything as His own. 17) The term 'afterlife' though quite useful, is technically a misnomer from a spiritual pov, but not from a purely physical pov. 18) Bigotry is vacant judgement based on fear of the unknown, lack of oneness, and sometimes also laziness. 19) An irony may be the incestuously misbegotten child of the pot and the kettle. 20) Hypocrisey is very often the unconscious projection of abject denial and rejection of what is consciously and sometimes urgently needed. 21) Identification soley with one's own form means an inability to see others' content, i.e.: the uniquely manifested presence of divinity in each life.

Peace and Love

- u

hey! you're quoting your own self! No Fair! hahaha!

how refreshing. smile.

this all reminds me of a holographic mental universe but somehow with heartful ponderings..especially I like the child of the pot and teakettle!

this is good for a re-read. love, alysia

ultra wrote on Jul 25^th, 2008 at 2:46pm:

ultra said, [quote] 1) We have already been converted by Ignorance - everything else is just uncovering, discovering, listening, remembering, realizing, loving, accepting and surrendering. 2) Dogma is a formalized incapacity or unwillingness to release useless old solutions when faced with new problems. 3) The Pharisees of every age are eventually proven wrong - it is their role. 4) The basis of 'self-honesty' is sincerity plus examination. 5) An 'out of control' ego undoubtedly means an unhappy life, but what it also really means is that the ego is actually very much in control. 6) Besides fear which is obvious - expectation is another very potent reality-killer, even if a more subtly and insidiously expressed form of separativity. 7) There is a huge difference between what is high-minded and what is high-handed. 8) A hallmark of the New-Age will be that human beings will have the ability to share experience without the need to control, disparage, or hurt others. 13) A good teacher must first be a good student - it cannot be otherwise, nor true in the reverse. 14) The greatest example is just an empty promise if it is not realized in action by others. 15) Truth and Love are not mutually exclusive, but the separating mind desperately tries to make it so for the convenience of its freedom. 16) Human beings operate through division, preference, and possesion, while God seems to see, love and use everything as His own. 18) Bigotry is vacant judgement based on fear of the unknown, lack of oneness, and sometimes also laziness. 19) An irony may be the incestuously misbegotten child of the pot and the kettle. 20) Hypocrisey is very often the unconscious projection of abject denial and rejection of what is consciously and sometimes urgently needed. 21) Identification soley with one's own form means an inability to see others' content, i.e.: the uniquely manifested presence of divinity in each life.

 Have you noticed that 16 out of your 21 philosophical insights are rather critical, polarized, and negative in nature?  

 And by negative, i don't mean morally, but the emphasis being on what needs to change, what's "wrong", limiting or what not.  

 Just something to think about.  Perhaps there is something deeper here to see about self?



 One thing i really like, respect, and admire about Bruce Moen for example, is his lack of emphasis on the problems, and much more emphasis on the solutions.  

Nor does he seem to criticize others either generally, specifically, directly or indirectly all that much that i've observed.  I respect him and that a lot, because i know there is a lack within me to more wholly hold to that kind of livingness.   Dunno, but i feel there is a consistently good and true example to be had there.  It seems to be more fruitful in nature, to concentrate on the positives more so.

 Or in other words, do we truly see and feel/experience the God in others?

 

 

Hey there Justin,

Since I started this thread, I want to say that I appreciate you taking the time to comment so thoughtfully.
I do very much agree that Bruce is a good man.
Bruce himself might also feel those sentiments inwardly, or even see them outwardly in a consistent genuine demonstration of that great "respect" by the way we behave and interact with fellow community members on his site.

As far as the remainder, I highlighted the part that jumped out as seeming most significant in terms of responding to the issues you brought up about negativity, fault-finding, criticalness, etc.
Perhaps you will see this as still more of the same, and so if that is the case, I'll accept the responsibility for it up front.

Justin said,
Quote:

Have you noticed that 16 out of your 21 philosophical insights are rather critical, polarized, and negative in nature?   And by negative, i don't mean morally, but the emphasis being on what needs to change, what's "wrong", limiting or what not.   Just something to think about.  Perhaps there is something deeper here to see about self? One thing i really like, respect, and admire about Bruce Moen for example, is his lack of emphasis on the problems, and much more emphasis on the solutions.   Nor does he seem to criticize others either generally, specifically, directly or indirectly all that much that i've observed.  I respect him and that a lot, because i know there is a lack within me to more wholly hold to that kind of livingness.   Dunno, but i feel there is a consistently good and true example to be had there.  It seems to be more fruitful in nature, to concentrate on the positives more so. Or in other words, do we truly see and feel/experience the God in others?

Finally, in response to your last question, first a personal comment...

I believe that seeing/feeling/experiencing God in others can be a vehicle for being more consciously aware of, or recognizing God in ourselves. Conversely, it may also be true that seeing, feeling and experiencing God in ourselves may allow us to see and experience God in others.  

...and lastly, a quote from one of my favorite authors that I was going to put in the "Matt dancing" thread, because it seemed so appropriate there, but it now seems just as appropriate in this thread:


Quote:

Because I love mankind, God loves me. Because I love God, Truth loves me. Because I love Truth, I really and truly love myself. - Sri Chinmoy

Hi Alysia,

Thanks for your positive comments.
Glad you liked them.
Hopefully, I will be able to add more with the help of your creative encouragement.


Peace and Love,

- u

Your welcome.

Seems you missed my point Ultra.  

Oh well.  

In any case, it is nice to see your own opinions, thoughts, etc. though they do seem to have more than a dash of the unregenerated Virgo tendency thing going on.    

 I bow to your greater, more fuller, more developed enlightenment o great Guru.  May you forever shine that pure Light of Love.

wrote on Aug 8^th, 2008 at 6:53pm:

Your welcome. Seems you missed my point Ultra.   Oh well.   In any case, it is nice to see your own opinions, thoughts, etc. though they do seem to have more than a dash of the unregenerated Virgo tendency thing going on.      I bow to your greater, more fuller, more developed enlightenment o great Guru.  May you forever shine that pure Light of Love.

Justin,
My apologies.
Either I missed your point or maybe I just did not see it.
Cognitive psychologists call this 'confirmation bias' -
when people see what they want to see and they don't see what they don't want to see.
It is a human issue sometimes related to ego defense.
I think Bruce also wrote about this within a slightly different context.

A "dash of unregenerated Virgo" sounds like something exotic one might put on a grilled fish.  

Thanks for your positive encouragement.
In agreeing with what you say:
I too bow to your own greater, more fuller, more developed enlightenment - may it continue to bloom and blossum.

No doubt we should all try to acknowledge and encourage the manifestation of the Highest in each person - including and perhaps especially our own selves.


- u

I saw Ultra's reflections as being positive oriented because of the work he has done on himself and because he took the time to post them up to anybody who may benefit from that self work.

I admit, I only see what I want to see. I think it's important to not make anybody feel wrong, whatever they post, and to pick out the positives in a post. Dwelling on the problem is not so good, as Justin is saying, dwelling on the solution is a good thing, however, I saw in Ultra's post entirely different things, and so this explains individual perception operates despite our expectations on each other.

maybe we should, or could, have no expectations on each other?
this would be unconditional love then, if we could do that successfully.

Ultra, I really could take each of your statements, get a rote on it (do u know what a rote is?)
and my pen would never stop flowing...that is why I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days...I find your comments very restful however. thank you

Alysia,

Thank you again for your generosity.
Your perceptions are accurate as those insights were the result of very focused reflection and meditation on issues, concepts and ideas I have directly experienced and had to deal with personally. It would not be a stretch to say that many people deal with many of the same issues, and yes, that is why I posted the results of this work. My goal was to receive and render the results of that process into the purest, clearest and most neutral forms possible so they might be practical to others in their truth value. That was my intention regardless of the ultimate quality of the insights. It is very similar to reporting about an OBE or PE - just a variation on energy form. It is still non-physical exploration, but the results have implications in physical.

Regarding individual preference and confirmation bias:
A perfect example is right on this thread.
Expectation is a mindset which tends toward reinforcement and confirmation of the expectation.

You saw the items as positive because you discovered something positive about the whole process of just doing the exploration, regardless of the outcome.
Justin evidently saw many items as simply negative (regardless of content, meaning, etc.), as perhaps he regarded the exercise in another way.

When Justin posted about how negative, polarized and critical they were and how this is wrong emphasis and unproductive, he curiously chose to quote the 16 "negative" items and also chose to exclude the ones he thought were positive - amazingly, even in the very same post with all that talk about how emphasis on negativity and problems is bad, and liking, respecting and admiring emphasis on positivity and solutions as more fruitful in nature and good, also mentioning the value of consistency and good true examples.

He suggested that I should look deeper into myself.
In a subsequent post, he said that I missed his point.

- u

I like to think I'm impartial Ultra, I hope I can be living up to my own expectations of myself.

someday maybe we can all leave off judgmental type statements and stop shoulding on our selves..it's constantly seen, here and in the world.
with these peace ideals I collect, I'd just like to appreciate your contributions one more time here, and if I do, you can be sure there are others who don't post, but are thinking the same as me.

the same as me, to say, they benefitted from your input in unseen ways.
in truth we are all just ships passing in the night here tooting our horns. I realized how important it was to be able to say goodbye to a loved one just before they tooted their last horn.

this causes the greatest suffering, to not get a chance to express love, and then they are gone forever it seems. not forever, but their body is gone and so it seems we lost the ability to say I love you while the love was happening, and not recognized as a gift from them.

so it is like here, the posters come and I watch them go, and I barely got a chance to express how I feel about them, before they are tootin'down the canal....

so I come from emotional place, while you and Justin are very intellectual and nothing wrong with that.

I'll be quiet now. I think I post here too much anyway. I may not be here at some point in the future, so I'd like to tell Justin that I love him once more, despite he can be rascally.

I especially loved the way he posted up JC's early years, as I got something out of that, made me feel closer to the master.

and saying I love Justin, it doesn't mean I don't love you too. just in different ways. but you know all this, as I sent you a long pm today just sharing my thoughts.

hugs, alysia