Sunday, March 13, 2011

"Blah, Blah, Blah"




"Blah, Blah, Blah"

Enlightenment is not like a sudden realization of something mysterious. Enlightenment is nothing but awakening from illusions and returning to the reality of life.
--Uchiyama

Enlightenment is the ultimate and final disappointment. Treading the spiritual path is painful. It is a constant unmasking, peeling off layer after layer of masks. 
It involves insult after insult.
--Chogyam Trungpa

 
Waking up is a continuing process. No one wakes up once and for all. There is no limit to wakefulness, just as there is no limit to aliveness....The surprise within the surprise of every new discovery is that there is ever more to be discovered.
--Brother David Steindl-Rast

Dennis Diehl - EzineArticles Expert AuthorSo what is it about some who have had our common WCG/COG experience, either as minister or member that allowing others to have their own experience is an invitation for derision?  Some who continue to stay, pray, obey and pay seem incapable of allowing those who won't stay, can't pray, obey?-no way, can't pay and won't stay their own experience.  As well, some who can't stay abuse those who have and we can't seem to rest until they utter the words, "you're right, I agree and quit too...thank you."

I'm not speaking of our normal human tendency to want to explain our perspectives newly acquired or held on to firmly as ever, but rather the ratcheting up of what I call "snark" or just simple insults and derision towards those having a different journey or experience.  No two people process the same experience the same way or for the same reasons.  As I tell my massage students, "you can have 100 people go to the same school, sit through the same classes, meet the same people who have the same way of thinking and you will still get 100 different ways of doing massage, and it is ok."


There are certainly many characters in the movie of waking life who experience or manifest more or less stormy weather – more or less anger, more or less depression, more or less compulsive behavior, more or less upset. Such differences may have little to do with enlightenment and everything to do with genetics, neurochemistry, brain function, hormone levels, and conditioning. Some bodyminds have stormier weather just as some cities have stormier weather. It's not personal.
Joan Tolifsen


I doubt anyone can be insulted back into the perspectives of another. Humans just don't work that way.  I doubt name calling or even the glittering generalities we try to apply to very complicated situations change the minds of many on whatever the topic might be. EVERYONE PROCESSES EXPERIENCES DIFFERENTLY and that also is OK.

I had always wished The Plain Truth of the WCG had been called The Present Truth as even the Apostle Paul, who I have issues with, called it.  Plain Truth is seldom plain or permanently true.  Truth is dicey at times if not at most times as it gets filtered through the minds of men.  My mistake was allowing others to filter my own desire to "know" through their perspectives.  Not uncommon. The whole Bible is an effort on the part of many divergent types to coerce the beliefs of others through their real or imagined experiences which they personally view as "The Truth."  


We do have to be careful with "God says," "We know...," "Jesus actually said...," As the Apostle Paul said...,"  and so on.  Most can't get their minds around the idea that maybe it is others doing the saying and giving credit to people who never really said that.  Nuther story I suppose.  If we are not careful...


"When we speak to God, it is called prayer.
When God speaks to us, it is called schizophrenia."


One of the interesting things about blog comments is how often remarks have little or nothing to do with the posting.  How rare it is for someone to say, "Interesting, but this is how I view that topic."  It just rarely happens.  How often there is no really intelligent discussion about the topic, but rather charge and counter charge. Snark and counter snark.  


I recall on particular responder from Britain who simply could not function without damning everyone not on his team to hell.  He never met me and we certainly never had lunch together but my insincere and "hireling" self was just worthy of his truly God inspired revelations, which of course, did not go in my favor..  I believe he was a one man church of truth and claimed only his wife and kids as members as they did not go to any real church.  However, that's his journey. That type of person demands others validate it and get more and more strange the more and more they don't.


A couple days ago my counselor, a man who really did make a difference in my own journey out of literalism and into reality popped up behind me at the grocery store.  He was the one who told me years ago,


"Dennis, you outgrow your boxes quickly. We are all born in the box our parents came in and yet few even explore the one they came in.  YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES.  Stay in the box you are hanging out of at the moment and everyone will reward you. They will be happy. They will love you and life can go on for them. YOU, however, will be on anti-depressants the rest of your life.  Or...you can keep going and explore the bigger box you are now actually in.  However...you will go alone."


And that's how it went and goes. I reminded him of what he said and he lit up.  Something had happened to him since I last saw him. He looked rather bad. He did not have the spark that I remembered. I didn't ask, but it was obvious he was also on his own continued journey and perhaps it had gotten difficult.  I did not, however, press him or tell him he looked like hell.  It was just interesting to see his own humanity poking through his well educated and able to inspire others self.   I told him I have quoted him to thousands and that seemed to encourage him.


Sooooooo, just some thoughts.  More "blah, blah" I suppose.   I don't personally have a need to be right.  I don't care if anything I might observe in my own journey helps or is even agreed with. I do need to be free to seek and look.  I will never again allow others to tell me how it all is.  Coming to some interesting conclusions, true or false is my right, and yours. This is my journey.  Others have theirs.  Some do, however, seem unable to share anything deeper than their scorn or snark.   And I suppose that also is their journey. 


I don't expect much to change in blogging or postings on topics that may cause some to think and others to simply react.  But something to think about perhaps that will bring the quality of the opportunity to exchange experiences and even pain up a few notches for the benefit of others who really may need a positive way to process the experiences, all different, we have had with the same religious experience.


PS  Not bothering to check speling, punktuation or tiepoz.  Whyle important...its the thawt that cowntz  :)


I can't do it here because the computer spell checks most words, but I understand that as long as we spell things with the correct first and last letter of a word, the mind recognizes the word and we can read it just fine.  So at least God programmed us to still get the point no matter the mistakes along the way in print or in life. 





15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dennis, I don't claim to be right. What I do claim is that other people are wrong. That doesn't improve my own chances of being right. I am often wrong in other ways than other people.

However, that said, there are things which are false, in error and factually wrong. One example of this is British Israelism. As Baywolfe said on another forum, DNA doesn't support it.

What is really "Snarky" is people who have no facts at all, are full of themselves, with absolutely no qualifications becoming wrong-headed gurus or supporting wrong-headed gurus in the face of contradictory science, linguistics, genetics, history and other factors. Those who are actually qualified to speak are denigrated to support stupidity. It's a good thing that mostly Scientologists don't post here, or there would really be trouble. Or quote a real authority, like a truely qualified archeologist and you risk getting shouted down by people who are convinced that someone who had little more than an eighth grade education with no background whatsoever outside of trips to the library to read what is now proved to fantasy, speaks the real truth. End of story. Period.

Truthfully, not all opinions are not equal, no matter how they are spelled out.

Allen C. Dexter said...

Glad you wrote this, Dennis. I hope I don't come across as snarky to others. I try to function on reason only, but emotions do enter in from time to time. Rest assured that I'm one of those who really appreciates your efforts and observations.

Anonymous said...

Douglas, I agree with you. I feel I am, in my own way and world of ministry past and present, at least endeavoring to teach or provoke some who are so inclined to think for themselves.

I never met anyone who said, "I know I believe the wrong things and go to the wrong church..but." Life doesn't work that way.

I'm not talking so much about facts and such that can be disputed. I'm speaking more of a recognition that everyone is on their own path even if they think the group is right behind them. We all learn at different paces and in different ways by different experiences.

It's those who have nothing positive or even interesting to say who simply revert to attack and scorn I am speaking of. They contribute nothing and seem only able to snipe at others as a way to back up their unexpressed beliefs. Hell, most of the time they won't even give their names.
Den

Watchman said...

"I don't personally have a need to be right."

Then you're satisfied with being wrong.

"I don't care if anything I might observe in my own journey helps or is even agreed with."

Congratulations also on not being helpful.

"I do need to be free to seek and look. I will never again allow others to tell me how it all is."

Then, you reject all moral authority, you're a law unto yourself.

"Coming to some interesting conclusions, true or false is my right, and yours."

You are satisfied in your interesting but wrong conclusions.

So, in summary, you don't care if you're right or not, you don't care if you're helpful, you won't allow others to impact your beliefs, and you don't care if your conclusions are wrong (you just said that).

You've just described atheism, amorality, hedonism, and apathy.

I'm sorry you've given up the game, cashed in your moral chips, that you let 'uncle herbie' take it all away from you.... boo hoo hoo. Baby Joel move over.

Not me, I've survived for fifty plus years the ordeal called the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' which happens to all men, and I'm not licked! WCG was a tiny blip on the overall screen which taught me much and hurt me little.

And I have continued to thrive through it all, because of the very things you impugn:

I DO care about being right.
I DO want to be helpful.
I DO allow every thing I encounter to impact my life for the better.
And (again) I DO want my conclusions to be right.

This my FAITH which blesses me solely in the doing of it, not for the expectation of some future reward, but here and now, doing what I know is right, as I am given to understand it.

The power which sustains me is not "Blah, blah, blah...look at me, I'm wrong, unhelpful, unteachable, apathetic and the snark police."

Its something that only the humble, teachable, helpful, and faithful can know.

Snark police mace carrier said...

HWA was not a god, although many worship him, either by canonizing his traditions or by loathing everything he did. This website idolizes him in the later manner.

How can you still let him pull your psychological and emotional strings 25+ years later? Let it go.

Douglas Becker said: "I don't claim to be right. What I do claim is that other people are wrong."

? ? ? ? ? ?

Are you thinking before you type? If you are NOT right, how can you claim that others are wrong? Or maybe like the Admin, you don't care about being wrong about claiming others are wrong.

I have stumbled into a nuthouse of snarks masquerading as snark police.

The other commentator is right, ATHEISM is a nice way of saying, spiritually retarded.

Snark Police Nuthouse observer said...

HWA was not a god, although some now worship him, either by canonizing his traditions, or by loathing everything he did; this website idolizes him in the later manner.

How can you still let him psychologically and emotionally pull your strings 25+ years later? Let go of it.

Douglas Becker said "...I don't claim to be right. What I do claim is that other people are wrong."

? ? ? ? ? If you're not right, how can you claim that others are wrong? Or like the admin, perhaps you don't care if your claims about others being wrong are wrong.

I have stumbled into a nuthouse of snarks masquerading as snark police.

Anonymous said...

""I do need to be free to seek and look. I will never again allow others to tell me how it all is."

Then, you reject all moral authority, you're a law unto yourself."


I don't see how his dependence upon his own intellect means that he rejects what you call "moral authority." In that comment, he is describing "critical thinking."

Please, for us all, define "moral authority," if you would be so kind.

Thanks,
Paul Ray

Anonymous said...

"The other commentator is right, ATHEISM is a nice way of saying, spiritually retarded."

In the sense that you use the word, what does "spiritually" mean?


Paul Ray

Anonymous said...

Watchman...Obviously you miss the concept of what I mean by "I don't have to be right," etc.

It's another way of saying I don't have the need to berate and badger those that think they are right and can't stand the perspectives of others. I have no need for you to agree with me. I have no reason to make fun of you as you do of me.

I also don't take it personally as it is more a statement about yourself than me anyway.

I think you're a big boy and know exactly what I mean by not allowing others, i.e. Church organizations, to tell me what to do. I'll do my own homework better this time than last, and leave room for growth

I'm not helpful because you don't wish me to be. According to my email, I have been very helpful. Just not to you because you seem to know it all in whatever box you have confined yourself in. If I was the least bit helpful to you, you'd never admit it I imagine.

I think you could be helpful to me in some ways that you won't share. Common ground doesn't seem to be your thing.

And if you are claiming the Bible is THE moral authority, you also haven't read it very closely. It's a nasty book in places that promotes all sorts repulsive behaviors and ideas about who the good guys and who the bad guys are and why. OT and NT
dd

sorry, blah blah blah

Anonymous said...

Watcher, in all sincerity, why don't your write up something to post here as an "Original Post" and share your beliefs and perspectives without mentioning those of others.

I'll be sure it get's put up by the blog meister.

Pick out some of the theological perspectives I or others have mentioned and tell me what yours are in response and why.

Tell us about your experiences with religion that have brought you to where you are at this time.


Use your real name as well. Douglas is Douglas Becker, Paul is Paul Ray, Allen is Allen Dexter...and you would be, attending what church????

Come on...send it in.

Allen C. Dexter said...

Exactly. What's with all the hiding. I'm not afraid to let my name be known, and if somebody gets so mad they try to find and kill me, well, I've had a long and fairly satisfying life and don't fear death. If that's what they think they need for personal fulfillment, enjoy the trial and prison. At least, you won't have to worry about where anything you need tomorrow might come from. It would be provided. Socialism at its ultimate.

My suggestion: if you like a blog name, fine. At least give your real name at the end of your spiel. Maybe I knew you and will have located another old acquaintance.

Anonymous said...

So, Watchman, to whom do you pay Third Tithe?

Baywolfe said...

I seem to get into a rut where I repeat the same things on different blogs, but the answer to much of this is Emotional Intelligence, or the lack thereof.

It's why people still have the Armstrongism delusion, why people have substitued that delusion for a shiny brand new delusion, why it still bothers people who no longer have the delusion.

The really healthy thing to do would be to walk away from all this, whatever "all this" means to each one of us and spend our time actively making sure that these deluded individuals never serve as an elected official.

But we won't because the Internet was designed, as Banky said to Jay and Silent Bob, "for people to download porn and bitch about movies." Add beliefs/religion/cults/etc. to that list.

Anonymous said...

"The really healthy thing to do would be to walk away from all this..."

I did, but I got bored and came back. Honestly, it's entertainment at this point.


Paul Ray

Allen C. Dexter said...

Good for you, Paul. To me, these comments are like letters, and people sign letters.