posted June 28, 2007 11:13 AM         

I thought I was strong enough not to be effected by it, and to be detached. But I overestimated myself!! Because now it has.

And I don't know what the heck the Celestine Prophecy is talking about when it talks about people ending the vicious cycle of using other for energy, whether it be gaining or draining....because people are an unreliable source; it leaves us vulnerable.....But how, how do we connect to the divine source? You know, the SOURCE....of all energy....the healing energy as in REIKI....

I don't know how to connect to it. I care too much about what is going on around me, and my personal environment has every effect on the way I feel.

I'm rambling and straying away from my original, intended subject.....

posted June 28, 2007 11:22 AM         

Shall I say anything more?

Detachment is the big talk these days, but detachment doesn't mean keeping away form things, but being rational. Gaining mastery over emotions and failing to attach emotional slavery to actions and thoughts is what detachment is all about. Which inturn, fails to generate Karmic bondages. (oh yeah for the west Karma is an abused and distorted word too)

posted June 28, 2007 11:26 AM         

However, the principle that I would not be passive and sit back and watch if my loved ones were threatened......Is this a completely different scenario to the political one? Because politics are extremely complex and it involves the innocent. I don't believe there is any such thing as 'WE' and 'THEM'. Only us. I hate the evil actions of people, but never the soul of an evil person because I personally feel that anybody can be redeemed once the fog is lifted and they see clearly....meanwhile, all that matters is that those who wish to harm are as much as possible prevented from doing so.....

But how is this matter solved when politics come in? Isn't there a story in some scriptures somewhere about an army of soldiers were sent to slaughter....but they met with passive resistance....they could only get so far when they were so sickened by all the bloodshed that they had to stop.

Would this tactic work in this day and age?

Why do we 'kill those who kill to prove killing is wrong'?

Likewise.....HERE IN LINDALAND (and everywhere else for that matter) We attack those who attack.....to show that ATTACKING is wrong!

Is it possible to be detached from it all and get involved? Or best to stay away? I guess what I'm trying to say is WHICH IS THE BEST WAY TO SHOW/ SPREAD MORE LOVE IN THE WORLD?

P.S. I have ancestors who fought well in the military as well as my grandfather who was a conscientious objector.....So I guess that it is inevitable for me that these thoughts are in my blood

posted June 28, 2007 11:42 AM         

Anger (or any emotions) are not the problem, but what we do with it or to put it better, how we react to it - is what matters. When talking about an online community like LL, some threads might interest us, some might be offensive, some might be downright stupid and out of place, etc etc etc We all have a choice to participate or stay away, from discussions. The detachment factor, right?

Now, as a part of a community we all have some responsibilities (we call it Dharma without which freeing Karma is obsolete), so we have the right to (or responsibility to) keep discussions on course. This will obviously irk some of the people involved, and based on the rationality involved, this might be good or bad to people involved - but we cannot ignore the responsibility for the Great Cause. In this case, the Greater Cause being the sustenance of the sanity of Linda Land as a whole.

Or to quote Albert Einstein: The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,
but because of the people who don't do anything about it

posted June 28, 2007 12:04 PM         

I would suggest one thing:

What we call "Evil"
arises simultaneously
with the desire to balance
and to do good.

"Evil" is the shadow of all good intentions.

This Duality is not who you are.

Know that you are already in balance,
and that it is your nature to do good,
and all struggles vanish.

You have no Dharma that is not your nature.
You have no responsibility but to be.

posted June 28, 2007 12:36 PM         

If you can detach enough to see both sides of the argument, you can act as the mediator. If however, you find that your sympathies are tilted heavily towards one side, you necessarily WILL get involved. Not that there is anything wrong with getting involved.

What I feel, is to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, is to recognize and define one's intentions beforehand. And get involved only IF you are certain you don't mind it. You should decide if you are ready to get burned by the fire when you try to put it out. That is what I have learned. If you find yourself getting sucked into the drama, then be prepared for some backlash.

When one is new to a place like this, it is quite easy to lose sight of one's original intentions and get sucked in anyways. I think we can learn from old timers like Mirandee in this respect, who I feel does a very good job of staying CALM and RATIONAL through it all. And i think that is what matters. not whether you are taking sides or not. but whether you are doing it rationally. and not letting others push your triggers. otherwise u run the danger of unwittingly being manipulated/provoked into saying things u regret later. So, with some practice, and self control, you will not necessarily get burned. But always be prepared!

I am still learning the ropes. But these r my observations about these inflammatory threads. You are new here. It was brave of you to try to make peace. I personally prefer to watch. *cough cough*

ILWL

p.s I take this opportunity to declare once and for all that ALL my posts are edited MULTIPLE times until I am satisfied I have said all I wanted to say. But always within 10-20 minutes of my originally posting it. And almost never after someone has replied to it (with the notable exception of grammatical errors which might make it difficult to understand what I said). It is due to a rare condition I suffer from, which makes my mind work faster as soon as I hit the submit button.

posted June 28, 2007 01:57 PM         

quote:

---

It is due to a rare condition I suffer from, which makes my mind work faster as soon as I hit the submit button.

---

posted June 28, 2007 03:51 PM         

You guys are so sweet and so hilarious. Thank you for your love and kindness everyOne Life is tough and I believe we all need love to nourish us and keep us going.....we are not YET 'breath-atarians' (the level above fruitarian, where the only meal you require at your dining table is fresh air)....as we are NOT yet Ascended Masters; immortal; invincible....so please DO keep the love going!

(Ehhh....just re-read what I wrote....what I was trying to say there was we all need NOURISHMENT....nourishment= LOVE)!!!!!

posted June 28, 2007 03:53 PM         

You guys are so sweet and so hilarious. Thank you for your love and kindness everyOne Life is tough and I believe we all need love to nourish us and keep us going.....we are not YET 'breath-atarians' (the level above fruitarian, where the only meal you require at your dining table is fresh air)....as we are NOT yet Ascended Masters; immortal; invincible....so please DO keep the love going!

(Ehhh....just re-read what I wrote....what I was trying to say there was we all need NOURISHMENT....nourishment= LOVE)!!!!!

posted June 28, 2007 05:51 PM         

Anything is one of a million paths.
Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily:

Does this path have a heart?

All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy -- it does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The average man is either victorious or defeated and, depending on that, he becomes persecutor or a victim. These two conditions are prevalent as long as one does not see. Seeing dispels the illusion of victory, or defeat, or suffering.

~The Teachings of Don Juan -- Carlos Castaneda

posted June 28, 2007 07:48 PM         

There's a neutral political site called Project Vote Smart. Many politicians of both major parties won't submit their platform to it. IMO, this is so they can lie most expediently and not get called on it, and they can say one thing to one group and another thing to another group. But if I point this out to someone deeply on one side or another, they say that PVS is biased. EG, pointing out that Bush and other conservatives didn't fill it out, I get a rigamorole about how it's actually a liberal site, so they respect their politicians of choice not taking part in it. Meanwhile, the Democrats will say the exact same thing in reverse, that PVS is a conservative site, and so they respect their politician's choice to not take part in it. To them, neutral = enemy. As Bush said, "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists."

Ah well, that aside, here are 2 opposing views that I like (both of them). I keep them both in mind (along with a few other things) whenever I consider the ethics and wisdom of attack, self-defense, etc:
http://www.0ap.org/zap/

IMPORTANT NOTE: it says that no one has any right to INITIATE force, which is differientiated from RESPONDING in force. That is, if someone assaults you (even if they're government agents "just doing their job") THEN you have cause to attack. But you don't do it if you're not being threatened with violence yourself (and no, "pre-emptive strikes" don't count as responding).

Also...
http://www.deepleafproductions.com/wilsonlibrary/texts/raw-karma.html

Still, there are times I see merit in the 11th rule of the earth as stated by the Church of Satan:

"When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him."

After having been accosted by enough drunks and pervs and strangers that get angry, even threatening, when I don't give them my phone number or act like some cheap ***** in a bad porno flick, there are times that rule of the earth beckons to me. If more people did that, I think more people would be polite.

Heh, that reminds me. I was in an area of far northern Kali known as "Jefferson" by some of the locals. Some guy just moved down and let his 2 big dogs run free that attacked cats. My mentor, an old hippie, had to have her cat sewed back up for over $200 after the cat was mauled by the dog and she went merely to let him know so that he could hurry at getting a leash or fence put up and she was chased away.

Later, the 2 men with the dogs were walking by me, only one dog, and one man was belligerent & threatening to me. I guess my being a skinny 17-year-old barely over 5' and alone gave him courage. But he finally ended with, "No one had better called the pound on my dogs!"

I casually told him, "Around these parts, they don't call the pound first. If your dog is threatening kids or livestock, they just shoot 'em, and only call the pound if they miss."

He blinked several times at that, it obviusly never occured to him. Then he scrutinized me and I think he began to wonder if I was armed (I was, I had a Glock on me) as I wasn't showing any fear of him, his friend (also bigger than me), and their big dog. Without another word, he hurried back to his friend and they kept going.

They never did find their dog. They didn't let their other dog roam and quickly fenced in their yard. They were no longer rude and threatening to people. Not even to teens like me or to aging hippies.

And that's something else to keep in mind. I can think of other life experiences and documented examples that repeat that. It's all worth keeping in mind.

posted June 29, 2007 01:48 PM         

I really like you.

posted June 29, 2007 04:10 PM         

There was a guy just like the one you mentioned, with dogs, near where my mum lives

Are you talking about the past, when you were in your teens? You sound far too wise and mature to be a teenager

Actually, I think people place to much emphasis on age

posted June 30, 2007 01:18 AM         

LTT any path that you follow or any decision you make is naturally going to come from the heart and your values and principals. That has been obvious in all your posts.

This is how I feel about it. In this world you are criticized for whatever you do and you will be criticized for doing nothing. So you may as well follow your heart and your conscience and do what you feel is the right thing to do. I think you already do that.

posted June 30, 2007 01:29 AM         

Sometimes its ok to get involved and take a stand LTT, I know you are a sensetive poetic soul, but sometimes those are the ones the world needs to hear from the most!