From a site visitor: “I just finished reading the August archives and have some questions that came up—why do you tie fear and lies together? If I’m getting you right, you think no one should be afraid of anything but I think there are fears that are justified. If you want to talk about getting real and being sane, anyone living in my country nowadays (United States) would have to be crazy not to be in some fear. There are people who want to destroy our economy and kill us and ultimately destroy us. That’s reality.”
[Continued from yesterday]
F.: As far as “justified fears,” there are none, but there are natural responses to some threats. Certain responses do happen automatically as a result of archetypal influence: a startled deer or a frightened bird will react and move away from potential physical harm; persons who look over the unprotected edge of a skyscraper or a cliff might feel an automatic response in the gut…a natural warning of potential physical danger; one being physically attacked might automatically raise his/her arms to shield the body. The suggestion to you is to distinguish between those “logical” responses in nature and the “insane” responses that are triggered by faulty conditioning in cultures.
In addition to the reverse-thinking examples from yesterday, look at another fear-stimulating illustration, specifically, “the end is near” concept that has been circulated for at least 2000 years. It is part of the fiction that persons believe in if they have been conditioned to believe in the false theory of a timeline (with its “creation-beginning-middle-end-judgment-an eternity that is dualistically either good or bad”) as opposed to understanding the cycling. Yes, the particular configuration of elements will “end” as the body returns to dust, but the air that cycled through the body will not end; nor will the conscious-energy end. The concepts of “self” and “Self” will disappear since no body or “mind” will survive once the consciousness is no longer manifested. Knowing that reality can result in “The Great So What?” as well as the understanding of the Advaita query, “WHO Cares?”
Realization is about getting back into touch with reality. Distortion is about shifting further away from reality. Fear is about shifting farther into identification with the body-mind-personality triad and farther into the acceptance of false roles as “real identities.” The only fear is the illusory fear of “death” (which is usually equated by persons with “loss”): “death” of a relationship, “death” of the spouse role after a divorce, “death” of the business person role after a venture fails, etc. Both “death” and “loss” are illusions that are made to seem real by ego-states and their belief systems which drive persons to think and emote and behave as they do. Realization results after it is understood that there is no “death,” no “one” to die, no “one” to lose anything or anyone, and therefore no "one" to fear anything. When a desert mirage disappears at sunset, it did not "die" or "end"; it never existed to begin with. It was only an appearance, perceived wrongly by persons who take illusions to be real. The same applies to fears.
Furthermore, all emotions that are “experienced” by personas are some form of illusory fear, including supposed anger, supposed jealousy, supposed outrage, and all other supposed emotions. They are, indeed, nothing more than fear draped in a cloak of some other sentiment. That pointer has been challenged in the past with such arguments as these:
THE CLAIM: “No, Floyd. That’s wrong. My child misbehaved in school and was suspended and I most assuredly was very angry.”
THE RESPONSE: No. That was fear...fear that “Super Parent” was “dying.” What is required for that role to be sustained? A “Super Child.” The ego (the false “I”) felt embarrassed and offended.
THE CLAIM: “But what about jealousy. I am tired of coming home after a hard day’s work and seeing my neighbor in our drive, talking to my wife. I admit…I’m jealous and that’s what I’m really feeling.”
THE RESPONSE: No. That’s fear. “The Husband” fears the “death” of his role since that role cannot exist without the co-dependent counterpart of “wife.” The dread of "loss" is always equated with the "death" of some role among persons.
THE CLAIM: “But what about outrage? My boss called me in and added some unwarranted criticisms into my file. I was outraged, believe me.”
[Continued from yesterday]
F.: As far as “justified fears,” there are none, but there are natural responses to some threats. Certain responses do happen automatically as a result of archetypal influence: a startled deer or a frightened bird will react and move away from potential physical harm; persons who look over the unprotected edge of a skyscraper or a cliff might feel an automatic response in the gut…a natural warning of potential physical danger; one being physically attacked might automatically raise his/her arms to shield the body. The suggestion to you is to distinguish between those “logical” responses in nature and the “insane” responses that are triggered by faulty conditioning in cultures.
In addition to the reverse-thinking examples from yesterday, look at another fear-stimulating illustration, specifically, “the end is near” concept that has been circulated for at least 2000 years. It is part of the fiction that persons believe in if they have been conditioned to believe in the false theory of a timeline (with its “creation-beginning-middle-end-judgment-an eternity that is dualistically either good or bad”) as opposed to understanding the cycling. Yes, the particular configuration of elements will “end” as the body returns to dust, but the air that cycled through the body will not end; nor will the conscious-energy end. The concepts of “self” and “Self” will disappear since no body or “mind” will survive once the consciousness is no longer manifested. Knowing that reality can result in “The Great So What?” as well as the understanding of the Advaita query, “WHO Cares?”
Realization is about getting back into touch with reality. Distortion is about shifting further away from reality. Fear is about shifting farther into identification with the body-mind-personality triad and farther into the acceptance of false roles as “real identities.” The only fear is the illusory fear of “death” (which is usually equated by persons with “loss”): “death” of a relationship, “death” of the spouse role after a divorce, “death” of the business person role after a venture fails, etc. Both “death” and “loss” are illusions that are made to seem real by ego-states and their belief systems which drive persons to think and emote and behave as they do. Realization results after it is understood that there is no “death,” no “one” to die, no “one” to lose anything or anyone, and therefore no "one" to fear anything. When a desert mirage disappears at sunset, it did not "die" or "end"; it never existed to begin with. It was only an appearance, perceived wrongly by persons who take illusions to be real. The same applies to fears.
Furthermore, all emotions that are “experienced” by personas are some form of illusory fear, including supposed anger, supposed jealousy, supposed outrage, and all other supposed emotions. They are, indeed, nothing more than fear draped in a cloak of some other sentiment. That pointer has been challenged in the past with such arguments as these:
THE CLAIM: “No, Floyd. That’s wrong. My child misbehaved in school and was suspended and I most assuredly was very angry.”
THE RESPONSE: No. That was fear...fear that “Super Parent” was “dying.” What is required for that role to be sustained? A “Super Child.” The ego (the false “I”) felt embarrassed and offended.
THE CLAIM: “But what about jealousy. I am tired of coming home after a hard day’s work and seeing my neighbor in our drive, talking to my wife. I admit…I’m jealous and that’s what I’m really feeling.”
THE RESPONSE: No. That’s fear. “The Husband” fears the “death” of his role since that role cannot exist without the co-dependent counterpart of “wife.” The dread of "loss" is always equated with the "death" of some role among persons.
THE CLAIM: “But what about outrage? My boss called me in and added some unwarranted criticisms into my file. I was outraged, believe me.”
THE RESPONSE: No, that was fear. What was happening in that case was that many ego-states were in fear of “dying”…of coming to an end: “Employee” was in fear of dying; “Provider” was in fear of dying; “Homeowner” could not survive without income, so that role was in fear of dying; “The Money Man” was in fear of dying.
In fact, once money and an ego-state become associated, the intensity of the degree to which ego-states will emote always increases dramatically. For example, someone might be playing the role of “The Religious Person,” which is soon elevated to "The Super Religious Person" by the arrogance that always accompanies an assumed identity. But if that person accepts employment in a religious institution, the power of that assumed role to influence behavior and thought and perception increases not arithmetically but increases geometrically instead. The “need” to sustain a role increases when it is not being used merely to try (a) to get love, esteem or a sense of actualization but when it is also being used (b) to provide money for the basic requirements of food, clothing, and shelter. If you would be free of fear and distortion, be free of false roles. To be free of false roles, see what false roles are being played.
In fact, once money and an ego-state become associated, the intensity of the degree to which ego-states will emote always increases dramatically. For example, someone might be playing the role of “The Religious Person,” which is soon elevated to "The Super Religious Person" by the arrogance that always accompanies an assumed identity. But if that person accepts employment in a religious institution, the power of that assumed role to influence behavior and thought and perception increases not arithmetically but increases geometrically instead. The “need” to sustain a role increases when it is not being used merely to try (a) to get love, esteem or a sense of actualization but when it is also being used (b) to provide money for the basic requirements of food, clothing, and shelter. If you would be free of fear and distortion, be free of false roles. To be free of false roles, see what false roles are being played.
Have you ever set aside twenty minutes in the quiet to take up pen and paper and to list every role that you have assumed or been assigned by your culture? What might that reveal, if you were to undertake that task? Many persons who are honest and thoughtful have listed fifty or sixty assumed roles in only a few minutes of consideration. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
COMING SOON: THE PHYSIOLOGY OF INSANITY: Why the Teachings Must Evolve
COMING SOON: THE PHYSIOLOGY OF INSANITY: Why the Teachings Must Evolve
