TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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To review:
The discussion at this point in the series is now focusing on "The Most Influential Obstacles Of All" which have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs."
The focus is also on this pointer:
Of the relatively few who do seek, almost all of them will seek in religious and / or spiritual venues, few understanding that realization can come without dogma, without continuous spiritual practices, and without an exclusive preoccupation with "the nature of reality and things noumenal."
Why is that significant? Recall the man who approached me after a talk and said, "I was abused as a child by a priest. I've done years of work to try to get beyond that, but where I am today is, I still cringe when people start talking religion to me. So my question is, have you found a way to guide people to realization and freedom without their having to buy into the dogma you talk about?"
That question made clear that I had not even reached the "kindergarten level of spirituality" which Maharaj condemned, much less the understandings beyond that which awaited. It was that question which would send me along a "different route" and would eventually lead me to the entirely different version of the Ultimate Medicine which is offered now which allows for realizing without being fanatical about dogma and without engaging incessantly in spiritual practices and without a never-ending preoccupation with things noumenal rather than relaxing and taking it easy and then abiding naturally and then dancing lightly throughout the remainder of the manifestation.
So, to continue:
The recent posts, and the next few posts, are written with this aim: Maharaj said that his every endeavor was aimed at relieving the misery and suffering which accompany the Ultimate Sickness by striking at its roots, namely, “ignorance and insanity.”
He noted also that “ignorance and insanity” are rooted not in a “sick spirit” or a "spiritual malady" but are rooted in a sick mind warped by mentally-sick programming, mentally-sick conditioning, etc. And what are the signs of a sick mind? The presence of dualistic beliefs; the presence of the belief that each assumed ego (i.e., each false "I") is real; and the use of ego-defensive mechanisms and reasoning fallacies which perpetuate the kind of "ignorance and insanity" which was displayed in the quotations and examples offered in recent posts.
As noted, an improperly-diagnosed sickness will never be treated with the proper medicine. If persons believe that they are suffering from "a spiritual malady" when they are really suffering from grave mental and emotional disorders, then the medicine which they seek to cure the illness they think they have - instead of the medicine required to treat properly the sickness which they really have - will result in their continuing to be mentally and emotionally sick for the entire manifestation (even as they are deluded into thinking that they are well, that they have been "restored to sanity"). Why does that happen so often?
Because ignorance cannot spot ignorance; because insanity cannot spot insanity; because most persons who do seek help seek cheap, inexpensive, or free help from untrained non-professionals rather than from those trained to address their real mental and emotional problems; or because they pay for expensive help from those claiming to be trained professionals but who are actually charlatans instead.
Only by way of the proper understanding and diagnosis of the Ultimate Sickness can the proper version of the Ultimate Medicine be found; additionally, to find the proper version of the Ultimate Medicine requires that one be able to spot the presence of dualistic belief systems as revealed through the thoughts and words of persons; requires that one be able to see when thoughts and words are being determined by the use of ego-defense mechanisms; and requires that one be able to spot words and thoughts and actions which are based in distortion and delusion and reasoning fallacies.
Thus, the present considerations are tools which can be employed to understand the actual contributing factors to the Ultimate Sickness in order to be able to spot them when they manifest as distorted thoughts and delusional speech and senseless behaviors and to then discard all such thoughts and words which will, otherwise, lead to those senseless actions.
“Dualistic Belief Systems Which Drive Ego-States to Use Ego-Defensive Mechanisms, Resulting in Relative Instability and Chaos"
Psychologists for years have recognized the existence of what they call “ego-defense mechanisms”: those are the mental machinations which humans trapped in personality identifications use to try to preserve and to protect each of their assigned or assumed (but always false) ego-states. Some of the mechanisms are fear-based, some are desire-based, some are delusion-based, and some are lie-based.
More to the point, though, is this: they are all duality-based and personality-based and they all reinforce the widespread “ignorance and insanity” which Maharaj identified as key traits of the Ultimate Sickness; additionally, they all contribute to the types of statements shared recently as examples and illustrations of the ways that ignorant and insane thoughts and beliefs generate ignorant and insane words which generate, in turn, ignorant and insane behaviors.
And all of that mental sickness and "ignorance and insanity" will guarantee that almost all persons on the planet will remain in darkness and will never seek the light and will never Realize and will, therefore, never be restored to the light and to sanity and will never abide sanely and naturally.
Here are some of the ego-defense mechanisms used most often by egos (by false “I”’s) to sustain themselves:
30. Projection (psychological): Unconsciously ascribing to "others" one’s own ideas, impulses, emotions and personality defects; finding and pointing out in "others" the faults which persons, subconsciously, hate most in themselves.
31. Egotism: The excessive use of “I,” “My,” “Me”; self-conceit; selfishness; narcissism; the habit of thinking and talking incessantly about oneself; that which manifests alongside each and every false self to protect one’s false images which are deemed to be real identities.
32. Egocentrism: Viewing the self as the center of all things; self-centeredness; believing that everything should revolve around oneself and one’s wishes; the belief among arrogant and egotistical persons that everyone's attention should be focused only on them.
33. Rejection of Contrary Beliefs: The wholesale casting aside of any and all considerations and suggestions and facts which do not coincide with one’s belief systems and which do not align with the agendas of their assigned or assumed personality identifications; refusing to consider the possibility that considerations and suggestions and facts which challenge one’s current beliefs might be true or valid.
34. Justification: Furnishing a totally-nonsensical defense or excuse for one’s words and actions.
35. Victimization: (“Victim Syndrome”): The persona-based belief that one is being hurt, injured, or destroyed when (1) an assumed identity is being challenged or when (2) the person who had been playing the co-dependent, counterpart role to an ego-state becomes determined to stop playing that role. [EX.: Suppose the one playing the role of “The Wife” informs the one called “The Husband” that she is leaving - that she is no longer going to play "The Wife" role which is required for him to keep playing "The Husband" role. In that case, the typical perception by the man is not that his role is being interfered with but that it is he – literally – who is being hurt, injured, or destroyed. The same distortion-generated angst applies when “The Employee” is fired; the same distortion-generated angst manifests when someone challenges the beliefs of “The Super Religious One”; the same distortion-generated angst manifests when “The Spiritual Giant” is told that he or she has merely assumed a “new and improved persona” which is just as phony as all of the previously-played roles and previously-assumed false identities. The same distortion-generated angst happens when “The Expert on Maharaj Who Uses the Book I AM THAT As If It Were a Holy Bible” hears that in his later talks, Maharaj told people to stop reading that book and to pay attention to his later pointers which focus on the fact that the mind is humankind’s greatest problem. The same distortion-generated angst manifests when “The Expert on Maharaj” hears that he stopped endorsing “SELF-Inquiry,” telling seekers that "you do not have to know Who You Are” and when they are told that he was endorsing “self”-inquiry over "SELF"-Inquiry when he advised: “You only need to know who you are not.” And the same distortion-generated angst most certainly manifests among many when they are informed that he told people to "give up spirituality" entirely.]
36. Blame: Placing on "another" person or thing the responsibility for a one’s own relative problems and relative defects.
37. Rationalization: Attributing supposedly logical or credible motives for actions which actually result from other often concealed and other often unrecognized motives (as is the case with the hidden agendas of all assigned or assumed personality identifications); finding or creating seemingly plausible but false motives for one's conduct; making excuses; lying, knowingly or unknowingly (the latter being the height of ignorance).
38. Grandiosity: The desire to seem important; to be pompous or showy, always rooted in the egotism which accompanies the assignment or assumption of ego-states as identities.
39. Excessiveness: Overindulging; being immoderate; wanting more than what is needed; wanting a quantity beyond what is necessary or desirable; wanting to exceed "others." [Maharaj made clear that all misery is rooted in perceived ego-based fears and ego-based desires.]
To be continued.
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