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Post by smokey on Apr 30, 2011 12:21:11 GMT -5
Vacant, If you are lucky enough to be around others who are trying to "be here now," that's great. The vast majority of people in this culture spend their attention on either the next new thing, or reliving the past. That is what constitutes the dialogue in this culture. One who is trying to be here now must then fake interest in the dialogue, redirect the talk, or avoid it. I took the easy way out by packing my pack and slippin' out the back, Jack. Now I can be around people or not. Other than for practical purposes, I choose not to spend time with anyone who is not trying to grow internally. It is my experience that Jan Cox was correct when he said, "When you hang around dumb people, you get dumb."
And when Vernon Howard reprimanded one of his students, "Don't bring your dumb friends around here."
Ordinary people may or may not be dumb, but they sure are boring. . |
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Post by vacant on Apr 30, 2011 13:52:47 GMT -5
I am not lucky enough to be around people who want to be here now, in fact the people I live or work with show no interest whatsoever in non-duality or self exploration talk (but there is this forum  ). I am still grateful for their being there for the simple reason that it’s the hand of cards I’m dealt and that’s the one to play. But I do sympethize with you, and I admit having acute reclusive or anti-social preferences too! Hahaha. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to tell you that you should operate like me, or trying to show you wrong! Only making a point that seems relevant, one hopes even useful, at this moment. That is that wanting other circumstances than what is, is not the best way to be in tune with what is. Anyway that's not your problem now since those unwanted creatures have already been left behind  However I would seriously hesitate to consider those who do not share my interests as “dumb”, if only for being wary of complexes of superiority and such traps… |
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Post by smokey on Apr 30, 2011 18:29:33 GMT -5
. The culture does not support real individuality and intelligence. The culture supports imitation and pretense. The religion is materialism, the church is society and the priests are politicians, preachers, psuedo-scientists and celebrities. The parishoners are almost everyone you see. Rarely does anyone stop and see how they've been indefinitely detained and dumbed-down. When this realization occurs and is mentioned to a member of the flock, it is met with disbelief or downright denial. When he escapes the confines of the church, he is labelled "antisocial," which has been determined by the priests to be a personality disorder. After many years outside the asylum, the escapee eventually reaches an epiphany. It is then when he sees that the church was actually upside-down. What was considered intelligence was ignorance, morality was immorality, freedom was slavery, truth was falsehood, and order was disorder. Yes the flock is dumb -- rather ignore-ant. However, since the escapee no longer accepts the binary verbal context imposed by the culture, "superior" and "inferior" or "antisocial" and "social" have no meaning for him. Opposites exist only inside the church. Jan Cox was not intimating self-righteousness in this statement; "When you hang around dumb people, you get dumb." He was suggesting a plan of action. Escape. . |
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 12:58:05 GMT -5
Smokey,
thanks for your details on past interaction. Sounds like you hit that pause button right at the right time.
recently i've been feeling much more open to the possibility that there's a lot more awakening out there than i had previously thought. that overused 'namaste' expression for example, has been making sense to me. even the crypto-psychospritual-new-agey crapola that pervades i've now been opening up to as well. So the ignorance you see in others all around seems actually thinner to me, and more porous.
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Post by hello2you on Nov 6, 2012 3:30:20 GMT -5
I really enjoy Vernon Howard. My first experience was one of his videos on Youtube which really resonated with me. I subsequently scoured the web for all the free VH stuff I could find and absorbed it as best I could. After 6 months I decided to re-watch one of his videos. That turned out to be a very intelligent move. Believe me, when you fully understand one of his videos (an event which has only happened to me twice) it will be an unmistakeable experience. It will stay with you forever. Some people may be concerned with his terminology. Words like "God", "Church", "Devil", etc. Rest assured that he uses these words as similitudes, not as we identify with them. Vernon himself concisely defines these terms in certain works, particularly his books Some videos from the DVD series are available on youtube. I note that there used to be more available, but there are still 6 or so there. Further free talks are available on the anewlife website under "Media Clips" in the right hand bar. I actually purchased all the DVD's and several books and booklets. I love them all. |
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Post by stardustpilgrim on Mar 9, 2015 18:38:36 GMT -5
here too
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). I am still grateful for their being there for the simple reason that it’s the hand of cards I’m dealt and that’s the one to play. But I do sympethize with you, and I admit having acute reclusive or anti-social preferences too! Hahaha.
