life is shit

[neimad]

like my alliteration?

 

 

 

 

well.... anyway...

 

i got a call from someone at work today (i'm a debt collected, i collect debts). same old sob story, life is hard.... but this customer used the phrase "life is shit" or "my life is a piece of shit" repeatedly.

 

obviously things are not going very good for her.

 

for me this ties back into creation.... with this attitude do you think this person could appreciate the lessons being taught to her? the joy that exists in every moment? do you think life could possibly be good for someone who thinks like this?

 

yeah, her circumstances created her point of view.... or did it? did her point of view actually create her circumstances?

 

can a "shit" life still be good? can a "good" life still be shit?

 

of course it can.

 

one of my friends went to visit cuba one time. he said these people had NOTHING. hardly any food to eat, nothing to do. they had nothing. yet he said he never met so many happy people in his life.

 

their shit life is good.

 

on the other hand here in the western world in our opulence and good fortune, our ability to reach out and grab any food we want, any silly consumer product we want.... for many, life is really shit. they are unhappy, unsatisfied.

 

good life is shit.

 

 

for me this is how we create our reality. it may not be as drastic as thinking about a giant house and a flashy car and millions of dollars and then suddenly it coming true.

but without a doubt we can influence our life with our thoughts. it's always a choice. whether we choose to enjoy it or not dictates what coloured glasses we are wearing, how we view the world and in turn how the world treats us.

 

i also find that the more you embrace this, the better the world treats you. the more synchronicity you attract, the better success and abundance becomes available to you.

 

 

using arguments about people suffering everywhere is invalid. if people really felt strongly enough about their suffering, they would change it. they would view the world with optimism and rise above their situation.... and there are countless instances of this occurring. of an individual living in squalor and poverty to become incredibly successful and abundance.

why?

attitude or perspective. choosing to take responsibility for their reality and embracing the oppurtunities for success and abundance that exist for all of us.

 

there are plenty others who live in povery and squalor and embrace that, feeling they deserve it. they have no right to abundance and thus make no effort to pursue it.

 

 

verdict: your damn straight we create our reality!

[el_tortugo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-oJhBxn6o...Fvideo%5Fdog%2F

[hagar]

N,

 

We all agree that negatively minded people are living in delusion. There is nothing more obvious to a negatively minded person than to see the world as a piece of shit. He might be a millionaire, or he might be poor as hell, but if he is negative, his mind will reflect that onto thw world. And yes, you don't have to be rich to be a complete asshole. Nothing inherently noble in being poor.

 

I think the only way to getting my point across is this:

 

Stop improving. Stop trying to change things. Give up hope.

Enjoy being out of control. Embrace pain. Love your faults. Put all your shortcomings on a poster on the wall and say "What wonderful stuff I am made of! Confusion, bewilderment, despair, loss, pain." I hope I can cherish them forever!

 

Why are we in such rush to suspend suffering? In this suffering lies our potential for changing the world. Only through suffering can we comprehend and connect with our fellow humans. This is the only truth.

 

There is nothing, absolutely nothing noble about trying to feel good. It's when you love life in the midst of suffering that you are passing the test of life.

 

I once had an encounter with this lady who had M.E. She was into all this positive thinking, doing qigong and getting healings. She really tried. But she was miserable. Why? she hadn't given up hope. So I remember that I said something to her that really offended her. I mean really hurt her. I really don't know why, it just blurted out: "Why don't you just accept you illness in all its aspects? Why dont' you just give up? Let go?

 

A friend of mine suffers from anxiety. He always goes on and on about feelin "uncomfortable" and dreading this "unease". He will continue to do all these things to make it go away. He does qigong, (just a litte, to feel better) he works, he rock climbs, he goes on holidays, he never stays still. He doen't realize this: Only if he stops, lets go, looks his dread into the eyes and say "Come and get me, I'm here. If I die now, it's ok." Only then will his life change. And probably, through that realization he will be forced to accept death, to accept being uncomfortable. That life is utterly alien, amoral, and doesn't really care about "him". He needs to cut the umbilical cord to what he thinks life should be.

 

We all suffer becuause we dont' give up hope.

[Ian]

 

I think the only way to getting my point across is this:

 

Stop improving. Stop trying to change things. Give up hope.

Enjoy being out of control. Embrace pain. Love your faults. Put all your shortcomings on a poster on the wall and say "What wonderful stuff I am made of! Confusion, bewilderment, despair, loss, pain." I hope I can cherish them forever!

 

Why are we in such rush to suspend suffering? In this suffering lies our potential for changing the world. Only through suffering can we comprehend and connect with our fellow humans. This is the only truth.

 

There is nothing, absolutely nothing noble about trying to feel good. It's when you love life in the midst of suffering that you are passing the test of life.

 

I once had an encounter with this lady who had M.E. She was into all this positive thinking, doing qigong and getting healings. She really tried. But she was miserable. Why? she hadn't given up hope. So I remember that I said something to her that really offended her. I mean really hurt her. I really don't know why, it just blurted out: "Why don't you just accept you illness in all its aspects? Why dont' you just give up? Let go?

 

A friend of mine suffers from anxiety. He always goes on and on about feelin "uncomfortable" and dreading this "unease". He will continue to do all these things to make it go away. He does qigong, (just a litte, to feel better) he works, he rock climbs, he goes on holidays, he never stays still. He doen't realize this: Only if he stops, lets go, looks his dread into the eyes and say "Come and get me, I'm here. If I die now, it's ok." Only then will his life change. And probably, through that realization he will be forced to accept death, to accept being uncomfortable. That life is utterly alien, amoral, and doesn't really care about "him". He needs to cut the umbilical cord to what he thinks life should be.

 

We all suffer becuause we dont' give up hope.

 

Dude, I salute you. Everything I've been wanting/trying to say, once again.

[neimad]

hagar i really get you now.

 

 

i think you have just explained a process that has been occurring for me.... right now i am more content than i have ever been and i've kind of just stopped caring about it all (to get here though i had to go through a phase of really caring a lot... and i mean A LOT!!!).

 

it's not that i have let myself go, i still do all the good stuff.... eat healthy, exercise regularly, meditate, search for truth.... but i do them less because i hope to achieve something and more and more just because there really is no other way, there is no other choice for me any longer but to live my dreams.

and it's not like i'm there all the time.... but truly, i am content virtually all the time. oh i have superficial anger and frustration, even superficial joy and anticipation.... but they are all that, just superficial and rise and fall as quick as the waves on a beach.

 

i like that... to "give up hope". it sounds so negative but i don't see anything negative in it at all. it's so embracing, so comforting.... to have no hope is to be there, experiencing, living. it's to want nothing and to get everything.

 

reminds me yet again of the carlos castaneda books and don juans path of the warrior. a warrior acts as he does because there is no other choice.

not because he cares, not because he wants to change anything (because how can one want to change anything when it is all already perfect?) but just because that is the way of the warrior.

 

i also loved don juans talks about controlled folly.... beautiful, and ties in with what you are saying i think.

(i don't care what anyone says about carlos being a fraud, those books were riddled with pure gems!)

 

 

so thanks for this hagar, i feel like this moment was set up just for me (and of course it was) cos i took something beyond your words.

 

[hagar]

i also loved don juans talks about controlled folly.... beautiful, and ties in with what you are saying i think.

(i don't care what anyone says about carlos being a fraud, those books were riddled with pure gems!)

so thanks for this hagar, i feel like this moment was set up just for me (and of course it was) cos i took something beyond your words.

 

 

Thank you back! I really am just as much in the process of dealing with this myself. This is really just "cut and paste" for me. If I had really integrated this into my own life, I wouldn't be on this forum. So the things we say, we say to ourselves too! =)

 

Anyways, a breakthrough for me relating to this aspect of the practice was really feeling that while in retreat i felt so great, so free, so open. And the moment I came home, I felt so lost again. The feeling dwindled and "real life" started to seep in again. Then I read "After the Ecstacy, The Laundry" by Jack Kornfield. This should really be read by all sincere spiritual practitioners. It's message is just this: Even if you transcend mundanity in some graceful, ectatic of blissful state, your problems won't go away. Realizations are not changing your whole life. It takes a whole lot of living to really live. Some of the people who came into the world again from being in a monastery, or being on a long retreat really got into trouble, because they held onto their feeling of bliss. Some had to go through years of therapy, divorced their spouses or had a true crisis when they got back into the "real world". But that's ok. And actually, there is no true breakthrough without some kind of crisis. Crisis is a blessing.

 

The second breakthrough was on a retreat again. It was a sitting meditation retreat, and between sittings, we had a q and a session with each other. I really struggled with physical pain during this retreat, but the effect was wonderful. Yet, I never really trusted it would last when I would return home. The a buddhist lady, who joined my group said something; "I really start to feel so utterly bored when I sit in this meditation! I really don't know if this is the right thing for me." Suddenly my master was there, and he heard the exclamation, and answered, almost to himself, very softly: "Maybe you are not bored enough..."

 

If you ever watched "Band of Brothers", the WWII series about the american regiment from D day to the end of the war, there was a scene that really shook me. There was this kid who every time there was battle would totally chicken out, lies still and paralyzed by fear and cry, thinking he was a worthless coward. Then in one scene, his superior officer, a worn veteran came back from a solo mission in the night behind enemy lines, completely serene. He met him, lying in his trench, wanting to commit suicide. He said "The reason you are terrified is not that you are a coward, it's because you haven't given up hope. Not until you consider yourself already dead can you truly be in this war."

 

What wonderful advice for life...

 

h

[Cameron]

He said "The reason you are terrified is not that you are a coward, it's because you haven't given up hope. Not until you consider yourself already dead can you truly be in this war."

 

What wonderful advice for life...

 

h

 

 

Very Samurai-ish.

[Yoda]

Hagar can chime in after he's done with his thesis, but in the meantime: I believe that somebody who isn't able to get the 'think positive' toolkit to heal a sickness isn't likely to be able to get the 'let go' approach to work either. The 'let go' approach is a higher, more challenging teaching, imo. But there are particular people who will take to one approach better than another, so it would be worth trying.

 

I think the best approach to take for a challenging issue where it is difficult to change one's vibe on or let go of altogether, is meditation. It's easier to quiet the mind than to change it.

 

Now, it's still very challenging to meditate esp when there's a lot of stress in one's life, so that's not necessarily an easy achievement either, but I believe it to be the best, fastest, easiest approach. I'd imagine that most 'think positive' and 'let go' parties would be inclined to agree.

 

In any case, I'd try to reframe the experience of having a sickness and dying as not an embarrassment or a failure but keep in mind that sickness and dying are both a common part of the human experience and to try to focus on the positive aspects of the experience and its place in the bigger picture. While I can remember snippets of past lives, I have no memory of dying, and I'll be extremely curious to find out what's up with it when the time comes, for instance.

[Ian]

Hagar can chime in after he's done with his thesis, but in the meantime: I believe that somebody who isn't able to get the 'think positive' toolkit to heal a sickness isn't likely to be able to get the 'let go' approach to work either. The 'let go' approach is a higher, more challenging teaching, imo. But there are particular people who will take to one approach better than another, so it would be worth trying.

 

 

The only problem is that thinking makes you ill. Admittedly we think all the time, so it might as well be positive, but genuine healing, wholeness, only comes with diverting the resources which are directed outward in thought back into the body.

 

IMO, obviously.

[mYTHmAKER]

If you ever watched "Band of Brothers", the WWII series about the american regiment from D day to the end of the war, there was a scene that really shook me. There was this kid who every time there was battle would totally chicken out, lies still and paralyzed by fear and cry, thinking he was a worthless coward. Then in one scene, his superior officer, a worn veteran came back from a solo mission in the night behind enemy lines, completely serene. He met him, lying in his trench, wanting to commit suicide. He said "The reason you are terrified is not that you are a coward, it's because you haven't given up hope. Not until you consider yourself already dead can you truly be in this war."

 

 

That's what enabled the samauri to be such fierce warriors.

[Smile]

If you feel like improving, improve.

If you feel like you need to change things, change them.

If you feel like being blissful, be.

If you feel like being in misery, be as well.

 

There is nothing wrong with any of those choices, if your mind is not clinging to them.

[Cameron]

I don't know that it's about postive thinking so much as having goals. If you call having goals and achiving them postive thinking than it's postive thinking I just look at it as accomplishing your goals.

 

But like Tom Clancey said you have goals and accomplish them then you are what's called successful.

 

One of my things lately is to try to completly stop theorizing and guessing about how things work. Instead, if something interests you, try it out. Don't worry what peoples opnions are about meditation or diet or excercise. Try it for yourself and decide for yourself if it's true.

 

Here's an experiment we all could try if you want. Matt Furey teaches a way to get the ball rolling in accomplishing your aims. write down a top 10 list of goals you want to accomplish this year. Even if you don't beleive this conscious creation stuff works try it out. No matter how silly or far fetched you think it is, take out a pice of paper or note card and write down the 10 things you would want to create in your life.

 

If you think it's utter nonsense maybe still try it. Write them down and turn the paper face down and hide it underneath your computer. Just stick it somewhere and forget about it. Don't even look at it until next year.

 

It could be an interesting experiment. We could all test the teachings of the movie Sean posted and Furey talks alot about for ourselves and then give feedback in a year or so. Or even next January.

 

Cam

[Fireblood]

Dudes I had kidney failure and got depressed. It screwed my mind up. I slept all day and stayed awake all night. It physically killed all my energy and aspirations. I didn't spend time with my family or kids becuase I was sleeping when they were awake.

 

I couldn't walk 100 metres without sitting down and resting. I didn't want to do anything. I gained weight and lost health.

 

Now I spend time with my kids, I can run, I train physically three times a week. I feel great and my kidney fucntion is getting better than before. Why?

 

I don't know exactly, many factors:

 

I prayed?

 

I relaxed more.

 

Changed breathing patterns.

 

Tai Chi Chuan and Exercise.

 

Meditation - blanking mind, mco etc...

 

But what really made me do all these things was that people close to me intervened, my cousin and my brother constantly gave me goals to aspire to. Reminded me of all the things I wanted to do and be.

 

I accepted the kidney failure head on. It is now almost insignificant. I feel alive.

 

 

 

I don't know that it's about postive thinking so much as having goals. If you call having goals and achiving them postive thinking than it's postive thinking I just look at it as accomplishing your goals.

 

But like Tom Clancey said you have goals and accomplish them then you are what's called successful.

 

One of my things lately is to try to completly stop theorizing and guessing about how things work. Instead, if something interests you, try it out. Don't worry what peoples opnions are about meditation or diet or excercise. Try it for yourself and decide for yourself if it's true.

 

Here's an experiment we all could try if you want. Matt Furey teaches a way to get the ball rolling in accomplishing your aims. write down a top 10 list of goals you want to accomplish this year. Even if you don't beleive this conscious creation stuff works try it out. No matter how silly or far fetched you think it is, take out a pice of paper or note card and write down the 10 things you would want to create in your life.

 

If you think it's utter nonsense maybe still try it. Write them down and turn the paper face down and hide it underneath your computer. Just stick it somewhere and forget about it. Don't even look at it until next year.

 

It could be an interesting experiment. We could all test the teachings of the movie Sean posted and Furey talks alot about for ourselves and then give feedback in a year or so. Or even next January.

 

Cam

 

I don't know about creating stuff but I read NLP in 21 Days, it gives a kind of more scientific explanation on goal achievment. That stuff works. I do it all the time.

 

I don't take a year though on small stuff. I write goals down then look at them every so often. your subconcious always works on them when your not conciously thinking about them. You work and say things to people to further your goals but you may never realise that your doing it, really weird but it does work.

[thelerner]

Goals are important, both long and short term. Keep your eye on short term goals, but long term goals are a path you walk in, not something to keep your eye on, i.e. don't obsess or even think about constantly, but create a daily discipline that you enjoy that moves you along the chosen path/goal.

 

Michael