...

[Flolfolil]

...

Edited March 6, 2015 by Flolfolil

[de_paradise]

Think of it as getting $200 of bad karma written off your books. You are right that they had the tell-tale signs of con artists, but its nice that you were naive enough to not see that. Its worse if you had caught something suspicious in their behavior and told them to piss off, because that would show just how paranoid or world-weary a person you are. When it gets into your subconscious and you are telling people to piss off in your dreams so they don't steal your mind-made money, you get to realize how rediculous it is, and how hard to uproot that deep greed. A similar card swipe machine con happened to me this year, it was so smooth I had to laugh. I see that as progress.

[Flolfolil]

...

Edited March 6, 2015 by Flolfolil

[BaguaKicksAss]

That is a very common scam unfortunately. There are so many ways to help people which don't include money.

[Aetherous]

Not only did you help people that seemed to need it...you showed them what a genuine person does...you also are honest with your feelings about what happened...your family is helping, which is always good for everyone, including them because they're giving to someone who needs it...and in addition, you are helping others here by telling them about this type of scam. A lot of good is coming from this.

[mjjbecker]

It happens. Most importantly, don't feel bad about yourself for helping someone else. That they are a ***t is their problem, not yours.

 

Lots of that here. Not just directed at the foreigners. They are equal opportunity thieves and will happily rip-off anyone, Chinese or foreign. It is quite common here for friends to ask other friends for loans of quite large sums of money.Not surprisingly it doesn't always get paid back. One of my old students tried that with me, and another asked me to guarantee a cell phone contract for them in the UK. God loves optimists, and so do I, but I expect we both respond in the same manner to such requests...

 

99% of the time I walk down a well-known shopping street I get 'Hello, how are you?', 'Excuse me', etc. It is an old scam where locals pretend to be friendly and then take the unsuspecting visitor off to some place they've gotten an agreement with to get a payment in return for bringing in business. I've learned to ignore it and just keep walking, as any response just offers encouragement. Some ass hole made a grab for my arm today while doing so, which is really overstepping the line, rewarding him with a 'f**k off' and thoughts of doing unto him as Beowulf did unto Grendel (excepting I'd have nailed the arm to his forehead. Bad timing on his part as I'd had an unfruitful time trying to find some things among the hoards out shopping. I hate crowds of shoppers...)

 

I've also met some friendly, helpful and considerate people when I wouldn't have expected it.

 

Bottom line: People are what they are. Be pissed when they annoy you, enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling inside when they make you happy. Then get over it either way.

 

Years ago on Marylebone High Street in London some alcoholics outside a store asked me for some money for food. I didn't give them the money but I did buy them some food.

 

Oh, and make sure you file a police report on the fraudsters. Aside from conning you, they shouldn't be left to continue on their merry way conning others.

[C T]

ego's role in service to others sounds very nice. If the focus was really on serving others, you would not bother so much with the outcome, no matter if it was a scam or not. On a likely note, imagine teachers who give teachings to others and then the students not doing anything positive with what they have been taught, or even abusing the teachings some of them... are these teachers going to get all flustered and emotional because some number of students fail to adhere to ethical considerations regarding what they were given, considering good teachings are like mind-body treasures and all? Teachers teach for various unselfish reasons, and doing a good turn ought to be along the same vein. If you are so concerned over being taken for a ride, it means there is a lesson you have yet to learn, and so, this can be an opportunity to express gratitude for having been scammed.

 

if it was me, and wanting to learn a lesson from a similar life experience, i'd call this 'ego's role in dealing with loss and naivete'. Then the focus would be more central to the wisdom i would hope to extract from what had happened.

[Brian]

<snip>

Years ago on Marylebone High Street in London some alcoholics outside a store asked me for some money for food. I didn't give them the money but I did buy them some food.

</snip>

 

I often take this approach, too. A quick way to weed out many of the disingenuous. Had Flolfolil offered to buy them diapers, I suspect the story would have ended very differently...

[fluidity]

Just raise your vibration and keep it raised. You do not need to do anything more than this but also, anything less than this!



There is no real need to look at the ins and outs of a particular situation or transaction except to grow as a person. If your vibration is high, you will instantly respond in a pleasant fashion that repels any potential suffering.

Suffering occurs by mutual exchange. Your energy field agrees to take it on for whatever reason. Keep your Spirit in a very high state and you will be completely invulnerable. Of course these hitches may happen often for reason already explained above, on the path to high Spirit.

Once you feel really deep knowingness of the Spirit, all you really need to do, ever, is to cultivate it 24/7 and permeate the Higher Self into everything you do.


Think about this. A child may live or die but it is certain that some will live. Now think about this: each of us is expressing ourselves and projecting our dream onto Reality. As your head rises into the sky, literally, your reality is actualised around you, always. Then you grow weaker and your head shrinks again towards the ground after the apex point. Now consider that the heavens are literally 'forward' in time. So when you abide in High Spirit, you are literally sticking your head over the clouds that other people are below of - you are operating from a definite future pulling the past/the Momment towards it!

See this:
http://www.themindunleashed.org/2013/09/how-to-by-pass-your-reptilian-brain-and.html

When you abide in neocortical flow, you are a man of the future. It is like you have beamed back in time to create yourself getting to the grander You. Nature loves you so much because you love Nature so much, that it will grant your every wish.

When your ego disappears, so does everybody else's!
If you feel the need to cause someone ego loss, you are still in ego!
Annihilate your ego with all of your rage and your rage will turn into Spirit and obliterate everybody "else's" ego
Yes, even if you are in a state of mental silence it is still possible to exert ego. So be vigilant against yourself. Ego disappears in the state of TOTAL no-thought. And No-Thought feels scary, like death. Until you slip into it and realise it's the "superpowers" you were looking for in the first place


44. The Thief Who Became a Disciple

One evening as Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras a thief with a sharp sword entered, demanding wither his money or his life.

Shichiri told him: "Do not disturb me. You can find the money in that drawer." Then he resumed his recitation.

A little while afterwards he stopped and called: "Don't take it all. I need some to pay taxes with tomorrow."

The intruder gathered up most of the money and started to leave. "Thank a person when you receive a gift," Shichiri added. The man thanked him and made off.

A few days afterwards the fellow was caught and confessed, among others, the offense against Shichiri. When Shichiri was called as a witness he said: "This man is no thief, at least as far as I am concerned. I gave him the money and he thanked me for it."

After he had finished his prison term, the man went to Shichiri and became his disciple.

Edited October 3, 2013 by fluidity

[Brian]

Remember my posts a while back on how everything we do is selfish and that the expansion of the concept of "self" is an important part of personal growth?

 

[Isimsiz Biri]

You have done the correct thing. That 200 USD will bring very bad karma to them as it is not their money.

 

From your side, this event occurred due to a certain reason. What is that reason? Meditate on it.

[skydog]

"99% of the time I walk down a well-known shopping street I get 'Hello, how are you?', 'Excuse me', etc. It is an old scam where locals pretend to be friendly and then take the unsuspecting visitor off to some place they've gotten an agreement with to get a payment in return for bringing in busines"

 

 

Where is that Brixton, lol?

[mjjbecker]

"99% of the time I walk down a well-known shopping street I get 'Hello, how are you?', 'Excuse me', etc. It is an old scam where locals pretend to be friendly and then take the unsuspecting visitor off to some place they've gotten an agreement with to get a payment in return for bringing in busines"

 

 

Where is that Brixton, lol?

 

The 'hello' and 'excuse me' are more likely to be iron bars in that neck of the woods. I know someone who had that happen to them around there once. He was walking though and got set-upon for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Mind you, a friend of mine was quite politely car-jacked in Dalston. Well, I say car-jacked, but they really only had him drive around for a few hours then buggered-off. Funnily enough I had asked him several times before he went (to the off-license if I remember correctly) if he wanted me to go with him but he'd insisted there was no need...

 

I think it us that is being tested for our ability to give, rather than they that are being tested for their right to receive.

 

And that being the case, using good judgement in giving is important not just for the giver and receiver, but also society at large.

[roger]

Flolfolil,

 

It seems that the lesson you learned from this was to be careful and not let yourself get duped.

 

Maybe there's a greater lesson to learn though. If you believe in divine justice, you might say that the Universe, God, Tao, or whatever, will compensate you for this loss.

 

To put it another way, there WAS NO LOSS.

 

See my point? If there really is justice (and I'm NOT saying the people who stole from you are gonna pay for it), then the loss of your money must have been for your highest good. Either that or it wouldn't matter because the Universe will meet your needs anyway.