What We Do to Ourselves - Patti Simpson

[Larksong]

Hi Jo~let me put your last comment first. I agree. This forum is a breath of fresh air. Actually, I have written a few responses on Word, that when I sensed it, the whole thing was too pithy! There was so much explanation and not enough openings for response from others. It made me tired to read them. So, back into the ethers they went.

To respond to your question, can they be both? Yes, quite so. Some people need to diminish others to feel good about themselves. And, they know that do it. Maybe they feel vindicated somehow. It is a transparency that is sometimes subtle, but the intent drags along with it.

Whether it is intentional or not, the dent that comes from being triggered certainly originates from the same place of wounding. Maybe there is additional anger and blame along with the need to demean others. For me, those kind of emotions are more patterns covering up the original moment of wounding. It is not only psychological. The wounded place is where Beingness patiently waits to be asked to enter. Thanks! Larksong

[Vidyanet]

Did GOD ever do anything to ITSELF in the form of limitation? I wonder how people think about this. Seriously I do.

There is a reason for asking this. Because what are the chances it is not YOU or ME doing the limiting of ourselves, but GOD? That being the ONE and ONLY BEING manifesting in so many different ways.

I've been looking at and considering this paradigm of ONE BEING the source of all things.

If this were actually true (and in spite of all the incomplete scientific theories waiting for a theory of everything) perhaps resolution for difficult problems, for limiting circumstances are fed not by inability to identify with ONE omniscient BEING, but self-perpetuating (though temporary) forgetfulness to remember oneself as that BEING.

I know how this seems radical to all rational thought, but consider the evidence for an evolution from limitation. All of the life forms known to man (taken as a whole and considered over a course of eternity) have an ability to adapt. Not only can they react to the environment, but they can change it as well. Then consider the human body, or humanity and it's potential for escaping the difficulty and limitations inherent in other lesser evolved bodies and minds.

Why is there such a thing as evolution at all? I ask myself and the answer is Why do children grow up? Is it possible that everything really has the same source of creation? Even though realization of that source is BEING manifested individually? - seemingly by countless "other" beings?

I know there were a lot of questions in this message. I'm not sure how it will fit the SDP format. Especially since it contains a lot of "personal" opinions, etc. Then I wonder if it couldn't help but be "personal", and it wasn't meant to fit "the format".

Are we all only "God" (ONE BEING) talking to ourself? I'd like to hear if anybody else has contemplated this paradigm.

Vidyanet

P.S. I wasn't shouting. The large caps were literal emphasis only.

[PattiS]

HI Patti~your article inspired me. My comments are in brackets:

It was Ram Dass who deeply moved me when he said, "It is so easy to unordain yourself."

[It is easy isn’t it? I find that when I do that, I have forgotten that I am Beingness.]

What does it mean to unordain ourselves? ….It’s the way of the world for them to make us feel we are wrong, mistaken or just plain off-track. These folks have a lot invested in reigning in our free spirits and if we hold them in high respect, we can unwittingly unordain ourselves.

[I wonder if this true? You seem to be saying that certain people have investments to reign in our “free spirits”. From my perspective, “they” are acting out their programs and beliefs that have been triggered by someone/something. It was not necessarily intentional. Perhaps everyone was triggered. Neither party would get a charge if there weren’t some “soft spots” in awareness or unconsciousness someplace within. This is how I see the terrain from which we unordain ourselves. Instead of being a ballet of “Swine” Lake, we are in a tango dancing toward consciousness and love, helping each other along the way. Not easy sometimes! Whew!]

The bad news is, we have become unordained. The good news is, we did it to ourselves and we can correct it by creating a new, firm intention.

[Absolutely! Aren’t we powerful indeed! What would it be like, if we could completely take in our power to create what we don’t want, to give evidence that we can create what we do want! Though this seems contradictory somehow, I have begun to really get the feel and sense of my power by taking it all in!]

Then reach down into one's own core and say to self, "I deserve respect." When we do that we are telling that to others and to ourselves.

[This is so true. It is a good place to start because it gives us a way to focus on what we want. The other thing that deserving does is that when we are able to be conscious with the parts who are keeping us from having respect, we can begin to create a way to feel respect for ourselves. That in itself sends a powerful message outwardly. Since we can be respectful inside, we know we deserve it from others! It is the magic of consciousness that spirits outward for us to watch how everything starts to change around us! Patti, have you found this to be true? I have been imagining how I might word Ram Dass’s statement for myself. Hmm. How about “In touch with the heart of my center, I happily ordain myself anew”? Thanks Patti for your insightful article. Larksong]

Larksong & Jo...lovely letters. these are fabulous overviews. Some people have agendas or jobs or prejudices, etc., and some have jobs that give them power over others. They make rules to keep control and they exact threats and punishments or in some way are demeaning to those who question their rules. I was taught by a huge rule-breaker who really imbued me with his independent spirit. There are some otherwise accomplished folk whom people may respect, who fall into this trap. And if we respect them and they need to establish control it can be quite intentional and quite painful to be on the receiving end--depending on how important it is to them to "win." I love what you have to say about it. I think both things are true and probably happen in different circumstances. I hope I'm not advocating Swine Lake, but I have heard from people to whom I hope I gave a little protection for their soft spots...maybe exploring the subject can help them overcome them.
And I love your Statement Larksong. It is better than mine.
Patti

[PattiS]

Did GOD ever do anything to ITSELF in the form of limitation? I wonder how people think about this. Seriously I do.

There is a reason for asking this. Because what are the chances it is not YOU or ME doing the limiting of ourselves, but GOD? That being the ONE and ONLY BEING manifesting in so many different ways.

I've been looking at and considering this paradigm of ONE BEING the source of all things.

If this were actually true (and in spite of all the incomplete scientific theories waiting for a theory of everything) perhaps resolution for difficult problems, for limiting circumstances are fed not by inability to identify with ONE omniscient BEING, but self-perpetuating (though temporary) forgetfulness to remember oneself as that BEING.

I know how this seems radical to all rational thought, but consider the evidence for an evolution from limitation. All of the life forms known to man (taken as a whole and considered over a course of eternity) have an ability to adapt. Not only can they react to the environment, but they can change it as well. Then consider the human body, or humanity and it's potential for escaping the difficulty and limitations inherent in other lesser evolved bodies and minds.

Why is there such a thing as evolution at all? I ask myself and the answer is Why do children grow up? Is it possible that everything really has the same source of creation? Even though realization of that source is BEING manifested individually? - seemingly by countless "other" beings?

I know there were a lot of questions in this message. I'm not sure how it will fit the SDP format. Especially since it contains a lot of "personal" opinions, etc. Then I wonder if it couldn't help but be "personal", and it wasn't meant to fit "the format".

Are we all only "God" (ONE BEING) talking to ourself? I'd like to hear if anybody else has contemplated this paradigm.

Vidyanet

P.S. I wasn't shouting. The large caps were literal emphasis only.

Vidyanet: All of us visit, live, speak from different points of view at different moments. But there is definitely a space in which everything is US. My work is usually trying to speak about the things that plague us below that level and which our understanding may help bring us closer to the realization.
Best, Patti

[PattiS]

Dear Patti,

Thanks for this piece on an important spiritual principle and supported by a historical retrospective that is meaningful to me. I came to know about Ram Dass' book Be Here Now soon after it came out in 1971. I was also fortunate enough to attend one of his talks a year or so later at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. At the time, I was a nervous wreck suffering both from congenital anxiety as well as being in my early 20s with little idea or confidence about where my life was going. A major problem I had was a lack of self worth (always comparing myself to others as "less than") and an attitude of powerlessness to manage in the world.

As we gathered in the lobby surrounded by a crowd of people in the student union, my anxiety was more intense than usual. Upon entering the lecture hall, I was confronted with white-robed devotees chanting repetitive songs, ringing finger cymbals and looking as though they were high on LSD. I'm not sure if I had tried LSD by then, but I was familiar with Richard Alpert's story with it. The transformation of my attitude by a simple talk by the Guru would come to characterize my spiritual path from then on. When the talk was over, we were again amid the throngs of people in the lobby, but this time I was very calm, even high, with hope as though I had found spiritual food when I had been starving before. And all this without any medicinal or physical substances!

I would later have a brief but memorable relationship with LSD, but fortunately it never became a chronic habit as pot and alcohol did (that's another story.). It had the effect of opening some important doors in my mind and allowed me to consider things that I had previously kept tightly locked up within me. This, in effect, helped me to recognize and honor who I am in my essence. Everything I found along the way after that found more fertile ground than it otherwise would have. Eventually, after a brief period of Siddha Yoga under Swami Muktananda, my travels took me to a collection of books on Eckankar. This, rather than being the end of my journey to find a substantial and personally suitable set of spiritual teachings as it felt like at the time, was the beginning of a continuing lifelong journey into myself and what lies beneath and beyond even that.

Eight years ago, I became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church by filling out a simple form on the internet. This was another turning point for me as a formal cultural acknowledgment of my focus on divine matters. It took me two years from the time of official ordination to fully accept, realize and appreciate what it meant. This and my earlier experiences was a matter of self acceptance and self worth taking time to grow. It seems that almost if not everything depends on how we view ourselves. Are we victims of life? Are we power hungry? Are we apathetic, disinterested or even atheist? Or are we humble in the Face of the Mystery of how we got here at all? And are we willing to put in the continuing work to maintain that humility? I appreciate the reminder of the "unordaining" process. There is no final free lunch in life. If we stop moving forward we fall behind.

Peter A.

Dear Peter:
Fascinating journey. Thank you for sharing it. I have been so pleased to hear others' stories of Ram Dass having an influence on them. I really love him. My greatest impetus has always been to to inspire others to view themselves in their best light and empower them to understand how wonderful they really are.
Patti

[PattiS]

What a lovely letter David. Did we meet? I can't pull you up, but my inner hard drive is very full and my inner ram is not too functional right now. But, it doesn't matter. We have met here and I say 'Hello Friend' nice to hear from you.
Blessings, Patti