Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Humility and Compassion are the Guardians of the Soul

Dog Poet Transmitting.......

May your noses always be cold and wet.

(Someone has been asking me to write about humility. I don't actually know what I'll write about, let me percolate for a bit and see what happens.)

Good sense is not epidemic among the forceful and arrogant, who seem to have no boundaries at all for their pernicious intentions. They've jockeyed and maneuvered themselves into all the high postings of the temporal circus, with the serious wranglers, plying their trade from the box seats, transforming curds into whey. It seems to be some kind of a conspiracy between the consciously evil and the willfully ignorant. They hold these lies to be self-concealed, within the knapsacks of that terrible fate they carry upon their backs. They are shadowed by their fate, which is woven into their character. You are what you have allowed yourself to become. Even the stark, raving evidence of uninterrupted, cosmic defeat has not taught these miscreants restraint; conscious and aware, they ain't.

Humility is one of those things that will save you from any number of attendant shortcomings. Compassion is the other. These two seem to have some kind of fraternal association. They hang out together. I think they are in some kind of mutual approval society. They dance along to a soundtrack that is kind of like “Love and Marriage” but the music and the words are considerably different; not to take away anything from Love and Marriage but they're the devil's own inferno, without humility and compassion. We can be very generous with everyone except those closest to us. It's in these situations that the resentment and anger gain full sway and where they cut the deepest, right to the quick. It's got nearly everything to do with freedom lost. We build ruins in the paradise of the heart. Love gave us freedom and then the familiarity bred contempt. We only get to know ourselves through our failures with another. Since we can't accept that most of the time, we turn it back on them and ourselves in equal measure.

When you're humble, you don't mind reproof; not so much whether it is or is not deserved because, as the master said “all fall short of the glory”. Humble doesn't mind because it bears all things in similar measure. Its concern is not to reinforce the value of the personal self. It has seen a greater self and that is the essential genesis of humility. The planets may have pride in their singularity, as their collaboration and resistance to one another, create the dance of life in which we all engage but... they are nothing without The Sun. They all revolve around it. Humility seeks this as a career move. Pride wants to go its own way and sometimes manages to get out of orbit with unfortunate results.

The planets do what they do through us and upon us in two different octaves, which are significantly unlike one another. It is the difference between ease of passage and all the obstacles that are the routine of those who go against their own best interests. That is all there is to free will. You have the choice between cooperation and resistance. There is no more to free will than that. Humility recognizes this. It is the essence of understanding that leads to wisdom. They are the twin centers at the top of the tree of life. Beyond that is the ineffable, in all it's magnificent, incomprehensible being. This is the way the lowest leads to the highest. Humility makes itself low and compassion springs from that. Humility sees all of those who have been made low and will be made low and it is generous accordingly because it has mastered the art of not having to be brought low. It has brought itself low and gained an accurate perspective of one's place in the scheme of things. Humility is not a doormat. It gets lifted up above the rest and is crowed with an enduring royalty but it pays this cosmic homage no mind. It merely wants to sit nearby, in any corner of the room, wherever the presence extends. Even on the outermost edge, humility is content. It knows it will not be asked to step down. If it is lifted up by celebration or as a test, it sees itself as a steward of the moment's largesse.

It's simple. It's not complicated. Complications are of the mind and simplicity is resident in the heart. When the heart swallows the mind, it is illuminated. One can gain much of the knowledge and the understanding of the use and applications of the cosmos and consider themselves triumphant in every case.; a veritable Master of the Temple or Magus. One can follow the heart and learn none of these things but the former will have to return and learn what the heart teaches, whereas the heart will have all the rest of what the former has gained and much more added, without the need to acquire them.

Humility is the seat of wisdom and compassion is its heart. Wisdom cannot rest or be wisdom if it is not supported by humility. The primary status of wisdom is the realization of one's insignificance and the awareness that one does not even know all that it thinks it knows and in operation, it acts on the brimming knowing of the all knowing that rises from its mysterious origins, at every occasion of need. Wisdom is absolute reliance and a confidence in the appearance of what maintains the entirety in every moment in which it exists. Everything exist through the ceaseless meditation of the divine.

In times of greater light, the wise move freely among us. In times of darkness, they are cloaked and veiled and sometimes far off, having little to do with the follies of the world, in its present and personal night of ignorance.

All of the qualities of the divine are interdependent. Some are of greater importance, like the primary colors, which then transform by interaction into the secondary hues. All of our shortcomings are interdependent. Some are more enduring than the others and each of these are replaced in their time by the qualities of the divine, through the avenue of its mercy, peculiar to each of us. We are the manifest expression of the divine on this plane or, more likely in this time, the manifest expression of the adversary. The resolution of each is mathematical in its precision, involving camels and the eyes of needles and all manner of other formula that invariably adds up to the sum of its parts. In the matter of the divine, the sum of the parts is less than the entirety of the whole by mysterious design.

It's not complicated. It's simple. All the wealth of occult intricacy can be seen and even conferred on one in a moment, in a twinkling and some of us have seen the evidence of this in solitary visions that were too immense to gain permanent residence. However... you don't need any of that anyway. One sees that too, if they are the beneficiary of the friendship of the divine. One is protected against the ravages of one's own inevitable fall, in respect of what cannot be mastered and demonstrated, except by the one to whom they all belong. Only one hand wields the power, all presumptions to the contrary will sooner or later be shown to be false. Why pay that price?

This is why humility and compassion are the guardians of the soul. With them in attendance, your way is clear of the certain and unavoidable pitfalls of personal ambition. You can come to a very high place and still fall. It has happened and will happen again. It is for the purpose of demonstration.

One needs to keep in mind the first commandment ...and study the implications. It is called the first and 'greatest' commandment. If you want to understand a virtue, study its opposite number. Study pride and selfishness, if you want a deeper understanding of humility and compassion and ask yourself which you would rather be around. The divine is no different than you in this respect and you'll get nowhere near the divine with a proud and selfish nature. The divine cannot take residence there. That is a truth without exceptions. Humility is a welcome sign at the gateway of your being. Angels see this and bring it to the attention of the most high. That is their job, among other things (grin). If you exercise the virtues of the one who created them, in your own small and inefficient way, it's pretty certain the author will show up and demonstrate for you their true value and application. If what I say is not true, let it be on my head. Granted that, the divine will show up and inform me as well. Anything that draws the divine is a good thing, even if initially it is somewhat alarming. Your immediate surrender will take care of that. It's the holding on that brings the ripping sensation.

People whose names we have never heard, shine like pearls around the neck of the ineffable and they all possess a remarkable similarity, as do the bonafide heralds and workers among us that we do know. Every time you are wondering what you should do, don't. It happens on its own. We're just along for the ride. Your credentials are your ticket and that also determines your seat. If you get dropped off along the way, do not despair. You've been placed there for a very good reason and there is another train coming all the time. If we do what is in front of us, the future will take care of itself.

Humility is nothing more than recognition. It is the result of recognition. Compassion is the natural extension of what has already been conferred on you. Once you have seen greatness. you know the meaning of 'filthy rags'. The fitting reality of this is that the entire spectacle has been put together for you. The entire universe exists because you do. You could be in the middle of trackless sands, or an endless mountain range and the oasis will appear, as will sweet honey from a rock. There is nowhere you can be that the master of all things is not present. It is the seeing and believing that is difficult but... you're still here, aren't you?


End Transmission.......

Visible sings: Color Ball by Les Visible♫ Foolish Pride ♫
'Foolish Pride' is track no. 10 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Color Ball'
Lyrics (pops up)

Color Ball by Les Visible

64 comments:

Dave Klausler said...

Les:

I believe what you say here to be true. However, that makes it no easier for me to operate in this world, such as it is. I am, like many others, bombarded with inequity by the minute... I find it so very difficult to let things pass.

Dave

tmcfall said...

beautiful, i need to read this a few more times
Thank You Les
Tom in Tempe Arizona

Anonymous said...

Humility and compassion are wonderful self empowering feelings as long as my stinking ego can get out of the way. What a battle.

biggee

Anonymous said...

It's not a door mat, it's a Welcome mat.

PSO said...

I need to read this a few times and let it imprint because these words are valuable; One could not pay me any amount of money to take these words away from this site- or now- my Resident Good.

Thank you Les, and like Gerry sang, 'Whatever's written in your heart, that's all that matters', and your heart is clearly written here.

-
pso

mayaseri said...

Just reading this is humbling enough for me Les, I have been reading you now for a good six years or so and I have never ever been disappointed you are truly amazing and you are the real deal.

Thank you.
c.j

Anonymous said...

Thank you Visible

I have been using the method you recommended, forcefully exhailing thoughts out of my mind pertaining to ego, searching for humility. This has been very helpfull for me.

My sincere gratitude to you Visible and The Divine for inspiring and directing your work.

From a remote area of Oregon

Anonymous said...

via Homer..

"In the matter of the divine, the sum of the parts is less than the entirety of the whole by mysterious design."

This, as well as about ten other sentences, is the stuff of meditation/contemplation/realization

An exceptional Visible Origami +

Erik said...

Wow Vis,

Beautiful and 'chockfull', thanks ...
Almost choked on your "clincher"

"you're still here, aren't you?"

How very true ;)

Divine willing, I'll see you in Mexico (grins)

Anonymous said...

Good one, Les, very good. Something to be read every day as one starts out. This: “We can be very generous with everyone except those closest to us. It's in these situations that the resentment and anger gain full sway and where they cut the deepest, right to the quick.” reminds me of Matt Groening’s (creator of The Simpsons) summation of family; “Family is about love overcoming emotional torture.” Thanks Les.
Serena

onething said...

I have thought a lot about free will; it is quite a mystery. Seems simple, but it's not. About free will consisting of no more than cooperation or resistance, I had come to a similar conclusion. The way I put it to myself is that all we can do is say yes or no to God.

You say "When the heart swallows the mind, it is illuminated."

The religious tradition I was raised in, the mystics speak of bringing the mind into the heart.

I think that the best lesson on real humility I can think of is when someone, as a preface to a question, said to Jesus, "Good Rabbi..."

And Jesus stopped him and said, "Why do you call me good? There is one who is good, that is God."

Humility knows that all its good characteristics are not their own, but come from God.

Likewise, we can realize that bad characteristics as well do not really belong to our spirit, which comes of God and is ever pure. This understanding enables forgiveness to make sense.

It's a paradox that all our crimes and all our good deeds are significant and important, and yet we will be lifted one day to a realm in which our crimes will be erased, not forgiven as we think of forgiveness, but erased as if they never were, because they never were.

But that is not for this realm.

There is a zen saying.
Overcoming your passions is not nirvana. Considering them as no affair of yours, that is nirvana.

Anonymous said...

The way you open up the gifts that the Divine provides you is in itself a miracle.

Love,

Ghana

Peter of Lone Tree said...

For God's sake, let us occupy the Heart!

Robin Redbreast said...

Beautifully expressed
So beautifully true
And simple
LLPP xxxx

onething said...

From Hafiz
(Friend, Beloved and Presence all mean the same thing)

It is unanimous where I come from
Everyone agrees on one thing:

It's no fun
When God is not near.

All are hunters.
The wise man learns the Friend's weaknesses
And sets a clever trap.

Listen,
The Beloved has agreed to play a game
Called Love

Our sun sat in the sky
Way before this earth was born
Waiting to caress a billion faces.

Hafiz encourages all art
For at its height it brings Light near to us.

The wise man learns what draws God near.

It is the beauty of compassion
In your heart.

Steve said...

Goose bumps and wonder

Alpha Silex said...

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome, Awesome, Awesum.

Gregory F. Fegel said...

Another great blog, Les.

To Peter of Lone Tree: I read the article that you linked to, and I think that Occupying the Heart is good advice for all of us. However, the author of the article advocates that everyone take a vow of total nonviolence in dealing with oppressors -- and I would never recommend that the oppressed take such an oath. I think that everyone has the right to defend themselves and to claim their small share of the earth. The oppressors know that good people prefer nonviolence, and the oppressors simply take advantage of our nonviolence to continue their oppression. The oppressors have contempt for our nonviolence.

I recommend reading the Bhagavad Gita for a more complete exposition of the concept of appropriate violence as righteous self-defense and karma-yoga. If I am unjustly assaulted, or if I see someone else being unjustly assaulted (perhaps even an animal), I will not limit myself to oratory or to nonviolent measures to stop the attacker. Nor will I feel guilty for having done so.

Gregory F. Fegel said...

When the bullies repeatedly push Smarty-Pants, Goody-Two-Shoes, and Simple Simon into the mud and steal our lunch money, and the bullies remain unswayed by our appeals to their non-functioning compassion, we become justified to teach the bullies a potentially fatal lesson via the School of Hard Knocks. The shame will not be ours for doing so.

Til then, ponder this: how often does the philosophy of Nonviolence serve to perpetuate tyranny? I feel guilty that I have not done more to stop the tyranny -- by whatever means.

Visible said...

are you covert disinfo? Why are you talking about these things here in this post in defiance of all that has been said here? Are you undercover and now surfacing? What's going on here?

Gregory F. Fegel said...

Sorry, Les. You yourself recently made a favorable reference to the Bhagavad Gita -- a reference in which I understood you to mean that you agreed with the Gita's philosophy of justifiable self-defense. You have also often said that a time of turmoil is coming, in which you expect that many of the oppressed will not submissively succumb to the oppressors, but behave defensively. If you find my two above comments objectionable for philosphical (spiritual) or for safety or strategic reasons, delete them and I won't object.

During the Viet Nam War, I felt that the Viet Cong (PAVN) were righteously fighting the good fight against foreign oppressors. That's why we carried their flag in our anti-war marches here in the USA. Today I feel the same way about the Palestinians, the Afghanis, the Iraqis, the Libyans, the Iranians, and the Syrians. Their struggle is my struggle. "In sleepy London Town there's no place for a street-fighting man." But there might be, someday. To those who sincerely think that nonviolent protests are the only way that justice should ever be sought, I say "Good luck with that, but I don't agree." You can delete this post too, if you want to. No objection from me.

Gregory F. Fegel said...

P.S. The US military and the US intelligence agencies have for a long time now been referring to anti-war groups and dissenters in the USA as an "insurgency." The Counter Counter-Insurgency Convergence at Reed College here in Portland last April (which I attended) covered that subject in depth. They see us as "insurgents" and I say that, in the circumstances, that is what we are fully justified to be. Did they not attack us on 9/11? Again, delete this if you want to; I admit that I have written strong and perhaps dangerous language. Keep it mellow if you like. Again, no objections if you delete this.

Visible said...

This is Visible Origami, not Smoking Mirrors or Petri Dish and has nothing to do with the subject matter of the post unless the implication is that the points made in the post are incorrect and we're better off as a bunch of slathering, machete wielding psychos. I'm very familiar with the Bhagavad-Gita and the different meanings that can be drawn by what is said but I also note that the near totality of all the sacred texts is not based on the intention of... never mind, never mind. You want to go on and on about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth have at it.

I note an interesting parallel between what is being said and what the alleged Andrew had to say at Mirrors earlier and I've been noticing a number of things which I am going to have to give some thought to.

A.Mouser said...

Fine post Visible.

Fence in Strängnäs is finished (before the snow) in Sweden...

Hasbara provacateurs as thick as thieves on your blogs - take it as a complement you're on the right track of truth.

Greetings.

Mouser

Em (M. Rocknest) said...

Humility and compassion combine nicely into a powerful yet often overlooked source of energy called empathy. It was no coinkydink (I like that word) that on one of the Star Trek series a key crew member was an empath (Deanna Troi). Few would argue, I think, that the world is in a condition of chaos right now. TPTB are trying to mask the condition for as long as possible but all the while they are creating more chaos and firmly believing that they are going to end up with even more control of the system because of these manipulations. Another way to express this condition of chaos is that we are in a high state of entropy. TPTB work within the system using the force of psychopathy to increase the entropy. In order to become more orderly (for entropy to decrease), you must transfer energy from somewhere outside the system. Well my thought is that empathy decreases entropy. We need more empathy in the 99% to counteract the psychopathy of the 1%. We need to decrease the entropy.

Gregory F. Fegel said...

Visible: It's up to you whether you post this or omit it. I'm just sending it in the hope that you will read it. Previously I was just commenting on a link that one of your other commenters provided. If you don't want me to do that anymore, I won't. And if you think that anything I write is too objectionable to post, well don't; it's your blogsite, after all.

Mahatma Gandhi, who justifiably remains the modern Exemplar of nonviolent protest, said that he didn't think that Satyagraha would work in Hitler's Germany or Mussolini's Italy. Gandhi also suspended Satyagraha during World War Two, and Gandhi encouraged his Indian countrymen to sign up for service in the British Army to fight the Germans, Italians, and Japanese. So Gandhi did not advocate total nonviolence in all circumstances.

Like Gandhi believed in WW2, I do not think that we're going to influence the US and Israeli governments much with Satyagraha, because they have seldom responded positively to Satyagraha tactics in the past (look at what they did to Rachel Corrie and others). The Civil Rights Movement might be an exception to what I'm saying. I'm not saying don't use Satyagraha as long as we can; I'm just saying that I doubt Satyagraha is going to work for us this time, because it sure hasn't worked so far, and the signs don't look good to me that it will. I'm pessimistic about the intractibility of the US government and the status quo, and I think that I have good reason to be pessimistic about it.

At a nonviolent protest rally, I think that anyone who, against the spirit of the rally and the safety of the protesters, engages in unauthorized and provocative "direct action" should be told to take it to another part of town. But I personally might not tell them not to do their direct action somewhere else.

I knew nonviolent protesters who literally got their "heads cracked" by the police during the Viet Nam War, and that's something that I decided I would never willingly submit to. I think that if your believe that your cause is truly just, you shouldn't feel obligated to be on the recieving end of batons, tear gas, bullets, or jail time. There's no obligation to make yourself a victim if your cause is just.

Smyrna said...

The residue of the cleansing fire transmuted from the detritus of Ego.

The succour of the Lord's grace.

Anonymous said...

Vis,

Disinfo agents can be a clever lot.
Incrementally and subtly manipulating the discouse.

Trolls are soon obvious

Blog tulpas are another matter altogether.

Mandocello

Anonymous said...

pierre said.

The Bhad. Vita was good for me to read as I was going through the do no violence, turn the other cheeks endlessly (hamlets dilemma) stage.
and yes, I did gather some justifcation in taking up arms and overcoming ones absolute disinclination to do so.
the difference would be - now I get to be on topic, I trust - that done with Humility and Compassion and as a tool of the Divine (in being connected), such actions are in accordance with a moral life, (and survival in a temporal world) .
that is a far cry though from "the Devil Made Me Do It" excuses or anything goes "with god on your side".

it's a very tricky subject though. should I be killing these horse flies before they sneak up on me to bite me hard?


..pierre (the pissweak, somewhat)

wv: compedne. I but partially comp(reh)ende these excellent posts.

Richie (Dana) said...

Gregory @ 9:51
I am going to have to disagree with you intensely here.
Les has never advocated violence in any blog he ever wrote and your comments are counter-productive to the intent and those who visit.

I would highly recommend that you do not lead your fellow human beings astray with this kind of talk. As Les has stated in the past, everything is recorded and you will be asked to answer for what you recommend to others. I cannot imagine that this will be a pleasant experience.

I traveled to another state to see my mommy who is dying of liver disease. It is remarkable to see her wasted body with the bright and shining eyes of a mind intact. She did fight for something of real value and it is NOT here.

There is not ONE fucking thing on this planet worth fighting for, save the souls which God has called. While this is not my talent in this realm, I am eternally grateful that God led me to Mr. Visible for his encouragement.

Not too long ago, Les stated that "It does not matter if you die".
So now I have a choice....fight for a patch of rancid dirt, or treasures I could not begin to imagine, given by the maker of it all. UMMM.....tough one....

Les, I will never stop thanking you.

Love
Richard

Rob in WI said...

Visible,
I've never really been able to decipher your differentiation between VO, SM, and PD. You rotate the blogs, and write what you want to share, which I think is fine. PD is sometimes tamer than VO, and vise versa. Gregory F. has posted many interesting comments, and to insinuate that he is subversive seems unlike you. That's just my opinion. If there are other factors that don't appear in comments; then my mistake. Rob

JLOC said...

Les, you kick ass. :)

Zel said...

"That is all there is to free will. You have the choice between cooperation and resistance. There is no more to free will than that."

I usually find your thoughts both interesting & enlightening, LV, since our respective mindsets are different enough that you see things I do not, and most likely the reverse would also be true, but if you are correct in the above quote, you're bumming me out. Why?

If I get your meaning, God/The Universe/The Force/whatever you call it, grinds you down to nothing, to make you useful to others - the opposite of that force wants to grind you down to nothing, to make you useful in it's service.

While the first option is worthier, it's MO seems disturbingly like the second player, especially if you're a believer in karma - submit, or you will repeat this class, over and over, until you do submit even if it takes a hundred billion years, in which case why even pretend that there is free will at all - dispense with that farce and just tell me that I'm a slave.

We could go around and around on this topic, given that I'm sure everyone's thought deeply on the topic of free will, but if you're right and there truly is no free will, I say old chap, pass me that Morganti dagger - a soul killing dagger, from the Vlad Taltos series - only way off this ride.

Anyway, great column.

MachtNichts said...

And it is also those closest to us who can teach us our most valuable lessons. My husband left early for the great unknown after 20 years of our sometimes quite turbulent marriage almost 10 years ago. In hindsight, I call it the clashes of two egos but love and forgiveness were always present. Although that kind of love turned out to be possessive.

Of course in the midst of the thicket humility and compassion take a back seat and the urge to control the other is strong. Ergo, lots of fights about nothing until you mellow.
He taught me to overcome my feelings of jealousy and I am forever grateful for that. When I wasn't anymore, jealous that is, he didn't like that either and thought I didn't love him anymore. Talk about irony. Anyways, Vis, thank you for your thoughts today.

Do we also have to have compassion for the Brit ex-pats living in Greece who first had to let go of their 65' boats, then their Maserati and then their Volvo? Just kidding, Love Silvia

Gregory F. Fegel said...

Visible: This is a quote from a comment you made under your Oct 23rd blog "Tending the Mind Garden in the Kali Yuga."
"I hold with what the Bhagavad-Gita says about living dying and the war that takes place in the manifest due to the antagonism of the elements that compose it and ourselves."

The authors of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavat Purana, whoever they were, unambiguously described Krishna as a warrior King who fought some battles and killed some people. Krishna was not a turn-the-other-cheek pacifist. The philosophy expounded by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita provides a spiritual rationale for self-defense, and Krishna describes it as a form of karma yoga. That is the most common interpretation of Krishna's solution to Arjuna's dilemma in the Bhagavad Gita -- an interpretation which most Hindus accept. The context of the Gita within the larger story of the Mahabharata supports that view. There may be some non-violent, esoteric interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavad Purana which do not involve killing or justify self-defense, but the orthodox interpretation promotes the doctrine of self-defense.

I never said anything about machetes. I do not encourage armed conflict. Visible, in your current blog that we are commenting under, you wrote: "Everyone working for a mendacious corporation, who still has any contact with their soul should either just walk away or gum up the works; silent revolutionaries on the march, everywhere around the world."

That's actually what I do advocate. I don't think that we can defeat the System until the System starts to collapse, and I hope that will happen "naturally" as a result of economic dysfunction. Before the surveillance and control gets past the point where we can stop it, I think that we should stop it by disabling the System so it cannot function to control us or abuse us. I'd rather live without utilities, services, communications, and transportation than live under that System.

We don't need to wait for this to get ugly; it got ugly a long time ago. Innocent people have died by the millions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, so the shit actually hit the fan decades ago. We've just been living in the eye of the storm within the House of Perdition. We've been spared so far because we are the children of the murderous Godfather.

That Andrew person does not write or think like I do. I am not a Disinfo agent. I am a My-info agent. When people don't like what I say, it's often because they don't know what I know. When other people have the right idea, I certainly want to hear it. Don't post this if you don't want to. If you don't want to communicate with me about this any more on this venue, just say so. You have my email address and my phone number.

Robin Redbreast said...

Rise above Les :)

Some are on
Different paths
LLPP xxxx

Visible said...

I cross bridges when I com them, not before. I'm also familiar with controlling the opposition which is what takes place every time someone picks up a weapon or exhorts the masses into doing so. My solution has been the same since I got here and that is that first you wake people up and show them what is happening to them. Then you point out that the system doesn't work without their cooperation. Then you point out that they can shut down the system by stepping away from it.

However, none of this is the point. The point is materialism. As long as materialism flourishes it doesn't matter what people do. It doesn't matter if the fight or don't fight because the forces that manipulate materialism for the confusion and disorder of the people remain in charge. There's no getting around that.

A point being missed here is 'why' and 'for who' Krishna was telling Arjuna to fight. Another point is that a great deal of it is metaphorical and allegorical which is always the case with spiritual texts.

My personal interpretation of jihad is a war unleashed on oneself for internal cleansing.

Another point is that there was nothing in this post to engender the argument that came up and that was what I was trying to address, which seems to have gotten lost in the mix. If there had been commentary about embracing non violence in a social-political construct it would have been germane but there was not. This post had nothing to do with motivating something that seemed to sail right out of the blue from left field.

I'm discussed being a revolutionary sub rosa; making things not work, gumming up the works and all sorts of creative things but unless people are truly awakened to what is happening to them there is no future in motivating them because they will fall under the spell of any silver tongued liar that comes along.

People are free to spread whatever message they like and there are any number of forum and blog opportunities for that and they can have whatever measure of success or failure attends their efforts.

My efforts are in a particular direction and I take my cue from the inner voice which could be wrong and people are free to make that assessment, certainly time and history will judge. I do not run into certain problems anymore at all because I do not carry them with me. I don't consider this place my home and I am not staying here, nor do I intend to come back. The easiest passage out of here is a harmonization of one's elements first, following the same externally, followed by a promotion to another plane. I'm taking that route.

One could say I've lived a pretty violent, tempestuous and outrageous life up to a certain point and violence was certainly in there. I spent time of some years in hard prisons where the color percentages were not in my favor and went through it intact in all respects with heavy protection from the very people who would have been my harshest foes. This was accomplished by being as I am presently stating and by seeking God in every moment I could remember to do so.

I'm not a fan of convoluted cant or merely repeating the words of other as if it were a sign of intelligence, nor seeking complex argument as a means of demonstrating that I am hip to it all and worthy of salvation as a result. It don't work like that.

Continued

Visible said...

I'm sure there are a lot of warrior types out there but talking about it and doing it are two different things and since I've been in life and death situations of that sort more than once I can tell you that exhorting to violence and beating the drums for it, especially when it isn't even on the menu in a given day is a faulty approach. I hold with the yogis and the spiritual masters who have been my bread and butter and who guide me. I'm not here to tell people what to do, that's not my affair. I'm just here to write what I am inspired to say and to help build a community of kindred spirits outside the suffocating blanket of addiction to consumer goods and banal entertainments. I engage in a degree to some permutation of all of these things but it is the degree that counts in my mind; meaning the degree to which the mind and heart can be compromised by them. Some of us aren't affected by this and that is another point, some of us are.

I've seen what violence can do and I know people have to live with the results of it. I've seen what a peaceful heart can accomplish too. Though I expect a tremendous outrage to come against the bankers and their ilk, I'm not going to promote and call for it. I just point things out. I can get pretty passionate about it and scatological and insinuatory but that's something to be dealt with where that emerges, which it didn't do here.

I'm only confused about what brought it all up out of nowhere but I'm not actually confused when I think about it.

The proof is in the pudding and I'll go with that. If I'm wrong, time will tell and I'll adjust accordingly and grow from it because that is what I always do but I'm not going to carry a musket in anyone's army. I use other weapons which I consider to have a greater efficacy and the pen is mightier than the sword.

Visible said...

Sorry about the typos, I am under the gun timewise to get somewhere and had to splattercast at a high rate, actually I'm impressed there were so few (grin). Out the door.

faith said...

I wish I could, express the worlds of understanding, recognition that continues to unfold. I have read this several times now, and each time a new perspective. I would like to be able to share the stars birthing but presently I witness galaxies. Even in comments moments continue to arise. While reading, being I had to wonder …hmmm….yes perhaps as humbling as reading the Gita, At one point I saw Krishna’s mouth open wide and myself sacred bread, and gained a moment of compassion understanding that we all are sacred bread.

My original intention in mentioning the Gita was not to continue the above discussion above about the occupy movement but I digress, In general my philosophy surrenders to nonviolence at all costs and bow to all who can face violence with non violence and bow lower to those who can do so and maintain their compassion for their oppressor . But moving from the Gita to the Mahabharata, Arjuna does fight,. Understanding his position as a warrior he surrenders himself, as a warrior, to Krishna. And I got to say I think there is a difference between violent vengeance and self protection. I don’t lock my doors, nor own weaponry, of any kind, but if someone tried to attack my grand child or perhaps even my dogs… I don’t know? Krishna might be served sacred grandmother bear verse sacred bread.

So I said I digressed but the above contemplation leads me back to some original thoughts regarding Free Will and the choice of resistance or cooperation.

What are we resisting and what are we cooperating with? The other night I watched A Brave New World and witnessed what a world with out free will might look like. There was much cooperation in within the society. All acting appropriately as per the rules laid out for them. rarely did anyone act violently but every day life was void of humility, compassion, and God. Without those choices and void of the choice to cooperate or not, there was no purpose or meaning except through resistance.

I'm formulating ideas as I type.
So my mind's puposing question:
If we are all sacred bread... regardless...then are the actions we take as important as learning to cooperate with the heart... contemplated heart... the willing surrender to the one true power?

Anyhow I ramble. However, I want to take a moment express my sincere appreciation, Les, for the vast thoughts and hoped to offer you a glimpse of how this article has fed has fed my soul. Thank You.

Faith

Smyrna said...

Zel,

Do you ever experience deja vu?

I used to frequently in my younger days; but not since I went mad.

Maybe there is something to Nietzsche's theory of Eternal Recurrence that fits into the Reincarnation cycle? (And I'm thinking his needle might have got stuck in the groove.)

Same life followed by same life etc., in some instances, until something is grasped.

Anonymous said...

Please take 10 minutes of your time to listen to what Scott Olsen has to say. He has earned the right of voicing his opinion what should be done in the face of violence. Which is exactly what has happened to him.
I'll summarize anyway. Scott Olsen, humble, compassionate and peaceful. Viciously attacked by fascist cops and injured. Slowly recovering. Still humble and compassionate. Still peaceful. A true american hero.

Michael

Visible said...

A new Smoking Mirrors is up-

A Transmission from the Kingdom of the Meat Puppets.

Anonymous said...

Rob WI,

If you have something on your chest about visible then why not just come right out and relieve yourself of all that resident venom? You seem to take any opportunity lately to get a knife into the ribs.

I agree completely with visible about his main thrust. There wasn't an existent motivation in the article to begin with.

Some of you have a poor appreciation for the effort being made here. The very least that is deserved, I would think, is an amount of slack. Nitpickers and slap happy pseudo intellectuals ought to pay more attention to how they sound of which they are probably unaware B E F O R E they set about criticizing someone in one of their best submissions and who tirelessly provides us with fodder for thought and succor for the heart at no cost beyond your attention.

You ought to be ashamed of yourselves instead of adopting all these self important postures that don't even include original thought but are just cut and paste jobs or collections of information designed to show how smart you are by dishing out Wikipedia extracts.

R.

katz said...

If you put the main criminals behind most of the horrors that surround us, in a room, they would fit.

Until you start naming names, and arresting these cretins, and tossing the laws at them, nothing will change.

It's not a matter of the lower people in the world rejecting stuff. It's not anything that any person, not in this circle of power, can do.

But, there are more of us, then there are of them. And, by "them" I mean certain men and a few women with names, addresses and phone numbers who can be brought before a jury of us, tried, given due process and lawyers, and fleeced of all their ill gotten gains, to fix the mess that they have made.

Right now, they have no personal accountability. Right now, they are getting away with looting us dry, ruining our economy, waging illegal and unconstitutional wars, putting together politicians, with names, addresses and phone numbers, to get laws to further cover them, and their accountability.

There is no accountability. There are two sets of laws: one for the rest of us, and one for the ones in control of what laws are made, and enforced....or let me just say rules...bc the executive branch is not supposed to make laws, so they just make "rules".

So, until people wake up and realize that these men and women, with names, addresses and phone numbers can be arrested and held accountable, nothing will change.

Violence won't help, bc it will probably get innocent people, and the persons who did the crimes will hop a plane to South America.

Protests won't help bc they are laughing at you for your lack of understanding who is doing what.

Petitions won't help bc all that does is whine, and create lists so that some other criminal can try to harass those on the list.

I read the other day someone said we need to raise taxes? For what? So that the same insiders can profit some more? Someone needs to question the existence of these "taxes" and who is getting the money. The ones who do have names, addresses and telephone numbers, and guess what???
There are crimes like treason, fraud, theft, murder, etc that go on, even on cameras in hotels, where the perps walk and nobody arrests them for long.

This is what is wrong. Not whining, not bitching, not overshopping, or wanting stuff....it's not a lack of holiness, it none of that. It's the lack of personal accountability that certain men and woman have.

traveller36 said...

Hello People,
Stop hijacking the topic. This is about humility and compassion.And not about violence - triddling our fingers as we stare at our navels - uuhhh!! when is violence justified? What does my favourite spiritual tome say? Geezzz!!
Can we, at least, give the subject at hand our superior intellects? Camels and gnats, camels and gnats.

Good day!
Traveller36

WV: Maning

katz said...

traveler, try to keep up. it may have started that way, but it has already gone past it.

BTW, while you attempt to direct discussion of someone else's blog, have you noticed that your post is off topic of any of the topics that are under discussion?

est said...

-
relying on the intellect alone
is like swimming way out

in an ocean

you better be sure
you can make it back in
-

Mouser said...

R and Traveller66,

Right on. Fukers can't hold a candle to the Dog.

Peace

Anonymous said...

Wow. How high does the saucer pod go? How deep? Where does it come from? I agree with,"seeking complex argument as a means of demonstrating that I am hip to it all and worthy of salvation as a result,it don't work like that." But maybe repeating the words of the Dog Poet is a sign of intelligence.?

Endure
Mni

katz said...

My solution has been the same since I got here and that is that first you wake people up and show them what is happening to them. Then you point out that the system doesn't work without their cooperation. Then you point out that they can shut down the system by stepping away from it.

However, none of this is the point. The point is materialism. As long as materialism flourishes it doesn't matter what people do. It doesn't matter if the fight or don't fight because the forces that manipulate materialism for the confusion and disorder of the people remain in charge. There's no getting around that. From Les Visible

No. The point is that as long as certain men and women, not a group of unknown faces or types, continue to do whatever they do to get their nut illegally, and continue to get away with it, they will.

Criminals are that way. That is why when you see an arrest warrant it is detailed. It states what happened, when it did, and to whom, and most importantly, by whom.

Nothing but personal accountability will help.

It's like Thomas Hobbes said: we are all equal bc we are equally able to kill each other. Meaning, that until we look at the fact that the criminals who get away with these big crimes are criminals, and they are not GOD, and they are not untouchable, and that the system has laws to protect us, and that the criminals are hiding behind the system, and have the ability to get away with it, that they will continue to get away with it. In fact, they will continue the same criminal activity that has worked for them, in the past, right up to the moment that they are under arrest.

And, so many innocent people are dead, now, bc of them. How many kids were slaughtered in their bed? How come no one was arrested for mass murder? How come no one notices that targeting unarmed civilians is murder?

The easy to understand part is that if you are connected to the same criminals who murdered all those people on 911, got away with it. Netzenyahoo is laughing his arshe off at all of us, as is Perez, and Bloodburg, and Silverberg, and Cheney and the rest of the Defense Policy Board. Richard Perle is laughing his arshe off at all of us.

There are names of people that can be arrested and lists of them. Check out the role call on the Defense Policy Board, or PNAC or JINSA. Or, even look at the list of people who hang out in the woods in Cali, every summer and worship owls in mock murder rituals. Or maybe real murders, who knows? These men are happy and gay.

Why? Because they get away with it everyday. And, no one bothers to notice the exact crimes, even though they are BIG. Maybe some crimes are too BIG to fail? Is that how it works?

Take the blinders off. They are not that smart or great that they can't be arrested. In fact, some of them are short, small and couldn't think past their blackmail-able piccalilli.

Why do you think so many are pedophiles? The other criminals pick them that way so that they can be controlled.

Only the scum would do what they do. Stealing other people's stuff and murdering unarmed people.....and looting the people of the nation, in which they have power. Yes, names. They need to be dragged out of the closet of anonymity.

And, they are scared that someday, someone may just figure it out. So, that is why they are so hot to torture people...to get false confessions to cover them. That is why they want to pass a law that says that you can't have a fake name, online. They want to see who has figured them out.

Meanwhile, they use FB to track everyone. That is bc they are really scared that the obvious may occur to some people:

They are human and capable of facing trial and accountability.

Zel said...

Smyrna,
You say, "Same life followed by same life etc., in some instances, until something is grasped."

But what about when that essential lesson is grasped? At some point you have to take the rat out of the infinite maze and give him the freedom to choose, or else it's a closed system, creating nothing but mechanized souls, without a true choice.

The goal of the spirit should be to cut the bad spots out of apples if you will, without mashing and grinding them into a shapeless, unrecognizable pulp - preserving the unique formation of that soul, and encouraging it to flower in any direction it chooses, so long as it doesn't harm others.

But yes, I lived the Groundhog Day scenario, same day repeating over and over, from 2005 - 2010 when I was doing nothing but swimming in crap, and since then I've been doing nothing but emptying myself of that horror.

Raising my iced coffee protein shake - To free will.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Les and all.
My observations from the woods:
All creatures have a defence and even when they use it they often become lunch.
Justice is blind to them that own it and intervention from a much higher court is needed.
Not feeding the beast and giving peace and life a chance is great, but changes must come from within it as within us.
The words bravery and stupidity are interchangeable.
That's how I see it and I surely may have misinterpreted.
Have a good ride, from Minnesota

amarynth said...

Humility and Compassion are the Guardians of the Soul.

Say it again .. stand still for a moment .. let it percolate inside ..

Humility and Compassion are the Guardians of the Soul.

These are internal qualities - a deep intelligence that has very little to do with being clever or being able to fight, or being able to argue or debate or put people on trial or bullies in school yards. Nothing that anyone does, says or accomplishes will change anything. You cannot put the whole world in jail, you also cannot kick every bully's ass. But you can accept internal change from the One who changes you. That will change things.

I'm just happy that there is one Visible Origami that I actually could understand (grin). But i also had to read what Krisnamurti has to say on Humility and Compassion. Its not different from what Teacher Visible says.

Thank-you again Visible, for your patient teaching!

bproman said...

Thank you.

katz said...

Nothing that anyone does, says or accomplishes will change anything. You cannot put the whole world in jail, you also cannot kick every bully's ass. But you can accept internal change from the One who changes you. That will change things. from Amarynth

That is simply not true. One person can change things. You don't have to put the whole world in jail. In fact, the few men and women w names can be arrested and tried in a court of law, just like they did in Nuremberg.

That defeatist attitude is part of the problem. You invest the criminals with too much power and flatter them with your high opinion that they cannot be stopped.

In fact, people need to realize the power of truth, and justice.

There will never be peace without justice. And, that is not a hollow slogan, it's the truth.

As Les Visible has said:
The truth has a certain elegance and restraint to it. Sometimes it can be a little rough because the truth doesn’t spend as much time in makeup as the lies do. Lies require cosmetics and strategic lighting. Truth possesses its own beauty (if you can see it), without the need for artifice and produces its own light.


We need to demand enforcement of our own laws. No man is above the law.

Visible said...

Now the personal attacking has moved over to this blog too. I guess Smoking Mirrors didn't grant a large enough exposure.

Gregory F. Fegel said...

To katz:

I agree with you about the need for law and its enforcement. Self-realization is wonderful for all who pursue it, but the self-realized are not likely to convert the corrupt. Myanmar has many Buddhist monks, but its government is still corrupt. India has many sadhus, gurus, and scholars, but its upper classes are still stubbornly materialistic, and its government is also corrupt. The opiates of the masses are many. When I protest, I don't do it for the complacent Americans; I do it for the foreign victims of US aggression.

Smyrna said...

Zel,

Groundhog Day was interesting, and a great film.
Was Bill Murray happier when he was free to indulge all his earthly passions and repeat the same day over and over? Or was he happier at the end of the film when the penny dropped and he had realised the benefits of walking the true course, which after all the struggle and rigmarole was the easiest thing to do?

Anonymous said...

Gregory @ 9:51
I am going to have to disagree with you intensely here.
Les has never advocated violence in any blog he ever wrote and your comments are counter-productive to the intent and those who visit.

The conditions surrounding the first shot and the subsequent follow ups would never be allowed. What fell later could only fall by divine right.

To retaliate then oppress when one's own indolence is the culprit is wrong and will reverberate throughout eternity until corrected. This thread of retaliation will be returned endlessly throughout eternity as the Fates require, one can win this battle, this life but one will not deny the Divine intent.

Since I never was inclined to respond and only did after Gregory spoke, I am with Gregory on this, all the way back to when the first contact was made. The manipulation earlier feared is apparent now. Gregor is correct in this at least.

SHAHID said...

He has written very well.The subject was not easy too.However,I feel he should have used simpler words to explain both,humility and compassion.The language is little harder.

Visible said...

A new Petri Dish is up-

A Burning Man Snake-Fest at the Boy Scout Jamboree.

Thomas said...

...

thank you, Les.

this one was like a well deserved Gut-punch for me. God tells me no, but I think so myself. You are right, of course, but the One doesn't seem to mind my excursions of vanity and stupidity... Very teaching experiences, though...

How much bigger than us... how stupendously and unfathomably bigger and better and lovelier the One is than us. Still it tells me: "do not separate yourself from me. You are of me, and one with me. Be patient, relax, and flow!".

I don't understand anything of anything, really. All is well, though. A better guide than the source of everything surely cannot be found.

Thank you, thank you!

With Love

Anonymous said...

Les --

Thought I'd save the best meditation trick to the last.

Keep your mouth shut -- tongue to the roof of your mouth-

Breathe in with open nostrils.

EXHALE WITH MOUTH CLOSED BY DOING
A LOW GLOTTAL HUM

UNTIL you are out of breath...

Breathe In -- Hummmm out (with mouth still closed)..... Breathe In -- Hummmmm out --

Namaste,

RJ





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