Quote: (02-29-2016 07:46 PM)crudeloyalist Wrote:
I'll just leave this here...
TL;dr - 'evil' exists as a contrast to demonstrate what 'good' is. We manifest into reality that which we focus energy upon, 'good' or 'evil'. We contain all contrasts within our being so we can (if we choose) experience all things to become wise about them. But we are not ourselves a thing, a contrast, an object. That which we truly are is beyond contrast, attribute, description, or form - the One, Brahman, the Absolute. The One manifests, if it chooses, in any and many forms. Infinite possibilities. "Thoughts are things - choose the good ones." (TUT)
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Excellent clip. It goes right to the core of what I've come to understand about evil and any agents of it. What I'll share is a combination of my personal experiences, what I've read / heard from those who've studied the subject, and my musings on the topic. I have a lot of time to contemplate and I utilize it, on a variety of topics. Those in the spiritual domain are the most interesting, because we are in this life for a short span of years and as men contemplating death is essential to fully living life. I'm in my very early 40s and have lived quite a few lifetimes in one it feels like. Every 10 years it seems I'm a very different person, although my core remains solid.
I was raised by a very religious Polish Catholic mother. As in, about-to-take-final-vows, 9 years lived semi-cloistered as a novitiate. She ended up leaving that academy on the East Coast and came west where she would finish her English degree, start a Master's program, work various jobs in management/logistics, and eventually met my very persistent Turkish/Arabic dietary Muslim father. Theirs was not a likely romance but once it was clear my Dad wouldn't take no for an answer, my Mom agreed to spend time with him (almost every day for 6 months) and get to know each other. She was indeed a virgin when she married my Dad and was devoted to him the next 40 years until he passed of complications related to type 2 diabetes (heart disease). She was and is a very devout person, to both her conception of God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and honoring the Virgin Mary. She is proof to me of the studies on 'virgin with one partner = lowest risk of divorce'. When I came across that a few years ago via Heartiste I've kept it in mind ever since, as Roosh has recently emphasized ('the mother of your children should be a virgin and religious').
Dad was mostly hands-off but he didn't want us to be baptized until we were 13 and able to consent and choose whatever religious path we wanted (or not). In that way he was the most truly progressive 'Christian' you could meet and I admired his open-mindedness. His favorite quote was 'God gave you a brain to use it' and, ironically, it's like the serpent eating its own tail as I saw in another post because you can easily question the typical concepts of God with that kind of advice. I think that's what he did so he remained observant but not fanatical to any practices or policies. He had seen a lot of horrors in India around the time of the uprisings to reclaim independence and was a pretty non-violent man. Physically, at least. Verbally he was pretty crazy-tempered and we had to be on edge. Sometimes it did seem like his fits of rage were like a kind of possession and Mom was very big on using holy water, blessing the house before he came home, praying for intercession with her friends from the church, etc.
So with this preface, I want to comment on the question re: believing in the devil / Satan existing or not. First from my childhood experiences, then young adult, and then now. When we were kids, Mom was very earnest about teaching us how to resist the devil or Satan. How we could feel strange, like being taken over, etc., and we then had to immediately claim the blood of Jesus to cleanse us and and cover us, to cast out any dark spirits and remain protected. It of course was very frightening to hear this (I was probably 4 or 5) and she would play actual games where she would pretend to be the devil and would approach us with a stick and we would have to say 'be gone, in the name of Jesus!' We partly felt it was in fun, but I knew then (and now) it's not a laughing matter. I certainly don't claim to understand everything, but there have been times I've felt terrors at night and only in doing this did I have any sense of peace. Whether it's all in the mind, or confirmation bias, or actually real, the point is we had been encouraged to pay attention and watch our for signs of darkness and evil around us, and to combat it with our spiritual weapons of Love and Good and Truth and Peace .. and Righteousness.
Fast forward to my teenage years. We had a neighbor, a white man, who was a Vietnam vet. he was married and had a daughter a couple years older than me. He had a business creating custom in-ground pools, really beautiful work. Initially our two families got along fine. We'd watch their dogs when they were out on trips, they'd invite us over to swim during summer, we even went to Tahoe together and stayed at my parent's cabin. The worst complaint he had was that occasionally our dogs barking (at passing animals, people, or motorcycles) would annoy the piss out of him so he'd yell 'shut that damn dog up!' which would make me nervous. But he was definitely suffering from PTSD and hadn't gotten much if any help for it it seemed. We empathized with his pain and I always felt soldiers and veterans in particular were the most courageous people in the world. I had and have the utmost respect for those willing to risk their lives (whether or not the wars are justified is another matter).
But his drinking got worse as his construction business seemed to slow down (or vice versa) and one night/morning we hear this really loud noise outside our house. We go out and see blue paint chips around the front of our new station wagon. He makes up a story that 'some kids took his (blue) truck and rammed it into our station wagon then pushed it down the hill and into a big rock.' It didn't make sense of course and the police and my Dad knew it, but they couldn't do anything. He was three sheets to the wind but no longer driving and while his story was nuts they couldn't do anything. My Dad ended up paying out of pocket for the remains which were several thousand dollars (don't know why, I think some snafu with the insurance). My Dad eventually told the neighbor he needed to pay up, but he refused, denying everything.
From there things got weird fast. Crank calls at all hours, staring at us kids when we were outside, whistling lame made up songs 'my day will come!' and throwing rocks or potted plants now when our dog would bark at a passing jogger, mailman, etc. My Dad did not want to confront him but would have words on occasion. This guy knew my Dad wasn't a fighter and would back down, so he'd intimidate him. I felt like I had to step up but I was a very shy, introverted teen working through some self-esteem issues. But my sense of justice and love for my family was getting stronger than my fear.
The crank calls were clearly from him and we got a police order but having that stop would take forever. So he resorted to other tactics. Poisoning my Mom's planets, cutting limbs of our tress on OUR property when we weren't home. It got worse though. He would wait until my Mom was home alone and when she was out front (with no ivy screen to protect her from his view) he would expose himself in full view of her. This was sickening, and maddening. He even did it to my sister. We tried to get the cops to do something but we had no evidence. Once we got cameras he stopped doing it.
This went on all through high school. One day, our beloved, goofy, never-really-trained German / Australian shepherd got sick and died within a day; clearly poisoned. That was horrible and absolutely incensed me. I knew he'd done it (or as my normally very genteel Mom started to call him, 'The Thing') but I could do nothing as we had no proof. Time went on. I had changed a lot in that time and in academic terms I felt pretty successful (no girlfriend yet, needed another year til that happened). But the situation at home would be like walking into a minefield in the fog. You never knew what would happen but knew danger was all around. If there was ever an expression of the devil in human form, this was it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I also knew for me to really become a man, to earn the right to call myself that I had to test myself against this incarnation of evil. Whatever problems he had, whatever psychoses or evil spirits or whatever you want to call it, what he was doing to my family was beyond wrong and it had to stop.
I had just finished high school, graduation ceremony was over. I was feeling great and excited for the next phase of my life. It was the week after school ended and I had driven home from looking for summer jobs. My Mom was in the back and everyone else was out with my Dad. Then I saw 'it' come onto the lawn, standing above me (their property was up the hill just next to ours). Up until this point, for hundreds of encountered, I felt that sick, black, painful twist in my stomach when someone looks at me with malice and hatred. It had made me turn away, or pretend to ignore them while I was actually quaking in my sneakers. Those times were past now - I wouldn't back down.
I stood my ground, said I prayer "God and Jesus please help me, give me strength. Today I have to confront this Monstrosity." I have chills now as I remember, sometime I don't think of very often. I had the sense I could die in the coming moments. I had no idea what could happen. I just knew Justice and Truth and God were all on my side, OUR side, and this EVIL had to be ended, or I had to be ended in fighting it.
I turned my gaze to him and without conscious thought all the days and weeks and months and years of feeling like a prisoner, a criminal, a persecuted animal came rushing out. I felt a primal yet RIGHTEOUS rage arise within me. I just stared right back at him, feeling my fearful submission turning into fearful anger, then righteous anger, then righteous knowing. I could see he was surprised that I was looking back as I had never done it before, so he threw some words out 'what you looking at, boy? you want to start a fight?'
I didn't say anything. I just kept staring back at him. I didn't know what to say, but I was not going to back my gaze down. It wasn't just me, but every bit of Love and Truth and Justice supporting me. I knew I wasn't alone, even though my Mom was in the backyard, behind her ivys that provided at least visual protection from this Thing's gaze.
He stepped it up, the exact words I don't recall, but he moved closer to the edge of his property. i was still a good 15 feet line-of-sight away from him, but I felt like I had to get closer, to claim OUR property in every way. To demonstrate that just 'looking back' from a safe distance wasn't all I was willing to do. This wasn't some feeble gesture of resistance, but a sign that I wasn't going to be intimidated in ANY way by this Thing.
Feeling the righteous energy surging within me, I made my way up the driveway, past our departed Tawa's dog house, then up 5 vertical feet of steep hillside to stand toe to toe with this incarnation of evil. He was on his concrete step, still half a foot taller than me, but it didn't matter.
The energy contained in the words that came was as intense as a hydrogen bomb - "Come on, you stupid fat racist motherfucker! DO SOMETHING! Do something or get the fuck out of my face!" I was shaking, half-crying as I said it from the years of built-up frustration. I knew anyone within a mile could have heard me, I yelled so fucking loud, right in his face.
For the first time I could remember, I saw fear in his eyes. He knew I was ready to kill him, if he touched me or crossed onto our property. I could have been hurt badly, or killed, but in that state I didn't care - I had to stop him.
He took a half step back in shock and I felt some small victory. I repeated my dare, practically spitting the words in his face. He mumbled something, turned, and went back into his house - defeated.
Relief. That's what I felt. Like the weight of this oppression was FINALLY lifted! In that moment, dealing with as much fear as I'd ever felt in my life (including all the years after), I felt like a great spiritual battle had been fought, and the side of Good had won. I never struck him, I just challenged him with the Truth. HE was the one at fault and his guilt turned into blame for us. Unacceptable. It just took four years of our collective righteousness and my upbringing and soul's own journey to infuse me with the passion to that Final Confrontation.
After that, whenever he would come outside, I would stare at HIM. He couldn't look at me for more than a second, because he knew he had been defeated. I told my Mom, my Dad, my brother and sister, and we all were so relieved. I know it was hard for my Dad to not be that, but it was my opportunity to protect those I loved, wearing God's armor.. the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Girdle of Truth, the Shoes of Zeal for the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit. We all knew we were victorious. The final proof would be in satan and his crew getting out of dodge
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Within a month they had their home listed for sale. Within a few they had sold it and were gone. We still got a few crank calls but now I just laughed and say 'Hi Ron, how are you?' after which they'd hang up. Being free also means being free from reacting. When whatever someone does or doesn't do doesn't determine your emotional or mental state, you are truly free. By that measure, so few people are really free but as a quote I read from Thomas Jefferson:
Quote:Quote:
Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.
That is my strongest experience of confronting evil, Satan, the devil, in physical form. I felt protection when I claimed the blood of Jesus. I do believe there was an actual Christ, who was an awakened being, who may have been an avatar and even created by angelic / divine beings. Terence McKenna talked about a 'gnostic demi-urge' as being the entity or presence that essentially created the Abrahamic religions. The fact that Jehovah or Yahweh is a 'jealous god, a righteous god, an angry god' rang false for me. Those are not qualities that need to be emphasized by a creator being. No truly divine God would want its adherents to slaughter members of another group because they eat shellfish or don't banish women on their period. The whole thing, looking at it from over 30 years experience myself and for other, feels like a massive control scheme.
To come back to this excellent clip, it shows what great media can do (but seems to so rarely attempt these days): illustrate many principles at once.
-If you are forced to do something, that is not in the highest Divine Universal good. That is a form of evil. That entity needs Janeway's complicity to 'feed' off her and grow stronger. This is exactly what the 'gnostic demi-urge' which may lie at the root of all Abrahamic religions is doing. "Judge them by their fruits."
-If you are being deceived, it is up to you to look deeper and see what the Truth is. Many people are easily deceived, and even clever people can be deceived by more clever agents of evil (or darkness or confusion if you prefer). Fortunately, listening deeply to our quiet still inner voice will guide us to a clearer path. If we feel calm, peaceful, at one with nature and the universe we are more than likely following the highest guidance we can. Calling to any awakened master's spirit, to your Higher Self, your trusted ancestors, are ways to tune in to this innate guidance. But still, remain vigilant and question.
-Hurrying and rushing into a decision is almost NEVER a good thing! Notice all sales practices related to 'offer ends soon, call now!' Or car dealers, or any kind of sales. if something is authentic and of Quality, it will remain when you return. Sleep on any important decision.
Relax - great trees do not grow in a day.
Meditate and ponder, take your time.
There is no rush.
What is essential never goes away.
Only buying into the tempest of mind
Allows the devil to have his play.
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My questioning about God, Spirit, Devil, etc. became a great uncertainty - I couldn't buy the officla church story. I knew the Bible itself had been written years after the people depicted had lived. I knew books had been ommitted (Nag Hammadi, various Gospels like Mary Magdalene, Thomas). Then I became an angry atheist and in that time met a woman who was even angrier and we nearly killed each other out of passionate angst. I could see much later that my own spiritual and emotional awareness was the foundation upon which any relationship would be built. I had to find and respect myself before I could be in any relationship that had meaning. I could see atheism was a hollow and empty path when one wallows in arrogant derision of anything 'religious' but is not actually curious to keep learning and discovering.
Atheism can be its own religion and even more frightening as (in my experience and what I've observed) leaves one arrogant, empty, hateful, and closed off to wonder. I was too passionate about life to make blanket proclamations in such realms that I had not yet discovered or investigated for myself. This is where the story of the Buddha, and Christ, now took on a new appeal - as a route to individual investigation. The question 'what is enlightenment?' came up where i did not have a God-concept for thoughts and questions to adhere to. I was really FREE to ponder whatever I wished since I was free of that mental control structure of religion. Oh what a huge relief that was! I was perceiving through my own eyes for the second time in my life - the first time was the span from birth until I was introduced to the God/Devil/Jesus/heaven/hell concepts by my well-meaning mother and less so but still somewhat by my father. She did what she had to, and did it with best intentions, so I hold no blame - a sovereign being takes responsibility for his life in every way.
I also began to see that there are so many more subtle layers of control. That which creates light, goodness, joy, raises our soul is Good. That which demoralizes, chains, oppresses without cause is Evil. We can create our own devils or angels. I know people who can sense spiritual beings and believe by the actions of our life we either make ourselves lighter or darker, both in terms of illumination and spiritual mass. It's our karmic (ancestral, soul - inherited) desires that keep us manifesting on this plane of existence. I know I've had many incarnations, some of which I'm aware of dimly, others I can sense from people I meet and feel that instant click but not necessarily that we have to be together in this lifetime. I have been doing my best to observe my desires, to note where I'm compelled and why, to release my soul from the sense of bondage. As I pray to get lighter, to leave less negative residue on people's lives, I believe I am less likely to need another rebirth. I would rather be a light being in my next 'life', to be an aid as I have been aided from beyond. Wherever we are in our awareness about heaven/hell, light/dark, good/evil, we manifest into reality our deepest desires. So we create that which we focus on - this is proven, and is how the universe works. Our intention matters, absolutely it does! So while the counterpart to good may be evil, I believe by focusing on the good while noting the actions of evil, we can call it out when and where we encounter it. We can also know we are protected by all the Divine forces of Good who wish for our success; it takes very little light to extinguish darkness! A single candle is brilliant in a dark room, and its dance reminds us that each human soul-spark is precious, and amazing, and unique, and worth cherishing. Sometimes we have to be very forceful, as Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the temple, just as nature has to be forceful. But being forceful with deep intention and clarity is where inspired enlightened action is its finest.
To align most closely with the concept that 'enlightened action leaves no trace', this is where Buddhism, or any philosophy and invitation toward individual spiritual practice, allows one to see the Truth for oneself. We are encountered to look within for answers, not outside. I would not know anywhere near the peace I feel had it not been for the push to meditate, to go on silent retreat, to investigate psilocybin and cannabis as aids to awakening and supporting insight. To realize I am the presence, not the body - the body is within the presence that is me - is ultimate freedom. I can be in the world, but not of the world. If or when I slip and get overly-identified with events, relationships, thoughts, there is a gentle (or sometimes firm) reminder 'this isn't true. this is Maya, do not be deceived. Breathe, step back, relax, see it all for what it is. A dance, an experiment, an experience, an opportunity to exist in this plane of being for a span of moments. What comes next cannot be known, but what exists now is the One; what always is, is the One. Identify with the One, the aspect of you that is One, and all will become clear.' These are thought/word/concepts to express the inexpressible. For me in this lifetime, I could not have arrived at a place of peace and joy, and gratitude, were it not for all the experiences including the most terrifying and challenging. To remain whole, to remain myself, and to know and trust there is divine protection, I am very grateful. I could call it my Higher Self instead of Divine, but it all ties to the same thing.
We are not little humans having a spiritual experience - we are the mystery manifesting as the mystery to delight in the mystery. The world of Maya requires contrast, opposite, so good requires evil. It is the inner battle that truly matters, and when we can, as the Buddha did and as Jesus did, go into the hell realms and confront the darker parts of our nature, our humanness is transformed into something lighter, and more powerful .. like transparent aluminum
P.S. I wanted to add that I never slept better than the first anxious night when I decide that the Biblically-described God was a fabrication. Whatever was really going on was far deeper than that story.
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