About Me

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I have recovered from the disease of Alcoholism. I believe there is only one person really,.. everybody. And that peace of mind is everything. -So treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself, because your neighbor IS yourself. I think most of recovery is what I would call common sense, but that learning to be ordinary is a true gift very few people acquire. My ambition is to accept everything unflinchingly, with compassion, and therefore be intrinsically comfortable in my own skin, no matter what. I am comfortable being uncomfortable and am willing to go to any lengths to improve my life. I believe the Big Book was divinely inspired, and is extraordinarily powerful. Unfortunately AA's best kept secret a lot of the time. (In my opinion). I just try to do what works, no matter what it is.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The dark side of humanity: We ALL have a latent aspect of the Shadow

In trying to come to terms with violence and terrible deeds of one sort or another, I have been helped by reading stuff about the shadow. (Robert Bly is very good)
I believe we all have the capacity to discover ! terrible things about ourselves depending on what we focus on.
(as in)
You MOVE TOWARDS, and BECOME LIKE, THAT WHICH YOU THINK ABOUT, whether it is good for you, or bad for you

So, if I were in military combat. for instance and was required to kill others to survive, I think I would get to see some VERY ! dark places in my mind. We all have a shadow nature, but we don't get to see it very well if we choose to live a wholesome life.

I believe violent people are very caught up in that aspect of their condition, due to habitually negative behaviors, and do these things in an act of desperation to relieve the suffering that is building up inside them. I believe it is simply overwhelming for them and they blindly follow the tendency because they can see no other way of finding satisfaction. they are very sick people, and they create huge amount of suffering upon themselves for many lifetimes for performing such an act. its very sad.

They may put an end to their body, but they do not put an end to their suffering or their newly acquired karmic debt. Well that's how I see it anyway.

Also my non-dual view of the world and everyone on it, means I do not see myself as separate from anyone including people who kill and maim. But that's another post!
Like Thich Nhat Hanh says in the poem 'Call Me By My True Names':

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat, who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate. And I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.

On that rather ! Unexplained point, I'm off! Anyway have a great Tuesday!

1 comment:

ArahMan7 said...

Been reading a lot of violences lately. It's scaring sometime.