(Short) Freeing the Force of Gratitude

[Lou Gold]

It will be difficult for most precisely because the spiritual evolutionary process has not been internalized as concrete reality. The fear response, and generally all self and other-destructive responses, is the response of people who are afraid to physically die more than anything else. By definition, that means they have not come to perceive spiritual realms and their own evolution through them over multiple lifetimes as a concrete reality. I would say even the 'true believers' will succumb to this response because what they hold as religious dogma has not been born again from within as inwardly perceived knowledge of Self, through Nature's appearances. In that sense, saying "Nature bats last" is another way of saying, "my own higher Self bats last". We can ignore it, but it won't ignore us, and the longer we ignore it, the worse its 'reaction' for us as spiritual (not physical) becomings.

Let me presume that we agree, that both of us correctly grok Goethean Science and that neither of us is afraid of death. How shall we best participate in the concrete realities we see unfolding around us?

I live in the home of a medical doctor who is a hospitalist and is regularly called to covid duty. He reports a staffing shortage in face of the approaching surge of illness. The national report is that there are presently 20% fewer healthcare staff than were present at the beginning of the pandemic. Some have left because of simple overwhelm. Some have left because they do not like vaccine mandates. Some don't want to work in the intensities of a fear-filled zone. Some have died. Some stick it out and do the best that they can. Got any advice to offer?

Yes and a lot of it is summarized and advocated for in my various essays and posts here. In short, for anyone who is still capable, which is probably most people, turn towards the eternal spiritual with persistence, patience, devotion, good will, and concrete Thinking effort. I also love the way Rilke put it:

“We, however, are not prisoners. No traps or snares have been set around us, and there is nothing that should frighten or upset us. We have been put into life as into the element we most accord with, and we have, moreover, through thousands of years of adaptation, come to resemble this life so greatly that when we hold still, through a fortunate mimicry we can hardly be differentiated from everything around us. We have no reason to harbor any mistrust against our world, for it is not against us. If it has terrors, they are our terrors; if it has abysses, these abysses belong to us; if there are dangers, we must try to love them. And if only we arrange our life in accordance with the principle which tells us that we must always trust in the difficult, then what now appears to us as the most alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience. How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Rilke was a marvelous romantic poet whose works continue to inspire many. According to Wikipedia this is how he confronted his own turbulent times:

Rilke supported the Russian Revolution in 1917 as well as the Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919.[30] He became friends with Ernst Toller and mourned the deaths of Rosa Luxemburg, Kurt Eisner, and Karl Liebknecht.[31] He confided that of the five or six newspapers he read daily, those on the far left came closest to his own opinions.[32] He developed a reputation for supporting left-wing causes and thus, out of fear for his own safety, became more reticent about politics after the Bavarian Republic was crushed by the right-wing Freikorps.[32] In January and February 1926, Rilke wrote three letters to the Mussolini-adversary Aurelia Gallarati Scotti [it] in which he praised Benito Mussolini and described fascism as a healing agent.[33][34][35]

PS: I love the much acclaimed translation of Rilke's "Letters" rendered by the Buddhist eco-philosopher Joanna Macy and the prize-winning poet and clinical psychologist Anita Barrows.

[AshvinP]

Let me presume that we agree, that both of us correctly grok Goethean Science and that neither of us is afraid of death. How shall we best participate in the concrete realities we see unfolding around us?

I live in the home of a medical doctor who is a hospitalist and is regularly called to covid duty. He reports a staffing shortage in face of the approaching surge of illness. The national report is that there are presently 20% fewer healthcare staff than were present at the beginning of the pandemic. Some have left because of simple overwhelm. Some have left because they do not like vaccine mandates. Some don't want to work in the intensities of a fear-filled zone. Some have died. Some stick it out and do the best that they can. Got any advice to offer?

Yes and a lot of it is summarized and advocated for in my various essays and posts here. In short, for anyone who is still capable, which is probably most people, turn towards the eternal spiritual with persistence, patience, devotion, good will, and concrete Thinking effort. I also love the way Rilke put it:

“We, however, are not prisoners. No traps or snares have been set around us, and there is nothing that should frighten or upset us. We have been put into life as into the element we most accord with, and we have, moreover, through thousands of years of adaptation, come to resemble this life so greatly that when we hold still, through a fortunate mimicry we can hardly be differentiated from everything around us. We have no reason to harbor any mistrust against our world, for it is not against us. If it has terrors, they are our terrors; if it has abysses, these abysses belong to us; if there are dangers, we must try to love them. And if only we arrange our life in accordance with the principle which tells us that we must always trust in the difficult, then what now appears to us as the most alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience. How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Rilke was a marvelous romantic poet whose works continue to inspire many. According to Wikipedia this is how he confronted his own turbulent times:

Yeah but I quote these people to highlight their transpersonal imaginative ideas and insights. As individual personalities caught up in political turmoil of all sort, what they choose to do doesn't interest me. In this essay I quoted Heidegger, and he joined the Nazi party for a spell. It's about each individual today moving away from fragmented physical perspective to the higher harmonizing spiritual a-perspective. This pandemic could have been a great opportunity for people to really look inwards and begin to discover the spiritual residing within, but the political machinations of fear and disaster capitilazation have practically made it very difficult for most, unless they are fortunate enough to stumble across the ideas we are now speaking of here and pursue their inner logic with an open mind. Concrete, living Thinking has practically become the "most difficult" and "alien" for modern man, but it can become our most intimate and trusted spiritual experience if we allow it to be.

[Lou Gold]

Yes and a lot of it is summarized and advocated for in my various essays and posts here. In short, for anyone who is still capable, which is probably most people, turn towards the eternal spiritual with persistence, patience, devotion, good will, and concrete Thinking effort. I also love the way Rilke put it:

“We, however, are not prisoners. No traps or snares have been set around us, and there is nothing that should frighten or upset us. We have been put into life as into the element we most accord with, and we have, moreover, through thousands of years of adaptation, come to resemble this life so greatly that when we hold still, through a fortunate mimicry we can hardly be differentiated from everything around us. We have no reason to harbor any mistrust against our world, for it is not against us. If it has terrors, they are our terrors; if it has abysses, these abysses belong to us; if there are dangers, we must try to love them. And if only we arrange our life in accordance with the principle which tells us that we must always trust in the difficult, then what now appears to us as the most alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience. How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Rilke was a marvelous romantic poet whose works continue to inspire many. According to Wikipedia this is how he confronted his own turbulent times:

Yeah but I quote these people to highlight their transpersonal imaginative ideas and insights. As individual personalities caught up in political turmoil of all sort, what they choose to do doesn't interest me. In this essay I quoted Heidegger, and he joined the Nazi party for a spell. It's about each individual today moving away from fragmented physical perspective to the higher harmonizing spiritual a-perspective. This pandemic could have been a great opportunity for people to really look inwards and begin to discover the spiritual residing within, but the political machinations of fear and disaster capitilazation have practically made it very difficult for most, unless they are fortunate enough to stumble across the ideas we are now speaking of here and pursue their inner logic with an open mind. Concrete, living Thinking has practically become the "most difficult" and "alien" for modern man, but it can become our most intimate and trusted spiritual experience if we allow it to be.

Ashvin, you regularly complain about people spouting abstract or theoretical postulates without concrete application. We, you and I and many others, are personalities caught up in turmoil of all sort. What we choose to do does interest me. Does it not interest you? Do you think we, as fortunate individuals who have stumbled across the ideas we are now speaking of here, are doing better in the face of a difficult pandemic? What have you learned from this turmoil? I've learned that I'm gonna have to be more compassionate, accepting and less judgemental than I ever before imagined. I've learned how incredibly fortunate I am. I've learned how incredibly small I am facing the Great Mysteriousness. I've learned how meaningful and satisfying it is to aspire to be all that I can be and give all that I can.

[AshvinP]

Rilke was a marvelous romantic poet whose works continue to inspire many. According to Wikipedia this is how he confronted his own turbulent times:

Yeah but I quote these people to highlight their transpersonal imaginative ideas and insights. As individual personalities caught up in political turmoil of all sort, what they choose to do doesn't interest me. In this essay I quoted Heidegger, and he joined the Nazi party for a spell. It's about each individual today moving away from fragmented physical perspective to the higher harmonizing spiritual a-perspective. This pandemic could have been a great opportunity for people to really look inwards and begin to discover the spiritual residing within, but the political machinations of fear and disaster capitilazation have practically made it very difficult for most, unless they are fortunate enough to stumble across the ideas we are now speaking of here and pursue their inner logic with an open mind. Concrete, living Thinking has practically become the "most difficult" and "alien" for modern man, but it can become our most intimate and trusted spiritual experience if we allow it to be.

Ashvin, you regularly complain about people spouting abstract or theoretical postulates without concrete application. We, you and I and many others, are personalities caught up in turmoil of all sort. What we choose to do does interest me. Does it not interest you? Do you think we, as fortunate individuals who have stumbled across the ideas we are now speaking of here, are doing better in the face of a difficult pandemic? What have you learned from this turmoil? I've learned that I'm gonna have to be more compassionate, accepting and less judgemental than I ever before imagined.

What I choose to do interests me. I don't look at Rilke, or any other insightful artistic thinker, or any other person in general, and say "oh look he joined the Communist revolution", and let that steer my own thinking. My point is simple - I quote people to highlight the archetypal ideas we can take up within ourselves via careful thinking. You respond with his Wiki profile. I say that has zero relevance to me and what I can choose to do today to deal with the inevitable pitfalls of life and evolution. Our circumstances don't provide us choices, our thinking does.

[Soul_of_Shu]

I can only be thankful that I've not become a famous poet, who will someday be remembered in some wiki account as having once belonged to a gang of juvenile thugs, right out of Lord of the Flies, who once ganged up on and beat the crap out of some geeky classmate, taking great delight in one by one crushing his glasses underfoot, for no other reason than the gang leader didn't like smart kids who did well in school, and were praised by the teacher. To this day I wish I could find that soul and ask for forgiveness for that act of cruelty, I suppose born out of being at one time on the other end of such cruelty. Now I can't bear to harm a spider. A lesson learned in a hard way.

[Lou Gold]

What I choose to do interests me. I don't look at Rilke, or any other insightful artistic thinker, or any other person in general, and say "oh look he joined the Communist revolution", and let that steer my own thinking. My point is simple - I quote people to highlight the archetypal ideas we can take up within ourselves via careful thinking. You respond with his Wiki profile. I say that has zero relevance to me and what I can choose to do today to deal with the inevitable pitfalls of life and evolution. Our circumstances don't provide us choices, our thinking does.

OK, It seems we've gone as far as we can go. I love Rilke's Romantic Idealism. I aspire in the direction of his inspiration. I did not cite the Wiki paragraph to discredit him but rather to illustrate how damn difficult praxis can be in times of turmoil and how he waffled when things got rough. This does not discredit him in my eyes. It ups my compassion toward the challenges WE face. Kissing the dragon is not easy. We will need a lot of help from within ourselves, from each other and and from beyond. May it be.

[Lou Gold]

I can only be thankful that I've not become a famous poet, who will someday be remembered in some wiki account as having once belonged to a gang of juvenile thugs, right out of Lord of the Flies, who once ganged up on and beat the crap out of some geeky classmate, taking great delight in one by one crushing his glasses underfoot, for no other reason than the gang leader didn't like smart kids who did well in school, and were praised by the teacher. To this day I wish I could find that soul and ask for forgiveness for that act of cruelty, I suppose born out of being at one time on the other end of such cruelty. Now I can't bear to harm a spider. A lesson learned in a hard way.

I understand and have felt similar myself. Life reviews aren't easy, nor are they meant to be. The real lessons do seem to come the hard way.

[AshvinP]

What I choose to do interests me. I don't look at Rilke, or any other insightful artistic thinker, or any other person in general, and say "oh look he joined the Communist revolution", and let that steer my own thinking. My point is simple - I quote people to highlight the archetypal ideas we can take up within ourselves via careful thinking. You respond with his Wiki profile. I say that has zero relevance to me and what I can choose to do today to deal with the inevitable pitfalls of life and evolution. Our circumstances don't provide us choices, our thinking does.

OK, It seems we've gone as far as we can go. I love Rilke's Romantic Idealism. I aspire in the direction of his inspiration. I did not cite the Wiki paragraph to discredit him but rather to illustrate how damn difficult praxis can be in times of turmoil and how he waffled when things got rough. This does not discredit him in my eyes. It ups my compassion toward the challenges WE face. Kissing the dragon is not easy. We will need a lot of help from within ourselves, from each other and and from beyond. May it be.

I knew you weren't discrediting him, Lou. You are obviously partial to left-leaning collectivist politics. I'm just saying what you mean by "praxis" is not at all what I mean by it in the context of philosophy of Thinking. Political causes are not praxis in our time, according to this view. Everything which diverts our trust and effort into cultural or political idols, rather than our own introspective Thinking effort, is stunting our spiritual growth. When we funnel thinking towards all that is physical, particular, fragmented, etc., we have practically ensured our own idolatry in this way. We lose concrete connection with everything which is beyond our own limited perception and conceptual creations. Even the people who recognize this dynamic will simply substitute one idol out for another, because the deeper levels of shared meaning are in the blind spot.

It is assumed those ideal layers can only remain as vague and fuzzy dreams, while everything in the physical world we can see and touch and smell is where all the "real" stuff is to be found. In our time, this polarization away from the ideal is so strong that even "idealists" and "non-dualists" succumb to it without knowing. The "idea" aspect of it is shunned altogether. Everything "practical" is either a matter of going somewhere and doing something in the physical world, and/or rearranging abstract concepts like lego toys, while the neglected inner Cosmos is waiting right there for us to explore with Thinking. And the irony is, if we were penetrate into that inner world with Thinking, it would at the same time illuminate the outer world and motivate truly good works. But this requires a trust in the most difficult and alien that we are not at all willing to lend them in our cynical times.

[Lou Gold]

Ashvin,

Where I suspect you err is in not accepting that I know the inward path as the fundamental challenge and refuse to acknowledge that I and others have been working on it in depth (some even significantly longer than you). I know that you see yourself and our recently evolved species as incomplete and you project that on anything I share. My politics have in the past been left-leaning. At present I see no political solution to our turmoil and I view the Communism, Fascism and Liberalism of the 20th Century as failed ideologies. On the other hand, there are many who in my view who practice "Be calm - Be clear - See the faults - See the suffering - Give your love" and see/think/feel/act within the limits of their circumstances simply doing their best. Compassionately, I also understand that gratitude can be quite a challenge (as when one's child is terribly ill). I seek to appreciate and support the good works without critiquing how a particular person worked their own process or the names they associate with it. A favorite representation of process in my view is portrayed in my icon and I would not be offended if you called it an example of Thinking.

[AshvinP]

Ashvin,

Where I suspect you err is in not accepting that I know the inward path as the fundamental challenge and refuse to acknowledge that I and others have been working on it in depth (some even significantly longer than you). I know that you see yourself and our recently evolved species as incomplete and you project that on anything I share. My politics have in the past been left-leaning. At present I see no political solution to our turmoil and I view the Communism, Fascism and Liberalism of the 20th Century as failed ideologies. On the other hand, there are many who in my view who practice "Be calm - Be clear - See the faults - See the suffering - Give your love" and see/think/feel/act within the limits of their circumstances simply doing their best. Compassionately, I also understand that gratitude can be quite a challenge (as when one's child is terribly ill). I seek to appreciate and support the good works without critiquing how a particular person worked their own process or the names they associate with it. A favorite representation of process in my view is portrayed in my icon and I would not be offended if you called it an example of Thinking.

Lou,

The problem is everyone wants to share an opinion here but never have it criticized. It's not about age. I see the very purpose of these exchanges, as all phenomena, to have our ideal understanding tested and refined "as iron sharpens iron", so the ideas may also evolve through us. This is not about what happens in any given day, week, month, year, or lifetime. It's not about who is agreeing with each other for the sake of friendly agreement. It's not even about any individual personality and their journey through life or what they know or don't know. I write these things as one of many tools to help myself shift my own perspective from the physical to the spiritual, from the finite to the infinite, fragmented to the integral. This is a terribly difficult task which requires vigilance and persistence. If I sense you are misunderstanding what I am saying, which is what I sensed in your quote of Goethe and response to Rilke quote, it helps me to point it out and flesh it out more. I try to stick only to substance and not any personal attacks or insults. But if you are offended by the very fact of me disagreeing, or challenging, or critiquing, or simply elaborating on my own thoughts, then I would suggest not commenting.