Sharing something written by Rob Brezsny, one of my favorite philosopher/writers. He wrote one of the books I have found most inspiring - Pronoia. That is the sneaking suspicion that the universe is out to help you!
I was thinking about commenting on the various paragraphs below, but in rerereading, it stands for itself so well.
This is what I have been thinking about today...
It's from the piece called "Subterranean Pronoia Therapy."
1. Declare amnesty for the part of you that you don't love very well.
Forgive that poor sucker. Hold its hand and take it out to dinner and a
movie. Tactfully offer it a chance to make amends for the dumb things it
has done.
And then do a dramatic reading of this proclamation by the playwright
Theodore Rubin: "I must learn to love the fool in me -- the one who feels
too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and
loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt,
promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me
against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor
and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for
my fool."
2. The greatest gift you can give might be the gift that you yourself were
never given. Give that gift.
The most valuable service you have to offer your fellow humans may be
the service you have always wished were performed for you. Offer that
service.
An experience that wounded you could move you to help people who've
been similarly wounded. Heal yourself by healing others.
3. No matter how holy and good, everyone in the world has a portion of
the world's sickness inside them. It's known by many names: neurosis,
shadow, demon, devil. Many people try to deny that it inhabits them.
Others acknowledge its power so readily that they allow themselves to be
overwhelmed and distorted by it.
At the Beauty and Truth Lab, we take a position between those two
positions. We accept the fact that the evil is part of us, but treat it with
compassionate amusement and flexible vigilance. Our stance is partly that
of loving parents and partly that of warriors.
Once you make a commitment to explore the mysteries of pronoia, your
shadow will try to play tricks on you that it has never tried before. How
will you respond? We recommend an aggressive, tender, improvisational
approach. Be ready for anything. Avoid both blithe excesses of tolerance
and grave fundamentalism.
4. Philosopher William James proposed that if our culture ever hoped to
shed the deeply ingrained habit of going to war, we'd have to create a
moral equivalent. It's not enough to preach the value of peace, he said.
We have to find other ways to channel our aggressive instincts in order to
accomplish what war does, like stimulate political unity and build civic
virtue.
Astrology provides a complementary perspective. Each of us has the
warrior energy of the planet Mars in our psychological makeup. We can't
simply repress it, but must find a positive way to express it. How might
you go about this project?
5. In his book The Thought of the Heart and the Soul of the
World, psychologist James Hillman writes: "The question of evil refers
primarily to the anaesthetized heart, the heart that has no reaction to
what it faces, thereby turning the variegated sensuous face of the world
into monotony, sameness, oneness."
What would you have to do in order to triumph over this kind of evil in
yourself?
6. "The problem, if you love it, is as beautiful as the sunset," wrote J.
Krishnamurti. "The obstacle is the path," says the Zen proverb. What
frustrating puzzle do you love the best?
-Rob Brezsny
Enjoy?
I love you!
Clare
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