Author Topic: paradox and uncertainty  (Read 276 times)

richal

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Location: Usa
    • Looking for fun companions for travels and adventures?
paradox and uncertainty
« on: September 16, 2014, 06:15:00 pm »
Is pursuit of mystical experience a distraction, or does it not really matter?

I've been stuck recently trying to determine where I am on the map.  I see the patterns in the experiences of those who "get it" and I've had glimpses of getting it (Everything felt correct, and I could tell what was true, I felt), but those experiences have passed and I'm back to feeling the way I did, but now think every day on what I should be doing, from nothing to everything.  I occasionally get a rush/tingle of truth, but it's nothing like what I experienced before, when I "knew."

I seem to be always stuck between two options, uncertain.  I see signs all the time, but am left wondering where they lead, or if they are the fabric of desperation to make progress.  It's like I'm playing tricks on myself but I can't tell where the trick begins.

So the question that remains is: Do I need to pinpoint my location on the map to determine the next step, or just keep hacking away?  I feel restless with in-betweenness.

Thanks for reading.

Jed McKenna

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15127
Re: paradox and uncertainty
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2014, 10:40:16 pm »
Dear Richal:

Welcome here. Seeking mystical experiences is probably the biggest distraction there is. They are all a trap and meaningless.

Don't worry about where you are, just take one step forward. Nothing more.

love ya, Jed.

richal

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Location: Usa
    • Looking for fun companions for travels and adventures?
Re: paradox and uncertainty
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2014, 11:54:18 pm »
Strange how the same words you say to everyone sound different when spoken directly to me.  Thanks for the quick response - that's what I needed to hear.

Jed McKenna

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15127
Re: paradox and uncertainty
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2014, 12:23:45 am »
Good richal:

Now, remember... that one next step. Don't think about it, just take it NOW, not in the future.

Backup for a moment.

Imagine you are setting out to steal the money from a very successful candy store. They have a fortune in the till (Truth) and you want it. You charge in the door and brandish your only weapon (happens to be an umbrella because of the recent rain). All you want is the money... but wait.. the place is full of the most amazing candy (mystical experiences) and you get distracted. You sit down and start eating like crazy. Wonderful candy... mmmmmm.  What did you forget about?

In the end you get fat on candy and the money remains in the till. WTF... you missed the prize.

Forget the candy and go for the money... charge like a wounded elephant... umbrella at the ready... gimme all your dough.. now, now, NOW! Candy be damned.

Love ya, Jed.

richal

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Location: Usa
    • Looking for fun companions for travels and adventures?
Re: paradox and uncertainty
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2014, 12:45:53 pm »
Okay, I'm going to plunge into this analogy....
(I do have quite a sweet tooth.)
I'm not even in the candy shop anymore.  Somehow they found out my game and kicked me out (and made fun of my umbrella).  Now I'm back in the rain, looking at ads for the shop (sometimes trying free samples, since I'm broke and all).  It's still downpouring and I'm trying to get back into the store to try my heist again, but all this rain has left me a little disoriented, and the more I walk the further I seem to go.  I've turned around and retraced my steps but I somehow end up at the butcher shop.
But wait...  I think I broke the analogy.
Because it's not that I'm lost in the analogy, its that I'm focused on being broke... right?  I'm actually just sitting outside the store, wondering how I got broke and why I didn't succeed in my heist and so on and so on.  I just need to snap myself out of worrying about being broke and crash through the doors?  That's not really a question, but sort of.

Jed McKenna

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15127
Re: paradox and uncertainty
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2014, 01:00:43 pm »
Mix the metaphors all you want. It's fun, but now the whole point.

Put down the umbrella, take a deep breath and let all your searching go, just let it be. Welcome everything that comes to you. No need to attach or consume it. Welcome it and let it go on it's way, because IT'S NOT TRUTH. Truth 'is' but that's not is. Further...

Love ya, Jed.

richal

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Location: Usa
    • Looking for fun companions for travels and adventures?
Re: paradox and uncertainty
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2014, 01:17:29 pm »
Thank you.