"Enjoying The Show" As The World Burns

[Cosmos]

When I think about “Sit back and enjoy the show“ I think about all the things that have happened in the last couple of years/decades everywhere on the globe (negative and positive (!) from our perspective) and how lucky and blessed I can be to be able to watch those happenings from such a unique and insightful perspective that is probably closer to objective reality. How many people on the globe besides us here have that unique “privilege“? Shouldn’t we be very thankful/grateful for having the ability to watch events from this perspective? Isn’t it a blessing to be alive in such times? And with such perspectives in mind that also seem to be helping us personally to learn a lot as a group and individually?

So indeed, I enjoy that a lot! And the feeling/thinking associated with it, that seem to come pretty close to what the C‘s say, seems to be indeed: “Enjoy the show!“

So it seems to me that the enjoyment the C‘s talk about might be at least partly about that?

That doesn’t mean at all that you are not, or shouldn’t be, appalled and disgusted and furious about happenings such as what is happening in Gaza. I certainly feel so about it too. I think you probably can and should see and experience both things to some extent at the same time. And I don’t think that they exclude eachother.

And I should add: It seems we can and probably should also feel joy not only in terms of what we can see “out there“ based on the knowledge we have been given and/or worked for, but also, at least to the same extent, about the hard and dark aspects we are presented with about ourselves individually, on a personal level, in order, if willing to do so, to become better human beings. And those hard and dark things we can discover about our own thoughts and behaviors are certainly not joyful at the moment we discover them and/or when they are pointed out to us. They are also less then joyful when we then try to address/see those aspects and try to correct them, often over long stretches of time with a lot of suffering. But in HINDSIGHT we can find a lot of joy and gratefulness in the here and now in knowing how we personally have benefited from those experiences that we viewed as painful and not joyful at all when we went through the discovery and correcting phases back then.

In other words: We can find a lot of joy in realizing how we deprogrammed ourselves via the help of others in HINDSIGHT, and are now enjoying, thanks to that rather hard work, hopefully, a more objective perspective about ourselves AND the world, which also seems to lead to a lot less (unconscious?) suffering in the here and now. A good way of probably seeing that more clearly is by looking at your own life and your thoughts and behaviors/actions in the past and realizing that things do seem to have developed quite positively compared to the here and now. And seeing that more clearly might also prepare us in better understanding that that “deprogramming“ never really stops and that we will continue to discover bad things about ourselves. So we might suffer a bit less in the here and now when we will continue to discover bad stuff, and know that at some point, if we keep at it, we will likely be rewarded by the joy of what has been achieved.

 

[Alana]

Well, the impetus behind asking the original question, and the answer to it, is kind of obvious. It centers on the idea of fear of physical suffering and death, and the materialistic paradigm that dominates in 3D. When we see the suffering and death of others, we have an instinctive aversion to it, partly because of empathy for the person suffering, but just as much because of that visceral fear and aversion to our own suffering and death, and rejection of those that cause it. There's a decent amount of 'projection' going on I think. So the only way out of that is to cultivate the kind of knowledge and being that allows us to view, and ideally KNOW, physical existence as not the whole banana, and in fact just a temporary sojourn and, in that context, an 'illusion'. Pretty easy, right?

I don’t know if I am understanding correctly, but it doesn’t sound very difficult to do - or very satisfying as an answer - to me. If all is an illusion and our lesson is to see it and know it as such, then what’s the point to anything we experience and do? I can just focus on all the lovely things that interest me in this life and ignore all else, “it will pass, we’ll all die and move into a better world”. Which is true, but I don’t think it is all there is to it. Even if it is a passing illusion on some level, there must be a reason we are in it and experiencing it as real. Our growth as beings seems to depend on choices we make here. School, lessons, graduation to another level of being… it all sounds like serious business for our souls.

And undoubtedly there is a lot of materialistic, body-oriented thinking on our part in this reality, because we live in a body with a certain date of expiry, perhaps the only certainty we can have in 3D life. But as eternal souls who briefly inhabit one of these bodies, maybe it is part of the lesson to experience this finite existence? To experience the ending of things: relationships, good times, bad times, childhood, youth, life, with all the emotions associated with these endings. An opportunity that timelessness does not offer.

And if we are indeed souls inhabiting bodies, then we are more than just our bodies and on some level maybe we are able to feel that connectedness that Ra refers to above as “other selves”, just as the Cs talk of humanity as a group, or what John Donne means when he writes “No man is an island”. Feeling others as feeling ourselves, as Dabrowski would say.

Maybe that’s why I feel a certain amount of “joy” we are all having this discussion, because I am no longer alone in feeling a certain way, wondering and questioning “all these” on my own, this exchange of ideas seems to be strengthening our kinship/fellowship. It makes watching this horrible and insane “show” more bearable. What’s the saying? Something about “there’s nothing like suffering to bring everyone closer together”. Maybe that's part of the "Enjoy the show" instruction?

 

[Ryan]

I don’t know if I am understanding correctly, but it doesn’t sound very difficult to do - or very satisfying as an answer - to me.

I think that's why Joe used 'illusion', in quotes.

 

[T.C.]

the impetus behind asking the original question, and the answer to it, is kind of obvious. It centers on the idea of fear of physical suffering and death, and the materialistic paradigm that dominates in 3D.

I think maybe you're realising what the discussion is about for you, personally. That by talking it out you've gotten a few layers down in your personal onion.

When we see the suffering and death of others, we have an instinctive aversion to it, partly because of empathy for the person suffering, but just as much because of that visceral fear and aversion to our own suffering and death, and rejection of those that cause it.

For me, it's not about death. I think my personal problem with watching what's going on is the overwhelming feeling of impotence in the face of pure evil; my own, and that of the victims of it. In that sense then, I guess what I feel when I see what's going on in Palestine could very well be a kind of projection, as you've pointed out. But actually, the word I would use to describe it is that it is like looking into a mirror. I look into the mirror of the Palestinian plight and I feel my own powerlessness in the face of evil.

If I dig deeper, I see my victimhood, my victim mentality. The horrible God who smites us innocents. I can trace it back to my childhood - early childhood for me was a long series of punishments for things I didn't know I'd done wrong.

I don’t know if I am understanding correctly, but it doesn’t sound very difficult to do - or very satisfying as an answer - to me. If all is an illusion and our lesson is to see it and know it as such, then what’s the point to anything we experience and do? I can just focus on all the lovely things that interest me in this life and ignore all else, “it will pass, we’ll all die and move into a better world”. Which is true, but I don’t think it is all there is to it. Even if it is a passing illusion on some level, there must be a reason we are in it and experiencing it as real. Our growth as beings seems to depend on choices we make here. School, lessons, graduation to another level of being… it all sounds like serious business for our souls.

It seems to me that enjoying the show means coming to the realisation that it really is 'someone else's dream', an 'illusion', but then having the very best possible response to that realisation. Not to become depressed, or nihilistic, or hedonistic, or bitter, or resentful, or fearful; but to decide to take part in it just for the sake of it - 'for fun'. Hence 'enjoying the show'.

And undoubtedly there is a lot of materialistic, body-oriented thinking on our part in this reality, because we live in a body with a certain date of expiry, perhaps the only certainty we can have in 3D life. But as eternal souls who briefly inhabit one of these bodies, maybe it is part of the lesson to experience this finite existence? To experience the ending of things: relationships, good times, bad times, childhood, youth, life, with all the emotions associated with these endings. An opportunity that timelessness does not offer.

I think that's a very good point!

 

[Joe]

Our growth as beings seems to depend on choices we make here. School, lessons, graduation to another level of being… it all sounds like serious business for our souls.

It is, until it's not. And that's the 'illusion', the idea of it being "all or nothing" and body-centric perspectives.

But as eternal souls who briefly inhabit one of these bodies, maybe it is part of the lesson to experience this finite existence? To experience the ending of things: relationships, good times, bad times, childhood, youth, life, with all the emotions associated with these endings. An opportunity that timelessness does not offer.

Yep, but when you've done that and moved on to bigger things, you look back on it as an 'illusion'. I'm just using illusion in the context of the limited view of things we have. And that we shouldn't get bogged down in that limitation because it's an 'illusion'.

 

[Joe]

I think maybe you're realising what the discussion is about for you, personally. That by talking it out you've gotten a few layers down in your personal onion.

Well, I kind of knew that to begin with. I knew this question was one that was bugging me, but I also knew I could probably come up with the answers myself, however unsatisfactory they might be. But I figured others are probably feeling the same way, having the same thoughts, so I figured it might be not only useful, but better, to have the discussion here rather than in my own head.

For me, it's not about death. I think my personal problem with watching what's going on is the overwhelming feeling of impotence in the face of pure evil; my own, and that of the victims of it. In that sense then, I guess what I feel when I see what's going on in Palestine could very well be a kind of projection, as you've pointed out. But actually, the word I would use to describe it is that it is like looking into a mirror. I look into the mirror of the Palestinian plight and I feel my own powerlessness in the face of evil.

Yeah, we've mentioned that confrontation with evil and the feeling of powerlessness as a major component of it all. I think that feeling can quickly become associated with fear and one's own mortality.

It seems to me that enjoying the show means coming to the realisation that it really is 'someone else's dream', an 'illusion', but then having the very best possible response to that realisation. Not to become depressed, or nihilistic, or hedonistic, or bitter, or resentful, or fearful; but to decide to take part in it just for the sake of it - 'for fun'. Hence 'enjoying the show'.

A good sign we all have a ways to go to get to a clearer and fuller understanding of these concepts is when, in trying to explain ourselves, we start putting otherwise straightforward words in single quote marks that denote that the otherwise straightfoward word should not be understood in a straightforward way.

 

[Nienna]

This is a great discussion and a lot of great ideas and understandings are being brought forth.

Coming back to when the Cs said to, "sit back and enjoy the show", they didn't say to "feel joy" while watching the show. I keep thinking that "enjoy" has a different meaning than to "feel joy" so I looked up the word "enjoy" and one of the meanings is "experience":

transitive verb

1
: to have for one's use, benefit, or lot : experience
enjoyed great success

"Sit back and experience the show" makes a bit of sense to me and is more in line with how I was interpreting what they said.

just on a whim, I decided to look up how experience is described and found:

1
a
: direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge
b
: the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation

And that seems to be what we are supposed to be doing in learning lessons so it all comes together rather nicely to my way of thinking.

 

[Cosmos]

In regards to the C‘s perspective in “sixth density“ and the idea that what they suggest (“Sit back and enjoy the show!“) could at least partly also be related to the difference of how they see things “down here“ in “third density“ from their perspective “up there“ in “sixth density“, I was thinking about the following, when I last watched our beloved cat:

How do we or can we at third density see/experience, think and feel about, watching our cat chasing a mouse in second density?:

- We can enjoy watching that!

- We can even find what both the cat and the mouse are doing somehow sweet and cute while watching what the cat is doing and how the mouse reacts!

- But in reality we can also see that what the cat is doing is quite cruel, violent and vicious: Our beloved cat can for hours chase, capture and seriously injure the mouse, then releasing the mouse again. Only to do it all over again! At times between that, the cat can sit right in front of the mouse just waiting to do it again for long stretches of time. At the same time we can see how mortally frightened, traumatized and injured the mouse is while fighting for its life. Then after all that, sometimes, the cat just leaves the mouse to die an even longer slow and agonizing death on the floor or she eats the mouse alive slowly! You could probably call that quite “psychopathic“ from a certain perspective. In that case both the cat and the mouse might not be aware of the extent of what they are doing and/or experiencing though. That might be, at least sometimes, a bit different between humans on the same 3D level.

- I can also see it from the perspective of the mouse and feel very sorry for that poor and cute little thing (and see how she suffers), even going as far as thinking about interfering and saving the mouse from the “evil“ cat. Sometimes I‘m inclined to do so, but usually, I try not to interfere since why should I? The cat also has the right to eat, although she somehow chooses to do it in a pretty cruel way. It is probably fun to do so for her. She also has the right to have fun.

So, could we say that what we are doing is “sit back and enjoy the show!“ when we are watching what the cat and mouse are doing in second density, even though we can also see and emphasize with both beings and what they are going through at the same time?

Edit: Spelling

 

[Ryan]

Sometimes I‘m inclined to do so, but usually, I try not to interfere since why should I?

So you don't have to clean up half-eaten mouse carcasses left lying around the house?

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

For me, it's not about death. I think my personal problem with watching what's going on is the overwhelming feeling of impotence in the face of pure evil; my own, and that of the victims of it. In that sense then, I guess what I feel when I see what's going on in Palestine could very well be a kind of projection, as you've pointed out. But actually, the word I would use to describe it is that it is like looking into a mirror. I look into the mirror of the Palestinian plight and I feel my own powerlessness in the face of evil.

Yeah people get screwed over by evil all the time. Palestine is an easy example, but it totally could be anyone, at any time really. Individually people get dominated and screwed over by those they naively trusted, or simply had no power/knowledge to protect themselves from. The range is anywhere from a petty tyrant to an actual tyrant (or an organized tyrant society). It's frustrating as hell to feel powerless.

But then you got perspectives like this:

A petty tyrant is a tormentor. Someone who either holds the power of life and death over warriors or simply annoys them to distraction.
~Carlos Castaneda – The Fire from Within~

“My benefactor used to say that a warrior who stumbles on a petty tyrant is a lucky one.”
~Don Juan~

So how are we to square the difference in perspective? Someone can consider themselves lucky to have a petty tyrant in their life, and another person is absolutely miserable and gets walked all over.

Say you had a narcissistic mother in your life and the C's told you to enjoy your family life, wouldn't you also be like... what the hell is that supposed to mean, she's making my life hell! Maybe they meant it from a Warrior's perspective? Like hey, you guys are warriors, you thrive under pressure, you laugh in the face of evil, etc. What is different, however, is that the Palestinians (and other victims of petty/regular tyrants) aren't choosing to be "warriors" in that sense. So maybe that's not a terrible question to ask tho - is there anything Palestinians could do differently to turn the situation around? Like if they all just became a bunch of Don Juans and de-identified with their life, religion, situation, etc. They had a big town hall meeting without emotions or assumptions, totally objective and with some humor at their miserable plight at that, deciding what they wanna do about all this - ALL options are on the table, no matter how absurd or weird. Can't they, in that case, come up with some wild ideas that just might work? I dunno, maybe collectively walk out of Gaza, the borders be damned, etc. I'm just saying, the sky is the limit.

I'm not trying to "blame the victim" - and maybe I'm just an eternal optimist, but I feel like a lot of times "victims" have more power/choice under even the most overwhelming odds if they simply get out of their own way and think in unlimited ways. This applies to health issues, family situations, work situations, avoiding being mugged/raped by not going down dark alleys at night, etc. I dunno if that's something we can even ask the C's - how much of the middle east situation is just Israel being dicks and everyone being completely powerless, and how much of it is the victims in some way "choosing" to remain victims by somehow limiting themselves and so unable to find truly out of the box solutions as a result? It's almost taboo to ask such things when someone experienced great tragedy or suffering, but I don't think it should be.

I don't think so. Free will isn't always respected. It's just that there are consequences for the violations, and opportunities to grow when our free will is violated. When discussing the Trump assassination attempt, the C's said: "Violations of free will on that scale are similar to violations of gravity in your realm." That implies that violations on a smaller scale are not similar to violating the law of gravity. Ra put it like this: "those of negative polarity do not operate with respect to free will unless it is necessary. They call themselves and will infringe whenever they feel it possible." As for all suffering being sensible and fair, there's the example of nukes, which I suspect probably isn't the only such example.

I think I always struggled with the concept of free will violations and exactly what it entails - the nitty gritty. I don't know if it's splitting hairs - and correct me if I am - but you can do whatever to my physical body, but you can't force me to make a choice I don't wanna make. You can convince, compel, threaten, torture, trick, lie, manipulate - but I can simply refuse. My physicality can be violated, but not my choices. I can only be tricked if I allow it - by trusting or making assumptions I shouldn't be making and lacking knowledge, etc. So

So I'm still not sure free will as such can truly be violated without the co-operation of the "victim" - unless you're strictly talking about physical violation, like hurting, maiming, killing, etc. But I guess my question would be - isn't there a difference between wanting something and choosing? I want to stay alive, but I can't "choose" to stay alive because I don't have ultimate power over my physicality. I can make choices that make staying alive more likely, but I can be struck by a meteor tomorrow, I don't have any ultimate power over this fleshy thing. But I do have ultimate power over my choices, what decisions I make. And no one can take that from me without me allowing it, I think.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

- I can also see it from the perspective of the mouse and feel very sorry for that poor and cute little thing (and see how she suffers), even going as far as thinking about interfering and saving the mouse from the “evil“ cat. Sometimes I‘m inclined to do so, but usually, I try not to interfere since why should I? The cat also has the right to eat, although she somehow chooses to do it in a pretty cruel way. It is probably fun to do so for her. She also has the right to have fun.

Personally, what cats do on their own is their business, but if I’m around, the mouse gets saved and put outside, or killed quickly to put it out of its misery.

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

Yeah people get screwed over by evil all the time. Palestine is an easy example, but it totally could be anyone, at any time really. Individually people get dominated and screwed over by those they naively trusted, or simply had no power/knowledge to protect themselves from. The range is anywhere from a petty tyrant to an actual tyrant (or an organized tyrant society). It's frustrating as hell to feel powerless.

But then you got perspectives like this:

A petty tyrant is a tormentor. Someone who either holds the power of life and death over warriors or simply annoys them to distraction.
~Carlos Castaneda – The Fire from Within~

“My benefactor used to say that a warrior who stumbles on a petty tyrant is a lucky one.”
~Don Juan~

So how are we to square the difference in perspective? Someone can consider themselves lucky to have a petty tyrant in their life, and another person is absolutely miserable and gets walked all over.

Say you had a narcissistic mother in your life and the C's told you to enjoy your family life, wouldn't you also be like... what the hell is that supposed to mean, she's making my life hell! Maybe they meant it from a Warrior's perspective? Like hey, you guys are warriors, you thrive under pressure, you laugh in the face of evil, etc. What is different, however, is that the Palestinians (and other victims of petty/regular tyrants) aren't choosing to be "warriors" in that sense. So maybe that's not a terrible question to ask tho - is there anything Palestinians could do differently to turn the situation around? Like if they all just became a bunch of Don Juans and de-identified with their life, religion, situation, etc. They had a big town hall meeting without emotions or assumptions, totally objective and with some humor at their miserable plight at that, deciding what they wanna do about all this - ALL options are on the table, no matter how absurd or weird. Can't they, in that case, come up with some wild ideas that just might work? I dunno, maybe collectively walk out of Gaza, the borders be damned, etc. I'm just saying, the sky is the limit.

I'm not trying to "blame the victim" - and maybe I'm just an eternal optimist, but I feel like a lot of times "victims" have more power/choice under even the most overwhelming odds if they simply get out of their own way and think in unlimited ways. This applies to health issues, family situations, work situations, avoiding being mugged/raped by not going down dark alleys at night, etc. I dunno if that's something we can even ask the C's - how much of the middle east situation is just Israel being dicks and everyone being completely powerless, and how much of it is the victims in some way "choosing" to remain victims by somehow limiting themselves and so unable to find truly out of the box solutions as a result? It's almost taboo to ask such things when someone experienced great tragedy or suffering, but I don't think it should be.





I think I always struggled with the concept of free will violations and exactly what it entails - the nitty gritty. I don't know if it's splitting hairs - and correct me if I am - but you can do whatever to my physical body, but you can't force me to make a choice I don't wanna make. You can convince, compel, threaten, torture, trick, lie, manipulate - but I can simply refuse. My physicality can be violated, but not my choices. I can only be tricked if I allow it - by trusting or making assumptions I shouldn't be making and lacking knowledge, etc. So

So I'm still not sure free will as such can truly be violated without the co-operation of the "victim" - unless you're strictly talking about physical violation, like hurting, maiming, killing, etc. But I guess my question would be - isn't there a difference between wanting something and choosing? I want to stay alive, but I can't "choose" to stay alive because I don't have ultimate power over my physicality. I can make choices that make staying alive more likely, but I can be struck by a meteor tomorrow, I don't have any ultimate power over this fleshy thing. But I do have ultimate power over my choices, what decisions I make. And no one can take that from me without me allowing it, I think.

Sorry I was just thinking further on this - I guess you can't make me choose something without my consent (or ignorance), but you can stop me from making a choice. Making a choice requires first making a decision/intent in your mind, which no one can stop, but executing that choice requires engagement with external reality (unless the choice is internal only, like an attitude change, or choice to think about something or feel something). This means interacting with objects or other people, the world at large, where your ability act can be limited by the world or those in it. I might choose to eat an apple, but you can take it away from me. If you're stronger and more clever than me, I literally can never get that apple unless you allow it.

So then I can perceive you as a petty tyrant, especially if you do it callously for self-amusement or whatever. My ego will be hurt, I can be incredibly frustrated at my powerlessness, etc. But I guess then that's where the Warrior attitude comes in handy. I laugh at myself, I laugh at your petty "flexing" of your powers, and stop feeling so offended or angry or frustrated, and I start to treat the whole situation in a playful way without anticipating. Then I can see if I can exploit your weaknesses (as a petty tyrant you should have plenty) against you, and before you know it, you're the one angry and frustrated and your ego is somehow compromised, and I'll get the damn apple (if I still want it lol).

Also, speaking of mice - the Warrior attitude reminds me of the Tom and Jerry cartoons or The Roadrunner - where Jerry (the mouse) always gets the upper hand over the big bad predator Tom, because he's much more happy-go-lucky, and Tom is so self-absorbed. Same for Roadrunner vs the Coyote.

But yeah that's maybe one reason the C's tell us to not anticipate and that knowledge protects. No one can make you choose something sure, but only knowledge and a happy-go-lucky (non-anticipation) attitude enables us to successfully execute on those choices by thinking in truly unlimited ways in a world where STS can also engage or interfere with you, if it is able. But STS can't get out of its own way - due to wishful thinking and anticipating, so just by not doing those things, you already have an advantage.

So yeah to answer my own question, if you tie me up to a tree, I guess that would be a violation of free will cuz you are preventing me from executing on ANY choices at all, all I can control or engage with at that point is my own mind.

 

[Keit]

Personally, what cats do on their own is their business, but if I’m around, the mouse gets saved and put outside, or killed quickly to put it out of its misery.

Agreed. Despite cats being cats, we still have a free will to save the mouse from being tortured for hours. Not doing anything is a choice and says something, if there is something that can be done to prevent it.

I guess this example can also apply to other situations, if they are in the scope or the sphere of our influence.

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

Agreed. Despite cats being cats, we still have a free will to save the mouse from being tortured for hours. Not doing anything is a choice and says something, if there is something that can be done to prevent it.

I guess this example can also apply to other situations, if they are in the scope or the sphere of our influence.

My girlfriend always makes this point. If you abuse someone in the privacy of your home that’s one thing. If you do it in front of me, you don’t get to say “mind your business”. You made it my business and involved me by doing it in my purview. Abusers always like to say “this doesn’t involve you” when you interfere, but it sure does, whatever happens around me involves me whether someone likes it or not.

 

[Aeneas]

Great discussion and thanks for bringing so many different input to it.

So the only way out of that is to cultivate the kind of knowledge and being that allows us to view, and ideally KNOW, physical existence as not the whole banana, and in fact just a temporary sojourn and, in that context, an 'illusion'.

When the fall was made 309000 years ago, it was due to the Lizzards showing the "joys" of physicality and saying "Hey, physicality is really great. Why don't you come and try it out".
So in a sense it is only appropriate now that we are aiming to move "up", that it is the forces of STS (likely directed by hyperdimensional critters) who are showing us very demonstratively, that physicality is not really that great. It might be the final send off gift by the STS forces (obviously not with that intent in mind) which we and others need to finally let go of our attachment to the material realm and align with the world of spirit. As Paul would say it, to let go of the flesh (materialism) and aim for things of the spirit. In what Laura wrote in From Paul to Mark, then if the Fall was due to one man (symbolically) being the cause of the Fall, then one man (soulgroup?) could be able to reverse that Fall. In this way of looking at it, the grand cycle is finishing around the same theme by which it started, namely physicality.

Much suffering has happened in the past, but perhaps the current suffering combined with knowledge by a soul group able to hold these paradoxes (mentioned by others above) in balance, is sufficient to create the needed charge potential to break the chains. Just like one cloud alone does not make a thunderstorm but rather a gathering of clouds and charge difference large enough to trigger the thunder strikes to equalize and bring balance again. The current ability of the internet and sharing of information has been a big factor in this to the forming of a group able to jointly - potentially - make this jump up to 4D STO, aided by the Wave and the cyclical things of Nature.

Just some thoughts inspired by the discussion.