Remembering why we’re here when times are tough

T.C. said:
For starters, I think it would be impossible to end up in a situation where you were ever the last human being in existence. This in itself implies that our existence only has any purpose in relation to other people. When you have lived in such abject misery and despair, you realise that you wouldn't wish such a state on even your worst enemy. So then what is the reason for my suffering? It is to understand the suffering of others, and when you can get out of your own self-centred narcissism for two seconds, you realise the amount of pain and suffering other people are going through.
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The above, and the sense of gratitude for the gifts we've received as aleana, Keit, and others alluded to is really important to keep in mind, I think. It does get easier over time to keep such things in the forefront and keep from falling into the self-centered grip of the Predator's Mind. It all reminds me of Castaneda's Don Juan saying that once the glowing coat of awareness grows above the toes, it continues to grow to its original size (Don Juan earlier having said that that's what the cosmic Predators eat - the glowing coat of awareness - leaving just enough of it where everything is taken up in the self-centered preoccupations and nonsensical obsessions the Predators inject to get a flare of awareness to consume). So pushing the Predator away long enough to have the awareness grow above the toes, so to speak metaphorically, starts the process of restoring it to its original size and shape. Then we gain in Being, understanding, and ability to eventually DO (consistently in the same direction). Or so I think.
 
Like others who have commented, I find that I am a bit of a SOB, when things get me down, which they have of late, I try to remember why I am here, that I have a duty to be the best I can be and that ultimately I chose to be here, so I try to gear myself up into the mindset of "no, I'm not giving up". Then I generally proceed into, "ok, what can I do to move forward". Do I need to do more EE or meditation, or find a specialist of some sort. Along the way i have tried quite a few things, I keep the ones that I feel give me benefit and make me a better person, things like Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Essential Oils, Kinesiology Blue light reduction, more sunlight, the list goes on. I am the sort of person that copes with dark times by feeling like I am doing all I can to move myself forward.

Turn-arounds, have come in many forms, some of the things stated above, especially the kinesiology, obviously being here on the forum has had a major impact on me too, reading through other peoples struggles, and how they have come through them and the support given by others, I mean the sheer will of Laura alone to get to where she is and still give so much of herself to others is just so inspiring, and when i feel down, i think about that, it's almost that "what would Laura do" sentiment.

something else that helps, is this video, which I am sure most of you have seen already, but it helps me realize my place in this universe, how there is so much more to life than just my seemingly insignificant problems.
 
I also had and still have periods when dark thoughts, depression, and unwillingness to do anything strikes on me.
Since The first day when I started to read the C's transcripts i finally knew the i have found some reasonable explanations that bothered me forever. Then came this forum, sott, and my involvement in the forum.

And what keeps me here, on this path , in this work is that it is the only right thing that i can do. What else could I do in this bizarre world.

I dont like to believe in lies served to us by psychopaths in power.
I see the manipulation, corruption, injustice every single day and it makes me very sad and depressed but i cant stay there. I must fight and continue . If I stay there, then the battle is lost.

This forum and people here and the whole Laura work , and the whole concept of networking is for me the only thing that moves me through all this and I'm very grateful for all that.
 
I found the forum after accidentally coming across Laura's Amazing Grace book online and I still remember that after reading some of it I had this terrible fear that I was reading a very good work of fiction and that I'd never know the truth about it or be able to ask all the questions it inspired. Then I found the forum and saw that Laura was hard at work making all this amazing information available and I could indeed find answers to my questions. I think that we're much like receptors looking for the correct molecule to bind to and although some may seem to fit, if they aren't the perfect match we will sense that something is missing. When I found this place, something clicked that did not throughout all my other searches and it was a sense of recognition and comfort that came from the honesty and truth I found here.

There isn't much that scares me more than losing this network and the knowing that there are all of you here who see the world much the way I do. It's lonely out there in the sea of people who find satisfaction in ordinary life and things. What gets me through when I'm at my lowest is probably the thought of other people around the world who are suffering greatly because of the evil on this planet and just being able to identify that evil is enough to be able to motivate myself to get through another day so that maybe someday I can be part of the solution. It helps to imagine scenarios where the psychopaths finally meet a fitting end and the people in Syria and other places get the help they need. A better world may seem like an impossibility but it is the only thing worth striving for IMO and I can't think of a better means of creating that reality than this network and the information shared here.
 
I'm a stubborn SOB!

Well, to be serious about it, first of all, where I find myself now is basically where I have to be. There's no beating around the bush once that realization hits and you see that you've got to make the best of this opportunity that's been given. Without the larger context of this life drama that we're one part participants, and another part spectators, it's impossible for us to grasp that nebulous thing we call "meaning".

I am always on the lookout for opportunities for creativity, some way in which I can express something inside me which seems to need to be known. I am also keen to learn as much as I can about how to do better with what opportunities I have.

Besides networking, is there a deeper reason for us to be coming together like this, in a communal fashion and helping each other be empowered? Something deep and instinctive that has refused all the fodder provided by the PTB and time and again returning to this holy communion?

When the going gets tough, and fear is really close, I feel that have to put up a strong psychic defense against the boogeyman. Often there's no other way -- especially trying to think your way out of it -- that tends to pull you down further into the abyss. So that means holding your cards close to your chest until something comes, inspiration, as they say. This is mentioned in the most recent session here:

Q: (L) And we can refer back to previous discussions on meditation which include seeded meditation. Alright, this is an interesting question: How come people experience short spurts of inspiration and then depression and hopelessness return?

A: It's all about balance. The measure of creativity can be approximated by the depth and duration of the plunge. Note however, the effort required to pull in inspiration is high at present due to massing of negative energies around your planet.

Q: (L) So it takes more of whatever it is to get it, and then you not only have your balancing plunge, but you have the piling on of the negative energies of the planet on top of it. Is that sort of what we're saying here?

A: Close

Q: (L) Alright then. Next: How do we maintain that energetic vibration for longer periods?

A: Networking works wonders.

Q: (L) In other words, having a network and being able to talk about it or to express it or to exchange or share or get support when you're down... Is that it?

A: Yes
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From what the C's mention, it seems that we are getting close to something transformative on a planetary scale.

I'm really at a loss for words but I guess I gave this post my best shot... hang in there guys.
 
For me the more truths that are revealed the deeper my depression can go, although thanks to this forum and the work, not for long. When I find myself depressed or not wanting to go on, I just revert to the work, reading and this forum and soon pull myself out. Finding out how and who controls this planet can be really depressing, doing something about it makes it better, for me anyhow. Showing compassion to others, helping those in need (when they ask) and giving freely of my time, that all helps as well.
 
A couple more things to expand on what I do when feeling depressed, down in the dump. Two things bring me out faster than anything, taking a 4 mile walk with my dogs (daily routine) and getting in my garden and doing some work there. Both are invigorating and good for the soul.
 
It becomes so difficult to maintain sanity when everything around works upside down. I hold on tight to my Tree Friends to receive their comfort and advice to continue one more day ...Children, nature, some good people make it possible to enjoy life despite so much pain in the heart. :lol2:
 
Thanks Ennio, these are a very insteresting questions.

Well, I should say first that it is not so common that I fall on tired, depressed, or hopeless states. Just it is not my case. I have have a decent enough childhood with loving and caring parents, I had not material deprivations, or extreme traumatic situations. In fact many times it is a source of anguish and sadness to see how many of you have suffered so much. I tend to feel that I was too fortunate and in a sense many times I feel also that maybe it is a little unfair. But also I think that in a way the suffering on life offer a wonderful oportunity to grow and learn, and in that sense I feel at a disadvantage in regard to many members of this forum. Maybe that's why I feel that everything in my life is "cooked to simmer" so to speak. My grow, my development, my learning, and my achievements, usually go slowly, except a few exceptional events on my adult life that were hard enough to make me feel that the "cauldron was heating up". Those moments, though hard and sad, are the more important in my whole life.

Also like many of you I feel that many things in this world are horrible and that we are surrounded for all kind of evilness and misery, but I do not feel that all this should be fixed just because I do not like it; all this have a reason to be, and one of that reason seems to be simply learning. So my daily struggle is to do what must be done to help to people that wants to be helped. Because that my worries are not to digest the evil in this world but to find which is my place and mission on this life and honor it. Many time I feel difficult to go ahead because I do not like so much rutine or repeat a task one and again; many times this is common working on SOTT or project related with it for example. And that's why I see Laura's material and this network like a blessing (at least I feel so), all this is a big inspiration and is what help me to go ahead remembering every day what important is give to the Universe as much as we can give.
 
Marina9 said:
So that's what keeps me going on, the love towards learning and discovering not only what goes in my mind but what goes around the world, what goes on with other people whom share the same interests with me. And to keep on growing together. Now I can see that those feelings that sometimes I get like fear, slowly I'm starting to use them to transform them in a positive way and do something with that, not letting them overwhelm me as much as they did. And this is something I've certainly learned from here.
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Transforming emotions like fear is a biggie, and one I've thought a lot about myself. We've been given a number of good tools or ways to go about cognitively dealing with fear and unpleasant emotions, but until those tools are actually tried out they're just theoretical. But how can we even hope to be better people in the world with the goal of growing (as so many have mentioned here) if we don't try on these ideas for size, give them our best, and observe the results? I don't think we can. While negative emotions have their uses and can tell us things about people, and our environments, how many times have they just been useless wastes of energy born of programmed responses? Too many! Every time we get a different fix or perspective on the negative emotions though, and realize (more or less) in the moment that we don't have to go there necessarily, its like a little victory. So yes, as we face the future these points can been very useful things to remember and utilize. They have been for me, and glad to hear that they have been for you too, M9.
 
Seamas said:
How do I keep going when things get tough?
[list type=decimal]
[*]Remind myself how many people have it way worse than me. I've always had plenty to eat, a nice house over my head, a car to drive, a job, opportunity, etc. Soooo many people in this world are abused, hungry, in pain and alone. What right do I have to despair? I have a responsibility to make the most of my opportunities. Which leads into my second thought...[/list]
I draw strength from the thought of the survivors who came before me. The endless march of ancestors stretching back through time to the most primitive single-celled organism in the distant past all the way up until the present day. I don't know much about my family except for nationality because I come from immigrant families who were poor laborers when they came to the US. One side is Irish and survived hundreds of years of English oppression and famine. The other side is from Yugoslavia (Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian) and so survived hundreds of years of war, invasion and famine between the Romans, Turks, Austrian Empire, etc. On one hand my life is totally ordinary because there are so many people on this planet, but on the other hand it is unbelievably improbable when I think about all of the millions and billions who died in just the past 100's and 1000's of years, never mind before that. This thought gives me pause, puts my troubles in perspective and helps me to draw strength from my ancestors.
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When I was quite young I was told of how many of my family's relatives had suffered from, or died in, the holocaust. The stories really horrified me and I can still remember where I was and how I felt when my parents had told them. 'Never again' was seared into me. And because of how the stories were presented (usually in the context of how important Israel's existence is to Jews) I had strong Zionist leanings for many years - which took a lot of work to understand and get past. I just don't know if I would have been as motivated to face the programming if I hadn't been here. But what certainly helped was the understanding that with all the new information provided, I can still say 'never again' (not that I think I have the power to change anything) but that the conviction was now informed by truths different from what I knew before by orders of magnitude. Understanding, also, that the holocaust never really stopped (or even began with Jews) but that the scope of needless death and suffering has almost no bounds in this world. What an eye opener. And it doesn't stop. I'm STILL sometimes shocked or stunned by the information we get here, or on SOTT. It all has given me pause too, especially in the last few years.

Just a thought, if we remember when we've suffered something, or better yet, remember while we're suffering something, that many others are actually going through far worse, maybe taking such opportunities will have a transformative effect? In any case, and given all that's being shared here, its very hard not to feel some responsibility towards keeping the truths of mass suffering and death in mind as much as possible - and alive in the minds of as many as possible.

Seamas said:
I've referred to this increasingly in the last few years. I often feel a deep sadness in my solar plexus and chest and when it first came to me I didn't know what to do. It has been almost my constant companion of late and when I see how I have grown I am grateful.

In the times when nothing seems to bring me comfort and all seems lost to despair I continue on because I must. What other option is there? I cannot go back now that I know what I know and see what I see. Death is no way out and I might not get another chance in my next life. I keep trying different tools (meditation, writing, qigong, reaching out to friends, distraction, discipline) until something gets me out of my funk and I keep moving.
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Thanks for sharing such a visceral understanding of how you are working on this, Seamas. I hope that you find the tools not only get you out of your funks (though the funks may at times be unavoidable and even necessary as you've reminded us here), but that those tools assist you in exercising your knowledge in ways that you would not have expected!
[/list]
 
FWIW, I have periodic phases of "depression" if one can loosly describe it this way (in a real depression you don't have even the strength to get out of bed). It's not particularly related to the work but it happens as a general state of physical, emotional, and mental tiredness, especially after some marathon work where I have to manage several things at the same time. Given the understanding that "everything" is cyclical, and that we as individuals are subjects to external and internal forces, what I do is to strategize my efforts, knowing my limits and weaknesses. For instance, I would ask myself "what is it that I can do now, or cannot do", "if I don't do it now, when could I do" and also decide of periods (often on weekends) of doing nothing, which is just recharging the batteries and taking it easy. I have some small rules like "go outside at least once a day (a minimum) even if it rains, or having a fever or whatever". After some rest, I usually force the recovery by doing some effort (for instance some reading) to accelerate the process. I came to this by observing that when you have a cold for example, you don't wait until you feel completely fine because it could take weeks, whereas if you feel just a little better, a walk in the sun accelerates the recovery. It's an extention of a physical trick to the mental and emotional areas so to speak. As for the work, one can just imagine the alternative and see if it's a attractive one or not. Dispair is natural given the nature of the environment we live in, but life, under all its manifestations, is the struggle against this dispair. I don't know of any other alternative to being alive ;)
 
mkrnhr said:
FWIW, I have periodic phases of "depression" if one can loosly describe it this way (in a real depression you don't have even the strength to get out of bed). It's not particularly related to the work but it happens as a general state of physical, emotional, and mental tiredness, especially after some marathon work where I have to manage several things at the same time. Given the understanding that "everything" is cyclical, and that we as individuals are subjects to external and internal forces, what I do is to strategize my efforts, knowing my limits and weaknesses. For instance, I would ask myself "what is it that I can do now, or cannot do", "if I don't do it now, when could I do" and also decide of periods (often on weekends) of doing nothing, which is just recharging the batteries and taking it easy. I have some small rules like "go outside at least once a day (a minimum) even if it rains, or having a fever or whatever". After some rest, I usually force the recovery by doing some effort (for instance some reading) to accelerate the process. I came to this by observing that when you have a cold for example, you don't wait until you feel completely fine because it could take weeks, whereas if you feel just a little better, a walk in the sun accelerates the recovery. It's an extention of a physical trick to the mental and emotional areas so to speak. As for the work, one can just imagine the alternative and see if it's a attractive one or not. Dispair is natural given the nature of the environment we live in, but life, under all its manifestations, is the struggle against this dispair. I don't know of any other alternative to being alive ;)
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Good one mknhr! I tend to build a similar strategy. When I feel that I have a kind of lack of energy I make myself some pampering or I am a little indulgent with myself and give me a free time making mundane activities like watch movies or simply do nothing. I see this just like a break time and in someway I feel that this recharge my "batteries"... Curious is that though I take this time to entertain my mind, I keep in a sense "connected". For example if I watch a movie I can not avoid see the characters or situations in terms of psychological dynamics or a kind of esoteric path or whatever that it is part of my understanding. Anyway it is funny and definitely it result for me very well. After this break time I feel with renewed energies and desire to work (and Work) again.
 
Ennio said:
Thanks for sharing such a visceral understanding of how you are working on this, Seamas. I hope that you find the tools not only get you out of your funks (though the funks may at times be unavoidable and even necessary as you've reminded us here), but that those tools assist you in exercising your knowledge in ways that you would not have expected!
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Thanks Ennio!
 
msante said:
Curious is that though I take this time to entertain my mind, I keep in a sense "connected". For example if I watch a movie I can not avoid see the characters or situations in terms of psychological dynamics or a kind of esoteric path or whatever that it is part of my understanding. Anyway it is funny and definitely it result for me very well. After this break time I feel with renewed energies and desire to work (and Work) again.
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I would say that it's a natural consequence of the work: one incorporates knowledge in such a way that it becomes part of how one interacts with the different manifestations of the world. Instead of having a disconnect between different situations, one can see several underlying patterns that connect the whole to a coherent picture, and understanding the self as both observer and participant in it. OSIT
 
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